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The Latest in ShowBiz News

Mack Chico

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2009/04/29 at 12:00am

Johnny Depp to join Bardem, Hayek, Cruz in new ‘Pancho Villa’ film?

04.29.2009 | By |

Johnny Depp to join Bardem, Hayek, Cruz in new 'Pancho Villa' film?

Emir Kusturica, a renowned director, is slowly gathering collaborators for his new film about the legendary revolutionary Pancho Villa, with a working title “Seven friends of Pancho Villa and a woman with six fingers”. The acting crew currently including Javier Bardem, Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz could soon be joined by the great Hollywood star Johnny Depp. Kusturica is soon leaving to Puerto Rico to negotiate with Depp in order to renew their collaboration after 18 years from shooting of the film “Arizona Dream.”

Kusturica spent last weekend in Venice at the wedding of the Mexican actress Salma Hayek and the French multimillionaire Francois-Henri Pinault. On this occasion, he met Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz who will have roles in his film about Pancho Villa. Shooting is planned to start until the end of this year. The script is written by Kusturica’s regular collaborator Goradan Mihic, but it is based on “The Friends of Pancho Villa”, James Carlos Blake’s fictional account of Pancho Villa’s life from the point of view of his lieutenant with a lot of true details from the Mexican Revolution.

Kusturica has been fascinated by this powerful figure from his students’ days.
“Pancho Villa is a man with an idea of justice, equality and anti-imperialism. Reasons for shooting this film are coming from the inside, as a strong feeling to show his life,” Kusturica has recently said for “Blic” and added that the film will be shot in several locations including Spain, Mexico and Serbia (Mokra Gora).
Considering the fact that the film will unites reality and fiction, it is understandable why Kusturica decided to choose Johnny Depp. Their film from 1991 “Arizona Dream” gained great success and it was awarded by the “Silver Bear” in Berlin.

“Emir is not a typical director. He is more of an ethereal one. Working with him is my best collaboration so far. I would even jump from the Eiffel Tour for him,” Johnny Depp once described his collaboration with our famous director.

Mack Chico

By

2009/04/28 at 12:00am

"Clash of the Titans" begins production

04.28.2009 | By |

"Clash of the Titans" begins production

Principal photography will begin on April 27 on Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ epic action adventure “Clash of the Titans,” being directed by Louis Leterrier (“The Incredible Hulk”). The film stars Sam Worthington (“Terminator Salvation,” the upcoming “Avatar”) and Academy Award® nominees Liam Neeson (“Taken,” “Schindler’s List”) and Ralph Fiennes (the “Harry Potter” films, “The English Patient”).

In “Clash of the Titans,” the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods.  But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world.  Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth.  Leading a daring band of warriors, Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds.  Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, he will only survive if he can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.

  Leading the international cast is Australian actor Sam Worthington as Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus, king of the gods.  Worthington will next be seen in this summer’s “Terminator Salvation.”  Liam Neeson takes on the role of the mighty Zeus, and Ralph Fiennes plays the role of Hades, god of the underworld, who feeds on human fear.  Rounding out the cast is Gemma Arterton (“Quantum of Solace”) as Io, Perseus’ mysterious spiritual guide throughout his journey; Mads Mikkelsen (“Casino Royale”) as Draco, who takes up his sword to join Perseus’ quest; Jason Flemyng (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) as Acrisius, a one-time king-turned-hideous beast; and Alexa Davalos (“Defiance”) as Andromeda, a princess doomed to lose her life if Perseus does not succeed.

Based on the 1981 film of the same name, written by the late Beverley Cross, “Clash of the Titans” is directed by Louis Leterrier from a screenplay by Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi (“Aeon Flux”), story by Travis Beacham (“Dog Days of Summer”) and Hay & Manfredi.  The film is produced by Basil Iwanyk, who produced the drama “We Are Marshall” for Warner Bros. Pictures, and Kevin De La Noy, who last served as an executive producer on the studio’s blockbuster “The Dark Knight.”  The executive producers are Academy Award® winner Richard D. Zanuck (“Driving Miss Daisy”), who most recently collaborated with Warner Bros. on the comedy hit “Yes Man,” and Legendary Pictures’ Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and William Fay, who have teamed with the studio on such hits as “The Dark Knight” and “300.”

