Screenhead

If you look at the list of actors in After.Life including Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci, Justin Long, Alfred Molina, Josh Charles, and Chandler Canterbury, you might find it hard to imagine they are all starring in the same independent horror movie without any US distribute yet. If you click on Ricci, you can see some more horrific pictures and the movie poster.

The film was written and directed by on-the-rise filmmaker Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo,  a NYU graduate. Film school paid off for this worthy filmmaker.

Liam Neeson plays Eliot Deacon, a funeral director who holds the fate of young woman caught between life and death. Christina Ricci plays Anna Taylor, the young woman who has a chance of living again until she discovers that Deacon has the gift of transitioning the dead, and he might just be intent on burying her alive.

(Source)

Liam Neeson is at the table talking with 20th Century Fox to star in the big screen version of  1980s TV series  –”The A-Team”–  as Col. John “Hannibal” Smith.  Bradley Cooper  at the table as well discussing the option of playing Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck.  Joe Carnahan, who is from my hometown, will direct the film.

Carnahan and Brian Bloom refined a script by Skip Woods (G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, Wolverine. )

Reported by Variety, Carnahan, Fox and Scott Free have kept the series premise — four war vets wrongly convicted of armed robbery escape from a military prison to become do-gooder mercenaries — but they’ve replaced the campy nature of the series with a tone closer to those of Mission: Impossible and Ocean’s Eleven.

Production is scheduled to start in late August for a June 11, 2010, release.

There is nothing that can come between the love of a father, or a mother, for his or her son or daughter, and watching the movie Taken will prove, conclusively, that that is most definitely the case.

When a former “preventer”’s daughter goes off to France with her best friend and gets kidnapped from her Parisian apartment, the preventer must call on a lifetime of skills, experience, training, and sheer blood thirst to find her at any cost.  On the way, he’ll run afoul of seedy Albanian slavers, crooked French cops, and the might of an Arabic sheikh as he does whatever it takes to recover his daughter.

For those of you who said, action movie, yes, you’re absolutely right.  This is an action film with a whole lot of explosive force behind it, and it helps doubly so that the preventer in question is portrayed by none other than Liam Neeson.  Neeson is a serious force to be reckoned with in terms of both acting ability and sheer presence.  It’s Neeson’s performance that makes this movie so downright believable, and yet at the same time, so downright forceful.  I’m seriously impressed by this man’s action chops, and putting him in an action movie is an excellent idea.

But at the same time, this isn’t just an action flick.  It’s also a surprisingly satisfying crime drama, with even some thriller elements added for a little extra spice.  Watching Neeson go off on his pursuit of his daughter is thrilling and engrossing, with virtually nothing that drags or seems extraneous.  And better yet, watching Neeson go from doting father (when he brings that karaoke machine to his daughter’s birthday party, you’re feeling for the guy) to insane super secret agent killing machine, it’s a rather shocking change, but even the shock is still believable.  They stole his KID, for crying out loud.  You out there who are parents—try and tell me you wouldn’t go forth and do likewise if someone kidnapped your kid?  Things like laws and ethics and human decency go right out the door when Daddy’s Little Girl has been abducted.

Most folks would like to think of themselves as compassionate, ethical folks who under normal circumstances would try not to hit a chipmunk while driving, but if you kidnapped their kid, and they found you, well, there are horror movies which would probably end prettier.

In fact, if anything, I felt that they were a little too subdued in a lot of spots.  After all, when Neeson’s torturing a guy for information, he takes his time, but his final confrontation with that sheikh I mentioned earlier will be a lot more decisive, and a lot more abrupt.

That may be my only real complaint about Taken—the movie did such a great job of pacing throughout that, when the ending finally does show up, it feels less like an ending and more like they simply stopped.  Almost like a clock ran out.

But still, there’s plenty to like about Taken, and plenty of reasons to make this Liam Neeson classic one of the movies on your list.  It does action movie just as solidly as crime drama and thriller, and such a combination is too much to easily ignore.

Having explored the murky underworld of Paris, Liam Neeson is going the drama route along with Jenniffer Connelly as they are now slated to appear in What’s Wrong With Virginia for Tick Tock Studios.

Written by Oscar-winning scribe Dustin Lance Black (Milk), the film will see Connelly play a charming, but psychologically disturbed mother of a 16-year old son. Her 20-year clandestine love with a sheriff (played by Neeson), who is running for the state senate, is tested when her son begins a relationship with his daughter.

The project marks Black’s directorial debut. Shooting starts later this summer in Michigan.

While many fans are awaiting Liam Neeson’s thriller this August, Image Entertainment seems to be busy getting the rights for the said movie. The company announced today that it has acquired all North American rights to “The Other Man,” starring Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas and Laura Linney. The film will be released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on August 7, 2009 and expanding August 14, 2009 with distribution and marketing being handled by Image Entertainment.

