Month: August 2006

Stormbreaker Gets a Name Change

The upcoming teen spy thriller Stormbreaker has gotten a name change. It’s officially now called Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker. The film is based the series of spy novels by Anthony Horowitz, about a 14-year-old boy trained by the British Intelligence Service branch, MI:6. Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker hits theaters on October 6, 2006.

Zhang Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower Trailer

The first teaser trailer for Zhang Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower is up, and it looks sweet. Judging by Yimou’s previous efforts, which include House of Flying Daggers, Jet Li’s Hero and Raise the Red Lantern, I’d say he’s well qualified to bring a beautifully directed piece of action-art to the screen again. Curse of the Golden Flower focuses on the ….

Toronto Film Fest Premiere Lineup

The latest from Paul Verhoeven, Ridley Scott, Anthony Minghella, Douglas McGrath and Patrice Lecontewill all premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. Festival organizers have booked world premieres for Minghella’s Breaking and Entering, about intersecting lives in London that stars Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn and Vera Farmiga; and Scott’s A Good Year, the Russell Crowe movie about an investment banker who moves to ….

Bernie Mac Signs With Lionsgate

According to the Hollywood Reporter, actor-comedian Bernie Mac and his producing partner Steven Greenerhave formed production company MacMan Entertainment and have signed a two-year, first-look deal with Lionsgate. The deal has an option for a third year and marks the first time Lionsgate has partnered with an actor’s company.  The first project to be developed under the deal will be ….

Calgary Fringe Film Festival Wraps

Tripping Forward has been awarded the 2006 Grand Champion Award for Best Film of Festival at the Calgary Fringe Film Festival. A buddy comedy Tripping Forward marks the feature film directorial debut of commercial director Marcus Nash of Mania Films. The film follows the lives of two tried and true party boys; a struggling actor and a out-of-the-limelight rock star, ….

Saw III Scene Preview With Crank

According to Lionsgate, a scene from the upcoming horror Saw III will be shown with Crank when it hits theaters this Friday, September 1. The first scene is reportedly very gory and will showcase the first of Jigsaw’s games in the film. Crank stars Jason Statham (The Transporter, Rogue). He’s injected with a drug that gives him 24 hours to live, but ….

Hitchcock Silent Getting Remade

Production Weekly reports that David Ondaatje (Undressing Hitchcock, Waiting for Dr. MacGuffin, June 8) will remake the 1927 silent film The Lodger. The original was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on a novel by Marie Adelaide Lowndes. The Lodger follows a fictional version of the Jack the Ripper killings. In the storyline, a serial killer known as The Avenger is on the loose in London, murdering ….

Stephen Chow Starts Work on Yangtze River 7 (Long River 7)

Shooting on Stephen Chow’s (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) Long River 7 (Yangtze River 7) has started at an elementary school in Ningbo City in eastern China, according to several Chinese newspapers. Long River, also called the Yangtze River, is China’s longest and the world’s third longest river. Long River 7actually refers to a Chinese satellite, inspired by ….

The Situation to Premiere at Hamptons Film Festival

The 14th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival is proud to announce this year’s selection for Opening Night film. The World Premiere of Philip Haas’ compelling drama, The Situation. Combining elements of thriller, romance and war movie, The Situation, the first U.S. feature film dealing with the war, set exclusively in Iraq, is a dramatization of one of the countless human ….

Teenage Mutant Ninja Trailer

Strange events are occurring in New York City, and the Turtles are needed more than ever, but Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo have become directionless. With the city at stake, it’s up to Leonardo and Zen Master Splinter to restore unity and ninja discipline to the Turtles. The new CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will hit theaters in ….

Dixie Chicks to Shut Up and Sing

The Weinstein Company has acquired the worldwide rights to Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, a documentary from two-time Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA, American Dream) and director Cecilia Peck, which will be featured as a Gala Presentation at the 31st Toronto Film Festival. The film, which is produced by Kopple and Peck, is a presentation of Cabin ….

Idlewild Opens Today

Idlewild is an innovative musical set in the Prohibition-era American South, where a speak-easy performer and club manager named Rooster (Big Boi) must contend with gangsters who have their eyes on the club while his piano player and partner Percival (André Benjamin) must choose between his love, Angel (Paula Patton) or his obligations to his father (Ben Vereen). View the trailer for Idlewild RIGHT HERE ….

Amnesty International to Host Annual DC Film Fest

Amnesty International, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization, announced the program for its second annual international film festival in Washington, DC, September 14-16 2006. The 2006 festival will again be presented in partnership with “National Geographic Live!,” National Geographic’s program for featuring films, lectures and performances. Known for showcasing films that illuminate powerful stories ….