Friday, September 18

• Matt Damon to Star in Eastwood's Hereafter and Soderbergh's Liberace Pic

  Yesterday afternoon, Variety reported that Matt Damon has agreed to star in Hereafter, Clint Eastwood's next production, with a script by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen). Just hours later, Empire reported that Damon had also signed on to star in Steven Soderbergh's upcoming biopic of Liberace.

  Although Warner Bros. is keeping the plot of Hereafter under wraps — describing it only as akin to The Sixth Sense — Movie Line, which claims to have a version of the script, has described the plot in extensive detail. Based on that description, the movie seems less a supernatural thriller and more a tragic meditation on death. Damon's character is described as a "handsome, shy, soft-spoken" factory worker who can ... yes, indeed ... see dead people. Production on Hereafter is expected to begin this fall.

  Meanwhile, Soderbergh confirmed that Damon is onboard for his next project, saying at the Deauville Film Festival that Damon has "accepted the challenge." Damon would most likely play the male lover of Liberace, the flamboyant musician whose stage and TV career spanned from the 1940s to his death in the late 1980s. The movie will apparently focus on a 1982 lawsuit, in which Damon's character revealed Liberace's homosexuality, shocking many around the world.

  The untitled project already has Michael Douglas on board in the main role, and Soderbergh talked about his enthusiasm for Douglas' fit for the role.

  We've already done some costume and wardrobe tests on Michael, and they're very, very, very good.... I swear to you, Michael amazed me. He crushed it.

  Damon has starred in other projects by both directors. He can be seen in Soderbergh's The Informant!, now in theaters, and he is also featured in Eastwood's Invictus, which is due out in December. The latter movie stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Damon as Francois Pienaar, captain of South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup team. It tells the story of Mandela's attempts to use the rugby event to heal his country's reputation after years of apartheid and internal struggle.

  
  

  Posted 09/18/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Matt Damon | Michael Douglas | Morgan Freeman | Peter Morgan | Steven Soderbergh | Liberace | The Informant!

Thursday, September 17

• The Informant! Reviews

  Matt Damon gained 30 pounds to play the role of infamous corporate whistleblower Mark Whitacre, a top executive at agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland who helped the FBI expose price fixing at that company in the 1990s. If that doesn't sound like the setup for a successful comedy — even in the hands of director Steven Soderbergh — you could be right.

  "...a groovy-looking, chuckle-baiting, fact-based movie from protean director Steven Soderbergh..."

  — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

  "Who said true-life crime stories have to make serious movies? Bright, breezy, and downright goofy, this superbly captures the workings of Whitacre’s highly imaginative mind and the outlandish nature of the crime."

  — Mark Salisbury, Premiere

  "Amusingly eccentric rather than outright funny..."

  — Todd McCarthy, Variety

  "A comedy about corporate fraud, malfeasance, and a mental disorder that never quite succeeds as a comedy."

  — Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

  "Unlike the director's [Soderbergh] usual organic efforts — in which great style never results in overstylized — The Informant! feels overamped from start to shrugging finish."

  — Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice

  
  
  

  The Informant - Trailer

  Matt Damon stars - Releasing Sept. 18, 2009

  Posted 09/17/2009 by reelz

  Related: Matt Damon | Steven Soderbergh | The Informant!

Monday, September 7

• Steven Soderbergh Casts Martial Artist Gina Carano in Knockout

  Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh is looking to spice up his resume by adding a little action, and he's picked a mixed martial arts fighter to help him.

  The director of Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Erin Brockovich, Ocean's Eleven, and Traffic will next direct Knockout, a spy thriller in the mold of a 007 movie, but with a female lead. Soderbergh discovered his Knockout leading lady, Gina Carano, a Muay Thai-trained fighter, on the MMA circuit where she had a professional fight record of 7-1.

  The script for Knockout is by Lem Dobbs, who previously wrote Kafka and The Limey for Soderbergh. Soderbergh is expected to surround Carano with name actors in supporting roles, but no other names have been announced. Production is slated to begin in late January, 2010.

  
  

  Posted 09/07/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Lem Dobbs | Steven Soderbergh

Thursday, July 16

• Soderbergh Retiring from Filmmaking?

  Steven Soderbergh has weaved in and out of Hollywood with remarkable success. But in a recent interview with The Guardian, Soderbergh indicated that he might be reaching the end of his career.

  This comes shortly after Columbia Pictures axed his proposed baseball flick Moneyball ... and then announced the movie was still a go with Brad Pitt to star, but that Soderbergh had been fired as director.

