Hip hop artist RZA can now add “film director” to his already impressive resume. The co-founder of the Wu-Tang Clan completed his first feature, the action pic The Man with the Iron Fists , in which he appears along with Jamie Chung, Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Dave Bautista and more. RZA says Comic-Con itself inspired him by “coming across great art and lots of life.” He also gives his take on Quentin Tarantino (RZA scored Kill Bill ) who inspired him to make movie set in feudal China. Written by Eli Roth and RZA, the story revolves around a blacksmith who makes weapons for a small village and finds himself having to defend himself and his fellow villagers. Beyond the Trailer host Grace Randolph chats with RZA at Comic-Con who gives insight on how the movie got made and what kind of director he wants to be.
Also in Thursday afternoon’s round up of news briefs, the folks at the Academy announced some new rules in various categories governing the Oscars. A comedy and a thriller head to U.S. theaters and a Halle Berry thriller gets some legs. Academy Makes Some Rule Changes for 2013 Oscars The significant changes are in the Music, Foreign Language and Visual Effects categories. Here’s a rundown: A fourth songwriter for an individual song be considered in rare and extraordinary circumstances (previously it was two); Foreign-language films must be submitted to the Academy in 35mm or DCP, but are no longer required to be exhibited in those formats in their countries of origin; The Oscar in the Makeup category will now be known as “Makeup and Hairstyling Award”; In the Visual Effects category, nominees will be selected from a pool of ten films chosen by the Branch Executive Committee by secret ballot (previously, the committee could put forward as many as ten productions or as few as seven). My Worst Nightmare Heads to U.S. Strand Releasing picked up U.S. rights to Anne Fontaine’s comedy My Worst Nightmare starring Isabelle Huppert, Benoit Poelvoorde and Andre Dussollier. The droll comedy centers on an uptight contemporary gallery owner who falls in an unlikely relationship with a crass contractor who is in the process of remodeling her apartment. The Selling Goes GoDigital The company will release the comedic horror The Selling directed by Emily Lou, which picked up five awards at last year’s LA Comedy Film Festival including Best Feature. Around the ‘net… Nora Ephron Service Planned for July 9th Ephron’s son Jacob Bernstein said details about the service are still in the works. Ephron died Tuesday in New York, age 71, AP reports . Fifty Shades of Grey Beats One Million Sales Record EL James’s Fifty Shades of Grey has become the fastest adult paperback novel to sell one million print copies. The first in the erotic trilogy passed the million mark in 11 weeks, surpassing the previous record of 36 weeks by Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code . Ryan Gosling has been rumored to be up for the lead in the film version. Universal already has the film rights. BBC reports . Studios Join Halle Berry Thriller The Hive production starring Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin is getting partners. WWE Studios and Toika Pictures are teaming to co-produce and co-finance the thriller about a kidnapping of a teen girl, directed by Brad Anderson, Deadline reports .
It looks like Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA has learned well from his masters — they being the Hong Kong grindhouse filmmakers of yesteryear whose slicing, dicing martial arts exports clearly influenced more than just the rapper-actor’s musical side, not to mention the reigning icon of modern exploitation cinema culture, Quentin Tarantino . Watch Russell Crowe , Lucy Liu , Pam Grier , Jamie Chung , and RZA himself chop, stab, kick, and fight their way through the bloody first redband trailer for The Man with the Iron Fists ! RZA stars in the film as the eponymous man with the iron fists, a small-town blacksmith in feudal China (the kind of fantasy “feudal China” where RZA can play a local and everyone speaks English) who jumps into action in defense of his village, though the trailer smartly glosses over anything resembling a plot and cuts right to the selling point: This cast, equipped with a plethora of