Otmara Marrero (“Start-Up”) and Katie Clarkson-Hill (“Hanna”) are set to star in Catalyst Studios actioner “Switch & Bait.”
Directed by Michelle Saledo, the pic is the first project of Catalyst Studios to begin physical production. Catalyst launched its banner in May with an initial slate of six feature films directed, produced and centered on female protagonists.
Principal photography began in Belgrade, Serbia, this past week. Megan Messmer and Veronica Caicedo are producing, while Catalyst Studios’ Holly Levow, Mark Pennell and Paul Kampf are executive producing. Highland Film Group is handling the worldwide sales on the title.
“Switch & Bait” is based on a script written by Russell Gewirtz (“Inside Man”) and tells the story of a seemingly naïve call girl (Clarkson-Hill) who escapes the clutches of a notorious gangster with a cell phone containing all his secrets. A tough female cop (Marrero), who may or may not be crooked, is given the job to get the witness,...
Directed by Michelle Saledo, the pic is the first project of Catalyst Studios to begin physical production. Catalyst launched its banner in May with an initial slate of six feature films directed, produced and centered on female protagonists.
Principal photography began in Belgrade, Serbia, this past week. Megan Messmer and Veronica Caicedo are producing, while Catalyst Studios’ Holly Levow, Mark Pennell and Paul Kampf are executive producing. Highland Film Group is handling the worldwide sales on the title.
“Switch & Bait” is based on a script written by Russell Gewirtz (“Inside Man”) and tells the story of a seemingly naïve call girl (Clarkson-Hill) who escapes the clutches of a notorious gangster with a cell phone containing all his secrets. A tough female cop (Marrero), who may or may not be crooked, is given the job to get the witness,...
- 9/23/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Spike Lee's Inside Man (2006) and Do the Right Thing (1989) are showing on Mubi in many countries around the world in January and February, 2019.Forty-five minutes into Spike Lee’s 2006 Inside Man, Clive Owen’s mysterious bank robber Dalton Russell negotiates with Denzel Washington’s detective Keith Frazier a food delivery for the 50 or so people he’s holding hostage inside the fictional Wall Street-headquartered Manhattan Trust Bank. The food smuggled through the horde of cops surrounding the building is pizza, and the boxes the slices come in read: Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. I wish I could say I spotted the intertextual connection right away, but it took Lee’s DVD commentary to illuminate the link between his 2006 star-studded thriller and the family-owned Bedford-Stuyvesant restaurant that staged his 1989 Do the Right Thing. “Sal’s pizzeria,” Lee comments, somewhat sarcastically, “burned down in Brooklyn, and moved to Wall Street.”Revisiting the...
- 1/29/2019
- MUBI
Exclusive: The biopic based on the life of indicted billionaire commodities trader Marc Rich, who the public will remember from that controversial pardon by then President Bill Clinton in his last day in office, is steadily moving forward. Inside Man’s Russell Gewirtz has been hired by Uri Singer's Bb Film Productions to adapt The King Of Oil about Rich, a child of the Holocaust who ended up incredibly wealthy before being indicted on 65 criminal counts (including tax…...
- 12/14/2015
- Deadline
Exclusive: Paradigm has bagged another solid client for its Motion Picture department. The agency just signed screenwriter Russell Gewirtz, best known for scripting the Spike Lee-directed Inside Man and the sequel Inside Man 2. He did the final rewrite on Universal’s upcoming FBI drama Black Mass, based on a previous script by Mark Mallouk and the book of the same name by Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill. He also scripted Righteous Kill. The agency has soaked up a lot of name clients signed by incoming agents Rand Holston, David Boxerbaum, Ken Stovitz and Bob Bookman, and here the signing was made by Boxerbaum, Trevor Astbury and Mark Ross. Gewirtz had been at CAA with Adam Kanter and Martin Spencer, and he has been in play since they moved to Resolution. Gewirtz is repped by Patti Felker.
- 4/9/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Johnny Depp must be ready for some real bad seed action because he's just signed up to play the notoriously vicious Boston gangster slash prized FBI informant Whitey Bulger in Barry Levinson's "Black Mass."
As detailed by Indie Wire, Depp previously teamed with Levinson for "Donnie Brasco" - only this time, Levinson will direct rather than produce - and will perhaps help to ouster competitive Whitey Bulger projects by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as well as "Twilight" star Peter Facinelli.
Bulger, the fearsome leader of The Winter Hill Gang, was the nefarious inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in "The Departed" and was finally detained in 2011 after ducking out in California for several years. He's now been charged with nineteen murders as well as other racketeering offenses.
The script for "Black Mass," which details the shady dealings of Bulger and the Bureau, was re-written by "Inside Man" and...
As detailed by Indie Wire, Depp previously teamed with Levinson for "Donnie Brasco" - only this time, Levinson will direct rather than produce - and will perhaps help to ouster competitive Whitey Bulger projects by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as well as "Twilight" star Peter Facinelli.
Bulger, the fearsome leader of The Winter Hill Gang, was the nefarious inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in "The Departed" and was finally detained in 2011 after ducking out in California for several years. He's now been charged with nineteen murders as well as other racketeering offenses.
