The Playlist

Samantha Morton Joins David Cronenberg's 'Cosmopolis'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 22, 2011 5:42 AM
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10 Comments

While Samantha Morton has briefly flirted with the tentpole world, memorably playing opposite Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report" (and she has a role in the upcoming "John Carter of Mars"), the actress have carved out a fascinating career largely built on selecting parts in uniquely independent films. In recent years she has starred in Oren Movernman's "The Messenger," Harmony Korine's "Mister Lonely," Anton Corbijn's "Control" and Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York." And she's now adding one more acclaimed director to her list.

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David O. Russell Says He's Ready To Write The Sequel To 'The Fighter'

By Cory Everett
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March 22, 2011 5:35 AM
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1 Comment

With "The Fighter" now on DVD/Blu-ray it's fairly safe to say most people have seen it at least once by now. (The film actually plays better the second time.) The true story of underdog boxer Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his somewhat dysfunctional family was nominated for a ton of awards and ended up just shy of $100 million at the U.S. box office. But the real underdog story is the resurrection of director David O. Russell's career. After an unintentional six-year hiatus (where he eventually abandoned his troubled political satire "Nailed"), the writer/director reunited with his pal Wahlberg to take on "The Fighter" after filmmaker Darren Aronofsky left the project.

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David Fincher Eyed To Direct 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 22, 2011 4:50 AM
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12 Comments

There is no doubt that Sony and producer Scott Rudin want big things out of the gestating "Cleopatra." With James Cameron previously sought and Paul Greengrass recently sniffing around (before opting for "Memphis"), the filmmakers have now taken the project to another very high profile name.

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Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender & More Sought For 'Akira'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 22, 2011 3:48 AM
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39 Comments

Garrett Hedlund, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake & Joaquin Phoenix Also In The MixThe long-gestating "Akira" remake seems to have been knocking around for awhile now and to Warner Bros' credit, they are trying to get it as right as possible before moving this thing forward. With most fans outright skeptical of how the studio is going to change the wild, decidedly not mainstream manga into a broadly appealing, PG-13 two-film franchise, last month the studio brought in the big guns which -- for better or worse -- point in the direction they're headed. Steve Kloves, who has penned seven of the eight ‘Harry Potter’ movies, was tasked with polishing the script for the gestating project and WB appear to be very happy with his work.

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Zack Snyder Says 'Superman' Was Not Part Of His Plan And "Came Out Of Nowhere"

By Edward Davis
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March 22, 2011 3:45 AM
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5 Comments

Filmmaker Says He Can't Believe There Are 'Thor' & 'Iron Man' Films, But No 'Superman' Movie Among This Current CrazeFrom remakes of classic zombie films to CGI-led, testosterone-y swords and sandal pictures, to dark superhero deconstructions and animated adventure movies starring talking owls, filmmaker Zack Snyder's career has seemingly been all over the map, but the connective tissue has been a fantasy element that has consistently run throughout the work including his upcoming ladies-led steampunk fantasy actioner, "Sucker Punch."

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Review: Todd Haynes' 'Mildred Pierce' A Mouth-Watering Melodrama On An Operatic Scale

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 22, 2011 3:31 AM
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3 Comments

Yes, we already know that Hollywood studios are continuing to pull away from adult oriented dramas, while continuing to pour money into franchises, sequels and spinoffs. And we've certainly already sung the praises of HBO for setting the standard for their colleagues by being a welcoming home for auteurs to toil away on the kinds of projects that wouldn't get them through the front door anywhere else. However, it's one thing to logically pair Todd Haynes with the period melodrama "Mildred Pierce" but when you surround him with the talent he has here, giving him an almost absurdly generous amount of running time to tell the story his way, it's practically like the cable network is sticking a thumb in the eye of Hollywood.

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'National Treasure' Director Jon Turteltaub Has Some 'Unreasonable Doubt'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 22, 2011 3:10 AM
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0 Comments

Oof, talk about a car crash of mediocrity. What happens when you pair the director of "National Treasure," "While You Were Sleeping" and "Instinct" with the writer of "Serendipity" and "A Good Year"? You're about to find out.

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Matt Reeves Says 'Cloverfield 2' Will Happen Eventually; Kiefer Sutherland Still Says '24' In 2012

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 22, 2011 2:48 AM
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1 Comment

Director Matt Reeves has made leaps and bounds in his film career, transitioning from television to the monster movie "Cloverfied" and then helming the absolutely fantastic "Let Me In" last year. Why anyone would want Reeves to return to the "Cloverfield" world instead of using his talents for something much more worth his time (*ahem*"The Wolverine"*ahem*) is a bit beyond us, but the project is still on the table. Earlier this year, Reeves told us that he hasn't "really decided what that would be yet” when asked about "Cloverfield 2" and well, it's remains pretty much the status quo.

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First Look At Roman Polanski's 'Carnage'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 22, 2011 2:34 AM
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7 Comments

To be certain, Roman Polanski's last effort, "The Ghost Writer," polarized The Playlist staff. While some found it be a pretty harmless, if not particularly memorable, political potboiler, others completely hated it (though we all agreed Kim Cattrall's accent was egregious). Even on the score, some of us loved Alexandre Desplat's whirring strings, while others found it be a weaker work from the accomplished and prolific composer (the Christmas party eventually turned ugly). But regardless of all that, Polanski's latest has us all pretty excited, bringing together a top notch cast for the film version of an acclaimed play.

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The Small Screen: Jeff Daniels Set To Lead Aaron Sorkin's Post-'Social Network' Return To Television

By Simon Dang
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March 22, 2011 2:14 AM
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0 Comments

Jeff Daniels is set to join Aaron Sorkin's first post-'Social Network' project with his return to television in a signature behind-the-scenes look into the world of cable news programs tentatively titled "More As The Story Develops."

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