• “Avatar”-izing James Cameron’s past characters. [MTV Movies Blog]
• Following “The Hurt Locker,” Kathryn Bigelow aiming for a similar visceral style for “Triple Frontier.” [The Playlist]
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt: the new Heath Ledger? [The Guardian]
Tag: Catherine Hardwicke
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Hirsch to join long line of movie Hamlets
With three major film adaptations in the latest two decades alone, I wouldn’t have thought “Hamlet” was crying out for another big-screen treatment, but apparently I was wrong. (What’s wrong with Shakespeare’s other plays? Not too shabby, some of ’em.)Anyway, news came yesterday that Catherine Hardwicke is to helm the latest outing for the Prince of Denmark, in a film being developed by the rapidly rising Overture Films. No word yet on whether the “Twilight” director’s involvement signals a tween-generation take on the Bard, though Overture has confirmed that the film will refashion as a “suspense thriller” set in contemporary America. (I guess because that 2000 thriller-ized American update with Ethan Hawke never happened? Help me out here.)
Emile Hirsch will be the latest thesp to step into the role, with Oscar-winning producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen (“Milk,” “American Beauty”) boasting that he’ll be the first age-appropriate actor to play the role on film. Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner (“Philadelphia,” “The Painted Veil”) is handling script duties.
I can’t say the triple-H combo of Hardwicke, Hirsch and Hamlet has me salivating, but I’ll do my best to keep an open mind. Still, forgive me if I think this joins the mooted “Total Recall” remake as the week’s least necessary announcement. Press release extract after the jump.
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What the hell is ‘Twilight?’
Seriously. Cover of Entertainment Weekly? Apparently breaking records in terms of trailer hits? What?I pride myself in being in the know with pop culture, but I’ve been oblivious to this series and soon-to-be adaptation until a few weeks ago. Is it really going to be the monster hit the rags are making it sound like?
For once, I’m totally in the dark, dear readers. I’ll be picking up a copy from the local Burbank library this evening to see what all the fuss is about (naturally, the children’s bookstore I work in is sold out).
I mostly just want to know if I should expect a return to form for Catherine Hardwicke, who I thought made a very promising debut with “Thirteen,” a very interesting follow-up with “Lords of Dogtown,” and then one of the worst movies I’ve ever had to sit through: “The Nativity Story”. She seems keen on telling stories about teens and their trials and tribulations, I’ll give her that.
Anyone care to illuminate me? Is this really the next “Harry Potter?” Is Catherine Hardwicke going to live up to the promising start she had or continue to fizzle out in boring work-for-hire productions? Are the books even worth my time?
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Miller on Comic-Con
Variety’s Anne Thompson interviewed “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke and “The Spirit” helmer Frank Miller for her latest column in the build-up to this year’s San Diego Comic Convention. But Miller pegged this overblown, over-infested blight when he offered:
It’s now turned into Disneyland, a multimedia congress astonishing in its scale.
No doubt. And sad, too.