Movie News: Monday, October 09

David Lynch says three-hour film not too long (Reuters)
   

Reuters - David Lynch would like his first movie in five years to be a "summer blockbuster" that will resonate with "14-year-old girls in the Midwest."

The top films at the North American box office (Reuters)
   Reuters - Following are the top 10 movies at the North American box office for the October 6-8 weekend, according to the studios' final data issued by tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

"Prada" wears well at overseas box office (Reuters)
   

Reuters - The fall overseas market, usually subdued until the arrival of the year-end blockbusters, provides an opportunity for films that appeal to the over-25 crowd, a status validated as "The Devil Wears Prada" and "World Trade Center" finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the weekend box office sweepstakes.

No joke: Robin Williams takes on politics in film (Reuters)
   

Reuters - To hear comedian Robin Williams tell it, politics as usual in the United States is no laughing matter, even if he makes a lot of jokes about it in his new movie "Man of the Year."

Film offers rare glimpse into Hauer's private life (Reuters)
   Reuters - Despite more than a hundred films to his credit, Rutger Hauer has remained an intensely private figure. But that's changing.

The King
    ( Released: 10/10/2006   Rated: R   Avg. Score: 3.5/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — Elvis Valderez (Gael García Bernal) is a 20-year-old who's just been discharged from the Navy. He heads back to his hometown, Corpus Christi, Texas, with few possessions. He intends to find his estranged father, a man he's only heard about from his Mexican mother, who's recently passed away. Elvis discovers that his dad has remarried and has a new family, including a 16-year-old daughter, Malerie (Pell James).

Art School Confidential
    ( Released: 10/10/2006   Rated: R   Avg. Score: 3.5/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — A young artist named Jerome (Max Minghella) escapes from his boring high school to a prestigious East Coast art school. His ambition: becoming the next Picasso. But the pretentious wannabes don't exactly take to Jerome's sincerity or talent. In fact, everyone shuns him except Audrey (Sophia Myles), the daughter of a celebrated artist. So it crushes Jerome when Audrey's affections are stolen by the local star artist, Jonah (Matt Keeslar). To win her back, he seeks the advice of a quirky professor (John Malkovich) and a drunken failure (Jim Broadbent).

Waist Deep
    ( Released: 10/10/2006   Rated: R   Avg. Score: 2.25/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — Ex-con O2 (Tyrese Gibson) is trying to go straight for the sake of his young son, Junior, but he's forced to go back outside the law when the boy is kidnapped in a carjacking. Junior is taken to a vicious criminal leader, Meat (The Game). O2's shady cousin Wanna Be (Larenz Tate) and street-smart hustler Coco (Meagan Good) must decide whether they want to help O2 get his son back.

Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
    ( Released: 10/10/2006   Rated: PG - for some off-color elements   Avg. Score: 2.5/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — Garfield (Bill Murray) follows his owner, Jon (Breckin Meyer), to England, where he's mistaken for a look-alike regal cat who has inherited a castle. Garfield loves the royal treatment afforded by his loyal subjects, but when the evil Lord Dargis learns of the deception, he sets out to expose the furry impostor and turn the castle into a tourist resort.

A Prairie Home Companion
    ( Released: 10/10/2006   Rated: PG-13 - for risqué humor   Avg. Score: 5/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — A radio variety show that's managed to survive the age of television faces its last performance when home station WLT is sold to a Texas conglomerate. On a rainy Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn., fans crowd the Fitzgerald Theater to see "A Prairie Home Companion" for the final time. Starring in the show are the Johnson Sisters (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin); Yolanda and Rhonda, a country duet act; Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly), two cowboy singers; and more. Meanwhile, the backstage doorkeeper (Kevin Kline) and a pregnant stagehand (Maya Rudolph) have plans of their own.

Click
    ( Released: 10/10/2006   Rated: PG-13 - for language, crude and sex-related humor, and some drug references   Avg. Score: 2/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — A workaholic architect (Adam Sandler) is faced with a dilemma: go on a vacation with his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and kids or work overtime to land a high-profile design job. Saving him from making this choice is an eccentric Bed, Bath & Beyond product developer (Christopher Walken), who gives him a universal remote that allows him to rewind, fast-forward, slow down and pause his own life.

