The Screening Log - blogging film

Here's your daily dose of film news for April 8, 2009:

• Larry Charles, who directed the hilarious "Borat" and "Religulous," is in talks to helm "Winter's Discontent," according to Variety. The film follows a widower who moves into a retirement home to - guess what - get laid. Charles most recently directed Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming comedy "Brüno."

• And another video game will move to the big screen. This time, Sony will adapt "Shadow of the Colossus," with Justin Marks ("Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li") on-board to write the screenplay. The plot of the game follows a man who must fight his way through a wasteland battling 16 creatures. (Variety)

• Believe it or not, but Al Pacino is getting ready to play Napoleon in the big-screen adaptation of Staton Rabin's children's book "Betsy and the Emperor." John Curran, whose credits include the very interesting "We Don't Live Here Anymore" and decent enough "The Painted Veil," will likely direct the project. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Alex O'Loughlin ("August Rush," "Moonlight," "The Shield") has joined Jennifer Lopez in Alan Poul's "Plan B," about a women who meets her dream boy on the same day she's going through artificial insemination. Kate Angelo wrote the script, according to Variety.

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Friday

06Feb2009

Daily news dose: Mickey Rourke boards 'St. Vincent,' Fiennes makes directorial debut

Friday, February 6, 2009 at 7:28PM | By

Here's your dose of daily film news for Feb. 6, 2009:

• Mickey Rourke is set to star in Walter Hill's thriller "St. Vincent," about a hit man who returns to the Big Apple to finish a failed attempt to murder an informant. Cameron Young wrote the screenplay. Hill also directed the excellent television western "Broken Trail." (Variety)

• Ralph Fiennes will make his debut as director with "Coriolanus," the big-screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's Roman tragedy. According to Variety, Fiennes will also play the "contemptuous soldier spurred on by his ambitious mother to run for the Roman Senate, which ultimately leads to his downfall."

• Camilla Belle, Peter O'Toole, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Al Pacino and Jessica Lange are set to star in Alejandro Agresti's "Mary, Mother of Christ." Belle will play Mary, and Meyers is set for the roles of Gabriel and Lucifer. Pacino plays Herod, with Lange starring as Anna the Prophetess (Variety)

• Timothy Hutton is the latest to join Roman Polanski's upcoming flick "The Ghost." The film focuses on a ghostwriter who’s under pressure to finish the memoir of a former prime minister. Hutton plays the latter's American lawyer. Also starring are Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson, James Belushi and Kim Cattrall. (The Hollywood Reporter)

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Tuesday

03Feb2009

Daily news dose: Gary Marhsall to helm 'Valentine's Day,' Al Pacino cast in 'King Lear'

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 9:59PM | By

Here's your dose of film news for Feb. 4, 2009:

• Gary Marshall is set to direct New Line Cinema's comedy "Valentine's Day," about 10 Los Angeles people whose lives intersect on Feb. 14. Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein rewrote a draft by Katherine Fugate. Marshall also directed "Georgia Rule," "The Princess Diaries" and "Runaway Bride." (Variety)

• Al Pacino has signed on to play the lead role in "King Lear," which Michael Radford will direct. Radford, whose credits include "The Merchant of Venice," also wrote the screenplay. Variety says the film will head into production in Europe later this year.

• Ken Nolan will rewrite Paramount's untitled moon project starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Doug Liman and John Hamburg penned the original script. The Hollywood Reporter describes the project as an "action film about lunar colonization." Liman ("The Bourne Identity") is also on board to direct the flick.

• "WALL-E" director Andrew Stanton recently told MTV News he is not considering a sequel to the adventure about the cute, little robot. “I think that takes a lot of hubris to think that your idea is going to live on and on, and I always love the idea of something just being contained and done,” he said.

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Sunday

14Sep2008

Box Office: Coen brothers burn Tyler Perry

Sunday, September 14, 2008 at 4:15PM | By

By Franck Tabouring
Weekend of September 12 – 14, 2008

Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Burn After Reading” beat Tyler Perry at the North American box office this weekend with $19.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt and John Malkovich, the crime comedy delivered the best opening ever for a Coen brothers film, surpassing the $12.6 million earned by “The Ladykillers” in 2004.

Tyler Perry’s “The Family That Preys debuted in second place with $18 million, which is less than the opening weekend grosses of his previous films “Meet the Browns” ($20 million) and “Why Did I Get Married?” ($21.3 million).

Meanwhile, Jon Avnet’s crime drama “Righteous Kill” opened at No. 3 with $16.5 million. Starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, the film follows two veteran NYPD detectives struggling to hunt down a mysterious serial killer.

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Friday

12Sep2008

Review: "Righteous Kill"

Friday, September 12, 2008 at 8:45PM | By

Seen on: September 12, 2008

The players: Director: Jon Avnet, Writer: Russell Gewirtz, Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, 50 Cent, Donnie Wahlberg, Carla Gugino

Facts of interest: Jon Avnet also directed "88 Minutes."

The plot: Turk and Rooster are two NYPD detectives who head out to track down a serial killer. Strangely enough, all of his victims are bad guys who managed to escape the law.

Our quick thoughts: Although I totally hated Jon Avnet’s previous flick “88 Minutes,” I didn’t expect the worst walking into his latest crime drama “Righteous Kill.” After all, I don’t think anyone would want to deliberately mess up a film that stars both Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the lead roles, right? But let’s not get too excited too quickly.

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Friday

12Sep2008

'Righteous Kill' web reviews

Friday, September 12, 2008 at 7:32AM | By

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino both return to the big screen in Jon Avnet's crime drama "Righteous Kill," in which they play two veteran New York City detectives tracking down a serial killer. It's basically the film every De Niro and Pacino fan has been waiting for over the past years. But here's my question: do they still deliver together in the same flick? Let's see what online's critics say. Check back for my review later today or tomorrow.

• Erik Davis at Cinematical: "That's because Righteous Kill is a predictable pile of pass me the paycheck, with both De Niro and Pacino phoning in a combination of past performances -- of men with tough, no-nonsense New York City exteriors and sly, slickly-delivered one-liners."

• Cinema Blend's Josh Tyler: "Since the story itself provides no real pizzaz, the film’s only pleasures must come from simply watching two of cinema’s most legendary actors play off one another. They do, and at times it’s good."

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Thursday

11Sep2008

Check out four new 'Righteous Kill' clips

Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 12:41PM | By

Yahoo! Movies today premiered four news clips from Jon Avnet's crime drama "Righteous Kill," which opens everywhere tomorrow. Starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, the film centers on two veteran New York City detectives chasing down a serial killer. 50 Cent, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg and Carla Gugino co-star.

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Tuesday

09Sep2008

Watch five interviews with 'Righteous Kill' cast

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 4:16AM | By

The folks over at Trailer Addict recently posted five new interviews with cast members from Jon Avnet's upcoming crime drama "Righteous Kill," which opens this Friday. Starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, the film centers on two veteran New York City detectives chasing down a serial killer.

In the clips below, 50 Cent, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, Carla Gugino (pictured above) and Brian Dennehy talk a little about their characters and the flick as a whole. Watch the interviews right after the jump and don't miss the flick in theaters this Friday.