New casting for Mamma Mia!

Colin Firth (Bridget Jones) will join Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Amanda Seyfried in Universal Pictures and Playtone’s movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Mamma Mia!. The story is about a bride-to-be (Seyfried) and her formerly rebellious mom (Streep) who never disclosed the identity of her father. The bride locates three men who might be her father and invites them to her wedding. The musical features 22 ABBA songs. Firth is set to play one of the prospective fathers. It will be the actor’s first musical, though he did sing briefly in The Importance of Being Earnest. (Hollywood Reporter)

Ferrell’s web site launch is successful

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Productions’ comedy video site FunnyOrDie.com, which launched quietly as a beta release Thursday (April 12), has gotten off to a good start. A two-minute video featuring Ferrell and McKay (the writer-director of Ferrell vehicles including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) has received more than 1.5 million page views. The clip, which is titled The Landlord, features Ferrell as an apartment tenant and his angry landlord, played by McKay’s toddler daughter. The site also features user-generated videos, with viewer ratings determining their fate — only the highly rated clips stay on while those with negative reviews are banished to the ”Crypt” section of the site. (Hollywood Reporter)

FOX, Scott adapt Child 44

Fox 2000 has optioned Tom Rob Smith’s debut novel Child 44 for a movie to be directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator). Scott’s production company, Scott Free, would also produce the project. The book, which will publish in 2008, is about a secret-police officer in Stalinist Russia who goes on the run with his emotionally estranged wife after being framed by a colleague for treason. He launches his own rogue investigation when he stumbles upon a series of child killings, risking his capture in the process. Scott’s next directing project is Penetration, a political drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which starts shooting in August. Scott’s crime drama American Gangster hits theaters this November. (Variety)

Owen goes International

Clive Owen will star in Columbia Pictures’ thriller The International for director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). The story is about an Interpol agent (Owen) investigating a high-profile and powerful banking institution in an attempt to uncover its role in arms brokering, corruption, and murder who becomes obsessed with the case when he faces resistance by the law enforcement system he serves. John Woo is executive producing with Terence Chang and Jeff Lurie. Shooting is set to start in September. Owen next appears in Shoot ‘Em Up and the Elizabeth follow-up The Golden Age. (Hollywood Reporter)

Deconstruction of a Scene: American Beauty

Introduction:
This is hopefully to become an either weekly or monthly feature on a past film and why a particular scene works to illustrate the general feeling of the entire picture or in some cases how it fails. I would love to hear your insights and thoughts on this idea. And maybe even a few suggestions as to other movies that could be showcased in this format. I hope you enjoy.

American Beauty
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Chris Copper and Thora Birch.
Released: 1st of October 1999
Runtime: 122 minutes
Rating: R for strong sexuality, language, violence and drug content.
A complete humanistic picture, American Beauty showcases the dark underbelly of the American dream. The movie centers around a family – all the member of which are dissatisfied with the direction and blandness of their lives. What benefits the film is that all the parts are played by great actors, and not marquee stars. A story with such a subtle complexity requires a group of thespians capable of translating the message without seeming forced. Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening deliver career defining performances and director Sam Mendes solidifies his name as a premiere visionary. The vast majority of times film such as American Beauty are ignored during award season in lieu of something more dramatic and a war epic, but the film managed five Academy Award wins including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. The film masterfully captures a beautiful story of the search for fulfillment – and it is one you’ll over and over again.

Setting up the scene:
This is the major turning point in the film and also the source for some of its biggest laughs. At the beginning we are given this seemingly normal family but hints are dropped to suggest otherwise. The distinct characters and clever script keep audiences mesmerized as the transformation takes place. Before the “dinner scene” we are given an understanding about each of the characters and a glimpse to where it all is heading.

The Scene (this post may contain images and language that is not suitable for all ages):

The scene I have selected is the dinner scene in which the three main characters sit down for a very lively family meal. The scene reflects the point in the movie where Lester Burnham (Spacey) has had enough with his dreary existance and quits his job. The decision doesn’t sit will with Carolyn (Bening) and this is were the conflict in the scene is sparked. Their daughter, Jane (Thora Birch) is caught in cross hairs of her parents distaste for one another. The meat of the scene is in the back-and-forth bickering between Lester and Carolyn, which delivers a wide array of emotions from anger, hatred, and even humor.
American Beauty has many assets, but this helps elevate past a good film you see once to a great film you see dozens of time and can quote its lines. The film serves as a cautionary tale about the search for meaning and fulfillment as each of the characters is effected differently by their very own search. The only travesty is that Annette Bening failed to win the Oscar for Best Actress despite her equally spectacular performance.

Here it is Enjoy!

NBC’s comedy line-up in trouble

With the numbers in for NBC’s Thursday night line-up in, it could spell trouble for the shows. Thursday were once a night, the network ruled with show such as Friends, Seinfeld, Cheers, Will & Grace, etc. This past week marks the weakest rating the network has ever received. The Office (No. 38), which is subsequently down from its previous season, only attracted a slim 5.1 million viewers easily beaten by Ugly Betty in its timeslot. Many have speculated how long the show will continue along. With increasingly disappointing numbers, The Office (which has been renewed for a fourth and possible final season) might not make it past next fall. 30 Rock (No. 46), which despite pathetic rating has been renewed for a second season – most likely brought on by its critical praise, wrangled 4.7 million viewers. Capping off the night of laughs was Scrubs (No. 29), which while down from its fifth season still remains leagues ahead of these two doomed comedies, walked away with more than 6.8 million viewers.
It might be time for NBC to let go of dead weight (The Office, Andy Barker P.I., 30 Rock) and focus on re-creating the magic again with strong ensemble comedies that are both witty and character driven as they did with Seinfeld and Friends, two shows which in syndicated average more viewers a week than new episodes of The Office or 30 Rock.
Audiences aren’t liking either of these shows, so NBC should move to develop something that will help revive the sitcom, not further erode the format.