Father Geek here in Austin, Texas with Robert Bernocchi in Rome with this edition of our Euro-AICN Report...
Here's some tasty treats for you...
Phantom of the Opera News
Hi,
The big screen version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera is about to start shooting at Pinewood studios next week with a budget of $60million. "icLiverpool" has cast details, (Scottish actor Gerard Butler last seen in Tomb Raider 2 takes the lead role) and locations for the project.
Just Click here for all the details.
Thought you'd be interested,
Regards,
M. Philbin
The Alfie remake...
Hey there,
Paramount Pictures are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds to transform a Liverpool street into a Manhattan location for the film re-make of Alfie starring Jude Law and Mira Sorvino.
The cult classic 1960s Michael Caine hit has been re-written to see Alfie (Law) living in New York and working as a limousine driver.
All kinds of additional info is right here.
All my best,
Julez
Who is the tailor? The Answer is...
ENRICO LO VERSO IS "THE TAILOR"
Enrico Lo Verso, the acclaimed Italian actor ("Stolen Children","L'america", "Farinelli") is "The Tailor", a new film directed by Kurt McCarley, produced by Gigi Campanile and Michael Mc Granahan, "The Tailor" is sweet, sexy, fish out of water story that shoots in Salento, Italy and Los Angeles this fall 2003, for a scheduled released in the US. in summer 2004.
"The Tailor", a comedy/drama written by Sven Dagones and Paulo De Palma, takes place in Southern Italian region of Salento and Los Angeles starring Enrico Lo Verso ("The Way We Laughed", "Farinelli"), in the lead role of Pippo a young apprentice tailor in love with the dream of making it big in Los Angeles. Pippo gets his chance when his fast-talking cousin Anthony "imports" Pipo as an illegal to work cheap for Uncle Bardot the proprietor of a Beverly Hills Tailoring Shop, who's clientele are the rich and famous. On his journey Pippo is haunted by his departed mother and alter ego that challenges his self-confidence and new American morales. With wide-eyed enthusiasm, a run down L.A. apartment, a bus pass and a fifty-dollar advance, Pippo is sent by Uncle Bardot to make custom suits for Mr. Tucci, a corrupt Italian/American businessman (and would-be U.S. Congressman), and he falls head-over-heels in love with his Tiffany, Tucci's beautiful blonde American mistress. Tiffany
, Pipo
and Tucci are caught up in an accidental political blackmail triggered by Carl, Tucci's two-faced campaign manager and Tiffany and her young son now become a liability that Tucci can't afford. Pippo with his old world simple wisdom volunteers to help Tiffany and wins her hard-as-nails heart that is transformed by his warmth and innocence of character. With the impending political election (that Tucci vows to win at all costs) Pippo narrowly dances through a series of adventures to protect the woman he loves that leads the story to a surprising twist taking Pipo back to the place he turned his back on; his little home town in Southern Italy that welcomes him and his new love back with open arms.
Salento is the perfect Location for "The Tailor"; say Adolfo Bartoli, the Director of Photography "Salento has both amazing color and architectural attributes"
The ensemble cast cast will include American and Italian stars. The Tailor will be released in US and International Market.
Last But not least two reviews by our correspondent James Bartlett
Revenger's Tragedy
Director: Alex Cox
Christopher Eccleston, Eddie Izzard, Derek Jacobi, Tony Booth
Selected Release...
109 mins...
The Site!
Based on the play by Thomas Middelton, Revenger's Tragedy is maverick
director Alex Cox's latest shot across the bows. Filmed in Cox's beloved
Liverpool and with all the dialogue in prose (the play was written in the
17th century), it tells the story of Vindici (Christopher Eccleston) who
returns home to get revenge on the Duke (Derek Jacobi) who had poisoned his
wife.
Liverpool is a post-apocalyptic city full of gangs and poverty - unless you
move in the Duke's world. Like a pseudo-fat cat uber-magnate, the Duke owns
everything and his face is everywhere, though that means he has plenty of
enemies, including his hugely popular major rival Lord Antonio (Anthony
Booth), not to mention his feckless and power-hungry sons, of whom the
eldest and heir is Lussurioso (Eddie Izzard).
Vindici smoothes his way into Lussurioso's affections and then into the
Duke's by being a procurer of women and a twister of logic and lies - it
seems that his plan to get bloody revenge is set, but of course, this being
a story written by one of Shakerspeare's collaborators (and even seen at the
time as far too violent and controversial), things aren't as clear-cut as
that.
Cox's hugely visual, pacy and on-the-run direction, backed by some stunning
design and great costumes really give this story of brothers, sisters,
Kings, Queens, incest, sex and death the kind of boost that makes
contemporary versions of such material credible and very satisfactory; it's
a mix of many things, including Julie Taymor's "Titus" and Derek Jarman's
"Jubilee", with part of the sensibility of Peter Greenaway.
Ok, you can see that Cox can be rather right-on and has an axe to grind in
several departments; aping the North v South debate, the public response to
Lady Diana's death and the society we live in today, but what the hell's
wrong with that? The mark of a good play or story is that it can be told
hundreds of years later and still seem relevant; still make sense. Kudos to
Brit-writer-of-the-moment Frank Cottrell Boyce, who has written such a
diverse number of projects that he really is a star on the ascendant (let's
hope he doesn't blow it all when Hollywood comes a calling).
That said, it's always going to be a tough sell and always stagy (all those
asides to the audience), but to see such good performances (Eccleston, great
as ever, Izzard and Jacobi too) eked out of what was doubtless a tiny budget
make you at least have some hope that Brit film making is alive and kicking
somewhere.
American Splendor
Director: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Harvey Pekar
100 mins...
Certificate: UK TBC...
Release: UK TBC
American Splendor is a cult comic book written by Harvey Pekar and drawn
over the years by, amongst others, Robert Crumb. It documents the pretty
miserable and aimless life of Harvey Pekar himself (played here by Paul
Giamatti), a croaky, fat and balding man who has a dull job, some very odd
friends and a messy apartment. Already twice divorced, his life/comic book
stories reflect the oddities of everyday Cleveland life.
It was in the 1980's, long after it had started, that Harvey got his 15
minutes of fame when he appeared on" Late Night With David Letterman" and
went down a storm; then it all began - there was a play of his life and now,
it's a movie too!
This documentary features live action, animation, live footage and
interviews with the real Harvey, his wife Joyce (played here by Hope Davis,
who is shown as a comic book freak, slugabed and "self confessed anaemic")
friends and family and a mix of all of those.
A huge hit at Sundance, this mixed format film really works in a
surprisingly compelling way as you get a real honest sense of Harvey and the
people around him - it proves more interesting than you'd expect bearing in
mind that he is largely unknown and pretty much a depressive.
Giamatti especially has a great handle on the man he is playing and I guess
that for the real Harvey it must have been nothing short of surreal to watch
an actor playing him watching an actor playing him. Harvey seems a loveable
- if troubled - guy and I enjoyed this look at his life.
James Bartlett
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