Trouble Is Their Business

"If my books had been any worse I should not have been invited to Hollywood and if they had been any better I should not have come" - Raymond Chandler.

Clive Owen is to play Philip Marlowe in Frank Miller's film of Trouble Is My Business and the plan is, this will be the start of a series of Chandler adaptations. So, should this be a hit, Owen will be set for a nice string of gigs, though it's by no means guaranteed Miller would be sticking around.

Reporting on the deal, Variety lists various other Miller projects, past and future. Besides 300, Ronin and The Spirit, they remind us that Miller is working on a Sin City sequel. Don't take that as confirmation of anything.

What isn't clear is if the film adapts only the short story Trouble Is My Business or the entire collection of four stories now published under that umbrella title. I'd expect it will only be the one - it's quite involved and could easily fill out a feature film if adapted correctly. There's plenty of Hollywood stuff in this one, and if he fancies getting stuck into such in-jokes, Miller could probably make hay.

You can read an extended excerpt from the beginning of the story at Random House's site.

Movie Minewsweeper - The Let's Try That Again, Shall We? Edition

- Darren Aronofsky is to record a commentary track for The Fountain and release it online. I saw this at Cinematical.

- Frank Miller still believes in a Sin City 2. I wonder if he also believes in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction. On the upside, he's now sold on 3D - after a screening of U2 3D. Does this mean The Spirit might get an extra dimension?

- Today's completely fabricated quote alleges that Tim Burton is set to direct a film about Marilyn Manson's recent divorce. At least we can cross another site off of the legitimate source list - and the first time I've ever heard of the site too. That's efficiency for you.

- Aardman are to launch their own channel on Joost. Fine - but I don't have an invite to use the service. Who's going to ask me in?

- K-Fed has landed a small role in Night Watch. How?

- Scott Sigler's Infested is to be filmed. Know the book? I don't. Any good?

- You can download the trailer to Wilson Yip's Flashpoint right now, if your right-clicker works.

- A Mister Lonely clip has turned up online. If Harmony Korine has any idea what he's doing he certainly hasn't worked out why he shouldn't be doing it.

- Luc Besson is to float EuropaCorp on the paris stock exchange. This was one of the stories I lost in the earlier Blogger meltdown.

- I still haven't stopped laughing about the Silver Surfer coin cock-up.

Movie Minesweeper - The Poland Thinks Tinky Winky Is Gay But So What If He Is Edition

Here's a bunch of links for you - some of which will look mighty familiar to regular film ick readers.

- First familiar story: Johnny Depp may play Alexander Litvinenko. We told you about this in January.

- Second familiar story: Guillermo del Toro is to make a movie of Tom Manning's Runoff. We told you about this in April.

And now some less directly familiar stories.

- Michael Madsen is doubtful about the future of the Sin City franchise. Maybe this is a familiar story after all - I've been doubling my bet on this one never appearing every week or so for the last few months now. Everything I hear tells me we'll be very, very lucky to ever see another Sin City film. I've also been told today that Rodriguez is locked for Land of the Lost (with Will Ferell) as well as the previously announced Barbarella, but I've yet to confirm this with a second source so... watch this space.

- Indiana Jones and the City of Gods starts shooting this week. I found this link at Coming Soon.

- Some pics of Kate Winslet playing dress-up for hubby have appeared online.

- Not everybody is enjoying the guerilla marketing campaign for The Dark Knight.

- A remake of A Tale of Two Sisters is about to start shooting, so why do we know so little?
- Eli Roth slightly misrepresents the BBFC and praises the MPAA.

- BroadwayWorld have gone behind the scenes of the Finding Nemo musical.

- Catweazle (the thinking child's Worzel Gummidge, I feel) is to be a 'major motion picture'. John Henderson is to direct, but Catweazle creator Richard Carpenter is on board in some capacity.

- A Captain Thunder... sorry, Thunder Captain promo reel has popped up online. Don't expect too much.

