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Sam Worthington Gets Gritty in 'American Crime'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Casting, Deals, Noir, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Few of us have had the chance to read Rick Remender's upcoming series, The Last Days of American Crime, but it's already tapped for the big-screen treatment. To sweeten the deal, American Crime already has a face. An Australian one. Mania is reporting that Sam Worthington has signed on to play the series' star criminal, Graham Brick. American Crime is set in a near-future where the government has found a way to kill the criminal impulse in its citizens. That's good for everyone but the criminals, and chaos erupts as the unsavory element goes mad trying to get in one last job. One of these men is Graham Brick, who is in the midst of planning a big heist, and gets to watch all his best laid plans fall apart in a bloody fashion. I read the preview Radical handed out at Comic-Con this year, and like all previews, it was too short to really get a handle on the story. But the art was incredible, it was ridiculously violent, and it had that slimy feeling of Sin City. You can check out three pages here, and Radical has 15 pages up on MySpace. The first issue is scheduled to hit stands in December.
Remender will be penning the screenplay himself, and Radical will be producing it under their film shingle. We'll supposedly be getting a studio, a director, and more cast-members very soon, but it's tough to get excited without having read issue #1. Still, if this is really the mix of James Ellroy and David Mamet's Heist that Remender promises, Crime will be something to look out for.
Scenes We Love: Miller's Crossing
Filed under: Classics, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, Scenes We Love
In the Great Coen Debates that occur among film fans, there's one that I never feel gets enough love: Miller's Crossing. It's probably my favorite next to The Big Lebowski. The film is deliciously dark and dreary (you can watch this in summer and still feel cold), but punctuated by that startling Coens humor. The dialogue and character quirks are not as exaggerated as they are in other Coen films, and when a character does get theatrical, it's appropriate to the setting. These are thugs who find themselves in positions of great wealth and power, after all, and they'll never know quite how to behave in the real world.
The film has a level of tension I don't think the Coens matched until No Country For Old Men. Tom's white-knuckle walk into Miller's Crossing is probably my favorite scene (actually, it's difficult to pick just one), but it doesn't appear to be on YouTube. So, here's another moment of violence that just doesn't go the way you think it will, and features the best use of Danny Boy in history. I really want to believe that the gramophone is a nod to Sean Connery's death scene in The Untouchables, but I suspect it's a noir standard that ushered many a mobster and cop into his grave.
Roger Rabbit Sequel Will Contain Both 2D and Mo-Cap Animation
Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Noir, RumorMonger, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
As Peter reported a few days ago, Robert Zemeckis is going forward with a Roger Rabbit sequel. We all seem to be intrigued by the possibility of returning to Toontown, but Zemeckis' obsession with motion capture really casts a Judge Doom-like shadow over the project. Will he motion capture Roger Rabbit and his Toontown friends? Or will Zemeckis return to the old school of hand-drawn animation?MTV caught up with Zemeckis, who was quick to assure fans of the bumbling Roger that he will remain his cuddly 2D self. "I wouldn't use it for the cartoon characters, because I think they should stay two-dimensional because that's what - I wouldn't dimensonalize Roger," he said. "And I couldn't dimensonalize Jessica even if I wanted to because she doesn't have a nose. We wouldn't want to give her a nose." But motion capture will be a part of Roger Rabbit 2. The technology is like Zemeckis' whale, and he's determined to exploit every possibility with it. His current plan appears to involve using motion-capture for the human performances. "All the other characters that [the cartoons] would sort of have fun with would be magnificent in performance capture technology."
There's that Judge Doom shadow again. The clumsy way humans and toons interacted was the point of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? It was the contrast that was interesting and fun. Having animated humans just seems to take it on a trip into the Uncanny Valley. The project is still in its early stages, so maybe Zemeckis will surprise us, and have the technology be part of the story. Everyone on the interwebs seems to be championing the idea of the toons having to deal with technological advances. We can hope for that, and not that Zemeckis will just shove in a motion-captured cast just because he can't stop himself.
