Casting news continues to trickle out for the film based on the wild life and times of CBGB, none of which is quite as eye-opening as word that the story of one of New York City’s most legendary, lamented live-music venues will be filmed largely in… Savannah, Georgia. So it goes! We get some stuntbozo driving a sportscar into a Sbarro for Jerry Bruckheimer, and Savannah gets Malin Åkerman as Debbie Harry , Rupert Grint as Cheetah Chrome, Joel David Moore as Joey Ramone, and Alan Rickman in the aforementioned role of club proprietor Hilly Kristal, all reviving the dawn of punk and new wave in the edgy metropolis where the Girl Scouts were founded Hollywood honchos go to self-immolate . Rock on, bitches : All of the movie’s interior shots will be done at Meddin Studios, which will be transformed to look like the iconic New York club, said director Randall Miller. “We’re going to build the interior of the club on the stages here,” Miller said. “Then the plan is we’ll do some shooting on the streets of downtown Savannah — and finally a few days in New York. “We’re using both Georgia and New York for New York,” he joked. “Savannah has a kind of downtown area that could really work for so many cities,” Miller said. “That translates pretty well in what we’re doing.” Fine, do what you’ve gotta do. By which I mean cast James Franco as Richard Hell already . [ The Strut , Savannah Morning News via EV Grieve ]
Casting news continues to trickle out for the film based on the wild life and times of CBGB, none of which is quite as eye-opening as word that the story of one of New York City’s most legendary, lamented live-music venues will be filmed largely in… Savannah, Georgia. So it goes! We get some stuntbozo driving a sportscar into a Sbarro for Jerry Bruckheimer, and Savannah gets Malin Åkerman as Debbie Harry , Rupert Grint as Cheetah Chrome, Joel David Moore as Joey Ramone, and Alan Rickman in the aforementioned role of club proprietor Hilly Kristal, all reviving the dawn of punk and new wave in the edgy metropolis where the Girl Scouts were founded Hollywood honchos go to self-immolate . Rock on, bitches : All of the movie’s interior shots will be done at Meddin Studios, which will be transformed to look like the iconic New York club, said director Randall Miller. “We’re going to build the interior of the club on the stages here,” Miller said. “Then the plan is we’ll do some shooting on the streets of downtown Savannah — and finally a few days in New York. “We’re using both Georgia and New York for New York,” he joked. “Savannah has a kind of downtown area that could really work for so many cities,” Miller said. “That translates pretty well in what we’re doing.” Fine, do what you’ve gotta do. By which I mean cast James Franco as Richard Hell already . [ The Strut , Savannah Morning News via EV Grieve ]
Casting news continues to trickle out for the film based on the wild life and times of CBGB, none of which is quite as eye-opening as word that the story of one of New York City’s most legendary, lamented live-music venues will be filmed largely in… Savannah, Georgia. So it goes! We get some stuntbozo driving a sportscar into a Sbarro for Jerry Bruckheimer, and Savannah gets Malin Åkerman as Debbie Harry , Rupert Grint as Cheetah Chrome, Joel David Moore as Joey Ramone, and Alan Rickman in the aforementioned role of club proprietor Hilly Kristal, all reviving the dawn of punk and new wave in the edgy metropolis where the Girl Scouts were founded Hollywood honchos go to self-immolate . Rock on, bitches : All of the movie’s interior shots will be done at Meddin Studios, which will be transformed to look like the iconic New York club, said director Randall Miller. “We’re going to build the interior of the club on the stages here,” Miller said. “Then the plan is we’ll do some shooting on the streets of downtown Savannah — and finally a few days in New York. “We’re using both Georgia and New York for New York,” he joked. “Savannah has a kind of downtown area that could really work for so many cities,” Miller said. “That translates pretty well in what we’re doing.” Fine, do what you’ve gotta do. By which I mean cast James Franco as Richard Hell already . [ The Strut , Savannah Morning News via EV Grieve ]
Casting news continues to trickle out for the film based on the wild life and times of CBGB, none of which is quite as eye-opening as word that the story of one of New York City’s most legendary, lamented live-music venues will be filmed largely in… Savannah, Georgia. So it goes! We get some stuntbozo driving a sportscar into a Sbarro for Jerry Bruckheimer, and Savannah gets Malin Åkerman as Debbie Harry , Rupert Grint as Cheetah Chrome, Joel David Moore as Joey Ramone, and Alan Rickman in the aforementioned role of club proprietor Hilly Kristal, all reviving the dawn of punk and new wave in the edgy metropolis where the Girl Scouts were founded Hollywood honchos go to self-immolate . Rock on, bitches : All of the movie’s interior shots will be done at Meddin Studios, which will be transformed to look like the iconic New York club, said director Randall Miller. “We’re going to build the interior of the club on the stages here,” Miller said. “Then the plan is we’ll do some shooting on the streets of downtown Savannah — and finally a few days in New York. “We’re using both Georgia and New York for New York,” he joked. “Savannah has a kind of downtown area that could really work for so many cities,” Miller said. “That translates pretty well in what we’re doing.” Fine, do what you’ve gotta do. By which I mean cast James Franco as Richard Hell already . [ The Strut , Savannah Morning News via EV Grieve ]
