Hipster visionary Wes Anderson is back at work on another of his delightfully quirky comedies, as he once again has the greatest man alive, Bill Murray, headlining his latest project, Moon Rise Kingdom. The film is about a love-crazed teenage couple that runs off together, leaving the town’s adults in a state of frantic unrest as they think the worst has happened to them. It’s like that time that I eloped with Diora Baird and then everyone got all crazy as soon as terms like “chloroform” and “duct tape” were thrown around.

Murray is tentatively set to be joined by another all-star cast, as Anderson is known for, with Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Bruce Willis currently in talks. Norton, I assume, will also take over writing and directing duties, single-handedly edit the film using only scissors and his saliva and then package the movie for release in 72.6 million theaters in New York City alone. He’s the most versatile man in show business, folks.

Tell us a little bit about this next quirk-filled Anderson project, Moviefone:

Written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, the film will be a sixties-set story about two kids who fall in love and run away. Obviously, none of the above players are the kids. Rather, after the lovers flee, the leaders of their New England hometown stick with the idea that they’ve disappeared instead, and try to search for them. Should everyone sign on the dotted line: Norton gets to play a scout leader who brings his scouts on the search, Willis is the town sheriff who is having an affair with the missing girl’s mom (McDormand) and leading his own searches, and Murray will play the girl’s father. That leaves Swinton, without a role mentioned — perhaps she’s the mother of the boy?

Call him a hipster visionary all you want – because I already did – but Anderson makes a damn entertaining film. I didn’t care for The Darjeeling Limited when I first saw it at my local cinema and arthouse, but after I watched it again on DVD, I enjoyed it plenty more. And I don’t care what anyone says, Life Aquatic was a masterpiece. You know what else is a masterpiece?

*points to crotch, flips scarf, rides away on women’s beach cruiser*

JoBlo today revealed the first new poster for Stone.  It opens October 8th. I don’t really know what it’s about, but I know I’ll be seeing it.  After all, who wouldn’t want to see anything starring ROBERT DE NIRO and EDWARD NORTON

-
-
-
-
-
-
…and Milla Jovovich.

High-res poster here, trailer below. Read the rest of this entry »

(“I F*CKING HATE CHAIRS!!”)

I think an Avengers movie is more trouble than it’s worth, and that Marvel could sacrifice a little continuity to make better stand-alone movies.  Easily the lamest parts of Iron Man 2 were the parts involving Captain America’s shield and Thor.  Since no one cares what I think, they’re going ahead with the Avengers with Joss Whedon at the helm.  Hitfix was recently trying to find out if Edward Norton would reprise his role as the Incredible Hulk.  Long story short, Marvel said no, and they were a little bitchy about it.

[Emphasis added] In a statement sent in direct response to yesterday’s story from the set of “Captain America” in London, Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige forwarded the following exclusively to HitFix:
“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H [Hemsworth - Thor], Chris E [Evans- Captain America], Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”

It’s a little weird that they’d so openly bash their actor, considering studios will usually just say it’s a scheduling thing in order not to step on anyone’s toes in public, like Dreamworks did when Sharlto Copley wanted to wear alien ears (despite their denials, my source stands by the original story, by the way).  Also, when did Kevin Feige turn into a kindergarten teacher?  “Edward N just isn’t a team player like Chris H and Chris E.  He won’t share his blocks and pretends to be asleep so he can peek up my skirt during nap time.”

I don’t trust a grown man who would publicly refer to another grown man as “Chris H.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The Tim Blake Nelson-directed Leaves of Grass has a second trailer.  Edward Norton plays identical twins and it premiered to glowing reviews at the Toronto Film Festival last year, but I’m not sure whether to trust those.  Lord knows the magic of Toronto could cast a rosy glow on anything.

An Ivy League professor (played by Edward Norton) is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown, where his twin brother, a small-time pot grower, has concocted a simple scheme to take down a local drug lord.

I don’t know how I’m supposed to take this.  Is that accent supposed to be for real?  It seems really campy, but then at times almost like it wants to be taken seriously, like Nicolas Cage. I’m just surprised anyone has the balls to play identical twins after Van Damme did it in Double Impact. You can’t repaint the Sistine Chapel, dude.

[HD at Apple]
Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the trailer for Leaves of Grass, starring Edward Norton… and Edward Norton.  Edward Norton plays his own twin, but instead of being a softball-sized growth on his shoulder that was removed like Andy Garcia, he’s a pot dealer from Oklahoma.

Edward Norton is Bill Kincaid, an Ivy League classics professor, who “returns to rural Oklahoma to bury his dangerously brilliant identical twin brother, only to discover that the brother he believes to have been murdered has lured him home to involve him in a doomed plot against a local drug lord. [/Film]

The trailer begins with Norton as the pot-dealer brother, speaking in a preposterous country accent which seems like the typical, condescending treatment Hollywood gives movies about the country.  But considering the positive reviews, and given that Norton generally picks good projects, and director Tim Blake Nelson is actually from Oklahoma, I’m gonna give it the benefit of the doubt and assume there’s more going on here than we can see from this.  Also, I think the “grass” in the title might refer to marijuana.  Because that’s what old people call it, you see.

[via /Film]