Apparently, Stephen Peters, who scribed the deliciously trashy Wild Things has written a sort of follow-up starring the prior film's Neve Campbell and (the ever campy) Denise Richards. There's little known about the project save the dunderheaded plot involving double crossing, kidnapping, bodyguards and a renouned bank. Sounds like fun to me. I mean, when one sees this sort of film, plot is the last thing on their mind, right?
File this one under insidiously bad ideas. Marilyn Manson has decided that he is a director! Isn't that quaint. His first proposed feature which is being greenlighted by France's Wild Bunch films (who produced Abel Ferrara's as-of-yet-to-find-US-distribution Mary) is none other than the story of Lewis Carroll. With a 4 million dollar shooting budget, it looks like things are a go for Manson. Sadly, Tilda Swinton has signed on(I love her, but she doesn't need to be this daring!). Alice will be played by the unknown Lily Cole. Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp and Evan Rachel Wood have been other names thrown about, all without contractual commitments. Manson claims this will reinvent contemporary horror to a world more similar to that of Hitchcock or Polanski. From the look of the website, he'll be lucky if its better than Ken Russell's The Fall of the Louse of Usher. Ouch!
Today I saw one of the more refreshing films that I have seen in quite some time. To say that Brothers of the Head is odd is not quite correct. It certainly follows in the lineage of siamese twins movies. In this fake doco, these siamese twins, Tom and Barry, get signed to a record label as a novelty act only to rebel and become a culty Punk band. There are certainly pitfalls to the plot which is at times overtly simplistic and at others marvelously complex, but I forgive it its short comings as it is one of the more beautiful treats of cinema I have sat through in a considerable amount of time. It only helps that Director Ken Russell makes a cameo as himself. Brothers of the Head will be released in late July.
It is with great pleasure that I report the fabulousness of The Descent which I caught last night at the Los Angeles Film Fest. It's where old school horror meets new school thrill ride and left me an anxious mess after its clinching conclusion. It follows six sporty women who spelunk into an uncharted cave. Natural calamities abound, nothing prepares them for what lies beneathe. Cause god knows, they're not alone. The Descent hits theaters August 4th and is certainly not to be missed.
I've been thinking at great length about the return of the man of steel. Why now? Why unearth (sorry) Superman at this moment in time. Our culture seems so tremendously discombobulated so as to not really be able to rely on one single "superhero." All of the successfull franchises, all of the patriarchical ones at least, have come in groups. Fantastic 4 (not that it was good, but there will be a sequel), X-Men while singled out heroes have bombed. Punisher failed miserably as did Daredevil. Of course, signing Brian Singer was a good choice. Both X-men movies have proved to be a reasonable mixture of queer sideways glances and straight action explosives. He apparently aimed to stay true to the 20th century icon while creating a contemporary spin on the myth. Hence Returns and not Begins. It's just, no one I know is all that jazzed. We've seen it a million times before. The first two slew of movies, 'Louis and Clark,' and 'Smallville.' Aren't we Supermanned out? I suppose time will tell. Does he still have enough pull to warrant the 200 million dollar price tag? I think not, though when it comes to the general public's reaction to things, I am frequently dead wrong.
Amy and the gang are back for Strangers With Candy: The Movie! The nice thing is it looks as though they had full "artistic" freedom as Paul Dinello served as director. The entire cast is reassembled with a whole slew of celeb extras. We're talking Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, (academy award winner) Phillip Seymore Hoffman, Ian Holm, Dan Hedaya, Alison Janney and Todd Oldham (as the woodshop teacher). Early buzz is quite flattering. The film will receive a limited released in late June (though I already have preview tix, so you'll be hearing about it here first). Of course, as a tie in, the entire series will be reissued in a delightful trapper keeperbox set. Oh happy day.
The Los Angeles film festival schedule has been posted (and though I have a bad tendency to focus on Music, here) on June 24th, there will be an evening at the LOVELY outdoor John Anson Ford Amphitheater where a screening of Lian Lunson's Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is preceded by a performance by Martha Wainwright (whom I have positively no opinion of) and a rare appearance by Monsieur Cohen himself. The film features performances by Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright and Antony of Antony and the Johnsons, to name a few. This delightful little evening is a steal at $10! Just keeping you informed...
