03-31
According to Mark S. - webmaster of Mark's official site - TIJ trailer is playing in front of The Core. I'm somewhat surprised it hasn't popped up anywhere online yet. It has been very lowkey as usually big movies, people find out which movies the trailers are attached to before it airs and official websites go up when these first looks go on tv. Remember POTA? ET hardly mentioned it in the promos or during the little 10 second blurb they have at the beginning of the show. Good thing I had that daily email from them or I'd never have known!

Also Tuesday is the release of TTAC on DVD (VHS rental only) in the US/Canada. Review from UPI. It's the UK poster in the heading if you're wondering - very similar to the French one. Bigger version over at UIP UK.

I updated the dates somewhat - given the war, I think Mark's not gooing to London anytime soon - so I'm moving the Ritchie project to the back burner. Also looks solid for the UK date for TIJ according to someone who called UIP. Seems a bit odd to me, as the DVD would probably be out in the states by the time it opens there and the other European countries have earlier dates as well.

03-29
Massive update: It was a short teaser trailer (30 seconds)  with no titles or voice over (except Jan from ET), lots of quick cuts so you hardly see Jason, Mos Def, Seth or Franky. There's a boat chase with a stunt that looks similar to the one in James Bond film - The World is not Enough. Given the bad blood between Norton & Paramount, I was surprised to see him so prominent in the teaser. We see a confrontation with his character (Steven) and Mark's (Charlie) on a snowy road and again in a showdown between a Helicopter & the mini.  The ironic bit was the last part of the teaser, Charlize (Stella) punches Steven. Also shown were the minis going thru an drainage tunnel, a traffic mess in LA, and gold bars. Not much dialogue, a small snippet of Charlie explaining the plan to block traffic.

If you check Dark Horizons, you would of noticed they had a link to a script review for TIJ.

Also in other TIJ news, Kazuko spotted ZReview had a snippet from F Gary Gray about the movie: Director F. Gary Gray (very cool name) has been talking about The Italian Job "I feel just lucky tohave had such an amazing cast that any director could have. Mark Wahlberg, Ed Norton, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Seth Green, and Mos Def. You can't get a better cast. I probably won't see it again. So I am just basking in this experience. I was given a shot to shoot in Venice, Italy with a great boat chase. And that will never happen again because Venice will never let it happen again. We did not break anything but the size of the waves we created in the Grand Canalwas too much. The Alps were amazing. It was very cold, but it tested your manhood. This is really just an homage. The only similarities to the original is that we used Mini's 'the New Mini Coupe' and it's a gold heist. That's it. It's a different story, a different plot. It was really important for us to leave the original alone. It's a classic, especially in the U.K. We really just made our movie. People who love the original will this like this one and those seeing it for the first time will love it, too. It's a very sexy movie. The core and the soul of the movie are in the characters. You don't see that often. So for me to have that kind
of opportunity that has the thrills and appeal of a commercial film, if
you will, but that is rooted in its characters, is very rare. I'm so
happy and cannot wait for it to come out."

On Tuesday, TTAC comes out on DVD (VHS rental only) in the US/Canada and reviews of the DVD have started to leak in (a) & (b).

In the Houston Chronicle, Helena Bonham Carter (Ari) said she was not likely going to be in POTA 2 - saying: "The makeup (process) is just so boring that it would have to be a fantastic part for me to go through that again," Carter said. "The ratio of waiting around to actually being on camera is bad enough on any film, but doing something in prosthetics makes it that times 100." 

03-28
Yeah I know some of you missed it - I'm in CA, so I'm 3 hours behind the east coast. But if they have ET late at night, go see it tonight because the first look at the TIJ trailer is to be shown! It may show up on the MTV/VH1 versions as well - so keep a look out if you miss it. I also expect it to be encoded and be up on some film site by Monday. So I wouldn't worry too much. More later.

03-23
Oscars - Chicago won best movie tonight. While Mark was not involved in the awards, he was at one of the big pre-Oscar benefit parties - The Inaugural "Night Before" Fundraiser for the Benefit of the Motion Picture & Television Fund Saturday.

Teen Hollywood, The Toronto Star and the Chicago Sun Times had interviews with Donnie - some mentions of he & Mark's relationship.

03-19
MW Italian Tribe (thru Lynne) reports Amazon has the Renaissance Man (the first feature film for Mark) DVD up for pre-order - for release July 1!

Forgot to mention, there's a tiny pic of Mark (and a bunch of other celebs including Penny Marshall) at a Lakers game in the new Vanity Fair (the Hollywood Issue - also has Ed Norton on the cover) - thanks to Shirl Anne.

