Zoe Saldana

Sundance 2012: THE WORDS Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 27th, 2012 at 6:18 pm

If we give a piece of our lives and our souls to our art, then plagiarism is murder.  Just as murder steals a life, the theft of another person’s personal creative expression is akin to killing part of another’s soul.  But plagiarism also leaves a mark upon the thief.  It reveals their limitations, and a self-recognition that their art will never be as full or as rich as another’s.  The Words explores how this theft goes far beyond fame and fortune, and how our lives are no longer our own when we take credit for another’s work.  Writer-directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal have pulled together a strong script, rich performances, and an incredible score to craft a compelling and captivating film full of deception, remorse, and guilt.

Filming Officially Underway on J.J. Abrams’ STAR TREK Sequel

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 11:24 am

Ladies and Gentlemen, Star Trek 2 is on officially on the way. Paramount Pictures has announced that production has commenced on director J.J. Abrams’ follow-up to the fantastically awesome 2009 sci-fi pic Star Trek. We’ve got John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, and Anton Yelchin all reprising their roles from the first film, and in an inspired bit of casting, Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is onboard as the film’s villain. Joining Cumberbatch in the Star Trek newbie circle are Alice Eve and Peter Weller.

Development on the sequel hasn’t been without its fair share of drama (Benicio Del Toro dropped out of the villain role weeks before filming began), but it’s reassuring to know that production has finally begun. The script was written by Star Trek writers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Damon Lindelof, and composer Michael Giacchino will indeed return to score the pic (huzzah!). The currently untitled sequel will be post-converted to 3D and is set for release on May 17th, 2013. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

New Images from THE WORDS Starring Bradley Cooper, Zoë Saldana, Olivia Wilde and Ben Barnes; Premieres at Sundance

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 9th, 2012 at 2:59 pm

A few new images and and a synopsis for the drama The Words have been released. The film stars Bradley Cooper as a writer who, after discovering an extraordinary lost manuscript, passes the work off as his own and receives overwhelming critical acclaim.  Jeremy Irons plays the man who originally wrote the manuscript, and the film weaves multiple narratives to tell the story of how “one man’s lost legacy holds the life of another man captive.” The Words was written by, and marks the directorial debut of, Tron: Legacy scribes Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, and features a pretty impressive cast that includes Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Ben Barnes, and JK Simmons. Hit the jump to check out the images as well as the synopsis. The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, which runs from January 19 – 29.

Mark Wahlberg, Marion Cotillard, and Zoe Saldana Circling Guillaume Canet’s BLOOD TIES

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 2nd, 2011 at 8:28 am

Mark Wahlberg, Marion Cotillard, and Zoe Saldana may star in French actor Guillaume Canet‘s English-language directorial debut, Blood Ties.  According to The Playlist, the film is a remake of 2008′s Les Liens Du Sang, which Canet starred in but did not direct.  The story is set in the 1970s and centers on “two brothers, one a cop, the other a criminal fresh out of the joint.”  Wahlberg’s The Yards and We Own the Night writer-director James Gray is working on the script with Canet, and now Screen Daily reports that Wahlberg is circling the role of the cop (for those keeping track, this would be the fifth time Wahlberg has played a cop.  There’s no word yet on whom Cotillard (who is also Canet’s partner) or Saldana would play, and Canet may co-star as well.

Canet is probably best known to American audiences for his 2006 thriller Tell No One (Ben Affleck is set to direct the US remake), but he’s also directed the Cesar-nominated Mon Idole and Little White Lies.  Gray’s next film, a period drama tentatively titled Low Life and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner, and Cotillard is set to start shooting in January.  Hit the jump to check out a trailer for Les Liens Du Sang.

First Image from THE WORDS Starring Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 31st, 2011 at 12:58 pm

The first image from the drama The Words has been released. The film stars Bradley Cooper as “a writer who, at the peak of his literary success, discovers the price he must pay for stealing another man’s work.” The other man in question is played by Jeremy Irons, but really not much else is known about the project at this time. The image shows Cooper in the sweet embrace of co-star Zoe Saldana, probably distraught over his thievery. The Words was written by, and marks the directorial debut of, Tron: Legacy scribes Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, and features a pretty impressive cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Ben Barnes, and JK Simmons. Hit the jump to check out the image.

