On sale right now at Cannes is The Driftless Area, an adaptation of Tom Drury's acclaimed novel dealing with love, death, and fate. With a cast consisting of Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, Frank Langella, Alia Shawkat, and John Hawkes, drumming up a few buyers should be easy, especially now that production has begun and another big name has come aboard.
Aubrey Plaza is the final addition to the film, signing on just as the first official image has been released. Co-written by Drury and director Zachary Sluser, the story centers on Pierre (Yelchin), a young bartender who returns home after the death of his parents, only to fall in love with the mysterious Stella (Deschanel). He also gets wrapped up with a dangerous crook and some stolen cash.
Filming is underway now in Vancouver, and we can expect to see Plaza next opposite Chris Evans in A Many Splintered Thing. She'll also co-star in Mortdecai with Johnny Depp and will return for the final season of NBC's Parks and Recreation. [THR]
* Filming on Joe Wright's Pan kicks off Monday, and so the cast has been firmed up. Amanda Seyfried will take on the role of Mary, joining Levi Miller as Peter Pan, Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily, Adeel Akhtar as Smee, and Garrett Hedlund as Captain Hook. Also coming aboard are Jack Charles, Kathy Burke, Taejoo Na, Nonso Anozie, Kurt Egyiawan, Lewis MacDougall, and newcomer Leni Zieglmeier as Wendy Darling.
* Emily Browning will get to star with not one but two Tom Hardys in the period crime thriller, Legend, in which he plays twin gangsters Ronny and Reginald Kray. Directed by Brian Helgeland, the film will chronicle the brothers' criminal exploits and celebrity hobsnobbing throughout the 1950s and '60s. Browning will play "a young woman who tragically falls for Reggie and marries him, hoping he will change his gangster ways." [THR]
* Zooey Deschanel, Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Ciaran Hinds, and John Hawkes will star in Zachary Sluser's directorial debut, Driftless Area. Adapted from Tom Drury's novel, the film has Deschanel as "an enigmatic woman while Yelchin portrays a bartender who returns to his hometown after the death of his parents. When he falls in love with her, he is unwittingly pitted against a volatile criminal played by Hawkes." [Variety]
It's probably too much to hope that all of the plagiarism controversies swirling around Shia LaBeouf are totally in the rear view, but at least he seems to be backtracking on all of that talk of retirement. The Wrap reports LaBeouf will join the already-cast Bill Murray and Bruce Willis in Rock the Kasbah, the latest film from Rain Man director, Barry Levinson.
LaBeouf isn't alone in coming aboard, either, as he'll be joined by Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, and Kate Hudson in the story of a hard-luck rock manager (Murray) who goes on a USO tour to Afghanistan with his final client, only to get stuck in Kabul. There he discovers a remarkable talent and guides her through the competition program, Afghan Star, in hopes of rebuilding his career.
Mitch Glazer wrote the script, and hopefully it allows plenty of room for such a great comedic ensemble to do their thing.[TheWrap]
I've long since gotten over the idea of how weird Your Highness is. Sure it's being directed by David Gordon Green, the (former) indie auteur behind one of my favorite modern romances, All The Real Girls(Snow Angels is pretty great, too). But Green cast his lot in the realm of stoner comedy before with Pineapple Express, and if anything Your Highness looks like that film set in the realm of knights, wizards, and chivalry as general rule. So while I'm not all that excited over the McBride stuff, seeing Natalie Portman nearly butterball naked kickin' ass and crackin' raunchy jokes is exactly what I'm looking for.
A second red band trailer has been released for the comedy, which features more of what we saw in the last red band. Only I think there's a bit more emphasis on Portman's character, probably trying to cash in a bit on her recent Academy Award success. Check out the trailer below, courtesy of MSN...
Thadeous (Danny McBride) is a lazy, arrogant prince whose brother, Fabious (James Franco) must go on an epic quest in order to save their father's kingdom. Natalie Portman plays a warrior princess who is also the lazy prince's love interest. Zooey Deschanel plays Belladonna, Fabious' virginal bride. Justin Theroux plays Leezar, the evil wizard who kidnaps Belladonna. Michael Clarke Duncan plays the Giant Troll.
