You know we’re scratching for stories when we cover a premiere without a lot of big names, but Jason Statham could run around for two hours doing not much of anything and I would watch it, all wide-eyed and rapt. He adds a layer of swoon-inducing kick-ass testosterone to any film, and it looks like his new film, The Bank Job, doesn’t even need help in that department.

The Bank Job is based on the true story of a multi-million pound London bank heist in 1971, in which safety deposit boxes were stolen from a vault. The robbery was only covered by the press for a just a few days before the government issued a gag order and the story faded away. It is thought that the gang uncovered reams of information about a massive corruption scandal involving top government officials along with the royal family. (It has no relation to The Italian Job or the upcoming sequel The Brazilian Job (snicker) except for the fact that it also stars Statham and has “Job” in the title.)

Here’s the description from IMDB:

In September 1971, thieves tunneled into the vault of a bank in London’s Baker Street and looted safe deposit boxes of cash and jewelry worth over three million pounds. None of it was recovered. Nobody was ever arrested. The robbery made headlines for a few days and then disappeared - the result of a ‘D’ Notice, gagging the press. This film reveals what was hidden for the first time. The story involves murder, corruption and a sex scandal with links to the Royal Family - a story in which the thieves were the most innocent people involved.

And here’s the trailer. It looks pretty awesome.

The thing that I found amusing about these premiere pictures is that Guy Ritchie showed up looking sheepish in a cap and suit - but he’s not the director and had no hand in the movie that I can tell. He hasn’t had a critically acclaimed or successful film since 2000’s Snatch.

Anthony Hopkins was looking elderly in a plaid jacket and scarf and full white beard. He also has nothing to do with this movie.

The Bank Job is out in the UK on February 25, and comes out in US theaters on March 7. Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures. There are also some stills from the film, thanks to AllMoviePhoto.

Actor Anthony Hopkins is going to pursue his dream of becoming a music star. He will embark on a world tour in which he plans to play the piano accompanied by an orchestra. Hopkins will tell narrative stories about his life and acting career to accompany the music.

In a series of shows to be performed in cities across the world, Hopkins will be taking centre stage on the piano, playing music that he has composed himself. The actor will be accompanied by an orchestra, and will narrate stories over the music.

Hopkins, whose film roles include Adolf Hitler, Pablo Picasso and Quasimodo, will also tell anecdotes from his film career.

Despite having performed in more than 70 films, this is not the first time he has found time to immerse himself in music; in 1986 he released a single called “Distant Star”. The song was not well-received in the UK, only reaching number 75 in the charts.

His music tour, which is expected to start next year, will begin in Melbourne before heading round the world. The project is being planned with the musician and film-score mixer, Malcolm Luker, who met the actor when he was working on the score for Hopkins’ latest film, Slipstream. This experimental screenplay had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and was widely panned by critics for its self-indulgence.

Luker thinks Hopkins’ foray into music will be better received. “I think people will be surprised by Tony’s talents”, he said. “He’s a great pianist and an incredibly pleasant and softly spoken man.”

“It’s going to happen either next year or early 2009 but at the moment we’re doing the preliminaries of checking timing, availability and venues,” Luker said yesterday.

He said the proposed venture would not be as simple as Hopkins sitting at the piano. “[It] will feature Sir Anthony playing music, narrating stories over a live orchestra and telling anecdotes about his movie career, such as his famed role in The Silence of The Lambs.”

[The Independent via Huffington Post]

Hopkins released a single in 1986 called “Distant Star” with the b-side “Ordinary Man.” The songs are available below. It’s not as bad as William Shatner’s musical efforts, but it’s definitely reminiscent of Shatner’s mock-worthy work. Both tracks feature Hopkins talking over a new-age sound scape with comically cheesy lyrics. Maybe his storytelling and music ability have improved in the 11 years since he created these awful songs. If his new music will be drastically different he should probably put out a new single to erase the public’s memory of his previous efforts.

Hopkins’ talents aren’t limited to acting and singing. He is also an artist, and had an exhibition of his paintings last year called “Dreamscapes.” His art sells for thousands.

Here are Hopkins’ initial musical efforts, thanks to Hopinksville.de. There have to be old ladies around the world that will pay good money to watch him perform, hanging on his every breathy word.

Distant Star:

Ordinary Man:

Hopkins is shown in the header image on 11/11/07 at the Beowolf London premiere, thanks to PRPhotos.

I consider messing with Anthony Hopkins about as advisable as messing with O.J. Sure Hopkins is a gentleman and a knight, but I’m pretty sure he’s about 2 clicks away from actually being Hannibal Lecter. You know how they talk about roles an actor was born to play? Well when you’re born to play an erudite cannibal, I’m going to assume that says something about you. Merchant Ivory films, however, doesn’t appear to have taken my advisory seriously: they’ve shortchanged Hopkins by $750,000 for work on his latest project for them, a movie called “The City of Your Final Destination.” If they find a bottle of chianti on their doorstep, I think they should run. That’s Hopkins’ equivalent of filling your shoes with cement.

Anthony Hopkins has filed legal papers seeking to take art-house fave Merchant Ivory Productions to arbitration for refusing to pay $750,000 he claims he’s owed for their most recent movie together, The City of Your Final Destination.

The film, directed by James Ivory and penned by longtime collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, finished shooting late last year and is currently in post-production.

In a complaint filed on his behalf by his trust, Samson Inc., and first reported by TMZ, the Oscar-winning thesp alleges Merchant Ivory “materially breached” a performance agreement by failing to deliver the agreed-upon sum in two parts. Hopkins says he the initial $375,000 was payable in weekly installments beginning Dec. 29, 2006 and continuing through Jan. 10, while the second $375,000 was due no later than Sept. 30.

Hopkins says he “suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial, but in no event less than $750,000″ for services rendered. He’s also seeking accrued interest, payment of attorneys’ fees and any associated costs of the arbitration.

[From E! News]

I know Merchant Ivory isn’t one of those companies that’s flush with cash… I mean they’re paying Anthony Hopkins $750,000, which I’m guessing is far below his normal fee. But you’d think they’d manage not to stiff the guy on that meager (for Hollywood) amount. I’m trying really hard not to make more trite, over-used “Silence of the Lambs” jokes here, but it’s really hard. I could make a “Hannibal” joke, that’s a little less common… something about Hopkins dumping their bodies into a pen filled with angry boars… no, not that funny. Just pay the guy his cash, so the rest of us don’t have to make cannibalism jokes, alright? Merchant Ivory, your movies are arty and pretentious (not that there’s anything wrong with that); they’re not exactly blockbusters. If you want to keep making them, you should probably pay the actors who are kind enough to dress up as repressed butlers in dreary English villages over and over and over again.