During my formative years as a film consumer, Anthony Minghella directed The Talented Mr. Ripley. I remember seeing the film with a group of friend who quickly disregarded it because of Tom Ripley’s apparent sexual orientation. To them it was a “gay” movie. But like all of Minghella’s work, Ripley was beyond such a simple descriptor.

Minghella directed some of the most thoughtful films about love and loss, Ripley included. The only comparable working director is Ang Lee. Though history may hold Minghella in the same regard as it does a Bergman or a Felinni, this former head of the British Film Institute will at least be considered one of the most important voices in British at turn of the 21st century.

Minghella directed such contemporary classics as Truly Madly Deeply and The English Patient (for which he won the Best Director Oscar). His other works included The Talented Mr. Ripley, Breaking and Entering and Cold Mountain. He had just completed a 90-minute pilot for HBO’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Though he was a known in recent years as director, his roots as a writer were apparent in his often passive, literary cinematic style.

The sudden loss of Minghella is shocking and sad. Still, I can’t help but think that, wherever he is now, Mighella is watching all of us who mourn and saying, “Thank you for missing me.” Because we do, and we will.

Now, in his own words:

Warner Bros. is officially cashing in on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The L.A. Times is reporting WB and Producer David Heyman will release the seventh Potter novel in two parts. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be filmed concurrently with one director.

The best news? Director David Yates will direct Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II. Yates scored with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the highest grossing film of the series after The Sorcerer’s Stone, and is currently helming The Half-Blood Prince adaptation (out in November).

As convoluted as the seventh book apparently gets (didn’t read it), The Deathly Hallows as two films may make sense. Rowling’s meandering has always been the flaw in the book series, but the streamlined film versions have given way to some of the best screen adventures of the decade. With The Deathly Hallows, Part II getting a May 2011, we’ll be able to remember 2001-2011 as the Decade of Potter. Take that Peter Jackson.

I’m excited about The Dark Knight. I’m eager to watch Iron Man. But this trailer for The X-Files 2 has just put it at the top of my must see summer movie list. I think this trailer confirms exactly what the monster is going to be in this new Mulder and Scully adventure (notice the wagging tail and the clawed faces). If you aren’t a fan of The X-Files, this trailer is cut for you too. The fans in the background are obviously having a freaking meltdown, but it’s just thrilling enough to get anyone, ANYONE in the theater.

Universal, take note. Your Wolf Man movie has some major competition.  Plus, who wouldn’t rather see Billy Connelly as a werewolf hunter instead of Hugo Weaving?  Pure gold.

Okay, Audrey. I forgive you for The Da Vinci Code. We all need a paycheck.

Maybe Priceless will make up for it. Billed as a “re-imagining” of the classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the French-language film is set to open in theaters on March 28. Here’s a glimpse of the poster that will start to pop up at your local movie house.

Click for a larger image

It’s not iconic, not compared to the Breakfast at Tiffany’s poster featuring that other Audrey.

Still, I’m willing to give Ms. Tautou the benefit of the doubt. She earned it with Dirty Pretty Things and Amelie.

Josh Brolin, who upped his badass credentials with his recent starring role in No Country for Old Men, might be the hunter and not the hunted in a blockbuster franchise film - Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. The Three-Two-One snagged an exclusive interview with the film’s director McG who mentioned a few big names when asked about his “dream Terminator”:

And there’s guys out there like Russell Crowe and Eric Bana, bring a good physicality, they do what they do, but I don’t know if they’re exactly right at the end of the day. (Smiles) Josh Brolin is a very exciting actor - we’ll see.

There’s a nice size pull quote alerting readers to that last sentence, so it’s got to be news, right? Check out the full interview here.

But on a side note, I’ve been a little behind on the blockbuster news. When the hell did McG get this gig and who should be fired for thinking that was a good idea? Just wondering.

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins starring Christian Bale (as John Connor) opens in June 2009.

These totals are bound to change after this weekend’s re-release of Michael Clayton and re-expansion for No Country for Old Men, as well as an inevitable expansion for There Will Be Blood. Still, here’s the box office so far for this year’s Best Picture nominees.

2007/2008 Best Picture Box Office Picture
(with release dates)

• Atonement (Dec. 7)-$33 million
• Juno (Dec.5)-$87 million
• Michael Clayton (Oct. 5)-$39 million
• No Country for Old Men (Nov. 9)-$49 million
• There Will Be Blood (Dec. 26)-$9 million

For a perspective on the Best Picture bounce, here are last year’s nominees with pre- and post- nomination totals.

2006/2007 Best Picture Box Office Picture

• Babel-$24 million/$34.3 million
• The Departed -$121.8 million/$132.4 million
• Letters From Iwo Jima-$2 million/$13.7 million
• Little Miss Sunshine-$59.5/$59.8 million (already released on DVD)
• The Queen-$36.3 million/$56.4 million

More box office figures at BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Like most people my age (25), I first remember Heath Ledger in the teen romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. The modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew featured one memorable, if cliche moment: Ledger singing You’re Just to Good to Be True to Julia Stiles with full marching band accompaniment. With that song, Ledger had arrived for American audiences. He was 20-years-old then.

Ledger followed his arrival with roles in The Patriot, fan favorite A Knight’s Tale and Monster’s Ball. He had a string of misfires as a leading man, but upon the release of Brokeback Mountain, it was apparent that Ledger was one of the finest actors of his generation.

He found himself as an actor playing Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, a role that garnered him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. He then charmed his way through Lasse Hallstrom’s Casanova, until reaching his finest hour with a role in the little seen Australian film Candy. His last seen role to date was as one of the Bob Dylan-inspired characters in Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There. His final film will be The Dark Knight, opening this summer.

