Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna Movie Trailer
Spike Lee’s big screen adaptation of James McBride’s Miracle at St. Anna chronicles the story of four black American soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division who get trapped in a small Tuscan village on the Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The film deals with the Sant’Anna di Stazzema massacre, but is structured with a Titanic/Saving Private Ryan flashback plot device involving a priceless Italian artifact, which is discovered in a murderer’s closet. The sculpted head from Ponte Santa Trinita, valued at $5 million, is a clue to a mystery that began 39 years earlier, when the soldiers found themselves trapped behind enemy lines and separated from their unit after one of them risks his life to save an Italian boy.
Miracle at St. Anna stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Matteo Sciabordi, John Leguizamo, and Joseph Gordon Levitt. Judging from the trailer, Spike Lee might be heading for an Oscar nomination with this one. Tell me what you think in the comments below.
You can watch the trailer in High Definition on Yahoo. Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna will hit theaters on September 26th 2008.
Terry Gilliam to Finish Imaginarium with Computer Generated Heath Ledger?
Last week The Sun reported that director Terry Gilliam had his sights on Johnny Depp to finish what remains of the late Heath Ledger’s role in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. However, now comes word that Depp’s reps tell People that “There have been no official talks, and he is currently working on Public Enemies for Michael Mann for Universal.” But that doesn’t mean that the project will be shelved. Co-star Christopher Plummer says that Gilliam is working hard to find a way to finish the film, possibly even using a CGI:
“Terry’s throwing himself into the job of trying to salvage the picture,” said Plummer. “[Gilliam is] trying to work out at this moment how to continue on. Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI… Terry was a very good friend [of Heath’s]. He very wants to go on with the movie, and I can very much understand why. Because he wants to dedicate it to Heath, of course.”
I’m not quite sure what Plummer is trying to say, but it sure sounds to me like Gilliam is considering using computer generated character effects to finish some of Ledger’s remaining sequences.
Sundance Movie Review: Incendiary
I caught the press screening of Incendiary yesterday, but I’m now reassessing the film through a whole new depressing angle. The film stars Michelle Williams as a mother who loses her husband and 4-year-old son in a suicide bombing at a North London Soccer game. Williams’ was not at the game because she was off having an affair with a man played by Ewan McGregor. The young mother’s world is torn apart, and the film deals with her insanity during this time of loss.
For those who don’t know, Williams was engaged to Heath Ledger, and even fathered his child Matilda. The couple broke up a few months back supposedly because they were spending too much time apart due of their respective careers. I try not to delve into gossip on, but a connection between the real life tragedy and the one shown in this story is all too similar, and personal. Williams performance is heart-wrenching, Academy Award worthy even, a tour-de-force. It’s too bad, because this film will likely now face insurmountable marketing problems. Even if it wasn’t for Ledger’s death, a depressing film like this is a hard sell for any movie distributor. I can’t stress enough how powerful Williams was in this film. Thinking about it, and Ledger, makes my eyes water…