Clive Owen gets 'The Confirmation'; Olivia Cooke may Join 'Ben-Hur'; Haley Bennett Boards 'The Blunderer'

Bob Nelson, Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Alexander Payne's Nebraska, has gathered a terrific cast for his directorial debut, The Confirmation. Clive Owen, Maria Bello, Patton Oswalt, Tim Blake Nelson, Robert Forster, Matthew Modine, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Jaeden Liebherer (St. Vincent) will star in the film about "8-year-old Anthony (Lieberher) and his estranged father (Owen) spending two days together for the first time in forever, as the boy’s mom (Bello) and new husband (Modine) head off to a religious retreat. Their mutual unease is exacerbated when the father’s truck breaks down, his landlord locks him out of his house, and the toolbox that provides his living gets stolen. As they search for the stolen tools with help from an odd neighbor (Oswalt), the father and son begin to establish a connection." [Deadline]

Bates Motel and Ouija star Olivia Cooke is eying a role in the Ben-Hur remake directed by Timur Bekmambetov. If she agrees, which is up in the air because of other high-profile projects she's been offered, Cooke would play Tirzah, Ben-Hur's sister. Jack Huston stars as the Jewish prince forced into slavery by his former friend. Morgan Freeman, Ayelet Zurer, and Toby Kebbell are also on board with a release date set for February 2016. [TheWrap]

Imogen Poots has dropped out of the untitled adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel, The Blunderer, with Haley Bennett (Kaboom) coming aboard to replace her. Andy Goddard is directing the film, which stars Patrick Wilson and Jessica Biel. The story takes place in 1960s New York and follows "Walter Stackhouse (Wilson), a successful architect married to the beautiful Clara (Biel); they lead a seemingly perfect life. But Walter's fascination with an unsolved murder leads him into a spiral of chaos as he is forced to play cat-and-mouse with a clever killer and an overambitious detective while at the same time lusting after another woman."  [THR]

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Interview: Director Fred Schepisi Talks 'Words and Pictures' with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche

Fred Schepisi's nearly four decade-long career has seen him directing a number of memorable and intelligent comedies. He directed Steve Martin in the Cyrano de Bergerac retelling, Roxanne, along with Will Smith's breakout Six Degrees of Separation, and the Tim Robbins/Meg Ryan comedy I.Q. which I still kinda love.

His most recent film, Words and Pictures (in theaters now),  features the charming duo of Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche, and follows the intellectual and romantic battle that ensues between a former poet-turned-English professor and a celebrated painter suffering from crippling rheumatoid arthritis. I had a chance to chat with Schepisi about the film, his thoughts on the power of words vs. pictures, and casting the likes of Owen and Binoche.  You can listen to that interview below, then check out my review of Words and Pictures here.

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Review: 'Words and Pictures' Starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche

A charming, grown up romantic comedy like Words and Pictures is the kind of film guaranteed to evaporate in the summer heat of blockbuster season. Directed by Fred Schepisi and starring the ever-watchable duo of Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen, it's a film that presents a superior intellectual acumen, considering the power of the spoken word against the might of visual imagery. It's an interesting debate that would be better served in a film willing to really commit to it, but Words and Pictures is not it.

Owen and Binoche banter back and forth as combative prep school teachers, both with their share of personal issues to contend with. Jack Marcus (Owen) was once a poet of some acclaim but has never been able to follow-through on his early success. He's a brilliant, arrogant man with who likes to prove his mental acumen with complicated word games against the school staff. He's also a bitter alcoholic who no longer has the stature to fend off plans to shut down his program.

A fire is rekindled in his belly with the arrival of noted painter and honors art teacher, Dina Delsanto (Binoche), nicknamed "the icicle" for reasons that should be apparent. She's pretty standoffish and bitter herself, a by-product of the rheumatoid arthritis that has devastated her ability to do what she loves most. She and Jack flirt in the manner which they are accustomed. He talks way too much and is generally an insufferable cad; she speaks sparingly but vividly, preferring actions over idle chatter. It's the kind of bickering that can only lead to eventual romance if they can get over themselves long enough to realize what we knew from minute one. They inspire their students in obvious nods to Dead Poets' Society (one even calls Jack "my captain"), while figuring out if its possible to relive former glories.

