Upcoming 2009 Movies: "Fame"

Plot:

A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hopes of pursuing freedom while also falling in love with his master, the famous female philosophy professor and atheist Hypatia of Alexandria.

Cast:

(Credited cast)

Rachel Weisz ... Hypatia

Rupert Evans ... Synesius

Homayoun Ershadi
Max Minghella ... Davus
Michael Lonsdale
Ashraf Barhom ... Ammonius

Manuel Cauchi ... Theophilus
Oscar Isaac ... Orestes

Yousef 'Joe' Sweid ... Peter

Amber Rose Revah ... Sidonia
Richard Durden ... Olympius
Clint Dyer ... Hierax
Sami Samir ... Cyril
Jordan Kiziuk ... Hypatia's Disciple
Harry Borg ... Prefect Evagrius
Charles Thake ... Hesiquius

Image of the set:

[image=http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/1906/ouipuiophr9.jpg]

More images from the movie:

[image=http://www.fantasymundo.com/imagenes/noticias/6720.jpg]

Rachel in Malta:

[image=http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/7348/agoramisc001ux3.jpg]

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Discuss.

 

"Agora" sounds rather interesting, and that's a good cast.

 

Agreed. Interesting idea with pretty solid casting.

 

AKIRA

Two part Live action film based on the six volume Manga Akira. This first film, due for a 2009 release, will be based on the first three volumes of the Manga.

Set in New-Manhattan a city rebuilt with Japanese money, the story focuses on two biker friends. Further plot is not known at this time.

Cast
(Credited cast)

Leonardo DiCaprio ... (rumored)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt ... (rumored)

Clea DuVall ... Sofie Agnesh Bojakshiya (rumored)

Clancy Brown ... Brother Justin Crowe (rumored)
Adrienne Barbeau ... Ruthie (rumored)

Carla Gallo ... Libby Dreifuss (rumored)

Patrick Bauchau ... Ernst Lodz (rumored)
Ralph Waite ... Reverend Norman Balthus (rumored)
Toby Huss ... Felix 'Stumpy' Dreifuss (rumored)

Tim DeKay ... Clayton Jones (rumored)

Diane Salinger ... Apollonia Bojakshiya (rumored)
Cynthia Ettinger ... Rita Sue Dreifus (rumored)
Michael J. Anderson ... Edgar 'Samson' Leonhardt (rumored)

Debra Christofferson ... Lila Villanueva (rumored)

Brian Turk ... Gabriel (rumored)
John Fleck ... Gecko (rumored)
Karyne Steben ... Alexandria (rumored)
Sarah Steben ... Caladonia (rumored)

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Discuss.

 

This will be interesting to see. It could be good, but i'm not expecting a whole lot from this. I'll wait and see how this develops.

 

Interesting cast. DiCaprio doesn't sell himself short.

 

DiCaprio and Gordon-Levitt? Count me in.

 

"The Alchemist"

Story:

A young Spaniard embarks on a quest to find a hidden treasure within the Egyptian pyramids.

Plot Summary:

Laurence Fishburne will play the part of Santiago, well-educated and who had intended to be a priest. A desire for travel, however, prompted him to become a shepherd instead.
He's contented, but then he dreams twice about hidden treasure, an a seer tells him to follow the dream's instructions: go to Egypt's pyramids, where he fill find a treasure. Santiago makes it to the pyramids and there learns where his fortune is actually to be found.

Additional Notes:

An adaptation of Paulo Coelho's best-selling novel.

Paulo Coelho?s internationally best-selling novel ?The Alchemist? is finally set to be made into a movie.

For more than a decade, filmmakers in Hollywood have wrestled with the daunting idea of transforming the inspirational and spiritual tale of ?The Alchemist? onto celluloid, but none has succeeded thus far.

Now, producer Harvey Weinstein is set to do what others failed at.

Hollywood actor Lawrence Fishbourne will direct the movie and will also play the part of the Arab alchemist who guides the novel?s hero Santiago, a Spanish shepherd, on his journey to Egypt in search of a treasure.

Hunt is on for a Spanish or Latin American boy to play the part of Santiago.

The Weinstein Co. has already got the approval of the acclaimed Brazilian author of the book.

?I am very happy that my book will be filmed in the way I intended it to be, and I hope the spirit and simplicity of my work will be preserved,? Coelho said in a statement released by The Weinstein Co.

Earlier, screenwriters working for another production house had toyed with the idea of adding some action to the story by including war sequences between Arab tribes.

The shooting of ?The Alchemist? will begin in 2009.

THE ALCHEMIST

The novel tells the story of a Spanish shepherd Santiago who dreams of a treasure that awaits him in Egypt. Selling his sheep, he makes his journey to Tangiers and to a desert oasis where he meets an alchemist with esoteric knowledge. The alchemist guides Santiago on his remaining journey through the war-hit desert to Egypt. On this journey, Santiago discovers many spiritual truths.