The behind-the-scenes team creating this mythical spectacle includes director of photography Peter Menzies, Jr. (“The Incredible Hulk”); production designer Martin Laing (“Terminator Salvation”); editor Vincent Tabaillon (“The Incredible Hulk”); Academy Award®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“Topsy-Turvy,” “The Dark Knight”); Oscar®-nominated visual effects supervisor Nick Davis (“The Dark Knight”); Oscar®-nominated prosthetics supervisor Conor O’Sullivan (“The Dark Knight,” “Saving Private Ryan”); Academy Award®-winning special effects and animatronics supervisor Neil Corbould (“Gladiator”); and Academy Award®-winning makeup and hair designer Jenny Shircore (“Elizabeth”). 

“Clash of the Titans” will begin filming in studios outside London and will later shoot in various locations in Wales and in the Spanish Canary Islands, predominantly on Tenerife, off the coast of Africa.  Further aerial work is set to take place in the diverse locales of Ethiopia and Iceland.

Mack Chico

By

2009/04/28 at 12:00am

Jim Jarmusch’s explores Spain in ‘The Limits of Control’

04.28.2009 | By |

Jim Jarmusch's explores Spain in 'The Limits of Control'

Woody Allen isn’t the only American filmmaker to have set up shop in Spain recently.

Jim Jarmusch surveys the striking architecture in “The Limits of Control,” an existential travelogue of a crime thriller (minus the thrills) taking its inspiration from, among other things, a William S. Burroughs essay , a Rimbaud poem and vintage crime films , particularly John Boorman ‘s 1967 classic ” Point Blank .”

Unfortunately, the whole seldom adds up to the sum of its illustrious parts, and Jarmusch’s trademark deadpan quirks seem to have gotten lost in the translation.

The resulting riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma won’t do anything to broaden the filmmaker’s loyal fan base when Focus Features releases the film Friday (May 1); as it is, many of his loyal followers will be left feeling as alienated as his central character.

That would be Isaach De Bankole’s Lone Man, an intensely focused, almost robotic man on a mission of some sort who is dispatched to various Spanish locations, where he meets up with a succession of oddball individuals who inevitably exchange little matchboxes with him.

They include a number of familiar Jarmusch faces — John Hurt (Guitar), Youki Kudoh (Molecules), Tilda Swinton (Blonde) and a Dick Cheney -channeling Bill Murray (American) — and new arrivals Gael Garcia Bernal (Mexican) and Paz de la Huerta (Nude), who definitely lives up to her character’s name.

But while the always effective De Bankole remains a captivating presence, and masterful Christopher Doyle’s cinematography is undeniably arresting, Jarmusch’s meandering musings on language as a control mechanism, as filtered through the impressionistic lens of an Antonioni or Jacques Rivette , fail to make any kind of lasting impression.

Jack Rico

By

2009/04/28 at 12:00am

Swine flu postpones ‘Wolverine’ release in Mexico

04.28.2009 | By |

Swine flu postpones 'Wolverine' release in Mexico

A superhero is among the casualties of the deadly outbreak of swine influenza in Mexico City — the epicenter of the potential flu pandemic.

Twentieth Century Fox on Monday postponed Thursday’s opening of “X-Men Origin: Wolverine” because most of the capital’s theaters are likely to be closed.

A studio spokesman said a new launch date would be announced once Fox gets a better sense of when theaters will reopen.

Scores of screens owned by exhibitors Cinepolis, Cinemex, Cinemas Lumiere and Cinemark have gone dark, and the remaining chains and indies are expected to follow suit. Cinepolis is also shutting theaters in the states of Mexico and San Luis Potosi.

