Quentin Tarantino has cast actors Diane Kruger, Christoph Waltz and Paul Rust (no idea who he is but he has some funny stuff over on his website) in his war film Inglorious Bastards.

They join Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Mike Myers, Michael Fassbender, B.J. Novak and Samm Levine.

Kruger (National Treasure films) plays German actress Bridget Von Hammersmark, who figures prominently in a plot to sabotage the Nazis. It is a role for which Nastassja Kinski was first mentioned.

Waltz, who is best known in Germany for his television work, has landed the role of Col. Hans Landa, who is the primary antagonist.

I've complained about the news service on IMDb before. They use WENN, not really the most reliable of sources. More gossip than actual news, which is sad for the best movie resource on the internet. It seems that I was not alone in detesting the section as they now list this at the bottom of their "news" section:

IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles. News articles are published for the entertainment of our users only. The news items do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the site responsible for the article in question to report any concerns you may have.

Follow this link to watch Be Here to Love me, the wonderful Townes Van Zandt documentary. I don't really know anything about the site but it appears to be a lot like Hulu, at least in its quality (its video player isn't quite as neat). No idea what else is featured on the site but I am going to do a little exploring. I could have posted the film on the site but it makes the image so small I thought it best just to watch it there.

CNN has what appears to be the first actual footage from W. Other than the trailer and behind the scene clips, this is the first look at Josh Brolin and Elisabeth Banks in action as our current president and first lady.

I can't comment on its authenticity but I like the loose thread editing to this scene, not over the top and it has a nice laid back feeling to it. Something I don't think I have ever said about about a Oliver Stone film.

This is a pretty perfect pair. George Clooney is in talks to star in Up in the Air, an adaptation of the Walter Kirn novel that Jason Reitman adapted and will direct.

Clooney will play an unapologetic corporate downsizer whose untethered life is consumed by collecting air miles.

Charles Ferguson’s “No End in Sight” has landed it’s own YouTube channel this week.

According to the press release, it will become “the first widely released feature film to screen in its entirety on YouTube starting on September 1 and continuing through the 2008 presidential election on Tuesday, November 4.”

Check out the channel here, where you can currently view the trailer and a few other related videos.

I'll repost this once the actual film shows up on the site.

This is fantastic. I randomly came across it on Vimeo and it is probably the best thing I have seen on that site. Its basically exactly the kind of short documentary I want to make, which makes it both inspiring and completely intimidating. The whole thing looks amazing too.

The video is the story of Paul Mawhinney, who over the years he has amassed what has become the world's largest record collection. Due to health issues and a struggling record industry Paul is being forced to sell his collection.


The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

The Tropic of Thunder mockumentary about the film within the film, Rain of Madness, has been released as a complete video for free on ITunes.

I haven't watched it yet but it is "created by" Justin Theroux and Steve Coogan, the 30 minute farce and stars both men and features all of the stars from the movie and a few surprise guests.

A few more details have started to emerge from the new season of Survivor. This from EW's Dalton Ross (he covers everything Survivor for them). The most interesting is the small change to Exile Island (now called Exile), tempting the players with comfort over clues for the immunity idol.

The 18 contestants competing this fall on Survivor: Gabon—Earth’s Last Eden for the series' 17th cycle include an Olympic gold medalist, a Gilmore Girls actress, and a professional video game champion, EW.com has learned exclusively. Crystal Cox, who won gold at the Athens Games in 2004 as part of the 4x400m track relay team, is the biggest name on the roster this season, which premieres with a two-hour episode on Sept. 25. Also among the fresh faces is Jessica “Sugar” Kiper (Gilmore Girls fans may remember her as the pin-up model who made out with Milo Ventimiglia during her four-episode arc as Shane) and Ken Hoang, the current international champion of Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers Melee video game. There will also be a prominent international presence, with contestants who have lived in South Africa (Gillian Larson), London (Ace Gordon), and Chile (Paloma Soto-Castillo).

