Screen Rant » Sulai Sivadel

Matt Damon Backs Out of Untitled Directing Debut

Sulai Sivadel — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:27:17 +0000

Today we have interesting news on Matt Damon’s long-rumored directorial debut: The actor is no longer attached to direct, although he may still act in the project. The as yet-untitled movie was co-scripted by himself, Dave Eggers (Away We Go, Where the Wild Things Are) and John Krasinski (The Office, Away We Go),

Few details are known about the plot of the movie, save for the fact that Damon was to have played a salesman whose arrival in a small town leads to an intense personal introspection that turns his life upside down. Sources say that script issues pulled Damon out of the directing chair of the $12 million project.

The interesting thing about this development is that the script was supposedly written by Krasinski and Damon – so why would he be hesitant about directing something he himself ...

Click to continue reading Matt Damon Backs Out of Untitled Directing Debut

‘Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story’ Casts Adam Goldberg

Sulai Sivadel — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:32:22 +0000

Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story, one of two competing biopics about the legendary and controversial pornographic actress, is in final talks to add Adam Goldberg (Zodiac, Dazed and Confused). Goldberg would play fellow porn actor Harry Reems in the film. Matthew Wilder (Your Name Here) has been tapped to write and direct.

Linda Lovelace was arguably the most famous porn actress of the ’70s, a time when pornographic films were still seen as legitimate art. She only made a handful of pornographic films before quitting the industry and divorcing her husband, Chuck Traynor. Malin Akerman (Watchmen) will play Linda Lovelace in the film.

Inferno will be based on “Ordeal: An Autobiography”, the controversial book Lovelace wrote with Mike McGrady. In the book, Lovelace claimed that Traynor, who will be played by Matt Dillon in the movie, beat her and held a gun ...

Click to continue reading ‘Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story’ Casts Adam Goldberg

‘The Hive’ Replaces Joel Schumacher with ‘Machinist’ Director Brad Anderson

Sulai Sivadel — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:32:28 +0000

Today we have news that Joel Schumacher (Batman & Robin, The Number 23) has been replaced as the director of The Hive, a new psychological thriller from Troika Pictures. Brad Anderson (The Machinist, Session 9) has been tapped to replace him. The Hive is about a 9-1-1 operator who tries to save a girl from a serial killer, all the while facing her own fear in the process.

The screenplay is written by Rich D’Ovidio, whose previous work includes Thir13en Ghosts and Exit Wounds. Halle Berry was originally attached to star, but she dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Word is that the script is very much in demand by other top actresses, although no specific names have been mentioned thus far. Production is scheduled ...

Click to continue reading ‘The Hive’ Replaces Joel Schumacher with ‘Machinist’ Director Brad Anderson

‘Piranha 3DD’ Straight to DVD in UK; Theatrical Release in US [Updated]

Sulai Sivadel — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:19:53 +0000

[UPDATE: Piranha 3DD will be straight-to-DVD in the UK; Theatrically released in the US - see below for details.]

Rumors that Piranha 3DD (get it?) was going straight to DVD have been debunked. The sequel to 2010′s successful remake, Piranha 3D, had already been delayed from its November 2011 release date when a British DVD site suddenly had it listed for a straight-to-DVD bow. Naturally, rumors began circulating that the movie would not receive a theatrical release.

However, director John Gulager (Feast) has put all of those rumors to rest. Gulager has cited safety reasons for shooting being delayed, but the movie is still apparently slated for theatrical release. Here are Gulager’s words:

“The main problem was this thing called “Winter”. There was no way we could ask anyone to strip down and jump into the ...

Click to continue reading ‘Piranha 3DD’ Straight to DVD in UK; Theatrical Release in US [Updated]

‘The Devil Inside’ Red-Band Trailer Ups the Scare Factor

Sulai Sivadel — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:55:02 +0000

Today we have the The Devil Inside red-band trailer and it definitely ups the ante. The Devil Inside, directed by William Brent Bell, and released by Paramount Insurge, is the newest movie in the exorcism sub-genre. But Bell, who co-wrote the film as well, has added the twist that there may not just be one demon possessing our victim, but three.

In the new red-band trailer we learn that Isabella Rossi (Fernanda Andrade) is searching for someone to help her understand what happened to her mother 20 years prior. The movie attempts to further update the exorcism genre by adding science into the mix, instead of just sticking with religion. Isabella wants to know if what happened to her mother is in her genes as well. So she enlists the help of ...

Click to continue reading ‘The Devil Inside’ Red-Band Trailer Ups the Scare Factor

‘Game of Thrones’ Season 2 Featurette: The Irish Countryside of Westeros

Sulai Sivadel — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:51:46 +0000

[WARNING!!! THIS POST CONTAINS GAME of THRONES Season 1 SPOILERS!!!]

