VALKYRIE:
At the hight of WW2, a group of high ranking German officers hatch out a plot to assasinate Adolph Hitler, and sieze power of the military in order to end the war. The operation was codenamed "Valkyrie"

NEWS:

Historical Background of the Players
" Eddie Izzard, the famed English comedian, plays Gen. Erich Fellgiebel. Hitler never trusted Fellgiebel, a brilliant Prussian military officer, due to his independence of mind but nonetheless relied on his intelligence and made him head of the Signal Service."

But the best part was this "Needless to say, there has been much anticipation over this film, especially since the lead role went to Tom Cruise, who has never quite got the knack of acting. Like Jeremy Irons, he seems to believe that completely different characters require little or no change in performance, but is mysteriously still making films nonetheless. (Cruise at least has the excuse of being a Scientologist to explain his success… what’s Jeremy Irons’s?)." ha. READ FULL ARTICLE

'Valkyrie' pushed back to 2009
'Valkyrie' pushed back to 2009 Rex Features The United Artists and MGM World War II thriller Valkyrie has been pushed back from an October 3 release to February 13 next year. The film was originally due to bow this summer but was pushed back to allow director Bryan Singer to complete shooting. The latest release change shifts Valkyrie away from Hollywood's awards season and into a date that will see it face competition from Confessions of a Shopaholic and the Friday the 13th remake. "MGM is proud and excited to be presenting Valkyrie, and because of that we want to give it the best launch possible," said Clark Woods, President of Domestic Distribution at MGM. "When an opening became available for President's Day Weekend, we seized the opportunity. Having seen a lot of the film and how great it is going to play once it's finished, moving into a big holiday weekend is the right move." Both the Pink Panther sequel and Wolfman recently vacated the February 13 weekend. Valkyrie revolves around a plot by German officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp and Carice Van Houten star in the film.

First Look of Eddie as Erich Fellgiebel

The Good German
"..The cast list reads like a roll-call of veterans of stage, television and film: as well as Branagh, it features Bill Nighy, David Schofield, Tom Wilkinson, David Bamber, Kenneth Cranham, Kevin McNally, Ian McNeice, Tom Hollander, Jamie Parker and Terence Stamp. The only possible outsider in the group is self-described "action transvestite'' Eddie Izzard, who says of his path to acting via street performing and stand-up: "I took a slightly different, circuitous route to the rest of them.''

However, Izzard, who portrays General Erich Fellgiebel, is a keen student of the Second World War, and probably knew more about Operation Valkyrie than any of the others before the script arrived..."   READ FULL ARTICLE

First Photos
On the left is the actual Claus von Stauffenberg, and on the right is Tom Cruise.

'Valkyrie' Begins Principal Photography in Berlin

LOS ANGELES, July 18 /CNW/ -- United Artists Entertainment LLC announced the start of principal photography today in Berlin on the international production of "Valkyrie," a suspense thriller based on the true story of the daring German officers' plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944.

Superstar Tom Cruise heads an international cast as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the aristocratic German officer who led the heroic attempt to bring down the Nazi regime and end the war by planting a bomb in Hitler's bunker. Also starring are Kenneth Branagh ("Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"), Bill Nighy ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"), Tom Wilkinson ("In the Bedroom"), Carice van Houten ("Black Book"), Eddie Izzard ("Ocean's Thirteen"), Christian Berkel ("Black Book"), Thomas Kretschmann ("King Kong"), and Terrence Stamp ("Billy Budd," "Superman," "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace"). The film is being produced by Singer, McQuarrie, and Gilbert Adler ("Superman Returns," "Constantine"), with Chris Lee ("Superman Returns") executive producing. Joining Singer behind the camera is a talented production team that includes director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel ("Superman Returns," "X2"), costume designer Joanna Johnston ("Munich," "War of the Worlds"), and editor John Ottman (" Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," "Superman Returns").

The "July 20 Plot" on Hitler's life is one of the most heroic but least known episodes of World War Two. Severely wounded in combat, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg returns from Africa to join the German Resistance and help create Operation Valkyrie, the complex plan that will allow a shadow government to replace Hitler's once he is dead. But fate and circumstance conspire to thrust Stauffenberg from one of many in the plot to a double-edged central role. Not only must he lead the coup and seize control of his nation's government ... He must kill Hitler himself.

"'Valkyrie' tells a story that is not only exciting but also important," said Singer. "It's something that Chris McQuarrie and I have wanted to do for some time. I can't imagine shooting it anywhere else but on location in Germany, and I'm thrilled that we were able to get Tom Cruise to play Col. Stauffenberg."

