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Lionsgate picks up Spanish film with Ryan Reynolds

Lionsgate announced today that it has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival sensation, BURIED, directed by Rodrigo Cortés (THE CONTESTANT). A taut, inventive thriller, BURIED stars Ryan Reynolds (THE PROPOSAL, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) and is written by Chris Sparling (the upcoming MERCY).  The producers are Adrián Guerra and Peter Safran (NEW IN TOWN, MEET THE SPARTANS); Alejandro Miranda is executive producer, alongside Rodrigo Cortés. The director of photography is Eduard Grau (A SINGLE MAN).  The announcement was made today by Joe Drake, Lionsgate Co-Chief Operating Officer and Motion Picture Group President, and Jason Constantine, Lionsgate President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions.

Said Constantine, “BURIED is one of the tightest, most intense thrillers we’ve ever seen, and we were absolutely determined to bring it home to Lionsgate.  BURIED is a powerful reminder that all you really need for an unforgettable movie experience is a great story, inventive filmmaking and brilliant acting.  And because of the combined excellence of Rodrigo, Ryan and Chris, it’s all there in BURIED.”

“I’m very excited to be working with Lionsgate,” affirmed Cortés.  “They are consistently creative and know how to use their resources to make the strongest possible impact – which is exactly what we set out to do with BURIED.  So it’s a very natural fit.”

Commented Safran, “Making BURIED has been a deeply rewarding creative experience, and I am fortunate to have had outstanding producing partners in Adrián and Alejandro.  We are delighted to be joining forces with my good friends at Lionsgate, and look forward to making BURIED the breakout hit it deserves to be.”

The film is about Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), truck driver and family man, wakes up BURIED ALIVE in an old wooden coffin.  Not knowing who might have put him there or why, his only chance to escape from this nightmare is a mysterious cell phone.  Poor reception, battery and lack of oxygen are his worst enemies in a race against time: Paul has only 90 minutes to be rescued.

Exclusive interview! Jay Baruchel quits acting

I was invited by Dreamworks Studios this week to watch never before seen footage from 3 of their upcoming animated releases for 2010… one of them was ‘How To Train Your Dragon‘ starring Jay Baruchel. After the screenings, Dreamworks takes us to a restaurant called A Voce at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan to frolic and eat with peers. One of the lovely publicists at the event asks me if I could chat with Jay to get to know him better. I said sure.

Baruchel approaches me with a trucker hat, a heavy beard and a tattoo of his mother’s name on his right forearm. I ask him about it and he replies I’m going to get a few more on my body for her. He must really love his mother! We then segue into 4 films coming out this year with him as one of the lead roles: She’s Out of My League, How To Train My Dragon, The Trotsky and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. I asked how happy was he of being in the middle of a comeback. He answers disappointingly that it doesn’t mean anything, it’s all coincidence of the release dates. (as he was cursing up a storm). He continues saying that he’s been through this notion of the IT guys before and nothing has happened, “for example, when I was in ‘Million Dollar Baby,’ everybody said watch out for this guy, he’s gonna be someone. Then when I was in ‘Knocked Up,’ people said I was in a sleeper hit, gonna need to watch that kid. Then in ‘Tropic Thunder’ I was hailed as the one to watch…again! So I say, I don’t believe in being the IT guy nor am I interested.”

He then went on to share with me EXCLUSIVELY, that he wants to quit acting altogether. “You know, I think I’m gonna quit acting. I don’t wake up with that feeling of love for acting, for this business. I really just do it to pay my mom’s bills and take care of her.” With his beard in tow and the disappointed look, I had to ask if he was pulling a Joaquin Phoenix here. He laughed and scoffed at the notion. He says that it was embarrassing to see that and assured me it was nothing of the sort. We finally concluded with a new movie he’s currently filming called ‘Notre Dame de Grace’ which might be his last project.

Mark Wahlberg to do ‘Four Brothers’ sequel

I remember seeing Four Brothers and laughing so hard. I know it wasn’t a comedy, but there are some lines in that movies that are just LMAO funny! That’s when I knew that Mark Wahlberg was one of my favorite actors (see my 1:1 interview with him here).

So now I get word that he might involved in doing a sequel to it. Here’s the article we got from THR.com.

Paramount is developing a sequel to its 2005 thriller “Four Brothers,” bringing back many of the creative team for “Five Brothers.”

Mark Wahlberg, the star of “Four Brothers,” hatched the sequel idea with that film’s writers, David Elliot and Paul Lovett.

The original movie, directed by John Singleton, revolved around four adopted brothers (Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin and Garret Hedlund) who come together to avenge their mother’s death in what at first appears to be a random robbery. Although not a massive hit, it still grossed a tidy $74 million at the domestic box office.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, and it is not clear which of the other actors, if any, would return. Hedlund would appear to be out, as his character was killed in the first movie. Wahlberg stars in Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones,” which opens nationally on Friday, and appears in the upcoming “Date Night” with Steve Carell and Tina Fey.