DonMurphy Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Nikolaj Arcel and Guillermo Del Toro Bringing 'Deadman' to Life
Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Warner Brothers », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
One thing I'm loving about Warner Bros and their DC collection is that they aren't neglecting the boys and girls of their Strange Adventures and Weird Western Tales in favor of flashier and more marketable superheroes. So, all should be suitably intrigued by Variety reporting that Warner Bros is bringing Deadman to the bigscreen. The studio has brought Nikolaj Arcel on to direct, and Guillermo Del Toro will produce alongside Don Murphy. Those who follow the exhaustive properties Del Toro has lined up for himself probably remember that he was eying the director's chair for himself a few years back.So, who is Deadman? Well, he's that pale fellow to your right, and was once a circus acrobat named Boston Brand. His happy life on the high wire was cut short by an assailant known only as The Hook, but he was given a second life courtesy of Hindu goddess Rama Kushna. She gave his spirit the power to possess any living person he chose in order to find his assailant, and assist in the ongoing battle against evil. With his circus past, he's naturally brushed crossovers with the unfortunate Graysons, and he's met up with lots of dead DC heroes. He's most recently popped up in that Green Lantern arc everyone's talking about, Blackest Night, and is helping fight the good fight. Despite not being that well known, Deadman is an intriguing, eerie hero and very movie worthy.
No start date has been set for Deadman, and I'm ashamed to say that I'm unfamiliar with Arcel's work. But with Warner Bros, DC, and Del Toro backing him, I'm expecting good things. They seem unable to do wrong at the WB.
James Robert Smith's 'The Flock' Takes Flight
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Deals », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
I believe what you are about to read might be the first movie deal to spring out of an online flame war. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Don Murphy and John Wells are teaming up to produce James Robert Smith's debut novel, The Flock ... but how they found the novel might just be worth a movie on its own.You see, Murphy -- who's always been a huge fan of Cinematical -- was alerted to a mean comment on Eddie Campbell's blog. Alan Moore fans know Campbell as the artist on Moore's Jack the Ripper epic, From Hell. Smith was posting comments that were critical of the film adaptation, and Murphy tracked him down and discovered he had written a book called The Flock. He ordered a copy, expecting to hate it and trash it, and decided to buy its rights instead. That's the Internet for you, people. A very thin line between love, hate, and stalking. (Campbell has the story up on his blog, too, if you're interested. Also, there's beautiful art!)
The Flock could actually be this generation's Jurassic Park, though. (Lord knows they need one.) It's all about a group of super intelligent prehistoric birds who are roaming a last scrap of wilderness in the Florida Everglades. Naturally, once discovered, everyone wants to exploit them or their land, and its up to a young Fish and Wildlife officer and his girlfriend to save them. Or be mauled to death by the cunning, vicious birds. Either way, it'll be interesting. If it's not, maybe it'll cause a flame war that will see another thriller optioned!
Geek Daily: Quotes From 'Green Lantern', 'Priest', 'We3' and 'Thor'
Filed under: Fandom », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
The news on anything from the world of comics has been painfully slow, and while I hate reporting non-news, it's such a slow day that I've dug up my old Geek Daily graphic and compiled a bunch of quotes from the pre-production world. Hopefully, there's something to get you talking about in here, even if all you want to do is complain that you still don't know who will play the Emerald Knight, or that you haven't seen a photo of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow.
First, let's talk The Green Lantern -- or rather, read what Marc Guggenheim told Sci Fi Wire about it. He assures fans that the film is moving forward, and that he's written yet another draft of its screenplay. "You know I really can't [say anything]. I've sworn a blood oath of secrecy in relation to the project. But, you know, the thing I can tell you is that it is a very loving and respectful approach. The goal here is to do the best cinematic representation of the Green Lantern character. You know, there's no desire on anyone's part to completely change the character and just call this other character Green Lantern and try to ... draft off the name recognition. This is all about 'How do we bring the best version of this character to the silver screen?'"
SciFi Wire also caught up with Don Murphy for a We3 update. John Stevenson is still attached, the script is done, and now they're just looking for a studio that'll give it a home. "We're working with a director named John Stevenson. Don't be confused, though. Even though he directed Kung Fu Panda, the movie's going to be live action. It's going to be a combination CG, puppetry [and] real animals. We have a great script, a great director, and we're trying to figure out who's going to pay for it in this marketplace, but we're looking."