"'Valkyrie' is a gripping thriller that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats -- and also go a long way towards reminding the world that even within the ranks of the German military there was real resistance to the Nazi regime," said United Artists Chief Executive Officer Paula Wagner. "As soon as we read the screenplay, we knew this was a movie we had to make."

"Valkyrie" is the second production to be green-lit by United Artists since the fabled Hollywood studio was revived last November under the leadership of Cruise and Wagner, who co-own the studio. It is a co-production of United Artists and Studio Babelsberg AG, the venerable German film studio whose stages have hosted productions ranging from Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" to Paul Greengrass's "The Bourne Ultimatum."

The film will be shot on location in Germany and elsewhere. It is scheduled to be ready for release by MGM in the summer of 2008.

Name Change
IMDb has listed the actual title of the movie as Rubicon instead of Valkyrie, stating that Valkyrie was just a working title (used for filming and initial naming) and that I guess Rubicon might be the official release title we'll see next August. (thanks Gia)

Bryan Singer
Before embarking on the Superman sequel, Singer openly discussed helming a smaller project going back to the days of thrillers The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil. In late 2006, screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie presented to Singer a story that took place in World War II. In the following months, the two collaborated on the project, an original thriller that would be a multi-character ensemble piece. In March 2007, the duo brought the project directly to United Artists partners Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise, who immediately agreed to finance the film. The script is based on the actual events of German generals plotting to assassinate Adolf Hitler during World War II. Singer invited Tom Cruise to take the lead role, which Cruise accepted. Filming will begin on July 19 in Berlin.

Cruise film banned from memorial
Actor Tom Cruise and the makers of his new movie have been banned from filming at the location in Berlin where an army colonel was executed in World War II.
Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who was executed after plotting to assassinate Hitler in 1944.
Germany's finance ministry said the ban on Valkyrie's makers had nothing to do with the actor being a Scientologist.
Producers have already been barred from military sites because Germany believes Scientology is a money-making cult.
Scientology leaders strongly reject that view, while Cruise's co-producer has said his personal beliefs were not relevant to the film's subject matter.
A German government spokesman said the cast and crew had been refused permission to film on the so-called Bendlerblock site, which is part of the defence ministry, because it was a memorial site. Meanwhile director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - who won this year's best foreign language film Oscar for The Lives of Others - has defended Cruise, telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that having him play Stauffenberg "would promote Germany's image more than 10 football World Cups".
Valkyrie - named after Operation Valkyrie, the plot's codename - is directed by Bryan Singer and also stars Kenneth Branagh. It is due for release next year. 

CRUISING ALONG?
Sounds like Tom Cruise and his producers have finalized enough location permits to get their "Valkyrie" film shot in Germany, even if the country's Defense Ministry has denied them access to the "Bendlerblock." That site, now considered a national military memorial, was where Col. Claus von Stauffenberg and his accomplices were executed after their failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July 1944. "Valkyrie" traces the plot that could have shortened World War II and altered the course of history. Previously, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung had said the filmmakers could not shoot at any German military sites as long as Cruise was involved due to his ties to Scientology, which the German government has long attacked as a cult. Now, the Germans claim the permit denials had nothing to do with Scientology, merely respect for the sanctity of these military sites. An insider, working on the film, says that is not true, but confirms that the "Valkyrie" project has lined up all the needed filming sites required.

IGOR

TRAILER:

CAST: John Cusack ... Igor (voice) Steve Buscemi ... Scamper (voice) Eddie Izzard ... Dr. Schadenfreude (voice) Jennifer Coolidge ... Jaclyn (voice) John Cleese ... Dr. Glickenstein (voice) Sean Hayes ... Brain (voice) Molly Shannon ... Eva (voice) Jay Leno ... King Malbert (voice) Arsenio Hall ... Carl Cristall (voice) NOTES: Scheduled for release October 24, 2008. (UK: October 17, 2008) LINKS: Official UK Site CoD Photo Gallery (updated 03.15.08) IMDB Behind the Scenes
			New poster

SUMMARY:
What do you do when you’re born with a hunch in your back? Well, in the land of MALARIA, your career options are severely limited: you become an IGOR.

Ah, Malaria! A place where lightning storms never end, and where every hunchbacked baby is forced to become a lowly LAB ASSISTANT, each one named Igor. MAD SCIENTISTS are the superstars of their respective VILLAGES, each toiling away in a cliff-top castle/laboratory with an Igor at his side, creating EVIL INVENTIONS - death rays, earthquake machines, man-eating plants, you name it!

