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Steve Carell and Keira Knightley to Star in Apocalyptic Rom-Com

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Apr 1st 2011 1:45PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
What do you do after you leave 'The Office'?

It seems that you face the apocalypse and a possible romance with one Keira Knightley. Deadline reports that Steve Carell has signed on to star in an upcoming romance called 'Seeking A Friend for the End of the World,' and Knightley is currently in negotiations to co-star. The project will mark the directorial debut of Lorene Scafaria, who penned the 2008 film 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.'

Now one might think that an apocalyptic backdrop for romance would probably mean that Knightley only grabs Carell in one of those last-man-on-Earth scenarios, but it looks like the '40-Year-Old Virgin' gets to pitch his woo.
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Amy Adams Thinks Lois Lane Is Powerful, Do You?

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Mar 30th 2011 5:30PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical


Over the weekend we learned that three-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams would play Clark Kent's classic love interest in Zack Snyder's 'Superman' reboot. The casting is part of an ongoing trend of big-league talent signing on to play the supporting love interest in superhero films, whether we're talking Oscar-winner Natalie Portman ('Thor,' 'Star Wars'), nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal ('The Dark Knight') or winner Jennifer Connelly ('Hulk').

It seems a step down for someone of Adams' caliber, but the actress is already making the press rounds and hitting CinemaCon in Las Vegas, to praise the power of Lois Lane.
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Bill Murray to Play Franklin D. Roosevelt

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Mar 30th 2011 11:10AM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical


It's been a long while since Bill Murray has taken on a real serious role. Even in his more dramatic recent fare like 'The Limits of Control' or 'Passion Play,' his characters have offered a slice of charismatic levity in an otherwise more serious environment. But now, as 'Ghostbusters' fans eagerly await his thoughts on the planned third installment, Murray is turning his attention to something a lot more meaty: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the upcoming film 'Hyde Park on the Hudson.'
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'Miss Marple' Rant: Jennifer Garner Is Not a Spinster

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Mar 29th 2011 6:00PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
UPDATE: Either the Christie estate is listening to its disgruntled fans, or Disney spoke too soon. Deadline reports that the company that owns the rights has not settled a deal, while also referring to the author's initial complaints over Rutherford: "Why don't they just invent a new character? Then they can have their cheap fun and leave me and my creations alone." Imagine what she'd say to this news. It makes us wish celebrity mediums were real.

In the late 1920s, Agatha Christie introduced one of the most stellar older women we've ever seen -- Miss Marple. The iconic writer fashioned Marple, in part, on her own grandmother, crafting an old spinster sleuth living in St. Mary Mead. Jane Marple is an amateur gumshoe who always happened to come across some mysterious murder, and though her tweed-clad body and softened countenance might make her seem old and dotty, Jane has a killer logic and understanding of the human condition, mixed with an unshakable resolve, that helps her figure out even the toughest of mysteries.

Over the years, many women have brought Christie's heroine to life, starting with the indelible impact of Margaret Rutherford, removing the prim and proper nature of the character to create a bold old spinster. Angela Lansbury took a more proper stab with it in the '80s, and since then, Gracie Fields, Helen Hayes and Joan Hickson.

And now ... Jennifer fricking Garner?
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'Dark Shadows' Casts Johnny Depp Clone to Play Younger Version of Barnabas Collins

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Mar 29th 2011 11:15AM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
As production on Tim Burton's 'Dark Shadows' barrels toward its April start, the solid sea of talent has fallen into place. Of course, star Johnny Depp has been with the project for years, entering the blood-sucking fray in 2007, well before 'Twilight' made vampires an oppressive media phenomenon. After development difficulties, the project got back on track this year, pulling together the likes of Jackie Earle Haley, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Michelle Pfieffer and, of course, Helena Bonham Carter, because no Burton production is complete without her.

But now Burton also has a younger Barnabas Collins, and he's the spitting image of a young Johnny Depp. That picture to the right isn't Depp, but rather upcoming 'Prom' star Thomas McDonell.
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Girls on Film: Faux Feminism in 'Sucker Punch'

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Mar 28th 2011 10:15PM
Filed under: Columns, Cinematical


Welcome to Girls on Film -- a Monday-night Cinematical column full of female-centric musing, rants, love and aggravation.

Empowerment is the act of giving power and authority -- the right to control, command and determine. In the realm of women's issues, empowerment is the persuasive force reminding women of their strength and potential. Empowered women exercise authority, and when they face a troubling, misogynistic world, empowered women fight back.

The women of Zack Snyder's 'Sucker Punch' are not empowered.

Though they are given vicious snarls, swords and guns, the leading ladies of Snyder's latest are nothing more than cinematic figures of enslavement given only the most minimal fight. Their rebellion is one of imaginative whimsy in a heavily misogynistic world that is barely questioned or truly challenged. Instead of empowering their female brethren, the women of 'Sucker Punch' work as warriors protecting the male gaze and male authority.
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'Snow White' Updates: Viggo Mortensen Out, Armie Hammer and Saoirse Ronan In

By Monika Bartyzel (Subscribe to Monika Bartyzel's posts), Posted Mar 28th 2011 12:40PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
The struggle for Snow White domination continues.

For a few months now, Viggo Mortensen's name has been leading the charge for Universal's upcoming 'Snow White and the Huntsman.' But just as Kristen Stewart signed on to play the pale-faced beauty, Snow lost her huntsman.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Mortensen has stopped talks on the project, which have been "contentious since the beginning." They're not sure whether this is a negotiation tactic or a formal no-thank-you to the gig, but either way, it's a definite thorn in the side of the studio's project, especially as Relativity finds their prince and princess.
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