BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 2/25

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:30:05 -0800

Filmmakers hope to start production on the Ghostbusters 3 movie this Fall. - ComingSoon
Michel Gondry is in talks to direct Seth Rogen in The Green Hornet. - AP
Andy Richter will be Conan O'Brien's announcer on The Tonight Show and will occasionally appear in sketches as well. - Zap2it
It was a rumor before, but now it's confirmed: Cate Blanchett will play Maid Marian in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood movie. - Variety
Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page is leaving the band. - Billboard
The CW has greenlit a model-themed drama pilot produced by Ashton Kutcher. - The Hollywood Reporter
Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) is set to direct Clue, a live-action murder mystery based on the Hasbro board game, while Eric Brevig (Journey to the Center of the Earth) will direct Warner Bros.' 3-D Yogi Bear movie. - ComingSoon
Faith No More has announced its first live performances since splitting up in 1998. - Billboard
Fox Searchlight has acquired rights to the upcoming novel Breathers: A Zombie's Lament, and Diablo Cody will produce the zombie romantic comedy. - Variety

Movie News: Krasinski, Eckhart, Blanchett Circle Roles

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:30:11 -0800

Aaron Eckhart in Rum Diary
Amber Heard gets to work with some mighty handsome men. Aaron Eckhart is in talks to join the cast of Rum Diary, the movie based on Hunter S. Thompson's novel, which already nabbed Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in main roles. In the story, "Eckhart is part of a love triangle that sees him vying with Depp for Heard's affection." Richard Jenkins is also joining the project as "the man who oversees the rundown newspaper" where Depp's character works.

Two more movie casting tidbits if you read more.

John Krasinski Joins Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin in Nancy Meyers Rom-Com
I'm pretty much sold on this movie already, even if details are scarce about, you know, the plot. In another love triangle story, Meryl Streep plays a woman caught between two men - played by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Veteran rom-com writer/director Nancy Meyers (Father of the Bride, Something's Gotta Give, The Holiday) is behind the untitled project, which just now got John Krasinski to sign on. Again, mum's the word on any plot or character details (I'm guessing Krasinski's character is someone's son), but this casting makes me more anxious than ever for the movie.

Cate Blanchett May Play Maid Marian!
This is 100 percent just a rumor so far, but still, it's out there and it's a pretty awesome idea: Cate Blanchett might take the part of Maid Marian in Ridley Scott's movie Nottingham, a role originally intended for Sienna Miller. Actor Mark Strong (set for the role of Sir Guy of Gisbourne in the project) recently commented, "I think Cate Blanchett is set to take the Maid Marian part." Then he added what we all know to be true: "She is a wonderful actress and it would make it a much classier film if she was in it."

Source

Oscar Nominee: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button For Best Costume Design

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:30:06 -0800

As we gear up for the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees for Best Costume Design. It's a big year for this category as the films nominated represent several vastly different historical periods. Be it eighteenth century England or San Francisco in the '70s, these films include some gorgeous threads. Today's featured movie is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

No matter what you think of Benjamin Button overall, most agree that the movie is a stunning technical and visual achievement, and part of this is the gorgeous costuming. Director David Fincher sets his magical tale inside a sepia-toned universe, allowing the costumes to indicate the changing times throughout the story while the palette gives it all a mystical effect - as if we've dusted off some old photo book in our grandparents' attic. That is, until Cate Blanchett's character bursts onto the screen in a vibrant red dress or Tilda Swinton glides across a room in a luxurious fur. These costumes tell us the movie isn't just a window into the past but a vibrant living thing to be experienced in the now.

To check out the romantic costumes for yourself, read more.

View 20 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Cate Blanchett Looking to Adapt Cancer Vixen

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:30:38 -0800

This is some of the coolest movie news I've seen in a while: Cate Blanchett is apparently hoping to adapt Marisa Acocella Marchetto’s frank and funny memoir Cancer Vixen for the big screen. Here's more:

"It's about a cartoonist's look at her contracting cancer," Blanchett observed of the book, which she acquired the rights to through her Working Title Films production company shortly after its release. "And the process of getting cancer."

For obvious reasons, Cancer Vixen isn't the type of film that Hollywood views as a potential blockbuster. So the Curious Case of Benjamin Button star is currently developing it slowly and carefully - and says the biggest difficulty at the moment is finding a director who could properly handle the tonal mix of drama and humor. "It's a tragic-comic look at it," she explained. "So it needs a really particular, special filmmaker. I hope that happens."

Blanchett also noted that she would gladly take the lead role, which seems pretty darn perfect to me. Then again, there isn't much this lady can't do - a fact she has in common with the Cancer Vixen herself.

Have you read this book, too? What do you think of this news?

Source and source

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Not Quite a Fairytale

BuzzSugar — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 07:30:57 -0800

The notion of youth being wasted on the young is a compelling one, without a doubt. It inspired a famous Mark Twain quote, which in turn inspired an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, which has now lent its name to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film starring Brad Pitt as the title character, born old and destined to die young.

