The Playlist

Bradley Cooper Joins 'The Words'; Jeremy Irons In Talks; Directorial Debut By 'Tron: Legacy' Writers

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 10, 2011 8:17 AM
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6 Comments

Though his profile was raised considerably thanks to a starring turn in "The Hangover," Bradley Cooper isn't quite proven outside of that comedy vehicle. Yet. Oh sure, he had "The A-Team" last summer, but that was sold more on the franchise than the actors and its terribleness was due mostly to the atrocious material than anything else. Coming up, he's got the thriller "Limitless" that will be the first real test of his leading man status and he will be testing the waters with none other than Robert De Niro in that pic. But clearly, Cooper isn't eager to get pigeonholed into frat boy comedy and his next project is another shift of direction for the actor.

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SXSW Film Fest Adds 'Attack The Block,' Spike Jonze's Arcade Fire Short, 'Insidious' & More

By Edward Davis
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February 10, 2011 8:00 AM
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0 Comments

'Hobo With A Shotgun' & More Added In Midnight & Shorts ProgramSXSW is just over a month away and the organizers down in Austin have revealed the rest of their already staggeringly large lineup. The Midnighters should provide genre fans with some big thrillers, and perhaps the most exciting film of the bunch, making its world premiere, is Joe Cornish's "Attack the Block." Featuring mostly only U.K.-known actors, the alien invasion pic will pit a group of teenagers against extra-terrestrials and it will feature a soundtrack by dance-poppers Basement Jaxx. Nice. Meanwhile, "Saw" creator James Wan will try and scare you silly with "Insidious" (which came out of TIFF with decent notices) while Rugter Hauer will power the outrageous "Hobo with a Shotgun."

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'Red Sonja' Back On With Simon West Directing; Amber Heard Tipped As Favorite For The Lead

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 10, 2011 7:27 AM
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7 Comments

There's Also Going To Be A 'Conan 2'One project that fell apart, breaking geek hearts in the process, was Robert Rodriguez's "Red Sonja." With Rose McGowan in the lead, the project made it through concept art phases but never went beyond, and eventually both Rodriguez and McGowan moved on to other things. But the project is still alive and kicking, and in a recent conversation with Empire, producer Avi Lerner dropped some news on who will be directing the film and who he'd like to step into the red-haired role.

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Morgan Freeman & Annette Bening Join Rob Reiner's 'The Third Act'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 10, 2011 6:53 AM
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4 Comments

Rob Reiner is a bit of a conundrum. He's made three bona fide classics -- "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Princess Bride" and "When Harry Met Sally...," delivered some better than average blockbusters like "Misery" and "A Few Good Men," and most recently, had one of his biggest hits ever with "The Bucket List." Yet, on the other side of the spectrum when Reiner misses, he whiffs big. Last year's "Flipped" got tepid reviews and came and went from theaters without anyone noticing and do you remember "Alex & Emma"? Yeah, us neither. But when Reiner delivers, he delivers big, so he'll never be wanting for financing.

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Where's Greta Gerwig? Trailer For 'Arthur' With Russell Brand Lands With A Thud

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 10, 2011 6:27 AM
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8 Comments

Ooof. Listen, we like Russell Brand, and he can be quick with a quip and wit, but we just sat here watching the trailer for "Arthur" -- yes, a remake of the Dudley Moore comedy "classic" -- and we kept waiting for something funny to happen. It never did.

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Review: 'Cedar Rapids' Provides A Trickle Of Laughs Instead Of A Torrent

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 10, 2011 5:58 AM
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2 Comments

On paper, "Cedar Rapids" sounds like a no brainer. The Frank Capra-esque premise is familiar: a small town man is sent off to the big city where he struggles to adjust to the fast pace and shifty morals of metropolitan life. And when you line up a stacked roster of talent that includes John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Sigourney Weaver, Alia Shawkat, Rob Corddry and Stephen Root, the movie should pretty much just write itself. Figuratively speaking, that is. But unfortunately, Miguel Arteta seems to have literally taken what was probably a great treatment and hoped that his actors and actresses could do the rest with unfortunately middling results.

