Francis Lawrence Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Once upon a time, Sgt. Rock was in the hands of Guy Ritchie, and many an Easy Company fan was upset. But you'll undoubtedly wish that Ritchie and Joel Silver had made it to the finish line, because Sgt. Rock will not make it to the big screen in a form you'll recognize. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he has a new director in Francis Lawrence and a whole new space-time continuum. Joel Silver is still on board as producer, and he's bringing Akiva Goldsman on board to help. They've hired newcomer Chad St. John to pen the script.

As you may or may not know, Sgt. Rock is a WWII soldier. He's always fought in WWII. The poor guy has never even gotten to leave the European theater. (It was rumored in Swamp Thing that he was transferred to the Pacific, but never confirmed.) Any attempt at a movie adaptation has always gone forward with this central idea of keeping him in his element. But budget, politics, and popularity has always been an issue, and no one believes you can make The Dirty Dozen in this day and age unless you're Quentin Tarantino. So Warner Bros has decided to bypass the drama, and put Sgt. Rock in the future. CG is cheaper than Nazis, and a nondescript soldier of the future is less problematic than an American fighting a good fight. (While no war is a good war, I do think we can all agree that fighting Nazis was a good thing.)

Nothing else is known about this storyline, so I hate to jump to a knee-jerk conclusion as to who or what Sgt. Rock will face there, or whether he will be transported to the future from WWII. But I think this is an unfortunate thing to do to a character who resides in WWII for a very specific and honorable reason. The last thing he should become is a Universal Soldier or Terminator ripoff.

For all that I Am Legend imploded with that awful doctored ending, it was actually really interesting for a while -- mostly because both Will Smith and director Francis Lawrence were willing to go surprisingly far in suggesting that isolation had actually driven Smith's Robert Neville to no-kidding insanity. It's the kind of bold move that can make an otherwise frivolous summer blockbuster into something special.

It's promising, then, that Lawrence and Smith are looking to team up on a project that reads like one enormous bold gesture. The City That Sailed, which Lawrence has signed on to direct and develop for Smith to star in, is about a father and daughter who live on different continents, he in New York and she in England -- until the daughter's wish for a reunion is granted in the form of the island of Manhattan breaking off from the U.S. seaboard and carrying dad across the pond.

There's just something about watching the whole world go boom on the big screen, isn't there? Case in point: Independence Day. Sure, not exactly what you would call a great film, but I think most of us were sold on the flick the moment we saw the White House go up in a ball of fire. It might be twisted, but audiences just can't get enough of the end of civilization; Roland Emmerich went with a Mayan doomsday prophecy for his disaster flick, 2012, but I Am Legend's Francis Lawrence is going for something a little more scientific for his next film. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Fox has hired Lawrence to direct a feature film version of Alan Weisman's book, The World Without Us.

Weisman's book focuses on what would happen to the natural and built environment if humans suddenly disappeared. Sure, the whole thing is an educated guess based on Weisman's interviews with leading academics and scientists, but as educated guesses go, it's pretty good. So if you've ever wondered how long it would take for this civilization of ours to die out, here is your answer, and the bad news is that it won't take long at all. On the upside, though, at least Mount Rushmore would still be standing.

Mark Protosevich has been hired to write the script before heading off to work on the Oldboy update for Dreamworks. But Fox doesn't intend to make a documentary (which was done* once before) and instead Protosevich's script will make use of Weisman's science as the background for the story. I have to admit, Lawrence would seen to be the ideal choice for the flick -- especially since his vision of the world left behind in Legend was possibly the best thing about that film.

But this has me thinking: what are some of the best 'End of the Word' flicks? I'll even start you off with one of my nominations: Dr. Strangelove. Now it's your turn...


*Correction: The link provided for The World Without Us documentary was an error, and was not meant to make any political associations with Weisman's work.

Just so we're clear: I liked I Am Legend. I thought Will Smith did a great job of carrying what was (to be honest) a fairly mediocre film. But c'mon, was there really anything left to say? Warner Brothers is convinced that there is, and have even managed to bring back Smith and director Francis Lawrence for what we all thought was going to be a prequel. However, a tipster for AICN (who goes by the name of Westwood9) has dropped a few crumbs about the project, and if you thought the idea of a prequel was bad, you ain't seen nothing yet.

According to AICN's tipster, "Smith is actually the one who developed the initial story. It took place several years before the original film and there were still pockets of survivors and the story centered around Smith interacting, bonding, and ultimately failing to save them." Not bad, right? Well, don't get too attached, because according to AICN, the studio wasn't biting (get it?) and, instead, scrapped the prequel in favor of a sequel. That's right, an honest to goodness sequel. Supposedly Smith and screenwriter D. B. Weiss weren't going to go for it either, but have since come around to the idea.

