New Films in Production

[Finch]

Never understood their reticence to let Tarantino direct a Bond film.

[knives]

Chris Rock doesn't own the corner on remakes of classics, ever so sadly.

[flyonthewall2983]

Batman 3 is a go.

[Cosmic Bus]

Chris Rock doesn't own the corner on remakes of classics, ever so sadly.

There's a Japanese remake of Elevator to the Gallows coming in the fall, as well.

[HarryLong]

Batman 3 is a go.

Hits snooze button, scratches cat on head, rolls over & goes back to sleep.

[LQ]

Some info on Almodóvar's next movie!

"The film will be a terror film, without screams or scares, It's difficult to define and although it comes close to the terror genre—something that appeals to me that I've never done—I won't respect any of its rules. It's the harshest film I've ever written and [Antonio] Banderas' character is brutal."

[mfunk9786]

I'm always dubious when a big-time writer or director says they're making a "horror" or "terror" film. For instance, Charlie Kaufman said he was developing a horror script, and it ended up being Synecdoche, New York.

[dadaistnun]

Cronenberg update from Variety:

Colin Farrell and Marion Cotillard are attached to topline David Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis," an adaptation of Don DeLillo's novel. Gregoire Melin's Paris-based Kinology has picked up international sales rights and is presenting the project to buyers for the first time at the Cannes market. The $20.5 million film is penned by Cronenberg and produced by Portuguese producer Paulo Branco's Alfama Films and Cronenberg's Toronto-based Antenna, in association with Kinology. The thriller follows a multimillionaire on a 24-hour odyssey across Manhattan. Farrell will play the asset manager who loses all his wealth over the course of one day. Cotillard will play his wife. Lensing will take place from March to May in Toronto and New York. "Cosmopolis" will be Cronenberg's follow-up to "A Dangerous Method," which starts shooting this month in Germany with Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen. DeLillo's acclaimed works include "White Noise" and "Underworld." Branco last produced "Ashes and Blood," directed by Gallic thesp Fanny Ardant. At Cannes, Kinology is also launching sales on Finnish fantasy "Rare Exports,"directed by first-timer Jalmari Helander. Melin's sales slate includes Kirsten Dunst-starrer "Upside Down," a $50-million sci-fi romance that is currently shooting in Montreal.

[flyonthewall2983]

Damn, Dave's one busy boy nowadays.

[flyonthewall2983]

Bruce Willis joins Rian Johnson's Looper.

[Kirkinson]

Ewan McGregor has replaced Johnny Depp for Terry Gilliam's resurrection of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, joining Robert Duvall, who let slip that he was attached months ago. Gilliam is in Cannes right now looking for $20 million to actually get the thing made.

[Matt]

Here's a rarity, an actress signing on for a second film with Lars von Trier. John Hurt has signed on as well.

[Ovader]

Drew Barrymore to Direct 'Wizard of Oz' Sequel.

[colinr0380]

Here's a rarity, an actress signing on for a second film with Lars von Trier. John Hurt has signed on as well.

Well there was the returning female cast of The Kingdom II, and Lauren Bacall (and Chlöe Sevigny) in both Dogville and Manderlay. And Siobhan Fallon in Dancer In The Dark and Dogville (she played the sympathetic death row warden leading Selma on her final walk in Dancer and the churchwoman in Dogville).

But it's nice that von Trier finally might be about to make good on the promise to cast Hurt as more than just a narrator in one of his films!

He would only hint that the story hinged on a "large object from outer space approaching Earth" that affects the planet's inhabitants.

Sounds kind of Deep Impact-y!

[zedz]

He would only hint that the story hinged on a "large object from outer space approaching Earth" that affects the planet's inhabitants.

Is it a bell?

[Matt]

I guess I should have specified lead actress, but then I don't know if she's a lead in the new film.

[Cosmic Bus]

The L.A. Times on Matt Reeves' Let Me In remake.

[mfunk9786]

It looks like Jeremy Renner is officially back in the cast and now Reese Witherspoon has been offered a major part in PTA's [please fucking come out already!!] new film.

[MoonlitKnight]

It's Paul Thomas Anderson. Someone has to pick it up eventually, right? :-s

[Steven H]

I'm excited about this one.

“The Ruined Cast”

Acclaimed graphic novelist Dash Shaw (“Bottomless Belly Button,” “BodyWorld”) is teaming up with veteran producer Howard Gertler (“Shortbus,” “World’s Greatest Dad”) and filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “Rabbit Hole”) on what promises to be an innovative full-length feature animation called “The Ruined Cast.” Shaw, who met Mitchell while doing some illustration work on his latest project, “Rabbit Hole,” starring Nicole Kidman, will direct the project, while Gertler and Mitchell will produce.

“The story revolves around a new technology that allows people to wear other people’s boides,” Shaw told indieWIRE earlier this month. “The body they wear also affects the person who is wearing it, and this is wrapped around a family story.” Shaw said that the setting is a “trophy city in the future.” Not just figuratively, but literally. The city is encased in a trophy that is akin to a gated community. “The people who live there think of it as an idyllic place,” Shaw added.

...

“The Ruined Cast” / Dash Shaw - demo teaser

[perkizitore]

Guillermo del Toro quits as director of The Hobbit

[Numero Trois]

Aronofsky must be kicking himself for not getting out that Myspace movie sooner.

Do you think he'd be interested in a criterionforum.org movie? Though a word of warning - it would probably only work as an indie styled argument fest like Metropolitan and then get blown out of the water by a Scorsese adaptation of The Auteurs with all the members played by the biggest celebrities (Julia Roberts is ThatGirlSmile!, exploring the wonders of Tarkovsky for the first time. Morgan Freeman is the List Master) on its opening weekend. It would hopefully retain its cult appeal though!

Or, better yet- IMDB: The Movie. Directed by Michael Bay. Watch as two cops work undercover in IMDB HQ investigating some mysterious goings ons. Yeah, that's right. It turns out aliens are responsible for all the IMDB errors! Can they be taught critical thinking skills before the world blows up?

[Finch]

Guillermo del Toro quits as director of The Hobbit

My interest in seeing this has dropped several notches now that Del Toro has quit. I can easily imagine that his Hobbit would have turned out better than Jackson's trilogy: I can't think of any other recent bunch of films that I've tired of so quickly. Unless they get Alfonso Cuaron or someone comparable on board, they might as well not bother. Nor should Jackson himself take over again - the man completely lost it with Return of the King and each subsequent film was as dire if not worse. But easily the most frustrating thing about Guillermo quitting is that it makes a lot less likely that any studio will finance his adaptation of At The Mountains of Madness.

[Dadapass]

Bruno Dumont's next project will be L'Empire.

[zedz]

Guillermo del Toro quits as director of The Hobbit

This is devastating news for more than one Wellington cafe.