Release finally set for Norton, Farrell cop drama.

August 13, 2008 - After six months in limbo, the Edward Norton and Colin Farrell cop drama Pride and Glory is finally set for an October 24 release.

Warner Bros., according to Variety, is expected to debut the Gavin O'Connor-directed film on 2,200 screens. The movie will reportedly premiere at a gala Toronto Film Festival screening in September.

The news comes after months of frustration for the parties involved. Originally setup at New Line, prior to the studio being acquired and subsequently downsized by Warner Bros., Pride and Glory was going to open in March, before it was mysteriously removed from the release schedule.

Back in February, O'Connor pointed to New Line honcho Bob Shaye as the reason for the movie's delayed status. Norton and Farrell also publically aired their frustrations.


"This is the first time it's happened to me, where a film I believed in so strongly, not only as entertainment but for its pertinent message and great performances, sits on a shelf. This is bizarre," Farrell said at the time.

The movie, which also stars Noah Emmerich, follows a multi-generational family of New York City cops whose moral code is tested when one of two sons on the force investigates a case involving his older brother and brother-in-law.

Warner Bros. has set a release date for director Gavin O�Connor�s long-gestating film "Pride and Glory." Meanwhile, O�Connor has set up his next pic, "Warrior," at Lionsgate.

"Pride and Glory," a drama about corruption in a family of Gotham police officers that stars Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich, will open on 2,200 screens on Oct. 24. Before that Warner Bros. will unspool the film at a gala Toronto Film Festival screening in September.

Warner�s plan marks a dramatic turnaround for a film whose previous March 14 bow was scrapped by New Line, prompting the director and cast to go public with their frustration and fear that the film would disappear.

O�Connor put the blame squarely on New Line topper Bob Shaye (Daily Variety, Feb. 27), who left when WB downsized the mini-major weeks later. "Pride and Glory" was one of several New Line films that were in limbo but have been put on the WB release schedule.

O�Connor had originally set "Warrior" at New Line, but the "Pride and Glory" situation soured the relationship. Lionsgate has acquired the script, a mixed-martial-arts saga about two estranged brothers on a collision course to fight in a tournament for the heavyweight championship.

O�Connor wrote the script with A.M. Tambakis and Cliff Dorfman, and the helmer will produce with his brother, Greg O�Connor. The helmer credited New Line head Toby Emmerich with being "gracious enough to let it go" to Lionsgate.

O�Connor conceived the drama as a potential trilogy, and Lionsgate will also be involved in a mixed-martial-arts tournament dubbed Sparta that will be launched in connection with the movie.

O�Connor has partnered in the 16-man grand prix tourney project with UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who will play himself in the film. O�Connor has begun casting "Warrior," set to shoot January in Mexico and Pittsburgh.

It's time to set things straight about Gavin O'Connor's Pride and Glory. I saw it last night, and as far as I'm concerned it's the absolute opposite of a "problem movie" despite last fall's diseased, head-scratching decision by New Line's Bob Shaye not to release it in 2008. That may change.

The issue was aired last February when O'Connor complained to Variety's Michael Fleming that New Line's honcho Robert Shaye had done obvious harm to his film by pulling the plug on a 3.14.08 release date and bumping it into 2009.

Costar Colin Farrell elaborated during an In Bruges junket interview when he said "there's this rumor going around that [Pride and Glory has been bumped] because it's a mess or it's a really bad film. I feel the need to kind of speak up, not from my own end but genuinely for Gavin O'Connor because he wrote and directed it. It's just a really really strong piece, but I think New Line lost the bollocks on The Golden Compass...and they literally don't have enough money to market things."

Having finally seen O'Connor's film, I can say with authority that Shaye's decision was cowardly and pathetic. In this context, he was just as much of a criminal as the murdering, drug-dealing cops in the movie. Pride and Glory isn't letter perfect from top to bottom, but it's much, much better than I thought it would be, and the truth is that I drove home last night feeling close to delighted. If you're a distributor, you don't yank movies like this. You need to show some moxie and push them as best you can because quality wills out, damn it, and demands a day in the sun.

This thing, I swear, has a carefully parsed intensity that woke me out of my usual Wednesday-night blahs. Most of it seems to happen in Brooklyn or Queens with a little Manhattan thrown in. It's wild and manic and surging with energy and sometimes mad as a loon (but rightly so, given the dirty-borough-cops storyline), and it really left me open-mouthed at times. I get that way when confronted by fierce but subtle acting, and especially when it's all beautifully shot and swirled together in a big fat energy milkshake.

