Only Lovers Left Alive
Jim Jarmusch’s latest chronicles the love between two centuries-old vampires: Adam, played by Tom Hiddleston, and Eve, played by Tilda Swinton. As Eve leaves fellow vampire (and playwright) Christopher Marlowe (John Hurt) in Tangiers to see Adam in Detroit, the two struggle to find a clean supply of blood and deal with Eve’s trouble-making sister (Mia Wasikowska). Anton Yelchin and Jeffrey Wright co-star as "zombies" (the vampire name for humans) that aid the couple in securing clean blood. With good early reviews from film festivals and its UK release, Only Lovers Left Alive hits select U.S. theaters on April 11th.
Who should play the lead in Star Wars: Episode VII?
Variety reports that five actors are up for the lead role in Star Wars: Episode VII. John Boyega (Attack the Block), Ed Speelers (James on Downton Abbey), theater actors Matthew James Thomas and Ray Fisher, and the already rumored Jesse Plemons of Friday Night Lights and Breaking Bad. Don’t discount the possibility that someone other than these five could end up facing off against Adam Driver, whose casting came out of nowhere and still hasn’t been officially confirmed (or denied). But with shooting approaching in May, J.J. Abrams can’t wait much longer to put everyone in place.
Hateship, Loveship, friendship, courtship, etc.
Liza Johnson (Return) directs Kristen Wiig in this adaptation of an Alice Munro short story about Johanna Parry, a housekeeper who works for an elderly man, Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte), and his teenage granddaughter, Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld). When a prank by Sabitha and her friend Edith (Sami Gayle) leads Johanna to enter into a one-way relationship with Sabitha’s estranged dad (Guy Pearce), she opens herself up to new possibilities despite her initial embarrassment. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Christina Lahti have supporting roles, and the script is by Mark Poirier (Smart People, Goats). Hateship Loveship comes to select theaters on April 11th.
Like a sex machine
Tate Taylor (The Help) directs, and Chadwick Boseman (42) stars in Get On Up, a look at the life of James Brown, “The Godfather of Soul.” Written by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Fair Game) and Steven Baigelman (Feeling Minnesota), the film chronicles Brown’s life from his impoverished childhood to superstardom. Supporting players include Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Dan Aykroyd, Jill Scott, Nelsan Ellis, Lennie James and Tika Sumpter. Get On Up hits theaters on August 1st.
Tracks
Mia Wasikowska stars as Robyn Davidson in this true tale of her 1977 trek across 2,000 miles of Australian desert. Accompanied by camels, a dog, and, occasionally, National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan (Adam Driver), Davidson’s journey is brought to life by director John Curran (Stone, The Painted Veil) and cinematographer Mandy Walker (Australia). Early reviews have been positive, especially for Wasikowska’s performance. Look for Tracks in select theaters beginning May 23rd.
The first U.S. trailer for Cuban Fury
In this comedy that received mixed reviews upon its UK release, Nick Frost stars as a former salsa prodigy who attempts to make a comeback in order to win over Rashida Jones. Chris O’Dowd plays his rival, while Ian McShane, Olivia Colman, and Kayvan Novak round out the talented cast. James Griffiths makes his feature directorial debut from a script by Jon Brown. Cuban Fury comes to select theaters on April 11th.
A first look at Devil’s Knot
Based on Mara Leveritt’s book Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three, Atom Egoyan’s latest dramatizes the same story covered in Joe Berlinger’s three Paradise Lost documentaries and Amy Berg’s West Of Memphis. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Amy Ryan, Mireille Enos, Stephen Moyer, Alessandro Nivola and Dane DeHaan, Devil’s Knot earned mixed reviews from critics when it premiered at the 2013Toronto Film Festival. Look for it in select theaters beginning May 9th.
A second red-band trailer for Sabotage
The focus is on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s family in this latest red-band trailer for Sabotage. Pushed to the background is the mystery about who in Schwarzenegger’s crew could be dirty. Max Martini, Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Terrence Howard, Josh Holloway, Harold Perrineau, and Mireille Enos are all suspects, but the Mexican cartel might be a bigger problem. Director David Ayer’s (End of Watch, Street Kings, Harsh Times) latest hits theaters on March 28th.
