Michael Mann

Christian Bale has become something of a pro when it comes to transforming his body for movie roles, which makes his decision to exit Michael Mann’s Enzo Ferrari biopic due to “health concerns” somewhat shocking. When you can’t get Bale, of all people, to reshape his body for your film, perhaps you’re asking just a little too much. Or maybe “flabby” is one body shape Christian Bale just can’t get down with, aesthetically.

For a movie about a guy who developed neck-snappingly fast cars, Michael Mann’s Enzo Ferrari has been making progress at an extremely gradual pace. Mann first started toying with the idea of chronicling the life of the Italian auto pioneer (a concept first realized fictitiously on the HBO series Entourage, with the world’s greatest thespian Vinny Chase in the title role) fifteen years ago, but the film only shifted into gear earlier this year.

Michael Mann has been developing his Enzo Ferrari biopic for about 15 years — in the meantime, he’s directed films like Collateral, Miami Vice and the recent Blackhat. But now it looks like Mann is finally gearing up to commit to the Ferrari project, with Christian Bale in the driver’s seat as the iconic racer and entrepreneur.

On the list of uncinematic activities, computer hacking has to rank near the top, somewhere between small-business accounting and taking a nap. It’s tedious, static, and solitary work, and what little’s interesting about it is largely incomprehensible to those without advanced degrees in computer science. In a lesser filmmaker's hands, a hacker movie like ‘Blackhat’ would be terminally boring. But ‘Blackhat’ is in the hands of Michael Mann, and that means it’s also stylish, moody, and punctuated by intense action scenes.

The words “ ...The next Pearl Harbor that we confront could very well be a cyber-attack...” open the trailer for Michael Mann’s upcoming cyber-thriller ‘Blackhat.’ Somewhere, right now, a dozen Sony executives are nodding grimly in agreement.

It was only eight years ago that Michael Mann released his ‘Miami Vice’ film, offering a grittier update on his classic ‘80s television series, but Universal is reportedly already looking to reboot the franchise again with yet another feature film. Why make something new and original when you can try to capitalize on an existing franchise and fan base by rebooting and updating beloved characters over and over and over again?

In the current world we live in - what with the celebrity nude photo scandal - cybercrime is at the forefront of a lot of the conversation. How do we keep ourselves and our identities safe? Such is the plot of 'Blackhat,' the new Chris Hemsworth thriller that stars the 'Avengers' actor as the world's leading hacker (who also happens to be beautiful and is really good at punching people in the face).

Duncan Jones' 'Warcraft' was originally scheduled for release on December 18, 2015, which it called before 'Star Wars: Episode 7' announced when it would be hitting theaters (many thought the new 'Star Wars' would go with mid-May as with all the previous films). But now that 'Episode 7' has picked the same weekend, 'Warcraft' blinked and has moved to March 11, 2016.

Even though 'Public Enemies' wasn't his best effort, we'll always keep our eye open for whatever Michael Mann does next. Though he had bad... something with his HBO show 'Luck,' it looks like Mann is returning to the big screen for an untitled thriller with Chris Hemsworth set to star.

So the Sight & Sound poll was a big deal this week. If you missed it, it's the once-a-decade list of the top 50 films as voted by critics from around the world. But what about directors? We've got a look at the all-time top 10 lists from some of the greats, like Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and more.