Cinematical Seven: Best Villain-Hero Romances
Filed under: Drama, Gay & Lesbian, Thrillers, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, Cinematical Seven, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Lists
We love it when our heroes fall for the suspicious types: the wolves in sheep's clothing, the dangerous femme fatales. It happens often in film noir and a heckuva lot in comics, and provides some of the best last-act twists and turns as our hearts palpitate along with those of our protagonists... up until the bitter end. Can't that evil love interest turn out to have a heart of gold, so we can all have a happily ever after? Sometimes, yes. Most of the time, no.
What is it about these doomed romances that we love so much? Perhaps it's the futility of it all; you can't have your cake and eat it when you're a superhero or a (wo)man on a mission to right wrongs, even if you'd rather be kissing that beguiling bad guy than fighting them, arresting them, or foiling their evil plans. Turning down a chance at love is the ultimate sacrifice for a hero or heroine to make -- it proves their commitment to the side of good. Hence, loving a villain makes a hero even more heroic. How tragic!
In what will surely spur controversy, I've whittled my favorite villain-hero romances down to the seven best pairings in cinema. No, Phantom of the Opera didn't make it. That would have been too easy. Instead, find odd couples, would-be perfect pairs, star-crossed lovers, and yes, the world's most legendary bromance after the jump.
Poster Premiere: Ed Wood Meets 007 in 'Modus Operandi'?
Filed under: Independent, Thrillers, Noir, Mystery & Suspense
I'll give you a few details and some material from the press release right here ... but I've made an executive decision to place the brand-new poster for Frankie Latina's Modus Operandi beneath the jump -- but only because it's slightly "adult" in nature. Anyway, this flick sounds like a weird one, and of course I mean that in the nicest way possible.Described by the Las Vegas Weekly as "a James Bond film directed by Ed Wood," the 8mm Modus Operandi is about ... heck, I'll let the press notes tell you: "Two briefcases with mysterious contents are stolen from top Presidential candidate Squire Parks, setting off a deadly series of double-crosses and betrayals. Desperate warring factions of subterranean organizations will stop at nothing to gain possession of the sensitive material. A covert branch of the CIA calls on notorious black ops agent Stanley Cashay, who has been barely existing in a semi-comatose twilight since the murder of his wife. Cashay is offered the identity of his wife's killer in exchange for locating and returning the cases." And it gets even crazier after that! (More post-jump.)
What has me intrigued is the responses from folks like Eric Kohn at IndieWire ("A mondo B-movie that holds nothing back ... Modus Operandi is a movie utterly content with its own insanity.") and Stephen Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter ("It bursts with campiness and odes to '70s movie outrageousness.") Sounds right up my alley.
Check post-jump for the poster premiere and more of that rather amusing plot synopsis...
Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio Remaking 'The Third Man'?
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, RumorMonger, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
An intriguing remake rumor has popped up on CHUD. Devin Faraci is reporting that longtime friends Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio might star in a remake of Carol Reed's classic thriller The Third Man. Canal Plus is said to be shopping around the project, which includes a screenplay penned by Steven Knight. The details are scarce (and it may not happen at all), so it's not known whether this would be a straight up-remake or a rewrite, or who Maguire or DiCaprio would be playing. But the idea is enough to undoubtedly cause reactions of anger and panic around film fans, but think about this calmly. It's not as though Maguire, DiCaprio, or Knight are untalented slouches, and it's the kind of story that could be given a modern rewrite and stand on its own feet. I would actually love to see this rewritten, and set in Iraq or Afghanistan. I'd love to see it set it in years immediately preceding the Soviet Union, putting Harry Lime and Holly Martins in the dangerous, free-for-all Yeltsin economy. (Faraci suggests making it sci-fi, which would be very brave and very awesome.)
The Third Man is one of those stories like Dashiell Hammet's Red Harvest that is flexible enough to work in another adaptation and lose nothing of its original power. I'm very curious to see if this comes together, and in what form. DiCaprio would be the perfect actor to play the smirking Lime. I just hope they don't mimic my favorite scene. Some things are better left to Welles.
Watch This Rare One-Hour Interview with Alfred Hitchcock
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Horror, Noir, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Trailers and Clips
Any time is the perfect time to visit the films of Alfred Hitchcock, but October seems a particularly good time to indulge in some of his creepier offerings. The only thing better might be spending an hour with the man himself -- and thanks to YouTube, you can come close. In 1973, Tom Snyder and his Tomorrow program conducted an hour long interview with the legendary director, who talked candidly about his career. The interview was believed to have been lost, but was discovered on a VHS tape and has now been put up on YouTube.
