Month: July 2008

SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) has been given until Aug. 15 to accept the studios most recent offer or any changes from there on will not be retroactive. Against strong protest from SAG, AFTRA (the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) has accepted a similar offer the studios that is retroactive to July 1. SAG has still not called for a strike vote.

Variety confirms that Robert Downey Jr has committed to Guy Ritchie’s take on Sherlock Holmes. Anthony Peckham’s script is based on a mixture of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tales and the Lionel Wigram comic book adaptation. Ritchie turned in a polish of the latest draft. The project, which is set to begin production in October, is trying to race ahead of the Judd Apatow project, a comedy based on the same property and starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrel.

/Film reports John Favreau has officially signed on for Iron Man 2.

Chud reveals that Quentin Tarantino’s film Inglorious Basterds sees a crack team of Jewish soldiers going into France on a mission to get revenge on the Nazis, they’re given a quota of 100 Nazi scalps. Its being called a “Jewsploitation” movie and is part of the post-Munich Tough Jew zeitgeist (which also brought us Zohan).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney and Scott Rudin are coming together for ” Synchronicity“, a comedy about syncronized swimming. The project will center on male synchronized swimmers and follow in the steps of sports comedies from the likes of Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller. Marty Scott and Toni Kotite will write the screenplay.

Alcon Entertainment has picked up first look rights to Ian Shorr’s thriller, “Substitution“. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Steve Crystal came up with the story with Shorr. The project follows an emotional high school senior who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a murder plot orchestrated by his substitute teacher.

According to Variety, Participant Media is developing the eco-horror tale The Colony, based on a pitch by Stacy Title and Jonathan Penner. Steven Schneider of Room 101 and Vertigo Entertainment’s Doug Davison and Roy Lee are producing. No production date has been set.

Entertainment Weekly Reports that David Fincher will be tackling “Metal Hurlant” (“Heavy Metal” in the US), but not with Paramount, who has passed on making the second movie adaptaion of the seminal scifi and fantasy rag.

Disney is developing a dance comedy inspired by the professional squad that performs at every Chicago Bulls home game. The project, tentatively titled “The Matadors,” will be directed by Anne Fletcher, a one-time Laker Girl who went on to become a choreographer before making her feature filmmaking debut with “Step Up.”

Variety reports HBO has greenlit the pilot “Fat Sells,” which is set in the world of the $46 billion herbal weight loss industry. Forest Whitaker is attached to exec produce, along with 25/7 topper Dave Broome, exec producer on “The Biggest Loser.” The project will center on the head of a weight loss behemoth (and his family) and how his life starts to unravel when the FDA begins investigating the company’s claims.

Columbia Pictures has acquired “Mythological Veterinarian,” a comic pitch that will be scripted by Andrew Kurtzman and produced by Jimmy Miller. Laffer is about a modern-day veterinarian who’s recruited by a secret society that watches over the world’s mythological creatures. Principal Entertainment’s Danny Sherman will be exec producer.

Sources:
Variety
/Film
CHUD
THR
MovieWeb

Friday, July 11th

Hellboy II: The Golden Army: PG-13. The sequel to the 2003 movie based on Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse comic character. Ron Perlman returns to the title role as Hellboy, a humanoid creature born in the flames of Hell and brought to Earth as an infant. Raised in secret, the adolescent “HB” becomes an agent for the secret Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development (BPRD), a covert government agency which serves as the planet’s defense against otherworldly evil. Selma Blair will also reprise the role of Liz Sherman, a pyrokinetic human who is HB’s colleague and love interest. Universal Pictures

Journey to the Center of the Earth: PG. When a group of kids find Jules Verne’s original manuscript for his book “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” they discover that he actually took the trip himself, and using the manuscript as a map, they follow his course into the earth’s core. Warner Bros. Pictures

Meet Dave: PG. Seeking a way to save their doomed world, a crew of tiny, human-looking aliens arrives on earth in the perfect disguise–a spaceship shaped like an ordinary man. 20th Century Fox

Harold: PG-13. “Harold” revolves around the title character, a premature balding young teen trying to adapt to a new high school. Gooding Jr. plays a school janitor who befriends and helps him through merciless teasing. City Lights Pictures

August: R. August centers on two brothers fighting to keep their start-up company afloat on Wall Street during August 2001, a month before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Original Media

Garden Party: UNRATED. A series of chance encounters in LA. At the center of the story is 15-year-old April (Willa Holland). She is running from one bad situation into another, hoping to find an answer that doesn’t involve taking off her clothes. As April navigates Los Angeles, she falls in with a group of confused kids struggling to chase their dreams. The black widow at the center of this web is a sexy, pot-dealing realtor named Sally St. Clair (Vinessa Shaw). Anyone who gets too close falls victim to her kinky entanglements. For some it goes bad, for other worse. Roadside Attractions