Zoe Saldana Swims with Sharks in New COLOMBIANA Clip

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: July 22nd, 2011 at 3:27 pm

Graceful and gorgeous, Zoe Saldana is God’s gift to action movies.  I am not totally convinced Colombiana will be a great movie, but there’s a chance, and a much higher chance Ms. Saldana will excel within.  Take this new clip for instance, which shows Saldana’s assassin character Cataleya swimming with sharks, then sacrificing the bad guy with a pair of choice gun shots.  If the movie is made up of a couple dozen scenes of this caliber, count me in.

Olivier Megaton directs from a script by producer Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen — the three previously collaborated on Transporter 3.  Colombiana opens August 26.  Watch the new clip after the jump.

Zoe Saldana Joins Mark Ruffalo in J.J. Abrams-Produced INFINITELY POLAR BEAR

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 16th, 2011 at 11:58 am

Star Trek actress Zoe Saldana is currently in negotiations to join the cast of the marital drama Infinitely Polar Bear. Mark Ruffalo is attached to star, and J.J. Abrams is producing the flick which centers on a bipolar husband who, after going off his meds, loses his job forcing his wife to go back to work. Vulture reports that Saldana wil play Ruffalo’s wife in what they describe as “the dramatic version of Mr. Mom.”

Screenwriter Maya Forbes (Monsters vs. Aliens) is making her directorial debut on the project, which is getting some much-needed funding from investor Megan Ellison, who is also funding two of Paul Thomas Anderson’s projects. She’s like the guardian angel of movies. Infinitely Polar Bear is set to start shooting this September, before Saldana moves on to Star Trek 2.

New Poster and New Release Date for COLOMBIANA

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 24th, 2011 at 12:46 pm

A new poster has gone online for Oliver Megaton’s Colombiana.  The film stars Zoe Saldana as an assassin who hunts down the men who killed her parents.  The movie has also moved up from September 2nd and into the final week of the summer.  Colombiana will now open on August 26th against the found-footage sci-fi horror flick Apollo 18 and the Guillermo del Toro-produced Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.  Hit the jump to check out the poster.

Cannes Casting Call: Zoe Saldana Joins THE WORDS; Susan Sarandon and Jim Broadbent in Talks for CLOUD ATLAS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 12th, 2011 at 8:23 am

Yesterday, we reported some casting news for The Words and The Wachowski Siblings/Tom Tykwer’s adaptation of Cloud Atlas.  Turns out those films weren’t quite finished in the casting department.  Producer Cassian Elwes has tweeted [via The Playlist] that Zoe Saldana will star alongside Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, and Dennis Quaid in The Words.  The drama centers on a celebrated writer (Cooper) who must pay the price for stealing the work of another author (Irons).  I imagine the price is somewhat higher than the lawyer’s fees for the litigation that would most likely occur in a less-interesting movie.

In other casting news, ScreenDaily reports that Susan Sarandon and Jim Broadbent are in talks to join Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, and Halle Berry in Cloud Atlas.  The movie is based on David Mitchell’s acclaimed novel that spans the progress of a soul across six separate existences across several centuries.  Shooting is planned to begin this September.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel.

New Posters for CONAN THE BARBARIAN, COLOMBIANA, and PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 10th, 2011 at 8:01 am

New posters have been released for Conan the Barbarian, Colombiana, and the documentary Page One: Inside The New York Times.  Hit the jump to check out the posters along with a synopsis and release date for each film.

