Posted Jan 19th 2010 3:15PM by Jette Kernion
Filed under: Comedy, Deals, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Some people out there will watch actor/filmmaker
Bruce Campbell in just about anything; some are holding out until he shows up in a movie involving Sam Raimi, preferably
Evil Dead 4; and a few know him only as the funny guy on
Burn Notice. Those in the first category will be pleased to hear that Campbell has confirmed a follow-up to the 2008 film he directed,
My Name is Bruce, in which he played an arrogant lout named Bruce Campbell who is recruited against his will to fight a small town's evil monster. I enjoyed the movie but noted
in my review that it is unapologetically "an unsophisticated spoof of horror films and action heroes and fandom, about as subtle as a skeleton-finger jab to the eye."
In a short email sent to
Ain't It Cool News yesterday, Campbell officially announced
Bruce Vs Frankenstein, which will be a sequel to
My Name is Bruce. As with the previous movie, the film distribution arm of Dark Horse Comics is producing. Campbell doesn't say whether he will be directing
Bruce Vs. Frankenstein, or who is involved with the script -- this was the briefest of teaser announcements.
In
an interview I did with Bruce Campbell when
My Name is Bruce was released, he said how much he enjoyed directing the movie himself, especially with the Dark Horse producers, who weren't "breathing down his neck." So I suspect he'll direct
Bruce Vs. Frankenstein too. In that interview, Campbell mentioned a possible sequel where "we'll do
My Name is Still Bruce -- we have an Ugly American version of that where Bruce goes to Europe and battles a succubus." It sounds like they've decided to try something different -- and will be shooting in Oregon again, where Campbell lives, which he probably prefers.
Posted Jan 18th 2010 6:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Drama, Independent, Casting, Deals, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, War
Given the rumors that occasionally dog
Gerard Butler, I love when the meaty film related ones actually prove true. According to
Deadline Hollywood Daily, Butler will be starring in
Machine Gun Preacher, a big screen version of the life and work of Reverend Sam Childers. He has attracted director
Marc Forster who is happily taking the helming job.
Childers' life story is detailed in his book,
Another Man's War. A biker attracted to drugs and violence, he experienced a religious awakening at an Assembly of God church, and actually received a prophecy that he would work in Africa. Whether it was destiny or not, Childers made his first trip to Sudan, and took up what has become his life's work -- protecting children from Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army. In addition to forming an orphange, he has put together a militia to protect Sudan's children -- hence the Machine Gun Preacher nickname. He even has
an official website where you can learn more about his work in Sundan.
Forster developed the screenplay with screenwriter
Jason Keller, and Butler will play Childers. He was photographed with the real Sam Childers just recently which gave rise to the speculation he was interested in playing him onscreen. Preproduction is set to start later this year, and if it comes together as well as it looks on paper, it'll make up for the fluffy rom-coms.
Posted Jan 18th 2010 3:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Deals, RumorMonger, War
It looks like Production Weekly spoke too soon about the upcoming feature
Held By the Taliban -- the film that would translate David Rohde's experiences as a Taliban hostage in 2008-2009 to the big screen. They claimed that
Kathryn Bigelow was
attached to direct the film, but now
The Hollywood Reporter posts that she is only one of the contenders for the directorial prize. The other:
Terrence Malick.
But it's not so easy as two directors vying for the same gig. The project package that started this buzz is Stephen Belber adapting the
New York Times' articles, with Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall producing. Malick, however, has something a little different in mind. He's expressed interest, but wants to act as producer and pitch his own take on the material.
THR states: "At this juncture, it is unlikely that Malick's and Kennedy/Marshall's projects could coexist unless there were talks to bring the parties together."
It's a tough choice. On the one hand, it's hard to beat Malick, who has created a huge name for himself out of just 5 films (including double Oscar nominee
The Thin Red Line). (Plus the upcoming film
The Tree of Life.) On the other hand, this is Bigelow. She might have watched ex-hubby steal her prize at the Globes last night, but she's still the woman who obliterated the anti-Iraq War films sentiment and remains on the tip of many movie fans' tongues.