Eight Miles High: UNRATED. Achim Bornhak’s movie focuses on the restless life of super-model Uschi Obermaier, the icon of the 1968 peace movement in Germany and groupie. At the age of 16, Uschi is bored by her job in a photo lab, but soon becomes the “it girl” of Munich’s club scene. When she gets to know Rainer Langhans, they move to Berlin and live in “Kommune 1”, the first politically-motivated commune in Germany. While the other occupants claim she isn’t political enough, Uschi just wants to have fun, works as fashion model and leads international music stars into temptation. Dokument Films

The Stone Angel: R. Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Laurence, The Stone Angel is the story of feisty firecracker Hagar Shipley (Christine Horne, Oscar Winner Ellen Burstyn). Her passionate heart has always ruled her head and her choices have put her at odds with family and friends. With her life nearly behind her, she sets out in search of a way to reconcile herself to her turbulent past. Through her reflections we come to know a passionate and rebellious young bride, her love for her two sons, the freedoms she claimed, and the joys she denied herself. Vivendi Entertainment

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired: UNRATED. Marina Zenovich’s film is an extensive exploration of the circumstances that led up to, and the circus that followed, Polanski’s conviction for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. A thrilling examination of a trial that became the prototype for innumerable Hollywood courtroom scandals to follow, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” becomes a brilliant discourse on the attraction/repulsion that defines celebrity culture in contemporary America. THINKFilm

Sources:

Movieweb.com

According to the Telegraph actor and producer Robert De Niro has spoken out firmly against a threatened strike by film and television actors at a film festival in the Czech Republic Saturday.

“I do not think it is good time to be striking now,” he is quoted as saying during a press conference at the Karlovy Vary film festival. “I personally think it is not a good idea to strike.” He continued, “All the trade unions are affected by the strike, with the economy as it is at this time, it does not seem to be a great idea,” “The issues could be resolved in a few years and, whatever the result is, can be set retroactively,” the Oscar-winning actor said.

The Screen Actors’ Guild, the primary union for TV and film actors, is expected to respond Monday to the latest offer from industry heads following the expiration of the previous three-year contract between the two sides.

On a more political note, De Niro gave solid support for the Democratic Party’s de-facto presidential nominee, Barack Obama.

“I do feel very strongly that he should be president and I feel that he will. He is a real hope for the country and our relationship with people around the rest of the world, because we have had a bad past seven-eight years. It is very important that someone like him becomes the president,” he said.

De Niro, who turns 65 in August, is a guest of honour at Karlovy Vary, Central Europe’s biggest film festival, and was awarded a “Crystal Globe” for his contribution to cinema on Friday night.

Actors Christopher Lee and Danny Glover will also see prizes at the festival where 220 films and documentaries are due to be screened during its nine-day run ending July 12.

 

Sources:

The Telegraph
Hollywood.com

Audiences may know Josh Peck as the chubbier half of “Drake & Josh,” the Nickelodeon hit. But the actor, who’s been in the business since he was 9, is now 21, trim and a leading man in “The Wackness.”

After two years of “getting healthy,” the slimmed-down Peck plays Luke, a shy high school teen who sells pot and falls in love with his therapist’s stepdaughter (played by Olivia Thirlby of “Juno”). There’s even a nude shower scene with the actress. “I shower in real life too, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch,” Peck joked. “Only I don’t have sex in outdoor showers.”

In a one-on-one interview he recalled that he “grew up a heavyset kid.” When he was 14 he landed the hit Nickelodeon series, “The Amanda Show,” followed by “Drake & Josh.”

Peck’s life changed with the 2004 independent film “Mean Creek,” for which he was singled out by critics as a persecuted fat kid. “I came along and brought someone who wasn’t your stereotypical leading-man look. From there I said, ‘I don’t want to wait around 10 years for another part to come around like this.’ ”

Peck realized if he was heavy, “There’s only the funny fat guy parts or the heavy friend. It’s an unfortunate stereotype, and I wanted to have the chance to play roles like this, to have more quality. And I wanted to be healthier.”

He also identified with his most recent character, Luke: “He was at the beginning of something that I was at the tail end of. He was 18 and I was 20, and I felt I could bring a lot of honesty and truth to what he was. I had had my first and my only love really, and it had ended. It was quite fresh when we made this movie, one of those divine gifts you’re given as an actor.”

Sources:

The Boston Herald

Veteran actor Don S. Davis, best known as Gen. Hammond on “Stargate: SG1” died last week at the age of 65.

