Emily Blunt talks The Adjustment Bureau and The Young Victoria

The Adjustment Bureau which co-stars Matt Damon is loosely based on Philip K. Dick's science fiction short story, Adjustment Team. The film is written and directed by George Nolfi who also wrote The Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean's Twelve. Damon plays David Norris, a congressman who falls fo a ballet dancer named Elise Sellas (Blunt). Their affair is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart. Emily Blunt talked to MTV during a break from shooting in New York City:

"It's like a modern love story, but it's got an ominous sci-fi backdrop to it...It's going to be exciting and disconcerting and strange, which is what I like about [Dick's] work. It's very cool and clever. It's got a really tight script."

"The term soulmates is used so casually, but in this case, in this film, it is true," Blunt explained. "They are sort of destined to be together and they fight fate to be together."

"Matt's thrilled because this time it's me who's been thrust into the month of training, because I play a dancer in it, which is kind of arduous training seeing as I've never bloody danced before. And Matt is actually thrilled that for the first time it's me who has to do that kind of thing and he's got off scot free."

"I really would love to do a movie where I kick ass!" she laughed. "I'm not doing any wire work or anything [in 'Adjustment Bureau'], so I'm bitterly disappointed!"

Blunt also discussed her role as Queen Victoria. She pointed out what we've known for years. All British actresses have to do a period piece:

"You have to don the bonnet at some point, otherwise you're simply not a British actress," she declared to MTV News.

Across the pond, Victoria as a historical figure is known as something of a downer. After all, she spent a decade in self-imposed exile, mourning the death of her hubby Albert. "That was my impression of her – that she was repressed and in mourning and never smiled and waddled around with that dour-faced expression and a hanky on her head," laughed Blunt.

"I loved that no one had seen that side to her – that young, passionate, fiery side," Blunt explained. "I was very surprised by the love story, which really did happen. When I read her diaries, I realized this wasn't just Hollywood sensationalizing this woman's life. It really was a meeting of souls when she met Albert."

...the actress approached Victoria as a woman first and a monarch second. She hopes viewers will do the same. "There are not that many people who know what's it like to be a queen, but I think everyone knows about falling in love for the first time," she said. "Everyone knows about a dysfunctional family. It's a really intimate portrait of her private life and what's it like for a girl who has a job and she feels in way over her head."

The Young Victoria focuses on Victoria's years as a princess, her romance with Albert, and her struggle with royal life after becoming queen at 18. The film though, is more love story than royal thriller. It breezes along from Victoria's pampered beginning to a happily-ever-after ending.

It's a fluffy costume drama, but some of the performances are quite good, including the one from Rupert Friend, whose Prince Albert is the real star of the whole show. Blunt carries the film quite well with a lot of grace and innocence. It difficult to make an audience feel sorry for a princess who has everything, but Blunt pulls it off. It's in her eyes, I think. Mark Strong, who plays the villain, is great as well, but he hovers in the background for too long to be a real threat to anybody.

I suppose it makes more historical sense for the film to be lighter fare - by the time Victoria became queen, monarchs had almost no political power. When the film treads into dark territory, most of that scene is pure fantasy that never took place.

The Young Victoria opens in limited release in the US on December 18 and goes wide a week later.

Who's ready for a Rounders sequel?

According to PokerListings.com (apparently we're getting movie news from them now - who knew?) via Get the Big Picture a sequel to 1998's Rounders is a "realistic possibility" and according to writer David Levien, "ideas are percolating."

Dream on dude, you say? None of the now successful, original actors, could possibly be interested in a pointless sequel? Not according to Matt Damon. Damon, tells the site that "everybody would probably come back." And by everybody he means Edward Norton and director John Dahl.

Okay, I'm starting to sound like an asshole here, but can they just NOT? Since when was Rounders begging for a sequel? I liked Rounders mainly because Norton and Damon have good chemistry. But, that's about it. I mean, I get that Damon wants an excuse to bond with his friends and stuff, but we don't we have the Ocean's movies for that process?

Is this The Year of Matt Damon?

David Poland over at MCN (via In Contention) has written a column about the effect 10 best picture nominees might have on the Oscar race. Because the field will be so large, it'll be much harder to figure out what voter trends are this year. One of the trends he does give us could be the Matt Damon trend:

It could, I guess, be The Year of Matt Damon, who has Invictus, The Informer!, the animated Miyazaki film, Ponyo, and maybe even Green Zone coming out.

I think most film buffs knew that Damon had at least two films that were set for release this year. But when you combine the above mentioned titles with the news from back in March that Margaret might also be released (or not) in 2009, then we get a total of 5 Matt Damon films in one year (well, 6 if you count Che: Part 2). And they'll all be crammed in the second half of the year. So, how promising are these films anyway?


