David Twohy Tagged Articles at Cinematical

This post contains some vague spoilers for A Perfect Getaway.

David Twohy's A Perfect Getaway was not destined for commercial glory. Pitched as a generic tropical-set actioner, with no big-name stars and little marketing muscle behind it, its middling box office performance was a foregone conclusion. Last weekend's $5.7 million result seemed pretty much right.

Depending on your point of view, this is either fitting or tragic. Because David Twohy is one of the most fascinating writers and directors working in genre film today. Hollywood has plenty of talented technical craftsmen -- filmmakers who can make an action movie crackle. But it has precious few people who are consistently doing interesting things with action films, thrillers, science-fiction and horror. Twohy is not content to deliver generically competent entertainment. There's always a twist.

The man is best known for the Riddick duology -- Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. I like each very much in its own right, but they're really intriguing when viewed together. Pitch Black is a rousing piece of sci-fi horror Alien-style. Riddick then took the first film's mythology and radically changed its scale. A small, contained story seamlessly became something huge -- something on the order of epic fantasy. It was a great trick, and Riddick is some of the decade's most underappreciated sci-fi.

Agatha Christie had it figured out. Ten victims, one killer. Set it up, knock 'em down.

And while there's something to be said for simplicity -- writer-director David Twohy opts for three couples with two killers among them -- A Perfect Getaway can hardly sustain itself until the suspense can kick in. Unable to cut to the chase, Twohy takes his time and decides to get coy, and as it turns out, the only thing deadlier than a killer in a thriller is a screenwriter.

I didn't realize it until now, but it's probably a safe bet that everyone either likes Steve Zahn or Milla Jovovich. So someone was finally smart enough to stick them in the same movie as newlyweds being hunted down in David Twohy's A Perfect Getaway.

From the looks of things, I do hope that their Hawaiian honeymoon from hell skews closer to The Most Dangerous Game than Turistas, as the couple juggles suspicion between fellow travelers Timothy Olyphant (well, duh) and Chris Hemsworth (Kirk's pop from J.J. Trek, and a Josh-Brolin-in-No-Country doppelganger here).

Twohy demonstrated a knack with B-grade thrills with Below, Pitch Black, and The Arrival, so let's hope he keeps the streak alive and defies the shrug-worthy placement of any film on an August release date (and this after much previous shuffling to boot).

Getaway currently opens August 14th opposite roughly a gajillion movies -- Taking Woodstock, Ponyo, The Time Traveler's Wife, Bandslam, District 9, and others -- so if it (or Wife) flinches and gets put off, don't act so surprised. My suggestion? Counter-program against constant comedies on July 10th or Harry Potter on July 17th. We could use something tropical there...

Fans of the Riddick franchise -- all six of us -- thought for sure that, despite occasional rumblings to the contrary, the series was dead. The expansive, expensive Chronicles of Riddick was trashed upon release, after all, and flopped at the box office (at least domestically). Another sequel seemed foolhardy, sure to be met with gales of laughter from the same peanut gallery that so readily dismissed Chronicles.

I still think that's probably true, but I won't tell Vin Diesel, who is determined to make two more sequels happen. In an interview with MTV, he said that writer-director David Twohy is currently working on the scripts, and that the "only question" is whether they will be shot together, LoTR-style, or as two separate productions. Why did it take so long? No money problems, Diesel insists -- they just want to get it right. This was, after all, envisioned as a trilogy, with Pitch Black acting as a stand-alone companion film.

I've wasted a lot of breath defending The Chronicles of Riddick to naysayers, and have pretty much accepted that the film will never meet with much popularity. (My hopes that it would become a cult hit on DVD despite its initial chilly reception have been cruelly dashed, though the spin-off video game proved popular.) I continue to think that it's an ambitious, genuinely interesting piece of science-fiction and world-building. So I'll gladly get excited for sequels from the same creative team, even as I harbor doubts that they'll actually get made.

To be honest, I'm always a little surprised that Steve Zahn managed to carve out a dramatic acting career. I can't help but think 'Studs' whenever I look at him, but since Rescue Dawn I'm not the only one who discovered that Zahn can handle the 'grittier' side of life. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Zahn has signed to star alongside Timothy Olyphant (Hitman) in the psychological thriller, A Perfect Getaway.

