A few weeks back, a film called Margaret slipped silently into cinemas. Directed by Kenneth Lonergan, it turned up completely unannounced by Fox Searchlight in London's Odeon Panton Street. It made £4,595 in its opening weekend. From one screen. Not bad for a film that was made in 2005.
Shot around the same time as the phenomenal The Squid and the Whale, Anna Paquin took on an equally intriguing role as Lonergan's lead.
Director: George Miller Cast: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Hank Azaria, Ava Acres Certificate: PG
It's hard to believe that a movie about singing penguins could be so unloveable. After weeks of cooing over BBC's Frozen Planet, there's no better time to release this sequel to 2006's Happy Feet (it won an Oscar, remember). But after 20 minutes of singing, tapping and nonsensical storytelling, you soon give up on the adorable little animals and pine for David Attenborough, praying for a leopard seal to come along and kill them all.
Folks presumably queued round the block last weekend to see The Adjustment Bureau, the film that suddenly EVERYONE was calling "Bourne Meets Inception!" since TotalFilm coined the phrase (which is pretty much meaningless) and someone slapped it on the poster.
Things got even worse when people started describing Liam Neeson's thriller Unknown as "Bourne Meets Taken" - presumably because it features Liam Neeson and involves someone forgetting something. In which case, you might as well call it "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe Meets Memento".
But what if people don't want to see Bourne Meets Inception or Bourne Meets Taken? Never fear: you can describe literally EVERY FILM EVER MADE as "Bourne Meets" something. Just insert any word you want. Bourne Meets Casino. Bourne Meets Public Transport. Bourne Meets Cheese Sandwich. It really is that easy.
Here are a few ideas, just in case you need to describe a film to someone in the next week...
Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Cast: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin Certificate: 15 Release Date: Friday 11th February
A remake of the 1969 John Wayne Western of the same name, True Grit tells the tale of Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), a young 14 year old who wants revenge for her father's murder at the hands of Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Calling on drunk old US Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and a dedicated Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), the Coen brothers' latest is a story of justice, morals and guns.
Jeff Bridges. Eyepatch. Matt Damon. Moustache. If you need any more of a reason to see a film, here's the trailer and some clips.
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 Written by Ivan Radford
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Cast: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin Certificate: 15 Trailer
Hats are brilliant. You've got to love hats. The Coen Brothers learnt long ago (before No Country For Old Men) that if you put a man in a hat, you get results. Miller's Crossing had its fair share of hats. It was a straight-up masterpiece. And that was way back in 1990. But you know what? You've never really seen a hat until you've seen Hailee Steinfeld wear a hat. She takes hat wearing to a whole another level. Hats and her? It's a thing of beauty.
After last week's announcement that The Bourney Legacy was looking to fall into the hands of Tony Gilroy, the director contacted Hollywood Elsewhere to clarify a few details. Namely, that Legacy will leave out Jason Bourne altogether.
With Greengrass gone bye bye, it was clear that Matt Damon wouldn't return to the role of the amnesiac spy, but Universal were keen to continue the franchise. Which is why Bourne writer Gilroy has stepped up with one of the novels in the series, but a whole new hero:
"This is not a reboot or a recast or a prequel. No one's replacing Matt Damon. There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter. This is a stand-alone project," he told Jeff Wells. "The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal. Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive."
The Michael Clayton creator added: "What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I'm building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy. The world we're making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down the road]."
Promising to draw viewers into the bigger picture, Gilroy's idea plays on the Legacy of the title, and will presumably fashion a new style of thriller, away from Greengrass' handheld action. But even if they come up with a clever bit of script, it'll be tough to top The Bourne Ultimatum, which worked as a fantastic final part to the Treadstone story.
Tony Gilroy is in talks to take over the fourth Bourne film. Not that he's ever been far away from controlling them - he's scripted all of them since Doug Liman's initial Bourne Identity.
Provisionally titled The Bourne Legacy, the fourth outing for Jason Bourne has already been written by Gilroy, who was hired back in June to scribble something down on paper. With Paul Greengrass taking himself out of the director's chair last year, Universal need a man to sit at the helm. And the Michael Clayton man isn't a bad choice at all.
Whether we need another adventure for the amnesiac spy now that he's got all his memories back is another question entirely. Matt Damon has already said that he won't return without Greengrass, so the studio will be on the hunt for either a new central character or a new Damon replacement.
The Bourne Legacy was originally scheduled for 2012, but that timetable's up in the air at present. Expect something to get locked down in the next couple of months.
"You got a lot of experience with bounty hounters do you?" "That is a silly question - I am fourteen."
So speaks Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), orphaned girl and determined bringer of vengeance. Presuming she gets the help of old, drunk, sociopathic Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges - rocking an eye patch). Which she does. And then some.
And finally we get the chance to savour the setup in full detail thanks to the theatrical trailer turning up online. There's no need to say how amazing it is. But to sum up in a few words: Josh Brolin. Matt Damon. Coen Brothers. Moustache.
Right after the trailer turned up out of the blue, True Grit has gone from having no promotional material to both a trailer and a poster. And just like the video, this baby is a beauty.
An old-school Western style poster, the one sheet is little more than a list of Really Good Actors on a yellow background with the title in Big Letters. And a bullet hole dripping blood down the middle.
Based on the novel by Charles Portis, the Coen Brothers' latest sees young Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) teaming up with old Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to wear hats, shoot people, and get revenge for her father's death. Gunning for Josh Brolin with the help of Matt Damon, this thriller is shaping up to be exactly what you'd expect from the Coens in serious (non-Ladykillers) mode: brilliant.
It shoots into cinemas on Friday 14th January next year. Unless it, you know, turns up in London somewhere around the time of the LFF's Surprise Film...
Following the success of The Town, Ben Affleck has got himself in Warner Bros' good books. As a result, he's been offered the chance to helm another crime project, Tales from the Gangster Squad.
Based on a series of articles from 2008, Gangster Squad is penned by former LA policeman Will Beall and is about a hush-hush group of LAPD guys who joined together in the 1940s to run gangster Micky Cohen out of town. It would be a good chance for Affleck to prove that his action skills with that car chase in The Town weren't just a fluke.
This announcement comes after rumours that Ben Affleck discussed directing Christopher Nolan's Superman but then dropped out of the running - it's nice to have news about something that he will actually be involved in after all the Man of Steel hype going round.
Collider also report than he's looking at a two-hander at Warner Bros with Matt Damon. How do you like them apples? Are you happy accepting Affleck as a bona fide director now?
Folks presumably queued round the block last weekend to see The Adjustment Bureau, the film that suddenly EVERYONE was calling "Bourne Meets Inception!" since TotalFilm coined the phrase (which is pretty much meaningless) and someone slapped it on the poster.