Like the idea of Todd Phillips’ Joker movie or not, you have to admit the casting promises something totally different than any superhero movie we’ve seen. With Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, and Marc Maron already on board, the latest to join up is Alec Baldwin, fresh off his franchise role in Mission: Impossible-Fallout and hilarious cameo in BlacKkKlansman.
Baldwin isn’t just playing anybody, either. He’ll take on the role of Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s father and the guy whose murder inspires his son to take on the mantle of the Batman. It’s also looking as if Joker will blame the elder Wayne for the misfortune in his life, moving him to criminality and violence. This version of Wayne won’t be any elder statesman, either, as he’s described by THR as “cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s Donald Trump.” Donald Trump? I think that’s a part Baldwin could play in his sleep by now.
So more reason to get excited. Not only is Joker attracting top flight stars, but they’re reaching out to so many that it’s getting some high-profile rejections, like from Viggo Mortensen…
BREAKING: Alec Baldwin to play Thomas Wayne in the JOKER movie. This is the role that Viggo Mortensen passed on. I’m told that Wayne Manor will be a location in the film. The plot thickens…
Years after Hollywood’s meager attempt to turn him into a blockbuster leading man, Charlie Hunnam is quietly delivering the best performances of his career in The Lost City of Z and the remake of Papillon out in theaters now. He seems to be taking a Robert Pattinson-esque reshaping of his identity, and that’s made it exciting to see he’ll choose next. Well, now we know, and it’s a film that will see him teamed up with two rising stars; Unbroken and Godless‘ Jack O’Connell, and director Max Winkler.
Hunnam and Reynor will star in Jungleland, which Winkler will co-write and direct. Also on board the film is co-star Jessica Barden, probably best known for her scene-stealing roles in The Lobster and Far from the Madding Crowd. The story follows two brothers, one a relucant bare-knuckle boxer, as they travel across the country for one final fight. Barden plays an unexpected companion on their journey, one that exposes the cracks in their brotherly bond. Know what this sounds like? The boxing dramedy Play It To The Bone, one of my all-time favorites and has essentially the same plot.
Winkler, the son of the Fonz himself Henry Winkler, made his directorial debut in 2010 with Ceremony, which had a great cast but was cooly received. He followed that up earlier this year with Flower, a dark comedy starring Zoey Deutch that I liked quite a lot.
With shooting already underway we should see this sometime next year. [Deadline]
In the file marked “Movies I Hope Never Get Made” sits prominently the proposed remake of John Carpenter 1986 classic, Big Trouble in Little China. Even with Dwayne Johnson set three years ago to star in the film in place of Kurt “Jack Burton” Russell, it just sounded like a horrible idea best left in a desk drawer somewhere. With so much time having passed there was some hope that may actually happen, but nope, it’s still out there. There is some semi-good news, though, in that it appears to not really be a remake, but a sequel of sorts.
Johnson’s production partner Hiram Garcia spoke to Collider and was asked about Big Trouble in Little China, and he clears up that Johnson won’t actually be replacing Russell in the lead role because this is a continuation rather than a remake…
“There’s a lot of things going on with [‘Big Trouble in Little China’]. We are in the process of developing that, and let me tell you, the idea is not to actually remake ‘Big Trouble in Little China.’ You can’t remake a classic like that, so what we’re planning to do is we’re going to continue the story. We’re going to continue the universe of ‘Big Trouble in Little China.’ Everything that happened in the original exists and is standalone and I think there’s only one person that could ever play Jack Burton, so Dwayne would never try and play that character. So we are just having a lot of fun. We’re actually in a really great space with the story that we’ve cracked. But yeah, no remake. It is a continuation, and we are deep into development on that as well, and I think you’ll start hearing some things about that probably soon.”
Okay, so Johnson won’t be playing Jack Burton and he won’t be trucking on the Porkchop Express. Maybe that means Russell can make a cameo then? Or just co-star with Johnson outright? Now that I’d be down for, watching them fight their way through the mystical Little China criminal underground.
Still no word on when this might actually happen. It has a script by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz (X-Men: First Class) but that’s it for now.
Want to know my favorite part of Goodfellas? While the whole thing is tremendous I really love what happens immediately following the big airline heist, when Jimmy is trying to rangle everybody involved to just lay low and keep their mouths shut. Of course it doesn’t really work out as he hoped. Most heist movies don’t bother to deal with what happens after the crime has been successfully committed, but isn’t that when the fun should begin? It certainly looks that way in the new trailer for Museo, which stars Gael Garcia Bernal as one of the “masterminds” behind the most notorious theft of priceless cultural artifacts in Mexico’s history.
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Gueros) and co-starring Leonardo Ortizgris, the film tells the true story of the two lazy college dropouts who decide to make their mark by robbing Mexico’s National Anthropology Museum. The job proves crazy simple, but what they weren’t prepared for was what happens next when the entire country turns on them and they have no idea what to do with the priceless items. In a way it reminds me of Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin, which wasn’t about the act of getting revenge but what happens after the job is done. And like Macon Blair’s character in that movie, these guys aren’t seasoned criminals and they are woefully unprepared.
