Awards Daily

ONTD tips us off to this:

“Bel Ami, based on the short story by Guy de Maupassant, is an erotically charged tale of ambition, power and seduction which chronicles the rise of Georges Duroy from poverty into the ‘beau monde’ of 1890′s Paris.

Using his wits and powers of seduction, Duroy moves from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties who inhabit where sex is power and celebrity an obsession, and where politics and media jostle for influence.”

Directed by: Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod

Also stars Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas! It is listed as being a 2011 release. ¬†But we’ll see about that.

Two-time Oscar nominee Lynn Redgrave has died.

• Best Actress, Georgy Girl (1966)
• Best Supporting Actress, Gods and Monsters (1998)

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Summit has acquired domestic distribution for Fair Game, Doug Liman’s adaptation of Valerie Plame’s memoir, starring Naomi Watts as Plame and Sean Penn as husband Joe Wilson.

It details how Plame’‘s status as a CIA agent was revealed by White House officials allegedly out to discredit her husband after he wrote a 2003 New York Times op-ed piece saying that the Bush administration had manipulated intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq. (IndieWire)

Summit has also picked up rights to The Impossible, featuring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor in a thriller from director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage). Said to hinge on actual events occuring during the tsunami that hit the coast of Thailand in 2004, the movie reportedly intends “to recreate this natural disaster through a script with hints of horror and mystery and large doses of science fiction.” (Playlist, via FirstShowing)

Fair Game debuts at the Cannes Film Festival in a few short weeks, and I’m guessing it’s near the top of Sasha’s must-see itinerary.

Too articulate for a mere tweet and greet, Bill Condon addresses fans of the vampire series via Facebook:

Greetings Twihards, Twifans, Twilight Moms, Team Edward, Team Jacob and Team Switzerland,

I just want to say hello to all of you and let you know that I’m stoked to be getting underway on the adventure of making BREAKING DAWN. As you’ve probably heard, I’ve been given a very warm welcome by Stephenie and Team Summit – who are super-focused, as you know, on getting these movies right.

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First look at the skyline of Fort Smith, Arkansas, c. 1880, recreated for the Coen brothers’ adaptation of True Grit. More faithful to the original novel than the 1969 John Wayne version (filmed just one year after the book’s publication), the Coen’s interpretation stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper and newcomer Hallie Steinfeld as 14-year-old spitfire Mattie Ross.

Thanks to the lead from jennybee, herself an illustrious resident of modern-day Fort Smith. Several more shots after the cut and a couple dozen more at the Facebook source.

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By Brian Whisenant
Special to Awards Daily

From Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan, whose debut film I Killed My Mother won three awards at Cannes in 2009 (C.I.C.A.E. Award, Prix Regards Jeune, and SACD Prize – Directors’ Fortnight) comes his Cannes-bound followup, Imaginary Lovers (entitled Heartbeats for us literal-minded Americans.) There appears to be rather complex relationship happening here. If only the French had a phrase for such a thing.

We’re tipped to a story appearing on Box Office Mojo.

In one of the most anticipated announcements in recent memory, Warner Bros. officially set a date this morning for the follow-up to The Dark Knight. Tentatively known as Batman 3, the movie will debut July 20, 2012 in conventional and IMAX theaters, almost exactly four years after The Dark Knight opened to record-breaking numbers.

At this time, there are no details available regarding the plot or the cast, though it is assumed that Christian Bale at least will be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Warner Bros. was also unable to confirm whether or not Batman Begins and Dark Knight writer-director Christopher Nolan would be taking on those responsibilities again for part three.

Mojo says several other movies have been penciled in for 2012 — The Avengers (May 4), Madagascar 3 (May 18), Battleship (May 25), Disney/Pixar’s Brave (June 15) and the Untitled Star Trek Sequel (June 29). But notes the Spider-Man reboot scheduled to open 4th of July weekend is the only other tentpole event daring to stake a claim the same month in the shadow of The Bat.

Roger Ebert outlines 9 reasons why he hates 3D in Newsweek. Here’s an abbreviated rundown:

…many directors, editors, and cinematographers agree with me about the shortcomings of 3-D. So do many movie lovers‚Äîeven executives who feel stampeded by another Hollywood infatuation with a technology that was already pointless when their grandfathers played with stereoscopes. The heretics’ case, point by point:

1. IT’S THE WASTE OF A DIMENSION.
When you look at a 2-D movie, it’s already in 3-D as far as your mind is concerned… Our minds use the principle of perspective to provide the third dimension. Adding one artificially can make the illusion less convincing.

2. IT ADDS NOTHING TO THE EXPERIENCE.
Recall the greatest moviegoing experiences of your lifetime. Did they “need” 3-D? A great film completely engages our imaginations…

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The Oscar-winning screenwriter of The Departed, William Monahan, directs his first, London Boulevard, starring Keira Knightley and Colin Farrell.  ONTD points us to this first official pic:

The London-based crime drama also features the acting talents of David Thewlis, Anna Friel, Ben Chaplin, Eddie Marsan, Sanjeev Baskhar, newcomer Jamie Campbell Bower, and Ray Winstone.

Academy Award¬Æ winner William Monahan, Director of “LONDON BOULEVARD”
Currently in the final stages of post production, the film is produced by the Academy Award-winning Graham King alongside William Monahan, Tim Headington and Quentin Curtis.

Based on the book by Ken Bruen, “London Boulevard” is the story of a man newly released from prison who falls in love with a reclusive young movie star and finds himself in a duel with a vicious gangster.