D.J. Caruso Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When we last heard about New Line's adaptation of Jack and the Giant Killer, the fantasy tale was being helmed by D.J. Caruso. It started popping up on Bryan Singer's To Do list when they announced the inexplicable Excalibur remake -- but now it's become official, as The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Jack will be Singer's next film, leaving Caruso free to work on Y: The Last Man if he so chooses.

Jack is a slight reworking of (shocker!) Jack and the Beanstalk with a dash of The Brave Little Tailor. It dispenses with that "I'll sell you some magic beans, and some oceanfront property in Arizona" trope, and is instead set in motion when a giant kidnaps a princess. Obviously, that premeditated action is unacceptable, and it threatens the longstanding peace between men and giants. A young farmer named Jack is given the task to lead an expedition to the giants' kingdom in the hopes of rescuing her. Mark Bomback and Darren Lemke penned the script, which is reportedly a more mature take on the fairy tale than you or I might expect. I don't think that means any rampant sex, violence, or cussing but rather that it'll feature the kind of unblinking action that Lord of the Rings did. I mean, Jack's fighting giants. That's hardcore when done realistically.

The project has no start date, but is being fast-tracked and will be Singer's next film if something else doesn't catch his eye. There's no rumors yet as to who might play farmer Jack, but if they run into a crunch, I think our own Erik Davis still knows the script by heart. He already did a fine job on stage from all reports, and going with an original cast member is always good for the material.

Hey, now I can care about a Y: The Last Man movie again! (Harsh, but true -- I cannot tell a lie.) After months of being linked to D. J. Caruso's adaptation, Shia LaBeouf is apparently uninterested in taking the titular role.

LaBeouf told Wizard that it's too similar to his Transformers character. "You take Sam and you put a monkey on his shoulder. "I don't know if it's that big a differential. It seems like he's the ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation again. I'm not willing to make that movie currently, and may be too old to play the role by the time it does come around."

That's fine by me, although if there was a role written for LaBeouf, it was this one. Now, I'm only at the third volume (I never seem to have cash on me when I find the trades), so he may grow up and change, but on the outset Yorick is a rather immature and arrogant sort of guy. He's essentially Mutt Williams -- if Mutt was crossed with James "Sawyer" Ford's ability to drop pop culture references every two seconds. But to me, that sort of character needs a young actor who can really make him likeable under the slick smugness ... and LaBeouf isn't that guy for me. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is (though he's a little too far into his 20s), as is Daniel Radcliffe. There's a 20-something out there just dying to have a meaty, sci-fi story like this, and I will embrace him when he's cast ... unless its Zac Efron, in which case I will make a formal apology to LaBeouf.

[via Superhero Hype]

Normally I would've skipped this story and handed it to a writer who digs the more fantastical (like Elisabeth), but this little fairytale happens to holds a very special place in my heart. First off, Variety reports that D. J. Caruso (Eagle Eye) will be directing a (live-action?) version of Jack the Giant Killer, which is kinda similar to Jack and the Beanstalk, except Caruso's version will be more "adult" as it follows a young farmer who ventures off into the land of giants on a mission to save a kidnapped princess.

Why do I care so much about Jack the Giant Killer? Well, because it so happens that I played Jack in the third grade as part of my class' performance of -- yup -- Jack the Giant Killer. So speaking as someone who's battled those pesky giants before (and won!), this project will be no easy task. No word on where this leaves Caruso's adaptation of Y: The Last Man, which was supposed to start shooting early next year, but when they're looking for their Jack, one imagines the director will put a call in to the star of his previous two films first (ahem, I believe he goes by the name of LaBeouf).

Seemingly needless to say, spoilers for the Shia LaBeouf techno-thriller Eagle Eye will soon follow.

Seriously, I don't want to hear any complaints. I done warned ya.

Alright then. So, as much as the film tested my suspension of disbelief in theaters -- which it did, in no small frequency -- I pretty much went with it and enjoyed it, though nothing says studio ex machina like the rah-rah happy ending in which Shia takes several bullets while thwarting an evil computer's elaborate assassination attempt on the President of the United States and his entire Cabinet, but magically manages to make it to Michelle Monaghan's son's birthday party after all, Guitar Hero make that Rock Band in hand (hey, now that bit rhymes!).

