B
KEVIN BACON
FROST/NIXON:
Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell,
Kevin Bacon, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt, Patty McCormack, Toby
Jones, Jenn Gotzon, Rebecca Hall (Directed by Ron Howard; Written
by Peter Morgan; Universal) Richard Nixon may be the second worst
president the American public ever had to endure. In 1977--three
years after bidding a mortifying adieu to the White House, thereby
avoiding impeachment because of the Watergate scandal--he agreed
to appear in a series of televised conversations with British media
giant David Frost. Nixon learned too late that he should have played
harder to get; as it turned out, Frost stripped him bare, exposing
his soul for anyone who owned a television set to see. Fortunately,
Peter Morgan, author of the screenplay for “The Queen,”
decided to explore the confrontation between these two strong-willed
men in dramatic terms. The resulting play was a triumph in London
and on Broadway. Best of all, director Ron Howard had the smarts
to nail Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, the duo who brought Nixon
and Frost to riveting life on stage (Langella won a Best Actor Tony
for his take on Tricky Dicky). An unexpected bonus: Patty McCormack,
the kid who received an Oscar nomination for her playing of the
title role in the 1956 flick "The Bad Seed," plays the
long-suffering Pat Nixon this time out. To
read about other new movies based on plays, click
here. Opening date to be announced
CHRISTIAN BALE
THE
DARK KNIGHT: Christian Bale,
Gary Oldman, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Morgan
Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Caine, William
Fichtner, Eric Roberts (Written and directed by Christopher Nolan;
Warner Bros.) Batman (Christian Bale) and good-guy lawman James
Gordon (Gary Oldman) have got trouble, BIG trouble, right here in
Gotham city. And the biggest part of the big trouble is The Joker,
a lethal lunatic brought memorably to life by Jack Nicholson in
the 1989 Batman extravaganza. This time, the sicko is played by
Heath Ledger, the charismatic actor who recently died of an accidental
overdose of prescription drugs. If you flipped for “Batman
Begins” (2005), chances are that “The Dark Knight”
will please you, since it too has been helmed by that film's director,
Christopher Nolan, and many cast members are doing encores. Katie
Holmes, however, does not return as delectable Rachel Dawes. That
role, we’re pleased to say, has been inherited by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Opens 7/18/08
ERIC BANA
THE
OTHER BOLEYN GIRL: Natalie Portman,
Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Rue McClanahan (Directed by Justin
Chadwick; Written by Peter Morgan; Sony) Quick! Who was Mary Boleyn?
You know, of course. She was the younger sister of Anne Boleyn,
the regal mate of England’s King Henry VIII who literally
lost her head in 1536 as a result of trumped-up charges that she
was guilty of adultery, incest and witchcraft. Mary, who was married
to William Carey at the ripe old age of 12, was by no means a stranger
to the lascivious king herself, having served as his infamous mistress--and
possibly the mother of his son--before Anne popped onto the scene.
Why should you care about all this ancient history? Because Anne
and Mary are being played by Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson,
respectively, in this adaptation of Phillipa Gregory’s fact-based
novel. Eric Bana will undoubtedly have a romp as horny Henry. Now
Playing
ANTONIO BANDERAS
STOMPANATO:
Antonio Banderas, Sharon Stone (Directed by
Francois Girard; Written by David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples;
Stonelock Pictures) Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato were sweethearts--until
the day in 1958 when the screen queen's daughter, Cheryl Crane,
stabbed the hot-tempered gangland figure before he could make an
exit from her mom's Beverly Hills bedroom. (For those with short
memories, the verdict was justifiable homicide). Stone seems a smart
choice for Turner, but Bandera had better get to work on his American
accent--starting yesterday. No word yet on who will tackle the challenging
role of 14-year-old Cheryl, but if Dakota Fanning is on the list,
let us hope she is toward the bottom. Opening
date to be announced
JAVIER BARDEM
VICKY
CRISTINA BARCELONA: Scarlett
Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall (Written and
directed by Woody Allen) There was a time when Diane Keaton was
gloriously front and center in nearly every Woody Allen comedy or
drama. A bit later, the same was true of Mia Farrow. Now the working-with-Woody
thing is getting to be a habit with Scarlett Johansson, whose star
turns in his British-lensed “Match Point” and “Scoop”
will be followed by this maybe comedy/maybe drama. It was shot in
Barcelona and Asturias and deals with the amorous adventures of
a local lothario, his possessive girlfriend and two attractive American
tourists. Happily, Woody had the good sense to team Scarlett with
a pair of Pedro Almodovar’s finest players--Penelope Cruz
and Javier Bardem.
