All Articles by Ramses Flores

SNOW WHITE Casting: Julia Roberts, Michael Fassbender, and Shortlist to Play Snow White

Posted: December 13th, 2010 at 7:38 pm

Two competing  Snow White re-imaginings — Relativity Media’s The Brothers Grimm: Snow White and Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman — have sparked casting rumors for a few months now.  Back in October, Tom Hardy (Inception) was rumored to play Eric the Huntsman in Snow White and the Huntsman with Charlize Theron set to star as the Snow White’s evil stepmother.  Meanwhile, Relativity was circling Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, and Anne Hathaway for The Brothers Grimm: Snow White.

New casting rumors have surfaced for both films tonight.  One links Julia Roberts to The Brothers Grimm.  The other links Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) to Huntsman and reveals Universal’s shortlist to play Snow White: Riley Keough (The Runaways), Felicity Jones (The Tempest), Bella Heathcoat (Neighbours), and Alicia Vikander (Beloved).  Details after the jump.

Mila Kunis and Adam Scott in Talks to Star in Seth McFarlane’s TED

Posted: December 13th, 2010 at 4:56 pm

Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Adam Scott (Party Down) are in talks to join Mark Walhberg in Seth McFarlane’s (Family Guy) upcoming directorial debut, Ted.  The R-rated comedy is currently budgeted at $65 million and will star Walhberg as a Boston man (Wahlberg) whose childhood stuffed animal/best friend has come to life and still continues to live with him 25 years later.  McFarlane, who also co-wrote the film, will be voicing and providing the motion capture performance for the swearing, pot smoking, and delinquent teddy bear.

According to HeatVision, Kunis will be playing Walhberg’s girlfriend, who “wants their relationship to move to the next level and finally has enough of him living with his best friend Ted.”  The always great Adam Scott will be playing her boss, who she turns to for comfort.  Kunis can currently be seen in Black Swan.  You can next see Scott reprising his role in Parks and Recreation next month, and 2011 looks like it will hopefully be his breakout year with starring roles in both My Idiot Brother and Friends With Kids.

Watch a 5 Minute Clip from the Live-Action SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (STAR BLAZERS) Film

Posted: December 4th, 2010 at 8:10 am

Japan’s live-action adaptation of Space Battleship Yamato (aka Star Blazers in the U.S.) opened this past Wednesday in Japan and a five minute clip from the film has hit the net.  I didn’t grow up watching dubbed episodes of Space Battleship Yamato.  In fact, I had never even heard of the anime until the awesome looking trailer popped up last year.  Ever since, I’ve been keeping an eye on the film and this latest clip makes me hope that someone picks it up for a U.S. release.  Hit the jump to watch the clip:

First Trailer and New Poster for THE BEAVER Starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, and Jennifer Lawrence

Posted: December 3rd, 2010 at 7:58 pm

Yesterday, we reported on the first official image and synopsis for Jodie Foster’s upcoming film, The Beaver. Now, Summit Entertainment has released the first trailer for the film, which stars Mel Gibson as a man who starts to treat a beaver hand puppet as a living creature after he begins to suffer from depression.  The film has been the center of a lot of debate due to Gibson’s recent behavior.  A lot of people have been wondering if Summit would bench the film even longer, or if they’d release it as is.  But with Summit setting a spring 2011 release date, it looks like we’ll all get to see Gibson’s latest quite soon.  Of course the big question is, will Gibson’s controversial antics cause moviegoers to avoid his movies, or will they forgive and forget?

The Beaver also stars Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin (Star Trek), and Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone).  You can watch the trailer and read a plot synopsis for the film after the jump.

Robert Downey Jr. to Star in Untitled Musical Comedy for Warner Bros

Posted: December 3rd, 2010 at 7:34 pm

Robert Downey Jr. continues to be one of the most in-demand actors working today.  Just yesterday, we reported the news that Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will be Blood) is hoping to cast Downey in his upcoming adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel Inherent Vice.  Now, we have news that Warner Bros is developing an untitled musical comedy for Downey to star in.  The film will focus on two Broadway songwriters having to take jobs as counselors at a theater camp after their latest musical flops.  Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, who previously won the Pulitizer and three Tony awards for their rock opera Next to Normal, will be writing and developing the music for the film.  You can hit the jump to find out what other projects Robert Downey Jr. has coming up.

