Ask anyone about the best children's sci-fi novels, and Madeline L'Engle's Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time will inevitably emerge. It's been beloved by readers of all ages for over fifty years, though somehow the novel has avoided a big-screen adaptation since its publication (we're not going to count the awful 2003 TV movie, and neither should you). Now, however, a Wrinkle in Time movie may finally get off the ground.
Just yesterday, we brought you the unexpected news that Wedding Crashers actor Vince Vaughn was in preliminary talks for one of the lead male roles in the second season of HBO's acclaimed True Detective. Now, thanks to TheWrap, a terrific amount of scoopage has followed suit, including new character details and word that Top of the Lake star Elisabeth Moss and The Killing actress Michelle Forbes are circling key female roles.
For a Vin Diesel-powered fantasy actioner, The Last Witch Hunter is certainly putting together a stellar supporting cast. First, Game of Thrones breakout Rose Leslie snagged the lead female role. Then, Diesel revealed that Oscar winner Michael Caine (Hannah and Her Sisters) had boarded the project. Now, ahead of filming getting under way within a month, the pic has added The Lord of the Rings alum Elijah Wood to its cast.
Recently, the first picture of Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne in Warner Bros.' Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice hit the web, showing the character in front of a wrecked Wayne Financial building in Metropolis:
Some of the best psychological thrillers of modern times have come from obscure directors working with unknown casts on tiny budgets. Take Nacho Vigalondo's Timecrimes, Ben Wheatley's Kill List and Alex R. Johnson's Two Step as some recent examples. Next month will see the release of The Maid's Room, from Price Check director Michael Walker. Whether it will be added to that list of unexpected gems remains to be seen, but the tense clip We Got This Covered is exclusively debuting for you today is a very promising indicator.
Matthew McConaughey turned his career around in epic fashion, going from leading forgettable rom-coms to starring in a series of excellent dramas. His McConaissance was made complete this year with the one-two punch of an Oscar win for Dallas Buyers Club and an Emmy nomination for his lead role in HBO's game-changing True Detective. One of the aspects of the latter series that was so widely admired was its success in handing McConaughey an extremely complex and fascinating character to work with.
You can't keep a good zombie down. Ever since Seth Grahame-Smith's goofy Jane Austen spoof Pride and Prejudice and Zombies became a surprise hit back in 2009, conversations about turning the Victorian horror-comedy into a movie have been taking place. Directors like Craig Gillespie and Mike White have come and gone, along with a slew of female stars like Blake Lively, Emma Stone and Lily Collins. The one constant throughout the film's development has been its script, which David O. Russell penned back when he was set to direct. Today, however, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has finally firmed up.
Post-Bridesmaids, Hollywood is finally picking up on the fact that audiences want to see more female-led comedies. And since that landmark, there have been a few enjoyable flicks that have followed in its footsteps (the caustic Bachelorette and over-the-top buddy cop comedy The Heat come first to mind). Unfortunately, there have also been a few entries in the genre which one could fairly call regressive, whose female characters only relate to one another, or life as a whole, through men. The Other Woman, despite initial appearances, falls firmly into the latter category - in addition to being cheaply written, disappointingly stale and (worst of all) very guilty of squandering its two female leads.
If you seek out Dom Hemingway (as you should) for a chance to see Jude Law as never before, you'll likely come away thrilled with what writer-director Richard Shepard has unleashed within the actor. Physically, Law's almost unrecognizable, complete with greased-back hair, a protruding belly and a feral glint of sexual hunger in his eyes. And as an actor, he's louder, bolder, nuttier and more rakishly appealing than ever before. It's quite a transformation, coming on the heels of many almost clinically detached performances over the past few years - and Dom Hemingway should mark the beginning of a new era for the star, as Mud did for McConaughey. He's so stunningly good, so fiercely alive, in this role that one can almost feel the heat from his fire coming off every frame.
Some books are widely considered to be 'unfilmable' for a multitude of reasons, from complex themes to unconventional narrative construction to epic scope. Philip Roth's seminal novel American Pastoral exhibits all of those traits - but Lakeshore Entertainment is still moving full steam ahead with an adaptation of it to be helmed by Phillip Noyce (The Giver). Today, Noah actress Jennifer Connelly, who won an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind, joined the cast, which is being led by Ewan McGregor.