So, in addition to acting in the new David Cronenberg film alongside Viggo Mortensen, Watts will also be playing Anna in Michael Haneke's own remake of his film which was just recently released on DVD Funny Games. You can read more about this travesty here. Haneke had been talking about American offers to remake Funny Games for some time now, though it is something I never thought would come to fruition. It is something that sounds so antithetical to the premise of the film which is a theoretical horror film which implicates the viewer very strongly in the on screen horrors. Thanks to Joe for the heads up.
According to various websites, the forthcoming remake of Nicholas Roeg's masterpiece Don't Look Now is to be penned by World Trade Center's Andrea Berloff. The producers are claiming to have done away with the blade wielding midget who inspired so much fear (and was really the best part of the original) because it's not "contemporary" enough. What, are they going to replace her with a CGI dead girl whose long wet black hair covers her face and decays when you touch her. To further the horrors, Telegraph reports that potential star include Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. The new version will also be "sexier." The film will take place during the summer because, well, summer's sexier. How anyone could make a film more erotic, let alone a single scene which radiates such steaming eroticism than the original sex scene between Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland is completely unbelievable, especially considering it could feature Julia Roberts. They'll be writing more sex into it. Absolutely no one involved in the first Don't Look Now is remotely interested in the projects. DuMaurier's (who wrote the short story on which the film was based) daughter called the remake "pointless." You can say that again
As some of you may know, the director of Mayor of the Sunset Strip and Man from the Elysian Fields is directing a film called Factory Girl about, you guessed it, Edie Sedgwick. That explains all of those barely-post-pubescent girls traipsing about in Ciao Manhattan! indie-t's.
Cast to play Sedgwick is Jude Law paramour Sienna Miller who makes a just o.k. Edie. But Momento's Guy Pearce as Warhol appears to be an absolute tragedy. The whole thing has looked a mess from the get-go and the supreme icing on the cake was casting the irritating emo band Weezer as the legendary Velvet Underground. That's enough to make Sterling Morrison roll over in his grave for sure. Oh, and just to ensure its badness, director Hickenlooper has made it publicly clear that he has not read the Edie bio. What, is he gonna channel his inner Edie?
Below is a list of the films that will be coming to theaters that I find worthy of mention. That does not mean I think they will be good. Oh no, many of them sound perfectly dreadful. It is the "perfectly" part that finds them here.
Out this week, Mary Harron's The Notorious Betty Page promises (if nothing else) a delectable roster of who was who in the indie film scene of the nineties that it would seem Harron cannot shake herself of. And why should she? Though her films are not really good, there's something wonderfully consistent about both I shot Andy Warhol and American Psycho, though, from the looks of things, this may be considerably less fun.
Oilver Assayas' Cannes award winning follow-up to Demonlover, Clean is finally released on April 28. That's only two years after it was made. Not bad!
That same week finds American Haunting, a thematic sequel to the odd, surprise success of The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Why do we give a shit, you may ask. This one stars horror darlings Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek.
Now, I was never a big fan of Ghostworld. Actually, I couldn't stand it. On MAY 12th, Terry Zwigoff's Art School Confidential hits theaters. Starring John Malkovich, Angelica Houston, Jim Broadbent and the son of Academy Award winner Anthony Minghella, it could either be promising or drown in its own hipness.
Haven is a despicable reiteration to Crash which I had the displeasure of sitting through. It comes out the same week.
Perhaps to make up for the empty time since Six Feet Under ended, Under director Michael Cuesta releases an all-too-familiar sounding film MAY 19th, Twelve and Holding
And since, deep down at the bottom of my black little heart I am a geek, I shiver with anticipation for MAY 26th. This is of course the date when X Men 3 finally reveals itself after a 3 year hiatus. Let's hope that Brett Ratner can breath the wonderful breath of life that Brian Singer did into the first two.
And speaking of Homos, French homo, Francois Ozon's new film, Time To Leave (Le Temps Qui Reste) comes out June 1. Too bad it sounds awful. However, admission will surely be covered watching Jeanne Moreau shake her skeletal money-maker(if only!).
Making silly use of this whole, 6-6-06 (well, pretending like the 0 isn't there), The Omen hits theaters on a non-weekend date. Just another remake, but one starring Liev Schrieber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow and David Thewlis. They at least get points for casting, but (sadly) casting does not make a film.
As if anyone cared, Speed duo Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves pair up again for a romantic comedy released June 16th. I don't even know why I'm writing this, really. I guess it's just funny how deeply The Lake House digs into the pop-culture graveyard to make a dishonest buck.
