Diane Lane

Michael Shannon Will Soon Be Asking You To Kneel Before Him

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a Superman casting story that is official and not a rumor! More importantly it's the bad guy, so this part like needs to be good or something, granted if there's anything remotely resembling Snyder's recent flick Sucker Punch it won't really matter who it is as that movie was terrible with a capital T-E-R-R. Seriously, what's up with that?

Those choosing to think good thoughts for the upcoming Man Of Steel just got a serious bit of leverage in their mental battle as Michael Shannon has been cast as Zod, the very same Zod you should be kneeling before. If you're struggling to put the face to the name you may remember Shannon's most recent work as Agent Nelson Van Alden on the fantastic HBO series Boardwalk Empire. The amazing quotes afficianados out there may also remember his John Givings character from Revolutionary Road commending the guts it takes to see the hoplessness along with the emptiness of life.

For those that are still new to the Man Of Steel bonanza Shannon will be starring opposite Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and the incredibly good looking parental unit of Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathan Kent. Ironically the good looks didn't need to be justified in this case as we all (should) know by now that [SPOILER ALERT SO SPOILY YOU MIGHT LOSE YOUR MARBLES] Clark isn't exactly of this Earth.   [via the playlist]

Casting
Movies
Reboots
Man Of Steel
Michael Shannon
Henry Cavill
Amy Adams
Diane Lane
Kevin Costner
Zack Snyder

Secretariat

Interesting.  It looks likes my original fears of getting a bit too Disney'd seem to be in play here. That being said I think the film still has potential as long as you can chalk up the schmaltz to pandering to a bigger audience. Director Randall Wallace wrote Braveheart so that should get some extra cool kid points too or something.

Also Malkovich dressing like Superfly.

Synopsis: 
Based on the impossible true story, SECRETARIAT chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery (DIANE LANE) agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery—with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (JOHN MALKOVICH)—manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time.
Disney
Horse Racing
Biopic
Secretariat
John Malkovich
Diane Lane
James Cromwell
Randall Wallace
Movies
Trailer

Malkovich Signs On To Train Secretariat

A while back we made note of the news of Diane Lane being cast as Penny Tweedy (also known as Penny Chenery) in an upcoming Disney film about Secretariat.  Three more important pieces have been added as the film gets ready to begin shooting next week.

>Dylan Walsh, John Malkovich and Scott Glenn are saddling up for "Secretariat," the story of the horse that won the 1973 Triple Crown. 

Diane Lane stars as the horse's owner Penny Tweedy, the housewife who broke though a gender barrier to usher Secretariat to greatness.

Walsh plays Lane's husband, a successful attorney who is accustomed to his wife being at his beck and call. 

Malkovich plays a charismatic trainer who underestimates the power of Secretariat; Glenn is a southern-bred aristocrat who loses the horse in a coin toss. via

 

While you wouldn't know it from the bland descriptions above, the story of Secretariat is a really great one and he was a much better horse than Seabiscuit ever was.  While the claim that Walsh will play an aristocrat who "loses the horse in a coin toss" could somehow be inferred as accurate, the story is actually a lot more complex and thought out than that, not to mention Penny Tweedy actually lost the coin toss, but the result was them being awarded an unborn foal which ended up being Secretariat.  Not like he was lost while stumbling home drunk after a card game.

Of added signifigance was the fact that Secretariat came along at the height of the Watergate Scandal while the country was still unsettled from all the mania that went along with Vietnam.  As he was the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown, horse racing's most prized accomplishment, Secretariat was a national celebrity even being featured on the cover of magazines and stuff.

I grew up into the horse races and have actually been to see Secretariat in all his Big Red glory back in his stud time.  You could tell the chicks totally dig him   Posthumously adding to his very own legend in an extremely awesome way, Secretariat's postmortem exam showed his heart weighed 22 pounds, the largest ever for a racehorse. 

Casting
Movies
Disney
Horse Racing
Secretariat
John Malkovich
Scott Glenn
Dylan Walsh
Diane Lane