The script for "Black Mass," which details the shady dealings of Bulger and the Bureau, was re-written by "Inside Man" and...
- 2/4/2013
- by Amanda Bell
- NextMovie
Depp will portray infamous Irish American gangster and FBI informant in new film Black Mass, with Barry Levinson directing
Johnny Depp is being lined up to play the notorious Irish American mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in a new biopic from Rain Man and Bugsy director Barry Levinson, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character Frank Costello in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed, Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica in June 2011 after being on the run for 15 years. At the time he was wanted for 19 murders and had been on the FBI's most-wanted list for 16 years: the reward for his capture was reportedly second only in size to that offered for information leading to the arrest of Osama bin Laden.
Levinson's film, to be titled Black Mass, will be based on the New York Times bestseller Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy...
Johnny Depp is being lined up to play the notorious Irish American mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in a new biopic from Rain Man and Bugsy director Barry Levinson, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character Frank Costello in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed, Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica in June 2011 after being on the run for 15 years. At the time he was wanted for 19 murders and had been on the FBI's most-wanted list for 16 years: the reward for his capture was reportedly second only in size to that offered for information leading to the arrest of Osama bin Laden.
Levinson's film, to be titled Black Mass, will be based on the New York Times bestseller Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy...
- 2/4/2013
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
After making a splash by funding the wildly profitable Darren Aronofsky-directed Black Swan, nm3872253 autoTimmy Thompson[/link] and Brian Oliver's Cross Creek Pictures has become an increasing presence in the independent film producing and finance game. To help manage the growing project volume, they've hired Becky Sloviter to be senior vice president of development and production. She started work yesterday and had most recently been veep of development and production at MGM, where she worked on such titles as the Kevin James-starrer Zookeeper and the Drew Goddard-directed The Cabin in the Woods, as well as the musical Valley Girl which is on a fast track at MGM. Before that, Sloviter had been a production exec at Stuber/Parent Productions. Cross Creek's goal is to fund up to five films a year, homegrown or otherwise. The company has over 10 projects percolating, including a film about alleged Boston...
- 8/2/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
I was feeling pretty good about my life for the last few years. Brett Ratner hadn’t directed any feature films and Eddie Murphy had more or less fallen off the grid. That is all about to change with Tower Heist, as the hack director returns with Universal’s big studio comedy. The only thing that still gives me hope is Casey Affleck‘s involvement and Noah Baumbach being one of the Eight credited screenwriters, including Bill Collage, Adam Cooper, Leslie Dixon, Russell Gewirtz, Ted Griffin, Jeff Nathanson, and Rawson Marshall Thurber.
The large ensemble cast also includes Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Téa Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Stephen Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Michael Pena, and Alan Alda. Nothing seems particularly funny or interesting in the trailer below, but let us know what you think in the comments. Check it out via Yahoo, along with the first poster.
Synopsis:
After the workers at...
The large ensemble cast also includes Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Téa Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Stephen Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Michael Pena, and Alan Alda. Nothing seems particularly funny or interesting in the trailer below, but let us know what you think in the comments. Check it out via Yahoo, along with the first poster.
Synopsis:
After the workers at...
- 7/28/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"Inside Man" screenwriter Russell Gewirtz has been hired to pen the $35 million thriller "Black Mass" for Cross Creek Pictures says Screen Daily.
The story investigates the connection between the FBI and former Boston mobster turned informant Whitey Bulger, who is on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list. Gewirtz will pen a new screenplay based on both a previous draft by Mark Mallouk and the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill.
Brian Oliver, Todd Thompson and Brett Granstaff will produce with shooting to kick off this Fall in Boston. Cross Creek financed "Black Swan" and the upcoming "The Ides Of March" and "The Woman In Black".
The story investigates the connection between the FBI and former Boston mobster turned informant Whitey Bulger, who is on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list. Gewirtz will pen a new screenplay based on both a previous draft by Mark Mallouk and the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill.
Brian Oliver, Todd Thompson and Brett Granstaff will produce with shooting to kick off this Fall in Boston. Cross Creek financed "Black Swan" and the upcoming "The Ides Of March" and "The Woman In Black".
- 5/17/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
For those true geeks who keep a calendar of the upcoming movies throughout the year, Universal Pictures has some films that you may want to keep your eye out for. I’m the most interested in the first picture above for the 3rd version of The Thing and still wondering if it’ll be able to hold it’s own against the claustrophobia of the classic 1951 original and the shock value of John Carpenter’s 1981 horror film.
The Thing
Release: 10/14/2011
Genres: Thriller
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton
Directed By: Matthijs van Heijningen
Produced By: Marc Abraham, Eric Newman
Synopsis:
Antarctica: an extraordinary continent of awesome beauty. It is also home to an isolated outpost where a discovery full of scientific possibility becomes a mission of survival when an alien is unearthed by a crew of international scientists. The shape-shifting creature, accidentally unleashed at this marooned colony, has the ability...