Cinemark and Cinemas Lumiere sites are closed until further notice, while others hope to reopen later this week depending on the situation.

The theaters are responding to a request from Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who has also asked that other public places, such as bars and restaurants, close in an attempt to contain the outbreak that had claimed 150 lives by Monday. Schools and public transport have already shuttered.

Lemon Films co-prexy Fernando Rovzar expressed relief at having just wrapped shooting for Kuno Becker vehicle “La ultima muerte” last week.

“Films in theaters, whether they are in their first or 10th week, are suffering, and with them the distribution companies,” he said.

Spanish-language media titan Televisa is forging on with telenovela production but banning live audiences from shows that usually feature them. It is also allowing staff members to take leave to watch kids, who are staying home from school until at least May 6.

That said, sources at the conglom said execs are listening to government recommendations, and policies could shift day to day.

This wait-and-see attitude has gripped the capital of some 20 million people where the traffic on the normally congested streets has been cut by half, public places are no longer crowded, and many of those who venture out are wearing face masks.

Mack Chico

By

2009/04/27 at 12:00am

Cuarón, Iñárritu, Del Toro: Mexico’s Best!

04.27.2009 | By |

Cuarón, Iñárritu, Del Toro: Mexico's Best!

CHA CHA CHA FILMS is the name of the new production company started by Mexico’s three most successful and acclaimed directors: Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro. But don’t go looking for an office or a telephone number here, or anywhere else for that matter, because you won’t find one.

That’s not just because of a dislike for bureaucracy and unnecessary overhead. After scoring a series of box office hits and Oscar nominations and awards in recent years with movies like “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (Mr. Cuarón), “Babel” (Mr. González Iñárritu) and “Pan’s Labyrinth” (Mr. del Toro) the three directors now have their pick of big-budget, studio-supported projects to take them all over the world.

But that means the Three Amigos, as Hollywood has taken to calling them, don’t spend as much time with one another as they would like. So an official business relationship, with lots of phone calls and e-mail messages flying back and forth across the planet, seemed the best way to continue the conversation about cinema they have been having since they were starting out and first met here two decades ago.

“We don’t have a mission statement,” said Mr. del Toro, 44, who also has directed “Hellboy” and “The Devil’s Backbone” and is now at work on “The Hobbit” in New Zealand. “Right now we can do anything, make a movie in French or in Spanish, together or apart, producing or not producing, helping with the writing and ping-ponging ideas. It’s more like a virtual company than a big development company.”

The first film being released under the Cha Cha Cha banner is “Rudo y Cursi,” or “Tough and Corny,” which the three partners produced but did not direct. Set to open in the United States on May 8, it is a bittersweet comedy about two brothers of humble origin who become big league Mexican soccer stars almost overnight. Spoiled by their success, they see their careers collapse just as rapidly.

The brothers Tato and Beto Verdusco are played by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, probably best known to American audiences for their breakout roles in “Y Tu Mamá También.” That film, nominated for an Academy Award in 2002 for best original screenplay, was directed by Mr. Cuarón, 47, who wrote it with his brother Carlos, 42. Carlos Cuarón makes his feature-length debut as a director in “Rudo y Cursi” in what can only be called a family setting.

“Rudo y Cursi” is set in the world of sports and examines issues like corruption and celebrity, but “this is really a film about brotherhood,” Carlos Cuarón said in an interview here. That seems an appropriate assessment not just because of the plot and Alfonso Cuarón’s involvement as a co-producer, but also because Mr. del Toro and Mr. González Iñárritu, 45, are “like a pair of older brothers to me,” Carlos said.

That means they are willing to offer tough love to help their younger sibling get his directing career off on the right foot. “I don’t think you can find producers who are more demanding than these three, and in a very positive way,” Mr. Luna said. “They gave Carlos a structure and a mechanism that allowed his talent to flourish, but they questioned him a lot too. What do you want to say? Are you sure you want to say this? Is this the best way to say this?”

