It's a good thing Child Protective Services never saw Nim (Abigail Breslin) in action or there wouldn't be any movie. Nim would be quietly toiling away in school, perhaps going to the mall and texting her friends. But in the new PG-rated family film Nim's Island, she climbs trees (and volcanoes), swings through the jungle, cooks dinner using mealworms as a main ingredient, reads adventure stories and talks to animals. Nim's father, Jack (Gerard Butler), is a marine biologist who has set up residence on a remote, South Pacific island to study microorganisms. It's just the two of them, so when Jack goes off on a two-day expedition to find new samples, Nim insists on staying behind. But after a huge storm, Jack is left stranded in the middle of the ocean. And when "pirates" (really tourists) invade the island, and her father fails to return on schedule, Nim gets scared.

One of the films I've been itching to see, which can't even seem to get itself in front of the camera, is Jodie Foster's Flora Plum. For at least the last ten years, there has been buzz about this film, which was originally going to star Claire Danes, out of My So-Called Life and into Yale, and Russell Crowe. But just like bad luck has loomed in Terry Gilliam's world of filmmaking, Foster just can't seem to get it made.

Crowe injured himself and production stopped. He never returned to the project and later in 2002, there was word that Ewan McGregor was taking over. Again, it stopped. Yet Foster is still determined to get the film made. She talked with MTV, and is still very invested in getting it made. However, she's being wary about how much she says, for fear that she'll jinx herself. "My new superstition is to never mention it, because every time I do, my film falls apart." From there, she talks about finally jumping behind the camera again, over a decade since her last directorial effort, Home for the Holidays.

Gerard Butler. I always knew that some day you'd come walking back through my door. I never doubted that. Something made it inevitable.

Gerard Butler's "officially unofficial" fansite is hosting a bunch of high-resolution stills of Butler and Jodie Foster from the upcoming Nim's Island. I was going to post a bigger version of Butler and his bullwhip here, but my computer is protesting, so it's better if you head on over there to view them. (I cannot find where they originated from -- and the site is mum, so if I am slighting someone, I apologize.)

I have to say, Butler looks less than thrilled in most of these. I guess he has more poise than I do, and wasn't running around yelling "You betrayed Shiva!" the entire shoot. Or maybe he was, and just wore himself out. I dig the costume though, especially the boots.

In other Island news, the film is reaching out to children with the Nim's Island: Our World, A Reel Thinking Event. Hosted by Jeff Corwin, the special will be aired on Animal Planet on April 2nd at 10am PST/EST, as well as in schools across the country. It will go behind the scenes of the film, while educating about environmental issues, and encouraging students to come up with solutions. Animal Planet and Walden Media are also sponsoring a contest to implement one classroom's best earth-saving idea.

I really love that this film is avoiding the McDonalds and merchandising route, and is instead educating children on coral reefs and living green. What a lovely idea! I hope a similar marketing scheme accompanies Wall*E.

It seems so strange these days to see Jodie Foster doing slapstick comedy. She gets into lots of drama and action, but when was the last time she made you laugh? For me, it was those early days when she was involved in all things Disney, and when she had one Freaky Friday. (If you haven't yet, check out the retro trailer from Stars in Rewind.) Over 30 years later, she's jumping on the wacky wagon again, but this time for some more fantastical adventure.

You might remember that she's part of Nim's Island -- the Swiss Family Robinson sort of film that has her starring alongside Abigail Breslin (Nim) and Gerard Butler. The trailer, which has now popped up online over at Ace Showbiz, pretty much explains things -- her character is an agoraphobic adventure writer who has to face her fears when her biggest fan asks for her help. Nim and her dad (Butler) live on a remote island, and she's stranded when he gets lost at sea. Men then try to take over the island, so Nim asks Alex Rover for help -- the star of Foster's action books (who is played by Butler as well).