About halfway into the screening it hit me that the performances reach and even surpass, at times, the level of delivery in Michael Mann's Heat. Seriously. Power and Glory is an exceptional high-throttle thing that absolutely needs to see the light of day this year. Word around the campfire is that with New Line now reduced to a small production company status, Picturehouse/Warner Independent (i.e., the new Warner Bros. unit made up of Picturehouse and Warner Independent being combined) may acquire it and do just that.

The plot and the milieu are familiar, but it's the singer, not the song. Emotionally complex and yet clear-headed with a carefully worked-out story, it's basically about working-class ethics and morality under pressure and under fire. Like with James Gray's We Own The Night, Pride and Glory is about a big blue-collar family of cops, this time called the Tierneys. It's primarily about having to struggle with crime and corruption within their own ranks.

It's also similar to (though much better than) David Ayer's Street Kings, which dealt with a gang of rogue cops involved in drug dealing and all the attendant sins.

The conflict comes when Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) investigates a case that involving the murder of four policemen, and eventually leads to a dirty-cop scandal involving his brother-in-law Jimmy (Colin Farrell). The third brother, a go-alonger named Francis Jr., is played by Noah Emmerich. Their father, Francis Sr., a king of rationalization no matter the crime or the level of stink, is played by Jon Voight.

The script apparently began with an original by Robert Hopes, and then a rewrite collaboration between O'Connor and his brother Greg, and then another rewrite by Joe Carnahan. I just wish it wasn't titled Pride and Glory, which unfortunately suggests an emotionally simplistic sports saga.

The gifted O'Connor (Miracle, Tumbleweeds) has put together something very vulnerable, soulful and alive-in-the-moment. Pride and Glory is a cup-runneth- over drama in that intensity rules and emotions are often (but not always) fully cranked. All I know is that I was driven half-mad with exasperation as I sat through similar stuff in We Own The Night, but I felt aroused and lifted during last night's showing. This is not just another crazy-sick-cops movie. Melodrama is melodrama and the form is the form, but special things happen when exceptional craft and restraint are brought to bear.

I don't know when I started to realize that P&G was a few cuts above, but it was early on. It started with the combination of Declan Quinn's darting hand-held photography, the knockout editing by Lisa Zeno Chrugin and John Gilroy, and the acting...my God! We're not talking just two or three standouts but several brave, refined, super-intimate performances.

Norton is as good here as he was in The 25th Hour, and by my standards that's as good as it gets. Farrell has now hit three homers in a row playing tragic, troubled losers -- in O'Connor's film, Martin McDonagh's In Bruges and Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream. Emmerich is as good here as I've ever seen him. John Ortiz (who played Russell Crowe's corrupt detective partner in American Gangster) is also special, and so are Frank Grillo, Manny Perez, Jennifer Ehle (whose head is shaved in this thing -- what's that about?), Wayne Duvall, Ramon Rodriguez, Carmen Ejogo, Shea Wigham.

Some IMDB guy wrote a few months ago that Pride and Glory "is the kind of American movie you don't see anymore, a throwback to the big themes and dramatic tone of the 1950s, when Elia Kazan was making movies like East of Eden and On the Waterfront and Arthur Miller was writing plays like Death of a Salesman and All My Sons.

"Family, honor, corruption, right and wrong, fathers and sons--these are the kinds of issues that director/co-writer Gavin O'Connor is taking on, and in doing so he's made a timeless film. Sincere without being sentimental (much like Miracle, O'Connor's last effort) and familiar and original at the same time, this is a muscular, old-school American film, with big themes splashed on a big canvas. In the Age of Irony, these are the kinds of movies you rarely see anymore."

Warners plots New Line 'Escape'
Parent moves quickly on distribution



Two weeks after being absorbed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the new New Line is beginning to take shape.

Warner Bros. is moving in quickly to take over distribution of New Line movies, starting with the April release of "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay." Also, "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" will keep its July 11 slot, after being temporarily in release-date limbo. After New Line's downsizing, announced Feb. 28, "Journey" moved into purgatory state with talk within corporate circles of it being moved to October or even next year.

New Line president of theatrical distribution David Tuckerman introduced "Journey" on Wednesday during a presentation at ShoWest, saying "Warner Bros. will release it" on its original date.

