Trailer Trash Feature: 12th – 25th May

(Bi-weekly feature written for Lost In The Multiplex)

It’s that time again, and this week we have a couple of great new trailers, but not a lot more. With the release of highly anticipated trailers involving characters such as the classic Jay Gatsby and the provocative but vigorous James Bond, as well as a certain Channel 4 news anchor and his pals. Other than that though, it is very much a week for first trailers for film’s you are likely not to of heard much about unless you have attended the Cannes Film Festival this month. Still, it is a very interesting look at what cinema will have to offer over the rest of the year.

The Great Gatsby

To kick things off this week we have the first trailer for a film I have very much been looking forward to. Based on The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we have the trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s latest adaptation of the classic novel that has already been adapted into a film five times. Set in the dazzling 1920s, the film follows would-be writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as moves to New York City in the spring of 1922, landing next door to a mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Carrey Mulligan), Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the lives of the super-rich and their deceits. The trailer’s background music doesn’t exactly fit in with the Jazz Age in which the book is set but it does look pretty glamorous. I think it’s a great first trailer for the film, but then I know from the novel what to expect. The one thing that does worry me, however, is whether Mulligan will be able to pull off the craziness of her character well enough, but on a whole everybody looks great in their roles, and we can be very certain that Luhrmann is sure to do a brilliant job of it. Also starring Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher, the film is set to be released on 26th December.

Skyfall

Another anticipated trailer is for the latest James Bond film, Skyfall. Based on Ian Flemming’s 007 character and the twenty-third James Bond film altogether, Skyfall sees the return of Daniel Craig in the lead role as Bond must track down and destroy the threat that has attacked MI6, no matter how personal the cost, as his loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. For only a teaser trailer we are given a lot to take in, not in terms of plot, but in the many things that are going on. And doesn’t it look great? I expect we will see the full trailer over the next few weeks so that we can see more of what we can expect from the film soon, and from that we may be able to better gather how the film’s plot will play out. Set to be released on 26th October, Skyfall will also star Helen McCrory, Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench, and Javier Bardem.

Anchorman 2

One that we have only recently heard about is the release of an Anchorman sequel, and now we have the first teaser trailer for that too. Set to go into production next February, and written and directed by Adam McKay, the film will see the return of the entire Channel 4 news team, reuniting Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and Champ Kind (David Koechner). The teaser is extremely funny and includes some more great lines from Brick that we can definitely look forward to seeing more of. It is only a teaser, however, so we have to wait until 2013 until we will actually be able to see this.

The Words

Written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal as their directorial debut, the film stars Bradley Cooper in the lead role as a writer who, at the peak of his literary success, discovers the price he must pay for stealing another man’s work. Whilst having never read or heard anything about this film beforehand, I think it actually looks really interesting and the trailer has intrigued me deeply. Also starring Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Ben Barnes and Dennis Quaid, the film is set to be released on 21st September in the US, but it does not have a UK release date. Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival a couple of months ago, let’s hope that it will be with us soon.

Won’t Back Down

A film that is setting itself up for this year’s academy awards is Daniel Barnz’s Won’t Back Down, which follows two determined mothers (Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal), who look to transform their children’s failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children. The first trailer for the film is pretty moving and it will almost definitely do well. Set to be released on 28th September in the US, the film doesn’t have a release date in the UK as of yet but we are sure to get one soon.

Hit and Run

Another film starring Bradley Cooper in the lead role is action rom-com Hit and Run which is directed by David Palmer and the film’s scribe Dax Shepard. Also starring Shepard, Kristen Bell and Tom Arnold and originally titled Outrun, the film follows a former getaway driver Charlie Bronson jeopardizes his Witness Protection Plan identity in order to help his girlfriend get to Los Angeles. The feds and Charlie’s former gang chase them on the road. Set to be release on 24th August in the US, the film does, again, not have a UK release date but can expect it around the same time.

The We and The I

Directed and co-written by Michel Gondry and being screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival this month, The We and The I is a look at the lives of a group of teenagers who ride the same bus route, and how their relationships change and evolve on the last day of school. The trailer highlights the film’s originality and it looks like it could be quite an interested watch, but the film has no release dates as of yet.

Hyde Park On Hudson

Directed by Roger Michell, we also have the first trailer for Hyde Park On Hudson which stars Bill Murray and Laura Linney. Following the story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, the film is centred around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited New York. This may be one for the older audience but the films style and setting looks stunning. Again, there are no release dates at all for this film but it is scheduled for this year.

Singularity

And finally we have the trailer for an epic romance, time travel adventure. Sound exciting enough? Well, directed by Roland Joffé from his own screenplay and adapted from a story by Ajey Jhankar, the film is a sweeping tale of an impossible love set across two time periods and continents and centred around four characters — a British officer in 18th century colonial India, James Stewart (Josh Hartnett), the Indian woman he falls deeply in love with, Tulaja Naik (Bipasha Basu), an American present-day marine biologist Jay Fennel (also Hartnett) and his wife Laura (Neve Campbell). Showcased at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the new trailer doesn’t look amazing but we will have to say. At least it will be good to see more of Hartnett again, it’s certainly been a while! Again with no release date at all for this film, it is also scheduled for this year.