ChrisPine Tagged Articles at Cinematical

A mere week after Sony canned Steven Soderbergh's Moneyball, another big-budget film may have bitten the dust. Fox is putting the breaks on Tony Scott's next project, Unstoppable, over budget concerns, and may can the project altogether.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was set to begin shooting in fall, and Denzel Washington and Chris Pine were attached to play the leads. But none of the acting deals have been officially closed, and not even Scott is definitively signed to the project. Fox is growing more and more concerned about the cost of production on the thriller, which would be quite high -- after all, it centers around a runaway train loaded with toxic chemicals, and it's being stopped by the $20 million dollar Denzel Washington. While the film isn't in as much production peril as Moneyball, its budget is definitely a roadblock, and fat will have to be trimmed somewhere. Maybe they can make a smaller train, or just have it be an unstoppable semi-truck, or maybe some of the A-Listers can take a pay cut ... something like that.

This summer has seen a lot of big-budget films falter at the box office, so studio hesitations are understandable, and budget trimming has been a long time coming. Though I do love a good action flick, I'm neither here nor there about the plot of Unstoppable, but it would be a shame for Pine to lose his next big role, and kill his Captain Kirk Buzz. So let's hope they figure out how to cut some corners.

Just because Tony Scott decided to put the brakes on his A L I E N prequel, doesn't mean that he won't have plenty of projects to keep him busy in the meantime. For starters; there's his Warriors update, a sequel to his 1983 vampire flick, The Hunger, and the action flick Unstoppable with Chris Pine starting this fall. But that's not all, because now the director has been talking about an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's non-fiction classic, Hell's Angels. In an interview with Coming Soon, Scott confirmed that Traffic's Stephen Gaghan has already been hired to write the script, and while Scott claims to own the rights to Thompson's book, there is still confusion over what Gaghan will be using for the script. According to the "motorcycle club's" legal counsel, Scott's film will be based on the book, Hell's Angels: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club -- but my guess is that the script will be a blending of the two books.

The Wild One may have brought bikers into the popular consciousness, but by the time the 60's hit, clubs like The Hell's Angels were a status symbol for the counter-culture. Thompson's book was one of the first accurate looks inside the 'gang', but was a far cry from his usual 'gonzo' work. Which isn't necessarily the best fit for the kind of flashy action movie you expect from Scott, but luckily Gaghan has a knack for making sense of complicated subject matter. There is no word yet on whether Scott will just produce, or whether he will direct the film as well. But, the Scott brothers seem to have a thing for packing their schedules, and unfortunately, they tend to bite off a little more than they can chew.

After the jump; updates on Tony Scott's other projects...

For a while it looked like Unstoppable was, indeed, stoppable. Martin Campbell was prepping the project in 2007, and then the project slipped into the void of development hell. But now the train is back on track, Tony Scott is leading the rush, and he's grabbed Denzel Washington and Captain James T. Kirk.

While chatting with Washington, MTV learned about Chris Pine's involvement in the upcoming action film, and just how this feature is going to shape up: "I'm going to shoot a movie in the fall called Unstoppable -- me and Tony Scott -- and Chris Pine's going to do it with us. I hope I'm not speaking out of line. I think they made a deal with him, and I'm supposed to meet him next week."

Scott has described the project as "Speed on steroids," so this should be fun, popcorn action fare. Based on an actual event, the film will focus on an engineer who teams up with a young train conductor (we presume Pine) to stop a runaway train full of toxic chemicals. Since the story has some truth to it, Scott plans to shoot it like a documentary, a la Touching the Void.

Personally, I kinda wish it was Silver Steak on steroids, but Chris Pine is no Gene Wilder, and Denzel Washington is no Richard Pryor.

This week's very solid edition of Saturday Night Live, starring Justin Timberlake (now officially one of the show's greatest all-time hosts), featured a few special guests during the "Weekend Update" segment. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto arrived first to assuage long-time Star Trek fans' fears about the new film, and then Leonard Nimoy came out to give his authoritative seal of approval (which, if you think about it, is why he's in the movie, too).

The segment is only mildly funny, but it does lead up to a classic closing line, one that's right up there with Shatner's "Get a life!" routine back in 1986. (If you're wondering, Shatner and Patrick Stewart have each hosted SNL once, but Nimoy never has, and neither have any of the various Star Treks' other stars.) The version on Hulu must be taken from the dress rehearsal (they do that sometimes), as it's ever-so-slightly different from the one that aired live on Saturday night. Enjoy.

Not many movie-going summers have had the good sense or fortune to formally kick themselves off with the likes of Hugh Jackman and his razor-sharp jazz hands, but as these are the times in which we live in, it's a clear indication that we're in for about eighteen weeks of spectacular spectaculars worth gulping down popcorn and guzzling down pop* with.

Eugene's already shone the spotlight on a fair amount of smaller titles worth your while, so our staff tried to keep the focus on that which we haven't seen, those spectacles for which we're most excited and least likely to text during. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: sit down and shut up, because these are the seven movies that we're fairly f**kin' pumped for.

(*Okay, I pretty much never call soda that, but you get the idea.)

There are times when shocking casting twists can work. If studios listened to fans and naysayers, we probably wouldn't have had the fortune of seeing Michael Keaton as Batman. But that doesn't mean that every shocker is a good idea.

