Kudos
Edition!
The Oscars are distributed
March 5, so this month’s
edition of Next! looks at what’s in store for this
year’s acting nominees.
by
Patrick Corcoran
BEST ACTOR
Philip Seymour Hoffman. For his embodiment
of the title character in “Capote,” Hoffman is said to be
this year’s “best actor” frontrunner. “Mission:
Impossible 3” which stands an excellent chance of
emerging as the actor’s biggest grosser since 1996’s “Twister,” marks
the feature directorial debut of screenwriter J.J. Abrams
(“Armageddon,” “Joy Ride”), the “Lost” creator
who reportedly got the “MI:3” gig because Tom
Cruise liked the first two seasons of the Abrams-masterminded “Alias” TV
series. The screenplay by 
Abrams and Roberto Orci & Alex
Kurtzman (“The Island,” “The Legend of
Zorro”) brings back Cruise (“War of the Worlds”)
and Ving Rhames (“Dawn of the Dead”) and draws
in franchise newcomers Hoffman, Michelle Monaghan (“Kiss
Kiss, Bang Bang”), Keri Russell (“The Upside
of Anger”), Laurence Fishburne (“Assault on
Precinct 13”), Maggie Q (“Around the World
in 80 Days”), Billy Crudup (“Stage Beauty”)
and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (“Match Point”). Paramount
believes a May 5 release is extremely possible.
“Strangers With Candy” is a comedy, based on the 1999
Comedy Central TV series, about a dorky grown-up who returns
to her high school after 30 years of hard living as a drop-out.
Paul Dinello, who directed episodes of the series, makes
his feature directorial debut. Stephen Colbert (TV's “The
Daily Show”), Amy Sedaris (TV's “Exit 57”)
and Dinello (TV's “Exit 57”), who all scripted
episodes of the series, contribute the movie's screenplay.
Actors reprising their TV roles include Sedaris (“Stay”),
Colbert (“Snow Day”), Dinello (“Plump
Fiction”), David Pasquesi (“Return to Me”),
Deborah Rush (“American Wedding”), Maria Thayer
(“Storytelling”), Sarah Thyre and Greg Holliman
(“A Family Thing”). Newcomers to the franchise
include Hoffman, Sarah Jessica Parker (“The Family
Stone”), Matthew Broderick (“The Producers:
The Movie Musical”), Dan Hedaya (“Swimfan”),
Allison Janney (“The Chumscrubber”), Kristen
Johnson (“Austin Powers in Goldmember”), Callie
Thorne (“Analyze That”), Justin Theroux (“The
Baxter”), Jonah Bobo (“Zathura”), Joseph
Cross (“Running with Scissors”), Ryan Donowho
(“A Home at the End of the World”), Alixis
Dziena (“Wonderland”), Billy Erb (“Phone
Booth”), Tom Guiry (“Mystic River”),
Chris Pratt (TV's “Everwood”), Chandra Wilson
(“Head of State”), Hechter Ubarry (“Major
Payne”) and Ian Holm (“The Aviator”).
ThinkFilm plans to enroll it in cinemas this summer.
Heath Ledger. Ledger
segues from a difficult relationship in “Brokeback Mountain” to
another fraught with complications in “Candy,” a
darkly comic Australian drama about a pair of heroin addicts
in love.
It’s based on the novel by Neil Armfield, who directed
from a screenplay by Armfield and Luke Davies. Ledger,
Geoffrey Rush (“Munich”), Abbie Cornish (“The
Monkey’s Mask”), Damon Herriman (“House
of Wax”), Garry McDonald (“Rabbit-Proof Fence”),
Tom Budge and Noni Hazlehurst co-star. Producer Renaissance
films is seeking U.S. distribution.
Terrence Howard. Howard’s work in the urban drama “Hustle & Flow” as
a pimp looking to break out as a rap performer is being
hailed as a star-making performance by the 37-year-old
acting vet. His next, “Idlewild,” is a musical,
set in the American South during prohibition, about a pair
of speakeasy performers who must fend off the gangsters
eying their club as a takeover target. Covered last month,
it’s due from Universal later this year.
“Awake” is a drama, written and directed by Joby Harold,
about a man who finds himself paralyzed but aware during
his own heart surgery as drama unfolds around both him
and his wife. Howard’s co-stars include Hayden Christensen
(“Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith”),
Jessica Alba (“Into the Blue”), Trent Ford
(“The Island”), Lena Olin (“Casanova”),
Sam Robards (“Catch that Kid”) and Sigourney
Weaver (“Imaginary Heroes”). Weinstein has
yet to set the alarm for a release date.
