roman polanski: god of carnage, and a bit about wes anderson’s new project.

So, I’ve been up late tonight, unable to sleep, as usual on a thursday evening. Usually these nights end with no success. Yet tonight was quite a different night. As I was browsing IMDB, i stumbled upon John C. Reily’s page and saw something interesting listed in his most recent films. He is set to be in a film adaptation of the famed Yasmina Reza play God of Carnage. This was most exciting information indeed. As soon as I saw it, i knew I needed to come on here and tell all of you (i’m sure the audience is quite small). 

So, I clicked on the page, oh so very curious as to what was going on with this film. It just so happened that not only is John C. Reily (who is playing Michael in the film), but director Roman Polanski, who wowed audiences earlier this year with his return Ghost Writer (an absolutely fantastic piece of cinema and Polanski’s best since Chinatown). This, excited me even more. And then I looked at the rest of the cast.

Kate Winslet is to play Annete, Jodie Foster is playing Veronica and that oh-so-lovable Nazi Christoph Waltz who charmed us into giving him an Oscar is to play Alan. Well, good god, i thought to myself. This will be something to look forward to. If Polanski (who co-wrote the screenplay with Reza) can pull it off and this cast can really tear it up on screen, this could potentially be one of the best films of this new decade. Now, I understand that is saying quite a lot, but were are looking at a brute ensemble of folks here. Imagine all of these people coming together to create this film explosion. God of Carnage itself is such an amazing piece, however, the question will still remain: can they pull it off on screen? (It’s also a bit ironic that Polanski is Directing this movie, all things considered…)

Sometimes it is difficult to put a play into a cinematic perspective. So many times, the film versions fail to do any justice to the stage version because the play was really meant for the stage and not the silver screen. I still give hope, considering Reza and Polanski are collaborating on the screenplay. Perhaps it will become a completely different version than what we’ve seen. I’m going to keep my hopes up for this one and you certainly should too. This is exciting.

the film is at the moment in “pre production” and is set to release in 2012

In other interesting news, Wes Anderson has something new in the works. It’s a sixties-esque film called Moon Rise Kingdom. Not much has been said about a plot, but the cast is pretty wild. Bill Murray is, of course, listed to be in it. But the interesting ones have got to be Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand (I wonder how the Coen Brothers feel about that) and Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis? Hmmm, Anderson has been known to really bring out the best in people. We’ll just have to see how this one goes. – my thanks for this one to Josh Jaeger and the Criterion Collection for the info on this one.

what to be excited for for june 18.

actually, there are lots. Which is nice considering that almost everything released recently (this summer) has been pretty awful and uninteresting. BUT! In looking at the line up, a couple of things strike my attention.

Of course the big one would have to be Toy Story 3, but who wouldn’t have guessed that? Pixar has been putting out so many good films within in the past few years that they can’t possibly fail now. And with a new film to the family classic that wowed people 15 years ago, this weekend will prove to be a lot of fun.

Toy Story 3 isn’t the only blockbuster hitting screens this weekend that sounds like a blast. If you haven’t heard of Jonah Hex, then check out IMDB for a look at this thrill ride of a western. Now, it sure looks ridiculous and almost pointless to be made into a film, but I think that’s what makes it so enticing. It’s the story of a bounty hunter with a scarred jaw who is hired by the US government to hunt down a national threat (also the man who scarred him and killed his family). However, he also does so with intense weaponry and a prostitute side kick. It does sound dumb now, but watch the trailer. So, this movie might prove to be really bad, but with a cast including Josh Brolin in the lead and John Malkovich as the villain, this western-graphic-novel adaptation might prove to be a fun action film.

And now we go to the movies that are releasing this weekend that are supposed to be fantastic films. I am Love and Cyrus are also coming out in theaters … but only in limited release (which means big cities and places unlike where most come from). I am Love starring Academy Award Winning Actress Tilda Swinton is about a family that falls apart after the central member (Swinton) goes into an affair with her brother-in-law’s friend. It looks to be an emotionally fuelled film with lovely cinematography and fabulous talent. However, it looks like I’ll have to wait for a DVD copy. Cyrus, which might be a surprise that it is limited release (Considering it stars John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill). The movie has gotten some great critical reception, especially at the sundance film festival. A man falls in love with a woman and then gets trouble when her 20-someodd year-old son, who still lives with her and is overly protective, comes into the picture.

Find the movie trailers here!