New Trailer for BEASTLY Starring Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens; Plus 21 High Res Images

Posted: December 3rd, 2010 at 6:04 pm

CBS Films has released a new trailer for their upcoming film, Beastly.  The film – directed by Daniel Barnz (Phoebe in Wonderland) – is a modern reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, which places the classic tale in a high school setting.  Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number 4) stars as a popular handsome high school student that finds himself turned into a beast, who then has one year to find someone who can love him so that he can reverse the curse.  The film also stars Vanessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris, and Mary-Kate Olsen.  Beastly is set to open on March 18.  You can hit the jump to watch the trailer and check out 21 images:

Producers Guild of America Announce Best Documentary Nominees

Posted: December 3rd, 2010 at 5:14 pm

The Producers Guild of America (aka the PGA) has announced which documentaries have been nominated for the Best Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture award.  The list is mainly made up of the usual suspects with early award season favorites Waiting for ‘Superman’. Inside Job, The Tillman Story, and Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer all receiving a nomination from the guild.  Lesser known documentaries Smash His Camera and Earth Made of Glass also received a nomination.   Missing from the list are some other highly acclaimed documentaries such as Exit Through the Gift Shop, Catfish, and Restrepo.  Nominations for the other PGA categories will be announced January 4, with the awards ceremony taking place on January 22.  You can hit the jump to read the full press release.

Jody Savin Set to Direct Film Based on New York’s CBGB Club

Posted: December 2nd, 2010 at 7:01 pm

Randall Miller and Jody Savin, the duo behind 2007’s wine tasting dramedy Bottle Shock, will be re-teaming to make a film about New York’s legendary CBGB nightclub.  The music venue opened in the early 70s and became the home to many rising bands such as The Ramones, Blondie, The Talking Heads, and The Patti Smith Group.  In later years, CBGB would be known for the rising New York hardcore punk scene with bands such as Bad Brains, Reagan Youth, and The Misfits regularly playing shows there.  CBGB has since become the stuff of legend and is widely acknowledged as an iconic place in music history, but the club was sadly closed down in 2006.

The currently untitled film will “center on the real-life story of Hilly Kristal’s CBGB club and its impact on the underground music scene.”  Savin, who has only produced and co-written Miller’s films, will make her directorial debut with the film next summer.  Savin states her reasons to Variety for wanting to make the film by saying, “This is a film about an era of music, about a place that I hung out at in New York in the early ’80s and about an unsung champion of new music.”  Savin and Miller are also currently working on a biopic based on the life of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, currently titled The Drummer: The Story of Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys.

IP MAN 2 Trailer and Poster; Stars Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung

Posted: December 2nd, 2010 at 6:47 pm

Variance Films has released a trailer and poster for the upcoming sequel to 2008’s award-winning martial arts biopic, Ip Man.  The sequel, aptly titled Ip Man 2, continues to tell the story of Ip Man, who was the first person to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun.  Ip Man is also well known for being Bruce Lee’s martial arts teacher.   The sequel has Donnie Yen (Hero) returning to reprise the role of Ip Man and also stars legendary martial arts actor Sammo Hung as the villain.  I recently watched Ip Man and can not recommend it enough to anyone who is a fan of the genre (it’s on Netflix Instant Watch).  It is easily one of the best martial arts films from the past ten years and Ip Man 2 looks like it will be just as good.  Ip Man 2 opens on January 28.  You can hit the jump to watch the trailer, check out the poster, and to read a plot synopsis for the film.

Steve Carell and David Steinberg to Produce a Documentary About the Evolution of Comedy

Posted: December 2nd, 2010 at 6:40 pm

Steve Carell and comedian David Steinberg will be teaming up to produce a documentary about the history of modern comedy.  According to Deadline, the documentary will “chronicle the evolution of comedy over the past sixty years through the eyes of several generations of comedians.”  Carell and Steinberg are already working on the currently untitled documentary, which will include interviews with such comedians as Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Lily Tomlin, Don Rickles, Carol Burnett, Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, Judd Apatow, Robin Williams, Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock, Jane Lynch, and Tina Fey.  The amount of talent involved with the film is definitely impressive and Carell seems to agree by saying, “We’re honored that so many legendary comedic performers have chosen to be part of this.”

