You are viewing the archive: “Samuel L. Jackson”

Cannes: Samuel L. Jackson Joins ‘Barely Lethal’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday May 16, 2013 @ 12:42am PDTTags: Barely Lethal, Cannes Film Festival, Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson will star with Hailee Steinfeld in RKO Pictures’ Barely Lethal, the Brett Ratner-produced pic that’s being directed by Kyle Newman. From a script by John D’Arco, the action-comedy sees a 16-year old international assassin fake her own death in pursuit of a “normal” adolescence. Jackson will play the girl’s former employer who seeks her out in the small rural town where she’s trying to deal with high-school. Highland Film Group is handling international sales in Cannes with principal photography starting in the fall. RKO Pictures, Hopscotch Pictures and Rat Entertainment produce. Jackson and Steinfeld are repped by ICM Partners.

Related: Hailee Steinfeld To Star In Indie Pic ‘Barely Lethal’

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Cannes: Samuel L. Jackson Attached As U.S. President For Altitude’s ‘Big Game’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Sunday May 12, 2013 @ 10:01pm PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Samuel L. Jackson

Will Clarke’s Altitude Film Entertainment is teaming with Subzero Film Entertainment to produce action adventure pic Big Game which has Samuel L. Jackson attached to play the president of the United States. Jalmari Helander, the Finnish director … Read More »

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Cannes: Weinstein Co. Flies With ‘Kite’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Friday May 10, 2013 @ 7:33am PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Kite, Samuel L. Jackson, The Weinstein Company

The Weinstein Co. has acquired worldwide rights to the live-action remake of Yasuomi Umetsu’s Japanese anime film Kite. Samuel L. Jackson stars with India Eisley (The Secret Life Of The American Teenager) and Callan McAuliffe (The Great Gatsby). South African director Ralph Ziman (Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema) stepped in for the late David R. Ellis back in February and filming had just wrapped. TWC is handling outside the U.S., South Africa and India. Read More »

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Spouse Scribe Team To Adapt ‘Go The F To Sleep’ For Fox 2000

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday April 11, 2013 @ 10:40am PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Erica Oyama Marino, Fox 2000, Go The Fuck To Sleep, Ken Marino, Samuel L. Jackson
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Husband-wife scripting team Ken Marino & Erica Oyama have been hired to adapt the book Go The F To Sleep for Fox 2000 and Twilight Saga producer Karen Rosenfelt and All You Need Is Kill … Read More »

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Christopher Walken’s ‘The Power Of Few’ Lands With Steelyard; Fleming Rants On How Impatient Icons Diminish Legacies Dropping Too Many Movie Turds

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday February 4, 2013 @ 8:23am PSTTags: Al Pacino, Big Deals Film, Christopher Walken, Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson
Mike Fleming

It intrigues me that Christopher Walken’s latest film — which just signed for North American release by Steelyard Pictures — is titled The Power Of Few. I’ve never heard of this distributor, and maybe the film is a cinematic treat, but I’m reasonably certain this movie will come and go with little fanfare. The title is memorable because it summarizes perfectly how I wish iconic actors like Walken would run their careers. I was thinking about this over the weekend, when I again watched Django Unchained and observed how the whole movie changed from the moment that Samuel L. Jackson first came into view as the awful plantation slave patriarch Stephen. I find it one of the most memorable performances I’ve seen in the last five years, a villain to rival any Spaghetti Western antagonist ever, and am amazed how Jackson disappeared into a fully fleshed character as completely as Daniel Day-Lewis did with  Lincoln and Joaquin Phoenix did in The Master, and Denzel Washington did in Flight. All three of those guys got nominated for Oscars, and Sam did not, even though it’s his best performance since Pulp Fiction. It’s easy to say it came down to Christoph Waltz’s Best Supporting Actor nomination (Leo DiCaprio was also snubbed), but I think a factor is that Jackson works so often that Oscar voters discount his great performances because it’s just one of the seven films he did in that calender year. Contrast that to Day-Lewis. When he works, you know it’s a special event, there is high anticipation and he either wins or gets nominated almost each and every time out.

To me, Walken is in the same class as Jackson, and so is Robert De Niro and Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins, and so would Sean Connery and Gene Hackman if anybody could coax those guys out of retirement. Kevin Costner is knocking on the door as well.

De Niro got an Oscar nom for Silver Linings Playbook, and it seemed to work in reverse; it seemed to help that this was the first movie in a long time where the material wasn’t beneath his vast talent, and that he proved he still had it.