It sounds like a fairytale, and at times, the screen version feels like one, with ethereal flashbacks, eerily spot-on visual effects, and a sweet if improbable romance between Benjamin and his normally-aging love, Daisy (Cate Blanchett). But director David Fincher and screenwriter Eric Roth almost crowd out the movie's central love story with too much stuff - there's a hurricane plot, a daughter learning the truth about her family, and nearly an hour of Benjamin's wacky adventures. Instead of enveloping the audience in a mystical story, it fights against its narrative, constantly breaking its own spell. Yet there are reasons to watch Benjamin Button even when it feels like work, so to see the rest of my thoughts, just read more.

Though it doesn't fully kick in till almost halfway through the movie, the relationship between Benjamin and Daisy is worth the price of admission. They're sweet as children (Daisy young, Benjamin physically decrepit) and as 20-somethings (Daisy cool and sophisticated, Benjamin finally starting to look like Brad Pitt), but it's when they meet in the middle, in their 40s, that their love story takes over the film. They don't have much time as equals, and that lends an urgency to their relationship that the rest of the movie lacks. Pitt rightfully gets praised for his work as Benjamin, but Blanchett should get more credit for her performance; unlike Pitt, she doesn't have a voiceover to guide her through the story, but she's a strong enough actress to show Daisy's emotions even without the luxury of explaining them.

It's a shame that Fincher and Roth couldn't trust that story to work on its own, because with that relationship at the center - and maybe with some deeper musings from Benjamin on what it means to be living his life this way - the movie could have been a masterpiece. Instead, it feels emotionally remote and over-cluttered, with a structure reminiscent of both Forrest Gump (for which Roth was also the screenwriter) and Titanic. The early scenes with Benjamin growing up in a New Orleans retirement home are strong - and Taraji P. Henson is outstanding as Queenie, the mother figure who discovers Benjamin abandoned on her stoop and raises him as her own - but once Benjamin leaves home and joins a tugboat crew, the movie drags. It doesn't help that the flashbacks are intercut with scenes of a dying Daisy in the hospital; that plotline never really hits its stride emotionally and mostly just feels detached. And a few references to Hurricane Katrina permanently anchor the movie in a particular era, which feels at odds with its more timeless qualities.

Luckily, just when Benjamin Button starts to feel aimless, the love story takes center stage - and, with that, the movie builds some momentum to reach a satisfying enough end. The special effects are also remarkable (and it's a good thing, because when you're talking about aging Brad Pitt's face and putting it on someone else's body, doing it poorly would be disastrous); I'd be shocked if Benjamin Button doesn't end up in contention for all kinds of visual effects and makeup Oscars. It will probably be a Best Picture contender, too, but I'm less convinced that it's deserving of that honor; as good as it is in parts, Benjamin Button ends up falling short of what it could have been.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Sweet New Trailer For The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:30:32 -0700

The new trailer for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is even more informative and interesting than the others that have come before it, and I am so intrigued by the eerie whimsy of it all. Brad Pitt plays Benjamin Button, a man who is born old and ages backwards, growing younger as the years go by. As an elderly child
(yeah. . . that's right, I think), he befriends a little girl, Daisy, who grows older in the regular way, so at some point the two are the same age, "meeting in the middle." The story, along with the girl's reddish-brown hair remind me a little bit of The Time Traveler's Wife, the film version of which may be hitting theaters at the same time as Benjamin Button: Dec. 25.

This new trailer gives me goosebumps, a mixture of the good kind of chills and the willies. To see for yourself, read more.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Theatrical Trailer 2 | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

First Look: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button With Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:30:19 -0700

Some folks are already declaring "Oscar!" just based on this Spanish-language trailer for the eerie Brad Pitt-Cate Blanchett movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I can definitely see where they're getting that feeling, as the trailer makes it look like the film succeeds in capturing the other-worldly atmosphere of the F. Scott Fitzgerald story on which it's based.

As ComingSoon puts it, the story follows "a man (Brad Pitt) who is born in his eighties and ages backwards. A man, like any of us, unable to stop time. We follow his story set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the twenty-first century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man's life can be." The post continues on to promise "a time traveler's tale of the people and places he bumps into along the way, the loves he loses and finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time."

Whoa, that's a loaded movie. But if anyone can handle it, it's Fight Club and Zodiac director David Fincher. Benjamin Button opens in theaters December 19 (oh, look at that, right when people start getting Oscars on the brain!). To check out the trailer which made my stomach all squirmy, read more.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: A Great Summertime Kickoff

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:17:26 -0700

There's a lot to enjoy about this fourth installment of Indiana Jones. It's fun, silly, adventure-filled and completely entertaining in ways we don't always get from movies these days, with the greatest parts coming straight from the marvelous imagination of Steven Spielberg. Plus, it's a summertime blockbuster that doesn't totally rely on CGI which feels practically old-fashioned - and I mean that in the best way possible. The performances are strong and overall it's a sequel that doesn't embarrass itself or the whole franchise. It's refreshing and, honestly, it's a relief.

