Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Who's Up For Hugo

JA from MNPP here, with a bit of casting news hitting the internet today. Martin Scorsese's gathering up his cast for Hugo Cabret, his adaptation of the apparently popular book by Brian Selznick, and you might recognize one or two of them.


Jude Law. Frances de la Tour. Sacha Baron Cohen. Richard Griffiths. Christopher Lee. Ray Winstone. Ben Kingsley. Asa Butterfield. Helen McCrory. Not pictured is Chloe Moretz of Kick Ass and the unnecessary Let the Right One In remake (but the less I say about her the better).

Hey look, History Boys reunion!


Not that those two haven't already done the Harry Potter thing. They are English actors, after all. Anyway, since I haven't read the book I only have a couple of points to make. Firstly, Martin Scorsese is working with Christopher Lee. Secondly, Martin Scorsese is working with Christopher Lee. Okay I guess that's all I got. It makes this horror-geek's head happy though.

Anybody familiar the book? I'm assuming the chance to fetishize George Méliès it promises is what drew Scorsese to the material, no? Now that he's won his Oscar it's nice seeing Marty loosen up again (even if I wasn't too keen on Shutter Island).
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16 comments:

RJ said...

I am so down with this movie. George Melies is a demigod.

Dominik said...

Just why couldn’t you have written “the less I say about *it*” (i.e. the remake), I haven’t seen “Let the Right One In”, but I totally get your point that remaking a good movie is unnecessary. (I would be a phony if I said I’d support it since I’ve seen “The Ring” and would call it a quite good movie, but not more, but have no desire at all to watch “Ringu”.) Okay, here’s a little support for your cause: I solemnly wow not to see the remake unless I have seen “Let the Right One In” before! What’s the deal with vampires nowadays anyway? But why did you have to write “the less I say about *her*” (i.e. Chloe Moretz). Now I can’t resist the urge to defend “my Hit-Girl”. While she hasn’t blown me away like Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” or Isabelle Fuhrman in “Orphan”, I think she has potential and I really like her. And I might be in the minority on this blog, but I also really like “Kick-Ass”. Though I have to admit, it’s inconsequent, and that deserves to be regarded as a weakness. (I’ve read the graphic novel after I’ve seen the movie, and I think it’s more consequent – thus also more graphic, more cynical … less suitable for mainstream audiences probably) So I’m asking why does it have to be personal, when you probably just don’t like the movie “Kick-Ass”, and the idea of “Let the Right One In” being re-made? But it’s not really that much of a serious question, I just couldn’t resist…

Anonymous said...

im pumped for this, the tech credits look fabulous and the cast is extremely impressive. should be something special

Dominik said...

From another point of view... wow... Marty making a movie without Leo? What a rare treat! Maybe I'll have to see it just for that reason. Well, maybe I hate Leo more than I should just because every girl was in love with him after "Titanic"... after all I have to remember I liked him in "This Boy's Life". But then again that was back in the days when I didn't realize "Forrest Gump" was more manipulative than it was great... Oh, these days when Robert De Niro was Scorsese's muse, not DiCaprio...

NATHANIEL R said...

Dominik -- i'm in the weird position of liking both DiCaprio and Scorsese but not liking them together all that much. I don't dislike them per se but their collaboration doesn't make me excited for a movie even though collaborations between two people I like usually do.

I do kind of wish Scorsese would move on.

RJ -- i'm excited for this too even though I admit i know almost nothing about this book. But Melies and the cast alone.

Dominik -- SEE "LET THE RIGHT ONE IN". I guarantee it gets watered down for Americans. Even if they try and go faithful.

Jason Adams said...

Dominik, I said I didn't want to say a lot! Now I start looking like an asshole, picking on a 13 year old girl (ha, "start"). But it's not just Kick Ass that I don't like - I think she's terrible. Like, really terrible. Like I have a physical back-away-from-the-screen reaction to watching her. I think she's obvious and hammy at every single turn and I haven't bought anything she's ever done on-screen. She's probably a very sweet girl in real life and I wish her plenty of luck in future endeavors that don't involve stuffing herself into movies that I otherwise want to see. But that's why I said it that way.

Dominik said...

@JA, I don't think of you as an ass-hole for picking on Chloe. Obviously, I don't know what she's like in real life, but other than you I really like her on screen. And it shouldn't be forbidden to not like her just because she's only 13. She's a public person now, other 13-year-olds are not... this can get really bad for her, but she seems to me like she can handle it.
@Nathaniel: I'm gonna see "LTROI" if I get a chance.
And i haven't seen any of the numerous DiCaprio/Scorsese collaborations yet... "Shutter Island" and "The Departed" kind of draw my interest... maybe I'll see them soon and see how they work together for me...

OtherRobert said...

I, for one, hope Christopher Lee gets to lead a rousing chorus of an English folk song at some point in the film. I know it's not happening. Still, Christopher Lee in Oscar bait. What could go wrong?

Don't answer that. I don't want to know.

Glenn Dunks said...

This one's in 3D, right?

Arkaan said...

Nathaniel, the book is a masterpiece. It's not even a book. It's a film but bound. Hearing Scorsese is making this film made me laugh with delight. It's basically about love of movies. Love of Paris. Love of Paris and movies. It's an amazing work of fiction.

chris na Taraja said...

Saw HISTORY BOYS on broadway. Loved the actors, hated the play. Really, would you have gone for a motorcycle ride with that teacher?!

No Bad Movies said...

Great filmmaking team they have assembled for it. I can imagine that the look of the film will be gorgreous, especially with Robert Richardson lensing. It's got Oscar people all over it. Officially is my number one most anticipated film of 2011.

No Bad Movies said...

Oh...official Oscar prediction for Hugo... 10 Oscar nods.

Film
Director
supporting actress
supporting actor
adapted screenplay
editing
costumes
cinematography
art direction
score

( maybe even makeup )

Walter L. Hollmann said...

The idea of a Scorsese/Lee team-up gives me a warm, tingly feeling. And just the other day, I thought to myself, "It's been a while since I've seen Frances de la Tour in something good." So yay!

Volvagia said...

"Corn Rigs and Barley Rigs, and Corn Rigs are Bonny." Best Original Song 1973. Why? For fulfilling the narrative purpose so exactingly (An amazingly calm song that almost WASHED my BRAIN of the narrative watching it.)

ivan said...

the book is great. kids/tween age book. an absolutely easy and quick read. i teach, and the kids, especially the boys, go ape-sh*t over it. so i had to read it, and it is pretty cool. arkaan is right...not so much a book, but a film..in paper (???). its a graphic novel, fiction, movie, all wrapped up into one. pick it up. the pictures and art alone will totally suck you right in. dont let the size of the book fool you either. half is art.