Schepisi is probably still best remembered for directing Roxanne, another film that paid homage to the beauty of the spoken word, and he's a veteran helmer who knows to keep the emphasis on his two irresistible leads. The problem is in Gerald Di Pego's screenplay which minimizes an already-toothless debate in which there are no stakes. Jack and Dina are in this basically for bragging rights, and so the film doesn't even attempt to parse out which side makes the stronger case. There are some lovely moments between Owen and Binoche as their characters begin to loosen up and learn one another's creative language. There just needs to be more than a few cute scenes between great actors. For a film titled Words and Pictures, the battle between words and pictures isn't made to look all that important.

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Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche Fall in Love in 'Words and Pictures' Trailer

If anybody other than Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche were starring in Words and Pictures it would look like just another romantic comedy. But it's not often we get to see the duo in a film such as this, and the chance to see them fall in love, whether it be in totally generic Hollywood way or not, holds a lot of appeal.

 Directed by Fred Schepisi and geared towards the mature crowd, the film has Owen as a somewhat disheveled former writer turned prep school English professor, who meets Binoche's abstract artist. As they argue over the power of art against the written word, a romance sparks between them that also ignites their creative passions.

Words and Pictures opens on May 23rd. Check out the trailer below.

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Clive Owen, Mila Kunis, and Marion Cotillard On New 'Blood Ties' Posters

Guillaume Canet and James Gray's sprawling 1970s crime epic Blood Ties still doesn't have a release date in the U.S., but it's due to hit France later this month. Starring Clive Owen and Billy Crudup as brothers on opposing sides of the law, the story kicks into high gear when one is released from prison and refuses to walk the straight and narrow path. The film was met with mixed reviews out of Cannes despite a cast that includes Marion Cotillard, Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana, Matthias Schoenaerts, and James Caan, all of whom feature on a bunch of newly released character posters.

Noted in some critics' reviews as being perhaps too big and sprawling for its own good, the runtime has been slashed by nearly 20 minutes over the last few months. So if it ever does get U.S. distribution, and with a cast like that it surely will, the shorter cut is probably the one we'll receive. Blood Ties opens in France on October 30th.

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Amanda Seyfried joins 'While We're Young'; Steven Soderbergh to helm 'The Knick'; Todd Haynes returns for 'Carol'

* Noah Baumbach's invigorating Frances Ha rolls into theaters nationwide tomorrow, but he's also busy assembling the cast for his long-developing While We're Young. Reuniting with his Greenberg star Ben Stiller, along with Adam Driver (Girls) and Naomi Watts, Baumbach has now added Amanda Seyfried. The film follows an older couple who are inspired to "loosen up" by a younger, carefree couple, obviously comprised of Driver and Seyfried. The plan is for filming to take place this fall.

* So much for that retirement, eh? Ok, so maybe he only meant feature films. Steven Soderbergh will direct every episode of Cinemax's 10-episode TV series, The Knick, starring Clive Owen.  The show sounds pretty awesome, set in the 1900s at the Knickerbocker Hospital in New York City, where the surgeons, nurses, and staff push the boundaries of modern medicine at a time when mortality rates were ridiculously high. Soderbergh's final film, Behind the Candelabra, airs on HBO this Sunday.[Deadline]

* Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven) has replaced John Crowley as the director of Carol, marking his first big screen effort in six years. Starring Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska, the film is based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, The Price of Salt, set in the 1950s and centering on the lesbian relationship between a bored housewife and her young lover. Haynes has been keeping busy, recently directing the Emmy award-winning Mildred Pierce for HBO.

