That's right, Mantivities. Star Trek's Chris Pine, along with five of his buddies, wrote the comedy script; he'll produce and star under director Michael Patrick Jann (The State, Reno 911!). Writes Deadline: "The comedy focuses on a group of friends in their early 30s, all in various stages of permanent adolescence. They get together with the aim of helping one of them grow up... 'I couldn’t be happier to begin the adventure of making Mantivities knowing how much fun we all had writing it,' Pine said. ‘Somehow I get to laugh with my friends and call it work.'” [Deadline]
Ahead of opening the 65th Cannes Film Festival with tonight's red-carpet premiere, Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom kicked off the frenzy this morning with a screening and press conference.
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Also in this morning's edition of Biz Break: Sony Classics reunites with an Oscar-winner, Music Box takes a risk with a Hemingway, John Woo gets in on a remake, and more...
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Yikes, this is not good: "Law enforcement officials confirm ... Stahl's wife filed a missing person's report with the L.A.P.D. on Monday ... saying she last saw the 32-year-old actor on May 9. [... I]t is believed Stahl had been frequenting the Skid Row area of Downtown Los Angeles recently ... and there are concerns he may have gotten himself involved in some bad stuff. Back in February, Nick's wife had filed court papers, expressing serious concerns that Nick may be using drugs ... and sources say she fears drugs may have something to do with his disappearance." [TMZ]
Paramount unveiled the first poster to its imminent Anchorman sequel, which we've all been calling Anchorman 2 forever but will apparently have the brassier if more cumbersome title, Anchorman: The Legend Continues. Did we already know this? Sorry if I missed that, seriously, I'm still utterly transfixed by Peter Berg's geopolitical aplomb. Ron Burgundy couldn't hold a candle. Anyway, you'll still call it Anchorman 2, so whatever, have a look.
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Technically the plot of Prometheus is still fairly unknown from the trailers and clips Fox has unleashed, at least insofar as what it is that befalls the intrepid space crew that ventures into unknown horrors in Ridley Scott's June sci-fi action thriller. But the latest TV spot seems to reveal an awful lot of said horrors — flashes of frights and things and scenes that seem to give good reason for that R rating — so watch at your own risk, because these 30 seconds are at once both awesome and a tad too revealing.
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Now here's the way to make your run of the mill Battleship junket interview way more interesting: Turn the tables on your talking-head interviewer by grilling him on Israel's nuclear policy and why he didn't serve his compulsory service in the military. Which is what Peter Berg did to one unsuspecting journalist for Israel's Channel 10.
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Also in Tuesday afternoon's Biz Break: Exclusive Media takes rights to Zac Efron/Dennis Quaid starrer, Universal picks up rights to Kathryn Bigelow's untitled bin Laden film, and with the initial craze over 3-D fading comes scrutiny over the medium.
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Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles’ The Dictator is indefensible and hilarious, an unruly thing that invites you to laugh at things you feel you shouldn’t. I’ve heard people — even some who like the picture — referring to The Dictator as offensive, and one of the guys sitting behind me at the screening laughed at some jokes and remained awkwardly mute during others. After one of these pauses — the vibrations of his uneasiness were traveling right through my seat back — I heard him say to his pal, “I’m not sure how I feel about this.” But as the end credits rolled he announced joyously, “That was great!” as if he’d endured an enema cleansing that made him feel a whole lot better afterward. Cohen has many gifts as a performer, and with The Dictator he reveals yet another one: He knows how to flush stuff right out of you.
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A trailer for Tom Hooper's upcoming Les Miserables film leaked onto the interwebs today, revealing looks at Hugh Jackman in action in the musical adaptation. But nevermind the handsome, jaunty period stylings of 19th century France in turmoil as envisioned by Hooper; get an earful of Anne Hathaway's warbly voice singing a tearful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream"... and sound off on her Fantine. Are you excited or worried, theater nerds?
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Opening early overseas helped this week's Battleship quietly amass $215 million before its domestic debut, and a few international markets (including Japan, Hong Kong, and New Zealand) may similarly see emphatic pre-U.S. openings for Sony's July 3 tent pole The Amazing Spider-Man when it opens in countries like India days before hitting theaters stateside. Shall we call it, as one Sony Pictures India rep suggests, the "neener-neener" bump? "Each of the Spider-Man franchise films has broken records on its release in this territory. We are very confident that Indian audiences will enjoy the new reboot of the franchise even more because they are watching it before the U.S." [THR]
Looks like that first steamy image from Brian DePalma's femme thriller Passion was just the tip of the erotic iceberg! New images from the film have emerged from Cannes, where the film is seeking buyers, showing more of stars Rachel McAdams as a businesswoman and Noomi Rapace as her assistant, who become locked in a deadly power struggle that will involve lingerie, showers, and kinky masks. If these pics don't get this movie sold, I don't know what will.
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The Film: Being John Malkovich (1999), available today on Blu-ray and DVD via The Criterion Collection
Why It’s an Inessential Essential: It’s strange to think that a film with John Malkovich’s name in its title isn’t really considered to be “a John Malkovich movie.” Instead, Being John Malkovich is understandably normally associated with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze, both of whom really broke out thanks to BJM’s success. While Jonze reveals on The Criterion Collection’s new audio commentary track that he and Kaufman were dead-set on getting Malkovich for the film, Being John Malkovich could really be about any celebrity. At the same time, that’s one of the many things that’s funny about Being John Malkovich: It’s a metaphysical black comedy about what people projecting things onto celebrities that don’t necessarily have anything to do with those celebrities.
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Long queues formed outside the Palais des Festivals this afternoon in Cannes as attendees mobbed the building waiting to pick up their credentials. Marilyn Monroe presided over the scene; the now familiar image of the legendary actress blowing out a candle is this year's official image/poster of the 65th Festival de Cannes, which kicks off tomorrow evening with the debut of Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, the first of 12 nights of red carpet premieres.
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In this 70th anniversary year of Casablanca, it only seems fitting that Michael Curtiz's classic should emerge this week in the medium where its indelible romantic splendor finally can take root and thrive: on Facebook.
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