SEPTEMBER, 23


WOMAN OF GOD

Historical

The Cast: Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Daniel Craig, Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm, Jeremy Irons, Tom Wilkinson

The Director: Ridley Scott
The Screenwriter: James Bradley

The Plot:

It is the 9th Century. Joan, 10 years old, is the daughter of a village priest in Ingelheim am Rhein, in the saxon territory. Her father (Tom Wilkinson) had always hoped for a son and was disappointed at the birth of a girl. Her mother died when she was 3 and her father never loved her because of being a girl. She had a lonely childhood.

Joan grows up being a very intelligent girl. She learnt to read by herself. For years, she intensively studied the Bible, as it was the only possible read at her home.

When she is 14, her father dies of a heart attack. Alone in the world, she decides to travel to the city of Dorstadt. There, she visits the teacher of the cathedral school of the city, a wise man named Arhus. She tells him she wants to be one of her pupils. The teacher tells her that he does not accept girls as pupils. But when Joan proves him to be far more capable of dealing with the scriptures than any of his other students, Arhus accepts her as pupil.

The cathedral school’s students usually live at the house of local nobles as servants. Joan is sent to live with Count Gerold (L. Neeson). Soon, Gerold falls in love with her. One year later, Gerold has to go to war in the army of Lothair (J. Pryce) and his wife Richilde takes advantage of his absence to try to arrange a marriage for Joan and thus get rid of her rival for Gerold's affections. However, the Normans break into the city during the wedding ceremony and carry out a bloody massacre, which Joan (C. Blanchett) just about survives.

Due to her experience of the massacre, where she realizes the risks and weakness than being a woman means, Joan has a wild idea: she decides to assume a male disguise, cutting her hair short, binding her breasts and entering a monastery of Benedictines as "Brother Johannes Anglicus".

She stays there for some years intensively studying medicine. She becomes an adult there, constantly afraid of being exposed as a woman. Joan impresses the other monks with her knowledge of medicine, managing to save many people during a plague of a dangerous infectious disease. She becomes them a very much respected expert on medicine.

After those years at the monastery, Joan decides to go on a pilgrimage to Rome and use her medical knowledge to become a "Medicus" there. In Rome she wins a great reputation by curing Pope Sergius II (I. Holm) of gout with her herbal remedies and he makes her his personal physician. For a couple of years, Joan stays besides Pope Sergius II and becomes a respected member of the Pope’s circle of influence. She is very much surprised when one day the Pope tells her that he knows she is a woman. She thinks she will be punished by the Pope but, instead of that, he tells her that he will keep the secret as he respects so much her intelligence and medical talent.

While living at the papal palace, Joan falls in love with Ambassador Lambert of Saxony (D.Craig). One day, she reveals him her true identity as woman and they become secret lovers.

Two years after Joan’s arrival to Rome, the Pope threatens Lothair I for not confirming his election and Lothair marches to Rome with his army to submit to Sergius. Gerold also comes to town in the army's wake. Gerold recognizes Joan and she begs him not to reveal she is a woman. Gerold promises he won’t if she accepts to become his lover. She does.

For some time, Joan will have two lovers: Ambassador Lambert, the man she really loves, and Gerold, a man she does not love but protects her from all the political conspiracies going on in the papal palace.

Lothair's ally, a bishop named Anastasius (J. Irons), successfully plots to murder Sergius and the people gather to elect a successor by acclamation.

Everybody expects the mean Anastasius to be elected, although everybody in Rome knows that he was behind the Pope’s murder. Gerold talks with King Lothiar and tells him that people won’t accept Anastasius as the new Pope. Somebody else should be elected. Somebody familiar with the intrigues of Rome but not involved in any of the latest conspiracies. Somebody who will be loyal to Lothiar but not as conflictive as Anastasius. Gerold gives the King a name: the respected and prestigious ‘medicus’ Johannes Anglicus. Although he’s been his ally, the King does not trust Anastasius much so he likes Gerold’s idea.

That way, to Joan’s surprise, King Lothiar anounces that she will be the new Pope.

She is scared to death but Gerold encourages her to face the situation for the good of Christendom. Joan hates Anastasius for being the murderer of Pope Sergius so she accepts just to avoid Anastasius becoming Pope.

Joan is sworn in as Pope of Rome in a solemn and beautiful ceremony.

The day after the ceremony, Ambassador Lambert visits her at the papal palace. He has always been a honest man. He tells her he just cannot go on with their secret relationship anymore. He does not want to go through something as crazy and sick as being the lover of the Pope. Lambert tells her he is leaving Rome. That breaks Joan’s heart and she feels lonelier than ever in the big and empty rooms of the palace.

Joan appoints Gerold as head of the papal army. They go on with their relationship. Although she feels affection for him, Joan never gets to love him. Gerold is the only cure she has for her loneliness. He is an ambitious but still good man and Joan feels safe when being with him.

