[ellavm]

Eckhart Joining Black Dahlia?
Core star reportedly reuniting with Swank

March 11, 2005 - De Palma a la Mod reports via BrianDePalma.net that Aaron Eckhart has replaced Mark Wahlberg in the cast of director Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia. The noir mystery based on James Ellroy's novel begins filming shortly in cost-effective Bulgaria.


The project would reunite Eckhart with his co-star from The Core, Oscar-winner Hilary Swank. Scarlett Johansson and Josh Hartnett also star.

As Variety has said, The Black Dahlia "revolves around two boxers-turned-cops investigating the brutal murder of Elizabeth Short, a crime that rocked 1940s Los Angeles."

My review of Josh Friedman's old draft can be found here.

In related news, the Los Angeles Times chatted with Dahlia exec producer Avi Lerner about shooting the $68 million indie film in Bulgaria. "A good carpenter in L.A. costs $2,000 a week, but a carpenter in Bulgaria costs maybe $250 a week," said Lerner.

"Since a normal salary in Bulgaria is $150 a week, we're paying them more money than they could normally earn, so I'm helping their economy and saving us money."

Meanwhile, production designer Dante Ferretti advised Bloomberg.com that Black Dahlia is "a completely different story" than his last set-in-L.A. period pic, The Aviator.

"Howard Hughes's story was set in glamorous places. The Black Dahlia is about very low society. I did a lot of research in L.A.'s old police stations and poor neighborhoods."

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/359/359218p1.html

[ellavm]

Take A Trip To 'Sin City'

March 16, 2005
Crawling with hardened criminals, crooked cops and sexy dames, 'Frank Miller's Sin City,' in theaters April 1, is chock full of dark characters looking for revenge or redemption. All this week, ET has the exclusives, including never-before-seen clips!

Based on the cult series of graphic novels created, written and illustrated by FRANK MILLER, the film contains three stories that take place in the titular, fictional city, translated from Miller's Sin City, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard.

"I started looking at it as instead of trying to turn it into a movie, which would be terrible, let's take cinema and try to make it into this book," says director ROBERT RODRIGUEZ (the 'El Mariachi' and 'Spy Kids' trilogies), who co-directs with Miller to bring the graphic novel to life. "The mediums really are very similar; they're just snapshots of movement."

Hollywood's hottest stars clamored to be part of 'Sin City,' including BRUCE WILLIS, JESSICA ALBA, CLIVE OWEN, ROSARIO DAWSON, BRITTANY MURPHY, MICHAEL CLARK DUNCAN and ELIJAH WOOD, and the result is this year's most enviable cast.

"When we started casting all these parts, strange things started happening; people showed up who looked like my drawings," adds Miller. "In a lot of ways this movie's quite literally like having a dream come true."

But some who made the cut found themselves looking a lot more like their comic-book counterparts than they expected, some with the help of extensive make-up and prosthetics. Like MICKEY ROURKE, who plays Marv, an outcast on a mission to save the life of his one, true love (played by JAIME KING).

"When I was looking through the comic book, I didn't know which character [Rodriguez] wanted me to do," says Rourke. "Then I saw it was the character of Marvin, I got really excited cause it was this far-out lookin' cat that had some interesting things to say and do, and I thought, 'Wow, this is gonna be interesting and fun,' and its been a real hoot."

Anti-hero Rourke is somewhat recognizable despite his sloping forehead. So is bad guy BENICIO DEL TORO. NICK STAHL, on the other hand, is completely unrecognizable under tons of make-up as Yellow Bastard -- and the only character rendered in color (yellow, naturally) in the black-and-white movie palette (save for some surprising splashes of red).

JOSH HARTNETT, who gets to keep his good-looking mug intact, says he was hand-picked by Rodriguez before the project was even a go. "Robert just basically came to me and said, "I'm doing this graphic novel, makin' it into a movie, I don't have the rights to it, and I need somebody to come down and convince [Miller] to let us go ahead with it."

