Movie News: Wednesday, November 08

"White Palms" lifts curtain on communist Hungary (Reuters)
   Reuters - The title "White Palms" refers to the chalked hands of gymnasts -- but as this striking, deeply felt drama illustrates, sometimes those hands are blistered and bloody.

Robert Redford backs short films for cell phones (Reuters)
   Reuters - Actor Robert Redford's Sundance Institute will commission independent filmmakers to make short films for mobile phones, Redford said on Wednesday.

Treo to play major role in 'A Good Year' (AP)
   AP - The acclaimed film director behind the classic "1984" television commercial that launched Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh computers will soon promote yet another gadget icon. Palm Inc.'s Treo smart phone will play about as prominent a role that a gadget can play in Ridley Scott's new film, "A Good Year," according to the filmmakers.

Ethan Hawke in Dark Knight?
   In The Dark Night rumor mill there is now another talented actor that may or may not be playing D.A. Harvey Dent; Ethan Hawke. The folks over at moviehole.net give us this: According to Batman On Film, Ethan Hawke may be donning the suit and tie of D.A Harvey Dent in the film. If Hawke signs up for the film, "The Dark Knight", he?ll be required to make a long-term (well, a couple of films anyway)...

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Film review: Bale drama a harsh time (AP)
   AP - Unpleasantly grim and often nasty just to be nasty, writer-director David Ayer's "Harsh Times" is more an ordeal than a movie.

Lindsay's Latest Fender Bender (E! Online)
   

E! Online - Need proof that not even the split heard—and celebrated—round the world can stop life in Hollywood from resuming to normal?

Director Darren Aronofsky to do bible epic after loosing Paramount picture
   Darren Aronofsky must be feeling a little down these days. The Fountain was booed at film festivals and now, after writing a script for the graphic novel Aronofsky has found out that he will not be directing Lone Wolf and Cub for Paramount, because they never actually got the rights for it. The good people over at cinematical.com give us this:Darren Aronofsky, acclaimed auteur director of Pi and...

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Bond takes martini debate beyond shaken or stirred (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Actor Daniel Craig says don't try this at home -- drink as many martinis as he puts away in his debut as James Bond in the new movie "Casino Royale."

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Trailer
   My first exposure to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force show were the two episodes with the Monnanites. I watched those stupid shows about 30 times in a single day and I laughed harded each time I watched it. Some of the lines from those episodes were just killer. The rest of the episodes were pretty good, but nothing compared to those first two that I saw. Then came word of an Aqua Teen Hunger...

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People's Choice Awards Nominations
   The People's Choice Awards are low on the scale of awards shows both in meaning and quality, but they are nonetheless here, which is a sign that awards season is soon upon us. Anyway, the People's Choice Awards nominations have been released to the unsuspecting public and they look even more ridiculous than they sound. I just don't know about some of these people. Be that as it may, here are...

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Hostel 2 Images
   There are some new Hostel 2 images making their way across the net this morning. The image on the left is one of them. Ohhh... scary. Some people question the need for films like Hostel. The first one was just a lot of porn and guts... but it accomplished something that all movies aim for... it made us FEEL something (I'll write an article on this in the coming days). The other thing is...

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XBOX 360 To Offer Movie Downloads
   As many of you have already heard, it was announced that soon, XBox 360 owners will be able to utilize the Xbox Live community to download various movie and TV content directly to their Xbox hard drives for viewing on their TVs. At first, I thought this was a great idea... not so much anymore. But before I get ahead of myself, here is the basic idea from Cinematical:Beginning on November 22...

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George Lucas Killed Indiana Jones 4
   Indiana Jones 4 isn't ever going to happen. I've been saying that for over 6 months now. Here's an excerpt of what I wrote back in May:I don't buy it anymore. I no longer believe this thing is ever going to happen, and I refuse to invest anymore of my enthusiasm or anticipation in this thing. I may be stupid... but even a stupid person can only conned and teased for so long, and I've reached...

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Bogdanovich on filmmaking and `Sopranos' (AP)
   AP - Peter Bogdanovich — director, actor, film historian — gets to wear all those various hats at various times during this year's American Film Institute Film Festival.

Diamond sector to lift veil of secrecy (Reuters)
   Reuters - The diamond industry's watchdog has agreed to publish statistics for the first time, helping open up a secretive sector ahead of a Hollywood film some fear could trigger negative publicity, officials said on Wednesday.

Dark side of Spain emerges in Goya's Ghosts (Reuters)
   Reuters - Fans of double Oscar-winner Milos Forman might be expecting his first film for seven years, "Goya's Ghosts," to provide an examination of revolutionary Spanish painter, Francisco de Goya.

Weinstein in "Death Defying" deal for Houdini pic (Reuters)
   

Reuters - The Weinstein Co. has acquired all U.S. distribution rights to Gillian Armstrong's fictionalized Harry Houdini biopic "Death Defying Acts," which it plans to unveil at the Cannes Film Festival next May.

Scorsese joins gang at Paramount Pictures (Reuters)
   

Reuters - In a bid to foster a talent-friendly studio reminiscent of its '70s glory days, Paramount Pictures said Tuesday it signed a production deal with Martin Scorsese, currently riding high at the box office with the biggest film of his career, "The Departed."

Johnny Depp plunders People's Choice nominations (Reuters)
   

Reuters - "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Johnny Depp, Hollywood's top-grossing leading man this year, led the field of People's Choice Award contenders announced on Tuesday as he snatched up three nominations.

Mexican, Hungarian films score U.S. deals (Reuters)
   Reuters - Indie distributor Palm Pictures has picked up North American and Caribbean rights to "Solo Dios Sabe," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

"Unknown" an unpleasant experience (Reuters)
   Reuters - Displaying influences of far too many thrillers to count, "Unknown" wastes a terrific cast on a hopelessly contrived premise that, adding insult to injury, is executed awkwardly.

Lohan plays the victim in "Killed Me" (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Lindsay Lohan will star in "I Know Who Killed Me," a psychological thriller scheduled to begin shooting next month.