During her pontificate, Joan presents herself as a charitable pope, helping women and children. People love her as Pope.

Problems arise when Joan discovers she has fallen pregnant. Now, her reign is in grave danger if people discover the truth about her.

Gerold tells her to wait until next Easter. When the day of the birth comes, they will fake her death and he will help her to run away from Rome. He promises her they will begin a new life together with their baby far from Rome.

So Joan tries to hold off the birth until after Easter.

Every Easter, the Pope heads a big procession across the streets of Rome. That year, during the Easter procession, conspirators led by their enemy Anastasius, attack and kill Gerold.

When Joan is informed about Gerold’s death while heading the procession, she collapses and goes into labor. Everybody sees what’s happenning.

The crowd goes mad when they realize the Pope is in fact a woman. And she is giving birth in front of them!

Some people begin to throw stones. Then, more people do the same. Finally, the crowd goes out of control. And Joan is stoned to death…

The film ends with Joan lying death on the floor at the entrance of a Roman church, surrounded by stones and with her papal clothes stained bleeding…

An off voice tells how the Catholic Church decided to delete her name from the list of Popes and any reference to her story disappeared from any book or chronicle.

Centuries later, the existence of a female Pope was officially considered nothing more than a legend…


Stark’s Comment:
Historical movies is another one of those genres that usually have a hard time at box office in CMP. I hope we get to know how to make this one work because I honestly think it’s a good one that deserves not being a flop.

Behind The Scenes:
-Cate Blanchett and Liam Neeson made their debut together in CMP in another historical movie: ‘The Bridge’. The film was a box office’s disaster.
-Cate Blanchett has worked before with Jeremy Irons in ‘Wild Cards: Battle Of The Rox’.
-Ridley Scott already directed Daniel Craig in ‘The Holders’ and Jeremy Irons in ‘The Gunpowder Plot’.
-Initially, Jeremy Irons was going to play Joan’s lover, Gerold, but later Bradley and Scott decided that he would play the villain, Anastasius, and Neeson would play Gerold.
-Ian Holm won the Best Villain GMA working with Bradley in ‘Pompeii’.
-Past Season, Ridley Scott and his brother Tony won the honorary Full Moon Award.
-The last two winners of the Best Picture GMA were written by James Bradley: ‘The Show’ and ‘Eye Of The Needle’.

JONESTOWN

Drama

The Cast: Josh Brolin, David Strathairn, Val Kilmer, Scott Speedman, Tony Goldwin, Michael Stuhlbarg, Don Johnson, Elizabeth Mitchell

The Director: Oliver Stone
The Screenwriter: D.R. Cobb

The Plot:

On November 14, 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan (d. Strathairn) and a group of government officials and media representatives took a plane down to Georgetown, Guyana to visit and investigate the goings-on at Jonestown, the community formed by the Peoples Temple and their leader Jim Jones (J. Brolin). For the next three days, the Peoples Temple's lawyers, Mark Lane (M. Stuhlbarg) and Charles Garry (D. Johnson), refuse Ryan's group access to Jonestown. On November 17th, Ryan informs the lawyers that they are going to be there that afternoon, regardless of Jones' schedule or willingness.

At 2:30 pm, Ryan's group flew in to the Port Kaituma airstrip, 6 miles from Jonestown, along with the lawyers. When the group arrives at the gates, Jones is just finishing the last rehearsal on how to convince Ryan's group that everyone was happy and in good spirits. Jones initially only allows Ryan and three others into Jonestown, with the rest not gaining access until after sunset.

That night, the Ryan delegation attended a reception in the pavilion. While the party received a warm welcome, Jones goes on a tirade about government conspiracies and martyrdom and decries attacks by the press. Two Peoples Temple members, Vernon and Monica, pass a note to reporter Don Harris (T.Goldwin), mistaking him for Ryan, reading "Dear Congressman, Please help us get out of Jonestown."

Ryan and three members of his group spend the night in Jonestown. The other members of the Ryan delegation, including the members of the press, are told that they have to find other accommodations, so they spend the night at a small cafe near the airstrip.

Early in the morning on November 18th, eleven Temple members walk out of the colony toward train tracks to hop a train to Matthew's Ridge. When the press arrives at Jonestown that day, Jim Jones' wife Marceline (E.Mitchell) gives them a tour of the settlement. That afternoon, two families come to the Ryan delegation and ask to be escorted out of Jonestown. Jones decides to grant the two families permission to leave along with Vernon and Monica. Under the pavilion, Don Harris hands Jones the note written by Vernon. Jones tells the reporters that Vernon, like others who left the community, will do everything they can to lie and destroy Jonestown.

