‘LIFE’ and ‘Queen of the Desert’ on various ‘Most Anticipated Movies of 2015’ lists
The Film Stage – LIFE
After premiering his latest drama, A Most Wanted Man, at Sundance last year, we thought director Anton Corbijn might return to Park City, but barring any last-minute announcements that looks to not be the case. Hopefully coming later this year, as scripted by Luke Davies, Life centers on the relationship between James Dean (Dane DeHaan) and Life Magazine‘s Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson), the latter of whom had been tasked with capturing the up-and-coming actor less than a year before his rise to stardom and tragic death. –Jordan R.
The Film Stage – Queen of the Desert
With rumors that it would arrive last year, the wait continues for Werner Herzog’s first narrative feature in half-a-decade, the story of legendary cartographer Gertrude Bell may be hitting theaters this year. Led by Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, James Franco, and Damian Lewis, Queen of the Desert follows Bell, a diplomatic explorer, who negotiated with Arab nations and helped establish the countries of Iraq and Jordan. Considering that Herzog is the man who gave us such epics as Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre, we’re looking forward to a return with what looks to be his most visually ambitious work in some time. With fall line-ups getting announced shortly, check back for updates. – Jordan R.
See more after the jump
LIFE
Director: Anton Corbijn (“A Most Wanted Man,” “The American”)
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Dane DeHaan, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley
Synopsis: Photographer Dennis Stock accepts a new assignment for Life Magazine to take pictures of rising star James Dean. The two became close friends as a result.
What You Need To Know: Everything about this picture sounds promising, except its shoddy title (we’re half-hoping it gets nixed last minute for something, anything, else). We’ve been fans of Corbijn’s work ever since his 2007 debut “Control,” in which he already proved his mettle with the tricky biopic genre. Now, after his continuously excellent, if slightly more subdued, work in “The American” and last year’s “A Most Wanted Man,” Corbijn is set to tackle the biopic again. What gives us even more hope this time around is that this is a world Corbijn knows all too well, since he started off his own career as a photographer. And he’s got a great cast to boot, with Pattinson already successfully shedding his post-“Twilight” glitter for “The Rover” and “Maps to the Stars.” We’d also be lying if we said we weren’t curious to see how DeHaan is going to pull off Dean.
Release Date: September 25th in the UK, but we’re not sure on an official date Stateside. Expect a Cannes premiere.
Ex-photographer and Control helmer Anton Corbijn seems like the perfect person to direct Life. That’s basically because it’s based on the real-life bromance between Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock and icon of cool James Dean. Robert Pattinson plays Stock, Dane DeHaan is James Dean, and they head up a cast that includes Ben Kingsley as tough-talking studio head Jack Warner, and Joel Edgerton as picture editor/photography pioneer John G Morris. Expect this one to clean up when awards season comes around in 2016.
After premiering his latest drama, A Most Wanted Man, at Sundance last year, we thought director Anton Corbijn might return to Park City, but barring any last-minute announcements that looks to not be the case. Hopefully coming later this year, as scripted by Luke Davies, Life centers on the relationship between James Dean (Dane DeHaan) and Life Magazine‘s Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson), the latter of whom had been tasked with capturing the up-and-coming actor less than a year before his rise to stardom and tragic death. –Jordan R.
Former rock photographer turned acclaimed director Anton Corbijn focuses his lens on the life story of a fellow snapper: Magnum’s Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson), and specifically his friendship with his great subject, James Dean (Dane DeHaan). Stock shot the now-iconic Life magazine images of Dean prior to the release of East of Eden (1955).
We still shiver when recollecting the luscious monochrome of Corbijn’s Ian Curtis pic, Control. Interim efforts may not have packed so intense a punch but the legacy of his debut lives on. The Dutch photographer created the effect of characters moving through a world so textured that it seemed to have its own pulse. For Life — the story of a photographer and his relationship with James Dean, Dane DeHaan plays the original rebel without a cause opposite reformed heartthrob, Robert Pattinson. Let’s see what he makes of them.
Anton Corbijn rose to fame as the legend-making photographer of such bands as U2 and Joy Division, so he’d have a natural affinity for this 1955-set drama, penned by Candy’s Luke Davies, of a Life magazine photog (Robert Pattinson) who is assigned to cover rising star James Dean (Dane DeHaan). The two set out on a cross-country road trip, in a film that sounds like it could be the thoughtful buddy pic that On the Road (starring Corbijn find Sam Riley) failed to be.
