Eric Bana may hail from Australia, but he's about to play an American icon. Bana will play Elvis Presley in Elvis & Nixon, alongside Danny Huston as President Nixon. The film marks the directorial debut of Cary Elwes (perhaps best known as Westley from The Princess Bride) and will focus on a meeting between Presley and Nixon that took place at the White House in December of 1970. The meeting was apparently Presley's idea and was proposed via a six-page letter that made note of the fact that Presley wanted to be Nixon's "federal agent-at-large" in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. (Which is pretty depressing in light of what happened to Presley just seven years later.) The film sounds a bit like My Week With Marilyn in the sense that it's not a straight biopic but more of a cross-sectioned look at the life of a legend. Can you see Bana as the king of rock 'n' roll?
Too often in movies, we're presented with strong female characters that can throw punches and scale walls with ease, but they're so done up that it's hard to take them seriously as heroines. But Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is the real deal. At only sixteen, she avoids those femme fatale stereotypes and solely focuses on one thing: kicking ass.
In Hanna, Ronan reteams with her Atonement director Joe Wright for the dark story of a girl raised as an assassin by her ex-CIA father (Eric Bana). They've lived in hiding together so he can protect his daughter from an enemy from his past, intelligence agent Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett). But when Hanna very proactively reveals their location, Marissa launches into pursuit to track Hanna in a large-scale chase across Europe.
To get the full rundown of the film's pros and cons, read more
The trailer for Hanna has hit, and Saoirse Ronan stars as the title character, a preteen raised by her ex-CIA father (Eric Bana) to be a deadly assassin. Life seems intense enough in the wintry woods, where Hanna is being trained to be a killing machine (ostensibly to "prepare her" for something, but what?). Then, when she gets transported into the real world and has no choice but to exact her skills on those in her way, things really get crazy.
Cate Blanchett plays a CIA agent who's dead-set on keeping Hanna under control — no matter what. "Sometimes children are bad people, too," Blanchett's character opines. Indeed, with Ronan snapping necks and taking names, I'd certainly run from her. The movie actually looks pretty thrilling, but it also doesn't seem to be exploiting the young hitgirl just for shock value; Hanna appears to be conflicted and even vulnerable (even as she's killing).
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Get ready to feed your fetish for gorgeous men with sexy accents: Eric Bana and Colin Farrell are both in talks for the indie drama By Virtue Fall, a story of two men as their relationship goes from friendship to betrayal.
The movie will be the directorial debut of Sheldon Turner, whose name you might recognize from this year's Oscars — he was nominated for best screenplay for Up in the Air with Jason Reitman.
As for stars Bana and Farrell, they've continued to prove themselves as serious dramatic actors, but let's face it: this is going to be one very good-looking movie.
Abbie Cornish and Johnny Depp were back at work on their respective sets while other stars started filming new projects. Eric Bana got right into an action scene on the Hanna set in Berlin and Will Arnett prepped for his new pilot in Canada. Click through to see all the stars on set this week!
Count me in for this one: Keira Knightley, Eric Bana, and Richard Gere have all signed on to star in The Emperor's Children, based on Claire Messud's novel.
Taking place before and after 9/11, the dramedy centers on three Brown University grads as they approach their 30s and deal with the pressures of responsibility and expectations. Relatable, yes, but I often worry when films try to use 9/11 as a reference point, because sometimes it can feel like a manipulative way to conjure up tears; however, the good news here is Noah Baumbach (most recently of Greenberg) is taking on the directing duties, which could make it a really poignant, introspective movie. He is also adapting the screenplay.
Gere is reportedly playing a more supporting character role, and since Bana is 41, I'm guessing Knightley is the only one of the three portraying one of the Brown alumni. Hey, at least she'll get a break from those laced-up corsets she usually wears.
Kate Gosselin calls 911 over a fight with Jon, Brad Pitt's production hits theaters, and Woodstock celebrates a big anniversary this weekend.
What makes the book The Time Traveler's Wife so magical is how well it marries two genres: romance and sci-fi. But the big-screen adaptation leans more toward old-fashioned Hollywood love story, with the attendant schmaltz and a touch of slapstick.
Fans of the cherished book — myself included — had many hopes and fears about the film. Although the movie didn't make me swoon, it is satisfying to see the story on screen, and the movie is very sweet in parts. Still, what should be an epic tale and a first-rate tearjerker sadly let me down.