  Although Soderbergh didn't mention it explicitly, it's hard to imagine that the incident doesn't have something to do with his current sentiment.

  I'm looking at the landscape and I'm thinking, "Hmmm, I don't know. A few more years maybe." And then the stuff that I'm interested in is only going to be of interest to me.... In terms of my career, I can see the end of it. I've had that sensation for a few years now. And so I've got a list of stuff that I want to do — that I hope I can do — and once that's all finished I may just disappear.

  
  

  Posted 07/16/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Steven Soderbergh | Moneyball

Friday, July 10

• Moneyball Still Alive, Soderbergh Out as Director

  

  A couple of weeks ago, Sony's Columbia Pictures unexpectedly announced that it would scrap Moneyball, Steven Soderbergh's planned baseball flick. The announcement came just a few days before shooting was to begin in Phoenix.

  Today, Variety reported that Sony plans to continue the project, but without Soderbergh behind the camera. Sony Chairman Amy Pascal reportedly read Soderbergh's rewriteof Steven Zaillian's screenplay and objected to the changes. Soderbergh had apparently planned an unorthodox narrative structure and a documentary style that the studio worried would alienate audiences. There also may have been a secondary concern that the baseball-centric theme would detract from worldwide ticket sales.

  Brad Pitt is still on board to star as Billy Beane, the Oakland A's manager whose unique economical and statistical approach allowed the team to compete with more lucrative baseball franchises such as the Yankees.

  The studio will also hire Aaron Sorkin to make some changes to Zaillian's script, which is based on Michael Lewis' non-fiction book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Sorkin's writing credits include Sports Night, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson's War, and the upcoming David Fincher-directed movie The Social Network.

  Several Major League players, both past and present, agreed to participate in Moneyball, either as actors or as interviewees. They include David Justice, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, and Scott Hatteberg.

  
  

  Posted 07/10/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Brad Pitt | Steven Zaillian | Aaron Sorkin | Steven Soderbergh | Moneyball

Wednesday, July 1

• George Clooney Moves Production Company from Warner Bros. to Sony

  

  Earlier today, Variety reported that George Clooney will sever his current ties with Warner Bros. Clooney's three-year-old production company, Smokehouse Pictures, will find a new home at Sony Pictures. The move ends a nine-year relationship, which began when Clooney founded Section Eight with Grant Heslov and Steven Soderbergh. Clooney and Heslov then founded Smokehouse in 2006.

  While at Warner Bros., Clooney won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Syriana and was nominated for Best Director for Good Night, and Good Luck, which Haslov produced. In a statement to the press, Clooney said:

  Warner Bros. has been a great place to work, and I’ve felt like part of a family for almost 20 years. So in moving on, I’m leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends. They’re a class act.

  .

  Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair Amy Pascal seemed enthusiastic about welcoming Clooney.

  We couldn't be more excited to be in business with them. The broad range of quality projects they have championed and the compelling and sometimes provocative material they support says everything about their company and their creative aspirations ... While we have been trimming production deals overall for the last few years, we see real value in opening our doors to producers with their critical and commercial track record and their artistic point of view.

  
  

  Posted 07/01/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: George Clooney | Grant Heslov | Steven Soderbergh

Monday, June 22

• Steven Soderbergh Baseball Flick Axed by Columbia

  

  Sony's Columbia Pictures unexpectedly announced yesterday that it would scrap Steven Soderbergh's Moneyball, which was scheduled to begin shooting today in Phoenix. The movie was to star Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the Oakland A's manager whose unique economical and statistical approach to building player rosters allowed the team to be competitive with more lucrative baseball franchises such as the Yankees.

  The dramatized script, written by Steven Zaillian, is based on Michael Lewis's non-fiction book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Several Major League players, both past and present, agreed to participate in Soderbergh's movie, either as actors or interviewees. They include David Justice, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, and Scott Hatteberg.

  Sony Chairman Amy Pascal reportedly read Soderbergh's rewrite of Zaillian's screenplay and objected to the changes. Soderbergh had apparently planned an unorthodox narrative structure that the studio worried would alienate audiences. There also may have been a secondary concern that the baseball-centric theme would detract from worldwide ticket sales. In a column on Movie Line, writer S.T. Vanairsdale gave a rundown of these theories with some astute commentary.

  Soderbergh and Pitt's representatives are currently looking for another studio to fund the movie, with rumors pointing to Paramount or Warner Bros. as likely backers. We will let you know when we hear more.

  
  

  Posted 06/22/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Brad Pitt | Steven Zaillian | Steven Soderbergh | Moneyball