Saturday, March 29

• Tom Hanks drops out of Fahrenheit 451

  Director Frank Darabont (The Mist, The Shawshank Redemption) revealed today that star Tom Hanks has opted not to star in his long-plan adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. In an interview with MTV Movies, Darabont cited scheduling issues as the ultimate deal-breaker for the Oscar-winning actor, who had been set to play book-burning firefighter Guy Montag in the movie version of Ray Bradbury's seminal novel. Darabont declined to reveal his ideal choice for Hanks's replacement.

  Source: MTV Movies

  
  

  Posted 03/29/2008 by Thomas

  Frank Darabont | Tom Hanks | Fahrenheit 451

Saturday, November 17

• A glimpse of Christmas future

  With their 3-D dazzler Beowulf debuting in theaters this weekend, director Robert Zemeckis and his team of visual effects wizards are already at work on their next CGI "performance capture" flick, A Christmas Carol, with Jim Carrey set to star as history's most notorious miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.

  At the recent Beowulf press day, Zemeckis' producer Steve Starkey described the look of their take on Charles Dickens classic as "very much like (Joseph Mallord William) Turner's paintings from the middle of the 19th century. That's what London's gonna look like -- and it's really quite beautiful...we can rebuild London from historical references and actually create the exact London of the time that Scrooge is walking through."

  "Tom Hanks is not attached," Starkey replied when asked about the rumors that Hanks had been cast in the role of Bob Cratchit.

  
  
  Next Showing: A Christmas Carol opens November 6, 2007.

  Posted 11/17/2007 by Thomas

  Robert Zemeckis | Steve Starkey | Tom Hanks | Jim Carrey | Beowulf | Beowulf 3D | A Christmas Carol

Friday, November 16

• Tom Hanks to star in Fahrenheit 451?

  While director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) was talking with Dailies about his new movie opening next week, The Mist, he also gave up some juicy tidbits about an upcoming project.

  Darabont wants to remake the sci-fi dystopia, Fahrenheit 451, and he wants Hanks in the leading role of Guy Montag. Originally a story by Ray Bradbury, Farenheit 451 is about a future full of book burning and censorship. "I would love to work with Hanks again because he's the gold standard. Let's face it--I love him," said Darabont. "Hopefully it'll stay on track."

  Like much else in town these days, Fahrenheit 451's 'on-track-ness' is being affected by the writers' strike.

  
  
  

  The Mist trailer

  Frank Darabont's next movie to hit theaters

  Posted 11/16/2007 by Heather

  Frank Darabont | Tom Hanks | Fahrenheit 451

Thursday, October 25

• Movie newz: Caviezel, two Fannings, De Niro, Foxx and Howard!

  It's a busy deal day in Hollywood, with lots of ink hitting paper in an effort to get projects off the ground before the WGA strike deadline hits next week.

  First, Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) has signed to star in a remake of the 1978 Australian suspense thriller, Long Weekend, about a young couple whose camping trip gets turned upside down when the animals--not appreciating being shot at--decide to strike back. Sounds kind of like a low-budget slasher flick to us, but Caviezel seems to take his work seriously, so who knows?

  Dakota AND Elle Fanning will be joining Cameron Diaz in My Sister's Keeper, about a girl (Elle) who tries to get emancipated from her parents when she finds out she was conceived as a genetic match to save her cancer-stricken sister (Dakota). It's the first time the sisters will play opposite each other in a movie.

  Jamie Foxx has added yet another movie to his plate with The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights. He will play a police detective that cracked racially-motivated serial murders in 1970s San Francisco and fought racism in his own department. It is based on the 2006 book of the same, very long, name.

  Michael Mann and Robert De Niro will try to recreate their fire from Heat with another book adapation for the screen. Mann will direct and De Niro will star in Frankie Machine, a drama based on Don Winslow's novel, The Winter of Frankie Machine. De Niro decided to break his mobster-role retirement to play Frank Machianno, aka 'Frankie Machine,' a retired mob hitman who gets sucked back in when he finds out there's a hit out on him. 

  And finally, Mann and De Niro aren't the only superstar movie reunion. Ron Howard and Tom Hanks will get the band back together to make Angels & Demons. Howard will direct and Hanks will reprise his role as Robert Langdon, the symbologist sleuth from The Da Vinci Code in this sequel--once again based on a Dan Brown novel.

  Source: Variety.

  
  

  Posted 10/25/2007 by Heather

  Dakota Fanning | Elle Fanning | Jamie Foxx | Michael Mann | Robert De Niro | Ron Howard | Tom Hanks | Jim Caviezel | Long Weekend | My Sister's Keeper | The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights | Frankie Machine | Angels & Demons

Wednesday, August 8

• Tom Hanks just as litigious as the rest of us

  Often billed as "the Jimmy Stewart of our time," superstar actor Tom Hanks has long cultivated a reputation as an affable, good-natured everyman who puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us poor schlubs.

  And just like us, he wants his freakin' money. AP reports that Hanks, Rita Wilson and Nia Vardalos are suing producing partner Gold Circle Films for their share of the profits from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a $5 million film that went on to gross over $370 million in 2003. Gold Circle claims the film made only $287 million.

  They picked the wrong guy to mess with. Shady accounting shenanigans may be old hat in Hollywood, but Americans simply will not stand for someone trying to pull one over on our boy Tom. I'd be surprised if this one even makes it to trial.

  
  

  Posted 08/08/2007 by Thomas

  Tom Hanks | My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Monday, May 7

• Josh Baskin Screwed By Future Self

  The beloved 80's comedy, Big, is approaching its 20th anniversary next year and to celebrate, 20th Century Fox is releasing a new Extended Edition with 25 minutes of new footage!

  We tracked down an exclusive interview with Josh Baskin, who recently reached the age of his future-self, which he briefly inhabited back in 1988. The interview revealed a much different Baskin than expected. Instead of an executive at MacMillan Toy Co., Baskin has spent much of the past19 years bouncing from job to job. He's worked as a Wendy's Fry cook, a toll booth attendant, a lab guinea big and taken the occasional odd job. He's twice attempted suicide unsuccessfully and served two brief prison sentences for possession. Baskin now lives on the street.

  "Real life isn't a Penny Marshall movie," says Baskin through a grizzled voice between facial twitches. We conducted the interview at a distance due to Baskin's extreme body odor.

  "After Zoltar turned me back into a kid, I figured I was set. I'd already seen my future and it all looked pretty sweet. I guess I still had to work hard for that or something, but how was I supposed to know that?!?"

  "I tell you what, if I ever find that Zoltar machine again, I'm gonna kick the crap out of it."

  The Big Extended Edition offers more than 20 minutes of new scenes and is now available on DVD.

  
  
  Next Showing: Big: Extended Edition Hits DVD Tuesday, May 8th

  Posted 05/07/2007 by Jeff

  Tom Hanks | Big