weapons, fighting each other as if in a gloriously lush contemporary Shaw Brothers flick. In addition to earning a “Presented by Quentin Tarantino” credit, RZA’s kung fu actioner is co-written by Eli Roth, who also produced. But QT and Roth aren’t the only veterans RZA surrounded himself with for his feature directing debut: He’s got Corey Yuen onboard as fight choreographer and Chi Ying Chan ( Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame ) as DP, along with a host of supporting cast members plucked from the worlds of action and Chinese film, including Dave Bautista, Cung Le, Daniel Wu, Rick Yune, and Gordon Liu. CG blood squibs too-frequently come off as a silly workaround, so it’ll remain to be seen just how these fight sequences play within the film. But the glimpses we see here promise inventive framing and action choreography, not to mention some painful-looking bladed weapons and a studied eye for the genre. Verdict: Where can I sign up for Lucy Liu’s school of killing for girls?? O-Ren Ishii lives on! Synopsis: Quentin Tarantino presents The Man With the Iron Fists, an action-adventure inspired by kung-fu classics as interpreted by his longtime collaborators RZA and Eli Roth. Making his debut as a big-screen director and leading man, RZA—alongside a stellar international cast led by Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu—tells the epic story of warriors, assassins and a lone outsider hero in nineteenth-century China who must unite to destroy the clan traitor who would destroy them all. Since his arrival in China’s Jungle Village, the town’s blacksmith (RZA) has been forced by radical tribal factions to create elaborate tools of destruction. When the clans’ brewing war boils over, the stranger channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. As he fights alongside iconic heroes and against soulless villains, one man must harness this power to become savior of his adopted people. Blending astonishing martial-arts sequences from some of the masters of this world with the signature vision he brings as the leader of the Wu-Tang Clan and as one of hip-hop’s most dominant figures of the past two decades, RZA embarks upon his most ambitious, stylized and thrilling project to date. On top of this, we’ve got the first few images from the film. This one’s quite eye-popping, indeed. Oh, and have you seen the poster for Man with the Iron Fists ? I can’t not get excited about this. [Trailer debut at IGN ]
Also in Tuesday morning’s round up of news briefs, BFI London Film Festival sets October dates and a revamp, former stripper colleagues accuse Channing Tatum of taking their experiences for Magic Mike and Welsh actor Victor Spinetti has died. George Clooney and Grant Heslov to Produce August: Osage County The two have signed on as producers of the screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Tracy Letts. Oscar-winners Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts star as mother and daughter in the film, directed by John Wells from Letts’ screen adaptation. Clooney and Heslov join producers Steve Traxler and Jean Doumanian, The Weinstein Company said. The story tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. BFI London Film Festival Sets October Dates The 56th annual event will take place October 10 – 21 and will include a number of new venues throughout the British capital. Recently the festival announced a partnership with American Express. Around the ‘net… Strippers Claim Channing Tatum Took Their Stories Two former male strippers who worked with Tatum have accused him of stealing a number of their ideas for the upcoming Magic Mike , directed by Steven Soderbergh. The director’s film has been promoted as being based on Tatum’s own experiences working as an young stripper in Florida during the mid-1990s, The Guardian reports . Jennifer Connelly in Running for Re-team with Russell Crowe in Noah Connelly and Crowe starred in A Beautiful Mind and now it appears that they will pair up again, this time playing Crowe’s Noah’s wife in the Biblical epic directed by Darren Aronofsky, Deadline reports . Welsh Actor Victor Spinetti Dead at 82 Spinetti appeared in over 30 films including the Beatles’ movies and Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Spinetti had cancer, BBC reports .
