The Old West didn’t last long in history but it sure does in Hollywood. The good guys against the bad guys with a girlfriend in between. Looks like Ed Harris did an excellent job making a story about the Wild West. Enjoy the trailer!
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Appaloosa is directed by Ed Harris and stars Harris, Jeremy Irons, Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger. Two gunman (Harris and Mortensen) fight law and order in untamed Old West towns. They arrive in Appaloosa to face Irons as an unscruplous land owner and Zellweger as a high-spirited woman who tugs both men’s hearts.
Which movie poster do you like the best?
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Ed Harris directs as well as co-wrote with Robert Knott the film Appaloosa. The western is set in 1882 in the Old West territory of New Mexico. Appaloosa pivots around city marshal Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his deputy and partner Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen), who made their status by keeping peace in the lawless towns springing up in the untamed land.In the small mining community of Appaloosa, a heartless, powerful rancher named Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) allowed his band of outlaws to run roughshod over the town. After the cold-blooded murder of Appaloosa’s city marshal, Cole and Hitch are hired to bring the murderer to justice.
Appaloosa opens wide October 3rd.
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Posted earlier this week was a picture of Tom Jane in full costume as Jonah Hex, an upcoming DC Comics adaptation of the supernatural Western series. However, the Punisher actor is not involved in the project it seems, as he personally contacted Film School Rejects with the following statement:
“Yeah, the pic is real all right – my pal [writer/producer] Akiva Goldsman told me about the project and I fell in love with the idea right away. Being a huge fan of all things Hex – I just couldn’t help myself. I called up my buddy Chris Nelson and we spent a Saturday afternoon working up some make-up for this impromptu shoot and I fired a few pics off to Warners. How do people get a hold of this shit? It’s a little embarrassing seeing my fanboy enthusiasm spilled all over the web, but great scripts don’t come around too often, especially for characters I love.”
Well, what does it mean for the film? Hex writer/directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor did not see the above art until it spilled out on the Internet. Maybe they will be considering casting Jane for the role, who knows?
Jonah Hex is a DC Vertigo series that focuses on the titular alcoholic and confederate soldier turned supernatual gunslinger.
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On Film School Rejects is a photo that shows Thomas Jane, best known for donning the role of The Punisher, in character as the title character in Jonah Hex, a feature film based on the DC Comics western-supernatural series.
The picture shows Jane having on a cowboy hat with a raised six-gun with a scar on the right side of his face. Don’t go jumping around yet, as the photo is yet to verified. Elaborate fake, or is Jane really going for Hex? Looks real to me.
Jonah Hex focuses on a former Confederate officer whose face was horrifically scarred. He has supernatural powers and was originally introduced back in the ’70s, though the series has yet to pick up much steam.
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Following on from the success of the Iron Man film, Robert Downey Jr. is moving on to more ‘fleshy’ roles as he has landed himself in the wild west. IGN Filmforce reports that the actor is in talks to play a gunslinger in the forthcoming Dreamworks picture Cowboys & Aliens.
The film is based off Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley’s graphic novel, which sees sci-fi and the wild west mix in a story about a spaceship landing during an old west battle between the Apache and Western settlers.
The moist recent draft of the script has been penned by Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus, the men behind Children of Men, with Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg producing alongside Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtsman, Roberto Orci and Scott Michael Rosenberg.
Expect to see Cowboys & Aliens hit silver screens nationwide during Summer 2010.
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Every day it seems more and more likely that the Coen Brothers’ No Country For Old Men will win the prestigious Best Film award at this year’s Oscars. It’ll mark a departure for the ceremony in actually rewarding a good film for once. I may have not seen it the film yet (13 days left!), but having read the book, I have no doubt that Joel and Ethan have pulled off a perfect adaptation of an excellent story. But what’s lined up for the future?
The Coen Brothers have had a reputation of making films under-budget, but a lot of their films do not sell exceptionally well. Fargo may have been a huge success, but The Big Lebowski, despite being a cult classic, did not rake in the dollars. But, it seems that No Country will be their most successful film in the US, soon to pass out O Brother Where Art Thou’s $45 million. It now seems that the brothers are back on top again, and have the opportunity to make whatever they want. Several years ago, they were excited about making a film about a US fighter pilot shot down over Japan during World War II, and having to somehow escape. The film would have no dialogue from its protagonist. Despite Brad Pitt expressing interest, the Coens could never raise the funding.
Recently, the Coens have said that they have written a Western film. According to Cinema Blend, Joel has said of it: “We’ve written a western with a lot of violence in it. There’s scalping and hanging … it’s good. Indians torturing people with ants, cutting their eyelids off.” Ethan chimed in: “It’s a proper western, a real western, set in the 1870s. It’s got a scene that no one will ever forget because of one particular chicken.” Whatever that means. Read on »
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Lionsgate’s “3:10 to Yuma” comes to the streets Januray 8, 2008.
