There's a really neat-sounding small-scale sci-fi project in development at Overture Films called Pandorum. But for the news that Paul W.S. Anderson is involved, I'd be really excited. Pandorum will be about two spaceship crewmen who wake up on their ship with no idea who they are or what they're supposed to be doing. Soon, they "make a discovery that threatens the survival of mankind."
Anderson didn't write and won't be directing the film -- those tasks both fall to relative unknowns -- but he is reteaming with his Resident Evil cohorts to produce it. He's not exactly on my must list these days, since the Resident Evil franchise has pretty much died under his supervision and AvP isn't exactly a venerable addition to the list of ongoing big-name series. Pandorum's premise sounds cool, but then so did Event Horizon's until you actually learned what was going on. In any case, Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster (in a possible rare non-psychopathic role?) have signed on to star as our heroes, which is good news. I guess the big question is what exactly the two of them "discover" on that spaceship.
Pandorum is supposed to start production in August in Berlin, according to the Variety piece; no word on a release date. Sci-fi fans, make a note of it.
I don't think it will be quite like the clip above, but we're about to get a new serving of William Tell. Variety reports that producers Fred Caruso and D. Constantine Conte are bringing Tell's story to the big screen in The Adventures of William Tell. Stunt coordinator and second AD Ian Quinn is going to make his directorial debut with the $60 million production, which was adapted from Friedrich von Schiller's play by Cornelius Schregle.
But here's the kicker, aside from probably hearing that super-speedy overture in a non-Lone Ranger setting -- it will star Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter, Kiera Chaplin. She will play Tell's wife in the film, although there's no word on who will play Tell himself. Now, we all know the music, but do you know the story? It's about the 14th century legend of a man who was forced to shoot an apple off of his son's head to win his freedom from some jerky Austrian occupiers. "The event is said to have triggered a rebellion by the Swiss against their Austrian rules and transformed Tell into a mythical freedom fighter." (... as well as one very sneaky and insidious song.) Production will start on the film this fall, with a release schedule for 2010.
David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos -- you know, the greatest television show of all time -- has signed on to write, produce, and direct his first feature film, for Paramount Pictures. Calm down, fans of Tony and the gang -- this will not be a Sopranos flick. In fact, Deadline Hollywood Dailydoesn't have much about the movie at all, other than that it's "an original drama," and that Brad Grey, Chase's Sopranos producing partner and CEO of Paramount, brought him on board. Chase says of their relationship: "Brad has always been adventurous as a producer and looked for different ways of doing things. I look forward to once again working with him, and now his team. For years, Brad has been a great partner, who helped enable me to do what I need to creatively."
Returning the love, Grey says "David is one of the great storytellers of our time, and his debut as a filmmaker is both highly anticipated and long overdue." I second that! "In truth, David has been creating cinematic-quality filmed drama for more than a decade – spanning nine seasons and 86 episodes of The Sopranos. Having worked with David as a producer, I'm delighted to be with him again and to bring his unique vision to the big screen." The Sopranos indeed delivered an hour-long movie each week, and each was better than 99% of films. I simply can not wait. And with the Sex and the City movie likely to be a big hit, here's hoping Chase can be talked into dropping that Sopranos movie on us and making my life worthwhile again.
Hell ... what if this "original drama" is the Sopranos movie and they're trying to keep it secret? There have been rumors swirling lately, and I don't stop believin'.
I think we've found the new directorial powerhouse of dramatic cinema. Soon we're getting Dennis Lee'sFireflies in the Garden -- a feature that stars the likes of Julia Roberts, Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, and Emily Watson, deals with a family torn by an unexpected tragedy, and is getting a good initial response. Now Variety reports that he's signing on for another heavy dramatic piece -- he will adapt and direct Brad Kessler's Birds in Fall -- a story that has even more tragedy.
It's not an upper of a premise, but the pieces sound intriguing. An innkeeper sees a plane crash into the ocean off Nova Scotia, and then prepares as the families of the victims descend upon the area. There's an ornithologist, a Bulgarian pianist, an Iranian exile, a Taiwanese couple, and a Dutch teen who stay at the inn as they try to work through his tragedy, each dealing with the loved ones they've lost.
When I first saw this headline, I thought: "Yes! Hollywood has realized there are other time periods outside of Tudor England!" Then I read the details and went, "Oh. Not really, then."
The Hollywood Reporter announced that Universal has picked up The Knights Templar, a spec script penned by Adam Torchia and Justin Stanley. Timbur Bekmambetov and Marc Platt will produce.
