Mikael Håfström

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone Talk THE TOMB, THE EXPENDABLES 2, Their Careers and “Male Pattern Badness”

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 24th, 2012 at 9:34 pm

You’ll have to wait until August 17th to see Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone together again in The Expendables 2, but this video from the set visit of The Tomb should hold you over.  Production started recently in New Orleans on the Mikael Hafstrom (1408) picture that stars Sly as Ray Breslin, the world’s foremost authority on structural security who is framed and incarcerated in a prison of his own design.  In prison, Breslin meets Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger), the leader of the prisoners who wants to get out just as badly as Breslin does.  In this video, Stallone and Schwarzenegger comment further on their characters in The Tomb, their work together on The Expendables and The Expendables 2, and the old-school machismo of action movies and their stars, which Sly calls, “male pattern badness.”  Written by Miles Chapman (Road House 2: Last Call) and Jason Keller (Machine Gun Preacher), The Tomb also stars Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, and new addition Sam Neill.  Hit the jump to check it out along with some images from the set.

Production Begins on THE TOMB, Starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger; Sam Neill Joins Cast

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 14th, 2012 at 9:16 am

Production is officially underway in New Orleans on the action-thriller The Tomb. Sylvester Stallone stars as Ray Breslin, the world’s foremost authority on structural security. Breslin is framed and incarcerated in a prison of his own master design, and must now figure out how to break out.  Stallone is joined by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays a fellow inmate (and likely accomplice in said jail break), as well as Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, and new addition Sam Neill.

In an interesting turn, Caviezel will be playing the warden of the prison, with Jones set as his head of security.  Mikael Hafstrom (The Rite) is onboard to direct, and I’m really looking forward to watching a Stallone and Schwarzenegger prison break pic.  Hit the jump to read the full press release, which has details regarding the other characters in the film.

Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones and 50 Cent Join Schwarzenegger and Stallone in THE TOMB

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 4th, 2012 at 5:10 pm

Director Mikael Hafstrom just rounded out a great deal of his cast for the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Sylvester Stallone team-up actioner The Tomb.  Stallone stars as a structural security expert who is framed and locked up in a high-security prison that he designed, and Schwarzenegger is onboard as one of the prison’s inmates and a potential ally to Stallone.  Jim Caviezel also stars, and now Variety has added four more names to the cast: Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones and 50 Cent.  Hit the jump for details concerning who these new additions to the cast will be playing.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone Confirmed to Team Up for THE TOMB; Mikael Hafstrom Will Direct

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 8th, 2012 at 12:36 pm

For those who like their action pics packed with extra brawn, The Tomb is shaping up to be your kind of flick. The long-in-development actioner has seen Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger circle the lead role over the years, with Stallone finally signing on last October. We recently heard that Stallone was talking with his pal Schwarzenegger about joining the film in a different role, and today that news has been confirmed as both Stallone and Schwarzenegger are set to star. Stallone plays Ray Breslin, the world’s foremost authority on structural security. Breslin is framed and incarcerated in a prison of his own master design, and must now figure out how to break out (shouldn’t be too difficult if he designed the damn building). Hit the jump for more, including details on Schwarzenegger’s character.

New Trailer for THE RITE Starring Anthony Hopkins

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 9th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for The Rite, a supernatural thriller purported to be inspired by true events.  As scripted by Michael Petroni (Possession), The Rite tells the story of a seminary student attending “exorcism school” at the Vatican: “While in Rome, he meets an unorthodox priest who introduces him to the darker side of his faith.”

Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, and Toby Jones star in The Rite, directed by Mikael Håfström (1408).  Hit the jump for the trailer and synopsis.