As for Walken, I was at the Toronto Film Festival premiere of the Martin McDonagh-directed Seven Psychopaths last fall, and observed something rare. Gifted with dialogue from In Bruges‘ McDonagh, Walken had people cheering to just about every line he delivered, in his singular style. I wish guys like him would save themselves for just the really good stuff (like De Niro and Pacino in Heat and De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook), instead of leaving a trail of cinematic turds along the way. Read More »

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Samuel L. Jackson, India Eisley, Callan McAuliffe Fly With ‘Kite’ Remake

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Sunday February 3, 2013 @ 5:54am PSTTags: Callan McAuliffe, Kite, Samuel L. Jackson

South African director Ralph Ziman has taken over helming Kite, a live action remake of Yasuomi Umetsu’s 1998 Japanese anime film that originally had the late David R. Ellis directing. Samuel L. Jackson is starring with India Eisley (The Secret Life Of The American Teenager) and Callan McAuliffe (Underground: The Julian Assange Story, The Great Gatsby) also now aboard. Ellis, whose credits included Snakes On A Plane and Shark Night 3D, died in January. Pre-production is underway in Johannesburg with principal photography to begin this month.

The original Kite was controversial for its graphic depictions of sex and violence involving an orphaned girl who’s taken under the wing of a pair of corrupt detectives investigating her parents’ murder. The new version is described as a character-driven action film that charts the story of Sawa (Eisley), a young woman living in a failed state after the financial collapse, where a corrupt security force profits on the trafficking of young women. When Sawa’s policeman father is killed, she vows to track the murderer down with the help of his ex-partner, Karl Aker (Jackson).

Jackson said, “The zest and enthusiasm David Ellis had for this project led to my commitment to do it. That same commitment to David leads me to fulfil my obligation to see his dedication fulfilled.” Ziman is best known for 2008′s crime actioner Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema.

Anant Singh and Distant Horizon’s Brian Cox will produce alongside co-producers Moises Cosio and Alberto Muffelmann of Detalle Films. Read More »

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R.I.P David R. Ellis

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday January 7, 2013 @ 2:18pm PSTTags: David R. Ellis, Samuel L. Jackson, Snakes On a Plane

Director David R. Ellis has died in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Snakes On A Plane helmer passed away suddenly early this morning Los Angeles-time, Deadline has learned. Ellis was 60 years old. Cause of death is … Read More »

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Samuel L. Jackson Lets Loose On ‘Django’, Tarantino, Slavery, Oscars And Golden Globes – Interview

By PETE HAMMOND | Friday December 28, 2012 @ 3:13pm PSTTags: Django Unchained, Martin Landau, Nick Fury, Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson, Snakes On a Plane, Star Wars, The Avengers
Pete Hammond

With a filmography that includes roles in some of the highest-grossing movies of all time including The Avengers, Iron Man and the Star Wars series Samuel L. Jackson clearly knows how to pick ‘em. And that is entirely intentional. … Read More »

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Samuel L. Jackson On ‘SNL’: Did He Or Didn’t He?

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday December 16, 2012 @ 10:36am PSTTags: Samuel L. Jackson, Saturday Night Live

Playing himself during a skit parody of BET on a show titled “What Up With That?” the characteristically voluble Jackson appeared to utter the f-word and did say “bullshit”. Jackson later tweeted “I only said FUH not FUCK! K was sposed to cut off da BULLSHIT, blew it!!” Here is an unbleeped YouTube clip:

You can watch NBC’s full clip of the skit which has both utterances muted after the jump: Read More »

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Gloria Reuben Added To Thriller ‘Reasonable Doubt’

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Tuesday November 20, 2012 @ 3:04pm PSTTags: Gloria Reuben, Lincoln, Samuel L. Jackson

Gloria Reuben has joined Reasonable Doubt, teaming with Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper for the indie crime thriller. Reuben will play world-weary Detective Blake Kanon in the South Creek Pictures pic, which centers on an … Read More »

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Samuel L. Jackson’s Wake-Up Call For Obama

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday September 27, 2012 @ 9:29am PDTTags: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Samuel L. Jackson
Mike Fleming

Never one for subtlety, Samuel L. Jackson is front and center in a pro-President Obama and anti-Mitt Romney spot that is a takeoff on Sam’s narration of the bedtime tale Go The F___ To Sleep, the one … Read More »

