Posts with tag Jeremy Piven
Posted Jul 25th 2008 11:02AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Festival Reports, ComicCon
The story behind my RocknRolla coverage could actually be a Guy Ritchie film -- you'd have to add a few car chases and shoot-outs, but I think the framework is there. Due to the insanity of Hall H, I decided I would sit through the next three panels in order to be guaranteed a seat at RocknRolla. My phone rings. "RocknRolla press. Here's the room. You've got five minutes." I grab my tape recorder, and phone, and I run. I run up the escalator, yoga and stomach crunches actually paying off as I arrive with only the minor warnings of a heart attack.
And once I get in, what befalls me? Only an entire slew of strange technical difficulties -- my tape recorder refused to record, as did my cell phone, and my cell phone camera decided to take half the photo in blinding white, half in black. Naturally, everything worked outside the room, so go figure, and thank goodness for good old fashioned pen and paper, eh? There must have been something on my face -- shock, fear, or the paleness of impending death / bad coverage because Gerard Butler took one look at me, and stuck his tongue out in a "Total insanity, right?!" face. (At least, that's how I interpreted it. I hope he wasn't commenting on my appearance or broken tape recorder.)
Continue reading SDCC 2008: Dark Castle Presents: RocknRolla
Posted Jun 25th 2008 12:32PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Thrillers, Warner Brothers, Movie Marketing, Images, Posters
After the trailer comes the first poster for Guy Ritchie's
RocknRolla. It originated on
Film1 (Erik posted
some cool posters from them yesterday), and was then sent to me by one of the delightful chicks at
Gerard Butler GALS. They will be my new best friends if they keep this up.
Compared to the trailer, it's a pretty subdued affair. It's a little bit
Smokin' Aces, and a little bit
The Boondock Saints, but stylish and badass all on its own. Despite Gerard Butler's torso being so prominent in the trailer, it seems Warner Bros found it a distraction when it came to the poster. They decided to let another actor show off his six-pack, but I think they should have let Tom Wilkinson show off his bald pate instead.
RocknRolla comes to American theatres October 31st. But if you're going to San Diego ComicCon, the rumor is that you'll get a footage fix before then. I'll be there front and center. I need a fix to tide me over until fall.
Posted Dec 13th 2007 1:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Awards, Newsstand, Oscar Watch
While my favorite part of
For Your Consideration is Marilyn Hack's plastic surgery, I also love that dreaded morning when the Oscar nominations get announced. Some actors wait anxiously to hear their name announced, while others, thinking they're totally off the Academy's radar, get nods while they're snoozing. Then, to add insult to injury, the losers get tracked down for embarrassing meltdowns and awkwardness on television. It's not quite that bad in real life, but as I read the reactions of those who received Golden Globe nominations, that movie keeps popping up in my head. So, check out these reactions, courtesy of
Variety:
Dudes Chewing on Their Nails Hoping to Get Nominations: Jeremy Piven & Focus Features"I got a call around 5:30, but I was up, believe it or not." -- Piven
"I was sitting here at Focus with about 35 very happy colleagues." -- FF head James Schamus on leading the studio nominations.
Those Who Prepared Speeches: Joe Wright, Atonement & Brad Bird, Ratatouille
"I think we were, as a team, very passionate about the film and story. I don't think we looked up from the little world we created around ourselves." "You need to make all actors feel loved, respected, and supported. That applies to the 12-year-old Saoirse Ronan or a slightly-older Vanessa Redgrave. Acting is an exposing and vulnerable job. You need to make them feel safe." -- Wright -- Extra props given for use of "slightly older."
"One of the messages of the film that most critics understood was that it wasn't anti-critic, but was saying if you're a critic or artist, don't get far away from what you love, and if, as a director, if you're focused on box office or awards and not the film itself, you'll take your eye off the ball." "And most importantly, this nomination shouldn't be taken as an endorsement for rats cooking our meals for us." -- Bird
Lads and Ladies with a Little Bit of Cockiness: Craig Zadan, Hairspray & Julie Taymor, Across the Universe"It's so interesting that a couple of years ago we were accused of bringing the musical back with Chicago, and now you have this year with Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, and Across the Universe. There was no musical for so many years, and we're so proud of what Chicago has done for the musical." -- Zadan
"It's tremendous as we weren't on the pundits lists and didn't have big ads. I feel, in a way, that we were the engine that could. People vote from their heart, and I feel very gratified." -- Taymor
More About that Damned Strike: Piven, again! & Russ Smith, Juno "I don't know about whether or not I'll be attending because to be honest with you, I don't know a lot about the rules and limitations of what is happening. I need to look into it. Writers are kind of these unsung heroes... I hope they get what they deserve, and I'll do anything I can to help that." -- Piven
"Our hope is that there's gonna be some sort of dispensation. Every day we're hoping they work something out, but we'll have to see." -- Smith -- In other words: please end the strike, I want my big moment!!