New Posters for THE RITE and THE DILEMMA

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: November 15th, 2010 at 6:54 pm

Two new movie posters with extreme use of photoshop have been released.  The first one is the Anthony Hopkins supernatural thriller The Rite, and the other is the Vince Vaughn/Kevin James comedy The Dilemma.  As you’ll see after the jump, both have liberally used photoshop to age down their leads.  When you look at Vaughn, it’s like Universal took a photo from Swingers and used that as the starting point.  Saying that, I’m still a huge fan of Vaughn and would love for The Dilemma to be worth our time.  Hit the jump for the posters and the synopses.

Trailer for THE RITE Starring Anthony Hopkins

by Jeff Ames    Posted: October 20th, 2010 at 12:21 pm

The trailer for Mikael Håfström’s new film The Rite, which previously made its debut at the 5th annual “Scream Awards”, has gone online. Starring Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins, the film is another one of those Catholic Priests vs. the Devil flicks that people seem to enjoy so much these days and is reminiscent of the Eli Roth-produced The Last Exorcism which premiered earlier this year, though without the shaky, low-budget camera look.

The film also stars Alice Braga (Predators),  Ciarán Hinds (Munich), and Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner). Håfström recently directed the period piece Shanghai starring John Cusack and Gong Li, which was released in China earlier this year but has yet to make its way to the states. He also directed the 2007 Stephen King-thriller 1408, also starring Cusack. Hit the jump to check out the trailer which, typical or not, still looks freaky as Hell.  The Rite is set to open on January 28, 2011.

Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones and Alice Braga Join THE RITE

by Ramses Flores    Posted: May 3rd, 2010 at 2:02 pm

Ciarán Hinds (HBO’s Rome), Toby Jones (Infamous), and Alice Braga (I Am Legend) have joined the cast of the upcoming supernatural thriller, The Rite.  Based on the book by Matt Baglio and directed by Mikael Hafstrom (1408) the story, which is based on true events, centers on “a disillusioned American seminary student who attends exorcism school at the Vatican and ultimately finds his faith through encounters with demonic forces.”  Screen Daily has no information on which roles each actor will be playing but we do know that they will be joining Sir Anthony Hopkins, who will play a priest who “is an expert in exorcisms and whose methods are not necessarily traditional.”   The Rite doesn’t have a release date yet, but I think it’s safe to assume that we can expect to see the film sometime next year.

THE RITE Will Feature Anthony Hopkins vs. Demons

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 24th, 2010 at 11:42 pm

Despite mixed reaction towards The Wolfman, most viewers did take joy in the delightful menace of Anthony Hopkins’ performance.  I think he’s brilliant in The Remains of the Day and of course I like him in Silence of the Lambs (I can do without Hannibal and Red Dragon).  He’s got versatility but I want more fun performances from him. Heat Vision Blog says I’m going to get my wish because the knighted actor has signed on to star in Mikael Hafstrom’s The Rite.  Here’s HVB’s rundown of the premise and Hopkins’ role:

Adapted from a book by Matt Baglio and based on true events, the story centers on a disillusioned American seminary student who attends exorcism school at the Vatican and ultimately finds his faith through encounters with demonic forces.  Hopkins will play a priest who is an expert in exorcisms and whose methods are not necessarily traditional.

“Expert in exorcisms and whose methods are not necessarily traditional.”  I no longer care about any other role Hopkins is playing, including his role as Odin in Thor.  This sounds waaay more fun than ruling Asgard.

First Images and Synopses for ALL GOOD THINGS, PIRHANA 3D, SHANGHAI, and THE FIGHTER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 10th, 2009 at 10:54 pm

AFM* fun continues with the first images and full synopses for All Good Things starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, Pirhana 3D starring Elisabeth Shue and Richard Dreyfuss, Shanghai starring John Cusack and Ken Watanbe, and The Fighter starring Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, and Amy Adams.  These are all films that should be on your radar because there’s a good chance that these films will be getting some major marketing when they hit theaters.

I write and read about films every day and with the exception of The Fighter, these films weren’t really on my radar.  After reading the synopses and seeing some shots from these movies, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for further news about them.  Hit the jump to check out debut photos and what you need to know about these upcoming flicks.

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