I’m sure this point has been made long ago by someone who is quicker on the uptake than myself, but it just occurred to me now as I was going through the bonus features on the brand new Ben-Hur DVD set. My thought is simply this: The famous image of Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd linking their arms as they drink a toast to their friendship — an image that was prominent not only in the posters for the 1959... Read more

Check it out. I like it. It’s tasty. It makes me want to dig out my copy of the first film’s soundtrack and play it right now. And FWIW, the opening shots are reminiscent of that bit in Batman Begins, which itself was taken from the Batman comics, where the young Bruce Wayne falls into a well and discovers the cave under Wayne Manor. UPDATE: Whoops, turns out that was a fan made teaser. And I guess it shows how... Read more

Why am I only finding out now that Jennifer Carpenter, who plays the titular possession victim in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, is the daughter of horror-movie auteur John Carpenter? FilmStew.com says Jennifer is “eager to downplay her showbiz roots,” and so far she’s succeeded — there is, as of this moment, no reference to this family connection on her IMDB page, for example. Bizarre. SEP 21 UPDATE: I have just received word from Scott Derrickson that Jennifer Carpenter is... Read more

Chloë Sevigny talks to the Globe and Mail about playing a nun who trades sex with a plantation owner in exchange for funds and medical supplies in Thom Fitzgerald’s AIDS drama 3 Needles: “She sacrifices herself — the only way she knows she can, through using her body,” Sevigny says. “It’s selfless, but also selfish in a way — she can fill something in her through others. She’s someone who falls from grace — but doesn’t. I was very concerned... Read more

The Hollywood Reporter says casting has begun for Amazing Grace, the upcoming movie about anti-slavery activist William Wilberforce that will be directed by Michael Apted and produced by Walden Media, the company behind The Chronicles of Narnia. Ioan Gruffudd, who played the stretchy superhero in Fantastic Four (2005) and Lancelot in King Arthur (2004), is Wilberforce; Albert Finney, recently seen in Big Fish (2003; my review), will play fellow abolitionist (and former slave trader) John Newton, who wrote the title... Read more

Variety reviews Abel Ferrara’s Mary, which won the Jury Grand Prix at the Venice film festival last week: Maverick helmer Abel Ferrara’s Catholic angstfest “Mary” met with considerable disbelief after its first Venice screening, but the Ferrara faithful will recognize a partial return to form after several disappointments. Not quite a standout like “Bad Lieutenant,” but hardly a dud like “New Rose Hotel,” “Mary” reps a sincere grapple with faith and redemption in cynical times. Tricky construction, nesting a film... Read more

Time for another batch. 1. The Hollywood Reporter says the writers of The Exorcism of Emily Rose employed a “yin and yang” approach: With “Exorcism,” they found a way to pay respect to their diametrically opposed viewpoints. Told through flashback, the movie’s plot implies that the title character either succumbed to demonic invasion or a worldly medical condition. The film, perhaps in deference to the writers’ competing philosophies, never answers the question: What happened to Emily Rose? For Derrickson, the... Read more

Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest. Wedding Crashers — CDN $23,761,272 — N.AM $200,025,000 — 11.9%The 40-Year-Old Virgin — CDN $9,473,074 — N.AM $82,310,000 — 11.5%The Constant Gardener — CDN $2,120,956 — N.AM $19,144,000 — 11.0%Transporter 2 — CDN $3,197,293 — N.AM $30,132,000 — 10.6%The Brothers Grimm — CDN $3,500,238 — N.AM $33,265,000 — 10.5%Red Eye... Read more

The Exorcism of Emily Rose did way better than anyone expected this past weekend, grossing $30.2 million according to studio estimates. That makes it the third-highest September opening ever, and the 15th-highest of the year so far. Rory Bruer, president of distribution for Sony Pictures, tells the Associated Press: “The movie cost us less than $20 million to make. We would have been very happy had the picture opened to $15 million.” I am reminded of this bit from my... Read more

Time for another round-up of newsy items. 1. Yesterday, the Hollywood Reporter wrote: It’s the dreaded weekend after Labor Day, when school is back in session and end-of-summer blues permeate the pop culture. If that didn’t already augur poorly for the box office, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina compounds the situation, creating the possibility that the weekend will be the weakest moviegoing frame of the year. “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” is expected to scare up the most business in... Read more