Valkyrie

[Fernando]

Man this kind of spoilerful trailers used to come after they released at least a teaser and some recut teaser with few added scenes in form of a trailer without giving away too much, but it looks like the international trailer already, feels like it's showing already a part of every 'big' scene in the movie.

Still looking forward to it but it's no Where the wild things are thou.

[MacGuffin]

MGM delays 'Valkyrie' release again
Source: Hollywood Reporter

MGM has once again delayed the release of United Artists' World War II thriller "Valkyrie," moving the film's scheduled release date from Oct. '08 to President's Day Weekend 2009.

"Valkyrie," which stars Tom Cruise and is being directed by Bryan Singer, was originally scheduled to be released June 27, 2008 before the studio opted to change it an October 2008 release date.

The studio said this latest move was directed at giving the film its best possible box office opening.

"When an opening became available for President's Day Weekend, we seized the opportunity," said president of domestic distribution Clark Woods. "Moving into a big holiday weekend is the right move."

[Gold Trumpet]

Excluding his cameo in Tropic Thunder, this will be the first time since 1998 a Tom Cruise film hasn't been released. I've found his career for the last 10 years to be amazing. He's not just a movie star who commands big bucks, but an icon of movies who is worth one major movie a year. The way he has been selective with his movies is ridiculous. Not only are his movies big budget affairs, but meticulous promotional tools for the Tom Cruise public persona.

Mission: Impossible III was his worst example. While promoting his new relationship with Katie Holmes on talk shows, he had a action film out about his most famous character's sincerity to save his new wife. Katie Holmes could have played his wife in the film if producers knew she was going to be the lucky girl, but it was ridiculous how the biggest angle for Ethan Hunt was how he suddenly became the sympathetic man in love.

The film also reminds me of Cary Grant's relationship to North By Northwest. At the time of release, Grant was already a legend. He had already took on every genre and took on every type of personification. Pauline Kael said North by Northwest was a combination of all his movie persona's put together in one bigger than life movie. It had comedy and serious moments mixed with exciting thrills. Tom Cruise also milks all the famous persona's of his earlier movies. Mission: Impossible III literally has everything as far as entertainment goes. It was both a congratulatory film for Tom Cruise the movie star and Tom Cruise the man in love.

He tried to distance himself with Lions for Lambs and show his acting chops, but I think he's always on the cusp on going back to a ridiculous career with ridiculous movies that are great promotion efforts of Tom Cruise the movie star. Every major movie star likes to look certain ways, but none have been profiled so grandly and so consistently to favoritism like Tom Cruise has.

[MacGuffin]

'Valkyrie' cruises back to '08 slate
MGM moves Bryan Singer film to Dec. 26
By VARIETY

As if Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner weren't making enough news today, their "Valkyrie" is back on the 2008 slate.

MGM has moved the film to open Dec. 26, instead of the Feb. 13 date that was previously announced.

Sources close to events said the move was made for purely commercial reasons, after a screening of the film went well. The studio sees it as a holiday pic and award consideration was not a factor, they say. The film is directed by Bryan Singer.

Sony also shifted its Will Smith movie, "Seven Pounds" to Dec. 19, a week after its previously announced Dec. 12 bow.

[matt35mm]

The studio sees it as a holiday pic and award consideration was not a factor, they say. The film is directed by Bryan Singer.

That's a funny place to put the Bryan Singer info.  It reads a little like, "Award consideration was not a factor (it's directed by Bryan Singer)."

[Stefen]

Well, it's kind of truth.

With the way this years going, a shitty Bryan Singer movie starring Tom Cruise is going to sweep awards season.

[MacGuffin]

New Trailer here.

[MacGuffin]

New Trailer here.

[cron]

interesting poster.

[Stefen]

I wonder if most of the white people from the South will think Tom Cruise is a Nazi the way they think Barack Obama is a Muslim (not that there's anything wrong with that)

[Pwaybloe]

I wonder if most of the white people above the Mason-Dixon line make enough asinine assumptions as you do (not that there's anything wrong with that).

