Off Topic » Christoph Waltz

The Remake Game: Die Hard

William Goss — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:45:00 +0000

Consider it a lesson learned from our previous round of The Remake Game: casting live-action for a cartoon is not kosher. So maybe only one commenter complained, but do you know how hard it was for me to pull a glorified all-star cos-play scenario ou...

Milla Jovovich Models 17th Century Fashion in ‘Three Musketeers’ Costume Pics

Alison Nastasi — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:15:00 +0000

One thing has become clear over the past few months: Milla Jovovich loves Twitter. If you aren't following the actress there, then you've missed out on lots of behind the scenes photos and info on her latest projects. Jovovich brought readers nearly da...

First ‘Green Hornet’ Images; Trailer to Arrive at Midnight

Elisabeth Rappe — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:18:00 +0000

After the flurry of initial publicity for The Green Hornet (including a ComicCon appearance of The Black Beauty), things have fallen quiet on the buzz front as the film goes into post-production, and is revamped for 3D. But that's changing today! Yahoo! Movies debuted the first two official images from The Green Hornet, and announced that the first trailer will debut there at 12:00 AM EST. Of course, we'll be bringing it to you here on Cinematical too, so no need for you to stay up until the wee hours of the morning unless you're the biggest Hornet fan ever.

The slimmed down and buffed up Seth Rogen looks pretty spiffy in his green suit and mask. Look aren't everything, though. He's been a controversial choice for the dapper Britt Reid, and a lot of Hornet fans aren't thrilled that the film will take a more comedic approach to the material. Jay Chou also has some major expectations to fill. Not only is he stepping into a role made pretty iconic by Bruce Lee, but he was a last minute replacement for the popular star and director Stephen Chow. But you do have Christoph Waltz in his first major post-Basterds appearance (albeit as another villain), which might be enough to soothe all casting doubts.

There's been a lot of negative rumbling from fans, and rumors swirl that Columbia isn't thrilled with the film. We'll start to get an idea as to what to expect from Michel Gondry and The Green Hornet tomorrow. We've been waiting a long, long time for this hero to come back, and expectations couldn't be higher. What do you think so far? Does Rogen cut more of a Reid figure than you'd expect?

Gallery: The Green Hornet

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sony, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Images

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Paul W.S. Anderson Casts His ‘Three Musketeers’

Elisabeth Rappe — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:03:00 +0000

The race to see who can make a better, sexier, and more swashbuckling adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of French chivalry just got a little more interesting. Paul W.S. Anderson has landed one heck of a cast for his 3D modernized-but-not-really version of The Three Musketeers.

According to THR's Heat Vision, Anderson has recruited a very swashbuckling and handsome set to wear the blue and silver. Logan Lerman will play D'Artagnan, the young man who leaves home to join France's elite fighting force, and gets hooked up with the three titular musketeers. Porthos, Athos, and Aramis will be played by Ray Stevenson (one of my very favorites, and the perfect Porthos), Matthew MacFadyen, and Luke Evans, respectively.

It's the villains who will have film geeks really lining up, though. Everyone's favorite Nazi, Christoph Waltz, will be playing the dastardly Cardinal Richelieu, and Mads Mikkelsen will be playing Rochefort. Orlando Bloom has been offered the part of the Duke of Buckingham, but has not yet accepted. Of course, since this is an Anderson movie, Milla Jovovich has nabbed a part. She'll be playing Milady de Winter, whom Anderson describes as "a 17th century Bond girl." Er, I guess. Seductive and willful, certainly, but then I don't know my Bond girls that well.

Shooting is set to begin in September with a script by Andrew Davies, and the film aims to hit theaters in 2011. The ingredients for a great Musketeer film are here, but will Anderson be able to put them together into something a step above Resident Evil?
And what will Doug Liman do with his version to top this cast? It's his move now. The battle for the best "re-imagining" is still on.