First, let's talk The Green Lantern -- or rather, read what Marc Guggenheim told Sci Fi Wire about it. He assures fans that the film is moving forward, and that he's written yet another draft of its screenplay. "You know I really can't [say anything]. I've sworn a blood oath of secrecy in relation to the project. But, you know, the thing I can tell you is that it is a very loving and respectful approach. The goal here is to do the best cinematic representation of the Green Lantern character. You know, there's no desire on anyone's part to completely change the character and just call this other character Green Lantern and try to ... draft off the name recognition. This is all about 'How do we bring the best version of this character to the silver screen?'"
SciFi Wire also caught up with Don Murphy for a We3 update. John Stevenson is still attached, the script is done, and now they're just looking for a studio that'll give it a home. "We're working with a director named John Stevenson. Don't be confused, though. Even though he directed Kung Fu Panda, the movie's going to be live action. It's going to be a combination CG, puppetry [and] real animals. We have a great script, a great director, and we're trying to figure out who's going to pay for it in this marketplace, but we're looking."
John Stevenson Directing 'We3'
Filed under: Action », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Deals », Scripts », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
It's really creepy, but the moment I start wondering about We3 again, it pops up in the press. Back in August, Grant Morrison had used the project's downtime to write a screenplay that he claimed was better than the original graphic novel. The screenplay was so good, it was attracting all kinds of interest, and Morrison hinted that "a big, hot director" was attached. The possibilities were kind of endless, and I was secretly hoping for Zack Snyder due to the copious amount of blood and guts.According to ShockTillYouDrop, though, it turns out that director is none other than ... John Stevenson of Kung Fu Panda fame. Part of me is going "Really? That's, um, not a very big name." But I've heard some very good things about Kung Fu Panda (I still haven't seen it, as Netflix just keeps teasing me), and Stevenson certainly has some amazing art direction credits. You could do a lot worse than someone who has some fighting animals under his belt. Though it has a director, it's still looking for a studio to call home, so we have some waiting and fidgeting to do.
Producer Don Murphy assures fans that the film will be live action, not animated, and it won't be "cutesy." The book is pretty impossible to make cutesy (a rat is disemboweled in the first few pages) so, Kung Fu Panda or not, I'm not too worried about that. I just want it to leave everyone in the theaters crying their eyes out, wondering about the nature of empathy. (By the way, have you bought the book yet? No? Well, there's still time. It's the perfect stocking stuffer.)
Clive Owen Series 'Second Sight' to Get Second Life
Filed under: Action », Drama », Thrillers », Universal », Remakes and Sequels »
If you're a fan of the 1999 BBC series that turned Clive Owen into a movie star, I've got some good news. If, however, you're just an average American who has never heard of Second Sight, then I simply have some news. And here it is:Universal has decided to turn the series into a movie. Producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford have tapped screenwriter Craig Rosenberg to do the adaptation duty. According to Variety, it's about a cop "who leads an elite unit that tackles high-profile murder cases while suffering from a rare degenerative eye disease that causes hallucinations and increasing blindness." Wait, the whole unit suffers from a rare degenerative eye disease? Because that's either one amazing coincidence or one really inept personnel manager.
For the sort of movie we might expect, let's note that Don Murphy was a producer on Transformers, Shoot 'Em Up, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and (the very underrated) From Hell. For Mr. Rosenberg's part, he's a relative new guy who's done a lot of work on Lost (and he also penned After the Sunset), but he also has The Uninvited on the way.
No word yet on who'll be starring as the optically-challenged policeman, but I'm sure nobody would mind if Clive Owen signed up for the job.
Special Note: This project is in no way related to this film. Shame on you for even remembering this film.
Ain't It Cool News Puts Transformers Producer On the Defensive
Filed under: Action », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
I may poke fun at Ain't It Cool news from time to time for their overwhelming enthusiasm and use of exclamation points, but like most geeks, I respect Harry Knowles and the crazy, crazy job he does. The same apparently cannot be said for Transformers producer Don Murphy, who in a recent flame post on his message board referred to Harry's site as "Ain't it S**t news." A profoundly witty man, that Murphy ... he can really zing those insults off, and with such clever turns of phrase. At any rate, Murphy was responding to images of Optimus Prime seen on Ain't it Cool News, and the money part of his quote was: "You know -- no one from the production ever confirmed anything that was leaked to Ain't It S**t News. So it may have been actual photos or it may not have been. The bad poet Diabetes has reported on here that Megatron's head will be changed. From what? Did we ever release an official pic of Megs? No sir we didn't. I CAN tell you that Megs' head will not look like he did in the leaked pics."So there you have it, folks. Your friendly neighborhood producer Don Murphy reminds you "don't trust the internets." Thanks, Don!
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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