When the project was first announced back in September, I think most of us had just assumed that the only way to make another film was to make a prequel. *Spoiler Alert* After all, didn't the good doctor blow up at the end of the film? (There were of course those alternate endings, but we probably shouldn't count those). If WB does go ahead with a sequel, do you think it will open up a whole new world of possibilities about what happened to Smith's character at the end of the first film? Or, will it just confirm that the whole idea is just a cash-grab from the word go.

Sound off below...

I might not be the biggest fan of prison movies (well, except Cool Hand Luke), but anything that could keep Francis Lawrence busy and away from an I Am Legend prequel is all right by me. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Lawrence has just signed to helm the story of the 1987 Atlanta Prison Riots for Warner Brothers. Black Hawk Down writer Mark Bowden came across the still-untitled project while researching Black Hawk, but did not have the time or resources to devote to the story. So here we are eight years later, and Bowden has enlisted the help of his brother, Aaron, to produce the film under the Wild Eyes banner.

For those of you who are a little fuzzy on their penal history, here's a primer on what Lawrence will be working with: In 1987, the Atlanta State Medium Security Prison was one of the dumping grounds for Cuban refugees from the Mariel Boatlift who were ineligible to be released. When Cuba later agreed to repatriate 2500 inmates currently being held -- well, to be blunt, all holy hell broke loose. The ensuing riot lasted over 10 days with more than 100 hostages involved -- heck, inmates even burned down a substantial portion of the facility itself. In the end, it took the intervention of the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta to end the siege. Sounds pretty exciting, doesn't it?

But the bad news is that before Lawrence can get to work in the big house, he still has to finish developing Sara Gruen's historical novel, Water for Elephants for Fox 2000. Now if we could just do something about that Legend prequel ...

The trades apparently read yesterday's tirade about their not being any news -- because as weird luck would have it, everything hit the wire as I was getting my Anderson Cooper fix. (I'm not making that up for the sake of cuteness, it's true. The evening is not complete until I discover I lost the 360 Challenge ... again) Now, to the headlines:

• Being the sole man alive never meant you couldn't get a franchise! Variety reports that Warner Bros is putting a prequel to I Am Legend into production. The prequel boasts the return of Will Smith and director Francis Lawrence, and is based on a script outline cooked up by Smith, Lawrence, and producers Akiva Goldsman and James Lassiter. Obviously, it takes place before the plague wiped out New York. I hope they go daring and all Terminator 3-ish, and show Smith as being the scientist responsible for the whole mess. I also hope they name it I Will Be Legend.
  

• Top Cow continues its slow takeover of comic book movies -- IESB reports that Fathom movie is back on, despite creator Michael Turner's untimely death. And reportedly, Cinematical's ever present friend Megan Fox has snagged the lead as Aspen Matthews. It's all from anonymous sources, but given that Magdalena and Witchblade are on their way, I wouldn't be surprised if it's made official before too long.

• Who needs Iron Man and Samuel L. Jackson cameos? September 30th brings, at long last, your chance to finally own David Hasselhoff's Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D on DVD. Don't think you can pick this up just anywhere, though, it's exclusive to Best Buy. But what price to pay for a cult classic?

The bidding war is over, and Fox 2000 has emerged triumphant, clutching the rights to Sara Gruen's bestseller Water for Elephants, which they are promptly putting on the fast track. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Francis Lawrence is attached to direct, and Richard LaGravenese is adapting it for the big screen.

I'll be honest and admit I haven't read the book -- I'm always behind when it comes to bestsellers because I tend to haunt the nonfiction and classic shelves. The book is the recollections of a 90-year-old man, who, in his youth, ran away and joined a B-level circus during the Depression. It's a job rife with animal and human cruelty. He falls in love with the wife of an abusive and mentally-ill animal trainer. While all of this suggests it is depressing as hell and ends badly, a glance through Amazon.com's reviews suggest otherwise.

Fox 2000 president Elizabeth Gabler acknowledges the riskiness of the subject matter, but is confident that the adaptation will attract "a lot of talented people," particuarly with LaGravenese's reputation as a solid "adapter". Here I want to say that an adaptation of a heart-wrenching and dramatic novel can't go wrong -- but it can. I can't really think of many New York Times bestsellers not named Cormac McCarthy or J.K. Rowling who end up with really solid and popular films. Otherwise, they tend to end up like Angela's Ashes and White Oleander which, while not terrible films, fell rather flat for most critics and fans of the material, and have largely been forgotten. Let's hope Water for Elephants will be one of the lucky ones -- and if you're a fan of the book, here's your chance to tell me what you hope they get right.

