Thursday, August 20, 2009

Leo, Ellen and Cillian

Is it just me or is it hard to picture these two acting together onscreen? What is it about Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page that give me that ole' oil and water feeling? They seem to be kindred spirits of drably dressed boredom in this photo so perhaps I'm wrong. Speculate with me in the comments...

via lots more photos here

The movie in question is Inception, due for a teaser trailer any second now, which is Christopher Nolan's sci-fi follow up to The Dark Knight. For all I know -- the plot is closely guarded -- they're playing brother and sister. Unlike James Cameron, who seemed spooked after Titanic, Nolan is just getting back to work. That's always the best move when you've just made a game changer. Get your follow up out of the way and bring your career back down to earth... even if you're still breathing rarefied air while touching ground.

Batman does not appear in the generically titled Inception but the cast is plum. Rising stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard (as DiCaprio's wife apparently) the enduring if never foregrounded Lukas Haas and Nolan/Batman holdovers Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe. I'm glad to see Nolan sticking by Murphy in particular who we assumed, back in 2003 when he carried 28 Days Later with such magnetism, was going to be a much bigger star by now. At the very least, he's always entirely watchable.

24 comments:

DJ said...

Apparently there is a plot floating around: they have discovered a vaccination of some sort that allows them to enter into people's minds and dreams.

anywho, I really don't like Ellen Page - she brings my anticipation level from a 10 to an 8. :/ She just doesn't fit here. And I hate the idea of a sidekick.

Ashley said...

Why is there so much Ellen Page hate? Sure, I understand that people don't care for Juno and all but she really is talented. Just watch An American Crime with the great Catherine Keener, or even Hard Candy. She just HAS to stop playing the "indie, quirky" girl role. Hopefully, her role in Inception will be something new and refreshing.

I'd much rather see her in this film instead of someone like Megan Fox or Sienna Miller. Speaking of Cillian Murphy, I dying to see the movie Peacock he made with Ellen Page.

Andrew K. said...

Okay Nathaniel I'm with you. Oil and water? Definitely. At least that's what I think...and Murphy should be bigger by now. He managed to make the unbearable Girl With a Pearl Earring slightly better.

lolwat said...

This looks weird because we haven't seen Leo standing next to a woman who isn't a statuesque leading lady type since 1996, back when he looked like a skinny boy.

Derreck said...

i'm going with DJ. Ellen Page did annoy the happy hell out of me in JUNO (and did that same schtick in SMART PEOPLE) but i'm trying my best to not hold it against her after seeing her in HARD CANDY. It's quite hard. Seeing her included in this almost awesome cast is not helping things.

and with Leo, i've just recently decided that he's one of my favorite actors. Oddly during REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. I'm still quite hurt that he didn't get much praise for that film. He was great. I can't wait to see him in SHUTTER ISLAND. Plus, i'm glad to see Marion Cotillard is having a great post Oscar career.

stella said...

definitely a bizarre cast, from actors who annoy the hell out of me, including ellen page and leonardo "look at how good i scrunch up my face" dicaprio. On the other hand there's cillian murphy, ken watanabe, and marion cotillard, who in my opinion are some of the more exciting actors out there right now. Ahhhh! Pass or not?

RC said...

oil and water for sure --- maybe that's the magic of Christopher Nolan?

The cast of this film has got me so curious.

Ashley said...

The pairing of Leo and Ellen may be a little bizarre. Shia Labeouf and Cate Blanchett were in Indiana Jones together.

Ms.Berkowitz said...

What?!?!?I love ellen page after I saw "Hard candy" and "mouth to mouth". The only other film I saw her in was "Juno" which I thought was sweet and charming. I love that he's not paired with some statuesque model looking common starlet. Maybe ellen is the female version of Leo, who knows? I think she's very talented, it just bugs me people are annoyed of her. I think this pairing is interesting and smart, I'm pretty sure its gonna work.

Joe said...

Ellen Page is a great actress, shes already done a pretty wide variety of roles in the past few years. I think she may actually have good chemistry with Leo.

