the Dalaverse

Fairly straightforward: the movies I am super-excited/anxious/thrilled about, coming soon to a theater near you!* IMDB links, mostly, and U.S. release dates.

1. His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (I suppose they're going with the full title to get people comfortable with the idea of it as a trilogy) (Decemeber) -- My emotional connection to this story -- and therefore my apprehension about its screen adaptation -- could not be deeper. I've discussed it here before and I'll just get more neurotic as the release date nears, so I'll just offer a few summary points: 1. Glad they cast an unknown as Lyra, dearly hope she can act 2. Worried about Chris Weitz at the helm, very worried about Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter 4. Pleased with the rest of the cast, and tentatively hopeful after seeing the first pictures (here at the official website, which is absolutely gorgeous and has an online alethiometer to play with) 5. God, I hope they don't fuck up the armoured bears. I will be freaking out about this at irregular intervals until December. Consider yourselves warned.

2. Across the Universe (September) -- hannahrorlove pointed this out, and I sincerely hope it's as good as the trailer makes it look. Beatles musical! Evan Rachel Wood! Bono! Julie Taymor (I admit the only thing of hers I've seen is Frida," but I thought that was terrific). This looks like it might become one of my favorite movies, and I'm very excited about it. Also, I wonder what Paul and Ringo will think about it.

3. The Other Boleyn Girl (October) -- While it's not my favorite Gregory novel, I'm still interested in how this one will translate to film. It's only got those two photos of Anne and Mary from the same scene, so it's hard to get a good visual feel for it yet. I'm rather ambivalent about the casting; Scarlett Johanssen looks like my mental image of Mary and Natalie Portman most definitely does not. On the other hand, Natalie can act when she puts her mind to it, and I'm becoming less convinced that Scarlett can. I suspect Scarlett's performance will be nearly identical to that of "Girl With a Pearl Earring," and while I'm not sure Natalie will be able to pull off Anne Boleyn, I'm equally hesitant to assume she can't. I quite like the idea of Eric Bana as Henry, even though I can't remember if Henry is still supposed to be that hot at this stage of his life. As for behind-the-scenes, it's directed by Justin Chadwick, who hasn't done much film work but did the "Bleak House" miniseries, which I understand was very good. And Peter Morgan's screenplay gives me the most hope out of the whole project -- he wrote "The Queen," which I loved, as well as "The Last King of Scotland" and a TV Henry VIII movie. I'm curious and withholding judgement until I see more.

4. Amazing Grace (IMDB says this month, although I haven't heard anything about it) -- I found this while doing a search on Ioan awhile ago, and made a mental note to keep an eye out for it. I don't know very much about Wilberforce, but the trailer looks like a solid historical drama, and it has some serious talent/favorite players lined up -- Ioan, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, Ciaran Hinds, etc. I just wish it had Jack Davenport too, since it's got some ties to him -- Romola Garai, who was in "Mary Bryant" (which needs to be released in the U.S. NOW PLEASE) and writer Steven Knight, who also wrote "Gypsy Woman" (my copy of which has disappeared somewhere, sadly). It's directed by Michael Apted, who has done a number of movies I haven't seen (except for the "Rome" episodes), but who seems acclaimed enough -- I recognized his name, anyway. Overall, it looks very good, ought to boost Ioan's career, and will almost certainly make me cry, since a bagpiped version of the song is enough to do that already.

5. Stardust (August) -- Thank god for LotR and Narnia, because I have no doubt their success helped get this made. It's probably the most adaptable of Neil's novels, and I'm bouncy about it. Charlie Cox was in "Casanova," and he's perfect for Tristan. I wasn't too sure about Claire Danes at first, but I really like the production still of her as Yvaine. And the supporting cast is delightful -- Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter O'Toole, Sir Ian, Rupert Everett, Sarah Alexander, and Ricky Gervais. I'm hoping it'll be fun and sparkly, although I haven't seen any of the director's/screenwriters' work.

6. Gray Matters (this month) -- Have actually seen the trailer on TV, and it looks like another version of "Imagine Me & You," which is totally okay with me. I like mainstream lesbian comedies, although I do wish we could have one with men. The trailer looks like fairly standard rom-com fare, but cute and with a girl instead of an other guy, and that's really what IM&Y was. I liked that one because I wanted to see Piper Perabo make out with Lena Headey, and although I haven't got the same girlcrushes on Heather Graham or Bridge Moynahan, the same holds true. And I like the inversion of the gay guy/straight girl best friend dynamic to straight guy best friend (brother, really)/gay girl (I hope it doesn't have a "Kissing Jessica Stein" ending; much as I love that movie, we already have one). Plus, Alan Cumming!

And as a bonus, the mid-season series I'm really excited about:

7. The Black Donnollys (March 5th) -- NBC drama about four Irish-American brothers involved in the Boston crime world. If you listen really hard, you can hear the whispers of brothercest already. In the trailer, one brother says "Where are you going?" and the other answers, "Wherever you are." The Petrellis and the Winchesters better watch their backs. Whether that's your thing or not, it looks like a great show, and kitsune714 says the premiere episode delivers. Oh, and the main brother is played by one of the next-door guys from "The Virgin Suicides," and I really like him.

Like I need another bloody show to watch...why is TV so awesome this year?






*Besides DMC. Y'all know all about that one.