June 6, 2007

Up-n-coming, 6/6.

Tom Waits: Hold On Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus will feature Heath Ledger and Tom Waits, notes Brendon Connelly, who points to and translates bits of an interview in El Pais. "Exciting? I'd say so. With an exploding cherry on top."

Jim Stark, who's produced films by Jim Jarmusch and others, is putting together a project that'll bring together Aki Kaurismäki, Bent Hamer and Dagur Kari. Swarez has more at Twitch.

Yesterday brought news of Spike Lee's intentions to follow up on When the Levees Broke; today, Reuters reports that he also plans to "pay tribute to black US soldiers who fought during World War Two with a new film to be shot in Italy."

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is the title of the just-completed screenplay by Kevin Smith, reports Jay A Fernandez for the Los Angeles Times. "And he hopes to squeeze in filming of his low-budget ($3 million) horror script, Red State, by the end of the year. Smith is aiming to give the politically charged screenplay, about outsiders who stumble into 'fundamentalism gone to the extreme' in Middle America, a naturalistic, drive-in feel."

"Oscar-winning actors Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are taking a chance on a new romantic comedy for Overture Films entitled Last Chance Harvey." Chris Tilly has more at Time Out.



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Posted by dwhudson at June 6, 2007 11:44 AM

Comments

Excellent. The unlikely pairing of Hoffman and Thompson was an inspired flourish in "Stranger Than Fiction," and the fact that Marc Forster kept the two from actually falling in love onscreen was a remarkable show of restraint. But it left me longing to see them brought together in an intelligent romantic comedy, and I can hardly believe that it's going to happen. This has tremendous potential. With the right screenplay, it could strike the kind of chords that Pacino and Pfeiffer struck in "Franky and Johnny" (a so-so film with moments of unforgettable, swoon-inducing romance).

Posted by: Jeffrey Overstreet at June 6, 2007 2:20 PM

You know, I saw Stranger Than Fiction panned and panned again and decided I'd wait for the DVD. Which I never got around to renting. Then, a couple of months ago, I saw it on a plane - and really quite liked it. For one thing, as it struck me, it has the courtesy to apologize for its ending, a courtesy that seems fitting with its overall tone. And for another, the casting, to add to what you're saying here, Jeffrey, is inspired all around.

It's a flawed film, problematic, etc., etc., but now I wish I'd caught it on the big screen.

Posted by: David Hudson at June 6, 2007 2:54 PM

Couldn't agree with you more, David. Didn't really believe that Maggie Gyllenhaal's feisty character would fall for Ferrell's wet blanket, but decided to go with the flow. (Hey, he liked her cookies.)

Posted by: Kathy Fennessy at June 7, 2007 12:31 PM