I’ve added new candids of Aaron shopping at Beverly Hills (and looking good doing it!) from a few days ago. Check out the photos in the gallery.

Shopping In Beverly Hills (10.12.11)

I’ve added photos of Aaron at the press conference for “The Rum Diary”.

“The Rum Diary” Press Conference (10.13.11)

Los Angeles Times interviewed Aaron at the premiere of “The Rum Diary”. Check out the video below.

Aaron Eckhart is someone who I am always happy to see working. No matter what material he’s working with, he always seems like he gives 100 percent to his work and is a complete professional. Therefore when Lionsgate announced that Eckhart would be their star in Stuart Beattie’s “I, Frankenstein,” adapted from Kevin Grevioux’s graphic novel, I was pleased as punch.

When MTV News caught up with Eckhart recently during the press day for his latest film, “The Rum Diary,” I asked him to give us a tease about what we can expect from him and the film.

“Well, I’m going to be Frankenstein, which I never thought that sentence existed. I’m going to shoot that next year in Australia. I have no idea what I’m going to do,” he admitted. “I’m reading Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ right now, I’m quite impressed by his intellect and depth of feeling, so it will be interesting to explore.”

Eckhart went on to say that the film version will be more modern and that his “monster” will have a lot more freedom of movement.

“It’s more of an action take on Frankenstein, it’s not a comic book, but there’s a lot of fighting in it so we’ll see. I’m looking forward to it, I get to learn some new stuff.”

[Editor's note: Not a comic book? Even though it's based on Kevin Grevioux's graphic novel? Perhaps someone's signals have gotten crossed.]

The story follows Adam Frankenstein (Eckhart) after he has survived to the present day, and he finds himself caught in a centuries old war between two immortal clans.

“I, Frankenstein” is slated to hit theaters on February 22, 2013.

Source: MTV

by Christine Radish

At this week’s press day for The Rum Diary, adapted from the Hunter S. Thompson novel and starring Johnny Depp, Collider got the opportunity to sit down with actor Aaron Eckhart for an exclusive interview. While we talked about his performance as Sanderson, an American businessman involved in shady property development deals in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the ‘60s, we will post that portion of the closer to the film’s October 28th release date.

In the meantime, we did get a bit of an update on the project that he just signed on for Stuart Beattie’s I, Frankenstein, an action movie in which he plays the famous beast. Check out what he had to say about that, along with what attracts him to the roles he takes on, after the jump.

Question: Do you know which project you’re going to do next?

AARON ECKHART: I have a movie coming out, called The Expatriate, which is a father-daughter CIA thriller. We filmed that in Europe. My character has a 15-year-old daughter, and that was fun, filming with her. And then, for the next movie I signed onto, I’m playing Frankenstein in I, Frankenstein, which is a modern take on Frankenstein.

What was the appeal of a project like that, especially since it’s so different from what you’ve done before?

ECKHART: I don’t know. There’s no rhyme nor reason. Just the fact that I just said, “I’m playing Frankenstein,” is something I never imagined. I don’t know what I’m doing. That’s my problem.

How is it different from the Frankenstein stories that people are familiar with? Is he more intelligent and evolved, as a character?

ECKHART: Frankenstein is an intelligent, evolved man, and that’s how he is portrayed in this movie, for sure. In the book, he’s very evolved. Somewhere in time, Frankenstein got dumbed down. He is a beast, but somewhere he lost his heart. I don’t know how much heart we’ll be able to get into it. It’s not a docu-drama of Frankenstein. It’s not an insightful look into his soul. It’s more of an action movie, really. But, it will be cool.

What draws you to a project? Does it start with the director, for you?

ECKHART: I have no idea. It’s different. With a movie like The Rum Diary, with Johnny [Depp], (director) Bruce [Robinson] and Hunter S. Thompson, you’ve gotta go do it. With Rabbit Hole, with Nicole Kidman, you’ve gotta go do it. Sometimes it’s about good words. Other times, I just want to go hop around and grunt and not say anything. There are those kinds of movies. Sometimes I don’t want to say another word in a movie, but I want to be very physical. And then, there’s other times where you want to go win an Academy Award. As an actor, you’re attracted to good material. You look at your character and you go, “God, I’d love to play that!” All of a sudden, an image will pop into your mind and you can feel yourself playing it. Although, it doesn’t fit into your plan and logistically you’re already busy, but you end up calling your agent and going, “Find out a way for me to do this movie.” For me, there is no plan.