Posted Nov 18th 2007 11:02AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Casting, Newsstand
First came
Jeremy Piven, who signed onto
Chappelle's Show writer
Neal Brennan's The Goods: The Don Ready Story back
in August. While it sounds like something Will Ferrell would head, he's just producing the film, which has Piven playing "a used-car liquidator hired to save a struggling dealership during a Fourth of July weekend sale." The pot was sweetened
last month when
Ving Rhames also signed on, as well as
Anchorman co-star
David Koechner. But what used car scenario is complete without the female guns?
The Hollywood Reporter has posted that
Kathryn Hahn has been tapped to play the lone woman in Don Ready's (Piven) team of used-car liquidators. In fact, THR describes them as "mercenary car salesman," which should be interesting for the comedy, unless the use of "mercenary" was just an outbreak of writer flair. Aside from playing Lily Lebowski on
Crossing Jordan for the past six years, Hahn has appeared in her share of cinematic comedy, which includes, not surprisingly, a role in
Anchorman. With Ferrell producing, and Koechner and Hahn signed on, which
Anchorman member will be next? There's a heck of a lot of great names to choose from -- Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Fred Armisen, Seth Rogen, Danny Trejo...
Posted Oct 9th 2007 11:02AM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Drama, Deals, Newsstand
You aren't anybody unless you're famous enough for rival biopics. I hope you all celebrated the holiday yesterday by watching both Gérard Depardieu and Georges Corraface in their respective, rival
Columbus films. Coming in the future, we may also get competing movies about
Harvey Milk,
Philip K. Dick,
Sammy Davis, Jr. and now Pablo Escobar. We've long
followed news regarding
Joe Carnahan's movie about the Colombian drug lord, who will be played there by
Javier Bardem, but now
Variety reports another Escobar pic in the works. This one will be produced by
Oliver Stone, directed by
Antoine Fuqua and is simply titled
Escobar. It's based on the book "Mi Hermano Pablo", written by the cocaine king's brother, Roberto Escobar Gaviria, who worked as accountant and confidant to Pablo.
So, this looks like it will be more of a life-encompassing biopic. It also appears to be going into production ahead of Carnahan's film,
Killing Pablo, since Carnahan is first working on
White Jazz while
Escobar is fully financed and ready to begin shooting in Colombia and Puerto Rico in early 2008. All that needs finishing is the script rewrite, which is being done by
David McKenna, who already wrote a bit about Escobar in his screenplay for
Blow (he was played by
Cliff Curtis).
Variety doesn't mention who Stone and Fuqua have or are casting in the title role of their film, which means it may not be secure. I'm sure some people would like to see
Adrian Grenier play the part, as he does via his character Vinnie Chase on the show
Entourage, but that would actually be a terrible idea. Personally, I'd like them to go back to Curtis, but for a long-term biopic they'll likely want someone younger, as well as someone more familiar to audiences.
I also wish that Stone was directing this himself -- even if he really
annoyed the heck out of me recently -- because he seems to know the territory. And because he thanked "Ari Gold" (
Jeremy Piven's character on
Entourage) when talking to
Variety about the project. But he should do just fine overseeing Fuqua's direction, a job he's sharing with former
Malcolm in the Middle older brother
Justin Berfield,
Jason Felts and
James Reach.
Posted Oct 8th 2007 2:32PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Comedy, Casting, Newsstand, Paramount Vantage
I don't know why I think of
Ving Rhames as a tough guy dramatic actor first and a comedic actor second. Even his most iconic role, as Marcellus Wallace in
Pulp Fiction, was simply a straight-played comic part. Throughout his career he's been in a lot of comedies, from the truly awful (
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot) to the near-perfect (
Out of Sight). But I guess lately, aside from the recent
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, he's been pigeon-holed as best-suited for crime thrillers, prison dramas and well-produced horror films, with an occasional fun action pic like the
Mission:Impossible movies. Personally, I'd love him to do another movie that mixes all those genres with a touch of comedy, a la the guilty pleasure
Con-Air, but I'll settle for just a comedy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rhames has signed on to Paramount Vantage's
The Goods: The Don Ready Story, which
Monika told us recently will star
Jeremy Piven as a used car salesman. Also joining the cast is
Anchorman's
David Koechner.
