Timothy Olyphant, from the recent Hitman and Live Free or Die Hard films, is now on-board according to Seat42F.

Now, I don’t want to overstate this news like it’s Tom Hanks joining or anything like that, but anytime you get an actor who has played the lead in a few motion pictures, it’s a big get.

Damages now boasts the likes of Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, possibly Ted Danson, to go with the newbies in Hurt and Olyphant. That’s an awesome group of actors and it just gets me more pumped for the second season.

Of course, that’s not until 2009, but whatever.

Oh yeah, if you haven’t watched the first season yet, I suggest you rent Disc 1 and see what you think. It’s a 13 episode legal mystery action thriller that is worth every second.

No word yet on what role Olyphant will be playing.

[Seat42F]

Now, keep in mind that this is just a rumor from the British tabloids, but they say that Ridley Scott is keen to sign him for the part. Bale, of course, has been grabbing up all the best roles lately which include the title role in The Dark Knight this summer as well as the main role in the Terminator sequels.

If this rumor proves to be true, Bale would be rejoining his 3:10 To Yuma castmate, Russell Crowe who has already signed on to play the Sheriff of Nottingham. Sienna Miller was recently cast as the Maid Marion. Saoirse Ronan who was in Atonement is also in the cast. There are also rumors that Vanessa Redgrave and William Hurt are in talks to join the cast.

As you probably know by now I think that Christian Bale automatically improves the quality of a movie by at least three points just by being in the film. Nottingham was already high on my radar, but if Bale joins it’ll be one of the movies I’m most looking forward to next year. I’m incredibly excited about this and I hope this rumor proves true.

Apparently, costume fittings begin next week so we should know something one way or the other fairly soon. The only thing that worries me is that we know Bale is currently working on Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins so that might impact whether or not he’d be available for Nottingham. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

What do you think? Would Christian Bale make a good Robin Hood? Do you think the movie would be better or worse with Bale in it?

Hurt is currently the bad guy in The Incredible Hulk, and with his stellar acting abilities, I can’t think of a better choice to join the already brilliant cast of Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and Tate Donovan.

From the press release:

Hurt joins Damages for a season-long arc as a new client of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). Details of Hurt’s character are being kept under wraps, but insiders have intimated that Hurt’s character will not only share a professional past with Hewes, but a personal one as well.

Production on the new season begins on July 24th, although no episodes will be seen until early 2009.

Hurd says Ferrigno was a last-minute addition to a panel on the movie at New York’s Comic-Con. Director Leterrier invited him to “audition” onstage.

“Lou did this amazing, ‘Hulk smash!’ ” says Hurd. “And (director Louis Leterrier) said, ‘Come in, we’ll record you next week.’ Everybody thought it was either a staged event or we wouldn’t really do it. But the next week Lou came in in L.A. and his voice is the voice of the Hulk.”

What does this mean for a character that doesn’t actually speak? Well, that’s not exactly true. It seems that Hulk’s verbal skills and intelligence have varied in the comics, but he’s never been as mute as the TV version and he will, apparently, be speaking in this film.

This is good news for die hard fans who were hoping Marvel would be able to repeat the success of Iron Man with their second offering of the summer. Adding Ferrigno as the voice talent for Hulk gives the studio added street cred with fans who were largely disappointed with the first Hulk film.

You can read the article here.

The Incredible Hulk stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, and William Hurt and opens in theaters on June 13, 2008.

A new edition of the movie is coming to DVD and Blu-Ray on July 29th. It’s the Dark City: Director’s Cut, which supposedly is 15 minutes longer than the original’s 96 minute run time.

There are other rumored special add-ons, like a new score, new special effects, new interviews, etc. All we know for sure is that the DVD will have “new special features”, according to Warner Brothers.

If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s a science fiction masterpiece starring Keifer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt and Rufus Sewell. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, and I don’t remember much of it other than it was fantastic. Here is the quick synopsis from IMDB:

“A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.”

Below is the artwork for the new DVD set. The cover is pretty awesome.

I checked on Amazon.com, and there doesn’t appear to be a way to pre-order it yet, but once there is one, I’ll pass it on.

The Essentials

Title: Vantage Point (official site)
Directed by Pete Travis
Written by Barry Levy
Running Time: 1:30
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images and brief strong language.

The Plot of Vantage Point

With a Rashomon narrative style, eight strangers with eight different points of view try to unlock the one truth behind an assassination attempt on the president of the United States.

