Ewan McGregor has signed on for the role of Lumière in the live-action Beauty & The Beast film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, McGregor (pictured, via) has become well-known for his performance in the movie musical, Moulin Rouge.
McGregor joins a cast that includes Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as The Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Josh Gad as Le Fou, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Audra McDonald as Garderobe, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, Kevin Kline as Maurice, and Stanley Tucci as Cadenza. Recently, Gad shared a photo on instagram (embedded below) that features himself and four other members of the cast: Watson, Stevens, Evans, and Kline.
Like the 1991 animated movie and the hit Broadway musical, the story for this live-action project will be based on Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s beloved fairy tale \"La Belle et la Bête.\"Fairy tale fans will have quite a wait ahead of them; Disney will not release this adaptation until March 2017. (via BuzzFeed)
After ordering a pilot last year, HBO has passed on The Corrections, a television adaptation of Jonathan Franzen‘s bestselling novel.
Director Noah Baumbach shot the pilot and Franzen produced alongside Scott Rudin. Franzen discussed the project at a literary festival last year. Are you surprised?
Variety has the scoop: “The Corrections revolves around the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to ‘one last Christmas’ together near the turn of the millennium. The parents were played by Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest while Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal were cast as the couple’s adult children.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
A lot of people come to this blog with the same question.
“Aaron,” they ask, “what should I do if I get attacked by a shark?”
Now I’ve seen most of the TV edit of Deep Blue Sea on TBS, and while I’ve only caught the beginning of Jaws: The Revenge, I’m generally a fan of Mario Van Peebles, so I think I know how that one turns out (Peebles: 1, Shark: 0). In short, I’m just as qualified as anyone in teaching the art of shark survival. Yes, I am aware that National Geographic claims they’ve got a corner on this market, but these are also the bums who haven’t sent you a wicked cool holographic skull cover in more than 20 years. With cinema like Saw 3-D out there, a National Geographic might as well be an issue of Highlights, without all those gnarly hidden picture games. It’s certainly not the periodical to pull out when a hammerhead is getting all gory on your metatarsal. For that, you come to me. But first we have to establish a couple things.
Is the shark biting you right now? If you answered yes, then my suggestion is that you move your smart phone or laptop to your weak hand, freeing the dominant one up for some Three Stooge moves. While doing this, you might be able to distract the shark by asking it if it would like to check its email. Chances are the shark doesn’t have an email account, and even if it does, it’s probably a compuserve one that it hasn’t checked in forever, but you’ll catch the old gill-breather off guard for a second while it considers the fact that banking online really does free up more minutes in your day.
How long have you known the shark? I ask you this because they often pose a similar question on Cops and it’s a good way to determine the nature of domestic relationships. If you answered “my whole life,” then I know there are gonna be a few emotional issues here, especially if things get to the point where I have to suggest that you stab the shark in its reproductive organs. Then again, if you answer “we just met at a coral reef a few minutes ago,” then I’m going be wondering if I’m getting the whole story. I mean, what type of coral reef are we talking about? Are there any jelly fish at this reef I should be aware of? Do I have to tip the guy that drives the boat for the snorkeling trip? What about the kid that hands out the masks? I mean, he’s just a kid and he’s not really doing anything. Questions can be like dominoes.
Now that we’ve assessed the situation, I’m going to run through the steps of surviving a shark attack:
- Don’t play dead. Besides drowning, you’ll run the risk of having some hillbilly shark putting you on stick and then chasing his friends around and saying stupid things like, “I’ma smear some Roger on ya!” This is especially true for people named Roger.
- If you usually tell neighborhood bullies that you know martial arts, now would be a good time to admit that you don’t. Bruce Lee yowls and board chopping will only serve to embolden a shark. And sharks have devised an effective strategy to combat roundhouse kicks. It’s called biting your leg off.
- However, fans of roundhouse kicks shouldn’t be shy about working Road House into the conversation. Sharks loooove Road House and while they’re amusing themselves with lines like
(Venice, Italy) I've always suspected that George Clooney was a Jedi. Now I am sure that he is. If you are a Jedi, too, you will understand.
Based on a true story by Jon Ronson, who was here at the press conference, The Men Who Stare at Goats is about the American military's top-secret program to harnass pyschic powers to create a New Earth Army. Originally formed with the best of intentions to prevent wars, like many things on this planet, something beautiful was perverted by the darkness.
From the synopsis:
In this quirky dark comedy inspired by a real life story you will hardly believe is actually true, astonishing revelations about a top-secret wing of the U.S. military come to light when a reporter encounters an enigmatic Special Forces operator on a mind-boggling mission. ...A legion of "Warrior Monks" with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it.
In real life, journalist Jon Ronson tumbled down the rabbit hole into this bizarre military world, which feels a lot like the rabbit hole I find myself in. If you think I am relating too much on a personal level to the films we are screening, you have to understand the genius of the people in charge -- Marco Mueller, the Artistic Director of the Venice Film Festival (and another Jedi:), in particular. We are screening these particular films because the Venice Film Festival THINKS THEY STAND OUT, WANTS YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THEM AND THINKS YOU SHOULD MAKE AN EFFORT TO SEE THEM. Going to the festival is like an intensive catch-up on current world events from a Jedi point-of-view.