Comedian Tim Allen weds actress in Colorado (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Actor and comedian Tim Allen, star of long-running hit television show "Home Improvement," married actress Jane Hadjuk this past weekend in Colorado, his spokeswoman said on Monday.

No joke: Robin Williams takes on politics in film (Reuters)
   

Reuters - To hear comedian Robin Williams tell it, politics as usual in the United States is no laughing matter, even if he makes a lot of jokes about it in his new movie "Man of the Year."

"Click" here for first 50GB Blu-ray Disc (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Consumers will be able to buy the first 50GB Blu-ray Disc -- which boasts twice the capacity of a regular disc -- when Sony Pictures releases the Adam Sandler comedy "Click" on Tuesday.

Deja Vu - Trailer 2
   It is deja vu that unexpectedly guides ATF agent Doug Carlin through an investigation into a shattering crime. Called in to recover evidence after a bomb sets off a cataclysmic explosion on a New Orleans Ferry, Carlin is about to discover that what most people believe is only in their heads is actually something far more powerful.

So Much So Fast - Trailer
   A black-humored cliffhanger of romance, guerrilla science and the redefinition of time, So Much So Fast unfolds like a nonfiction novel. Stephen Heywood finds out he has ALS. His brother Jamie becomes obsessed with finding a cure. And the woman who’s falling in love with Stephen has a decision to make.

Requiem - Trailer
   Michaela has grown up in a deeply religious family, in a small town in Germany, in the 1970’s. Despite her long battle with epilepsy, she leaves home and secures her first taste of freedom while studying at the university. Her budding love for Stefan and her friendship with Hanna crack open the shell of faith and family within which she had always felt secure and protected.

Mob money rules with `Departed' debut (AP)
   AP - Martin Scorsese's mob tale "The Departed" was the weekend box-office heavy, debuting as the top film with $26.9 million.

Evan Almighty To Cost $250 Million?
   

I've been talking about the upcoming sequel to Bruce Almighty, Even Almighty, for a while now. For those of you who didn't know about it, Evan was the character in Bruce Almighty who was played by Steve Carell, who now becomes the title character:

The last time we saw Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), he was being tormented by rival Bruce Nolan onscreen, live from their Buffalo TV station. But as time passed and Evan has made up with Bruce, he's gone onto bigger and better things. Newly elected to Washington D.C. as a congressman, Evan has left Buffalo, New York in pursuit of a greater calling. But that calling isn't serving in the illustrious ranks of America's politics, but being summoned by the Almighty himself (Morgan Freeman), who has handed Evan the task of building a new ark, much as Noah did before. With time passing by and his family belittled by Evan's newfound realization, Evan will have to do the work that God has given him in what promises to be an unusual adventure for a man who just wanted to serve his country, might actually be serving humanity.

Apparently, it looks like Evan Almighty could come in costing a whopping $250 million to make. Are they serious?!?!?! The good folks over at ShowBixData (quoting the LA Times) give us this:

Costs have skyrocketed for Universal's upcoming Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell, with final expenditures likely to exceed at least $175 million -- $250 million, including marketing -- the Los Angeles Times reported today (Monday). Such a budget would make it the most expensive comedy in history, the newspaper observed. According to the Times, studio executives have acknowledged that the Bruce Almighty sequel has exceeded original budget estimates but are confident it will eventually be profitable.

I don't know... the idea of a simple comedy costing north of $175 million just seems... I don't know... wrong. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what the hell they spent all the money on.

Peter Jackson and The Hobbit Petition Response
   

A little under a month ago a petition and open letter to MGM was put together by the good folks over at The One Ring (A Lord of the Rings fan site) in response to the news that they were finally going to be moving ahead with "The Hobbit". News that we've all been waiting to hear ever since the end credits on Return of the King rolled.

So what was this petition all about? Well... it was a petition asking for a number of things, but at the top of the pile was that they get Peter Jackson back to direct. To quote the open letter:

So first things first, would somebody please call Peter Jackson? Now! Today! New Line and PJ still have this sticky lawsuit left over from the LOTR films so we are a bit concerned. Jackson has made it very clear, over and over, even again this week, that he has not yet been invited to the table to have Hobbit discussions. Let the lawyers handle the lawsuit and please, please, get the creative folks together immediately.

It goes without saying that Sir Ian McKellen must return as Gandalf and our Gollum must be Andy Serkis, without a doubt. Casting for Elrond should also be finished and if I were producing I would ask Orlando Bloom to walk through the screen during the battle of five armies.

