Screen Rant » Brian Gresko

‘The Cup of Tears’ Trailer

Brian Gresko — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:03:04 +0000

The Cup of Tears trailer has been gathering momentum with fans claiming its beautiful CGI puts that of many Hollywood studios to shame. It’s a unique hybrid, featuring ancient samurai empires battling in a post-apocalyptic future – something you might associate with Asia, but no. Believe it or not, filming was done in Slovenia and post production in Ireland.

And while it looks sci-fi, the plot reads like a fairy tale:

The Cup of Tears follows a scorned geisha who creates a magical cup made of tears that causes any man who drinks from it to fall into a permanent sleep. One night the cup is stolen, setting off a chain of events that threatens civil war amongst the clans. Taro, a gifted samurai, sets out to find the cup and one who can break the spell.

Though this ...

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Emmerich To Direct Shakespeare Thriller

Brian Gresko — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:47:25 +0000

Here are two names we never thought we’d see in the same sentence: Roland Emmerich and William Shakespeare.

In a collision of high and low culture that sounds like something The Onion might have cooked up, Emmerich, director of such cinema spectacles as 10,000 BC, The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, and the upcoming 2012, is set to direct a movie about the great Bard.

The film, titled Anonymous, tackles the controversy over whether Shakespeare actually wrote all of the plays attributed to him. It’s no secret the prolific playwright lifted plotlines and characters from history (in the case of Julius Caesar, for example) or other sources (Romeo and Juliet was brought to the stage several times before Shakespeare’s version), but some literary historians claim the philosopher Francis Bacon or rival dramaturge Christopher ...

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New Clip From ‘Up in the Air’

Brian Gresko — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:12:10 +0000

Up in the Air came off the festival circuit with raves, many of which cried Oscar. The trailer did nothing to put out the fire, in fact, it only stoked our interest here at Screen Rant. Now, a new clip from the film is online and it looks great!

The film is directed by Jason Reitman of Juno fame and stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a professional down-sizer. He’s the guy execs hire when they can’t bring themselves to drop the F-word in front of their employees – “you’re fired.” The job keeps Bingham on the road most of the year and he’s developed a life goal of racking up ten million frequent flier miles, for reasons he explains in the clip below.

And while this goal (a major plot point) sounds unusual, if ...

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New Universal Films to Watch Out For: Robin Hood, MacGruber

Brian Gresko — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:46:27 +0000

Universal Studios has posted synopses of some of their major 2010 films, and two are piquing our interest here at Screen Rant.

The first is “Untitled Robin Hood Adventure,” directed by Ridley Scott of Blade Runner, Alien, Black Hawk Down, and I could keep going, fame. Russell Crowe steps into the tights (well, more like armor this time around looking at the Crowe’s Robin Hood costume) of the mythic English folk hero who enacted his own economic stimulus package for the peasants of Nottingham village.

This story has come to the big screen countless times, twice in one year even, with 1991 seeing Patrick Bergin in Robin Hood matching barbs with Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Some would say neither film, which played up the bandit’s romantic soul and added period realism, hit the bull’s-eye, and ...

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Trailer For Richard Linklater’s ‘Me and Orson Welles’

Brian Gresko — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:08:56 +0000

I have a love/hate relationship with the work of director Richard Linklater. His Slacker and Dazed and Confused films were great, and School of Rock was fun. But the romantic borefests Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, like the animated Waking Life, put me to sleep.

So, I’m not sure what to expect with his upcoming feature, Me and Orson Welles. The new trailer Linklater’s latest work recently debuted and you can watch here, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies.

On the one hand you have the character of Orson Welles (played by Christian McKay), one of Hollywood’s most famous personalities. Though Welles’ Citizen Kane tops the American Film Institute’s “100 Years…100 Movies” list, he is perhaps better known for his fall from hotshot celebrity director to desperation. At the end of his life, ...

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John Woo Update: A Remake of ‘Le Samourai?’

Brian Gresko — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:04:06 +0000

Since 2003′s much-panned Paycheck, American audiences haven’t heard much from the often-imitated action auteur, John Woo. But he hasn’t been resting on his laurels. In fact, he’s been adding feathers to his cap. His latest film, Red Cliff, is an over four-hour-long historical epic that broke the record for the highest-grossing film in China (a title once held by Titanic).

However, Red Cliff, like Woo’s next project, Jianyu Jianghu (The Swordsman’s World), is in Chinese. And we all know that subtitles – especially on an action film that won’t play with the art-house types - dooms a film to limited release in America. So when WILL the director return to American screens with an English language film?

IMDB lists a slew of projects in development, but the two Woo is most excited about haven’t been announced ...

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The Latest News On The Italian Job 2

Brian Gresko — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:21:26 +0000

Since The Italian Job snuck onto screens in 2003 and got away with over 170$ million in box office gold, buzz has been building about the proposed sequel, The Brazilian Job. The hope, stoked by hints from producer Donald De Line (currently working on Green Lantern),was for a 2011 release with all the major players returning. That’s a lot of schedules to coordinate, seeing as how we’re talking about Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Ed Norton, Donald Sutherland, Jason Statham, Seth Green and Mos Def, all recognized stars with any number of projects to choose from.

So what’s the news? Since our last update the new news is…

Wait for it…

Nothing.

That’s right. Apparently Paramount had a script and even a budget, but management changes put development on hold. Now director F. Gary Grey, whose current feature ...

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New Trailer and Release Date for ‘Up in the Air’

Brian Gresko — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:33:39 +0000

Chances are you’re familiar with Jason Reitman’s last movie, Juno. The film garnered him an Academy Award Nomination for Best Director, though screenwriter and former erotic dancer Diablo Cody, along with “it girl” Ellen Page stole most of his thunder. For most people, Reitman’s name probably doesn’t ring any bells.

With Up in the Air, that might be about to change. And we have a trailer that will show you why.

Up in the Air, adapted from a bestselling novel by Walter Kirn, stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a middle-aged professional down-sizer. Bingham spends the majority of his days traveling, going from city to city playing message boy for bosses who don’t have the heart to tell their employees that they’re fired. His life’s goal is racking up ten million frequent flyer miles; he keeps his ...

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First Look: Steve Carell & Tina Fey’s Date Night

Brian Gresko — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:56:36 +0000

Just looking at the first photograph from the upcoming Steve Carell and Tina Fey comedy, Date Night, makes me smile. Carell and Fey, the king and queen of NBC’s Thursday night comedy line-up, are both known for making even the most ridiculous of characters sympathetic and human (Fey’s Sarah Palin being the best example). They’ve earned so much comedic credit along the way and they look cute together. Knowing that, I want to say this is sure to be the funniest movie of 2010.

Even better, they’re supported by a cast of standouts from both the comedy and dramatic world: Kristin Wiig, James Franco, Ray Liotta, Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg.

So then why aren’t I more enthused?

The story sounds solid enough; Carell and Fey play characters who have achieved the American dream: happily ...

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‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ On Route To The Big Screen

Brian Gresko — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:12:33 +0000

It seems no childhood franchise is safe from being re-imagined (and, more often than not, ruined) for the movies. Today comes news from The Hollywood Reporter that a Thomas the Tank Engine movie will be arriving in theaters sometime in spring 2011.

This won’t be the Thomas you grew up with on PBS. The hokey yet cool, old-school wooden models are being thrown out in favor of – you guessed it- CGI and live actors. And not just the look is changing; In advance of the movie, a new animated series will be coming to TV next year that gives a voice to Thomas, Toby, James, and the rest of the traditionally silent train gang. Chances are the feature film will do the same.

Though the prospect of a darker, gritty, ...

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