Animal Kingdom trailer

Animal Kingdom is a independent Australian film, that received good word from the Sundance Film Fest audiences this past January.

The back story is about a highly volatile crime riddled Aussie family and a 17 year old within the group that has mixed feelings about his family and at times second guesses exactly what he is doing and where this family will lead his future.

Starring James Frencheville, Jacki Weaver, Guy Pearce and Luke Ford. Look for it sometime in June.

Carey Mulligan for Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady remake ?

Well, you might be aware of this news, or you might not. So if you are not, after the reported drop out from Keira Knightley in the remake of the film My Fair Lady, it is now heavily rumored that Carey Mulligan ( hot off her Oscar nomination in An Education ) will play the role as Eliza Doolittle, that was famously portrayed by Audrey Hepburn in 1964.

This makes me just want to say enough already. I don't have a problem with Mulligan, I think she's a fine young actress, but enough with the re-makes already, most importantly, the classics. What do the studio heads think they are going to do... improve on it ? The orginal film won 8 Oscar's ( including actor for Rex Harrison and director for George Cukor ) That version does not need a re-visisting. It still stands as a classic and holds up well.

Usually, the logic behind a remake is to better the original ( which 90% of the time they do not ) this will be no different. If you are interested or care, John Madden ( Shakespeare In Love ) will be in the director's chair for this version. I'm shaking my head with question marks. Once again I ask myself why Hollyweird ?

EatPrayLove Trailer

From the popular book by Elizabeth Gilbert, a woman gets fed up with the sameness of her life and begins to feel suffocated and decides in her yearning for seeing new things, goes on a round the world trip.

The relationship drama stars Julia Roberts ( as Gilbert ) James Franco, Billy Crudup, Javier Bardem, Viola Davis and Richard Jenkins. Due out August 13.

Mother and Child trailer

No offical date has been set, but it should be released in America in May.

Film is directed by Rodrigo Garcia and Stars Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, David Morse and Jimmy Smits.

The story of the film is about 3 woman, one a 50 year old, the daughter she gave up for adoption and an african-american woman looking to adopt a child of her own.


Rumor's among the movies pundits are being bandied about that both performances by Bening and Watts are very good.

Teenage John Lennon film lands U.S. date

Nowhere Boy, the tale of John Lennon's middle teen years has received a October 8th release date for American audiences.

The film stars Aaron Johnson as the young Lennon and Kristen Scott Thomas as his main elder in that time, his aunt Mimi.

It received positive word of mouth at the Toronto Film Festival last September, garnering the movie 4 British Academy Award nominations. It was not shown in the United States.

Clooney filming in Kauai for The Descendants

After having a successful year being nominated for an Oscar for his work in Up In The Air and also starring in what I think was a real underrated film, The Men Who Stare At Goats, George Clooney is teaming up with director Alexander Payne ( Sideways, About Schmidt ) for a film titled The Descendants, also starring Judy Greer, Robert Forster, Beau Bridges and Matthew Lilliard. The film most likely will see a 2011 release date, but the rumor is that if Payne can have it edited by the end of summer, he'll try for a winter 2010 date.

Leaves Of Grass Preview/Synopsis

Leaves Of Grass- NY/LA April 2 ( Expanding April 9 )

Directed by actor Tim Blake Nelson ( The Grey Zone ) Starring Edward Norton, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell, Tim Blake Nelson, Melanie Lynsky, Lee Fabian, Lucy Devito. Written by Blake Neslon, cinematography by BAFTA nominee Roberto Schaefer ( Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction ) Edited Michelle Boticelli ( Greta ) Original music by Jeff Danna (Lakeview Terrace, Fracture )

LOG is the story of an Ivy league professor ( Norton ) who is lured back to his hometown in Oklahoma, by his small time pot growing twin brother ( also played by Norton )with a plan of taking down and taking over the local drug lord ( Dreyfuss )

Rated R for violence, pervasive language and drug content 105 min.

Oscar chances ? Possible for Norton in the actor category. Playing two opposite twins is no easy feat. I would think a Golden Globe in the Comedy/Musical category would be a very good bet.

Back in the saddle...

Sorry about the break from the Oscar Chances blog, we were dealing with a strong widget bug, that took some time to fix.

Scorsese shows no signs of slowing down

Even as director Martin Scorsese nears age 70, like Clint Eastwood, there seems to be no slowing this guy down, and has his itinerary packed full of future projects.

He is now in pre-production on his take at Brian Selznick's boom, The Invention Of Hugo Cabret, a story set in Paris in the 1930's about a boy thak lives in the walls of a train station. Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan ( Gladiator, The Aviator ) is adapting the story.

Also on his plate is Silence, a long time personal love of his from the 1960's novel by Shusaku Endo, about two 17th century Jesuit priest's that face persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor, and spread the gospel of Christianity. It's widely rumored the director has wanted to make this film for a long time.

