- Paul Rudd has just signed a deal to be the star of the Jesse Peretz-directed comedy called My Idiot Brother, about a sunshine-spewing optimist who brightens up the lives of his three sisters and overbearing mother. Written by Peretz’ real-life sister Evgenia and her writing partner David Schisgall, the film will start production in New York in July, even if the sisters haven’t been cast yet. (Source: The Hollywood Reporter)
- Dustin Lance Black (Milk) is turning his writer’s and director’s eye towards comics; he will be doing both for the live-action adaptation of 3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man. Originally a graphic novel from Dark Horse by Matt Kindt, the plot will concern the relationship between a daughter and her father–who just happens to be suffering from a strange medical condition where he can’t stop growing. Warner Bros. will be producing/financing. (Source: The Hollywood Reporter)
- James McAvoy (Wanted) has been signed to star in X-Men: First Class as Professor Xavier; still no word who will be his star-crossed Magneto. (Source: Entertainment Weekly)
- “Community” star Donald Glover has started a grass-roots campaign to get himself an audition to be in the Spider-Man 4 movie and all I can think of is that scene from the very first episode of “Boston Legal” where the Reverend Al Sharpton gave Alan Shore his rabbit by giving a speech in the courtroom which featured this line: “Give us an African-American Spider Man!” Glover, if you’re reading this, your people totally need to talk to Sharpton’s people (and the “Boston Legal” writing team). (Source: Donald Glover’s personal blog)
Trisha’s Quote of the Day: Why some women shouldn’t fly spaceships
Wheaton: This is the first time I’ve ever been on the stage with a fellow Starship driver. I have never shared the stage with someone who has also driven a Starship.
Burton: And how does it feel?
Wheaton: It feels pretty good. It feels like we could talk in a shorthand that no one would understand or care about.
Frakes: You wouldn’t consider being on stage with Marina [Sirtis, Deanna Troi from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”] being on stage with someone who could drive the spaceship.
Wheaton: I don’t think so.
Burton: She crashed the ship the one time we let her drive, didn’t she?
Frakes: That was a huge mistake.
Wheaton: That was a bad idea.
Burton: Right into a planet, as I recall!
—LeVar Burton, Jonathan Frakes, and Wil Wheaton, together again on the bridge at a panel at the 2010 Phoenix ComicCon.
[Editor’s Note: Thanks, so much, Versus the World Productions for getting such great audio. You guys wouldn’t be going to Dragon*Con this year, by any chance, would you? – TL]
Trisha’s Link of the Day: Why Riker is the man
In full disclosure, I haven’t seen all of Star Trek: The Next Generation yet, but if/when I am able to cherry-pick which episodes I watch, “The Outcast” is high on my list, and artist Jess Fink explains why in this comic.
I was really blown away by the frankness of the dialog in this episode too. Apparently Jonathan Frakes pushed for them to hire a male actor to play Soren but the producers didn’t think TV was ready for dude-on-dude action.
I would pay good money to see that episode re-shot the “right” way, wouldn’t you?
R.I.P.: Actor Gary Coleman, 42, dies from brain hemorage
On Wednesday evening, “Diff’rent Strokes” star Gary Coleman fell at his Utah home and was rushed to the hospital. According to the CNN report from two hours ago, he is suffering from a brain hemmorage and is on life support.
Already, Wikipedia is saying that he’s dead, but I believe I’m going to wait a few hours before we report any further.
Our best thoughts are going out to his family and friends right now.
Update: It is with a heavy heart that we type these words to inform you that according to the NY Times blog, USA Today, and The Washington Post, among the other Internet articles posted about this, that Gary Coleman has passed away today, at the age of 42.
An entire generation of geeks grew up with Coleman when he starred in the sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes” as a Harlem youth being raised along with his brother by an rich widower from 1978 to 1986. Other than his signature catchphrase (“Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?”) one other thing that Coleman was known for was his short stature, caused by a congenital kidney defect.
After the show’s ended, Coleman found it difficult to get further work in Hollywood and in 1999, he sued his parents over the mismanagement of his trust fun and won. He never really regained the kind of public adoration he had as a child actor, though guest appearances in several TV shows and an unsuccessful run for the governorship of California kept him in the public eye.
