Popcorn!

My film news column from today's Irish Independent...








The Bourne Redundancy?
Matt Damon and regular Bourne-director Paul Greengrass have told reporters that they don’t want to make another Jason Bourne film. Promoting their latest collaboration, The Green Zone (which incidentally looks very Bourne-esque), Greengrass said that he won’t be returning to the spy franchise and Damon said that he wouldn’t return without the director. Damon told Collider.com “I think that they have a good way to do a prequel with someone else, and basically make it about the Bourne identity, the actual identity….what we could do, is do some movies with another actor, whether it’s Ryan Gosling or Russell Crowe or Denzel Washington, and he’s Jason Bourne”.






Working with Johnny Depp is Paradis
One of cinema’s coolest couples, Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, are finally due to work together. They’ll be playing American novelist Nelson Algren and French feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir in My American Lover for Lasse Halstrom. (No prizes for guessing who’s playing which role.) Depp has worked with the Danish filmmaker before on What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Chocolat, and filming will begin after the star has finished filming spy thriller The Tourist and the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Though best-known for her pop career, Paradis has carved a niche for herself in French cinema with respectable turns in films like The Girl on the Bridge.












There will be Wood
Angelina Jolie is in talks with Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) to make Serena, a film about the trials of a couple who build a timber empire. Set in the mountains of North Carolina circa 1929, the film is an adaptation of Ron Rash’s novel about the ruthlessness of capitalism and the corrupting power of success. Sounds promising: If anyone can play a 1920s unhinged wood baroness, it’s Jolie.

Avatar is Ireland’s favourite film
Adding to its phenomenal worldwide success, Avatar has become the biggest film ever in Ireland. The science fiction epic (which you’ve likely seen) has earned total box office earnings for the Republic Of Ireland and Northern Ireland of €9,747,390 to date. We like our Cameron films in these here parts: the second-biggest box office hit in Ireland is Titanic.













Dublin Film Critics Circle hand out some awards
At the tail end of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival last week, the Dublin Film Critics Circle (which includes Paul Whittington of this parish) handed out a few accolades for films shown during the event: the Australian drama Samson and Delilah won Best International Film, Patrick O’Donnell (above right) won Best Actor for The Fading Light (which also won Best Irish Film) and Tilda Swinton won Best Actress for I am Love.

Julianne Moore may return to daytime soap
Daytime soap opera As the World Turns is set to close up shop soon, and it looks like one of its most famous alumni will be returning. Julianne Moore, Oscar-nominated for her current film, A Single Man, was filming her comeback scenes this week. This isn’t the first time a low-budget soap has nabbed a big name: James Franco had a stint on General Hospital last year, which he described as “performance art”.