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Variety.com Archives - Page 4 of 4 - ShowBizCafe.com

Variety.com Archives - Page 4 of 4 - ShowBizCafe.com

Mack Chico

By

2009/03/11 at 12:00am

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct ‘X’

03.11.2009 | By |

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct 'X'

Spanish helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has made a deal with MGM to develop a film based on director Roger Corman’s 1963 pic “X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes,” a movie from the Lion’s library.

The original starred Ray Milland as a scientist who is near a breakthrough in X-ray vision technology when his funding is cut off. Desperate to show results, the doc applies eye drops that eventually cause him to lose control over his growing powers.

Mandeville Films partners David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will produce with Enrique Lopez Lavigne. Lou Arkoff will exec produce.

The director hasn’t committed to a film since “28 Weeks Later.”

Fresnadillo is in Hollywood this week meeting with writers for “X” and is expected to set one quickly.

Mack Chico

By

2009/03/11 at 12:00am

Confirmed! Mickey Rourke will be ‘Iron Man 2’

03.11.2009 | By |

Confirmed! Mickey Rourke will be 'Iron Man 2'

Mickey Rourke has closed his deal to play the Russian villain in “Iron Man 2.”
His involvement was expected, but dealmaking was arduous after Marvel Entertainment offered “The Wrestler” star only $250,000 for his first major studio film in years.More than one option

Rourke’s salary will be now better than that.

While his ICM rep, David Unger, battled for more dough, Rourke’s encounters with “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr. on the awards circuit sealed his participation in the film.los

Rourke won the Golden Globe and was Oscar nominated for “The Wrestler” and Downey got Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for “Tropic Thunder,” so Downey used each occasion to recruit Rourke.

When Downey, Rourke as well as actors including Frank Langella and Anne Hathaway took part in a roundtable discussion with Newsweek’s David Ansen, Downey interrupted the proceedings, reached across the table and flat out asked Rourke to do “Iron Man 2.”

Rourke also met with Jon Favreau and scribe Justin Theroux and got to be part of the development of his character. He’ll play Whiplash, a character that includes elements from that comicbook villain and Crimson Dynamo, another Russian baddie.

Marvel wouldn’t confirm Rourke’s involvement, but he’s planning to join Downey, Sam Rockwell and Samuel L. Jackson, with Scarlett Johansson the frontrunner to play the Black Widow.

Mack Chico

By

2009/03/10 at 12:00am

Sean Penn vs. Mexicans in ‘Cartel’

03.10.2009 | By |

Sean Penn vs. Mexicans in 'Cartel'

Sean Penn is in talks to star in “Cartel,” a drama for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment.

Asger Leth will direct and Brian Grazer is producing.

Scripted by Peter Craig, the mission movie will follow Ed Marker as he journeys to protect his son after his wife is brutally murdered in the gritty world of Mexican cartels.

The drama took root at Imagine as a remake of 1993 Italian film “La scorta,” which followed four cops’ struggle to guard a special prosecutor trying to bring mob bosses to justice. It evolved into an action vehicle for Penn.

Robert Stone and Webster Stone will exec produce.

Leth makes his dramatic feature directing debut on the film. He previously won a DGA Award for directing the 2006 documentary “Ghosts of Cite Soleil.”

The studio and Imagine want to get the picture into production by summer. Start date won’t be firmed until Penn’s deal is made.

Penn has also been in discussions to star with Naomi Watts in the Doug Liman-directed “Fair Game,” a drama about the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame that landed at Bill Pohlad‘s River Road after Warner Bros. dropped out. Those talks continue.

Imagine is in post-production on the Ron Howard-directed “Angels and Demons,” which Sony releases May 15. Company is also prepping the untitled Robin Hood film to be helmed by Ridley Scott, with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett starring. Lensing is set to begin April 1 for Universal.

Mack Chico

By

2009/03/04 at 12:00am

Braga, Rourke, will star in ’11 Minutes’

03.4.2009 | By |

Braga, Rourke, will star in '11 Minutes'

Alice Braga, Mickey Rourke and Vincent Cassel are set to star in “11 Minutes,” an adaptation of the steamy Paulo Coehlo novel that will be directed by Hany Abu-Assad.

Hollywood Gang’s Gianni Nunnari is producing, with Craig J. Flores and George Waud as exec producers. Shooting begins June 1 in Brazil and Geneva.

Braga plays a naive girl who is betrayed by her first lover and swears off romance. She becomes a high-priced call girl who works at an upscale gentlemen’s club in Geneva. Cassel plays a music exec who gets her hooked on S&M. Rourke plays the club owner.

Italian heartthrob Riccardo Scamarcio is in talks to round out the cast.