According to MTV, our illustrious new Captain Kirk wants to fulfill his childhood fantasies and enter The A-Team fold. It seems that Chris Pine really loves the show, and is so keen on being a part of the big-screen adaptation that he's actually talked with his Smokin' Aces helmer Joe Carnahan about the possibility. Any A-Team fan would immediately think: Face -- Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck is the most obvious choice, Pine being a looker and all. But oh no. He wants someone else. He's not crazy enough to tackle a little BA, so that leaves two -- a cigar-chomping leader or a mad man. Pine's choice: "Howling Mad" Murdock: "Murdock is my man. I love Murdock."
I can't fault anyone for loving the show that much, but I don't think anyone would pick him for Murdock. (And wouldn't fandom make you prefer to have the best actor for each part rather than just selfish fantasy fulfillment?) Last time I wrote about the project, you guys had a number of great Murdock possibilities: Jim Carrey, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Jason Lee, Steve Carell, and Bruce Campbell.

Could Chris Pine fit into those ranks? I think not. Just take a look here. If we cute-boy up this feature, we'll get nothing more than a disappointing Dukes of Hazard.

So Erik-with-a-k covered the coming comedies of 2009, Scott was all over the horror picks (though his inclusion of Race to Witch Mountain still boggles my mind), Eric-with-a-c nabbed the family-friendly fare, and Elisabeth went over the geek fodder that awaits. But while I respect their calendar years and made-up math alike, I've opted to divide my list of 2009's action and adventure flicks into four categories: Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About, Action Flicks I Couldn't Care Less About, Action Flicks That I Hope Surprise Me, and Those Which Fell In Between. Enjoy!

Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About: First and foremost -- Watchmen (March 6th). It's one hell of a graphic novel and looks to be one hell of an adaptation (with or without the Giant Blank), but the only problem is it may not hit theaters on time if 20th Century Fox has anything to say about it. Both Fox and Warner Brothers are fighting over who actually owns the rights, and if a judge favors Fox comes January 20th (when the court date is set), we're looking at a delayed release and a whole ton of angry fans. Then there's Public Enemies (July 1st), which has me sold on not the subject matter, but sheer pedigree: Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as '30s gangsters. (It doesn't hurt that the earliest word ranges from damn good to great.) On the skimpier side, I can only hope that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17th) streamlines its source material as the previous one had, and I can only hope that Crank 2: High Voltage (April 17th) lives up/down to the depravity of its predecessor. There's one last action movie that I couldn't care more about because, well, I've already seen a version of it. The international cut of Taken (January 30th, though reportedly opening with some R-dodging trims) is about as brisk and butt-kicking as one might hope out of a man-on-a-mission kidnapping thriller, and if you disagree, I'll send Liam Neeson to change your mind.

Gallery: Watchmen

A new trailer for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek has just debuted over at AICN, but be warned that it's exactly like the other trailer save for one particular scene that comes right at the end. Yup, I won't tell you exactly what happens, but one look at the image above and you can imagine what you'll see. This particular scene was part of the four Cinematical screened last week, and it takes place on the icy planet where Kirk (Chris Pine) gets sent to. It's there where he meets an older version of Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) and a younger version of Scotty (Simon Pegg). Check out the trailer over at AICN. Star Trek hits theaters on May 8.

Also, a brand new motion poster for Terminator: Salvation just arrived online (check it out at this link). Really digging these flash posters -- this particular one begins on an overhead shot of Los Angeles before slowly transforming into the face of our favorite robot via explosions and fire. Oh, and don't forget that memorable score. Sweet. Terminator Salvation hits theaters on May 22.

"I've never been a fan of Star Trek. It's true, I never quite got it." -- J.J. Abrams

Last night Cinematical had the chance to screen roughly 20 minutes of footage from the new Star Trek film alongside select journalists, Paramount executives and Trek director J.J. Abrams. Four scenes in total, each was a fairly critical component of the film -- and while hardcore Trekkers may have a few problems with the final product, there's no denying this rebooted version of Star Trek will kick off the summer of '09 in spectacular fashion.

Below, I'll give you a very brief summary of each scene, then spit out a few initial thoughts on it all before providing a few movie facts (based on what we learned last night). Some of this info will come as a welcomed surprise to those faithful out there, and some ... well ... let's begin, shall we:

Note: We'll be discussing plot points, so there will be spoilers ahead.

Scene Summary

1. Kirk's Introduction -- This was our first introduction to the Chris Pine version of Kirk -- a somewhat disheveled, but great looking punk who hangs around the Starfleet bar looking to pick up chicks. His wooing of one such chick -- who goes by the name of Uhura (Zoe Saldana) -- winds up getting Kirk into trouble with some of the boys. A fight ensues, and a man by the name of Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) steps in to save the day before urging Kirk to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Starfleet.

Thankfully, this time around the images aren't spread clear across these internets on several different sites. Nope, this time the new Star Trek photos come courtesy of those nuts over at Empire, who've revealed two new stills from the film (one of which you can see above), as well as a cover featuring the new Kirk and Spock. I especially like the image they threw together below -- re-creating that classic Kirk and Spock pose with the newbies, played by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.



So far all the images released look pretty rad, though there's a lot riding on that new trailer playing before Quantum of Solace (in theaters November 14), and I have a feeling we'll be discussing that bad boy for awhile after it makes its official online debut. In case you missed them, check out all the previously-released Star Trek images in the gallery below. Star Trek beams itself into theaters on May 8.