Empire has been given an exclusive new photo from the highly anticipated remake of The Wolf Man. Click the photo to the right to see the whole thing, and then feel free to begin eagerly anticipating April even more than you already are. (Woohoo, April!) The pic respresents the first official non-lupine look at Benicio del Toro as Lawrence Talbot. And, costume nerd that I am, I'm in love with his Gothic cloak. This movie promises to make me drunk on Victorian drapery.
It also provides the first look at Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins, both of whom are nearly unrecognizable. Blunt is so stripped of make-up that she looks straight out of a tintype. She plays Gwen Conliffe, the fiancee of Talbot's recently deceased brother, whom the werewolf-to-be begins developing an affection for her. Hopefully, it's for her personality, and not as a late night snack. Wait, that didn't sound right.
Hopkins, of course, plays the senior Talbot, who is estranged from Lawrence long before he turns lycanthropic. If Empire and IMDB didn't tell me otherwise, I would argue that it was Richard Briers in the photo and not Sir Anthony. Really, everyone but del Toro is unrecognizable in this photo, so kudos to the make-up and hair department.
The Wolf Man is set to be released April 3rd, 2009. I still wish they would release this in the fall, but perhaps a copious amount of bloodshed is just what springtime needs.
I stumbled out of Hellboy II: The Golden Army feeling as if my imagination had eaten too much. In terms of sheer spectacle and visual invention, Hellboy II is an absolute knockout, frames stuffed with bizarre creatures and mystic runes and arcane weaponry and wondrous design. And yet, Hellboy II has more than a little heart to it; it's scrappy and self-aware, and never out of touch with what it is. Adapting Mike Mignola's post-superhero retro-styled comic series Hellboy for the second time, writer-director Guillermo del Toro corrects some of the mistakes of the first Hellboy, makes a few mistakes of its own, picks itself up, keeps going. And, on the way, knocks the back of your eyeballs for a loop. As our British friends say, Hellboy II: The Golden Army does what it says on the tin: It is a sequel about a character named Hellboy (Ron Perlman), and yes, an army of golden warrior-robots is involved, the mystical weapon of mass destruction that the elf-prince Nuada (Luke Goss) hopes to seize control of so as to wage war against humanity ... I know I'm getting ahead of myself. Then again, so does Hellboy II, right from the jump, and it doesn't slow down.
This week, I don't want to talk about anything new. I don't want to discuss the good news about studios and European exhibitors finally agreeing on a virtual print fee. I don't want to comment on Nielsen's research showing the strong consumer appetite for 3-D films (I'll be talking enough about 3-D next week in anticipation of Journey to the Center of the Earth). I don't want to even get people's hopes up about Microsoft's supposed "manners device" that silences cell phones instead of blocking them (signal blocking was recently found to be illegal in the U.S.). I really don't want to comment on Mark Gill's "The Sky is Falling" speech from the L.A. Film Festival loosely concerning the state of art house cinema (the speech is more related to film making and financing, plus I already played Chicken Littlelast week).
Disney has Pixar. Fox has Blue Sky. Paramount has, for now, Dreamworks. As seemingly the last studio to get into animated features, Universal has offered up the trailer for their maiden effort, The Tale of Despereaux, over at Yahoo! Movies.
Based upon the 2003 Newbury Award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo, the film follows the adventurous antics of Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick), a mouse with large ears and - I'm just guessing here - an even bigger heart, as he bucks the status quo of cowardice that seems to have imprisoned his kind to a fearsome existence.
Besides being an animated tale of a brave rodent with a tongue-tricky title and thus fated to merit comparison to those which have recently set lofty standards for similar fare, this project genuinely looks and sounds pleasant enough for all its yay-for-being-yourself familiarity. Besides, there's only more hope to be had when we're looking at a voice cast that includes the likes of Broderick, Kevin Kline, Dustin Hoffman, Sigourney Weaver, Stanley Tucci, William H. Macy, and Tony Hale, not to mention a Harry Potterveteran or two.
With its eye on the year-end holiday season, The Tale of Despereaux is scheduled to hit theaters on December 19th.
If Timur Bekmambetov is the Russian David Fincher, then Wanted is his Fight Club: bloody, brutal, funny, lightly satirical, and all about a nobody who shakes himself from his reverie and becomes a real man. There aren't many deep themes here (not as many as there are supposed to be, anyway), but who cares? The stylized violence and unapologetically ludicrous action sequences are the selling point, and Wanted delivers those by the blood-soaked truckload.
Wanted is about a Chicago office drone named Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) whose life is so insubstantial that he gets zero hits when he Googles himself. But like Neo before him (only played by an actual actor, rather than a plank of driftwood), Wesley is rescued from his drudgery by a secret organization that wants to tell him who he really is and what his destiny can be. That's right, the Mormons.
