James McAvoy, who plays Dr. X in X-Men: First Class, has replaced fellow X-Men actor Michael Fassbender in the lead role of Danny Boyle’s next film Trance, according to a report in Variety magazine.
Trance, is a remake of a 2001 British TV drama written and directed by Joe Ahearne, who is best known for his work in Doctor Who. The film will be about an auction house employee who helps steal a painting, but then suffers amnesia and can’t remember where it is hidden.
I am a big fan of McAvoy so I am really happy about the news. Just having caught X-Men: First Class recently, I do have to say that the film was spectacular!
So hopefully…there won’t be any hard feelings between the two co-stars!!
But in other news, Boyle, who won the Academy Award for best director in 2008 for Slumdog Millionaire, is due to direct the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games!
Knowing that the task will be a big one, Boyle plans to shoot Trance before the event gets under way.
Following the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday, the world has been a blaze about whether or not James Franco was, well, blazed. God forbid people would talk about the actual awards!
The New York Times said Franco came off “a little distracted and even blasé”. The Washington Post declared that Franco seemed “sort of heavy-lidded and smirky.” And USA Today simply said Franco appeared to be “preparing for a remake of ‘Dazed and Confused.’ Needless to say, the 127 Hours star appeared disconnected and bored by the festivities, and there was much speculation that he was stoned.
“James does not drink or do drugs ever,” his rep told E! Online, and several sources confirm that Franco is not a partier.
Did he pull a Pineapple Express and smoke up? Or is there a tiny possibility that the busy guy was just tired?
Let’s look at the facts for a second… he had spent several weeks flying back and forth from the East Coast to L.A. to rehearse for the Oscars on weekends and was still attending award shows for 127 Hours, and winning. Although the actor, director, writer, painter and full-time student may appear to be a machine, he is still human.
It’s not the first time Franco’s stoner demeanor has come into play, it almost cost him the role in 127 Hours.
Director Danny Boyle told E! Online in October that when they met “he was so relaxed—he looked stoned to me. People say that about him. But he’s not. In fact, he’s abstemious.”
Mid-November is a time where we start hearing the same Christmas songs in every single store, Starbucks features their holiday drinks, peppermint hot chocolate and the gingerbread latte, and the first (or third) snowfall is upon us. Apart from all the holiday season cliches, all Oscar buzzing films are released consecutively. Though the Academy Awards, set for February 27 2011, are three months away, it is time to start the Oscar pools.
The Academy Awards is a pretty predictable awards show. Every year viewers are disappointed with the winners because of an Academy institution conspiracy. The voting process is not really democratic, although members of the board claim that it is. This year there are many Oscar buzzing films. Last year was a poor year (in my opinion) for North American cinema, but this year is looking up.
The nomination ballads are due on Monday December 27, and the official nominations will be announced a month later on January 27. With two months to decide, I say that we can somewhat accurately guess the ten best picture nominations.
As of November 18 2010 my Best Picture nominations are as follows (subject to change):
1. 127 Hours (Danny Boyle)
2. Made in Dagenham (Nigel Cole)
3. True Grit (Cohen Brothers)
4. The Social Network (David Fincher)
5. Conviction (Tony Goldwyn)
6. Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik)
7. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
8. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
9. The Rabbit Hole (John Cameron Mitchell)
10. For Colored Girls (Tyler Perry)
As a warning I am not necessarily in accordance with all of these films, but I am trying to delve into the minds of the conspirators.
Danny Boyle is one of the most talked about directors in the last two years. Boyle is well known for his cult classics such as 28 Days Later and Trainspotting. His film, Slumdog Millionaire, won an impressive eight Academy Awards in 2009 including Best Picture. Boyle has established himself as one of the most talented filmmakers of our time, but after his Oscar feat and his other notable films, it seems like a challenge to continue on the path of victory.
His newest film, 127 Hours, tells the true story of Colorado hiker, Aron Ralston, who in 2003 was hiking alone in the Blue John Canyon in Utah (near Moab) and became trapped in a large escarpment when a sizeable boulder became dislodged and fell directly on his right forearm, pinning it to the canyon wall. Unable to move the rock, Ralston was forced amputate his forearm in order to live.
The film follows Aron through the tragedy. Right away we are introduced to Ralston (James Franco) a wild, independent adventurer who will stop at nothing to get a thrill. Ralston leaves his house and his good Swiss Army pocketknife behind and drives into the canyon lands to begin his journey. Ralston is immediately established as reckless when he sets out on his mountain bike racing through the canyon at full speed, headphones blaring, and astonishingly without a helmet. It’s unfathomable that an experienced mountain climber, hiker, biker, what have you, would not wear a helmet. This is almost a death wish in itself. About a minute after riding his bike, Ralston is pitched over the handlebars after catching his tire on a rock. While there is no foreshadowing necessary because we know what is going to happen, the bike accident still puts you on the edge of your seat. With palms sweating we know the worse is yet to come.
Ralston then meets a pair of attractive girls (Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn) who have lost their way in the canyon. Ralston guides them to their destination while flirting and showing them his daredevil side. After he leaves the girls and breaks the cardinal rule of hiking, “never go out alone,” chaos ensues as Ralston falls into the canyon.
Boyle artistically films Ralston’s descent into the canyon. We see a shot of him falling slow motion with the boulder right behind him. The shot is replayed backwards in a dream sequence as well. With Boyle directing there is no doubt that the film is shot beautifully and employs unconventional cinematic techniques. The shots of the canyon landscape alone are breathtaking. We are even taken inside of Ralston’s water bottle and Camel Back as he slurps up water and urine.
Slumdog Millionaire star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and his family moved into a home of their own this weekend, reports E! Online. The family’s illegal shack was bulldozed by the government in May. They have never owned their own home before.
Danny Boyle, who directed Slumdog Millionaire, and Christian Colson, who produced it, set up the Jai Ho Trust to help the film’s young stars. The trust contributed $50,000 toward purchasing the house.
“I like it here, it is really nice,” said Ismail, 10. “But I will miss my old friends back in Bandra. Maybe I will go and visit them once in a while.”
