Changeling News

[Belbo]

A significant update (with PLOT SPOILERS in the full article) from the Hollywood Reporter today (filming starts this week).

3 join Jolie for 'Changeling'

Jeffrey Donovan, Colm Feore and John Malkovich have joined Angelina Jolie in "Changeling," a true life drama that Clint Eastwood is directing for Universal and Imagine.
Donovan will play a police captain, Feore the chief of police and Malkovich a reverend.

That brings the known cast so far to

Angelina Jolie
John Malkovich
Amy Ryan (yay - Beadie from The Wire )
Jeffrey Donovan
Colm Feore
Jason Butler Harner
Reed Birney
Denis O'Hare
Frank Wood

I won't post the plot spoilers here, but having read them I can see why Jolie wanted the role (and, on the basis of Girl, Interrupted and her real-life activities,would seem to be ideal for it).

Part Gaslight, part Frances ....

 

[Belbo]

Links to some on-set photos

Angelina Jolie on set of her new movie The Changeling
All Change for Angelina

Wow. She looks a right old flapper .... :devil:

(later)

The PopSugar photo page mentioned in the second link is here. Some nice non-Angelina pics to, of which my favourite is probably this one.

Somehow I don't think they'll allow Buddy on set.

 

[darth_librarian]

As linked to by JMS on the newsgroup, a brief clip, including a certain writer looking hungry...

http://www.flynetonline.com/2007/10/angelina-smiles-on-the-set/

 

[Belbo]

Looks like details are finally up on Universal's website (you'll need to scroll a fair way down) - definite information, but no definite article.

The synopsis is actually pretty informative, so I'm spoiler tagging it.

Spoiler for Changeling:

Synopsis:Clint Eastwood directs Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich in a provocative thriller based on actual events: Changeling. In the film, Christine Collins’ (Jolie) prayers are met when her kidnapped son is returned. But amidst the frenzy of the photo-op reunion, she realizes this child is not hers. Facing corrupt police and a skeptical public, she desperately hunts for answers, only to be confronted by a truth that will change her forever. Los Angeles, 1928: On a Saturday morning in a working-class suburb, Christine said goodbye to her son, Walter, and left for work. When she came home, she discovered he had vanished. A fruitless search ensues, and months later, a boy claiming to be the nine-year-old is returned. Dazed by the swirl of cops, reporters and her conflicted emotions, Christine allows him to stay overnight. But in her heart, she knows he is not Walter.As she pushes authorities to keep looking, she learns that in Prohibition-era L.A., women don’t challenge the system and live to tell their story. Slandered as delusional and unfit, Christine finds an ally in activist Reverend Briegleb (Malkovich), who helps her fight the city to look for her missing boy. Based on the actual incident that rocked California’s legal system, Changeling tells the shocking tale of a mother’s quest to find her son, and those who won’t stop until they silence her.

Sounds great.

Release date is still TBA, with the speculation I've heard pointing towards late next year (IMDB has Nov 7th).

 

[Jan]

Variety has an article that "Changeling" is in competition at the Cannes Film Festival:

Clint's 'Changeling' set for Cannes
Angelina Jolie stars in Eastwood film
By TODD MCCARTHYMore Articles:
Cannes unveils lineup
Special Report:

Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," a 1920s-set mystery thriller starring Angelina Jolie, will be part of the competition lineup at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
The full slate of Cannes Official Selection entries is being announced today in Paris.

"Changeling," which Universal will release domestically in November, also stars John Malkovich, Amy Ryan and Colm Feore. Pic will be Eastwood's fifth to compete in Cannes, after "Pale Rider," "White Hunter, Black Heart," "Bird" and "Mystic River."

Jan

 

[Elenopa]

Is there absolutely no mention of the WRITER ?

 

[Jan]

I don't see one at this point, Elenopa. There is an award for screenplay, though, so let's cross our fingers for him.

Jan

 

[GaribaldisHair]

Is there absolutely no mention of the WRITER ?

To be fair, very little news comment about movies ever mentions the writer ... I think Studios and Directors like it that way. There is far more for the studio to gain in marketing terms by focussing on Angelina Jolie being the star and Clint Eastwood the Director, as they will sell the movie to filmgoers long before release.

Most movie fans will react with a "So what?" when told the JMS wrote the script.

 

[Belbo]

Hooray! Salon's article does mention JMS, and even B5!

Indy, Clint and Che hit the Côte d'Azur

Eastwood's "Changeling," a dark 1920s period piece based on a real-life Los Angeles kidnapping case and written by "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski, stars Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich. It was never rumored as a strong possibility for Cannes, probably because it's not expected to open in the United States until October or later.

Given the film's subject matter (and the ignorance of mainstream critics where genre shows are concerned), how long will it be before we see him described as "former Murder She Wrote writer J. Michael Straczynski"?

 

[Jade Jaguar]

Currently, Changeling and an animated documentary film on the 1982 Sabra and Shatilla massacres are the two films most favored by the critics to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival. Awards will be announced Sunday. Sean Penn is head of the awards jury.

