James Absolon explains how this Pope-themed film, despite its risky premise, works
Alex Pollard reviews Hollywood's biopic of the controversial Margaret Thatcher
News: Fresh from his successes Juno and Up in the Air screen-writer Jason Reitman has lined up his next project. Having previously used his satirical eye to take on the tobacco industry and the credit crunch, his new film Elliot Allagash is set in the realm of private schools and examining the world of wealthy socialites.
Another director who has optioned his next release is Ruben ‘Zombieland’ Fleischer who has got two films out within a month of each other in 2011. The first of these is 30 Seconds or Less, a comedy about a bank heist perpetrated by a pizza delivery crew. After this is Babes in the Woods, written by School of Rock’s Mike White. I guess Zombieland 2 will just have to wait.
Releases: The group stages of the World Cup are over and that means one thing: the major film releases of the summer can now begin to trickle back through. This week sees Shrek Forever After, the fourth and final film in the Shrek franchise. After the appalling exploits of Shrek The Third this was the last chance for the creators to redeem themselves, and current reviews appear to hint that this is an improvement but not enough to recapture the magic of the first Shrek films (check out The Yorker’s own review here). Maybe they should have quit while they were ahead.
Also seeing a release is Knight and Day, the latest thriller vehicle starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. With its mix of romantic dark comedy and action this film is set to mark the next stage in a comeback for Cruise, whose career had been skidding into decline due to his off-screen shenanigans. This may not be the best film out this summer but is likely to later gain cult status in the vein of Mr & Mrs Smith.
New Series: The most exciting US television imports this week come back-to-back on the TV schedule, and they’ve been long overdue some British airtime. The first is awards-favourite The Closer, a Los Angeles-based crime drama which is currently airing its fifth season in the US, although we’re only just broadcasting its first (Thu 9pm, More4). The second is frank cop drama Southland starring The O.C.’s Ben McKenzie (Thu 10pm, More4).
Rev, a new comedy series about a vicar starring the delightful Tom Hollander, starts this week (Mon 10pm, BBC2). And if you’re bored, you can always check out the new series of Top Gear, which started on Sunday, or the final episode of Doctor Who.
Casting: As if Adrian Chiles from The One Show wasn’t enough, we now have to cope with the departure of his co-host Christine Bleakley, who will be joining him on the GMTV sofas. And apparently Robson Green has been cast as a werewolf in the new series of Being Human. Yes, really, that Robson Green. Glee also have a new recruit in the form of Filipino youtube sensation Charice who will play a rival to Rachel. You gotta love the power of the internet.
Future series: There are rumours of another series centred on Life on Mars character Gene Hunt, which would bring the already-missed copper to the present day, but they’re likely to only be rumours as the creators of the show seemed pretty adamant that Ashes to Ashes was the end of the road for the character.
E4 has just purchased a new comedy about 30-something women from Liverpool which is set around a fish-and-chip shop. The title? Sex and the Chippy, of course. It could be good, or it could be so very, very bad.
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