Film Bits: ‘L.A. Confidential’ Director Curtis Hanson Dead at 71; Watch Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard in New Trailer for ‘Allied’; The Weinstein Company Makes Huge Deal with Elvis Presley Estate

Rest in Peace: ‘L.A. Confidential’ Director Curtis Hanson Dead at 71

Curtis Hanson, the director of L.A. Confidential and 8 Mile, has died. He was 71. Hanson’s directorial career spanned back to the 70’s, with his debut feature Sweet Kill, but he didn’t get wide acclaim until 1992’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Six years later, Hanson won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, along with Brian Helgeland, for L.A. Confidential, based on James Ellroy’s neo-noir classic. His last film was 2012’s Chasing Mavericks, a movie he only partially directed after health problems forced him to leave the project. The director had since retired due to Alzheimer’s disease, and had been living quietly in Los Angeles. Officials are saying Hanson’s death was natural causes, most likely a heart attack.

The Weinstein Company Acquires Unprecedented Access to Elvis Presley for New Miniseries Biopic

The Weinstein Company has finalized a deal with the Elvis Presley Estate and Priscilla Presley to bring an 8-10 part limited series biopic to television. The deal allows them unprecedented access to Graceland, including all of his cars, clothes, planes, and journal archives, in addition to allowing them access to the King’s entire music catalogue. TWC is reportedly already shortlisting writer-directors to pen the script and helm the project, which is expected to be shopped to the networks in the next few weeks. The massive project will showcase the rise of Presley and how he eventually became the King of Rock and Roll with an in depth look behind the man and his motivations.

(Deadline)

‘Idiocracy’ Getting Theatrical Rerelease in Time for Election

Mike Judge’s (Silicon Valley) smarter-than-it-looks comedy Idiocracy is getting a theatrical rerelease thanks to Alamo Drafthouse. The one day only release of the film not only marks the cult favorite’s ten year anniversary, but is also meant to serve as a stark reminder of what’s potentially at stake in this year’s contentious election season. 25 theaters in the chain will broadcast the film on Tuesday, October 4, and will feature a live Q&A with Judge and stay Maya Rudolph from the Aero theater in Santa Monica, California. To find a Drafthouse near you participating the event, and to buy tickets, click here.

(Alamo Drafthouse)

Keanu Reeves Goes to Court in ‘The Whole Truth’

The first trailer for The Whole Truth, which features Keanu Reeves (John Wick) as a defense attorney in search of the, well, the whole truth, has been released. Reeves plays an attorney tasked with defending his teenage client (Gabriel Basso) from the charge of murdering his wealthy father (Jim Belushi). Fact is blurred, truth is obfuscated…it all looks like typical courtroom drama fare. Still, typical courtroom drama have the tendency to be thrilling to watch, if nothing else, and honestly it’s kind of fun to see Reeves play a lawyer, which he hasn’t done since 1997’s The Devil’s Advocate. Renee Zellweger also stars. The Whole Truth hits theaters October 21.

(YouTube)

New Trailer for ‘Allied’ Released

A new trailer for the upcoming Robert Zemeckis film, Allied, has been released. News of the trailer is slightly overshadowed by the news of star Brad Pitt’s divorce from wife Angelina Jolie, which the rumor mill currently suggests might have something to do with an affair between Pitt and his costar, Marion Cotillard. Whatever. Don’t care. What I do care about is Allied, which looks kind of awesome. Pitt plays a British intelligence agent who meets a French resistance fighter (Cotillard) while on a mission. The two are reunited some years later and eventually marry, only to have their relationship tested by the events of the war. The action/romance looks pretty stunning, and may be a bright spot in the fall/winter movie season. Allied hits theaters on November 23.

(YouTube)