Ewen Bremner Boards Snow Piercer

He's on for that thrillerIt's been nearly per month since we learned about someone joining the cast of Bong Joon-Ho's snowpocalyptic thriller Snow Piercer, but although it appeared as if he may have discovered all his primary cast, it works out he's still adding folk: Ewen Bremner gets his ticket smacked for that film.He's joining a proper ensemble that already includes Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell and recently minted Oscar champion Octavia Spencer.Snow Piercer, which Bong co-authored with producer Park Chan-Wook, is occur a global in which the Earth is nearly completely covered within the chilled whitened stuff after a little badly misjudged climate experiments. The majority of humanity survives by riding the titular train, that is run by a perpetual motion machine. And it is fortunately not operated by Southern Railway, or it might be a really video clip.In spite of the necessity to survive, old class divides stay in place, and that we don't just mean individuals who obtain access to a trolley filled with packets of Monster Munch and individuals who need to make their method to the galley. And you will find a whole lot worse problems to deal with: Evans is playing a guy searching to save his kidnapped boy and Bremner is a father who purports to help.Bong will start shooting this March in Prague. Bremner was last seen alongside his old Trainspotting mucker Ewan McGregor in Sense and can appear both in Mike Newell's Great Anticipation (out later this season) and Jack The Large Killer (shoved to 2013).

REVIEW: Lack of Chemistry Can't Derail Tyler Perry's Harmless Good Deeds

Tyler Perry doesn't don drag or delve into religion in his latest,Good Deeds - the film isn't part of the prolific entertainment giant's Madea franchise (next stopMadea's Witness Protection, slated for later in 2012), but rather of his less broad line of feel-good dramedies like Daddy's Little Girls andWhy Did I Get Married?But despite the restrained tone, it's no less savvy an entertainment, one that Perry wrote, directed and stars in as San Francisco businessmanWesley Deeds, the wealthy, perfect son of a good family, head of the company his father created. Wesley'slife changes when he meets Lindsey (Thandie Newton), a beleaguered single mom whoworks as the night janitor in his office building. Like Maid in Manhattan,Good Deedsis an urban fairy tale in which the idea of a prince swooping down to woo and rescue the poor cinder girl is given a contemporary twist. But the film is well aware that it's Wesley, and the man playing him, who are the real objects of fantasy here. Loving to his icy mother (Phylicia Rashad), protective of his alcoholic, angry brother Walter (Brian White), devoted in his stewardship of the business he was left, this Deeds is actually too good, too reliable, subsuming any actual desires of his own to cater to the needs of everyone around him. He's so safe and predictable that when his fianceNatalie (Gabrielle Union) finds a blonde hair on a pillow in their bed, she takes it not as a sign of possible infidelity but as one that she needs to tell the housekeeper to be more careful with their dry cleaning. It's Lindsey, who with her 6-year-old daughter Ariel has recently fallen from a precarious economic situation into full-on homelessness, who breaks through Wesley's shell by, well, trampling all over him. Good Deedshas the shrillest meet-cute imaginable, in which Lindsey parks inWesley's spot in the company lot and, having no idea who he is, calls him an asshole and walks away. Later, she taunts that he's going to run and "tell massa" on her when he catches her using an office phone for a personal call late at night. Lindsey's abrasiveness is weirdly delightful - she's not on the lookout for anyone to save her, and she's going through a very difficult time - but it's one of several reasons the romance angle of this otherwise engaging melodrama doesn't work. The primary one is chemistry - Lindsey andWesley have none at all. There's a sibling quality to their banter that diminishes the potentially creepy aspects to the fact that Wesley comes to Lindsey's aid financially, buying her and her daughter dinner and eventually providing her with a place to stay in a corporate apartment, but there's no spark between them, even as her influence starts opening him to new possibilities in his life. Newton's loveliness is undeniable, but it's downplayed until late in the film - before that point, she's harried and frequently seen wearing a cleaning crew outfit, sleeping with Ariel in her minivan or trying to hide the girl in a supply closet while she works the night shift. In contrast, Union's character is shown beginning the day getting immaculately made up while wearing a slip and heels. Part of the fancy ofGood Deedsis that Wesley, a character who, as he says himself in the introduction, has everything, has a run-in with an unapologetically insulting, frazzled woman who leaves her kid unattended in her car and runs off, and he thinks that she's probably what he's been missing in his life. Wesley's so square that when he looks through Lindsey's iPod, he notes she's listening to "Two-P-A-C," but the two find common ground in their love of motorcycles, and take a geographically improbable lunchtime ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Santa Rosa (despite filling in plentiful snap zoom-filled shots of San Francisco, Good Deedswas filmed in and looks like it was filmed in Atlanta). While Wesley is both too good to be true and an absence of a charisma on screen, Good Deedsis very fair to its two main female characters even as they're both entangled with the same man. Despite her role in the story, Natalie isn't made into a villain, just someone who, like Wesley, has chosen something because she's been told she should want it. And the domino chain of poverty-driven difficulties Lindsey faces is well-realized - because she can't pay her rent on time, she's evicted and loses the savings she's hidden away, because she has to work she can't check into the shelter on time, because she's working double shifts to get back on her feet financially she's late picking up Ariel and her teacher notified child services. It's Wesley who never seems like a real person, but then he's not meant to be one - he's Prince Charming for a prospective audience of women who are less enchanted by rippling abs than by kindness and responsibility. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Dear God, The L'ensemble des Grossman Movie Is Real -- and it is 'Heartfelt'