To read Guy Flatley’s 1978 Los Angeles Times interview with
Woody Allen, click here.
NINE:
Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard,
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sophia Loren (Directed by Rob Marshall; Written
by Michael Tolkin; Weinstein Company) Who could forget “8
1⁄2,” the stunning 1963 film in which Marcello Mastroianni,
under the direction of Federico Fellini, played a Felliniesque director
who made more women than movies? Certainly, composer Maury Yeston
and dramatist Arthur Kopit could not erase this classic from their
memories. That’s why, in 1982, they came up with a Broadway
musicalization of it starring the late, great Raul Julia as the
womanizing auteur on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The show, called “Nine,” was successfully revived in
2003, showcasing the song-and-dance skills of Antonio Banderas.
And now, here comes the movie version of the hit musical, directed
by Rob Marshall, who gave us “Chicago,” and starring
Javier Bardem, one of the few actors now working who could be ranked
alongside Marcello Mastroianni. Penelope Cruz plays his mistress,
Marion Cotillard, who triumphed as Edith Piaf in “La Vie en
Rose,” is his shortchanged wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones is an
actress who greatly inspires him, and Sophia Loren will haunt us
as the ghost of his Mama. To
read about more new movie musicals, click
here. Opening
date to be announced
DREW BARRYMORE
HE’S
JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU: Ben
Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin
Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson,
Kris Kristofferson, Justin Long (Directed by Ken Kwapis; Written
by Marc Silverstein and Abby Kohn; New Line Cinema) Smart, attractive
and variously driven young men and women meet, mix, meld and sometimes
split in exotic, erotic Baltimore. The star-studded story is based
on the self-help book by “Sex and the City” writers
Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo and is being directed by Ken Kwapis,
who deserves credit for his contributions to television’s
“The Office,” “The Larry Sanders Show,”
“The Bernie Mac Show” and “Malcolm in the Middle.”
Mention should be made, too, of Kwapis’ big-screen, big-flop
“License to Wed,” starring a spectacularly unfunny Robin
Williams as a man of the cloth who's determined to put Mandy Moore
and John Krasinski through holy hell before deigning to marry them.
To read about
more new comedies, click here; for
Diane Baroni's 1998 interview with Kris Kristofferson, click
here. Opens 8/1/08
GREY
GARDENS:
Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange, Olivia Waldriff (Directed by Michael
Sucsy; Written by Patricia Rozema and Michael Sucsy; HBO Films)
Little Edith Bouvier Beale was Jacqueline Kennedy's cousin, and
her mother, Big Edith Bouvier Beale, was the First Lady’s
aunt. At one time, the two Edies lived sumptuously on Manhattan’s
Park Avenue, but they ended up in a squalid, raccoon-infested estate
on Long Island. Thanks to the intervention of Jackie, the East Hampton
health department did not carry through with its plan to raid the
dump. But that didn’t keep the messy eccentrics out of the
headlines, and eventually they became the subjects of “Grey
Gardens,” a memorable 1976 documentary made by David and Albert
Maysles. Now an expanded version of their story that includes material
on the young Jackie Bouvier (portrayed by 8-year-old Olivia Waldriff)
and covers Little Edie’s late-blooming career as a nightclub
chanteuse is headed your way. Let us hope that Jessica Lange has
more luck playing Drew Barrymore’s mom than she did playing
Christina Ricci’s in the wretched “Prozac Nation.”