Venice has always been a kind of Jedi Headquarters, with all sorts of magical peopl
e practicing their arts throughout the centuries. (That image is the Palazzo Ducale, the most fanciful palace in the world.) On Sunday, George Lucas (Emperor of the Jedis:) himself was here to present the Golden Lion to John Lasseter and the directors from Disney-Pixar (nothing
but Jedis over there). In addition, I had the good fortune to participate in the Pixar's Master Class on Monday morning where they revealed their secrets.
At Pixar, the artists have the most power, and the producers have the least. There are no politics. They say they live in fairyland, which, as you know if you are a regular reader of this blog, is exactly where I want to live, and
was living before the military and other dark forces decided to try to take over our sweet town and force me out on the street with an illegal eviction.
I have always been very vocal about expressing my belief that Venice has the real possibility of becoming the Magic Kingdom, and now that I have seen
The Men Who Stare at Goats, I understand better the dark force that keeps trying to prevent this.
What is a Jedi? This from Wikipedia:
The Jedi are an ancient monastic peacekeeping organization in the fictional Star Wars universe. They are connected with the Force.[1] They specifically use the "light side" of the force and reject the "dark side" of the Force, as well as the Dark Side's adherents, the Sith.
While various sources and ideas have been brought forth as the initial inspiration for the idea of a fictional "Jedi" order, the most apparent are the current and past chivalric orders that exist in Europe.
To read the entire article, please click here:
Andrew Stanton, who directed Finding Nemo, shared a Walt Disney (one of the greatest Jedis ever born:) quote during Pixar's Master Class:
"Fun and wonder are the important elements, in addition to quality in production and performance, which are most responsible for the success of Disney productions. Fun in the sense of cheerful reaction - the appeal to love of laughter. Wonder in that we appeal to the constant wonder in men's minds, which is stimulated by imagination."
I had planned on making this blog much longer, but they have managed to find a way to block me, even here at the Film Festival; thanks to the help of a techie, we just hacked our way back in. One quick note: I just came from a conference here entitled Cinema and Human Rights. One of the speakers, Mohsen Namjoo, the "Iranian Bob Dylan," made a comment that struck home. He said, "Even if you are not concerned about politics, it is politics that becomes concerned with you." I feel the same way. The real irony is that I am a citizen of the United States of America, the country that is supposed to be setting the example for democracy and freedom of speech. How can we condemn other countries if I can't write about the movies?
To read more about Namjoo, please click here (or cut & paste):
http://www.twentyfourbit.com/post/141841224/leaked-song-causes-conviction-of-iranian-bob-dylan
Ciao from the 66th International Venice Film Festival,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
http://venetiancat.blogspot.com
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"Based on a true story by Jon Ronson, who was here at the press conference, The Men Who Stare at Goats is about the American military's top-secret program to harnass pyschic powers to create a New Earth Army."
...for real? I'll look forward to its release! George's stuff is always good. To me, he's a timeless-type actor - like Liz Taylor and others.
Cat, for those of us who are thinking of you, could you tell us how you are doing? I am assuming that you have shelter and are doing somewhat better than recent weeks.
Christopher
Well, Christopher, it depends on the day. No, I do not have a real shelter. I have been staying in youth hostels or literally sleeping on the street. Cleopatra has been staying in an office and she is a nervous wreck. The weather is starting to change and I have one small suitcase full of summer clothes, as everything else is locked inside my apartment, and they have changed the locks. Some days I don't eat ANYTHING because I don't have any money, and, apparently local agenices have been instructed not to help me. One Catholic agency gave me food but I must be there at 7PM or I can't eat, and it is difficult if I am over here on the Lido. This has been going on since June 10th. It's INHUMANE. They are waiting for me to give up, but I WILL NOT because no one should be treated the way they are treating me.
For example, on Friday, I went to the Carabinieri to denounce my landlady for physically attacking me. They told me to wait for 20 minutes to half and hour. After an HOUR AND A HALF a senior Carabinieri official came out and told me I could not do it there. It made me angry because they keep running me in circles and deliberately waste my time, and of course it is exhausting and difficult to work.
They keep trying to block Google and my blog, but Google is standing strong. MediaSet (the company controlled by the Prime Minister, Berlusconi) keeps suing Google; harassing Google. I had drinks at a conference with some people from Google the other night, and I thanked them for allowing me to exist, and giving me a voice. Really. It is a little miracle that I can still reach you by the Internet.
If you want to follow the trail, start by googling Endemol and see how you are being affected there in America without your knowledge:
Endemol
A consortium headed by Mediaset, and also consisting of Goldman Sachs and John de Mol's Cyrte Group, acquired Dutch television production company Endemol in 2007.[2]
If anyone knows how to figure out PayPal (I no longer have a credit card), please let me know.