Review: "42" (***½)

Harrison Ford and Nicole Beharie star in "42"

Sharing movie houses with expanding arthouse hits like "The Place Beyond the Pines," "Trance" and "To the Wonder," baseball biopic "42" might not be the most visually striking or thought-provoking film worthy of a Friday night at the cinema this month. The film is exactly what it aims to be, however—a crowd-pleaser with mass appeal. Writer-director Brian Helgeland has a successful past as a screenwriter, winning an Oscar for "L.A. Confidential" and earning a second nomination for "Mystic River." As a director, his most successful film to date is "A Knight's Tale," a lightweight but stylish starring vehicle for the late Heath Ledger. "42" is a handsome film that, while failing to reinvent the inspirational sports film genre, makes for a well spent two hours looking at one of baseball's most important historical figures.

"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" teaser trailer

After "Identity Thief" debuted to huge numbers, despite a critical mauling, "42" marks the next Georgia film release this year to strike gold at the box office. Georgia productions are on a roll, to say the least, and the biggest player in the game doesn't even come out until November. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is the most ambitious Georgia production to date, in terms of budget, spectacle and the expectations of an already massive built-in fan base.

The teaser trailer premiered at the MTV Movie Awards last night, showcasing the first real footage of the film so far. Much like the first film in the franchise, we aren't given any footage of the actual games– a frustrating, but effective suspense tactic. We can spot returning stars like Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland and Willow Shields, as well as newcomer to the cast– Philip Seymour Hoffman. Francis Lawrence's sequel hits cinema screens on November 22nd.

Check out the trailer after the jump!

Scott Waugh's "Need for Speed" to film in Macon, Rome

The cast of "Need for Speed" clockwise from top left: Aaron Paul, Dakota Johnson,
Ramon Rodriguez, Michael Keaton, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots

Director Scott Waugh's adaptation of the popular video game franchise "Need for Speed" will begin filming in Macon in mid-April. The project's screenwriter, John Gatins, mentioned the possibility of the film shooting in Georgia last fall when he was in Savannah promoting another Georgia production, "Flight." Gatins accepted the Savannah Film Festival Spotlight Award for his work on "Flight" and had great things to say about working in Georgia. Two hundred cast and crew members are expected to travel to Macon for the production.

Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Dakota Johnson, Michael Keaton, Imogen Poots, Ramon Rodriguez, Kid Cudi and Rami Malek comprise the principal cast of the film. Location scouting has taken place throughout downtown Macon and it is expected that casting calls for extras will occur closer to production kickoff. 

Recent projects to film in Macon include the Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake baseball hit, "Trouble with the Curve," and upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic, "42," which will be released next month.

Filming will also take place in Rome at the Historic Myrtle Hill Cemetery in June.

"42" Trailer

Chadwick Boseman stars in "42"

Another day, another trailer of a Georgia production. "42" is the story of American baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Brian Helgeland, the Oscar-winning writer of "L.A. Confidential" and "Mystic River" is the writer/director of the film which stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, Nicole Beharie, Harrison Ford, Lucas Black, Alan Tudyk and Christopher Meloni. You might rememeber the film shooting in Macon for nearly three weeks earlier in the year. Production also took place in Atlanta, Birmingham and Chattanooga.

The trailer for the film has just been released and our first glimpse is a striking one (pun sort of intended). It hits theaters next April. Check out the trailer after the jump!

04/11 Star spotting: Meg Ryan, Kevin Bacon, Justin Timberlake, Gabrielle Union

"Trouble with the Curve" is still filming throughout Georgia, with production taking place in Jasper tomorrow and Friday. The film stars Clint Eastwood, Justin Timberlake, Amy Adams, John Goodman and Matthew Lillard. Shooting has previously taken place in Athens, Atlanta, Conyers, Dawsonville, Dunwoody and Macon. Matthew Lillard recently spent a day at the Atlanta Film Festival during a break.

"The Walking Dead" will start filming season three in Senoia at the end of May. Set construction is underway at Raleigh Studios, where most filming will take place. Downtown Senoia will also be featured in the show. Lifetime show "Drop Dead Diva" has also recently been filming in Senoia.

"A.C.O.D." (aka "Adult Children of Divorce") has been filming all over Atlanta recently, including locations at Castleberry Hill, Decatur and Piedmont Park. Stars Amy Poehler, Adam Scott and Jessica Alba have been out enjoying Atlanta during breaks from filming.

Also enjoying Atlanta during filming breaks is Kevin Bacon, who is still filming an untitled Kevin Williamson pilot all over metro Atlanta. Appropriately enough, he recently stopped by BaconFest.

"42," the upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic, will start filming in Atlanta and Macon soon, as well as Birmingham and Chattanooga. The film stars Harrison Ford, Chadwick Boseman, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni and Jon Bernthal. Casting for extras is currently underway. Nicole Beharie recently spoke a little bit about the project when she attended the Atlanta Film Festival.

Meg Ryan and John Mellancamp are in town for the premiere of his play "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" at the Alliance Theatre at Woodruff Arts Center. Mellancamp collaborated with T Bone Burnett and Stephen King on the musical. Ryan has been enjoying several of Midtown's finest restaurants during her stay.

"Think Like a Man" had a red carpet premiere at Atlantic Station last Wednesday evening. Film stars Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey and Michael Ealy were in attendance.

J.J. Abrams television pilot "Revolution" is currently filming at the Georgia Capitol building in Atlanta.

Georgia-filmed "American Reunion" opened in theaters last weekend, while another Atlanta production hits screens this week. "Three Stooges" opens Friday. Next month, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" will open nationwide. I wouldn't be surprised if there is an Atlanta red carpet premiere for the film.