Aug 18 2009 James McAvoy To Pretend He Has Cancer
Cancer: horribly frightening or hilarious? I'm leaning towards horribly frightening, but James McAvoy has plans to show me otherwise. The actor has just signed on to star in the Seth Rogen-produced comedic adaptation of Will Reiser novel, I'm With Cancer. From Variety:
Nicole Holofcener will direct, and the pic will co-star Seth Rogen, who is also producing.In the first major project McAvoy has agreed to star in since the Universal comicbook actioner "Wanted" and its upcoming sequel, thesp will play a 25-year-old who learns he has cancer and successfully battles the disease over several years.
Character is based on the real experiences of screenwriter Will Reiser, who won his own fight with cancer in his mid-20s.
Sounds like it could be a funny and uplifting movie, and I will definitely never see it because it will make me deathly afraid of getting cancer before I'm 30. Similarly, I refuse to watch any film where someone's testicles get inadvertently twisted around each other while they're sleeping. Some scenarios are just too real to deal with.
Aug 20 2008 Computers Getting Around to Animating 'Romeo and Juliet' but with Gnomes
It's a sad truth, but Fly Me to the Moon will be gone from theaters before you know it, leaving behind only its clear but confusing closing message from Buzz Aldrin, where the astronaut explains that anthropomorphic flies did not, in fact, assist in the first moon landing. Then where will you will turn for a bland, computer-animated movie based entirely around a pun? Here you go:
[James McAvoy and Emily Blunt] are in negotiations to play the title roles of "Gnomeo and Juliet," a CGI-animated Shakespeare adaptation from Miramax and Elton John's Rocket Pictures.The film will feature several John classics but not Kate Winslet; she was first attached to voice Juliet two years ago and fell out because of scheduling conflicts. Tim Rice also was approached to write original songs with his "Lion King" partner John at the time, but the soundtrack now will be filled with the performer's well-known hits and possibly a few new tracks.
In the loose and edgy adaptation of Shakespeare's play, McAvoy ("Atonement") and Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada") would play lovers from rival gardens.
1. Don't say it will be "loose and edgy" when what you mean is there will be an irreverent stereotype sidekick and a distracting smattering of pop culture references. That's clearly what you mean, and that isn't loose or edgy.
2. Elton John, have countless drunken karaoke renditions not ruined your '70s catalog (the only good songs) enough? Reworking your classic song about one dead woman to better apply to a new dead woman was plenty. Please, stop.
3. Here's a gimme: Ham-let. It's Hamlet with a cartoon pig. You give him a sassy fawn sidekick you can later spin-off with King Deer. Just get to work on it now so I can stop thinking about it.
Jun 5 2008 New 'Wanted' Shots and the Art of Weaving
Think all the bullet-bending, car-flipping, fly wing-shooting stuff James McAvoy does in the Wanted trailers was cool? Wait till you see the mad shit this guy does with a loom! You haven't lived until you see textile manufacture in bullet time.
More (un-!)Wanted photos here.
Jun 3 2008 New 'Wanted' Trailer Assumes I've Never Used the Internet
Of all the ludicrous things seen in this trailer--cars flipping and landing, bullets curving with special bullet mind control, Angelina Jolie not within arm-reach of a child--the most unbelievable and insulting is that we're supposed to swallow that a Google search for "Wesley Gibson" would turn up no results (and it's not even in quotes!). Give me a break, Wanted. I'm willing to tolerate breaking every known physical law in the name of mindless entertainment, but this is too much.
Continue Reading " New 'Wanted' Trailer Assumes I've Never Used the Internet "
Apr 22 2008 'Wanted' NYCC Poster: Behold the Dangers of Anorexia
At the New York Comic Con this weekend, some lucky attendees were given the above poster to sell off on eBay. It's kind of surprising she can hold up a giant gun with that spindly, malnourished arm, isn't it? Also kind of surprising: where that knee is coming from.
NY Con Wanted Poster [JoBlo]
Mar 6 2008 'Wanted' Trailer Continues Quest to be 'The Matrix'
As I've mentioned before, I have an open but shameful love of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. It definitely has its flaws, but I admire it's commitment to cheesecake antics and its resolute defiance in the face of logic and physical laws. (Make no mistake--I still think director McG is a turd.)
From the looks of this second trailer, Wanted tries to get by on the same combination of sex appeal and physics-defying action as Full Throttle, but makes the mistake of trying to rationalize its absurdity. Like The Matrix, the explanation relies on being part of a select group of world-manipulators--or something like that--a skill demonstrated through the usual method of countless slow-motion bullets. Or, to be more precise, slow-motion bullets with the word "goodbye" etched on the side. Because that's totally sweet, right?
Continue Reading " 'Wanted' Trailer Continues Quest to be 'The Matrix' "
Oct 31 2007 'Wanted' Trailer Evokes Sleek Sunglasses, Trenchcoats
Wanted seems to be trying to create a new genre of "movie about a cubical worker who finds out he's one of the few able to use special powers with bullet-time effects, then becomes an awesome shoot-em-up expert with a hot lady counterpart and a wise black master, but isn't The Matrix."
If so, they've really nailed it.
Wanted Trailer [Yahoo!]
Oct 29 2007 'Wanted' Shots Indulge Male Fantasies
If there's one thing beer advertisements have taught us--besides to drink beer--it's that nothing sells better than indulging the fantasies of the adolescent male mind, better known as the testicle.
This can be seen above in this new shot from Wanted, where Angelina Jolie hanging out of a sports car shooting a giant gun hammers home the typical male fantasy more than a subscription to FHM.
Based on the comic, the film stars James McAvoy as the regular, identifiable guy who joins a secret assassin agency that trains him to unlock his hidden powers. Jolie play the hot, badass babe.
First Pictures of Wanted [Empire]
Oct 22 2007 Some Other Crap That Happened...
- Harry Potter author JK Rowling announced the character of Dumbledore was gay. In response, my roommate said, "No shit. The whole f***ing thing is gay." [Newsweek]
- Mark Wahlberg has stepped in to replace Ryan Gosling in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones with just a day until shooting. Incidentally, this isn't the first time this has happened, with Wahlberg having previously stepped up when Gosling, at the last moment, abandoned his funky bunch. [Variety]
- Steve Buscemi and Daniel Bruehl have joined the cast of John Rabe, the true story of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjin massacre. It sounds like a lot of people, but percentage-wise it's like saving an American's left arm. [Variety]
- James McAvoy is rumored to be up for the role of grunge legend Kurt Cobain in an upcoming biopic. The first screen test will be to see if he can show affection to something that looks anything remotely like Courtney Love. [All Headline News]
Aug 20 2007 James McAvoy cast as Scotty
The Sunday Mirror reports James McAvoy has been cast as Scotty in JJ Abrams' new Star Trek prequel. The rumor has been circulating for awhile now, but this is the first time it's been confirmed. I don't really know anything about this James McAvoy guy, but I still say they should've gone with my idea: digging up the original Scotty's corpse and moving him around like a puppet. You know, put sunglasses on him Weekend At Bernie's style. Academy Awards here we come!
A semi-new poster for the Star Trek film after the jump.