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Clive Owen and Katherine Heigl set for James McTeigue's 'Survivor'

Where exactly did things go off course for Clive Owen? Once one of Hollywood's hottest leading men, with films such as Children of Men, Closer, and Inside Man to his credit, the last few years have seen him languishing in one tired project after another. Whether it was the awful Killer Elite or the disappointing (at least financially) Duplicity, he can't seem to buy a break on the big screen. After solid work on HBO's Hemingway & Gellhorn, Owen returns to smoldering form later this month in Shadow Dancer (review of that here), which nobody will ever see. Unfortunately, his next project will star Katherine Heigl, which means it'll be in a multiplex near you.

Owen and Heigl will star in Survivor, a new action film from James McTeigue, the overrated director behind the overrated V for Vendetta. He's also the guy who somehow made ninjas boring with Ninja Assassin. Heigl plays a State Dept. employee in London who is framed for the death of her entire team. She's forced on the run when a team of unknown killers targets her as she's trying to clear her name and stop a catastrophic attack set for New Year's Eve.  Owen's role isn't made clear, but I'm guessing it won't be one for the highlight reel.

So, Katherine Heigl: action star? How does that strike you? Filming on Survivor begins in July. [Screen Daily]

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Josh Brolin replaces Clive Owen in 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For'

Something told me this might be the case. Clive Owen's return to the role of Dwight in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For has been up in the air for months now, with no progress having been made.  Dwight's an important character, but the fact he has a completely different face at the time the story takes place meant another actor could easily step in. Well, that's happened, and the guy taking his place is Josh Brolin.

Brolin's name surfaced yesterday with the news of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's signing, and again today with the addition of Chris Meloni. Brolin is essentially the star of the film, as he's deeply involved in the centerpiece story which deals with the titular dame, Ava Lord. Ava's role is the last major one to be filled, so expect a big name for that one. Rodriguez had been eying Angelina Jolie for it, but that doesn't look like it will happen. Here's part of the official announcement....

Dwight is one of the favorite characters from Miller’s books and the 2005 film. In SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR, Dwight is hunted down by the only woman he ever loved, Ava Lord, and then watches his life go straight to hell. Chronologically, this story takes place prior to “The Big Fat Kill” (featured in the film FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY) and explains how Dwight came to have a dramatically different face. "


Brolin will be seen next in another hard-boiled action flick, Gangster Squad. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For opens on October 4th. 

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Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche to star in romantic drama 'Words and Pictures'

After a pretty consistent run of flicks in the late 80s all the way up the late 90s, Fred Schepisi has sortof fallen off the map lately. The Six Degrees of Separation and Roxanne director earned some great reviews on the international circuit for The Eye of the Storm last year, but before that we hadn't seen him in close to a decade. Fortunately for us, it looks like he's trying to pick up the pace, and he's added a great duo to his next film.

Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche will star in Words and Pictures, an original romantic drama from Message in a Bottle scribe Gerald DiPego. Set at an elite New England prep school, the story follows a charismatic English teacher(Owen) and a private art teacher(Binoche) who complicate their working relationship by getting involved romantically.

Owen and Binoche should be fantastic together in what sounds like another offering for the more mature set. Filming begins next March.[Deadline]

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Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman to lead 'The Last Knights'

With Robert Rodriguez's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For already underway, there's been a lot of speculation about how large a role Clive Owen will play in it. His Dwight character undergoes some pretty radical surgery, so much so that another actor will play him as well. This latest news will only add to the theory that Owen's time on screen will be very short, as he's just signed on for an action-adventure film with an unexpected co-star.


Screen Daily reports that Owen will team up with Morgan Freeman for The Last Knights, to be directed by Japan's Kazuaki Kiriya(The Legend
of Goemon). Based on a script by Michael Konyves(Barney's Version), the film follows a band of warriors who seek to avenge the loss of their master at the hands of a corrupt emperor.

Doesn't exactly sound like something I'd expect to see Freeman in at this stage of his career, but it doesn't sound that far off from what Owen did in King Arthur a few years ago.

Filming is set to begin later this month in the Czech Republic.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Jamie Chung and Jamie King set for 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For'

 
Now that Robert Rodriguez is all finished up with Machete Kills, he's moving from that right into the long-awaited Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.  Fans of 2005's Sin City have been craving the follow-up for years, and after enduring tons of delays and Rodriguez's constantly putting it on the backburner, production has now officially gotten underway today.

