Film School Rejects » First Look

Exclusive: First Five Minutes of ‘Deadline,’ Starring Brittany Murphy

Neil Miller — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:30:36 +0000

Following a traumatic incident with her violent ex-boyfriend, Alice (Brittany Murphy) retreats to a remote Victorian house to convalesce and focus on finishing her screenplay in time for a fast approaching deadline. When she begins hearing strange sounds and seeing apparitions, Alice searches for the source, only to find disturbing videotapes in the attic. Fascinated by her discovery, Alice digs deeper to uncover the mysterious story of the couple (Thora Birch and Marc Blucas) on the tapes, sending her on a twisting and terrifying pursuit to find out what is behind the endless mind games.

Yep, that’s exactly what we need more of — an attractive, traumatized girl in a big, spooky, empty Victorian home all by herself, investigating some sort of tragedy while she avoids her own personal dangers. It’s nothing new, but for some reason it always seems to be a bit creepy. That is why we were excited when First Look Studios sent us over an exclusive look at the first five minutes of Deadline, as well as the film’s trailer and some stills (both of which premiered a few days back at ShockTillYouDrop). Because hey, we all like exclusive things and we know that everyone here has a sweet-spot for Brittany Murphy. So lets get to it.

Deadline is on Blu-ray and DVD December 1, 2009.

Watch the first five minutes of Deadline:

Watch the trailer for Deadline:

Check out new images from Deadline:

First Look at George Clooney in Spy Thriller ‘The American’

Neil Miller — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:19:42 +0000

More updates are coming down the pipe from the American Film Market in Santa Monica, with our friends at Collider uncovering a first look at George Clooney in Control director Anton Corbijn’s The American.

In the film, Clooney will play “an artful assassin with a lengthy track record, constantly on the move and always watching his back. When an assignment goes wrong and a lover ends up dead, he vows that the next job will be his last. This final obligation takes him to a picturesque town nestled amongst lush Italian hills, its historical piazzas bursting with life. But to Jack, every location is a trap and every person a potential threat. Still, he surprises himself, enjoying confessional conversations over Armagnac with an insightful priest and slipping into an affair with a local beauty. But by letting his guard down, Jack may be tempting fate. A dangerous shadow-dweller shows every sign of closing in, and the mysterious woman who has hired him may not be all that she seems. As an increasingly wary Jack contemplates life, love and death in Italy, the film escalates into a climactic showdown through the cobbled maze of age-old alleyways. This sexy, suspenseful and intricate story blends intrigue and passionate romance within a searing morality tale to finally reveal the heart of this deeply private man.”

Sounds like a cool role for Mr. Clooney, who seems to be filling his schedule with political(ish) comedies (The Men Who Stare at Goats and Burn After Reading) and political(ish) dramas (Up in the Air, Michael Clayton, Good Night and Good Luck), so its nice to see him getting back into the realm of the thriller. Something akin to an older version of Bourne meets Syriana. That is something I can get behind.

The American will be in theaters sometime in 2010.

New Photo from The Crazies: Radha Mitchell is in Trouble

Neil Miller — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:03:06 +0000

Overture Films has released a new photo from their upcoming thriller The Crazies, a Breck Eisner directed reinvention of a George Romero classic. Set in a small town, The Crazies tells the story of the chaos that ensues after a mysterious toxin is released upon the population.

In the image above (click to enlarge), we see Judy (Radha Mitchell), who is the wife of the town’s sheriff (Timothy Olyphant). And it looks as if Judy is having a close encounter with something mean and nasty. For more, check out the trailer and official synopsis below.

Imagine living in a small town where everything is safe and happy…until suddenly it isn’t. Imagine your friends and neighbors going quickly and horrifically insane. In a terrifying tale of the “American Dream” gone horribly wrong, four friends find themselves trapped in their hometown in The Crazies, a reinvention of the George Romero classic directed by Breck Eisner from a screenplay by Ray Wright (Pulse, Case 39) and Scott Kosar (The Amityville Horror, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

David Dutten (Timothy Olyphant) is sheriff of Ogden Marsh, a picture-perfect American town with happy, law-abiding citizens. But one night, one of them comes to a school baseball game with a loaded shotgun, ready to kill. Another man burns down his own house…after locking his wife and young son in a closet inside. Within days, the town has transformed into a sickening asylum; people who days ago lived quiet, unremarkable lives have now become depraved, blood-thirsty killers, hiding in the darkness with guns and knives. Sheriff Dutten tries to make sense of what’s happening as the horrific, nonsensical violence escalates. Something is infecting the citizens of Ogden Marsh…with insanity.

