You can file this under strictly rumour for the time being, however, there have been some exciting 'leaks' regarding the cast for Robert Rodriguez’s Machete. For those of you playing at home, Machete is the latest project from my favouritist director in all the land and is an expansion of a faux trailer Rodriguez created to play at the start of Grindhouse. Like the spoof trailer, the feature film adaptation will pay homage to exploitation films of the 60s and 70s, probably in a similar fashion to the awesome Black Dynamite reviewed below. Rodriguez originally came up with the idea whilst filming Desperado and wanting to create a Mexican Jean-Claude Van Damme. It has taken until now to get the idea off the ground and into production, with there being no shortage of hype surrounding the project. The latest and most reliable tid-bit comes from a Bloody-Disgusting.com contributor who revealed the four main cast members as being *drum roll please*:
Danny Trejo
Okay, so I started with the biggest unsurprise ever as its common knowledge (to all with a cranium) that Trejo is taking up the title roll of Machete. A Rodriguez regular, the character and film were created around Trejo and his signature, erm, charm.
Michelle Rodriguez
Robert’s twin sister Michelle is said to be playing the character of Luz. I should point out here the above is a lie and despite the last name, the action-babe is in no way related to Mr Rodriguez... that we know of.
Jonah Hill
Everyone’s favourite Seth Rogen doppelganger is tipped for the role of Julio.
Robert De Niro
To conclude the cast gossip with a bang, the legend De Niro will star as Senator McLaughlin in the film which, in my humble opinion, is quite unlike anything he has done before. Ballsy.
So, if the above cast info turns out to be true — what an amazing ensemble! All very different actors with very different backgrounds, this should make for an exciting collaboration. Speaking of collaborations, Rodriguez will be co-directing the picture with Ethan Maniquis who has worked with Rod-man as editor on a bunch of his past films (Planet Terror, Sin City and the upcoming Shorts). Machete has a release date for sometime in 2010 but for those wanting a taste of what to expect I suggest you watch the spoof trailer (below) where it all began.
P.S. I know, I know. Just because I finally worked out how to post whole clips from YouTube straight to my blog, that doesn't mean I need to saturate you all with videos. That said, I just came across the wicked trailer for Jennifer's Body. I've been hanging out for this comedy-horror for quite a while... mainly because it's the second film written by stripper turned wordsmith Diablo Cody. Cody had her first major hit with Juno which nabbed her the best original screenplay Oscar back in `08. Unlike her uber-successful debut, Jennifer's Body is a tad darker and (from watching the trailer) I'd say a whole lot similar to personal fav Idle Hands. There's also a strong hint of the Canadian film Ginger Snaps which had a similar plot if you trade werewolf for demon. I guess it was only a matter of time before someone `adaptated' the horror franchise and gave it a mainstream makeover. Jennifer's Body stars Amanda Seyfried as a dorky highschooler who has to try and stop a cheerleader (Megan Fox) who is possessed by a demon and killing her male classmates. Sounds like a rad concept if you ask me but you can make your own mind up by watching the trailer below.
Thoughts??? In a completely un-movie-related comment I applaud the use of Cherry Bomb from The Runaways as backing music. They're one of my favourite bands ever and the song is utilised perfectly. Jennifer's Body has a clever release date of October 29 in Australia, right on Halloween (my favourite holiday).
P.P.S. Vazzzup readers? Since chameleon-comic Sacha Baron Cohen's latest movie Bruno is out in a few days, I thought I'd treat you to some vintage Bruno. I mean heck, you know people are going to be doing Bruno impressions at the water-cooler at work for the next few months so here's some material not from the movie. Plus, this is a nice warm-up to the type of humour you can expect from the Austrian Gay TV reporter. Enjoy.