As expected, Rosario Dawson, Mickey Rourke, and Jessica Alba are expected to return, with Clive Owen presumed to be reprising his role as Dwight. As hinted at the in the first film, Dwight has undergone some radical facial surgery, so it's expected that someone else will play another version of Dwight. THR also notes the return of Jaime King as Goldie, the blond prostitute that Marve was obsessed with. She'll now play Goldie's twin sister, Wendy. Jamie Chung is the first official new cast member announced, replacing Devon Aoki as the sword-wielding assassin Miho.

There's still a lot of major casting yet to be completed, including for the all-important role of the sexy seductress Ava, which at one time they had hoped Angelina Jolie would take. There's also a newly created character named Johnny, a smooth gambler.

Rodriguez is again co-directing with Sin City creator Frank Miller, and while a number of storylines will again be incorporated, we do know that Just Another Saturday Night is one of the stories that will play a major part. Last we'd heard, the plan was for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For was being targeted for an October 4th 2013 release. 

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Uh oh. Director Jose Padilha describes 'Robocop' remake as "Hell"

Uh oh. It's never good when a director starts to speak openly about the trouble they're having getting any particular film made. It's even worse when it comes from a guy like Brazilian director Jose Padilha, who has been established through his Elite Squad flicks and is making his first foray into Hollywood with the Robocop remake. Apparently, things aren't quite going in the way he's used to, and he relayed his feelings on it to his buddy, director Fernando Meirelles(City of God, The Constant Gardener), who revealed it to the Portugese site, Cinema Com Rapadura. Here's a rough translation of what Meirelles said....

"I talked to José Padilha for a week by phone. He will begin filming Robocop. He is saying that it is the worst experience. For every 10 ideas he has, 9 are cut. Whatever he wants, he has to fight. “This is hell here, " he told me.  The film will be good, but I never suffered so much and do not want to do it again.” He is bitter, but it’s a fighter."

 I think the crucial bit comes in those last two sentences. At least Padilha still thinks the movie will be good, so that's a start. If he had something else I'd be way more concerned, and we'd probably have heard the studio's response by now. But it does make one wonder if maybe Hugh Laurie's departure as the villain is in any way related to any trouble on set. Still, with Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, and Jay Baruchel in the cast already, I have to believe the script is at least solid despite what some are saying. 

We'll see what happens, and if the rumored Clive Owen steps in to fill the bad guy role Laurie left vacant.

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Clive Owen drops out of 'Cities'; replaced by Dominic Cooper

After a tremendous 2011, Dominic Cooper can practically write his own ticket. Last year saw him appearing on a number of Best Actor lists for his dual role in The Devil's Double; scoring major bucks as Howard Stark in Captain America: The First Avenger; and even featuring in an awards contender like My Week With Marilyn. His profile has increased so dramatically that he's now considered a suitable replacement for somebody like Clive Owen.

Variety reports that Cooper has snagged the lead in Cities, writer/director Roger Donaldson's film telling three weaving stories of people affected by the financial crisis. Cooper will replace Owen as a self indulgent New York hedge fund manager. Kirsten Dunst, Anil Kapoor(Slumdog Millionaire), and Orlando Bloom co-star.  Owen was forced to drop out due to a scheduling crunch, and it's possible the same problem may effect Cooper's availability to star in Motor City, the crime thriller from director Albert Hughes notable for only having one line of dialogue for the main character.

We'll probably find out the fate of Motor City in the coming days, if they begin a search for someone else to join the already attached Gary Oldman and Amber Heard. Cities starts shooting this spring, while Cooper will be seen next in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

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Clive Owen turns down villain role in 'Oldboy'

After Colin Firth and Christian Bale, Clive Owen is the latest to turn down the bad guy role in Spike Lee's Oldboy remake. Or at least according to Variety's Jeff Sneider, who also notes that the film's start date has been bumped possibly into the fall. The reason has to do with Josh Brolin, who has commitments to Men in Black III to attend to.