It's rare to actually hear Hitchcock speak for himself. He's now become one of those directors who is heard about more than he was ever heard from. While he was definitely in his twilight years here, his wit was still very much intact, and he talks about everything from his films, to his Jesuit training, his public image as "a monster," and the longevity of his career. In a delicious sign of the times, there's a glass of wine at his elbow the entire time. They certainly don't do interviews like this anymore! It's fascinating stuff, and a must see for any fan of Hitchcock, or anyone aspiring to create films in his image.
Pop below the jump for the embedded videos (and if they don't work fast enough, they can be found on this YouTube page), and thanks to Slashfilm for pointing it out. Enjoy!
Movie Genres Lars von Trier Has Already Pwned
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Music & Musicals, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, Celebrities and Controversy, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Lists
Hot on the heels of his controversial psychological horror tale, Antichrist (Hey, it pulled him out of a deep depression!) Lars von Trier has revealed that his next film will be Planet Melancholia, a science fiction-romance-disaster movie that will combine von Trier's Dogme-style leanings with minimal special effects, and involve a plot that producing partner Peter Aalbaek Jensen called "romantic, in a Lord Byron sort of way." (Von Trier would only comment, "No more happy endings!" Because really, he's made way too many cheerful films.)
On the one hand, tackling the realm of science fiction seems totally uncharacteristic of the Danish auteur, who's known best for his association with the minimalist Dogme 95 movement and for making some wildly dark and provocative films. But on the other hand, what has von Trier's career been but a series of genre exercises? Even when he abandoned the stringent rules of Dogme filmmaking (to date he's only really made one true Dogme film, The Idiots) he kept the idea that creativity comes with constraint – and after all, what is a genre but a thematic constraint?
Never mind the fact that genre films are strictly no-nos in the Dogme world; some of von Trier's best films have been genre pics. Behold, after the jump:
Live From Telluride: Hooked on 'Red Riding'
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Telluride, Noir, Mystery & Suspense
If you've ever been to a film festival, you know the age-old dilemma: do I opt for early sneaks of high-profile releases that will roll out all over the country in a few months, or do I try to catch the obscurities that I may never see again? For me, this choice is frequently dictated by reviewing obligations, but even when it is not, I tend to opt for the former, as I am both impatient and -- sadly -- skeptical of the unfamiliar. I don't know what happened to me at Telluride this year, but for some reason I decided to commit to a trilogy of films made for British television at the expense of several higher-profile options that I will now have to see when they hit theaters later this fall.
Let this be a lesson to you. Red Riding -- the trilogy to which I'm referring -- is, collectively, the greatest thing I've seen since I discovered the first season of Twin Peaks on DVD. Granted, featuring actors like Peter Mullan, Andrew Garfield, David Morrissey, Paddy Considine and Mark Addy, and directed by name-brand filmmakers Julian Jarrold, James Marsh and Anand Tucker, this isn't some ultra-independent obscurity. But man, am I grateful for the Telluride powers-that-be for bringing it here, and for whatever possessed me to check out the first one on Saturday morning.
22 Classic Columbia Pictures Film Noirs Restored
One of the best parts of this job is when you're granted a look at some rescued or restored gem from the past. It's one thing to review a film when it's new, but it's something else altogether to be given a chance to weigh in on history. Seeing films like Beyond the Rocks (1922), Army of Shadows (1969) and Killer of Sheep (1977) and getting to write about them is very satisfying. A film that was once ignored or maligned can now be re-established as a classic, and established classics can also be debunked.
This past week I had the opportunity to see two out of 22 films that have recently been cleaned out of the Columbia Pictures vaults, dusted off, refurbished and re-struck. All 22 of them are classic examples of film noir, stories about femmes fatale, detectives, criminals, gamblers, lowlifes, killers, or just generally luckless souls who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time; the genre more or less officially started at the tail end of WWII, as soldiers returned home to find America a very different and not altogether friendly place. Some of these 22 films are cult classics that have remained tantalizingly unseeable over the years, and many others are virtually unknown and waiting to be discovered.
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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