- No link for this last story, I'm afraid - it appeared in print, but Home Media Magazine have announced that the deleted scenes on the Inland Empire DVD have been edited into a 90 minute parallel story. They also report that Lynch's original cut of the film was nine hours long.

Sin City 2 Might Be On Hold, So How About...

...some Sin City videogames instead?

Red Mile have won the rights to produce games based upon Frank Miller's Sin City. Here's the quote from Miller:

Taking Sin City into the world of video games is very exciting - games offer a whole new way to bring audiences into Sin City. The Red Mile team has impressed me with its dedication to creating Sin City video games that will remain true to Sin City as I’ve always seen it.

Red Mile are also working on a Jackass game.

Barbarella Puts One In The Head Of Sin City 2

I've been telling you for months that Sin City 2 was going to get 'pushed back' - or maybe not even happen at all. And now, there's a pretty clear indication that, indeed, the film is on the backburner.

Very possibly the backburner at the crematorium.

Variety have announced that Robert Rodriguez has signed to direct Universal's Barbarella remake. I don't know if Universal will humour him the way the Weinsteins used to, so I don't necessarily expect Rose McGowan in the lead - but I bet she turns up in there someplace. A villainess? According to producer, Dino De Laurentiis "the future is female", afterall.

This is a much better prospect than any of the other potential projects Rodriguez was juggling. In fact, I have very high hopes for this indeed - even in view of Bond boys Neal Purvis and Robert Wade being the scriptwriters.

So - who will be the lead? Cameron Diaz? Angelina Jolie? Halle Berry? Er... Cobie Smulders? I dare say the interweb will be alight with frenzied anticipation, deliberation and sticky imagination.

I nominate Brad Pitt for Pygar.

Movie Minesweeper - The Colder Than July Edition

- You can download and enjoy the My Blueberry Nights press kit in pdf form. The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood report that at the first press screening "a few fans tried to generate some applause, but the screening room quickly fell silent."

- Sean Hughes is to appear on Coronation Street.

- Thomas Jane won't be The Punisher again, and he's told Aint it Cool why. I don't really know a great deal about the comic books, but I can see how a good Punisher film would work. Chan Wook Park would be very at home with the material, for example.

- There's a rumour going round that 50 Cent might be the next Terminator.

- Lionsgate will pimp The Spirit in the UK and the US. Shooting is likely to start this summer, unless Sin City 2 isn't pushed back again. Though, apparently, it will be.

- Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont are to direct Red-Tails in Love, but they won't script it - at least, not the formal last draft. The writers are to be Peter Speakman and Michael Gavin.

- What Happens in Vegas is to star Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. Chances are, we'll wish it stayed in Vegas.

- Richard Curtis' The Girl in the Cafe has been remade in German with Julia Jentsch in the Kelly McDonald role.

- Apparently, the zombies in Steve Miner's Day of the Dead rapemake - sorry, remake -
are 'sexier' than in the original. Like, literally. But are they sexier than in Return of the Living Dead Part 3?

- Screendaily are reporting remakes of The Long Good Friday and Mona Lisa. The directors attached? Paul W. S. Anderson and Larry Clark, respectively. Both stories are being relocated to the US. No director is yet attached to the Time Bandits remake from the same producers - which, hopefully, will mean it never happens. Ever.

- Jim Brown's Pete Seeger documentary is to open Silverdocs 2007. Springsteen has boosted Seeger's profile somewhat, this may be something of a minor hit - if only on TV.

- Has David Goyer cast Justin Chatwin as Magneto? Possibly. I heard Ben Whishaw was up for it, but I don't really know about that for sure either.

- Roger Moore, Ioan Gruffud, Alice Evans, Ruby Wax and Brian Blessed are to provide voices for Agent Crush, a CG spy spoof toon.

- Eliza Dushku has signed on for Rob Schmidt's The Alphabet Killer. Bet it isn't as pedestrian as Zodiac - but I doubt it will be as ambitious either.

- William Macy is to star in, produce and co-write Family Man for TNT. The show will be directed by Stephen Schachter, Macy's co-writer and frequent collaborator.

