The Guardian is running a story on the difficulties Guy Ritchie, director of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, is having in finding a distributor for his latest film. Ritchie's reputation as a film-maker suffered after the box office disaster of his most recent film, Swept Away, in which he cast his wife, Madonna. It went straight to video in the UK and reportedly lost him £7m. The Mail reports the latest setback is likely to lose him another £5m.
Star Wars creator George Lucas has mentioned in several interviews that the intense battles and dark themes might push the final "Star Wars" episode into uncharted territory: a PG-13 rating. “I don’t think I would take a five– or a six-year-old to this, it’s way too strong,” Lucas said. If his prediction is correct, it will be the first Star Wars film to advise parents that certain scenes are unsuitable for under-13s. Revenge Of The Sith is the third prequel to the Star Wars trilogy and sees the young Anakin Skywalker turn to the dark side to become Darth Vader. It closes the door on a series spanning almost 30 years.
Florida historians have discovered a 40-year-old film clip of a clean-cut Jim Morrison that will give fans a different view of the Doors singer before his wilder days as a rocker who drank hard and died young. The 1964 black-and-white public relations film, shot at Florida State University (FSU) shows an average-looking Morrison acting the part of a young man whose university application has been rejected. The video has Morrison among wholesome scenes of college life, parades and football, a sharp contrast to his image as a long-haired, leather-clad rebel poet accused of exposing himself and simulating a sex act at a Miami concert in 1969. You can view a clip of the movie at: Florida Memory Project
Both the Toronto Star and National Post are carrying stories about the film Deadly. Deadly chronicles the ill-fated courtship and subsequent criminal life of Canada's most notorious couple -- a union that ultimately led to the murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
Comingsoon.net has posted some still images from the remake of the Pink Panther starring Steve Martin as Inspector Jacques Clouseau. His partner Ponton will be played by Jean Reno from The Professional.
Thomas Hayden Church has signed on to play Spiderman's new archenemy in Spider-Man 3. Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, which announced Church as the bad guy for Spider-Man 3 on Tuesday, were hush-hus about the actual character Chruch will bring to life. Rumours are circulating that Church will portray the Sandman. Other rumours have Chloë Sevigny taking on the role of Felicia Hardy a.k.a The Black Cat.
Spider-Man 3 is slated for a May 2007 release.
Empire Online had an interview with actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in which he revealed more information on the upcoming Doom film, based on id Software's hit franchise. Taking much of its inspiration from the PC game Doom 3, the film will take place in a paramilitary research facility on Mars, where things go awry and hell is literally raised. Some theories say that the Rock is actually Satan in disguise, which would tie in to the film and game's devilish setting.
I've also posted a picture taken from the upcoming film. Enjoy!
The Ontario government has announced it will contribute $25 million to help build a new headquarters for the Toronto International Film Festival in downtown Toronto. Read more on the CBC Arts website.
Yahoo! Movies has been running a series of interviews with the forces behind the remake of War of the Worlds. Check out the Q&A with Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg as they answer fans' questions about their latest film.
http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/waroftheworlds.html
Google and Amazon.com have launched online movie ticket sales. Amazon’s Internet Movie Database subsidiary (http://www.imdb.com/) has partnered with Fandango, and Google is working with MovieTickets.com. The Google service offers tickets as well as search for actors, movie titles and entertainment-related keywords. Google said it will not get a commission on the sales, but hopes the service attracts traffic it can profit from through selling keyword ads on the search pages. Amazon has not commented on their financial arrangements with Fandango.
Check out the blog that Matthew McConaughey is updating as he tours across America to promote his upcoming action film. Sahara follows master explorer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) as he embarks on a treasure hunt through some of the most dangerous regions of North Africa. Searching for what locals call "The Ship of Death", a long lost Civil War battleship filled with coins, Pitt and his wisecracking sidekick (Steve Zahn) use their wits and clever heroics to help Doctor Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) who believes the ship may be linked to mysterious deaths in the very same area. Sahara is due to open April 8.
Blogs have become more pervasive in the film promotion aspect of the business. Many production crew and even some actors and directors are now getting involved in blogging as a means of connecting to their potential audience. If nothing else it gives a peek into some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of movie-making and promotion.
Nova Scotia has increased its film tax credit, offering a special incentive to companies shooting multiple movies in the province. The tax credit jumps to 35 per cent from 30 per cent for productions shooting within the Halifax Regional Municipality, and to 40 per cent from 35 per cent for those filming outside the city core. With the changes, the existing tax-break program is extended for 10 years. It also now includes a five-per-cent bonus if one company shoots two or more movies in the province over a two-year period. The industry had called for an increase on par with other provinces, saying Nova Scotia was not only losing films to the U.S. but also to other Canadian provinces offering better tax breaks.
Read more on the CBC Arts website.