Liz Smith reports it's Robert Wahlberg- Donnie & Mark's big bro- who is working with DIRECTOR Abel Ferrara, known for his super-gritty movies, is close to signing to helm a film based on the life of mob hitman-turned-snitch Joe Barboza. David Flowers and Bobby Wahlberg are shopping the script (Flowers is the writer) and yearn to see Oscar-winner Benicio Del Toro as Barboza, "The Animal"

03-17
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Official/final specs for the Region 1 TTAC DVD and some menu shots.

The same pics of the minis in action without the ferango copyright were up on Dark Horizons (a) and (b) last week.

Also check out an article about Donnie who remarks on the possibilities of the two bros doing a movie. Hint: Don't hold your breath. Donnie's movie Dreamcatcher opens this Friday and Donnie is going to be in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) doing some publicity. At least one Wahlberg who will visit the land down under! LOL (update DW.com Donnie's trip overseas has been cancelled)

03-14
From AICN, the first review of TIJ. Pretty positive review of both the movie and of Mark's performance. Amazing really, if you're a regular visitor of the site you'll know why I say that.

03-13
The Truth About Charlie opens in Australia today (well yesterday if you're there)  Reviews from the Sydney Morning Herald and Telegraph. An article about Thandie from the Australian Sunday Times.

03-11
In addition to news of the game based on the new TIJ (one based on the '69 version just came out) , 2 new pics from the movie showed up. Alas no Mark to be seen in them. But still very cool shots.

03-09
From Ain't It Cool News: “The Italian Job” had a much different vibe (obviously). I know this is a remake, but I haven’t seen the original. The feel I got from the preview (again silent) was very much in the style of “The Bourne Identity” mixed with “The Score.”

It stars Ed Norton, Mark Wahlberg, and Charlize Theron. There were several shots of Ed Norton (with a mustache) looking like an evil mastermind, plotting something and/or cackling with glee. I get the feeling he might be the “bad guy.” Wahlberg is clearly the hero and the movie looks like it involves double-crosses, chases, and elaborate heist plans. There were several shots of the much-ballyhooed Mini Cooper chase, and it does look pretty cool. There was a shot of an armored truck falling through the street to the subway below, and there were a couple shots of somebody manipulating traffic signals to cause massive crashes on the streets. I really would have liked sound on this one, but it looks like it just might be an intelligent action/heist movie.

03-05
Variety has news on Russell's film.

Also from the Hollywood Reporter: Producer Scott Rudin has come aboard writer-director David O. Russell's next project, with Miramax Films and Warner Bros. Pictures in negotiations to co-produce the untitled feature, sources said. However, a Warner Bros. spokesperson said the studio has made no commitment to the project, while Miramax and Russell's reps at Endeavor declined comment. A Warners-Miramax co-production would make sense, considering Russell's involvement with both studios in the past: Warners distributed his most recent feature, "Three Kings," while Miramax was behind his 1996 effort "Flirting With Disaster." The untitled project, which has gone by the name of "The Existential Detective," would be Russell's follow-up to 1999's "Kings," and sources indicated Wednesday that a cast is being assembled that could include "Kings" star Mark Wahlberg, along with Catherine Deneuve, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman and Lily Tomlin.

03-02
From Fox News: It could be the weirdest combination of actors in history. Or the best. Director David O. Russell is readying a script for his comedy Existential Detectives. And he tells me the three main actors may indeed be -- are you ready? -- Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, and Catherine Deneuve. "I'd like to get Jude Law in there, too," Russell said at the Museum of Modern Art "work in progress" tribute to About Schmidt and Election writer/director Alexander Payne. United Artists chief Bingham Ray did Payne's interrogation following a showing of clips including one from the Spanish surrealist Luis Buñuel film, Viridiana, which Payne counts as his greatest influence. At the party that followed at the W Hotel in Union Square, a panoply of stars looked for food and got little in return. Among them: Marisa Tomei, John Waters, Matt Dillon, Mary Kay Place, Swoosie Kurtz, Chris Meloni, June Squibb, Howard Hesseman, Dermot Mulroney, John Ventimiglia, Aida Turturro, Alan Cumming and Willem Dafoe. But back to Russell who, like Payne, sports quite a head of hair. (Jealous? You bet I am.) So last year at this time, Russell thought he had Mark Wahlberg and Patricia Arquette lined up for the same movie. Now it's this group. The main thing is, Miramax and Warner Bros. will co-produce and finance. I have a lot of faith in Russell. Three Kings was a great movie, and his first two -- Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster -- weren't bad either. So we'll have to hang on a little longer and keep watching the detectives as they develop.