With the help of willing stars and some preliminary shots to show Miller what the final product would look like, Rodriguez clinched the deal and the rest, as they say, is history!

Watch ET all this week for 'Sin City' exclusives!

http://et.tv.yahoo.com/movies/2005/03/16/sincitybts/

[-Katie-]

That's so cool that Robert hand-picked Josh - he must have been very impressed by Josh's previous work and just like him a lot.

[Katiebear]

From the NY Post


http://www.nypost.com/gossip/41284.htm


March 19, 2005 -- JOSH Hartnett being approached by many willing women at Max Fish even though he was with Katie ("Dawson's Creek") Holmes . . . ANNA Wintour in a fur scarf and her ubiquitous black glasses flying first class from N.Y. to L.A. while daughter Bea was in the last seat of coach . . . PLAYBOY'S Miss April, Courtney Culkin, in a low-cut top in a seat under the basket at the Garden for the Knicks-Heat heartbreaker, helping Shaquille O'Neal miss 9 of 14 free throws . . . ROBIN Williams at J.W. Cooper in the Time Warner Center buying a belt buckle, black belt and money clip for $1,754.

[ellavm]

well well i got no problems with mrs potter

[-Katie-]

Hm..him and Katie? Interesting.

[ellavm]

http://www.chez.com/joshmarjorie/accueil/hartweb.htm has some new scans for Flix magazine

[-Katie-]

Thanks for the link. He looks hella good in those ads.

[ellavm]

i know it

[ellavm]

Brian de Palma Film to Feature Bulgarian "Thug"

Bulgarian actor Ivo Krustev has been chosen for a gangster part in the latest Brian de Palma film, the producers said in a press release.

Most of the Black Dahlia production will be filmed in Bulgaria, starting April 1.

Superstar actor Josh Hartnett and his colleague Aaron Eckhart have already arrived in Bulgaria, and are currently shaping up for the fighting scenes.

Black Dahlia's credited cast also includes young Hollywood divas Hilary Swank and Scarlett Johansson.

More Bulgarian actors will have the chance to partner the top celebrities, it emerged Tuesday. The producers of the movie said that they would run more screen tests on local applicants.

Filming is expected to continue for ten to twelve weeks.

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=45851

[ellavm]

tiny tiny pics from the hunter thompson tribute

[Katiebear]

Take this with a grain of salt

http://www.gawker.com/news/culture/s...uld-eat-036806



I saw Josh Hartnett having a late brunch at a not really too trendy restaurant in Tribeca (yes, there are still a FEW of those there). He was all scruffed out in a skull cap and lots of facial hair, and was sitting at the bar with a skinny plainish blonde girl. It was a little hard to get service what with all the aspiring model-slash-actor waiters in the place converging behind the bar to fawn over him while trying their best to act faux-casual. (I actually overheard one of them say something containing the phrase, “It’s not like they would do that if you were just a REGULAR PERSON!”) Ironically, despite this comment, J.H. both looked and behaved more like a regular person than most celebs I’ve been around in person – he was both considerably less cute and much more gracious and normal I’d expect of a “teen idol.”

i was just walking down the street (east village) and saw two very beautiful people making out…as i got closer they cooled down but guess what!!!! It was josh hartnett and katie holmes (i love her!!! she is so beautiful). much better choice than the shallow model he used to date.





If you want to see a pic of them together (not related to this story)


http://katieholmespictures.com/galle...bum=346&pos=79

[-Katie-]

Thanks for posting that. Hm..very interesting if they were together..although he's not the Josh I would want her to be with *cough*JoshJackson*cough*

[Katiebear]

^ same here but she could do much worse. Josh seems like a catch in comparison plus they are both from the Midwest, same coloring, and aren't media whores.

[ellavm]

awww joey and pacey man was i glad the way dawsons ended

thanks for that tibit