 

[Jan]

Here are a bunch of reviews and coverage as gathered by the folks over on JMSnews.com. Mostly complimentary, a few not. And at the end, a photo featuring "American actor Joe Michael Straczynski". Gee, I hope he got his SAG card after that performance in 'Sleeping in Light!' ;-)

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Variety:
http://www.variety.com/VE1117937210.html

Hollywood elsewhere:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2008/05/exchange_praise.php

Emanuel Levy:
http://www.emanuellevy.com/article.php?articleID=9981

Glenn Kenny:
http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2008/05/cannes-compet-1.html

Cinematical:
http://www.cinematical.com/2008/05/20/cannes-review-changeling/

Press Conference coverage:
http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/article/56129.html

MovieNation:
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/blog/2008/05/cannes_day_8_qu.html

Screen Daily:
http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=38805&am

Empire:
http://www.empireonline.com/features/cannes2008/post.asp?id=145

Time:
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1807949,00.html

IGN:
http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/875/875311p1.html

The Independent:
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/05/watch-it-cann-5.html

Salon:
http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/btm/feature/2008/05/20/eastwood/

Eyeweekly:
http://www.eyeweekly.com/film/thisjustin/article/28085

TimeOut Chicago:
http://www.timeout.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/?p=4110

Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/21/bfcannes121.xml

Times Online:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co...tainment/film/film_reviews/article3972269.ece

Guardian:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co...tainment/film/film_reviews/article3972269.ece

"American actor Joe Michael Straczynski":
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//080520/482/0f6daacf0d25416999e02257cba066c9/

 

[Jade Jaguar]

Here is a link to the wikipedia article about the actual case Changeling is based on. Spoilers, of course! Also, this article has a link to the wiki article about the film,which is also good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wineville_Chicken_Murders

 

[Recoil]

Its funny, that a few of those articles do mention that the "Wineville Chicken Murders" of the 20s never inspired a feature film until this one. But...the events that this was based on did inspire at least the title of one of the episodes of the original Star Trek.

 

[Jan]

Its funny, that a few of those articles do mention that the "Wineville Chicken Murders" of the 20s never inspired a feature film until this one. But...the events that this was based on did inspire at least the title of one of the episodes of the original Star Trek.

Sigh...okay, I give up. Care to share?

BTW, for those interested there are a few pics of JMS posted at http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/S...US&family=editorial&p=straczynski&src=quick#1

Jan

 

[hypatia]

He means the episode titled "Changeling". The one with the rogue computer bent on destroying all imperfect life, or something like that.

No connection whatsoever, other than the title. So I think he's joking when he referrs to "inspiring".

 

[darth_librarian]

At least one of those articles refered to it as 'the exchange'.

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2008/05/exchange_praise.php

Has it had a name switch ? Ahh, ignore me. Its being sold as L'Échange in France.

Formidable.

 

[Jan]

At least one of those articles refered to it as 'the exchange'.

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2008/05/exchange_praise.php

Has it had a name switch ? Ahh, ignore me. Its being sold as L'Échange in France.

Formidable.

That's uncertain right now. There have been reports that Universal announced a name change but that Eastwood hasn't didn't accept that. On some sites the title was changed to "The Exchange" and then changed back from what I've read. I understand the potential confusion with the old horror film but I *much* prefer "Changeling" as a title instead.

Jan

 

[Recoil]

He means the episode titled "Changeling". The one with the rogue computer bent on destroying all imperfect life, or something like that.

No connection whatsoever, other than the title. So I think he's joking when he referrs to "inspiring".

Well, you are partly correct. Yes, I am referring to the Star Trek TOS episode called "The Changeling." And yes, they bring a probe on board called Nomad that is on a mission to destroy/sterilize all imperfect life. That in itself does not connect at all to the movie.

What does connect with the movie, is the real reason that TOS episode was called "The Changeling." As the episode went, the probe Nomad was a long range probe launched by Earth hundreds of years ago with a mission to find and analyze new life. It collided with an alien probe whose mission was to sterilize soil samples to find planets for colonization, or something to that effect. The two repaired each other, creating one new probe...but their missions got combined into the sterilize all imperfect life.

So the tie in, is that we on Earth launched our Nomad probe...and found it later...but it wasn't the same as we left it. Just like the plot of the movie, where a mother loses her son, then gets him back, but she believes he isn't the same. So the title of that episode was based on the title of the same concept.

 

[Jade Jaguar]

So the tie in, is that we on Earth launched our Nomad probe...and found it later...but it wasn't the same as we left it. Just like the plot of the movie, where a mother loses her son, then gets him back, but she believes he isn't the same. So the title of that episode was based on the title of the same concept.

That's stretched further that Mr. Fantastic can...

 

[Recoil]

Hey, but its there dammit!

I only say that because I believe that the term "Changeling" was derived from the real-life events this movie was based on. So Star Trek, by borrowing the term, took some of its inspiration from those events.