Darren Howell Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Jeff Wadlow Enters the 'Arena' for Summit
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Deals », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
I really do believe that the world needs more gladiator movies. It can't just end with Gladiator and a remake of Spartacus every couple of years. We need new men and women (yeah, there were female gladiators too) bashing it out in the sand and blood of the arena.I might get my wish if Summit Entertainment and Jeff Wadlow go through with Arena, which has to be the most delicious pulp movie idea I've heard in months. (But you know me, I'm kind of easy to impress if its a sword and sandals type of thing.) According to The Hollywood Reporter, Arena is a sci-fi/gladiator epic that shoves a bunch of modern soldiers into some kind of creepy, shifting landscape. There, they are forced to do battle with the finest warriors from different eras in a gladitorial battle. It's not clear whether they'll be actual figures from history (I hope so -- let's throw King Leonidas and Miyamoto Mushashi in) or just fantasy versions, but it seems like it'd be a lot more fun if it was the former. It would also be fun if it turns out that the whole thing was staged purely for my entertainment.
Wadlow was originally set to direct Tomb for the studio, but the project stalled out. But they were keen to keep him around the place, so they handed him this offbeat script from Toby Wagstaff and Darren Howell, and put the ever busy Benderspink to producing it. Arena doesn't have a start date yet, but let's hope it fares better than Tomb.
Some More Original Sci-Fi Brewing at Summit Entertainment
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Newsstand »
In a post a few weeks back celebrating Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore's plans to kickstart a new sci-fi trilogy, I lamented the lack of original science-fiction at the movies -- that is to say, films that aren't adaptations, remakes or sequels. Now, in addition to Moore's project (which remains shrouded in mystery), we can look forward to Arena from Summit Entertainment and first-time screenwriters Toby Wagstaff and Darren Howell. The movie is being overseen by the same guy who brought us last year's godawful War, but the concept sounds a lot cooler. Paraphrasing from the Variety squib announcing the project, it's about a group of modern-day soldiers who are suddenly transported to a terrain-shifting battlefield where they must face all the best armies and warriors from the past "in a gladiatorial fight to the death," or else be immediately killed by the omnipotent forces behind the "Arena." Having now spent ten minutes searching in vain for something to which I can compare this idea, I'm forced to conclude that it's legitimately original. (Am I missing something? The best I've been able to come up with is Cube meets Stargate, which is still way off.)
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