While the big-screen adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera could not, unfortunately, live up to the text's expectations, the famous writer is getting another shot. This time, however, it's an old screenplay. The Guardian reports that Mexican actor and producer Rodolfo de Anda says that he has picked up the rights to a screenplay written by the author over 40 years ago.

Titled Frontera, the script follows "an ageing pistolero and his much younger partner." De Anda says that he heard about the screenplay years ago, but assumed that it was written by Alcoriza. When he bought the rights "about a month ago, I discovered the surprise that the story was not in fact by Alcoriza, but by Gabriel García Márquez." "Nobody knew it existed, and the most surprising thing is that it is a Western." De Anda says he will take on the role of the older partner, and is, not surprisingly, thinking of casting one of the two Y tu mamá también stars -- Gael García Bernal or Diego Luna -- as the young sidekick.

It's not an adaptation of a translation, so hopefully this will fare better than the last Gabriel offering. But which of the two young stars would you pick for the feature -- Gael or Diego?

UPDATE: Here's the trailer in Quicktime quality.

Of all the films I'm looking forward to this fall, Blindness ranks fairly high up there. Canadian distributor Alliance has just made available a full trailer that proves to be fairly intriguing, as an optometrist (Mark Ruffalo) and his seemingly immune wife (Julianne Moore) cope with an inexplicable epidemic of sight loss.

I'm a sucker for most anything vaguely apocalyptic, and while this very well could turn out to be akin to watching the first act of Children of Men through a milk-filled mask (which I've done, mind you), the prestige behind the project* says otherwise. We have acclaimed screenwriter Don McKellar adapting Nobel-Laureate José Saramago's novel, with Academy Award nominee Fernando Meirelles directing a cast that also includes Danny Glover, Gael Garcia Bernal, Alice Braga, and Sandra Oh.

I must say, going off that taste and last spring's teaser, I still like the look, sound, and feel of this one, especially Moore's little retort (you know the one), and that's not to mention that any trailer which employs John Murphy's underrated score from last year's Sunshine to set a rightfully ominous tone is always fine by me. We'll get to see (sorry) what trials and tribulations await the world on September 19th.

*Not to mention Rocchi's review of the film from its Cannes world premiere.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Blindness (click to enlarge), which enjoyed its world premiere as the opening night film of this year's Cannes Film Festival back in May. Starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover and Gael García Bernal, Blindness tells of a city overcome by a blindness epidemic where its citizens are stricken with instant "white blindness." As folks are quarantined off in an abandoned mental hospital, one woman who remains unaffected pretends to be sick in order to take care of her husband, a doctor, who's now blind. Based on Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago's novel, and directed by the very talented Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener), Blindness definitely looks to bring the creep factor -- and with this outstanding cast, I'm sure it will claim a spot as this fall's first great flick.

Don't close your eyes for too long, because Blindness hits theaters on September 19.

Fernando Meirelles's new film Blindness begins with the rush and push of urban life; traffic, crowds, activity, purpose. And then, one man cries out: "I'm blind." He eventually makes it to an ophthalmologist, but there's nothing physically wrong with his eyes; he simply can't see. "It feels like I'm swimming in milk," he explains, and we see, through his eyes, the blank, empty swirl of what used to be the world. And then another person says they are blind, and then another, and soon those few, frightened voices form a chorus of chaos as "the White Sickness" spreads like wildfire and leaves a ruined world in its wake.

Adapting Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago's novel, Blindness feels like a curious mix of highbrow literary aspirations and lowbrow genre fiction; as the White Sickness spreads from person to person in a clear chain of connection and things fall apart, it'd be easy to dismiss Blindness as Dawn of the Dead for NPR listeners or Outbreak for grad students. Meirreles has taken a similar two-pronged approach before -- The Constant Gardener is an excellent critique of the failings of modern capitalism that also works as a strong, suspenseful thriller -- and while Blindness may not work as well as that film, it's also a clear case of a film, and filmmaker, failing to hit the mark occasionally only because they've set the bar so high for themselves.

Cinematical has received two brand new exclusive Blindness images ahead of the film's world premiere tonight at the 2008 Festival de Cannes. Directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener), Blindness was selected as the opening night film for this year's Festival de Cannes, and it stars Julianne Moore as the wife of a doctor (Mark Ruffalo) who suddenly becomes the only one who can see in a town where everyone is struck with a mysterious case of blindness. Based on the novel by José Saramago (adapted by Don Mckellar), Blindness also stars Gael García Bernal, Alice Braga and Danny Glover.