The story revolves around the ever popular Knights Templar, who return from the Crusades to find a vampire army, intent on destroying the Holy Grail. Whether the Grail will actually be the Cup of Christ or something to do with Mary Magdalene remains to be seen. Knights vs. Vampires! Go!
Bekmambetov, the Russian director behind Wanted, Night Watch and its sequel, is obviously no stranger to the undead. No word on who is directing, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is a chair with his name on it as it seems perfectly suited to his style. THR notes that Universal is obviously confident in Wanted, and wants to keep him in the fold.
I was really hoping for a real historical movie about the Knights Templar. They're not my favorite subject, but I'm a sucker for those historical films, especially when they involve chainmail and castles. But Hollywood never seems to regard the medieval era as anything but high fantasy fodder, which is a downright shame because there are loads of movies begging to be made. Big medieval battles are cool enough on their own without adding vampires (which will inevitably be CG) into the mix. Besides, this movie will just lead to many guys showing up at the Renaissance Faire dressed as Knights Templar, but packing stakes and garlic alongside their swords. Yeah, that matters to me. I don't lace myself up in a corset to see guys in painted bedsheets, you know.
Even with The Golden Compass sort of flaming out last fall, kids' fantasy continues to be a hot commodity. Witness the treatment that Brian Selznick's highly acclaimed illustrated novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret is currently receiving. The adaptation is being ushered into production by GK Films, whose last project was The Departed. They've recruited in-demand screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator, Sweeney Todd) to write the screenplay. And the film will be directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age, Robots), trying to make an Andrew Adamson-like break into live-action having mastered CGI animation. The plan is to start filming this fall, presumably with an eye toward getting the movie out by Christmas of next year.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret isn't just any old children's book. Its author says that it's "not exactly a novel, and it's not quite a picture book, and it's not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things." The New York Times called it "a silent film on paper." It's about an orphaned boy working as a clock cleaner in a Paris train station who gets embroiled in a mystery involving another of the train station's denizens. Sounds like fun, and also like an opportunity to make something generic out of something unique. Ah, but that's unfairly pessimistic (even if Robots was awful) -- I'm actually a sucker for this tyke-fantasy stuff. Another one for the ole' reading list...
According to Variety, Warner Bros has just picked up the rights to The Ditch, a sci-fi action spec from Sascha Penn. Penn is known as being a producer of documentaries and music videos, but now he's aiming to make his mark on the world of sci-fi shoot 'em ups.
Ditch is set in the future, where a maximum security prison has been constructed on Jupiter's moon to house Earth's worst criminals -- I mean, hey, you don't build a prison on the moon of Jupiter for credit card fraud. (Although, I would still like to see the skank who stole my wallet shipped there -- my ATM card doesn't work to this day, and all so she could spend $80.00 at McDonalds!) One unlucky day, a prison guard's family is taken hostage and in order to save them, he must help the most notorious prisoner escape.
This really sounds like something Kurt Russell or Arnold Schwarzenegger would have done back in the day, and maybe like something Vin Diesel would do today. I know I'm always harping on the fact that Hollywood doesn't pick up nearly enough original stories, and then when a new script gets snagged, I mock it (with affection, I assure you). But when it comes to the world of science fiction, there are so many brilliant novels and short stories just crying out to be adapted, and it frustrates me to see those passed over again and again. But never say never -- maybe an Escape from Jupiter's High Security Facility can give us a hero as awesome as Snake Plissken?
It's been a long time since John Francis Daley made a cult name for himself on Freaks and Geeks. Since then, he's popped up on a bunch of other television shows, from the one-season Kitchen Confidential to the current skeleton-solving Bones, but he's also building a pretty sweet screenwriting gig for himself. Last year, the writer/actor sold a spec called The $40,000 Man for Terry Zwigoff to direct, and now The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's teaming with Jonathan Goldstein (The New Adventures of Old Christine) to rewrite Greg Pace's family comedy, currently titled Fun.
Honestly, it does sound like fun -- sort of Jumanji meets Mad Magazine. Remember all those back-page ads in comics and kids mags that would give you seemingly immense power for only a couple of bucks? Well, Fun focuses on "two childhood friends who ordered a slew of novelty toys (such as X-ray glasses, Sea-Monkeys, and transforming robots) from the back pages of their late-'70s comic books. Thirty years later, the toys begin living up to their wild advertising claims, forcing the pair to save their town from ensuing chaos."
The best family movies usually merge old-school memories for the adults with funky stories for the kids, so this has a lot of potential. I just wonder how the Sea Monkeys fit in. Will they grow bigger so people can actually see them? Or will the little buggers slip into the drinking water while a poor sap tips the glass to take a drink?