The trailer has Foster freaking out over the thought of leaving her house, which is compounded by the fact that her adventure won't take her just down the street for a coffee, but rather, across the world. An imagined Rover taunts her, getting her out of the house and into a number of adventures not only to reach Nim, but to help her save the island. It's complete family fare, with the cheesy trailer voice-over and everything, but I have to say -- it looks like the kind of film you could get lost in your goofy, youthful memories with. We'll find out soon enough. The film opens on April 4. Either way, it's nice to see Foster embrace her goofiness again.

Considering the fact that Jodie Foster has been acting since the '60s, it's pretty damned impressive that she just made this year's top ten highest-paid actresses list. But me, I'm a fan of the Foster before the big success, when she popped up on all the old-school television shows and even better -- when she had one hell of a freaky Friday. Since it just happens to be that same day, in honor of that great little film from 30+ years ago, not the La Lohan remake, I offer you Walt Disney's Freaky Friday.

Annabel and her mom aren't getting along, and both naively assume that the other has it easier. They wish that they could switch places, and poof! -- they do. This trailer just brings back memories -- I had completely forgotten about Foster's spastic faux waterskiing. But the kicker here -- the description of John Astin's character -- "a confused, male chauvinist." Gotta love chauvinism as a selling feature. Have a great weekend, folks!

Imagine living on a secret tropical island, chilling with a marine iguana, a sea turtle, and a sea lion, playing Swiss Family Robinson, and still having electricity to interact with the outside world on the Internet. (Granted, the last part doesn't really make sense -- how do you have net access with an island no one knows exist? Do you lay cables yourself?) While it's definitely not my cup of everyday tea, the situation makes for a pretty cool adventure, and a sweet gig for the uber-cute and talented Abigail Breslin.

Little Miss Sunshine recently wrapped filming Nim's Island, and USA Today has a first look at the production, which sees Breslin and Jodie Foster swinging through the trees and Gerard Butler looking like a pouty Indiana Jones. Based on the illustrated children's book by Wendy Orr and Kerry Millard, Nim's is about a girl and her marine biologist dad, who live on a secret island in paradise. Dad's ship gets lost at sea, and alone, she turns to e-mail and gets help from Alex Rover, an explorer and literary alter ego of a reclusive author (Foster). Butler plays both the dad and the imaginary Rover; as he explains: "When Nim reads a book about Alex Rover, suddenly I'm in an Arabian desert with evil captors, or I'm being tied up by African tribesmen." The 300 star sports his own Scottish accent for Alex, but throws on an American one to play dad. The tropical family film will hit theaters in April.

The latest film from Neil Jordan is called The Brave One, but I'd be willing to bet money that the working title was The Stranger, since the word stranger is used repeatedly throughout the film to describe the alienated condition of the main character, a sotto voce radio personality played by Jodie Foster who turns into a piece-packing thrill-killer after being beaten nearly to death by some punks in Central Park and seeing her fiancé murdered by the same punks. That premise is oddly dated, of course, thanks to the extreme Disneyfication of New York City in the 90s, and The Brave One isn't brave or creative enough to simply posit an alternate 2007 in which those reforms never happened. Instead, the pre-existing societal ills that fuel Foster's character are laid out during a radio commentary she gives over the opening credits: chief among them is the fact that the Plaza Hotel is being closed down and her memories of Eloise are being tarnished! This is Death Wish meets Sex and the City, with all the seriousness that implies.

By choosing not to paint a portrait of a New York roiled by crime again -- at one point, a radio caller notes that the emergence of the vigilante is actually welcome, since New York has become so dull -- the film has little recourse except to make Foster's character one of the most unlucky people alive: after the brutal beating and murder in the park by a small gang of hoods -- her fiancé is played in a few early scenes by Naveen Andrews -- she becomes, in short order, the victim of knife-wielding, would-be rapists on the subway, walks in on a first-degree murder in progress and must defend herself against the killer, and happens upon a murderous pimp who mistakes her for a hooker. It's like a blood-and-guts version of that Lindsay Lohan movie where the main character's luck inexplicably turns to pot overnight. As long as the film has trouble looking for Foster instead of Foster looking for trouble, it's not saying much, really. It's only when her character starts to enjoy the violence that things start to get (mildly) interesting.