Actress reportedly in talks to follow up ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’ and ‘The Bling Ring’ with biblical epic. By Kevin P. Sullivan Emma Watson Photo: Getty Images In her post-“Harry Potter” career, Emma Watson has already racked up some impressive credits with grade-A filmmakers. Last year, she had a supporting role in the well-received My Week With Marilyn ,” and she just wrapped her turn as a bad girl in Sofia Coppola’s ” The Bling Ring .” Now, Deadline New York is reporting that Watson is in talks for a role in Darren Aronofsky ‘s biblical epic, ” Noah .” Watson would play Ila, a young woman on that famous ark, who, according to Deadline, develops a “close relationship” with the character Shem, played by Douglas Booth . “Noah” will feature Russell Crowe as the title character, the man who gathers two of every animal and builds an enormous boat to continue life on Earth after an apocalyptic flood. The ambitious project has added a few other castmembers in recent weeks with Watson’s ” Perks of Being a Wallflower ” co-star Logan Lerman and Booth both signing on to play Noah’s sons Ham and Shem, respectively. Watson may have been sending her fans a small hint about potentially joining the film. On May 22, the actress tweeted , “Just added @DarrenAronofsky. I love his work. P.S. don’t be put off by his profile picture! : ) x.” Just added @ DarrenAronofsky . I love his work. P.s don’t be put off by his profile picture! : ) x — Emma Watson (@EmWatson) May 22, 2012 Watson should have an eventful few months if she eventually signs on to “Noah.” Aronofsky is reportedly seeking a July start date for an eventual release in March of 2014. Her next film, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” is set for a limited in September, and “The Bling Ring” should hit theaters sometime next year. For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
Actress spotted partying in London with a pixie cut. By Jocelyn Vena Anne Hathaway leaving The Box Nightclub in London on April 8 Photo: Tony Clark / Splash News Anne Hathaway has a new ‘do. The actress was spotted in London with a spankin’-new pixie cut. She cut her hair super-short for her role as Fantine in the splashy big-screen adaptation of “Les Miserables.” She was spotted in the early hours of Sunday morning leaving London hotspot the Box, according to People.com . In a photo of her leaving the nightclub, where she had been hanging out with her fianc
So… much… beard! One of your best first non-set spy pic looks at Tom Hooper’s star-studded Les Miserables movie was Tweeted last night by star Hugh Jackman , who debuted his Jean Valjean “convict look” days into filming. After the jump, behold the dirty-faced, hirsute handsomeness on display as Jackman channels Victor Hugo’s noble convict. @RealHughJackman Hugh Jackman Very excited about how the first days of filming are going!! Check out my convict look…but its changing soon. http://t.co/SLFHBhfN Mar 26 via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet Reply Les Miserables , slated for a December 2012 release, is currently filming with Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert playing foil to Jackman’s Valjean, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Samantha Barks as Eponine, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Sacha Baron Cohen as Thénardier, Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier, and original Broadway Valjean Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop of Digne. [ @REALHUGHJACKMAN via THR ]
Word around Hollywood has Russell Crowe officially committed to star in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah , with the long-gestating, big-budget biblical epic making its way in front of cameras this summer. Should be great — but can it ever really match up to Crowe’s legendary seafaring exploits from South Park ? The season-six masterpiece ” The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer ” featured the South Park kids awaiting the titular TV spot while being subjected to Crowe’s reality show “Fightin’ Around the World.” The Oscar-winning actor/singer/pugilist traveled, well, around the world on his beloved boat Tugger, rocking and/or punching out people of various nations, backgrounds and persuasions. This time around, meanwhile, Crowe will navigate Noah’s ark through the aftermath of the Great Flood, with Aronofsky behind the camera. Oscar season 2013-14 awaits! And if you thought the animal chatter this year was annoying, just wait until Consider Tai . The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer Get More: SOUTH PARK more… [via Deadline ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
I had a feeling this was coming: Two years after songwriter Ryan Bingham photo-bombed his own Oscar-nominee luncheon group photo, the customary portrait once again met its match with animators Brandon Oldenburg and William Joyce. Good for them! Someone ‘s gotta have some fun at these things. The filmmakers, whose The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore is nominated for Best Animated Short, just barely edged out a slightly crimson Nick Nolte as the annual group photo highlight. Congrats to all, and find the full portrait and more from Monday’s luncheon at the Academy’s Web site . Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Maybe you can’t quite ask Woody Harrelson anything , but at least he has a forthcoming contemporary in Russell Crowe. The Oscar-winner recently leveled with fans on Twitter, acknowledging his and Liam Neeson’s interest in Darren Aronofsky’s biblical epic Noah while putting a swift, certain and severe end to speculation that he may participate in a RoboCop . Anyway, now you know. If only it could always be this easy. Tweets, not trades, Hollywood! [ @russellcrowe via The Playlist ] @russellcrowe Is there any truth to these rumors of you being involved in “Robocop”? Fri Feb 03 07:11:04 via web John Dotson DRockDot @DRockDot no Fri Feb 03 07:12:32 via web Russell Crowe russellcrowe Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
