Posts with tag AdrienBrody
Posted Jul 1st 2008 1:34PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Horror, Images
While the text accompanying the images might be in Italian (any readers want to lend a hand and translate?), the pictures that
Dario Argento threw up for his new film
Giallo speak for themselves. You can see one above, plus lots more on
Argento's site of
Adrien Brody (who plays Inspector Enza Avolfi) -- both doing his thing and chatting with Argento, plus a little bit of blood and death, and a few shots of
Emmanuelle Seigner (
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), who plays Linda. The pair team up in the film to find her sister, who has been grabbed by a serial killer named Yellow.
While this is sure to be eerie, the whole back story to this flick amuses me. Vincent Gallo signed on
in January to play the killer to Ray Liotta's Inspector. Then Gallo
backed out because he didn't want to work with Dario's daughter, Asia. But now Ray and Asia are out, Adrien and Emmanuelle are in, and good ol' Vinnie should've waited it out (Yellow is now being played by newcomer Byron Deidra).
Giallo is due out next year.
Posted Apr 7th 2008 1:02PM by Eugene Novikov
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Fandom, Images
There is a very short list of filmmakers who are so perfectly in tune with my sensibilities, so completely on my wavelength, that each of their projects threatens to collapse my critical faculties and reduce me to a drooling, adoring mess. One such person is little-known Canadian director
Vincenzo Natali, whose enigmatic sci-fi mind-blowers
Cube and
Cypher were about as far up my alley as you could go before it starts to hurt. (I haven't seen
Nothing yet, but I will soon.) So I've been hungrily devouring every morsel of information about his upcoming
Splice, which is about a pair of scientists (
Adrien Brody and
Sarah Polley) who discover a way to create new kinds of creatures in the lab by splicing DNA, and then go and introduce human genes into the experiment. My squeamishness about genetic horrors (no joke: I consider Cronenberg's
The Fly to be the scariest movie I've ever seen) and my affinity for Natali's approach makes me think this one could really do a number on me.
Continue reading A Few Tidbits About Vincenzo Natali's 'Splice'
Posted Mar 26th 2008 7:32PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Casting, Sony
Girlfriends and wives usually get the short shrift in music biopics. In most cases, they end up as background (with maybe the exception being
Walk the Line). Hopefully, this will not be the case for
Gabrielle Union's latest role. BlackFilm
reports that Union has signed to star in Darnell Martin's music biopic
Cadillac Records as Geneva Wade. Wade was blues legend Muddy Waters' long-time girlfriend and was the inspiration for the classic song,
Little Geneva.
Cadillac is the story of Chess Records, founded by Leonard Chess. The famed label was responsible for launching the careers of some of the greatest names in R&B. Casting has been the order of the day since news first hit that
Adrien Brody would be playing Chess. Since then, it's been a flood of news, with the
debate over Beyonce being cast as jazz legend Etta James at the top of the list. It should probably not come as a shock that other casting news has garnered fewer headlines. So just to bring you up to speed:
Jeffrey Wright signed to play the great Muddy Waters,
Cedric the Entertainer will appear as Willie Dixon,
Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf, and
Columbus Short as Little Walter. There is also my favorite piece of casting -- Mos Def as Chuck Berry. Because, frankly, Def is just 'eccentric' enough to pull it off.
Continue reading Gabrielle Union Joins 'Cadillac Records'
Posted Mar 10th 2008 2:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Images
Due to my appreciation of Adrien Brody and Jeffrey Wright, I've really been trying to get behind
the idea of Beyonce Knowles as Etta James, so that I can fully appreciate everything
Cadillac Records can offer. So far, it's not happening, and with the first look at Beyonce's Etta, courtesy of
Just Jared, I'm really not convinced. You can check out the full picture, plus a peek at a blue-suited Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess over at the site, and above I have given you a side-by-side comparison.
Putting a blonde wig on
Beyonce doesn't make her Etta. It makes her look like she's getting ready for Halloween. They just don't look alike. They look different. They have different body types. And they certainly don't sound alike. It just looks like a caricature, which is really a shame, considering the solid cast along for the ride. And heck, as JJ pointed out,
Etta doesn't think so either, although she's remaining positive: "It's a privilege and an honor to have somebody like that girl. I don't think she looks like me, but that's all right. They can fix that up."
Etta is going to work with Beyonce on both the acting and singing, so hopefully the pointers can make this all come together.
Posted Feb 25th 2008 8:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, New Releases, DVD Reviews, New on DVD, Home Entertainment
Some have said that
The Darjeeling Limited is a movie for Wes Anderson's fans. While that description is fairly accurate, it also suggests that this is some sort of
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back project -- a self-indulgent film only for those filled with Anderson adoration. While it does tap into the magic that brings fans to the filmmaker -- the rich colors, quirky characters, and strange introspection -- it is also a study of grief, and a film that perfectly embodies the importance of charisma and chemistry.
