January 10, 2006
Clint Eastwood: Un-American
Clint Eastwood is currently shooting the feature Flags Of Our Fathers, a World War II feature focusing on the American soldiers who famously raised the flag on Iwo Jima, and now the Oscar-winning director has announced it will be a two-part series. While the first focuses on the American side, the companion piece, Red Sun, Black Sand, will focus on the Japanese side of the battle. Iris Yamashita, a Japanese-American writer, will pen the script, with Ken Watanabe mentioned as a possible star.
While I'm glad a director finally has the courage to show the other perspectives of World War II, I worry about his rumored third film in the series, Hitler: Not Such A Bad Dude. Lofty concepts from a man still best known for asking a "punk" if he's lucky.
The Far Eastwood [Empire Online]
Previous Entries
The Wild May Be Madagascar
Disney has released a preview for their new animated feature, The Wild, on the Disney Motion Showcase, a relic from the days when "motion" alone was still considered impressive. The film, due out April 14, focuses on the adventures of a group of zoo animals bungling their way through New York in search of a young lion.
To some, this film may look strikingly similar to Madagascar--an astute observation--but they're forgetting what originated this outsider-in-the-big-city genre: Crocodile Dundee. That's right, Paul Hogan did it first, he did it best, and he's still doin' it best with Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, which someone told me was actually a third Crocodile Dundee movie that got made somehow.
See The Wild! [Official Site]
Where the Wild Things Are is so on
Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to Where the Wild Things Are after Universal dropped the ball. The film will get started later this year, with Spike Jonze set to direct from a script he and Dave Eggers wrote. Details of the story are still a secret, but the film will be live-action with a large expected CGI budget. Not that it matters, because with Spike Jonze directing something he wrote with Dave Eggers, you can be guaranteed that socks will be sufficiently rocked off. I don't think they let you pre-order movie tickets two years in advance, but I'd gladly throw down my $10 now.
If you've never read anything by Dave Eggers, pick up A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and thank me later. And if you've never seen anything by Spike Jonze, find the nearest kitchen knife and cut out your own kidneys.
'Wild' ride for Warner [Variety]
Clerks 2 Teaser Trailer online
The Clerks 2 Teaser Trailer went up on the official site about 30 minutes ago. If you've ever wondered what Clerks might look like with color and Rosario Dawson, here's your chance to find out. It's mostly just a montage of quick cuts, but the story will pick up 10 years after the original with the stores replaced by a fast food joint. I don't want to ruin the movie, but I hear Silent Bob says something deeply profound at the end, and then Jay makes a marijuana reference and tops it off with a "Snoochie-boochies!"
Adrien Brody Wants To Wear More Makeup
Following rumors that Josh Lucas is up for the role of Harvey Dent in the next Batman film, a sequel to Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, Adrien Brody has thrown his hat into the ring for the role of The Joker. As reported on Moviehole
Brody tells USA Today that he loved Batman Begins and hopes to be considered for the role of the jovial assassin in the next chapter.
"I would love to play The Joker. I think he would be deformed and creepier."
Brody later elaborated that his joker would be "deformed and creepier" not because of his interpretation of the psychopathic character, but because he's actually deformed and creepy.
Rocky Balboa is actually filming
The Rocky Balboa Blog has the first official image from the new Rocky Balboa film. You can see for yourself that it's utterly disappointing, but at least it's more proof that they're actually going through with this. And not just going through with it, but taking it seriously. If I were directing this bad boy, I'd trash whatever script they've got now and just film scene after scene of Sylvester Stallone old-people stuff. Like yelling at the TV and forgetting where he put his reading glasses. And then every 15 minutes or so, a boxing glove would appear on screen and knock him out.