All this in preparation for Malaria's annual EVIL SCIENCE FAIR, where the Mad Scientist with the Most Evil Invention wins the coveted first place award. His village wins too, getting a fat government reward, while the winning Invention gets carted away by the KING to be used for Malaria's Defense Program.

This is the story of that world, and how one Igor changes it.

Our Igor isn't like other Igors. Our Igor has big dreams; dreams of becoming a Mad Scientist himself, of winning the Evil Science Fair, and the heart of GRETCHEN, the local village vixen. That's impossible, though, because he's just a lowly Igor. But when DR. GLICKENSTEIN, Igor's cruel master, dies just two weeks before the Evil Science Fair, that's exactly what Igor sets out to do.

With the help of two of Glickenstein's experiments-BRIAN, an angry brain in a jar, and SCAMPER, a depressed talking rabbit brought back from the dead and self-conscious about the conspicuous tire tread across his belly, Igor puts his plan into action. They hide Glickenstein's death from the public, and then, in a feat of genius, Igor creates the Most Evil Invention ever: a GIANT HIDEOUS CREATURE of awesome strength.

One problem: the Creature, who's a she, turns out to be the sweetest thing in the world.

EVA is her name due to a misunderstanding when Igor tries to convince her she's "Evil", and now Igor's got one week to train her to become Evil for real. That's no easy task, especially since all Eva really wants to be is an actress. But once Igor lies and tells Eva that the Evil Science Fair is actually an audition for a big musical, an Evil version of "Annie" that requires her to "act" Evil, she's game.

And as Igor runs Eva through "rehearsals," he scrambles to keep her hidden from Gretchen and the nosy villagers, and struggles to fend off the greedy Mad Scientist, DR. SCHADENFREUDE, who wants Eva for himself. To his horror, Igor ultimately realizes that he's actually starting to fall in love with the big sweet monster, and comes to a startling conclusion:

Being a Mad Scientist is a whole lot tougher than being an Igor.

NEWS:

Igor Trailer Debuts at NYCC

The Weinstein Company showed off an exclusive, just for New York Comic-Con, world-wide premiere of the trailer for Igor, the story of an evil mad scientist's sidekick who tries to become an evil mad scientist of his own.

Directed by former Disney animator Tony Leondis and written by "American Dad!" writer Chris McKenna, Igor follows the story of the average Joe Igor who tries to break out of the sidekick mold. Igor competes in the annual "Evil Scientist Fair," something that has never been done by an Igor. For the fair, Igor creates life through the perfect evil monster. The only problem is that this perfect evil monster, Eva, is not evil at all and in fact inspires to be an actress.

From the start of production, McKenna tossed around the idea of classic evil scientists. From there, he came upon Igor and got to thinking, "What if every mad scientist had an Igor?" "What if" one particular Igor decided to break free of the mold, stray away from pulling switches all day and graduating with a "Yes, Master" degree? Thus, this Igor would become more than what life has planned out.

Igor is a CG film, something that the director Leondis loves. Being a monster movie, CG allows for "great camera sweeps" and is able to show off the great landscapes found in classical monster movies. Having the production team work in Paris, Leondis found this crew to be a "little more open minded" to the look and feel of the characters and the overall tone of the film. Being a Weinstein Company movie, the team of Leondis and McKenna felt that they are able to break away from the typical Disney/Dreamworks animated "family film" and do something that is a bit darker. This should create a unique movie going experience for the audience. It can be argued that McKenna's "American Dad!" TV show not only has off-beat smart humor for adults but fart jokes for the kids as well.

From the start of the New York Comic-Con's Igor panel, you can really see the passion both McKenna and Leondis have for their characters and the film as a whole. They seem to be heavily influenced by "Looney Tunes" characters and adventures. The film stars John Cusack as our hero Igor. Steve Buscemi plays the character of Scamper, Igor's rabbit sidekick whom McKenna promises to be "Bugs Bunny in reverse." (From the trailer, Scamper promises to be my favorite!) Sean Hayes plays Igor's other failed creation who becomes an assistant named "Brain." Eddie Izzard plays the super rock star status scientist Dr. Schadenfreude. Jennifer Coolidge, John Cleese, Molly Shannon, Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall and James Lipton all lend their voices in what looks to be an incredibly fun film. Also noted from the panel discussion, composer Peter Doyle has been given the task of creating a dark yet fun score to go along with the images on screen.

As a chance to get the fan base involved, Leondis talked about the "Be An Igor" contest where one lucky winner will get the chance to lend their voice for the roll of one of Igor's fellow hunchbacks. More information can be found at BeAnIgor.com.

