Essentially achieving a dream Branagh’s most certainly had his entire life – to be Laurence Olivier. But then, what actor doesn’t want that at some point in his career? Perhaps it’s that few have come as close as Branagh, who’s turns in Henry V and the impossibly good Hamlet are Olivier-worthy for sure.

The Olivier imitation would be in My Week With Marilyn, starring Michelle Williams as the titular Marilyn Monroe. This is not to be confused with Andrew Dominik’s gestating Blonde, starring Naomi Watts as the tortured bombshell.

Week With Marilyn is based “a diary by Colin Clark, who worked for Laurence Olivier when the actor shepherded Monroe around London while she shot The Prince and the Showgirl.” [/Film] Shooting is still set to start in September, with television director Simon Curtis at the helm.

Hopefully Branagh will find the time between Thor editing sessions to turn in this performance. It has been a while since the thespian has turned in a worthwhile performance, dis-including Pirate Radio and Valkyrie.

Would you like to see Branagh play his idol?

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The Playlist is reporting some pretty great news, in my opinion,  Michelle Williams is planning to take the lead role in Noah Baumbach‘s The Emperor’s Children, his adaptation of Claire Messud‘s 2006 novel. Other noteworthy actors, including Keira Knightley, Eric Bana, and Richard Gere, have also recently joined the project. Brian Glazer and Ron Howard, who were originally slated to bring Baumbach‘s script to life, will most likely stick with producing credits.

The film, set in post-9/11 New York, will track a group of Ivy League graduates who approach their 30′s having not quite reached the lofty aspirations they had for themselves during their college days. This storyline will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Baumbach’s 1995 debut Kicking and Screaming, which followed a handful of people struggling to deal with post-college life.

The report suggests that filming could start as early as this summer; however, it is worth noting that Baumbach also has Mr. Popper’s Penguins, starring Ben Stiller, in early development, which could take precedence if difficulties arise. Baumbach of course directed Stiller in what might be his best performance in this year’s Greenberg.

I for one would be delighted to see Williams join this project, and hopefully her reputation will continue to grow along with it. As far as this year goes, she stars in Derek Cianfrance‘s highly-buzzed Sundance romance Blue Valentine, for which Williams and co-star Ryan Gosling have received enormous praise.

Would you like to see Williams work with Baumbach? What do you think of the writer-director’s future potential?

Remember Cape Fear? Where Scorsese bombarded and frightened us with surreal images and a more-than-unsettling atmosphere? Shutter Island represents that side of Scorsese. It’s quite possibly his most tense film yet. While it’s difficult to label it as “scary”, it certainly knows how to make one feel consistently uneasy. This is a wonderfully crafted psychological horror film. Read the full story

Thanks to this article from Anne Thompson over at indieWIRE, it appears that The Weinstein Company has just landed a huge buy. The film is called Blue Valentine, and it’s one of the most highly-buzzed films coming out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film is directed by Derek Cianfrance, and although he is certainly a respected name in the industry, my excitement for the film stems mostly from the lead actors. Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson) and Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy) star in this film as a married couple struggling with their mutual ambition. Based on what I’ve read thus far, it appears that the film cuts between time periods, from when the couple was young, vibrant, and happy, to their current state of misunderstandings and distance.

On top of this, Harvey Weinstein is also going after The Tillman Story, which is one of Sundance’s favorites in the documentary genre. Here is the press release:

The Weinstein Co. nabbed U.S., Canadian and Pan-Asian satellite territory rights to Derek Cianfrance’s romantic drama starring the pair in a low-seven-figure deal.

WME Global chief Graham Taylor was in an anxious huddle at a restaurant off Main Street well after midnight Thursday with “Blue Valentine” producers (and his personal valentine) Lynette Howell, Jamie Patricof and Alex Orlovsky, (the team behind the 2006 Sundance hit “Half Nelson”) as all-night negotiations were going down. IFC Films and Sony Pictures Classics were also said to be in the mix.

After a somewhat rocky 2009, the Weinsteins have to be thrilled with this buy. We all know how bad Nine turned out — both critically and commercially — and although Inglourious Basterds makes up for a lot of the damage, there is still some ground to be made up. I know I couldn’t be more excited for this film, as I think Gosling and Williams are two of the best indie actors working today.

What about you? Do you think this film can help reinvigorate The Weinstein Company, or does it seem like another bust?

Sarah Polley directed the fantastic 2006 drama Away From Her and now the actress/writer/director  has announced her next film, Take This Waltz. Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Polley has found financing to direct her script and Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams are attached. Waltz was on the 2009 Black List of best unproduced screenplays and follows “a young woman struggles with her infidelities and the budding realization that she may be addicted to the honeymoon period of her relationships.” Polley also stars in the horror/thriller Splice, which is at Sundance and has been getting positive reviews. Michelle Williams also has a film at Sundance, Blue Valentine, in which she stars alongside Ryan Gosling.

Take This Waltz is set to start production this July in Toronto.

Did you like Away From Her? What do you think about this project?

In preparation for its Sundance debut, here’s a clip from Derek Cianfrance’s romance Blue Valentine, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. [MTV]

The logline: The film centers on a contempo married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods. [IMDB]

The project’s been a long time coming, and will hopefully live up to the hype of its existence. Getting a small indie romance made these days with two of the most talented (rather than the most bankable) actors around is a miracle in itself.

To have it be a great film would an added gift.

The clip offers hope.

Read the full story

Sundance has announced it’s 112 films that are entering in U.S. and World Cinema Documentary and Dramatic film competitions. The films represent “38 countries by 43 first-time filmmakers, including 24 in competition. These films were selected from 3,724 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,920 U.S. and 1,804 international feature-length films. 79 films at the Festival will be world premieres.” The festival takes place between Jan 21st and 31st at Park City Utah. Some interesting films to note are Mark Ruffalo‘s directorial debut, a new documentary by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud) and films starring Jesse Eisenberg, Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, James Franco, John Hamm, Melissa Leo, Laura Linney, Orlando Bloom, and more.  Check out the full list below. Read the full story

Paramount Pictures has just released the first for Martin Scorsese upcoming film Shutter Island. Its an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel of the same name. The film follows two US Marshals named Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule who are assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. While their they encounter riots, untrusting doctors, and a hurricane that keeps then stranded their. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, and Jackie Earle Haley. Shutter Island is set to be released on October 2nd, 2009. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Check out the trailer >>

Empire has the exclusive first look at Martin Scorsese‘s Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Michelle Williams. Check out the full photo below along with some quotes from the magazine.

Check out the photo >>

RopeOfSilicon has posted a piece of teaser art from the Martin Scorsese’s new film Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It was scanned out of the Berliner Zeitung newspaper as part of a story about TMG/Concorde, the film’s distributor. Check it out below (click for hi-res):

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