Costner Swings into Tow— A few new pieces of information about the Kevin Costner film shooting this summer in Albuquerque have leaked out. Swing Vote (Costner’s first in N.M. since 1985’s Silverado ) is an indie comedy about a contentious, evenly matched presidential election, which ultimately comes down to a single deciding vote. Costner plays the all-important ballot-caster, a single father. The film is being written and directed by Joshua Michael Stern, whose only previous directing effort (the 2005 psychological drama Neverwas starring Aaron Eckhart and Ian McKellen) was released direct to DVD. Filming is expected to begin on July 23 in Belen and Albuquerque.
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Kilmer Kicks Keister— It was also recently announced that the feature film Conspiracy is being shot here in New Mexico. The film stars N.M. local Val Kilmer as a Special Ops marine, wounded in Iraq, who travels to Southern Arizona to start a new life on the ranch of his best friend. When he arrives, the friend has disappeared and no one in town will admit to knowing him. When the truth is revealed, our hero, who has put violence in his past, must decide whether or not to bring vengeance on the town. The film is being helmed by Adam Marcus, the writer/director of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday . Hmmm. Sounds like a project worthy of Chuck Norris. The production will be shot in and around Santa Fe, Galisteo, Madrid and Pecos from May 29 through June 29 and expects to hire approximately 70 local New Mexico crew members.
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Hollywood Rumor Mill —With little else on the local horizon, I’m forced to turn my attentions to Hollywood. … Criss Angel—the faux-goth magician whose TV series “Mindfreak” I frequently riff on in Idiot Box—is reportedly developing a feature film version of Lee Falk’s Depression-era comic strip “Mandrake the Magician” so he can star in it. “It’s not contrived and it’s not cheesy,” Angel said in an interview with Cinema Blend. I’ll believe that when I see it. … Paul W.S. Anderson ( Mortal Kombat , Resident Evil ) isn’t giving up on videogame movies. The filmmaker has apparently revived the abandoned big-screen adaptation of “Spy Hunter.” The ’80s-era videogame was originally supposed to be turned into an action flick directed by John Woo and starring The Rock, but was dumped by Universal over budget concerns. … According to the Hollywood Reporter , Warner Brothers is rushing ahead in the superhero genre, fast-tracking adaptations of both The Justice League and The Teen Titans — this on the heels of David ( Batman Begins ) Goyer’s revisionist Green Arrow script, Supermax .
