12.3.08: Polanski wants back in, Che gets trailered, Depp does Dante, and more

ROMAN POLANSKI PHONES HOME

As you may recall, legendary troubled director Roman Polanski (Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist) fled the U.S. 30 years ago to avoid sexual misconduct charges – he allegedly drugged then slept with a 13-year old while at Jack Nicholson's house, not so long after his pregnant wife Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson family.  The debate over his guilt has raged ever since, and was explored most recently in the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. Polanski is now trying to use the documentary's allegations of judge-prosecutor shenanigans to get the L.A. Superior Court to dismiss the charges. (For the record, the woman at the center of the case thinks the charges should be dropped.) (Variety)

CHE TRAILER INVADES THE U.S.

Revolutionary, hero, villian, murderer, communist, savior, scientist, guy on a t-shirt – Ernesto "Che" Guevara is many different things to different people.  Steven Soderbergh's two-film study of the man has been dividing festival audiences since its debut at this year's Cannes Film Festival, but as time rolls on the favorable critical response has been gaining momentum. At long last a domestic trailer for both Che Part One and Che Part Two has been made available, and it looks worthwhile, at least.  Your opinion may well be stronger depending on your knowledge of the man. (Yahoo)

ODDS AND ENDS

• While we're on the Soderbergh kick, his next film is a musical version of Cleopatra in 3D, as we've discussed before.  Catherine Zeta Jones and Hugh Jackman have already been announced as likely being involved, and now Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) is set to play Julius Caesar. Soderbergh told MTV that the film, which features original music from Guided by Voices, is "like an Elvis musical in a way. It’s not serious. I mean it’s historically pretty accurate but its sort of like ‘Viva Las Vegas’ meets ‘Tommy.’" (MTV)

• Twilight sequel New Moon will start shooting in March, which means it could quite possibly be released before the end of 2009 – although an April or May 2010 date wouldn't be surprising.

• In 1966, George Lucas made a student film about a man and his race car that emphasizes speed and noise over plot.  Hmm.  Watch it here.

• Street Fighter, as you may know, is a classic videogame series in which opponents of various abilities/sexes/ethnicities/species fight one-on-one to the virtual death. In 1994 it was made into a notoriously terrible Jean-Claude Van Damme flick that didn't pay much attention to the style of the game and would have been forgotten by now if not for the sad fact that it features the beloved Raul Julia's final performance.  Fast forward 14 years and a new set of filmmakers are trying to reboot the non-franchise with Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, for which a set of official stills was just released.  On the plus side they are staying closer to the tone of the game than the 1994 movie; on the negative side, it looks like $1.95 worth of crap.  Alas.

• Johnny Depp may star in a film about the creation of famed 14th-century Italian writer Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy – you know, the one your read in your AP classes about the guy who gets a tour of the afterlife, in which many of Dante's real life enemies are being tortured in hell, etc.?  The movie is to be adapted from the Nick Tosches novel In The Hands of Dante.  Depp would play Tosches, who was "asked to authenticate what might be Dante's original manuscript." (Variety)

• Clint Eastwood sings. (via The Playlist)

• The "not as cool as everyone involved in the film seems to think it is" promotion for The Spirit rolls on in this latest featurette on the design of the fim. My favorite bit is when Producer Deborah Del Prete says the movie is "Absolutely unlike anything else I've seen on film."  So I guess she watched 300 and Sin City on video.

• By the way, The Sundance Film Festival 2009 lineup is announced later today, and John Krasinski's (Jim from The Office) feature directing debut is rumored to be among the chosen few. Interviews with Hideous Men is based on a story by the recently late author's author David Foster Wallace. (Variety via Film School Rejects)

• Twilight's zombie female lead set to play rock legend Joan Jett.  (Sigh.)