Thursday, May 17, 2007

Something good from "Aces' " ashes?

Though Joe Carnahan's "Smokin' Aces" was just a thorough mess, it seems something great may still be born in its wake.

Given how Carnahan woefully underused Jason Bateman, giving him a grand total of about two-and-a-half minutes of screen time, I just assumed he hated the man. Apparently not.

Before he takes on a finished script for a pic of James Ellroy's "White Jazz," Carnahan will write and direct "The Remarkable Fellows," based on a premise pitched to him by the very funny Mr. Bateman.

The story, which sounds very funny to me, will be about two brothers who are in the revenge business. Bateman, who described the duo as "half Ricky Jay and half James Bond," had this to say to Variety: "The revenge scenario is dependent on the intricacy of the plot. If the president of a major bank was sleeping with the French ambassador's wife, the banker would call these guys."

Sounds fun to me, and after "Aces," Carnahan is sorely in need of a winner. Having thoroughly enjoyed his debut, "Narc," I know he's got at least one more in him.

Wood set to go Pop

When I first saw this, I just had to be thankful that it's only about the young Iggy Pop. While I'm happy the man still works out, no 70-year-old man should strut around with no shirt on like Iggy seems to need to do.

Because it's the birthright of every promising actor that they get to star in at least one musician biopic, it seems Elijah Wood has signed on to play Mr. Pop in the upcoming flick "Passenger." The flick, which will primarily be about Mr. Pop's work with the Stooges (the first time, thankfully, not now!), will be directed by Nick Gomez.

I like Elijah Wood in almost everything he does, so I'll have to hold out hope that, when this arrives for midsummer next year, it somehow manages to rock.

The "Hunger" of Bobby Sands

It's hard to believe that a biopic hasn't already been made about the IRA hero Bobby Sands (and if one already has, please forgive me and tell me what it is.) Word from Cannes is that that's about to change.

Steve McQueen (no relation to the man himself, as far as I can tell), a UK music video director (and before you start to hate, remember Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze started in videos too) has made this flick, which is an "impressionistic interpretation" of the last six weeks in the life of Sands, the IRA hunger striker who died in the Maze prison in 1981.

Michael Fassbender ("300") stars as Sands. Though, like I said, I don't know of any other movie like this one, Sands was sort of the subject of easily one of my favorite movies of all time, the criminally underappreciated "Some Mother's Son" with Dame Mirren. Here's hoping Mr. McQueen has something new to say about this fascinating figure.

Veronica Mars update, sort of

Though the fate of the CW's last remaining good show may not be known until June, it seems our heroine, Kristen Bell, will be getting more work on another show for the "network."

Entertainment Weekly reports that she will be the narrator of "Gossip Girl" in The CW's new teen drama from "The O.C." creator Josh Schwartz. The show is based on the bestselling teen book series. I hope this doesn't spell the end of "Veronica," but we're apparently gonna have to wait to find out about that for sure. Stay tuned.

12 comments:

jeremy said...

I know its really of little consequence, but the main reason I'm choosing to belive that VM is coming back is cuz on this week's episode, they said, "Next week's two-hour season finale." And for GG, they said, "Series finale." I don't care what Variety says.

jeremy said...

Ugh. Just read this on Eonline. Veronica as midseason replacement? What?

Jack Gonzo, MD said...

Elijah as Iggy Pop?!

I think I'm goin to be sick...

Reel Fanatic said...

That is definitely bad news, Jeremy ... She has been wrong in her reporting before, but unfortunately that sounds like a definite possibility, and a truly ugly fate

Anonymous said...

I can see why "Smokin' Aces" turned a lot of people off - it was ALL over the place, but I had fun watching it and it's always nice to see someone who plainly loves what he does and Carnahan strikes me as that kind of guy. I love reading his blog - great fun. Throw in Bateman and I'm on board.

And Wood as Iggy Pop? You know, I can see why he picked and/or was chosen for the role but I just don't see him actually BEING Iggy.

Reel Fanatic said...

The more I think about it, Marina, I can see why you and Shane have problems with Wood ... He probably isn't tough enough to pull this off, but I guess we'll see ... and I can also see why some people had fun with Smokin' Aces, but it just definitely failed for me

Ben Varkentine said...

Veronica is gone:

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/17/152207.php

Reel Fanatic said...

Thanks for the heads up, Ben, even if it is very bad news ... I guess a straightup cancellation isn't any worse than being stuck in mideason limbo, but Veronica will be sorely missed by me

Divinity said...

There's a six-minute short called "The Rising of the Moon" based on Bobby Sands' diary but otherwise, his story on film has been a long time coming.

Reel Fanatic said...

Couldn't agree more, Divinity .. There are obvious problems with the methodology of the IRA overall, but his individual story is certainly compelling

Terence Towles Canote said...

It's a shame that it looks like Veronica Mars is gone. With it and Gilmore Girls cancelled, is there anything to watch on The CW anymore?

Reel Fanatic said...

There's still the very funny "Everybody Hates Chris," Mercurie, but I'm gonna have to give that up because I'm officially boycotting the CW starting the minute the "season finale" of "Veronica Mars" ends