The Lake Update for May 29th, 2013

Since I’m doubling (and tripling in a few cases) on Henry Fonda reviews for the next few days, this will tide you over until my review later this afternoon.  The good news is I have information on another upcoming biopic (Hollywood is spitting them out), as well as Olive Films and Warner Archive updates.

NEWS

Director Anton Corbijin is set to direct the James Dean biopic, Life, detailing Dean’s friendship with Life Magazine photographer Dennis Stock.  The script is being written by Luke Davies and follows Stock in what starts out as a simple assignment and blossomed into a road trip; Stock would photograph Dean right before his work on East of Eden.  The film is budgeted in the $10 to 15 million range and will shoot early next year.  You can read the original story at The Hollywood Reporter.  I’ve reviewed three James Dean biopics, and they were various shades of poor; here’s hoping this one brings something new to the table.  Corbijin is an acclaimed director and the story appears to be a new take that’s contained to a specific moment in Dean’s life as opposed to a biography of his lifetime.  I’ll keep an eye on any developments, casting in particular, as they come out.

DVD NEWS

Olive Films is going rugged in July with the release of five films starring John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and Cary Grant.  All five will be released July 30th on DVD and Blu-ray; they include John Wayne’s Angel and the Badman (1947), Robert Stack in Bullfighter and the Lady (1951), Cary Grant in The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) and That Touch of Mink (1962), and Mark Steven in Cry Vengeance (1954).  You can pre-order them all via Olive Films website. 

Warner Archive reveals a new spate of upcoming titles worth purchasing.  The three sections this month are Lana’s Turn, MacDonald and Eddy: The Final Trio, and Decade’s of Delights – Back in Print.  In the section devoted to Lana Turner you can purchase A Life of Her Own (1950) and Diane (1956); I’m not big on Turner as an actress but A Life of Her Own sounds promising.  The pièce de résistance in the MacDonald and Eddy section is their remake of The Merry Widow (1934); you can also snag The Cat & The Fiddle (1934), and Let Freedom Ring (1939).  The Back in Print section includes William Holden and Barbara Stanwyck in Executive Suite (1954), Paul Newman in The Silver Chalice (1954), Joanne Woodward in A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966), and William Friedkin‘s controversial expose on homosexuality: Cruising (1980).  You can order all of these via Warner Archive and remember these are manufactured-on-demand and often utilize the best prints available.