There was concern that releasing the movie July 11 would conflict with Warner Bros.' July 18 release of "The Dark Knight," though after screenings, it became clear that the high-testing "Journey" skews young and would not cannibalize the same audience.

The news about "Journey" came as speculation continued about the fate of New Line production chief Toby Emmerich.


After a number of days spent weighing his future with the company, Emmerich was said to have concluded that he would like to stay on as head of the newly integrated New Line. The Time Warner division is expected to convert mainly to a production entity, and under one scenario, Emmerich would run the division.

An agreement is far from reached, however, and it's expected that Emmerich and Warner Bros. execs would need to come to terms on issues like the unit's autonomy before Emmerich would assume the top spot. A good number of executives are expected to stay in that scenario. The fate of COO and senior executive vp Richard Brener -- who sources said has been fielding offers from other studios -- remains unclear.

Distribution and marketing operations are expected to be severely curtailed.

Meanwhile, another New Line movie could be moving in the opposite direction of "Journey." The producers behind Gavin O'Connor's police drama "Pride and Glory" were said to be considering their options at other studios as the New Line integration continued. The movie, which stars Ed Norton and Colin Farrell, is on New Line's 2009 slate.

Like "Journey," however, other bigger-budgeted movies are expected to be absorbed by Warners and released through the studio, with the Reese Witherspoon-Vince Vaughn comedy "Four Christmases," the ensemble Western "Appaloosa," and Plan B's time-travel romance "The Time Traveler's Wife" among the potential candidates for a Warners release.

Speculation also continues about the fate of Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse, with many in the industry expecting the two to merge and Picturehouse's Bob Berney to assume an executive role at the combined company.

O'Connor blames Shaye for film's hold-up


Gavin O'Connor, whose March 14 release date on "Pride and Glory" was scrapped late last year by New Line, wants answers.
O'Connor is blaming the AWOL status of his movie on New Line chairman Bob Shaye. The writer-director is so incensed that he said he will withhold "Warrior," a script he's due to deliver to the studio in the next few weeks, until he knows the fate of his film. The director is also exploring the possibility of extricating "Pride and Glory" after New Line told him the picture wouldn't likely be released until next year.

Trailers for the film have been running since fall before "No Country for Old Men," "Atonement" and "American Gangster."

New Line wouldn't comment on the situation, but execs are in the final stages of negotiating a new deal with Time Warner and its topper, Jeff Bewkes, that could conceivably downsize the company. A resolution seems reasonable within the next two weeks.

But O'Connor and his stars -- Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich (New Line exec Toby Emmerich's brother) -- are voicing their growing frustration to make sure the industry doesn't think they've made an unreleasable film.

They also hope they can provoke Shaye into showing the guts he displayed in the past on adult-themed gambles like "Seven" and "American History X," which also starred Norton and had plenty of its own production drama.

"It was a joy making the movie, but then something happened internally at that company," O'Connor said. "I don't think Bob Shaye believes in it, and he's decided he'll only release (sure bet) films. He never had the decency to call me. We've delivered something special and unique, a film that's not for everybody but has something to say. We're all heartbroken."

O'Connor is nearly finished writing "Warrior," which he describes as "Gladiator" set within a family of mixed martial arts fighters. The project is constructed to span three films. O'Connor said he made a New Line deal for it because he had such a great experience making the film, but he'll hold it back until he gets answers.

"Pride and Glory" was screened at CAA headquarters late last week to begin getting word out that it may need a new home, though getting another distributor to pay full price to adopt a $30 million orphan won't be easy.

Morality tale focuses on corruption in a family of Gotham cops. The son of an 18-year NYPD veteran, O'Connor and his brother Greg wrote the script with Joe Carnahan, hoping to create a '70s-style film that uses crooked cops as a metaphor for institutional corruption in the power structure.

"Gavin was able to tease out themes that are relevant to my generation and to what this country is going through," Norton said. "This isn't about New Line not knowing the film is strong; I just think there is a paralysis right now that has to do with much bigger issues than any particular film. We're a victim of the moment, and I just hope they will either find a way to give the film its due or graciously let us do it with someone else."

Farrell said: "This is the first time it's happened to me, where a film I believed in so strongly, not only as entertainment but for its pertinent message and great performances, sits on a shelf. This is bizarre."

Voight, who plays the cop family patriarch, is also frustrated, but optimistic.