Even further exposure was gained when book-writer Jeff Whitty and composers, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx made Coleman a character in their hit Broadway play Avenue Q, depicting him as a “former child actor” who’s now the superintendent of a run-down building somewhere in Manhattan. (Incidentally, the show’s reaction to his death can be read here.)
Coleman is survived by his wife.
Trisha’s Quote of the Day: When flavor text goes wrong
Meanwhile, Wilhelmina the gnome wound up at the bar with a hoary ancient mariner, who had a very strange story involving albatrosses, and kept buying him drinks, with the end result that poor Kevin had to read most of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, in character, which he did with great style, except that the gnome wouldn’t let him stop.
GNOME: This is fascinating! Tell me more!
GM: Now you’re just fuckin’ with me…
GNOME: I need to know more! I eat more chips and buy him another drink!
GM (wearily): One by one, by the star-dogged moon…
This continued on until after 11 pm, whereupon we called it a night. And then Kevin pinned my arm and insisted on reading another half dozen stanzas at me, because he claimed to be suffering from poetus interruptus.
Aidan Quinn leads actors into Exodus
If there’s anything I really like about covering indie films, it is that indie films are where you need to look if you want to keep pace with trends in original storytelling.
Picking up on where “Damages” left off in dealing with Ponzi scheme artists is screenwriter/producer R. Ellis Frazier who has assembled quite a cast for his feature directorial debut, The Exodus of Charlie Wright. Aidan Quinn will star, with Andy Garcia, Luke Goss, and Mario Van Peebles in supporting roles.
According to Jay A. Fernandez at The Hollywood Reporter, here’s the plot:
The story centers on Charlie (Quinn), a Los Angeles billionaire financial whiz who goes into self-imposed exile in Tijuana after his empire is revealed to have been a Ponzi scheme. While looking for the woman he abandoned there 25 years before, Charlie is pursued by a Mexican gangster (Garcia), a federal agent (Van Peebles) and thugs sent by a former client (Goss) looking to retrieve his money.
Whereas “Damages”—which I am still slogging through on DVR, so if you spoil it for me, I will gladly kill you—is very firmly empathetic towards Ponzi scheme victims, by having his protagonist be the schemer I’m wondering exactly just how Frazier will be able to make his story palatable enough for studio heads who may have lost money in Bernie Madoff’s scheme which was revealed in March 2009 and which victims included such Hollywood luminaries as Stephen Spielberg and his Wunderkinder Foundation, Dreamworks CEO Jeffery Katzenberg and Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick.
Perhaps the words “self-imposed exile” is key?
Last-minute indie buys end this year’s Cannes
Before the top prize at Cannes, the Palme d’Or, was won by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul and his film called Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives on Saturday night, a flurry of activity sealed the deal for more indie films to get distribution here in the U.S., according to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Risky Business blog:
- Altitude: Canadian comics artist Kaare Andrews (Astonishing X-Men) is the director of this supernatural thriller which pits a group of teens in a private plane against an unseen horror which threatens to ground them for good. Featuring Jessica Lowndes from the new “90210” series, Anchor Bay Entertainment picked up the U.S. distribution rights.
- Des hommes et des dieux (aka Of Gods & Men): Sony Picture Classics nabbed the U.S., Australia and New Zealand distribution rights to this “based on a true story” film about Catholic monks lead by Lambert Wilson (the Merovingian in the two Matrix sequels) whose decision to stay within the increasingly dangerous Algerian countryside eventually cost seven of them their lives in 1996. Written/directed by Xavier Beauvois, the film also took home the Grand Prix.
- Kaboom: The first-ever Queer Palm-winning (yes, I know, but that’s what the award is called) feature from indie darling Gregg Araki stars Thomas Dekker (“The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) as a freshman who trying to enjoy his first year in college (and his hot roommate named Thor) who stumbles into a freaky mystery after witnessing the murder of a mysterious redhead…or does he? It’s been picked up by IFC Films to be released sometime this year.
- The Princess of Montpensier: A French film by Bertrand Tavernier, it revolves around an heiress (Mélanie Thierry) and the various men who fall in and out of love with her against the backdrop of a war-torn 16th century France. It’s based on the eponymous public domain novel, and will be distributed by IFC Films in the U.S. after its release this November in France.
