First Clip of Al Pacino in David Gordon Green's 'Manglehorn'

Earlier this year David Gordon Green worked wonders for Nicolas Cage's career with Joe, a low-key drama that was the actor's best performance in years. And now Green appears to be doing the same for Al Pacino with Manglehorn, curbing the legendary actor's recent tendencies in favor of a subtler, complex turn. As the film has recently played at the Venice Film Festival, one of two Pacino has at the fest this year, the first clip from Manghlehorn has arrived.

Pacino stars alongside Holly Hunter, Harmony Korine, and Chris Messina in the story of A.J. Manglehorn, a regular guy in a small Texas town, still pining for the love of his life that he gave up on years earlier. But Manglehorn, who follows the same routine every day of his life, is keeping a dark secret that will soon be revealed to all. This particular scene features Hunter, who plays a bank teller who Manglehorn strikes up a close friendship with.

Manglehorn has yet to gain U.S. distribution but given the name value of Green and Pacino, coupled with some strong early reviews, should change that pretty quickly.


"Manglehorn", de David Gordon Green (extrait) by Le Monde.fr

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Rumor: Holly Hunter's 'Batman vs. Superman' Role Revealed?

The gang over at Latino Review have dropped a wholly unsubstantiated rumor about Holly Hunter's role in Batman vs. Superman, adding to a pile of unsubstantiated rumors about the film, overall. But that's the nature of these things, and as always it's best to file these things away until something official comes down from the studio. Their rumor, which sounds like pure speculation rather than any source, states that Hunter, who joined the film just days ago, will be playing Leslie Thompkins "or a Leslie Thompkins replacement character”. Those are two totally different things, and the answer will go a long way in whether Latino Review's story is spot-on or a bunch of nonsense.

When Warner Bros. announced Hunter's casting, they specifically stated her character was newly created for the Man of Steel sequel, but Leslie Thompkins is an established figure in Bruce Wayne's life. She was a close friend and colleague to Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne, and when the Waynes were murdered she served as as surrogate mother to the young boy. She was there to comfort him on the night they were killed and continues to be an ally and mentor while running a clinic right in the heart of Crime Alley.

Thompkins is an important character, but not the kind that is worth keeping secret. Warner Bros. has played fast and loose with the truth in their announcements before, just as they did with Marion Cotillard's role in The Dark Knight Rises. That was understandable, though, but this would make no sense hiding.

But y'never know. We'll see if this rumor holds water soon enough.

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Holly Hunter, Tao Okamoto, and Callan Mulvey Join 'Batman vs. Superman'

With Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, and Gal Gadot coming aboard Batman vs. Superman, the cast Zack Snyder is assembling is a pretty good one. They should be more than capable of filling the void left by Russell Crowe who won't be returning as Jor-El. And now that cast has just gotten even better with three new additions; two with previous comic book movie experience, and one screen veteran.

Holly Hunter, Tao Okamoto, and Callan Mulvey are officially joining the Man of Steel sequel, in new roles created for the film. Mulvey's casting is interesting because his name came up a few months ago to play a villain, and that may still be the case. He was recently seen in the Zack Snyder-scripted 300: Rise of an Empire, and is a member of SHIELD's Strike unit in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Okamoto was seen last summer in The Wolverine as Mariko Yashida.

Batman vs. Superman opens May 6th 2016.

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Harmony Korine, Holly Hunter, and Chris Messina Join David Gordon Green's 'Manglehorn'

Whether one appreciated David Gordon Green's smallish buddy comedy Prince Avalanche (our own Rocky Hadadi sure didn't), it at least represents a stylistic return to form for the director. Once an indie darling thanks to films like George Washington and my personal favorite of his All the Real Girls, Green pulled a fast one on his fans by directing stoner flicks Pineapple Express, The Sitter, and the abysmal Your Highness. At the very least it marked him as a cinematic chameleon, and lately he's been going back to his roots a little bit.

Green has managed to snag Al Pacino for his upcoming film, the oddly-titled Manglehorn, and now he's added a Spring Breakers director Harmony Korine, Holly Hunter, and Chris Messina to the cast. Written by Green and Paul Logan, the story centers on the title character, "an ex-con living a hermetic existence who 40 years earlier had given up the woman he loves for one big job. As he begins the process of making up for his mistakes, a dramatic event exposes his dark past to the public."

While it may seem strange to cast Korine, Green has been pretty upfront about the influence he's drawn from his films, in particular 1997's Gummo, which has mostly been crushed by critics but has amassed a number strong supporters. Korine also appeared briefly in Park Chan-Wook's Stoker earlier this year. Messina has been splashing around in the HBO pool as part of The Newsroom, and Hunter was terrific in Jane Campion's Top of the Lake.

Filming on Manglehorn begins this fall.[TheWrap/Deadline]

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Trailer Time: 'Won't Back Down', starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis

Let's compare the causes that Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal have fought for in their most recent movies, shall we? Last year, Davis played a woman battling for the rights of African-American servants in The Help. Gyllenhaal....well, in Hysteria she really wants women to use the heck out of their vibrators. Now the two get to fight for the rights of poor children to go to school in Won't Back Down.

Set to open on September 28th, the story centers on two women from opposite sides of the tracks who team up to take on the crappy public school system in their Pittsburgh neighborhood, and establish a charter school for struggling children. Directed by Daniel Barnz(Beastly), the film also features Oscar Isaac, Rosie Perez, Holly Hunter, and Lance Reddick. Looks a touch schmaltzy, but Gyllenhaal and Davis appear to be at the top of their games, as usual. We'll see how this pans out. For now, check out the new trailer.....

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