The Thing
Release: 10/14/2011
Genres: Thriller
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton
Directed By: Matthijs van Heijningen
Produced By: Marc Abraham, Eric Newman
Synopsis:
Antarctica: an extraordinary continent of awesome beauty. It is also home to an isolated outpost where a discovery full of scientific possibility becomes a mission of survival when an alien is unearthed by a crew of international scientists. The shape-shifting creature, accidentally unleashed at this marooned colony, has the ability...
- 2/2/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ben Stiller is currently busy filming "Tower Heist" and he has given sneak peek to the upcoming movie by sharing an on-set picture. Posted on his Twitter page on January 13, the shot features his co-stars Casey Affleck and Michael Pena at what looks like an eatery.
"Tower Heist" has "X-Men: The Last Stand" helmer Brett Ratner serving behind the lens, with a script written by Noah Baumbach, Ted Griffin, Stiller, Russell Gewirtz and Rawson Marshall Thurber. The likes of Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Gabourey Sidibe and Judd Hirsch are also starring in the movie.
The story will center around "operations and maintenance workers in a luxury Manhattan high-rise whose pension funds were looted by a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook, who is living high style in a penthouse apartment, under house arrest. Led by an overworked building manager portrayed by Stiller, the workers use their knowledge of the...
"Tower Heist" has "X-Men: The Last Stand" helmer Brett Ratner serving behind the lens, with a script written by Noah Baumbach, Ted Griffin, Stiller, Russell Gewirtz and Rawson Marshall Thurber. The likes of Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Gabourey Sidibe and Judd Hirsch are also starring in the movie.
The story will center around "operations and maintenance workers in a luxury Manhattan high-rise whose pension funds were looted by a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook, who is living high style in a penthouse apartment, under house arrest. Led by an overworked building manager portrayed by Stiller, the workers use their knowledge of the...
- 1/14/2011
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
We reported in February that Ben Stiller was being lined up to front a heist movie for Universal, now it appears several changes have been made to the project, with a new director lined up.
Deadline have today confirmed that Universal have green lit the project, now titled Tower Heist. Ben Stiller has inked a deal to star, with Brett Ratner taking on directing duties.
Synopsis: Tower Heist centres on the overworked manager (Stiller) of a luxury building who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook. It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole.
In an interview with Deadline, Ratner was quoted as saying:
It has become the quintessential New York heist movie, where a bunch of blue collar employees...
Deadline have today confirmed that Universal have green lit the project, now titled Tower Heist. Ben Stiller has inked a deal to star, with Brett Ratner taking on directing duties.
Synopsis: Tower Heist centres on the overworked manager (Stiller) of a luxury building who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook. It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole.
In an interview with Deadline, Ratner was quoted as saying:
It has become the quintessential New York heist movie, where a bunch of blue collar employees...
- 8/24/2010
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
It looks like Brett Ratner will actually get to direct a movie again. He's been attached to several different film projects over the years, but fortunately for us nothing seems to have materialized... until now.
Ratner is attached to direct a film called Tower Heist starring Ben Stiller. The film has been sitting around for four years at Universal Pictures, but they've actually finally given the project the green light. Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer is producing the film, why he is putting it in the hands of Ratner is beyond me.
Stiller will play an overworked manager of a luxury building who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook. It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole.
The script...
Ratner is attached to direct a film called Tower Heist starring Ben Stiller. The film has been sitting around for four years at Universal Pictures, but they've actually finally given the project the green light. Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer is producing the film, why he is putting it in the hands of Ratner is beyond me.
Stiller will play an overworked manager of a luxury building who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook. It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole.
The script...
- 8/23/2010
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Brett Ratner has set up his first feature directing gig since Rush Hour 3 in 2007. Deadline reports it will be the long-gestating project formerly known as Trump Heist, now titled Tower Heist.
It will star Ben Stiller, who plays “he overworked manager of a luxury building who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook. It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole.”
Brian Grazer will produce the project, whose script has been worked on by many high profile writers including Adam Cooper & Bill Collage, Russell Gewirtz, Rawson Thurber, Ted Griffin, Leslie Dixon, Noah Baumbach and Jeff Nathanson.
Ratner says it is “the quintessential New York heist movie, where a bunch of blue collar employees in a tower building pull off the ultimate heist.
It will star Ben Stiller, who plays “he overworked manager of a luxury building who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook. It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole.”
Brian Grazer will produce the project, whose script has been worked on by many high profile writers including Adam Cooper & Bill Collage, Russell Gewirtz, Rawson Thurber, Ted Griffin, Leslie Dixon, Noah Baumbach and Jeff Nathanson.
Ratner says it is “the quintessential New York heist movie, where a bunch of blue collar employees in a tower building pull off the ultimate heist.
- 8/23/2010
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
A $50 million van Gogh masterpiece was swiped Saturday from a Cairo museum by thieves who took advantage of lax security, simply walked in and liberated a painting from its frame with a box cutter. In Hollywood, the planning and execution of a good heist is never that simple. After almost four years, Universal Pictures is aiming Tower Heist for a November production start in New York. Brett Ratner will direct. Ben Stiller stars as the overworked manager of a luxury building who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook. It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole. The film’s produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, and Kim Roth is executive producer. This heist has among its architects some...