June 30 is the release date for Brian Singer's Superman Returns. What I can't get passed is the "casting session" that certainly went on before Singer "discovered" this little morsel of an ahem... actor.
Abel Ferrara's first film in what seems like an eternity, Mary tells the tale of an actress who takes her portrayal of Madonna just a little too seriously. And no, I don't mean 'Like A Virgin' Madonna. No, the Jesus one. Though you can find the former in Ferrara's Dangerous Game
On July 7, Captain Jack Sparrow returns with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Depp better hope that they don't stop this franchise because, while parodying his one note dramatic acting scale, any earnest efforts after Sparrow will cause audiences to howl just as I did in the odious The Libertine
That same day, you can catch Jerry and the gang (only the gang in this case features celebs like Matthew Broderick, Dan Hedaya, Phillip Seymore Hoffman - pre-Oscar -, Ian Holm, Allison Janney, Todd Oldham, Sarah Jessica Parker and many, many more) in the film version of the hit offbeat series Strangers With Candy
Just when you thought it was safe to like her again, on July 21st, Uma Thurman will star in My Super Ex-Girlfriend alongside Luke Wilson. I mean, really. Apparently here, Uma is supposed to be a bitter ex-girlfriend with magical powers. How low can we go? What's next? A Miami Vice remake whose stars do more coke than the foes they battle?
Well... As a matter of fact, on July 28th, Colin Farrell and Jamie Fox are going to star in a Miami Vice remake. How 'bout that! Since I can NEVER stand Colin Farrell - even after seeing THE video, I think I'll pass on this one.
A new film by Amy Heckerling comes out around this time. In another act of Hollywood necrophilia, it seems execs have worked their voodoo magic on the corpse of Michelle Pfeiffer! I hope that I Could Never Be Your Woman is not bad, but seeing that Tracy Ullman is cast as mother nature, I cannot see any good that can become of this. I mean no ill will to Tracy Ullman, it's just that a film with mother nature spells trouble. Or just badness.
Taking another great big dump on both of her Oscars, on August 11, Hilary Swank can be found in the biblical horror film, The Reaping
And yes, Samuel L. Jackson will appear in the as of yet not-renamed Snakes On A Plane. Please Please Please let it stay that way. they were talking about changing the title to something lame like Flight 1012.
And in a pathetic attempt to restart his career, Kevin Smith will release Clerks II with a cast of usuals who have turned superstars while he has maintained his cultdom. But to what avail?
A Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel, a second Grudge film with Jessica Beals, and Saw III head up our horror selections (and what an abysmal selection they are!). A new film by Pedro Almadovar, a new Danny Boyle film starring Cillian Murphy, Sofia Coppola's atrocious sounding Marie Antoinette (which might be saved by Marianne Faithfull, though I highly doubt it) and a new Chris Nolan film starring his new muse, Christian Bale are October's offerings.
In November, Ridley Scott and Russell Crow team up for a flick. Calista Flockhart is trying to see the world from the other point of view. In Fragile (a joke in itself) Flockhart plays a nurse. I won't have to tell you how she researched the role. Lastly, a documentary about the corruption of the MPAA, This Film Is Not Yet Rated will actually see the light of day.
In December, Robert Deniro takes the directors seat, Will Smith pairs with Thandie Newton (with excretions in town, assuredly), Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino team up again - at least Michael Keaton is there to help -, and just in time for X-mas, we have Julia Roberts playing the eponymous Charlotte in a life affirming holiday film about a spider's capability to save a pig's life - costarring Dakota Fanning as Fawn.
Coming next year, you don't even want to know. But I'll wet your appetite, regardless. A CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers movie! I'll just leave you to ponder that one on your own.
So, actor Sam Riley has been cast by Anton Corbijn as Ian Curtis in the forthcoming biopic Control. The grapevine has Samantha Mortan cast as Deborah Curtis. Riley is in the Leeds band, 10,000 Things. This (fortunately) dispels the notions that Jude Law was to play Curtis - this rumor is an old one, and most unlikely at best. Thank god we don't have to laugh our way through that one. 
Now, this could almost be a respectable production, though, admittedly, I know very little of these 10,000 Things. But hey, this is a film site, NOT a music one. Now we can pour all of our suffering into watching Nicole Kidman do her best (which is inevitably the worst) Diane Arbus in Fur.
Why, God, why?