Has anyone seen this film yet?
From the same director, James Mangold, of “Walk the Line.” The film stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale star, and I hear it’s dynamite!
Check out the site “3:10 to Yuma.”
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If you love John Wayne and westerns, this news may excite you! John Wayne’s daughter, Gretchen Wayne, is working on getting one her pop’s movies back in theaters. The picture she’s hoping to get back on the big screen is none other than the classic “Hondo”.
Interestingly, “Hondo” was originally filmed in 3-D. And thanks to the advances of modern technology, the movie is being restored to is full 3-D glory. Batjac Productions, Wayne’s production company, which was founded by the Duke himself, is looking for a distributor.
A cleaned-up and color corrected version of “Hondo” was shown last year at the Cannes Film Festival, and now the studio has given the print more time and attention and have created a “much better product.” The latest print was shown earlier this week at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater as a part of the Academy’s 3-D program. It was played to a full audience, and Gretchen Wayne was interviewed by Leonard Maltin.
It’s pretty cool that the film, if picked up by a distributor, will finally be seen in the way it was originally intended - as a 3-D movie.
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Remember “The Lone Ranger”, the classic 1950’s live action television show that was also a 1930’s radio program? It’s coming back, but this time as a full-length feature film that will reprise the roles of a lone Texas Ranger and his sidekick, Tonto.  Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is set to team up with screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot to make this picture a reality.
Rossio and Elliot, for those not aware, are the writing duo behind the wildly popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. Disney is hoping that they can turn this treasured classic into a modern-day money making machine, and are banking on Rossio and Elliot to make cowboys and Indians as popular as they did pirates.
So far no one will officially confirm it, but several sources have assured that “The Lone Ranger” might soon be making his way onto the big screen.
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Was James Mangold thinking about 3:10 to Yuma well before he made his film? One indication is that his main character in Cop Land shares the same last name as the actor who played Dan Evans in Delmer Daves’ 1957 film. Similarly, both the character of Freddie Heflin in Cop Land and Dan Evans in Mangold’s Yuma are both disabled enforcers of the law, but find that they are both serving on behalf of interests that view them are little more than useful tools.
Even though Mangold’s film is based on a fifty year old film, his version of Yuma shares more in common with the revisionist westerns of the Seventies. Most of the men are dirty and bearded, but more importantly the conflict between outlaws are struggling ranchers is less important than how they both get in the way of corporate progress. Mangold’s Dan Evans is motivated to escort outlaw Ben Wade for money to pay for his ranch. But the money comes from the same corporation that would profit by taking over Evan’s ranch for the railroad. In Mangold’s film, everyone except Evans has his price. Read on »
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3:10 to Yuma is a 2007 Western film that is a remake of the 1957 film 3:10 to Yuma, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s short story. Yuma opened last weekend garnering a solid $14.1 million amid some soft competition.
New Line’s “Shoot ‘Em Up,†fired blanks in its pursuit for young males, as the Clive Owen starrer bowed in sixth place to only $5.5 million. Dimension and MGM’s “Halloween†remake took a big fall after its Labor Day weekend bow, as expected, declining 62% to $10 million, landing at No. 2. Rob Zombie-helmed horror pic’s cume is now $44.2 million
Sony’s “Superbad†crossed the $100 million mark as it fell 36% to $8 million, coming in No. 3. High school comedy has now cumed $103 million.
Rogue’s ping pong comedy “Balls of Fury†took the No. 4 spot, declining 50% on its second frame to $5.7 million. Sports parody has cumed $24.3 million.
Revolution and Sony’s comedy “The Brothers Solomon†barely registered as it took on 700 theaters to a dismal $525,000.
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In anticipation of James Mangold’s remake, I saw Delmer Daves’s original film version of 3:10 to Yuma for the first time on DVD. I had seen the film on television many years previously, but on DVD I had the advantage of seeing it with the original wide screen aspect ratio. Daves’ film also has beautiful black and white photography, the stark contrasts emphasizing the dramatic aspects of the story.
Released fifty years ago this month, 3:10 to Yuma is as much a psychological drama as it is action film. The main plot of the story revolves around a struggling rancher, Dan Evans, who needing money to lease water rights for his ranch, volunteers to escort stagecoach robber Ben Wade, in exchange for $200. Evans has to face both the possible return of Wade’s gang to rescue their boss, as well as Wade’s tempting of Evans with more money than Evans could ever see otherwise . . . if Evan lets Wade escape. Read on »
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The big news for cult film fanatics is that the Midnight Madness sidebar event at the Toronto International Film Festival will premiere the newest films from two heavyweight filmmakers. The incredibly prolific Takashi Miike will present his newest film Sukiyaki Western Django, while Dario Argento will show Mother of Tears. Because the Toronto Film Festival is one of the major film festivals held in North America, reception of these two films will determine the extent of theatrical distribution not only in the U.S., but internationally. The still is of Miike, standing at the left, with his cast.
