Hit Man: Josh Hartnett makes his point in "Bunraku." A couple of interesting developments on the local film front. Minneapolis-based Werc Werk Works, the indie production company headed by Elizabeth Redleaf, will co-produce "Darling Companion," writer/ Lawrence Kasdan's third film chronicling the Baby Boom generation, following "The Big Chill" and "Grand Canyon." Kevin Kline stars (for the sixth time in a Kasdan film) alongside Diane Keaton and Richard Jenkins in the comedic drama about a woman who loves her dog more than her husband. And then, as they visit their vacation home in the Rockies, her husband loses the dog. The ensuing search takes them in surprising directions - comic, upsetting, and sometimes deeply emotional.
Shooting commenced last week in Utah on the project, the fifth production for Werc Werk Works. The company's most recent title, the Allen Ginsberg biographical drama "Howl," opens locally on Oct. 15. Meanwhile, word is filtering back from the recently completed Toronto Film Festival about Josh Hartnett's latest, a seriously weird action/animation fantasy titled "Bunraku." It's a futuristic tale of revenge, set in a world that has long outlawed guns, where scores are now settled by the fist and the sword. Hartnett plays a drifter who joins an uprising against an evil gang lord (Ron Perelman). Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Japanese pop superstar Gackt also appear, but the film's real star is reportedly its candy-colored production design, which emulates paper cut-out stop motion, pop-up books and Japanese style Bunraku origami puppeteers. Here's hoping the stunt crew were prepared for paper cuts.