With Life follows Dutch photographer / director Anton Corbijn strong spy thriller A Most Wanted Man on. The film follows the friendship between Life photographer Dennis Stock and Hollywood icon James Dean during the early 50s Robert Pattinson plays Stock, while Dane DeHaan (from include The Place Beyond the Pines) takes on the role of Dean. The filming of this biopic beginning of the year already completed, causing a release in 2015 is as good as certain.
When? Unknown“
Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man (2014) proved to be a worthy finale for Philip Seymour Hoffman. Now, he has Dane DeHaan (the best thing aboutKill Your Darlings) and Robert Pattinson (as good a young actor as there is today) in a movie about Life photographer Dennis Stock and James Dean.
Queen of the Desert
Director: Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man,” “Fitzcarraldo“)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson, Damian LewisSynopsis: A biopic of Gertrude Bell, a British explorer, archaeologist, writer, political attaché and general adventuress who played a major role in establishing the modern state of Iraq.
What You Need To Know: Last summer, we predicted we’d see ‘Queen’ at one of the fall film festivals, but that was overly optimistic, as the film ran into “technical issues” in advance of Telluride and TIFF. We’re still waiting with bated breath for Herzog’s starriest and biggest pic to date, which he also wrote. Producer Cassian Elwes has tweeted raves about it, and Herzog himself even told us just how great Kidman is in the lead role. While it missed out on awards consideration this year, it just might find some traction in 2015. It’s got all the earmarks of a fantastic Middle Eastern epic, and the female lead makes it all the more original. The true story biopic is a genre Herzog has nailed before, eliciting memorable performances from his leads, so we can’t wait to see what he will do with this cast and this grand a story.
Release Date: TBD 2015
With rumors that it would arrive last year, the wait continues for Werner Herzog’s first narrative feature in half-a-decade, the story of legendary cartographer Gertrude Bell may be hitting theaters this year. Led by Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, James Franco, and Damian Lewis, Queen of the Desert follows Bell, a diplomatic explorer, who negotiated with Arab nations and helped establish the countries of Iraq and Jordan. Considering that Herzog is the man who gave us such epics as Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre, we’re looking forward to a return with what looks to be his most visually ambitious work in some time. With fall line-ups getting announced shortly, check back for updates. – Jordan R.
Legendary German director Herzog is teaming up with Nicole Kidman to bring the story of Gertrude Bell to the screen. Don’t know who Gertrude Bell is? Google her. She had a life in politics and international relations that would have been considered monumental were she a man. Oh, and she also climbed mountains.
The truly great and universally acclaimed Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn) returns to narrative directorial duties for his forthcoming biographical drama.
Penning his own screenplay, the film stars James Franco, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson and Damien Lewis; quite a line-up right? It’ll document the chronicles of Gertrude Bell’s life as a traveller, explorer, archeologist, writer and political attache for the British Empire at the dawn of the twentieth century.
With such a skilled filmmaker at the helm and a brilliantly dense cast relaying the life and legacy of Bell, this looks set to be a hallmark release in 2015.
We’ve not seen any of this movie yet but Nicole Kidman’s role as early 20th century traveller, writer and archaeologist Gertrude Bell is the sort of part that gets nominated for Oscars. She’s in exalted company, with James Franco playing aristocrat Henry Cadogan, Robert Pattinson as T.E. Lawrence and Damian Lewis as Bell’s lover Charles Doughty-Wylie. No news on the release date yet but keep your eyes peeled.
Indiwire (Thompson on Hollywood)
Herzog’s first narrative feature since 2009’s entertaining “Bad Lieutenant,” this rich-looking period biopic stars Nicole Kidman, who plays influential cartographer Gertrude Bell opposite Robert Pattinson, Damian Lewis and James Franco.
One of the most prominent members of the New German Wave happens to be Werner Herzog, an auteur who has remained a vibrant cinematic icon going on five decades. Lately working almost exclusively in documentary (and starring as a villain in 2012’s Jack Reacher), Herzog returns with his first feature since his pair of bizarre 2009 titles, Queen of the Desert. Starring a heady, glitzy cast made up of Nicole Kidman, James Franco, and Robert Pattinson, the film is a chronicle of Gertrude Bell’s life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire at the dawn of the twentieth century.
