Cinematical

Ricky Gervais may be the only person who can lie and get away with it. Well, maybe not in real life, but in his new film The Other Side of the Truth he is sole proprietor of fibbing. Gervais, who's starring role in the BBC comedy The Office won him fans worldwide, will not only headline the film but also make his feature directorial debut. The Other Side of the Truth is a comedy written by Gervais and Matt Robinson that tells of a world where lying is unattainable ... that is, until Gervais comes along. He soon becomes the first person to ever tell a lie and "harnesses its power for personal gain," so says Variety. Hard to imagine, but if anyone can pull it off, it's Gervais.

Gervais' voice and delivery is one that I can always hear in my head. Even while reading the description of the film I couldn't help but laugh. I love how he describes his character in this film as being "in the film industry, where actors are really readers who tell completely factual stories. My character's a loser who's about to lose his job, and who's lumbering through the 1300s. All he's got to work with is the Black Death. But once he lies and pretends he's found lost stories, he becomes the greatest storyteller in the world." Nice. The Other Side of the Truth is being produced by Lynda Obst and Oly Obst who gave us How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and (most importantly) Flashdance. The film begins production in the Spring of next year.

The good parts keep coming for Cillian Murphy. The Hollywood Reporter tells us he will officially be starring opposite Al Pacino in the film adaptation of Dali & I: The Surreal Story. The book Dali and I was originally written by Salvador Dali's (you know, the guy who paints things that melt?) real life protege Stan Lauryssesn, who Murphy will portray in the film. The movie concentrates on the span of twenty years in Dali's life where he was already an established iconoclast in the surrealist world, and his eccentricities in both personality and appearance drew more attention to him than his work. Throughout these years is when Dali (Pacino) met Lauryssesn (Murphy), an art dealer and artist who looked to Dali as a mentor.

Bio pics are such a tricky genre of film. I definitely have my favorites (In Pollock, Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden were brilliant!) and ones I hated (Frida was beautiful, but like so many others it packed in every life detail, forgetting that the audience has no time to care about the person on screen.), but I'll give them a fighting chance before I see each film. I'm glad to see Pacino is finally taking on what could be a great role. It's been years since I've seen him do something worthy of his talents (S1m0ne, sigh) and I crave for something as candid and profound as in his youth -- another Dog Day Afternoon please, Mr. Pacino! Dali & I: The Surreal Story will be directed by Andrew Niccol and starts shooting in Spain and New York at the beginning of next year.

Death in Love is going to have many warm blooded women running to the movie theatres, as it's just been announced the film will feature a whole mess of Hollywood's young male heavy hitters. Best known for The O.C., but definitely memorable in Thank You For Smoking, Adam Brody will play a scam artist (according to the Hollywood Reporter) who trapezes into the life of Josh Lucas -- ahem, ladies?! -- in order to help instill meaning into his otherwise lackluster days. Lukas Haas -- who I've had a fondness for since before Mars Attacks! -- will be playing the brother of Lucas. The story revolves around the two brothers who are unhappy with their circumstances and somewhat lost in life. While one (Haas) works on his relationship with mom (Jacqueline Bisset ), the other (Lucas) befriends a scam artist (Brody). From there, we're not sure what happens -- as of now, that's all they're giving us.

Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans) wrote and will direct the film -- this coming from a guy who has quite the eclectic resume. I'm amazed sometimes at the vast differences between the stories he chooses to tell in his films (Uptown Girls versus From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money) and admit to watching -- gulp, and enjoying -- Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights while sick with the flu. The film is already set to shoot in New York and if I had my way, would be in theatres tomorrow.

If you've been waiting eight years for Edward Norton and Brad Pitt to light up the big screen again, then your wait is officially over. The two were last seen in the highly successful, mind-bending Fight Club back in 1999, and will now be appearing together in State of Play. The film looks to be another heavy hitter as it will be directed by Last King of Scotland's Kevin MacDonald and is based off of the British miniseries bearing the same name. Variety tells us the film has been in the works for quite some time (we first reported on it here, and then here). Universal Pictures received the rights to the Paul Abbott series and Pitt was verbally on board right from the get-go (they feared throughout the script's rewrites he would be wooed by another project, but luckily this didn't happen).

The film is definitely asking Pitt and Norton to bring the serious acting gloves back out in a story that involves political power, murder, love affairs and the compromising of police investigations. Norton will play the politico whose future gains are thwarted by a lover's death and Pitt plays the journalist who becomes too involved with the women in the investigation. Now if they would just cast Meat Loaf in some kind of role, we'd truly know what Peaches and Herb were singing about in 'Reunited.'

Susan Sarandon is about to play a grandmother in one of the best novels of 2002, but I was taken aback when I first read that last week -- is she really grandmother-age already? Anyway, I tend to trust Peter Jackson's decision-making (as long as an oversized ape is not involved.) He'll of course be directing an adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel, The Lovely Bones. It's an incredible story about a young woman who is abducted, raped and murdered; we follow the aftermath from her point of view as she rests in heaven, looking over the lives of her family and her killer. She (and we) watch as some family members try to get on with their lives, the sister grows into adulthood and the killer continues on his own journey. The book is a tragic, compelling story that could really benefit from a big-budget, big-screen push, and the fantastical but true-to-the-source world of Lord of the Rings that Jackson created is proof enough that he can balance his own creativity with honoring an author's vision.

The film has not only nabbed Sarandon, but another favorite of mine, Stanley Tucci, to play the murderer. Playing the kid watching everything from above will be newcomer Saoirse Ronan. And, of course, the cast also includes Rachel Weisz and Ryan Gosling. Production begins this fall and the pic will probably be ready for release by fall of 2008.