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Discuss.

 

I tried to read this book--at least twice. No go.

 

Amelia.

(from IMDb.com)

A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.

Mira Nair is currently shooting ?Amelia,? and the first stills from the upcoming biopic debuted today on Live Journal. You can check out one image just above and click for the rest of them right Here.

The film centers on the life and career of Amelia Earhart, the famous American pilot who became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic by herself. In 1937, she disappeared somewhere over the Pacific during an attempt to fly around the world. Hilary Swank plays the titular character. Ewan McGregor, Richard Gere, Virginia Madsen and Christopher Eccleston co-star.

Cast
(Credited cast)

Ewan McGregor ... Gene Vidal

Hilary Swank ... Amelia Earhart

Richard Gere ... George Putnam

Christopher Eccleston ... Fred Noonan

Virginia Madsen ... Dorothy Binney Putnam

Joe Anderson ... Bill Stultz

Aaron Abrams ... Slim Gordon

Mia Wasikowska

Dylan Roberts ... Leo Bellarts

William Cuddy ... Gore Vidal

Marina Stone

Scott Anderson ... Reporter

Duane Murray ... Cleveland Reporter

Mark Caven ... Hilton Railey

Gord Rand ... Sam Chapman

James Byron ... Charlie
Corrine Koslo ... Amy Guest
James Arnold ... Photographer

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Discuss.

 

McGregor often makes odd choices, and this may be one of them. I can't see where the story can go; Earhart was supposedly kept in a Japanese prison camp before her death, but there was never any proof.

 

The Pink Panther 2 (2009).

(from wiki)

The Pink Panther 2 is a sequel to the 2006 film, The Pink Panther. In the new film, Inspector Clouseau must team up with detectives from other European countries to rout the daring cat burglar, The Tornado, who has returned after a decade of inactivity. In the newly released teaser trailer for the film, premiering on June 6, 2008, the movie is called The Pink Panther 2, confirming the name originally chosen.

Steve Martin, who will reprise the role of Clouseau (originated by Peter Sellers), polished the original script written by Scott Neustadter and Michael M. Weber in November 2006. Columbia Pictures, partnering with MGM on the sequel, hired the team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel to perform a further rewrite in January 2007. Production was scheduled to begin in February 2007 for a 2008 release, but the film was subsequently re-scheduled for February 13, 2009 release after shooting was pushed back until August 2007 due to the Canadian actors strike that derailed planned shooting in Montreal. The release date was later changed to February 6, 2009.

Principal photography began in Paris on August 20, 2007 before moving to Boston, Massachusetts a couple of weeks in, where it wrapped on November 2, 2007. Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai signed for the female lead as criminal expert, Sophie Solandres. John Cleese replaces Kevin Kline as Chief Inspector Dreyfus with Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer reprising their roles as Ponton and Nicole. Andy García and Alfred Molina round out the cast as detectives, Inspector Vicenzo Brancaleone and Chief Inspector Randall Pepperidge.

Shawn Levy, who directed Steve Martin's first Pink Panther adventure, was in talks to be the film's Executive Producer but bowed out due to other work commitments. Harald Zwart is directing the sequel.

Cast

* Steve Martin as Inspector Jacques Clouseau
* John Cleese as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
* Jean Reno as Gendarme Gilbert Ponton
* Emily Mortimer as Nicole Nuveau
* Andy García as Inspector Vicenzo Brancaleone
* Alfred Molina as Chief Inspector Randall Pepperidge
* Aishwarya Rai as Sonia
* Yuki Matsuzaki as Kenji Mazuto
* Jeremy Irons as Alonso Avellaneda
* Lily Tomlin as Yvette Berenger
* Molly Sims as Marguerite
* Jack Metzger as Antoine

Trivia

* In a trailer for the film, Steve Martin appears as Inspector Clouseau, unsuccessfully trying to purchase a ticket to see a movie at an American theater. Denied a ticket due to a sold-out show, he sneaks into the back of the theater and "cuts" through the movie screen. After seeing that he is exposed to everyone, he attempts to repair the screen using duct tape. As his shadow moves across the "back" of the screen, the Pink Panther's shadow follows him.
* There are two versions of the trailer: The first version has Clouseau trying to purchase a ticket to see Kung Fu Panda. The second version has Clouseau trying to purchase a ticket to see WALL-E.

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Discuss.

 

Despite the hostility directed towards The Pink Panther from critics and people online I enjoyed the film a great deal. I'm a huge slapstick fan and of Mr. Martin so this was an ideal match for me. I was also pleased that Martin just didn't do a Seller's impression and gave the role a different spin. I think the cast for the sequel is tremendous and I have high hopes the sequel will improve upon the first film.

