Singer and actor Lenny Kravitz is planning to take on playing late performer Marvin Gaye in a feature that has caught the eire of the “Let Love Rule” musician’s former classmate, Marvin Gaye III. “The producers and directors of this film are very wrong and shameful,” Marvin Gaye III told TMZ . “[They’re] trying to do a film about a low period in his life. They don’t even know the whole story.” Kravitz will play the late singer under the working title, Sexual Healing , which reportedly centers on Gaye’s life in the ’80s, a period in which he battled drug abuse and depression. Gaye’s father shot and killed him in 1984. Gaye III said that he and Kravitz are schoolmates and continue to be friends, but said he wants to meet with Kravitz and “talk to him about why he would do this.” Family members including Gaye III have reached out to lawyers to try and halt production and expressed his hope that Kravitz is pursuing the project without realizing the extent of opposition coming from the Gaye side. “I would hope [Kravitz] doesn’t have any idea that we are against this film being done,” said Gaye III. Kravitz, whose credits include Precious and more recently in The Hunger Games is taking on the role of Marvin Gaye for director Julien Temple ( London: The Modern Babylon ). [ Sources: Huffington Post , TMZ ]
Strictly for auds who enjoy the grisly Grand Guignol spectacle of the Saw franchise but could do without the moral lectures and melodramatic mythology, The Collection is an energetic but utterly weightless exercise in slice-and-dice cinema. This sequel to 2009 chiller The Collector is in many ways bigger (more characters, more locations, more carnage), but in no way better than its predecessor. Theatrical is merely a pit-stop on the road to home viewing for a product with niche appeal even among horror buffs. Picking up where The Collector left off, The Collection establishes an anonymous urban locale terrorized by a psycho killer with no method to his madness. Without the luxury of the first film’s slow-burn opening act, the sequel leans on pre-existing iconography to build tension: the Collector’s black mask obscuring everything but his beady eyes and predatory mouth; the red trunk he uses to “collect” a lone survivor of each massacre; an ominous tripwire connected to something sharp and lethal. Once filmmakers (and Saw sequel alums) Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton hurriedly introduce new protagonist Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick), it’s off to the races for nonstop, nonsensical brutality. Elena and pals head to a secret underground club (the password is “nevermore,” natch) where the Collector waits in the shadows with a plan to orchestrate mass murder. In what should be one of the film’s standout setpieces, dozens of clubgoers are simultaneously slaughtered by a massive combine-harvester blade rigged to descend from the ceiling. But the sequence is little more than a jumble of frenetically cut-together closeups, and the first of many examples of the film’s “more is more” philosophy coming into conflict with the constraints of a low budget. While Elena is dragged off to the villain’s secret lair, the pic reintroduces the first film’s scrappy survivor, Arkin (Josh Stewart), who manages to break free only to be recruited by Elena’s mysterious protector, Lucello (Lee Tergesen). Lucello has assembled a team to hunt down the Collector and rescue Elena, and they need Arkin’s help. But this time he’s on the Collector’s home turf: The rundown Hotel Argento (wink, wink), a more elaborate version of the booby-trapped mansion from part one. If The Collector was inspired by the suspenseful setup of Wait Until Dark , Dunstan and Melton take their cues this time from one of the great genre sequels: James Cameron’s Aliens , with its team of tough-talking grunts navigating perilous terrain as they battle an unstoppable foe. Still, the raison d’etre remains gore, gore and more gore. There’s no attempt to explain how the Collector sets up his elaborate traps, and only the vaguest speculation as to what motivates his insatiable bloodlust, which could be frightening if his actions weren’t so preposterous. Performance and tech credits are adequate by genre standards, though the only imaginative contribution comes in the design of the Collector’s depraved displays of disemboweled victims and stitched-together body parts. He’s quite the interior decorator. Pic manages to end on a satisfying note that may or may not lead to a third installment. Perhaps the limited amount of title variations — The Collected “? The Collectors ? — will spare everyone the unnecessary trouble. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Many have tried and failed to reboot Wonder Woman for contemporary audiences (some rather famously – looking at you , David E. Kelley). If The CW succeeds with “Amazon,” their origin series will envision the Amazonian warrior princess as a tough twentysomething fish-out-of-water named… Iris. According to Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva , a casting breakdown calls for Wonder Woman/Iris (maybe that’s just a code name, let’s hope) who’s at least 5’8″ and looks to be in her twenties; the character “comes from a remote, secluded country and until now has spent most of her life as a soldier and a leader on the battlefield.” Wonder Woman may be a leggy Amazonian goddess who’s handy in a fight, but her journey is so Beastmaster 2 : “Because of relentless brutality of her life at home, Iris looks at our world with absolute awe and astonishment. She’s delighted and just as often horrified by the aspects of everyday life that we take for granted: skyscrapers, traffic, ice cream. It’s all new and fascinating and sometimes slightly troubling to her.” This Wonder Woman is a tactless heroine with no social skills who’s an overachieving idealist who “can tell when you’re lying to her,” although it’s unclear whether that’s because she has a Lasso of Truth or if that iconic accessory has been metaphorically internalized. “Iris is completely unschooled in our world, our culture, our customs,” continues the breakdown. “And she’s completely inexperienced at interpersonal relationships. She has no social filter, does not suffer fools, and tends to do and say exactly what’s on her mind at all times. She’s bluntly, refreshingly honest. She can tell when you’re lying to her. And she doesn’t have time or patience for politics or tact because she’s too busy trying to experience everything our world has to offer. There are too many sights to see and things to learn and people to care for. Hers is a true, noble, and generous heart.” Etc., etc. Avengers director Joss Whedon (who’s also tackling Avengers 2 ) was set in 2005 to write and direct his own Wonder Woman film, which would have also followed a fish-out-of-water approach. Whedon described his version of the Wonder Woman mythos to Rookie Magazine last year: “[Wonder Woman] was a little bit like Angelina Jolie [laughs]. She sort of traveled the world. She was very powerful and very naïve about people, and the fact that she was a goddess was how I eventually found my in to her humanity and vulnerability, because she would look at us and the way we kill each other and the way we let people starve and the way the world is run and she’d just be like, ‘None of this makes sense to me. I can’t cope with it, I can’t understand, people are insane.’ And ultimately her romance with [classic Wonder Woman love interest Steve Trevor] was about him getting her to see what it’s like not to be a goddess, what it’s like when you are weak, when you do have all these forces controlling you and there’s nothing you can do about it. That was the sort of central concept of the thing. Him teaching her humanity and her saying, OK, great, but we can still do better.” Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is concurrently planning a Justice League movie and Wonder Woman standalone films , which will need to find their own starlet to don that star-spangled onesie and boots. So, let the casting games begin! Shout out your best picks to play “Iris,” AKA Wonder Woman, in the comments below. PREVIOUSLY: Wonder Woman Get-Up Now Slightly Less Sexy Halloween Costume Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Hugh Jackman is in talks for the role in the film that is looking like an X-Men: First Class sequel. Also in the news, Angela Bassett is joining Gregg Araki’s latest; Plans are in the works for a Humphrey Bogart Film Festival; China’s box office set to surge to number one; And the Hamptons International Film Festival gets new leadership. Hugh Jackman Eyes Reprising Wolverine in New X-Men Movie Jackman is in negotiations to reprise the role in the movie with is shaping up as a sequel to X-Men: First Class , featuring actors from the first X-Men trilogy – the first two of which were directed by Bryan Singer. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult are also on board, THR reports . George Clooney, Paul Greengrass Plot Crime Thriller Greengrass will direct and produce the project along with Clooney and Grant Heslov, with writer Chris Terrio. Clooney will star in the project which re-teams some of the main figures behind Argo , Variety reports . Angela Bassett Joins Gregg Araki’s White Bird in a Blizzard She joins Gabourey Sidibe and will play Dr. Thaler in the indie drama about a young woman whose life spins out control when her mother disappears, Deadline reports . Humphrey Bogart Film Festival to Host Film Noir And, of course, a parade of Humphrey Bogart films are also on tap for the event taking place – naturally – in Key Largo, FL. The inaugural edition will be held on May 2-5, 2013. The festival will be hosted by Stephen Humphrey Bogart, the son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and will feature preeminent film historian and critic Leonard Maltin. China Box Office Expected to Surpass U.S. by 2020 China has already surpassed Japan as the number 2 movie market. It’s media and entertainment industry is expected to grow 17% annually through 2015, Deadline reports . Hamptons International Film Festival Appoints New Head Longtime advisor Anne Chaisson has been named the festival’s new Executive Director. She has been an advisory co-chair since 2003. Director of Programming David Nugent, meanwhile, has been promoted to Artistic Director at the organization.