Your Highness(get it?) opens in theaters on April 8th!
Just last month we got the red band trailer for David Gordon Green's(Pineapple Express, George Washington) medievel scomedy, Your Highness. It stars James Franco and Danny McBride as a pair of princes, one a loser, the other not so much, sent on a glorious quest to save the kingdom. Zooey Deschanel stars as the kidnapped wife of Franco's character, while Natalie Portman plays a warrior-princess. Still looks like Pineapple Express set in the Dark Ages, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Your Highness is set to be released on April 8th, 2011. Check out the trailer below!
I was confused when indie favorite director David Gordon Green helmed Pineapple Express, a stoner buddy comedy. I was even more confused when he jumped even deeper down the comedy rabbit hole with Your Highness, which again sees him paired up with James Franco and Danny McBride in a fantasy set in the Middle Ages. The duo play a pair of slacker princes who must complete a quest to save their father's troubled kingdom and rescue the elder brother's kidnapped wife(Zooey Deschanel). Natalie Portman is a warrior princess and possible love interest for McBride's character. More fat guys with hot chicks syndrome.
Wow, this trailer makes this flick seem much more raunchy than I expected it to be. Lots of oral and anal sex humor, which is probably going to turn some people away. McBride is an actor I like in small doses, and already I found his jokes to be the most irritating of them all. However this trailer does give me some confidence that this'll be a movie worth looking forward to, if only because the humor is so adult, and we don't really get to see Natalie Portman do stuff like this very often.
Your Highness should arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2011. Check out the trailer below, followed by the synopsis.
Throughout history, tales of chivalry have burnished the legends of brave, handsome knights who rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. But behind many a hero is a good-for-nothing younger brother trying just to stay out of the way of those dragons, evil and trouble in general. Danny McBride and James Franco team up for an epic comedy adventure set in a fantastical world—Your Highness. As two princes on a daring mission to save their land, they must rescue the heir apparent’s fiancée before their kingdom is destroyed.
Thadeous (McBride) has spent his life watching his perfect older brother Fabious (Franco) embark upon valiant journeys and win the hearts of his people. Tired of being passed over for adventure, adoration and the throne, he’s settled for a life of wizard’s weed, hard booze and easy maidens. But when Fabious’ bride-to-be, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), gets kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), the king gives his deadbeat son an ultimatum: Man up and help rescue her or get cut off.
Half-assedly embarking upon his first quest, Thadeous joins Fabious to trek across the perilous outlands and free the princess. Joined by Isabel (Natalie Portman)—an elusive warrior with a dangerous agenda of her own—the brothers must vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights before they can reach Belladonna. If Thadeous can find his inner hero, he can help his brother prevent the destruction of his land. Stay a slacker, and not only does he die a coward, he gets front row seats to the dawn of an all-new Dark Ages.
We pretty much already know that Mary Jane Watson either won't be in Marc Webb's Spider-Man flick or will be a greatly reduced presence in favor of Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. That's all perfectly fine with me as one of the previous series' biggest flaws was too many characters vying for screentime. With that said, it does leave the door open for other Peter Parker love interests to move into the forefront. In this case, Petey's first girl, Betty Brant.
Showbiz Spy sights an "inside source" that says Webb intends to make Betty Brant a major player in the life of the wallcrawler, and already has an actress in mind for the role...
“Betty was a minor character in the previous Spidey movies but Marc has big plans for her,” reveals a movie insider. “He wants a strong performer to carry the role and Zooey fits the bill perfectly. The role is hers if she wants it.
That would be Zooey Deschanel, who Webb directed in last year's 500 Days of Summer, the film that launched him to stardom and basically got him this gig to begin with.
Betty Brant actually appeared in all three Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man flicks, but was mostly in the background as a secretary at the Daily Bugle. She was portrayed by Elizabeth Banks.
