Stephen Graham to visit London Boulevard

British thesp Stephen Graham (Public Enemies, Season of the Witch, This Is England, Snatch) has joined the cast of the romantic drama London Boulevard for GK Films says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story revolves around a romance between a former con (Colin Farrell) and an actress (Keira Knightley). Graham will play the lead detective pursuing Farrell.

William Monahan makes his directorial debut on the film. Graham, who played Baby Face Nelson in "Public Enemies", will portray Al Capone in the upcoming HBO pilot "Boardwalk Empire".

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - Teaser Trailer

This is more of a promo reel than a proper trailer, but it has lots of concept art, some footage from the film and lots more. Can't believe I've not seen it before.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Tom Waits reads the Book of Eli

This from Anti and good news for all us Tom Waits fans.

Currently, Tom Waits is in the midst of filming The Book of Eli, directed by Albert and Allen Hughes (From Hell, Dead Presidents, Menace II Society, among others). Eli is a post-apocalyptic Western, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving mankind. The film stars Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman with Tom Waits in a small role as "Engineer." This will mark Waits' second teaming with Oldman as Waits' played Renfeld to Oldman's Count Dracula in the Francis Ford Coppola version of the classic vampire film.

In other film news, Waits stars as Mr. Nick (the devil) opposite Christopher Plummer in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which is also Heath Ledger's last film. Due to Heath's premature death, his unfinished roll was taken on by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. The fantastical morality tale set in the present day also features Lily Cole and Verne Troyner. The film looks to premiere at Cannes and open worldwide later this year.

What do you think about that casting news?

Leave a comment on this post below.

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - When will Heath Ledger's last film be released?

We all know Heath Ledger won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his part as The Joker. However, what is going to happen to his final film? Apparantly it is still looking for a distributor. The Hollywood Reporter have a good article about it's fate and here is a bit of it.

A number of U.S. buyers during the summer and early fall were said to be interested in acquiring stateside rights -- Lionsgate and Overture were reportedly among the potential suitors -- but word of a potential deal quickly quieted down.

That has fueled all sorts of rumors in indie circles, ranging from dissent over finances on the producers' side to an extended and messy post-production session to outsized expectations on the part of filmmakers.

Many of those rumors have yet to be substantiated. But the film has nonetheless run into more concrete obstacles.

The presence of a key marketing element like Ledger does indeed make sellers and investors aim for higher dollar figures -- especially true for a film whose budget is thought to be upward of $20 million.

And as much as buyers might covet the Ledger aspect, the pic still presents a marketing challenge. Gilliam has grown more experimental in recent years, and experts say that retailing "Parnassus" as a Ledger film risks running a word-of-mouth problem with general audiences unaccustomed to that kind of material.

A U.S. deal is expected shortly, with a mini-major or larger indie expected to make the play. (The movie does already have a deal for Mandate International/Lionsgate to release it in the U.K., where Gilliam tends to fare better, and is expected to open there in the summer. Other territories, from Japan to Spain, have been presold to international distribs as well.)

Still, the absence of a sale for an icon's last movie nearly six months after talks began speaks to the difficulty of selling art house films to the domestic market, as buyers wait until later in the production process, take fewer bets and offer lower prices. "This movie stars Heath Ledger in his final performance -- it will get a deal and come out in the U.S.," said one indie film veteran. "But it's no accident that it's taking this long."

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UPDATED: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - New Poster

On the day of the Oscars, when Heath Ledger will more than likely win Best Supporting Actor, I bring you a teaser poster / artwork from Heath's final film - Terry Gilliams The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Once again Pam has done all the hard work and found this and passed it on to me so I can share it with all of you. Thanks Pam.

It's a lovely poster with all the principle cast shown - Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits amongst others.

UPDATE: Cinematographer Nicola Pecorini worked on the film and he published the above picture on his site.

Below is Christopher Plummer as the titular Doctor Parnassus.

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - Teaser trailer

Thanks to Pamela for sending this teaser of a teaser trailer for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present day. It tells the story of Dr Parnassus and his extraordinary 'Imaginarium', a travelling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Dr Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. Long ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr Nick, in which he won immortality. Many centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his first-born reached its 16th birthday he or she would become the property of Mr Nick.