- Ye Olde Times is a film about Medieval fairs and re-enactments, set to star Jack Black and Tim Robbins, and it's up for sale at Cannes this year.

- MoviesOnline have a piece about the casino set for Ocean's 13.

- Hank Azaria is to direct Outsourced. If he can hold it together, he'll probably have a smash - the film stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, will likely be marketed as a Wedding Crashers reteam.

- Glenn Close, Larry Fishburne and Djimon Honsou are apparently up for the Death Race do-over. Joan Allen is reportedly a back up plan for - yeah, that's right, Larry Fishburne. No - Close, obviously.

- Jennifer Garner is cooking up a TV show 'by moms, and for moms' - The View with nappies?

- Development of The Princess and the Frog and Rapunzel is progressing nicely. Each of them is about to be done as a story reel, which brings them close to the actual animation process, providing all is in order. The reels for American Dog have been completed and screened, and the signs are good.

- Today is the anniversary of Jim Henson's death, in 1990. I've missed him ever since.

Carnahan Drools Over Sin City 2

Joe Carnahan has seen what may be the teaser for Sin City 2, and he's almost wet himself.

He posted his impressions on his blog.

Robert Rodriguez stopped by the office yesterday and showed me what may become the teaser for Sin City 2 and HOLY SH*T is it something. I don't want to let any cats out of any bags, so all I can say is there's not a hetero male moviegoer alive that's not going to deeply DIG that spot. Remember, he's doing A Dame To Kill For and brother has he got it. That guy's enthusiasm for filmmaking is infectious too. A solid bloke and a good soul.

I think this suggests once again that Rose McGowan has the role of Ava Lord - who else has been at Robert's disposal to shoot teaser material of late? Of course, Angelina Jolie or Rachel Weisz may have stopped by for an afternoon... seems less likely, but really - who knows? Maybe the specific role of Ava Lord doesn't appear and this is just a montage of dames to kill for, ending with a "none as to-kill-for-as-this-one' moment with a silhouette exhaling cigarette smoke. We'll find out sooner or later, I'm sure.

On the Grind House DVDs maybe?

Frank Miller Update: Sin City 2 And 3, Spirit And The Dark Knight (Returns)

A new piece on Frank Miller in the LA Times reveals a few interesting things:

That The Spirit begins filming this year, two Sin City sequels are in the pipeline (I heard this was the case - two films being shot as though one, released a few months apart)... and the next Batman film might well not have the title we were expecting. Here's the piece of the article on that front:

...borrows its title from Miller's 1986 masterpiece, The Dark Knight Returns. "They finally got the title right," Miller said with a pretend sneer. "I was wondering when that would happen."

Of course, they may just have borrowed the first three words and not the fourth, but that's not the inference here, and it's starting to sound like they've gone the whole hog. Will that cause a problem?

Troublemaker Answers Trouble Makers

Below is an official statement from Troublemaker studios, regarding the resurfacing rumours about Robert Rodriguez and his divorce - rumours that still result in me receiving 'news' e-mails from readers.

Elizabeth Avellan and Robert Rodriguez were separated long before the Grind House production began. Their separation and subsequent divorce were very amicable and they opted to continue as planned, and to produce the film together -- a decision they informed Bob and Harvey Weinstein (co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, distributor of Grind House) about prior to the start of production on Grind House. Robert and Elizabeth plan to produce Sin City 2 together -- with Robert directing -- for Dimension Films in the coming months. The hiatus during the production of Grind House had nothing to do with Robert's personal life. On April 10th, 2006, after shooting for 5 weeks, Robert completed principal photography of the first phase of his segment of Grind House. He took a hiatus from shooting to assemble the footage he had already shot and determine his next steps in the production, which is the same successful approach he utilized with Sin City when he shot the film in two parts.

And now you know. Okay, everybody breathe. Noses out of Robert's and Elizabeth's (and Rose's) lives. And on with ours.

