LOS ANGELES, California?Josh Hartnett?s ?I Come With The Rain? (?Je Vien Avec la Pluie?), shot partially in Mindanao, is among the much-anticipated films of 2009.
Costarring with Josh is Elias Koteas, who has a brief but pivotal role as Monsieur Gateau in the opening scenes of Brad Pitt?s ?The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.?
Other interesting films this year:
Quentin Tarantino, our favorite expert on Filipino grindhouse movies in the ?60s and ?70s, is directing Brad Pitt for the first time in ?Inglorious Basterds? (yes, with an ?e?). The Jolie-Pitts are living in Berlin, while Brad collaborates with Quentin in playing what the actor described to us as a ?Tennessee redneck? who assembles a group of Jewish-American soldiers to take on the Nazis in France during World War II.
Knowledge
In our recent interview with Brad, he appeared very excited about the movie, which he described as ?outrageous? and ?the World War II film to end all World War II films.? When we told him about Quentin?s impressive knowledge of certain Filipino films made in the ?60s and ?70s, Brad commented that he was just as amazed with the director?s knowledge of world cinema.
Brad?s enthusiastic comments about working with Quentin bodes well for ?Inglorious??: ?Quentin is a delight! He has such love for film and the craft. On the set, it?s like we?re in his church. It?s a lovely experience. He?s both hilarious and very serious. He?s very committed to what he?s doing. It was interesting to learn that he dropped out of high school and film became his continuing education. His film knowledge is extraordinary. He has incredible memory. He remembers discussions we had that I have no idea about.?
Another reason to watch out for ?Inglorious...? this year, we got hold of Quentin?s script, in which a character mentions ?Tagalog? and ?Filipino.? Here?s that exchange between Lt. Aldo (Brad) and Col. Landa (Christoph Waltz):
Col. Landa: Italian? Really? What could you have possibly been thinking?
Lt. Aldo: Well, I speak a little Italian?
Col. Landa: I speak a little Tagalog, but I wouldn?t begin to presume I could pass for Filipino.
Let?s see if this dialogue makes the film?s final cut.
?The Box,? based on the short story, ?Button, Button,? by Richard Matheson and starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella, tells the story of a suburban couple (Diaz and Marsden), whose child receives an anonymous gift bearing life-altering consequences. It?s a simple wooden box that promises to deliver its owner $1 million with a mere press of a button. However, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of a stranger elsewhere in the world! With the couple in possession of the box for just 24 hours, they find themselves caught in a moral dilemma.
Career resurgence
Robert Downey Jr.?s much-deserved career resurgence continues with ?Sherlock Holmes,? director Guy Ritchie?s ?reimagining? of the saga of the ultimate sleuth. Downey plays the title role, while Jude Law portrays his partner, Watson.
The tireless Clint Eastwood is working on an adaptation of John Carlin?s book, ?Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation.? With Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in the cast, Clint will tell the inspiring true story of how Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa?s rugby team to help unite their country.
Sam Mendes? ?Away We Go? is a comedy that follows the journey of an expectant couple, played by John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, as they travel the US in search of a place to settle in and raise a family.
In the animated movie, ?Monsters vs. Aliens,? the 5?2? tall Reese Witherspoon provides the voice of a giant superhero. ?It?s thrilling for me, because I gain 45 feet in it,? she enthused in an interview. ?I?m also very proud of that movie, because it?s the first animated movie in 3D.?
(To be concluded tomorrow.)
E-mail rvnepales_ 5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http:// blogs.inquirer.net/ nepalesreport.
