Archive for the 'eva green' Category

Looking at the varying outfits on the red carpet for "The Golden Compass" premiere, you wouldn't know that everyone there was headed for the same event. Eva Green and Sam Elliot posed together on the red carpet, looking very striking with their flowing locks and Eva's insistence on always looking extremely intense. Their formal outfits were a strange contrast to the casual winter-wear worn by Topher Grace and model/sometimes actress Irina Pantaeva, who is dressed in a deliciously way-too-casual sweatshirt top and jeans, with her goofy, furry hood pulled up over her head. I seriously wouldn't be surprised to see a teddy bear backpack strapped on her back, if she were to turn around. But, somehow, she seems so comfortable in her outfit, as she beams so earnestly from within that frame of fur that I really don't mind it one bit. Oh yeah, and by the way, the movie itself is getting some tepid reviews, so these red carpet appearances might actually be the best part.

Photos: Getty Images

More photos of "The Golden Compass" stars on the red carpet (Sam Elliott, Peyton List, Irina Pantaeva, Eva Green, Dakota Blue, Joan Allen, Topher Grace, Frederique van der Wal) after the jump.

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Line, Fandom, Scripts & Screenwriting, Movie Marketing, Religious, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig

Regular readers of Cinematical know that we recently visited the London set of The Golden Compass, but we’re holding back our coverage until a date closer to the release of the film. That said, it looks like New Line is increasingly willing to give the public an early taste of the film — the Sydney Morning Herald is running a big article this weekend on Compass, and among other things, they are re-confirming what was earlier reported, that New Line is screening footage from the film at Cannes for journalists and distributors. We’ve also heard that a press junket with the main talent is being prepared. Since I’m a fan of Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green and Philip Pullman, it hardly needs to be said that this is one of the films I’m most looking forward to, but I had the wind taken out of my sails a bit by the noticeably lame poster that was unveiled at Showest, which showed nothing more than … a golden compass. I certainly hope they’ve got some better advance materials coming down the pike.

The main thrust of the SMH article is recount author Philip Pullman’s recent address to the Oxford Literary Festival, where he talked about the film. Among other things, he delves into the firing of screenwriter Tom Stoppard and says that he could understand the studio’s point of view on that issue, which was that Stoppard’s take was too cerebral for a teenage audience! Producer Deborah Forte was also on hand at the festival, and screened footage of Marisa Coulter’s sky ferry, the zeppelin that she travels in. On the subject of Kidman, Pullman also revealed to the audience that he had always wanted Kidman for the part of Coulter and had in mind Laurence Olivier for Daniel Craig’s part, but that didn’t work out as well. The pair also told the Oxford audience that their mantra throughout the project was “stick with Lyra,” meaning the central child character being played by Dakota Blue Richards, and that the film’s special effects will be “subtle,” although that could mean anything.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Deals, Fandom, Scripts & Screenwriting, Newsstand, James Bond, Remakes and Sequels, Daniel Craig

I know that Eva Green should play Barbarella. You know that Eva Green should play Barbarella. Now our dream might be one small step closer to reality. Screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who vaulted to the A-list with the runaway success of Casino Royale, have dropped two new pieces of news — they’ve finished the script for their next film, ‘Bond 22,’ and they’ve been hired to write … Barbarella! The hiring of Purvis and Wade for Barbarella is mentioned in an announcement to the trades that Dino De Laurentiis has finished sewing up the rights to the remake and is ready to move forward with the project. Another component to the deal is that the French comic series that inspired the original Barbarella will be reissued in conjunction with this new film.

Now here comes the less-than-exciting part. In making the announcement, the producers saw fit to point out that the new Barbarella will be totally different from the original — instead of being a “kittenish sexpot,” the new Barb will be a “free, modern gal who survives in a futuristic world through her intelligence, survival skills and sexuality.” Um, can we take a vote on that? I can’t be the only person who is bone-tired of the ‘ass-kicking female’ era and wants desperately to return to the ‘kittenish sexpot’ era. Still, I’m holding out hope. I have faith in Dino, so to sum up, here is what he wants you to know about the movie — try to imagine it being said in that Dino accent: “Barbarella is the ultimate science-fiction adventure heroine: smart, strong, funny and sexy. I’m excited to reintroduce Barbarella to a new generation of moviegoers.”