Now complete anarchy reigns as one by one the townsfolk succumb to an unknown toxin and turn sadistically violent. In an effort to keep the madness contained, the government uses deadly force to close off all access and won’t let anyone in or out – even those uninfected. The few still sane find themselves trapped: Sheriff Dutten; his pregnant wife, Judy (Radha Mitchell); Becca (Danielle Panabaker), an assistant at the medical center; and Russell (Joe Anderson), Dutten’s deputy and right-hand man. Forced to band together, an ordinary night becomes a horrifying struggle for survival as they do their best to get out of town alive.

The Crazies hits theaters February 26, 2010.

First Photos from the Set of Redford’s The Conspirator

Robin Ruinsky — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:02:51 +0000

The Playlist (via Collider) has the first photos from the set of Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, his film about Mary Surratt’s role in the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln. The film stars Robin Wright Penn as Surratt and James McAvoy as her defense attorney, Frederick Aiken. The photos show McAvoy and Evan Rachel Wood. Wood has joined the cast as Anna Surratt, Mary’s daughter.

Justin Long will be trying his hand at a dramatic role as McAvoy’s close friend. And also joining the cast is Tony Kebbell who was a stand out as musician/junkie Johnny Quid in RocknRolla. He’ll play John Wilkes Booth. The word is that Booth is a minor role in The Conspirator. I’m hoping they expand it now that they’ve cast Kebell who I think is a great choice for Booth.

MacGruber Movie Begins Shooting: Here’s Photographic Proof

Neil Miller — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:58:58 +0000

Hey, do you know that somewhat obscure Saturday Night Live sketch that stars Will Forte as the world’s worst special agent, a sort of McGyver clone who ends every mission by blowing himself sky-high? That one that was also used for an impressively worthless Superbowl ad campaign for Pepsi? You know, MacGruber!

Well, as we’ve explained before, MacGruber is headed to the big screen — and from what we here, it will also be an R-rated affair. And despite the fact that this all sounds incredibly dumb, we here at Reject HQ can’t wait to see what the hell director Jorma Taccone (member of the famed Lonely Island crew) can come up with. He’s got a solid cast, including Forte, Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer and Ryan Phillippe. He’s got a script from Will Forte and long-time SNL scribe John Solomon. And most of all, he’s got our attention — as no one can really figure out what a MacGruber movie will entail. All I know is that it had better end with MacGruber blowing himself up in some way, shape or form.

I tell you that to tell you this: JustJared has posted some photographic evidence that this MacGruber film is actually happening. Above and below, you will see Will Forte, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe on set doing their thing. No photos yet of the villain named Cunth (played by Val Kilmer), but I’m sure those aren’t far off.

MacGruber is scheduled to hit theaters April 16, 2010. You can see more photos over at JustJared.

First CGI Smurf Is Equally As Shocked By Your Presence

Neil Miller — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:01:42 +0000

The folks over at PVCBlue, a site dedicated to all things Smurf, have stumbled upon our very first look at one of the little guys from the upcoming Sony Pictures release Smurfs 3D. The project, which we’ve been telling you about for a while, is in the hands of director Raja Gosnell, who previously brought the world films such as Scooby-Doo, Big Momma’s House and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. This will be the editor-turned-directors first real foray into the world of CG-animation and as you can expect, there’s no pressure when it comes to bringing back our little blue friends.

As you can see from the poster below, the marketing campaign for this movie is doomed by bad Scarface related puns, but the Smurfs themselves don’t look too far removed from the original cartoon by Belgian cartoonist Peyo. Beyond the look, we don’t know what this thing is going to be like, as we’re likely to be without actual footage for quite some time. After all, the movie doesn’t hit theaters until December 17, 2010.

First Look: The Ladies of ‘Whip It!’ Skate Into Our Lives

Neil Miller — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:55:51 +0000

Not to be that guy or anything, but I think we all know that Film School Rejects has been covering Drew Barrymore’s upcoming directorial debut Whip It! since the very beginning. In fact, we were the ones who broke the story about Ellen Page playing the lead role all the way back in January of 2008. So today, as we now see that USA Today has released the film’s first batch of official photos, we are more than excited — we’re ready to whip it.

The film follows the story of Bliss Cavendar (Page), a 17-year-old Texan who hates the beauty pageants her mother forces her to participate in, and finds release for her secret aggressive side by joining the underground world of roller derby. There she joins up with a group of badass chicks known as the “Hurl Scouts,” who can be seen in the photo above.

Also included in the USA Today photo gallery are shots of some key cast members, including Juliette Lewis as Dinah Might, the leader of the rival team, the “Holy Rollers.”

Next up is Ellen Page as Babe Ruthless, and Zoe Bell as Bloody Holly.

And finally, a shot of director and star Drew Barrymore as Smashley Simpson.

The film has a very cool look to it — very funky, undergroundy and angsty. We should expect no less, based on the awesome word from whence this story came. There is plenty of reason for excitement, as this film bodes a solid cast — including Kristen Wiig, whose character is called Maggie Mayhem — and the potential for some badass girl-on-girl action, battle royale style. Of course, the pace and energy of this film remains to me seen. Needless to say, we’re still on the edge of our seats, waiting for a trailer.

Whip It! is scheduled to hit theaters on October 9th, though it is likely that Fox Searchlight will take the film to the Toronto Film Festival in August. For more images, head over to USA Today.

First Look: Eminem in Funny People

David Baxter — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:15:44 +0000

Yup, Eminem is in Funny People. It’s only a cameo, so I’m guessing that it’s just the one scene, but regardless, MTV has a look at him in character, which appears to be himself, chatting with Adam Sandler’s George Simmons. Judd Apatow also told MTV what it was like to direct the Detroit rapper:

“I was scared to pitch jokes to him then I realized his songs are as nasty as anything that has ever been spoken. There is no way to offend him.”

Clearly a lovely working relationship. Why worry about getting him to make a rude joke when he quite happily discusses killing people in his music? I think I may have stumbled upon why rappers are so successful in films lately. They’ll do anything. Just ask Bruno.

I’m not that fussed about him having a cameo, as at least in something like this, that deals with famous people, it’s believable. It’s only in films that are set in the ‘real’ world that a two minute cameo from someone this famous would be jarring. That being the best barometer to gauge cameo success; whether it takes you out of the film. In this case I think its safe. We’ll find out come July 31, 2009 when Funny People hits theaters stateside.

What do you think? Where do you stand on famous cameos?

Meet the Characters of Shane Acker’s 9

Neil Miller — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:56:35 +0000

Focus Features has provided FSR with a fantastic first look at the characters from the upcoming CG-animated thriller 9, from director Shane Acker and producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov.

As you may know, 9 follows the story of nine ’stitchpunk’ dolls who were given life by a scientist in the final hours of human existence. Now living in a post-apocalyptic world, these nine lifeforms must find a way to survive and protect the essence of human existence. They also decide that instead of hiding, they must venture out into the dangerous world and put a stop to the robot invasion that threatens to eradicate life from Earth. It’s a grim premise, but also one that sounds pretty cool. As well, the animation is super sharp and if it is anything like Shane Acker’s short film upon which the film is based, we’re in for a real treat.

Check out the character introductions with images and descriptions below. 9 hits theaters on 9/9/09.

1

Voiced by one of the world’s most respected actors, Christopher Plummer, 1 is the Scientist’s first creation. As the elder, he is the self-declared leader of the group. He is clever and sly, but also domineering, quick-tempered, and threatened by the new arrival of 9, whose higher intellect leads him to question authority.

2

Voiced by Academy Award Winner Martin Landau, 2 is a kindly but now frail inventor and explorer who embodies the Scientist’s strong creative spirit. An inquisitive personality, 2 is fearless. Director Shane Acker affectionately describes him as a “salty old dog”.