Opening date
to be announced
EVERYBODY’S
FINE: Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore,
Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell (Written and directed by Kirk Jones;
Miramax) A lonely, no-longer-young widower just doesn’t know
what to do with himself. Then, one day, it strikes him that what
he really needs to make his life meaningful is to hook up with each
of his geographically scattered kids again. He could be dead wrong
about that. De Niro is the wandering dad in this remake of "Stanno
Tuti Bene," Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1990 Italian comedy-tearjerker
starring Marcello Mastroianni. Barrymore, Beckinsale and Rockwell
play his grown-up brats. Click
here for Vincent Canby's 1991 review of the original "Everybody's
Fine" in The New York Times; to read Guy Flatley's 1973 New
York Times interview with Robert De Niro, click
here. Opening date to be
announced
KATE BECKINSALE
WHITEOUT:
Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Columbus Short,
Tom Skerritt, Alex O’Loughlin, Shawn Doyle, Patrick Sabongui,
Nicolas Wright, Paula Jean Hixson, Nick Villarin (Directed by Dominic
Sena; Written by Erich and Jon Hoeber; Warner Bros. ) Even though
she is a bona fide U.S. Marshal in this adaptation of Greg Rucka’s
graphic novels, Beckinsale is not what you would call a happy trooper.
She’s had her share of sad times, so now she’s chosen
to live a life of emotional isolation in Antarctica. But what’s
this? A serial killer (a distinct novelty on this continent) is
on the loose--and Kate must pull herself together and capture the
rascal before the sun goes down (and stays down) for six months!
Perhaps Antarctica was not the perfect choice for a meditative getaway
after all. Click
here to read about more murderpix. Opening
date to be announced
EVERYBODY’S
FINE: Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore,
Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell (Written and directed by Kirk Jones;
Miramax) A lonely, no-longer-young widower just doesn’t know
what to do with himself. Then, one day, it strikes him that what
he really needs to make his life meaningful is to hook up with each
of his geographically scattered kids again. He could be dead wrong
about that. De Niro is the wandering dad in this remake of "Stanno
Tuti Bene," Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1990 Italian comedy-tearjerker
starring Marcello Mastroianni. Barrymore, Beckinsale and Rockwell
play his grown-up brats. Click
here for Vincent Canby's 1991 review of the original "Everybody's
Fine" in The New York Times; to read Guy Flatley's 1973 New
York Times interview with Robert De Niro, click
here. Opening
date to be announced
ANNETTE BENING
A
WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE: Annette
Bening, Lindsay Lohan, Sean Bean (Directed by Janusz Kaminski; Written
by Howard Himelstein; Myriad Pictures) Suppose you were a proper
young lady who had the misfortune of being seduced and abandoned
by a wealthy, unscrupulous gentleman. What would you do if, years
later, your grown-up son proudly introduced you to his powerful
new mentor, a man who--unbeknownst to the poor bastard--is his own
father, the very same creep who decided to cut and run decades ago?
That’s the question Oscar Wilde wanted Victorian theater-goers
to ponder when he turned out “A Woman of No Importance”
in 1893, and that’s the question screenwriter Howard Himelstein
hopes we’ll struggle with in his update of the play. The question
I’m truly struggling with is, do I really want to sit through
a revamping of Wilde by the man who gave us “A Good Woman,”
the terminally tame version of the witty playwright’s “Lady
Windermere’s Fan”? Quick, somebody stop this man before
he goes completely Wilde! Opening date to
be announced
GAEL GARCIA
BERNAL
THE
PAST (EL PASADO): Gael
Garcia Bernal, Analia Couceyro, Moro Anghileri, Ana Celentano, Betty
Farias (Directed by Hector Babenco; Written by Alan Pauls) Hector
Babenco, who directed William Hurt in his Oscar-winning performance
in 1985’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” is now guiding
Gael Garcia Bernal through some tricky paces. Based on screenwriter
Alan Pauls’ acclaimed novel, "The Past" depicts
the emotional and physical torment experienced by a young man who
decides to end a lengthy, complicated relationship. He’s ready
to plunge into the intoxicating world of multi-partnered mating,
but, as it turns out, his ex has different plans for his future.