"It ain't over till it's over," he said. "Obviously, things are going on over there, and I've seen this situation before, where a studio dilemma created hardship for a film of quality. You don't want to put it aside for long, though, because you can lose your momentum."

Colin Farrell is out right now doing press for "In Bruges," a darkly comic tale of two hit men exiled to the Belgian city of canals after a job gone wrong. The film opens Friday, but wasn't the only project on his mind.

During Monday's New York junket at the Regency Hotel, Farrell was asked about his other recent films including Woody Allen's current "Cassandra's Dream" and the endlessly upcoming "Pride and Glory," a gritty cop tale filmed in 2006. So what's to blame for the film's problems? The Nicole Kidman flop "The Golden Compass."

Farrell, who alternatively sipped from and ashed into a cup of water on the table in front of him, pointedly spoke to 'Pride and Glory's" holding pattern.

"They pushed it just now to 2009. [A reporter starts to speak, Farrell interrupts] I was going to say it's not because, there's this rumor going around that it's because it's a mess or it's a really bad film.
I feel the need to kind of speak up, not from my own end but genuinely for Gavin O'Connor because he wrote and directed it.


It's just a really really strong piece, but I think New Line lost the bollocks on "The Golden Compass," you know love, and they literally don't have enough money to market things.

"Pride" is a tricky one to market anyways. It's pretty dark... I've seen it. Gavin did a great job and you know, Jon Voight is brilliant in it, and Ed [Norton] is great in it and a really strong cast of supporting characters... It's a really strong piece."


So there you go. "Pride and Glory" is fantastic, the problem is that "The Golden Compass" was not. Farrell also had plenty to say about the joys of making "Bruges," more of which is to come.

New Line has also pushed back Pride and Glory, which stars Edward Norton and Colin Farrell (which I remember them filming in Brooklyn back in Summer 2005), from March 14 to sometime in 2009, though the reasoning behind this one may have had more to do with Norton and Farrell having other new releases coming out soon, than it had to do with the writer's strike effect on TV ads.

The drama Pride and Glory tells the story of an Irish-American family of New York City police officers looking into their professional and personal lives that center around the job.

The Teirneys are a proud family of three generations of New York City cops who have dedicated themselves to selflessly serving one of the world's greatest cities. But all of that is thrown into chaos when one son is involved in an investigation that may implicate his own brother in a series of brutal crimes.

Pride and Glory features some high intensity star power and top notch acting talent in Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and John Voight. Originally, the long in production film was supposed to star Mark Wahlberg, Hugh Jackman, Ed Harris and Robert Duvall and then Nick Notle but all moved onto other projects or dropped out as production faltered.

Directed by Gavin O'Connor, whose father is a former NYC police detective, O'Connor apparently shot some documentary style footage of real police officers, suspects and criminals. He went so far as to apparently shoot a real New York City police officer's funeral, which may or may not be interwoven into the film along with the rest of the documentary footage. (D. James Ruccio/BOP)

It was an impressive enough funeral that took place at the modest Catholic church in White Plains on Feb. 13 of last year to memorialize the fallen 24-year-old New York Police Department officer Eric Hernandez.

There were police helicopters flying formations overhead, statements from the Mayor and the police commissioner, bagpipers and orns, drummers in kilts and the impressive array of uniformed men seen too often at such funeral processions.

But even then, the appearance of a Hollywood camera crew outside St. Bernard's church--accompanied by the actors Colin Farrell and Noah Emmerich--seemed a bit much.

Mr. Farrell had been filming in New York for a forthcoming drama in which he plays Jimmy Egan, a corrupt police officer whose precinct is being investigated by his best friend, Det. Ray Tierney, played by the actor Edward Norton.

Director Gavin O'Connor, himself the son of an NYPD detective, directed Pride and Glory, in which Hernandez had agreed to appear as an extra; Hernandez played on the force's football team, as does Mr. Farrell's character in the film.

Initially, newspaper reports indicated that the funeral procession was filmed to guide filmmakers in the production of a funeral scene set to appear in the movie.

But now, attendees at the funeral are being asked to sign release forms that will allow the producers to use footage taken at the funeral in the movie.

And at least one group of them is giving the filmmaker a hard time.

The volunteer pipe and drum group asked for a fee from producers of Pride and Glory in exchange for filling out release forms from six members who were filmed during the Hernandez funeral--and they say they are getting the cold shoulder.

