• Universal is somehow developing a movie based on the classic Asteroids video game. Who will pilot the triangle ship? Channing Tatum, perhaps?

• New photos of Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as the Runaways have surfaced. Now who's going to tell their fan base who the Runaways are?

• Sony has bumped Michel Gondry's Green Hornet from March, 2010, to next summer. That'll give you a little more time to wrap your head around the idea of Michel Gondry directing a Green Hornet movie.

• The first trailer for the independent comedy Spread, starring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche, has surfaced. Add copious Twittering and this trailer pretty much sums up Kutcher's day-to-day life.

• Experts say the late David Carradine likely died of asphyxia.

• Heathers director Michael Lehmann put rumors of a sequel to rest. One should always be suspicious when the sole source of a rumor is Winona Ryder.

• Veteran actor Karl Malden passed away, at the age of 97. The star of classics like On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire died at his California home of natural causes.

• Chris Columbus hinted that the Goonies sequel may still happen. Goonies never say die, even when they probably should.

• Fargo star Harve Presnell also passed away, at the age of 75. Presnell played William H. Macy's memorably irascible father-in-law in the Coen brothers' film and also appeared as Daddy Warbucks onstage in Annie.

• Vacancy director Nimród Antal will helm Predators, the remake of Predator that Robert Rodriguez is producing.

• The first trailer for the Vince Vaughn comedy Couples Retreat has surfaced. Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, and more star.

• Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston topped Forbes's list of Hollywood's biggest female moneymakers. This was just an excuse to get them in the same room together at the party, right?

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is already up to $448.4 million worldwide and on pace to be the top-grossing film of the year.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 07.02.09 - R.I.P., Karl Malden; Aniston and Jolie Top Hollywood-Earner List" »

I went to Chicago this month (see the pictures here) for the premiere of Michael Mann's Public Enemies and sit-down interviews with the cast, in Chicago's Union Station. Universal rented out the entire train station and closed it down (folks were still able to take trains, but from a different entry point) -- and that's just a small indication of what the Windy City means to this film. Co-stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, as well as Mann and Marion Cotillard (Depp's love interest in the movie), all said that Chicago plays the role of a character in this story of the legendary American bank robber John Dillinger. As for whether Depp believes Dillinger might still be out there -- hanging with Elvis at Burger King or talking on his cell phone -- and wasn't assassinated by the special agent Melvin Purvis (Bale), you'll have to watch the video to find out.

It's a rare movie that lets Bill Pullman be something other than the nice guy. Leave it to Jennifer Lynch to find it. It's taken Lynch over a decade to get back in the director's chair since the controversial Boxing Helena -- spinal surgeries and single motherhood being the causes of the delay -- but with Surveillance, she's created a twisted movie that will make you look twice, at everything.

Continue reading "Q&A - Bill Pullman Is Under Surveillance" »

• The first trailer for Steven Soderbergh's The Informant has been released. Matt Damon with a '70s mustache is the first sign that fall is just around the corner.

• Mark Ruffalo, Annette Bening, and Julianne Moore will star in The Kids Are All Right, an independent drama about a brother and sister looking for their sperm-donor father. What, you expected this cast to make Transformers 3?

• Seth Rogen is developing a road comedy that could possibly co-star Barbra Streisand. Can't wait to see Rogen fans mingling with Streisand freaks on opening night.

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen looks to take the top spot again at the holiday-weekend box office, despite competition from Ice Age: The Meltdown and Public Enemies.

• George Clooney is ending his almost-twenty-year association with Warner Brothers for a deal with Sony Pictures. He finally realized Warner made him star in Batman & Robin.

• Spike Lee was among the thousands of New Yorkers who paid tribute to Michael Jackson at the Apollo Theater in New York City.

• Charlie Day and Christina Applegate will join Justin Long and Drew Barrymore in the romantic comedy Going the Distance.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 07.01.09 - First Look at Damon in The Informant; Rogen-Streisand Road Comedy?" »

The Time Traveler's Wife, the latest blockbuster book turned movie, leaves nothing to chance in its trailer. If you've never read the award-winning book, have no fear: the trailer will clear that up. The movie stars Eric Bana as a librarian who responds to stress by spontaneously time traveling and Rachel McAdams as his wife, whom, we see, he visits (via time travel) as a child. Bana even watches their relationship as it deteriorates. Don't let the chick-flick narrative (love, happiness, major bump in the road, reconciliation) fool you: there's a magical element present in the story.

Also check out trailers for The Final Destination and Orphan.

• Amy Adams is joining Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in Fighter, David O. Russell's pugilistic drama. Amy Adams's presence always increases a movie's appeal by at least 75 percent.

• Dimension Films has plans to remake An American Werewolf in London. Didn't they already send him to Paris? How about An American Werewolf in Peoria?

• Guy Pearce has joined the cast of Guillermo del Toro's remake of the TV movie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. Yes, they even remake things you've never heard of now.

• Austrians are awaiting Bruno with trepidation, as Sacha Baron Cohen plays an Austrian fashion journalist.

• New photos of Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried in the horror flick Jennifer's Body have been released. The bloody photos are pretty freaky, but the scariest thing about this movie is its screenwriter -- Juno quipmeister Diablo Cody.

• Cloverfield's Matt Reeves could be remaking the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. Because more shaky camerawork would definitely improve on the original.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 06.30.09 - Amy Adams Is a Fighter; American Werewolf Remake in the Works" »

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen scored a five-day take of $200 million and took the top spot at the box office this weekend. Worldwide, the film has already racked up $387 mil. Michael Bay: the definition of criticproof.

• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has made more changes to the Oscars, specifically to the Best Song category and the Lifetime Achievement award. Next thing you know, they'll be combining sound editing and sound mixing into one supersonic category.

• LaToya Jackson's scene has been cut from Bruno in light of Michael Jackson's passing.

• Nightmare on Elm Street, Where the Wild Things Are, and Avatar are among Warner Bros. preview offerings at the San Diego Comic-Con.

• Jason Lee has joined Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan in the crime caper A Couple of Dicks. Considering Kevin Smith is behind the camera, this should come as no surprise.

• The first trailer for Ricky Gervais's next comedy, The Invention of Lying, has been released. What, no Ghost Town 2: More Ghostin'?

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 06.29.09 - LaToya Jackson Scene Cut From Bruno; Transformers Crushes Box Office" »