Cinematical

The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival is officially underway, and as always Cinematical is your one-stop-shop for all things TIFF. Our reviews, galleries, interviews and scene coverage will begin to populate the main page soon, but in the meantime we've been sharing some great exclusive clips, images and posters from some of the more talked-about flicks screening in Toronto this year. Below, feast your eyes on a clip from Picasso & Braque Go To The Movies, produced and narrated by none other than Martin Scorsese. The film, from art dealer-producer-director Arne Glimcher (The Mambo Kings) delves deep into the relationship between film and the visual arts, and it features folks like Scorsese, Chuck Close and Julian Schnabel. For more on Picasso and Braque, see the film's official summary over on the TIFF website.

No, Twilight fans -- it's ok! This is good news and it isn't going to result in a delay of the movie. Summit wouldn't break your hearts like that. Even though the clock is ticking, the studio is taking a bit of time to smooth out the movie's kinks. According to MTV, they're going back and filming some extra scenes, months after principle photography wrapped -- a move planned long before Twilight snagged the vacant Harry Potter date.

It isn't because anyone's dissatisfied with the film -- the cast insists the opposite is true. "They liked it so much, they are bringing us back for some encore time - to beef it up," says Peter Facinelli, who you all know better as the vampire Carlisle Cullen. "A little salt and pepper." Taylor Lautner, the head of this whole "Team Jacob" thing, says that rehearsals for the new scenes were "a ton of fun" and that they're just to clarify a few plot points. "I know they've been showing it to some people, and some people go, 'I want to see a little more of this,' or, 'I don't quite understand this,' " he explained.

None of the cast members could reveal what the new scenes were, but you Twilight fans can probably guess from the hints, such as Facinelli's being a flashback. "It gives us a little bit of history of the Cullen family. They are just shooting a couple of different added scenes, and the scene I'm in, I can tell you it's me and Robert Pattinson ... Rosalie and Emmett are in that scene."

The ending is also being tweaked to include Lautner. "I am going to be in the prom scene now, at the very end of the film," he said. "At first we didn't film that, and now some people are saying they want to see a bit more of Jacob, and they want him in the prom scene at the end."

It drives me nuts not to know what any of this means, which means it's time to borrow the book from someone. In the meantime, Twilight fans, discuss these developments among yourselves.

If ever there was a pairing to hipster fan-boys everywhere; it is Michael Cera and Edgar Wright. Think about it, Cera made a name for himself being the awkward hero, and who can write an unlikely hero better than the man who helped write the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy? In an interview with Wizard Universe, Wright got the chance to update the status of his indie-comic feature, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (if you have also been waiting with bated breath for news on his Ant Man adaptation, there are a few tidbits to be had as well). So if you were worried that Pilgrim would fall by the wayside in the light of some of Wright's other projects, fear not, all is well in Pilgrim-land.

The original series was about a young Canadian and wannabe-rock star who falls for an American girl with the memorable name of Ramona V. Flowers (aka, the perfect girl). But in order to win the lady fair, our slacker must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends in hopes of winning a date with his dream girl. Cera plays Pilgrim, the bassist for the terribly titled band, Sex Bob-Omb, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead will star as Ramona. Wright isn't counting on making any more sequels the film as the comic was originally a 6-part series. Instead, Wright told Wizard that, "The script that we've written essentially covers all six. If it was at the level of Harry Potter we might be able to talk about doing six films but in this case our film is very much an adaptation of the entire six."

Above: Rainn Wilson lets his hair down for The Rocker.

Fans of Rainn Wilson's offbeat, hilarious and strangely endearing performance as Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office might expect him to transition into film work with straightforward comedy, and The Rocker confirms that suspicion. However, they might not realize the serious professional motives behind his choice. In the movie, directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Grown Monty), Wilson plays a grown-up dolt named Fish with a scary fixation on classic rock. Abandoned by the band Vesuvius in his teens -- before they became a commercial phenomenon -- Fish spends the next twenty years working deadbeat jobs and wishing things happened differently. Naturally, he gets a second chance: When the opportunity rolls around to drum for his nephew's high school, Fish goes for it. Ageism and slapstick humor ensue.

While not exactly a classic, The Rocker proves Wilson has the charisma to carry a movie. The script could use some polishing, but Wilson manages to play a completely dysfunctional human being without ever becoming an annoyance. It's a testament to his skill as an actor with calculated timing. The humor emerges from the naturalism of his performances, which make you believe in the outlandish characters he portrays. In a conversation with Cinematical recently, Wilson elaborated on his particular strategies as his career advances, reminisced about his days as a New York theater actor, and shed some light on a few upcoming projects.