Miike’s film actually takes place in 12th Century Japan, so it will be interesting to see how he reworks the spaghetti western hero personified by Franco Nero over thirty years ago. The film has an an official website you might want to check out. Miike is probably best known to western audiences for his film Audition and his banned contribution to the Masters of Horror series, Imprint.
Dario Argento has contributed twice to the Masters of Horror series. His fans are hoping his newest film gets a decent theatrical distribution which now seems more likely with the Toronto premiere which is a month earlier than the originally planned screening at the Rome Film Festival. One hopes that this new film is as good as the first film of the Three Mothers trilogy, Suspiria, although Inferno did have its moments. We will share more news when the TIFF takes place in September.
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One of the more anticipated films for this fall is James Mangold’s version of 3:10 to Yuma starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. This new film is scheduled for release on September 7, fifty years and a month after Delmer Daves’ original version starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin hit theaters. For those of you interested in seeing the classic film, it is available on DVD. The story was written by Elmore Leonard, years before making his name with contemporary crime novels like Get Shorty and Out of Sight.
Lionsgate Films is distributing what is their biggest production to date. Features is a zip file of the newest poster. Also:
Stills:
http://www.specialopsmedia.com/assets/Lionsgate/310ToYuma/310Stills.zip
Fact Sheet:
http://www.specialopsmedia.com/assets/Lionsgate/310ToYuma/310fact_sheet.zip
Trailer:
http://www.specialopsmedia.com/assets/Lionsgate/310ToYuma/310_to_yuma_Trailer_1A.zip
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If you happen to be a John Wayne fan, you probably already know the legend would have been 100 years old in 2007. The Centennial anniversary of his birth will be celebrated by Cowboys and Indians magazine. The special edition magazine will hit newsstands on June 12th. Twelve of “The Dukes” greatest movies are counted down and the magazine also features a number of interviews including one with John Wayne’s youngest son, Ethan, who played alongside his father in the 1971 Western “Big Jake”
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Today we take a look at Clint Eastwood’s brilliant acting career with his top 5 acting roles.
Number 5: In The Line of Fire: Very much like Eastwood’s ‘The Unforgiven’ but this one is set in modern times. Shows an aging Secret Service officer trying to right a mistake he had made 30 years previously.
Number 4: The Unforgiven: Some people say that this is an overrated movie. I say whoever thinks that has smoked too much crack. Eastwood’s character, William Munny, is an aging former bad ass in the wild west. Don’t get on his bad side or he’ll take your whole town down. One of my favorite lines of all time when he kills Gene Hackman’s character and says, “Deservings Got Nothing to with it”. Classic role, Classic Film.
Number 3: Dirty Harry: You feel lucky punk? Do you!??!?! First movie in which Eastwood played the detective Harry Callahan, who in his own words, managed to get “Every Dirty Job”
Number 2: Escape from Alcatraz: If you had to stay in a prison like this you would want to escape too. Eastwood plays Frank Morris who leads a pack of convicts looking to get out of the hellhole Alcatraz Prison.
Number 1: “Fistful of Dollars Trilogy”: ‘The Man With No Name” is iconic Eastwood. The parka, the hat, and the cigar is what make A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, and the Bad and the Ugly. Who knew Spaghetti Westerns could be so much fun?
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I realized recently that for a generation of filmgoers, Jane Fonda is known as an eccentric old lady in her recent film roles. This is when she’s not remembered as Ted Turner’s ex-wife or someone from the Viet-Nam war era called “Hanoi Jane”. With Georgia Rule on the horizon, I’ve been seeing, or in some cases, re-seeing Fonda’s films from when she was one of the top stars in the Sixties and Seventies.
Cat Ballou is a comedy western that is still fun to watch. The film is dominated by Lee Marvin, who won an Oscar as the drunken gunfighter who’s hired by Fonda as part of her revenge for the murder of her father. Fonda basically plays it straight while Marvin and co-stars Michael Callan and Dwayne Hickman have all the fun. The film also features the unexpected, and winning, pairing of Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole as two travelling musicians who provide commentary on the action.
While Jane Fonda is primarily remembered for her serious films that won her two Academy Awards and additional nominations, she could also do comedy. Along with Barefoot in the Park which was Fonda’s first film with a relatively unknown Robert Redford, Cat Ballou shows Fonda in a light mode. And even if you’re not a fan of Jane Fonda, if you’ve never seen Cat Ballou, it’s worth it just for the scene of Lee Marvin and his drunken horse.
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