No, kidding. The group is known as The Fraternity (but they let girls in, too), and it began a thousand years ago when a group of weavers decided that weaving was boring and they should become assassins. Today the group is run by Sloan (Morgan Freeman), with headquarters hidden in an actual textile factory. Every guy in the place is tough and mean, a real brute of the loom, if you will, and they show Wesley the ropes of shooting people from a distance. That's right: Wesley snipes. (That concludes the pun portion of this review.)
After the record-breaking success of Night Watch and Day Watch (and an early film for B-movie maven Roger Corman, Arena), Khazakstan-born, Russia-based director Timur Bekmambetov makes his English-language big-studio debut with Wanted, a bruising, brawny action film starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie. Bekmambetov spoke with Cinematical in Los Angeles about making the jump to big-money moviemaking, the hidden world of secrets behind Wanted's look, the action-film apprenticeship of James McAvoy, working with Angelina Jolie and how " .... we (film makers) are all vampires. ..."
Cinematical's podcast content is now available through iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematicalby clicking below:
As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.
In Wanted, rapper-actor Common plays The Gunsmith-- a cool, deadly expert marksman who mostly lets his bullets do the talking. But meeting with Cinematical in Los Angeles, the veteran of films like Smokin' Acesand Street Kings is warm and obviously enthusiastic about his experiences, talking about everything from his preparation process for playing what he calls "a Samurai warrior" in Wanted to the challenges facing African-American actors -- plus what's good to drink in Prague and how holding a real gun to James McAvoy's head can get you in the moment for your scenes.
Cinematical's podcast content is now available through iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:
As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.
Two things I enjoyed about Definitely, Maybe, which came out on DVD today: the cheesy jokes about New York City in the early '90s and the fact that it is a chick flick for guys. What I mean by the latter is that the movie seems targeted to females yet it caters more to the male viewer. It's basically a male fantasy: Ryan Reynolds tells the story of how he dated three beautiful women (played by Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz and Elizabeth Banks), one of whom he married and later divorced -- meaning he's now single again. And he also got a cute, precocious daughter (Abigail Breslin) out of the deal who becomes beneficial to him in his return to bachelorhood.
But then is it really a chick flick? I guess it is if you count romantic comedies in that grouping, though the genre has never necessarily been aligned with the term, nor vice versa. And in the age of Judd Apatow, it's more likely that any new romantic comedy is actually a guy movie. Do many men realize it's a movie for them, though? Probably not. Though chick flicks are typically movies primarily populated by women characters and/or a female protagonist (think Steel Magnolias), romance films not made by either Apatow or the Farrelly brothers may be thought of as being for the ladies, even if they feature a male lead, like Reynolds in Definitely, Maybe.
I'll admit I've always been confused about chick flicks as a term. I apparently enjoy many so-called chick flicks, including even (especially) Beaches. So, I may not be using the term correctly in this list. However, I am a guy and I know what guys want. So, I'm going to do this my way, and answer the following question: What other films may have been initially perceived by males as being made for chicks but which turned out to be more for them (us)?
Well, if you have a soft spot for the Fast and Furious franchise, then I'm sure the above picture will make you feel warm and fuzzy all over -- or, at the very least, just a little nostalgic. Sure we got to see some photos of cars, but blurry shots of a few cars was hardly the scoop of the century. At least now we're getting the first official stills (courtesy of USA Today) from the fourth installment of the racing franchise. So for anyone who might have missed those earlier shots, here is your chance to see Toretto (Vin Diesel) and O'Connor (Paul Walker) together again. Furious also brings together writer/director Justin Lin (who directed the third installment of the series) with series vets Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez (reprising their original roles).
For the latest film in the series, Diesel's underground racer and Walker's undercover cop will reunite to take down a common enemy. There was some early speculation -- possible spoiler warning -- surrounding the return (and reported demise) of Rodriguez's character, Letty, and there were even some photos floating around that would support the theory. Either way, I'm not one of those people who feed off spoilers, so I'm going to let that particular plot point stay a mystery for now. But since I'm not the type to judge, you can take a look here -- but don't say I didn't warn you.
The flashy advertisements, the curving of bullets and Angelina Jolie make it pretty difficult to remember that Wanted was originally based on a series of graphic novels by Mark Millar. From early reports (including a review from Cinematical), the adaptation is a loose one, so you might be surprised to hear that Millar actually felt it was an improvement on his work.
He posted his enthusiastic response on his official message board. (If you choose to click, be warned, the place abounds with spoilers.) "Even the biggest change -- the loom stuff in the middle Timur wrote -- works really well. I think the fate thing really made the character more empathetic as the 'killing for fun' stuff would have made him a little hateful. They kept all the best bits and junked my over-indulgences. So I feel very happy as it was a kind of perfected version that made it to the screen. Could not be happier."
Millar also added that he's been approached by Universal about concocting a sequel. "They've asked me how I can develop some of the other stuff from the book into the sequel. We'll see what box office is like at the weekend, but everyone knows this is going to make a LOT of dough. Wall·E permitting." (He actually has a few choice words for the hapless robot, who really shouldn't be held accountable for his release date.)