Filed under: Action, Classics, Romance, Casting, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels

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‘Green Hornet’ Moves to 2011; Both ‘Hornet’ and ‘Last Airbender’ Being Converted to 3-D

William Goss — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:32:00 +0000

I'm trying to find an angle that makes this sound like good news, but after hearing rumblings that Sony execs were struck by the footage that they were shown (and then seeing quick denials or rather "approvals" from official spokespeople), I find small comfort in the studio's decision to bump The Green Hornet back from prime holiday real estate in December to the middle of January (the 14th, according to Variety).

The trade also says that the film, despite not being shot in 3-D, will be presented in the format (read: Clash of the Titans' reportedly crummy 'diorama effect'), and that part of the move to Martin Luther King weekend was to offer it on 3-D screens without being dominated by Tron: Legacy's release the week before.

If Box Office Mojo is to be believed, though, two other 3-D genre films -- Priest and The Cabin in the Woods -- have already called dibs. The latter was already delayed a whole year to be converted itself! Don't be surprised if one of these titles re-locates yet again (probably Priest, as Screen Gems falls under the Sony umbrella and doesn't stand to make as much or cost as much as Hornet would).

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sony, RumorMonger, Distribution, Comic/Superhero/Geek

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Christoph Waltz to Direct His First Feature

Monika Bartyzel — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:45:00 +0000

2010 is coming up roses for Christoph Waltz. The once unknown actor is not only the Oscar-winning charismatic highlight of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, he's also setting out to become a feature film director. The Hollywood Reporter posts that the Austrian actor is gearing up for his directorial debut with the German-language flick Auf Und Davon (Up and Away).

Loosely based on the book by Meike Winnemuth and Peter Praschl, the story focuses on a ruthless female dating show host who "finds herself in over her head when the show's romantic storyline bumps into her own feelings for a contestant." Waltz has been writing the script for some time, and Fox International's Gabriela Bacher says it "reflects Christoph's formidable sense of humor." Heck, he might even star in the film as well.

Unfortunately, there's some bad news. First: "The film will not necessarily be seen outside of German-speaking countries." Second: He has so many projects on the way that there's a good chance he won't get to this one until next year (at the earliest). Here's to hoping he finds a way to slide this in between his other higher-profile work. In the meantime, look out for him in The Green Hornet and Water for Elephants.

Filed under: Comedy, Foreign Language, Romance, Casting, Deals, Scripts

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Fan Made: Posters for Movies That Should Be Made

Christopher Campbell — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:18:00 +0000

Love/hate my Pitch of the Day articles? Either way, you should definitely check out this blog called Movies They Should Make, which Risky Biz turned me onto last night. Similar to my pitch posts, the blog comes up with ideas for movies that should be made -- in case you couldn't figure that out from its name. But they've got Photoshop skills I lack and so all their pitches are in the form of perfectly designed movie posters. The casting they come up with is pretty great, too. Geoffrey Rush starring in a Rupert Murdoch biopic? I wish I'd come up with that.

Unfortunately, the site isn't as consistent as you might like. Since its first post, dated July 11, 2009, there have only been six posters put up on the blog. Hopefully after the Hollywood Reporter and Cinematical props, though, they'll make more. Current ideas, though you really do need to see them for yourself, include a Nosferatu remake with Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet and, in some role, Dakota Fanning.

There's also an Oliver Stone-directed film about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, which would actually make sense and fits in with a current trend in MLK movies (including Selma and Spielberg's biopic). And another great idea: Don't Ask Don't Tell, starring Robert Pattinson and Shia Labeouf in what appears to be a cross between Brokeback Mountain and The Hurt Locker.

The fun part of the site involves a poll where we get to vote on whether we think the proposed film will make back its production cost. Each has the option of selecting "no!," "just about" and "definately!" [sic]. So now I ask you to vote on the blog. Should it make more posters? No1? Just about? Or Definately!?

Filed under: Fandom, Fan Made

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Viggo Mortensen Will Take David Cronenberg’s ‘Talking Cure’

Elisabeth Rappe — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:02:00 +0000

When an actor wins an Oscar, all bets are off, including the ones he's made with David Cronenberg. Last December, Cronenberg revived The Talking Cure and had recruited Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, and Christoph Waltz to psychoanalyze one another in the name of love and medicine. But Waltz has been buried in offers, and Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that he's dropped out of the project in favor of Water For Elephants. Luckily, Cronenberg has a very good actor and friend in his contacts, and he just called him up. The result is that Viggo Mortensen has now joined The Talking Cure as Sigmund Freud.

