Carl Ellsworth Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Since I'm resigned to the fact that everything is going to be remade sooner or later, the best I can hope for is that at least studios will hire people who know what they're doing. On that note, there's a ray of hope for MGM's Red Dawn remake because Latino Review reports that Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) has been hired to do a rewrite. I've got nothing against the project's original scribe, Carl Ellsworth, but if I had to choose between the two, I would much rather go with the writer of those Bourne films than the writer of Disturbia.

Yesterday, it was announced that Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki will star alongside Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) in the tale of a group of teens turned militia men better known as the Wolverines. According to THR, Hemsworth will play the group's leader, Jed Eckert (originally played by Patrick Swayze), and Peck will be reprising Charlie Sheen's role as Jed's younger brother, with Palicki filling in for Jennifer Grey as the tough-as-nails fighter and love interest for Jed. In the original film, our heroes went up against invading Communist hoards, but for the update it has been changed from Communists to a more generic threat of Russian and Chinese military.

Now I've decided that I won't get worked up about a remake unless the movie was good in the first place, and unfortunately my love of Dawn is more about nostalgia than the film itself. But you can't deny it's become a little outdated over the years (is anyone that worried about Communist invaders anymore?) -- but Gilroy has a way with smart action films, so I'll remain optimistic that he can pull it off ... how about you?

Red Dawn is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2010.

As a culture, we tend to recycle our stories, and no, not always out of laziness or a need for one big opening weekend (though that plays an increasing part). No, the old and the familiar play out time and time again because their conflicts and themes resonate across generations, and because the scenario at hand might lend itself to more apt commentary as time passes and people change. In terms of genre, rarely does this seem more common than with tragedies, and in turn, horror films in particular have a habit of bringing the boogeymen back to haunt us. That's the reason zombies won't stay dead. That's the reason body snatchers insist on invading. And that might be the reason why a fourth incarnation of The Last House on the Left is now willing -- and able -- to force itself upon our collective conscience.

The original was a sea of '80s names we grew to love over those ten years -- Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, and Jennifer Grey. A year after The Outsiders stood up to the socs, Ponyboy and Darry were facing the Russians. But facing them again all these years later? Scott shared news of the plan in May, and now we're one step closer to this sucky idea becoming a reality.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that this remake will be written by Red Eye and Disturbia scribe Carl Ellsworth and directed by Dan Bradley, a stunt guy who has also worked as a second AD on flicks from Three Kings to Quantum of Solace. Ellsworth says: "The tone is going to be very intense, very much keeping in mind the post-9/11 world that we're in. As Red Dawn scared the heck out of people in 1984, we feel that the world is kind of already filled with a lot of paranoia and unease, so why not scare the hell out of people again?"

Um ... maybe because Cuba and Russia never invaded, so as much as it touched on Cold War fears, it was still outside of reality? If they're playing up 9/11 fears in the world, I think the outcome could prove to be a little different -- more reliving horrors than tapping into fears, and who wants to pay to see that?

What's truly scary: "As the studio regroups, its executives have realized that the strong MGM library has numerous classic and cult properties it can exploit for a new audience." I think it's time to stage a coup, or a hostile takeover.

Dreamworks is firming up the details for the thriller Disturbia, their first production since being acquired by Paramount at the end of last year. The film is centered around a high school student - to be played by Shia LaBeouf - struggling to deal with the death of his father. When the boy is sentenced to house arrest following "an outburst of anger at school," he, Rear Window-style, becomes convinced that his neighbor is a serial killer. Working from a script by Christopher Landon (which was subsequently rewritten by Red Eye scribe Carl Ellsworth), D.J. Caruso (who made The Salton Sea and Two for the Money, in addition to doing a ton of TV work) will direct.

Since audiences loved Red Eye, and LaBeouf has be consistently praised by critics pretty much no matter what he does, it sounds like this one might have some potential. Plus, the story is creepy as hell. Filming is set to begin at the end of this month for a 2007 release.