Today we have news on the second season of Game of Thrones, HBO’s Golden Globe-nominated television adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s popular fantasy series.

Season One of HBO’s break out hit was filled with intrigue, adventure, beautiful women, dashing men, and a turn by Golden Globe nominee Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) as the irascible yet lovable imp, Tyrion Lannister. It also included controversial moments of incest, child murder, brother-sister love and the eventual shocking (and some would say infuriating) beheading of the show’s star, Sean Bean.

Unsurprisingly, expectations are incredibly high for season two. How will show-runner David Bennioff and his team ...

Click to continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 2 Featurette: The Irish Countryside of Westeros

Harrison Ford & Abigail Breslin Join ‘Ender’s Game’

Sulai Sivadel — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:51:31 +0000

Ender’s Game casting news continues to filter out, and today we get some of the biggest news yet. Harrison Ford, long sought to join Gavin Hood’s (Wolverine) sci-fi epic, based on Orson Scott Card’s series of novels of the same name, has officially signed on, and Abigail Breslin (New Year’s Eve) will also join the cast as Valentine Wiggin, the titular protagonist’s older sister.

The Hugo and Nebula Award winning YA novels tell the story of an Earth that has been united after being attacked by an alien race. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), is a child genius and one of many child soldiers in training, who must save the world from the malevolent aliens dubbed “buggers”.

Ford joins a prestigious cast that includes Academy Award-winners Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) ...

Click to continue reading Harrison Ford & Abigail Breslin Join ‘Ender’s Game’

‘Ender’s Game’ Adds Another Young Actor

Sulai Sivadel — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:25:00 +0000

The Hunger Games movie may be making all the headlines these days, but another popular YA series turned movie tentpole, Ender’s Game, is slowly making a splash of its own.

The Gavin Hood-directed feature is based on the first in a series of books by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning writer, Orson Scott Card. The books feature a dystopian future in which the Earth has suffered multiple attacks from an alien race. As a result, adults begin to teach kids to fight off the aliens at an elite training academy.

Reports state that Canadian teen star Brendan Meyer has joined Ender’s Game. He joins Hugo‘s Asa Butterfield who stars as Ener Wiggin, and Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit). Sir Ben Kingsley is also rumored to co-star in an unspecified role.

Meyer is rumored ...

Click to continue reading ‘Ender’s Game’ Adds Another Young Actor

New ‘Woman in Black’ TV Spot Gives Chills

Sulai Sivadel — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:36:06 +0000

The Woman in Black, a new film directed by James Watkins and starring Daniel Radcliffe, aims to inspire old-school chills. The film is an atmospheric creep-fest in the vein of haunted house movies like House on Haunted Hill, Poltergeist, and most recently Paranormal Activity.

The new TV spot fleshes out what we’ve seen in previous trailers with more chills and backstory. We see fleeting glimpses of the incredibly remote peninsula where the story takes place, as well as the mysterious characters that permeate this murky world. We also get more of the enigma as to who The Woman in Black is, and why she might be terrorizing poor Daniel Radcliffe’s character. Ciarán Hinds adds to the creepy mood by giving an incredibly foreboding portrayal ...

Click to continue reading New ‘Woman in Black’ TV Spot Gives Chills

New ‘Lincoln’ Set Photo: Daniel Day-Lewis for President

Sulai Sivadel — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:33:38 +0000

Today we have the latest straight from the Richmond, Virginia set of Lincoln, the latest film from Steven Spielberg – specifically, a new set photo of Daniel Day-Lewis in full Abraham Lincoln regalia.

Lincoln is based on Doris Kearns-Goodwin’s best-selling “Team of Rivals”, which focused mostly on the ideological debates between the sixteenth president and the influential men of his inner circle, as they navigated the difficult and treacherous road towards both the abolition of slavery and the end of the Civil War.

As you can see from the photo, Day-Lewis bears a striking resemblance to the former president, which says a lot for the makeup department on the film. We see Day-Lewis walking with director Steven Spielberg, (War Horse, The Adventures of Tintin) and a young actor dressed in the blue of a Union Soldier. The average age of soldiers in the Civil War dropped precipitously ...

Click to continue reading New ‘Lincoln’ Set Photo: Daniel Day-Lewis for President

New ‘Great Gatsby’ Images: Parties and Hugs

Sulai Sivadel — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:05:13 +0000

Warner Bros. has released two still photos from their The Great Gatsby remake. The film, directed by Baz Luhrmann (Australia!, Moulin Rouge), stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained!) as the enigmatic Jay Gatsby, Carey Mulligan (Drive) as Daisy Buchanan, Joel Edgerton (The Thing, Warrior) as Tom Buchanan, and Toby Maguire (Brothers, Spiderman) as Nick Carraway. Principal photography is underway on this 3D remake and as you can see, the costumes are gorgeous, lush, and period specific.