As Carlos Cuarón recalls it, Mr. del Toro was the one who originally encouraged him to become a director. One night more than a decade ago, when the two men were having dinner together here, Mr. del Toro noticed that Mr. Cuarón was feeling “sad and depressed,” and asked why.

“I told him, that I was writing all these screenplays that weren’t getting produced, and that it was like giving birth to dead babies,” Mr. Cuarón explained. “Being the wise man he is, he answered ‘Don’t be stupid, direct them yourself, damn it,’ and that’s how all this began.”

The presence of Mr. García Bernal and Mr. Luna also adds to the familial vibe. Though they are close friends, this is the first time they have acted together in a film since “Y Tu Mamá También.” In “Rudo y Cursi” they are cast against type, with Mr. García Bernal as the sentimental brother and Mr. Luna as the loutish one, because, as Carlos Cuarón put it, “I didn’t want to make ‘Y Tu Mamá También II.’ ”

For all the talk about the Three Amigos, their personalities, backgrounds and tastes are quite different. Mr. del Toro, for example, is a self-described nerd, renowned for his warmth and good humor, reflected in the cuddly nickname el Osito, or the Little Bear, who had to work his way up to director, starting as a makeup and special effects artist.

Mr. González Iñárritu, on the other hand, has always been regarded here as something of a golden boy. Nicknamed el Negro, he has matinee idol good looks and was a successful director, of commercials and of television programs at Mexico’s leading network, before Mr. del Toro and the Cuaróns, whose careers he helped at crucial moments.

Their work styles and the types of films they have tended to make are different too. “With Guillermo the shots are almost mathematical — everything is planned,” Alfonso Cuarón said in an interview at the Sundance Film Festival in January. “But Alejandro never knows what he is going to shoot until he is there in the place. He is like a field reporter. He has to see to know what he wants to do.”

Mr. García Bernal has a distinctive vantage point, having worked with both of the Cuarón brothers and Mr. González Iñárritu. He described Alfonso Cuarón’s style as “more intimate” and character driven, endorsed the prevailing notion of Mr. González Iñárritu as an auteur fond of complicated, interlocking stories and said Mr. del Toro’s strongest suit was genre films, especially fantasy.

What unites the three, Mr. García Bernal continued, is their hunger to work and their encyclopedic knowledge of film and other forms of pop culture. “They speak a common language, with a lot of shared references that come from the fact that they grew up here in Mexico at the same time,” he said. “Cha Cha Cha is really the formalization of their friendship, but in a work setting.”

As a business venture Cha Cha Cha was clearly conceived as a way for the three to combine and multiply their clout and bargaining power. The company’s deal calls for its coming films to be distributed through Universal Pictures, which released Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men” and, through its boutique division Focus Features, Mr. González Iñárritu’s “21 Grams.” The studio is to handle distribution and marketing, and in return for shouldering the bulk of the financial risk themselves the Three Amigos get what they prize most: creative independence.

“We all had movies out at the same time in 2006,” Mr. Cuarón said. “Alejandro had ‘Babel,’ Guillermo had ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and I had ‘Children of Men.’ There was a synchronicity to that, a lot of layers, and I think it deepened our interest in working together.” Combined these films received 16 Academy Award nominations and won 4 Oscars.

For Latin America cinema the Cha Cha Cha experiment also represents a new way of engaging and relating to Hollywood. Directors of earlier generations, like Glauber Rocha and Ruy Guerra, to cite two examples from Brazil, often defined their identities quite vocally in opposition to Hollywood and took pride in operating outside a studio system that might not have been all that interested in them either.

But the Cha Cha Cha directors and their contemporaries, who include Brazilians like Walter Salles and Fernando Meirelles, move easily in and out of Hollywood, using the studio system when it seems to suit a particular project but going elsewhere for financing and marketing when it does not.