�When they came to us to sign waivers we said we want some sort of donation, but we have not heard back from them for three weeks,� said NYPD Sgt. Brian Coughlin, band master of the Pipes and Drums of the Emerald Society of the New York City Police Department.

Whether or not the producers were even given permission to film the funeral was initially a matter of contention between the captain of the force's football team and Hernandez's family; Mr. Farrell made international headlines after the father of the slain officer complained he had never even heard of the film. At any rate, Mr. Farrell quickly made it up to the family by inviting them to another filming location and talking to them about their son; producers of the film also paid for Hernandez's headstone and for a memorial plaque in the precinct house.

The NYPD football team members filmed over three days last year at the Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn have already signed waivers for those scenes, according to Det. Ed Gardner, the general manager of the team.

But the waivers now going out from the filming at the Hernandez funeral are reopening the wound. And of about 80 members of the Pipes and Drums who performed at the funeral services, Sgt. Coughlin said, releases were needed for a half-dozen to screen the footage in the final version of the film.

At issue is the fact that the Pipes and Drums members normally require a donation from filmmakers who use footage of their performances in their films. Members of the group have played in eight movies, including The Departed, Copland, Miracle on 34th Street and Ghostbusters 2, and usually are paid between $5,000 and $10,000, Sgt. Coughlin said.

About three weeks ago a technical advisor on the movie, NYPD Det. Richard Tirelli, asked Sgt. Coughlin to get the waivers. The band leader told him that the nonprofit group wanted between $5,000 and $8,000, and then they would sign.

A spokeswoman for New Line Cinema, which is producing the film, said the Jan. 4, 2008 release date will not being affected by the release forms, but she declined to comment further.

Hernandez was mistakenly shot in the early morning of Jan. 28 at a White Castle in the Bronx by a fellow police officer.

The 24-year-old cop had been assaulted in the restaurant by a gang of youths, in a scene that was recorded in haunting images of a security videotape.

The brawl spilled outside, and a responding officer saw Hernandez pointing a gun at one the attackers, and told him to drop the weapon. Hernandez, who was wearing street clothes, did not respond, so the other cop shot him.

It was not clear whether Hernandez would be seen as an extra in Pride and Glory, but the filmmakers have said they will memorialize him in the credits of the film.

Busy 2007 for Mark Isham:

Composer Mark Isham continues to be one of the industry�s most engaging and indeed busy composers. This year has already seen him score Freedom Writers and episodes of the series The Black Donnellys, while last week saw the release of Next, Lee Tamahori�s sci-fi thriller based on Philip K. Dick�s short story �The Golden Man� and starring Nicolas Cage. It�s a great start to a year that still has much to offer from Isham who has a further four projects hitting cinema screens in the near future, projects that see him collaborate with producers and directors who have 5 Academy Awards between them! Next month sees the release of Gracie, a soccer drama directed by Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), followed in the fall by Paul Haggis� Iraq War drama In The Valley of Elah and Terry George�s Reservation Road, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Projects for 2008 are already in the pipeline, most notably is Pride and Glory which will see the composer collaborate with rapper Sage Francis for the film directed by Gavin O�Connor and starring Edward Norton.

Next is in cinemas now, with the score album available in the US from Lakeshore Records; Colosseum Records will release the album in Europe on May 11th. A soundtrack album will be released by Lakeshore Records for Gracie on May 29th in the US.

This is an excerpt from an"The Illusionist" Interview on
IndieLondon.co.uk(Click Link for full Interview)

Can you tell us a little about Pride & Glory?

Edward Norton: It�s a contemporary police corruption drama which co-stars Jon Voight and Colin Farrell. I�ve just seen bits of it but I think it�s a very visceral film.

Again, I think it�s interesting, it�s a genre film but I think when you do a genre film I at least apply the standard to it of: �Why do another cop corruption drama?� To me, the answer is if it�s a cop corruption drama that reflects the moment in some ways. I think that Gavin O�Connor, the director, had a very astute sense in terms of what�s going on in America right now, of this whole crucible of truth telling that the country has been going through with things like with Abu Ghraib.

I think Gavin was really interested in the idea of what goes on in that moment when people in our generation realise that they�ve been co-opted into participation in things that are deeply corrupt. How does a person confront that moment where they have to betray the institution that they serve to serve it, ultimately? I think he�s located it within a New York cop drama but I think it�s very much about things that people in our generation are having to face up to about the choices we�re going to have to make. It�s interesting.