Sure, there are aspects I didn't like about it, but the experience of seeing this movie with a theater full of fans and happy moviegoers pretty much trumps any quibbles I have. The story finds our beloved Indy caught up with a group of Soviets (led by one fierce Irina Spalko, played by Cate Blanchett) trying to find the secrets behind ancient crystal skulls which are said to have been shaped by some kind of higher power (or other-worldly power). They need Indy's mad archaeologist skillz (and wide base of experience) to do this and one way of luring him in is via Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who they've taken captive. Marion gets in touch with Indy through her son Mutt (Shia LaBeouf). That's the basic gist of things but I wanted to leave plenty for you to discover at the theater, so for more of just my thoughts, read more.

As with last summer's Simpsons Movie, Indiana Jones is not just a highly anticipated movie, it's a highly anticipated movie event. There are plenty of people who will see it no matter what anyone says, and there are plenty of people, too, who are determined to like the movie no matter what. I understand this fanaticism, and though I don't personally feel it about this Indiana Jones movie, I had a great time watching it. At the same time, there are things I disliked, too. Most of all, there is some bizarre, random supernatural stuff at the end that struck me as out of place and totally hokey (and not in the fun way, in the annoying way).

But you know what? It's still a lot of fun. There is much pure, innocent joy to be found sitting in a jam-packed theater, clapping and whistling at the first glimpses of Indy's shadow and Marion Ravenwood's bright smile. There's a goofy pride that comes from laughing along with everyone else at the film's nods to previous films. It is an event, and in some ways it's the quintessential summertime movie event: a fantastically fun time for kids, and a sweetly nostalgic trip for adults.

Basically, you're probably going to go see it anyway, and I think you should.

Photos courtesy of Paramount

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:30:26 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below, you can now rent or own the Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler weepie, P.S. I Love You.

I'm Not There
I'm Not There was a highly buzzed-about film last year with a lot of the attention focusing on director Todd Haynes' unique conceptualization of Bob Dylan's (or, "a musician like Bob Dylan") life through the years. The talent associated with this film was staggering but the untimely death of one of the stars, Heath Ledger, added even more poignancy to Haynes' ambitious endeavor.

In the movie, six different actors emulate Bob Dylan using different names and appearing in different eras. I wasn't the biggest fan of the film, but other folks were enamored with this movie, more willing than I to ignore the annoying parts and focus on the great performances by Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett (who won the Independent Spirit award for her role), and Christian Bale. This is a good addition to your queue if you have been curious about this film but would enjoy the luxury of a fast-forward button.

Special features include commentary by director/co-writer Tod Haynes, red carpet footage, and deleted scenes.

Two more titles if you read more.

Teeth
GiggleSugar watched this oddly funny and scary movie about a teenage girl who, as IMDB puts it, "discovers she has a physical advantage when she becomes the object of male violence" or as Giggle put it, "her vagina has teeth." Giggle found it to be much more than the vulgar horror flick one might expect from this premise, where you simply watch a "vajayjay rip men to shreds" (sorry, Giggle has so many amazing lines in her review I can't stop quoting her). Instead, Teeth is a genre bending, wickedly scripted good time - but definitely not for the faint of heart.

Special features include commentary by writer/director Mitchell Lichenstein, behind-the-scenes footage, and deleted scenes.

First Sunday
David E. Talbert is sort of a creative jack-of-all-trades: playwright, novelist, and - in the case of this movie starring Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan - writer/director. The film follows two amateur crooks as their plan to rob a church goes terribly wrong and they find themselves with a full-blown hostage situation. I've read that it's a bit cluttered but definitely a fun little farce, so I figured I'd wait for the DVD with this one.

Special features include a gag reel, outtakes, David E. Talbert's camera wrap speech, and a "Hood Robbin' With the First Sunday Cast and Crew" featurette.

Buzz News Roundup, 3/10

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:31:58 -0700

Zap2It reports that Showtime has picked up The L Word for a sixth and final season.
A Ponds ad featuring Chinese actress Tang Wei has been banned in China - not because of the content of the advertisement, but because of "official displeasure" at Wei's involvement in the Ang Lee film Lust, Caution, Variety reports.
Justin Chadwick, director of The Other Boleyn Girl, is in talks to direct a contemporary London thriller titled The Property, writes ComingSoon.
According to Variety, Cate Blanchett will play Blanche DuBois in an Australian production of A Streetcar Named Desire.
Gnarls Barkley's video for "Run" has been re-edited to pass the Harding Test - guidelines intended to prevent TV images from triggering epileptic seizures - and can now air in the U.K., Billboard reports.
According to Hollywood Reporter, the Warner Bros. Television Group will resurrect The WB network in the form of a new website that will feature video of old WB favorites, like Gilmore Girls and Everwood.

Photo courtesy of Showtime