Who would you pick?
Posted Jan 18th 2010 1:50PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Deals, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Last month, the rumor that
Tobey Maguire was interested in playing Bilbo Baggins in
The Hobbit first hit the online world (
courtesy of Latino Review) before being quickly shot down by Tobey himself as being nothing more than internet hyperbole. Though perhaps there really was something to it, as multiple sources are today claiming that Maguire has officially joined
The Hobbit as that film's lead, Bilbo Baggins (originally played by Ian Holm in the
Lord of the Rings trilogy).
The main source (which, truth be told, isn't the most reliable) is Britain's
The Sun, which uses a full page article to announce the news that Maguire has indeed come on to play Bilbo now that he's no longer needed in the Spider-Man universe. According to The Sun, a source told them the following: "Everyone is over the moon. Tobey is not only one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood, he is also one of the best actors." Adding to the "Yes, he's in!" pile,
AMC Entertainment blogger John Campea recently
tweeted that someone close to production has leaked the same news to him. He said, "I have been personally told by a source very close to Guillermo del Toro that it's true... Tobey Maguire IS The Hobbit."
If this is true, and the deal is done, we should expect an official announcement to arrive pretty much immediately (as in tomorrow or later this week). Until then there's a very good chance all those in the know (reps, studio, etc ..) will deny these reports because that's usually how they play ball until it's time for the real announcement. In the meantime, all we can do is report on what's slowly trickling around these here internets and let you be the judge.
What do you think? Do you like Maguire in the role? Do you see Spidey as a hobbit?
Posted Jan 18th 2010 11:02AM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Sports, Deals, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
Lest you think that product placement is limited to big-budget, big-star movies, be assured that independent filmmakers are not entirely adverse to the idea of exchanging screen time for financial or promotional support. Crooked Arrows, an independent sports film scheduled to begin production this spring, will be exclusively sponsored by Reebok, according to AdAge.com. Reebok will use the film as a springboard to promote its lines of lacrosse equipment and apparel. Owing to the early involvement of Reebok, the filmmakers have been able to "secure [the] bulk of their financing, and also guarantees distribution for a nationwide release of at least 250 theaters in 2011."
The official site for Crooked Arrows makes comparisons to "heroic team sports movies," such as Bad News Bears, Hoosiers, Mighty Ducks, and Miracle. The story follows a mixed-blood Native American who becomes the coach of his reservation's high school lacrosse team, competing against "the better equipped and better trained players of the elite Prep School League," per the synopsis. Steve Rash (Bring It On: All or Nothing, Road Trip: Beer Pong) will direct.
Jacques Vroom, marketing director for the film, pointed out: "Normally to raise money, you take a movie to festivals and pray someone picks it up for distribution. With independent movies, the reality is these deals are rare." It's a dilemma that's facing all the filmmakers coming to Sundance and Slamdance this week. Along with tremendous excitement, there's also the genuine concern that some very good films will never see the inside of a movie theater again, simply because, in a tightening market, only a few will be anointed with the oil of a distribution deal and thus (hopefully) recuperate some or all of the production cost.
Posted Jan 18th 2010 10:02AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Horror, Deals, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels
One of the big questions surrounding the
Scream 4 sequel/reboot/whatever-you-want-to-call-it was whether
Wes Craven would come back to the helm. Last we heard in October,
the rumor mill said he was in. Now? Craven's involvement depends on which Arquette you talk to. At the Golden Globes red carpet,
MTV hit up
David Arquette and
Courteney Cox with the big question. Seeming like he'd agree with everything to move on down the carpet, David said: "Yes, Wes is in; Neve is in; everyone is in." However, wife Courteney quickly back-tracked: "I know they're trying to make that work. They'll make it work ... I hope."
Month by month, everyone seems to think that Wes is going to sign on, but the confirmation never comes. When Neve Campbell said as much to
MTV back in December, she also said production would start in April, so there's not much time left for Craven to make up his mind. According to his
IMDb bio -- he almost turned down
Scream, so this may just be jitters. However, he's already got
My Soul to Take on the way, plus three more projects in development -- more than enough for a director who has only completed three completed films and one short in the last decade. On the other hand, what I remember most about
Red Eye was how much the house and house scenes seemed like
Scream. If that familiarity continues in his new features, maybe he should at least keep it within the right franchise.