Sin City On TV - Rodriguez Speaks, Video

If you want to see Robert Rodriguez on the Charlie Rose show discussing Grind House and dropping the hot genre-film news story of the night - that after Sin City 2, the franchise will continue on TV - then keep an eye on the Charlie Rose site. The video will be going live there later today.

In fact, chances are, by the time you read this, it will be there, on the front page, waiting for you.

[EDIT: We can now offer you a direct link to the clip. Both Tarantino and Rodriguez talk to Charlie Rose in the second half of the episode]

Banderas In Sin City 2, Depp In Sin City 3

Speaking to VH1, Robert Rodriguez got round to the small matter of Sin City casting and whipped out a couple of surprises:

[Johnny Depp] was interested in doing the Jackie Boy character that Benicio played, but he was doing that movie Libertine in Europe and it just kept getting pushed and delayed and went right through our shooting schedule. But there is a better role for him in [Sin City 3, based upon Hell and Back]. I kept going, 'Gosh, Jackie Boy is a small part, he could be really good [as Wallace].' When he wasn't available, I thought maybe it was meant to be.

When I showed [Antonio Banderas] the first sample of the work, he went, 'Man I'll do anything in that. I'll be the hunchback. You have to bring me onboard, that looks amazing. So Frank met him that time too and he said, 'I have got to find something for that guy. I've never met him before. He's amazing.' [We're] looking at the cast of characters and to see where he can fit.

There's plenty more in the full interview - but nothing on Ava Lord casting, more's the pity. Rosario Dawson will make fetishists very happy, however, with her comments on the costuming. Bring out the gimp indeed.

Peter at Slashfilm has more from Rodriguez, this time about the feature behind the trailer, Machete. In brief, the plan seems to be to shoot it quickly and cheaply in the middle of the Sin City 2 production, and release it straight to DVD at the same time as Grind House arrives on disc.

Sin City 2 Clues In Actors' Schedules?

Angelina Jolie will be busy with Wanted this summer; Brad Pitt will be busy with State of Play.

Rose McGowan, however, looks to be free for the Sin City 2 shoot, heading off to Stephan Elliot's Susan Cabot biopic Black Oasis later in the autumn.

Anybody know what Rachel Weisz is up to in June and July?

These are the best clues we have for sorting out who will be Ava Lord and who won't - not to mention sussing out that Pitt-as-Dwight rumour.

His Librarianship Is The Pitts

One-time film ick guest script reviewer Mark Cardwell, of the badlibrarianship blog, has alerted me to an interesting rumour...

Brad Pitt is to make a cameo in Sin City 2 as the pre-plastic surgery Dwight, ultimately unpeeling the ol' Calude Rains to end up looking like Clive Owen. Does this support Angelina's involvement in the film? Or was it simply born out of her supposed casting in the first place?

I officially suppose the latter and that neither will be in the film at all.

Jolie Wanted, Who Will Kill For Her Now?

Seeing as Angelina Jolie has now joined the cast list for Wanted, I think we can safely assume she won't be in the next Sin City. As expected. But now, perhaps, we know why she'll be at the ComiCon this summer.

Wanted is sounding like a very, very entertaining film, and hopefully not an entirely hollow one either. Fingers crossed for something at least on a par with 300.

Variety Talk Frank Miller, Confuse Matters

According to Variety, Frank Miller is writing a sequel to 300. Well, a sequel of sorts - he's adapting another 'mythic tale from Greek history'. Of course, according to the new golden rule of Frank, Zack Snyder couldn't return as director - Miller's apparently to direct everything himself after his upcoming Austin summer with Rodriguez.

They also claim in the same piece that Jessica Alba is playing the 'title role' in Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For, so, they've clearly got some crossed wires somewhere.

Sin City 2 Shooting In June

Lots of Dame to Kill For talk today. Rosario Dawson said it in real life at ShoWest, Frank Miller said it in the virtual universe of Second Life: Sin City 2 is to re-enter pre-production within the next six weeks or so for a June shoot.

I expect to start hearing reports about the laid-off art crew getting laid back on again any second now.

Who will play Ava Lord? Angelina Jolie's pregnancy caused the initial delay in production but now her sudden availability might be the catalyst for what does appear to be a sharp u-turn; some reports claimed Rachel Weisz was up for the part; I've personally been told Rose McGowan was under consideration.

Here's my bet. I'll place one chip on Jolie, two on McGowan and leave Weisz well alone - not expectations based on anything I'm keeping secret, just a gut feeling.

Reel Talk From Frank Miller

NBC have a streaming 13-minute interview with Frank Miller online. He's dressed like a 1980's MOR act, maybe a saxophonist or lead in a Huey Lewis cover band. If Top Gear were to need a new presenter, he certainly looks the part.

Very little of the interview is news, and Miller is asked to expound on the same subjects as ever, but you might want to sit through it for the brief detour from retread banality: he reveals (spoiler alert!) that the screenplay for Sin City 2 has a clearer central plot and is less episodic; the new plot elements deal with Nancy and 'the aftermath of Hartigan's suicide'.

At time of writing, 300 appears to be on for the biggest March opening ever. Gotta love inflation.

Sin City 2 Ready To Roll?

Frank Miller sez: Sin City 2 could be shooting as soon as the spring.

Well, with so many preproduction staff let go and the lead role of Ava Lord very much up in the air - neither Angelina Jolie or Rachel Weisz seems to be available in the next few months, perhaps lending much credence to the Rose McGowan tales I was told - this may be wishful thinking, or maybe just spin from Mr. Miller.

We'll see, but I personally doubt this film will be going before lenses anything like this soon.

Rachel Weisz? No... They Mean Rose McGowan, Don't They?

It has been suggested to me by one of the handful of anonymous Sin City sequel pre-production staff that contributed to a very hotly contested earlier film ick story, that Robert Rodriguez was considering a replacement for Angelina Jolie in the Dame to Kill For cast list. It wasn't anything other than hearsay, really, coming from a single source and with no evidence presented in back up, so I didn't report it. This morning, though, it has taken one step closer to being actual, real news.

Several sites have picked up on Cinema Blend's original suggestion that Jolie is to be replaced by Rachel Weisz in the next Sin City's lineup. That was certainly news to me - and I suspect it may well be news to Rodriguez and company too. Who knows what's really going on as regards Sin City 2? So many conflicting reports - to which, I admit, I am adding, though with the best intentions.

But Weisz wasn't the name I was given. I was told that Rose McGowan was the preferred replacement for Ava Lord. As I said - there was nothing to back this up, even if it did come from somebody related to the production.

For some real and verifiable Sin City 2 news, I suggest you check back on today's previous posts...

[EDIT: Somebody in the comments below - and, with reason, I believe it to be somebody related to Cinema Blend - has taken objection to this article without understanding it. They seem to think my previous post about Disney registered domain names is 'made up, oportunistic and stolen' when it is clearly nothing of the sort (and neither is anything else I post). Either that or they aren't saying what they mean]

What Links A DVD Of Pixar Shorts, Sin City 2 And Jimmy Kimmel Almost Getting Shot?

There's a teaser for you. What does link a DVD of Pixar's short films, the Sin City sequel and Jimmy Kimmel almost getting shot? Well, it also links Bridge to Terabithia, a Honolulu production of the Lion King musical and the long delayed DVD release of Neverwas with Aaron Eckhart, Ian McKellen and Alan Cumming.

Is that enough clues? Do you give up?

Well, the answer lies at The Disney Enquirer. They done the requisite snooping and have dug up a list of recently registered domain names belonging to them there Disney folks.

All very interesting. While we knew that a DVD of Pixar shorts was imminent, it's good to know it's likely coming soon; the Jimmy Kimmel site seems to be set up for a parody of Grey's Anatomy; Sin City 2 has now got it's own DVD-related URL, so somebody must know something about the project that the rest of us - including the cast - don't.

Patiently brace yourself, if you must, for official announcements regarding the above in the coming months.