Well, according to the video after the jump, bootlegged borrowed from the recent DVD release, another ending was actually considered... and then written... and then filmed where the kids are playing the game before it freezes up and indicates that (duh-duh-DUH!) said evil computer is back online and coming after him, them, and maybe even YOU!

So ... which ending is sillier?

When two people walk away from a high-speed car crash with nary a scratch on them, you know you're watching an action movie. When an innocent, ordinary citizen is suddenly thrust into the middle of a national security crisis, you know you're watching a paranoid conspiracy thriller. When both these conditions have been met, nothing makes much sense, and things go "boom!" every 8-10 minutes, you know you're watching Eagle Eye.

Re-teaming star Shia LaBeouf and director D.J. Caruso from last year's immensely popular, faux-Hitchcockian Disturbia, Eagle Eye, which had a special screening at Fantastic Fest with Caruso in attendance, might welcome comparisons to The Man Who Knew Too Much or The Wrong Man but is actually closer in spirit to The Net, Irwin Winkler's 1995 attempt to wrestle with identity theft and other perils of the information age. Like that movie, Eagle Eye exploits the all too common fear of technology, but shoves the premise way past common sense, positing a world in which an anonymous voice on a cell phone holds the power of life and death over complete strangers.

With this role, LaBeouf ascends definitively into the Hollywood firmament of stars. While this may be good news for his legion of young fans and his accountant, it's bad news for the moral possibilities of the character he plays. Looking like Seth Rogen's younger brother with a scruffy beard and threadbare clothes, Jerry Shaw is a prodigal son living on the cheap in Chicago. He's devastated when he learns that his twin brother has been killed in an accident, but reconciliation with his stern father (William Sadler) is impossible.

Arriving at my place of lodging shortly before 3:00 a.m. very late on Saturday night (or early this Sunday morning), it felt like a short night at Fantastic Fest. That's not to say that everybody parties until dawn, but with three (sometimes four) screens pumping out a steady stream of genre flicks all day long -- some of which don't start until well past midnight -- Fantastic Fest attendees might be forgiven for losing track of "normal" hours.

That's what happened to me on Friday night, which stretched well into Saturday morning. But before that craziness ensued, there were the films, and I got to see a typically odd combination, beginning with Ole Bornedal's Just Another Love Story. One of two productions that the Danish director made last year, Just Another Love Story plays like While You Were Sleeping on acid, which is basically how Alamo Drafthouse / Fantastic Fest programmer Zack Carlson described it in his introduction. A family man is mistaken for the boyfriend of an accident victim in a coma. When she wakes up, the deception ensues.

Rather than romantic comedy hijinks, Just Another Love Story pushes quickly into dark dramatics and the fantasy of a mid-life crisis before circling back around to the territory inhabited by Jonathan Demme's Something Wild. I followed that up with The Substitute, also directed by Bornedal, which was a big box office success in Denmark. It's easy to see why. The terrific Paprika Steen lets her hair down, so to speak, as a farmer's wife who is possessed by an alien life form.

I have to tread ever-so-carefully on anything about Y: The Last Man because I'm so behind (I know, I know, but it was a really long series and trades are expensive). But to all of you who finished Brian K. Vaughan's series, UGO's interview with D.J. Caruso may wind you up.

According to Caruso, the script for the first film has been turned in to Warner Bros (which Vaughan collaborated with them on), and they're waiting for the green light. They're hoping to start shooting as early as winter of 2009, and the studio is aiming for a release date of late 2010. And, yes, they're targeting more than one film -- Caruso hopes it will be one of three, with the first movie ending when Yorick and his monkey, Ampersand, meet Dr Mann and are separated. (Yes! Dr. Mann will be in it! As will 711, though neither have any actors associated with them yet)

As for casting, they still want Shia LaBeouf to play the title role of Yorick (the only surviving male mammal on the planet earth). "I just think Shia would bring such a fun sort of humor to it. And at the same time, keep Yorick sort of grounded and real with the action sequences and all the other stuff," says Caruso.