From the Las Vegas Review: NASCAR scuttlebutt has Britney Spears interested in having Josh Hartnett or Mark Wahlberg co-star with her in the NASCAR film she's producing this spring. She plays the daughter of a NASCAR team owner. 

02-20
This is news! Mark & Donnie (note DW.com reported a few days later it was actually Jim not Donnie) were at the Kings-Celtics game in Sacramento. Last time those 2 were in Nothern California was probably in the early 90s! Nice to see them at a Celtics game, guess the Warriors suck too much for them to catch a Celtics game against Golden State (come on everyone knows they play in Oakland)!

As you can probably see in the calender, it's just a load of ??? for all the TTAC international links save for the UK, Australia (who gets TTAC ahead of the UK - must be the 3rd movie of Mark's to do so) & Finland (which might just be they haven't updated it).

02-11
BBC reported TIJ opens in the UK September 12.

02-10
Hmm, guess nobody noticed that Mark S. updated the foundation page with pics from the X-mas party Mark helped out with Jordan Furniture.

From Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith's Syndicated column:
BROTHER TO BROTHER: Donnie and Mark Wahlberg aim to team on the big screen -- and soon.

The brothers are studying scripts with the goal of finding a project in
which they could star this summer during Donnie's "Boomtown" hiatus -- or not.

There's still the question of renewal for the series that's being pre-empted
for four weeks by the Kingpin' miniseries. Donnie is convinced the
pre-emption won't hurt "Boomtown"s' chances for a second season -- if NBC lives up to its promises.

"The network has promised to do a promo push for the series' relaunch (on March 2). If it does, we should pick up some new viewers in addition to the solid fan base we've already established," declares Donnie.

02-03
Mark maybe at the Shanghai Knights' premiere in Hollywood today.

From last week's Dark Horizons:
'Olive Oil' worked as an extra on the set of "The Italian Job" remake and described one interesting sequence: "One scene had multiple police cars 
chased after three mini coopers. One blue, one red and one yellow/beige 
color. Charlize Theron is driving the red car, while the Blue car is being 
driven by Mark Wahlberg. This film has numerous crashes, and will definently have more action then Swordfish. The Minis are driven on the sidewalk barely missing the Staples Center, and the people outside.

More on filming of TIJ in Dec from Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Lab Series for Men by Aramis conducted a poll on the best Abs & Mark was #5.

01-20
Dark Horizons & Mark S.  note the first publicity pics have hit the internet. One of Charlize & Mark and one of Mark.

On a slight blast from the not so far past was word Mark was honored by the Make A Wish Foundation in November.

01-18
Been quiet in the world of Mark Wahlberg. But not today. :) News of the DVD release of Charlie. Specs/cover art (to the left) from DVD IGN: Universal's DVD will come with an anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, an audio commentary with Demme, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, and trailers. The disc will also contain the original Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn classic Charade. Retail is $26.98.

Jonathan Demme was in Paris this week doing promo for Charlie (it opens in France this week) according to an article from the AFP: Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme joined a chorus of US celebrities in voicing opposition to a possible war against Iraq during an interview in Paris publicising his latest movie.

"I'm passionately opposed to my country invading other countries," the 58-year-old filmmaker, sporting a badge for peace on his chest, told AFP.

"I'm in complete opposition to the policies as I understand them expressed by my president."

Demme was promoting the European roll-out of his latest film, The Truth About Charlie, a remake of 1963's Charade starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. 

Last week, Empire Online had a short piece with Jason Statham about TIJ. Premiere (Feb ) had a small article about filming on Hollywood Blvd back in Oct. No pics or any real mention of the cast. Just Gary talking about the stunts.

As reported on MW.com, People Magazine had a pic of Mark in Venice, Italy (with Charlize filming TIJ) last week and this week's issue has a pic of him in LA.

Oscar season is just around the corner and while Charlie is probably not even being considered (as the studio seems to be putting its money behind 8 Mile & Red Dragon only), there are quite alot of good movies that are going wide after opening in LA/NYC last year. 

It's like a 7 degrees of separation with Mark. I've already seen Chicago (check out John C. Reilly singing and soft shoeing), The Hours (Stephen Dillane - Charlie in TTAC has a role) and 25th Hour (which stars Ed Norton, Brian Cox & Phillip Seymour Hoffman). All are top contenders for Oscar & do live up to their billing.