- 8/23/2010
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Ben Stiller is in talks for a lead role in Brett Ratner’s Trump Heist. Yes, the high concept heist film has been done before, but this time the film would follow a group of con men as they pull one over on the inhabitants of Donald Trump’s Trump Towers. The script will have to be reworked as it was originally intended to be “a black Ocean’S Eleven,” though no one is taking credit for coining that description. Updating the script shouldn’t prove to be too much of a challenge as Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man), Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story), and Ted Griffin (Ocean”S Eleven) have all had a hand in writing the script.
Read more on Stiller in talks for Trump Heist…...
Read more on Stiller in talks for Trump Heist…...
- 2/17/2010
- by Ronnita Miller
- GordonandtheWhale
Ben Stiller is in talks join the cast of "Trump Heist" (aka. "Tower Heist") for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment says The Los Angeles Times.
The story follows a group of con-men working at New York's upscale Trump Tower who devise a plan to swindle its residents.
Various actors and writers have been involved in the project at one time or another. Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Chris Tucker were once set to co-star, while "Inside Man" writer Russell Gewirtz, "Dodgeball" scribe Rawson Marshall Thurber and "Ocean's Eleven" writer Ted Griffin have all had a crack at the script.
With Stiller now filling the role, a new draft will be penned to take it in a direction more fitting his talents. Director Brett Ratner has long been attached to helm the film.
The story follows a group of con-men working at New York's upscale Trump Tower who devise a plan to swindle its residents.
Various actors and writers have been involved in the project at one time or another. Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Chris Tucker were once set to co-star, while "Inside Man" writer Russell Gewirtz, "Dodgeball" scribe Rawson Marshall Thurber and "Ocean's Eleven" writer Ted Griffin have all had a crack at the script.
With Stiller now filling the role, a new draft will be penned to take it in a direction more fitting his talents. Director Brett Ratner has long been attached to helm the film.
- 2/17/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The Los Angeles Times reports that Ben Stiller is in talks to star in Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment's Trump Heist (it may change its name to "Tower Heist"), which "is about a group of con-men who devise a plan to swindle the residents of New York's upscale Trump Tower, where they also work." The newspaper says that Eddie Murphy was previously attached to play the lead role, with Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Chris Tucker co-starring. A new draft of the script will be written now that Stiller is taking over the role and the project is heading into a new direction. Brett Ratner has been attached to direct "Heist." Russell Gewirtz ( Inside Man ), Rawson Marshall Thurber and Ted Griffin ( Ocean's Eleven , Dodgeball: A True Underdog...
- 2/17/2010
- Comingsoon.net
DVD Playhouse—June 2009
By
Allen Gardner
The International (Sony) An Interpol agent (Clive Owen) joins forces with a Manhattan D.A. (Naomi Watts) to bring down an arms dealing ring and a corrupt global banking cartel that’s funding them. Superlative thriller was oddly ignored by critics and audiences alike, but expertly blends intelligence (courtesy screenwriter Eric Warren Singer’s masterfully-crafted script) and full-throttle action (director Tom Tykwer stages one of the great film shoot-outs in New York’s iconic Guggenheim Museum), making this dynamite thriller reminiscent of the best work from masters such as John Frankenheimer and Robert Aldrich. Armin Mueller-Stahl is wonderful as a world-weary covert op. Bonuses: Extended scene; Featurettes; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
The Jack Lemmon Film Collection(Sony) Five films from the two-time Oscar winning actor, focusing on his early career: Phfft! is a zippy comedy from 1954, one of Lemmon’s earliest films, in which...
By
Allen Gardner
The International (Sony) An Interpol agent (Clive Owen) joins forces with a Manhattan D.A. (Naomi Watts) to bring down an arms dealing ring and a corrupt global banking cartel that’s funding them. Superlative thriller was oddly ignored by critics and audiences alike, but expertly blends intelligence (courtesy screenwriter Eric Warren Singer’s masterfully-crafted script) and full-throttle action (director Tom Tykwer stages one of the great film shoot-outs in New York’s iconic Guggenheim Museum), making this dynamite thriller reminiscent of the best work from masters such as John Frankenheimer and Robert Aldrich. Armin Mueller-Stahl is wonderful as a world-weary covert op. Bonuses: Extended scene; Featurettes; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
The Jack Lemmon Film Collection(Sony) Five films from the two-time Oscar winning actor, focusing on his early career: Phfft! is a zippy comedy from 1954, one of Lemmon’s earliest films, in which...
- 6/3/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Chicago – Universal Home Video is releasing a wave of titles timed for Father’s Day gifts. Some of their choices - “Field of Dreams,” “Fletch” - seem like logical picks for a better HD daddy day than another striped tie while others seem chosen purely because they have the word “Men” or “Man” in the title - “Children of Men,” “Cinderella Man,” “Inside Man”.
Most are pretty good and some are great. Pick your favorite and give it to your Blu-Ray pop.
“Inside Man” will be released on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009.
The other five titles were released on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009.