As for the format, the biggest twist of Survivor: Gabon involves Exile (formerly Exile Island). “When you go to Exile this time you can either get a clue that will help you find the hidden immunity idol, or you can get ‘instant comfort’ — a nice thing to sleep on, some food, some fruit,” explains host Jeff Probst. “Depending upon the time, we’ll make the temptation bigger and bigger. The idea was to see if anybody would be dumb enough to choose comfort over the only thing that guarantees you to stick in the game, which is immunity.” Okay, did it work? “By the time this season is over, you can make the case that maybe this is the dumbest team when it comes to idol play.”

to Also for the first time ever, Survivor: Gabon will be shot entirely in HD. “If you’re a Survivor fan and you have HD, it will be a completely different show,” Probst promises. “When you incorporate the wildlife, it’s kind of like being in a Spielberg movie. I mean, it’s so real-looking that it’s exciting and scary.” And that wildlife Probst speaks of will come into play when elephants visit a tribe camp. “A truly real, raw moment of a wild animal that’s not in a park or some protected area,” Probst says.

The contestants of Survivor: Gabon will be divided up into two tribes at the very outset by a good old fashioned schoolyard pick ’em, which will immediately lead to the contestants’ first challenge. And while there are no hardcore “showmances” this time around, Probst does tease that one player proves particularly popular: “Marcus, the doctor from Georgia — one of the most arrogant guys that we’ve had on the show — he at one point had three people after him. And not only women.”

I just figured this out, CBS allows you to embed their video clips so here is a much better introduction to the cast of Survivor Gambon.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Here is the cast for Survivor Gambon. This is the biggest photo I could find of the group but you can head over to the CBS website to watch some video footage or EW for more info and photos. After just a quick read through I am guessing my favorites will be Ken Hoang the nerdy professional video game player and Bob Crowley, the oldest male competitor. I also am curious to see Crystal Cox because she looks like she ate Alicia from Survivor Australia.

The trailer for Fast & Furious, the fourth in a film series that no longer uses articles.

Fast & Furious in HD

Woody Allen gave excerpts of his Vicky Cristina Barcelona diary to the New York Times to publish. Of course its not real but funny nonetheless.

I really want one of these Torrance and Lundegaard family portraits by Arkansas-based Kirk Demarais. A couple other great ones are over on his site.

The trailer for Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon. This has been floating around the internet for a few days now, just with Danish subtitles. I don't know what to make of this, but Ron Howard's best film is Apollo 13 and this has that same sort of period vibe to it. It features Frank Langella as Nixon, Michael Sheen as Frost, and Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, and Kevin Bacon in various other roles.

Wow, this was fast. The Wall Street Journal that the studio is going to be reintroducing Superman. Superman Returns was only released 2 years ago and now they are going to act like it never even happened. Probably for the best, the "Returns" story line sort of pigeon holed the franchise and the whole thing was basically an homage to the first Richard Donner directed film. Adding a kid who may be Superman's and my have super powers was probably a bad idea too. I guess this will be similar to how Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk was a reboot of Ang Lee's Hulk. Here is what the article says:

Warner Bros. also put on hold plans for another movie starring multiple superheroes -- known as "Batman vs. Superman" -- after the $215 million "Superman Returns," which had disappointing box-office returns, didn't please executives. "'Superman' didn't quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to," says Mr. Robinov. "It didn't position the character the way he needed to be positioned." "Had 'Superman' worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009," he adds. "But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all."

The article also talks about Warner Bros. adapting other DC properties over the new few years. Those projects will likely be about single characters at first, and will be darker much like The Dark Knight. Here is another problem, The Dark Knight is not successful because it is dark, it's successful because it's a damn good movie. The overall tone has nothing to do with it, but that is what fit with that story. I don't need to see a self conflicted Superman. Hell, they tried that with the first film and it didn't work. Just find the right tone for each individual story and then get talented filmmakers to tell those stories. That is The Dark Knight approach.

With "Batman vs. Superman" and "Justice League" stalled, Warner Bros. has quietly adopted Marvel's model of releasing a single film for each character, and then using those movies and their sequels to build up to a multicharacter film. "Along those lines, we have been developing every DC character that we own," Mr. Robinov says.

Like the recent Batman sequel -- which has become the highest-grossing film of the year thus far -- Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as "The Dark Knight." Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.' DC properties. "We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it," he says. That goes for the company's Superman franchise as well.

Nicolas Cage has been cast in Kick-Ass, Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book.

The book centers on a high school dweeb named Dave Lizewski who decides to become a superhero even though he has no athletic ability or coordination. Things change when he eventually runs into real bad guys with real weapons.