[MacGuffin]

'Valkyrie' Director Bryan Singer Calls Film's Negative Publicity 'An Extra Stress''
It's a film that people need to see before they judge,' he says of December 26 flick.
By Josh Horowitz; MTV

A lot has been written about Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie" without a lot of information from the makers themselves. For months, controversies and whispers have surrounded the project, which stars Tom Cruise.

The German government, objecting to Cruise's religious beliefs, initially refused to let the production film in their country. Early photos of the star wearing an eye patch were met with a healthy dose of mocking on the web. And then there are the release-date changes (no fewer than four), never an encouraging sign for a film, much less one with as much riding on it as this.

"Valkyrie" tells the remarkable true story of a group of German officers who, in 1944, plotted to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Cruise leads an impressive ensemble of actors (including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Terrence Stamp) in the thriller, set for release at long last on December 26.

A few days ago, Singer — the much-lauded director of "The Usual Suspects" and "X-Men" — agreed to speak with MTV News for one of his first interviews since completing the film. Here, he weighs in on the controversies that have plagued the production and deftly dodges talk of a rumored "Superman" follow-up.

MTV: Is "Valkyrie" done?

Bryan Singer: The film is done! Yesterday, I looked at the first completed film print. That was pretty much the final process for "Valkyrie," or so I've been led to believe. [Laughs.]

MTV: It's been a long road for this one, with a lot of shuffling of release dates. Are you happy with where you ended up?

Singer: Ultimately, it was the right decision. By the time the release date moved up to Christmas, I was already on track to finish it. It all worked out probably the way it should have from the very beginning.

MTV: What was the toughest nut to crack when it came to tackling this story?

Singer: The big goal was to maintain the balance between a thriller and a historical drama. It's a history that I find very important to maintain. The movie should never lose momentum. It should first and foremost be a thriller. It's also my first historical film, and I never wanted to take that history lightly, even though the history isn't known by many people outside Germany.

MTV: It looks to be a return for you to the thrillers that defined your career in the beginning, like "The Usual Suspects."

Singer: It reminded me very much of the experiences in the beginning. I was working with ["Usual Suspects" writer] Chris McQuarrie again. You're talking about a guy I used to make 8mm World War II films with in my backyard in Jersey. It also touched upon the Nazi subject matter that "Apt Pupil" and "X-Men" did. And I grew up watching Tom Cruise films!

MTV: It occurs to me that this is actually the first movie-star-driven vehicle you've helmed.

Singer: Yes, it's the first time I've ever made a movie with a movie star. A lot of my friends say, "You've worked with movie stars before," and I have to remind them that I worked with people who have become movie stars. A historical drama and working with a movie star were two things I had never done and two things I wanted to do. I've been talking with Tom about working together since "Mission: Impossible"!

MTV: Was there anything surprising about working with a star of his caliber?

Singer: The nice part is, we became friends. We spent a lot of time together researching the character and discussing the script and getting to know each other. By the time we were shooting, there was a familiarity that existed. He was pretty extraordinary at taking off his studio-head hat and his movie-star hat and just be an actor. He would do anything that I would ask. He wanted to get it right.

MTV: This film had more than its share of negative publicity, chief among it the conflict with Germany over whether they would let you film there because of Tom's beliefs. Did all the negative hype get to you?

Singer: I'm used to speculation because of "X-Men" and "Superman Returns," so it's not something that was a surprise to me, but it does weigh on you. It's an extra stress and an extra burden, because in the end, all the Germans really want from this story is it to be told well. When I would read speculation while I was making "X-Men," I would remind myself that the best I can do for these people is make a great movie. I can't do anything about their speculation. I'm not Hitler. I can't blot it out. I want people to see the film. It's a film that people need to see before they judge. It opens with a bit of a bang, and then, about a third of the way in, a little ticking clock starts, and it moves faster and faster right up until the last frame. And you get to see Tom Cruise come face to face with Adolf Hitler!

MTV: There's a lot of confusion about whether you will be directing another Superman film. Can you set the record straight?

Singer: At the moment, I can't really talk about that. I wish I could. From my perspective, I'm going to take a brief pause. This movie has taken a long time, so I'm going to take a pause. A movie like that takes some time to do right. That's all I can say about that.

MTV: Have you ever talked superhero shop with "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan?