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Line, Fandom, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Movie Marketing

Some of the first decent footage from New Line’s upcoming adaptation of The Golden Compass has arrived online in the form of a behind-the-scenes promotional clip sort of thing. The majority of it is similar to the stuff that was shown to a group of us last month in London while on set, and it appears to all be coming together quite nicely. Pic is based on the first book in Philip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy, was written and directed by Chris Weitz, and stars Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Eva Green and Dakota Blue Richards.

Though a lot of the effects aren’t completed yet, it’s still not hard to be impressed by Dennis Gassner’s production design. When we were on set, Gassner spent about 45 minutes or so guiding us through the film’s entire word; showing us stills, clips and concept art that absolutely blew our minds. In the 10 minutes of footage we watched, none of the daemons had been digitally created yet, but now, based on this footage, it seems some of that has been done … though I would expect the finished product to look a lot more detailed than it does now. The Golden Compass takes place in a parallel universe to ours — one that kind of looks like a futuristic version of the 1920s — and follows a young girl named Lyra on a journey up North to save her best friend who’s been kidnapped (along with a lot of other kids) by a mysterious organization. We’ll have more from the set, as well a ton of behind the scenes goodies, as we draw closer to the pic’s December 7 release date.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek

I have a confession to make … and it’s something I’ve never told anyone, anywhere. See, I have a “secret inside tipster” living under my desk. Crazy, I know — but this “tipster” will throw out random names, and attach them to random projects on a daily basis. Rarely will I ever talk about these “inside tips” on Cinematical because, lets face it — they’re random, there’s no substantial back-up and, while the traffic boost is nice, part of me feels real dirty when it’s time to retire for the night. For a long time I thought I was the only one living with a “secret inside tipster” camped out under his desk, but thankfully there are others out there dealing with this pesky critter. For that, I salute them.

With that said, folks are still a bit eager to discuss the future of Wonder Woman now that Joss Whedon has officially jumped ship, and Warner Bros. bought another Wonder-ful spec script from newbie scribes Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland. Obviously the studio is still interested in the character, and I am of the opinion that they probably want to go a bit darker — using World War II as a backdrop — while producing a film that’s more along the lines of what Nolan is doing with the Batman flicks. Of course, now you need an actress who not only looks the part, but is also capable of handling dark-ish material and, at the same time, can kick a whole lot of ass. Not surprisingly, the first name to leak out the mouths of those beloved “secret inside tipsters” is Eva Green, everyone’s favorite Bond girl. Keep in mind, Green is just as likely to nab the part as — what are some other random actresses? — Drew Barrymore or Dakota Fanning. Talk is cheap, and until something a bit more substantial shows up, the new, improved Wonder Woman shall remain in limbo.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Drama, Foreign Language, Awards, Sony, James Bond, Oscar Watch, Miramax

The only award Casino Royale picked up Sunday at the British Academy Awards (BAFTAs) was for Best Sound. It was nominated in nine categories — ten if you count the publicly voted Rising Star Award, which did go to Casino Royale actress Eva Green. But it would have been very shocking if the 007 movie had beaten The Queen for the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film. Oh wait; The Queen didn’t win it either. Surprisingly, The Last King of Scotland won Best British Film, as well as Best Adapted Screenplay (for Jeremy Brock and Peter Morgan, who also wrote The Queen) and, of course, Best Actor for Forest Whitaker. The Queen did win for Best Film, though, and also took the obvious prize for Best Actress for Helen Mirren.

Some of the other unexpected wins were Paul Greengrass for the David Lean Award for Direction and Alan Arkin for Best Supporting Actor for Little Miss Sunshine, which won for Best Original Screenplay. Other prizes went to Pan’s Labyrinth for Best Film Not in the English Language, Best Makeup & Hair and Best Costume Design, Children of Men for Best Cinematography and Best Production Design and Babel for the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music. For the most part, the British Academy disagreed with last week’s London Film Critics Circle Awards, which gave added honors to specifically British performers like Emily Blunt, Toby Jones, Michael Caine and Leslie Philips. However, Casino Royale fared badly with the critics’ choices too.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments