Ben And Matt's Next Bogus Journey

It seems that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are finally writing their second script together. I wonder if William Goldman will be invited along again?

My early bet on who is going to direct? Hmmm. I'll go out on a limb and suggest Ben Affleck. Seriously. Just a hunch.

Bourne Ultimatum Direct Download Bonanza

Download a scene from The Bourne Ultimatum in FLV, or the latest trailer in small, medium, large, 480p HD, 720p HD or 1080p HD Quicktime.

Movie Minesweeper - The If You Can't Read Variety For Yourself Edition

All of the following are reported in Variety. Just in case you can't read Variety for yourself, here's a little bullet point or so on each.

- Tom De Santo is to produce a feature film version of City of Heroes, the stupidly expensive MMORPG. The plan is to then get a TV spin-off running - TV superheroics are so much more cost effective. I can imagine the 'your hero, our world' promotions now when they try to get cheap IP from players of the game to exploit on the show. De Santo has made it clear that he wants to see superheroes versus aliens in the film, but I suspect that may be too much at once for the typical Batman or Spider-Man punter.

- Savage Steve Holland has another film coming (blah blah, number 38 bus, blah blah, two at once, blah blah). It's called National Lampoon's Ratko: The Dictator's Son. Sadly, Holland didn't write this one.

- Lionsgate have greenlit Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns. That's four Perry films from Lionsgate now, and not a single one of them any good.

- Orson Scott Card's Empire is being adapted into a screenplay by Oren Moverman. Great name. Expect the presidential asassination plotline to create plenty of controversy - more so, in fact, the closer Moverman's 'near future' world is to our own.

- Bourne boys Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are bunking up again to adapt Imperial Life in the Emerald City. Damon's character is to be a composite of several real life figures, presumably to streamline the real life events into something like a digestible plot.

- Roland Joffe's t.A.T.u film is moving ahead, with Mischa Barton in the lead. Dear lord - this film is looking like such an easy target. Even if it's actually pretty very good - which it may well be - I can't see many people coming out and admitting they like it. Critics, eh?

- Menno Meyjes has two films still outstanding - Martian Child and Manolete. Before either of those hit the screen, however, he'll be underway with Last Battle Dreamer, a love story set amidst the Viking invasions. Not at all typecasting by nationality or pandering to low audience standards, Meyjes is looking for an American movie star type to play the Viking warrior lead and an English actress to play the noblewoman he ra... er... falls for.

- Naomi Watts is to take the lead in We Are All the Same, adapted from the non-fiction book that recounts how a white South African woman adopted a black child with aids, and then toured the world with the kid in an attempt to raise awareness. I think this has the potential to be incredibly interesting, if it isn't kept too simplistic. There's some complex arguments to be had here.

- Disney have inked a first-look deal with Stan Lee for any future creations he might cook up. Until he comes up with something, there's no idea how much of a waste this will turn out to be. Or not. Pressure's on, Stan.

A Proper Look At Ocean's 13... On Paper

There's so many scripts I mean to review fully but never get the time to... The Only Living Boy in New York, Brick, Valkyrie...

Thankfully, Simon Reynolds has been doing a great, great job with script reviews for film ick. He's really cut out for the job and, honestly, if you haven't been reading his pieces, you've been missing out.

But I've been wanting to review Brian Koppelman and David Levien's Ocean's 13 script myself for some time, and for the last couple of months at least I've never been more than one last push away from actually sitting down and typing this review.

Part of the problem was political, really. I was first shown a copy of the script by somebody who really didn't want me to excerpt it, or even review it. So I didn't. Then I saw another copy of the same draft and the owner of that one wasn't at all worried about me writing it up. That was the green flag I needed.

But then I couldn't get ahold of that second copy again and... well, you don't care about this. This is just a string of excuses, for all you care. Let's cut to the chase.

So - Ocean's 13, premiering tonight at Cannes. Will it be any good?

If this script is anything to go by then yes, it certainly will.

There's that old maxim about films being written three times - on paper, in the shoot and in the editing room. Looking at the trailers, preview scenes and featurettes that have popped up online, the differences between the paper draft and the filmed version of Ocean's 13 are quite numerous.

Not really in terms of plot points, mind - the story seems to be, by and large, the same one. But the dialogue has changed a fair bit. New bits of business have been invented left right and centre. Shine has been put on the apple.

What began as a light, quick, fun read has evolved into a light, quick, fun, sparkling film. Or so it would seem.

So, what is the story? (Obviously, a great many spoilers are to follow)

In a nutshell, Ruben Tiskhoff (Elliot Gould) has been hospitalised by the wily Willy Banks (played by Al Pacino). Banks didn't strike him, or have his heavies strike him - he just stressed Ruben out to the point of collapse. He managed this by crookedly cutting Ruben out of a partnership to build a new Vegas casino - thereby betraying the code of honour amongst those who have 'shaken Sinatra's hand' - and has left Ruben facing bankruptcy and, more to the point, in a coma.

So, as you can tell from the ads, we have Danny and the gang cooking up a revenge scheme. They recruit their some time nemesis Terry Benedict - the 13th gangster of the title, in case you didn't yet know - and set about hitting Banks where it hurts. The plan is a fun one: on the opening night of this new casino, they're going to rig the odds, just for a few minutes, so that everything goes the way of the gamblers, so that the house loses - and loses big.

This is the quintessential payback to all those Vegas villains: sure, the house always wins - but not this time. For just a few moments, it's going to haemorhage cash. Good stuff.

Of course, there's a lot of different gambling games to be found in any one casino, and the gang are going to have to work hard in order to tip the odds on all of them - but thankfully, this is a film, and the kind of film where unexplained, possibly unexplainable, little gadgets exist. And it is also the kind of film where a group of movie star con artists can pull off even the most ludicrous disguises. And it is definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, a film where the good guys win.

My favourite plot conceit is that of the Very Unimportant Person. He's never given a name, and we don't learn too much about him, but he's key to the whole trick coming off. The VUP is played by David Paymer. From the moment he arrives on page 33, he becomes a pawn in the plot. It all begins as he's checking into The Bank, Willy's superhotel. A little bit of maneuvering from a line-jumping Saul and the undercover Rusty, who takes the place of the concierge, and the wheels are set in motion...

As for this VUP, he never finds out what role he is playing, or even that anything so exciting is going on around him. But - this being that kind of film, as I was saying - he is handsomely rewarded in the pay off.

The VUP business is a great deal of fun on the page, and even though it's been kept almost entirely out of the marketing materials, I'd expect it to be something people really like about the film, something they'll talk about leaving the cinema, or at their work watercooler the next day. I expect this VUP will garner a lot of positive word of mouth for this film.

Another key part of the plan revolves around Basher (Don Cheadle). He's in charge of creating a fake act of god that will create a huge distraction. It's like a magician's sleight of hand, but instead of him just gesturing wildly over here while he pulls a rubber dove out of his sleeve over here, this trickster runs the risk of creating a huge nuclear explosion over here while a whole lot of important tidying up is going on over here. Basher's interventions are crucial to the scam coming off smoothly, sure, but not, as you might have assumed, to making the scams work in the first place.

There are so many little shiny moments in this script that I'm convined we have a real crowd pleaser here (and tonight at Cannes, I guess we'll know for sure). I do wonder how much the scripted fun and games were filmed however. For example, the script contains a comeback-cameo for Rusty's poker students from 11 - you know: Topher Grace, Holly Marie Combs, those other less instantly memorable folk. It's one thing writing the scene, another getting them all in. But I expect they came along gladly. Would you turn it down?

And does Tess (Julia Roberts) appear? At all? Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it. But... well, perhaps this was the only unsatisfying element of the whole script for me. I won't reveal what, exactly - besides, there's every chance the finished film hasn't turned out this way. But from the pages at least, there was something I really wanted, and I didn't get it.

I liked Ocean's 12 - I know that's not a popular opinion, but I did. It was smart, and well made and it loved movies as much as we do. Ocean's 13, however, I think I'll love. The Terry Benedict team up is very well handled (obviously, a rat is always going to be a rat, but Danny is smart enough to know this); everybody gets some good stuff to do, some great nonsense to have fun with, and that's just on paper, before they started improvising; there are plenty of call-backs to the previous films, particularly 11; and Danny and Rusty are still clearly, hopelessly head over heels in their platonic man-love with one another.

When Stephen Soderbergh promised that this was the Ocean's 11 sequel everybody wanted last time around, it looks like he was completely correct. Don't be cautious about this one - you can bet safely knowing that, in fact, while the odds are typically stacked against you with star-studded multiplex fare, just for the running time of this film, the outcome is rigged and you're guaranteed to walk away a winner.

That Danny's A Card

This is my favourite Ocean's 13 poster so far. What say you? Not sure? Get a better look by clicking.


And thanks to Mike Markus for the image.

Ocean's Top 6

If you ever wondered with six of Ocean's 13 were the real stars, and which seven could just be discarded, the poster below should answer your question.



As ever with these international posters and curious images, Mike Markus was the bloodhound. He's one heck of a detective. Click on George and Co. to enlarge.

Trailers For All

You can now see new trailers for The Golden Age, Bourne Ultimatum (in 1080p, 720p or 480p), Evening and The Golden Door online. Most can be downloaded directly, The Golden Age comes via Rapidshare.

Golden Ages, Compasses and Doors - a golden year for cinema?

Enjoy. And if you are downloading any of these, remember to correct any funny file extensions when you save.

Direct Download Links To New Ocean's 13 Trailer

You can watch the new Ocean's 13 trailer on Yahoo right now, or download it for future delectation.

Frankly, I loved it.

Direct Download Link For Bourne Ultimatum Trailer

Download or watch the Bourne Ultimatum trailer now.

Bourne Back

Image the it on bigger click make to. Though not necessarily in that order.

This film is going to face some tough comparisons to 300. Obviously, they're very different prospects - but Bourne comes from a Watchmen director who almost was, 300 from the Watchmen director who almost is. Neither of them would do one half the job Gilliam would have, but anyway, I can't cling on to that dream forever.

Though I am secretly (?) hoping Snyder's Watchmen ends up falling apart before production.

Matt Damon, Adrien Brody And Gary Sinise In J J Abrams' Star Trek?

IGN are alleging that Matt Damon, Adrien Brody and Gary Sinise are in talks to appear in J J Abrams' Star Trek film - as Kirk, Spock and Scotty, respectively. [Of course, I meant Bones McCoy, not Scotty. Because, you know, I was wide awake when I wrote this and I even care a tiny little bit about Star Trek and everything. Thanks to Adam for the correction]

So I can give up on 'hoping for' Leonardo DiCaprio, D J Qualls and John Hannah then. [Or, in this case, DiCaprio, Qualls and... er... I dunno. Who was this Bones chap anyway?]

Ahem.

Action Matt

Here's Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in The Bourne Ultimatum and giving it a bit of Banlieue 13. I hadn't seen this, I'm pretty sure it's brand new, apologies if it's ancient and had just slipped through the wide holes in my Bourne net.

Ocean's 13 Trailer

The first trailer for Ocean's 13 has gotten me all excited: largely because I can't see it. Can anybody please strip and then You Tube this thing so a UK based Mac user like me can share in the goodness?

[EDIT: Jo Blo at least popped up some screen caps from the trailer, so I have some idea what I'm missing at least]

[EDIT AGAIN: The trailer is now on You Tube and I am very happy]

Thirteen To One: First Oceans 13 Poster

Click on it, make it bigger, then come back and check out some surprising Ocean's 13 spoilers - one of which is pretty much confirmed in the above image.