Would love to see Clive Owen make another cameo.

Just wish they dropped the "2" and come up with another title.

 

Next, I predict we'll see him try to purchase a ticket to either The Dark Knight, or Journey to the Center of the Earth, if not both.

 

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

(from wiki)

Plot

The prequel story traces the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires known as Death Dealers and their onetime slaves, the Lycans. In the Dark Ages, a young Lycan named Lucian (Sheen) emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has enslaved them. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, Sonja (Mitra), in his battle against the Death Dealer army and his struggle for Lycan freedom.

Cast

* Michael Sheen as Lucian
* Rhona Mitra as Sonja
* Bill Nighy as Viktor
* Steven Mackintosh as Andreas Tanis
* Kevin Grevioux as Raze
* Shane Brolly as Kraven
* Zita Görög as Amelia
* Tony Curran as Markus Corvinus

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Discuss.

 

Haven't heard of this before.

 

Friday the 13th (2009).

(from wiki)

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cb/Friday_the_thirteenth.jpg/200px-Friday_the_thirteenth.jpg]

Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel, and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. The film is a reboot of the Friday the 13th film series, whose last film was the 2003 crossover film Freddy vs. Jason. Nispel helmed the 2003 remake of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, while Shannon and Swift wrote the screenplay for Freddy vs. Jason. The film stars Derek Mears as Jason Voorhees, Jared Padalecki and Amanda Righetti portraying the male and female leads, respectively. Set for a Friday, February 13, 2009 release, the film will take "elements from all three [of the first] movies".

Production Development

In January 2007, producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller outlined their intended goal to bring the remake to life. Fuller and Form were approached by New Line to create a remake, but because Paramount still owned certain copyrights to the first film the remake would not be able to use anything from the original. Paramount, who wanted to be included in the remake, approached the producers and gave them license to use anything from the original films, including the title. With Paramount on board, Fuller and Form decided they wanted to use pieces from each of the first three films. Fuller stated, "I think there are moments we want to address, like how does the hockey mask happen. It?ll happen differently in our movie than in the third one. Where is Jason from, why do these killings happen, and what is Crystal Lake?" The producers expressed an interest in using the character of Tommy Jarvis and stated that they were working out a sensible origin story for Jason that would make sense. Ultimately, it was decided that Friday the 13th would not be an origin story, but that the audience would get a sense of the history as the film progressed. The audience will see Jason transition from wearing a bag over his head?similar to Friday the 13th Part 2?to finding and actually placing the hockey mask over his face, whereas in Friday the 13th Part III he merely came out of the barn already wearing the mask.

Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, writers of Freddy vs. Jason, were announced in October 2007 to have been hired to pen a script for the remake. The film was reported to focus on Jason Voorhees, and that he will keep his trademark hockey mask. The film is being produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller through Bay's production company Platinum Dunes, for New Line Cinema. Director Jonathan Liebesman was originally in negotiations to direct the remake in February 2006, but was replaced by Marcus Nispel, director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake of 2003, in November 2007. On March 21, 2008, it was confirmed that Jared Padalecki was in final negotiations to star as the lead who investigates what happened at Crystal Lake. On March 31, 2008 iFMagazine reports that Derek Mears is in final talks to portray Jason Voorhees, while Variety reported on April 2, 2008 that Amanda Righetti was in final negotiations to take the female lead in the new Friday the 13th. Danielle Panabaker, Jonathan Sadowski, Travis Van Winkle, Willa Ford, Aaron Yoo, Julianna Guill round out the rest of the cast. Nana Visitor has been cast as Pamela Voorhees. A young Jason is to be played by Caleb Guss. The film will have its U.S. release on Friday, February 13, 2009. Principal photography began on April 21, 2008 in Austin, Texas and wrapped up on June 13, 2008.

Creating Jason

Derek Mears was required to wear full body make-up from the chest up while performing his duties as Jason Voorhees. As Mears describes it, he wore a chest plate with fake skin that would move to all muscle movement; he also wore a fake hump on his back, and was given a variation of scoliosis. A prosthetic eye was glued to Mears's face to allow for realistic movement. For his wardrobe, Mears was given a

 

It was his mom in the first one.

 

My view of slasher movies is that high production values make then worse, not better.

 

True. Very true. Plus this is completely unnecessary, as is the upcoming re-make of A Nightmare on Elm Street, which is boasting no affiliation with either Wes Craven or Robert Englund. Which won't help to make me ever want to see it. The crap thing is they're doing this because someone saw Rob "Needs to stay away from making movies" Zombie's awful revamp of Halloween, which was the worst slasher flick I've ever seen. I'm sorry, but it was just bad. And these idiots couldn't even get the story strait, as someone mentioned, Mrs. Voorhees was the original killer, Jason wasn't around until the sequel and he didn't have a Hockey mask until the 3rd movie. I just wish they would stop with this "we need to remake everything" mentality. Somethings are better left untouched.