What if someone took the video game Pac-Man and turned it into an independent live-action, horror-thriller? Well, check out the video above, because that's exactly what these fine folks did on what looks to be a budget of about twenty bucks. This time, however, we're seeing things from the ghosts POV and Pac-Man is the hunter, instead of the hunted. The Pac-Man graphics are on the cheap, and they even cut in scenes from the video game to use as a substitute for at least one kill, but as a whole -- with a solid, heart-pounding score and clever acting -- this thing is definitely worth a watch. Loved the ending!

Whaddya think? CGI feature-length Pac-Man movie in 2011, starring ... who?

Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of kick ass!

The Hobbit: Not long ago Guillermo Del Toro told fans that his next move was to begin work on The Hobbit script very soon. Well guess what? To our complete shock and surprise, the dude actually followed through on all this "writing script nonsense" and -- wait for it -- started working on the script (along with LOTR partners Frank Walsh and Philippa Boyens). YES! And this is, like, the BIGGEST news online today. "NEWSFLASH: Del Toro is on page 12 and he's already introduced 750 new creatures!" I give up ... call me in 12 years when the film is finally complete and ready to hit theaters.

The Dark Knight: You've watched the movie countless times, followed hundreds of viral sites, read thousands of stories on Heath Ledger and why he deserves to square off against Jesus up in heaven for a chance to be God's new (and much more well-liked) son -- so, what's left? Well, if you still haven't overdosed on The Dark Knight and/or are in desperate need of another Batman fix, feel free to feast your eyes on the film's script. Yes, JoBlo managed to snag a copy of the entire thing (read it here) for you to save, print out and do whatever it is you freaks do with stuff like that. Personally, I enjoyed reading it to see where they trimmed and cut and called Wonder Woman a whore. Kidding! Just wanna make sure you're paying attention.

Poltergeist remake: Because in this one she's watching a reality show, gets pulled into the television and subsequently bores herself to death. [Writes down notes for Poltergeist 2 pitch ...] Anyway, THR tells us that Boogeyman writers Juliet Snowden and Stiles "I wonder how many Teen Wolf jokes he got growing up" White will pen the script for the remake of this classic spooky flick. "Too soon!" yelled a nobody movie blogger, but alas it was too late.

What's really going on over at Warner Bros. regarding their superhero properties? Is Justice League still moving forward? Has Christopher Nolan already signed on to direct a third Batman film? Will they attempt a move similar to what Marvel is doing and plot out solid solo flicks before combining worlds? Well, Variety recently spoke with Warners Chief Alan Horn, production prexy Jeff Robinov and Gregory Noveck, senior VP of creative affairs for DC Comics, and they brought back a few answers regarding all this fun stuff.

Firstly, a deal is officially on the table for Chris Nolan to (we assume) co-write and direct a third Batman film, however he hasn't made a decision yet. Horn said, "We have no idea where Chris is going with this. We haven't had any conversations with him about it." Hopefully an announcement on that front will arrive soon. With Justice League, Warners does eventually want to make it, but it definitely seems the early bad buzz from within the fanboy community is what put the breaks on this one.

Originally, it looked as if Warners was going to use JLA to launch solo efforts for a bunch of DC properties. Now, however, we're hearing a different tune. Horn notes they want to turn "the properties into viable movie product in an intelligent way so that we introduce them like planes on a runway. They have to be set up the right way and lined up the right way and all take off one at a time and fly safe and fly straight." So then what does this mean for the future of Justice League ... ?

One of the privileges of being an adult is seeing R rated movies. Well, not me -- I was watching them before I was even in kindergarten, and I suspect most of the Cinematical staff was too. But in general, adulthood brings unrestricted viewing access to copious amounts of sex and violence. Of course, that was back before Hollywood decided that R ratings didn't make enough money, and everything vaguely dark should be slashed to allow a 12 year old a ticket.

The latest flick to be marched to the chopping block is the troubled Punisher: War Zone. Latino Review was told by an insider that the latest fight is over cutting it down to a PG-13 rating. I imagine that this is the battle that saw Lexi Alexander canned, and not a disagreement over the film's soundtrack. (It's much easier to sell her as petty and difficult with that story than one over a rating -- but who knows what's true or not at this point.)

