Exciting news for Gina Carano fans: According to a THR report, the Haywire star/former MMA fighter is in talks to join the cast of Justin Lin's Fast & Furious 6. Carano would play a member of the Diplomatic Security Agent working under Dwayne Johnson's agent Luke Hobbs, who was last seen in the post-credits of Fast 5 sniffing out the trail of Dominic Toretto & Co. Details on the plot are still under wraps, but give how the last sequel ended it doesn't seem too far-fetched to hope for a potential... girl fight, if you will, between Carano's character and a certain franchise favorite. Do you believe in fighting ghosts? [THR]
Everything old was new again this weekend at the box office, with a third sequel and a WWII film cruising to the lead opposite pockets of crummy weather and a pair of NFL playoff games that were about as good as they could possibly be. What hit? What kind of didn't? Your Weekend Receipts are here.
more »
The brilliant haute spy character Modesty Blaise – created by British author Peter O’Donnell in 1963 and kept alive, through 2002, in a series of comic books and novels – has been botched on film so many times that those of us who love this urbane, intuitive temptress (with a flair for hand-to-hand combat) have mostly given up hope. Joseph Losey first missed the target with the 1966 Modesty Blaise; Scott Spiegel took another wobbly shot with the 2004 direct-to-video My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure. But the spirit of Modesty lives, by another name and in a different sort of story, in Stephen Soderbergh’s stylish, quietly exhilarating Haywire, which features mixed martial-arts star Gina Carano as a hit person with a smoldering, deadpan gaze and nutcracker thighs. She also, as it happens, looks killer in a cocktail dress.
more »
Watching mixed martial artist Gina Carano fight on television, director Steven Soderbergh was struck by inspiration: Why not build an action movie around the lethal (and yes, gorgeous) athlete to show audiences what a real action heroine could look like? Forget Angelina Jolie in Salt, or any number of actresses who’ve unconvincingly flitted their way through the genre. Carano was the real deal, a woman who can dole out punches with bone-shattering believability, leap between buildings, and battle Hollywood’s best leading men with aplomb, as evidenced in this week’s Haywire.
more »
Anyone who's seen Contagion (or, let's be honest, even just the trailer for Contagion) knows that Steven Soderbergh is not precious about keeping his biggest stars breathing for the duration of his films. And when you think about it, that is kind of an awesome against-the-tide trend that few directors -- okay, few studios -- have the wherewithal to attempt. Chatting with the UK's Independent about Contagion and Haywire, Soderbergh dropped some science on the art of manipulating the very essence of stardom in movies to great effect.
more »
MMA star Gina Carano makes her action heroine debut this month in Steven Soderbergh's spy revenge pic Haywire, which bone-crunched its way into moviegoer hearts during AFI Fest. Can't wait to see Carano put a beat down on just about every leading man (Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender) whose path she crosses? Submit a 10-word review of any Soderbergh film to enter to win a pair of tickets to Thursday's Los Angeles premiere.
more »
AFI Fest's "secret" screening of Steven Soderbergh's Haywire wasn't so much a showcase for the AFI darling as it was a coming out party for MMA bruiser-cum-action heroine Gina Carano, whom Soderbergh glimpsed fighting one night on TV and subsequently built a star-studded spy thriller pic around. But it's hard to say if first-time actor Carano will branch out in a film career beyond the often lo-fi action experiment. Is she a hybrid of Angelina Jolie and Steven Seagal, as Soderbergh suggested Sunday night? Or is there more of a Cynthia Rothrock quality to Carano's steely gaze and powerhouse physicality?
more »
Contagion/Haywire/Magic Mike director (slash painter and future retiree) Steven Soderbergh was indeed tapped by old friend Gary Ross to shoot second unit on the YA adaptation The Hunger Games, the challenge of which he explains in an interview with Moviefone: "I thought, 'OK, I see what you guys are doing. I know what the tool kit is. I know what the rules are.' And it's fun in a way. I found it much more nerve-wracking than when you're shooting for yourself. Because I was constantly thinking, 'Oh, I hope that he likes this. I hope he likes that.' May the odds be ever in his favor? [Moviefone]
Further evidence that Steven Soderbergh can't possibly retire early as previously reported: Even with Haywire and Contagion to promote and Channing Tatum's stripper movie to shoot this year, the Oscar-winner has found time to shoot second unit on Lionsgate's now-filming adaptation of The Hunger Games.
more »
January isn't exactly the time of year when you want your film to hit screens, but maybe Steven Soderbergh's Haywire will defy the "dumping grounds" curse! After all, in addition to starring MMA fighter Gina Carano as a double-crossed covert ops specialist, it's written by Lem Dobbs (The Limey) and has folks like Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas, Michael Angarano, Ewan MacGregor, Michael Fassbender, and Michael Douglas filling out the cast. Mmm, Fassbender. Yup, we're in. Relativity will release the film January 20, 2012. [Press release]
Michael Angarano has been acting since the age of six, so you could take his collective filmography, as he jokes, as a "well-kept home video" of his life captured on screen. For much of that documented life he's been a steadily-rising young performer amassing a wide range of credits (Almost Famous, Sky High, The Forbidden Kingdom, Gentlemen Broncos), but 2011 marks an important turning point; with roles in Max Winkler's Ceremony (in theaters), Gavin Wiesen's Homework, Steven Soderbergh's Haywire, and Kevin Smith's Red State, Angarano is in the midst of carving out a fascinating adult career for himself.
more »