“Children of Men”
Photo credit: Universal Synopsis: “No children. No future. No hope. In the year 2027, eighteen years since the last baby was born, Clive Owen portrays an unlikely champion of the human race when he is asked by his former love, played by Julianne Moore to escort a...
Most are pretty good and some are great. Pick your favorite and give it to your Blu-Ray pop.
“Inside Man” will be released on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009.
The other five titles were released on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009.
“Children of Men”
Photo credit: Universal Synopsis: “No children. No future. No hope. In the year 2027, eighteen years since the last baby was born, Clive Owen portrays an unlikely champion of the human race when he is asked by his former love, played by Julianne Moore to escort a...
- 5/26/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Scott Feinberg at The Envelope has created a list of his "The top 25 movies of the past 10 years that got no Oscar love" and it's an interesting idea considering there has been so much hatred aimed at the Academy over The Dark Knight not getting a Best Picture nomination, but it did actually receive eight nominations, which is nothing to scoff at. We are talking about films that didn't receive any nominations, zero, zilch, nada. Any come to mind? I had never considered the idea since it is a relatively hard thing to imagine that a favorite film of yours didn't receive any Oscar nominations -- wait, is that why general audiences aren't interested in the Oscars? -- but then I went back over my 2003-2008 Top Ten lists and found several that weren't nominated and put together a quick top ten and an example category I think they should have been nominated in.
- 2/3/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
After the somewhat surprising success of Spike Lee's 2006 film Inside Man, talks of a sequel have been floating around for a couple of years. A script for the tentatively titled Inside Man 2, written by Russell Gewirtz, has even been circulating around Hollywood. However, when Lee sat down with MTV at the Sundance Film Festival, he confirmed that Gewirtz's script has been ditched along with its diamond heist plot line. Lee also added that writer/director Terry George would be taking over for Gewirtz in the writing department, but Lee was decidedly silent about what the new script's story will explore. Lee did confirm that the main characters from the original will be reprising their roles. Clive Owen will be back as the morally stringent thief extraordinaire, Denzel Washington as the senior NYPD detective, Jodie Foster as the tough-as-nails businesswoman, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Washington's partner. And, ...
- 1/20/2009
- by Brandon Lee Tenney
- firstshowing.net
Seen on: September 12, 2008
The players: Director: Jon Avnet, Writer: Russell Gewirtz, Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, 50 Cent, Donnie Wahlberg, Carla Gugino
Facts of interest: Jon Avnet also directed "88 Minutes."
The plot: Turk and Rooster are two NYPD detectives who head out to track down a serial killer. Strangely enough, all of his victims are bad guys who managed to escape the law.
Our quick thoughts: Although I totally hated Jon Avnet’s previous flick “88 Minutes,” I didn’t expect the worst walking into his latest crime drama “Righteous Kill.” After all, I don’t think anyone would want to deliberately mess up a film that stars both Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the lead roles, right? But let’s not get too excited too quickly.
The players: Director: Jon Avnet, Writer: Russell Gewirtz, Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, 50 Cent, Donnie Wahlberg, Carla Gugino
Facts of interest: Jon Avnet also directed "88 Minutes."
The plot: Turk and Rooster are two NYPD detectives who head out to track down a serial killer. Strangely enough, all of his victims are bad guys who managed to escape the law.
Our quick thoughts: Although I totally hated Jon Avnet’s previous flick “88 Minutes,” I didn’t expect the worst walking into his latest crime drama “Righteous Kill.” After all, I don’t think anyone would want to deliberately mess up a film that stars both Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the lead roles, right? But let’s not get too excited too quickly.
- 9/13/2008
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
Whatever you do, don't throw Michael Mann's Heat (or God forbid, The Godfather II) into the DVD player prior to venturing off to your local theater to see Righteous Kill. Part of you might want to watch the film that last featured Robert De Niro and Al Pacino opposite one another to get you in the mood, but you'll surely be disappointed when the popcorn's run out and what you're watching on the big screen doesn't even belong in the same conversation as the film you just watched at home. That's because Righteous Kill is a predictable pile of pass me the paycheck, with both De Niro and Pacino phoning in a combination of past performances -- of men with tough, no-nonsense New York City exteriors and sly, slickly-delivered one-liners. This isn't the De Niro and Pacino of old ... it is, unfortunately, the older De Niro and Pacino.
Since...
Since...
- 9/12/2008
- by Erik Davis
- Cinematical
Hepburn-Tracy. Abbott-Costello. Astaire-Rogers. Hanks-Ryan. Famous movie pairings have gone on throughout movie history. If there is magic on the screen and folks flock to the theaters, producers go to the well again and again to recapture the magic. Now comes the new thriller “Righteous Kill” that pairs Al Pacino together with Robert DeNiro. They last teamed up in the great action caper “Heat” from Michael Mann. In that film, they only shared a few minutes on screen together. Here they share most of their scenes together. Pacino and DeNiro play hardened New York City detectives Rooster and Turk respectively. They are hot on the trail of a vigilante serial killer. The killer seems to be targeting people who have wrongly been found innocent or have had their dirty deeds gone unpunished. Showtime has successfully explored a similar theme with the hit television show “Dexter” on their network. Director Jon Avnet...