And she knows precisely how to make life hell for him--and for any
woman who succumbs to his charm. Opening date
to be announced
HALLE BERRY
THINGS
WE LOST IN THE FIRE:
Halle Berry, Benicio Del
Toro, David Duchovny, Alexis Llewellyn, Alison Lohman (Directed
by Susanne Bier; Written by Allan Loeb; Paramount) Halle Berry won
an Oscar for “Monster’s Ball,” in which she played
a widow who has a hot affair with a prison guard (Billy Bob Thornton)
who, unbeknownst to her, had executed her husband (Sean Combs).
In “Things We Lost in the Fire,” she again plays a beautiful
young widow who is perhaps a bit on the clueless side about the
troubled man (Benicio Del Toro) she takes into her home after the
untimely death of her husband (David Duchovny). The guy didn’t
kill her hubby, but he certainly knew him. It doesn’t really
matter, so long as Halle ends up with another Oscar for her efforts.
Now Playing
PAUL
BETTANY
THERE
FOR ME: Paul Bettany, Olivia
Williams, Rita Tushingham, Dan Fredenburgh, Charlie Condu, Doraly
Rosen (Axiom Films) Handsome Paul Bettany and beautiful Saffron
Burrows do not meet cute in this British indie. They meet tragic,
each still reeling from traumatic events. Whatever trouble he finds
himself in, we just hope that Bettany, one of the most magnetic
young actors around, is better behaved here than he was in “Firewall”
and “The Da Vinci Code.” Opening
date to be announced
INKHEART:
Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren,
Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis, Rafi Gavron, Sienna Guillory (Directed
by Iain Softley; Written by David Lindsay-Abaire; New Line Cinema)
A man named Mo has a unique, sometimes dangerous talent. He can
read books from his vast collection to his beloved daughter Meggie,
and the results are so vivid that the characters literally jump
off the pages and enter their quaint home. That’s how they
strike up an acquaintance with a slimy villain named Capricorn,
and that’s also how Mo manages to get himself kidnapped. Can
Meggie and an assortment of helpmates come to his rescue? Based
on the first book of a trilogy by children’s author Cornelia
Funke, the movie features Andy Serkis, of “The Lord of the
Rings” fame, as Capricorn and good “Queen” Helen
Mirren as a quirky collector of rare books. Opening
date to be announced
FOR
GUY FLATLEY'S 2002 INTERVIEW WITH PAUL BETTANY,
click
here.
JACK BLACK
TROPIC
THUNDER: Ben Stiller, Jack Black,
Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte, Brandon Jackson, Steve Coogan, Justin
Theroux, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Jay Baruchel, Matt Levin, Andrea
De Oliveira (Directed by Ben Stiller; Written by Justin Theroux
and Etan Cohen; DreamWorks) What would you do if you were lucky
enough to be cast in a gritty war movie, went on the shoot, and
then got shot at because a real-life (and death) war was taking
root? Director/star Ben Stiller and his zany crew will help you
ponder this question. Let's hope their slapstick war doesn't turn
out to be a big bomb. Opens 7/11/08
FOR GUY
FLATLEY'S 2002 INTERVIEW WITH JACK BLACK, click
here.