The book was a global bestseller translated into 40 languages. Abu-Assad, who made his film breakthrough with “Paradise Now,” has rewritten a script by Marcos Bernstein.

Hollywood Gang will fully finance.

Braga just completed the Universal sci-fi thriller “Repossession Mambo.” Rourke is coming off “The Wrestler” and is negotiating to play the villain in “Iron Man 2.” Cassel was seen in “Eastern Promises” and just won the acting Cesar for French pic “Public Enemy Number One.” Scamarcio is coming off the Costa-Gavras-directed “Eden a l’ouest.”

For Hollywood Gang, “11 Minutes” becomes one of four 2009 production starts. It produced, with GK Films, the Martin Scorsese-directed “Shutter Island,” set for release in the fall. It’s in pre-production on WB sci-fi film “The Days Before,” with Timur Bekmambetov directing, and on the Tarsem-directed “War of Gods” with Relativity. Also, Hollywood Gang and GK are plotting an April production start for the Scorsese-directed “Silence.”

Mack Chico

By

2009/03/04 at 12:00am

DiCaprio & Nolan to work on "Inception"

03.4.2009 | By |

DiCaprio & Nolan to work on "Inception"

Leonardo DiCaprio will star in “Inception,” the science-fiction film that Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight”) wrote and will direct as his next pic at Warner Bros.

The project shoots this year and is slated to be released in summer 2010, with Nolan and Emma Thomas producing. DiCaprio’s deal is in final negotiations.

Script has been kept under wraps but the studio calls it a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.

DiCaprio, coming off “Revolutionary Road” and “Body of Lies,” will next be seen starring in the Martin Scorsese-directed “Shutter Island” at Paramount.

Mack Chico

By

2009/02/25 at 12:00am

Michel Gondry to direct ‘The Green Hornet’

02.25.2009 | By |

Michel Gondry to direct 'The Green Hornet'

Columbia has set Michel Gondry to direct “The Green Hornet,” and the studio has set a June 25, 2010, release date for the film.

Seth Rogen plays the title character, and Stephen Chow will play his sidekick, Kato.

Rogen wrote the script with Evan Goldberg. Neal Moritz is producing through is Original Film banner.

Gondry, best known for far-out fare like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Science of Sleep” and “Human Nature,” brings an unusual sensibility to what will be the most overtly commercial film of his career.

He got the job after presenting a vision that wowed production presidents Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach. They had been looking for a director since late last year, when Chow (“Kung Fu Hustle”) bowed out over creative differences (Daily Variety, Dec. 19).

Chow decided at that time to remain in the picture playing the Kato role (made famous by Bruce Lee), and that remains the case despite rampant Internet speculation that he ankled completely.

“The Green Hornet,” which began on the radio in the 1930s and is best remembered for an incarnation as a ’60s TV show, has had a long, tortured track to the bigscreen.

At one time, George Clooney was pay or play at Universal to star as the masked hero, only to have Steven Spielberg pry him loose so that Clooney could star in DreamWorks’ first live-action feature, the 1997 drama “The Peacemaker.”

Rogen and Goldberg are executive producers.

Gondry most recently helmed “Be Kind Rewind” and his next film, “Tokyo!” will be released March 6.

Mack Chico

By

2009/02/25 at 12:00am

Spanish directors to see more directing time

02.25.2009 | By |

Spanish directors to see more directing time

Spain’s Telecinco Cinema, producer of “Che,” “The Orphanage” and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” has boarded projects by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (“28 Days Later”), Juan Antonio Bayona (“Orphanage”) and Nacho Vigalondo (“Timecrimes”).

All will be co-produced by Telecinco and new Spanish shingle Apaches, headed by Enrique Lopez Lavigne and former Telecinco Cinema exec Belen Atienza.

Fresnadillo and Bayona have two projects a piece, all at script stage. Three pics are likely to be English-language, while the more modest of Bayona’s projects would be made in Spanish, said Ghislain Barrois, TC’s CEO.

The involvement of TC, the pic production division of broadcast network Telecinco, is crucial for these projects to get made.

Telecinco is required by government regulations to invest 5% of its annual revenue in Spanish and European fiction. Its minimum commitment for 2008, which it fulfilled, was e53.9 million ($68.7 million).

TC is one of the only production houses in Europe with the muscle to bankroll every year a clutch of mid- to low-budgeted English-language movies, a budget-range some U.S. studios have been abandoning.

TC put up 88% of financing for Alejandro Amenabar’s Rachel Weisz starrer “Agora,” said Telecinco CEO Paolo Vasile Tuesday at a presentation of Telecinco Cinema’s 2008-09 slate.