Already having made a splash in Berlin where it won the Silver Bear Award for Best Screenplay, Museo next heads to TIFF before hitting theaters on September 14th.
Documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman has won accolades the world over for his gritty docs, Cartel Land and City of Ghosts, but now he’s making the move to narrative features with A Private War. That’s a transition that many documentarians have found hard to stick, but based on this trailer it looks like Heineman has a winner on his hands, and possibly an Oscar nomination for star Rosamund Pike who plays fallen war journalist Marie Colvin.
A Private War chronicles the career of courageous journalist Marie Colvin, who traveled the globe covering some of the harshest, war-torn countries. It’s her dedication to reporting on these tragedies that not only costs her an eye and causes her to suffer from PTSD, it will eventually cost Colvin her life. The film co-stars Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci, and Tom Hollander with a script by Grace of Monaco writer Arash Amel. Let’s hope this docudrama turns out better than that famously-panned film did.
Here’s a synopsis: In a world where journalism is under attack, Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) is one of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time. Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless, while constantly testing the limits between bravery and bravado. After being hit by a grenade in Sri Lanka, she wears a distinctive eye patch and is still as comfortable sipping martinis with London’s elite as she is confronting dictators. Colvin sacrifices loving relationships, and over time, her personal life starts to unravel as the trauma she’s witnessed takes its toll. Yet, her mission to show the true cost of war leads her along with renowned war photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) to embark on the most dangerous assignment of their lives in the besieged Syrian city of Homs. Based on the extraordinary life of Marie Colvin, A Private War is brought to the screen by Academy Award-nominee and critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman in his pulse-pounding narrative feature debut.
A Private War opens November 2nd, which is prime awards season real estate.
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free advance screening of the action-packed revenge thriller, Peppermint, starring Jennifer Garner. The film is directed by Taken‘s Pierre Morel.
SYNOPSIS: Peppermint is a high impact, Jennifer Garner led, action thriller which tells the story of young mother Riley North (Garner) who awakens from a coma after her husband and daughter are killed in a brutal attack on the family. When the system frustratingly shields the murderers from justice, Riley sets out to transform herself from citizen to urban guerilla. Channeling her frustration into personal motivation, she spends years in hiding honing her mind, body and spirit to become an unstoppable force – eluding the underworld, the LAPD and the FBI- as she methodically delivers her personal brand of justice.
The screening takes place on Wednesday, September 5th at 7:00pm at Regal Majestic in Silver Spring. If you’d like a chance to win passes, simply complete the required steps in the Rafflecopter contest form below. Complete all of the steps to increase your chances. Winners will be selected on Thursday, August 30th and notified by email. Good luck!
Just yesterday during the box office breakdown I got a little bit into the financial woes facing studio Global Road. Over the weekend they released the robot dog film A.X.L., and basically nobody went to see it. This was their fourth flop of the year if you include Hotel Artemis, Show Dogs and the Bella Thorne drama Midnight Sun, and clearly the losses have had an impact. They also explain what happened a few weeks ago when the Johnn Depp crime thrillerCity of Lies was suddenly yanked off the release schedule, and nope it isn’t solely because Depp’s public image is toxic right now.
TheWrap now says Global Road are doing their best to stave off bankruptcy, and with creditors effectively seizing their film division, they’ve decided to shop upcoming projects to other studios, and City of Lies was one. The other films include the Kiernan Shipka-led horror The Silence, and some live-action/animated hybrid titled Playmobil. The company has lost out on potential investments to the tune of $200M, and if they find a new source of cash then filing Chapter 11 is the only real course of action. Global Road was formerly Open Road, which was launched in 2011 and had some great films to its credit, including Spotlight, Dope, and Chef. It was sold in 2017 and renamed Global Road Entertainment, and it’s been downhill ever since.
If there’s going to be any chance of us seeing City of Lies it’s going to be at another distributor, because clearly Global Road is on the way out. The trailer wasn’t very good, to be honest, but we’re still talking about Johnny Depp trying to solve the murder of Notorious B.I.G. Even if it sucks, and I suspect it does, that’s a movie I’ve got to see.
There are dueling projects about Fox News and the culture of sexual harrassment and misconduct fostered by founder Roger Ailes. Russell Crowe has been set to play Ailes in the Showtime limited series The Loudest Voice in the Room, and while he’s obviously a huge name I’m looking forward to the upcoming movie by Jay Roach (The Big Short) which has just landed John Lithgow for the same role.
THR reports the busy John Lithgow has joined Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie in the untitled ensemble. He’ll play the disgraced media mogul in a film that looks at the women who had to put up with the toxic environment over at Fox News. Ailes was forced to resign in 2016 and died a year later. Theron will play former host now NBC star Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman is Gretchen Carlson, and Robbie an unnamed associate producer. Expect to see other familiar characters in the film such as Bill O’Reilly, Greta Van Susteran, and Sean Hannity. Roach, who has directed multiple films of a political nature such as Game Change, Recount, and Trumbo, will be behind the camera and work from a script by The Big Short writer Charles Randolph.