Cage will play a former cop who wants to bring down a druglord and has trained his daughter (Chloe Moretz) to be a lethal weapon.

The problem with Cage is he will pretty much star in any film. Its what makes him so frustrating, because for every Ghost Rider there is a Leaving Las Vegas and for every Wicker Man there is an Adaptation. He can be oh so very good in the right roll but in the wrong one, watch out.

I love stories like this. Over at Cracked (I remember buying this magazine as a kid but I had no idea this thing was still around) the have The Insane True Stories Behind 6 Cursed Movies. Though this story isn't quite in depth or funny enough (look at the source material) it is a good waste of time.

NOTE: There are a couple links to other stories like this at the end of the article, including 7 Movies Based on a True Story (That Are Complete Bullshit) and The 6 Worst Movies Hollywood Almost Made.

According to Slashfilm and JoBlo, incoming latenight host Jimmy Fallon and "Arrested Development" star Alia Shawkat (Maebe Funke from Arrested Development) have joined the cast of Drew Barrymore's directorial debut "Whip It!" Fallon replaces Barrymore's ex Justin Long in the role of roller derby announcer "Hot Tub Johnny."

Ben Affleck has joined the cast of Mike Judge's next film, Extracted, and now we know a little more about the plot.

Affleck will play an ambulance-chasing lawyer in the film, which centers on a flower extract factory owner (Jason Bateman) who's dealing with workplace problems and a streak of bad luck, including his wife's affair with a gigolo.

Clifton Collins Jr. is also joining the cast as a factory worker who loses a body part in a freak accident and is now due for a huge settlement.

The film also stars Mila Kunis and Kristen Wiig.

A little B roll footage that shows first substantial look at Josh Brolin capturing the mannerisms of George W. in W.

Bill Murray, flying.

This is bad news.

MGM has hired Juliet Snowden and Stiles White to write the screenplay for a planned remake of Poltergeist, the 1982 horror film that was directed by Tobe Hooper and produced/co-written by Steven Spielberg.

Poltergeist is my favorite horror film of all time, one of those movies anytime I see it on I watch the entire thing. It's also endlessly quotable, particularly little Zelda Rubinstein, whom I quote pretty much every time I finish vacuuming my house. Watch the clip below to figure out what that quote is (it happens around the 3:37 mark).

NOTE: Just a warning, if you haven't seen the movie before, the clip contains the films climax.

Michael Stuhlbarg, a Tony-nominated actor and Richard Kind, a character actor best known for his role on ABC's "Spin City," will star as brothers in the Coen Brothers period black comedy, A Serious Man.

Set in 1967, the story centers on Larry Gopnik (Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor whose life begins to unravel when his wife sets out to leave him and his socially inept brother (Kind) won't move out of the house.

A Spanish language trailer for Steven Soderbergh's Che, starring Benicio Del Toro, which looks sort of awesome.

Update: Turns out this is for The Argentine, part 2 of Soderbergh's two part Che film (the other one is called Guerrilla).

Greg Mottola (Superbad, upcoming Adventureland) will direct Nick Frost and Simon Pegg's new movie, Paul.

Written by Pegg and Frost, the road movie is about two British comic book geeks that get into an adventure across America.

In related news, Pegg won't be able to star in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards, due once again to scheduling conflicts.

This will finally be released in November.



Special Features

* - DIRECTOR-APPROVED DOUBLE-DISC SET SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
* - New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Wes Anderson and director of photography Robert Yeoman
* - Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
* - Commentary by director/co-writer Anderson and co-writer/actor Owen Wilson
* - The Making of “Bottle Rocket”: an original documentary by filmmaker Barry Braverman featuring Anderson, James L. Brooks, James Caan, Temple Nash Jr., Kumar Pallana, Polly Platt, Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Musgrave, Richard Sakai, David and Sandy Wasco, Andrew and Luke and Owen Wilson, and Robert Yeoman
* - The original thirteen-minute black-and-white Bottle Rocket short film from 1992
* - Eleven deleted scenes
* - Anamorphic screen test, storyboards, location photos, and behind-the-scenes photographs by Laura Wilson
* - Murita Cycles, a 1978 short film by Braverman
* - The Shafrazi Lectures, no. 1: Bottle Rocket
* - PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by executive producer James L. Brooks, an appreciation by Martin Scorsese, and original artwork by Ian Dingman