The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925 during the Jazz Age in the United States. The book is about a group of people who party the summer away as the world recovers from the first World War. As with all of Luhrmann’s films, the costumes are gorgeous and intricately detailed. The first photo pictures DiCaprio’s Gatsby and Mulligan’s Daisy seemingly in an embrace. The second picture shows the main ...

Click to continue reading New ‘Great Gatsby’ Images: Parties and Hugs

Winona Ryder Joins ‘The Iceman’

Sulai Sivadel — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:15:59 +0000

Winona Ryder has been added to the cast of The Iceman, one of two dueling projects based on the life of fabled Mafia hitman Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski. Ryder will be playing Kuklinski’s wife, who along with their daughters, had no idea that her husband, a loving family man, was leading a double life as a cold-blooded murderer for the mob. She is reportedly replacing actress Maggie Gyllenhaal in the role.

Ryder joins a cast that already includes Chris Evans (The Avengers) and Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Boardwalk Empire).

The Iceman is based on Anthony Bruno’s best-selling book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer. Chris Evans will play Robert Pronge, Kuklinski’s mentor in murder, while Shannon will play Kuklinski. The Iceman is slated to come ...

Click to continue reading Winona Ryder Joins ‘The Iceman’

Ice Cube to Star in FX Vigilante Series ‘Eye for an Eye’

Sulai Sivadel — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:34:50 +0000

Ice Cube is set to star in a television series entitled Eye for an Eye being developed by FX. Eye for an Eye would be the first television series Cube has starred in.

The television show would center around Ice Cube’s character, a paramedic, who – after witnessing his fill of violent crime scenes and the broken lives of victims and community bystanders – becomes a vigilante that seeks to punish the perpetrators and avenge the victims.

The twist in the series revolves around the fact that Cube’s character, far from being your regular selfless hero, begins to enjoy his violent actions and becomes addicted to metering out the harsh justice, which in turn begins to destroy his private life. He then struggles to reconcile the two disparate sides of ...

Click to continue reading Ice Cube to Star in FX Vigilante Series ‘Eye for an Eye’

‘Where’s Waldo?’ Movie Snags a Writer

Sulai Sivadel — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:57:56 +0000

A Where’s Waldo? Movie is in the works, can you spot it?

MGM is once again plundering our collective childhood and has tapped screenwriter Todd Berger to write the script for a live-action movie about the sneaky and beloved wanderer Waldo. No names have been attached to star thus far.

The “Where’s Waldo?” books - a creation of famed illustrator Martin Handford – feature Waldo dressed in a red-and-white shirt and carrying a magic walking stick, hidden in plain sight in large crowded scenes. One advantage to a Waldo movie is that there is wide margin in the way the character can be interpreted.

Details are murky given the film’s slated release date for summer 2015. Berger still has to finish up It’s a Disaster, a comedy he wrote, directed, and stars in with Julia Stiles, ...

Click to continue reading ‘Where’s Waldo?’ Movie Snags a Writer

‘The Devil Inside’ Living Image: Demonic Hand at Work

Sulai Sivadel — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:49:42 +0000

Paramount Pictures has a new horror movie coming in January entitled The Devil Inside, and we have an interesting image from the film to share with you.

The Devil Inside centers around the plight of Isabella Rossi (Fernanda Andrade), the daughter of Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley), a woman who in 1989 confessed to the brutal murder of three people. Fast forward 2o years and Isabella, sets out to find the real truth as to what happened that fateful night her mother was incarcerated.

The inquisitive daughter travels to The Centrino Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Italy, where her mother has been sequestered while the doctors try to determine if she is mentally ill or demonically possessed. Maria recruits two young exorcists played by Evan Helmuth and and Simon Quarterman, in an attempt to cure ...

Click to continue reading ‘The Devil Inside’ Living Image: Demonic Hand at Work

Black Dynamite Review

Sulai Sivadel — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:02:30 +0000

Short Version: While some may view it as spoofing-by-the-numbers, Black Dynamite is still a worthy send-up of the blaxploitation genre.

Screen Rant guest review of 'Black Dynamite'

Black Dynamite, directed by Scott Sanders, is a glorious mash-up spoof of 1970s grind house and blaxploitation movies. It stars Michael Jai White, most recently seen as Gambol in The Dark Knight.

The “story” centers on Black Dynamite avenging the death of his bother, who was apparently dealing drugs. Of course the brother wasn’t really dealing dope, but was instead being framed by “The Man.” If you can’t tell yet the plot is classic blaxploitation and the semi-familiar players all admirably fill their rolls, toting names such as “Cream Corn,” “Tasty Freeze” and “Chicago Wind.” For you fans of The Best D*mn Sports Show Period, John Salley even ...

Click to continue reading Black Dynamite Review