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Angelina Jolie, 'Hellboy II' Bookending 'Swear-along Scarface' and Others at LA Film Fest

STV — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:40:00 EDT

We long ago gave up our illusions about Film Independent's annual Los Angeles Film Festival being any kind of authentic showcase for, well, independent film. Like when Transformers launched the fest last year? Right. But that's the biz, and if it takes Universal to step in on opening night June 19 with its Angelina Jolie action thriller Wanted just so we can see the revelatory Russian entry Cargo 200 on the West Coast, then that's a price we're willing to pay. (And hell, we'll probably even check out Wanted while we're at it.) Follow the jump for a few more highlights, including Universal's other graphic novel adaptation closing the fest.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Guillermo del Toro's last film before disappearing down the Hobbit rabbit hole for four years, closes the festival June 29, while a smattering of world premieres (the Aimee Mann concert film Largo, Lori Petty's directorial debut The Poker House) can be found in the competition slate. Elsewhere are James Marsh's nifty Sundance-winning documentary Man on Wire — about the Frenchman who walked a tightrope between the World Trade Center Towers in 1974 — and Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal, which follows its infamous subject's "long, strange trip through the Nevada desert and brothel politics to open Heidi's Stud Farm."

Among the most notable of special screenings, however, we'd spotlight Swear-along Scarface at the Ford Amphitheater: "Think you've got what it takes to swear alongside Tony Montana and his foul-mouthed crew? Don't miss this opportunity to curse under the stars at this special 'Adults Only' screening of a timeless f#*!*ing classic." Actually, we don't think anyone has what it takes, but we'll probably give it a shot anyway. Check the rest of the selections at the fest's Web site, and save us a seat.

[Photo Credit: Wireimage]

Los Angeles Film Festival [Film Independent]

Trade Round-Up: Pacino Gets High-Paid 'Ocean's Thirteen' Vacation

Mark — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:55:15 EDT

· Warner Bros. determines that the cast of Ocean's Thirteen really needs a big-name actor to chew the scenery being ignored by the other big-name actors phoning in their performances, adds Al Pacino to the project. [Variety]
· Jack Valenti supports a $300 million media ad campaign to educate parents on being responsible for their kids' viewing habits by using the V-Chip, warning them that "not utilizing this crucial barrier against inappropriate adult content is like throwing open the front door to your home and inviting in your neighborhood's sex offenders for a kindgergarten-diddling play date." [THR]
· "Ambiguous" tracking info on Universal's United 93 has the studio anxiously awaiting the movie's reception at itsTribeca Film Fest premiere, which may give them a sense of how it might fare against this weekend's other new release competition. Good news: RV's late tracking says that audiences feel it's "too soon" for another Robin Williams movie after the tragedy of House of D. [Variety]
· Studios pray that their coming onslaught of animated family films can distract overseas audiences from the World Cup. Possible marketing slogan: "Why not trample each other at Garfield's A Tale of Two Kitties instead?" [THR]
· Touchstone TV and the three major guilds come to an agreement on residuals for a long-delayed Lost spinoff for mobile phones, allowing the regular cast to participate and saving fans from having to watch "mobisodes" consisting entirely of silent background actors wandering around in dirty clothes. [Variety]

Trade Round-Up: Heath Ledger Hottest Gay Cowboy At Telluride

Mark — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:28:09 EDT

· Variety proclaims that actors, not directors, are creating all the buzz at the Telluride film festival, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener in Capote, Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line, and Heath Ledger and a pair of sexy chaps in gay cowboy flick Brokeback Mountain among the standouts. [Variety]
· THR's Hollywood and Katrina round-up: Jerry Lewis raises a million dollars for hurricane victims, the major networks get ready to unite Friday for another relief concert, and MTV goes it alone. [THR,THR]
· Marvel Entertainment will independently finance and produce big-screen vehicles for the leftover comic book characters in their stable, announcing plans to adapt ten of their titles. That's right, True Believers, you might finally get those Ant Man and Power Pack movies you've been clamoring for! [Variety]
· Deciding that a tentative plan to execute losers on the Emmy telecast wasn't cruel enough, the show will feature an "Emmy Idol" competition in which actors like Kristen Bell and William Shatner sing TV themes and are subjected to a public vote on their off-key warblings. [THR]