Tropic Thunder

I don't think I will have time to post any kind of review of this over the next few days so I will do the next best thing (ok, its actually the best thing) and share Roger Ebert's review with you. I agree with everything he says here in his 3 1/2 star review. The movie is funny but not perfect. It falls flat on occasion but those are so few and far between you hardly even notice them. Now, on with what our man Ebert has to say:

The documentary “Hearts of Darkness” is about the struggles of filming the great Vietnam war movie “Apocalypse Now.” Ben Stiller’s “Tropic Thunder” plays like that doc’s nightmare. A troupe of actors, under the impression they’re making a Vietnam war movie, wanders dangerously in the jungle and is captured by a gang of druglords who think the actors are narcs.

The movie is a send-up of Hollywood, actors, acting, agents, directors, writers, rappers, trailers and egos, much enhanced by several cameo roles, the best of which I will not even mention. You’ll know the one, although you may have to wait for the credits to figure it out.

All but stealing the show, Robert Downey Jr. is not merely funny but also very good and sometimes even subtle as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian actor who has won five Oscars and has surgically dyed his skin to transform himself into a black man. So committed is he to this role that he remains in character at all times, seemingly convinced that he is actually black.

This exasperates his fellow actor Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), a rapper who was born black and blasts Lazarus for his delusions. Alpa Chino (say it out loud) is like many rappers and promotes his own merchandise, notably Booty Sweat, an energy drink that keeps him going in the jungle. If Chino doesn’t buy the Lazarus performance, Lazarus is critical of Tugg Speedman (Stiller), who also starred in “Simple Jack,” a movie about a mentally challenged farmer who thinks animals can understand him.

Ironically, it is this role that saves their lives when they’re taken prisoner. The bored druglords have only one video, an old “Simple Jack” tape, and think Speedman is Jack himself. In a brilliant comic riff by Downey, Lazarus critiques Speedman’s work as over the top: The really big stars, he observes, “never go full retard” when playing such roles.

The movie opens with trailers establishing three of the characters — not only Lazarus and Speedman, but Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) whose specialty is fart humor. Portnoy is a heroin addict who is in withdrawal for much of the trek through the jungle, and has a funny scene after he begs to be tied to a tree and then begs to be set loose.

The set-up involves the actors, director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) and burnt-out screenwriter Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte) in the jungle with a huge crew and explosives expert Cody (Danny McBride). When one of the explosions goes off prematurely (think the opening of “The Party”), Speedman, acting as producer, fires the crew and announces he will direct the movie himself. He explains that hidden cameras have been placed in the jungle and will record everything that happens. Uh, is that possible, especially when they get lost? These actors, even the five-time Oscar winner, almost seem to believe so, a tribute to their self-centered indifference to technical details.

Intercut with the jungle scenes are Hollywood scenes featuring an agent and a studio executive. The movie, written by Justin Theroux, Stiller and Etan Cohen, is familiar with the ordeals of filmmaking and location work, and distills it into wildly exaggerated scenes that have a whiff of accuracy. Especially interesting is the way the director, Damien Cockburn, leaves the picture, which perhaps reflects the way some actors feel about some directors.

The movie is, may I say, considerably better than Stiller’s previous film, “Zoolander” (2001). It’s the kind of summer comedy that rolls in, makes a lot of people laugh and rolls on to video. It’s been a good summer for that; look at “Pineapple Express.” When it’s all over, you’ll probably have the fondest memories of Robert Downey Jr.’s work. It’s been a good year for him, this one coming after “Iron Man.” He’s back, big time.

One more item that I wanted to add and Ebert sort of touches on it in his final paragraph. The main thing that goes a long way in selling this is that it looks like a real war movie. Wonderfully photographed in the jungle you never for a minute think you are not out there, on location with the actors.

Tina Fey and Steve Carell will play a married couple in Date Night.

Shawn Levy (Big Fat Liar, Just Married, Cheaper By The Dozen,The Pink Panther, Night At The Museum) directs from a screeplay by Josh Klausner (Shrek The Third,Shrek Goes Fourth).

The story follows a couple who find their routine date night becomes much more than just dinner and a movie.

It is exciting to see these two work together but my hopes are a little shaky due to the talent behind the camera. Not exactly the most solid filmography.

