November 30, 2011

Veteran actor, and star of hyped upcoming silent film The Artist, John Goodman, has some choice words about the history of film.

Fox News reports that The Big Lebowski and Roseanne star said “There was a lot of baloney back then (when movies were first being made) too, most of it hasn’t survived, unfortunately.

“The crap progresses age to age. But it’s all the same.”

Set in 1927-1932, the era in which silent moves were being replaced by talkies, The Artist tells, quietly of course, the story a male star whose career is in decline, and an up-and-coming female actress. The flick is directed by Michel Hazanavicus and stars Little White Lies‘ Jean Dujardin and Argentine born French actress Berenice Bejo.

Despite the trailer being featured on Worstpreviews.com, The Guardian reports that The Artist is on the road to the Oscars after being named best film by the New York Film Critics Circle.

Always a character, Goodman joked with Fox on why he was especially excited about being involved with The Artist.

“Not having to learn lines, it was wonderful,” he said. “I just got to gasbag.”

(Photo by PR Photos)

Report a Typo or Correction. Thank you.

November 30, 2011

Are you ready for another Scarface?

David Ayer, the screenwriter behind the 2001 Denzel Washington drama Training Day, has been hired to write a modernized remake of the classic crime story.

Originally shot in 1932 with star Paul Muni as an Italian mobster ruling the seedy underbelly of Chicago, the story was retold in 1983 with Al Pacino starring as Cuban cocaine lord Tony Montana.

Deadline reports that Universal hopes to find a new take on the story that isn’t a remake, but rather a modern version of the tale of an immigrant who finds the American Dream through a life of crime.

“This is a fantasy for me,” Ayer tells the site. “I can still remember when I saw the film at 13 and it blew my mind.”

Ayer says the project is one that he’s pursued for years, convinced he has what it takes to re-imagine the story.

“I went after it hard,” he says. “I see it as the story of the American dream, with a character whose moral compass points in a different direction.”

To prepare, Ayer says he’s studied both versions of the film to figure out what elements could best be adapted into his new take. “Both films had a specificity of place, there was unapologetic violence, and a main character who socially scared the s–t out of people, but who had his own moral code.

“If it was just an attempt to remake the 1983 film, that would never work.”

No director or stars for the new Scarface have been announced just yet, but back in September Robert Loggia, one of the stars of the 1983 version, blasted the remake plans, telling TMZ “Scarface is a classic that should rest in peace!”

(Photo by PR Photos)

Report a Typo or Correction. Thank you.

November 30, 2011

Steve McQueen – no, not that Steve McQueen – the director of the controversial indie drama Shame, says his whole reason for making the steamy sex drama was to see X-Men: First Class star Michael Fassbender naked.

Fassbender stars in the acclaimed film as a sex-obsessed New Yorker who clashes with his estranged sister, played by Drive star Carey Mulligan, when she comes to visit.

McQueen tells Collider that, while he was interested in exploring the issue of sex addiction, he was also keen to see the buff Fassbender in the, well, buff.

“I wanted to see Michael [Fassbender] naked,” McQueen jokes. “I was like, ‘Strip, motherf—er!’ Why? Well, I was speaking to (co-writer) Abi [Morgan] and she had this wonderful quote where she said, ‘It’s like having a dog whistle go off in the room.’”

Though the film has already received praise from critics, it’s also attracted attention due to its provocative subject matter and numerous nude scenes, which have caused the picture to receive a rare NC-17 rating.

The director says sex addiction isn’t often discussed and because of that, most people aren’t aware of the damage it causes.

“It’s a situation that people know about, but they see it for the first time and are made aware of it,” he says. “It’s extraordinarily important, but no one’s speaking about it. It’s a huge phenomenon.”

Beyond just sex addiction however, McQueen says he thinks Shame speaks to even larger issues about the modern world. “It’s not just about sex addiction. It’s about addictions, in general, and being in a world where we don’t necessarily have self-will. It’s difficult to be a human being, right now.”

(Photo by PR Photos)

Report a Typo or Correction. Thank you.

November 30, 2011

Two members of a Norwegian film crew are missing and presumed dead after being dragged into the ocean by a massive wave while shooting an upcoming Viking thriller.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, producer Daniel Henrriksbo and cameraman Mats Bjarg were shooting storm footage for The Veil of Twilight when they were swept away along with a third crew member who somehow managed to swim back to shore.

News in Norway reports that the incident occurred off the coast at Stapnes, on Norway’s southwest coast.

A helicopter search of the area failed to find the men, who are now believed to have drowned. “We had become like a family,” actor Jørgen Langhelle told Norway’s Aftenposten, telling the paper that the entire cast and crew of the film was in mourning.

The story of a serial killer in a small village during Norway’s time of the Vikings, The Veil of Twilight stars Trainspotting’s Ewen Bremner. Shooting on the picture is said to be almost complete and the movie is set to hit screens next summer.

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Report a Typo or Correction. Thank you.

November 30, 2011

Daniel Radcliffe has already left Harry Potter behind. Now the young British star is preparing to embark on the next stage of his career by taking a role that may shock fans of the boy wizard.

Twitch reports that Radcliffe will play gay beat poet Allen Ginsberg in the upcoming thriller Kill Your Darlings.

The film will be based on the real life relationship between Ginsberg, famed author Jack Kerouac and killer Lucien Carr. Carr, a writer and newspaper editor, was a major player in the eclectic beat scene of the 1940s and famously introduced Ginsberg, Kerouac and writer William S. Burroughs to one another.

It was his 1944 murder of former boyfriend David Kammerer, however, for which Carr is perhaps best known.

Carr stabbed Kammerer to death with a Boy Scout knife on August 13, 1944 in a park in Manhattan’s upper West side – he claimed, in self defence.

Plans for the film first became public back in 2009, with Captain America’s Chris Evans, The Social Network’s Jesse Eisenberg and British actor Ben Whishaw on board to star as Kerouac, Ginsberg and Carr respectively.

Though it’s unknown if Evans and Whishaw are still involved, Radcliffe has replaced Eisenberg in the cast.

Newcomer John Krokidas is set to write and direct the picture, which is slated to begin shooting just as soon as Radcliffe finishes up his run on Broadway, where he’s starring in the musical How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

(Photo by PR Photos)

Report a Typo or Correction. Thank you.