- 9/12/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a sequel to Spike Lee’s “Inside Man” is moving forward at Universal, with Terry George in negotiations to write the screenplay and Lee coming back to direct the Brian Grazer-produced film. “Inside Man 2,” will pick up on the characters and dynamic but not the story line of the original. The first “Inside Man,” which was penned by Russell Gewirtz, centered on a standoff between a bank robber (Clive Owen) and a hostage negotiator (Denzel Washington) at a New York bank. Lee says he foresees that the new film will continue the relationship between the two main characters but in a new high-tension situation. “I want the script to be even better than Russell’s, and Russell wrote a really good script,” he said. The news cements long-floating rumors that Universal was looking to reprise the alchemy of the indie fave Lee with the...
- 9/9/2008
- UGO Movies
Inside Man 2 Begins Script Stage: A sequel to Spike Lee's Inside Man is moving forward at Universal, with Terry George in negotiations to write the screenplay and Lee coming back to direct. The film will pick up on the characters and dynamic but not the storyline of the original. The first Inside Man, which was penned by Russell Gewirtz, centered on a standoff between a bank robber (Clive Owens) and a hostage negotiator (Denzel Washington) at a New York bank. Lee says he foresees that the new film will continue the relationship between the two main characters but in a new high-tension situation. "I want the script to be even better than Russell's, and Russell wrote a really good script," he said. Denzel Washington and Clive Owen are interested in re-teaming for the project, Lee said. [THR] Tom Cruise and The Monster of Florence: Tom Cruise and United Artists have...
- 9/8/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Dalton Russell was never caught and you know what that means. There must be a sequel to Inside Man. Two years ago Russell told the world: .I planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery.. And that he most certainly did. Now it looks as though Universal has finally finished planning and actually set into motion the long talked about sequel to Spike Lee's compelling box office hit, Inside Man. The second one is tentatively being called . surprise, surprise -Inside Man 2. According to the Hr, Spike Lee will be back to direct as will Brian Frazer to produce the film. Still in negations is the potential for Terry George to write the screenplay, replacing Russell Gewirtz who wrote the original. Since I.m a huge fan of Hotel Rwanda, I most certainly would have no problem seeing George get a hold of this project.
- 9/6/2008
- cinemablend.com
A sequel to Spike Lee's "Inside Man" is moving forward at Universal, with Terry George in negotiations to write the screenplay and Lee coming back to direct the Brian Grazer-produced pic.
"Inside Man 2," as the project is tentatively being called, will pick up on the characters and dynamic but not the storyline of the original. The first "Inside Man," which was penned by Russell Gewirtz, centered on a standoff between a bank robber (Clive Owen) and a hostage negotiator (Denzel Washington) at a New York bank.
Lee says he foresees that the new film will continue the relationship between the two main characters but in a new high-tension situation. "I want the script to be even better than Russell's, and Russell wrote a really good script," he said.
The news cements long-floating rumors that Universal was looking to reprise the alchemy of the indie fave Lee with the...
"Inside Man 2," as the project is tentatively being called, will pick up on the characters and dynamic but not the storyline of the original. The first "Inside Man," which was penned by Russell Gewirtz, centered on a standoff between a bank robber (Clive Owen) and a hostage negotiator (Denzel Washington) at a New York bank.
Lee says he foresees that the new film will continue the relationship between the two main characters but in a new high-tension situation. "I want the script to be even better than Russell's, and Russell wrote a really good script," he said.
The news cements long-floating rumors that Universal was looking to reprise the alchemy of the indie fave Lee with the...
- 9/6/2008
- by By Steven Zeitchik
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
We have 3 “Righteous Kill” clips for you Al Pacino and Robert De Niro fans out there. I have heard nothing but good from sources about this film and look forward to seeing it myself.
Academy Award® winners Robert De Niro (Raging Bull) and Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) star as a pair of veteran New York City police detectives on the trail of a vigilante serial killer in the adrenaline fueled psychological thriller Righteous Kill, directed by Jon Avnet (Red Corner, Fried Green Tomatoes) and written by Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man). The cast also features hip-hop superstar Curtis Jackson…...
Academy Award® winners Robert De Niro (Raging Bull) and Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) star as a pair of veteran New York City police detectives on the trail of a vigilante serial killer in the adrenaline fueled psychological thriller Righteous Kill, directed by Jon Avnet (Red Corner, Fried Green Tomatoes) and written by Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man). The cast also features hip-hop superstar Curtis Jackson…...
- 9/2/2008
- by AtomicPopcorn
- Atomic Popcorn
Overture Films distributes "Righteous Kill," a film which reteams Academy Award® winners Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The crime drama is helmed by Jon Avnet, producer and director of Pacino's recently airing "88 Minutes," also in the crime genre. De Niro's still going strong but Pacino's on the ropes, how this fares at the box office remains to be seen. The duo star as veteran N.Y.C. police detectives chasing down a vigilante serial killer. Writing is "Inside Man" scripter Russell Gewirtz and hip-jop star Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson who tries his luck after "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" So, want a chance to get to see this before release date? Enter and you could win tickets to a preview in Atlanta. Ga and Raleigh Nc.