What do you think? Should Craven bother? And if not him, who?
Posted Jan 15th 2010 7:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Deals
What do you do after you throw a bomb disposal team into Iraq and chaos? A move that doesn't quite earn you widespread cinematic success, but a strong and irrefutable showing in awards circles and best-of lists? If you're
Kathryn Bigelow, you go after the Taliban.
Production Weekly's Twitter feed reports that the hands behind
The Hurt Locker will now wrap around
Held By the Taliban -- a film based on
a series of New York Times articles written by David Rohde.
In November of 2008, Rohde was in Afghanistan researching a new book "about the squandered opportunities to bring stability back to the region." Along with Afghan journalist Tahir Luddin and driver Asad Mangal, he was headed to interview Taliban commander Abu Tayyeb. The car was intercepted, however, and the trio were kidnapped by another Taliban commander, Mullah Atiqullah. Rohde was held hostage for seven months and ten days until he managed to escape and write about his experiences.
It looks like Bigelow's found a theme she's comfortable with, and I've got to give her credit for taking her own road, rather than trying to play the Hollywood game. Then again, it'd be nice to see a little more pulp again -- it's been a long time since the days of
Near Dark, Point Break, and
Strange Days.
Posted Jan 14th 2010 3:32PM by John Gholson
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Lionsgate Films, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
Quick -- someone spot me $15 million! I want to own the
Terminator franchise! No? Then can someone let James Cameron know I've just found the perfect gift he could buy for himself with that new mountain of
Avatar cash?
If nobody steps up,
Terminator will go to Lionsgate (according to
L.A. Times). That's like Kia getting the rights to manufacture their own Bentley. What the heck is Lionsgate going to do with
Terminator? The company has experience with exactly three and one-half franchises --
Saw,
Transporter,
Crank, and
The Punisher. Do any of those films get you excited about the prospect of a
Terminator sequel from Lionsgate? Does Jason Statham seem like a natural fit for the series?
There was one place left for the Terminator series to go, and McG fumbled that potential with
Terminator Salavation. Really, what's next? I can only imagine Lionsgate is thinking "REMAKE!" which is no better an idea than a
Terminator 5 at this point. My fingers are crossed that they'll only use the property for licensing (comics, video games, toys, apparel, etc.), and realize that the film series has painted itself into a creative corner. For $15 million, the property comes cheap enough that another film doesn't
have to be an option.
Posted Jan 14th 2010 9:03AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Thrillers, Deals, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
It's not only geek fare that gets the sequel love. In a fairly surprising twist,
The Hollywood Reporter posts that Paramount is looking to develop a sequel to the 2005 thriller,
Four Brothers.
Mark Wahlberg, who starred in the original alongside Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garret Hedlund, is credited with scheming up this sequel idea with the first film's writers -- David Elliot and Paul Lovett. Now Lorenzo Di Bonaventura is back to produce, the pair are writing the script, and it will be called ...
Five Brothers, which makes no sense.
If you recall, the original saw these four adopted brothers coming together to avenge their mother's death.
Spoiler alert -- not all of them make it. So four brothers, partially depleted, and then sent into a sequel called
Five Brothers? The plot is being kept hidden for the time being, and
THR rightly notes that it's not clear whether
any of the actors would return. I mean, how could they and have the plot make sense? Most families don't gain a few brothers after mom dies. Then again, this is Hollywood, so anything is possible.
The original cost $45 mil and made a
decent gross of $92 mil worldwide. Will that translate into another success? Is this really a film that warrants a sequel? Me, I'd much prefer a new sequel that has Wahlberg reveling in nothingness while smashing balloons into his face. But what about you? Sound off below.
Posted Jan 13th 2010 5:15PM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Independent, Deals, Box Office, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what's new and upcoming in the wonderful world of independent film. Pictured above, clockwise from upper left: Watercolors, Down Terrace, The Human Centipede (First Sequence), The Dungeon Masters.