I think it could be more than that, though. After Spike Lee jumped aboard to direct, Brolin quickly followed and it looked like all would be smooth sailing. However, casting has hit a major snag over the last few months. Let's not forget that Rooney Mara also passed on the female lead, and we haven't heard jack about the offer made to Mia Wasikowska. What's the deal, anyway? Is the script lousy or something?

There's no doubt the film will get made, and with Lee at the helm I'm sure it'll probably be pretty good. But so many rejections are a cause for concern. As great as Owen is, he's not exactly the most picky actor on the planet. 

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Clive Owen, Mia Wasikowska offered roles in Spike Lee's 'Oldboy' remake

Spike Lee and producer Roy Lee aren't stretching too far to find stars for their remake of Oldboy. With Josh Brolin already on board for the lead role of a man held captive in a hotel room for 15 years under mysterious circumstances, they next sought out Colin Firth for the "villain" role. Firth had been up to play a similar part in Stoker, the English-language debut from Park Chan-Wook, who just so happened to be the director behind the amazing South Korean version. But now two more stars are being eyed for parts, and they too have close-knit ties to Lee and Chan-Wook.

Twitch came out the box with both stories, stating that that Clive Owen and Mia Wasikowska are in talks to join the film. Owen would be taking on the bad guy role turned down by Firth, and in my mind that's a lateral move, although Owen might add a touch more physicality to it. Owen starred in Spike Lee's most commercially successful film, Inside Man, as a character nearly as complicated as he would be playing in Oldboy.

Wasikowska would be taking on the role of Marie, and since I definitely don't want to give away any of the film's awesome twists, I'll just say she's extremely integral to the revenge plot at the center of the story. Wasikowska just wrapped filming on Stoker, so she too has close ties to Chan-Wook. It would be her first time working with Lee, however. No word on whether she or Owen have accepted the offers as of yet, but hopefully that will happen in the next few days.

I'm still hearing more whining from people about this remake being done at all, but look at the talent they are trying to assemble for it. Josh Brolin, and now possibly Wasikowska and Owen. If this was any other film we'd be talking about it as a potential Oscar contender. With writer Mark Protosevich aiming for a "darker" story(how is that even possible??), Oldboy is shaping up to possibly be on par with the original.

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Trailer Time: Intruders, starring Clive Owen

Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo made his big splash here in 2007 as director of 28 Weeks Later, but mostly since then his name has been mentioned in relation to big projects that went nowhere. Such as the big Bioshock film which will probably never get off the ground. Recently he's been named as the guy with the potentially challenging task of rebooting and reinvigorating The Crow franchise, which has also entered some recent legal set backs. But last summer before all this recent craziness he managed to shoot his latest film, Intruders.

Intruders stars Clive Owen as the father to an 11-year old girl(Ella Purnell) who is literally being haunted by her childhood demons. The new teaser trailer, while a bit on the slow side, has a vibe reminiscent of The Orphanage, or maybe even The Others. Could be good, but I hope there's a lot more to it than we're being shown here.  I'm going to assume there is. Intruders hits theaters on October 7th. Check it out below!

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Angelina Jolie making directorial debut

Angelina Jolie is set to make her writing and directorial debut in a love story set in the 1990s during the Bosnian War.  It was initially thought that Jolie would be starring in the as yet unnamed film, but this doesn't appear to be the case. There's not much more information than that, other than GK Films' statement that the film would be about a "Serbian man and a Bosnian woman who meet on the eve of the war and the effect it has on their relationship".

I actually thought this is something she would've done years ago. Her 2003 film, Beyond Borders, seemed like the perfect jumping on point for her to take her career down this path of making films highlighting her humanitarian efforts. Maybe the fact that Beyond Borders wasn't very good sidetracked that idea for a few years.

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The Rock gears up to provide PROTECTION

It feels like I haven't seen The Rock in a long time. I mean, I've seen Dwayne Johnson plenty. Too much actually, in films like Tooth Fairy and Race to Witch Mountain. But the last time I saw him do anything remotely action packed was...Doom? And jeebus that was back in 2005! Now it looks like he might finally be ready to put his action hat back on.