Shortly before the truck leaves for the airstrip, Temple member Larry Layton (S.Speedman), demands to be part of the group. While most of the Ryan delegation departs Jonestown on a large dump truck back to the airstrip, Congressman Ryan and Richard Dwyer (V.Kilmer), a representative of the U.S. Guyana Embassy, stay behind to process any additional defectors. Shortly after the truck departs, Temple member Don Sly grabs Ryan while wielding a knife. Ryan isn't hurt, but Dwyer strongly recommends that Ryan leave Jonestown. Ryan does and promises to return at a later time to address the dispute and states that he would describe Jonestown in basically good terms. The truck stops when they receive word of the attack on Ryan. They return to Jonestown to get Ryan and head to the airstrip.

With the group having grown in size, they have to charter an extra plane, a six-passenger Cessna. Larry Layton is a passenger on the Cessna, which takes off first. When the Cessna has taxied over to the far end of the airstrip, Layton produces a gun and begins shooting the passengers. Monica and Vernon are both wounded. Dale Parks, one of the defectors, manages to disarm Layton.

At the time, passengers are beginning to board the other, bigger plane. A tractor with a trailer attached driven by members of the Temple's Red Brigade security squad approaches the plane. When the tractor gets within 30 feet of the plane, the Red Brigade opens fire on the aircraft while two Red Brigade members circle the plane on foot. Congressman Ryan, Don Harris and three others are killed. Nine others are injured in or around the plane. The Cessna's pilot, along with the copilot of the other plane, flee in the Cessna to Georgetown.

Back at Jonestown, Jim Jones announces a meeting. Jones informs the lawyers, Lane and Garry, not to attend the meeting as tension against them is high. They are escorted to a guest house several hundred feet from the pavilion. Before the meeting, aides prepare a metal vat filled with poisoned Flavor Aid. When the assembly gathers, Jones tells them that one the people on the planes is going to shoot the pilot, that the plane will crash down in the jungle, and that they better not have any children left when it's over, because they'll be killed. Jones urges the Temple members to commit suicide. The airstrip shooters then return to Jonestown and inform Jones that the congressman is dead. Jones announces the news of Ryan's death to the assembly.

Lane and Garry become frightened when a group of men run into a nearby building and take out rifles and ammunition. Two of the men go towards the lawyers with their rifles semi-ready. They announce to the lawyers that they are going to die for the battle against fascism and racism. Lane tells the men that they will write down the history of what the Temple believes in. The men like the idea. Lane then asks the men for a way out of Jonestown. One of the men points towards the jungle and towards Port Kaituma. The attorneys then run into the jungle.

The group begins to drink the poison. Parents poison the children. The poison causes death in five minutes. After drinking the poison, the people are then escorted down a wooden walkway leading away from the Pavilion. Those unwilling to drink the poison are shot. Jones waits for the poison to take effect in everyone before shooting himself in the head.

Later that day, three Temple members who were out on assignment arrive back in Jonestown and see the aftermath. They find five people who managed to survive: a hearing impaired man missed the announcement and pretended to be dead, one man slept through it, one man hid under a building, one man ran into the jungle, and a little boy hid in a nearby tree. Jonestown is now shown deserted and little remains of the settlement outside of an abandoned truck and an old oil tank turned on its side.


Stark’s Comment:
Second quality release of the week. I expect audiences to be very much impressed by this true story. At least, I was.

Behind The Scenes:
-Oliver Stone has only directed two movies before for CMP: ‘The Company’ and ‘Haight-Ashbury’. He also produced Matt Kubrick’s acclaimed war drama ‘Home’.
-Josh Brolin could be seen this Season in ‘The Goonies II’.
-David Strathairn won the Best Actor GMA for his previous work for the Studio: ‘Otto Rahn’.

BORN AGAIN

Drama

The Cast: Tobey Maguire, Preston Bailey, Ellen Page, Jeffrey Wright, Cayden Boyd, Michael Caine, Jada Pinkett Smith, Patricia Clarkson, Allison Collins, Bailee Madison

The Director and Screenwriter: Josh Collins
The Producer: Grand Island Movies

The Plot:

As the film starts, a quote on the screen appears:

"I did not begin when I was born, nor when I was conceived. I have been growing, developing, through incalculable myriads of millenniums. All my previous selves have their voices, echoes, promptings in me. Oh, incalculable times again shall I be born." —Jack London

1) A man (TOBEY MAGUIRE) in his early 30s wakes up in the morning. He goes outside to pick up the newspaper. On his way inside, he picks a petal from a rose. He takes a shoebox out of his closet and places the rose petal in the box. We see there are several other rose petals in the box. After he puts the box away, he goes into the kitchen to have his breakfast and read the paper. One of the headlines reads: Bomber on death row after 32 year jail sentence. After breakfast he goes outside to get to work. Before he gets in his car, he has a small chat with a neighbor walking her dog. The man affectionately pets the dog while talking with the woman. After the morning chat, the man gets in his car and drives to work. He is late to a meeting and his boss reprimands him for it. After work he drives to a nearby restaurant and eats dinner. He is next drinking beer in a strip club alone. Nobody seems to be paying all that much attention to him. On his way out to his car, he is stumbling drunk. He gets in, starts driving and crashes into a wall.