~ from MTV.com
Wild West Outlaws, Gory Gangsters: Pitt, Crowe Bring The Drama In '07

'Assassination of Jesse James,' 'American Gangster' and eight other highly anticipated films.
By Larry Carroll

Of all the types of films moviegoers look forward to in a new year, the hardest to forecast are always the dramas. At the beginning of 2006, for instance, who would've been daring enough to place their bets on tiny little films like "The Queen" and "The Last King of Scotland" while avoiding such clunkers as "A Good Year," "All the King's Men" and "The Good Shepherd"? Without the usual crutches of sequels, superhero flicks and remakes, let's dramatically take a peek at the most promising adult fare of 2007:

10. "Rescue Dawn"
The Hollywood buzz that Christian Bale and/or Steve Zahn were Oscar contenders for this Vietnam drama had become nearly deafening � and then the flick was suddenly pushed back to 2007. Now, with a late March release date, there are fears that it could turn into the "King's Men" of the new year. Still, any movie buff has to be intrigued by Bale's 55-pound weight loss for the role and the equally impressive dramatic transformation of funnyman Zahn. Dramatizing his own 1997 documentary, acclaimed director Werner Herzog ("Grizzly Man") tells the true story of a German-born U.S. soldier shot down over Vietnam and captured by the enemy. Along with a handful of other POWs, the battered pilot attempts an escape.

9. "The Last Mimzy"
Those who've seen the captivating first trailer for this little film are already putting it on their radar; you'd be wise to do the same. Equal parts fantasy and drama, "Mimzy" is based on a powerful sci-fi short story about two children whose toys appear to be turning them into "Good Will Hunting"-like geniuses. Soon, the entire city loses electricity and the government becomes convinced that the children and their stuffed rabbit Mimzy are emitting mysterious levels of energy that must be contained. Think "Phenomenon" meets "Searching for Bobby Fischer" with a dash of "E.T." and you're in the right neighborhood for this potential sleeper hit, directed by "Lord of the Rings" executive producer (and New Line Cinema CEO) Bob Shaye. Casting fresh-faced youngsters alongside Timothy Hutton ("Kinsey"), Joely Richardson ("Nip/Tuck") and fast-rising Rainn Wilson ("The Office"), the flick is currently slated for release in late March.

8. "A Mighty Heart"
Certain movies fall under the "Unless They Screw it Up ..." heading, like this high-profile Angelina Jolie drama recounting the final days of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Through the eyes of his pregnant-at-the-time wife Mariane, the flick (directed by "24 Hour Party People" helmer Michael Winterbottom) looks back on Pearl's kidnapping, the photos and video footage his wife watched alongside the rest of the world and his eventual beheading in Pakistan. Unless they screw it up, the tragically powerful story seems ripe for awards-season domination, and might remind us all that Jolie can actually act when she isn't busy dodging paparazzi. The fact that early awareness is being dominated by Jolie's casting as the mixed-race Mariane, however, indicates a potential marketing nightmare.

7. "Reign Over Me"
Adam Sandler's dramas have been a mixed bag at best ("Spanglish," "Punch-Drunk Love"), but here's hoping that the presence of Don Cheadle finally brings out his A-game. Named after a song by the Who that helps bring them together, "Reign" deals with a grieving man (Sandler) who runs into his old college roommate, who helps him work through his problems. The movie's first trailer debuted recently, giving some tantalizing peeks at Sandler's disheveled appearance and Cheadle's powerful charisma � as well as a surprising avoidance of the film's 9/11 plotline. Written and directed by "The Upside of Anger" filmmaker Mike Binder, "Reign" seems promising as long as the movie isn't afraid to seriously explore the grief of Sandler's character, a fictional stand-in for those who lost so much on that terrible day.

6. "Zodiac"
Considered by many to be among the top directors working today, David Fincher ("Fight Club") finally returns from a five-year hiatus with this intricate exploration of a madman's mind. Framed by the lightly fictionalized tale of the detectives and reporters who became obsessed with hunting him down, the film tells the story of the so-called Zodiac serial killer, who terrorized the San Francisco area in the late 1960s and early '70s, before simply vanishing. The fact that the movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo makes its chances of awesomeness look very good; its constantly pushed-back release date, however, might indicate otherwise.