New work by Werner Herzog, therefore! Queen of the Desert, his first work of fiction since the wonderfully bizarre My Son My Son, What Have Ye Done and revolves around the adventures of Gertrude Bell, a ontdekkingsreizster, writer, archeologist and political attaché Great Britain during the beginning of the twentieth century. Nicole Kidman will play the role himself, while young violence assist her in the form of James Franco and Robert Pattinson.
When? Unknown
Here are movies that aren’t film yet but some sites are hopeful to see them at a festival this year
The Trap
After the success of Spring Breakers, Harmony Korine is ready to dive right into his next, “most ambitious” project yet. While little is known about The Trap, we do know that it will likely star Jamie Foxx, Robert Pattinson, and Benicio del Toro in a revenge, gangster drama that follows a “multi-generational family of criminals in the South.” Korine is set to begin shooting the film in Miami in the coming months. With Spring Breakers introducing Korine to a wider audience than ever before, could The Trap be his next big step into the cultural spotlight? – Dan G.
The Childhood of a Leader
Brady Corbet is one of our favorite noble strangers here at The observants. Outside flawless starring roles in movies like Simon Killer and Funny Games US to see the actor too often in supporting roles creepy. But thanks to its collaboration with famous directors he apparently made nice contacts, because the cast for his directorial debut contains more than intriguing names. Robert Pattinson is the surprise of them, but after his performances in films such as The Rover and Maps to the Stars, no one can deny that the Twilight -star can really act. The title tells us the time being the only thing we know about the film, we take a look at the childhood of a post-WW1 leader. Or The Childhood Of A Leader successful dish will be we do not know yet, but all the ingredients are there already.
When? Unknown.
Director: Brady Corbet // Writers: Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
Working with the likes of Bonello, Östlund, Assayas, Hansen-Løve and Baumbach, when you count the 2014 festival release year alone, actor Brady Corbet (Mysterious Skin; Funny Games U.S.; Simon Killer) has built quite the impressive resume working with the auteur set. While The Childhood of a Leader is his feature length directing debut, this counts as back to back years working in the filmmaker capacity when you take into account his writing creds in Mona Fastvold’s overlooked ’14 title, The Sleepwalker, and the soon to be premiered Sundance short Rabbit, by filmmaker Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre. Initially announced as starring Juliette Binoche (Corbet’s co-star from Clouds of Sils Maria), she was later replaced by Berenice Bejo. It goes without saying that most of the attention will be placed on Robert Pattinson, continuing his tour of difficult, auteur driven and inspired cinematic projects, but Corbet also nabs Tim Roth and Nymphomaniac star Stacy Martin in the lineup. Set in 1919, this story tells the tale of a ‘would-be-fascist,’ and the screenplay is inspired by a wide range of authorial pillars, from John Fowls to Jean-Paul Sarte with a bit of Volker Schlondorff’s 1966 classic Young Torless (which also served as a point of comparison for Haneke’s The White Ribbon). The film has been described as partially about a family that relocates to France for the Paris Peace Conference and about the events leading up to the Treaty of Versailles. Early descriptions of the film also point to elements of horror.
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Berenice Bejo, Stacy Martin, Tim Roth
Producers: Brady Corbet, Chris Coen (Jane Got a Gun), Helena Danielsson (Call Girl), Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre (Salvo)
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.
Release Date: With filming set for this January, the Venice Film Fest organizers must be eagerly awaiting a chance at showcasing this film.
The Lost City of Z
The Lost City of Z is James Gray’s successor on the different reactions received The Immigrant last year. His latest is a true adventure film about the British explorer Percy Fawcett, who in 1925 went to Brazil together with his son, looking for the legendary city of El Dorado. But instead of returning with gold bake the pair disappeared for good. Benedict Cumberbatch step into the shoes of Fawcett, while Robert Pattinson plays a role, though it is not clear whether it is that of the son. Pattinson recently showed that the recordings for the umpteenth time that he was delayed and the wait is tired. The commencement is now scheduled in January.”
Thinking of Rob 
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