CATE
BLANCHETT
INDIANA
JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: Harrison
Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen, John
Hurt, Jim Broadbent (Directed by Steven Spielberg; Written by David
Koepp and Jeff Nathanson; Paramount) Starting with “Sugarland
Express” in 1974 and surging through “Jaws” (1975)
and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), Steven
Spielberg established himself as the fastest-rising director of
the late seventies. Then, in 1979, a loser of a war-comedy called
“1941” ripped a hole in Spielberg’s rep as an
auteur, threatening to dump him into oblivion. The rude shock of
that dud did eventually fade and, two years later, mega-blockbuster
“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” starring Harrison Ford as
two-fisted, whip-snapping archeologist Henry “Indiana”
Jones, turned Spielberg into the Comeback Kid. And he’s been
back ever since--think “E.T.,” “Empire of the
Sun,” “Schindler’s List,” “Saving
Private Ryan,” “A.I.,” “Minority Report,”
“Catch Me If You Can” and “Munich” (but
do not think “The Color Purple,” “Always,”
“Hook,” “Jurassic Park,” “Amistad”
and “Terminal”). Now, demonstrating loyalty to the bigger-than-life
character who put his career back on track, Spielberg spins a fourth
chapter in the saga of Indiana Jones. And Harrison Ford will of
course be the guy who wields a whip and cracks skulls--with the
help of Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf and other choice friends.
Opens 5/22/08
THE CURIOUS
CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON: Brad
Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Elle Fanning, Elias Koteas,
Jason Flemyng, Julia Ormond (Directed by David Fincher; Written
by Eric Roth; Paramount/Warner Bros.) Brad Pitt will soon turn 50.
But don’t feel depressed; just a bit later, the golden boy
will be 49, and on the next birthday, he’ll be 48. You get
the idea: in the Eric Roth screenplay, based on a story by F. Scott
Fitzgerald, the hero ages backward, and when he arrives at the ripe
young age of 30, he meets the love of his life, a pip played by
Cate Blanchett, who memorably played opposite Pitt in “Babel.”
David Fincher, who had Brad working on all cylinders in “Fight
Club,” will be at the helm. Opens
11/26/08
ADRIEN BRODY
MANOLETE:
Adrien Brody, Penelope Cruz (Written and directed by Menno Meyjes;
Lolafilms) Adrien Brody, faced with monstrous competition for the
attention of Naomi Watts in “King Kong,” will presumably
have an easier time of it when he woos Penelope Cruz in this true-life
romance. Brody plays magnetic bullfighter Manuel Rodriguez Sanchez,
better known as Manolete, and Cruz takes on the role of sultry actress
Lupe Sino. To read
about many more new biopics, click here.
Opening date to be announced
JOSH
BROLIN
MILK:
Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James
Franco, Diego Luna, Lucas Grabeel, Howard Rosenman, Stephen Spinella,
Victor Garber (Directed by Gus Van Sant; Written by Dustin Lance
Black; Focus Features) On November 27, 1978, Harvey Milk, a militant
gay activist and enormously charismatic San Francisco supervisor,
was shot dead, along with his boss, Mayor George Moscone, by Dan
White, a vengeful ex-supervisor. The light sentence given to the
assassin led to San Francisco’s historic White Night Riots.
Under the masterful direction of openly gay Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn
plays Harvey Milk and Josh Brolin is Dan White. Opens
in November 2008
SANDRA BULLOCK
GRACE:
Sandra Bullock Patrick Jordan, David Morse, Joanna Lowe, Ben Blazer,
Marty Giles (Directed by Andrew Paul; Written by Naomi Foner, Alie
Kolb, Mathew Kopel and Ben Penhan;Written by Naomi Foner; Fortis
Films) For some people, it was a shocking peep into the living rooms
and, especially, the bedrooms of small-town fifties America; for
others, it was plain old trash. Whatever it was or was not, “Peyton
Place” was certainly the vehicle that propelled previously
unsung novelist Grace Metalious to international notoriety. It also
led to the break-up of her marriage and, eventually, to her death
by suicide. Although screenwriter Naomi Foner is the mother of Jake
and Maggie Gyllenhaal, she neglected to write roles for her talented
kids on this occasion.Opening date
to be announced
FOR A
COMPLETE ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF STAR TURNS,
CLICK HERE.
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