Casting news continues to trickle out for the film based on the wild life and times of CBGB, none of which is quite as eye-opening as word that the story of one of New York City’s most legendary, lamented live-music venues will be filmed largely in… Savannah, Georgia. So it goes! We get some stuntbozo driving a sportscar into a Sbarro for Jerry Bruckheimer, and Savannah gets Malin Åkerman as Debbie Harry , Rupert Grint as Cheetah Chrome, Joel David Moore as Joey Ramone, and Alan Rickman in the aforementioned role of club proprietor Hilly Kristal, all reviving the dawn of punk and new wave in the edgy metropolis where the Girl Scouts were founded Hollywood honchos go to self-immolate . Rock on, bitches : All of the movie’s interior shots will be done at Meddin Studios, which will be transformed to look like the iconic New York club, said director Randall Miller. “We’re going to build the interior of the club on the stages here,” Miller said. “Then the plan is we’ll do some shooting on the streets of downtown Savannah — and finally a few days in New York. “We’re using both Georgia and New York for New York,” he joked. “Savannah has a kind of downtown area that could really work for so many cities,” Miller said. “That translates pretty well in what we’re doing.” Fine, do what you’ve gotta do. By which I mean cast James Franco as Richard Hell already . [ The Strut , Savannah Morning News via EV Grieve ]
Also in Thursday morning’s round of Biz Break: Philip Seymour Hoffman is in the running for a spy thriller, The Dictator comes under fire as a modern-day minstrel show, and more… Cannes: First Saudi Feature Nears Completion Wadjda , the first feature-length film ever shot in Saudi Arabia, has completed principal photography in Riyadh, the Cannes Market News reports. Written and directed by the country’s first female filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour, Wadjda revolves around an 11-year-old girl growing up in the capital’s suburbs who challenges the restrictions of Saudi Arabia’s traditional society in order to own and ride a green bicycle. Al Mansour previously directed three short films. The Match Factory is set to begin pre-sales of this Razor Film production. Eli Roth’s Latest Horror The Green Inferno Gets Green Light New York-based Worldview Entertainment will finance and produce the latest from the horror maestro behind Hostel ; details on the story are being kept under wraps. Production will begin in this fall in Peru and Chile from a script co-written by Roth and Aftershock co-writer Guillermo Amoedo from an original story by Roth. Phase 4 Nabs Rights to See Girl Run Starring Robin Tunney ( The Mentalist ) and Adam Scott ( Parks and Recreation ), the film centers on what happens when a 30-something woman allows life’s “what ifs” to overwhelm her. Disregarding her current obligations, she digs into her romantic past in hopes of invigorating her present. Phase 4 Films will distribute the film by writer/director Nate Meyer in North America. Around the ‘net… Cannes: Distributors to Watch Buying in Cannes has already been underway even before Wednesday’s opener Moonrise Kingdom . Deadline offers up its distributors to watch at the festival including some usuals: The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures Classics, FilmDistrict and LD Distribution. Philip Seymour Hoffman Set for A Most Wanted Man The actor appears to be headed to star in the Anton Corbijn-directed adaptation of the John Le Carre spy thriller of the same title, Deadline reports . Cannes: Buyers Get Early Jump into the Fray On Tuesday, two key deals were announced for IM Global and Alliance Films’ Ends of the Earth , with CBS Films taking domestic rights and Sony Pictures Acquisitions buying rights to multiple international territories. The film uses both found footage and narrative to tell the story about two best friends traveling through Europe and encounter life-altering “impossible phenomenon,” THR reports . The Dictator Gets Arab-American Criticism Sacha Baron Cohen has come under fire from an Arab-American group that says his portrayal of the Wadiyan leader Aladeen reinforces negative stereotypes about their community at a time when prejudice towards US citizens of Middle Eastern origin has never been more prevalent, The Guardian reports .
