Frickin' Eh Movie News 04.19.08: Mid-Exam Edition
Posted by Matthew Motiuk on 04.19.2008
Lottery scams, Richard Gere, beer in hell, Ridley Scott's next project, and more!
Oh, so it's snowing again, is it? I'm just ready for summer already. Last weekend it was twenty-five above, this weekend it's ten below. I'd even take spring at this point, anything but more snow and cold.
Enough about the weather, though. Scrubs had a good episode this past week. It started out disappointing, with a rather silly Janitor/Ted story that got a bit annoying, but was saved by an absolutely hilarious scene and fantasy with Turk and JD. The show is gearing up for the end, but I can't find a source anywhere that can really decide whether the show is ending or moving to ABC. I'm really hoping it continues, as long as it continues unaltered. The Kelso arc that is appearing will be the biggest indicator of things, I think. They won't end the show with him still working at the hospital. But enough about Scrubs, this is a movie column! On with the movies!
Gere Is One of Brooklyn's Finest and Amelia Earhart's Husband
Richard Gere has signed on for a pair of projects: Avalon Pictures' Amelia Earhart biopic and Millennium Films' cop drama "Brooklyn's Finest."
In Amelia, Gere will star opposite Hilary Swank. Variety says the film chronicles the rocky relationship between the famed aviator and her husband, publisher George Putnam.
Mira Nair will direct from a Ron Bass screenplay. Shooting starts later this month in Toronto, Nova Scotia and South Africa.
Brooklyn's Finest revolves around three unconnected Brooklyn cops who wind up at the same deadly location, despite vastly different career paths. One has gone undercover to crack drug gangs; another has engaged in graft and corruption; while another has played by the rules and put in his time on the force up until his retirement.
Antoine Fuqua will direct the film, which also stars Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke. Michael Martin wrote the screenplay.
Richard Gere hasn't been in a hell of a lot lately, so it'll be nice to see him in a couple new movies. His choices aren't out to left field, either, although I'm a little unsure about the Amelia Earhart one. Do I want to watch Amelia Earhart bicker with her husband about flying? Not really. Brooklyn's Finest, however, sounds quite intriguing. The diverging paths meeting and altering the others, while nothing new, is usually pretty interesting. I look forward to seeing what happens with these.
21 Writer Bringing Us Money for Nothing
21 screenwriter Peter Steinfeld will adapt the lottery scam memoir Money for Nothing for Warner Independent Pictures, Michael De Luca Productions and Tobey Maguire's Maguire Entertainment.
WIP optioned Edward Ugel's wry take on his experiences talking lottery winners into taking lump-sum cash payments against their future earnings -- and pocketing a good chunk of change for himself in the process.
Ugel's HarperCollins book, subtitled "One Man's Journey Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions," was published in September.
21 looked pretty interesting, so I think it's safe to say this one will likely be in the same vein. Scamming money from a lottery is a little less intense than having to play blackjack and beat it, but handled right, it could still be pretty good. Wow, Steinfeld really likes gambling movies. Stick to what you're good at, I suppose.
Jovovich Is The 4th Kind
("Resident Evil" movies) will star in Gold Circle Films' thriller The 4th Kind. Olatunde Osunsanmi, a former assistant to filmmaker Joe Carnahan, is making his directorial debut on the film, which he also wrote.
The Hollywood Reporter says that although project details are being kept under wraps, it is described as a fact-based thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover-up.
Jovovich plays a woman investigating the disappearances in the town.
A late-June start is being eyed.
This sounds like a different sort of movie. I've never heard of this mysterious Alaskan town, but if it's ongoing, it means they'll probably take it in their own direction at a certain point, which will also probably make it a bit more interesting than the real story (the real story often ends up to be rather mundane). This also sounds like a slightly different role for Jovovich. She's usually fighting, this will be much lower key, I assume. Should be interesting.
Stan Lee Creates the Legion of 5
Comic book legend Stan Lee and his production company POW! Entertainment, along with Brighton Partners, have partnered with Rainmaker Entertainment to launch "Legion of 5," a new superhero property, says The Hollywood Reporter.
"Legion of 5" -- owned jointly by Rainmaker, POW! and Brighton -- is planned as a series of CG-animated films but with a cross-platform approach to include games, online and mobile releases. Merchandizing is part of the plan as well.
Details of the characters and story line are being kept under wraps.
Rainmaker CEO Warren Franklin reported that the partners are raising about $24 million to get things going. "We are hoping to develop a strong franchise with the characters," he said.
Plans call for Vancouver-based computer-animation producer Rainmaker to create the look of the characters as well as develop and produce the feature-length CG-animated film properties.
Lee, Rainmaker's Aaron L. Gilbert and Paul Gertz, Gill Champion of POW! and Cord Beatty of Brighton will executive produce.
You've got to hand it to Stan Lee, he knows how to market something. Not only the movies, but tie-ins all around? There's no guarantee this will work, of course. It could be a complete flop, or just something average that nobody gets particularly excited about. Comic book movies have been doing better lately, but will people jump for a superhero (or superheroes) that they aren't familiar with? Stan Lee had better hope he's still got some mad skills.
Do They Serve Beer in Hell? Maybe
Tucker Max will adapt his bawdy best-seller "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" into a big-screen comedy with director Bob Gosse, says The Hollywood Reporter.
