2010 looks like being a good year for the unpretentious leading man
By Tim Robey to Telegraph.Co.Uk

From his first major role, as the feckless prodigal brother in You Can Count On Me (2000), Mark Ruffalo has had a unique presence on screen, exuding a combination of scruffy-sexy charisma and a kind of hunched, hangdog sincerity which can often disguise how much terrific acting he’s doing.

He hasn’t fought shy of challenging work with serious-minded filmmakers — as a brooding cop in Jane Campion’s In the Cut (2003), an Updikian adulterer in We Don’t Live Here Anymore (2004), the one good thing in Terry George’s Reservation Road (2007) as a devastated hit-and-run driver, and close to complete burn-out as the fatigued chief investigator in David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007).

But what’s specifically lovable about Ruffalo is his unpretentiousness. He’s been a gift at least twice to candy-coloured romcoms — the jolly 13 Going on 30 (2004), and the rather ickier Just Like Heaven (2005), because he stumbles in looking so completely rumpled and bemused.

When the vast majority of romantic leads have an air of arrogantly gym-buffed and groomed entitlement, of having earned their right to poster prominence, Ruffalo always looks as though he’s turned up on set by accident, often without taking the time to shave or put a comb through his hair.

Not even he can save the truly garish or misguided ones – he looks merely unfortunate in View from the Top (2003) and Rumor Has It (2005) — but in a genre that needs all the off-hand unpredictability it can get, he’s a godsend.

On the whole, this is a good year for Ruffalo fans, whether or not you found his function in Scorsese’s Shutter Island as disappointingly constricted as I did. He popped up in Date Night, though not for long. Never fear: his role in Lisa Cholodenko’s Sundance smash The Kids Are All Right, as the sperm donor to Annette Bening and Julianne Moore’s lesbian couple, must count as one of his most delightful ever, from the moment he’s seen nonchalantly trundling around an LA vegetable garden with a pallet of tomatoes.

Mark Ruffalo as a scruffy, bemused organic restaurateur bonding with his teenage progeny? I was sold.

According to the newest issue of Production Weekly, Ethan Hawke, Marion Cotillard and Mark Ruffalo are attached to star in a tragic-sounding low-budget indie drama called, “Second Coming,” from producers Richard N. Gladstein (two-time Academy Award nominated for “Finding Neverland” and “The Cider House Rules”), Laura Bickford (“Traffic,” “Che”) and French producer Ludovic Dardenay. Anjelica Huston and Thandie Newton are also attached to star according to a Spanish newspaper. Here’s the synopsis.

Actor John Zener becomes an even bigger media obsession after releasing a controversial film on the 2nd Coming of Christ. This obsession results in the death of his wife and daughter in a paparazzi caused accident forcing John to question for the first time the choices he has made. Teetering between delusion and sanity, John embarks on a journey through NYC, France and Spain to free himself of everything that symbolized his former life. It is through his journey that John finds transcendence and embraces the empathy that was missing in his life.

Apparently the film did pop up on Marion Cotillard and Ruffalo’s IMDB page in January of this year and it says Ruffalo plays the male lead, John, and Cotillard apparently plays his wife, but this is the first that most people are hearing about it. And evidently Cotillard is actually the star and is also an executive-producer. The film will evidently be the feature-film directorial debut of rookie filmmaker Nenad Cicin-Sain. The project was also briefly mentioned in a Variety article from Cannes this week, as it is eligible for French tax rebates, so it’s definitely in active development.

Source: The Playlist

The Los Angeles Film Festival announced today its lineup, and The Kids Are All Right is set to open the festival, which runs June 17-27. More than 200 films from over 40 countries will screen, including 28 world, North American and U.S. premieres. This year, the event will move from its old stomping grounds in Westwood to downtown LA, where many screenings will take place at L.A. Live.

For more information about the lineups, visit the Festival Official website

Josh Pais, Mark Ruffalo and Josh Hamilton at the ‘Please Give’ after party during the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival at Thom Bar in New York City

I’m a little late in add this ones, sorry. Mark was last April 27 in New York, attending the Nicole Holofcener’s Please Give premiere and after party. Some HQ pictures was added to the gallery.

Gallery Link
Public Events > Events in 2010 > Premiere Of “Please Give” At The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival – April 27
Public Events > Events in 2010 > After Party For “Please Give” At The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival – April 27