IF I WERE IN CONTROL OF THE UNIVERSE, I WOULD GET PETER JACKSON BACK TO DIRECT THE HOBBIT AND GET IAN MCKELLEN BACK AS GANDALF. There, are we clear on that point? I loved the job both of them did with the Lord of the Rings films and would LOVE to see them both back. HOWEVER...

I find the whole idea of thinking any casting or director decision "MUST" be any one person, who already happend to play the role or direct a film, a bit silly. Peter Jackson did a magnificent job with LOTR... but how are we to know if someone else might not have done an even better job? We don't know. Ian McKellen was nothing short of fantastic as Gandalf... but how are we to know that another actor wouldn't have done an even better job? We don't know.

All of that is to say that I would LOVE IT if they were both back... but folks... it's not the end of the world if another director takes the helm for The Hobbit or if another actor puts on the grey robe as Gandalf. Who knows... the new people might even do a better job?

The response from MGM came in, and in it they confirmed they have talked to Jackson's people:

"Peter Jackson's phenomenal success with The Lord of the Rings trilogy makes him the first and most ideal choice for directing The Hobbit," said MGM COO Rick Sands. "MGM would be thrilled to collaborate with the Academy Award-winning director on this MGM New Line Cinema production. And, I'm sure to the delight of the 50,000 filmgoers who have petitioned us in recent weeks, demanding we bring this film to fruition, we have had a few initial conversations about the project with Mr. Jackson's representatives."

If I were a betting man (which I"m not) I'd bet 3 to 1 that Peter Jackson WILL NOT be back to direct The Hobbit. I wish he would, but I just don't think it's going to happen (I'd love it if I were wrong on this one). I guess we'll just wait and see how it all pans out. (Via)

Ex-Warhol collaborator participates in Toronto festival (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Working with Andy Warhol was a give-and-take experience for Gerard Malanga, a poet, photographer and filmmaker who began his association with the American pop artist in 1962.

No joke: Robin Williams takes on politics in film (Reuters)
   Reuters - To hear comedian Robin Williams tell it, politics as usual in the United States is no laughing matter, even if he makes a lot of jokes about it in his new movie "Man of the Year."

Review: `Alex Rider' for tweens only (AP)
   AP - Since "Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker" is a family film (and since his character dies within the first few minutes), Ewan McGregor actually manages to keep his trousers on the whole time he's on screen.

At the Movies: `Man of the Year' (AP)
   AP - We've seen plenty of "Jon Stewart for president" bumper stickers, and it would be fun to see a straight-talking, scathingly satiric guy like him on the campaign trail against the usual suspects.

Actor/Comedian Tim Allen ties the knot (AP)
   AP - Tim Allen tied the knot with his girlfriend of five years, actress Jane Hadjuk, in an intimate Colorado ceremony, his spokeswoman said Monday.

Jack Palance to auction Pa. home items (AP)
   

AP - Jack Palance is auctioning off the contents of his northeastern Pennsylvania home: more than 3,000 items collected from around the world.

Tim Allen marries longtime girlfriend (AP)
   AP - More power to Tim Allen. The comic actor got married this weekend to his girlfriend of five years, actress Jane Hadjuk, in an intimate Colorado ceremony.

Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye
   

God helps us, Rambo is back in town, and this time; he's directing. Well that is Sylvester Stallone is directing. And he will once again don his machine gun and coco butter for the forth installment of Rambo IV: The Serpent?s Eye. The people over at comingsoon.net give us this:

According to Production Weekly, Sylvester Stallone will reprise the role of Vietnam vet John Rambo in a fourth "Rambo" film.

The site says that Stallone is set to produce and direct the sequel based on his own script titled Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye. Production is tentatively scheduled for January in Thailand.

The next chapter finds Rambo recruited by a group of Christian human rights missionaries to protect them against pirates, during a humanitarian aid deliver to the persecuted Karen people of Burma. After some of the missionaries are taken prisoner by sadistic Burmese soldiers, Rambo gets a second impossible job: to assemble a team of mercenaries to rescue the surviving relief workers

Rambo IV may actually be coming out at the right time for male audiences. There hasn't had many butch men ripping it up on screen lately. Superman is prettier than me, Spiderman is a baby face and even the bad guys are all powder fresh.