Sold internationally by Focus Features, “Agora” has been presented for consideration by the Cannes and Venice film festivals, Vasile added.

“Agora” is co-produced by Fernando Bovaira Mod Prods. and Amenabar’s Himenoptero. TC has also teamed with both shingles to produce Oskar Santos’ hospital thriller “El Mal ajeno.”

Starring Eduardo Noriega (“Vantage Point”) and Belen Rueda (“Orphanage”), the hospital-set thriller is written by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo, the director-writer of 2006’s seminal debut “DarkBlueAlmostBlack,” which heralded a new generation of Spanish filmmakers.

TC does not have an output deal with either Apaches or Mod, said Barrois.

“We have project-by-project deals with these producers. But they have privileged relationships with talent,” he added.

Bayona has “Hater” set up at Universal, produced by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Johnson; United Artists has acquired remake rights to Vigalondo’s “Timecrimes.”

Mack Chico

By

2009/02/23 at 12:00am

Oscar 2009 complete list of winners

02.23.2009 | By |

Oscar 2009 complete list of winners

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
(Paramount and Warner Bros.) A Kennedy/Marshall Production; Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Frost/Nixon”
(Universal) A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment
and Working Title Production; Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
“Milk”
(Focus Features) A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production; Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
“The Reader”
(The Weinstein Company) A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production; Nominees to be determined
Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire”
(Fox Searchlight) A Celador Films Production; Christian Colson, Producer

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
Winner: Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Winner: Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Winner: Danny Boyle for “Slumdog Millionaire”

(Fox Searchlight)
Stephen Daldry for “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)
David Fincher for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Ron Howard for “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
Gus Van Sant for “Milk” (Focus Features)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Winner: Penelope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics); Written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax); Written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges” (Focus Features); Written by Martin McDonagh
Winner: “Milk” (Focus Features); Written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney); Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
(Paramount and Warner Bros.) Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
“Doubt” (Miramax) Written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal) Screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by David Hare
Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
“Bolt” (Walt Disney) Chris Williams and Byron Howard
“Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
Winner: “WALL-E” (Walt Disney) Andrew Stanton

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Winner: “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production; Kunio Kato
“Lavatory – Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production; Konstantin Bronzit
“Oktapodi”(Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production; Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
“Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production; Doug Sweetland
“This Way Up” A Nexus Production; Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
“Changeling” (Universal) Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
Winner: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
“Australia” (20th Century Fox) Catherine Martin
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Jacqueline West
Winner: “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathe; and BBC Films) Michael O’Connor
“Milk” (Focus Features) Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) Albert Wolsky

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Winner:”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Paramount and Warner Bros.) Greg Cannom
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.) John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal) Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Changeling” (Universal) Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company) Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight) Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency); An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production; Reto Caffi
“Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions) A La Luna Production; Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
“New Boy” (Network Ireland Television) A Zanzibar Films Production; Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
“The Pig”An M & M Production; Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Hoslashgh
Winner: “Spielzeugland (Toyland)”A Mephisto Film Production; Jochen Alexander Freydank

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Winner: Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild) A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment) A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Winner: “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures) A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films) An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production Steven Okazaki
“The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
Winner: “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
“The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.) Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Winner: “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.) Richard King
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight) Tom Sayers
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney) Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted” (Universal) Wylie Stateman

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.) Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight) Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney) Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted” (Universal) Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.) Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal) Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk” (Focus Features) Elliot Graham
Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight) Chris Dickens

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” (Paramount Vantage) James Newton Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features) Danny Elfman
Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney) Thomas Newman

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney) Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; Lyrics by Peter Gabriel
Winner: “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyrics by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production; Germany
“The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haut et Court Production; France
Winner: “Departures” (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners Production; Japan
“Revanche” (Janus Films) A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production; Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production; Israel

Mack Chico

By

2009/02/11 at 12:00am

Brolin, Hopkins to join new Woody Allen pic

02.11.2009 | By |

Brolin, Hopkins to join new Woody Allen pic

Woody Allen has set Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins to star in the film he wrote and will shoot in London this summer.

Brolin and Hopkins are the first in an ensemble cast. As usual, Allen is keeping title and plot under wraps.

The film will be financed by Spain-based Mediapro, which provided coin for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Letty Aronson and Steve Tenenbaum are producing.

There is no domestic distributor yet on Allen’s upcoming film. He made a recent deal with Sony Pictures Classics for U.S. distribution on “Whatever Works,” a comedy that will likely be distributed this summer.

Brolin, Oscar-nominated for “Milk,” is next booked to star in the title role in “Jonah Hex,” a live-action adaptation of the DC Comics series for Warner Bros. He previously worked with Allen on 2004’s “Melinda and Melinda.”

Hopkins recently completed “The Wolf Man” for Universal.

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