As Erik Davis wrote in his
NYFF review, it's hard to see Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson as brothers, but from the minute they come together on screen, each mannerism and look makes them seem immediately comfortable with each other, as if they are actually related and intimately familiar. It doesn't matter that they all look incredibly different. Brody slips into Anderson's world fluidly, and the three leads play off each other, making the quirk not only palpable, but subtly genuine.
Continue reading DVD Review: The Darjeeling Limited
Posted Jan 22nd 2008 11:32AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Casting
Goodbye, Matt Dillon! Hellloooo
Adrien Brody! I don't know what happened
since October, when Matt Dillon was in final negotiations to star, but
Cadillac Records has found itself a new leading man.
Variety reports that
The Pianist, Adrien Brody, has signed on to star along with
Jeffrey Wright, the insanely wonderful actor from
Basquiat, in the upcoming film. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind Matt Dillon, but this project just went from good to great in my books. Brody would've been enough, but with Wright? No one could keep me away.
Adrien has taken on the role of Leonard Chess, and Wright will be
Muddy Waters in the feature, which starts filming in March. They will be joined by
Columbus Short (
Stomp the Yard),
Emmanuelle Chriqui (
Entourage),
Cedric the Entertainer (
Code Name: The Cleaner), and
Tammy Blanchard (
Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows). I'm neither here nor there on the supporting cast, but I'm sort of hoping
Joe Morton pops up in a role. Should he, I think I will pass out from movie fan heaven. But anyway...
Coming from writer/director
Darnell Martin,
Cadillac Records dips into the Chicago music scene of the 1950s -- "charting the colorful lives of American musical legends like Waters, Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, and Elvis Presley." There's no word on who will play the rest of the greats yet, but we should find out soon, before production begins in New Jersey and Mississippi this spring.
Posted Oct 4th 2007 4:01PM by Kevin Polowy
Filed under: Contests, Insert Caption, Hold the 'Fone, Images
It's been eight months since we started awarding prizes to our
weekly Insert Caption contest winners, and we've given away everything from DVD box sets to a guitar to underwear to an HD DVD player. But this week we're presenting our most excellent prize to date:
a trip for two to the beautiful country of India, courtesy of our friends at
Jet Airways and
Fox Searchlight.
That's right, the writer of our favorite caption for the photo below from Wes Anderson's new comedy The Darjeeling Limited will win their own five-day, four-night Indian adventure (airfare and four-star hotel included) for themselves and their favorite friend or family member (or Cinematical blogger/Moviefone employee). The best part? You will not be asked to train a single employee or customer service rep while there. So scroll on down the page, check out last week's winners of our Knocked Up contest (they win DVDs, a dartboard and more), then click on the "comments" link and give us your sharpest, wittiest, funniest, awesomeist caption possible. And for those first-time players, bookmark this link here and come back and play every weekend. Our Darjeeling winner will be announced next Friday, October 12 at 4 PM EST.
Good luck!
UPDATE: WINNER ANNOUNCED! Click Here
Winners from last week's Knocked Up contest:
1. "Ummm... No, I didn't know it was Bastille Day. " -- Michael L.
2. "Just when I think you can't get *any* dumber, you go and do something like this... and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!" -- Peter S.
3. "Exactly how much pot have you smoked today?" -- Curt T.
See full image and read all captions
Continue reading The Darjeeling Limited: Insert Caption
Posted Oct 4th 2007 1:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Casting, Scripts
Whenever the talk of genetics and ethics comes up, there's lots of chatter around what is allowed, and what isn't. But come on, no matter what the rules are, if a scientist is splicing stuff together, and feels a high at the thought of creating new animal life forms, or other scientific breakthroughs, how can they resist that little human touch? If not the everyday scientist, then maybe some evil, cackling one who fits all the stereotypes and has some sort of evil superfunding. Whatever the case, it's like a dentist living above a candy shop and telling his kids that they most certainly cannot go there for candy. The temptation is too great, no matter what the ramifications are.
This is the environment that
Adrien Brody and
Sarah Polley are jumping into.
The Hollywood Reporter has posted that the pair will star in a new science fiction thriller called
Splice, which is being directed by
Cube helmer
Vincenzo Natali (and
Guillermo del Toro is one of the film's producers). The movie centers on "the world of genetic engineering in which two young scientists (Polley and Brody) become superstars by splicing different animal DNA to create fantastical new creatures. They ignore the legal and ethical boundaries and introduce human DNA into their experiment." The script was written by Natali, along with
Antoinette Terry Bryant and
Doug Taylor, and will find life in front of the camera in Toronto this November. It's a cool idea, and I'd go see almost anything that pairs Brody and Polley, but we have to wait until at least 2009 to see what they'll make of it.
Posted Feb 6th 2007 11:02AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Casting, The Weinstein Co.