Maybe what we need is a greasy 59 year old Vietnam war vet to remind us what manly is.

Sylvester Stallone to play Rambo in Rambo 4
   

God helps us, Rambo is back in town, and this time; he's directing. Well that is Sylvester Stallone is directing. And he will once again don his machine gun and coco butter for the forth installment of Rambo IV: The Serpent?s Eye. The people over at comingsoon.net give us this:

According to Production Weekly, Sylvester Stallone will reprise the role of Vietnam vet John Rambo in a fourth "Rambo" film.

The site says that Stallone is set to produce and direct the sequel based on his own script titled Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye. Production is tentatively scheduled for January in Thailand.

The next chapter finds Rambo recruited by a group of Christian human rights missionaries to protect them against pirates, during a humanitarian aid deliver to the persecuted Karen people of Burma. After some of the missionaries are taken prisoner by sadistic Burmese soldiers, Rambo gets a second impossible job: to assemble a team of mercenaries to rescue the surviving relief workers

Rambo IV may actually be coming out at the right time for male audiences. There hasn't had many butch men ripping it up on screen lately. Superman is prettier than me, Spiderman is a baby face and even the bad guys are all powder fresh.

Maybe what we need is a greasy 59 year old Vietnam war vet to remind us what manly is.

TwoFace Casting Rumours for Batman Dark Knight
   

Last I posted about TwoFace casting rumours it was about Guy Pearce and personally I think he would be wonderful in the role. But now it seems that there is a raging debate over Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Phillippe.

IGN FlimForce says:

Two actors in particular have been rumored as the frontrunners during the last few weeks: Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Phillippe. Liev Schreiber and Guy Pearce have also been mentioned, but Gyllenhaal and Phillippe are the most hotly discussed.

After getting firm and official denials from both CAA and his reps at Management 360, IGN can shoot down the Gyllenhaal rumor. Gyllenhaal's rep even quipped, "No, the other guy from Brokeback Mountain is in it if you haven't heard." That's a reference to Heath Ledger being cast as The Joker.

But with EVERY camp denying their man is in the runnings, I have to wonder which one is bluffing? Or is it that NONE of these guys will be playing the future villian in the next movie. I guess time will tell.

Dobby not to appear in Order of the Phoenix
   

This little bit of news might seem like a minor thing, but it represents a bigger issue with the future of the Harry Potter movies.

Movie Web reports:

When Harry Potter tricked Lucius Malfoy into freeing his house elf, Dobby, at the end of "Chamber of Secrets," he might have inadvertently magicked the helpful servant right out of the series. Dobby hasn't appeared in any Potter films since and won't be appearing in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix either, according to Toby Jones, the actor who voiced him in the series' second installment.

They have already glossed over and forgotten Hermoine's edgy political movement to free the house elves from their role of servitude. But Dobby's unwaivering loyalty to Harry is quite important in the 5th book. These are plot points that they may expose in different ways, and the help that Dobby offers might simply come from a nameless student or the pages of a book Hermoine digs up at the library.

As with any book to movie adaptation, much is left out, replaced, reworked to make it work on screen. With the first couple books, they were very short and it was not difficult for them to produce a page by page presentation of the story. However with the growing volumes of the books, more and more has to be left out or reworked to keep the movie under 6 hours.

Removing Dobby is unfortunate, but a neccessary step to squish the 766 page book in under 120 mins of movie. I just wonder what else is being cut out, and how this will affect the strong connection between the books and movies. The sixth book, the Half Blood Prince is just as long. We can only expect the seventh and final book of the series to follow.

Orlando Bloom Out for Pirates 4?
   

The nonstop money train created with Pirates of the Caribbean might be making a stop in Bloom Station. Rumour has it his ticket will only take him as far as the next movie.

Cinematical reports:

Orlando Bloom's character in the now-juggernaut Pirates of the Caribbean series will not survive through the inevitable fourth installment -- so says a Disney insider who spoke to the British paper Daily Star. According to the source, the script for the fourth film is currently being written, and Disney bean counters are already examining ways to cut its massive costs. They have concluded that although both Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley are essential to the continued success of the series, Orlando's character is human NyQuil and "not necessary" to maintain the gravy train (I could have told them that). Whether or not he will be killed in the third movie, due next summer, or be bumped off early in the fourth is not specified.