Brant is considered to be Peter Parker's first love interest, having debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #4 back in 1963. She would go on to hate Spider-Man for a time after her brother was accidentally killed during a fight between Spidey and Doctor Octopus. Eventually she kicked Peter to the curb, but the two remained friends. She eventually faded into the background as Peter added more and more notches into his bedpost.
Andrew Garfield: luckiest man on the planet if he gets to have Emma Stone and Zooey Deschanel vying for his attention in the same flick. That's all I'm saying. Let's hope this news pans out.
The end of the year wrap up is here. The best movies are out. Some of the Oscar hopefuls are back in theatres. We'll be bringing you our Top Ten of 2009 during the next episode of the Punch Drunk Podcast, and since I've been dilligently working on my Top 100 of the decade, I've neglected this year entirely. So this'll be brief so I can get back to work. Dos vadanya!(I learned all my Russian from X-men comic books, so sue me)
3. Up in the Air
A lot of people like to call Jason Reitman's brilliant comedy the film of the moment, and it certainly is. But it's ideas and characters are timeless, and I firmly believe this movie will be talked about and studied for decades. It expanded to more theatres this week, so do yourself a favor and go see it. It's one film I can recommend to everyone.
2. It's Complicated
Nancy Meyer's rom-com for the middle aged wouldn't be nearly as funny if it starred anybody other than Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. She stars as a divorce, who re-unites with her now married ex-husband for an affair, all the while juggling a relationship with her architect. Sounds like bad sitcom comedy, and some of the jokes do indeed fall flat. There's something real in Streep's performance, though, and that goes for the others as well, that makes this whole zany affair seem plausible and often downright hilarious. Major props to John Krasinsky(The Office) for his funniest turn yet, as Streep's future son-in-law who learns more than he ever could've hoped about his new family.
1. Avatar
Judging by the mile long lines I experenced at the movies yesterday, people are still showing up in droves for James Cameron's technical masterpiece. Then again maybe they were there for Sherlock Holmes? That's a good choice, too, just not on my list today. Avatar is the type of sprawling adventure that only comes out...hmmm...when was Cameron's last movie? 1997? Avatar's story, about a peaceful alien world threatened with destruction at the hands of a ruthless United States military force, isn't new but Cameron's take on it is fresh and presented in a way nobody's ever seen before. The most beautiful movie of the year by far.
Not to give anything away, but there's a pretty good chance I'll be talking about this later. Oh screw it, it's my favorite film of 2009. Why wait? 500 Days is hip, sexy, and vibrant but never too cool for it's own good. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt stars as Tom, a man desperately in search of true love. He thinks he's found it when he meets Summer(Zooey Deschanel) and they embark on a roller coaster romance that will change both of their lives forever. I'm a sucker for new takes on classic love stories, and 500 Days of Summer takes the classic formula and flips it on it's ear. When people ask me why I hate romantic comedies, it's because I can point to movies like this and show them how it could be done with only a modicum of imagination and ingenuity.
David Gordon Green is certainly taking his career in a different direction. After becoming known as an indie auteur with films like George Washington and All the Real Girls(a great film I might add), he threw his hat in the comedy ring last year with the stoner comedy, Pineapple Express. Now he's back at it again with Your Higness, a stoner comedy set in the time of Arthurian legend. Yeah. The film stars Danny McBride and James Franco as a pair of lazy princes who must go on an epic quest to save the kingdom. Zooey Deschanel and Natalie Portman play the love interests. The above shot is the first actual look at how the product is faring so far, with what appears to be Portman staring out at a brutal joust going on in the background. News on this film has been relatively scarce, but I imagine with this first photo that's about to change.
(
is pretty great, too). But Green cast his lot in the realm of stoner comedy before with 
, and if anything Your Highness looks like that film set in the realm of knights, wizards, and chivalry as general rule. So while I'm not all that excited over the McBride stuff, seeing Natalie Portman nearly butterball naked kickin' ass and crackin' raunchy jokes is exactly what I'm looking for. 
) for his funniest turn yet, as Streep's future son-in-law who learns more than he ever could've hoped about his new family.
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