My head's buzzing with all the old-school toy possibilities. What novelties would you like to see come to life?
We're already getting a bigger taste of Wolverine withX-Men Origins, and Magneto is also on the way, but now it looks like we're getting another new group picture. Black Book Magazine reportedly spoke with Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz, who says he's developing a prequel, but it isn't one like Origins. (What's with the desire for all these X-Men prequels!?)
Schwartz says: "I'm very well aware that I'll be bludgeoned by purists, but I love its mythology, and it comes with a pretty hefty paycheck." His idea for this whole affair is to follow a teen who attends the Xavier Institute. He says he won't be adding any new characters, so the question becomes: Which lucky X-Men character will Schwartz focus on? The writer goes on to diss The Incredible Hulk, saying that it "looks like it's going to be terrible. And why does he look like he's fighting against the monster from Cloverfield?" So, if he can pull this off to his tastes, it should be, at the very least, better than Hulk.
Even after the disappointment of the latest X-Men movie, I'd love to see another movie pop up with more than just Wolverine or Magneto. Unlike most action or geek fare movies, where I fall for the movie as a whole, I really dig a lot of the characters in X-Men and the way the actors portray them. I've spoken before about how much Hugh Jackman rocks as Wolverine, but there's also Magneto, Professor X, Mystique, and my other big favorite -- Anna Paquin's Rogue. But this will be something entirely different, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's a whole different set of actors. So, does this sound good to you, and which character should Schwartz be focusing on?
Back in March, Judd Apatow talked about how Will Ferrell's Ron Burgandy was the character best suited for a sequel. However, he suggested that this idea would happen in 30 years time, showing Ron as a 70-year-old anchor. Now I wonder if this was just a ploy to get buzz going, because it seems that this potential sequel is a little closer to reality. Collider talked with Anchorman's writer/director Adam McKay, and he says we won't have to wait three decades.
McKay says, "I might do this other movie called Channel 3 Billion, which is kind of this science fiction/Brazil-type comedy. Then after that, Will and I are like let's do Anchorman 2, so you're talking like years, maybe we'll do it. But we're going to do it, for sure." Collider asked if this was 100%, and McKay responded: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're dying to do it. Unless we can't get the cast together, which is always kind of a tricky thing. But, I think, with that cast we're all friends, so yeah, we want to do it."
Personally, I was hoping for more teeny tyke landlords, but this could definitely be fun. What do you think?
New Line might not be the company it once was, but they're continuing to pick up projects. The Hollywood Reporter posts that they've made its first purchase since downsizing, putting $500,000 against $1 million on the line for a comedy spec by Chad Kultgen (Average American Male) called Dan Mintner: Badass for Hire. Oh yes, it's just as it sounds.
Producer Beau Flynn says: "It's a homage to Cobra, Predator, Missing in Action. The baddest dude in the world in supertight jeans, chewing on a matchstick, stuck in the '80s but kicking ass in the present day." Being a fan of a good comedy/spoof mixed with action, this could be oh, so good, if it's teamed with the right music. It would also be awesome to see some cameos by the tough men of yesteryear (not just dudes like Van Damme or Lundgren -- I'm thinking the A-Team).
What confuses me, however, are the comparisons used in the piece. Flynn says it's an R-rated comedy in the spirit of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and the Wedding Crashers. Huh? Well, at least H&K made perfect use of a certain, grating infamous song. But the kicker in this -- who could play Dan Mintner? I'd think he has to be old enough to remember the '80s, yet young enough that it isn't just some old dude trying to be bad. Any ideas?
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, the sequel to the modern stoner classic Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, hit theaters last Friday. I sat down with the film's writer/directors -- Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg -- a few days after the release of their film. In the interest of journalistic integrity (and shameless name-dropping), I should tell you that the gentlemen are friends of mine, and all around great dudes.
Cinematical: How did the Hurwitz/Schlossberg magic begin?
Jon Hurwitz: Hayden and I became friends on the Randolph High School debate team and connected over a common love of comedy. We were both obsessed with the movies of the Farrelly Brothers and the Zucker Brothers. We loved Howard Stern. We thought it would be amazing if we could actually make movies one day. But it felt like it was the most unrealistic goal of all time for a couple of dudes hanging out in a basement in New Jersey. What changed everything for us was that in high school we were known for coming up with really funny "Would you rather?" scenarios. We came up with a list of 250 that we were going to try to get published.
Cinematical: What was the best one?
JH: "If you had to be sexually abused, would you rather it be by an android or a Muppet?" Cinematical: Muppet. It's softer. Hayden Schlossberg: Exactly. Plain and simple. It would hurt less. That is the correct answer.