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Review: 'The Eagle' Marred By Humorless Melodrama & A Silly Bromance

By Drew Taylor
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February 10, 2011 5:27 AM
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0 Comments

Helluva Chase Though...While mildly engaging initially, but soon marred by cliches, all-to-familiar and humorless swords and sandals tropes, a barrage of mixed accents (including puzzling Brooklyn ones), and the unintentional bromance comedy of two warring leads turned bffs by the end of the picture, Kevin Macdonald's "The Eagle" fails to deliver anything we haven't seen from the Roman soldiers/bros. on-the-run genre.

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Bummer: Miguel Arteta Gives Us The Rundown On Many Of His Failed Projects

By Gabe Toro
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February 10, 2011 4:45 AM
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3 Comments

EXCLUSIVE: With "Cedar Rapids" opening this weekend, director Miguel Arteta has proven himself as a keen observer of subtle comic stories with a light touch. Of course, even with a body of work like his ("Chuck and Buck," "Youth In Revolt") there are bound to be a few films that fall by the wayside. When we talked to Arteta recently, we found that many of the projects he was considering were actually dead, as he's currently devoting his energy into the new HBO show "Enlightened."

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'Gnomeo & Julet' Director Kelly Asbury Talks the Narrative Quality of Elton John Songs

By Drew Taylor
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February 10, 2011 4:33 AM
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0 Comments

Plus: His Take on the Nearly Endless Development Process & Why Everyone Gets Uptight About the Movie's EnglishnessDisney and Rocket Films' "Gnomeo & Juliet," opening nationwide this Friday, has had a storied production history that could be its own compelling film. The story of star-crossed lawn ornaments was set up as a joint Disney/Rocket Films production in the first part of the aughts, under the supervision of "Beauty and the Beast" co-director Gary Trousdale, with Kate Winslet and Ewan McGregor attached (they're now replaced by Emily Blunt and James McAvoy). The project fell apart, only to regain steam and be cut down again when Pixar's John Lasseter was installed, as the head of Disney's animation division (this was around the time he axed Chris Sanders' "American Dog," before neutering it and turning it into the toneless "Bolt"). The project was finally rescued by executive Dick Cook, who set it up not at Disney Animation proper, but with Miramax instead. Of course, with Miramax since being sold, Walt Disney are now taking on distribution duties for the film. At the end of all the back and forth, this take on the Shakespearean classic, thankfully, did not end in tragedy.

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Review: 'Orgasm Inc.' Leads The Fight Against The Myth Of Female Sexual Dysfunction With Maturity

By Christopher Bell
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February 10, 2011 4:11 AM
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1 Comment

Documentary filmmakers got a bone to pick nowadays, probably more than they ever have. Is it the lack of rough and tough journalists digging deep to reveal horrid truths involving corporations, government, and society? Or is it the ease that the digital age has brought us, allowing modern, pissed off man to obtain a half-decent camera sly enough to capture anything without seeming too suspicious? There's also the growing crop of outlets catered to the style (festivals, indie theater programs, internet streaming, etc.) plus the appealing excuse to document absolutely everything. Throw all these into a mixing bowl (along with a dash of ego for the director-as-a-host docs) and you've got your answer. Unfortunately even the best enlightening/exposé docs fail to hit the mainstream hard ("Food Inc." comes to mind), instead only pampering the holier-than-thou twits who can already recite all of the bullet-point facts included in the films. So what's the point? Hard to say, but frankly it's a bit defeating to make a rally-up flick and have it just give the faux-activists a topic to post on their Facebook walls for a fortnight. Thankfully there's more than a handful that do a little bit more, turning accepted opinion ass-up and starting a conversation everyone needs partake in. Elizabeth Canner's debut feature does just that - "Orgasm Inc." delves into the "disease" Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD), aiming the camera at the people (and pharmaceutical companies) making top dollar telling women they're abnormal.

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