Film Nerd News #4

Posted Mar 18 2013 by Kyle Russell with 2 Comments

Hello there! Welcome to another edition of iGR’s Film Nerd News where your favorite film nerd, yours truly, takes you through the best of the week’s movie news.

Guess what guys? We’re up to edition four now! That’s HUGE. After all, if making it to three was such a big deal last week what does that say about this week’s edition, #4? I’m still not sure but we’ll have some more fun with it anyways! Without further ado, the week’s best movie news:

3/11 - Jude Law joins JANE GOT A GUN, Michael Fassbender promptly leaves

Even though there’s some news regarding bigger blockbusters later, this piece of news is probably the best/most interesting. The project, from writer/director Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin), was first announced as a starring vehicle for no-brainer pairing of Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class). Then came the news that Joel Edgerton (Warrior) was also joining the cast and was eyeing the villain. Fast forward a couple of months and things have shuffled a bit. Now Edgerton moves into the protagonist role that was meant for Fassbender and Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) has come aboard the villain. The headline above probably reads like there’s drama but it’s really just that the film took too long to get off the ground for it to still fit in Fassbender’s increasingly busy schedule. Normally, losing a talent like Fassbender would be a tremendous loss but basically replacing him with Law is a pretty nice consolation prize.

3/12 - David O. Russell still wants an Oscar, ABSCAM film finally has release date

David O. Russell (The Fighter) is a busy man. Fresh off another Oscar nomination, Russell and Sony have finally set a Christmas 2013 release date for his follow-up, a film about a real-life FBI sting on Congress in the 1980s. Going in a completely different direction (Ben Affleck‘s?) after doing what’s basically a romantic comedy is a smart idea. Even smarter? Lining up a cast that includes Christian Bale (The Dark Knight trilogy) and Bradley Cooper (The Hangover trilogy) as the two leads, with a supporting cast that includes Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off), Amy Adams (The Fighter), Jeremy Renner (The Avengers), Louis C.K. (Louie) and recent Best Actress winner, Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games). That’s an absolutely absurd amount of talent and I can’t wait to see what Russell’s going to be able to get out of them, especially having worked with a majority of them before. This year’s Best Picture race is shaping up to be pretty interesting between this, George Clooney‘s The Monuments Men and Martin Scorcese‘s The Wolf on Wall Street. Unsurprisingly all three have tremendous casts as well.

3/14 - Somebody’s opening another JURASSIC PARK and it’s pretty surprising

Apparently in the world of Jurassic Park, it’s somehow a good idea to try and make a theme park out of vicious monsters that are extinct for a reason! But I digress (in part because we don’t actually know what the plot for this one will be) because that’s not why this is that noteworthy. It’s noteworthy because of who Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) and co. hired to bring it back to life: Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed). There’s a couple of interesting tidbits about the hiring: first, a couple of months Trevorrow was talking to some fans and mentioned that he was about to take over a major franchise with a fervent fan base but because of the timing, everybody just assumed he was hinting at the upcoming Star Wars rebirth that ultimately went to JJ Abrams (Star Trek). And second? This is a guy who just made his feature directorial debut with a $750k budget. Now he’s looking at directing a film that’s going to be 100-200 times that amount ($75-150 million), if not more! That’s pretty impressive and really, quite unheard of. According to Spielberg (who will remain as producer, by the way) Trevorrow impressed by apparently being a huge fan of the franchise, one who seems to have quite a good idea on how to bring the hibernating franchise back. Hiring an unproven indie director is a bold move but the last guy to make the jump for low-budget indie straight to big budget blockbusters seems to be working out pretty well in the form of Marc Webb, who went from directing the indie rom-com (500) Days of Summer to the superhero reboot The Amazing Spider-Man so it’s not impossible to make such a large leap.

3/14 - 66% of those with HORRIBLE BOSSES spend ONE NIGHT ON THE HUDSON

Hot off the heels of their deal to return for Horrible Bosses 2, co-stars Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live) and Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) are developing this a potential starring vehicle. Surprisingly though it’s not a comedy but a thriller that sees a rookie cop and his veteran partner transporting a federal witness from New Jersey to Manhattan, encountering criminals, corrupt cops while near (you guessed it) the Hudson River. The above headline is slightly misleading though because the film will feature Horrible Bosses director Seth Goldberg (Identity Thief) as well. Like I said, it’s being sold as a thriller but I’m curious how applicable that’ll ultimately be. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a bit more dramatic than their previous work but I also think that they’re going to tailor it to fit Day and Sudeikis, which almost certainly means some funny moments.

3/15 - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY finders its Destroyer

If there’s one thing that’s now obvious, it’s that Marvel isn’t afraid to take risks. Say what you will about The Avengers now but 10 years ago, when they started to develop the Marvel Universe, nobody was sure that something like the buildup or the film itself could really work. After a success like Marvel’s Phase 1, I don’t think anybody would blame the average studio for trying to hedge their bets by bringing in bigger stars to try and capitalize on the success but Marvel is sticking to their formula of taking risks. Guardians of the Galaxy is important to the direction they are taking the Marvel Universe so the fact that they went out and cast Chris Pratt (Parks & Recreation), a guy most known for his comedic relief, as the lead Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) is pretty impressive. They didn’t stop there though because on Friday they added former WWE superstar/MMA fighter David Bautista (The Man With the Iron Fists) as Drax the Destroyer. Admittedly, I’m a bit out of my element when talking about comics but from what I’ve heard, the casting is actually pretty inspired. At this point I’m likely not alone when I say, inspired casting or not, Marvel has earned the benefit of the doubt so I’m definitely not going to condemn the film just because they hired a former pro wrestler.

That’s it for this week’s film news but don’t forget to check out my TV article later today. In the meantime, hit the comments to let us know your thoughts and follow us on Twitter @IGResponsibly!