Two new cast members for Inglorious Bastards, what has to be the strangest group of actors assembled for a film in some time. Mike Myers has been cast as British Gen. Ed Fenech, a military mastermind who helps hatch a plot to kill Nazi leaders, in director Quentin Tarantino's WWII drama.

It is also being reported that David Krumholtz will not be in the film due to scheduling conflicts and instead will be replaced by Samm Levine from Freaks and Geeks. He played Neal Schweiber, the best friend of John Francis Daley's Sam Weir. This one is a ever stranger because Levine still looks to be about 16 and hardly resembles any type of soldier I have ever seen.

NOTE: Not related to anything to do with Inglorious Bastards but I just remembered that Krumholtz played Levine's brother on Freaks and Geeks for one episode.

Also, Krumholtz has horrible luck with movies. He was originally cast as one of the roommates in Knocked Up but then left the movie to star in a Woody Allen movie. The Allen movie was then canceled but it was too late to join back up with Knocked Up. Now this.

I forgot to post a review of Tropic Thunder today. Saw it last night, hopefully I can get around to it tomorrow. Here is a two word summary though: it's funny.

A new Body of Lies trailer that is a lot like the last one. Just a bit more fleshed out.

Valkyrie is now set for a 2008 release date, again.

MGM has moved the film to open Dec. 26, instead of the Feb. 13 date that was previously announced. Originally it was going to open October 3.

The film is directed by Bryan Singer and stars Tom Cruise.

Liam Neeson and Orlando Bloom will star in an untitled pic based on Bill Carter's book "Fools Rush In."

Javier Bardem is in talks for a supporting role.

Brazilian helmer Andrucha Waddington ("Me You Them") will direct.

Carter wrote the book about the period of time when he lived and worked as an aid worker in Sarajevo during the bitter Balkans war siege that lasted 43 months.

Look at the poster and the still released today for Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom and tell me what is a little weird about them.

I don't find Dane Cook funny. Not a big shock I know, ragging on Dane Cook is about as original as saying the Star Wars prequels aren't as good as the original trilogy (hey, I still like them and watched part of Episode 1 last night). With that said, I did enjoy Cook in Dan in Real Life and I did find this post from his myspace blog fairly amusing. Not so much what he says but the simple fact that he is taking the studio to task for making a horribly photoshopped and bland movie poster.

Here are a few things that truly blow about my upcoming movie poster to promote the release of the film opening on September 19th:

1. Graphics:
Whoever photoshopped our poster must have done so at taser point with
3 minutes to fulfill their hostage takers deranged obligations. They should have called Donnie Hoyle and had him give a tutorial using “You Suck at Photoshop” templates. This is so glossy it makes Entertainment Weekly look wooden.

2. My head:
The left side of my face seems to be melting off of my skull. I guess I am looking directly into the Ark of the Covenant? Are they going for the bells palsy thing here? My left side looks like Brittany Spears’ vagina.

3. The Stare.
My character apparently has fallen in love with a strand of Kate Hudsons hair. Kate’s mannequin is desperately in love with the inside of my right ear while Jason is half stunned, half corsage.

4. Lips:
It looks like I’m wearing Maybelline Water Shine Diamonds Liquid Lipstick. My characters name is now Winter Solstice and I’m a hooker with a heart of gold. Jason is my floral carrying pimp, while Kate is my first trick!

5. Fashion:
My character is sporting a very high collar I mean damn they should be snow capped at that altitude. It’s going for the vampire lurking in the castle basement vibe. An Olympic pole vaulter would have a tough go clearing that collar. I’m also able to turn my head comfortably 180 degrees, because I was raised in an abandoned barn by a family of owls.

6. Flesh:
It’s no secret that I’m more rugged facially due to a drunken visit by the teen acne fairy, but according to this poster I’ve got perfect porcelain flesh. I look like the fuckin’ bathroom floor at Caesars Palace. One of Marie Osmond’s dolls would look at me and say “shit … that guys got flawless skin!”

7. Hair:
It’s actually a close up shot of Tom Sellecks Magnum P.I. mustache they photo-slapped on my noggin’.

8. The set:
Pick one. This entire film takes place:

A. on Gattaca
B. at the Fortress of Solitude
C. inside a crystal wind chime

9. The cast:
Alec Baldwin is so fucking funny in this movie! Is he on the poster? I think so. He plays the wise talking plant Jason is clutching.

