**First Official Images from FRIGHT NIGHT Starring Anton Yelchin and Colin Farrell **First Trailer for Roland Emmerich’s ANONYMOUS **Trailer for WARRIOR Starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton **Hailee Steinfeld May Star in Indie Adaptation of ROMEO & JULIET

First Trailer for Roland Emmerich’s ANONYMOUS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 7th, 2011

Columbia Pictures has released the first trailer for Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous, a political thriller based on the controversy of who really wrote the plays credited to William Shakespeare.  Per the official synopsis, “Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when cloak-and-dagger political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles hungry for the power of the throne were exposed in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.”  Since this is Emmerich’s first film where he’s not obliterating a city, the curiosity factor is too high to avoid, but this trailer does an awful job of explaining the plot beyond “Shakespeare didn’t write his plays.  Now please enjoy 16th century CGI England.”  The release date is still a ways off so I’m sure we’ll get a more plot-heavy trailer a few months from now.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Jamie Campbell Bower, Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, and Vanessa Redgrave.  Anonymous hits theaters on September 30th.

...............more; http://collider.com/anonymous-trailer/84785/

First Official Images from FRIGHT NIGHT Starring Anton Yelchin and Colin Farrell

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 7th, 2011

The first images from Craig Gillespie’s 3D remake of Fright Night have gone online.  The story centers on a teenager (Anton Yelchin) who discovers that his neighbor (Colin Farrell) is a vampire.  And not a cuddly Twilight vampire.  A he’s-murdering-people-because-he’s-a-vampire vampire. There’s nothing too spectacular in the shots aside from a fangy Colin Farrell threatening Anton Yelchin, but there’s also some shots of co-stars Imogen Poots and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Fright Night also stars David Tennant and Toni Collette.  The film opens in 3D on August 19^th. .............more; http://collider.com/fright-night-movie-images/84825/

Trailer for WARRIOR Starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 7th, 2011

Lionsgate has released a trailer for the upcoming mixed martial arts fighting drama Warrior.  Directed by Gavin O’Connor (Miracle) the film stars Tom Hardy (Inception) and Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom) as brothers fighting for the mixed martial arts championship.  I like the idea of a Rocky story where we follow both fighters into the ring and both their causes are valid (although the trailer makes it look like Edgerton is really the protagonist).  Unfortunately, this trailer takes you through almost the entire movie to the point where I’m a little surprised that it doesn’t go ahead and reveal the champion.

Hit the jump to see the trailer and for a full synopsis.  The film also stars Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, and Frank Grillo.  Warrior opens September 9^th. .............more; http://collider.com/warrior-trailer/84854/

Hailee Steinfeld May Star in Indie Adaptation of ROMEO & JULIET

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 7th, 2011

Oscar-nominee Hailee Steinfeld has recently become attached to the upcoming novel Forgotten and a re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty, and now she has a third project on her slate.  THR  reports that Steinfeld is in talks to star in an indie adaptation of Romeo & Juliet.  Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) wrote the screenplay and Italian director Carlo Carlie (Flight of the Innocent) will direct with Gabriele Muccino (Seven Pounds) attached as a producer.  There are currently no details on how Carlie plans to differentiate his Romeo & Juliet from the countless other adaptations, but the budget is in the $15 million range and shooting is expected to begin in Italy later this spring.  ........ http://collider.com/hailee-steinfeld-romeo-juliet/84862/

***Joe Carnahan’s THE GREY Gets the Green Light; James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, and More Join Cast ***First Images and Synopses for 30 MINUTES OR LESS and ANONYMOUS; New Image from BAD TEACHER ***Sam Rockwell Joins Andrew Dominik’s COGAN’S TRADE Starring Brad Pitt

Joe Carnahan’s THE GREY Gets the Green Light; James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, and More Join Cast

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 5th, 2011

After the big-budget, dumb-fun fare of The A-Team, director Joe Carnahan is going back to gritty indie fare with The Grey.  The film centers on a group of oil-rig roughnecks who survive a plane crash.  Normally, that makes you one of the luckiest people on the planet.  Unfortunately for this group, their plane happens to crash right in the middle of a hunting zone of a rogue pack of wolves in the Alaskan tundra.  As we previously reported, Liam Neeson will lead the film, and according to Deadline, he’ll be joined by Dallas Roberts (Rubicon), James Badge Dale (Rubicon), Dermot Mulroney (Inhale),  Frank Grillo (My Soul to Take), Nonso Anozie (RocknRolla), and Joe Anderson (The Crazies).