Margaret
Cast: Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, Mark Ruffalo
Synopsis: A young woman (Paquin) witnesses a bus accident, and is caught up in the aftermath, where the question of whether or not it was intentional affects many people's lives. [IMDb]

Margaret is looking like it might never be released, though there was finally some news about it this year. Originally wrapped in 2005, there haven't been major announcements on this film in years. I was a teenager when this thing was completed. Word is that the project was incredibly long and director Kenneth Lonergan couldn't get a cut he liked that was under 150 minutes. Then there was the court drama. Earlier in the year Nico Muhly was hired to score the film which means that someone out there gives a damn about it. And we're still talking about it, which I guess, is good for any actor.


The Informant!
Cast: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale
Release Date: October 9, 2009
Synopsis: Based on a true story, The Informant! focuses on Mark Whitacre (Damon), the vice president of Archer Daniels Midland, who blows the whistle on his company's price-fixing.

It seems easy to predict how this might turn out, at least commercially. Steven Soderbergh films (unless they are of the Ocean's variety) don't exactly set the box office on fire. Neither do dark comedies based on true stories. Critically we'll know how good this is by September once it screens at the Toronto International Film Festival.


Invictus
Cast: Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman
Release Date: December 11, 2009
Synopsis: A look at life for Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid in South Africa during his first term as president when campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen. [IMDb]

This is by far the most blatant piece of Oscar-bait of 2009. If it doesn't deliver in a big way, then it's doomed. Even though I have my own personal doubts - especially given how Hollywood has portrayed Africa in the past - I'm still looking forward to this project mostly because I'm interested in watching Damon's performance. Just how good or bad will his accent be?


Ponyo
Cast: Matt Damon, Tina Fey
Release Date: August 14, 2009
Synopsis: Ponyo, is about a 5-year-old boy and a goldfish princess in a world gone awry. [The New York Times]

Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated film will likely be his most commercially successful one in the United States. Disney, which owns the distribution rights, is trying to get the film into 800 theaters and promote it on the Disney Channel.


Green Zone
Cast: Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson
Release Date: sometime in the fall
Synopsis: Based on the 2006 non-fiction book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Green Zone is a thriller that takes place in Iraq's Green Zone prior to the US surge.

There is still no official release date, but most people are banking on a fall release since director Paul Greengrass completed the film earlier this year. It would be really great though, if Universal gave us a release date. Based on the track record of Iraq War films I expect this to do badly at the box office. Most Iraq War films are pretty awful with the exception of The Hurt Locker which I liked, but didn't love. A lot of people claim Iraq War films do badly because nobody wants to deal with the subject matter. I think they do badly because they're either badly made or boring (yes, even war films have to be engaging). If there's a team that can change that track record it's Damon and Greengrass.


It looks like Matt Damon may have a great year. Maybe even the best one of his career. He could get an Oscar nomination for Invictus or Green Zone, or hell, maybe for both. And since Oscar doesn't do comedy, maybe there will be a Golden Globe nomination for The Informant!.

Or, he could have a supremely shitty year. Like the kind Jude Law had in 2004. It looked like it would turn out great, at first. Even though some of the films weren't that good (Alfie, I'm looking at you) at least the worst of them was visually stunning (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow). I Heart Huckabees, The Aviator, and Closer were all critical successes, but the praise and the awards nominations all went to Law's co-stars. He over saturated the market and it backfired. Has anybody cared about his films post-2004? Can you name a single film he's been in since 2004? Here's a hint: he's been in 5. Matt Damon could face a similar fate even if his films are good.

We'll just have to wait and see if this turns into a good year or bad year. Or if anyone notices or cares at all. In September we will get our first real clues.

Brand new trailer for 'The Informant!'

Hmmm....not what I expected, but it still looks great. The Informant stars Matt Damon and opens on October 9 in the US. The trailer is via Awards Daily, check it out:

First look: Matt Damon in 'The Human Factor'

Here's your first look at Matt Damon as South African rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar. The Human Factor, directed by Clint Eastwood, is based on the true story of the relationship between Pienaar and Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) and how in his first term, Mandela used the Rugby World Cup to unite South Africa, a year after the end of apartheid.

Despite its prestige factor, I have my doubts. Hollywood has made only one truly honest film about Africa. That is not an exaggeration. Lord of War, despite Nicolas Cage's spectacular suckiness at times, is the only film about the continent that has managed to give its audience some semblance of the truth. I'm half Nigerian, so though many of these films turn out to be good, I've often felt that there is rarely any honesty. The films are designed for Western audiences, so given that, there is a desire to make Westerners and Europeans seem like the heroes in a dark and backward continent, fraught with danger and Africans viciously murdering each other.

I also worry about how the actors will do with the accents, but considering that Leonardo DiCaprio's accent was nearly flawless in Blood Diamond, that worry may turn out to be unfounded. So, despite my fears, I recognize that Eastwood is a brilliant director and I have a great deal of respect for Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon - therefore, I'll reserve judgment until I see the film.