10. Final thoughts:
I set out to make a movie like the contemporary men and women, that you and I respect, are making. My generation of comedians, actors, directors and producers that I wish to collaborate with as I build a solid body of work.

Granted, one poster stinking up the joint isn’t the end of the world. Yet it sends the wrong message about our movie and I just wanted you to know, that I feel the pain. I really love the film and I know from past missteps marketing wise that the wrong poster sends the wrong audience into the theater.

Thanks again for all of your support. If you have not seen the red band trailer (which is excellent and represents the flick accordingly) watch it below! Just click of the mute button and your rolling!

PS - “Its funny what love can make you do.” I just threw up all over this awful poster.
Wow, wait … it looks better.

Hey … I love my new movie. Jeez … it IS funny what love can make you do.

Willem Dafoe will star with Charlotte Gainsbourg in Antichrist, which will be directed by Lars von Trier (who is either great or annoys the hell out of me).

Anders Thomas Jensen wrote the script with von Trier. In the psychological thriller that evolves into a horror film, Dafoe and Gainsbourg will play a couple who retreat to an isolated cabin in the woods following the death of their child.

George Clooney has bought the rights to Jonathan Mahler's legal thriller "The Challenge," about the long campaign waged by U.S. Navy lawyer Charles Swift and Georgetown law professor Neal Katyal to ensure a fair trial for Salim Hamdan, the bodyguard and driver of Osama bin Laden.

The project will be developed through Clooney and Grant Heslov's Smoke House shingle. As with any Smoke House project, "The Challenge" remains a potential directing, writing and starring vehicle for Clooney.

A spokesman for Clooney confirmed that no decision had been made yet on what exact role Clooney would take on the project, although I would assume that the role of idealistic lawyer Swift may prove a good fit for the actor.

Taylor Hackford (who made the pretty damn good Ray) will direct Tenn, a drama about the formative years of playwright Tennessee Williams, whose dysfunctional family life fueled some of his most acclaimed stage works.

The film focuses on how Williams' tumultuous upbringing -- complete with a scornful father, depression, conflicts about sexuality and watching his beloved sister institutionalized and lobotomized -- fueled the conflict in such plays as "The Glass Menagerie" and the Pulitzer Prize-winning "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman Shop for CDs and DVDs. Well, Schwartzman grabs every CD on the racks and Wes Anderson sort of wanders around aimlessly in the background.

This is from The Washington Post but I read it yesterday over at True Hoop.

The Olympics are just four days old, but the best quote of the Games has already been uttered, and there is a 0.000000 chance that it will be topped. This from colleague Michael Abramowitz's Style Section story about the Bush Fam this morning.

Meeting Team USA with Bush 43 before the game, Bush 41 gave a warm hug to Lakers star Kobe Bryant and received an affectionate greeting from Cavaliers hero LeBron James: "What's up, pops?" the massive James asked.

One way for a 23-year old pro basketball player to greet a former President might be "Hello, Mr. President." Another might be "What's up, pops." I'm done making fun of LeBron for the crying and the scowling and the wide-eyed disbelief. Anyone who breaks out the "What's up pops?" line is ok by me.

Here is something that sounds interesting. HBO Documentary Films has picked up An Omar Broadway Film, a first-person look at prison life shot by Broadway, an inmate at a high-security gang unit in Newark.

Broadway smuggled a video camera into his cell and for weeks secretly filmed riots and prisoner abuse through his small window.

HBO will give the film, which is co-directed by Douglas Tirola, a theatrical run in New York and L.A. for Oscar consideration.

Once expected to star Tom Cruise, the espionage thriller Edwin A. Salt will be redrafted by screenwriter Kurt Wimmer as a star vehicle for Angelina Jolie. Philip Noyce remains attached as director.

Jolie will play the title character, a CIA officer who's accused by a defector of being a Russian sleeper spy and must elude capture long enough to establish her innocence.

I am assuming the title will also be changed.

Two things about this video clip: 1. The jeans he is wearing are amazing.

2. Half the stuff he says aren't jokes, its just his delivery, and its great.

Bernie Mac is dead. While it comes as a shock, he apparently suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body’s organs.