Johnson has signed on to replace Clive Owen(Closer) in the upcoming one-man army flick, Protection. Owen had recently replaced  Paul Walker(Running Scared) on the troubled project. Johnson would be starring as a special forces soldier who takes on a Mexican drug cartel in an effort to protect a judge's daughter.

Protection has gone through so many changes that nailing down a start date is impossible. Along with the previously mentioned Owen and Walker departing, director Patrick Alessandrin(District 13: Ultimatum) has also left. He had been brought on to replace Simon West, so right now there is no helmer attached at all.

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Punch Drunk DVDs! 1/26/10

Michael Jackson: This Is It
The final curtain call for the King of Pop is an exuberant, show stopping masterpiece. Rarely, if ever, have we seen Michael Jackson so exposed, so fully enraptured by the music he loved so dearly, and worked so hard at to please his loyal fans. Combining clips of the arduous rehearsals for his planned 50 date tour, This Is It is a must for any Michael Jackson fan. Hell, it's even a must for non-fans like myself. Amazing film.








Bright Star
I typically scoff at these romantic period pieces about writers and poets, but I'm actually enthusiastic about finally checking this one out. Ben Whishaw plays the great poet, John Keats, in the final years of his life. Keats died young, believing his time on earth to be a failure, but the many great works of his career are said to revolve around his love for Fanny Brawne. Abbie Cornish, whom I've loved in everything since her breakthrough role in 2004's Somersault, plays the wordsmith's great muse.







Surrogates
So maybe it was never intended to be an all out action romp, but Surrogates couldn't have moved slower than if it were drenched in molasses and flash frozen. Bruce Willis plays a grizzled cop, in a world where robotic surrogates live our lives for us on the outside world.









Whip It
Ellen Page stars in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut as an upstart member of an all-girl roller derby team. I can't lie, a part of me wants to own this film. It's cheerful, girl power mystique hooked me, and frankly there are few things I love more than a bunch of hot, tough chicks elbowing eachother in the teeth. A lot of fun and definitely worth checking out.








Little Ashes
It's Robert Pattinson playin Salvador Dali. If that doesn't make you want to see this potential trainwreck, nothing else will.











I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
Tucker Max, the unlikable troll the main character of this film is based on, predicted that this would be one of the greatest selling DVDs of all-time in ten years. Maybe he means in frat houses, or amongst film schools who wish to educate their students on how not to make a funny sex comedy. On the plus side, Talent Show standout Keri Lynn Pratt is in this, looking as delicious as ever.








The Boys Are Back
The trailer for this Clive Owen weeper had dudes bawling in the aisles last year. Not me, of course. I'm too thick skinned and emotionally closeted for that. Owen stars as a sportswriter who's wife suddenly dies of terminal cancer, leaving him alone to care for his two sons. Joe's life as an instant widower is understandably hard, so expect plenty of heartstrings being tugged at in this one.

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Sin City 2 in 2010?

When asked about the prospects of the long gestating sequel to Sin City, the greatest male actor working today(that's right, I said it) Clive Owen had this to say to MTV:

"I'm hearing it might be next year,"

The sequel has long been rumored to be based on Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. That story details how Dwight came to look as he does in Sin City, which is merely hinted at in the film. Rumors as to who will be playing Dwight's ex-lover Ava have been circulating for years, with Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, and Robert Rodriguez favorite Rose McGowan leading the pack. The sequel will also feature a brand new side story focusing on Nancy Callahan, the pole dancing cowgirl played by Jessica Alba.

I was a huge fan of Sin City when it came out, and I continue to love the film even now. It's not perfect, but it completely captures the spirit of the graphic novels. My biggest beef is that it's just too scattershot and all over the place, when it really needed to focus on a single thread, rather than trying to cram in every character in the entire universe. This sounds like a more focused effort. Hopefully Rodriguez can convince Tarantino to come back to direct a few scenes like he did last time.

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