Fighter piloting is inherently cinematic, so when a new movie comes out in the vein of Memphis Belle and Top Gun , I already hear the swells of music and gunfire. But in the case of Red Tails , the new Anthony Hemingway drama that arrives in theaters January 20, the grace of the genre is replaced with spotty dialogue and catatonic performances. Cuba Gooding Jr., you may as well call this movie Plane Trip .
Did you need another circus movie? Good. Because Michael Gracey — a commercial/VFX veteran who just signed on to helm the Snow White picture The Order of the Seven — will direct Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman on Earth , a musical biopic of 19th century circus master P.T. Barnum written by Sex and the City scribe Jenny Bicks. Hopefully it will redeem the recent misfire Water for Elephants and 1952’s The Greatest Show on Earth , which remains the most dubious Best Picture winner of all time. Jackman’s Boy from Oz zest is perfect for the role, so I suspect he’ll keep the movie from becoming another third-ring sideshow. (Ding!) [ Variety ]
Did you need another circus movie? Good. Because Michael Gracey — a commercial/VFX veteran who just signed on to helm the Snow White picture The Order of the Seven — will direct Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman on Earth , a musical biopic of 19th century circus master P.T. Barnum written by Sex and the City scribe Jenny Bicks. Hopefully it will redeem the recent misfire Water for Elephants and 1952’s The Greatest Show on Earth , which remains the most dubious Best Picture winner of all time. Jackman’s Boy from Oz zest is perfect for the role, so I suspect he’ll keep the movie from becoming another third-ring sideshow. (Ding!) [ Variety ]
Word just over the transom at Movieline HQ has announced Sony Pictures Classics’ plans to give Midnight in Paris one final push to end the summer, expanding the film once again over 1,000 screens as it pursues the $50 million milestone — by far the best domestic gross ever for a Woody Allen film.
As you may have heard , Disney shockingly put the brakes on the planned big-screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger that star Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski were aiming to bring into theaters next Christmas. The reasons were budgetary — the cost of Ranger had reportedly ballooned to $250 million — but it appears that a mere (“mere”) $20-30 million is all that separates the studio from the filmmakers. Provided some cuts can be made — a task easier said than done, as backend deals and three large-scale action scenes revolving around trains reportedly threaten the compromise — The Lone Ranger could conceivably hit theaters at some point. Unless, of course, Disney realizes it might not be the best idea anyway.
As you may have heard , Disney shockingly put the brakes on the planned big-screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger that star Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski were aiming to bring into theaters next Christmas. The reasons were budgetary — the cost of Ranger had reportedly ballooned to $250 million — but it appears that a mere (“mere”) $20-30 million is all that separates the studio from the filmmakers. Provided some cuts can be made — a task easier said than done, as backend deals and three large-scale action scenes revolving around trains reportedly threaten the compromise — The Lone Ranger could conceivably hit theaters at some point. Unless, of course, Disney realizes it might not be the best idea anyway.
Hollywood’s little miss sunshines are growing up, and how ( looking at you too, Dakota ): Variety reports that 15-year-old Abigail Breslin has been cast as one of two leads in The Class Project , an indie drama based on the real-life “Bathtub Girls,” two teenage Canadian sisters who murdered their mother in 2003 and got away with the crime for a year before being found out. Stan Brooks will direct from a script by Fabrizio Filippo and Adam Till who adapted The Class Project from Toronto Star reporter Bob Mitchell’s 2008 book, The Class Project: How To Kill a Mother: The True Story of Canada’s Infamous Bathtub Girls . [ Variety ]
Hollywood’s little miss sunshines are growing up, and how ( looking at you too, Dakota ): Variety reports that 15-year-old Abigail Breslin has been cast as one of two leads in The Class Project , an indie drama based on the real-life “Bathtub Girls,” two teenage Canadian sisters who murdered their mother in 2003 and got away with the crime for a year before being found out. Stan Brooks will direct from a script by Fabrizio Filippo and Adam Till who adapted The Class Project from Toronto Star reporter Bob Mitchell’s 2008 book, The Class Project: How To Kill a Mother: The True Story of Canada’s Infamous Bathtub Girls . [ Variety ]
We can all agree that the posters and images released so far for Summit’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 have been a little subdued , with far less angst on display here than in previous installments and more of a focus on Bella and Edward’s domestic skinny-dipping , chess-playing , honeymooning bliss. Fine enough. While you wait with bated breath to see what Summit unveils as their actual official poster, take a gander at newly surfaced key art that sees nine familiar characters in their new Breaking Dawn garb.
We can all agree that the posters and images released so far for Summit’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 have been a little subdued , with far less angst on display here than in previous installments and more of a focus on Bella and Edward’s domestic skinny-dipping , chess-playing , honeymooning bliss. Fine enough. While you wait with bated breath to see what Summit unveils as their actual official poster, take a gander at newly surfaced key art that sees nine familiar characters in their new Breaking Dawn garb.