I remember being a big fan of his sitcom during its first season, especially the first episode. After that I don't know if I lost interest or if the show changed but I barely ever watched it when it was on. Every now and then I would catch a rerun and always seemed to enjoy myself when watching.

As for his film career, he was making a nice little career as a character actor and I always thought he had something. I wanted to post something from Bad Santa below (probably his best performance, in my opinion) but I couldn't find the right scene. So my next thought was to show his scene with Matt Damon in Ocean's 11, when Mac says that they "ought to call it white jack," and then does this little motion with his hand, waving off Matt Damon. I have always loved that motion. I couldn't find that either. This will suffice though, a nice little departure for the man.



And one more. This is the first I can remember seeing Bernie Mac. Though I didn't know who he was and only realized it was him when catching this a few years ago on cable. Here he is in all his glory.

The New York Times Magazine sat down with the two stars of David Gordon Green’s Pineapple Express recently for a couple of interviews.

Brad Pitt has officially signed on to star in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards.

Additionally, Nastassja Kinski is in early talks to play one of the sole female roles in the film.

Simon Pegg, David Krumholtz and B.J. Novak (which I mentioned yesterday) are also in talks to join the project. Pegg would play a British lieutenant, while Krumholtz and Novak would play Pitt's underlings.

Saw Pineapple Express for the second time last night (read all about the first time here) and I have to say it might be my favorite movie I have seen all year. With due respect to The Dark Knight, I'm not sure I've had a better time watching a movie in these past 8 months than I did last night. Not only hilarious (it was actually funnier the second time I saw it and I even caught a Seinfeld reference early in the first act) but an honest to goodness action film that I didn't really want to end, even though that final scene is perfect. I think Ben said it best last night that the movie never stops being funny, even when the bodies start to hit the floor, something most action/comedies never get right. And if there was any justice in the Academy Awards we would all be talking about James Franco's eventual nomination as best supporting actor, right alongside Heath Ledger. He really is that good.

USA today has an article and photo gallery of what is my most anticipated movie of 2008, The Road. Directed by John Hillcoat, who made the amazing The Proposition, it stars Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The film is based on Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, which is one of my favorite books of all time. Hence the anticipation.

In what may be even stranger casting than the reported Eli Roth yesterday, B.J. Novak could soon be going from pushing paper to fighting Nazis is in talks to play one of the soldiers in Inglorious Bastards, Quentin Tarantino's film about a band of Jewish resisters in France.

The trailer for Role Models, which used to be called Little Big Men. It stars Paul Rudd, Sean William Scoot, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and is directed by one of the former members of The State.

Easily the best thing Paris Hilton has ever done, besides this of course.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

MSN has the trailer up for what has now become one of my most anticipated movies, Appaloosa. Directed and starring Ed Harris, it also features Viggo Mortensen, Renee Zellweger, and Jeremy Irons.

Frat boy director Eli Roth (Hostel) is set to play a baseball bat-swinging Nazi hunter in Inglorious Bastards, the Quentin Tarantino-directed drama that begins production this fall in Europe.

Brad Pitt is in talks to play Aldo Raine, leader of a rogue band of Jewish-American soldiers who wreak havoc on the bad guys in Nazi-occupied France.

Roth is in talks to play Sgt. Donnie Donowitz. His only other acting experience is a small role in Tarantino's Death Proof.

Emile Hirsch, Imelda Staunton and Liev Schreiber have joined the cast of Ang Lee's next film, Taking Woodstock. Apparently there were a bunch of other names that have already joined the cast that I didn't know about but I will get to them below.

The picture is an adaptation of the memoir of Elliot Tiber, who played a role in helping the historic 1969 music fest unfold on his neighbor's farm.

Demetri Martin ("The Daily Show With Jon Stewart") has already been cast to play Tiber, an aspiring interior designer in Greenwich Village obliged to run the family business, a Catskills motel. In summer 1969, he found himself at the center of a generation-defining experience when he volunteered the motel to be the home base for Woodstock concert organizers after his neighbor, Max Yasgur, made his farm available for the event.

Staunton and Henry Goodman will play Tiber's parents, and Jonathan Groff will play Woodstock organizer Michael Lang; Hirsch will play a recently returned Vietnam vet, Eugene Levy (my God, Eugene Levy in an Ange Lee film!) will play Yasgur, and Schreiber is in talks to play a transvestite named Vilma.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is set as a closeted married man having an affair with Tiber, while Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan play a hippie couple attending the concert. Dan Fogler will play a local theater troupe head, and Mamie Gummer will play Lang's assistant.