3 and 4

Communicating visually, not verbally, 3 and 4 are the scholarly twins who voraciously catalogue everything they can see and find, recording and building a massive database for the group of the world that surrounds them and the history that led up to their creation.

5

Voiced by Academy Award nominee John C. Reilly, 5 is a caring, nurturing engineer – the loyal, big-hearted “common man” who always tries to play the peacemaker. He is also an apprentice of 2, with whom he shares a special bond.

6

6, the group’s visionary is voiced by Crispin Glover. Although reclusive and eccentric, his bursts of artistic inspiration through drawings made from his pen nib hands may be keys to help his fellow stitchpunk beings navigate their darkest hours.

7

A brave and self-sufficient warrior, 7, voiced by Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly, is the group’s sole female. A fiercely independent adventuress she has been out patrolling the wasteland. To survive, she has adapted, finding the bones of a deceased bird and crafting her signature skull helmet.

8

Armed with a giant kitchen cleaver and half a scissor blade, the none-too-bright muscle and enforcer of the group, 8, is created to help the others physically survive the dangerous post-apocalyptic world.

9

To voice the lead role of the newly born – and aborning hero — 9, Acker couldn’t help but have in mind an actor who was so central to the film set he had worked on years earlier in New Zealand – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King star Elijah Wood.

First Look: Ricky Gervais in Cemetery Junction

David Baxter — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:26:37 +0000

Ricky Gervais has been talking up his next work with Stephen Merchant, titled Cemetery Junction, formerly The Men From The Pru. It seems clear that Gervais has taken a back seat on this film. He previously stated that he was looking for the English, 23-year old versions of John Travolta, James Dean and Lou Costello. A big ask, definitely, but I have faith that Gervais and Merchant will deliver a film that will be both realistic and hilarious.

Our first look at Gervais has been released on his always-excellent blog, which is covering the seven week shoot. His character is called Len Taylor, about whom he blogged the following:

“I play a fat middle-aged bloke from Reading by the way. Chameleon.”

A joke, obviously. Gervais plays variations of himself in everything he’s done, which I’ll be honest is an advantage because he’s hilarious, and if he feels he can’t act something out of the box, then why do it?

Cemetery Junction is due out in the first quarter of 2010.

Do you have high hopes for Cemetery Junction?

Transformers 2: Meet Sideways

Neil Miller — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:26:31 +0000

MichaelBay.com has released yet another cool little piece of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen artwork, this time giving us a first look at the character Sideways.

In Transformers lore, Sideways is a gleeful troublemaker, for whom chaos is its own reward. His every action misleads and deceives, be it for his own twisted amusement, or for whatever deeper agenda he may be working towards. In truth, this cunning and deadly warrior is an agent of the chaos-bringer, Unicron, and is charged with the task of appearing as both Autobot and Decepticon in order to cause confusion amongst both factions and prevent them from allying together against his planet-eating master.

In Revenge of the Fallen, Sideways will appear as an Audi R8. His role in the story is still not completely known, but the first trailer showed him being chased through a building wall by various Autobots, so the potential for some double-agent action is still out there. Have a look at his robot mode below, courtesy of Michael Bay.

New Images of Heath Ledger in Doctor Parnassus

Robin Ruinsky — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:36:41 +0000

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is the last film appearance of the late Heath Ledger, Oscar winner for The Dark Knight, an actor who had more talent than most of the inhabitants of his profession. So, it was good news to hear that Terry Gilliam, of Monty Python, who also directed Ledger in The Brothers Grimm in 2005, was going to make an attempt to salvage Ledger’s last performance.

To that end he cast a trio of actors to take over Ledger’s role as a character named Tony. According to a synopsis a traveling theater group is a just a little more interesting than the audience might expect. Doctor Parnassus, Christopher Plummer, runs the troupe. He also happens to be one thousand years old having won a bet with the Devil in which he gained immortality. Ledger’s character Tony is enlisted to save Parnassus’ daughter played by Lily Cole, from being payment for her father’s deal with the Devil. Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law all have a piece of Ledger’s character, enabling Gilliam to preserve the work done by the late actor as well as finish his film.

