Feb 01 2009
Clive Owen in The International, Duplicity, and Inside Man 2
Lots of wonderful Clive Owen movie news! First up we have The International, hitting US theaters this February 13. Clive Owen and Naomi Watts star as Interpol Agent Louis Salinger and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman, two people determined to bring down a powerful international bank that’s funding illegal and terrorist activities:
Hitting US theaters on March 20 is Duplicity, a film IMDB describes succinctly as: “A pair of corporate spies who share a steamy past hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on their respective bosses.” Clive is paired up with his Closer costar Julia Roberts, as well as his Shoot ‘Em Up cohort Paul Giamatti and two-time Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson:
Duplicity looks like it could be fun, perhaps in a Thomas Crown Affair kind of way. Julia can sometimes be a weak link, but she had fun with the Ocean’s Eleven films, which means she could pull this off. She and Clive have worked together before, so the chemistry should be there as well. The International is more on the exciting drama side of things–the success will depend on how good the suspense is, I think. I do enjoy Naomi Watts; she’s one of the few actresses I look forward to seeing on film these days, and I’m excited to see her with Clive Owen.
On the most exciting news so far, we’ve got some more confirmation from Spike Lee that Inside Man 2 is happening, and with major players Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Denzel Washington, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. If the script’s good to go soon, they’ll start shooting in summer or fall, and the release is planned for next year. Inside Man was a brilliant heist film, with true intelligence and suspense and fear, as well as some social/political commentary and humor. It had all the usual nuts and bolts of a heist film, with bank vaults and men with masks and guns, but it elevated those standard elements into a truly complex and enjoyable film.
Clive Owen took on the challenge of a creating an interesting character who wears a mask for the majority of the film. He did a fantastic job, managing to appear smart, scary, and sexy all at the same time. The opening to Inside Man is one of the best in film ever, with Clive’s opening monologue that sets the stage for the mystery and for this sly character we want to get to know better. Every player in Inside Man was top-notch, and I’m excited at the thought of seeing them all sparring on screen again.
Tune in tomorrow for more Clive Owen Inside Man screencaps.