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Samuel L. Jackson To Host Spike’s Video Game Awards

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday June 4, 2012 @ 8:34am PDTTags: Samuel L. Jackson, Spike TV, Video Game Awards

Samual L. Jackson Video Game Awards HostSamuel L. Jackson has signed to return as host of Spike TV‘s Video Game Awards, which will air live December 7 and be produced again by Mark Burnett. The event, dubbed … Read More »

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Samuel L. Jackson To Host BET Awards

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 22, 2012 @ 4:56pm PDTTags: BET Awards, Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson has been tapped to host the BET Awards, which will air live July 1 on BET from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. He currently is riding the wave of starring in Disney/Marvel’s box office biggie … Read More »

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Samuel L. Jackson Launches Twitter War Over NYT’s Negative ‘Avengers’ Review

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday May 3, 2012 @ 6:23pm PDTTags: Disney, Marvel's The Avengers, Samuel L. Jackson, The Avengers, The New York Times, Twitter

Most of the critics were very positive about Marvel’s The Avengers opening at midnight tonight — which is why Samuel L. Jackson (aka Nick Fury) is so furious with The New York Times‘ negative review. The actor let his 825,315 followers  on Twitter today know it. “#Avengers fans, NY Times critic AO Scott needs a new job! Let’s help him find one! One he can ACTUALLY do!”. The NYT’s AO Scott in his review of the Joss Whedon-directed Disney film said, “The Avengersis hardly worth raging about, its failures are significant and dispiriting.” Scott also called Jackson’s role as the head of superspy agency S.H.I.E.L.D “more master of ceremonies than mission commander” in his review. Read More »

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Ryan Reynolds Tops Cast For DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Turbo’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday February 24, 2012 @ 9:21am PSTTags: DreamWorks Animation, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Turbo

GLENDALE, Calif., Feb. 24, 2012 — DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) today announced that Ryan Reynolds will lead an all-star cast including Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Kurtwood Smith, Snoop Dogg and Samuel L. Jackson in the Company’s upcoming original film Turbo, which tells the story of an ordinary garden snail with dreams of racing greatness. Turbo is scheduled to come to the big screen on July 19, 2013.

David Soren (Merry Madagascar), a DreamWorks Animation veteran as a story artist, voice actor and director, is set to direct the film based on his own original concept. Soren is co-writing the script with Robert Siegel (The Wrestler) and Darren Lemke (Shrek Forever After). Lisa Stewart (Monsters vs. Aliens, Almost Famous) is producing with Susan Rogers serving as co-producer.

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IFC Acquires Samuel L. Jackson Film ‘The Samaritan’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday November 30, 2011 @ 1:09pm PSTTags: Film Acquistion, IFC Films, Samuel L. Jackson
Mike Fleming

New York, NY (November 30, 2011) – IFC Films announced today that the company is acquiring U.S. rights to THE SAMARITAN, starring Academy Award® nominated Samuel L. Jackson, produced by Andras Hamori and directed by David Weaver from a screenplay by Weaver and Elan Mastai. THE SAMARITAN also stars Luke Kirby (TAKE THIS WALTZ), Ruth Negga (LOVE/HATE) and Oscar nominated Tom Wilkinson (MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL).

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WME Signs British Actor Tom Hiddleston

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday October 24, 2011 @ 12:30pm PDTTags: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Joss Whedon, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hiddleston, WME, Woody Allen
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: WME has just signed Tom Hiddleston, who reprises his Loki character from Thor in the upcoming Joss Whedon-directed The Avengers. Hiddleston, who was last repped in the U.S. by ICM, had a year in which he also starred in … Read More »

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Quentin Tarantino Setting Don Johnson For ‘Django Unchained’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday October 11, 2011 @ 3:38pm PDTTags: Christoph Waltz, David Carradine, Django Unchained, Don Johnson, Jamie Foxx, John Travolta, Kurt Russell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson
Mike Fleming

Django Unchained director Quentin Tarantino has offered the role of wealthy plantation owner Spencer Bennett to Don Johnson, and they are negotiating for Johnson to join a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and … Read More »

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Hot Trailer: ‘The Avengers’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday October 11, 2011 @ 7:44am PDTTags: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Joss Whedon, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, The Avengers, Tom Hiddleston
Mike Fleming

Marvel Studios has released its first full trailer for The Avengers, its Joss Whedon-directed dream teaming of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and team leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who team up against Loki (Tom … Read More »

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