‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ New Poster

After a low-res, leaked version of the first poster for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Universal has revealed the official teaser one-sheet.

Cannes Film Festival Updated Competition Lineup / ‘Blindness’ opener and ‘What Just Happened?’ closer - confirmed

Fernando Meirelles‘ Blindness will open the Cannes Film Festival and will join the Competition line-up, it was confirmed today.

The film, about a city hit with a plague causing most of the population to go blind, was adapted by Don McKellar from the novel by Jose Saramago.

The cast is led by Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal.

Last week, when the official line up was announced, many industry observers questioned why ‘Blindness’ had not been included.

Cannes has added two other titles to the Competition:

- Laurent Cantet’s ‘Entre Les Murs‘, based on the book by Francois Begaudeau, is the third French film in competition promised by Fremaux last Wednesday,

-James Gray’s ‘Two Lovers‘, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow.

‘Two Lovers’ is NYC romantic drama toplines Joaquin Phoenix as an aspiring photographer and Gwyneth Paltrow as the attractive girl next door.

The main competition jury has added two members - French actress Jeanne Balibar (“Va savoir”) and Iranian author-director Marjane Satrapi - under the presidency of Sean Penn.
Satrapi took the Jury Prize at Cannes last year for her ‘Persepolis‘.

Finally, the festival announced that Barry Levinson’s ‘What Just Happened?‘ will be the event’s closing night film.

Updated competition line-up (22 films)

Laurent Cantet - Entre Les Murs (France)

Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Three Monkeys (Turkey-France-Italy)

Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne - Le Silence De Lorna (Belgium-France-Italy-Germany)

Arnaud Desplechin - A Christmas Story (France)

Clint Eastwood - Changeling (US)

Atom Egoyan - Adoration (Canada)

Ari Folman - Waltz With Bashir ( Israel-France-Germany )

Philippe Garrel - La Frontiere De L’Aube ( France )

Matteo Garrone - Gomorra ( Italy )

James Gray - Two Lovers (US)

Charlie Kaufman - Synecdoche, New York (US)

Eric Khoo - My Magic (Singapore)

Lucretia Martel - La Mujer Sin Cabeza (Argentina-Spain)

Brillante Mendoza - Serbis (The Philippines)

Fernando Meirelles - Blindness (Brazil)

Kornel Mondruczo - Delta (Hungary-Germany)

Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas - Linha De Passe (Brazil)

Paolo Sorrentino - Il Divo (Italy)

Pablo Trapero - Leonera (Argentina-South Korea)

Wim Wenders - The Palermo Shooting (Germany-Italy)

Jia Zhangke - 24 City (China )

Steven Soderbergh - Che (US-Spain-France)

Robert De Niro and Andy Garcia in ‘Street of Dreams’

‘Street of Dreams‘ is a co-production between US-based FR Productions, Korea’s Hyun Jin Cinema and Japan’s Wides Japan.

It will be produced by Fred Roos, whose credits include ‘The Godfather: Part II‘ and ‘The Godfather: Part III‘, ‘Lost in Translation‘.

‘Street of Dreams’ is based on the true story of Montana Joe, a legendary Japanese-American gangster in the 1940s.

Robert De Niro has been cast as an Italian mafia leader. Andy Garcia, will also play a mafia boss.

Korean actor Choi Min-soo will play the role of Montana’s Korean friend, Eddie. Chinese actress Shu Qi will also star in the film.

However, no actor has been cast in the lead role of Montana. There will be auditions for the role in  May.

Raymond De Felitta, who was nominated for an Academy Award for a live-action short film ‘Bronx Cheer,’ will direct the film. Roger Towne, who won an Academy Award for ‘Chinatown‘ in 1975, wrote the script.

The project has been planned since 2002! ‘Street of Dreams’ is slated for release in 2009.

Phillip Noyce to direct ‘Art of Making Money’

Phillip Noyce is in talks to direct The Art of Making Money for DreamWorks, The Hollywood Reporter says.

The story is based on the life of notorious counterfeiter Art Williams, who printed more than $10 million in forged bills. He continued to produce counterfeit money even after he was caught by the FBI. Last year he was jailed for seven years.

The film will by based on Jason Kersten’s profile for Rolling Stone magazine.

Frank Baldwin will adapt the article, which Kersten and Williams are to turn into a book.

Noyce has previously directed Patriot Games, Rabbit-Proof Fence and 2006’s Catch a Fire. His period drama Mary Queen of Scots is currently in production.

‘Blindness’ Cannes Film Festival Opener?

Fernando Meirelles’ drama-thriller about a city succumbing to a blindness epidemic.

‘Blindness‘ stars Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo is being eyed to open the Cannes Film Festival, while ‘Hunger,’ from Brit director Steve McQueen, is the leading candidate to kick off Un Certain Regard.

The source of many press reports identify ‘Blindness’ as the May 14 Cannes opener.
According to Variety, Cannes declined to comment on the rumors regarding ‘Blindness.’

More than one option Meirelles’ pic was one of the most glaring absences from the Official Selection lineup unveiled by delegate general Thierry Fremaux last Wednesday.

Fremaux’s announcement left both opening and closing film slots open.

Steve McQueen’s ‘Hunger’ appears clearer.

McQueen’s feature debut is strongly expected to open Un Certain Regard.

Reportedly powerful, but very out-there, ‘Hunger’ is an impressionistic interpretation of the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands, the IRA hunger striker who died in the Maze prison in 1981.

Steven Soderbergh to direct ‘The Girlfriend Experience’

Steven Soderbergh is set to direct The Girlfriend Experience, a film about the world of prostitution from the vantage point of a $10,000-a-night call girl.

This project marks the director’s first exploration of sexual relationships since his breakthrough film, Sex, Lies, and Videotape.

According to Variety, rather than going for star power, Soderbergh may set an adult film actress to play the lead role. Brian Koppelman and David Levien will write the script.

The title, The Girlfriend Experience, refers to a phenomenon in which wealthy men pay not just for the quality of a sexual encounter but also for a woman who will play the role of a perfect girlfriend. The arrangement apparently involves more intimacy than the usual prostitution relationship.

Soderbergh, Koppelman and Levien interviewed numerous women and fixed on an interior look at a woman who makes $1 million a year in the business.

Production is set to begin in the fall.

‘Quantum of Solace’ In Bregenz, Austria

Residents in the western Austrian town of Bregenz were keeping their eyes peeled Tuesday for actor Daniel Craig who is shooting several scenes for the upcoming James Bond movie in the town.

A film crew will be in town until May 9 to shoot scenes for Quantum of Solace.

Filming Tuesday started with a chase scene in the city’s festival hall, a spokesman for the Bregenz opera festival said.

The city’s annual opera festival, with its signature floating stage on Lake Constance, will play a prominent role in the movie.

In the evening several streets in the medieval town, with a population of 30,000, will be closed off for filming, before filming on the floating stage Wednesday.

For James Bond to chase his adversaries across the huge stage, which is dominated by elaborate props and a huge eye, festival organizers set up a complete performance of Puccini’s Tosca, complete with audience.

Austrian media report that a possible shooting location for The next James Bond movie could be the “Seebühne” (Floating Stage) in Bregenz, Austria.

A spokesperson for the Bregenz Festival confirmed a report by Austrian ORF Radio Vorarlberg, that “people from Pinewood Studios in London” have visited the location by end of June, namely producer Barbara Broccoli, director Marc Forster and the director of photography.