Ledger’s death today at 28-years-old ends the life of an artist who was just reaching his prime. As one of only two Millenial Generation actors able to completely transform on screen (the other being Ryan Gosling), Ledger possessed the stuff of legends. Unfortunately, his legacy as a screen actor won’t be determined in the same way it was for icons like Cary Grant or Marlon Brando. No, Ledger joins the likes of James Dean and River Phoenix as a star burned out too soon.

Will the writers strike be over soon? Well, Warner Bros. did let the options for the current cast of its tent pole blockbuster Justice League lapse today, citing the strike (and Australia’s stingy tax breaks), so who knows. Still, the tentative agreement with the Director’s Guild of America is a sign that the talks between the producers (AMPTP) and the writers (WGA) may pick up again.

People with no life, like me, can rejoice (for the moment).

From the DGA:
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced today that it has concluded a tentative agreement on the terms of a new 3-year collective bargaining agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Highlights of the new agreement include:

* Increases both wages and residual bases for each year of the contract.

* Establishes DGA jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution on the Internet.

* Establishes new residuals formula for paid Internet downloads (electronic sell-through) that essentially doubles the rate currently paid by employers.

* Establishes residual rates for ad-supported streaming and use of clips on the Internet.

“Two words describe this agreement - groundbreaking and substantial,” said Gil Cates, chair of the DGA’s Negotiations Committee, in announcing the terms of the new agreement. “The gains in this contract for directors and their teams are extraordinary – and there are no rollbacks of any kind.”

Formal negotiations between the DGA’s 50-member Negotiations Committee and the AMPTP began Saturday, January 12, and were concluded today. Talks were led by Cates and DGA National Executive Director Jay D. Roth. They were preceded by months of informal discussions and nearly two years of preparation and research by Guild staff and consultants.

And now a statement from the WGA:
Now that the DGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, the terms of the deal will be carefully analyzed and evaluated by the WGA, the WGA’s Negotiating Committee, the WGAW Board of Directors, and the WGAE Council. We will work with the full membership of both Guilds to discuss our strategies for our own negotiations and contract goals and how they may be affected by such a deal.

For over a month, we have been urging the conglomerates to return to the table and bargain in good faith. They have chosen to negotiate with the DGA instead. Now that those negotiations are completed, the AMPTP must return to the process of bargaining with the WGA. We hope that the DGA’s tentative agreement will be a step forward in our effort to negotiate an agreement that is in the best interests of all writers.

And YouTube released this statement:

I heart Tina Fey. Seriously. I heart her. I’ll be at this movie opening day.

Fey stars in the movie Baby Mama with her former SNL costar Amy Poehler as a single, 37-year-old wannabe mother who hires a surrogate (Poehler) to carry her child.

For a single woman closing in on 40, babies make essential accessories — if only because you can fit them into a matching tote.

Here’s the trailer.

You can also check out the trailer debut featured on AOL Movies.

Baby Mama opens wide on April 25.

Full synopsis:
In a comedy that brings together some of today’s sharpest talent, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler team with writer/director Michael McCullers and producers Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn to tell the story of two women, one apartment and the nine months that will change their lives: Baby Mama.

Successful and single businesswoman Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) has long put her career ahead of a personal life. Now 37, she’s finally determined to have a kid on her own. But her plan is thrown a curve ball after she discovers she has only a million-to-one chance of getting pregnant. Undaunted, the driven Kate allows South Philly working girl Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler) to become her unlikely surrogate. Simple enough…

After learning from the steely head (Sigourney Weaver) of their surrogacy center that Angie is pregnant, Kate goes into precision nesting mode: reading childcare books, baby-proofing the apartment and researching top preschools. But the executive’s well-organized strategy is turned upside down when her Baby Mama shows up at her doorstep with no place to live.

An unstoppable force meets an immovable object as structured Kate tries to turn vibrant Angie into the perfect expectant mom. In a comic battle of wills, they will struggle their way through preparation for the baby’s arrival. And in the middle of this tug-of-war, they’ll discover two kinds of family: the one you’re born to and the one you make.

More at BabyMamaMovie.net

Looks like Warner Bros. is expecting a Best Picture Oscar nomination for Michael Clayton next Tuesday morning. The film is set for a re-release on Jan. 25. Michael Clayton is one of the best films of 2007, and part of me is rooting for it as a Best Picture spoiler. The trail of No Country For Old Men wins, Golden Globe loss notwithstanding, is would make for an uninteresting night. No Country is also set for another roll out next Friday.

From the Brothers Warner Press Office:

On the heels of widespread critical acclaim and awards season recognition, Warner Bros. Pictures is planning a theatrical re-release of Tony Gilroy’s drama Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney in the title role. The film will return to theatres on January 25 in approximately 1,000 locations in North America. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution.

Originally released in October 2007, Michael Clayton was immediately met with praise from both critics and audiences. In recent weeks, it has been named to more than 100 critics’ top-ten lists, including those of the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, People, and Time, as well as the American Film Institute, to name only a few.

In Michael Clayton, George Clooney stars in the title role of an in-house “fixer” at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At the behest of the firm’s co-founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops, takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s dirtiest work. Clayton cleans up clients’ messes, handling anything from hit-and-runs and damaging stories in the press to shoplifting wives and crooked politicians. Though burned out and discontented in his job, Clayton is inextricably tied to the firm. At the agrochemical company U/North, the career of in-house chief counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the settlement of the suit that Kenner, Bach & Ledeen is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. When the firm’s top litigator, the brilliant Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), has an apparent breakdown and tries to sabotage the entire case, Marty Bach sends Michael Clayton to tackle this unprecedented disaster and, in doing so, Clayton comes face to face with the reality of who he has become.