As a longtime science fiction aficionado with a weakness for special effects, Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend is catnip to me. That doesn't mean I won't be watching with a critical eye, though. I've accumulated a long list of pet peeves about the way that "last man on earth" stories are told, both in print and on screen, and personal warning signs have already popped up just from watching the trailers for I Am Legend. I hope I'm proven wrong and that the film allays my concerns, carrying me away to another time and place, but I'll be on the lookout for some of the stupid things last men on earth do -- and don't do.

1. They Become Attached to Just One Pet

Uh oh, it looks like Will Smith only has one dog. That's never a good sign. He exercises with him, tells him to eat his vegetables, hunts with him, and bathes him. (Later he holds the dog's limp body in his arms; just before that, he screams "Nooooooo!!", sounding like Darth Vader, which may or may not be related to what happens to the dog.) Why do you think all those old ladies keep dozens of cats around? In case one of them dies! Now, I'm not saying Will Smith's dog dies in the movie -- I told you, I haven't seen it -- but if you're the last man on earth, you have to plan ahead. Even if your best dog friend doesn't get eaten by lions or murdered by mysterious creatures of the night, you might actually outlive your buddy, so always have multiple dogs hanging around just in case. (Don't fret too much; remember, All Dogs Go to Heaven.) Unless, of course, Will's canine pal is The Last Dog on Earth, which might be another movie entirely.

Good news for Chuck Palahniuk fans everywhere: It seems his novel Survivor is finally working its way to the big screen. I haven't attended a Palahniuk reading in awhile (always a fun time, and I recommend it to anyone), but last time I did he fielded a bunch of questions about Survivor. Back before 9/11 hit, Survivor was gearing up to become Palahniuk's next big-screen adaptation following Fight Club. But seeing as the novel deals with a guy who hijacks a plane for the sole purpose of crashing it, plans to shoot the film were scrapped indefinitely. Now, however, it seems I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence has stepped up to the plate, and in a new interview over at Collider, he talks about finally bringing Survivor to the multiplex.

When asked about his future projects, Lawrence replied, "I'm working on a book "Survivor" by Chuck Palahniuk that I'm working on with a friend. It's a great book. I love that book. So we've been working on that." Sounds like it's just in the adapting stage right now, but it's definitely better than the development hell stage it's been stuck in for the past few years. Survivor is a weird story to adapt, and one that will most likely have to go the indie route (a la Choke): It revolves around Tender Branson, a "media-made messiah" and member of a suicide cult who uses his girlfriend's psychic powers to predict the future and become a star. I haven't read it in a long time, and I forgot most of it, but remember it being one of my favorites next to Choke, which will premiere this year at Sundance. Should be fascinating to watch this one develop, and we'll bring you the news as soon as it's available.

There's an episode of The Gilmore Girls in which a tense, heartbreaking moment between Lorelai and her domineering mother, Emily, is broken when the movie The Pursuit of Happyness comes on the TV. "Oh, is that Will Smith?" Emily says, coming to sit on the bed beside Lorelai. "He's very handsome."

The moral of the story? Everybody, even uptight WASPs, loves Will Smith. In his new movie I Am Legend, he tackles the sci-fi horror genre, playing a scientist who, after a virus wipes out the entire population of everything, may possibly be the last man on Earth ... aside from some pesky mutant cannibals. Well, them and his dog, who must be thrilled at the annihilation of bureaucrats and their stupid leash laws.

Now's your chance to get jiggy with the Fresh Prince -- about the movie or anything else your heart desires -- because he and his I Am Legend director, Francis Lawrence, are coming to our humble Moviefone studio to interview each other using your questions. Now before you get all "Francis Who?" on me, let me fill in the blanks: Before he directed Constantine, Lawrence was an in-demand music video director who worked with Aerosmith (I Don't Want to Miss a Thing), Jay-Z (Girl's Best Friend), Justin Timberlake (Cry Me a River), Black Eyed Peas (Pump It) and Will Smith himself (Nod Ya Head). (There's a full list here.)

When we say "your questions," we mean "your questions," like, "Hey Will, whatever happened to Jazzy Jeff?" (someone please ask that; I kind of want to know), or "Hey Francis, who would win in a dance-off, JT or Will Smith?" (don't ask that one; it could get ugly). So let 'em have it -- leave a comment here, or you can send one to AskCelebs@aol.com (brought to you by Verizon Wireless) -- and please provide your first name and your city and state, so that we know you're not a computer or a cannibalistic mutant. Then check out their Unscripted interview on December 10 to see if your question made the broadcast. Good luck!