And what of 355? Is Alicia Keyes playing her? Not yet. Caruso adds, "She's definitely someone to consider. I thought she did a really cool job in [Smoking Aces] ... I'd love to have sort of a (Robert) DeNiro/(Charles) Grodin relationship between 355 and (Yorick). Kind of a Midnight Run relationship ...I think Alicia's a great girl and everything but I have to make sure that she can handle the acting part of it."

So, readers, think they're on the right track? The script sounds promising, but I'm still not sold on LaBeouf. Who would be your ideal cast for this?

Even though the inevitable backlash against Shia LaBeouf has already begun, you have to respect a guy who made his start in flicks like Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd and made his way to the coveted spot of Spielberg's go-to leading man. Plus, he has a way of making me enjoy films that I normally wouldn't plunk down my hard-earned dollars for. Trust me when I say that it took a lot of restraint not to throw things at the screen during Transformers, so, I really hand it to the guy. Hopefully some of that magic will rub off on the Dreamworks action thriller, Eagle Eye. JoBlo now has the first look at the poster and Mr. LaBeouf seems to really be working the 'intense look' this time around.

LaBeouf plays Jerry Shaw, a slacker who returns home after the mysterious death of his successful twin brother -- gee, do you think there will be a case of mistaken identities? Along with a single mother played by Michelle Monaghan, the two are framed as terrorists, and are threatened into becoming members of a cell plotting to assassinate a politician. Joining in on the fun are Rosario Dawson, and Billy Bob Thornton as the two government agents that are a step behind.

Eye reunites LaBeouf with Disturbia director, D.J. Caruso, in an action thriller that was originally on Spielberg's to-do list. Now that we got a better look at the film, the longer trailer helped ease some of my concerns that instead of Rear Window, Caruso and company were looking to rip-off North by Northwest this time around.

Eagle Eye hits theaters on September 26.

When we last saw a (teaser) trailer for Eagle Eye - the forthcoming thriller that reunites star Shia LaBeouf with Disturbia director D.J. Caruso and Transformers executive producer Steven Spielberg - I commented with something along the lines of, after "reading the synopsis, I've always thought that Caruso and company were following their Rear Window re-do with North by Northwest 2.0."

...which I then followed up with "Whether that's the case or not, I'm a sucker for a chase movie, and more so for [co-star Michelle] Monaghan. Count me in." Well, judging from the new trailer up at Yahoo! Movies, I'll be having a modest amount of crow for lunch later today, as there now seems to be enough distinct differences between that Hitchcock classic and this paranoid techno-thriller that it'll likely excite on its own merits (fingers crossed).

Sure, we seem to have another one of those incredibly elaborate plans on behalf of the baddies that already appears to have too many variables for its own good, but you know what? So long as the thing moves, I'm not above setting aside brains in favor of brawn.

With a cast that also includes Rosario Dawson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Michael Chiklis, Eagle Eye hits theaters on September 26.

Oh, that Shia LaBeouf -- isn't he just so damn charismatic? The first teaser trailer for Eagle Eye has just arrived online, and I couldn't help but think of The Matrix while watching it. Remember when Neo gets the call that guides him away from the agents looking for him at the office -- with every one of his moves carefully timed in order to avoid detection? Yeah, well that's exactly what's going on here -- except, apparently, all of it is very real and Shia LaBeouf's character is in a lot of trouble ... even if he has no idea what in the world is going on.

Regardless of the similarities, I'm totally sold -- this looks like it could be a pretty wild ride from start to finish. In Eagle Eye, LaBeouf stars as a young slacker who, along with a single mother (Michelle Monaghan), gets mixed up in a terror cell's plot to assassinate a political figure. Directed by D.J. Caruso, and based on a story from Steven Spielberg, Eagle Eye also stars Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson. Oh, and it hits theaters on September 26.

Check out the trailer over at EagleEyeMovie.com, then let us know what you think.