Crispin Glover Joins Tim Burton’s “Alice” cast

Crispin Glover has joined the cast of Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” taking on the role of The Knave Of Hearts.

Glover will appear along with Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Anne Hathaway (White Queen), Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen) and Mia Wasikowska (Alice) in the Disney adaptation of the Lewis Carroll tale.

British actors Michael Sheen and Matt Lucas have already signed up for the movie, part of which is being filmed in Plymouth.

In the novel, Glover’s character is put on trial for stealing The Queen Of Hearts’s tarts, however, Alice (Wasikowska) comes to his defence.

Burton is using a combination of live action and performance-capture technology in his adaptation.

“Alice in Wonderland” is scheduled for release in 2010.

Anne Hathaway In Romantic Comedy “The Fiance”

Warner Bros. has set Anne Hathaway to star in romantic comedy “The Fiance.” Burr Steers will direct the movie.

“The Fiance” was originally scripted by Dyanne Stempel and Jennifer Robinson and rewrite of “The Fiance” script is being done by Etan Cohen.

Hathaway will play a woman who cancels wedding plans and breaks up with her seemingly perfect fiance so she can try to figure out who she really is. Her meddling parents try to patch things up between the pair, making it impossible for her to move on.

The comedy was originally set up at Disney. After the studio dropped it, Hathaway was interested as well as Steers, and suddenly four studios were vying for it.

Hathaway, onscreen in Sony Pictures Classics’ “Rachel Getting Married,” is shooting the Tim Burton-directed “Alice in Wonderland.”

Hathaway next will be seen in the Gary Winick-directed comedy “Bride Wars” alongside Kate Hudson.

“Bride Wars” Trailer

The trailer for the upcoming comedy “Bride Wars,” starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson, has been released.

Hathaway and Hudson play best friends who are pitted against each other when their wedding dates clash. They compete for venues, services and guests, once it’s clear that neither will step aside.

“Bride Wars” from the director Gary Winick is scheduled to hit theaters on January 9th, 2009.

International “Passengers” Poster

An international poster for the upcoming Rodrigo Garcia directed thriller “Passengers“, starring Anne Hathaway (Get Smart) and Patrick Wilson (Watchmen), has been released.

After a plane crash, a young therapist, Claire (Anne Hathaway), is assigned by her mentor (Andre Braugher) to counsel the flight’s five survivors. When they share their recollections of the incident - which some say include an explosion that the airline claims never happened - Claire is intrigued by Eric (Patrick Wilson), the most secretive of the passengers. Just as Claire’s professional relationship with Eric - despite her better judgment - blossoms into a romance, the survivors begin to disappear mysteriously, one by one. Claire suspects that Eric may hold all the answers and becomes determined to uncover the truth, no matter the consequences. Read the rest of this entry

Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” wins Venice’s Golden Lion

Venice Film Festival will be remembered for Rourke’s performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler“, which the actor and critics agree is his best yet.
“The Wrestler” won the coveted Golden Lion award for best movie on Saturday.

“Darren Aronofsky came here a couple of years ago and fell on his ass,” Mickey Rourke told a packed Sala Grande crowd after the award was announced, referring to Aronofsky’s “The Fountain,” which flopped in Venice in 2006. “I’m glad he had the balls to come back. I don’t think he wanted to come back but I told him, “You have to come back’ and he did.”

The award seals his comeback from the Hollywood wilderness, and comments that Rourke is ready to ditch his bad-boy image and cooperate with directors suggest there is more to come.

“A guy like me changes hard, I didn’t want to change, but I had to change,” the star of 1980s hits “9-1/2 Weeks” and “Angel Heart” told in an interview in Venice.

There was controversy at Saturday’s closing ceremony when jury president Wim Wenders criticized rules which prevent the Golden Lion winner also picking up best acting prizes, suggesting Rourke should have won that too.

The Silver Lion for best director was won by Russia’s Alexei German Jr. for “Paper Soldier“, set on the windswept steppes of Kazakhstan and centring on the 1960s Soviet space program.

The best actor prize went to Silvio Orlando for his acclaimed portrayal of an overprotective father in “Il Papa di Giovanna” (Giovanna’s Father).

The best actress prize went to France’s Dominique Blanc in “L’Autre” (The Other One), a haunting tale of a woman who becomes dangerously obsessed with a young ex-boyfriend.

“Teza“, by Ethiopian director Haile Gerima, picked up two prizes, the special jury award and best screenplay.

The story chronicles the life of an Ethiopian intellectual who flees his country during the Marxist “red terror” in the 1980s, only to be attacked in Germany by racist youths.

Jennifer Lawrence of the United States was named best emerging actress for her role in “The Burning Plain“, in which she appeared alongside Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron.

As well as “The Wrestler”, “The Hurt Locker” by U.S. director Kathryn Bigelow impressed critics with its portrayal of the perils faced by a bomb disposal unit in Iraq, while actress Anne Hathaway generated awards buzz in “Rachel Getting Married“.

Venice 2008 - Review

The competition film, “The Wrestler,” which stars Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood, packed three Venice screenings Friday and prompted speculation among festival participants that Mickey Rourke could be a candidate for Venice’s best actor prize, which will be announced with the other major awards Saturday.

Mickey Rourke has given what critics are calling the performance of his life in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” in which he plays a lonely, washed out wrestler whose story poignantly mirrors the Hollywood outsider’s own troubled past.

“Wrestler,” which centers on an aging former professional wrestler, is the fest’s final premiere at the Sala Grande.

Rourke, who received a rare standing ovation at a press conference, is generating early Oscar chatter. He told in an interview that “The Wrestler” was “the best … movie I’ve ever made.”

The film, the last of 21 movies in the main competition to premiere, is a contender both for the top actor award and the coveted Golden Lion for best picture, critics say. The festival wraps Saturday with its prize ceremony.

Anne Hathaway also impressed in her unusually dark role in “Rachel Getting Married,” Jonathan Demme’s touching wedding drama that has been lauded in Venice.

A third late entry, Thursday’s premiere, “The Hurt Locker” by U.S. director Kathryn Bigelow, leads an informal poll of Italian critics who were impressed by its portrayal of the perils faced by a bomb disposal unit in Iraq led by a reckless sergeant.

Read the rest of this entry

“Passengers” - Trailer, Poster, Synopsis and Photo Gallery

Take a look at the first trailer and poster for the upcoming Rodrigo Garcia directed thriller “Passengers” starring Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, David Morse, Andre Braugher, Clea DuVall and Dianne Wiest.

After a plane crash, a young therapist, Claire (Anne Hathaway), is assigned by her mentor (Andre Braugher) to counsel the flight’s five survivors. When they share their recollections of the incident - which some say include an explosion that the airline claims never happened - Claire is intrigued by Eric (Patrick Wilson), the most secretive of the passengers. Just as Claire’s professional relationship with Eric - despite her better judgment - blossoms into a romance, the survivors begin to disappear mysteriously, one by one. Claire suspects that Eric may hold all the answers and becomes determined to uncover the truth, no matter the consequences.

Check out the “Passengers” Photo Gallery