Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard as the Macbeths: It seemed to be perfect casting. Which is what makes this adaptation of William Shakespeare’s bloody tale of ambition spun out of control all the more disappointing. The latest film adaptation of the Scottish play, which premiered at Cannes this year and opened in U.S. theaters last weekend, boasts plenty of smart choices. It’s gorgeously shot, with the mud-soaked battles and the moody fog of the Highlands setting just the right foreboding tone. Director Justin Kurzel delivers a striking new take on Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane that thankfully avoids the inevitably silly image of soldiers approaching a castle whilst hiding behind tree branches. But (you knew there was a ‘but’ coming, didn’t you?) the approach to the lead performances, especially Fassbender’s, is misguided. This is a very quiet “Macbeth,” one without the sound and fury the text demands.
- 12/9/2015
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
Proof-of-concept trailers are often more about good editing than decent shots, often blending existing footage from other films with some hastily shot live-action scenes and some visual effects work.
Every now and then though one leaves a major impression, such as today's for "Enemy Of Man," an ambitious new film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" that is currently seeking Kickstarter funds.
The trailer boasts an impressive cast including Sean Bean as the Scottish prince, Jason Flemyng as Macduff, Charles Dance as King Duncan, James D'Arcy as Banquo, Rupert Grint as Ross and Neil Maskell as Kern. Lady MacBeth they're keeping the identity of under wraps though Charlotte Gainsbourg's name has been linked.
According to the Kickstarter page for the film, the plan is to showcase a "unique cinematic quality, stripping back the dialogue and cranking up the action. It traverses a bleak, frozen landscape of shattered castles and pillaged towns,...
Every now and then though one leaves a major impression, such as today's for "Enemy Of Man," an ambitious new film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" that is currently seeking Kickstarter funds.
The trailer boasts an impressive cast including Sean Bean as the Scottish prince, Jason Flemyng as Macduff, Charles Dance as King Duncan, James D'Arcy as Banquo, Rupert Grint as Ross and Neil Maskell as Kern. Lady MacBeth they're keeping the identity of under wraps though Charlotte Gainsbourg's name has been linked.
According to the Kickstarter page for the film, the plan is to showcase a "unique cinematic quality, stripping back the dialogue and cranking up the action. It traverses a bleak, frozen landscape of shattered castles and pillaged towns,...
- 3/10/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The Kickstarter bug is catching on both side of the Atlantic. Giving the Zach Braffs and Veronica Marses of the crowdsourcing world a glint of British steel is a new adaptation of Macbeth, Enemy Of Man, starring Sean Bean as the Scottish prince whose name cannot be mentioned - oops! - and Jason Flemyng as MacDuff. The project has a 'concept' trailer to help sell its wares to potential investors. Watch it below. Also aboard on this new take on William Shakepeare's great tragedy are Cloud Atlas's James D'Arcy as Banquo, Charles Dance as Duncan, Rupert Grint as Pj Rosse - the 'beth's cousin - and Flemyng as the defiant figure of Macduff. Don't confuse this with the Michael Fassbender fronted Macbeth currently in full swing. Runs the synopsis: "The Enemy Of Man will have a unique cinematic quality, stripping back the dialogue and cranking up the action. It traverses a bleak,...
- 3/10/2014
- EmpireOnline
Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard may have their own Macbeth in the works, but all the acting talent in the world can’t replace the box office dynamite that is Ron Weasley. Rupert Grint, the actor who will likely spend the rest of his life in the shadow Harry Potter has just been cast in Enemy of Man, a reworking of one of William Shakespeare’s most enduring plays. While we don’t know whom Grint will be playing, we do know that Charles Dance has been cast alongside him. You may know Dance via his Game of Thrones character, Tywin Lannister. Factor in that Sean Bean (who also had a stint on Game of Thrones) will be playing Macbeth, and things are setting up nicely for a little fantasy series face-off. Unless all three actors happen to be on the same side, at which point it might become Potter and Thrones vs X-Men, as...
