Scorsese Wants De Niro and Pacino for a Sinatra Biopic

Martin Scorsese has been planning on making a Frank Sinatra biopic for a while now, and there is a lot of information about it so far. Some info is rumors, some is confirmed. Here's what we know so far. The film is to be called Sinatra. Universal has already made a deal with Tina Sinatra, Frank's daughter, and the Sinatra Estate and Warner Music Group to allow them to use any of Frank's original recordings, which may even include some unreleased material. Tina Sinatra is already on as executive producer of the project and given Scorsese full control of the project has stated that she trusts him to "present the truth" about the legendary singer. Deadline|Hollywood's Nikki Finke had previously stated that Universal's top pick to play the lead was Johnny Depp. However, in a recent interview Scorsese gave with The Hindu, a national Indian newspaper, he states "I'm yet to spot the actor who can bring back Frank Sinatra alive on screen. My choice is Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro as Dean Martin."



Scorsese also confirms in the interview that the initial script is ready, which was written by Academy Award nominee Phil Alden Robinson, who wrote and directed Field of Dreams.

In an interview with ShortList, Scorsese has stated the following about the structure: "in structure I’d like it to be more like GoodFellas. But like The Aviator, it only deals with certain times in his life. We can’t go through the greatest hits of Sinatra’s life. We tried this already. Just can’t do it. So the other way to go is to have three or four different Sinatras. Younger. Older. Middle-aged. Very old. You cut back and forth in time – and you do it through the music. See what I’m saying?"


What do you guys think? Is Pacino the right choice to play Ol' Blue Eyes?

You know what's a good movie? (Part 5)

Part 1: Forrest Gump

Connection: Tom Hanks

Part 2: Toy Story

Connection: Pixar

Part 3: The Incredibles

Connection: Superhero Films

Part 4: Batman (1989)

Connection: Jack Nicholson

Part 5: The Departed

The Departed is about two Massachusetts State Police troopers; one played by Matt Damon, the other by Leonardo DiCaprio. Two troopers, two very different paths. I'm sorry, but we don't talk plot on AtD, it's more about opinion... for plot, WATCH THE MOVIE!

Let's start with Matt Damon. Damon has to play possibly the most difficult role in the film. He has to play it cool as a State Trooper, so he doesn't get caught tipping off Jack Nicholson and his thugs. But he also has a dark side; staying loyal to Jack Nicholson. Playing on both sides of the fence AND keeping a relationship going with a State Trooper therapist (Vera Farmiga) proves to be very difficult for Damon. Spectacular acting.

Leonardo DiCaprio has a similar role, but it's not quite so difficult. DiCaprio does a great job portraying someone who is tormented by the job he has taken on. He can't tell anyone who he is, he has to try and find the mole in the State Troopers (Damon) and he's falling for his therapist (Farmiga). It's a great performance, but again, Damon's is more difficult.

And then there's good old Jack Nicholson. The mob boss who NO ONE messes with. He loves Damon like a son, and uses him for his own benefit. As an audience we all think Nicholson is avoiding jail because of Damon helping him; well there's a lot more to the story. I've read that the part was originally written for Robert De Niro, but he had to pull out because of The Good Shepherd, a film he directed also starring Damon. Nicholson is ok in this movie. You see, no matter what Nicholson does, it feels like he's over-acting. I don't know how else to explain it, but I do like him in this film. He demands attention, takes over every scene he's in, and is very charismatic every time there's a run-in with the law.

Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin give amazing performances in supporting character roles. Wahlberg is the only actor from the movie to be nominated for an Academy Award that year. He has some great one-liners that will either get you to love him or want to hit him right square in the eye. Great movies seem to always have great supporting casts.

Then there's the man that has to tie this tangled web of story together. Don't get me wrong, the movie is easy to follow, but that's only because of Martin Scorsese. Any other director would have lost the audience. There is a lot of double-crossing, deception, lies, cheating, cover-ups, etc. that could lose even the most sophisticated of movie fans. But Scorsese finds a way to make it flow very nicely, very simply. He was rewarded with his FIRST Oscar for Best Director on his 8th nomination. The movie also won Best Picture of the year. The Departed is a smart, very well executed thriller, that deserved the recognition it received in 2006. Thanks to a legendary director, and an excellent cast who gave spectacular performances.