"Hell," now No. 12 on the New York Times best-seller list after a three-year run, chronicles Max's alcohol-fueled true adventures. The film will follow his trip to a friend's bachelor party, where he ensnares the groom in a lie that threatens the wedding, then abandons him to pursue further carnal knowledge. After being banned from the nuptials, Max attempts to get back into his friend's good graces.
Pinkslip Pictures' Max Wong (Bring It On) and Karen Firestone will produce with the Collective's Aaron Ray (Big Momma's House), Max and co-screenwriter Nils Parker.
The privately financed feature begins shooting June 2 in Louisiana.
I've never heard of the book, but I can appreciate the destructive and entertaining effects of alcohol, coming from a small town where booze flows like water. I don't usually enjoy ridiculous comedies, but this sounds like it could be pretty good. I look forward to seeing what they can put together.
Ridley Scott Takes to The Kind One
Ridley Scott will direct and produce period noir drama The Kind One for Warner Bros. Pictures, reports Variety.
Casey Affleck is attached to star in the film, which is based on a novel by Tom Epperson, who will write the screenplay.
The story, set in 1930s Los Angeles, centers on an amnesiac who finds himself working for a mobster -- a killer given the nickname "the Kind One" -- and falling in love with the thug's girlfriend.
Scott and Jules Daly are producing for Scott Free; Ideaology's Sean Bailey (Gone Baby Gone) is also producing.
Ridley Scott is a great director and Casey Affleck has been building himself a lot of respect lately, so this is all set to be a big one. Being labeled a period noir drama means it will be cool and classy, too. As for the story, it's a little weird, with the amnesiac angle, but I think it'll prove to be a very interesting dynamic. Hopefully this goes as well as it should.
Meagan Good Will Be Sawed
Meagan Good has been cast in a supporting role in Saw V. She'll play Luba, a city planner who comes from a very wealthy family.
Opening in theaters on October 24, the David Hackl-directed sequel also stars Tobin Bell, Julie Benz, Scott Patterson, Costas Mandylor and Mark Rolston.
Good's credits include You Got Served, Waist Deep, Stomp the Yard, One Missed Call, and upcoming The Love Guru and Unborn.
Oh, that was just a horrible title for this bit, I'm sorry, but I've got to do something creative with Saw, because we will be hearing about them from now to the end of eternity (that may be a slight overstatement). I assume her role will not be too hard to guess within the movie, since as far as I can figure out, you're either a bad guy or you're going to die. We can still hold out for them shaking it up and turning it around, but who am I kidding?
Rapid-Fire: All the King's Men (2006, starring Sean Penn, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins)
In commemoration of finishing English 111 Friday, this week on Rapid-Fire I'll be covering the movie of one of the novels we read over the year. That movie would be:
The main problem here is the adaptation from book to movie. For those who have read it, they never quite hit the mark on anything, from the physical appearances of the characters to the plot to the underlying messages, and for those who haven't, I think the movie would be a bit difficult to get a hold of. Granted, as I have read the novel, I can't be certain what someone who hasn't read it would think, but I could see where they'd lose a person.
The acting isn't all that great. Sean Penn isn't the right fit for Willie Stark – he's too animated, for the most part, and just doesn't convey the power of Willie Stark. Jude Law is pretty good, and I can't complain about his acting, really. Maybe this is just because of the past roles I've seen him in, but Anthony Hopkins is too sinister to play the supposedly perfect, completely innocent Judge Irwin. Everyone else is fairly unremarkable, I think.
I understand that a story has to be cut to make the transition from 700-page novel to two hour movie, but it just doesn't feel like they did the best they could. They cut out a few important parts and left in some trivial ones that, out of the book, really make no difference. The weight of the movie is carried admirably by Sean Penn in his incredibly repetitive speeches, which just seem to be played over every scene, but it's just not right for the movie. The characters often seem to be misdirected, and the ending is cut short, although this does make the movie more of a Willie Stark movie than a Jack Burden movie (I always saw the book as the story of Jack Burden, not Willie Stark).
If you want a good story, do yourself a favour and read the book. I've got a bit of a bias, having read the book, but I honestly think you'd be better off to steer clear of this one, or read the book.
Closing Time . . .
Two exams left, one Monday, one Thursday. I'm not happy they spread them out so much, but that's the way it goes. I suppose it gives me time to study (ha!). I will be so glad to be done Sociology, though. No offense to any Sociologists or lovers of Sociology, but that was the most nonsense, BS course I took all year. Well, that's all for me this week. The next time you hear from me, I will be finished my first year of university. Until then . . .
I've got Tucker Max's book, and I've read some of his website... it's hilarious stuff, but I don't see how they're going to make a movie out of it.
Actually, I just don't have faith in hollywood making a good movie out of it.
Posted By: G-Walla (Guest) on April 20, 2008 at 01:28 PM
That Tucker Max book is a total piece of crap. It's literally just 150 pages of some douchebag frat boy jawing about how much he can drink and how many coeds he can nail and how bad ass everyone around him thinks he is for it. The movie should be a real abortion appealing to the jock and date rape crowd.
Posted By: Jeff L (Registered) on April 20, 2008 at 07:00 PM