Cinematical is on the ground in Cannes, and both James and Kim have already seen Blindness. We'll have our review of the festival's opening night film later on in the day. Check out our second exclusive photo below, then head to the gallery for more. Blindness arrives in theaters on September 19.



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Every once in a while, a follow-up news piece pops up that makes me wonder where I've been. In case you missed it as well -- there's a new anthology hitting screens this year called 8, and it's got a bunch of interesting directors attached. There are the likes of Jane Campion, Gael Garcia Bernal, Mira Nair, Gus Van Sant, and Wim Wenders, plus Gaspar Noe, Abderrahmane Sissako, and Jan Kounen.

Unlike the "I Love You" odes to famous cities, the film will tackle 8 themes and 8 films from famous directors that focus on the progress, set-backs, and challenges that face our planet. It's not just an environmental picture, but rather, it focuses on themes of poverty/hunger (Sissako's Tiya's Dream), education (Garcia Bernal's The Letter), gender equality (Nair's How Can It Be), child mortality (Van Sant's Mansion on the Hill), maternal health (Kounen's The Story of Panshin Beka), HIV/AIDS and other diseases (Noe's SIDA), environmental sustainability (Campion's The Water Diary) and development (Wenders' Person to Person).

It's sort of like Invisibles, which Kim reviewed from SIFF last year, and which also had a short from Wim Wenders. Now Variety reports that Marta McGonagle (iCarly) has signed on for a role in his segment -- although there is no word on what his segment, titled Person to Person, will be specifically about. For now, you can get a bunch of information from the film's website.

When news broke about Jim Jarmusch's next film back in November, The Limits of Control, it was said that JJ regular Isaach De Bankolé would star, along with "an international collection of bankable stars." Well, they're certainly living up to the promise so far. Reuters reports that the filmmaker has once again grabbed Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton for roles, both of whom appeared in Broken Flowers, as well as Gael Garcia Bernal. That fills the old comedy contingent, the drama power, and the young Mexican boy-crazy crowd.

It turns out that this will be a road movie of sorts -- how, they're not saying. We know that De Bankolé will play an outlaw doing some sort of job in Spain, and Reuters adds that he's a loner, but that's it. Since the road comes into play, I imagine either he'll try to hook on to some innocent roadtrippers to escape the area, or maybe they'll be his accomplices -- but that latter doesn't work with the loner deal. The film shoots this month in Spanish cities like Seville, Madrid, and Almeria, so hopefully we'll hear more soon.

Meanwhile: Swinton has been busy all over the literary world, from filming Burn After Reading, to some Narnia, to Lewis Carroll and a stint as Lady Macbeth, Bill's spent some time getting Smart and leading the City of Ember, and Bernal has been busy with a number of foreign projects from Mammoth to Pedro Paramo.

If you've ever quickly passed by the DVD for Lilya 4-ever in a store, you might have had to do a double take, thinking the girl on the cover was Michelle Williams -- a very young Michelle Williams, that is. The lead actress in that film, Oksana Akinshina, doesn't exactly look like Williams, but there are a few shots where you can see a resemblance. Take a look at this still, and this one, to see what I mean. With this in mind, I wonder if Lukas Moodysson, the writer-director of Lilya, was also thinking of Akinshana when he cast Williams to co-star in his next film, Mammoth. According to Variety, the Oscar-nominated actress will play the wife of Gael Garcia Bernal, who we previously learned would appear in Mammoth, which will be Moodysson's English-language debut. The film, about a couple "facing a crisis", begins shooting next week in Thailand. Filming will also take place in the Philippines, Sweden and New York.

Though the exact plot is still unclear, I previously made the prediction that it involved an affair between the husband played by Garcia and his 8-year-old daughter's nanny played by Filipino actress Marife Necesito. But then, I just assume all movies these days are about infidelity. The most I've read about the story so far is that Bernal's character is on a business trip to Thailand when he decides to seriously alter his life. I guess that could very well mean something other than cheat with the nanny. Whatever the plot, I'm excited. I am typically dubious regarding a favorite foreigner making an English-language film, but with Bernal and Williams on board, I am imagining great things. And this is even without the involvement of Lars von Trier, who had previously been named as a producer. However, Lars Jönsson, who has produced much of the work of both von Trier and Moodysson, is still attached, as is regular von Trier-producers Vibeke Windeløv and Peter Aalbæk Jensen and long-time Tom Tykwer-producer Maria Köpf. Sounds like it could be one of the best non-foreign-language foreign films to come out next year (so far it's set for Swedish release in August, but hopefully it will be easily picked up for the U.S., too).