Deals. Regent Releasing has acquired
Watercolors, a drama directed by David Oliveras. Flashbacks reveal the troubled relationship between Danny (Tye Olson), a budding artist, and Carter (Kyle Clare), a high school swimming star. Years later, Danny is still dealing with the aftershocks. "Writer/director David Oliveras has created a powerful and erotic feature length debut," wrote Gregg Shapiro in
Chicago Free Press. The film plays in New York and Los Angeles starting on January 22 as part of a three-film series, and starts January 29 in San Francisco. More information is available at the
official site.
Our friends at
indieWIRE report that Magnet Releasing has picked up Ben Wheatley's
Down Terrace, described as a criminal 'genre bender.' Our own
William Goss saw it at Fantastic Fest and wrote: "No effects, no names, no nothing but drama unfolding as it should, or rather, as it would. No, it may not fit the traditional bill for Fantastic Fest fare, but it sure is one fantastic film."
Down Terrace will play at Slamdance later this month and at other festivals this spring, with a theatrical release anticipated this summer.
The distribution rights to another Fantastic Fest title,
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) have been acquired by IFC Films.
indieWIRE says it will be available via the IFC in Theaters platform. Check the
Cinematical review by Todd Gilchrist, who saw it at Screamfest.
After the jump:
On Demand viewing tips -- The Dungeon Masters are coming! -- and a sweet and crazy Indie Weekend Box Office report.
Continue reading Indie Roundup: 'Watercolors,' 'Down Terrace,' 'Human Centipede'
Posted Jan 13th 2010 4:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Deals
Could this be anything but a big creative mess?
As Elisabeth noted back in November,
The Tourist is awash in creative differences. It started with Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron, then Angelina Jolie and Sam Worthington, then director
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Worthington left as Depp signed on. Now...
Variety reports that von Donnersmarck is back at the helm, Depp and Jolie haven't gone anywhere, and unless that itchy creative differences monster rears its ugly head again, the production will start this spring.
This struggling project is the remake of the French film
Anthony Zimmer, about a wanted man who changes his face and the mistress who is instructed to get the police off his tail by grabbing a stranger to take the fall. In this new incarnation (unless something's changed), an
American on vacation in Europe "gets sucked into a dark world of espionage when an Interpol agent taps him to help her catch a sneaky bad guy."
Between the struggles of Jolie's
Salt, and the revolving door of
The Tourist, it's easy to feel apprehensive about how this will all play out. Have the issues finally been ironed out for von Donnersmarck? I'm hoping so, because the man crafted one hell of a beautiful film with
The Lives of Others, and it'd be a shame to see his follow-up be a flop. But only time will tell.
Posted Jan 13th 2010 12:45PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Deals, Home Entertainment
All of the big 3 are now in the Netflix biz. First came the Xbox,
then the PS3, and now -- the Wii!
The New York Times reports that the Netflix streaming video service will be available for the Nintendo Wii starting this spring. As long as you have at least the $9/month subscription to Netflix's DVD-by-mail, you can use your console to watch movies at no additional cost. However, like the PS3, a free software disc will be necessary to take advantage of the partnership.
This certainly gives the Wii a new perk alongside its maniacal gesture games, but there is also a big fault when it comes to Nintendo's offering -- unlike the other consoles that offer streaming video, the Wii can't handle high definition. So, should you not care, or just want to see some plain ol' regular-definition flicks, all will be fine. Then again, the
Times notes: "Some analysts and industry observers expect Nintendo to announce a new Wii HD version of its console next year."
Personally, I think merging the gestures with the films is much more attractive than buying a new console for HD. Think about it -- while the home theater experience has way too many bells and whistles these days, imagine the ability to train the remote to a certain character and shut them up if the dialog is crappy, or, if you want to add your own. It would be like movies-meets Choose Your Own Adventure-meets-MST3k!
Then again, I'd be happy if Netflix streaming was simply available in Canada.