David Strathairn. Hot off his acclaimed
turn as iconic TV newsman Edward R. Murrow in “Good Night, and Good
Luck,” Strathairn turns his attentions to supporting
Gretchen Mol’s portrayal of a less mainstream icon
in “The Notorious Bettie Page.” The drama about
famed ’50s pin-up Bettie Page is due April 14 from
Picturehouse. Learn more about it in this issue’s
preview section.
“Sensation Of Sight” is a drama, written and directed by Aaron Wiederspahn,
about an English teacher in mid-life crisis who begins selling encyclopedias
to the town locals. Strathairn’s co-stars include Ian Somerhalder (“The
Rules of Attraction,” “Pulse”), Daniel Gillies (“Bride
and Prejudice”), Jane Adams (“Last Holiday”), Ann Cusack (“America’s
Sweethearts”), Adam LeFevre (“Hitch”), Scott Wilson (“Pearl
Harbor”) and Elizabeth Waterston (“The Prince & Me”). It
lacks a domestic distributor.
“Heavens Fall” is a drama, set in the 1930s and based on a true story
of the segregated South, about two white women who accuse nine young black
men of rape. Written and directed by Terry Green, it stars Strathairn, Leelee
Sobieski (“Wicker Man”), Timothy Hutton (“Kinsey”),
Azure Skye (“Red Dragon”), Bill Sage (“Glitter”), Anthony
Mackie (“Freedomland”) and James Tolkan (“Boiling Point”).
It has yet to secure a domestic distributor.
Screen
Actors Guild Awards
Lead
Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Lead
Actress
Reese Witherspoon
Supporting
Actress
Rachel Weisz
Supporting
Actor
Paul Giamatti
|
Joaquin Phoenix. At press time, Phoenix
had not quite revealed how he would follow up his Oscar-nominated
turn
as Johnny Cash in “Walk The Line.”
BEST ACTRESS
Reese Witherspoon. The “best actress” frontrunner
walks the line to her next project, “Penelope,” a
contemporary fairy tale about a woman born with a pig-face
who attempts to find true love and end her life-long curse.
Mark Palansky makes his feature directorial debut from
a screenplay by Leslie Caveny (TV’s “Everybody
Loves Raymond”). Christina Ricci (“Cursed”)
stars as the porcine-complected girl opposite Hayden Christiansen
(“Awake”) and James McAvoy (“The Chronicles
of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”).
Witherspoon is producing the film in addition to taking
a supporting role. Filming began in January.
Judi Dench. “Mrs. Henderson Presents” star
Dench plays James Bond’s boss M for the fifth time
in “Casino Royale,” which pits 007 against
a casino-owning terrorist. Martin Campbell (“GoldenEye,” “The
Mask of Zorro”) directs from a screenplay by Neal
Purvis & Robert Wade (“The World Is Not Enough,” “Die
Another Day,” “Johnny English”). Daniel
Craig (“Munich”) takes over the Bond role in
the Nov. 17 Sony release.
Dench also co-stars in Fox Searchlight’s “Notes
on a Scandal,” a drama about a teacher who throws
her life into turmoil when she starts an affair with one
of her students. Based on the novel by Zoe Heller (“Everything
You Know”), it was directed by Richard Eyre (“Iris,” “Stage
Beauty”) from a screenplay by Patrick Marber (“Closer,” “Asylum”).
Dench’s co-stars include Cate Blanchett (“The
Aviator”) and Bill Nighy (“Underworld: Evolution”).
Keira Knightley. Dench’s “Pride & Prejudice” co-star,
who turns 21 a few weeks after this year’s Oscar
ceremony, appears next in “Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man’s Chest.” The July 7 release from
Buena Vista was covered at length in last
November’s edition of Next!
Knightley is also said to be attached to “Silk,” a
romantic drama, set in 1860s France and Japan, about a
married silkworm merchant who falls for a mogul’s
daughter during his first visit to the Far East. The Picturehouse
project is expected to be directed by Francois Girard (“32
Short Films About Glen Gould”) from a screenplay
by Alessandro Baricco (“The Legend of 1900”).
Felicity Huffman. “Transamerica’s” Huffman
has announced no concrete big-screens plans, as she continues
to busy herself with a popular TV series titled “Desperate
Housewives.”
Charlize Theron. The “North
Country” star is said to be interested
in at least two projects in pre-production. “The
Ice at the Bottom of the World” is a Picturehouse
drama about a ship captain trying to reconnect with his
family after he is diagnosed with cancer. Kimberly Pierce
(“Boys Don’t Cry”) is attached to direct
from a screenplay by Mark Richard.
