Two recent Frank Miller adaptations have made a ton of profit lately... maybe you've heard of them? (Hint: Sin City and 300). You may not be surprised that, according to Variety, Warner Brothers had picked up Miller's Ronin to turn into a live action movie.
The original Ronin comic followed the adventures of a misbegotten samurai that accidently allowed the assassination of his old master to take place. There will also be a shape-shifting monster thrown in the mix. The film will follow the dead master's sword into 21st century New York, where the ronin and the demon will battle it out above skyscrapers.
Director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) will shoot the film in a similar fashion as to the way 300 was shot. The budget will be only $65 million, but White's pretty lucky - the director hasn't done anything close to something of this magnitude. Archive for May, 2007
Frank Miller’s Ronin coming to theaters
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007Two recent Frank Miller adaptations have made a ton of profit lately... maybe you've heard of them? (Hint: Sin City and 300). You may not be surprised that, according to Variety, Warner Brothers had picked up Miller's Ronin to turn into a live action movie.
The original Ronin comic followed the adventures of a misbegotten samurai that accidently allowed the assassination of his old master to take place. There will also be a shape-shifting monster thrown in the mix. The film will follow the dead master's sword into 21st century New York, where the ronin and the demon will battle it out above skyscrapers.
Director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) will shoot the film in a similar fashion as to the way 300 was shot. The budget will be only $65 million, but White's pretty lucky - the director hasn't done anything close to something of this magnitude. The Condemned (2007)
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
Wrestling should stay inside the ring. Only a few months after WWE Films gave pro wrestlers Kane and John Cena a chance at showing off their fighting skills in See No Evil and The Marine, it’s now Steve Austin’s turn to deliver his best holds and throws on the big screen.
In The Condemned, Austin plays one of ten death row inmates who get a shot at freedom if they participate in a deadly game on an isolated island. The rules are fairly simple: the contestants are wired with explosives and must battle each other to death; last man standing wins. (more…)
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Vacancy (2007)
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
Be sure to double-check the amenities before checking into Vacancy, because what may sound like your average gory thriller in which ruthless psychopaths butcher helpless victims is in fact quite a different experience.
The movie first introduces us to David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox (Kate Beckinsale), a married couple who checks into an isolated motel after their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Once settled in, they soon find themselves terrorized by killers trying to shoot their next snuff film. (more…)
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- chokingonpopcorn
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DiCaprio and Mann Team Up For Hollywood Noir
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Casting, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, MGM, Celebrities and Controversy
Even though I hated his Miami Vice movie, I still consider myself a fan of Michael Mann's work, and I continue to look forward to whatever he delivers next. And it looks like his next will be something to really, really look forward to. Variety reports that Mann will direct a film noir about a Hollywood murder investigation and that Leonardo DiCaprio is expected to play the detective. The project, which was packaged by CAA, is currently being shopped around to the studios with a script written by John Logan. The film will take place in the 1930s on the MGM lot and will apparently feature cameos from people like Judy Garland and Bugsy Siegel (people playing them, anyway). The plot will likely follow the detective as he is hired by the studio to clean up a scandal involving a starlet who may or may not have murdered her husband. The only other part of the script that has been revealed is that there will be a major shootout that takes place in the Trocadero nightclub on Sunset Boulevard. Despite the fact that no studio is yet confirmed (New Line has been revealed to have bid, but too low), the film will start shooting in February.
There can never be too many period noirs set in Hollywood, which had a lot of interesting scandals during the golden era, but after the failure of The Black Dahlia some studios may be hesitant to think there's a chance for another L.A. Confidential. Still, with Mann, DiCaprio and Logan teamed up -- they all worked together on The Aviator, which Mann produced -- it will be difficult to lose with this film.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Will Ferrell meets his landlady
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007I know, I know, half the world has already seen this, the latest viral-video hit. For the other half, here you go: Will Ferrell meets his landlady, from the reasonably amusing FunnyOrDie site.
Oh, don't feel bad for her, it's his daughter. This is just the beginning.
Get your Ken Burns on
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
The man with the Moe haircut and a knack for epic documentaries will be at the Coolidge tonight, showing selections from "The War," his new 14-hour film on World War II as experienced by four U.S. towns. Tickets are first come, first served and go on sale at 5 p.m. Grizzled WGBH supporters have had their tents set up outside the box office all week.