Cure centers on a young Carl Jung who uses Sigmund Freud's "talking cure" on a young and troubled Russian woman. In the process of psychoanalyzing her, he falls in love with her. Freud comes along, marvels at his success, and anoints him his psychiatric successor. When Jung starts to develop his own ideas about therapy, Freud isn't too happy, and their professional relationship sours. DHD says that the producers have promised "lots of spirited sex" which Cronenberg has always filmed rather well, so no surprise there.

Mortensen and Cronenberg have two excellent films under their belt, and there's no reason to sneer at a third. (Or a fourth if they ever make that Eastern Promises sequel.) I'm eager to see Mortensen work with Fassbender and Knightley (who both rank among my favorites) and the two method men should really fire up the screen. It's going to be good.

Filed under: Drama, Independent, Romance, Casting, DIY/Filmmaking

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Movieman’s Final Predictions For The 82nd Annual Academy Awards

Erik Childress — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:02:00 +0000

Every year we think we all have it figured out. Even before the votes have been cast we figure to know where the waters have shifted and must sit back idly waiting for the inevitable to occur. Those on the Oscar beat writing about it day-in and day-out find ways to invent stories and controversies. Some even suck up to powerful studio heads and jump on the bandwagon of an underdog despite evidence that they are doing nothing but printing the ramblings of a one-man hype machine. Shame on them and may they all lose their Oscar pool to the Grim Reaper.

There are locks though and then there are LOCKS. And this year looks more than ever to be full of the latter. We probably said the same thing last year too while we see-sawed on Mickey Rourke over Sean Penn or bought into the suggestion that Viola Davis was going to steal the award in a now Winslet-less category. We don't know in what order the non-surprises will be revealed on Sunday, so we might as well just go down the list in order of confidence. Of my own prognostication prowess that is. But we will finish with Best Picture anyway, even if such confidence would rank it much higher on this particular inventory.

Filed under: Awards, Oscar Watch

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‘Jersey Shore’ Parodies ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and ‘Avatar’

Christopher Campbell — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:45:00 +0000

So that Jersey Shore spoof of The Hurt Locker I posted the other day was -- to my delight -- only the first of a week-long series of Oscar parodies made for the talk show Lopez Tonight. It was also only a preview, so I've updated that post with the full sketch. And now I present to you the next three parodies, two of Inglorious Basterds and one of Avatar, all featuring the reality show stars you love to hate. Unfortunately, they aren't tackling all ten Best Picture nominees, but the rest of this week will bring more spoofs of Precious, The Blind Side and Up in the Air. As far as guilty pleasures go, I'm fairly satisfied with the effort, though now I am left only to dream of what they could have done with District 9, Up, A Serious Man and An Education.

There is so far the impression that these parodies will decrease in quality as the week continues. Monday night's clips for The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds were pretty well done, particularly in their self-parody. The latter features Jersey Shore's Vinny inserted into the opening scene, chatting with Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa (now meant to be an MTV exec) while the show's "guidette" members hide under the floorboards. Even Jersey Shore haters can appreciate how this one ends. But then last night's second Inglorious Basterds sketch was as bad as the first was good. Featuring Snooki in Brad Pitt's role, it's less self-mockery than merely an acknowledgment of depravity. Subbing the assignment of "banging" Floridians and killing braincells for the film's Nazi scalping only reminds me why I don't actually watch the show regularly. As for the Avatar spoof, it seems it was just a short one-gag excuse for George Lopez to make a crack about the film's running time.

You can watch Lopez Tonight for those Precious and Blind Side parodies, and tomorrow night brings us two bits based on Up in the Air. Check out the two Inglorious Basterds videos and one Avatar after the jump (some language and content may be NSFW). And keep up the expressions of hatred for the show in the comments.

Filed under: Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Brad Pitt, Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney, Oscar Watch

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