Roger Ebert like Pineapple Express. He sort of really liked it, giving the film 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Here is his opening paragraph, you can read the whole review here.

David Gordon Green, that poet of the cinema, is the last person you'd expect to find directing a Judd Apatow male-buddy comedy about two potheads who start a drug war. But he does such a good job, there's a danger he'll become in demand by mainstream Hollywood and tempted away from the greatness he showed in "George Washington" and "Undertow." (I can imagine his agent hiding this review from him.)

Also, the closing talks a little about how Green's style translated into the Apatow universe and Ebert shows how much he respects DGG's work.

Two teams have met to make this picture: the Apatow production line, and Green and his cameraman Tim Orr, soundman Chris Gebert, actor Danny McBride and others he met at the North Carolina School of the Arts. As always, even in their zero-budget first effort, Green and Orr use wide-screen compositions with graceful visual instincts, although you may be excused for not noticing them, considering what happens. The movie even transcends the usual chase, this time between two squad cars. To my amazement, I found it exciting and very funny, especially the business about Saul's leg.

"Pineapple Express" is the answer to the question, "What would happen if a movie like this was made by a great director?" This question descends directly from those old rumors that Stanley Kubrick was going to make a porn film. Give it a moment's thought. And I suspect Green of foiling Apatow's vow to include at least one penis in every one of his comedies. This time, it's not a penis, but a finger, and a good thing, too.

I earlier posted the trailer for Rachel Getting Married and now The Playlist points out that the groom in the title's wedding is none other than Tunde Adebimpe, lead singer for TV on the Radio. Image from The Playlist.

One of my favorite current actors, Mark Ruffalo will make his feature directing debut on Sympathy for Delicious.

Ruffalo will star with James Franco and Chris Thornton.

Thornton, who wrote the script, plays "Delicious" Dean O'Dwyer, a paralyzed DJ struggling to survive in his wheelchair on the streets of L.A. He turns to faith-healing and mysteriously acquires the ability to cure the sick -- although not himself. Ruffalo plays a Jesuit priest who tries to help him come to terms with the limits of his gift, and Franco a rock singer in a band that exploits the suddenly famous healer.

David Gordon Green, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Jody Hill will all direct episodes of the Danny McBride starring comedy for HBO. It's about an epic downwards spiral of a major league pitcher. (via Coming Soon)

The trailer for Jonathan Demme's (Silence of the Lambs) Rachel Getting Married. It looks, well, it looks like any number of movies with a topic like this (troubled child coming back home for some event) but does feature the return of Debra Winger.

This is a strange source to remind me but over in the comments section of Hollywood Elsewhere someone mentions that the reason Christian Bale's Batman voice is so digitally manipulated and course is that he is using a voice cloaking device. I had forgot but they actually show him putting this into the mask in Batman Begins, which explains why he even uses the voice around people who know who he is.

Via AICN.

I also read somewhere that Philip Glass will be doing the music for this. I would provide a link to the original source but its Sunday and I am too lazy to go searching for it.

I think they are using the same hand written font that the advertising for Juno used.

Nicolas Cage and director John Carpenter are going to team up for a prison thriller titled Scared Straight.

The film follows a troubled youth who's sent to prison off the Scared Straight crime-prevention program, which imprisons delinquent teens for a short period in the hopes of deterring them from a life of crime. While the teen is there, a riot breaks out and the prisoners take him hostage. A lifer, played by Cage, is forced to help the young man out. I really hope Cage adopts a southern accent for this one, like he did for no reason in Con Air. That's one of the funnies movies released in the last fifteen years.

The trailer for this makes it look better than it probably is. Barry Levinson has made some really great movies (Rain Man, Wag the Dog) and some really bad ones (too many to name) so there is no way to really know where the quality lies with this one. Shouldn't it be about time for Robert De Niro to have another good movie too? What was his last one? I can't even think straight right now.

Hung, which is my most anticipated new television show due to the Alexander Payne involvement, has cast Thomas Jane (The Mist, Punisher, a really great turn in Boogie Nights) as the lead. Jane will play a basketball coach with an enormous penis.

Payne will direct the pilot for HBO.