It seems only natural that Johnny Depp would eventually want to play a vampire -- it wouldn't be the most eccentric in the long line of eccentric roles under his belt. And the actor, who just recently wrapped production on two big movies-- Sweeney Todd and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End -- may be just about ready to bite into that kind of part. Depp's production company Infinitum-Nihil and GK Films have just obtained the rights to and are currently developing a script for the film rendition of Dark Shadows. You may remember Dark Shadows as a 60s show that dealt with all things supernatural, including vampires, ghouls, zombies and more. One character, Barnabas Collins, sparked particular interest with Depp as a child -- he claims to have imagined playing the role on the big screen, so that's probably what we're in store for.

Dark Shadows was a success in the 60s and 70s and continues to have a cult following; according to Variety there have been many attempted adaptations of the series but none as serious as what Depp and his team are up to. If you've never seen an episode or want to refresh you Dark Shadows memory then you can visit their official site. And if you are really aching to be a part of the action then you can join the yearly convention -- that should take place this August. Until then, happy dreams of Johnny Depp sinking his teeth into your neck.

What's going on in the world of Linda Fiorentino? Oh, a little of this and a little of that. The actress, best known for her work in Men and Black and Dogma, is gearing up for a busy 2008 by putting herself into the producer's chair for a biopic of late Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. Fiorentino is also apparently circling the lead role, although whether she'll bite has not been determined yet. Writer Jim Curtis created a screenplay about the poet, whose best known work was Requiem, written during the height of Stalinism. Akhmatova died in 1966, after creating for herself a place in the history books as a strong feminine figure in Russian arts. Tragically, for nearly twenty years the poet's voice was suppressed as the Russian government put a ban on publishing her works.

Fiorentino is also considering the possibility of directing the project and whether or not she ends up taking on the role, she certainly looks like the poet. In addition to the Akhmatova project, the actress is also currently working on a slew of other proects. She's developing documentaries that focus on research in juvenile diabetes and autism, as well as developing a documentary entitled Equal Protection that focuses on the discrimination against Italian-Americans. A third project she's currently working on is called The Motherhood, and that's a television show about parenting techniques. Looks like she'll be keeping busy for a while.

John Carney has been actively pursued by Fox 2000 to direct their upcoming comedy Town House. The director of Once -- that Sundance mega hit (and winner of the Audience Award) which tells the love story of two musicians in Dublin -- has said yes to helm the film, written by Doug Wright (Quills). Carney's current repertoire of work is both self-written and directed, so this will be his first directorial project penned by another writer.

Town House is a comedy that, according to Variety, centers itself around a man who is the son of a deceased rock legend. The man is a recluse who maintains his social anonymity by selling his father's mementos and eventually their home -- the town house in which he lives after running out of things to pawn off. This catapults the character into a life altering self-realization, all while attempting to be funny at the same time. The screenplay is based on the novel of the same name by author Tish Cohen. The book itself has received rave reviews and is said to have been "film ready" for quite some time. Lots of books are "film ready;" it's just a matter of finding someone who's ready to actually make the film. Shooting will begin in January, but the cast has yet to be announced. I'd love to see the sequestered main character as Ryan Gosling (a spin off of his character in Half Nelson?), or maybe Clive Owen -- since I wouldn't mind seeing him in everything.

If you like snakes, creepy goblin people and Freddie Highmore, then you'll love the teaser trailer for The Spiderwick Chronicles. The recently-released trailer gives us a sneak peak into Highmore's -- the magical child from Finding Neverland -- role as the title character in this adaptation of the children's lit favorite. Highmore is joining a more or less all-star cast that includes Mary Louise Parker (one of my favorites), Martin Short and Nick Nolte -- I've missed him, haven't you? The film is being directed by Mike Waters who is responsible for Freaky Friday and the brutally funny Mean Girls.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a series of stories about a young boy who acquires some great responsibility thanks to his possession of an eerie book found in his new home. The boy, Jared (Highmore), his twin brother Simon (also played by Highmore) and sister Mallory -- played by Sarah Bolger -- set out on a series of adventures with the strange beings who reside at the Spiderwick estate. Those beings, Jared, and his brother and sister all get into a series of mishaps that they have to get themselves out of.

Based on this trailer, the film and its creatures will look incredible and have a visual similarity to Highmore's recent film Arthur and The Invisibles. As for Highmore, he's been showing the kind of talent normally displayed by older, trained actors, which is why he's consistently a joy to watch on screen. The prodigy actor and the rest of the talented cast will be seen in February of 2008 when The Spiderwick Chronicles makes its way to theatres.

New Orleans is filling up with cast members for Black Water Transit and the latest one to be added is Aisha Tyler. The list already includes Laurence Fishburne, Stephen Dorff and American Dreams star Brittany Snow, and no longer includes Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, who were attached and then dropped out. There's a limited amount of information available on the plot but the story is known to take place in post-Katrina New Orleans and revolves around a man -- maybe Fishburne? -- who is on a crusade to release his drug-addicted son from jail. IMDB describes the film as being about the convergence of law enforcement, criminals and lawyers over an illegal shipment of weapons into America as one man tries to find a safe harbor for his family's illegal firearms.

So in other words, it's about the relationships between cops and criminals. Black Water Transit is written and directed by Tony Kaye who gave us American History X -- thank you for that, Mr. Kaye. As for Aisha Tyler, I have to confess that I'm amazed by her work. I always found her to be terribly annoying as the Talk Soup host, but she's gone about building up an impressive resume since then. Also, we know that she will be playing a police detective, à la her roles in CSI and 24.