Emma and Noah
Emma Watson introduces this new trailer for director Darren Aronofsky’s take on the the biblical story of Noah’s ark, and the agreed upon disclaimer ends the trailer. In between, Russell Crowe faces off against Ray Winstone, tells his son, Logan Lerman, to grow up, and tries not to drown. Buzz has been mixed since the film's world premiere in Mexico City, with some comparing it to The Fountain. In the end, moviegoers will get to judge Noah when it hits theaters on March 28th.
Quick notes: Rumors, release dates, casting news and more
- The Grand Budapest Hotel expands to a few more cities this week, so Fox Searchlight released instructions on how the film should be projected, as well as a final red-band trailer and a guide to making a Courtesan au Chocolat, an instrumental confection in the picture.
- Jason Sudeikis will step into the role Chevy Chase made famous and play Fletch in Fletch Won, “an origin story, described as a gritty action comedy with heart and more tonally in line with [the original] novels than the Chase movies.” - THR
- Guy Pearce will play the brother of Johnny Depp’s Whitey Bulger in Scott Cooper’s Black Mass. - Variety
- Sam Riley (Control), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables), and Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) are the final four actors in the running to play Dr. Doom in director Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four. - The Wrap
- Jamie Foxx and Kevin Hart are in talks to star in The Black Phantom with Ride Along director Tim Story at the helm. The story follows a double-crossed hitman who enlists the help of another hitman, the Black Phantom, who was actually hired to kill him. - Variety
- Rooney Mara will play Tiger Lily alongside Garrett Hedlund as Captain Hook and Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard in director Joe Wright’s Pan. - The Wrap
- Tye Sheridan (Mud) will star in director Christopher Landon’s horror comedy Scouts vs. Zombies. - Heat Vision
- Fort Tilden, a Brooklyn-set comedy, won the Narrative Grand Jury Prize, and The Great Invisible, a look at the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, won the Grand Jury Prize for documentary filmmaking, at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival. - Indiewire
- Paul Haggis (Crash) will write sci-fi crime thriller The Juliet, an adaptation of Alfred Bester's short story Fondly Fahrenheit, for director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman). - THR
- Ed Helms will star in the comedy Epic Fail about “an elite but unorthodox Special Forces team that takes their dysfunction and excessive firepower on a desperate mission to save America.” - Variety
- Chris McKay, who was animation co-director on the first film and has earned an Emmy for his work on Robot Chicken, will direct The LEGO Movie 2. - Deadline
- Sony Pictures Animation will release Hotel Transylvania 2 on September 25, 2015, and Kelly Asbury (Gnomeo & Juliet) will direct the all animation Smurfs 3. - THR
- Taraji P. Henson has joined Vince Vaughn, Hailee Steinfeld, Jon Favreau, Shea Whigham, Jonathan Banks, and Bill Paxton in the crime thriller Term Life. - Variety
- Nicholas Hoult will star in the Iraq war drama Sand Castle, written by Chris Roessner who spent “two years and more than 200 missions as a machine gunner in Iraq's Sunni Triangle.” - THR
- Helena Bonham Carter will reprise her role as the Red Queen, joining Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska in the Alice in Wonderland sequel, Through the Looking Glass. - Variety
- Paramount is developing a remake of Joe Dante’s Explorers with Geoff Moore and Dave Posamentier (Better Living Through Chemistry) writing the script. - Heat Vision
- Seth Grahame-Smith, the writer of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, will direct a remake of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked this Way Comes. - Deadline
- Carla Gugino will play the female lead opposite Dwayne Johnson in Brad Peyton’s disaster epic San Andreas. - Variety
- Maggie Grace will return as Liam Neeson’s daughter in Olivier Megaton’s Taken 3. - Deadline
- Aubrey Plaza will play the “long lost flame” of Henry Fool in Hal Hartley’s Ned Rifle, the last installment of his trilogy that began with Henry Fool and continued with Fay Grim. - Variety
- J.K. Simmons is in talks to play a detective in Terminator: Genesis. - Heat Vision
- What If, the previously titled romantic comedy The F Word starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan, will come to theaters on August 1st. - Deadline
- Captain America 3 will open on May 6, 2016, the same day the Man of Steel sequel is scheduled to open. - THR
- Ride Along 2 will be released on June 15, 2016.
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