I am prepared to give on-the-edge film writer Michael Bacall the advantage of the doubt according to what I have been sent of him to date, from Scott Pilgrim versus. the planet (that they co-authored) towards the Todd Phillips-created teen party comedy Project X and 21 Jump Street (each of which he's scripting and story credits on), the second which is generating remarkably glowing responses in the blogoscenti. However I may need to draw some kind of line in the Tropic Thunder spin-off starring a body fat, hairy Tom Cruise as slimy Hollywood professional L'ensemble des Grossman, which apparently isn't just really, seriously a factor but is, as Bacall describes, "quite a sincere story." "I authored it for R because we'd precedent with Tropic Thunder," he told Collider lately, promising a script unhampered by PG-13 limitations. "Its really quite a sincere story. I'd lots of conferences with Mr. Cruise and Mr. Stiller also it was crazy, it had been a great time. I believe we emerged with a few really fun stuff to provide you with a look into who the man is, so Im hopeful that thatll get ready to go soon. Cruise, he confesses, might be pretty busy with non-L'ensemble des Grossman gigs for any good while, therefore it is difficult to say if this informative consider the guy who won 8 Academy awards, gained 400 million dollars in the box office, and saved Tugg Speedman's career will hit theaters. I can not imagine something more tiring than watching Cruise yell and dance to Flo Rida for the size of an element film. Project X, meanwhile, captures the youth side of the dick-obsessed male culture if by having an excess of sleaze, and 21 Jump Street is generating probably the most solid advance buzz I have heard shortly where much talked about studio fodder is worried. So perhaps there's hope yet? On the other hand, Bacall isn't just a scribe, he's an actress as they most lately made an appearance in Inglorious Basterds, his appearance around the infamously terrible Marky Mark and also the Funky Bunch: Make My Video Sega game really makes me like him, even though it proves that does not all high concept projects built around macho gyrating personas are great ideas. Film writer Michael Bacall Gives Update on L'ensemble des Grossman Movie States Its Quite A Sincere Story also it Was Written to become Ranked R [Collider]

Everything You Want to Know About the Rest of Suburgatory's First Season

Katy Perry Katy Perry is going to jail - but it's only for her guest role as a prison guard on Raising Hope.The 27-year-old pop-star will appear on the Fox comedy's March 6 episode, the network announced Wednesday.Katy Perry and Russell Brand finalize divorce"[Cast member] Shannon Woodward told me that her friend Katy was interested in doing an episode and I thought, 'Why not? Let's do your friend Katy a favor,'" said executive producer Greg Garcia in a statement. "Then she came in and did a terrific job. She was hilarious. And now people are telling me that Katy is also a singer. I sincerely hope that her appearance on the show helps her get her singing career off the ground. It's a tough business."In the episode, Sabrina (Woodward) finds herself under the watchful eye of Rikki (Perry), after being incarcerated during an Occupy Natesville protest. Rikki does everything in her power to make Sabrina's stay a miserable one - until she realizes the two are actually old friends.Russell Brand files for divorce from Katy PerryPerry married comedian Russell Brand in October 2010, but the two finalized their divorce earlier this month.Raising Hope moves to its new timeslot on Tuesday, March 6 at 8/7c on Fox.