I'm not really connecting with the appeal of The Brave One, which looks like just another revenge film elevated slightly in prestige by the Oscar-winning talents of Jodie Foster and director Neil Jordan (as well as the Oscar-winning talents of Mary Steenburgen and cinematographer Philippe Rousselot and the Oscar-nominated talents of Terrence Howard, composer Dario Marianelli and production designer Kristi Zea -- hey, maybe the movie is worth seeing). But I tend to disagree with the tastes of the majority, so the movie is probably connecting better with mainstream audiences. Even if it fails at the box office, though, one of its screenwriters, Cynthia Mort, will come out just fine. Aside from being executive producer of a new sex-filled HBO series, Tell Me You Love Me, which she is also writing, and aside from scripting that Nina Simone biopic, in which Mary J. Blige is starring, the writer has just sold a pitch to Oscar-winning producer Graham King (The Departed).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the pitch was for a murder-mystery thriller. Of course, it currently has no title and there isn't anything yet known about the plot. All that was said of the idea is that the film will be a "fast-paced morality tale" and "akin to the thriller genre films of the 1980s" (not sure what films The Hollywood Reporter is referring to with that description). King, who will produce the film, once scripted, through his GK Films, did admit the story pitched is one of the most dynamic and provocative he's heard in awhile and that it is an idea he thought must be brought to the screen. He referred to Mort as being, "at the top of her game." The Brave One is premiering tonight at the Toronto Film Festival, and Tell Me You Love Me debuts on Sunday, so we shall soon find out if King is correct about Mort's status.

Is it just me, or is Jodie Foster sort of channeling her last victim-gets-tough movie, The Accused? She's got the tough look and the short, wild hair (not to mention that she barely looks like she's aged). Granted, she didn't grab a gun and enact her own brand of justice as Sarah Tobias, but there's more than one way to skin a cat. Back in January of 2006, Cinematical first posted about Foster's latest film, The Brave One (not to be confused with the other that pops up on IMDb). Helmed by Neil Jordan, the film follows Foster's character, Erica, who is brutally attacked while on a walk with her dog and lover and decides to seek revenge when she wakes up to find her dog gone and lover dead. Considering the gun in her hands in this new poster to the right, you can see that she isn't thinking about bringing them to court.

Earlier this month, Jessica Barnes blogged about the film's trailer, which you can see here. It definitely tells a lot about the story -- which you might find spoiling, or obvious. Then again, that might only be the beginning. Regardless, it looks like a pretty solid story about that other path you can take when tragedy strikes. Many of us talk about what we'd do if a loved one met a violent end, but it's another thing to have it happen, the reality staring you in the face. This also looks like a nice return to something meaty and serious for Foster. It's been a long time since she's had a role she could really shine in.

To be honest, I don't quite know what to think of the new trailer for The Brave One. Directed by Neil Jordan, the film stars Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, and Naveen Andrews, an actor who has been popping up all over the place lately. The story centers on Foster's character, who after the loss of a loved one, goes on a somewhat "Bronsonesque" revenge spree. If you like to remain unspoiled about these kinds of things you might want to skip the trailer for now; I took the plunge and now I think I know way too much about the movie already. Not to mention an ending that almost manages to unravel any mood that the trailer managed to set.

Luckily most of the cast is already busy with their next projects; Foster has already lined up a Leni Riefenstahl bio-pic, and the slightly less heavy film Nim's Island with Abigail Breslen (Little Miss Sunshine). Howard of course, is working on Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, but The Brave One works as a nice dramatic counterpoint to the hi-profile comic book movie. Jordan is set to direct the adaptation of the fantasy novel Heart Shaped Box as well as the horror flick Killing on Carnival Row. The Brave One is just one part of Warner Bros.' slate of dramas set for this fall, including In The Valley of Elah and Michael Clayton with George Clooney. WB should had taken a cue from Clooney's film on how to make a good suspense trailer -- the operative word being suspense.

[via firstshowing.net]