Screen Gems taps Vacancy director for another thriller

Nimrod Antal, who makes his English-language directorial debut this weekend with the release of Screen Gems’ Vacancy, has signed on to direct another Screen Gems thriller, Armored. The story is about a young armored car guard who is persuaded by his veteran cohorts to empty the truck of its $10 million haul. Buckaroo Entertainment partners Sam Raimi and Josh Donen, and Dan Farah of Farah Films & Management will produce. Screen Gems is aiming for a fall start, and it is unknown whether Antal will try to squeeze in another project before then. (Hollywood Reporter)

Fox cast in Speed Racer

Matthew Fox is in final negotiations to play Racer X in Larry and Andy Wachowski’s live-action movie adaptation of Speed Racer. Racer X is Speed’s mysterious, masked rival and an enigmatic soldier of fortune. Emile Hersch is already on board to play Speed, as are Christina Ricci, who will play his girlfriend, Trixie, John Goodman, who will play Speed’s father, Pops, and Susan Sarandon, who’s been cast as Pops’ wife. Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver are eyeing a summer start date for a summer 2008 release. Fox will fit shooting for the movie around his Lost schedule. His next feature appearance is in Columbia Pictures’ thriller Vantage Point. (Hollywood Reporter)

Terror Train get remake treatment

Terror Train is leaving the station again.
Independent producer Nu Image is boarding a remake of the 1980 horror film that starred Jamie Lee Curtis and David Copperfield. Writer-director Gideon Raff (The Killing Floor) is set to shoot the film this summer in Bulgaria. Roger Spotiswoode made the original.
The film will revolve around a group of American college athletes who find themselves on a dangerous train in Europe. (Reuters)

Behind the Lens: Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick has been selected to be featured in our latest installment of “Behind the Lens.” This is a special acknowledgment to directors who have made us think and refuse to give into the current trend. What they have offered us are original, daring visions often ignored or misunderstood by the masses. We salute you.

Stanley Kubrick
Born: July 26, 1928
Best Known For: 1971’s A Clockwork Orange
If ever there was a director who has had a lasting impact on the cinematic landscape, it would be Stanley Kubrick. The director film catalog is filled with unique visions and timeless movies. Kubrick passed away without ever winning an Academy Award for his innovations, but people seemed outraged for Martin Scorsese who isn’t even half the director Kubrick was. His career started with Paths of Glory and Lolita, but really hit its stride with cult hits Dr. Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket. He blazed his name as one of Hollywood’s most passionate directors as the man passed while filming the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman vehicle, Eyes Wide Shut. His final film was met with mixed reviews and a lukewarm reception at the box office, a rather horrible way to end such an illustrious legacy. However, the late-director’s influence can be felt throughout many of the current indie hits. Despite never winning the gold, Kubrick – we salute you for striving to form a career that was both different and groundbreaking.
Recommendations
Must See
A Clockwork Orange
Dr. Strangelove
2001: A Space Odyssey
Full Metal Jacket
The Shining

Worth a rent
Lolita
Path of Glory
Eyes Wide Shut

A darker Joker in The Dark Knight

If you were hoping for a Jack Nicholson-style Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, then you might be disappointed by the adjectives being used to describe the new character design. Words like “raggedy” and “scary.”
Apparently Warner Bros. will release a character photo this summer, just to prevent against lame “spy pics” from hitting the ‘net, but for now all we know is that Heath Ledger’s Joker will be “scary,” “raggedy,” and “will have grey skin with lots of scarring.” So clearly this is not the broad and campy Joker we’re generally familiar with.
And I think it’s a pretty cool idea. Nolan made that freaky Scarecrow villain all sorts of creepy, and that tone worked pretty damn well in Batman Begins. Clearly I’m not alone in that opinion. (IGN Movies)