Big moves for Brit filmmaker Joe Cornish: The writer-director of Attack the Block (who also co-wrote Steven Spielberg's Tintin and Marvel's Ant-Man script with Edgar Wright) has landed the gig of writing and directing an adaptation of Neal Stephenson's 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash for Paramount, Deadline reports. The alternate-reality sci-fi tale follows one Hiro Protagonist, a hacker/swordsman who discovers a new drug/computer virus called Snow Crash is spreading through the postmodern future... and you know what that means: Time for a round of Cast That Movie! Which actors out there could fill Hiro's shoes? [Deadline]
For nearly three years, Movieline's Verge feature has introduced you to the likes of Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Armie Hammer, Emma Stone, Chris Hemsworth and dozens of other bright young screen talents on their ways to the big time. 2011 was no exception, so wind down the year with a look back at -- and a word with -- a few major new players you'll be seeing plenty of in the future.
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Awards screeners have yet to really start coming in (a few have already been sent out, including Sony Pictures Classics' Take Shelter, The Guard, and Higher Ground, and Summit's A Better Life), but this week's arrival of Attack the Block DVD screeners is a surprise entry to the season. The Sony/Screen Gems-released sci-fi pic was sent out to members of the L.A. Film Critics Association this week, although it's unclear how much of a campaign the studio plans, if any. Does the British kid-oriented genre film have a shot at awards season, anyway?
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The pop culture parodists at The Hillywood Show bring it with the Halloween movie-music mash-up of the season. Put your paws up and watch as they envision The Nightmare Before Christmas, only with Lady Gaga in place of Jack Skellington. The Monster Queen of Halloweentown! Somehow it's not much of a stretch. Bonus: It'll give you a plethora of Gaga Halloween costume ideas (sans the meat dress, which might be a bit tricky to pull off). More in your Thursday Buzz Break!
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Now that his feature film debut as a hoodlum-turned-savior in Attack the Block is finally hitting theaters stateside, 19-year-old John Boyega is savoring his big moment. As Moses, the hardened teen anti-hero of Joe Cornish's British alien invasion romp, Boyega leads a gang of misfit delinquents into battle against a horde of vicious E.T.s to defend a South London council block. Off-screen, the charismatic up-and-comer has a new territory in his sights: Hollywood.
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When the British sci-fi action pic Attack the Block opens this week in limited release, courtesy of Screen Gems, it will mark the completion of the long journey that comedian, screenwriter (Ant-Man, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn), and first-time director Joe Cornish has made with his alien invasion passion project. So how did a South London-set hood actioner fronted by a cast of teenage unknowns manage to become one of the buzziest, fan-beloved films of the year?
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Two upcoming Sony releases scored their first honors Sunday at the 2011 L.A. Film Fest, where Michael Rapaport's Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (Sony Classics) and Joe Cornish's Attack the Block (Screen Gems) won audience awards. Also in the winners' circle: Stephane Lafleur's Canadian comedy Familiar Ground and Wish Me Away, a documentary about country singer Chely Wright's decision to come out of the closet.
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Here's the good news: Your first look at the trailer for Bennett Miller's Moneyball (starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill) is online, and, by the looks of it, the September baseball awards has awards season potential. The bad news: It debuted on Entertainment Tonight, which means talking heads Nancy O'Dell and Mark Steines add their own distracting commentary to the trailer. But, still. It's the first Moneyball trailer! UPDATE: Now with full trailer!
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Great news for those hotly anticipating Joe Cornish's SXSW fave Attack the Block: Sony/Screen Gems will release the U.K.-set street kids vs. aliens pic in limited release July 29. Until then, lucky fans in select cities can try to catch one of the sneak screenings that have helped Attack the Block build a grassroots movie geek following thus far. Just remember: Your geek cred demands that you see this film as soon as possible. [Box Office Mojo via Collider]
Movieline hero Clint Culpepper strikes again! Sony announced today that it will distribute Joe Cornish's debut feature, the London kids vs. aliens action comedy Attack the Block, via its Screen Gems division. "The film is, at once, charming, scary, funny, hip, clever and completely hits its mark," said Screen Gems president Culpepper in a press release. Guess all that geek cred from SXSW did the film some good after all! Hit the jump for more info and a look at the film's nerdgasm-inducing trailer.
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Universal's geek bonding road trip flick Paul screens shortly tonight at SXSW, but another sci-fi alien pic with ties to the Nick Frost-Edgar Wright-Simon Pegg universe may have already stolen its thunder: Attack the Block, director Joe Cornish's horror comedy about inner-city London kids who channel their delinquent ways into survival skills when vicious space invaders descend.
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