The story of Igor and his monster is one that has not been told in the animated kids genre. From the trailer and panel, the characters appear to be funny, dark, subvert and memorable. Igor is set to pull the switch this September 19th.

Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s in Igor’s Lab
CKE Restaurants Inc., the parent company of fast-food chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, has signed on to support the theatrical release of Exodus Film Group’s Igor, which The Weinstein Co. is releasing on Oct. 24, 2008. More than 3,000 of the company’s restaurants across the U.S. will participate in a nationwide promotional program that will see Igor items placed in Cool Kids Combos meals. The movie will also have a presence with in-store displays and on CKE’s websites.

”The team at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s have taken Igor’s characters and done a terrific job creating child-friendly, interactive premiums that are consistent with the ‘invention’ theme of the film,” comments Pam Henning, senior VP of integrated marketing at The Weinstein Co.

IZZARD REPLACED PIVEN IN "IGOR" LAB

NEW YORK/HOLLYWOOD REPORTER -- There's a lot of action in and around the Weinstein Co.'s CG-animated monster movie "Igor." Eddie Izzard has replaced Jeremy Piven as the insane Schadenfreude, and producer Exodus Film Group has inked a deal for a series of comic books based on the film with IDW Publishing.

Izzard might not take any shameful joy in replacing Piven, but his character delights in being the nemesis to Igor, a hunch-backed lab assistant in a world of evil scientists who plots to win the annual Evil Science Fair. A rep for Piven did not return calls by press time to explain his departure, but the switch is all in the family: Both actors are repped by CAA.

IDW will create serial comic adaptations of the film's story, plus prequels and sequels, followed by a full-color paperback collection of each miniseries. The publisher already has translated such hot properties as Hasbro's "Transformers," Fox's "24" and CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" to the comic pages.

The prequel series is tentatively set for May or June, followed by the film and sequel series, so the three collected sets can be published in book form in time for the film's October 2008 release.

"Igor" features the voices of John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Jennifer Coolidge, Arsenio Hall, Jay Leno, Molly Shannon, Sean Hayes and others.

No illustrator has been assigned, but IDW will create a look that duplicates the film's imagery as it has done with two other CGI film adaptations, Sony Pictures' "Monster House" and Warner Bros. Pictures/Paramount Pictures' upcoming "Beowulf."

It's just the latest promotional tie-in Exodus has made for "Igor," including a master licensing deal for toys and collectibles with Corgi International and a book publishing deal with Simon & Schuster.

IDW also has launched comics based on Paramount's "Star Trek" films and Fox's "Angel" series. It created the eponymous comic behind Sony Pictures' upcoming feature "30 Days of Night." The company was purchased by IDT Internet Mobile on Tuesday, with plans to sell original IDW properties to film and TV distributors.

Other upcoming CG-animated films on Exodus' slate include "Bunyan & Babe" and "The Hero of Color City," which is in preproduction and set for North American distribution by Magnolia Pictures.

Izzard is repped by CAA, manager Jeff Golenberg at the Collective and attorney Kevin Morris at Barnes Morris Klein Mark Yorn Barnes & Levine.

THE OTHER SIDE:
You know, we're leading with Brittany Murphy and Jason Lee, but they're only the mainstream, comedic tip to the talent that is coming from the upcoming fantasy comedy The Other Side. There is Giovanni Ribisi (Lost in Translation), and I wouldn't be surprised if he got the gig due to his connection with Lee -- they were both in I Love Your Work, plus an untitled short that Lee directed last year and he's appeared in a few eps of My Name is Earl. But the cast also boasts Jim Broadbent, Tim Roth and Lili Taylor listed in the news from Variety, and IMDb lists even more -- Anjelica Huston, Fiona Shaw, Eddie Izzard, Rupert Friend, Eddie Griffin, Dave Matthews... You get the picture

Directed by producer David Michaels, Other Side comes from the pens of Michaels and Phil Reeves, and it focuses on a grad student (Murphy), who is spending her summer working at a science institute on a remote northern island. While there, "she discovered an eccentric community of characters who are hiding a secret about a terrible tragedy that took place many years before." Lee, for one, is playing: a hippie, chauffeur, pilot, butler, bartender and bait shop clerk. Between him and the rest of the cast, I would say that they picked just the right people to pull off an "eccentric community," although I find it smirk-worthy that Murphy will play a scientist. This is a comedy, so I imagine she will be a very, very cute and giggly scientist. However, how interesting would it be if she was the one believably serious actor in the piece? I mean, she has completely 180'd before.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

Eddie appears in the beginning and around 18:55 (thanks Annette)

'Narnia' star a humble prince
By JIM SLOTEK -- Sun Media (excerpt)

Barnes' only real regret is he never got to meet Eddie Izzard, the British comedian who voices the Narnian character of Reepicheep, a warrior-mouse who joins Caspian in the war against the Telmarines.