Joanie said...

Am I the only one who's tired of hearing about Marion Cotillard?

jihn said...

There were some pics onset of Marion stabbing her best actress enemy '07, Ellen Page.

NATHANIEL R said...

Joanie... no. you aren't. I think Hollywood has decided to pass the "cast Cate Blanchett in everything even if it doesn't make any sense" torch on to Marion Cotillard.

Anonymous said...

No Spoilers.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone think someone in this movie will be nominated or win a oscar for this movie? Considering it's impressive cast. Personally I think Joseph Gordon levitt or Ellen page will.

Henry said...

Did Cameron seem "spooked"? I always thought he was more like "basking in the glory and residue of Titanic, good and bad." You know, like "the King of the World" is supposed to do. Anyway, releasing a follow-up to a blockbuster after 12 years is enough to convince me that Cameron may be getting desperate. Especially after he charged money to see some snippets of footage of Avatar. Man's ego seemingly can't take a hint.

Inception sounds good though. And it's got a cast that will definitely hook me in: Leo, Ellen, Ken Watanabe, Cotillard, JGL, Michael Caine. Nolan just churns out good movies, whether they're blockbusters or not. Gotta admire that a little bit.

Davey said...

That cast sounds like a winner. And I'll throw some love out there for Ellen Page. She was awesome in "Juno", and I wish the best for her in her future projects. And La Marion is in this too, so double yay from me! I hope that expectations aren't too high for Christopher Nolan though. It must be hell (in a good way) having to follow up THE DARK KNIGHT, and some might have their claws out (but then they always do). Hopefully it'll be great. If this is "Memento" level, then I'll be a happy camper.

Juno101 said...

WHATS WRONG WITH ELLEN PAGE!!?the people who commented first need to chill, shes a very versatile and impressive actress. Shes only been in one "quirky" role unless you also count "smart people" which really isn't that "quirky". Anyway, I love ellen and I think she standout from the cast, she never does high budget movies besides x-men but she wasn't in that long unlike this. I think she's an unusual actress thats great and has a natural talent for this. Now, I think the rest of the cast is great and I can't wait to see this. I can't imagine this sucking.

Miss Tufsy said...

Nathaniel, I usual am a bit of a lurker on this site, but I think comparing Marion to the ubitious Blanchett is an exaggeration. Blanchett, except for this year has had like 2 movies every year since 1999. Marion wasn't even a movie last year so that already there breaks the comparison and Marion has been cast in supporting roles for all of her upcoming films (unlike Blanchett)- and with the exception of Nine, she's playing what the character's nationality requires. In Public Enemies she was half french, she has a French movie coming out this year, and since Inception takes place in several countries, including France and Japan, I'm assuming the character is french.

On top of that she's not exactly being cast as an elf, nazi, southern ballerina, British Monarch, legendary Hollywood star, or a man.

I may be being a bit defensive over her since I love her so much, but when I see a lousy comparison I'll point it out.

steve said...

i just hate Ellen Page for threatening to cut off Patrick Wilson's genitals

the horror the horror

NATHANIEL R said...

juno101... i like ellen page from what i've seen so far (aside from the blasphemy of Patrick Wilson mutilation as Steve notes) it was just seeing them together that gave me pause.

miss tufsy point taken... although there's a part of me that can't believe that there's suddenly a surplus of english meant for french characters (that's not usual) so my guess is they're just adjusting lots of screenplays to suit her. hence the blanchett note.

we'll see. i am happy that there's a french actress out there exciting people again... but i guess i just wish i could be on board. i so prefer Sagnier and Devos and Testud from the young French actress pool.

kin said...

I never really considered the idea that Nolan is facing immense pressure to follow up on The Dark Knight. It is probably true, but it never crossed my mind.

I mean, as great as all of his other films have been, it is all downhill from Memento.

Anonymous said...

Shutter Island was pushed to 2010. Lame excuse.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^
^ yeah, I know, right?^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^