- Somos lo que hay (aka We Are What We Are): Just in case you ever wanted to feel empathy towards cannibals, screenwriter/producer Jorge Michel Grau’s directorial debut might be right up your alley as it revolves around a destitute family who only eats humans to survive, not because it gives them any particular pleasure. The horror/dark comedy has also been picked up by IFC Films for distribution.
Paul W.S. Anderson’s Three Musketeers to take the world by storm (updated!)
Just a week after the 2010 Festival de Cannes started, a clear heavy-weight has emerged between the two new versions of The Three Musketeers in pre-production. The winner is Summit Entertainment and director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Death Race), whose version with the following stars attached will also be filmed in 3D:
- Logan Lerman (D’artagnan, the young newbie): The star of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Lerman was also one of the leads in ill-fated WB series “Jack & Bobby.”
- Matthew Macfadyen (Athos, the moody leader): The Robin Hood star had to correct the initial reports that he was going to be playing Aramis.
- Luke Evans (Aramis, the man of God): After playing the role of the god Apollo in The Clash of the Titans, he’ll be returning to Greek mythology land for Immortals.
- Ray Stevenson (Porthos, the jovial gourmand): Having appeared in The Book of Eli, his next summer movie appearance will be in the comedy The Other Guys.
On the antagonist’s side, we’ll have Christoph Waltz (Cardinal Richelieu, the main schemer), Mads Mikkelsen (Rochefort, D’Artagnan’s main rival at arms), Milla Jovovich (Milady de Winter, the Cardinal’s spy), and a rumored Orlando Bloom (the Duke of Buckingham, who actually comes off as much more sympathetic in the original French novel than an Englishman should be). Also in negotiations to join the cast is Juno Temple, (Greenberg, Dirty Girl who will play the queen of France.
Having been hailed as “the jewel in the Cannes crown this year” with “all the elements we needed” by Summit International’s president David Garrett, The Hollywood Reporter noted that Garrett and his team were able to broker deals to have the $80 million picture shown in the U.K., Canada, Spain, and Latin America. Summit will distribute in the U.S., and co-producer Constantin will distribute for Germany.
The loser is Warner Bros. who by confirming Fair Game director Doug Liman’s involvement in their own version in the beginning of the month started this arms race, but no cast has yet to be announced. Perhaps the only things that the WB version has going for it right now is that it aims to be a Sherlock Holmes-esque re-imagining of the tale and that it’s got Doug Freaking Liman as its director.
And yes, I’ll admit that one of the first versions of this story that I saw on screen was the 1993 Disney version which featured a smirking Charlie Sheen as Aramis, but I think I’ll veer away from the rest of the movie blogosphere community by also stating that my personal favorite version of the Musketeers is actually the 1998 ones played by Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons, and Gerard Depardieu because of their gravitas.
Filming on both of these productions will begin in the fall.
Updated on 5/23: Orlando Bloom’s involvement has been officially confirmed, according to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision blog. Most interesting quote from the article about the Duke of Buckingham: “[He is] so cool that you can chop him into cubes and serve with vodka.” Also confirmed is the involvement is British actor James Cordon (The History Boys), who will play D’Artangnan’s faithful servant Planchet.
Trisha’s Take: Open on Sunday review
Open on Sunday
Performed by Paula Carino (vocals, rhythm guitar), Ross Bonadonna (lead guitar, backing vocals), Andy Mattina (bass), Tom Pope (drums)
I’ve spoken at length about how I don’t have the most expansive of musical educations. Sure, I can natter on at length about early female classical composers, but that’s mostly a product of a 300-level Music course I took over decade ago because it satisfied a prerequisite and a university honors slot at the same time.
However, ever since I learned that I inherited my ability to carry a note from my mom and my ability to feel a rhythm from my dad, I’ve loved listening to music and finding those songs which I could sing and dance along with.
And I have the Internet to thank for my most recent find. Continue reading “Trisha’s Take: Open on Sunday review”
Ghostbusters 3 filming in NYC?
Well, not exactly:
This bit of midday surreality has been brought to you by the fine folks at Improv Everywhere, who gave me 1 or 2 of my allotted 15 minutes of TV fame when their re-enactment of a U2 concert made a VH-1 “Top 40 greatest pranks” show and clips of my screaming like a crazed fan made the show.