2) A child (PRESTON BAILEY) laying in a hospital bed opens his eyes. He is exhausted, has tubes coming in and out of his body. The camera zooms out and we see he has been feeling the effects of his chemotherapy. He sees his family, his dad, sister (ALLISON COLLINS) and mother (PATRICIA CLARKSON) standing around his bed. All of them look sad and helpless. His father hides his face in his hand and steps outside; too upset to even want to see his son like this anymore. His sister steps up to him at the bed. He smiles at her, though still sounding very weak as he talks, "Hey Goopers. You take good care of mom and dad, ok?" she nods, "I think you may want to have one last look at this.." His sister takes a rose petal out of her pocket, "I picked it outside of the hospital. Figured you may want to put one more in the box." The boy takes it and stares at it for a few seconds, then gives it back to his sister, "Why don't you keep it this time?" His sister gives a half-smile, takes the petal and leaves the room before she breaks down herself.

The child stares at his mother for a long time. She takes his hand and holds it. "Mom, it is my last wish that you don't let this destroy you. I was always happy with you, Dad and Lucy; don't ever forget that." His mother attempts to smile, "I know, and I love you so very much. I tried, we all tried to fight this. To get you see your high school graduation, or at least see your 12th birthday." she crawls onto the hospital bed and holds him.

"Remember that trip we all took to Florida to get away from the cold weather? Lucy was only a baby and you were in kindergarten. You fought with me about wanting to swim far out into the ocean. You always wanted to be more grown up than you actually were. Accepting this...it's the most grown up decision you have ever made." his mother tells him. The boy smiles and closes his eyes.

3) A young woman (ELLEN PAGE) about 17/18 opens her eyes, she is having sex with her boyfriend in the back of his car parked behind a gas station. The nudity is all implied and they reach the climax. He lays with her and they have some small talk. When her boyfriend says, "let's get married." Out of the blue, she doesn't say yes. It upsets him a little and she doesn't think she loves him like that. She talks about the dreams she wants to fulfill before she even thinks about marriage. They have a heated fight, he calls her a slut and says she was a horrible fuck, she gets out of the car and starts walking home. On the walk back home, she picks a rose-petal and carries it in her hand. From behind her at the very gas station she left, she hears people screaming, followed by gunshots. She gets nervous and starts walking faster. A car skids out of the parking lot, driving extremely fast. The armed robber's getaway car catches up to her and hits her; ironically, it was her boyfriend's car. The getaway car continues to drive without even stopping, the girl slowly loses grip of her life. Her hand opens up, revealing the rose petal in her hand. She closes her eyes.

4) A middle aged man (JEFFREY WRIGHT) is sitting next to his wife (JADA PINKETT SMITH) on an airplane. They have a discussion about their marital problems and about how she is leaving him. He tries his hardest to try to convince her, trying to remind her of the trip they've just taken and how fun it was. She lies to him about the fun she actually had and says it was a desperate pathetic attempt on his part to relight the spark in their marriage. That's when he draws the line and fights back with her. He opens his carry on luggage and the camera sees a rose petal sticking out of the pocket of his bag. He pulls out a book and opens it, but continues to yell at his wife. Things eventually begin to go wrong on the airplane. It begins to experience heavy turbulence. Passengers are panicked. The plane begins to fall. The arguing couple are both scared, but just as the plane is about the crash, they accept their fate and hold hands. The plane crashes in water.

5) A teenage boy (CAYDEN BOYD) wakes up in the morning and comes downstairs ready to go to school with his backpack around his shoulder. His dad asks if he needs a ride and the boy replies, "No thanks, I hate cars." Before he walks out the door, he stops and sits down next to the family pet dog, Sammy. "Goodbye, Sammy." The boy says with a tear in his eye. On the walk up to school, a group of high school jocks drive past the boy and throw a bottle at him, hitting him. The jocks laugh and the car continues on down the road. When he gets to school, it's the same routine. Being laughed at my kids passing through the halls, being shoved into walls. He stops at his locker and there are a pile of rose petals inside of it. Once the boy makes it to lunch, he sits at his table, alone, staring off into the distance. He has made his final decision, he jumps up, runs at the nearest kid in the lunch room and slits the kid's throat! Once the other students realize what happened, the boy holds up a gun and starts firing! Students race out of the lunch room in panic. The boy slowly proceeds through the school, shooting as many people who get in his way as possible. He steps out to the front of the school, eyes full of anger and tears. The police are heard shouting to drop his weapon! The boy holds the gun up to his mouth, police shout to not do it, he pulls the trigger.