- 9/6/2013
- by Adam Bellotto
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
British actors Sean Bean ("Game of Thrones") and Rupert Grint ("Harry Potter") have joined the cast of "Enemy of Man," a new spin on Shakespearean tragedy "Macbeth" which Kaleidoscope Film Distribution is shopping around in Toronto.
Bean plays the tragic antihero in the film which also boasts talent like Charles Dance ("Game of Thrones"), Jason Flemyng ("X-Men: First Class"), James D’Arcy ("Cloud Atlas"), Neil Maskell ("Kill List") and Joe Gilgun ("Misfits").
Vincent Regan directs the project and says his ambition for the adaptation is: "Remaining true to its dark heart, we will strip back the dialogue, crank up the action and produce an atmospheric and blood-soaked chiller."
Steve Harvey, Roopesh Parekh, Regan and Jasper Smith will produce. Filming begins in January.
The project is not to be confused with Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" adaptation starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.
Source: THR...
Bean plays the tragic antihero in the film which also boasts talent like Charles Dance ("Game of Thrones"), Jason Flemyng ("X-Men: First Class"), James D’Arcy ("Cloud Atlas"), Neil Maskell ("Kill List") and Joe Gilgun ("Misfits").
Vincent Regan directs the project and says his ambition for the adaptation is: "Remaining true to its dark heart, we will strip back the dialogue, crank up the action and produce an atmospheric and blood-soaked chiller."
Steve Harvey, Roopesh Parekh, Regan and Jasper Smith will produce. Filming begins in January.
The project is not to be confused with Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" adaptation starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.
Source: THR...
- 9/6/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
There were numerous mistakes made in the 1995 Judge Dredd film, not least taking Sylvester Stallone’s lawman out of his iconic uniform early on in the film, but also ditching the decaying political undertones of the original concept, in effect neutering the movie and resigning it to lay strewn in amongst the hundreds of other Blade Runner-lite action films.
News of another Dredd movie has been doing the rounds for a while, and fans are hoping for a return to the characters roots. That hope may be realised as today Deadline announce that Reliance Big Entertainment have stepped up with Andrew MacDonald’s DNA Films to develop Dredd’s next big screen outing.
DNA, who were behind the 28 Days Later and Sunshine films are looking to the scribe of those films, Alex Garland, to write this new film, which is expected to be closer to the vision of John Wagner...
News of another Dredd movie has been doing the rounds for a while, and fans are hoping for a return to the characters roots. That hope may be realised as today Deadline announce that Reliance Big Entertainment have stepped up with Andrew MacDonald’s DNA Films to develop Dredd’s next big screen outing.
DNA, who were behind the 28 Days Later and Sunshine films are looking to the scribe of those films, Alex Garland, to write this new film, which is expected to be closer to the vision of John Wagner...
- 5/11/2010
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
- File this one under "new trends" in the distribution business, PBS (Charlie Rose and Frontline) and California-based Monterey Media will partner on the Sundance preemed Endgame - a political thriller from the Channel 4 folks with a fine cocktail of actors. With so many film studio specialty divisions shutting their doors, it is comforting to see that more of the smaller players are backing such projects while at the same time forming new alliances. Currently in production with Come Like Shadows, Pete Travis' Endgame received a television premeire in the U.K this past May. This is about a businessman who initiates covert discussions between the African National Congress and white intellectuals to try and find a peaceful solution to the Apartheid regime. THR reports that it will air on PBS' "Masterpiece Contemporary" on Oct. 25 and will be released theatrically by Monterey Media in select U.S. cities on Oct.
- 8/5/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Modernizing Shakespeare is so hot for ’09. A few weeks ago we learned that “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke is tackling an update of the Bard’s “Hamlet” starring Emile Hirsch. Now The Hollywood Reporter brings news of a “modern-day makeover” of “Macbeth” titled “Come Like Shadows.” Little has been revealed about the plot or contemporary alterations of this second adaptation, though like the “Hamlet” update it is being labeled a thriller.
Pete Travis, who has just been hired to direct “Shadows,” further describes it as being “a bold, sexy addition to my slate of films. It’s a powerful, tragic morality tale about personal and political corruption. An awesome, epic story for our troubled times, its irresistible tension holds the audience in a vice like grip, its raw emotion will break their hearts.”