Like any fun but exhausting activity, you're anxious for it to be over, but then you miss it when it is. In what seemed like a blink of the eye, TIFF 2007 has wrapped. Eastern Promises nabbed the People's Choice prize, and the wonderful My Winnipeg grabbed top Canadian honors. (Rejoice!) But there was still lots of fun, great films, and some fest craziness that came before the awards were handed out.

My favorite story from TIFF came from a friend who had gone to see Starting Out in the Evening. She loved the film, and said that the end had made her teary-eyed. Impressed with Frank Langella's performance, she walked up to him as she was leaving the theater and told him so. "Are you crying?" he asked, and then wiped her tears away. That Frank is a slick, slick man.

On Wednesday, The Last Lear Q&A with Rituparno Ghosh was cut short when someone pulled the fire alarm. As is usually the case when the bell starts ringing, everyone ignored it and we continued the discussion. (How often do people actually pay attention to those things from the get-go?) Then, mid-sentence, Ghosh was cut short and we were told to exit the theater immediately, because it wasn't a drill as they initially assumed. Whoops. At least it didn't happen during the film. Pisay, on the other hand, had a few technical problems -- thankfully, it was a digital screening, so we didn't end up missing anything.

Deficit drops you directly into a day in the life of an upper-class, college-aged brat in a posh suburban neighborhood outside of Mexico City. Gael Garcia Bernal directs, as well as stars as the main character, Cristobal, and as the film opens we see him driving over rundown streets with a friend, a quizzical expression on his face, giving off the vibe that we're about to enter some kind of crime drama. In a way, we are -- there are hints and accusations peppered throughout that perhaps Cristobal's father is some kind of drug lord, but Bernal isn't interested in bringing these things to the forefront. Instead, he confines any possible backstory to the whispers of the servants, who are both frightened of their employers and in awe of them. One of them, Anan, a dark-skinned Mexican of Indian descent played by Tenoch Huerta Mejia, is propped up as something of a rival to Cristobal even though they are worlds apart. He endures racist snickering and even slurs by the houseguests and zeroes in on one upper-class girl who has captured his attention.

While Anan is pining away and seething at his own poverty, Cristobal is suffering from a more lightweight concern -- his girlfriend, Mafer (Ana Serradilla) is on her way to the pool party, but has gotten lost and needs precise directions in order to get there. The problem is that Cristobal has met someone else at the party, Dolores (Luz Cipriota) and doesn't want Mafer showing up at all. There's a lot of comedy in this film, mixed in and surrounding the overall class tensions and underlying current of criminality, and it's to the credit of Bernal that it all meshes together so well. When dramatic events present themselves, such as Cristobal's receiving a rejection letter from Harvard in the mail, the film doesn't linger on them or turn them into grist for a debate or an argument, it simply acknowledges and moves on. As I watched Deficit at a recent screening, I noticed the audience members paying very close attention, undoubtedly because they had no idea where this film was going but were intrigued by the possibilities.

Now an official rule in filmmaking, if you want to break out in America -- cast Gael García Bernal (Babel) in your film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this is what Lukas Moodysson is doing for his next pic, titled Mammoth. The Swedish writer-director, who gave us the brilliant teen-trafficking drama Lilya 4-ever and the very sweet lesbian film Show Me Love, has cast Bernal in the domestic drama, about a young couple, their child and their nanny. Knowing how most domestic dramas go, we can assume Bernal's husband character has an affair with the nanny, who will be played by Filipino actress Marife Necesito (Evolution of a Filipino Family). Bernal, who may have helped the Stateside successes of many Latin American filmmakers, possibly appeals to foreign directors because he speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. After shooting Mammoth, he should be able to pick up some Swedish and Filipino.

I typically frown upon foreign directors making the leap to filming in English. Sure, a ton of great filmmakers have done it well, but too many have not. However, because Lukas Moodysson didn't hit so well with his previous two Swedish films (A Hole in My Heart; Container), it is perhaps time for him to try something different. This isn't the usual immigration to Hollywood, though; Mammoth is still technically a foreign film, co-produced by Swedish, Danish and German companies and financiers. It may be better to think of this as similar to Lars von Trier's English-language work since the Dogville director is producing Mammoth with Peter Aalbaek Jensen (Breaking the Waves) and Maria Kopf (Heaven), both of whom work for von Trier's company Zentropa Entertainments -- Kopf being head of the new division Zentropa Berlin. Jensen also co-produced many of Moodysson's Swedish work, including Lilya 4-ever. Moodysson will shoot in Sweden, New York, Thailand and the Philippines.

