Reel News

Michael Dwyeron film

In Bruges and Juno top early-2008 box-office

In Bruges, Martin McDonagh's dark comedy- thriller starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, is the Irish box- office champion for the first four months of 2008.

Still on release, In Brugeshas taken more than €2.9 million at Irish cinemas since it opened on March 7th. Jason Reitman's Juno, the low-budget US comedy that earned Diablo Cody an Oscar for best original screenplay, is placed second with earnings of €2.2m.

The next three places on the box-office top 10 are occupied by movies that opened in the second half of December, and the chart excludes their pre-2008 earnings here: PS I Love You(€2.1m), I Am Legend(€2.1m) and Alvin and the Chipmunks(€1.7m). In sixth place is 27 Dresses(€1.7m), which continues on release.

The winner of four Oscars in February, including best picture, No Country for Old Menis next with €1.6m. Completing the top 10 are Step Up 2 the Streets(€1.3m), Cloverfield(€1.1m) and Horton Hears a Who!(€1.1m).

Most of these movies are likely to be displaced over the summer as the blockbuster season kicks in, beginning today with Iron Man and continuing this month with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulland Sex and the City.

A full list of confirmed summer cinema releases will be in the Popculture Calendar distributed with The Ticketnext Friday.

Cannes announces more films

The programme for the 61st Festival de Cannes is now complete. It opens on May 14th with Blindness, a thriller from Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles ( City of God) which stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael García Bernal. Added to the competition line-up are Two Lovers, a romantic drama featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow and directed by James Gray ( We Own the Night), and French entry Entre les Murs( Between the Walls), directed by Laurent Cantet ( Time Out, Heading South).

Hunger, dealing with IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, is now confirmed to open the official sidebar section, Un Certain Regard. Directed by British artist and Turner Prize winner Steve McQueen, it stars German- born, Killarney-raised actor Michael Fassbender (300).

The event closes on May 25th with Barry Levinson's What Just Happened, starring Robert De Niro, who will present the Palme d'Or that night. A film industry satire, it ends, appropriately, at the Festival de Cannes.

Aidan Quinn to film in Donegal

Irish-American actor Aidan Quinn and Danish actress Connie Neilsen ( Gladiator) head the cast of A Shine of Rainbows, which begins shooting on May 12th and will be filmed entirely in Co Donegal. It is described as the story of "a lonely orphan's life transformed by an extraordinary woman who teaches him to conquer grief and discover the magic in nature and himself". The movie is a co-production between Canadian company Sepia Films and Octagon Films Ireland. The director is Vic Sarin.

Irish release for Gone Baby Gone

Released in the US last October, and in most other countries since then, Ben Affleck's gritty, accomplished directing debut Gone Baby Goneis finally set for release in Ireland and the UK on June 6th. Based on a novel by Mystic Riverauthor Denis Lehane, it stars the director's brother Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan as private investigators in search of a missing four-year-old girl in Boston. Disney delayed the release because of the girl's physical resemblance to Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in the Algarve one year ago tomorrow.

Guillermo meets Bilbo

As Mexican director Guillermo del Toro puts the finishing touches to Hellboy 2: The Golden Army(released here on August 22nd), he is about to embark on a four-year production schedule in New Zealand, directing The Hobbitand the movie that will bridge the 60-year period between it and The Fellowship of the Ring, the first story in the Lord of the Ringstrilogy. Both films will be produced by Ringsdirector Peter Jackson.

Casting is about to begin, but Ian McKellen is expected to reprise his Ringsrole as the ageless Gandalf. The Hobbitis unlikely to be released until 2011, with the second film following a year later.

Challenging role for Matthew

Matthew McConaughey has been offered the lead in Magnum PI, the movie based on the long-running 1980s TV series starring Tom Selleck as a private eye in Hawaii. The suspense is unbearable. Will McConaughey grow a moustache for the role? Will the movie spark a fashion revival for Hawaiian shirts? Will McConaughey keep his shirt on?