For the sake of the storyline, I would prefer that he and Knightly retire their characters so they dont break them up JUST for a plot device. The alternative however is to have Blooms character DIE. While this will upset teenyboppers across the nation, it would be the only "logical" way to remove the character. To have Swan and Turner separate under any other reason would undermine their trimph over adversity in their relationship.

Besides. Knightly looks TOO hot as a pirate anyways. No point in giving up that angle.

This of course presumes that there will even BE a fourth movie. One of the other reasons quoted for cutting Bloom is that as a main character he will likely demand equal pay to Depp and Knightly. And aside from the idea that he wont really "earn" that much of a draw for the movie, they admit that they are looking to cut costs.

Why cut costs on a series that is dragging in truckloads of money? I am thinking that maybe Disney doesnt have the confidence in a fourth movie, and if they DO go ahead with it as all rumours imply they are, that they will be tightening the purse strings to ensure it makes them some money.

Indian city in frenzy as Jolie begins film shoot (Reuters)
   

Reuters - A leafy boulevard in an Indian city stood in for a swish Pakistani neighborhood on Monday as Hollywood star Angelina Jolie began shooting for a film about a U.S. journalist abducted and killed in Pakistan.

World War II remains No. 1 on screen (AP)
   AP - Great films have been made about the Civil War, World War I, Vietnam and Korea, yet World War II remains the campaign filmmakers and audiences return to again and again.

Around The Web - October 9th 2006
   

Here is some of the other movie news floating around the web today that you might be interested in:

- 30 Days Of Night creator
Talking about seeing his creation being made into a movie

- Jack Black's Company Picks Up ‘In College Football, Big Paydays for Humiliation’
"Movie will be about how colleges make money by offering up their weaker school sports teams which get crushed by stronger national teams. It is reported that Black will appear but not star in “Humiliation”."

- Lee Pace to Star Opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in Addicted
"The story revolves around a woman whose husband and brother-in-law end up in a coma; when the brother-in-law awakes, he insists he is her husband."

- Jewtopia heading to the big screen
"The script, titled "Chris O'Connell and Adam Lipschitz Lose Their Religion," follows a pair of childhood friends who reunite in their 30s and try to help each other find soul mates. Trouble erupts when they fall for women of different faiths, to the inevitable chagrin of their families."

- "Click" first 50GB Blu-ray Disc
Could they have chosen a more mediocre film for the launch?

- Pedro Almodovar fears Hollywood
"Pedro Almodovar says he would like to make a movie in English but is scared of losing his independence in Hollywood. But he said he feared the Hollywood production system. "I was always scared of losing my independence and freedom."

- Jay Hernandez Is In Hostel: Part 2
Dispite all the other cheese in the first fun (mind you it was fun cheese), I thought Hernandez actually did a pretty decent job.

- Clint Eastwood talks "Flags of our Fathers"

Pedro Almodovar fears Hollywood system (AP)
   

AP - Pedro Almodovar says he would like to make a movie in English but is scared of losing his independence in Hollywood. "Part of my career I would like to make a movie in English," the Oscar-winning Spanish director said Saturday at a New Yorker Festival event, adding that he had been approached several times to make a film in the United States.

Jack Palance to auction Pa. home items (AP)
   

AP - Jack Palance is auctioning off the contents of his northeastern Pennsylvania home: more than 3,000 items collected from around the world.

Capsule reviews of new DVD releases (AP)
   AP - Selected home-video releases:

"Click" here for first 50GB Blu-ray Disc (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Consumers will be able to buy the first 50GB Blu-ray Disc -- which boasts twice the capacity of a regular disc -- when Sony Pictures releases the Adam Sandler comedy "Click" on Tuesday.

Mira Sorvino embarks on "Road" trip (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Mira Sorvino will star opposite Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo in the family tragedy "Reservation Road," which marks director Terry George's follow-up to 2004's "Hotel Rwanda."

David Lynch says three-hour film not too long (Reuters)
   Reuters - David Lynch would like his first movie in five years to be a "summer blockbuster" that will resonate with "14-year-old girls in the Midwest."

Mulroney, Sutherland on "Jolene" trek (Reuters)
   Reuters - Dermot Mulroney, Donald Sutherland, Michael Vartan and Denise Richards have joined the cast of "Jolene," the first indie film based on a story by E.L. Doctorow.