6) A large family are having an outdoor reunion picnic by the lake. We see Barney, an old Australian Shepherd slowly walking around, sniffing everything and getting random pats on the head. He plays with the children and adults, barking playfully, but still old age has caught up to him so he can't play for long. Cars drive by on the nearby road or airplanes pass through the sky and it frightens him enough to bark at them. It's not the most sunniest and warmest day to be having a family reunion, but they try to make the best of it. Barney wanders around in nearby woods sniffing the ground. He comes across a rose petal lying on the ground. He takes the rose petal in his mouth and carries it back to the family. One of the people ask, "Barney, what do you have?" and the mother of his family answers, "Oh he collects rose petals and buries them into the ground. I have no clue why, he's done it since he was a puppy." Barney finds a spot nearby and buries the rose petal. After doing so, one of the youngest members of the family; Sara, a 3 and a half year old girl wants to play with Barney down by the lake. While playing, Sara accidentally slips into the cold water. Barney barks at her, but she continues to panic. Barney jumps into the lake and grabs Sara's shirt, dragging her back onto land. The rest of the family have since realized what happened and go to comfort both Sara and Barney. Barney lays his head down. The shock of the cold water, his old age and the stress of saving the little girl costs Barney his life. He closes his eyes.

7) An old man (MICHAEL CAINE) is in a cemetery, staring at the grave of his deceased wife. His granddaughter (BAILEE MADISON) is with him. The granddaughter asks about her grandmother, what she was like. Then she asks questions about death and what he believes happens to us when we die. The old man is kindhearted and patient, answering all of his granddaughter's questions. He talks about his belief in death: that we don't really actually die and that we are basically reincarnated in several different forms. On the way out of the cemetery, the old man picks a petal from a rose and puts it in his pocket. His granddaughter asks why and the old man simply answers, "I don't know. It's just something I've always done." On the walk back home, the girl asks more questions about why grandpa doesn't like cars and he simply replies, "They've always just scared me." They get home and his granddaughter goes off to play while he watches the political talk shows on TV. A few hours later, the old man's daughter stops by to pick up her daughter, thanking her dad for watching her while she was at work. She asks, "Are you going to be alright?" and he smiles, "Of course. What could possibly go wrong?"

He is shown eating a sandwich for dinner, then taking a bath. He walks into his bedroom and takes the rose petal out of the pocket of the pants he was wearing earlier(now piled up on his bed) and puts the rose petal in a shoebox in his closet. There are several other rose petals in the shoebox. He puts the box away and the phone rings from downstairs. He starts going downstairs to answer it, but he loses his footing and falls down the stairs. The phone continues to ring as he slowly loses consciousness and closes his eyes.

A newborn baby opens its eyes, the baby's mother is holding it and the father is sitting next to the bed. Both of them very happy and proud. "Welcome to the world, sweetie." The mother says to the baby. The father stands up and plants a kiss on the baby's forehead. The father is holding a bouquet of roses. The baby grabs at the roses and pulls a pedal off.

BLACK SCREEN AND END CREDITS


Stark’s Comment:
And third quality release of the week. Definitely, this is not a week looking for big box offices but for prestigious releases.

Behind The Scenes:
-This is the 9th directional job for Josh Collins. He has been nominated once for the Best Director GMA with ‘Hollyweird’.
-Many of the talents involved have worked before with Collins: Tobey Maguire (‘Whatever Happened To Holden Caulfield?’), Cayden Boyd (‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon’), Jeffrey Wright (‘Fireflies In The Jelly-Jars’, ‘Little Miss Dollface’), Michael Caine (‘Salintology’), Bailee Madison (‘Bedtime Stories 2’, ‘Restraint’), Patricia Clarkson (‘Weigh Anchor’), Ellen Page (‘Woodland Creatures’) and his own’s daughter Allison Collins.
-Allison Collins, daughter of Josh Collins, has worked before in two of her father’s films: ‘After The Storm’ and the Best Picture GMA Winner ‘The Rock Star’. She also worked in Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Hell Night’.
-Best Actress GMA Winner Ellen Page has already worked this Season in the blockbuster ‘The Team’.


THE JUNGLE: New screenwriter Yuri Redding will make his debut in CMP next Season with this adaptation of the classic Upton Sinclair’s book. It tells the dramatic story of a family of Lithuanian immigrants in the US during the early-20th century. The film is going to be directed by actor and director Todd Field, making also here his CMP’s debut. And it has a most appealing starring trio: Jim Sturgess, currently working in ‘Assassin’s Creed III’; Emma Watson, currently working in ‘Grow Old With Me’; and Keira Knightley, not seen in CMP since ‘New World II’. Sturgess and Watson already were the starring couple of the acclaimed and awarded love story ‘Snow’ back in Season 16. They won the Best Starring Couple GMA with it.