5. "Hannibal Rising"
We're saving a spot for just one prequel/sequel/remake on this list because fava bean-feasting, Chianti-swigging killer Hannibal Lecter will always hold a place in our hearts. There are more questions than answers about this "Episode I"-like origin story that follows a young Lecter through his childhood and formative years in Paris to his eventual relocation to the United States. With French actor Gaspard Ulliel strapping on Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning face mask and Gong Li along for the ride, one thing seems certain: It's gotta be better than "Red Dragon."

4. "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
If you think that only one half of Brangelina has a high-profile drama in 2007, get ready to be knocked out of your cowboy boots. With Brad Pitt donning the gun belt of one of the Old West's most legendary characters, the flick tells the story of Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), a member of James' gang determined to bring down the gunslinger. The film, based on a Ron Hansen novel, also stars Zooey Deschanel and Mary-Louise Parker. If pirate movies can make a comeback, maybe Westerns can as well.

3. "American Gangster"
Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Common, T.I. and RZA in a Ridley Scott gangster movie? Oh, we are so there (see "T.I. To Star With Oscar Favorites Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe"). This long-awaited crime drama, set in the 1970s, tells a bloody tale of a drug lord using the coffins of Vietnam soldiers to smuggle heroin. If 2007 has any chance of yielding a "Scarface" or "Donnie Brasco," this is it.

2. "Pride and Glory"
Edward Norton and Colin Farrell go toe-to-toe in this gritty flick about a multi-generational family of New York cops. Written by "Narc" mastermind Joe Carnahan, the movie follows the erosion of a family's moral code as one brother starts investigating the crimes of another. Here's hoping that Norton returns to his full powers as an actor, and that Farrell comes along for the ride.

1. "Charlie Wilson's War"
Don't look now, but it's been five years since Tom Hanks has made a real drama (and no, "The Da Vinci Code" doesn't count). With the currently filming "War," the double Oscar winner has at his disposal a critically acclaimed book, respected supporting players (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams), a legendary director (Mike Nichols) and a leading lady (Julia Roberts) out to prove she's still a force to be reckoned with. With Hanks cast in a rare unlikable role, he'll play the real-life Texas congressman who conspired with a CIA operative to help rebel Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, thereby endangering his political career and, quite possibly, his life. With a late-December release date and that kind of pedigree, it's already the 2007 Oscar front-runner � now all they've got to do is film it.

Jennifer Ehle Has Pride and Glory
Source: The Hollywood Reporter April 27, 2006


Jennifer Ehle has signed on to star opposite Edward Norton and Colin Farrell in New Line Cinema's crime drama Pride and Glory, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Ehle will play Abby Tierney, a role that Samantha Morton was attached to play. Morton dropped out because of scheduling conflicts.

The story revolves around a three-generation family of New York cops. The family is thrown into turmoil when one son (Norton) uncovers a police corruption scandal involving his brother.

source:Comingsoon.net

Voight replaces Nolte in 'Glory'

By MICHAEL FLEMING


New Line's "Pride and Glory," which director Gavin O'ConnorGavin O'Connor is shooting in New York, has just recast Jon VoightJon Voight in the role of the patriarch of a cop family. Pic, which stars Edward NortonEdward Norton, Colin FarrellColin Farrell and Noah Emmerich, had Nick Nolte set to play that pivotal role. However, after he'd put in months of research into the role with O'Connor, a chronic knee injury flared up when Nolte got to the set and he was unable to perform
source:Varitey.com

Slain Officer To Be Honored In Colin Farrell Film
Eric Hernandez Will Be Memorialized In �Pride And Glory�
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(AP) NEW YORK The officer shot by an on-duty patrolman last month after being severely beaten by a group of men will be memorialized in a film starring Colin Farrell.

The manager of the New York Police Department's football team says Officer Eric Hernandez will be honored at the end of the movie "Pride and Glory."

Edward Gardner told the Daily News that the star running back had agreed along with other members of the NYPD team to appear as an extra in the film, which features a fictional police department football team.

The film company is also paying for the 24-year-old's headstone and for an honorary plaque at his precinct. Hernandez, dazed after being surrounded and attacked, pulled a gun on a man in a fast-food restaurant's parking lot immediately before being shot on January 28. He was dressed in street clothes.

Farrell attended the Bronx native's funeral Monday. A crew filmed part of the procession for use in planning a similar scene in the movie.

Edward Norton will also star in the movie, which tells the story of a family of New York police officers torn apart by a corruption scandal.