Killing Them Softly is set in Boston, maybe. Someone mentions living in Somerville, a scattering of the characters have the accent, and they talk about going down to Florida. But the film was shot in New Orleans, often in the industrial edges still ragged from Hurricane Katrina, and the only people who seem to inhabit its universe are gangsters — high level ones with pretentions of civility and hardscrabble losers struggling to get a few dollars together by way of hazardous schemes. What ties this abstract, violent place to the real world is the 2008 presidential election, which provides a backdrop for its tale of an ill-advised robbery and the guy brought in to clean up after it. There’s George W. Bush talking about the bailout on a TV in the corner as two guys knock over a card game; there’s Barack Obama promising change on a billboard over a neighborhood filled with empty lots and abandoned houses. It’s a neat idea, matching the brisk kill-or-be-killed business of unforgiving criminal life to an America staggering from the economic crisis. But as in his last feature, the gorgeous and stiltedly self-conscious The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford , Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik shows a tendency to lean too hard on his symbolism rather than letting it exist as part of the whole. In Jesse James it was the tying in of the last days of the outlaw to a meditation on celebrity. Here, it’s the capitalism-as-a-disease parallels on a national and narrative scale that start to feel on the nose long before a character barks “America’s not a country, it’s a business — now fucking pay me!” and Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)” plays over the closing credits. But when Dominik , working off his own screenplay adaptation of a novel by George V. Higgins, is less focused on trying to make an important movie, he turns out an indisputably fun one, a stylish and flamboyantly macho affair that cribs pleasantly from Mamet, Blue Velvet , Tarantino and Scorsese . The film starts with Frankie (Scoot McNairy), a ferrety guy recently out of prison and eager to convince his Australian pal Russell ( Ben Mendelsohn , memorably scary in Animal Kingdom ) to get in with him on a job. Russell’s working his own scheme involving kidnapping purebred dogs and using the money to buy an ounce of heroin and become a dealer, but Frankie’s pal Johnny (Vincent Curatola) has what he claims is a foolproof gig. They’ll rob a poker game run by a guy named Markie ( Ray Liotta ), who arranged to hold up his own game once in the past and got away with it. The games are protected, but if his gets robbed again everyone will assume he’s the one behind it. Killing Them Softly starts off with its main heist, if it can be called that, and then turns to the fallout, letting things rattle along for a considerable amount of time before introducing Jackie ( Brad Pitt ), a guy who can’t really be described as a hero or antihero. Jackie’s a fixer and a hitman who’s filling in for the last go-to guy, Dillon (Sam Shepard, glimpsed only in flashbacks), and he’s a competent, no nonsense figure in a world full of fuck-ups. Dominik’s film is interesting in that the crimes themselves, whether stick-ups or killings, are rarely difficult — it’s the aftermath that gets people in trouble, when they can’t keep their mouths shut about what they just pulled off or don’t know when to cut their losses and get out of town. Dominik shows an open appreciation for his actors and for the way tough guys, aspiring and genuine, talk to each other — and Killing Them Softly is as much centered around talking as it is action. Pitt, playing a practical know-it-all who falls somewhere between Rusty Ryan and Tyler Durden, is terribly entertaining shooting the shit with Driver (Richard Jenkins), the representative of the unspecified group who hired him, the two complaining about the new “total corporate mentality” like disgruntled office workers on a smoke break. Later, he brings in Mickey (James Gandolfini) from New York to help out, and watches him with worried calculation as he turns out to be in rough shape. If gangsterism is just capitalism in a more raw form, then Jackie is the creature best suited for this world. He knows the rules and enforces them without prejudice, because it’s just business and this is just a job. Killing Them Softly doesn’t give that idea its intended sting. The film wants to be angry and scathing, but, to its credit, enjoys its characters and its mechanics too much to have a sharp edge. Whether it’s showing someone’s death in a luxurious slow motion spray of bullets and glass or lingering as someone drunkenly reminisces about a girl he sometimes sleeps with but has no hold on, the film is too fond of its rich details to allow them to become damning symbols of the system in which they can be found. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