ASSASSIN’S CREED III: As said, Jim Sturgess is back to this saga together with the rest of the modern Assassins that team up with Colin Farrell to fight the contemporary Templars. Anne Hathaway has finished her work in ‘Stairway To Heaven’ to join on time this production. And Shannyn Sosamon is also back in it. Peter Jackson is directing and producing this movie written by Steve Connors.

SUB-MARINER: The cast of this David Fincher’s superhero movie written by the newbie John Malone will be full of CMP’s debutantes. Among them, we will see Mary Elizabeth Winstead, seen out of CMP in movies like ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’; Marton Csokas, who could be seen in the ‘Lord Of The Rings’ trilogy; and John Noble, seen in movies like ‘The Last Airbender’. Ian Somerhalder is starring the film.

ATLAS SHRUGGED: Dwight Gallo, another new CMP’s screenwriter, is also going to make his debut with a book adaptation. The book chosen by Gallo is this cult novel by Ayn Rand. Hollywood has been trying to adapt this book for decades. Finally, past April was released a big screen adaptation of the book. The movie flopped and it was also eaten alive by critics. But that does not seem to have discouraged Gallo to develop his own version of this complex story. And CMP has accepted the challenge. The first good news about this production is the very appealing names announced to be the director and the lead star of the film: no others than Clint Eastwood, who has directed this Season the western ‘This Far From Heaven’, and who can be considered the star of the moment in CMP after the huge success of ‘Metroid: Prime’: Charlize Theron.

ISLAND OF THE DEAD: This movie about humans and zombies fighting in an island has another one of those casts full of CMP’s debutantes. And most of them come from tv shows. Michael K. Williams, from ‘Boardwalk Empire’; Scott Porter; from ‘Friday Night Lights’; Rhys Coiro, from ‘Entourage’; and Adrianne Palicki, also from ‘Friday Night Lights’ and now working on a ‘Wonder Woman’ tv series (don’t miss about it ‘The Innercircle’ below).

GROW OLD WITH ME: Two times Golden Moon Award winner and a total of four times nominee Emile Hirsh returned to CMP after some time away at the beginning of this Season with the western ‘The Sheriff, Saloon and the Storm’. And it seems like he is here to stay, cause he will also be seen in this romantic story starred by Robert Pattinson and Emma Watson. Nick Cassavetes is directing this film written by Chad Taylor.

TARZAN: Ryan Kwanten returns to CMP after his only previous work for the Studio some Seasons ago playing a supporting role in Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s film ‘WW3’. Jessica Pare follows January Jones and Christina Hendricks as another star from the tv series ‘Mad Men’ making her debut in CMP. Joe Wright is directing this new version of the classic character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs with a screenplay written by D.R.Cobb. Taylor Kitsh plays Tarzan, a lost member of the Clayton family and relative of both Kwanten and Pare.

BAD FAMILY: Green light for this action comedy about gangsters written by Joey Stark. GMA Winner Susan Sarandon, whose last work for the Studio was ‘Pride And Prejudice And Zombies’, plays in it the mother of four siblings that become the most wanted band of criminals in Chicago during the 1920’s. The character is inspired by the legendary ‘Ma’ Baker. Jon Turteltaub, who already worked with Joey Stark in the blockbuster ‘Daughters Of The Dragon 2’, will direct this movie to be released next Season.

AT CROSS PURPOSES: Saoirse Ronan takes one step forward in CMP with this movie playing her first adult character for the Studio, a young prostitute, in this dark action thriller written by Laurence Abernathy and being directed by John Hillcoat. Together with her in the cast are Sarah Shahi, seen before in CMP in ‘The Shield’; and Diego Luna, seen in ‘Savage Streets’ and ‘The Dark Tower’. The English voice artist Jim Dale will be heard as narrator in the movie.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN: Two voices will be heard too in this comedy written by Ben Tyler and directed by Richard Linklater. Hugh Laurie and Michael Clarke Duncan have accepted to make voice-only works in this film starred by Zach Braff, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway.


JAMES BRADLEY – ‘WOMAN OF GOD’

We all know by now that James Bradley is a specialist in two things: winning Golden Moon Awards and creating unforgettable female characters. This week’s release, ‘Woman Of God’, looks as if he has put together again both things. The film tells the story of a strong woman and it smells like one of the big contenders for the next GMA Edition.

1.Why were you interested in telling the story of Pope Joan?

I saw on TV a documentary about the legend of Pope Joan. It is such an interesting story and I instantly thought it could be a great movie. As usual, as soon as I looked for more information at the net, I discovered there have been movies and tv series about the character before. It happens to me all the time! It’s pretty frustrating when you think you have found new material and you suddenly discover that your idea is not that new or original… I have gone through something similar with many of my latest stories, like ‘Eye Of The Needle’ or ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’… Anyway, I decided to go on and tell my own vision of the legend.