Valentina is now rapidly approaching this 'coming of age' milestone and Dr Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr Parnassus promises his daughter's hand in marriage to the man that helps him win. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles - and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all.

Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield, Verne Troyer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law

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The Immaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - First shot of Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam's latest

Outnow-CH had the photo from what will be Heath Ledger's final film. Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell all joined the film after his death to play different aspects of his character. Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits also star.

Dr Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. Long ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr Nick, in which he won immortality. Many centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his first-born reached its 16th birthday he or she would become the property of Mr Nick. Valentina is now rapidly approaching this ‘coming of age’ milestone and Dr Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls ...

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Pride and Glory, 2008 - Movie review

Director: Gavin O'Connor
Starring: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle
Running Time: 130 minutes
Score: 5 / 10

This review by tgeorge2012

Gavin O'Connor's new release, "Pride and Glory," is a violent story about the NYPD that begs the question, "How moral are today's police departments?"

"Pride and Glory" is a drama-filled story that follows the Tierney family as they try to fulfill their role, to serve and protect, and survive in the Big Apple. Noah Emmerich, who plays as Francis Tierney, Jr., has the role of the oblivious precinct commander, who's staff of cops is in so deep that the audience wonders the whole time how he could be so much of a moron and be in such a place of power at the same time. The head of shenanigans, Jimmy Egan, is none other than Colin Farrell, who is married into the family through Emmerich's sister. Edward Norton plays the role of 'good cop' Ray Tierney, Emmerich's younger brother, who has obviously been through some traumatic event in the field that has forced him to accept a desk job with the NYPD. Don't let it bother you, though, because if you want to know what actually happened to him, you'll have to sit there until the movie is near its finish, when the event is briefly explained and still leaves viewers curious. Ed is constantly being begged to come back to the field, but always politely declines, even to his father, Jon Voight, for a mysterious, unrevealed reason. Voight, who plays the role of the drunk, ex-cop father, wants nothing more than for his family to emerge from the rubble with pride and glory intact.

Upon seeing this film, the viewer is thrust into the world of New York gang heat and dirty cops. The film reveals the lives of officers in the NYPD Precinct 31, who will do anything to do away with a prominent gang leader and get out with as much money as possible. To add to it, Emmerich, who fails to realize how corrupt his precinct is, has a wife at home with some unconfirmed sort of cancer and is currently going through chemotherapy. "Why," the viewer may ask, "is this even a part of the film?" This question is simply answered: To add filler to the movie. Nothing fills up the time in a movie like unnecessary drama, and here is found a prime example.

The movie is chock full of violence and, if anything, will just make you wonder about the real integrity of our police departments. In the film, there are maybe too many real-life situations, so much so that director O'Connor felt it necessary to place a disclaimer right before the credits stating that the movie, in no way, tells any historical story or gives any real account on how the NYPD really operates.

Also, I can't help but wonder how much better the film would have been had the casting been different. In the film, Colin Farrell plays bad cop, while Edward Norton plays good cop. I can confidently say that, had these two actors changed roles, O'Connor could have pulled this movie off.

The film overall was very unoriginal, to the point where I was sure that I had seen it before. It was the same-old good cop, bad cop film, filled with gratuitous violence and language; a classic example of a movie whose cast was too famous for its plot. Overall, I gave the film a very generous 5.5 out of 10 stars.

I wish I could write more on this film, but that would require that the film have more real sustenance to actually write about. The film was a very long 130 minutes that could have easily been condensed into a much shorter film, or even a late night TV movie. As a huge Ed Norton fan, I had very high hopes for this movie, and I left the theater extremely disappointed, not in his performance (it was spectacular), but in the film itself.
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5 More Friends - A whole lot of movie stars talking about voting

Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Snoop Dogg, Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller, Will Smith, Steven Spielberg, Justin Timberlake, along with Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, Zach Braff, Colin Farrell, Neil Patrick Harris, Scarlett Johansson, Shia LeBeouf, Tobey Maguire, Ryan Reynolds, and Jason Segal, are featured in a second of a series of public service announcements to encourage American youth to vote in partnership with Google, YouTube, Declare Yourself, and MySpace. The non-partisan PSAs, produced by DiCaprios Appian Way, were created to engage and inspire young people to vote and participate in the upcoming election.