“These guys are Mexican through and through and embrace their heritage and everything that comes with that,” David Linde, a chairman of Universal Pictures, said of the Three Amigos. “But they have a global perspective, much as I hate that phrase. It fascinates them to tell stories in Mexico, Spain, the U.K. and the United States because what drives them, quite simply, is an interest in what it means to be human.”

That flexibility doesn’t always sit well with Latin American critics, intellectuals and even some filmmakers working in the local system, which often relies on government rather than private funds. Here, for example, Cha Cha Cha’s founders, while often praised as examples of how Mexicans can succeed on the world stage, have also found themselves accused of selling out to Hollywood and Europe and toning down or even sacrificing what is specifically and distinctly Mexican in their work.

“That’s an infantile argument, a really simplistic concept that is often used to defend limits and mediocrity,” Mr. González Iñárritu said. “Yes, I am a Mexican, and I have a past and a culture. But what matters is the film itself, not where it was financed or cast. Cinema is universal, beyond flags and borders and passports.”

Cha Cha Cha’s second production will be Mr. González Iñárritu’s “Biutiful,” a drama starring Javier Bardem that Mr. González Iñárritu is now editing in Spain but did not want to discuss. After that three more films are due Universal, and then the Three Amigos will pause to assess whether they wish to continue as a team.

“This is a friendship, not a marriage, and when there is the first symptom that business is going to make it a problem, we will walk away,” Mr. del Toro said. “There is nothing, no big company that ties us together, other than our friendship.”

Mack Chico

By

2009/04/26 at 12:00am

Robert Rodriguez to direct new ‘Predator’ and ‘Machete’

04.26.2009 | By |

Robert Rodriguez to direct new 'Predator' and 'Machete'

According to Variety, Mexican American director Robert Rodriguez is set to bring forth not one, but two films that are sure to make fanboys (like myself) gush.

The first is an expansion of his faux trailer “Machete” from the movie “Grindhouse” (he also directed the “Planet Terror” part of that double-feature).
The movie will star Danny Trejo (pictured) as what appears to be a Mexican agent who’s been double-crossed and is none too pleased about it.

Rodriguez has also penned a new “Predator” movie called “Predators.” He should excel as the creator of a “Predator” movie.

Both the “Predator” and “Alien” franchises need to be divorced from each other.

2004’s “Alien vs. Predator” was mediocre at best. 2007’s “Aliens vs. Predator – Requiem” was basically a b-movie, which is okay if you accept it as such. Both franchises are capable of so much more.

Jack Rico

By

2009/04/23 at 12:00am

Tyson

04.23.2009 | By |

Rated: R for language including sexual references.
Release Date: 2009-04-24
Starring: James Toback
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.sonyclassics.com/tyson/

Go to our film page

Tyson

‘Tyson’ is an insightful biopic on arguably the greatest heavyweight boxer who ever lived. If you were a witness to his tumultuous personal and professional boxing career, this documentary clears up all, if not many of the rumors and debauchery he became notorious for: the biting of Evander Holyfield’s ear, the rape charges and the Don King attack to mention a few.

Indie director James Toback directs this portrait of ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson where he manages to extract, without inhibition, information about his womanizing, alcohol and drug addiction, bouts of mental instability, and criminal activity in great detail. Through a mixture of original interviews and archival footage and photographs, the film ranges from Tyson’s earliest memories of growing up on the mean streets of Brooklyn through his entry into the world of boxing, to his rollercoaster ride of worldwide fame and fortunes won and lost.