Trailer for COLOMBIANA Starring Zoe Saldana

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 5th, 2011 at 10:52 am

The trailer for the action-thriller Colombiana has gone online.  Working from a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen (Taken), the film stars Zoe Saldana as woman who, after witnessing her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota, grows up to be a stone-cold assassin.  While she works during the day as a hitwoman, at night she deals out vigilante justice in her quest to take down the mobsters responsible for the death of her parents.   I like the idea of a female batman who uses a gun, but this may be the most generic action movie trailer I’ve ever seen.  I’m a fan of Saldana so hopefully the movie has more personality and individually than the trailer.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Michael Vartan, Callum Blue, and Cliff Curtis.  Colombiana opens September 2nd.

Doug Liman Approaches Andrew Garfield, Chris Pine, Emile Hirsch, Megan Fox, Olivia Wilde, Rachel McAdams, Eva Mendes, Zoe Saldana for Moon Movie

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: March 22nd, 2011 at 8:51 pm

Doug Liman first set up Luna with Jake Gyllenhaal at DreamWorks in 2007, then with Paramount, then put it on hold for a couple years to direct Jumper and Fair Game.  Liman was actively working on a Three Musketeers adaptation before Paul W.S. Anderson beat him to the punch.  So he turned his attention to All You Need Is Kill, a spec sci-fi script with plenty of heat behind it.  However, All You Need Is Kill has reportedly lost steam, and Liman has returned his focus to Luna (now “Untitled Moon Project”).  But Gyllenhaal has since moved on, so Liman is meeting with a bevy of young Hollywood stars to fill the role.  Heat Vision indicates the director has already spoken with Rosario Dawson, Megan Fox, Rachel McAdams, Eva Mendes, Zoe Saldana, Olivia Wilde, Andrew Garfield, Emile Hirsch, and Chris Pine, and plans to meet with more names in the coming week.

Details on the project after the break.

Brad Pitt Confirmed for Andrew Dominik’s COGAN’S TRADE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 30th, 2010 at 4:31 pm

Last month, we told you that The Assassination of Jesse James director Andrew Dominik was looking to reteam with a few of the actors from that film for his next feature, Cogan’s Trade. Well, it looks like at least one of the James gang will for sure be reuniting with Dominik: Brad Pitt. Pitt is set to star in the titular role of Jackie Cogan in the adaptation of the George V. Higgins novel.

Cogan’s Trade tells the story of an enforcer, Cogan, who is hired by the mob to investigate a high stakes poker heist. Other names mentioned to possibly join Pitt in the film include Jesse James co-stars Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell, as well as Bill Murray, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the novel.

AVATAR Extended Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: November 24th, 2010 at 6:09 pm

Avatar is the most successful film of all time. So it should be no surprise that people went crazy for it. Like really crazy, like becoming suicidal over Pandora not existing crazy. The story of how Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) went to Pandora as a crippled marine, and became a Na’vi (a twelve-foot tall blue catlike creature), then a leader and warrior got to the core of some people, possibly because of how director James Cameron approached his 3-D world. Though the extended collector’s edition does not include the 3-D version of the film, it does have three cuts of the movie, and two disc chocked full of supplements. My review of the Avatar Extended Collector’s edition Blu-ray comes after the jump.

THE LOSERS Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: August 4th, 2010 at 8:44 am

The action genre has mutated quite a bit over the last couple years, as we have few figures like Sylvester Stallone in the recent generation of actors. Vin Diesel seems more like a right place right time guy than an actual star, and actual stars like Tom Cruise in Knight and Day no longer seem to excite the masses. Of course there are exceptions: The Bourne Identity fits more in the classic mold, but does anyone think of Matt Damon in the same category as Arnold Schwarzenegger, or – for that matter – Charles Bronson? In 2010, we’ve seen a number of straight action films, but few have connected with the mainstream, and the actors who look like they might be the next star of those sorts of movies don’t connect. Liam Neeson or Bradley Cooper in The A-Team, and Angelina Jolie Salt have had so-so grosses, while The Losers got lost in April. But Jeffrey Dean Morgan seems built for the genre. Weathered but capable, bemused, Morgan has both the physicality and personality to be an action star, and he gets to play off of Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, and Chris Evans in a classic “Men on a Mission” narrative. Sadly, The Losers isn’t the film that did that for him and my review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design