Gilliam has had some tough breaks before. There’s the film that got away that he’s taking another crack at, Don Quixote. His failed attempt was chronicled in the documentary Lost in La Mancha in 2002.

L’Express and The Playlist (via CHUD) has new stills from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The photos (seen above and below) show a bleeding Heath Ledger dressed in a white suit alongside his junior co-star Lily Cole. There are also shots of Depp, Law and Farrell inhabiting not only the white suit but Ledger’s character.

The film will be shown in NYC and then at the Cannes Film Festival. There’s no news on distribution yet.

Are you looking forward to seeing Heath Ledger’s last performance?

The Ultimate Terminator Salvation Photo Gallery

Neil Miller — Sat, 09 May 2009 07:52:31 +0000

Warner Bros. has released the final press kit for their upcoming actioner Terminator Salvation, which includes over 50 images — some old, but many of which are very new and very cool. The McG directed film stars Christian Bale as John Connor of 2018 as he leads the resistance against the machines. Along the way he comes across Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a man who last remembers being a death row inmate, but is now something altogether different.

Once you check out these photos, you may also want to check out the 4 Minute Terminator Salvation Internet Trailer we posted the other day. It’s awesome.

Terminator Salvation hits theaters on May 21. Check out the enormous photo gallery below (Click to enlarge).

Megan Fox Goes Sans Robe On the Set of Jonah Hex

Neil Miller — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:46:23 +0000

Almost a month ago we showed you some totally boring pictures of Megan Fox on the set of Jonah Hex, in which she was wearing a robe over what we could only assume was a very sexy old west hooker costume. Now thanks to the folks over at MovieGab, we have proof that our suspicions were correct. As you can see below, Fox was in fact wearing a very sexy costume. In Hex she plays lays Leila, the gun-toting love interest of the story’s title character (played by Josh Brolin). If you ask me, there needs to be some sort of saloon bar dance in that outfit. Just a thought.

The Jimmy Hayward directed Jonah Hex will hit theaters on August 6, 2010. Check out the images below.

First Look at Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones Falls from the Sky

Neil Miller — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:05:37 +0000

As someone who is currently wrapped up in reading Alice Sebold’s fantastic book “The Lovely Bones,” it excites me to know end that Peter Jackson’s film adaptation is on its way. Hitting theaters on December 11, 2009, The Lovely Bones will tell the story of a young girl named Susie Salmon (Soairse Ronan) who is brutally murdered and watches over her family from a spiritual place “in-between” Heaven and Earth. She watches as her killer, played by Stanley Tucci, walks through her neighborhood unfound and her family — including her father played by Mark Wahlberg, mother played by Rachel Weisz and sister played by Rose McIver — deal with her unexpected and mysterious disappearance and death.

The book — or at least the first two-thirds of the book that I’ve read so far — is a brilliant piece of work. Alice Sebold has a very soft touch with a very dark subject that makes the book both sad and hopeful. And it appears that this element is one of the things that drew director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) to the project. “I found the book to be curiously optimistic,” Jackson explained to the USA Today via email. “I felt inspired by Susie’s struggle to come to terms with her own death. In the face of overwhelming grief, she finds hope. She holds on to love, and by doing so, she transcends the horror of her murder.”

It will be interesting to see how Jackson handles the visual nature of Susie’s in-between afterlife, from which she watches over her family. He explained in the interview with USA Today that the film won’t be creating another world with heavy effects, leaving a lot to be interpreted in the minds of the audience. Also interesting is the incredibly talented cast that has assembled for this film as well as a few cast members who will have to show us something new — most notably, Mark Wahlberg is taking on a very dynamic, emotionally driven character as Susie’s father. There is potential here for his performance to be either eye-opening or a complete bust. If it is eye-opening, this could be a performance worthy of lofty recognition. Should it be a bust, the movie will suffer mightily. No pressure, though.

The Lovely Bones hits theaters on December 11, 2009. Check out two new images below. The first, from USA Today, shows a look at Stanley Tucci as the child murdering George Harvey. The second, courtesy of Empire, shows Soairse Ronan as Susie Salmon. Click on either of the images to see the source articles.

Film School Rejects » First Look

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2

3 and 4

5

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