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Updated: Is Guillermo Del Toro Being Asked To Take Japan Out Of 'Pacific Rim'? Writer Says No

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • March 18, 2011 2:58 AM
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  • 5 Comments
Update: Travis Beacham has once again hit Twitter and has put the kibosh on the rumors swirling saying, "The situation in Japan is NOT tripping up PAC/RIM. Unless my day-to-day work load is an astonishingly elaborate prank." He also adds for those concerned about the film being insensitive, "This is, on its surface and in its heart, a movie about people. This is a movie about humanity."
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More: Films, Guillermo del Toro, Genre Films, Pacific Rim

Fox Searchlight Eyeing David O. Russell For Russ Meyer Biopic

  • By Catherine Scott
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  • March 18, 2011 2:32 AM
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  • 2 Comments
David O. Russell really has had one hell of a comeback year. Garnering an Oscar nomination for Best Director this year for "The Fighter" and riding a wave of critical acclaim, Russell has been picking up projects left and right over the past six months or so (and those are just a few of many he's got cooking in various stages).
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More: Film Studios, David O. Russell

Review: Tom McCarthy’s ‘Win Win’ Balances Heartfelt & Hilarious Small Victories

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • March 18, 2011 2:23 AM
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  • 1 Comment
The following is a reprint of our Sundance review by our correspondent James Rocchi.
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More: Films, Review, Win Win

Review: 'The Gift To Stalin' Aims To Be Moving & Sentimental But Comes Up Flat

  • By Christopher Bell
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  • March 18, 2011 2:06 AM
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  • 0 Comments
1949: A cargo train pulls into an unspecified area, and immediately children accost it with pans full of hot water. They run around like little merchants with a fresh mouth: "Buy hot water! Don't be stingy!" they tell the soldiers who dip out of the sliding doors, dying for anything wet. The scene shifts into one of the compartments; a boy (Sashka, Dalen Schintemirov) delivers water to his grandfather who dies before he can get a drop on his tongue. It's just one casualty of many, though, and the soldiers -- members of the Soviet Union -- stop off in a Kazakhstan village to unload the waste. Kasym (Nurzhuman Ikhtimbaev), a road worker, proceeds to bury the dead when he discovers Sashka hidden amongst them. Without the heart to leave the kid to his own devices, he takes him back to a small community of political prisoners. Eventually Sashka -- whose parents are also political prisoners -- gets wind of a contest for children: whoever gives Stalin the best present will get to meet him. He, of course, devises a pipe-dream plan to give the Generalissimus the greatest gift of all in order to free his parents.
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More: Foreign Films, Review, The Gift To Stalin

5 Directors Who Could Take Over From Darren Aronofsky On 'The Wolverine'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • March 18, 2011 1:50 AM
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  • 24 Comments
In a move that came as a huge surprise, Brooklyn's dapperest filmmaker, Darren Aronofsky, today walked away from the film that was set to be his tentpole debut "The Wolverine," the second "X-Men" spin-off to star Hugh Jackman's titular character.
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More: Films, Feature, Foreign Directors, Francis Lawrence, Matt Reeves, J. Blakeson, Jaume Collet-Serra, Super Hero Films, The Wolverine, Ji-Woon Kim

'Chipmunks 2' & 'Doctor Doolittle' Helmer Betty Thomas Eyes 'Desperados' With Isla Fisher

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • March 18, 2011 1:43 AM
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  • 1 Comment
With "The Hangover" proving to studios that an R-rated comedy can bring in the big bucks, executives are now trying the concept with a female twist. "Bridesmaids" -- which recently unspooled at SXSW and met our expectations head on -- will be the first R-rated, women driven comedy in ages but it won't be the last. Isla Fisher has been attached for a while now to "Desperados," a raunchy road trip comedy and it looks like the project is settling on a pretty unlikely director.
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More: Films, Actresses, Betty Thomas, Desperados, Isla Fisher

Tuppence Middleton & Alexandra Roach Replace Felicity Jones & Imogen Poots In 'Trap For Cinderella'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • March 18, 2011 1:23 AM
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  • 2 Comments
For smaller independent producers, the problem with your long-atttached star suddenly generating new heat is that they're flooded with new offers; bigger films, more tempting films. As such, it can be hard to keep their interest -- Carey Mulligan, for instance, dropped out of British indie "This Beautiful Fantastic" in favor of "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" after "An Education" blew up. That same issue now faces Iain Softley and his psychodrama "Trap for Cinderella."
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More: Films, Actresses, The Playlist UK, Iain Softley, Trap For Cinderella, Imogen Poots, Felicity Jones, Tuppence Middleton, Alexandra Roach

SXSW Review: Spike Jonze & Arcade Fire's 'Scenes From The Suburbs' An Intense Look At Fading Youth

  • By Drew Taylor
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  • March 18, 2011 1:20 AM
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  • 1 Comment
While technically not a full-length feature, Spike Jonze's Arcade Fire music video/short film/spin-off/thingee "Scenes from the Suburbs" is one of the most hotly anticipated and frequently discussed entries in this year's SXSW line-up, so much so that they paired it with three other medium-length "shorts" and created a whole new distinction for them. (Since they're longer than shorts but shorter than features.) "What is it?", is the biggest question, but "Will it work?" was just as pressing.
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More: Short Films, Musicians, Spike Jonze, Arcade Fire, SXSW Film Festival, Scenes From The Suburbs

Jonathan Demme's 'Honeymoon For Harry' Falls Apart After Robert De Niro Gets Cold Feet

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • March 18, 2011 1:02 AM
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  • 2 Comments
The lament of the last fifteen years or so of Robert De Niro's career is a common one; the actor for the most part having traded in the challenging performances he made his name on in the 1970s and 1980s for a series of lukewarm comedies and pot-boiler thrillers. His last truly great performance was in "Jackie Brown" in 1997 and, while he does occasionally do good work -- last year's "Stone" was his best for ages -- audiences don't seem to care when he does. But the actor doesn't exactly help his own cause.
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More: Films, Actors, Jonathan Demme, Honeymoon With Harry, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Jenny Lumet

Breck Eisner Looking To Take On Black List Approved 'The Last Witch Hunter'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • March 17, 2011 12:58 PM
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  • 1 Comment
After losing out on directing "Ouija" to McG -- a decision that must have surely kept him up nights -- and with the remake of "Escape From New York" seemingly stalled, director Breck Eisner is looking for something to do and it looks like he's ready to jump on a bewitching new project (sorry).
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More: Films, Breck Eisner, The Last Witch Hunter

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