Latest Video: FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed
Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, and Premonition in this episode of FilmCrunch.Play Video
Dakota Fanning Cast in ‘Very Good Girls’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Drama, Casting, Celeb News, Scripts, Upcoming Releases
Dakota Fanning is in negotiations to star in Very Good Girls.
The Secret Life of Bees actress could star alongside Anton Yelchin and Elizabeth Olsen in the directorial debut of Naomi Foner. The film tells the tale of two girls who have been best friends for life but decide they want to lose their virginity before they graduate high school. However, their relationship sours when they both fall for the same boy.
"The film deals with female sexuality and friendship in a way we haven't seen before. These girls will be stunning young girls in a couple of years, but they've struggled through high school with only each other. Most of us have been there. This is the summer where they finally get to touch real life," Naomi said, commenting on the film.
Very Good Girls is set to shoot in New York City in June.
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Madonna’s Lonely Script
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Weinstein Company, Drama, Period, Political, Romance, Celeb News, New Releases, Scripts
Madonna wrote a film because she was lonely. The 53-year-old star's fascination with Wallis Simpson - the subject of her new movie W.E. - stemmed from her interest in English history, which she began to research when she first moved to London with former husband Guy Ritchie.
"When I moved to England after I got married, I really didn't have any friends. I didn't know anybody. I found myself in a strange world and I decided that I was going to find out about the history and culture. So I started studying English history and reading about the monarchy. When I got to Edward VIII, I was transfixed by the idea that a man would give up such a powerful position for love. I started reading books about Wallis Simpson, and I found a lot of them to be really negative and one-dimensional. When women have some kind of power, and we don't understand them, we diminish them."
Madonna related to Wallis a lot and thinks that made her the right person to direct the film: "I think I had an insight into her character that possibly other directors wouldn't have, because I know what it's like to be reduced to a sound bite."
Steven Spielberg to Produce Jurassic Park 4
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Filmmaking, Rumors, Upcoming Releases
Steven Spielberg has confirmed he will not be directing Jurassic Park 4.
The War Horse director - who helmed the first two stories in the dinosaur movie series - will be returning for the mooted fourth installment, but only in the capacity of producer: "I don't want to talk about Jurassic Park 4 yet - it's too early - but I can tell you that I'm not directing it. I'm producing it though."
Steven also confirms his forthcoming adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse will be a "big popcorn movie," but does not want to confirm too many details about the project. He added at a press conference in Paris, "I'm making a science fiction movie probably in September called Robopocalypse because on Daniel Wilson's book. It's a cautionary tale about war between human beings and robots. It's a big crowd pleaser, I think, a big action popcorn movie with a message. I have a couple of other plans which I don't want to go into because they're too far out of the horizon."
Angelina Jolie’s History Lesson Hopes
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Drama, Political, Romance, Celeb News, Filmmaking, New Releases
Angelina Jolie hopes her directorial debut is more than just a "history lesson."
The Oscar-winning actress helmed and wrote Bosnian war-set love story In the Land of Blood and Honey, and she hopes the audience think of it as more than just a factual running of events: "I hope for the audience watching that it isn't just a history lesson, it isn't just a political film, it isn't just Bosnia. We tried to tell a dramatic story, we tried to make a good film with great actors, we tried to just to give traditional dramatic storytelling, and somehow in that, we also layered all these other things and it's a part of that."
Despite being pleased with the outcome of the film, she is unsure if she will ever get back in the director's chair again. "Oh I don't know. I'm still very shy about that. I still can't believe I'm even here and we did it."
Madonna Asked Guy For Camera Advice
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Weinstein Company, Drama, Period, Political, Romance, Celeb News, Filmmaking, Technology, Upcoming Releases
Madonna asked ex-husband Guy Ritchie for "technical advice about cameras" while shooting W.E..
The singer-turned-director was married to filmmaker Guy Ritchie for just short of eight years, and she admits she was keen to talk to him and pick his brain to make sure her directorial debut was as good as it possibly could be: "I gave the screenplay to Guy and shared the concepts and the stories and the ideas with him because he was interested in it from a historical point of view. Guy would give me technical advice about cameras or using digital versus film or one cinematographer being better than another - just technical things."
Despite the film not yet being released, Madonna - who is currently dating a dancer more than half her age - claims she has already begun considering ideas for future movies. "I'm thinking about possible subjects, but I am a hopeless romantic, so I'm sure that romance and love will be a part of the story."
J.J. Abrams: ‘Star Trek 2 is Mine to Mess Up’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Paramount, Action, Adventure, Classics, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Filmmaking, Scripts, Technology, Upcoming Releases
J.J. Abrams believes it will be his fault if Star Trek 2 is not a success. The director - who returns to the sci-fi franchise for the follow-up to the hugely successful 2009 film - admits the script by Damon Lindelof, Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman is "amazing" and it is up to him to make it into a decent movie.
"It's a little early to be talking about Star Trek, but I will say that they wrote, the three writers Damon, Bob and Alex, they wrote the most amazing script and I'm thrilled to get a chance to direct it. It's totally mine to screw up, so if you don't like it, it's completely on me. Our sets are almost done, so we're going to go back and start shooting next month."
He also revealed the movie will not be shot with special 3-D cameras but instead converted in post-production. "We're shooting on film, 2-D, and then we'll do a good high-end conversion like the Harry Potter movie and all that. Luckily, with our release date now we have the months needed to do it right because if you rush it, it never looks good."
Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana are all returning to the film, which is set for release in 2013.
David Cronenberg: ‘My Movies Are Irrelevant to Me’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Sony, Biopics, Drama, Celeb News, Filmmaking, New Releases
David Cronenberg feels his movies are "totally irrelevant" to him. The director - who is renowned for making films in the body horror genre, which explores people's fears of transformation - isn't worried if there are no links between any of his films because he sees them as standalone projects.
"The movies I have done are totally irrelevant to me - I don't worry about a connection because I'm making the movie and it will be there."
But in his latest directed movie A Dangerous Method - which tells the story of the intense relationship between psychiatrist Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and his psychoanalyst mentor Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) - David thinks there is an association between the graphic nature of the motion picture and his other films: "You could say, well, Freud insisted on the reality of the human body at a time when people didn't want to know about the body and covered it up with many layers of clothes. Freud talked about penises and vaginas and anuses and excrement and child abuse and incest. That connects this movie to my other movies."
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Steven Spielberg Driven by Fear
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: DreamWorks, Touchstone, Adaptation, Drama, Period, Celeb News, Filmmaking, New Releases
Steven Spielberg is "driven" by fear. The director admits he likes to take on projects which intimidate him, and he admits he is always nervous when he is on the set of a new movie.
"Fear is what drives me. Every movie is scary for me and every day I shoot the movie is scary. And I need fear because it drives me to explore things. It keeps me looking for a new variation on constant themes."
He admits, however, he did not struggle with working with horses on his new movie War Horse - about a boy whose beloved pet is sold by his father to work in the trenches of World War I - because he has always been around them thanks to his children.
"I'd never made a movie where a horse was the star. Or, indeed, any animal was the star. My daughter, who's 14, is a competitive jumper. And my wife just started doing dressage. So I've been living with horses for the past eight years, and they've been part of my life for the past 16 to 17 years. Based on directing a movie with horses, I now feel very strongly that they're the most intelligent animals I've ever come across."
Les Miserables to Be 2-D
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Universal, Adaptation, Classics, Drama, Musicals, Period, Filmmaking, Technology, Upcoming Releases
Les Miserables will be shot in 2-D so viewers don't "physically struggle."
Director Tom Hooper - who won an Oscar for his work on The King's Speech - was "tempted" to use 3-D technology in the forthcoming blockbuster but decided against it because he wanted to make a film that would "connect with everyone."
"I can definitely announce it's good old-fashioned 2-D. I did test 3-D and I was very tempted - I think it is a very interesting new form. One of the things I'm most proud of with The King's Speech is how it managed to connect with everyone, whether you're eight or 80 years old. So I slightly worry with 3-D that some people will physically struggle with it. If you have a certain type of eyesight it can be more demanding than watching a normal movie. With a two-and-a-half hour film, I didn't want to make something that anyone might think 'That's not for me, because I don't like the medium.'"
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Angelina Jolie Relied on Cast For Advice
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Political, Romance, Celeb News, Filmmaking, New Releases, Scripts
Angelina Jolie "wasn't afraid" to take advice from her cast and crew on her directorial debut. The Oscar-winning actress' movie In The Land of Blood and Honey tells the tale of a romance between a Serbian soldier and Bosnian Muslim woman set in the Yugoslav wars and ensured it was as authentic as possible by quizzing the local actors and behind-the-scenes staff she hired for the project.
"I wasn't afraid to ask the DP [director of photography]. And I listened to my cast, most of whom lived through the war. I listened to their stories and tried to incorporate it into the work. [I] read a lot of books about the war. I talked to a lot of people, I watched, I listened. I just wanted to tell the real story. I wanted to be respectful of people. [If I did not know something,] I asked."
Click to continue reading Angelina Jolie Relied on Cast For Advice
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