Pages tagged “david fincher”

Release Date: Dec. 25

Director: David Fincher

Writer: Eric Roth (story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord)

Cinematographer: Claudio Miranda

Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Tilda Swinton

Studio Information: Paramount Pictures, 159 mins.

Because of a crazy clock built to run backward, Benjamin Button was born with a strange malady. This is not the sort of thing we question in a film like this. We simply accept it and move on. He starts his life with the wrinkled skin and arthritic joints of an old man and seems to look and feel younger as he ages. As Arthur says of Merlyn in Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot, "He lives backward. He doesn't age. He youthens."

There's a surprisingly gargantuan Internet faction dedicated to predicting who will be up for film's most coveted prize, the Academy Award. Publications like Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times and New York Times all have Oscar blogs that obsessively trail the fluctuations in buzz amongst the year's top films. That's not to mention stand-alone sites like Awards Daily and In Contention, or well-known bloggers like Jeff Wells, Dave Poland and Anne Thompson. Even Roger Ebert has devoted a wealth of recent ink on the subject. But, the truth is, no matter how much someone knows, it's still just a wild guessing game.

And now, a brief look at a few of the latest movie trailers to hit the web:

Australia
Release Date: Nov. 26
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham



On the surface, Australia seems to radiate quality and prestige. Sumptuous costumes? Check. Gorgeous candy-colored hues? Check. Epic war-time romance? Check. Sure-to-be-terrific performances? Well, maybe. Neither Kidman or Jackman look entirely comfortable, and just because the two hail from down under doesn't guarantee they'll have chemistry on screen. Luhrmann's previous films (Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!) have often leaned a little more toward style than substance. Despite that, the trailer proves there's plenty to be optimistic about. Extra points for the usage of Explosions in the Sky's atmospherically ambient song "The Only Moment We Were Alone."

When we reported back in March that David Fincher was reviving the Heavy Metal series, it seemed a little bit pie in the sky. Sure, it makes sense that Fincher would work on a project like that, but he's got enough other things in pre-production that it's hard to say what will ever see the light of day. The early announcement that Kevin Eastman and Tim Miller would be directing parts didn't make things seem likelier since neither of them have headed a film before.

Despite his busy schedule finishing up The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and working on Black Hole, David Fincher is "helming" a new Heavy Metal film. Word of this comes from Variety, which implies that Fincher will be in charge of the whole project—though if this is truly the case, isn't made clear in their material.

Heavy Metal is a relatively adult (or perhaps extremely juvenile) science-fiction magazine that has been running since 1977, though now reduced to a quarterly release schedule. Previous Heavy Metal feature films came out in 1981 and 2000, with the original in particular gaining a cult following.

The new Heavy Metal will consist of eight or nine animated segments, each directed by a different "helmer." Aside from Fincher, the other directors currently attached to the project are Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Tim Miller. Fincher, Eastman and Miller will be producing the film as well and are currently looking to lock other directors into the project.

Related links:
HeavyMetal.com
Paste news: David Fincher to direct Charles Burns adaptation
IMDB: David Fincher

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There are a few things our mandatory health education left out. Like the terrifying (or...awesome?) concept behind Teeth. Or the sexually transmitted "bug" that has propelled Charles Burns' horror graphic novel Black Hole to be adapted for the big screen.

Variety caught wind that David Fincher (of Zodiac and Fight Club fame) will direct the Paramount film, having just completed his latest collaboration with Brad Pitt entitled The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman were called to write the screenplay two years ago.

Black Hole, originally a 12-issue series, is next in a series of graphic novel-inspired flicks to hit theaters among recent releases 30 Days of Night and Wanted, which features Pitt's counterpart Angelina Jolie.

Related links:
David Fincher on IMDb.com
WantedMovie.com

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

When you watch Fight Club, do you think muscles or musicals, testosterone or theater, six packs or stage sets? (Really, we could do this all day.) Fear not, dear reader, because you no longer need to file David Fincher’s 1999 classic solely in each of those former designations.

This is because Fight Club is slated to become a Broadway musical. In a recent interview with MTV.com, Fincher expressed interest in a truly theatrical interpretation of the film, which would hit the Great White Way in 2009, ten years after the film’s original release. There isn't much else going on with the project, aside from the fact that Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk has agreed to it and Trent Reznor has expressed interest in developing the music. Of course, we'll keep you posted as things develop.

Related links:
Fight Club official site
ChuckPalahniuk.net
Paste: Best films of 2007: #45 - Zodiac

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