Davis was a prolific actor with more than 130 projects to his credit but he is perhaps most familiar to genre fans for roles in several  classic series including David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks”, where he played Major Garland Briggs, and The “X-Files” where he played Captain Scully, Agent Dana Scully’s father. Some of his other work includes the “G.I. Joe” animated series where he voiced Wild Bill, he appeared on “Supernatural“, “Highlander”, “The Dead Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, “Andromeda”, and the new “Flash Gordon” series. But Don’s most enduring role is that of Major General George Hammond on the series “Stargate: SG-1“. Don co-starred on SG-1 for the show’s first seven years, helping to launch the enduring science fiction franchise. 

Off-screen, Don was beloved by the show’s cast and crew. Mike Browne, a key production assistant on “Beyond Loch Ness” and Carrie Genzel, who will be playing Jackie Kennedy in the upcoming “Watchmen” movie both expressed their grief at Davis’ passing on the Moviesetblog.

Browne: “I had the pleasure of working with actor Don S. Davis, who passed away on the weekend, on a made for TV movie called Beyond Loch Ness. I was impressed with his professionalism, candor about the film business, sense of humor and accessibility.

Between takes, even on the rainy days when everyone else was running for their warm and dry trailers, Don had time for any crew member who wanted to bend his ear at the Craft Service table or around the cast tent. With me, he spoke candidly about the gratitude he had for his successful and almost accidental acting career, a passion for teaching and slowing down toward retirement in a few short years.

Don was an Officer and a Gentleman and he will be missed.”

Genzel: “I also had the pleasure of working with Don S. Davis on “Beyond Loch Ness” and am truly saddened to hear of his passing. We had to deal with some pretty hard weather conditions on the film and no matter how cold, wet, or muddy it was Don was always there with a funny story or anecdote to lift everyone spirits, and trust me, he never ran out of them. He was a quite a daredevil too, not only did he do his own stunts in the film but the first day of filming he had to drive a boat on a lake and got it going so fast he nearly landed right on the beach. I think the crew and director, Paul Ziller, were a bit worried, but we sure had a good laugh about it later…they didn’t let him drive the boat much after that.

I will always remember his professionalism, kindness, endless stories, and great laugh, I learned a lot from Don, my heart goes out to his family and loved ones, may he rest in peace.”

Davis departed SG-1 in 2003 due to a medical condition that restricted his workload, but would later return for several guest appearances on both SG-1 and “Stargate Atlantis“. Don worked hard to improve his health, and continued to work both on screen and off until his death.

Born August 4, 1942 in Aurora, Missouri and raised there, Don received a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in theater and art from Southwest Missouri State College in 1965. He then served three years on active duty in the United States Army.

Upon leaving the army, Don began working toward a Master’s degree in theater at Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, Illinois, and received his Master’s degree in 1970. He taught at the University of British Columbia for a decade before returning to SIU to complete his coursework for a PhD in theater, receiving the degree in 1982.

Don’s list of film and television credits is lengthy, dating back to 1982. He met Stargate co-star Richard Dean Anderson on the set of “MacGyver”, where Don worked as a stunt double for actor Dana Elcar.

When production on “Stargate SG-1” began in 1997, the producers tapped Davis to play the base commander — originally written to be a by-the-book antagonist, but quickly softened by Don’s own personality and experience.

In 2003 Don married his soul mate and the great love of his life, Ruby Fleming-Davis. The two have resided in British Columbia with their three dogs, Teto, Ming and Charley.

Don’s off-screen career as an artist blossomed especially in the years since he left Stargate. A look at his Web site, DonSDavisArt.com, reveals his tremendous gifts in painting, drawing, and woodcarving.

Don’s final Stargate appearance is in “Stargate: Continuum“, the SG-1 DVD movie that will be released July 29 in North America and August 18 in the United Kingdom. He will also appear in the forthcoming films “Vipers,” “Woodshop,” and “Far Cry,” according to the Internet Movie Database.

Many fans of Don’s work have had the opportunity to meet him in person, as he was also a regular face at fan conventions around the world. Fans learned that behind General Hammond was a Southern gentleman with a big heart, a no-nonsense attitude, and all the love and respect one could imagine.

GateWorld, a website dedicated to covering the Stargate franchise visited with Don in 2006, where he talked at length about his career, his time on Stargate, and his feelings about his fellow cast members. That two-part video interview, “Intimate Portrait,” may be found in the Interviews archive.

Services for Don S. Davis will be small and private in Vancouver. His Web sites will be updated this week, and his obituary has been published in the Vancouver Sun newspaper. In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests that donations be made to the American Heart Association in Don’s memory.

Memories of Don can be shared at GateWorld Forum. Also watch the site this week for more in tribute to this stellar actor and man, beginning with a special video tribute.

Sources:

Gateworld

Movie Set Blog

IMDB

DonSDavis.com