Singer: We had dinner, and [Marvel Studios founder] Avi Arad ran into us. Isn't that strange? It was such a moment. The three of us were just sitting there thinking, "Isn't this bizarre?" I should have called ["Spider-Man" director Sam] Raimi up and said, "We've got sushi. Get over here!"

[MacGuffin]

Gossip columnist banned from 'Valkyrie' screening
Source: Los Angeles Times

I've been hearing feedback on United Artists' "Valkyrie" from various reporters and writers in recent days, with the Tom Cruise-starring World War II thriller inspiring all sorts of buzz, from the good to the bad to the ugly. A lot of viewers have said it's a snooze. Others, like Variety's Anne Thompson, have been more kind, with Thompson calling it an "entertaining, well-made thriller." But Fox News gossip writer Roger Friedman can't say what he thinks, because as he put it in his blog today, he's been banned from seeing the movie. Undeterred, Friedman quotes from a pan by Emanuel Levy (whom he bills as "perhaps the only actual film critic on the Hollywood Foreign Press," which gives you a tiny taste of Friedman's tart tongue). Levy calls Cruise "stiff and unconvincing," calling the movie a comeback attempt for a star whose "career as a major player seems to be over." Ouch!

I'm a regular reader of Friedman's Fox News blog, which is a strange combination of juicy inside gossip and unfettered opinion, often bolstered by formidable reporting--Friedman has done a great job of eviscerating both the National Board of Review and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for insider cronyism. On the other hand, Friedman plays favorites, especially when it comes to Harvey Weinstein, whose films are given unfailingly favorable treatment--Friedman has recently been beating the drum for "The Reader," repeatedly touting it as an Oscar favorite, despite a string of lackluster reviews. Tom Cruise, on the other hand, has received unrelentingly negative coverage, with Friedman constantly referring to "Valkyrie" over the past year as "the Nazi movie," frequently disparaging its box-office hopes and critical reception.   

I called UA marketing chief Michael Vollman, wondering if it was really such a good idea to ban a writer from a screening. I mean, God forbid, what if Friedman saw the movie and actually liked it? Vollman defends the move, saying Friedman has such a closed mind on the subject that when one of the publicists working on the project spoke to Friedman the other day, he said "I'm going to hate the movie." Vollman sent along dozens of Friedman gossip items that ridiculed Cruise's role in the film. (Here's one that captures the flavor of Friedman's coverage.)

"Roger hasn't been banned--he just wasn't invited to the screening," Vollman explained to me. "Screenings are a privilege, not a right. If he'd indicated a desire to be open-minded and not telegraphed his intentions ahead of time, we would've acted differently. But when someone says 'I'm going to hate this movie,' you get the impression they have a closed mind." Friedman has been especially critical of Cruise's involvement with Scientology, but Vollman says that's not what at issue here. "This is absolutely not about Scientology. I work on behalf of 'Valkyrie' and I only took this action so the movie would have a fair assessment from a critic."

I don't like the idea of studios banning writers from screenings, since judging from the state of my frosty relations with a couple of studios right now, it's quite possible that, ahem, I could be next. I'm not sure that it's a great precedent to set, any more than when presidential campaigns sometimes ban reporters from their campaign planes because of supposedly negative political coverage. The upside is that you control your coverage; the downside is that you make the writer a martyr. Keeping Friedman away certainly didn't stop him from trashing the movie anyway. He's attacked "Valkyrie" so many times that I've certainly stopped paying attention--at least until his banning kicked the story into a higher gear.

Still, Vollman is sticking to his guns, saying there is a price to be paid for unrelentingly negative coverage. "Roger has shown through his actions that he has nothing but negative things to say and I don't see the need for us to facilitate it," he says. "I really wouldn't say we've banned him. It's not like we put guards at the door to turn him away. He's just not invited. Hey, lots of people still haven't seen the film. I don't think my parents have been invited yet either."

[pete]

POOR FUCKING ROGER!

(can we agree that LA Times is trash?)

[Gamblour.]

I wonder if most of the white people from the South will think Tom Cruise is a Nazi the way they think Barack Obama is a Muslim (not that there's anything wrong with that)

For playing a Nazi? Sadly, I think the public is vastly more informed about Tom Cruise's status as a scientologist than Obama's nonstatus as a Muslim.