“Shadows” may not have the cool factor that “Hamlet” has thanks to Hardwicke’s involvement, but it does...
Pete Travis, who has just been hired to direct “Shadows,” further describes it as being “a bold, sexy addition to my slate of films. It’s a powerful, tragic morality tale about personal and political corruption. An awesome, epic story for our troubled times, its irresistible tension holds the audience in a vice like grip, its raw emotion will break their hearts.”
“Shadows” may not have the cool factor that “Hamlet” has thanks to Hardwicke’s involvement, but it does...
- 6/23/2009
- by Christopher Campbell
- MTV Movies Blog
- Originally set up with John Maybury in the driver's seat and with Sean Bean and Tilda Swinton in the lead roles, Come Like Shadows has resurfaced with Pete Travis (helmer of recent thrillers Vantage Point and Endgame) set to direct the pic. Scripted by Vincent Regan, Jennifer Lee Carrell and Nick Saunders, this is an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth", but it is designed to be user-friendly to a contemporary audience. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Smuggler Films' Patrick Milling Smith and John Hart will produce along with writer Saunders. Smuggler produced films such as Boys Don't Cry and You Can Count on Me as Hart-Sharp Entertainment. Who would you cast as MacBeth and Lady Macbeth? ...
- 6/23/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Shakespeare's "Macbeth" will get a modern-day makeover in Smuggler Films' "Come Like Shadows," which Pete Travis is set to direct.
Travis, whose political thriller "Endgame" premiered at Sundance in January, describes the project as a thriller "about personal and political corruption." Vincent Regan and Harvard literature scholars Jennifer Lee Carrell and Nick Saunders wrote the script.
Smuggler's Patrick Milling Smith and John Hart will produce along with Saunders.
Repped by Wme, Travis also directed the thriller "Vantage Point" and the terrorist study "Omagh."...
Travis, whose political thriller "Endgame" premiered at Sundance in January, describes the project as a thriller "about personal and political corruption." Vincent Regan and Harvard literature scholars Jennifer Lee Carrell and Nick Saunders wrote the script.
Smuggler's Patrick Milling Smith and John Hart will produce along with Saunders.
Repped by Wme, Travis also directed the thriller "Vantage Point" and the terrorist study "Omagh."...
- 6/22/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- After a decade as a top indie film production and video distribution outfit, Hart Sharp Entertainment founders John Hart and Jeffrey Sharp are heading their separate ways. Hart is forming the new film and theater production company Evamere.
Evamere will launch production on two films this year: Todd Solondz's dark comedy of sexual obsession, Life During Wartime, and the James Solomon-penned biopic of a woman involved in the Abraham Lincoln assassination, The Conspirator.
Other new projects include Alice Goes to Harlem, a potential animated feature that finds Alice in Wonderland meeting such artists as The Nicholas Brothers and Whoopi Goldberg on a journey celebrating the Harlem Renaissance. Geoffrey Holder and Hilton Als are in talks to write the screenplay. Also set for 2008 is Come Like Shadows, a surreal period adaptation of Macbeth, with John Maybury in negotiations to direct.
Hart will oversee management of the company's existing private-equity funds, True Film Fund I and II, which will continue to finance Hart Sharp projects that Hart will now produce.
Evamere will launch production on two films this year: Todd Solondz's dark comedy of sexual obsession, Life During Wartime, and the James Solomon-penned biopic of a woman involved in the Abraham Lincoln assassination, The Conspirator.
Other new projects include Alice Goes to Harlem, a potential animated feature that finds Alice in Wonderland meeting such artists as The Nicholas Brothers and Whoopi Goldberg on a journey celebrating the Harlem Renaissance. Geoffrey Holder and Hilton Als are in talks to write the screenplay. Also set for 2008 is Come Like Shadows, a surreal period adaptation of Macbeth, with John Maybury in negotiations to direct.
Hart will oversee management of the company's existing private-equity funds, True Film Fund I and II, which will continue to finance Hart Sharp projects that Hart will now produce.
- 2/15/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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