Go ahead and tell me you didn’t see this coming: The Russian government is underwriting a biopic of the late-19th/early 20th-century ballerina and tsarist “femme fatale” Mathilde Kschessinska, and its cultural ministers have enlisted Paul Schrader to write the screenplay for “an internationally acclaimed director to be announced soon.” OK, fine — I didn’t see it coming, either. Read on for full details, by which I mean an explanation from all involved. I mean, between Raging Bull and Mishima , the guy knows from international historical figures of varying renown. But this… Anyway, if it sounds unprecedented, that’s because it is. Anyone have any casting suggestions? ============ PAUL SCHRADER PENS BIOPIC OF NOTORIOUS RUSSIAN BALLERINA Acclaimed screenwriter-director will write the story of Kschessinska, legendary prima ballerina and mistress to the last Russian Tsar, for film financed by Kremlin-backed Culture & Arts Fund May 17, 2012, Los Angeles — Paul Schrader has signed on today to write the story of the ultimate femme fatale, “prima ballerina assoluta” Mathilde Kschessinska, for Russian entertainment powerhouse Vladimir Vinokur and his partner the Russian ballet impresario Vladislav Moskalev, in collaboration with American producers David Weisman and Anatoly Davydov. The film is financed by the V. Vinokur Fund for the Support of Russian Culture & Arts under the auspices of the Kremlin. Never before has a renowned American screenwriter written a Russian film about an iconic figure from Russian history. The film will be shot in English with mixed Russian and American Star cast, and will be helmed by an internationally acclaimed director to be announced soon. “Kschessinska’s life is a powerful metaphor for Russian culture and evokes the best of Russian arts,” said Schrader. “She was a first native prima ballerina in the country that saw the highest achievement in that art form. She was not only a witness to the critical period of Russian history, she was a player in that history, only to be thrown aside.” As the Russian Empire was falling apart, a tiny ballerina caused scandal, heartbreak, and intrigue among the royal family. Kschessinska played mistress to at least four aristocratic men who controlled the crumbling Romanov dynasty, including Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II. Rising from poverty, through her extraordinary gift for ballet, Kschessinska lived a life of mind-boggling luxury during a time of monumental despair and chaos. Despite her relentless ambition and charismatic power, she never got what she really wanted. Although her son certainly had Romanov blood, his paternity remained in dispute—and her dream to become mother of the Tsar would never be realized—due to revolution, murder, and unrequited love. “Kschessinska’s story gives me an exciting opportunity to create historical fiction not only through direct narrative—but also through the ballets she danced and defined,” Schrader continued. “Oftentimes, the most interesting perspectives on history come from those seemingly off to the side but actually in the center—its artists.” “Kschessinska was worshipped and reviled,” said Weisman. “Nicknames such as ‘Black-eyed She-Devil of the Imperial Ballet’ and ‘Mathilde the Magnificent’ echo the seething jealousy and boundless admiration Kschessinska provoked during her time. Having narrowly escaped the Bolshevik bloodbath, for fifty years she taught ballet in Paris where she died only a few months before her hundredth birthday, in 1971.” “Kschessinska’s life begins in the world of Imperial St Petersburg—Russia’s window on the West—where Russian culture attained arguably the highest achievements in both lyric epic and in the novel,” Schrader added. “I’ll draw on all that to explore the inner-life of Kschessinska at the same time I explore the splendor of Russian culture. Russia, which like the Romanov imperial eagle looks both east and west, is uniquely positioned to take a dominant role in the renaissance of global cinema.” “This project is not just about making a movie for the international market; It is a window into true understanding of the Russian soul,” said Moskalev. ###
Alec Baldwin will reportedly head off to Cannes as part of James Toback’s next project, an unscripted slice of life featuring the actor as himself, doing all the things Alec Baldwin might do at the world’s most venerated, glamorous film festival. Neve Campbell, who will not travel with the team, is said to star as Baldwin’s wife; she shot material in New York last week. Sounds great! Though if this just turns out to be a long-form Capital One commercial , I’m going to be pretty pissed. [ Forbes via VF ]
Jean-Luc Godard may not care about Hollywood or its Oscars , but we have apparently found some hardware he is into: The 3-D camera. This calls for a comeback! The celebrated auteur, who was thought to have retired from filmmaking with his polarizing 2010 effort Film Socialisme , has reportedly undertaken another “last” project that he will shoot in three dimensions. Farewell to Language ( Adieu au Langage ), which he teased two years ago but only now has commenced production on, tells the story of “a man and his wife who no longer speak the same language. The dog they take on walks then intervenes and speaks.” Naturally. Héloise Godet, Zoe Bruneau, Kamel Abdelli, Richard Chevalier and Jessica Erickson star; European sales and production powerhouse Wild Bunch will take the project to the Cannes market next week. Here’s a not-very-good working version of its poster . Keep an eye on Movieline for more on when Farewell to Language might yield to a defective 3-D viewing experience near you. [ The Film Stage ]
The Triplets development saga just gets better, thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger: “I can see a poster… A billboard with us three. ‘They found another one!’ ‘ Triplets !’ ‘Only their mother can tell them apart!’ I would do that in two seconds, because that’s real entertainment. You come out with that movie for Christmas, like December 5th or something like that, and you’re home free.” [ Coming Soon ]