You might be surprised with the Tyson who narrates this movie. He is different from the monster built up and torn down by the media during the ’80s and ’90s. Age often brings perspective, and that would seem to be the case here. His explanations and views of the mischievous events of his dark days might not satisfy you, but what you have to appreciate is the sincerity and surrendering that Toback manages to withdraw from a man known to have a volatile and fractured mind. In terms of visual stylistics, there is a film quality that Toback directs with in contrast to the sensationalistic and over-dramatized VH-1 show ‘Behind the Music’ or Barbara Walters’ special interviews where the questions are crafted to draw tears from the interviewees. Here it is just you and him.

There are some scenes with heavy language so I wouldn’t suggest bringing children to see it. If in fact ‘Tyson’ is a spin free of publicist intervention documentary, it is a remarkable look inside the mind of a ‘killing machine’ who became a docile beast ready to welcome peace within himself. If you are a fan, you’ll enjoy it and if you’re not, it’s one informative retrospective at a living boxing legend.

Mack Chico

By

2009/04/23 at 12:00am

Almodovar and Tarantino to compete at Cannes

04.23.2009 | By |

Almodovar and Tarantino to compete at Cannes

Pedro Almodovar and Quentin Tarantino will be among the directors contending for the Palme d’Or award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Almodovar’s “Broken Embraces,” with Penelope Cruz will be in competition for the top prize. So will Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” starring Brad Pitt, the organizers said at a news conference in Paris.

The festival will take place from May 13 to 24 in the coastal resort in the south of France.

Jack Rico

By

2009/04/22 at 12:00am

Earth

04.22.2009 | By |

Rated: G
Release Date: 2009-04-22
Starring: Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield, Leslie Megahey
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA, Germany, UK
Official Website: http://www.loveearth.es/

Go to our film page

Earth

‘Earth’ is the first film from Walt Disney’s new movie studio “Disneynature”. It is very similar to the documentaries that Discovery or National Geographic create except that Disney was the first to create this genre of film 60 years ago. If you have seen ‘March of the Penguins’ and ‘Arctic Tale’ along with the bevy of nature documentaries from PBS amongst many other television networks, you are not missing anything new or innovative.

“EARTH,” narrated by James Earl Jones, tells the story of three animal families and their journeys across Earth. We watch as a polar bear mother struggles to feed her newborn cubs as the sun melts the ice beneath their feet. The determination of an elephant mother as she guides her tiny calf on an endless trek across the Kalahari Desert in search of fresh water. We follow a humpbacked whale mother and her calf as they undertake the longest migration of any marine mammal—4,000 miles from the tropics to the Antarctic in search of food.

The film is released today, Earth Day, April 22, a logical marketing tactic, along with the “Buy a ticket, Plant a tree” initiative which has Disney planting a tree for everyone who sees EARTH between April 22-28. As of now, 500,000 trees will be planted.

My father loves these grandiose, awe-inspiring nature documentaries, but he would never pay money to see it in a movie theater when he can view a show similar to this on TV, in the privacy of his own home. You see, the only downside to ‘Earth’ is that television has been the propagator of the genre for a very long time. Nevertheless, seeing it in IMAX is a whole different conversation. Overall though, many won’t see or tell the difference with these nature films or its television brethren. Keep your money and rent on DVD ‘March of the Penguins’ or ‘Arctic Tale’ to get your fix of animals roaming on Earth but with a great quotient of entertainment.

Mack Chico

By

2009/04/22 at 12:00am

Vanessa Hudgens will star in ‘Beastly’

04.22.2009 | By |

Vanessa Hudgens will star in 'Beastly'

CBS Films has tapped Vanessa Hudgens to topline teen romancer “Beastly,” with Susan Cartsonis producing via her Storefront Films shingle.

Daniel Barnz is directing from his own script, centering on an arrogant 17-year-old who’s hideously transformed in order to find true romance.

Story’s based on Alex Flinn’s fantasy novel, a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” set in modern-day New York. CBS acquired feature rights to “Beastly” in late 2007 as one of its first projects.

Hudgens, last seen in “High School Musical 3: Senior year,” is also set for Zack Snyder’s fantasy-drama “Sucker Punch.”

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