Most anticipated of ’07: 20-11

Getting ever so closely to the Top 10, our top 20 is filled with an interesting mix of heavyweights (Tarantino, Cronenberg, Boyle and Wes Anderson) and up-and-comers (Sachs, Gillespie, Tarsem, Perelman). Enjoy!

51*. The Devil and Daniel Webster – Alec Baldwin
50. The Meat Trade – Antonia Bird
49. Mister Lonely – Harmony Korine
48. La Vie en Rose – Olivier Dahan
47. Across the Universe – Julie Taymor
46. Youth Without Youth – Francis Ford Coppola
45. Margaret – Kenneth Lonergan
44. The Inner Life of Martin Frost – Paul Auster
43. Hallam Foe – David Mackenzie
42. Death at a Funeral – Frank Oz
41. An American Crime – Tommy O’Haver
40. Smiley Face – Gregg Araki
39. Spring Break in Bosnia – Richard Shepard
38. Stop-Loss – Kimberly Peirce
37. Jindabyne – Ray Lawrence
36. Black Snake Moan – Craig Brewer
35. Reservation Road – Terry George
34. Red Road – Andrea Arnold

33. Rendition – Gavin Hood
32. The Host – Bong Joon-ho
31. Rolling Stones documentary – Martin Scorsese

30. Lust, Caution – Ang Lee
29. The Nanny Diaries – Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
28. Margo at the Wedding – Noah Baumbach
27. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – Andrew Dominik
26. Things We Lost in the Fire – Susanne Bier
25. Charlie Wilson’s War – Mike Nichols
24. The Savages – Tamara Jenkins
23. Be Kind Rewind – Michel Gondry

22. The Kite Runner – Marc Forster
21. Savage Grace – Tom Kalin

20. Into the Wild
	When: Paramount Vantage – September 21st date most likely a prelude by a Toronto film fest preem.
	Who: Sean Penn’s last time behind the camera was for Sept 11th short film.
What: Penn adapted the screenplay from Jon Krakauer’s book of the same name. Hirsch will portray Christopher McCandless, who graduated from college in 1992, abandoned his possessions and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness and return to nature.
Why: If this hits some of the dramatic notes found in The Pledge – then we can bank on some fine performances from one actor to another.

19. Lars And The Real Girl
	When: MGM – July 27th
	Who: Unknown director Craig Gillespie also has New Line’s Mr. Woodcock coming out months later.
What: Based on the script by Nancy Oliver, this tells the offbeat story of Lars (Gosling), a lonely, delusional young man whose life changes dramatically when an Internet friend comes to visit. The beautiful, religious missionary is in fact an inanimate replica of a woman.
Why: threesome in Patricia Clarkson, Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer surround highly regarded screenplay. Kimmel Int. produces.

18. The Fall
	When: Seeking distribution.
	Who: Tarsem‘s passion project was filmed all over the world.
What: Inspired by a short, Bulgarian film the director saw at a film festival almost a decade ago – the film is based around the relationship between a little girl and an injured stuntman she meets in a hospital.
Why: Preemed at the Toronto Film Festival. Got highest marks for its visual splendor.

17. The Darjeeling Limited
	When: Fox Searchlight Pictures – Since this is still filming most likely this will see a late 07’ release.
	Who: The imaginative Wes Anderson.
What: Scripted by Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, this is an emotional comedy about three brothers re-forging family bonds.
Why: After The Life Aquatic, Anderson chooses yet another interesting backdrop/setting for his stories.

16. Grind House
	When: The Weinstein Company – April 6th – should have huge opening weekend.
	Who: Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez give us a double bill – retro style.
What: Inspired by ’70s exploitation films, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are each directing a 60-minute horror tale for “Grind House”. Rodriguez’s part, “Planet Terror,” will be a zombie movie, while Tarantino’s section, “Death Proof,” will be a slasher film. Faux trailers and ads will run between the two pics as an intermission.
Why: Guilty pleasure experiment should be a blast.

15. Marriage
	When: MGM – Summer slot planned.
	Who: Little known Ira Sachs last made the rarely seen Sundance winner Forty Shades of Blue.
What: Based on British pulp mystery John Bingham novel “Five Roundabouts to Heaven,” this is set in San Francisco in 1949. It’s the story of a middle-aged man who is married, and who falls in love with another woman, but he’s such a gentle figure, so he decides that to divorce his wife would humiliate her too much, so it’s better to kill her.
Why: Talented cast consists of Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson, Chris Cooper and Rachel McAdams. Production co’s are Sidney Kimmel Ent and Anonymous Content.

14. In Bloom
	When: 2929 Productions will find a buyer at festival. Perhaps a Cannes presentation?
	Who: This is only Vadim Perelman’s 2nd feature.
What: Written by Emil Stern, this is an adaptation of Laura Kasischke novel “The Life Before Her Eyes” a thriller that revolves around a teenager who witnesses a high school shooting. Fifteen years later, unable to recover from her survivor’s guilt, her grip on reality begins to break, and she faces a shocking truth.
Why: House of Sand and Fog was a remarkable first effort – and Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood should strike viewers with dramatic fair.

13. Snow Angels
	When: Crossroads Films’ will be looking for big deal at Sundance – should preem in crisp Fall season.
	Who: Busy writer and filmmaker David Gordon Green’s 4th film.
What: Adapted from the novel by Stewart O’Nan and scripted by David Gordon Green, the story interweaves the life of a teenager, Arthur, with his one-time baby sitter Annie (Beckinsale) – a small-town waitress who has suffered through a tumultuous relationship with her estranged husband Glenn (Rockwell). Peet plays Barb, the female lead.
Why: Trading his familiar Dixon Mason line for wintery north should be interesting.

12. Sunshine
	When: Fox Searchlight Pictures – Spring release is set – perhaps a festival appearance beforehand?
	Who: Brit Danny Boyle takes on all genres.
What: Inspired by Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear, this is set 50 years into the future the sun is dying. Man’s last hope lies with a heroic group of eight astronauts and scientists aboard the spaceship Icarus II charged with delivering a stellar fission bomb into the heart of the sun. Their predecessors on the Icarus I mysteriously failed in their mission never to be heard from again…until now.
Why: Tired of watching 2001? Boyle will do better in space than on The Beach.

11. Eastern Promises
	When: Focus Features – Sept. 14th with a 99.99 percent sure Toronto or Venice film festival slot just prior.
	Who: 2nd straight mafia-related material for David Cronenberg.
What: Penned by Steve Knight, this follows the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai (Mortensen), who is tied to one of London’s most notorious organized crime families. His carefully maintained existence is jarred when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), an innocent midwife trying to right a wrong, who accidentally uncovers potential evidence against the family. Now Nikolai must put into motion a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution.
Why: Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence) delivers his best work with the Canadian filmmaker.