The Gambler

I’m not sure when we stopped talking about The Gambler, the movie now on DVD and Blu-ray that we’re both here to promote, but somehow actress Brie Larson and I have spent the past five minutes or so talking about mushrooms and sex. I’ll admit that I don’t fully understand what we’re talking about (or why) but I’m transfixed, mostly because, whatever it is, Larson is talking about it so passionatel

The first thing you notice about Brie Larson is her unexpected height, forever putting her in my own personal “this actor was much taller than I expected” club, where she joins the likes of John Cusack and Colin Firth. The second is that she’s, pleasantly, a bit of an oddball, meant in the most endearing and interesting way possible. With a single answer, she has the ability to be aloof and on point at the exact same time. Larson seems to have it all figured out without even trying. In other words: She’s winning a game that even she admits is impossible to win.

Rupert Wyatt admits he was at one point attached to direct the sequel, ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,’ but he and the studio couldn’t come to an agreement on the story. What was Wyatt’s version of the sequel? Wyatt claims he’s never told anyone before, but, ahead, he reveals what his intentions were for the sequel, including a tie-in with the original 1968 movie.

We've already seen the red band trailer for 'The Gambler,' which introduced us to director Rupert Wyatt's news thriller with a foul-mouthed bang. Now, a tamer version has arrived and it replaces the F-bomb poetry of the last preview with actual details on the film's plot and characters. Not a bad trade.

It's in the nature of every movie fan to approach remakes with caution, but the new 'The Gambler' trailer makes us feel like this is one do-over that's worth our time and money. Mark Wahlberg steps in for James Caan and director Rupert Wyatt steps in for Karl Reisz and the result is a film that looks to honor the original while very much doing its own thing.

Shortly after J.J. Abrams' commented that 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' director Rupert Wyatt would be a great choice to helm 'Star Trek 3' for Paramount, his candidate looked elsewhere. Wyatt, along with 'Transformers 4' star Mark Wahlberg, has his eyes set on 'The Gambler,' another Paramount project.

Todd Phillips may be branching out soon, as word is that he's now in talks to direct a remake of 'The Gambler,' the 1974 film written by James Toback about a Harvard professor with a serious addiction to betting.