James McTeigue Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Tempted though I may be to do so, I won't take credit for Warners' moving up the release of Richard Kelly's hopefully good The Box after I blathered on about it for too long and then some last month. According to BOM, the thriller is now scheduled to open on October 30th and just opposite Saw VI -- and between us, if it was between either the fifth Saw sequel or a title with both Richard Kelly and Richard Matheson's names on it, my moviegoing dollar would surely find its way to the latter.

Going instead into the newly vacated 11/25 slot is the Wachowski-produced Ninja Assassin, helmed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, the third act of The Invasion) and starring that guy Stephen Colbert hates so much. Not much has come of that film beyond a "we're making it!" press conference -- no trailer, no poster, no nuthin' -- but the film has been formally rated R for "strong bloody stylized violence throughout, and language," which suggests that the film is completed.

And when you have a completed film on your hands, you generally release it. (And then this'll be the part where the "More You Know" star will shoot overhead...)

This is a wild and wacky rumor right now, but according to a scooper over at AICN who watched a television interview with James McTeigue in Berlin, there might be some funky things happening to some of those much-hyped future franchises. The scooper, Ballack, reports back that McTeigue -- who mainly talked up his upcoming Ninja Assassin -- finished up with news that if Warner Bros. doesn't let the Wachowski Bros. go with Plastic Man as their next project (and they may not, according to McTeigue, because of a "major shake up of projects at WB"), then they could be the guys who reboot the Superman franchise.

Wha??? Supposedly (so says McTeigue), the Wachowskis have been approached about Superman and are "currently reviewing their options." McTeigue, who was supposed to aid the brothers in the second unit department on Plastic Man, says that if they do take on Superman, he'd most likely serve in the same capacity on that flick. Plastic Man, however, is a passion project for the Wachowski siblings, and so expect them to fight hard to make it a reality. McTeigue also noted that Bryan Singer is done with the Man of Steel, and that he's moved on to the Logan's Run remake.

So, while this wacky news makes its way around the internet -- whaddya think of the Wachowskis taking on the Superman franchise?

I guess it's official: Speed Racer was not the summer smash hit the Wachowskis were hoping for. For their sake, I hope they have better luck with the martial arts flick Ninja Assassin. Details on the film had been kept under wraps, but Movieweb has now posted an official press release from Warner Bros. with an outline and official character info for the film.

Ninja Assassin will center on, "Raizo (Rain), one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them...and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge." WB also confirmed that Naomie Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) will play a Europol researcher named Mika Coretti, Ben Miles (V for Vendetta) plays her partner, martial arts performer Sho Kosugi stars as the leader of the assassins and Rick Yune will portray Raizo's rival, Takeshi.

I'm about to take off for a week-long vacation, but I'll leave you with this: James McTeigue, whose V for Vendetta was wonderful, angry and brave, has signed on to direct a sci-fi thriller that sounds a bit like a second X-Files sequel -- which may be why I think it sounds so cool. Revelations, from a script by John Salvati (the forthcoming Andrew Niccol/Al Pacino Dali biopic), will involve a female journalist who investigates a series of bizarre murders and discovers that the dead were all being treated by the head of an organization that studies alien abductions.

V for Vendetta, as well as McTeigue's follow-up Ninja Assassin, due next year, were produced by the Wachowski Brothers. In fact, V was known more as a Wachowski Brothers film than a McTeigue film -- sort of the way Judd Apatow stole all the credit for Superbad from Greg Mottola. It doesn't sound like the Wachowskis will have a hand in this one, which might let the talented McTeigue spread his wings a bit. V showed fantastic promise; smart filmmakers who strive to make great genre films are hard to come by.

What we need is another good alien invasion TV show. Shame that no one wanted to watch the last one...

Can it be? Is Hollywood finally making a big-budget film about martial arts and casting honest to goodness Asian actors? Well wonders never cease because the Wachowskis seem to be making all the right casting decisions for their top secret action flick, Ninja Assassin. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Rick Yune (Die Another Day) has joined the martial arts thriller, and he'll star alongside Naomi Harris and Korean pop star Rain).

The news first broke on the martial arts flick when a casting notice appeared for the film that had some similarities to the much-beloved anime, Ninja Scroll. So far, all we know about Ninja Assassin is that it will revolve around an orphanage that operates as a 'ninja factory'. When one of their star pupils (Rain) decides to leave the old world behind, he is put into conflict with the other ninjas who have stayed a little closer to their 'roots'.

Considering how most of the details were being kept under wraps, it was a bit of a surprise to see Yune giving up info on his character. He told THR, "Not to give too much away, (but) my character stays within what he was brought up with, and they go up against each other, I'm not a heavy. The characters are ninjas, they are assassins, and there's this mix of morality the Wachowskis are exploring." Ninja Assassin re-unites the brothers with V for Vendetta director James McTeigue in a Joel Silver production and filming has just begun. McTeigue is expected to be on location in Berlin until at least June, and Ninja Assassin is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2010.

