Caffeinated Clint
– Our report from the London set of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is live.
– Film distributors and exhibitors in Argentina have suspended the premieres of “Hannah Montana: The Movie” and other big releases set for Thursday as an outbreak of AH1N1 swine flu hits attendance during winter break, the year’s biggest season. (Variety)
– President José Ramos-Horta of East Timor, has announced that the president will fly to Australia to attend the world premiere of ”Balibo” in Melbourne on Friday 24 July. ”Balibo”, directed by Robert Connolly and starring Anthony LaPaglia, tells the story of six Australian journalists who were murdered in East Timor by Indonesian soldiers in the lead up to the 1975 invasion.
– The “Crow” remake will feature new characters and a new storyline, according to Mania
– Peter Krause (TVs “Six Feet Under”) has joined the cast of CBS Films adaptation of the Alex Flinn fantasy novel, “Beastly”. (Variety)
– David Tennant (“Dr Who”) and musician Sarah Hardling have joined the cast of “St. Trinian’s II: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold.” (Variety)
– Scribe Josh Bycel will help perform surgery on ABC’s “Scrubs,” signing on as the show’s new executive producer. The next season of the show will be set in a medical school where Donald Faison’s Turk and John C. McGinley’s Dr. Cox will be teaching. (Variety)
– Andrea Bowen is moving back to “Desperate Housewives”. After she was mostly out of the picture last season off to college, Susan Mayer’s daughter Julie will be back in full force in the upcoming sixth season. (The Hollywood Reporter)
– The long-gestating remake of “The Gate” has finally got up, according to Bloody Disgusting. The Alex Winter-directed redo shoots at MMC Studios in Cologne later this Summer.
– Lee Pace (TVs “Pushing Daisies”) and Judy Greer (“27 Dresses”) are rumoured to be up for roles in the “Marmaduke” movie.- According to Shock Til You Drop, Fox is developing a direct-to-dvd sequel to “Mirrors”. It’s expected to release sometime next year.
– Hoyts Distribution has announced that production on ”2012-ish The Day the Earth Bent Over”, a spoof of disaster flicks like “Armageddon”, has been put on hold. The film was originally due for release this year.
– Michael Jackson has reentered the top 40 singles charts in Australia! Some of the late musician’s hits, including “Thriller” and “Billie Jean”, have made a smashing return to the Top Ten. You can view the ARIA Chart here. Meanwhile, you can view pics from today’s memorial service here.
– A sequel to the 2009 comedy “Let the Game Begin”, starring Thomas Ian Nicholas and Stephen Baldwin, is in the works. Imaginatively titled “Let Her Game Begin”, the rom-com takes the female point of view this time ’round.
– The new live-action “Scooby Doo!” film, “Scooby Doo! – The Mystery Begins”, will be released on DVD downunder on September 23, according to the EzyDVD website.
– “Star Trek” star Simon Pegg feels pretty confident in saying that the sequel isn’t too far away. ”I know the writers are busy thinking about it. I don’t really know anything about the story, or if I’m in a bigger role, but I’d imagine we’ll be back this time next year. That’s not official, but I reckon it’s probably about 18 months away from being in the cinema.” (Reelz Channel)
– Rupert Sanders is in negotiations to direct “The Low Dweller,” the dark ex-con drama that Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Scott’s Scott Free Prods. are producing for Relativity Media. The pic centers on a Midwestern man who gets out of prison only to be haunted and pursued by a figure from his past. (The Hollywood Reporter)
– Yet another sequel to the Neve Campbell/Denise Richards/Matt Dillon steamer “Wild Things” is in the works. This one – presumably a prequel – is titled “Wild Things, The Birthright”.
– And on a final note, you’re going to notice a few changes to Moviehole in the next week or so. Bare with us whilst we work on the new-fangled stuff (and yes, that’s why there hasn’t been a Caffeinated Clint or Mailbag in the past week or two).
Film Recommendation of the Day
“Jerry Maguire” (1996) – Such a wonderful flick – I expect no less from Cameron Crowe (my personal favourite filmmaker – I can’t get enough of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, “Almost Famous”, “Singles” & “Say Anything”) but was never a fan of Tom Cruise (well, a fan of his films – but not his performances) until this. The man really surprised me here. He had it going on. He really should do more comedies – and dare I say, ones with kids. And Renee Zellweger is absolutely adorable. God, she’s a sweetie in this…. what happened to her!? Together with pint-sized Jonathan Lipnicki, Cruise and Zellweger deliver some of the funniest, but also sweetest and most meaningful dialogue this side of a Sermon. If you’ve never seen it, it’s time to check out “Jerry Maguire”.