OSCARS: Margin Call J.C. Chandor

Cari Lynn is a contributor to AwardsLine Early this autumn, as the Occupy Wall Street movement heated up, writer-director J.C. Chandor was getting nervous. Really nervous. It was only days before the release of his writing and directorial debut, Margin Call, set in 2008 and about a fictitious investment bank discovering its the linchpin of the financial crisis. My fear was that the OWS movement would turn into the World Trade Organization riots in Seattle, where they were breaking windows and burning cars, Chandor says. And theres the old adage about films, that when its that too close, no one wants to see it. Of course, Chandor and his ensemble cast — including Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, and Demi Moore — were relieved that things went in a Gandhian way, which, Chandor says, kept the national dialogue open. This film, to me, was always a tragedy,” he said. “Its about misused potential. People who should, could, and wouldve been doing other things with their lives but had been roped into this world through extreme compensation packages. To have had that gut feeling about what I was writing [three years earlier] end up being what people decided to protest at the time the film was coming out was lucky, but really exciting. Now with an Oscar nom for Best Original Screenplay, Chandor is marveling at the trajectory of his project, which was a linchpin of its own sort: Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions’ experiment in the simultaneous theatrical and VOD release. We had to overcome the stigma of what in the old days would be called a straight-to-video release, Chandor says of the propitious but unchartered route. Obviously the world is changing. I had an amazing lunch with Bingham Ray and he told me his belief was that, 10 years from now, there will be a circuit of 200 to 300 local, non-for-profit art theater houses that will also have a strong VOD component, where most of the revenue will come from. Would Chandor opt for the same theatrical/VOD path with subsequent films? He rattles off cautions, such as: no advertising for VOD; the potential need to do a four-wall contract with theaters; and theaters acting on fear of too much competition from too many angles (according to Chandor, despite an expansion plan, Margin Call, which had a better-than-anticipated opening at approximately $10,000 per screen, never moved beyond the initial number of 55 screens due to theater owners opposition). Chandor, who made his living in commercials, says his interest in finance stemmed from his father, a Merrill Lynch lifer and readily applies his avocation to film financing, frequently circling back to what he calls the sound business model upon which Margin Call was built. I came about this with a background in trying to put films together, mainly failures, but still, I learned a lot in the process, Chandor says of his struggling for 15 years to get an independent film off the ground. I dont ever want the project to not make sense financially. Hes not just talking the talk; according to Box Office Mojo, Margin Call has grossed $11.5 million internationally, and Chandor claims first-run VOD adds another $5.5 to $6 million. Not bad against a $3.5 million budget. Uncompromising in his vision of the project, Chandor declined to expand the eventual budget, which he says he feasibly could have. Rather, the film was shot in 17 days, using offices of a freshly abandoned hedge fund that had occupied the 42nd floor of Manhattans 1 Penn Plaza. When I walked off the elevator, I had a tear come to my eye, he recalls. You had an open view of the city as if the rest of the world is looming over the characters shoulders and then I came around a corner and there was a 150-person trading floor. He tried to capitalize on the tight shooting schedule, viewing it as a strength not only in recruiting A-list talent who could more easily commit to a brief timeframe, but also in creating an intensified atmosphere. Were trying to convey the panic the characters are feeling, only these characters are Type-A, hyper-smart, trained to never panic; likewise, these are hyper-trained, hyper-successful, veteran actors and its hard to rattle them, but with the pace we were shooting, there were moments where, if they made an error, youd see a twitch, and I started to zero in on these things that youd never have gotten if you had four days to shoot a scene. Chandor also acknowledges the brazenness of entering a niche of finance-themed films thats long been viewed as filled, with the evergreen classics of 1983s Trading Places and 1987s Wall Street still cornering the market (both of which, Chandor says, he was a huge fan). Previous films that dared dip in a toe, like the UKs 1999 Rogue Trader and 2000s Boiler Room quickly bottomed out. Contrast this with the reception Chandor found at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011: The first question I got when I landed in Berlin was, ‘Why havent the U.S. arts looked more in depth into this issue that essentially blew up the world? Why are there not more films coming out about this?

ABC's Mandy Moore Pilot and 'White Van Man' Land Casting Directors

Two more ABC comedy pilots have signed on casting directors, Back Stage has confirmed.Wendy O'Brien will cast "White Van Man," from ABC Studios. Based on a BBC show, the pilot follows a man whose dream of opening a restaurant is put on hold when his father leaves him in charge of the family handy-man business, and the attendant van. The pilot was written by Bob Bowman, who has written several episodes of hit Fox comedy "Raising Hope." Kyle Bornheimer is attached as the titular man, while J.K. Simmons will play his retiring father. Shooting is scheduled to begin next month.In addition to "White Van Man," O'Brien is also casting Fox pilot "Little Brother" and NBC pilot "Next Caller Please," both comedies.O'Brien casts several current series, including the FX series "Sons of Anarchy" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and MTV's "Teen Wolf," as well as the upcoming Nickelodeon comedy "Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous" starring You Tube sensation Bo Burnham.The other pilot also involves someone who has a dream to open a restaurant, only this time there's no retiring father to stand in her way. Mandy Moore will star in an untitled comedy about a woman who opens a hip new restaurant in her hometown with her husband. The pilot, from 20th TV, will be cast by Leslie Litt. It will shoot in mid March.Litt also casts Fox comedy "Breaking In" and CBS comedy "Rules of Engagement."

Pilot Season: Greg Berlanti's CBS Cop Drama Pilot Collars Kevin Alejandro

Kevin Alejandro Southland and True Blood stream alum Kevin Alejandro has grew to become part of CBS' untitled pilot from Greg Berlanti, Deadline reviews.Pilot Season: Pushing Daisies' Chi McBride to co-star in Greg Berlanti pilotFormerly known to as Golden Boy, the primary one-hour drama tales one cop's meteoric rise from officer to detective to Police Commissioner. Alejandro may have the most effective detective who's disturbed with the new man's arrival and plots to derail his career. He joins Chi McBride, who'll play in the new officer's partner.Nicholas Wootton will write and executive-result in the project alongside Berlanti, who offers drama aircraft aircraft pilots at Fox (Guilty) as well as the CW (Arrow).