News Rants
Rants on the Industry's Latest News
For those of you who have too much happiness in your lives and occasionally need a depressing flick to even things out, there’s good news: The second major role of the upcoming film THE ROAD has been cast. Kodi Smit-McPhee, an 11-year-old actor from Down Under, will play the son of Viggo Mortensen’s character in the film, which tells the story of a father and son wandering across the ruins of America after an unspecified apocalyptic event.
Hey gang, I’ve got a new photo from the set of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL for you today. This picture is especially intriguing, as it features Dr. Jones scaling a stack of crates which look to belong to that infamous warehouse from the end of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, where “top men” cataog and stow history’s most important artifacts. What could Dr. Jones be searching for?
Fresh off its strong reviews at Sundance, Critics Rant would like to bring you a first look at Miramax’s latest smart-family-with-issues flick, SMART PEOPLE. The film stars Dennis Quaid as an aging intellectual professor who suffers a stroke. Sarah Jessica Parker plays the nurse who takes a shine to the socially inept prof; Thomas Hayden Church is the prof’s adopted, slacker brother and Oscar-nominee Ellen Page plays the prof’s over-achiever daughter.
Harvey Weinstein recently spoke up about how pleased he is with the RAMBO’s success at the box office and his own desire to see further installments come to fruition down the line, hopefully one in which Rambo waged one man war on criminals running the streets of the USA.
Does this movie keep looking cooler and cooler or what? Did you check out the IRON MAN TV spot which debuted during last night’s Superbowl adtravaganza? The commercial features some previously unseen (and wickedly cool) sequences of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) putting the pedal to the metal in the IRON MAN armor.
According to Wikipedia, the term “chick flick” refers to movies that are stereotypically made for women. You know, things like melodramas and saccharin romantic dramas. I’m here to share with you my favorites among the hundreds of feminine films. Even though I’m more guyish when it comes to movies—I like my fair share of explosions and space exploration—a good chick flick is always a necessity when you’re feeling like crap or you need a good night in with the girls.
For those of you jonesing without new TV to watch, or horrified at the thought of the movie season crippled even more than usual by lack of good scripts, there may be hope on the horizon. According to EW.com, an unnamed source close to the negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) claims a tentative deal has been reached.
Wesley Snipes was acquitted February 1st of felony charges of tax fraud and conspiracy. He was convicted on three counts of failing to file tax returns, misdemeanor charges that carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison per count. Most analysts expect him to receive a far lighter sentence, so considering that he was looking at a possible 16 years behind bars if he had been convicted and given the maximum sentence all around, the verdict qualifies as something of a victory.
Blackfilm is reporting that singer Beyonce Knowles has been cast in the role of acclaimed R&B singer Etta James, for the upcoming music bio film, CADILLAC RECORDS. The story follows the rise and fall of Chess Records, the 1950’s rhythm & blues label which fostered the careers of R&B legends such as Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry.
ARMORED is the new upcoming heist film about a young armored car guard caught up in a scam by his older colleagues to empty a truck of $10 million. The film has an impressive ensemble cast including Laurence Fishburne, Jean Reno, Matt Dillon, Columbus Short, Fred Ward, Skeet Ulrich and HEROES’ Milo Ventimiglia.