[UPDATE: Apparently the "scoop" that I shared below may not be such a scoop after all. Here's the latest.]
Ever since Alfonzo Cuaron directed A Little Princess, I’ve been excited about his work. Since then, he’s given us Y Tu Mama Tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (my favorite of the series), and Children of Men… all impressive in certain ways. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
So today’s news at /FILM is intriguing…
Jolie left Wanted 2 to star in Alfonso Cuarón’s space thriller titled Gravity. Okay, let me give you guys a minute to catch your breath and calm down, I know this is all coming a bit fast — yes, Cuarón, the master filmmaker behind Children of Men, the best movie in the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as well as the classic Y tu mamá también, will be directing a space thriller, written by his 28-year-old son, Jonás (The Shock Doctrine).What’s it about?
According to Vulture, Jolie will play the sole surviving human member of a space mission, desperately trying to return home to Earth. She will be the only actor on screen for most of the movie. Oh, and did I mention that Jolie isn’t along on the ship? Jolie will also be playing her daughter.
Unlike a lot of people I know, I happen to think that both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are talented actors. When they’ve worked with certain directors and certain scripts, playing real characters instead of action figures, they’ve given performances that enhanced the whole film. (I’m thinking, for example, of Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford or A River Runs Through It, or Jolie in Girl, Interrupted or A Mighty Heart.
February 26th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
I count Children of Men among my top five favorite films (and I agree that The Prisoner of Azkaban is the best Potter movie). I would likely call science fiction my favorite genre. And I, too, think Angelina Jolie has a lot of talent.
So, to say that this news excites me would be an understatement. Thanks for posting.
February 26th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Pitt and Jolie’s work in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” was underrated. Their chemistry is palpable. I don’t know if the movie would have worked nearly as well without the two of them. So I’m glad Jolie will have another chance to be great again.
February 27th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
“She will be the only actor on screen for most of the movie. Oh, and did I mention that Jolie isn’t alon[e] on the ship? Jolie will also be playing her daughter.”
So, like Moon, but with a girl? I could go for that.
February 27th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
This news is…intriguing, to say the least. Like most everyone I know, I consider Azkaban to easily be the best of the Potter series, transcending the literalism of the first two movies and not falling into the generic action pic-ness and paper thin characters of four, five, and six. Up until I found out Yates was going to do be doing both Deathlly Hallows movies I had been crossing my fingers for Cuaron to come back, but I guess numbers matter more than quality….
I love both Jolie and Pitt. In the last few years Brad Pitt has proved himself to be a magnificent and versatile actor (I still crack up every time I watch Burn After Reading), and Jolie has a laundry list of terrific performances too. It’s about time we had some more original science fiction from top-talented directors and actors…..
February 27th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Here’s an update. Or, in other words, drat.
February 27th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Regarding your update: Hmmm…the film it reports Jolie as doing sounds SOOOO uplifting (note heavy sarcasm).
On the flip side, we can still be encouraged by Cuaron doing a movie like Gravity, right? And maybe someone will step in who might be just as good, if not better suited.
March 1st, 2010 at 9:52 am
Pretty much hated The Prisoner of Azkaban. I had just read the book when the movie came out, and I was horrified to discover that the film had sacrificed plot, character development, and dialogue for visuals. I like great visuals, but I like a great story more. I have yet to see Children of Men because I’m worried that another equally treasured book will have been similarly changed. I have yet to read a review that entirely convinces me otherwise. A Little Princess was another film that, while stunning visually and featuring a great cast of children, sacrificed some of the depth and pathos of the original text for a more trite, happily-ever-after storyline.
I do, however, want to see Y Tu Mama Tambien.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
I read P.D James’s Children of Men after I watched the movie. I like both of them a lot, but I have to say that Cuaron’s film barely qualifies as an adaptation. The premise and a few plot elements (Quietus, though even that’s different) are there, but almost everything else is changed. For example, the character Key in the movie isn’t in the book at all.
If you try to watch the movie as a translation of the novel, you’re going to be disappointed, but if you let each stand as its own creation, then I’d say they’re both worth it.