Author: Travis Keune

Hopeless film enthusiast; reborn comic book geek; artist; collector; cookie connoisseur; curious to no end

Self-Written ‘Inception’ up next for Christopher Nolan

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Christopher Nolan, the filmmaker who has singe-handedly become Warner’s cash cow, has determined what project he will take on next after the mega-successful ‘Dark Knight’. Nolan will direct an original screenplay of his own writing called ‘Inception’.

“Inception” is described as “a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.” — HR

He will team with Emma Thomas to produce, with whom he worked on the billion-dollar grossing ‘Dark Knight’ and hopes to begin production this summer. The plan is to have a summer 2010 release date.

[source: Hollywood Reporter]

Sandler building the Perfect Comedy?

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Columbia Pictures is developing an untitled, star-studded comedy for Dennis Dugan (You Don’t Mess With the Zohan) to direct. The screenplay is co-written by Adam Sandler and Fred Wolf (Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star). Sandler’s company Happy Madison will produce the film, which will star Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider.

High-concept story is a  comedy about five best friends from high school who reunite 30 years later on a Fourth of July weekend. — Variety

I’m not the biggest Adam Sandler fan, but I’ll admit he can make some funny movies. I’m not entirely sure what’s so “high-concept” about the plot above, but what I do know is that the movie will have a cast that is time-tested and audience approved for producing massive box office numbers.

[source: Variety]

DVD Review: ‘My Name is Bruce’

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Hey, sugar lips! ‘My Name is Bruce’ isn’t a great movie… it’s not even necessarily a “good” movie… but, it’s Bruce Campbell and that’s good enough for me. This is the second feature film that Campbell has directed, the first being ‘The Man With the Screaming Brain’ which I actually enjoyed more than this one. The key factor in appreciating Bruce’s movies is that you be a fan of Bruce. Otherwise, you’ll probably give up within the first 20-30 minutes. This, coincidentally, is sort of what ‘My Name is Bruce’ is all about and ultimately what it banks on for it’s distribution success.

‘My Name is Bruce’ is written and directed by, and stars, Bruce Campbell as himself, in a “mostly” fictionalized way. In the movie, Campbell is a mediocre b-movie actor who’s down on his luck and his career couldn’t be more trashed. He lives in an old trailer and is stuck making crappy sequels to movies like ‘Cave Alien’. His agent, played by Ted Raimi, isn’t helping matters much, but tells Bruce he has a very special birthday surprise lined up for him. Soon after, Bruce in kidnapped by a fan and hauled off into a small rural town called Gold Lick to save them from Guan-di, the Chinese God of War, protector of the dead… and patron saint of bean curd.

This movie is filled with slap-dandy loads of Bruce Campbell dialogue, on-liners, sarcasm and pathetically failed attempts to score. Campbell manages to squeeze in virtually every one of his trademark phrases. The entire movie is basically an effort to make fun of himself and Bruce does a great job of that. Overall, this is my least favorite of Bruce Campbell’s movies. However, while it’s still fun to watch for fans of Campbell, the DVD extras are the best part of this DVD from Image Entertainment and Dark Horse Independent.

DVD Features:

  • Feature-length commentary with director/actor Bruce Campbell and producer Mike Richardson
  • Documentary: Heart of Dorkness The Making of My Name is Bruce
  • Featurettes: Bruce On…, Beyond Inside the Cave: The Making of CaveAlien 2, Kif s Korner, Awkward Moments with Kif, Love Birds, Hard Truth News from Hollywood The Real Bruce Campbell
  • CaveAlien 2 Trailer, My Name is Bruce Trailer
  • Poster Art Gallery, Props Art Gallery, Photo Gallery

The DVD also includes a collectible 24-page ‘My Name is Bruce’ comic book, and… if you order it in time, you’ll also get a mini-poster for the movie signed by Bruce Campbell. Better hurry though, because I’m sure these mini-posters are limited and while the DVD just came out on Tuesday, it’s already on back-order!

[Overall: 3.25 stars out of 5]

Hopkins & Brolin join new Woody Allen Film

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Woody Allen’s summer project is written and scheduled to shoot in London and, as is typical, the title and plot are being kept secret. What isn’t a secret however, is that Sir Anthony Hopkins and Josh Brolin will be starring in the film, leading yet another awesome Woody Allen ensemble cast. Allen’s last film ‘Whatever Works’ recently got a deal for US distribution from Sony Pictures Classics, but nothing has been set yet for his new film. More news to come, I’m sure…

[source: Variety]

Sam Rockwell joins cast of legal drama

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Sam Rockwell, one of the coolest character actors out there today, has signed on to play a convicted felon in a new legal drama. No, it’s not ‘Erin Brockovich 2’… it’s called ‘Betty Anne Waters’, originally written by Pamela Gray and re-written by Richard LaGravenese (PS, I Love You), it’s being directed by Tony Goldwyn (The Last Kiss). The film already has Hilary Swank starring with Minnie Driver on the supporting cast.