Holy crap! We're getting a horror flick that's not a remake! And it's one that sounds strange enough that it might actually be fun, if they pull it together right. Variety reports that Master P and his young offspring Lil' Romeo are going to star in a slasher film called The Pig People, which will be directed by David Grueringer. As they describe it, some college students head out to a haunted forest for some reason, where they get terrorized by "half-swine, half-human creatures."
Scary pig people warrants further research, so this is what I've found. AllHipHop says that Romeo will play TJ, one of the students who head into the woods. The reason for this excursion: They're shooting a documentary for their film class about these unsolved murders that have led to myths about scary pig people. Talk about dumb -- I can see a myth with no facts, but I'm not so sure I'd set out to debunk a myth in the woods when the killer is still at large! Oh, stupid people and horror films. Master P, meanwhile, is co-starring as the villain, which, I imagine, means we'll see him in pig face.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to listen to some Pigface.
It's not the debt of a big-budget film, but rather, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Miramax has nabbed a spec for the remake of the Israeli thriller The Debt. Matthew Vaughn, who directed Layer Cake and collaborates with Guy Ritchie, wrote the remake with writing partner Jane Goldman.
The film focuses on "three Mossad agents who, 20 years after World War II's end, learn that a Nazi war criminal is still alive, and set out to pursue him across Europe." But it's a little more than that, according to the summary of the original on IMDb. In 1965, this Nazi criminal broke out of the safehouse where he was held, and the agents who kept him there saved their own hides by claiming that he committed suicide. However, an article in a small-town paper pops up in the '90s, which says he's alive and willing to admit his crimes. The agents, now old men, concoct a scheme to finish the job and save their reputations. I imagine the "debt" comes in when they convince the woman who was with them and led to the criminal's escape, to do the deed.
For whatever reason, Vaughn is not planning to direct this script, and a bunch of other directors are said to be interested. Guy Ritchie maybe? Nah, he's busy trying to fix his own career.
If any of you out there have seen the film, what do you think?
If you thought leading a revolution was easy, try filming one. In The Huffington Post, Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere discusses Steven Soderbergh's two-part Che Guevara biopic, comprised of The Argentine and Guerilla. Despite earlier rumors to the contrary, it appears that both movies will definitely screen next month at the Cannes Film Festival, where Soderbergh was warmly welcomed last year for the premiere of Ocean's Thirteen. The reception of his latest project could be even more positive, but its distribution prospects are another story: As Wells explains, Soderbergh's project guarantees to offend some people for its apparent exclusion of Che's stint as the overlord at La Cabana fortress, where he ordered the execution of over 600 political prisoners. Add to that the heavy amount of Spanish dialog and the director's insistence that the two movies should be enjoyed as a four hour-plus package, and you've got enough red flags to send even the bravest U.S. distributors packing.
Wells, who read both scripts, analogizes the project to Lawrence of Arabia. "Hey, how about presenting the two films as a single, gargantuan Lawrence of Arabia-styled deal with an intermission, running between four or four and a half hours?" he suggests, perhaps somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
Jon Stewart had it right during the Oscars this year when he ironically geeked out over Lawrence of Arabia on an iPod. If most audiences can't appreciate that movie on the big screen now, why would they turn up for something like this?
There's a really neat-sounding small-scale sci-fi project in development at Overture Films called Pandorum. But for the news that Paul W.S. Anderson is involved, I'd be really excited. Pandorum will be about two spaceship crewmen who wake up on their ship with no idea who they are or what they're supposed to be doing. Soon, they "make a discovery that threatens the survival of mankind." 
I think we've found the new directorial powerhouse of dramatic cinema. Soon we're getting 
When I first saw this headline, I thought: "Yes! Hollywood has realized there are other time periods outside of Tudor England!" Then I read the details and went, "Oh. Not really, then."
Even with The Golden Compass sort of flaming out last fall, kids' fantasy continues to be a hot commodity. Witness the treatment that Brian Selznick's highly acclaimed illustrated novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret is currently receiving. The adaptation is being ushered into production by GK Films, whose last project was 
This sounds like a job for Snake Plissken.
It's been a long time since 
We're already getting a bigger taste of Wolverine with 
Back in March, Judd Apatow 
New Line might not be the company it once was, but they're continuing to pick up projects. 
Holy crap! We're getting a 
It's not the debt of a big-budget film, but rather, 
If you thought leading a revolution was easy, try filming one. In 
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Cinematical Seven: When an Animated Series Goes Live Action ... and Gets it Right_thumbnail.jpg)
Full 'G.I. Joe' Cast Photos!
Fan Rant: The Selling Out of Heath Ledger