- 9/2/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Warners Bros is setting an Eta on "Sis."
The studio is developing the acronym-inflected project, a cop drama in the vein of "Training Day." Chris Gorak, a noted art director whose credits include "Fight Club" and "Minority Report," is attached to direct and pen the screenplay. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian will produce.
Casting is presently under way for the project, which is described as having a soft greenlight. Jessica Goodman and Matt Milam are overseeing for Warners.
"Sis" began life several years ago as "In-Crime," with Kurt Sutter, a showrunner on FX's "The Shield," penning the first draft of the script and initally attached to direct. Russell Gewirtz, who wrote the Spike Lee hostage film "Inside Man" and Overture Films' upcoming Robert De Niro-Al Pacino cop drama "Righteous Kill," also subsequently wrote a draft of the screenplay.
Sis stands for special investigations section, a unit of the police force built to combat some of the most brutal criminals while they are in the midst of committing crimes, and often operates under looser restrictions than a traditional police unit. The feature will center on characters in the Sis unit of the Lapd.
Gorak made his writing and directorial debut in "Right at Your Door," an action picture about a man who discovered a nuclear weapon in modern-day Los Angeles, which Roadside and Lionsgate released in 2006.
The studio is developing the acronym-inflected project, a cop drama in the vein of "Training Day." Chris Gorak, a noted art director whose credits include "Fight Club" and "Minority Report," is attached to direct and pen the screenplay. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian will produce.
Casting is presently under way for the project, which is described as having a soft greenlight. Jessica Goodman and Matt Milam are overseeing for Warners.
"Sis" began life several years ago as "In-Crime," with Kurt Sutter, a showrunner on FX's "The Shield," penning the first draft of the script and initally attached to direct. Russell Gewirtz, who wrote the Spike Lee hostage film "Inside Man" and Overture Films' upcoming Robert De Niro-Al Pacino cop drama "Righteous Kill," also subsequently wrote a draft of the screenplay.
Sis stands for special investigations section, a unit of the police force built to combat some of the most brutal criminals while they are in the midst of committing crimes, and often operates under looser restrictions than a traditional police unit. The feature will center on characters in the Sis unit of the Lapd.
Gorak made his writing and directorial debut in "Right at Your Door," an action picture about a man who discovered a nuclear weapon in modern-day Los Angeles, which Roadside and Lionsgate released in 2006.
- 7/19/2008
- by By Steven Zeitchik
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran agent David Styne has joined ICM as a motion picture literary agent.
Styne left CAA this month after 17 years with the agency. He declined comment on the reasons for his departure.
"I came to ICM because ICM has been a brand in the business for over 20 years and I met with a group of executives who conveyed an enthusiasm for rebuilding the company and also expressed a great desire for me to be a big part of it," Styne said.
Styne begins immediately and plans to "get to work right way with some longtime clients I've been working with who are coming with me to ICM."
It is unclear, however, which of those clients officially are coming with him.
Styne has been a longtime representative of a cache of writers, including John Logan ("Gladiator"), Russell Gewirtz ("Inside Man"), David McKenna ("Blow"), Caspian Tredwell-Owen ("Behind Enemy Lines"), Chris Kyle ("K-19: The Widowmaker"), Vincent Ngo and Jason Hall, as well as director Gil Kenan ("Monster House") and producer Andrew Lazar.
Styne left CAA this month after 17 years with the agency. He declined comment on the reasons for his departure.
"I came to ICM because ICM has been a brand in the business for over 20 years and I met with a group of executives who conveyed an enthusiasm for rebuilding the company and also expressed a great desire for me to be a big part of it," Styne said.
Styne begins immediately and plans to "get to work right way with some longtime clients I've been working with who are coming with me to ICM."
It is unclear, however, which of those clients officially are coming with him.
Styne has been a longtime representative of a cache of writers, including John Logan ("Gladiator"), Russell Gewirtz ("Inside Man"), David McKenna ("Blow"), Caspian Tredwell-Owen ("Behind Enemy Lines"), Chris Kyle ("K-19: The Widowmaker"), Vincent Ngo and Jason Hall, as well as director Gil Kenan ("Monster House") and producer Andrew Lazar.
- 10/23/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Inside Man writer Russell Gewirtz and the TV arm of Imagine Entertainment, which produced the hit movie, have teamed for The Fixer, a drama project that has landed at ABC with a premium script commitment.
The one-hour, from 20th Century Fox TV and studio-based Imagine TV, centers on a female PR executive who is wired into the highest levels of power in New York and works as a fixer, discreetly solving problems for the city's business, political and media elite.
"What she does is much more complicated than PR, or, as she calls it, getting your client to wear the right color lipstick," Gewirtz said. "PR in her case stands for private relations."
The character is not unlike Madeleine White of Inside Man, played in the movie by Jodie Foster. It is an expansion into the research Gewirtz did for the creation of that character.
"It's not a continuation of the story in 'Inside Man, ' " Gewirtz said of Fixer. "Jodie's character is not fleshed out, you don't know anything about her."...
