Following his success with Black Swan, director Darren Aronofsky has made the ambitious decision to have a biblical epic as his follow up film. The film is Noah, which will center on the biblical tale of Noah’s Ark. Due to his estimated $130 million budget, Aronofsky is looking to find a bankable star to get backing on his passion project.

Originally, He wanted Christian Bale to star, but Bale passed. Aronofsky looked at Michael Fassbender as a good replacement, but Fassbender claimed to be too busy.  Now Deadline is reporting that Darren has finally found his Noah, and it is Gladiator star Russell Crowe.  Even though no deal has been officially signed, an agreement with Crowe is said to be in place.  With Crowe seemingly in place, Aronofsky is now searching for the villain of the film and has his sights set on Liam Neeson.  The villain will argue against Noah’s faith as he builds a massive ship to weather the impending flood.

Paramount and New Regency want to start shooting Noah this summer for a 2013 release.

Aronofsky has already told his version of the story of the Bible’s Noah through a graphic novel with artist Nico Henrichon. The story is not a direct interpretation of the original biblical tale but a more fantastical vision of the story. Aronofsky has been dreaming of bringing this story to life since he was 13 years old.

Now John Logan is re-writing the film’s script and various studios are getting interested in co-financing the ambitious project.  For a sneak peak at the graphic novel, see the video after the jump. Pardon the French.

Continue Reading →

While you’re already getting your big Academy Awards party ready in time for the telecast on March 7th, we’ve got something for even bigger movie fans to enjoy. Of course, we’re talking about a movie marathon!

All month long, Turner Classic Movies will be running over 360 Academy Award nominated and winning films, back to back, with an interesting twist. In the vain of the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” each film will have a common actor or actress from the previous film.

For example, tomorrow night’s schedule consists of The Graduate with Anne Bancroft and William Daniels, which goes into Reds which stars Daniels and Jack Nicholson, into Chinatown with Nicholson and John Huston. Though we’re already about two weeks into the marathon, there are still plenty of great films to look forward to, including some TCM firsts like Gladiator, Titanic, Alien, and Trading Places.

We’re also going to be helping you celebrate the upcoming 82nd Annual Academy Awards on March 7th with a great prize pack, so be sure to keep an eye on our Twitter for details on how to win.

In the meantime, check out the schedule for this weekend’s films on TCM, and be sure to download the full schedule in PDF format. If not, you could always watch them blind and try to figure out the common actor/actress. Have fun!

Continue Reading →

Here’s a list of some of the new movie and TV shows coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week that we’re looking forward to seeing. Also, there’s some classic and not-so-classic movies hitting Blu-ray for the first time this week as well.

Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray versions of movies like Braveheart, Gladiator and M*A*S*H as well as the latest season of Heroes — season 3 if you’re wondering — also on Blu-ray.

Check them out.

Movies

Braveheart ~ Mel Gibson (Blu-ray)

Bring it On: Fight to the Finish ~ Christina Milian, David Starzyk, Nicki SooHoo, and Gabrielle Dennis (DVD)

The Girl Next Door (Unrated Edition) ~ Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant (Blu-ray)

Gladiator ~ Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, and Oliver Reed (Blu-ray)

Continue Reading →