There’s nothing like a good bit of alternate “What if?” casting to make you appreciate a movie whose stars’ chemistry works, so picture what might have been if David O. Russell had made his Oscar contender Silver Linings Playbook a few years back… with Vince Vaughn and Zooey Deschanel . “I wrote this five years ago and I rewrote it 20 times,” Russell told The Huffington Post . “And I thought I was going to make it with Vince Vaughn and Zooey Deschanel before The Fighter . And then it didn’t happen, for any number of reasons that were out of my hands.” Head here to read the full Silver Linings chat, in which Russell big ups stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and offers little hope that we’ll ever see the infamously stalled Nailed . Meanwhile, as awards pundit Anne Thompson notes , Silver Linings is flagging in the crowded Oscar race after enjoying a burst of momentum in previous weeks. Maybe a celebrity endorsement from Oscar-winner Charlize Theron will help? Here’s Theron waxing enthusiastic over Lawrence in EW’s Entertainers of the Year cover story: “How is it that she can just stand there, not saying a word, and make us feel so much? Her talent is undeniable, and she is a force to be reckoned with.” Theron should know; she starred as the older version of a pre-fame, pre- Hunger Games Lawrence (or vice versa — Lawrence starred as the young Theron, opposite Revolution ‘s J.D. Pardo) in 2008’s The Burning Plain . [ Huffington Post , EW , Thompson on Hollywood ]
Spike Lee ‘s Oldboy is getting some bad ass company in the Park Chan-Wook remake business, as the Korean director’s ultraviolent femme-fronted Sympathy For Lady Vengeance , the third pic in Park’s Vengeance trilogy, will be remade into a Charlize Theron -fronted Americanized adaptation by Departed writer William Monahan. Theron (who will star and produce under her Denver & Delilah Films banner) joins forces with Oscar-winning screenwriter Monahan and superproducer Megan Ellison, arguably the ballsiest financier around; the actress has been trying to make Lady Vengeance for a few years now, but this update indicates it’s finally coming together. “This will be very American — and very unexpected,” Monahan said as the project was announced. “Park is a genius; it’s the Everest of adaptations and I’ve got blood in my teeth to do it.” I’ve got blood in my teeth to do it, Monahan says. IN A PRESS RELEASE. I’m usually skeptical when it comes to remakes — especially remakes of movies that are pretty awesome and bold in their original versions — but I can’t wait to see what he puts on the page. Watch the trailers for the original Lady Vengeance (English version and Korean version both below): Thoughts, Vengeance -lovers?
The unveiling of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival line-up has begun! (Get the first wave of titles in the U.S. and World dramatic and documentary slate, plus the NEXT selections here .) Here are ten intriguing, surprising, and promising figures and filmmakers to look forward to following around Park City as their films vie among the 16 dramatic and 16 documentary films in competition this year — including a certain Twilight maven, everyone’s favorite boy wizard, and two kinds of Bries. 1. Stephenie Meyer ( Austenland ) When you think “billion-dollar vampire franchise” you don’t necessarily think “Sundance,” but after producing the last two films in her Twilight series ( Breaking Dawn Part 1 & 2 ) and the upcoming adaptation of her sci-fi novel The Host , Stephenie Meyer came onboard to produce another lit adaptation, Austenland , based on Shannon Hale’s book — and the Jerusha Hess-helmed pic, starring Keri Russell, Bret McKenzie and JJ Feild, makes its debut in competition in Park City. Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined. 2. David Sedaris ( C.O.G. ) Bestselling author David Sedaris gets his first big screen adaptation in C.O.G. , based on a short story in Sedaris’s book Naked . Kyle Patrick Alvarez directs Jonathan Groff ( Glee ) in the account based on Sedaris’s own experience working as an apple picker in Oregon, joined by a colorful cast including Casey Wilson, Dean Stockwell, Corey Stoll, Dale Dickey, and Denis O’Hare. In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. 3. Lake Bell ( In a World… ) The hilarious Lake Bell stars in and makes her feature directorial debut with In a World after cutting her teeth on the comedy short Worst Enemy and episodes of Childrens Hospital . An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. 4. Harry Potter — okay, okay: Daniel Radcliffe ( Kill Your Darlings ) Daniel Radcliffe as Allen Ginsberg. Ben Foster as William Burroughs. Jack Huston as Jack Kerouac. An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. 5. Sebastian Silva & Michael Cera ( Crystal Fairy ) Michael Cera stars in two upcoming films from Silva, who won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 2009 for The Maid , but they had me at “Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip,” (Their second film, Magic Magic , is also set in Chile.) Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. 6. Cherien Dabis ( May in the Summer ) Sundance alum Dabis nabbed the FIPRESCI prize out of Cannes with 2009’s Amreeka and serves as writer, director, and star of her sophomore feature, which also features Alexander Siddig, Hiam Abbass, Bill Pullman, and Alia Shawkat. A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. 7. Lynn Shelton ( Touchy Feely ) The busy Lynn Shelton ( Your Sister’s Sister ) is back in Park City with Touchy Feely , starring Rosemarie Dewitt, Ellen Page, and rising star Scoot McNairy, who should be your favorite breakout actor of 2012. A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” 8. The Bries: Alison Brie ( Toy’s House ) & Brie Larson ( The Spectacular Now ) Sundance-watchers get a double serving of girl crushes as Hollywood’s two gorgeous, adorable Bries pop up in competition pics. Toy’s House : Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. The Spectacular Now : Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. 