Apparently, Lionsgate isn't even listening to their own buzz, since what had everyone talking was the impressive level of violence in the red band trailer. (I've embedded it below since we never got a chance to post it.) They're likely looking at The Dark Knight and how much money its PG-13 rating made and thinking they can copy its success, despite that their protagonist is known for his semi-automatics and bloody tactics, not his "I'll never kill or use guns" ethics.

Do you really want another PG-13 Punisher? I can't imagine you do. I know most of you are pretty lukewarm on the upcoming non-sequel, but if there was one thing that would get you to see it, wouldn't it have been the table leg through the eye? I've been honest about what was drawing me to the film, but if they neuter it, I'm not even sure Ray Stevenson can lure me. It's being released at Christmas, for heaven's sake. How am I supposed to relax from battling Christmas shopping crowds without gratuitous bloodshed? Come on, Lionsgate. Keep the R.

We're well into August, and here in Austin it's hot and dry and the last thing most of us are thinking about is anything going on next March. But over at SXSW, they're ignoring the dog days of summer and preparing like crazy for next year's interactive, music, and (of course) film festival / conference. The 2009 South By Southwest Film Festival is scheduled for March 13-21, as you can see from the new site for next year's festivities, and you can start submitting your films now for consideration. You've got until December to get your short or feature film to the festival if you're dreaming of seeing your name in lights (or at least your film's title) at the Paramount next year.

A few films are already scheduled to be screened at the 2009 fest: the SXSWclick winners, which were recently announced. The Grand Jury award for the short-film contest went to Peter and Ben, by Pinny Grylls, which also won in the documentary shorts category. Little Pumpkin, directed by Tiffany Bartok, took home the Popularity Contest award. You can watch these films and the winning shorts from all categories on the SXSWclick site. In fact, you can watch all the finalists online if you like. So if you want to pretend it's March in Austin, crank up the air conditioning a bit, sit back in a comfy chair with a beer or milkshake (in tribute to Alamo Drafthouse, a favorite SXSW venue), and enjoy the SXSWclick shorts. Then hike a mile back to your car with Scott Weinberg or Will Goss next to you, scarfing down hot wings from a Sixth Street bar and speculating on how many screeners they can watch that night before they pass out from exhaustion. (Okay, maybe you do have to wait for March for that last experience.)

Ladies, get ready for Jake "Prince of Persia" Gyllenhaal! Just Jared has nailed the first set photos from the highly-anticipated Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, based on the popular video game in which a Prince does ... stuff ... God does he look hot, or what!? Okay, for realz now -- Jake plays a young Prince named Dastan who must team with a feisty and exotic Princess (Gemma Arterton) and stop an evil ruler from destroying the world. Something tells me this is one film where looks will definitely kill. Check out two more photos below, then the rest over at Just Jared. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will hit theaters on May 28, 2010.



And speaking of guys who look good with their shirt off and shoot movies based on video games, 20th Century Fox has put out a few new promotional pics from Max Payne, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. In the film, based on yet another popular video game, Wahlberg stars as a guy whose family was killed and, well, he's out to kick some ass. Kunis plays a hottie assassin out to avenge the death of her sister. Together, these two are the kind of nuts you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley -- but you'd definitely want to meet in a darkened movie theater. Max Payne hits theaters on October 17. Check out the new pics below.



Keanu and a spaceship after the jump ...

Finally, we all have a reason to watch American Gladiators sober! Apparently, the Gladiator known as Titan (aka Mike O'Hearn) was on the Todd n' Tyler radio show this morning in Omaha where he blew the mind of Omaha-ians with word that he's pretty close to landing the lead role in Lionsgate's Conan reboot. Slashfilm picked up the news from a reader, then listened to the show and came back with this quote from Titan (who was supposed to meet with Conan folks this morning): "Today's not even an audition. They're bringing me in today just to sit me down and talk. How about that? It's even better than an audition!"

Additionally, Titan also told Todd n' Tyler that he's got a casting session scheduled for Marvel's Captain America, which means they've got the ball rolling over there. He definitely looks the part, but will Marvel really take a chance on an American Gladiator as the lead in a big summer blockbuster flick? I can't see that happening, but you never know -- word is Titan looks good when he ... makes a fist? (I dunno, I'm reachin' here ...)

What do you think about all this? Personally, I don't mind Titan as Conan, but only if this guy plays the bad guy. On the other hand, the role of Captain America is a bit more precious. Would you fans mind it going to a Gladiator, or do you want someone more recognizable?