Movie News with extra Hairspray.

John Malkovich, Evangeline Lilly and Romain Duris have joined the cast of French helmer Gilles Bourdos ' supernatural thriller "Afterwards." In the feature, Duris will portray a workaholic lawyer drifting away from his ex-wife (Lilly) and daughter, who meets a mysterious doctor (Malkovich) who claims to have the power to predict people's deaths. Doesn’t sound that exciting does it? Well the most exciting this is the cinematography will be done by Mark Lee Ping-bin who helmed the exquisitely beautiful ‘ In The Mood For Love’


Peter Sarsgaard, Dennis Hopper and Deborah Harry are joining Penelope Cruz, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson in Lakeshore Entertainment's untitled film based on Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning novella ‘Dying Animal.’
The film, which marks Lakeshore's second production based on a Roth novel, will be directed by Isabel Coixet who did ‘The Secret Life of Words’.
The screenplay is penned by the guy who did ‘The Human Stain’. So can we expect something else flat, or will this amazing cast raise the playing level of the rest of the team? One can only hope...but how many movies that seem good on paper, great cast/director/source material seem to crash and burn upon release? My fingers ache at the thought of typing out that list frankly.


Phil Traill, whose short films "Flipped" and "Dangle" one numerous festival awards, has signed on to helm the Sandra Bullock starrer "All About Steve" for Fox 2000. At first I was horrified that she was doing a sequal to ‘All About Eve’.
Penned by Kim Barker, the story centers on a brilliant crossword constructor who, after one short date, decides that a CNN cameraman is her true love. Because the cameraman's job takes him hither and yon, she crisscrosses the country, turning up at media events as she tries to convince him they are perfect for each other. She fails in this objective but falls in with a band of misfits who appreciate her for who she is. Now doesn’t that just sound hideous. I love Sandra, but my word the woman does some crap. Lets hope this falls more along the lines of ‘Nurse Betty’ (lemon faces last fine moment) and not ‘Miss Congeniality’.


Harry Knowles has a first review of 28 Weeks Later. I am such a fan of the first movie, and judging by the trailer for this they have hyped up the action, budget and gore, and IMHO that is never really a good thing, but this reviewer seems to think it is along the lines of ‘Aliens’ and ‘Blade II’ in terms of sequals. We shall see, I guess I am still upset about not being able to look at my Cillian with a shaved head anymore (now that was a hot look).


And finally the first proper footage for ’Hairspray’. Getting a little excited here now as this looks more ‘Grease’ than ‘The Producers’, and there is nothing to send the ole heart soaring than tightly choreographed group dancing in period costume. My only quibble is John Travolta. Yes we all know he is a big ole fairy , but he does seem to be doing comedy drag. The great thing about Divine was that you believed…R.I.P,