9. Shane Carruth ( Upstream Color ) You’d be hard pressed to find a filmmaker whose new work will be as anticipated at Sundance as Shane Carruth, who presents his first film since debuting with the sci-fi indie hit Primer . A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. 10. Pussy Riot ( Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer ) The Russian punk ladies imprisoned for being awesome are the subject of the documentary Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer , which world premieres in Park City and competes in the World Cinema Documentary category. Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? Read further about Sundance 2013’s line-up and check back for the unveiling of more fest titles . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
I’m starting to think the execs over at Syfy may be a bunch of secret geniuses. When I first read Forbes ‘ report that the NBC Universal -owned cable network is considering giving the lifeguard’s kiss to Waterworld as either a film for its new theatrical division or, more likely, a TV series for its prime-time schedule, I almost choked on my coffee. Just hearing the title of the $235-million 1995 stink bomb — until Titanic , reportedly the most expensive movie made — makes me simultaneously think of mildew and bacon. The first, because of the movie’s stagnant, waterlogged plot; the second, because Dennis Hopper’s performance is so damn hammy. The late actor, who played Deacon, the leader of the pirates known as Smokers, actually says at one point in the movie: “Dry land is not just our destination, it is our destiny!” And the more I think about it, a Waterworld reboot is Syfy’s destiny. As the Forbes post notes, the movie does well every time it runs on the network, but with a little Syfy-style goosing, a TV series could become destination programming for B-movie nerds everywhere. Waterworld is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the polar icecaps have melted and land is sparse. First of all, in a post-Katrina-Irene-Sandy world, the concept doesn’t seem all that farfetched anymore. Better yet, that extremely moist setting makes an ideal universe for Syfy to populate with all of the mutated monsters that have starred in its cheese-tastic original TV movies. The movie’s protagonist, the Mariner — who was played by Kevin Costner — is, after all, a mutant, too. He sports gills and webbed feet. So, as long as we’re suspending disbelief for him, why not have him face down such inspired Syfy abominations as Sharktopus , Mega-Python, Mega-Piranha, Piranhaconda — and, from above, Mansquito! — on a weekly basis. I see parts for Barry Williams, Tiffany , Debbie Gibson and Kevin Sorbo. And if Universal hasn’t settled its suit with mockbuster production house The Asylum , which produced some of the most successful and preposterous creature films to air on Syfy, maybe they can make nice and make waves. (Ba-dum-bump!) Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
I’m starting to think the execs over at Syfy may be a bunch of secret geniuses. When I first read Forbes ‘ report that the NBC Universal -owned cable network is considering giving the lifeguard’s kiss to Waterworld as either a film for its new theatrical division or, more likely, a TV series for its prime-time schedule, I almost choked on my coffee. Just hearing the title of the $235-million 1995 stink bomb — until Titanic , reportedly the most expensive movie made — makes me simultaneously think of mildew and bacon. The first, because of the movie’s stagnant, waterlogged plot; the second, because Dennis Hopper’s performance is so damn hammy. The late actor, who played Deacon, the leader of the pirates known as Smokers, actually says at one point in the movie: “Dry land is not just our destination, it is our destiny!” And the more I think about it, a Waterworld reboot is Syfy’s destiny. As the Forbes post notes, the movie does well every time it runs on the network, but with a little Syfy-style goosing, a TV series could become destination programming for B-movie nerds everywhere. Waterworld is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the polar icecaps have melted and land is sparse. First of all, in a post-Katrina-Irene-Sandy world, the concept doesn’t seem all that farfetched anymore. Better yet, that extremely moist setting makes an ideal universe for Syfy to populate with all of the mutated monsters that have starred in its cheese-tastic original TV movies. The movie’s protagonist, the Mariner — who was played by Kevin Costner — is, after all, a mutant, too. He sports gills and webbed feet. So, as long as we’re suspending disbelief for him, why not have him face down such inspired Syfy abominations as Sharktopus , Mega-Python, Mega-Piranha, Piranhaconda — and, from above, Mansquito! — on a weekly basis. I see parts for Barry Williams, Tiffany , Debbie Gibson and Kevin Sorbo. And if Universal hasn’t settled its suit with mockbuster production house The Asylum , which produced some of the most successful and preposterous creature films to air on Syfy, maybe they can make nice and make waves. (Ba-dum-bump!) Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