The one-hour, from 20th Century Fox TV and studio-based Imagine TV, centers on a female PR executive who is wired into the highest levels of power in New York and works as a fixer, discreetly solving problems for the city's business, political and media elite.
"What she does is much more complicated than PR, or, as she calls it, getting your client to wear the right color lipstick," Gewirtz said. "PR in her case stands for private relations."
The character is not unlike Madeleine White of Inside Man, played in the movie by Jodie Foster. It is an expansion into the research Gewirtz did for the creation of that character.
"It's not a continuation of the story in 'Inside Man, ' " Gewirtz said of Fixer. "Jodie's character is not fleshed out, you don't know anything about her."...
- 8/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Overture Films has picked up all North American rights to Righteous Kill, a $60 million thriller starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as two detectives tracking a serial killer.
Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is in final negotiations to co-star as a drug dealer who helps the detectives with their investigation. Director Jon Avnet is set to begin principal photography in Bridgeport, Conn., and New York in September.
Kill marks the biggest acquisition for Overture since CEO Chris McGurk and COO Danny Rosett founded the studio in the fall and carries a price tag near the top of the planned budget range for its inaugural slate. Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man, Labyrinth) is writing the screenplay, which has De Niro and Pacino onscreen together for nearly the entire film. The two longtime friends shared no screen time in 1974's The Godfather: Part II and only one scene in 1995's Heat.
A Millenium Films production, Kill is being produced by Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, Lati Grobman, Randall Emmett, Rob Cowan and Avnet.
Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is in final negotiations to co-star as a drug dealer who helps the detectives with their investigation. Director Jon Avnet is set to begin principal photography in Bridgeport, Conn., and New York in September.
Kill marks the biggest acquisition for Overture since CEO Chris McGurk and COO Danny Rosett founded the studio in the fall and carries a price tag near the top of the planned budget range for its inaugural slate. Russell Gewirtz (Inside Man, Labyrinth) is writing the screenplay, which has De Niro and Pacino onscreen together for nearly the entire film. The two longtime friends shared no screen time in 1974's The Godfather: Part II and only one scene in 1995's Heat.
A Millenium Films production, Kill is being produced by Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, Lati Grobman, Randall Emmett, Rob Cowan and Avnet.
- 6/26/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Complete coverage from Cannes: News, reviews, video and more
CANNES -- Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are teaming to play New York police investigators hunting a serial killer in Jon Avnet's $60 million thriller "Righteous Kill" for Avi Lerner's Millennium Films and Emmett/Furla Films.
The independently financed feature written by Russell Gewirtz ("Inside Man", the upcoming "Labyrinth") unites the longtime friends on screen for some 90% of the film -- unlike their one shared scene in Michael Mann's "Heat" and no shared scenes in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part II".
"You see those two icons onscreen together for virtually the whole film," Lerner said at his Festival de Cannes offices, "(something) never seen before in the history of cinema. It's one of the hardest deals we've ever done to put these two actors together."
Lerner and Randall Emmett closed negotiations on the CAA-packaged project late Thursday morning during the festival.
Emmett said the actors had long been seeking a project on which to work together and that he acted as a catalyst to get the duo together.
CANNES -- Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are teaming to play New York police investigators hunting a serial killer in Jon Avnet's $60 million thriller "Righteous Kill" for Avi Lerner's Millennium Films and Emmett/Furla Films.
The independently financed feature written by Russell Gewirtz ("Inside Man", the upcoming "Labyrinth") unites the longtime friends on screen for some 90% of the film -- unlike their one shared scene in Michael Mann's "Heat" and no shared scenes in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part II".
"You see those two icons onscreen together for virtually the whole film," Lerner said at his Festival de Cannes offices, "(something) never seen before in the history of cinema. It's one of the hardest deals we've ever done to put these two actors together."
Lerner and Randall Emmett closed negotiations on the CAA-packaged project late Thursday morning during the festival.
Emmett said the actors had long been seeking a project on which to work together and that he acted as a catalyst to get the duo together.
- 5/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The star-laden Inside Man, from Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, looks to be the top film at the boxoffice this weekend. Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen headline the dramatic crime thriller, with directing chores shouldered by Spike Lee from a script by Russell Gewirtz. Imagine's Brian Grazer produced the New York-set movie. Inside is a heist film that takes place in and around a bank on Wall Street. The story revolves around a hostage situation that turns into a cat-and-mouse game between the head bank robber and a veteran police detective, with twists and turns throughout. The R-rated picture opens the widest among this weekend's three new wide releases, bowing in 2,817 venues, and has garnered mostly positive reviews.
- 3/24/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The star-laden Inside Man, from Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, looks to be the top film at the boxoffice this weekend. Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen headline the dramatic crime thriller, with directing chores shouldered by Spike Lee from a script by Russell Gewirtz. Imagine's Brian Grazer produced the New York-set movie. Inside is a heist film that takes place in and around a bank on Wall Street. The story revolves around a hostage situation that turns into a cat-and-mouse game between the head bank robber and a veteran police detective, with twists and turns throughout. The R-rated picture opens the widest among this weekend's three new wide releases, bowing in 2,817 venues, and has garnered mostly positive reviews.
- 3/23/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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