2007 IFFB Awards
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
The just-ended Independent Film Festival of Boston has announced their 2007 award winners:
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The Grand Jury Prizes went to Julia Loktev's "Day Night Day Night" (Narrative Feature) -- probably the best-regarded film in the entire festival -- Seth Gordon's "The King of Kong" (Documentary Feature), and Moon Molson's "Pop Foul" (Short Film).
Special Jury Prizes (i.e., second place) went to Reg Harkema's "Monkey Warfare" (Narrative Feature), David Redmon and Ashley Sabin's "Kamp Katrina" (Documentary Feature), and John Thompson's "Songbird" (Short Film).
If the jury prizes tend to reward filmmaking rigor, the audience awards generally favor pleasing experiences. This year's Audience Awards went to David Kaplan's "Year of the Fish" (Narrative Feature), Logan Smalley's "Darius Goes West" (Documentary Feature), and Cynthia Wade's "Freeheld" (Short Film).
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Special prizes: The Apple Programmer's Choice Award (presumably selected by the festival programmers) went to Steve Collins' "Gretchen." The Dewars Collective Choice Award (voted on by scotch drinkers everywhere?) went to "Year of the Fish." The Best Marketing award was given to Naomi Greenfield and Sara Taksler's "Twisted: A Balloonamentary".
See you next year, everybody.
‘Babel’ Making People Sick
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007Filed under: Drama, Celebrities and Controversy, Exhibition
If someone told you that people were getting sick while at a film, what would you imagine would cause it? Me, I immediately think about gore, especially in the wake of all those realistic, cringe-worthy sorts of scenes we get these days. But no, it's nothing that disturbing. Since Babel has been released in Japan on April 28, at least 15 people have complained that the film has made them ill. These complaints have inspired Gaga Communications to release national news ads warning of the film's propensity to make viewers ill. It was not the subject matter that made them queasy, but the lights.In one scene, Rinko Kikuchi, whose performance in the film garnered her an Oscar nomination, visits a nightclub. For about one minute, strobe lights flash on the screen -- this is what is making some Japanese viewers queasy. Part of the warning describes: "This feature presentation includes some highly stimulating effects and some customers have complained of feeling ill." Talk about vague. Really, this is no different than what happens at amusement parks. Any ride that has strobe and beating light effects gets that little warning beforehand describing as much. Wouldn't it just be easier to have a strobe warning for any films that have those lights in them? "Highly stimulating effects" can mean anything, and doesn't really describe the why. Heck, I would consider the words more descriptive of a hot sex scene than some flashy strobes. If any of you have read the warning in its entirety, I'd love to know if they ever get specific, or just continue to be vague.
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First Photo from Aussie Noir ‘The Tender Hook’ Released
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007Filed under: Drama, Romance, Noir, Movie Marketing, Images
Well, even though the last "Australian" to attempt a boxing film wasn't exactly a raging success, you can't blame someone else for wanting to take a swing -- and yes, that pun was intended, I couldn't help myself. The Australian newspaper The Age posted a photograph from the Australian noir The Tender Hook. Written and directed by Jonathan Ogilvie, the film stars Rose Byrne, Matt Le Nevez (who made a name for himself as a serial killer in the Australian made-for-TV film The Society Murders) and Hugo Weaving. The story is less a sports tale and more of a "noir-ish" take on a love triangle between a young boxer, an aristocratic Englishman and Byrne's romantic opportunist. The film takes place in 1920s Redfern, Australia, and was expected to shoot on location. However, some local controversy sprung up when the production moved to Melbourne for the sake of some "incentives" to the filmmakers.The photo is the first look at Le Nevez as the soulful boxer, with plenty of sepia tones to remind you that this is a period piece. Production started in February and Ogilvie is still filming, so a release date might still be a way off. Ogilvie has claimed that he has been trying to make this film for over ten years now, so I'm pretty sure that he's going to take his time to make sure he does it right.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Rush Hour 3 – Trailer 1
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 | Rush Hour 3 - Trailer 1 Chris Tucker returns to the big screen after a six-year absence as he reunites with the all-star team of co-star Jackie Chan, director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, X-Men: The Last Stand, Hannibal), and writer Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2, Catch Me If You Can) to deliver the third installment of the blockbuster Rush Hour franchise. Arriving in theaters on August 10, 2007, Rush Hour 3 sees the beloved action comedy duo of Tucker and Chan reprising their roles as LAPD Detective James Carter and Chinese Chief Inspector Lee respectively. This time around, the two must travel to Paris to battle a wing of the Chinese organized crime family, the Triads. Directed by: Brett Ratner Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Youki Kudoh, Max Von Sydow |