-T_S_R

 

17 Again.

(from wiki)

17 Again is a 2009 Big-like comedy film from New Line Cinema starring Matthew Perry and Zac Efron, and directed by Burr Steers. Slated for release on February 20, 2009.

Plot

Popular high school senior Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) seemingly has it all. He is a star athlete headed straight for a college scholarship when he decides to give it up to settle down with his high school girlfriend Scarlett.

25 years later, an adult Mike (Matthew Perry) finds his life is not exactly what he expected. He is separated from his wife, Scarlett (Leslie Mann) and living with his best friend Ned Freedman (Thomas Lennon), his career at a pharmaceutical company is at a stand still, and his relationships with his teenage children are nonexistent. After getting passed up for yet another promotion at work, he returns to his high school to reminisce over his basketball awards and the life he could have had. While he is reliving his past, he is approached by a janitor and shares with him how things were so much better when he was 17.

As Mike is driving home from the high school, he sees the mysterious janitor standing on the ledge preparing to jump into the Los Angeles River. Mike rushes out of his car to rescue him, but when he gets there, the janitor has vanished. What Mike doesn't realize is that he is about to fall into the river and turn into his 17-year-old self.

Young Mike (once again Zac Efron) returns to Ned's house, where he has the difficult task of convincing Ned that he is in fact Mike. At a loss of what to do, Ned pretends to be Mike's father and they register Mike back in high school to finish the life he never had the chance to live.

High school presents a lot of new challenges for Mike, such as dressing cool, keeping up with the latest gadgets and making new friends. But nothing compares to being in high school with his own children. He discovers that his daughter, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg), is not nearly as innocent as he thought she was and his son, Alex (Sterling Knight), is the brunt of the star athlete's jokes.

But Mike's most difficult realization is that he hasn't been a very good father or husband. Mike befriends Alex and tries to instill him with enough confidence to join the basketball team. He gets close to Maggie's obnoxious boyfriend and does everything in his power to break them up. Most importantly, he visits an unsuspecting Scarlett and rediscovers all the things that initially made him fall in love with her.

Through his experiences, Mike realizes that he had chosen the perfect life he just never appreciated it. Now, he must figure out a way to transform back into his older self and win back his wife and kids.

Cast

* Matthew Perry as Mike O'Donnell
* Zac Efron as Young Mike O'Donnell
* Leslie Mann as Scarlett O'Donnell
* Allison Miller as Young Scarlett O'Donnell
* Thomas Lennon as Ned Freedman
* Tyler Steelman as Young Ned Freedman
* Michelle Trachtenberg as Maggie O'Donnell
* Sterling Knight as Alex O'Donnell
* Melora Hardin
* Hunter Parrish as Stan
* Melissa Ordway as Lauren

Scene locations

* Santa Monica High School known as "Hayden High School": During the course of filming, many students from Santa Monica High School were cast as extras. The school's appearance was dramatically altered to represent the school in the movie.

Release

The film was originally supposed to release August 15, 2008, but was recently pushed back to February 20, 2009.

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Discuss.

 

I find it ironic that Efron is basically admitting where his career will be in a very few years; ie. where Matthew Perry's is now, namely nowhere.

 

Hey, this was filmed at my school! Exciting.

 

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li.

(from wiki)

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is an upcoming film based on the Street Fighter series of video games. It follows the quest of Street Fighter character Chun-Li, who will be portrayed by Smallville star Kristin Kreuk. The film co-stars Neal McDonough as M. Bison, Chris Klein as Charlie, Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog, and Black Eyed Peas singer Taboo as Vega. Rick Yune was originally cast as Gen but has been replaced by Robin Shou, who portrayed Liu Kang in the Mortal Kombat series. The film is scheduled for release in 2009.

Jean-Claude Van Damme, who played Guile in the 1994 live-action film version of Street Fighter, stated that he was approached and offered a part in this movie. He turned it down because, according to him, he is now being careful in choosing film roles.

It has been confirmed on the movie's production blog that Ryu and Ken will not appear in the movie, as it is more of a Chun-Li origin story, but they may appear in future sequels.

Cast

* Kristin Kreuk as Chun-Li
* Neal McDonough as M. Bison
* Chris Klein as Charlie Nash
* Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog
* Taboo as Vega
* Robin Shou as Gen
* Moon Bloodgood as Detective Maya Sunee

Shooting locations

* Bangkok, Thailand
* Hong Kong, China
* Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
* Reno, Nevada, United States
* Herlong, California, United States

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[link=http://streetfightermovie.net/]Street Fighter Production Blog[/link]

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Discuss.

 

I wonder what scenes need to be shot in Vancouver?