The film is based on the true story of Waters (Swank), an unemployed single mother who saw her brother convicted for a murder-robbery in 1983 and sentenced to life in prison. Convinced of his innocence, she spent the next decade earning a law degree and working on her brother’s case. Rockwell plays the brother. — HR

[source: Hollywood Reporter]

Eckhart, Jenkins & Heard join ‘Rum Diary’

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Bruce Robinson has adapted Hunter S. Thompson’s novel for film and will be directing the adaptation, set to star Johnny Depp. Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) and Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) have signed on to join the cast and Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) is in negotiations. Production is set to being on March 30 in Puerto Rico. I really interested in seeing this movie and what Robinson does with it. If you haven’t seen Robinson’s first two movies, Withnail & I and How to Get Ahead in Advertising, you’re missing out on these modern classics. They’re wicked and bizarre and both were released on DVD by Criterion. This will be Robinson’s first directorial effort since ‘Jennifer Eight’ (1992).

Eckhart is part of a love triangle that sees him vying with Depp for Heard’s affection. “Diary” is the tale of a washed-up, hard-drinking journalist named Paul Kemp (Depp) in 1950s Puerto Rico. Eckhart would play Sanderson, a wealthy landowner who believes everything has a price and introduces Kemp to a different standard of living. Jenkins is playing Lotterman, the man who oversees the rundown newspaper where Kemp works. — HR

[source: Hollywood Reporter]

Clay Enos captured the ‘Watchmen’

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Our friends over at /film.com got an opportunity to speak with Clay Enos at the New York Comic Con, the still photographer on the ‘Watchmen’ set. While his primary task on set was to capture images to be used for marketing purposes, Enos did manage to put together a side project of more artistic images that have been collected into a book called “Watchmen Portraits”. The book comes out today and can be purchased from Amazon.

[source: /film.com]

Geoffrey Rush joins Zack Snyder’s ‘Guardians’

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From Zack Snyder, the director (touted as visionary) of ‘300’ and the forthcoming visual action orgasm ‘Watchmen’ comes an animated movie… yeah, I know. Seems odd, but hey… what the Hell? Who are we to judge? Snyder has pleased us so far, so hooray for him. The project is called ‘Guardians of Ga’Hoole’ and it’s beginning to assemble it’s voice cast. Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean) heads the lineup so far, joined by Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe), Rachel Taylor (See No Evil) and David Wenhem (Australia).

Based on the children’s book series by Kathryn Lasky, the film, which is shooting in Australia, follows a young barn owl and his friends as they join forces with the mythical Guardians of Ga’hoole, owl protectors, to save the owl kingdom from rogue elements. — HR

[source: Hollywood Reporter]

Reagan, Arnie… How ’bout Kilmer?

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Actor Val Kilmer is apparently toying with the idea of running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010 once Bill Richardson reaches his term limit. Kilmer is originally from Los Angeles, but has lived in New Mexico for the last twenty years.

“I’m just looking for ways to be contributive,” Kilmer told the Associated Press on Thursday. “And if that ends up being where I can make a substantial contribution, then I’ll run.”

Kilmer hasn’t made any decisions yet, but he has been out in public, making ambiguous comments regarding how serious the notion is, but he’s also apparently been listening the the people of New Mexico on a casual basis and made the following confident statement:

“What I do for a living is listen,” he said, making a bold prediction: “If I run, I’m going to be the next governor.”

[source: Hollywood Reporter]

Writers tapped for ‘ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction’

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Benderspink has signed two writers to develop on of the companies newest comic book holdings. Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans) will adapt the Red 5 comic ‘ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction’ into a feature film.

The comic, created by Kevin Grevioux (“Underworld”), follows an elite team of soldiers sent on a covert operation into hostile territory in the Middle East to stop what they soon discover to be a government-created army of the undead. Benderspink’s Jake Weiner and Josh Feldman are overseeing the project. — HR

If done well, this could be a fun movie, despite the recent overkill of zombie flicks. What’s interesting however, is that this will not be the first movie with this title. I know, you’re probably thinking… “What are the odds of two movies having the title ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction?” Apparently, the odds are pretty good.

While the Benderspink project is just now getting it’s writers and isn’t likely to see theaters until 2011, writer/director Kevin Hamedani’s ‘ZMD’ is in post-production and is hoping for a 2009 release. This is important… while they both deal with zombies, they are not the same story. Here’s what I know of the plot for Hamedani’s movie:

Frida Abbas (Janette Armand), a young Iranian-American girl, is blamed for a zombie epidemic that destroys the small town of Port Gamble. Check out the Official Movie Website.

[source: Hollywood Reporter]