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The Dude talks about Tron 2 or should that be Tr2n

Jeff Bridges chats to the Guardian about his latest movie, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. Amongst all that are some words about The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart and a little bit about the Tron sequel Tr2n. I really want one of the Widelux cameras that he uses to take photos behind the scenes on all his movies.

You visited the inaugural Lebowski Fest. What was it like seeing thousands of Dudes?

Ah, man, it was great. That was my Beatles moment. I got a little band together and played, unannounced. I came out and played to this sea of Dudes! It was awesome. I hope to return and do some tunes with John Goodman. We'd love to do that one day. Lebowski Fest - it's fantastic fun. There's one coming up but I can't go because I'm off to shoot a film. It has been going on a couple of years now all over the States two days of bowling, music, heavy partying, and all these people are dressed up. You see some of the most obscure references, and the movie plays on the walls all the time.

I heard that the girls in the The Big Lebowski dream sequence played a trick on you on set?

Oh yeah, that was kind of funny. It was when The Dude sort of flies through all these women's legs, smiling when he's looking up all their skirts. Well there I am, lying back on this skateboard, and when I go under the first girl, she's got all this pubic hair sticking out of her leotard. Then when I went under the next girl, she's got even more hair, the girls were getting bushier and bushier. Basically, all the girls had decided to play a joke to confuse The Dude!

Did you ever expect The Dude to be your most successful character?

I don't think of it that way. I was nominated for an Academy Award forplaying a president, which is about as un-Dude as you can get. Then Iron Man, too, was very un-Dude-like. I love to shake it up and keep my own persona slightly confusing. That way people will be able to slip me into the character at hand.

In your next film, Crazy Heart, you play a country singer. That's got to be exciting for a musician, right?

Oh yeah! We're shooting that with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Colin Farrell, while T-Bone Burnett - my great friend, we go back to Heaven's Gate - is doing the music. I mean, getting to play a country singer and work with T-Bone, this was an easy one to say "yes" to. I get to play music too.

Iron Man turned out to be one of the biggest films of the year. Why do your first big blockbuster now?

The big draw for me with Iron Man was [director] Jon Favreau. I got thescript and wasn't sure I wanted to do it, but when I heard that Jon wasinvolved… I was a big fan of his from the moment I saw him in Swingers,and I'd been following his career. I found it intriguing to have him directing a big comic book movie. When he told me he had Robert Downey Jr, I thought that'd be wonderful. Jon had a very hard time convincing the powers that be that Robert was the right man, but he was such a wonderful off beat choice.

You've been busy this year, but over the last couple of years you've made fewer movies. Why?

I spend a lot of time trying to resist doing anything, really! Honestly, there are a lot of things I love to do other than making movies, and I know that once I commit to a film it's going to prevent me from doing any of these other things. So I do try and not commit; I try hard not to engage. But sometimes there's an element in it which I just can't resist. It changes with each movie. You can just get a feeling, and you don't know what that is until you do the movie.

Is that why you signed up for the new Tron movie?

Yeah, that's another unique, wild experience that was too good to turn down. Engaging in that world again feels just like it did all that time ago. Basically, I'm still a child, I love being childlike, and here was another chance to play with these crazy toys. And the cutting-edge technology makes it exciting. Doing the teaser trailer for Comic-Con, I had my first experience of motion capture. And that's turning the industry on its head. It's amazing being part of that.

There's such a retro love for Tron. How do you bring it up to date?

Well, when we made Tron there was no internet, no cellphones. But now we have motion capture, so I think we'll get a far more successful version of the story, which is someone literally getting sucked into a video game. When we did King Kong in the 70s, one minute you'd have a shot of Rick Baker in this big suit and then you'd cut to this 80ft stiff model, and they looked nothing alike. Compare to that Peter Jackson's King Kong the technology is there and they did a wonderful job. I thought they created a beautiful Kong. So I hope that'll be the same for Tron.

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