Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite Films of the Year, David Fincher’s Upcoming Projects, and More!

R.I.P. PETE POSLETHWAITE

One of the most respected character actors in the film industry, Pete Poslethwaite, succumbed to a long battle with cancer at the age of 64. Poslethwaite experienced a resurgence this past year, with supporting roles in the blockbusters “The Town,” “Inception,” and “Clash of the Titans.” He received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in director Jim Sheridan’s 1993 film, “In the Name of the Father,” and also appeared as the priest in Baz Luhrmann’s contemporary adaptation of “Romeo + Juliet.” However, my favorite role of his is as the mysterious attorney and confidant of Machiavellian killer Keyser Söze in filmmaker Bryan Singer’s 1995 cult classic, “The Usual Suspects.” Poslethwaite is survived by his wife Jackie and their two children.

TARANTINO’S FAVORITE THINGS

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has named his top 20 films of 2010, and it’s a pretty eclectic list, including several animated films, and even the Tom Cruise vehicle “Knight & Day.” (?) Check the full list out HERE.

UPCOMING FILM PROJECTS

Entertainment Tonight premiered some exclusive (and very brief) set footage for the film CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, directed by Joe Johnston and starring Chris Evans as the superhero.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Natalie Portman, the Oscar frontrunner in the Best Actress category for “Black Swan” and the star of the upcoming “Thor” superhero flick, debunked some rumors floating around about her appearing in Zack Snyder’s SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL and Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. “What is that? (laughs) No, I haven’t heard anything,” she said when asked about “Superman,” and when asked about “Batman,” she replied, “Oh, I don’t know anything about that.”

Andrew Garfield, who experienced a massive 2010 with his Golden Globe nominated performance as spurned Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin in “The Social Network” and his melancholic turn in “Never Let Me Go,” chatted with radio station Capital FM about his role in the upcoming SPIDER-MAN reboot. “I’ve been lucky enough to work with Denis Leary and Emma Stone and hung out with Rhys Ifans a little bit,” Garfield went on, “I’m just in heaven, like a kid in a candy store. I feel like one lucky boy, I tell you.” Talking about the costume he said, “I have to kind of not look at my face because it doesn’t make sense to me. I have to imagine that it’s a much better actor’s face in that suit… I won’t lie. I shed a tear when I first wore the spandex. I didn’t think that the spandex would make me so emotional, but it did.”

Collider sat down with filmmaker David Fincher this week to talk about the DVD and Blu-ray release of his acclaimed Facebook drama “The Social Network,” and Fincher mentioned he’s planning to shoot his version of Jules Verne’s 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA for Disney using 3D technology. He wouldn’t say whether or not it would be his next project, or if that would be the 2nd installment in Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy, “The Girl Who Played With Fire,” since he’s filming “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” right now, but he also said he’s interested in directing RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA with his “Se7en” star Morgan Freeman, as well as a project called THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD.

It’s been over three years since Andrew Dominik’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” was released, but the Australian filmmaker is set to reunite with Brad Pitt (who played Jesse James) for the upcoming crime-thriller COGAN’S TRADE, based on George V. Higgins’ novel. According to the local trade Scene Louisiana, the film is set to start shooting in New Orleans in March with a who’s who of hot actors, including a reunion with Casey Affleck, who played Robert Ford in “Assassination.” According to the article, the other actors rumored to be part of the ensemble include Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Bill Murray, Mark Ruffalo, Sam Rockwell and Zoe Saldana. In the film, Pitt plays Jackie Cogan, “an enforcer investigating the robbery of a high stakes poker game protected by the mob.”

CASTING NEWS

According to Deadline, Jodie Foster has joined Neill Blomkamp’s ELYSIUM, which is set in the far future on another planet and is filled with many sociopolitical ideas. Blomkamp, who wrote and directed “District 9,” is reteaming with Sharlto Copley for the sci-fi pic, which will also star Matt Damon.

Someone from a site called Sandwich John Films spoke to filmmaker Clint Eastwood on the red carpet and were able to get a scoop that he’s going to have Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench appearing in his upcoming J. Edgar Hoover biopic J. EDGAR, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and written by Dustin Lance Black. When asked if Charlize Theron would appear in the film as well, Eastwood replied, “We think she will be in the film, and Judi Dench is definitely in the film and there we are.”

AWARDS SEASON

The PRODUCER’S GUILD AWARDS, honoring the best and brightest producers in the film and television industry, have been announced. The ten Best Picture nominees are as follows: “The Social Network,” “The King’s Speech,” “Black Swan,” “True Grit,” “127 Hours,” “Inception,” “The Fighter,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “The Town,” and “Toy Story 3.” There ceremony will be held January 22 in Los Angeles, and hosted by comedy director Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up”). You can view the full list of nominees HERE.

The WRITER’S GUILD AWARDS were announced, and aside from the nomination of John Requa and Glenn Ficarra’s “I Love You Phillip Morris,” there weren’t a whole lot of surprises. You can view the full list of nominees HERE.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Elvis Mitchell will apparently be leaving Roger Ebert’s new show, “Ebert Presents At the Movies,” and will be replaced by 24-year-old blogger Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, who blogs for film website Mubi and writes for the Chicago Reader. He will co-host the show with Christy Lemire, 38, a film critic for the Associated Press, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

AT THE MULTIPLEX

LITTLE FOCKERS won the weekend box office for the second week in a row, raking in another $26 million over the weekend for a cumulative earning of $103 million in only two weeks. It’s still behind last film’s “Meet the Fockers.” Meanwhile, the Coen Bros. TRUE GRIT is the surprise box office hit of the season, earning $24.5 million in its second weekend for a total tally of just north of $86 million, surpassing the total box office gross of “No Country For Old Men” to become the Coen Bros. highest grossing film ever…

…Until next week!