"Eddie Izzard is one of my comedic heroes, I've seen him, like, three times onstage and obviously I didn't meet him when we were shooting. It would have been great. It was obviously exciting to see me in the movie having conversations with one of my heroes when I'd been talking to a piece of wire. He was definitely better than the wire.

"I still haven't talked to Eddie, but I just did a film called Easy Virtue, which is kind of a Noel Coward thing, and Eddie does a sketch in one of his videos about the British film industry and how nothing ever happens. People walk into a room, 'What are you doing?' 'Well, I'm just moving books to the left.' 'I didn't realize you'd be in here.' 'Well, I am.' 'Well, I think you'd better go.' 'Yes, I think you'd better had.'

"And I was doing a scene with Colin Firth in the film in which we realized we'd said nothing to each other. And we said, 'Instead of doing this scene, why don't we do (Eddie's)? We'll go in and do this little skit in the first take.' And that's what we did.

"So I'm hoping it makes the DVD extras. I'll send a copy to Eddie Izzard and hope he think's it's funny."

FULL ARTICLE

Eddie Izzard lends voice to The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor

Izzard will voice the diminutive Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the sequel to CS Lewis classic The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

This is the first image of Reepicheep from the Disney movie, which is a mix of live action and computer-generated animation.

Izzard said of the role: "I didn't see myself as Reepicheep but then I thought that it may be fun.

"And looking again at Reepicheep I realised that he has always been recorded in a high, slightly camp voice because of the overt language that he uses and his chivalrous nature, but actually he is a murderous little so-and-so of a mouse. I see him as the Mad Max of mice."

The Narnia books have sold 90 million copies since their publication in the 1950s.

Prince Caspian is the second in a series of seven.

Disney turned The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe into a hit film in 2005 and this is the eagerly-awaited follow-up.

Izzard, 46, fell in love with the Narnia books as a child.

"I read them all and I didn't really read many things as a kid. The Narnia ones I really got into and I read every single one of them," he said.

"I think it was the wish fulfilment - you go off and become adults, get swords and horses and fight battles.

"Kids want to get these powers and you are hungry for it when you are 10 or 11 or 12.

"You feel you can go out and do all this stuff. So it was that and the imagination - that in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, in the back of a wardrobe, there is a door to another world - that is just amazing!

"I liked The Magician's Nephew as well - you put on a ring and you go to another place. A magic ring - wow! Then there's the one with a secret door in a wall. It was those things in which they took you to a place where the wish fulfilment and the adventure were huge. They just really grabbed me."

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is released in the US on May 16 and in the UK on June 26.

Movie tie-in editions of the books will be published by HarperCollins on May 5

FRIDAY, MAY 16 (release date) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian — Director Andrew Adamson follows up The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with Stage 2 in this cycle of C.S. Lewis adaptations. This time, those intrepid Pevensie kids return to Narnia and help its rightful heir reclaim the throne from his wicked Uncle Miraz. You know what's cool? Eddie Izzard playing the voice of Reepicheep.

Eddie Izzard (Voice of Reepicheep) - "He's like Mad Max crossed with a guy like William the Conqueror. He just goes around slashing and killing. His sole interest in life is to pile up dead bodies. Mad Max's wife and child were killed in the first film and I can only assume that's what happened to Reepicheep, because he's so driven by rage and revenge. But he also has the code of honour which limits him. In previous versions he's played in a camp way - everyone does him in a high-pitched squeaky voice. I wanted to dump that. He's basically Mad Max as a mouse."

(FROM AIN'T IT COOL NEWS)
Adamson and I talked about Reepicheep and how much I'm looking forward to seeing what Eddie Izzard brings to the fan-favorite violent sword-swinging mouse. Adamson said that he didn't really find the character of Reepicheep until Izzard came in to record his dialogue. He had an idea, he said, but he came to find that he had subconsciously lifted a lot of his character for Puss N' Boots when doing SHREK 2. So, he couldn't lock down a character that was different from Puss until he heard Izzard give his voice. Then things began clicking.

EDDIE CAST AS REEPICHEEP IN NEW NARNIA MOVIE
Another report from BNAT 9 has revealed the voice of Reepicheep: Eddie Izzard (stand-up comic, voice of Bee Army General in Bee Movie) will be the voice of Reepicheep in the Prince Caspian movie.