Finally on his short list is Sinatra, with rumors that this will be yet another collaboration between Leonardo DiCaprio rumored to star as the crooner and Scorsese lensing, about the middle years of ol' blue eyes himself.

These are projects that have been fast tracked, but there is also a Teddy Roosevelt film on the horizon and another film reuniting his old partner Robert DeNiro, for a mob movie based on Jimmy Hoffa and hitman Frank Sheeran called I Heard You Paint Houses based from the book of the same name.

Even though Scorsese is getting up there in age, he's still cranking out top notch work and looks like he'll do it this way till his end most likely.

Four movies in 2010 for Matt Damon

Actor Matt Damon looks like he will be pulling a Nicolas Cage this year, as the Boston native is churning out movie after movie and will have four movies alone to be released in the year 2010.

First coming wil be the Iraq themed Green Zone on March 12th, then he will follow that up with a film based from a Philip Dick short story called The Adjustment Bureau opposite Emily Blunt. Then this winter, most likely December, will see Damon reuniting with Clint Eastwood once again, in the psychological thriller Hereafter with Bryce Dallas Howard. Finally the fourth film will be the Coen brother's re-imaging of True Grit, with Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld due on Christmas day.

I hope for his sake and his status as an A lister, that he doesn't get caught in that quagmire, where he feels he has to be filming a movie at all times, because it's be proven that way of thinking has hurt the career of some actor's, when accepting every script that comes their way.

So far the film's on Damon's list this year look promising.

Kate Winslet's return to screen

It's still in the very early stages, but it looks like the first movie Kate Winslet will go in front of the camera's since winning the Best Actress Oscar for her turn in The Reader, will be a environmental thriller for director Stephen Soderbergh called Catagion. The film which is aiming for a 2011 release date will also co-star other Oscar nominated talent with the likes of Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwenyth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne.

Coen's get their Mattie Ross for True Grit

Well, it's been sometime now that most movie/Coen brother's fans have known that their next movie project is going to be a re-imaging of True Grit. Re-imaging I say ? Yes. In that, it's not an all out re-make of the popular 1969 film that won John Wayne his only Oscar.

The Coen brothers are going to follow the book more closely than the 1969 film did. In the book, the story is seen more through the eyes of 13 year old Mattie Ross, the girl who's kind father was killed by a wayward drifter he hired as a ranch hand. Mattie's goal is to avenge her father's death.

In a nationwide search, the Coen's have made their choice on relative unknown 13 year old Hailee Steinfeld. This decision has me a little bit leery and dumbfounded. The Coen's apparently want Mattie Ross to be the lead in the film. A tall task for any actress that will have to act up against such veterans as Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper to name several, let alone leave it up to a virtual unknown young actress.

I was kind of hoping for Saoirse Ronan. They want the role of Hattie to be ornery and somewhat badass, and I could have easily seen Saoirse in that role.

But the Coen's know more about filmmaking than I do, so I guess we have no choice but to trust their judgement. Filming begins at the end of March and will see a Christmas day 2010 release.

Green Zone Preview/Synopsis

March 12

Directed by Oscar nominee Paul Greengrass ( United 93 ) Starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan and Jason Isaacs. Written by Oscar winner Brian Helgeland ( L.A. Confidential, Mystic River ) cinematography by Oscar nominee Barry Ackroyd ( The Hurt Locker ) editing by Oscar winner Chris Rouse ( The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93 ) original music by John Powell ( The Italian Job, Shrek )

Green Zone is based off the book Imperial Life In The Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaren. Damon portrays Chief Warrant Officer Richard Gonzales, who is sent into Iraq's Green Zone area in a covert mission to find weapons of mass destruction. The main premise is where Gonzalas and everyone else for that matter, are led to believe this is the primary reason that this was the United States Intellegence main reason for invading Iraq. Soon Gonzalas will see with his own eyes, this may have not been the truth.

Rated R for violence and language. 115 min.

Oscar chances ? Possibles for screenplay and sound categories. More of March popcorn movie than anything.

Brooklyn's Finest Preview/Synopsis

Brooklyn's Finest March 5

Directed by Antoine Fuqua ( Training Day, King Arthur ) Starring Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin, Vincent D' Onofrio, Lili Taylor, Will Patton. Written by Michael C. Martin ( Sleeper Cell ) Cinematography by Patrick Murguia ( Beyond The Sky ) Editing Barbara Tulliver ( Signs, State and Main ) Original Music by Marcelo Zarvos ( The Good Shepherd, Hollywoodland )

Film takes place in a " Crash " type premise taking place in the three boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, where in the course of one chaotic week, the lives of 3 New York City police officers are effected dramatically by their involvement in a massive drug operation resulting in tragic consequences.

Rate R for bloody violence throughout, language, some sexuality, nudity, drug content and pervasive language. 140 min.

Oscar chances ? Honestly most likely not. In a stretch, and if real convincing, Hawke or Cheadle could possibly earn a supporting nomination. But being released in February doesn't give the film much chance. There can only be one Shutter Island.