It wasn't mentioned what kind of characters Rhames and Koechner will be playing, but hopefully they're fellow used car salesmen working alongside Piven, who, more specifically, is a guy who must save the struggling dealership over a Fourth of July weekend. The most logical idea, though, is that whatever Rhames' role, he will be some combination of humor and muscle; the combination is one of the reasons that Rhames can do comedy and still retain his reputation as a bad ass, unlike
some other people (please don't ever put Rhames in a babysitting comedy!). The comedy will be produced by
Will Ferrell and
Adam McKay via their new company Gary Sanchez Productions, along with
Chris Henchy (
Entourage) and
Kevin Messick (
A Lot Like Love). The script was written by
Rick Stempson and
Andy Stock, who also wrote the upcoming Seann William Scott movie
Gary the Tennis Coach. It will be directed by
Chappelle's Show actor/writer/director
Neal Brennan.
Posted Aug 27th 2007 7:01PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Casting, Deals, Scripts
Although he's spent the last four years co-starring on the television show
Entourage,
Jeremy Piven usually pops up in all sorts of movies. (Was
Smokin' Aces part comedy?) Before that was
Keeping Up with the Steins -- not so awesome -- but before
that, well, he was in the well-beloved
Old School. (Plus Weinberg tells me he's a scene-stealer in
The Kingdom.) Now
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Piven will team up with
School castmate
Will Ferrell for a new comedy called
The Goods: The Don Ready Story. Wait, before you imagine some Ricky Bobby or Ron Burgundy character, this flick ain't starring Ferrell -- it's all Piven's. This time around, Ferrell will stay behind the camera as producer under he and
Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Productions.
Ready will star Piven as "a used-car liquidator hired to save a struggling dealership during a Fourth of July weekend sale." Scribes
Rick Stempson and
Andy Stock wrote the script, but since their first project,
Gary the Tennis Coach, doesn't come out until next year -- there's no telling how this will play out. The comedy will, however, be directed by
Neal Brennan --
Half Baked writer and
Chappelle's Show co-creator, which should mean good things for the flick. Now, considering the last handful of comedies to have names in the titles (many of which involved Ferrell), it'll be interesting to see which way this goes. While he's no stranger to comedy, Piven isn't so much of the strange and goofy. As long as this is nothing like Bruce Willis'
Breakfast of Champions, we should be in good shape!
Posted Aug 16th 2007 12:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Drama, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing
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And no, I'm not kidding. If you read Cinematical enough (and you should!), you're probably already aware of Joe Carnahan's plans to make a direct-to-video Smokin' Aces prequel. While he won't be directing, Carnahan is involved in some capacity, and has been talking up the project quite a bit on his own blog. I was fairly entertained by the original -- I think it succeeded in what it set out to do (with fantastic performances from Jason Bateman and Jeremy Piven), but I absolutely despised the ending. I won't ruin it for those folks who haven't seen it yet, but let's just say it felt like I was coming down from a high ... real hard. Anyway, Carnahan (and his crew) have come up with an interesting way to start promoting the new DTV prequel. That's right, he's asking YOU to name it.
Yup, you can head over to Carnahan's blog right now and participate in the little contest. First up, the director offers up a small plot description that reads: "'A low level government analyst, with forty plus years working an FBI information post, is slated to be assassinated, for reasons unknown at an exact date and time within the next three days. A federal 'Grab Team' or close protection detail has been tasked with saving this man's life...' ...chaos ensues.' The action takes place in D.C. and in New Orleans. Some familiar faces return. Some very surprising. I won't say any more." Carnahan then goes on to stress that, if your title is chosen, you will not be compensated with money. Instead, you'll probably get a whole bunch of movie swag and a free DVD. Oh, and tons and tons of bragging rights. So if you think you can come up with something better than Smokin' Aces 2: The Sh*t Hits the Fan -- by all means, take a stab at it. The contest began yesterday, and Carnahan will run it for exactly two weeks. Good luck!
Posted Jul 28th 2007 6:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, The Weinstein Co.
Slow bit by slow bit, the Weinstein Co.'s CG monster movie
Igor is getting closer to the screens, but it's not without its share of excitement.
Back in March, John Cusack replaced Christian Slater in the title role -- a move still good for the movie, but I can't help but mourn for Slater's participation -- I think his voice would've been great for a wacky scientist. Now we've got another main actor hitting the dust. Jeremy Piven is now out as Igor's nemesis, Schadenfreude, and flamboyant actor
Eddie Izzard is in -- it's a pretty big shift in style, but I'm sure it will work just fine.
The Hollywood Reporter tried to contact Piven's rep for word on why he left the project, but have yet to hear back.
Unsurprisingly, this change comes with some other news -- the film's producer, Exodus Film Group, has signed a deal for a series of comic books based on the film. This will include adaptations of the movie as well as prequels and sequels. Each series -- the film, prequel and sequel are set to come out starting in May or June of 2008, with the sets published in book form before the film's October 2008 release. If you want to catch up on the project, you can check out my
post here, which gives a list of links dating back to 2005.
Posted Jan 27th 2007 6:31AM by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Filed under: Action, New Releases, Universal, Theatrical Reviews
When I saw Pulp Fiction back in 1994, I was convinced that its brand of daring, post-modern intelligence and sheer, movie-crazed enthusiasm would usher in a new era of cinema -- a golden age of joyous, raucous movies that would be alive in new and exciting ways. I once believed in the tooth fairy as well. What actually happened is what I should have expected: a tidal wave of half-baked knockoffs, lame attempts to copy the formula behind Pulp Fiction instead of the thought process that made it possible.
Someone should come up with a name for this Quentin Tarantino rip-off subgenre of action films, and it should be something that takes into account the fact that there have been good ones (Bound, Go, Snatch, Amores Perros), as well as bad ones (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, 2 Days in the Valley, 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag, Knockaround Guys). It should also take into account that these films have kept coming more than a decade past the original -- much longer even than the Star Wars knockoffs lasted. In the past year or two, we've seen Domino, Running Scared, Lucky Number Slevin and now Smokin' Aces, from director Joe Carnahan.
Continue reading Review: Smokin' Aces
Posted Jan 25th 2007 1:01PM by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Filed under: Action, New Releases, Universal, Interviews
Joe Carnahan and Jeremy Piven are gamblers, but not in the most traditional sense. Carnahan, whose new movie Smokin' Aces opens in U.S. theaters this weekend, had never even visited Las Vegas until he was in his 30s. Driving into town with a friend to see a fight, he rolled down the window, breathed deeply and remarked, "that's the smell of human despair." Nevertheless, Carnahan admits that he loves Vegas for all that it is. "I look at Las Vegas and I see the absolute best of what we are as Americans and I see the absolute worst, in the same city. You can't stand at the Bellagio and watch these seven story fountains and not go: 'that's something of extraordinary man-made beauty.' And at the same time, go down and get a deep-fried Oreo for a dollar on Fremont Street and realize that this is the end of Western civilization."
Continue reading Interview: Joe Carnahan and Jeremy Piven on 'Smokin' Aces'
Posted Oct 20th 2006 9:01AM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Trailer Trash, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Brad Pitt, Movie Marketing, George Clooney
Odds and ends from a very busy Thursday:
- While I'm not overly excited for David Fincher's Zodiac, I am definitely looking forward to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Pic has just added Julia Ormond to its cast for a little reunion of sorts with her Legends of the Fall co-star Brad Pitt. Here, she'll play the daughter of Cate Blanchett's character, a woman who finds herself having to listen to mom go on and on about some dude who ages backwards. Yes, that would be Benjamin Button (Pitt). Man, I am dying to see what Fincher does with this one.
- Rob Corddry (the latest Daily Show correspondent to jump ship and start a movie career) has hopped onboard the new Farrelly Brothers flick, The Heartbreak Kid (aka Seven Day Itch, aka Untitled Farrelly Brothers comedy). Pic stars Ben Stiller as a newlywed who falls in love with another woman while on his honeymoon. Apparently, Corddry will play Stiller's best friend. Also starring in the film are Michelle Monaghan, Malin Akerman and Carlos Mencia.
- Heck, it's not an animated comedy unless you have 72 actors signed on to provide voices, and the upcoming Igor has just added Jeremy Piven (that's right, he's important enough to start voicing animated characters now) and Molly Shannon. Pic, which is based on the short film of the same name, revolves around the assistant of a mad scientist whose main goal in life is to win first place at the annual Evil Science Fair. The three main actors from the short (Steve Buscemi, John Cleese and Christian Slater) have already signed on to reprise their roles.
- Finally, guess who's back to making good-looking films? If you said Steven Soderbergh, then go ahead and give yourself a gold star. The director's latest film, The Good German, now has a trailer online ... and the thing doesn't look too bad. Perhaps George Clooney should stick to black and white from here on out. Starring Clooney, Tobey Maguire and Cate Blanchett (man, she's everywhere today, huh?), The Good German follows an American journalist who is lured into a murder mystery that involves his former mistress. Is it me, or did Clooney appear to be missing something in that trailer?
Posted Oct 19th 2006 7:02PM by chris ullrich
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting, Deals, Newsstand
According to Variety, writer-producer-actor
John Cusack has signed on to star in the upcoming dark political satire
Brand Hauser: Stuff Happens for director
Josh Seftel and Avi Lerner's Millennium Films. The versatile Cusack is also scripting the film with
Bulworth co-writer
Jeremy Pikser and author
Mark Leyner, as well as producing with partner Grace Loh through their New Crime production company.
Cusack is set to play an undercover assassin in the film who's pretending to produce a big trade show in order to kill a Middle East oil minister. As he tries to pull off the job, complications (and I'm sure a little comedy) ensue including a wedding between a local pop star and a big-time political figure. Other actors already cast in the film include
Hilary Duff (playing, one would assume, the pop star?) the lovely and talented
Marisa Tomei and, of course, Cusak's sister
Joan.
What, no
Jeremy Piven? I can't really believe Cusack would do a movie without him considering he's been in every one of Cusack's films (almost). Maybe its just an oversight? Or, maybe Piven is playing hard-to-get and channeling a little of his Ari Gold character from
Entourage? We'll see. Needless to say, it's good to see Cusack returning to a genre and story that's similar to his great work as an assassin at his high school reunion in
Grosse Pointe Blank -- a film he co-wrote as well. If
Grosse Point Blank is any indication of what we can expect from
Brand Hauser: Stuff Happens, I'll definitely be there to see it when it comes out. Still no word on a production schedule or a release date.
Posted Aug 10th 2006 7:02AM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Casting, Deals, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand
Odds and ends from Wednesday:
- After cracking us up as conniving Hollywood agent Ari Gold on HBO's Entourage, Jeremy Piven has signed on to play a conniving American diplomat in Peter Berg's The Kingdom. Pic, which already sports a dynamite cast of Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman, tells of a group of U.S. FBI agents who are sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.
- Maverick Films is looking to lock and load after snatching up the spec script Shoot, written by Ron Krauss and Tom Hietter. Picture The Fast and the Furious, but with gunslingers instead of souped-up automobiles. Pic, which Krauss will also direct, revolves around the "underground world of contemporary gunslingers" and follows a young shooter on his quest to challenge the sport's undefeated champion.
- As we previously reported (without any official word), Zooey Deschanel is now confirmed to be taking on the role of Janis Joplin in Penelope Spheeris' upcoming biopic, Gospel According to Janis. Written by Spheeris and Brad Vanderburg, pic will focus on the period of time between Joplin first moving to California and her subsequent death eight years later. I've always thought Deschanel was a bit too "goth" looking to play Joplin, but she definitely has the gritty, indie part down. So, let's see what she does with it.
Posted Aug 6th 2006 7:02PM by Scott Weinberg
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Universal
I wasn't a big fan of
Joe Carnahan's Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane, but the low-low-budget crime thriller was successful enough to land the guy a big-time studio gig. That project was
Narc, which I dug quite a bit, to my pleasant surprise. (Hey, I'm a sucker for Ray Liotta's tough guy routine.) For a while there it looked like Carnahan was going to direct
Mission: Impossible 3 for Paramount, but obviously that plan fell through.
The good news is that his latest flick, entitled
Smokin' Aces, looks pretty darn wild. The
teaser trailer kicks off with an amusing misdirection before settling into a mega-kinetic typhoon of mayhem, so why not check it out? (Frankly the flick looks a lot like last February's
Running Scared, and that's just fine by me.)
Featuring the likes of
Jeremy Piven,
Ben Affleck,
Ray Liotta (cool!),
Ryan Reynolds,
Andy Garcia,
Peter Berg,
Alicia Keys,
Jason Bateman and the underrated
Nestor Carbonell, Universal's
Smokin' Aces is scheduled for a February 2007 release. Ack, February?
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