The film now has a green light and production will begin next week.  Hit the jump for what Carnahan had to say about the film.

Carnahan said of filming in the bitter cold of Vancouver and the Northern British Columbia region:

“It gets to be 30 below, and when we went out the other day, I took off my hat to see how long I could last, and my skin was burning with frostbite in a little over a minute.  In a way, it’s great, because it beats the shit out of the cast and that suits the storyline.”

Carnahan also says that he enjoys the freedom of shooting an indie and not having to worry about making a set release date.  He added that The Grey is about one-fifth the budget of A-Team.

And as for the kind of film The Grey is looking to be, Carnahan says it’s in the vein of great man vs. nature movies like Deliverance and Touching the Void.  As a fan of not only The A-Team, but Carnahan’s previous films Narc and Smokin’ Aces, I can’t wait to see what he’ll deliver with The Grey.

http://collider.com/the-grey-joe-carnahan/68285/

First Images and Synopses for 30 MINUTES OR LESS and ANONYMOUS; New Image from BAD TEACHER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 5th, 2011

Sony has released the first images and synopses for 30 Minutes or Less and Anonymous.  30 Minutes or Less is an action-comedy directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Nick Swardson, and Aziz Ansari.  Anonymous is the new film from 2012 director Roland Emmerich and is noteworthy in that the plot won’t feature the destruction of famous landmarks.  The film is based on speculation that William Shakespeare did not write his own plays.

Sony has also released the synopsis plus a new image for the Cameron Diaz comedy Bad Teacher which also stars Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, and Jason Segel.  Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses for all three films.

BAD TEACHER (Opens June 17th)

Some teachers just don’t give an F. For example, there’s Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz).  She’s foul-mouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate.  She drinks, she gets high, and she can’t wait to marry her meal ticket and get out of her bogus day job.  When she’s dumped by her fiancé, she sets her plan in motion to win over a rich, handsome substitute (Justin Timberlake) – competing for his affections with an overly energetic colleague, Amy (Lucy Punch).  When Elizabeth also finds herself fighting off the advances of a sarcastic, irreverent gym teacher (Jason Segel), the consequences of her wild and outrageous schemes give her students, her coworkers, and even herself an education like no other.

30 MINUTES OR LESS (Opens August 12th)

In the action-comedy 30 Minutes or Less, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson).  The volatile duo kidnaps Nick and forces him to rob a bank.  With mere hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari).  As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship.

ANONYMOUS (Opens September 30th)

Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds ranging from Mark Twain and Charles Dickens to Henry James and Sigmund Freud, namely:  who was the author of the plays credited to William Shakespeare?  Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature.  Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when cloak-and-dagger political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles hungry for the power of the throne were exposed in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.

http://collider.com/30-minutes-or-less-movie-image-anonymous-movie-image-bad-teacher-movie-image/68270/

Sam Rockwell Joins Andrew Dominik’s COGAN’S TRADE Starring Brad Pitt

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 5th, 2011

We previously reported that Sam Rockwell may be joining Andrew Dominik’s adaptation of the crime novel Cogan’s Trade.  Deadline is now confirming that Rockwell is on board and will join Brad Pitt in the film.  With Casey Affleck also rumored to be joining the project, it looks like Dominik is getting his Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Ford gang back together.  Someone should call up Jeremy Renner, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Schneider, and the rest of that film’s stellar cast to see if they want to get in on this action.

Hopefully, the other names rumored along with Rockwell will also come on board.  A movie directed by Dominik that starred Pitt, Rockwell, Affleck, as well as Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Bill Murray, Josh Brolin, and Zoe Saldana and has the plot of Cogan’s Trade would be at the top of my must-see list.  Then again, it’s already near the top with Pitt and Rockwell.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the book.

Here’s the synopsis for George V. Higgins’ Cogan’s Trade:

[Cogan's Trade] tracks Jackie Cogan’s career in a gangland version of law and order. For Cogan is an enforcer; and when the Mob’s rules get broken, he gets hired to ply his trade — murder. In the gritty, tough-talking pages of Higgins’s 1974 national best-seller, Cogan is called in when a high-stake card game under the protection of the Mob is heisted. Expertly, with a ruthless businessman’s efficiency, a shrewd sense of other people’s weaknesses, and a style as cold as his stare, Cogan moves with reliable precision to restore the status quo as ill-conceived capers and double-dealing shenanigans erupt into high-voltage violence. [Amazon]

http://collider.com/sam-rockwell-cogans-trade/68258/