“The Brazilian Job,” Paramount’s proposed sequel
to 2003’s “The Italian Job,” would reteam
Theron with Mark Wahlberg (“Four Brothers”),
Jason Stratham (“The Pink Panther”), Seth Green
(“Be Cool”), Mos Def (“The Hitchhiker’s
Guide to the Galaxy,” “16 Blocks”) and
director F. Gary Gray (“Be Cool”). David Twohy
(“Imposter,” “Below,” “The
Chronicles of Riddick”) is said to have drafted a
screenplay for the project.
BEST
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rachel Weisz. Weisz, who picked up
her first Oscar nomination for assaying doomed activist
Tessa Quayle in “The
Constant Gardener,” next appears opposite Hugh Jackman
in the epic time-hopping Warner Bros. sci-fi drama “The
Fountain,” discussed at length in last
month’s Next!
Amy Adams. Relative
unknown Adams may actually be better known than the film
for which she is nominated. “Junebug,” in
which she played pregnant, barefoot Ashley, took in only
$2.6 million in its August theatrical release, but it was
certainly noticed by the people who bestow awards. The
actress, who made her debut in 1997’s “Drop
Dead Gorgeous,” appears next in what’s now
being called “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky
Bobby,” but we’re still partial to “Untitled
Will Ferrell NASCAR.” The car-racing comedy reunites
the “Anchorman” team of writer-director Adam
McKay, writer-actor Will Ferrell and actor David Koechner
(“Yours, Mine and Ours”). Adams’ other
co-stars include Gary Cole (“Cry Wolf”) as
Reese Bobby and Leslie Bibb as Carley Bobby, as well as
John C. Reilly (“Dark Water”), Sacha Baron
Cohen (HBO’s “Da Ali G Show”), singer
Elvis Costello (“De-Lovely”), Andy Richter
(“New York Minute”) and Michael Clarke Duncan
(“The Island”). Sony is on track for an Aug.
4 release.
Catherine Keener & Frances
McDormand. Keener’s
turn as novelist Harper Lee in “Capote” brought
glowing notices. The same is true of McDormand’s
work as iron miner Glory in “North Country.” The
two new Oscar nominees are coincidentally teamed for the
first time in “Friends With Money,” a comedy-drama
about a thirtysomething single woman (Jennifer Aniston)
whose three best friends are married and much wealthier
than she. There’s more on the April 7 Sony Pictures
Classics release in this month’s preview.
Michelle Williams. The former “Dawson’s Creek” star
made her mark on the big screen this year as one of the
cowboy wives left behind to wonder in “Brokeback
Mountain.” Up next for Williams is “The Hawk
Is Dying,” which finds Paul Giamatti (“Cinderella
Man”) playing an auto upholsterer whose only passion
is training a red-tailed hawk. Julian Goldberger (“Trans”)
directs from his own screenplay, based on the novel by
Harry Crews (“A Feast of Snakes”). Michael
Pitt (“Last Days”), Ann Wedgeworth (“The
Whole Wide World”), Robert Wisdom (“Ray”)
and Matthew Stanton co-star. A Sundance festival entry,
it has yet to secure a domestic distributor.
BEST
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Giamatti. In addition
to his collaboration with Williams, Giamatti – himself Oscar-nominated this year for “Cinderella
Man” – lends his talents to two Warner Bros.
projects due this summer. M. Night Shyamalan’s fantasy
thriller “Lady in the Water,” covered in last
month’s Next!, emerges July 21. John A. Davis’ animated
comedy “Ant Bully,” discussed in October’s
Next!, burrows into cinemas two weeks later.
Giamatti also turns up as a 19th-century
Austrian police inspector in “The Illusionist,” based on the
short story “Eisenheim the Illusionist” by
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Steven Millhauser (“Martin
Dressler”). The tale of a stage magician out to rescue
his first love from an engagement to an unsavory crown
prince, the indie was written and directed by Neil Burger
(“Interview With The Assassin”) and stars Edward
Norton (“Kingdom of Heaven”) as the magic man,
Rufus Sewell (“Tristan & Isolde”) as the
royal, and Jessica Biel (“Elizabethtown”) as
the would-be betrothed. Details of the 2006 project’s
distribution have yet to be conjured.
William Hurt. Receiving his first Oscar
nomination in 18 years for “A History of Violence,” Hurt
returns May 5 with ThinkFilm’s “The King,” a
drama about a young man’s traumatic reacquaintance
with his Baptist-preacher father following his return from
Navy service. James Marsh (“Wisconsin Death Trip”)
directs from a screenplay by Marsh and Milo Addica (“Monster’s
Ball,” “Birth”). Hurt’s co-stars
include Gael Garcia Bernal (“Bad Education”),
Laura Harring (“The Punisher”), Pell James
(“Broken Flowers”) and Paul Dano (“Taking
Lives”).