“The Other Man,” based on a short story by Bernhard Schlink (“The Reader”), was written and directed by Richard Eyre (“Notes on a Scandal,” “Iris”) along with co-writer Charles Wood (“Iris”). The producers on the film include Frank Doelger (“John Adams,” “ My House In Umbria,” “The Gathering Storm”), Tracey Scoffield, Michael Dreyer (“Nine,” “Stardust,” “Finding Neverland”), Mary Beth O’Connor and David Richenthal (“Tape”), with original music by Stephen Warbeck (“Shakespeare in Love,” “Vanilla Gorilla,” “Skellig”).

A taut thriller, “The Other Man” is an intimate tale of a man who discovers his wife’s infidelity and sets out to track down his rival. Driven to pursue the mystery surrounding his wife’s adultery, Liam Neeson embarks on a global pursuit with a haunted passion that begins to probe the nature not simply of jealousy, but of loss and forgiveness. The film is beautifully shot on location in Milan and Lake Como as well as in London and Ely by renowned cinematographer Harris Zambarloukos (“Mama Mia!,” “Heart in the Sand”).

“Liam Neeson’s mesmerizing performance in ‘The Other Man’ will give moviegoers a chance to re-connect with him on the big screen in his first film since the box-office smash ‘Taken,’” said Garrett M. Lee, Image’s Senior Vice President, Theatrical. “The film fits perfectly in our overall plans to build a portfolio of unique and entertaining films,” added Lee.

(Source) Press

Boasting of an International Cast, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures Epic start the production of the 1981 remake Clash of the Titans.

In “Clash of the Titans,” the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Leading a daring band of warriors, Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, he will only survive if he can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.

Leading the international cast is Australian actor Sam Worthington as Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus, king of the gods. Worthington will next be seen in this summer’s “Terminator Salvation.” Liam Neeson takes on the role of the mighty Zeus, and Ralph Fiennes plays the role of Hades, god of the underworld, who feeds on human fear. Rounding out the cast is Gemma Arterton (“Quantum of Solace”) as Io, Perseus’ mysterious spiritual guide throughout his journey; Mads Mikkelsen (“Casino Royale”) as Draco, who takes up his sword to join Perseus’ quest; Jason Flemyng (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) as Acrisius, a one-time king-turned-hideous beast; and Alexa Davalos (“Defiance”) as Andromeda, a princess doomed to lose her life if Perseus does not succeed.

“Clash of the Titans” will begin filming in studios outside London and will later shoot in various locations in Wales and in the Spanish Canary Islands, predominantly on Tenerife, off the coast of Africa. Further aerial work is set to take place in the diverse locales of Ethiopia and Iceland.

(Source) Press

The Clash of the Titans remake is getting some big names, as Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes are set to play warring gods in the film.

Neeson will play Zeus, the king of the Olympian Greek gods and father of Perseus (played by Sam Worthington). Fiennes will play Hades, ruler of the underworld who goes up against Zeus in a bid to rule the world.

Other cast members include Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos and Mads Mikkelsen.

Filming is set to begin later this month.

In what is turning out to be a tragic turn of events, actress Natasha Richardson has reportedly taken a turn for the worst. Last March 16, the actress got into an unfortunate accident where she fell during a private ski lesson on the Nansen. She was not wearing a helmet during that time. Richardson was at the bottom of the run, in what is known as the flats, during the midafternoon lesson when she fell and tumbled down the hill.

Two ski patrollers helped Richardson but she was able to walk to her room at the resort’s Quintessence Hotel, where she’d been staying since Sunday. She received emergency treatment at the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien, nearby, and was then transferred to Montreal’s Sacre Coeur Hospital. While she was feeling fine after the incident, she had complained of a headache and was taken to hospital in Montreal before being flown to a hospital in New York, where her family is based.

But now, it seems that Richardson’s conditioned has worsened and said to be close to death after a seemingly innocuous fall on a beginners’ ski slope. She is now on life support and is reportedly being flown to New York where families will be gathering to make the final decision on what to do regarding Richardson’s condition.

Natasha Richardson is married to actor Liam Neeson to which she has two sons. She is the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and Tony Richardson.

(Source) Daily Mail

The Abraham Lincoln biopic has been in development hell since like forever, and its star, like the rest of us, is in the dark despite comments from Steven Spielberg himself at the Golden Globes that the film is coming together really quickly.

“I don’t know (anything) other than what you know,” said Liam Neeson during the Taken press junket in Los Angeles. “He asked me four years ago would I play this part and I most certainly said I would. He’ll do it whenever he’s ready to do it, but it’s in the works.”

Neeson added that he hadnt seen any script yet, nor did he know how young Spielberg wanted the actor portraying the former American president to be. It can be noted that Lincoln was 56 when assassinated, the same as Neesons current age.

Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried will star together in Chloe directed by an Atom Egoyan. 

The thriller follows Moore who plays a successful doctor with a sneaking suspicion her husband (Neeson) is cheating. She decides to test his devotion by hiring an escort (Seyfried) to seduce him. Complications arise from the doctor’s scheme, which places her family in danger.

Erin Cressida Wilson wrote the script. Shooting starts February 9 in Toronto.