The Story of Vantage Point

Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox), are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Ashton (William Hurt) at a landmark summit on the global war on terror. When President Ashton is shot moments after his arrival in Spain, chaos ensues and disparate lives collide. In the crowd is Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker) an American tourist video taping the historic event to show his kids when he returns home. Also there is Rex (Sigourney Weaver) an American TV news producer who is reporting on the conference, as well as some of the terrorists themselves. It’s only as we follow each person’s perspective of the same 15 minutes prior to and immediately after the shooting that the terrifying truth behind the assassination attempt is revealed.

The Review of Vantage Point

I had been really excited to see this film until the early reviews started coming out. I usually know better than to read reviews but a lot of the reviews on this one weren’t that great so my excitement diminished noticeably. I had a chance to see the film this weekend and almost passed it up before coming to my senses and taking a chance. I’m incredibly glad I did.

Vantage Point is really everything it claims it will be in the previews. It’s a fun, high paced, action packed, who-dunnit political thriller; the kind of film you don’t really find that often these days.

The first half of the movie we see the same part of the story from all the different “vantage points.” That is, we spend about ten minutes seeing what happened from each character’s point of view. Once their segment was done, the film would “rewind” (quickly) and show us another segment. I enjoyed the different segments immensely but after the fourth or fifth one I was just kind of wishing they’d just tell the story. The gimmick wasn’t necessary.

I did think the filmmakers did a good job of tying the story lines together. It had to be tough to keep up with where each character was and what they were doing in the timeline at any given moment but I never found any serious flaws. It’s not done in real time, of course, which I was actually thankful for as it allowed each segment to move at the pace that was necessary to maintain the story and the momentum. I thought each segment was done in the order that it needed to be done in as well which helped to move the story and the mystery along.

Once again the previews for the film actually give too much information away. It doesn’t ruin the movie, but knowing what I knew from the preview definitely impacted the way I viewed the film. Take away that piece of information (which I won’t say here in case you don’t know) and you actually would change the viewer’s perception of what is happening in the movie. I think I would have liked to have experienced the movie without that knowledge. Shame on the studios, yet again, for allowing the trailer for the film dictate the audience’s enjoyment of the film.

After the first half of the movie or so the pace picks up perceptibly as the plot is in full swing. As the audience and the characters on screen gain more knowledge about what is happening, the film begins to build towards the climax. A full 20 minute car chase was filmed beautifully with many shots done from inside or alongside the car making if feel as if we were actually in the tiny streets of Spain and in the middle of the chase. I can’t imagine how long it took to choreograph those scenes.

I’ve read some criticisms about how one of the characters becomes a “super-hero” at the end of the film, but I didn’t really think that was the case. I mean, sure the character went above and beyond what a normal person would probably do, but it is a movie. Watching someone cower in a corner and wait for the CIA to figure everything out in a couple of years would hardly be worth watching.

No, I think the character acted within the constraints of the character that was created and his actions, though improbably, were not necessarily impossible. I think the same could be said of the entire plot. Which is a good thing. I think a lot of the things that were arranged by the bad guys also depended on a fair amount of luck, but I didn’t really see that as being a problem either because I think it’s probably like that in real life as well.

I may be naive or stupid, but I didn’t figure out the twist until just before it was revealed. I guess I wasn’t really looking for it as I was busy enjoying the “vantage point” gimmick. Once revealed, it was only slightly confusing. I’m not sure all questions were ever answered, but I’m okay with that. I tend to dislike movies that force feed us every single piece of information. There’s a lot to be said for leaving some things to the imagination; something not many filmmakers care to do anymore.

Watch Vantage Point If…

You enjoy fast paced thrillers and mysteries with medium star power but solid acting from a smart and unique script. This one doesn’t have to be enjoyed on the big screen, but it’s probably one of the most enjoyable films out right now so there’s worse ways you could spend your money.

The Plot:

Really? Seriously? Well, it’s about a Physicist named Bruce Banner who runs around trying to figure out the condition that makes him get all green and bloaty and turns him into a big meany when he gets angry. Hey, it ain’t easy being green. Oh yeah, there’s a new bad guy in town called The Abomination. Sounds scary.

“The Incredible Hulk” stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, and Tim Blake Nelson and is set to hit theaters on June 13, 2008.

The only thing that really worries me is the time period in which it’s being released. Late February isn’t exactly known for being prime release time. I’m not sure what the studio is doing there. I can only assume that either the movie really blows and they’re dumping it or they think it’s pretty good and they’re going to try to open up a weekend that’s usually slow. You just never know.

Video – “Vantage Point” Trailer:

This film is set for release on February 22, 2008.