All the News That’s Fit to Rank: Week of September 4
These are the top movie stories that got the Flickchart staff talking this week. We rank ’em, you read ’em.
1. Cate Blanchett to play Lucille Ball in biopic
Cate Blanchett wouldn’t necessarily have sprung to my mind immediately when thinking of who to cast as Lucille Ball, but it’s worth remembering two things: Blanchett’s marvelous performance as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, which was more an embodiment than an imitation, and the fact that Ball wasn’t really the ditz she played on TV, but one of the most shrewd and savvy businesswomen in the history of film and TV. Ball’s two children will be producing the film, which is slated to be written by Aaron Sorkin, who is now apparently only writing biopics. (via Hollywood Reporter)
![Lucy, Lucy, Lucy!](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-cate_lucy_h_2015_.jpg)
Lucy, Lucy, Lucy!
2. Reykjavik names a street after Darth Vader
Today is Fourth Friday, so of course we have a Star Wars-related story. Not about all the fancy new toys and Star Wars Episode VII news, nah, not for us. Instead, we come to tell you if you move to Reykjavik, Iceland, you can life on a street named after Darth Vader (Svarthöfði or “Black-Head, which is Darth Vader’s name in the Icelandic version of Star Wars). Don’t hold out hope for Han Solo Street, though – apparently due to a naming convention in the district, every street includes “höfði” in its name. (via The AV Club)
!["I am your father - Black-head."](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-vader.jpg)
“I am your father – Black-Head.”
3. Kenneth Branagh tapped to direct Disney’s Artemis Fowl
Disney has been working on bringing to popular children’s book series Artemis Fowl to the screen for a while, but looks like it’s taken a jump in priority and Kenneth Branagh (who helmed this spring’s very successful Cinderella update) is attached to develop the story with playwright Conor MacPherson and direct. The series concerns a wealthy kid who decides to use his prodigious resources and intelligence to…steal a bunch of gold from fairies. He’s not quite a villain, but he’s not really a good guy either. It’s an interesting property with a lot of great side characters, so it’ll be fun to see it on the big screen. (via The AV Club)
![I shall use my infinite powers of wealth and brains for...stealing. Mwahaha.](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-artemis-fowl.jpg)
I shall use my infinite powers of wealth and brains for…stealing. Mwahaha.
4. Lionsgate to bring Borderlands to the big screen
Movies based on video games don’t have a great track record for quality, but there a few in the works (*ahem*Assassin’s Creed*ahem*) that will hopefully break that trend, and Lionsgate is hoping Borderlands is one of them. The Gearbox Software game series are bold, cartoony, and fun shooters with futuristic tech in an old west setting (on the rundown outlaw planet Pandora – no, not that Pandora); if the film captures the game’s irreverent tone, it could be a lot of fun. One note of caution – producer Avi Arad (Spider-Man, Blade) has been attached to several video game adaptations that seem to have fizzled, including Mass Effect and Uncharted, so we’ll see if this makes it to completion. (via The AV Club)
![You think the psychos are bad, wait until you see the mutant midget psychos.](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Borderlands.jpg)
You think the psychos are bad, wait until you see the mutant midget psychos.
5. Uber takes Mad Max Fury Road on the road in Seattle
To celebrate the release of the Mad Mad video game, and the release of Fury Road on Blu-ray, Uber, and Warner Bros. took to the road in Seattle last week with Mad Max-themed cars, giving free rides in the downtown area. The promotion ended on the 31st, but it’s such a cool cross-marketing idea that we had to mention it. (via Entertainment Weekly)
![What a lovely day!](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-mad-max.jpg)
What a lovely day!
6. Josh Gad to play Roger Ebert in Russ and Roger Go Beyond
Before Roger Ebert became the most famous film critic ever, he dabbled in screenwriting, notably for his close friend Russ Meyer on Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. The production of that film is the stuff of Hollywood legend, with actors who didn’t know whether they were in a drama or a comedy, a lawsuit from Valley of the Dolls author Jacqueline Susann, and more craziness. So of course, they’re going to make a movie about it, with Will Ferrell as Meyer and now Josh Gad as Ebert. (via The AV Club)
![Olaf, now as Roger Ebert!](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-Ebert.jpg)
Olaf, now as Roger Ebert!