It’s possible this cast gets even better, too. Collider’s Jeff Sneider, who admits to being off when it come to scooping this film, says Oscar-winning I,Tonya star Allison Janney is up for a role, as well as SNL vet Kate McKinnon.
Next up for Lithgow is his role in the upcoming Pet Semetary remake. He also has Late Night, the talk show comedy with Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling.
Hearing offers are out to Allison Janney & Kate McKinnon on the Fox News/Roger Ailes movie. Janney offered role of Ailes’ attorney. Have lost every single piece of casting on this movie, so I’m throwing caution to the wind.
From his mumblecore roots to the oddball indie gem Computer Chess to a more mainstream effort like the fitness rom-com Results, writer/director Andrew Bujalski has always sought to find humor and understanding in the menial trials of everyday life. His latest, the charming and soulful winner Support the Girls, is his most successful film yet; a sisterhood of the traveling Daisy Dukes set at Double Whammies, a Hooters-style sports bar in Texas. As a slice of life look at the complex service ladies who promise their customers “boobs, brews, and big screens”, it’s easily one of the most humanistic and funny comedies of the summer, with a career best performance by Regina Hall.
Hall, who is frequently the most slept-on castmember in just about every film she’s in (other than Tiffany Haddish she was the best part of Girls Trip), is hard-working manager Lisa, although “manager” is extremely limiting given what she does to go above and beyond that title. She’s a caretaker, den mother, and friend to the women under charge, and she’s not afraid to bend a rule or two if it means helping one of them. She’s having a particularly rough shift, having been greeted that morning with a woefully inept break-in attempt, training a batch of new employees, a cable TV set that keeps malfunctioning on the day of a big fight, legal drama with one of her girls, and oh yeah, the grouchy/racist restaurant owner, Cubby (James LeGros), probably wants to fire her.
The problems seem trivial from the outside, but to the people dealing with keeping this restaurant’s doors open they’re pretty serious. What draws you in immediately is the practical way in which Lisa tackles every issue before putting on a new hat and diving right into the next one. Need a cheap sound system installed for an against-the-rules charity car wash? Have cynical single mom Danyelle (Shayna McHayle) flirt with a customer who works at an electronics store. And when it all gets to be too much to bear, get a hug from bubbly veteran waitress Maci (Haley Lu Richardson, lighting up every scene).
The cheeky double-entendre of a title gives you a clue what Bujalski is aiming for. Movies about the service industry are frequent, but few take as sympathetic a view as Support the Girls. Compassion and fierce devotion are this movie’s driving engine, and it’s genuinely heartwarming to see so many women fighting for one another rather than tearing each other down. Bujalski understands that despite their skimpy outfits and constant push to upsell to the largely-male clientele, these women are deserving of respect and they have a leader in Lisa who makes sure they get it, even to her own detriment. While the film retains Bujalski’s hands-off, observational style, one of the most intense scenes is an angry confrontation between Lisa and a road-raging Cubby, who has the bigoted policy of only allowing one colored waitress per shift. The slightest push back from her on the issue has him on the defensive, which only causes him to blow up further.
Bujalkski knows when to pull back and let his actors fill in the characters for themselves. This isn’t a movie about Lisa’s “blackness”, and yet it’s not something that’s shied away from, either. It’s pretty hard to ignore that she’s a vocal black woman helping a racist white man keep his shop open, while servicing mostly white men customers. And you see the many contradictions fighting inside her etched on Hall’s face. It’s a quietly triumphant performance from her and it deserves to be recognized, hopefully by people finding this film in any way they can. The supporting cast is terrific, as well, with each of their characters made to feel integral and vital. Richardson has been on an incredible roll lately (if you haven’t seen her in Columbus, you’re missing out) and she is just the brightest ray of sunshine every time she’s on screen. Support the Girls is slight in plot but rich in character, offering a little bit of dignity to women who are too often overlooked or disregarded.
The great thing about HBO is that when they’re on a roll, they jump from one high-profile project right to the next. Tonight was the much-hyped season finale of Sharp Objects, and while that’s already got people buzzing, the network surprised us all by revealing the teaser for True Detective season 3, and it’s arriving much sooner than we’d been led to believe.
Expected late next year, the teaser announces a January 2019 release only five months away. Damn that was quick. The series is set in the Ozarks and stars Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali as detective Wayne Hayes, investigating “a macabre crime” and a mystery that spans three time periods. Stephen Dorff, Mamie Gummer, Ray Fisher, Scoot McNairy, and Carmen Ejogo co-star.
This is looking to be a bounce back season for creator Nic Pizzolatto, after the poorly-received second season. He’s got help from Deadwood‘s David Milch, even enlisting him to co-write an episode, but the production hasn’t been without problems. Green Room and Blue Ruin‘s Jeremy Saulnier was initially set to direct the season but dropped out over creative issues with Pizzolatto. So in his place is Daniel Sackheim, known for directing FX’s The Americans.