The duo plan to target the film for a TV distribution deal and I’m sure that more than one channel will be happy to air the documentary when it’s finished.  This would also mark Carell’s second venture into producing a work for television after yesterday’s announcement that NBC has picked up a comedy series based on Carrell’s early days working as a mail carrier in Littleton, Massachusetts.

Alex Proyas to Produce and Possibly Direct AMP

Posted: December 1st, 2010 at 8:50 pm

Director Alex Proyas (Knowing) will produce and possibly direct an adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson’s upcoming sci-fi thriller novel, Amp.  Deadline reports the novel will be set in a world where “the technology designed to make the disabled whole, turns them into supermen.”  This news continues Wilson’s luck of attracting a big name director to adapt one of his novels before they are even published: earlier this year it was announced that Steven Spielberg will direct an adaptation of Wilson’s upcoming novel, Robopocalypse.

A film based on Wilson’s faux survival guide, How to Survive a Robot Uprising, has also been in the works for some time with Jack Black and writer/director Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine) attached.  Hit the jump to read about the other projects Proyas has lined up.

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum Confirmed for 21 JUMP STREET

Posted: December 1st, 2010 at 6:11 pm

We’ve known this for awhile now, but Sony has confirmed Jonah Hill (Get Him to the Greek) and Channing Tatum (Dear John) will star in the upcoming adaptation of 21 Jump Street. Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) will be directing the film, which will be written by Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World).  Hill came up with the story with Bacall and has described it as being “a John Hughes movie with ‘Bad Boys’ style action.”  Emma Stone was attached to star in the film, but recently had to drop out due to her commitment with the upcoming Spider-Man reboot.  21 Jump Street is currently set to for a March 16, 2012 release date.  You can hit the jump to read the press release.

Ang Lee Looking to Cast Bollywood Actors for LIFE OF PI

Posted: December 1st, 2010 at 1:38 pm

A couple of weeks ago, we reported that director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) had found the lead star for his upcoming 3D adaptation of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi with seventeen-year-old newcomer Surej Sharma.  The highly acclaimed novel tells the story of a boy named Pi, who gets stranded at sea for 227 days with a tiger. Now, with production set to start in January, Ang Lee is looking to cast the boy’s parents in the film.

According to TimesofIndia (via ThePlaylist), Lee hopes to cast popular Bollywood actress Tabu in the role of Pi’s mother, while Bollywood actors Sushant Singh and Sonu Sood are up for role of Pi’s father. By doing this, Lee will be following in the footsteps of Danny Boyle, who also chose to cast Bollywood actors in leading roles for Slumdog Millionaire.  Life of Pi is set to open on December 14, 2012.  You can hit the jump to read a plot synopsis for the novel.

Sony Pushes Gus Van Sant’s RESTLESS from January 28, 2011 to Later Next Year

Posted: November 30th, 2010 at 7:57 pm

With less than two months left before it was set to open, Sony has dropped Gus Van Sant’s Restless from its planned theatrical release date of January 28, 2011.  Variety speculates the decision might open the film to more festivals and a greater chance at the box office with an opening later next year. The film was faced some tough competition on January 28th from such films as The Mechanic, The Rite, and From Prada to Nada.  So it does make sense to move the more “artsy” film to a quieter release date.

Restless stars Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hopper; hit the jump for a plot synopsis .

Joss Whedon Passed on the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Reboot

Posted: November 30th, 2010 at 6:55 pm

Earlier this month, it was announced that Warner Bros. bought the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and hired Whit Anderson to reboot the franchise in her screenwriting debut. This news led to internet outrage that Warner Bros. was going through with a Buffy film without involving Joss Whedon in any way whatsoever in their plans.  Whedon released a statement, saying

“I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death.  But, you know, AFTER.  I don’t love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I’m also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly.”

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Whedon was reportedly approached about the Buffy reboot, but he passed.  Read why after the jump.

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