Posted Jan 12th 2010 8:15PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Scripts, War
There was a little spec script picked up back in 2008 called
The Lost Patrol. According to
The Hollywood Reporter, it was written by Matt Cirulnick and focused on a future where "humans have lost a war to an enemy race" and followed "an uprising led by a young man who escapes the prisons where humans are being held." Basically, a film that sounded a lot like
Terminator without the machines.
After chilling for a good 16 months,
THR reports that
Stephen Norrington -- the man who directed
Blade and
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman -- has signed on to write his own take on the tale, while also eying it as a directorial gig. But now it's not some future fest. The future -- which left the
Terminator franchise in shambles -- has been tossed aside for a much more trendy time thanks to
Inglourious Basterds: World War II. Now it is being described as "a supernatural action thriller set against the backdrop of World War II."
THR says the director promises that the project will "hit all of his 'geek buttons' and contains 'hardware, heroes, grime, insane monsters.'"
I can't help but wonder if some of the original plot points will stick, and if so, will this feature somehow try to combine concentration camps with "insane monsters" and "prisons where humans are being held"? Who knows, but as it stands, it sounds like Legendary Pictures is getting Norrington to put together a puzzle of all the little things that have worked in other movies. Do you think it could come together and form a tight and engaging puzzle, or will it just be a big ol' mess?
Posted Jan 12th 2010 9:48AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Thrillers, Deals, Scripts
I don't know what it is about Alfred Hitchcock, but his cinematic interests seem to be in the go-to trunk for studios needing young adult entertainment. We've gotten the young and craptacular spin on
Rear Window with
Disturbia, and now
Variety reports that FilmNation Entertainment and A Bigger Boat are joining forces to bring us a new psychological thriller called
House at the End of the Street.
While not a remake -- thank god -- the
Jonathan Mostow-penned feature is said to be in the vein of
Psycho, "aimed at a contemporary young audience." Universal was originally cooking up the feature, but it got flipped into turnaround before this partnership snapped it up. FilmNation's Aaron Ryder says: "We believe this will be to
Psycho what
Disturbia was to
Rear Window, but with the addition of a strong female lead." In other words -- Marion Crane is going to rip through that shower curtain and turn the tables on that wig-wearing knife wielder?
Strong female leads are great, of course, but I really hate the notion that you need a new film to bring Hitchcockian themes to a new audience. Both
Rear Window and
Psycho were well before my time, but I was able to access and enjoy them without a new mediator. Furthermore, having seen
Disturbia, saying "what
Disturbia was to
Rear Window" is tantamount to saying "we want to take a great film and morph it into something crappy for the kiddies."
Stick with the real Hitchcock, kids.
Posted Jan 11th 2010 5:15PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Deals, Fandom, War
It's hard
not to be intrigued when James Cameron's name pops up in movie news. He's created some of Hollywood's biggest hits, and always seems to have something up his sleeve to impress us. But for the first time in a long time, or maybe ever, Cameron news made my mind say:
YES. As
Erik told us last week, the director recently met one of the last remaining survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings (who has since died), and then optioned the new book
Last Train to Hiroshima, which details a number of accounts of those who experienced the atomic bomb firsthand.
James Cameron would be the perfect director for this piece of history. Many of us may question his commitment to plot and writing, but there's no doubt that he's one hell of a visually dynamic storyteller. If a solid writer penned a script from Charles Pellegrino's non-fiction tome, then handed it over to Cameron, the director would probably create one of the most heart-wrenching and visceral experiences Hollywood has ever seen.
Perhaps I'm heaping on the platitudes ... it certainly sounds that way, even to me! But let me go back... In 1997, I went with my family to see the wildly buzzed
Titanic. For much of the film I sat there in antsy, aggravated anticipation. The hokey love story between Rose and Jack was wretched, and I wondered how much the audience would have to endure before the action began. And then the Titanic hit that dreaded piece of ice and began its all-too-quick descent into the icy water. I was transfixed and horrified at the same time, as if my body was reacting to a sticky emotional trigger.
Continue reading Why James Cameron Needs to Direct 'Hiroshima'
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