Dambusters Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Will Peter Jackson Direct The Hobbit?
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », MGM », New Line », Sony », Fandom », Peter Jackson », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
In what seems like an effort to put the roar back into the lion, MGM chairman-CEO Harry Sloan is looking to turn the studio into a tentpole factory and is about to announce some of the big-budget films currently in development. Not surprisingly, since the studio is anchored by its library of franchise-available titles, most of these tentpoles will be sequels, including Terminator 4, a second installment to the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, the previously reported Pink Panther sequel, as well as a few that Erik mentioned last week.
One release to rule them all is The Hobbit, to which MGM co-owns the rights (with New Line, who made the Lord of the Rings films), and which actually may end up as two releases. There is a good chance the LOTR prequel will be a blockbuster no matter how it's produced, but Sloan is really hoping that Peter Jackson can be snagged to direct. Seeing as Jackson still has The Lovely Bones and The Dam Busters on his calendar, if he were to be interested in the project, Sloan will have to wait a few years to get it started. In the meantime, he can take another look through the library and find some more films in need of easily extended into sequels. Otherwise, he will have to find someone else ... someone that fans will trust and approve. Man, how long with that take?
Earlier this month, Mark reported on a New Line leak that claimed The Hobbit is scheduled for next summer, but the above information doesn't seem to make that possible.
Peter Jackson IS Remaking Dam Busters After All
Filed under: Action », Drama », Deals », Newsstand », Peter Jackson », Remakes and Sequels »
Though he stridently denied his interest in a remake just a few months ago, Peter Jackson has a long-standing love for 1954's The Dam Busters, a British film about a real-life secret squadron created to to destroy three crucial German dams during World War II. And, according to an exclusive interview he gave Screen Daily yesterday, Jackson is, in fact, producing that non-existent remake.* He actually inquired about the rights to the film years ago, before work on the The Lord of the Rings series had even begun. At that time he was told the rights were held by Icon, and that Mel Gibson was considering a remake, but they recently became available again, and Jackson snatched them up. The film -- retitled Dambusters for our slick, streamlined times -- will be directed by long-time Jackson collaborator Christian Rivers, and the pair have already done extensive research for the project, including trips to England to interview the squadron's surviving pilots, and Germany to visit the rebuilt dams. Though Jackson told Screen Daily that he hopes to begin shooting by the middle of next year with a budget between $30 and $40 million, he and Rivers have yet to hire a screenwriter.
*There's no word yet on whether the offensively named dog will make it into the 21st century version or not.
Discuss: Should Gay Actors Stay in the Closet?
Sundance '10 Announces Non-Competing Film Premieres
'Up in the Air' Named Best Film of the Year by NBR
Johnny Depp to Play Pancho Villa?_thumbnail.jpg)
The International 'Iron Man 2' Poster Subtracts a Suit
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
