Wednesday, June 11

• Anti-Smoking Zealots Target The Incredible Hulk

  Sure, he may be 10 feet tall and invulnerable to just about any force known to man, but can the Hulk withstand an assault from the most dreaded nemesis of them all? Anti-smoking advocates from the American Medical Association Alliance have trained their guns on The Incredible Hulk, demanding that the MPAA upgrade the film's PG-13 rating to an R because one of the characters, William Hurt's General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, has the audacity to smoke a cigar -- on film. "Universal Studios and the other Hollywood studios should be especially embarrassed for using comic book movies, which they market to children and know youth will want to see, to promote tobacco," Alliance president Dianne Fenyk raged via press release today.

  In related news, members of Americans for the Prevention of Gamma Ray Exposure decried the film's promotion of electromagnetic radiation for muscle-building purposes.

  
  

  Posted 06/11/2008 by reelz

  Related: William Hurt | The Incredible Hulk

Friday, February 8

• Hurt talks Hulk

  While promoting his latest flick, Sony's upcoming action thriller Vantage Point, star William Hurt (Mr. Brooks, A History of Violence) took time out to talk about his role in The Incredible Hulk, Louis Leterrier's upcoming re-boot of the Marvel franchise left dormant after 2003's disappointing Hulk:

  "I'm General Ross, father of the paramour of Bruce (Banner) and the nemesis -- so-called conflicted nemesis -- of The Hulk," said Hurt. "He wants Hulk's power but is humiliated by Hulk's conscience, which he actually sees -- and occasionally recognizes -- is actually more developed than his own, even though he's a patriot and a warrior for his country. He's sacrificed immensely for that purpose, but at the expense of, at times, all of his humanity, which he occasionally recovers glimpses of."

  As you might guess, General Ross is the flick's main villain. The Incredible Hulk opens nationwide June 13, 2008.

  
  

  Posted 02/08/2008 by reelz

  Related: William Hurt | Vantage Point

Thursday, August 9

• Casting news: Walken, Hurt, Defiance, and Eagle Eye

  Variety is reporting several casting deals today.

  Christopher Walken and Alessandro Nivola (Junebug, Face/Off) will be teaming up in Five Dollars a Day, a road movie in which Walken plays a conman and Nivola the son who's been jailed for his crimes. Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls, A Lot Like Love) will direct...

  ...Liev Schreiber (The Painted Veil, Kate & Leopold) and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, King Kong) will be joining Daniel Craig in Defiance, the Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond) written and directed drama about Polish brothers who join the Russian resistance during the Holocaust...

  ...Director D.J. Caruso will be re-teaming with Shia LaBeouf after their blockbuster turn in Disturbia for another thriller, Eagle Eye. Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible III, North Country) has just been cast opposite Shia as a single mother who must infiltrate a cell plotting a political assassination after they are wrongly accused of being terrorists. MTV.com recently reported that Rosario Dawson has also signed onto the movie...

  ...MTV is also reporting that William Hurt has a juicy role coming up in a new Julie Delpy drama/romance. The Countess, which Delpy wrote and will star in and direct, is about Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess who lived during the 16th century and also happened to be a serial killer. Radha Mitchell (Melinda and Melinda, Finding Neverland) and Vincent Gallo (The Brown Bunny, Buffalo 66) are also confirmed. 

  
  

  Posted 08/09/2007 by reelz

  Related: Alessandro Nivola | Christopher Walken | Liev Schreiber | Michelle Monaghan | Rosario Dawson | William Hurt | Nigel Cole | D.J. Caruso | Radha Mitchell | Vincent Gallo | Jamie Bell | Julie Delpy | Five Dollars a Day | Defiance | Eagle Eye | The Countess

Wednesday, June 13

• Hulk Gets Hurt   

  Marvel's The Incredible Hulk is staffing up fast and getting ready for shooting this summer in Toronto.

  Today The Hollywood Reporter announced that William Hurt has joined the impressive cast linup that already includes Edward Norton, Liv Tyler and Tim Roth. Hurt will play General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, whom fans of the comic will remember as the man who dedicated his life to the Hulk's capture. He also happens to be the father of Betty Ross (Tyler), the love interest to Bruce Banner/The Hulk.

  The Incredible Hulk is written by Zak Penn and directed by Louis Leterrier. It is currently slated for a 2008 release.

  
  

  Posted 06/13/2007 by reelz

  Related: Edward Norton | William Hurt | Zak Penn | Liv Tyler | Louis Leterrier | The Incredible Hulk