2.After writing this movie, do you think that Pope Joan really existed or not?

The honest answer is…. maybe. I found at the net different versions of her legend. What I did is taking what I liked most of each version to build my own story. But it is impossible to reach an undisputable conclusion about the truth or not of the story. True or not, it is a great story to tell. It has it all to be a great historical movie.

3.I am surprised you did not cast Kate Winslet to play the character…

Me too! *laughs* Since the very first minute I considered writing this story Cate Blanchett came to my mind. She was there even before I had written a single word of the screenplay. She is just perfect for the character. She has this mysterious mix of female fragility and a touch of male strength that makes her perfect to play a woman pretending to be a man. But don’t worry, I am sure that I will work with Kate again in the future…

4.The film looks as a solid candidate for the next Golden Moon Awards… Do you expect this one to be your third Best Picture award in a row after ‘The Show’ and ‘Eye Of The Needle’?

You may not believe this, but I am always surprised when my stories get awards. I always fear that people will not have any interest in my stories. In that sense, winning awards is more than nothing a beautiful surprise. I know I usually don’t write movies called to become big box office hits. I am a complete ignorant about videogames or comic books or all that sources that usually are behind the biggest box offices in CMP. I would love to be at the list of the most successful movies but I’m afraid it will never happen. As some other writer said here, I always dream of writing a movie that becomes a huge box office’s success and also an award winner all together in one only movie. But after all these years in CMP, I know both things do not usually go hand by hand.

5.What new stories can we expect from you in the near future?

I have already written this story inspired by the scandal of the tabloid ‘News Of The World’. I like how it has turned out and I’m looking forward to see it developed. Also, I am currently working on a possible sequel of ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’. And I keep considering adapting ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’. It’s another weird book from Seth Grahame-Smith, the author of ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’. But, again, I have got to know that Hollywood is already considering making a movie based on the book. I hate that…


MOST AWARDED MOVIES

This week, CMP releases three movies that might easily become strong candidates for the next Golden Moon Awards. That’s the perfect excuse to begin warming up the next GMA’s Edition coming up in just three weeks. So this week we take a look back at the most awarded CMP’s movies ever…

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY
Steven Spielberg / Joey Stark
Season 13
Awards: 6 / Nominations: 11
After teaming up before to make the two ‘Dr.Jones’ movies and before they met again this Season for ‘The Goonies II’, Spielberg and Joey Stark put up this ambitious story about two young comic authors during the Golden Days of comic based on the awarded book by Michael Chabon. The film didn’t work as expected at box office, but it became the most awarded and the most nominated movie ever at the Golden Moon Awards.
Best Picture (Steven Spielberg, producer), Director (Steven Speilberg), Actor (Emile Hirsh), Supporting Actor (James Franco), Starring Couple (Emile Hirsh & Jamie Bell), Adaptation.

EYE OF THE NEEDLE
James Bradley / James Bradley
Season 17
Awards : 5 / Nominations: 10
James Bradley adapted this Ken Follett’s book about a cold murderer Nazi spy and his passionate relationship with a married woman in an isolated island during World War II. Crimes, espionage and sex were the ingredients of this efficient thriller that became past Season the most supported movie at the Golden Moon Awards.
Best Picture (James Bradley, producer), Supporting Actor (Colin Firth), Screenplay (James Bradley), Villain (Ralph Fiennes), Starring Couple (Ralph Fiennes & Kate Winslet)

A FAREWELL TO ARMS
Martin Scorsese / Chad Taylor
Season 15
Awards: 5 / Nominations: 8
Scorsese directed this adaptation of Hemingway’s classic book written by Chad Taylor. The film tells an epic and tragic love story during World War II. Gary Cooper had starred a previous big screen adaptation of the book and then Rock Hudson starred the next one. This time, it was James Franco who played the soldier in love with the nurse played by Carey Mulligan.
Best Picture, Director (Martin Scorsese), Actress (Carey Mulligan), Screenplay (Chad Taylor), Starring Couple (James Franco & Carey Mulligan)

THE SHOW
Jason Reitman / James Bradley
Season 16
Awards: 5 / Nominations: 8
This very original story told the intrigues and ambitions of politicians, journalists and tv moguls trying to take advantage from the drama of a girl trapped in the depths of a well. This satiric movie, starred by Ryan Reynolds, was the unexpected winner of the 16th Edition. Reitman and Bradley have teamed up again this Season in the successful comedy ‘Cousins’.
Best Picture, Director (Jason Reitman), Supporting Actor (Tom Hanks), Screenplay (James Bradley), Original Concept.