7. New Oscar producer promises “up close and personal” approach, maybe with two hosts
The premiere event of awards season is the Academy Awards, and yet it also often pulls the most criticism – bloated, boring shows, out of touch with TV audiences wants, etc. They’ve got a new producer this year, David Hill, who comes not from film at all but from sports, and promises to bring is “up close and personal” approach to sports TV to the Oscar show, hoping to really connect audiences with the spectacle on screen. He also promised to bring it in on time and says they’re considering having two hosts instead of one. (via Hollywood Reporter and Variety)
![Let's hope it works out better than last time.](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-Oscars-2011-hosts-James-F-007.jpg)
Let’s hope it works out better than last time.
8. TCM and Women in Film LA plan “Trailblazing Women” programming initiative
Turner Classic Movies has been hitting on all cylinders with interesting and unique programming lately (see our guide to this month’s programming, focusing on five directors making war documentaries during WWII), and in October they’ll be shining the spotlight on trailblazing women in film history, with two nights a week hosted by actress-director Illeana Douglas and female filmmakers and historians like Allison Anders, Amy Heckerling, and Cari Beauchamp. The series will veer far outside of TCM’s normal studio-era time period to show everything from 1900s pioneers to 1990s indies and beyond. Look for a Flickchart guide to the Trailblazing Women programming toward the end of this month. (via Variety)
![Yes, Kathryn Bigelow will be represented.](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-kathryn-bigelow-hurt-locker-528x352.jpg)
Yes, Kathryn Bigelow will be represented.
9. How Netflix’s Beasts of No Nation could change the movie business
Netflix has been shaking up the TV business for several years now, with top-notch series like Orange is the New Black not only winning viewers but getting plenty of Emmy recognition despite their unusual binge-friendly release schedule. Now they’re poised to take on the theatrical movie world, with Cary Fukunaga‘s drama Beasts of No Nation leading the charge – the film will premiere at festivals this fall, then bow day and date in theatres and streaming on Netflix, but only in a few theatres, as the big multiplexes have so far refused to agree to Netflix’s insistence on VOD day-and-date releasing. Lots of interesting thoughts in this editorial, but the one that stands out to me is the idea that Netflix doesn’t really care about box office returns and is aiming to fill a gap in the current theatrical landscape – the kind of mid-budget, non-four-quadrant films that major studios barely make any more. (via Variety)
![Will audiences turn out for movies available on VOD?](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-beasts-of-no-nation-variety-cary-fukunaga-idris-elba-variety.jpg)
Will audiences turn out for movies available on VOD?
10. Steve Carell replaces Bruce Willis in Woody Allen’s upcoming film
We mentioned the impressive cast for Woody Allen‘s next film in this column a few weeks ago, but one of the most interesting members of that cast, Bruce Willis, dropped out soon after, ostensibly due to a prior commitment, but it’s unclear whether that’s the ONLY reason. Instead, we’re going to get Steve Carell in the role, not necessarily the first person I would’ve thought of as a Willis replacement, but then, we don’t know what the part is either. (via Variety)
![Wanna bet this character's neurotic?](/bloghttps://www.flickchart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fc-carell.jpg)
Wanna bet this character’s neurotic?
Top Trailers of the Week
Remember when you went into a music store to buy music? Tower Records was the ultimate music store, and when it closed under financial strain, it was the passing of an age. All Things Must Pass is the story of Tower Records and the people who loved it.
Daniel Radcliffe plays Rockstar Games’ Sam Hauser in The Gamechangers, which focuses on the incredibly successful Grand Theft Auto franchise and its real-life antagonist Jack Thompson (Bill Paxton).
Hot off his Oscar win for The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne goes from Stephen Hawking in that film to playing a transitioning transgender woman in The Danish Girl, from director Tom Hooper.
Justin Kurzel, known for the brutal serial killer drama Snowtown, takes on brutal Shakespeare play Macbeth, with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Not gonna lie, this looks amazing.
https://youtu.be/oyFAn5IaFS0
Twas The Night Before Christmas, and all through the house, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie raise the roof looking for the ultimate Christmas party.