Source: Collider.com

I’ve added more photos of Aaron at the premiere of “The Rum Diary” including the after party and attending an event for his agency CAA. Check them all out in the gallery.

Film Independent At LACMA Presents “The Rum Diary” (10.13.11)

The Rum Diary” Premiere After Party (10.13.11)

CAA 2011 Young Hollywood Party Benefiting Communities In Schools (10.13.11)

Here are the first reviews for “The Rum Diary” from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter

I’ve added photos of Aaron at the premiere of “The Rum Diary” at the LACMA. Check the photos out in the gallery!

Film Independent At LACMA Presents “The Rum Diary” (10.13.11)

Aaron Eckhart tells Moviefone he can’t wait to slip into the skin of one of cinema’s most famous misunderstood monsters, in his next film, ‘I, Frankenstein.’ Just don’t expect the iconic nuts-and-bolts version from the Boris Karloff films, a look that was copyrighted by Universal. What will Eckhart’s Frankenstein look like? “I really have no idea,” he says. “I just signed on without even seeing it. I don’t know what the make-up’s going to be.” One thing he’s sure of: “He’s a grotesque beyond belief being.”

Speaking Wednesday at the ‘Rum Diary’ junket (check back later for interviews with Eckhart and co-star Amber Heard) Eckhart said he was initially dismissive of the idea. “I mean, I don’t just jump off and do Frankenstein movies, but I read this and I thought, ‘I actually really like this movie. It’s a new take on Frakenstein.’”

Even though he kept pronouncing it as “Fronk-en-shteen” as Gene Wilder did in ‘Young Frankenstein,’ Eckhart promises that this won’t be a lighthearted romp. The actor says it will draw inspiration from the original novel by Mary Shelley, although it won’t be a straight adaptation like the 1994 film starring Robert De Niro.

“The thing about it is, there’s no mention of [the monster's look] in Mary Shelley. This is all made-up-stuff [by Hollywood.] You go back into Mary Shelley’s book and he’s an incredibly soulful and insightful, tender-souled man and I hope to get more of that in there. Yes, he’s grotesque beyond description, but he’s a man who’s been abandoned by his creator. So I hope to get more of that in it.”

He then added, with a grin, “But really what it is, is I’m going to be kicking ass. It’s gonna be great.”

‘I, Frankenstein’ starts filming in February with director Stuart Beattie (’30 Days of Night’) at the helm for a 2013 release.

Source: Moviefone

Just days after word broke that Aaron Eckhart would be playing the lead in the upcoming I, Frankenstein, ComingSoon.net had a chance to sit and speak with the actor at the junket for his latest, The Rum Diary. We’ll have the full interview available soon, but here’s what he had to say of his casting in the graphic novel adaptation.

“Somebody says, ‘Do you want to play Frankenstein?’ and I was like, ‘Well, I haven’t thought about it,” Eckhart laughed of the role coming his way, “Then I read the script. Whenever you read a script that you want to do, you start feeling yourself in that character. All of a sudden your juices start flowing. That’s how you know you should do a movie. Now I’m gonna be Frankenstein and I’m kind of worried about it, actually. I’ve gotta go and figure out how the hell I’m gonna play Frankenstein.”

Set to begin filming in Australia in January, the film tells the modern-day tale of Dr. Frankenstein’s creature, Adam, who nearly centuries after his “birth”, has found himself in a gothic city, caught up in a war between two immortal clans. Though based on the comic by Kevin Grevioux, Eckhart explained that Mary Shelley’s original novel is where he’s currently focusing his attention.

“Oh yeah,” Eckhart replied when asked if the role was planned to be make-up heavy, “…[But] I think bolts came later. I’m not finding bolts in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein.’ I think all that sort of stuff is an invention of Hollywood. I don’t know where it came from. Even the lightning isn’t a big part of [her book]. ‘Frankenstein’ the book deals more with the subjective. The feelings of the creature and less about the making of.”

I, Frankenstein is planned for release on February 22, 2013 while The Rum Diary arrives in theaters this October 28th.

Source: Coming Soon