Second trailer for Shutter Island

Paramout unveiled the new Shutter Island trailer today over at Apple. I wish they hadn't moved the release date to February because it looks really amazing.

Trailer via FirstShowing:

Shutter Island moved to 2010

Well, this sucks. Nikki Finke broke the news that Paramount will move Shutter Island from its October 2 release date to February of next year. Finke reminds us that Universal pulled the same stunt with The Wolfman by moving it from November to February as well. But the difference between Wolfman and Shutter Island is that Shutter Island has been on everyone's awards list:

...Paramount's adaptation...looked entrenched for...this coming awards season. For godsakes, the pic is already on people's Oscar list. Such a surprise delay is just going to compound all the buzz surrounding the picture and its great trailer released in June. An insider tells me. "It tested in the high 80s/low 90s and Scorsese even brought it down to 2 hours." So what's the problem? I hear that Paramount told the filmmakers it doesn't have the financing in 2009 to spend the $50M to $60M necessary to market a big awards pic like this.

...So the studio settled on the release date of February 19th because "that's when Silence Of The Lambs came out" back in 1991 and it won the Oscar. "Now that the Academy has expanded Best Picture to 10 films," my insider notes, "it will be easier for a movie that came out in the beginning of the year to get nominated." [Nikki Finke]

That Silence of the Lambs quote sounds like someone is either trying to cover their money grubbing ass or they've got some extreme delusions about the film's Oscar prospects. Moving a Scorsese movie to February is plain stupid. This just blows. I can't believe I'm looking forward to February than the traditional fall months.

You can check out a Japanese trailer for the film below.

Links for you: Some Hobbit rumors and who the heck is going to play Sinatra?

The Writers Guild of America has set a February date for its 2010 awards ceremony. The WGA also announced the timeline for the awards. [Variety]

Rumor has it that The Hobbit will be a trilogy. Meanwhile, Peter Jackson wants the film to be in 3D, while Guillermo Del Toro isn't too interested. This might be a case of there actually being too much of a good thing. [Empire]

Is Sony actually considering a Hancock sequel? Director Peter Berg hinted at the possibility: "[Sony Pictures] would like to fast-track it, but Will's busy, I'm pretty busy. We're excited to do one, but we want the script to be right and the movie to be right. We don't feel a burning imperative to go right back into it." Here's hoping everyone stays busy. [The Movie Blog]

Skin: An apartheid story no one would screen. [The Independent via In Contention]

Director Christopher Nolan drops out of The Prisoner. [CineFOOLS]

Who will play Frank Sinatra in Martin Scorsese's upcoming biopic? If Scorsese gets his way it'll be Leonardo DiCaprio (I love the kid, but please, not again), the studio wants Johnny Depp, while Sinatra's daughter and one of the film's executive producers, Tina wants George Clooney. Let the inevitable backlash begin. [The Playlist]

News on Terry Gilliam's 'Don Quixote' (like for real this time), Depp as Sinatra, and 'Public Enemies' clips

Is today Johnny Depp day or something?

According to Variety, Terry Gilliam will resurrect The Man who Killed Don Quixote, almost ten years after his first try failed. You'll remember that the film was plagued with everything from monstrously bad weather (a flash flood on day two of shooting) to lead actor, Jean Rochefort's back injury.

But, despite the hell it's been trying to bring Don Quixote to the big screen, it looks like Gilliam really will be able to get the film off the ground again. Gilliam will now work with producer Jeremy Thomas, and screenwriter Tony Grisoni, who also drafted the first script. Grisoni and Gilliam have rewritten the script, and the new version involves a filmmaker who joins forces with Don Quixote and unconsciously becomes Sancho Panza.

So, where does Depp fit in with all this? Terry Gilliam is reportedly in talks with Johnny Depp, but because of scheduling problems, it's far from a done deal. Depp or no Depp, Gilliam hopes to shoot The Man who Killed Don Quixote in the spring of 2010. You can watch the only six minutes of the film that were finished to get a feel of the project:

Now on to the Depp as Sinatra business. Niki Finke is trying to make Depp happen. Yesterday there was the announcement that Martin Scorsese really, truly is going to do the Frank Sinatra biopic. According to Finke, Universal Studios is very interested in Johnny Depp playing Sinatra. I'm a Depp cultist, but even I think this choice is a weird. Finke also says that Scorsese may be interested in Leonardo DiCaprio in the role which is something I (foolishly) didn't even expect. I just assumed that Scorsese would draw the line, considering the amount of biopics they have either done or plan on doing. And not to mention DiCaprio being an even weirder choice than Depp. I'm almost as big a DiCaprio cultist as I am a Depp one, but this is getting ridiculous and so predictable it isn't even fun to predict anymore. Despite the weirdness of Depp as Sinatra (then again, when is Johnny not weird?) I must admit, I'd be quite interested in seeing him work with Scorsese for the first time.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, are two exclusive clips from Public Enemies:

Martin Scorsese to direct Frank Sinatra biopic

Universal Pictures has purchased Sinatra, by screenwriter Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams). Martin Scorsese is set to direct.

The deal comes after years of negotiations with Frank Sinatra Enterprises, a joint venture of the crooner's estate and Warner Music Group. One major obstacle was the internal politics of the estate, where family members had to come to consensus on how to tell the story and, more importantly, just how much of the story to tell.

Sinatra not only will allow Scorsese to tackle the life of a fellow Italian-American with enormous cultural impact, it will also give him a chance to paint a portrait of Sinatra's pal, Dean Martin. The filmmaker has for over a decade been developing a biopic on Martin titled Dino, working with a script by his Casino and Goodfellas writer Nicholas Pileggi based on the Nick Tosches biography, Dino: Livin' High in the Dirty Business of Dreams. [THR]

Considering that Scorsese got Kate Beckinsale to portray Sinatra's wife, Ava Gardner so well in The Aviator, and his affinity for biopics/celebrity documentaries (and being attached to even more biopics - Teddy Roosevelt anyone?), I have total confidence in this.

The cast hasn't been announced yet, but I like throwing out names. I suppose I'll throw out Zachary Quinto's name mostly because I still have Star Trek on the brain, and because he has Italian ancestry, and because I'm brave like that, since I know it will never happen.

First 'Shutter Island' photo

Leonardo DiCaprio, Michelle Williams, and Martin Scorsese below:



Or is Ashecliffe? I can never keep it straight. Regardless of the name confusion it's impossible not to get excited about another Leonardo DiCaprio/Martin Scorsese match up (they're like cinematic peanut butter and jelly). This will the pair's fourth film, and since all their previous films always end up on everyone's top ten list it would be crazy to ignore its Oscar chances. Though I admit that I've been trying to ignore any write ups about Shutter Island/Ashecliffe because I don't want to accidentally come across spoilers that ruin the twist.