David Twohy will direct from his own script about a honeymooning couple who become the targets for a pair of killers. Zahn will play the husband and Olyphant (true to form) will play one of the violent psychos. There is no word yet on the partners for each of our leading men, but it's not like its going to be all that difficult to fill the parts of 'Frightened Wife" and "Psycho Killer". Twohy made his name as a screenwriter and has made some good and some not so-good movies. Twohy has directed in the past, but with the exception of Pitch Black, there isn't much to recommend some of his previous endeavors.

Zahn already has three other films in various stages of production. First up will be two comedies, a baseball flick titled Calvin Marshall and then a romantic comedy with the very unfunny title of Management. A Perfect Getaway is set to start filming on location in Puerto Rico and Hawaii starting at the end of this month, but there is no word of a release date. Stay tuned to Cinematical for any news that comes our way.

They say the whole marriage thing will be the best day of your life -- followed by a sweet and romantic vacation that will start off your many years together. The same "they" also claim that soon after -- your sex life will plummet, work will keep you busy, and the kids will run you off your feet. So, you should enjoy those moments while you can. But what if you can't? Is your future more doomed if you don't have the proper send-off to happily wedded life? What if your honeymoon isn't full of romantic bliss? Do you have a chance if someone tries to kill you while you're getting sun and sexy time?

The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Timothy Olyphant, fresh off his own killing gig, is set to star in an upcoming thriller called A Perfect Getaway. The brainchild of writer/director David Twohy, who previously brought us the likes of Critters 2, The Fugitive, Waterworld, G.I. Jane, Pitch Black, and The Chronicles of Riddick, Getaway will star Olyphant as "a newlywed whose Hawaiian honeymoon becomes a nightmare when he and his bride are stalked by two killers." That really sucks. I wonder if they're being stalked for something that happened before, or if in their newly-wedded bliss, they muck up something for the killers. Whatever the reason, it's certainly a crappy case of luck. There's no word on Tim's lucky co-star yet, but with production set to begin March 17th in Puerto Rico, we should hear more soon.

Spock, Riddick and T-Bag walked into a bar ...

According to TrekMovie, as well an official listing on the man's site, 59-year-old British actor Ben Cross has landed the part of Sarek (aka Spock's pop) in the new J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek XI. Heroes star Zachary Quinto will play Spock and Winona Ryder is playing Spock's mom, Amanda Grayson. Hmmm ... Yeah, I assume they've worked it all out, so I won't ask any questions. Cross has appeared in dozens of films over the years, most recently in War, Inc., and is likely best known for his starring role in Chariots of Fire. The character of Sarek was originally played by Mark Lenard.

Over on his website, director David Twohy tells fans he's down for making another Riddick flick, though he left out the part about the first (or should I say second) film not living up to the hype ... at all. Here's what he has to say: "All I can say now is "We're talking about it." The DVD numbers were really good - we know that, and some potential financiers know that. But if another movie surfaces, it probably won't be a Universal movie and probably will be an independent movie. Which means we'll have to make it for substantially less than the last installment." I'll throw out a number for ya: How about zero? [via Dark Horizons]

Those of you Prison Break fans out there should be very aware of the villain T-Bag (as played by Robert Knepper). Ya know, he's the slimy a**hole you just wish would go away. Die T-Bag! Die already! Anyway, according to a story in the Denver Post, Knepper has made a whole lot of fans as of late; so much so that the dude is lining up gigs in some of the most talked-about projects around. Not only do they claim he's up for the part of villain in Bond 22, but they're also saying he'll co-star alongside Hugh Jackman in the solo Wolverine flick as well as star in the remake of Alfred Hitchock's The Birds (currently titled: These F**king Pigeons Are Driving Me Crazy!) alongside Naomi Watts. Note to actors: Take that homicidal pedophile role; it'll lead to much better things down the line ... [via Moviehole]

UPDATE: I forgot to add that Fox News claims Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) has landed the role of Bond villain in Bond 22. Whether Knepper was up for the part, of if he'll be playing another villain, we're not sure. More as it develops ...