I can just see it now -- fifty years from now, news, blogs or whatever the preferred communication system is, will bring word that Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal will be collaborating on their 372nd feature, perhaps an ailing buddy movie where they take a road trip and act lasciviously, like they did all those years ago in Y tu mamá también. Last month, I posed that the pair would be reuniting to play brothers for the Iñárritu, Cuarón and del Toro film Rudo y Cursi. Only a month later, they're pairing up again. Luna has just joined Bernal on the production of Pedro Páramo, which I blogged about in May.

Bernal is already starring as Páramo, the "brutal man who married Juan Preciado's mother, stole her land and money, and destroyed her town -- Comala." Luna is now about to board in a production capacity. The duo's production and distribution company, Canana, is in final negotiations to co-produce the film. I wouldn't be surprised if we soon see Luna pop up in some sort of acting capacity -- perhaps as Preciado? The film, which heads into production this September in Mexico and Spain, has also added more talent in front of and behind the screen -- a Mexican paper says Vanessa Bauche has signed on for a role, and two Pan's Labyrinth Oscar-winners for makeup, Montse Ribé and David Martí are overseeing makeup.

So, as the story has it, Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel), Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) and Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) have set up a production company. Eager to start off with a bang, the first feature to be backed by the company is Rudo y Cursi, which to us English-folk is "Rough and Corny." Why is it a bang? First, it was written, and will be directed by, Carlos Cuarón -- Alfonso's brother and co-writer on Y tu mamá también. Second, and more notably for audiences, it will re-team Mama stars Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. Where Mama dealt with sex and friendship, Rudo is about two brothers who play professional soccer and are embroiled in a life-long competition, while still, as Iñárritu explains: "once again exploring the same themes of rivalry."

Now, let's go over the track record of those involved. Iñárritu is responsible for Amores perros, 21 Grams and Babel; Alfonso has Mama, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Paris, je t'aime and Children of Men; del Toro has Pan's and Hellboy and Carlos has Mama. Then there are Bernal and Luna, who also have their share of cinematic success and on-screen chemistry. As CBC states, the filmmakers are responsible for 16 Academy Award nods all on their own. It's like a paved, golden road that I hope leads to more recognition, and holds up under the weight of acclaim. The film has been in production for a few weeks in the small town of Cihuatlan, near a banana plantation that the Cuarón brothers visited as kids.

I'm one of those people who was first introduced to Gael Garcia Bernal through Y tu mamá también. Unfortunately, I'm also one of those crazy, rare people who didn't like the film. Well, I probably would've liked it more if it wasn't hyped so much. Once I saw it, I just didn't get the wow factor. Luckily, he's also been in I'm with Lucy, so I saw him in some better material. Just kidding... Anyhow, he's just about to show his directorial debut, Déficit, to Cannes this week and he's also finalizing plans to star in another adaptation of Pedro Páramo, a famous short novel by Juan Rulfo.

It's been a favorite of the big screen, having popped up in 1967, 1978 and 1981. In this current incarnation, I'm sniffing one hell of a Latin hit. This adaptation is under the pens of Mateo Gil and Alejandro Amenábar, who will also direct. Why is this a good thing? Because they're the ones who brought us Abre los ojos, the precursor to Vanilla Sky. Páramo is the story of a brutal man who married Juan Preciado's mother, stole her land and money, and destroyed her town -- Comala. Talking with the ghosts of the town, Preciado reveals its demise under Pedro's hands. To just sweeten the deal a little bit, the film will be art directed by Eugenio Caballero, who just won an Oscar for Pan's Labyrinth. I'm not sure how much they could sweeten this cinematic pot, but I'm anxious to see what they all will do with this latest adaptation. How about you?

If you had to choose the better year for Cillian Murphy, would you pick 2005 or 2006? In the earlier year, millions of viewers saw him in Batman Begins and Red Eye. In the later year, a few people saw him in Breakfast on Pluto (which was also seen by some in 2005) and the Cannes winner The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Okay, so I'm going by American audiences -- both were seen by a lot of people overseas. Still, 2005 was the year he seemed to shoot into stardom with higher profile roles. And he had already been widely seen a few years earlier in 28 Days Later.

Speaking of 28 Days Later, that film also featured Naomie Harris, who now co-stars with Murphy in the list of nominees for BAFTA's Orange Rising Star Award. The award debuted at last year's BAFTA Awards in order to recognize an actor or actress with great promise for the future in terms of acting talent and connection with audiences. The first winner was James McAvoy, who beat out breakthrough actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams (who was also in Red Eye), Michelle Williams and Gael García Bernal.