The odds of Ridley Scott ever shooting his planned/rumored/anticipated prequel to Alien remain at a less-than optimal 45-to-1, but that didn't stop the filmmaker on Sunday from passing along details of what to expect if he ever gets it underway. Two words: Space Jockey.
Considering the bad luck and despair that have afflicted would-be adapters of Don Quixote over the years -- from Orson Welles to Terry Gilliam -- I kind of love the idea that Joel Silver is developing a version as a tentpole action picture for Warner Bros. How can you resist the scope of what will go wrong on that set? I mean, can you throw money at a curse? Will Silver's default leading man Robert Downey Jr. really look passable as a deluded Spanish retiree? Anyway, this is happening. [Pajiba]
Did you sit through Avatar -- or Alice in Wonderland or any other 3D film released over the twelve months -- and feel like you were watching it on a laptop with the brightness turned down? Well, Christopher Nolan feels your pain. While every other filmmaker in Hollywood -- even, sadly, Martin Scorsese -- embraces 3D imagery and technology, the Inception director is steadfastly holding out against the wave of extra dimensions and over-priced tickets.
If you flipped over to the Tony Awards at any moment last night, the chances are good you probably thought it was the Oscars. Or the MTV Movie Awards. Scarlett Johannson won for Best Featured Actress in a play for A View From a Bridge and gave a shout out to her husband, Ryan Reynolds; Catherine Zeta-Jones -- remember her? -- won for Best Actress in a Musical for A Little Night Music and gave a shout out to her husband, Michael Douglas; and Denzel Washington won for Best Actor in a Play for Fences and -- well, pretty much just stammered. And that's to say nothing of the audience, which included Will Smith, Jay-Z and Beyonce. Oh and Green Day performed. All that was missing was Justin Bieber! And with that reference, here comes Glee stars Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison to perform. Video after the jump.
The Aussie supermodel and fledgling actress is the latest name to surface in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides casting rumors. The always-reliable Courier Mail notes that Ward will end her extended movie break as a mermaid in the film; she'll shoot her scenes in August. Moreover, according to a anonymous "friend," Ward has spent the last year in New York "studying the craft full time." She is going to kill the hell out of that mermaid! High-five, Gemma. [via /film]
· It's taken decades, but Atlas Shrugged is officially in production as a major motion picture. Well, maybe not "major": Shooting began over the weekend on the $5 million indie adaptation of Ayn Rand's epic philosophical novel (working title: Atlas Shrugged Part One), with One Tree Hill co-star Paul Johansson directing and starring as John Galt. Taylor Schilling and Grant Bowler are on board as Dagny Taggart and Henry Rearden; Variety has commemorated the occasion with the unfortunate headline, "Cameras Role [sic] on Atlas." Guess the producers won't be clipping that one. [Variety]
Sylvester Stallone comes between the trades and the studios, Chinese directors are down on Harvey Weinstein, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
At Gay Pride in Los Angeles this weekend, there were all the expected sights (like waxed chests and poor sartorial choices involving jean shorts and fanny packs), but among them, there was also one rather unexpected cameo from James Franco. What was the actor doing there? Let him explain.
The first official bit of marketing for The Tourist has arrived and it confirms one thing: Johnny Depp looks a whole lot like Eddie Vedder. The new film -- which teams Depp and Angelina Jolie in a Hitchcockian tale of international intrigue and possible mistaken identity -- is sure to bring the sparks and the dollars to the multiplex when it opens -- which could quite possibly be as early as December. Other than that -- well, that's where you come in, Movieline commenters. After the jump, take a look at the full image and come up with something witty and/or moderately amusing for a Sunday afternoon. The best caption gets the praise and adulation of -- well, me. Enjoy!
Need more proof that pre-release polling is totally useless? Heading into this weekend of '80s reboots, The Karate Kid and The A-Team were running neck and neck -- both pegged for around $30 million in ticket sales. Where are those "Dewey Defeats Truman" headlines when you need them? The Karate Kid almost doubled those expectations this weekend, easily defeating the exploding version of The A-Team in the process. Those stories of June Gloom in Hollywood can stop now. The cruel summer -- ahem -- is officially over. Cue up some Bananarama and click ahead for the weekend receipts.
Pour a little out for Harry Potter and his friends. According to the Twitter account of actor Warrick Davis, Saturday was the final day of principle photography on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Said Davis over multiple tweets: "The end of an Era -- today is officially the last day of principal photography on Harry Potter -- ever I feel honoured to be here as the director shouts cut for the very last time. Farewell Harry & Hogwarts, it's been magic! ... and goodbye Griphook!" Though not magic enough to stay within the bounds of the 140 character Twitter limit, right Warrick? [/Film]
Director Joe Carnahan -- who is busy blowing up everything in The A-Team this weekend -- has had his fair share of brushes with almost greatness. White Jazz, an adaptation of the James Ellory novel, was supposed to film in 2007 with George Clooney and Chris Pine, but never happened. Ditto the remake of Bunny Lake is Missing with Reese Witherspoon. And he's still trying to get his Medellin Killing Pablo script made -- with Edgar Ramirez as Pablo Escobar and, perhaps, Christian Bale as a law enforcement official (shades of Public Enemies). And, of course, there was Mission: Impossible III.
Someone get Liam Neeson a Netflix account. While on the press rounds for The A-Team, Neeson found time to discuss the sequel status of his previous blockbuster -- the surprise hit Taken: "It's just hard to get a plot that's going to be believable, you know? But I'm meeting with Luc Besson later this month so we're going to sit down and see if we can hash out a theme." Huh. Has he actually seen Taken? Considering it basically revolved around Neeson single-handedly killing everyone he ran into and that The A-Team features a scene where the protagonists fly a tank by firing its gun, it's safe to assume that his definition of "believable" has very wide parameters. [MTV Movies Blog]
What is it with movie stars moonlighting as marketing geniuses? Earlier, it was Aubrey Plaza stumping for Super 8 -- though, to be fair, Plaza just tweeted the following: "I'm not MarKEtinG SH*T! I just GOTTA know what's indat BOXXXX" -- and now Robert Pattinson has come up with a surefire way to get people in the seats for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. At a press conference today, when asked why people should see Eclipse, Pattinson offered the best reason he could think of: "Why not?"
It's been a while since J.J. Abrams' Super 8 marketing campaign has made any noise -- and no, those "secret" casting notices don't count; Little Darlings, my ass -- but thanks to actress Aubrey Plaza, that changed on Friday night. The Parks and Recreation star -- and all-around hilarious scene stealer -- took to her Twitter page to post seven tweets over the course of an hour pleading with the Super 8 director to reveal what's inside the smashed train car at the end of the film's teaser. As Plaza put it: "I cant WAIT TILL NEXT SUMMER FOR THAT SH*T! WHATS IN DAT BOX JJ??" She even created a blogspot -- titled, fittingly, "Whats in DAT BOX, JJ?!" -- which, thus far, has two posts. J.J, the ball's in your court. [@evilhag]
Not that I've pinned the entire success of the summer movie season on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but -- pleasepleaseplease wind up being good. You never want to be overly hyped for any movie, but the marketing for Scott Pilgrim has made that impossible. The new individual character posters highlighting each of the evil exes that Scott must battle are right inline with the recent trailer and don't stop any of the forward momentum. Get excited! After the jump, the six posters.
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