CAROUSEL
Sam Mendes / Ted Froats
Season 4
Awards: 5 / Nominations: 5
Back in Season 4, Ted Froats wrote this adaptation of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical taken to the big screen before in 1956. For so long, the movie stayed as the most awarded movie ever, before the new categories of Best Adaptation and Best Original Concept were created. The peculiarity here is that ‘Carousel’ won 5 awards without winning at the Best Picture and Best Director categories.
Best Actress (Claire Danes), Supporting Actress (Dakota Fanning), Screenplay (Ted Froats), Starring Couple (Jim Carrey & Claire Danes), Cast.

AMERICAN TABLOID
Martin Scorsese / James Bradley
Season 12
Awards: 4 / Nominations: 9
Books adaptations are often behind multi-awarded films. Two talents very familiar with winning awards, Scorsese and Bradley, were the brains behind this adaptation of James Ellroy’s book about politics and mobsters’ conspiracies during the 50s and 60s. A top-notch cast joined them in this quality and interesting film.
Best Picture, Director (Martin Scorsese), Villain (Tom Hanks), Adaptation.

POMPEII
James Cameron / James Bradley
Season 6
Awards: 4 / Nominations: 7
Again, the name of James Bradley is attached to a multi-awarded film. And again it is a book adaptation. This one is based on a book by Robert Harris and tells an action and love story taking place during the eruption of the Vesuvius. A movie critic described this Cameron’s top budget production as ‘Titanic in Ancient Roman times’.
Best Picture (James Cameron, producer), Director (James Cameron), Villain (Ian Holm), Starring Couple (Leonardo DiCaprio & Keira Knightley).

METROPOLIS
Steven Spielberg / Richard Franzwa
Season 14
Awards: 4 / Nominations: 5
Richard Franzwa and Steven Spielberg faced the daring challenge of making a remake of the legendary sci-fi film directed by Fritz Lang back in 1927. And the result was one of the best sci-fi films ever developed by CMP. Cillian Murphy and Natalie Portman starred this epic story that mixed social denounce and romance. Like in ‘The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay’, Spielberg won again two statues as producer and director of the film. And that happened in two consecutive GMA’s Editions.
Best Picture (Steven Spielberg, producer), Director (Steven Spielberg), Supporting Actress (Natalie Portman), Adaptation.


The very classy Cate Blanchett is at this week’s cover of ‘Premiere’ magazine, the only magazine in the world specialized in CMP’s movies. Blanchett stars this week’s release ‘Woman Of God’. Also in this issue, Josh Brolin talks about his new CMP’s movie ‘Jonestwon’ and you can find an interesting article about life after life linked to the release of Josh Collins’ new film, ‘Born Again’.



There’s life for Guillermo Del Toro in CMP after the ending of his ‘Dragonlance’ trilogy. Not exhausted enough after putting up those complex movies, Del Toro has accepted to direct the also complex production of ‘God Of War’, the adaptation of the popular videogame written by Josh Collins. Del Toro seems to be specializing in big fantasy productions in CMP. But he wasn’t the first option to direct the film. Initially, Josh Collins considered Robert Rodriguez. But I’ve got to know that the Studio wasn’t too confident that Rodriguez would be the best choice for this film. So after some conversations between Collins and Harry Stark, they decided that Del Toro should replace him.

Scoundrels Production, the CMP’s affiliate production company created by George Clooney and Brad Pitt, is back on track. After producing three movies – the successful remake of ‘To Catch A Thief’, the artsy but flopped ‘Asterios Polyp’ and the critically acclaimed ‘A Tangled Web’ – the company will be producing new films coming up next Season. Clooney and Pitt won’t necessary be in the cast, as it has happened before. The company wants to focus on low budget but quality dramas mainly.

Steve Connors has confirmed that he has finished the screenplays for the sequels of two of his most successful movies: ‘Fantasy World’ and ‘The Revengers’. Both films were starred by Steve Carell. And Carell will be back in the sequel of ‘Fantasy World’. But he won’t be back in the sequel of ‘The Revengers’. The reason is that Carell played in the first movie his popular character Lieutenant USA, created by John Daws. That provoked a protest from Daws, as Connors had used the character without his permission. To avoid any copyright problems, ‘The Revengers 2’ will be starred again by Eddie Murphy, playing once more the clumsy superhero Ultraman, but Carell won’t co-star the film. By the way, Connors has also stated that he might begin working now on a third installment of the sci-fi series formed by the films ‘Invasion’ and ‘Freedom City’.

And I end up this week with a curiosity. Adrianne Palicki will soon make her CMP’s debut in the upcoming zombies flick ‘Island Of The Dead’. But she is already working on a new ‘Wonder Woman’ tv series. And I want to show you this picture of Palicki playing Wonder Woman – with a… let’s say… arguable costume. I leave you this week with one (easy to answer) question: who do you prefer as Wonder Woman, ‘our’ Cobie Smulders or ‘their’ Adrianne Palicki?