The Nottingham rumors are flying as thick as, well, the trees of Sherwood Forest. Both CHUD and Ain't It Cool News, who apparently share the same source, are adamant that Christian Bale will not be playing Robin Hood in Ridley Scott's reinterpretation of the classic tale. So, as exciting as the idea of seeing Bale and Russell Crowe square off again is, it will have to wait for another film. Oddly, I find the news a relief. I like Bale immensely, but there are only so many icons a man should play in his career!
But, there's a new name being tossed about. Latino Review reports that Sam Riley, who played the troubled Ian Curtis in Control, is rumored to be in the running. Not only that, but Russell Crowe is said to be championing his casting. Whatever, and whoever, Crowe wants, he usually gets. So, if you look to your right, you may be looking at the latest incarnation of Robin Hood.
Riley is certainly closer to Sienna Miller's age, thus making the love triangle between Maid Marian, Robin and Nottingham a bit more complex. (And palatable to all of us leery of the age gap between Miller and Crowe.) He is certainly a fresh choice, and the role would lend itself to a talented newcomer. We shall soon see! Meanwhile, sound off below -- is Riley a good fit for the man in green? Or are you off the project for good now that Bale is out of the running?
Perhaps sensing that the dough was going to rise (ha!) on this puppy, Papa John's Pizza is sponsoring the new trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor over on director Rob Cohen's blog, in preparation for the three-quel's forthcoming premiere on big screens and large pizza boxes everywhere come August 1.
Anyway, what's the difference between this new trailer and the one we got just a month back? Not all that much, really, which means that the film still looks to be an improvement over its noxiously overblown predecessor. Yes, after seven years, Brendan Fraser's character remains vocal about his wearying habit of fighting mummies. No, you're not crazy, Rachel Weisz isn't just bearing a passing resemblance to Maria Bello. Sure, their son seems to have aged ahead just enough to be both handsome and cocky in equal measure.
But all qualms aside, it isn't often when one gets to say that a movie looks to have a cooler Yeti than it does a three-headed dragon, so check out Cohen's blog for that trailer and other behind-the-scenes material, and here's to hoping that the film itself manages to be the most entertaining action-adventure blockbuster surrogate for the Indiana Jones franchise since... well, last month.
When Wanted was announced as the opening night film for the Los Angeles Film Festival, there was a mild outbreak of head-scratching over the choice; why start a film festival loaded with independent and foreign film with a big-studio action movie? The fact is that the opening-night LAFF premiere of Wanted-- directed by a Kazakh director who made his name in Russia, loosely based on a series of comics by a Glasgwegian Scot, starring America's most notable movie starlet opposite a Glasgow-born lead actor and shot with Prague standing in for Chicago -- doesn't say much about the LAFF as a film festival and doesn't say a single thing about L.A. as a real city, but it says plenty about L.A. as a company town with a global span. Wanted's a corporate product, but, thankfully, it's an excellent one -- the two-fisted, double-barreled high-octane guilty pleasure summer action movie you've been waiting for. Wanted is speedy and spiffy and shiny as a bullet, and it's got about as much actual weight when it stops moving.
Now that most of us have digested our showings of The Incredible Hulk(sans me, because now I can't find anyone to go with), I thought you might like a look at some concept art produced by the talented Aaron Sims. (It is also a rather timely piece, as Sims was one of Stan Winston's proteges, and co-founder of his studio.) Normally, I only give such things a cursory "Oh, cool" glance, but I find these quite fascinating, because one of my biggest complaints about any Hulk movie is how they render him. He just never looks real, which surprises me in a post Gollum and Davy Jones world. I know they have the technology to make him look, well, incredible. But no one ever seems to utilize it. Now, I still haven't seen the film, so you all will have to tell me if he looks better than in the clips and TV spots I have seen.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oni Press just inked another deal with Universal. This time, it is for The Last Call, a two volume series by Vasilis Lolos. The adaptation will be penned by Evan Spiliotopoulos.
The story is a horror-adventure about two young teens who are out for a joyride in a stolen car, when they are struck by a "ghost train." The train is responsible for ferrying departed souls from one dimension to another, and the boys find themselves in a bit of trouble when they are caught riding without a ticket. In trying to escape, they find themselves embroiled in a mystery that, if solved, may allow them to return to the living.
Empire has been given an exclusive new photo from the highly anticipated remake of The Wolf Man. Click the photo to the right to see the whole thing, and then feel free to begin eagerly anticipating April even more than you already are. (Woohoo, April!) The pic respresents the first official non-lupine look at Benicio del Toro as Lawrence Talbot. And, costume nerd that I am, I'm in love with his Gothic cloak. This movie promises to make me drunk on Victorian drapery..jpg)
Disney has Pixar. Fox has Blue Sky. Paramount has, for now, Dreamworks. As seemingly the last studio to get into animated features, Universal has offered up 
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