In 2005 Rian Johnson wowed us all with Brick, a teenage detective story drenched in noir-speak. Since then, we've been anxious to see more from the writer/director. In August of last year, we got snippets of what he was up to when news was released about his follow-up, The Brothers Bloom. A few months later, Rachel Weisz signed on, and then....nothing. It seems that perhaps he's been waiting for just the right people. Oscar-winner Adrien Brody has signed on to play the younger of the Bloom brothers, a veteran team of con-men, and Rinko Kikuchi has signed on as their "sexy and secretive accomplice." As the story goes, Brody's character wants to quit the business, and the brothers take on one last job -- conning Weisz's mysterious millionaire, who turns the tables on them.
Considering the calibre of actors Johnson is getting to surround the Bloom brothers, I can only imagine what sort of talent he plans to get for the other brother. The Hollywood Reporter previously reported that the leads would be "thirty-something," but Brody is in his mid-30s and he's playing the "younger" brother, so maybe the elder Bloom could be.....Kevin Spacey? Philip Seymour Hoffman? Who would you cast as a modern-day con-man that embodies the style of the early 20th century? Johnson needs to start speeding things up if he wants to send this film to Cannes in 2008, like his producer, Ram Bergman, plans.
Posted Apr 28th 2006 12:07PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Comedy, Independent, Romance, Casting, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
Lindsay Lohan's grand plan to become the queen of the indies took another step
towards fulfillment recently when she signed on to star in
Speechless, an independent romantic comedy that will be her
seventh film in a row made outside of the major studios. (
Freaky
Friday was apparently longer ago than we think. Which is sad, because it was cute, and she was adorable in it.
How things change.)
In
Speechless, which is about the zillionth Cyrano de Bergerac variation to be
made into a movie, Lohan will star opposite Halle Berry-attacker
Adrien Brody. Brody will play a shy man who, in order to find the nerve to
speak at his friends wedding, "turns to a service that allows someone [else] -- played by Lohan -- to speak
through him." Wait, what does that mean? Though
Variety doesn't elaborate, and
The Guided Man --
the sci-fi short story on which the movie is based (aside from Cyrano, I mean) -- is from the 1950s and seems to be out
print, other summaries of the film mention "new technology," so it appears as if it's set at least a little
bit into the future.
Brian Dannelly will direct, and the
film is expected to start shooting later this year for a 2007 release.
Posted Apr 4th 2006 10:08PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Comedy, Horror, Independent, Romance, Thrillers, Casting, RumorMonger, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
Tuesdays bits and pieces:
- Because
Dude,
Where's My Car? was just that good, director Danny
Leiner and star Seann William Scott are reteaming for Tennis Coach, an indie flick
about "an overzealous high school janitor...who takes on the task of coaching a group of lovable misfits to the
Nebraska state championship, overcoming their motley backgrounds in the process." Aw. I feel my heart warming
already.
- Samuel L. Jackson has joined the cast of 1408,
the Stephen King adaptation that already stars John
Cusack. The film, based on one of King's short stories, is about an author who ignores the Ominous Warnings of a
hotel manager (that's Jackson, who will surely be applying his "FUUUURIOUS anger" voice to the task) and
stays the night in "notorious Room 1408." Production is due to begin this summer.
- Speaking of Jackson, meticulous research by a gent named Noah Stone may have unearthed the true inspiration behind
internet sensation, Snakes on a Plane: it's Richard Scarry.
In Scarry's Busy, Busy World, a boa constrictor named Noah gets on a plane for Rio. While most of his fellow
passenger are looking forward to the glory of Carnivale, Noah has other ideas: "He didn't care about dancing ...
He just wanted to eat." New Line, you got some 'splaining to do! [via Defamer]
- Adrien
Brody is starring in Manolete,
Dutch writer/director Menno Meyjes biopic about a matador so famous
that, upon his death (as is appropriate, he was gored by a bull) Franco declared three days of mourning. The screenplay
explores the later years of Manolete's life, including his relationship with the actress Lupe Sino, who is being played
by the lovely and amazing Penélope Cruz. Production began last
week, and there's a chance the movie will be in (Spanish) theaters by the end of the year.
Posted Dec 19th 2005 8:39AM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Peter Jackson, Remakes and Sequels, Lists
I don't know if you heard or not, but
King
Kong is THREE HOURS LONG. (Does that seem completely insane to anyone else? And why is it that so many movies
are reaching that point these days? Are editors on strike? Are stories now suddenly just so much more important that
they really
need an extra hour to tell?) Whether it's because of small bladders, short attention spans, or a
chemical addiction to butter-like products, a lot of us are going to find it impossible to sit through the movie
without at least one break. Luckily, Leslie Yazel of the
Washington Post is one of us, and she's put together
a hand guide to the movie, complete with recommended moments to escape to the lobby.
For example, while you
must under no circumstances leave the theater in the movie's 158th minute (Kong engages in some epic, unmissable
destruction at this point), there's ample time for bathroom, snack, and cell phone breaks after
Naomi Watts and
Adrien
Brody kiss in minute 40 - they don't even get to Skull Island for another 15 minutes. I don't know about you, but
I'm printing out a copy to take with me when I finally give in and see the movie.
[via
RiskyBiz]
An Academy Award winner and two beautiful women have joined the cast of the latest thriller from an Italian master of horror. 