Quickie: Shutter Island trailer #2

Enjoy this new trailer from the director Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo... Shutter Island.

Matt & Tony: The Quentin Tarantino Argument

As you know, this is "AtD: Movies with Matt & Tony." Matt and Tony don't see eye to eye on a lot of film topics, and today you'll see what we mean. This is a conversation about the film director Quentin Tarantino and his new film, "Inglourious Basterds." AtD's friend, Albert, started the conversation:

Albert:
Just saw it with the my girlfriend, opening night, which is the only way to see a movie. Amazing stuff. Go see it. The funny thing is, and i'm 100% sure Matt is going to kick my ass for this, but the only thing that made this movie such a drag was Quentin Tarantino and his wannabe "original" directing style. He literally spent at least 15 minutes of the movie on close up shots of things like lips or eyes. no joke i almost fell asleep 2 times from the constant reading, because only 10% of the movie is in English.

Most of the movie is dialog, maybe a few action scenes, and there is 2 VERY lengthy scene of 30 minutes of dialog, back and forth, back and forth. any normal director would of cut the ish out of all that nonsense. Brad Pitt was very funny in this. I've never heard of Christoph Waltz until today, but he is pure genius in this movie, holy cow. He will literally make you want to pee your pants after talking to him.


Matt:
Sorry, Al. here I go...
1. Zooming in on a facial feature is not original, (Kubrick? Coppola? Heck, even Chaplin? hahaha). that's what Tarantino does. he makes every movie a crazy homage collage of all his favorites. Matter of fact, every director does. Just like Langella and Scorsese constantly stole from Hitchcock.

2. Are you really complaining that a TARANTINO MOVIE had TOO MUCH DIALOGUE? Wow. I don't even know what to say. not only is that a "duh, no ish" but that's also a "ya, stupid, that's what makes it good."

Aaaand that's pretty much it.... Read More, write a review! Tony & I are already getting one from Jen, too. so this will be a cool 4-way review thing.


Tony:
Matt please, for your future wife's sake, stop kissing up to Tarantino every time we discuss movies. Pulp Fiction was original, yes... Everything else is a rip off of someone lesser known, yet its got a "Tarantino style". That's stupid. Oh and by the way, I will see the movie Monday for review so you don't say "you can't talk, you haven't seen it".


Matt:
Tony, please, let me kiss up to Tarantino if I want to. "Pulp Fiction" was not original. It was a rip off of a bunch of different Euro and Japanese movies. Heck, even the character's names and the way they're dressed is STRAIGHT from other films.
To find an "original director" you need to go wayyy back to Chaplin or Kurasawa. Every director rips off someone else. The difference with Tarantino is that he admits it often. Others only say it secretly in some documentary or something.

THERE IS such a thing as "Tarantino style". I can watch the "Inglourious Basterds" TRAILER and know that it's a Tarantino flick.

What makes a director good is the quality of the end product. That being said, Tarantino is already a master filmmaker at his young age. And please, for YOUR wife's sake, stop kissing up to James Cameron. The "highly anticipated" trailer for "Avatar" looks like ish. Its like a live-action "Delgo." Good luck with that.


Tony:
Agree to Disagree... But yes, there will be a Delgo lawsuit before you know it.



This is just one example of a Matt & Tony argument... more to come.

Quickie: Shutter Island delayed until 2010

Hey guys, we've got a disappointing post for a change. Shutter Island, the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio has been pushed back from its initial October 2nd, 2009 release, to February 2010. And the reason? Money! Of course. DiCaprio is fully booked until the end of the year, which means he couldn't do press for the film even if he wanted to. So with DVD sales in dumps so far in 2009, the studio has to make as much money as it can while the film is in theatrical release.

This is an odd decision; especially considering the movie is already on Oscar watch. The movies released towards the end of the year always have a better chance at winning Oscars than earlier in the year. The only movie to win Oscars with an early release, Silence of the Lambs, also a February release. But we'll have to wait and see how Martin Scorsese's film does next year.