“Beautiful Ohio” is a drama, set in 1973 Ohio, about
a peace-activist father who discovers his teen math-genius
son is involved in a homosexual relationship. It’s
based on the short story “Batorsag & Szerelem” from
the anthology “The Palace Thief” by Ethan Canin.
(Another story from that collection, “The Palace
Thief,” formed the basis of 2002’s “The
Emperor’s Club”). Actor Chad Lowe (“Unfaithful”)
makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by
Canin. Hurt’s co-stars include David Call (“The
Notorious Bettie Page”), Michelle Trachtenberg (“Ice
Princess”), Rita Wilson (“The Chumscrubber”),
Julianna Margulies (“Ghost Ship”), and Brett
Davern. The film is currently seeking a relationship with
a distributor.
“The Good Shepherd” is an epic drama, set over 40
years, about the history of the Central Intelligence Agency – as
told through the eyes of a counter-espionage expert who
was recruited out of Yale at the onset of World War II
by the U.S. Office of Strategic Service. Robert De Niro
(“A Bronx Tale”) directs from a screenplay
by Eric Roth (“The Insider,” “Ali,” “Munich”).
De Niro (“Hide and Seek”) stars with Hurt,
Matt Damon (“Syriana”), Angelina Jolie (“Mr.
and Mrs. Smith”), Joe Pesci (“Lethal Weapon
4”), Tammy Blanchard (“Stealing Harvard”),
Michael Gambon (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”),
John Turturro (“Secret Window”), Alec Baldwin
(“Fun With Dick and Jane”), Timothy Hutton
(“Kinsey,” “Heavens Fall”), and
Billy Crudup (“Stage Beauty”). Universal expects
audiences to flock Dec. 22.
George Clooney. Oscar-nominated this
year for (among other things) his portrayal of veteran
CIA operative Bob Barnes
in “Syriana,” Clooney reteams with “Out
of Sight”-”Solaris”-”Ocean’s
11”-”Ocean’s 12” director Stephen
Soderbergh (“Full Frontal”) for the period
Warner Bros. thriller “The Good German.” Set
in postwar Berlin, the screenplay by Paul Attanasio (“Sum
of All Fears”) follows an American journalist searching
for his former mistress when he is drawn into a murder
mystery. Clooney’s co-stars include Tobey Maguire
(the “Spider-Man” series), Cate Blanchett (“Notes
on a Scandal”), Leland Orser (“Twisted”),
Jack Thompson (“Star Wars: Episode II – Attack
of the Clones”), Robin Weigert (HBO’s “Deadwood”)
and Beau Bridges (“The Ballad of Jack and Rose”).
Matt Dillon. Nominated for his work
as Ryan, the racist patrolman in “Crash,” Dillon gets another chance
to demonstrate his acting chops in “Factotum.” The
drama – about a man who makes his living at odd jobs,
so as not to interfere with his pursuit of women, drinking
and gambling – was adapted from the novel by Charles
Bukowski (“Barfly”). Bret Hamer (“Kitchen
Stories”) directs from a screenplay by Hamer and
Jim Stark. Dillon’s co-stars include Marisa Tomei
(“Alfie”), Adrienne Shelley (“Sleep With
Me”), Karen Young (“Joe The King”), Lili
Taylor (“Casa de los Babys,” “The Notorious
Bettie Page”), and Fisher Stevens (“Anything
Else”). Picturehouse has yet to reschedule its original
Feb. 24 release date.
Jake Gyllenhaal. The other half of “Brokeback’s” cowboy
couple, Gyllenhaal signs on next to “Zodiac.” It’s
the true story of the hunt for the Zodiac Killer, a serial
murderer – never captured – who terrorized
the San Francisco Bay Area between 1966 and 1978, taunted
local law enforcement and claimed to have murdered more
than 37 people. It’s based on the 1986 and 2002 books
by San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith,
who tracked the killer through his reign. David Fincher
(“Seven,” “Fight Club,” “Panic
Room”) directs from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt
(“Basic,” “The Rundown”). Gyllenhaal
stars as Graysmith, with Mark Ruffalo (“Rumor Has
It”) as the lead detective, Anthony Edwards (“The
Forgotten”) as his aging partner, Gary Oldman (“Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) as a local attorney
receiving missives from the killer and Robert Downey, Jr.
(“Good Night, and Good Luck,” “The Shaggy
Dog,” “Lucky You”) as an investigating
reporter. Warner Bros. has given no clues to a release
date.