~source:CBSnews

Lake Bell sharing ‘Glory‘ with Farrell
Staff and agencies
13 December, 2005
By Borys Kit
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Former "Boston Legal" co-star Lake Bell is in negotiations to play Colin Farrell ‘s wife in "Pride and Glory," a drama about a family of police officers.

Ed Norton, Nick Nolte , Samantha Morton and Noah Emmerich also have been cast in the New Line movie, which goes before cameras in February in New York. Gavin O‘Connor directs.

Written by O‘Connor and Joe Carnahan, "Pride" revolves around a three-generation family of officers torn apart by a corruption scandal. Bell will play Megan, who is married to tough cop Jimmy Egan (Farrell). When she discovers her husband‘s complicity in a police corruption scandal that her brother (Norton) is investigating, she must choose between her husband and her family.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Solaris and O'Connor to Produce "Pride & Glory"

Greg O’Connor is also producing the upcoming “Pride & Glory” for New Line, which will star Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, and Nick Nolte. Ed Radtke’s last film, the highly acclaimed “The Dream Catcher,” garnered over eleven awards at major film festivals worldwide, including the LAIFF, the New Directors series at Lincoln Center, and Locarno.
~source:prweb.com

Edward Norton, Colin Farrell In 'Pride And Glory'

[Wednesday, September 28th, 2005]

Farrell in talks about police film
Colin Farrell is in talks to star in a new drama called 'Pride and Glory', with Edward Norton and Noah Emmerich also in discussions.

Variety reports that the film follows a family of New York police officers rocked by a corruption scandal.

Norton is in talks about playing a detective assigned to investigate the precinct run by his older brother (Emmerich).

Farrell is being lined up to play Norton's character's best friend, a police officer who may also be corrupt.

Gavin O'Connor directs from a script by Joe Carnahan ["Narc"] and himself.

"My father was a New York City detective, and I grew up in that world," the director said. "It's a celebration of honest cops, which was everything my father was about. Though it is fictional, it is an homage to my father."

This is O'Connor's first time working with Edward Norton and Colin Farrell. Edward Norton has recently finished filming The Illusionist and is set to begin production on The Painted Veil. We will be able to see Colin Farrell this year in the upcoming film The New World.


Shooting on the film is due to begin in January in New York.


~this was compiled from multiple sources

New Line has 'Pride'
O'Connor's 'Glory' sets Farrell, Norton

By MICHAEL FLEMING, BEN FRITZ



New Line Cinema is in negotiations with Edward NortonEdward Norton, Colin FarrellColin Farrell and Noah Emmerich to star in "Pride and Glory," a generational drama about a family of police officers in New York torn apart by a corruption scandal.
Gavin O'ConnorGavin O'Connor will direct a script he wrote with Joe CarnahanJoe Carnahan. Greg O'Connor is producing. Shooting will begin in January in New York.

Norton is poised to play a homicide detective who is assigned to investigate the precinct run by his older brother (Emmerich). Farrell plays the investigator's best friend, a cop in that precinct who might be dirty himself.

O'Connor began writing the film after his 1999 debut, "Tumbleweeds," and he and his brother have been laboring that long to tell a story that is personal to both. It is being done through their SolarisSolaris banner.

"My father was a New York City detective, and I grew up in that world," the director said. "It's a celebration of honest cops, which was everything my father was about. Though it is fictional, it is an homage to my father."

New Line production president Toby EmmerichToby Emmerich said he has been a fan of the script for several years.

"This is a police drama that has qualities of family, corruption and redemption that ring true," he said.

O'Connor is working for the first time with Norton and Farrell, but Noah Emmerich has starred in both of his films, "Tumbleweeds""Tumbleweeds" and "Miracle."

Farrell, who's shooting the Michael MannMichael Mann-directed "Miami Vice," stars in the upcoming Terrence MalickTerrence Malick-directed "The New World" from New Line.

Norton just completed "The Illusionist" and is shooting "The Painted Veil" in China.
~from:Variety.com target="_blank">Variety.com

"..Other projects Equity Pictures is investing in are Keanu Reeves-starrer The Night Watchman, based on the James Ellroy best-seller about a racist serial killer; Rambo IV, in which Stallone returns to his most famous action role; Gavin O'Connor's drama Pride & Glory, starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell; and the comedy thriller The Death and Life of Bobby Z, from director Renny Harlin."

Full Story:Comingsoon.net

~thanks Mo!