It's funny because I always thought that Collin Chou's (The Forbidden Kingdom) role as Seraph in The Matrix sequels was a teeny bit of a waste. I mean, he really didn't get to do all that much. But it looks like the Wachowski's are correcting that mistake and finally giving Chou a starring role. Sci Fi Wire recently spoke with Chou and confirmed that he will star in the Wachowski's new action flick, Ninja Assassin. So far the only other casting announcement for the film was the addition of the Korean pop star, Rain. James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) is expected to direct with the Wachowski's on board as producers.

Chou didn't have much information about the story or his role -- as most of the details about the film are being kept under lock and key. But he did tell Wire, "...this is a part that is built around me, they have wanted to have me in a larger part, and I was waiting and waiting for a long time for it to happen. I am one of four of the main characters in this movie. It is a great honor to be on board."

There had been some rumblings that Assassins was, in actuality, a live action remake of the classic anime Ninja Scroll. Judging from Chou's comments about the title of the film, "I don't know if that's [Ninja Assassin] the final name yet," there is a still a slim possibility that the rumors could be true. Assassin is expected to begin production this April or May, so hopefully by then we will have some clues as to what the movie will be about. At this point I would settle for an official title. Ninja Assassin is expected to arrive in theaters in 2009.

So there's a little mystery starting to brew on the net surrounding the Wachowskis' action flick, Ninja Assassin. Over at kungfurodeo.com, there are reports that a new casting call for the flick is proof that the brothers are actually making a live-action version of the classic anime, Ninja Scroll. For those fans of Scroll out there, maybe you can tell me if the characters on the casting sheet over at Freebase Media look a little familiar.

The story of Ninja Scroll is set in feudal Japan. A ninja-for-hire is forced into fighting an old nemesis that has set his sights on toppling the Japanese government. Complicating matters is a group of super-demons under the bad guys control. So far, not much is known about the plot of Ninja Assassin, but all we do know is that Korean pop star Rain has scored a part in the James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) directed flick.

He may not be a big star yet here in the states, but the South Korean pop singer Rain is starting to land big roles in some big films. He already has a supporting role in this summer's Speed Racer, and now Variety reports that Rain (aka Jung Ji-hoon) has nabbed a leading role in a film called Ninja Assassin, which will be produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski Brothers, and directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta). Though there's no mention of their further involvement in the film, one assumes Andy and Larry Wachowski also wrote the script.

The news came via a press conference in Seoul earlier today, and there's currently no word on what the film will be about other than the fact that there will be lots of action. Rain's debut on the big screen came last year in the flick I'm a Cyborg, but That's Okay -- and, having seen the film, I enjoyed the guy quite a bit as an actor. Ninja Assassin is tentatively scheduled to shoot from March to July in Berlin for Warner Bros. I imagine we should expect more casting announcements to come soon, but in the meantime you Wachowski fans can look forward to plenty more fancy hand-to-hand battles from the brothers who brought us The Matrix trilogy.

It might just be me, but every time I turn around it seems like The Invasion has released another batch of photos, a trailer, or a new poster in the hopes of drumming up some business for the production. Now ComingSoon.net is hosting a brand new gallery of images from the film. Actually, I'm sure we have seen some of these before, but at least this grouping has some more action-packed images to choose from. It's no secret that the film has been making headlines for over a year, with news of massive re-shoots being undertaken by the WB's sci-fi/action duo, The Wachowski Brothers, as well as James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), reportedly to liven up some of the film's action sequences. All of this without the involvement of original director Oliver Hirschbiegel.

The film is a loose update of the 1955 classic, The Body Snatchers and even 52 years later, if it's done right, the tale of conformity and paranoia should probably resonate with audiences. This version stars Nicole Kidman as a psychiatrist living in D.C. when a mysterious space shuttle crash seems to be turning local residents into mindless drones. Along with her doctor friend (Daniel Craig), she tries to unravel the mystery of what has happened while trying to locate her son, who "may hold the key to stopping the devastating invasion." This latest gallery will probably be the last we get from the film until it hits theaters on August 17th, and considering that the photos do not give too much away, there is still plenty of room for surprises.

He reportedly had a lot of help on V for Vendetta. Then he helped out as an 'additional director' on The Invasion. So when are we going to see if James McTeigue can direct a film solo? Possibly as early as next year, actually. The former first assistant director (The Matrix trilogy; Attack of the Clones) has just been hired to make Bangkok 8, a mystery thriller set in Thailand. Based on the first of a series of novels by John Burdett, Bangkok 8 follows the story of a Thai police detective investigating the murder of his partner and a U.S. marine, both of whom died by snake bite. The trail of the murderers takes the Buddhist detective, who is named Sonchai Jitpleecheep, into the seedy underground of the jade, drug and sex trades of Bangkok.

The movie should appeal to anyone familiar with Bangkok, as Burdett, who lives in Thailand, fills his books with plenty of commentary and insight about the city and its corruptions. But despite the fact that it sounds like too much of foreign film to attract the sort of fans McTeigue is used to, the movie will presumably have enough action elements to sell to a wide audience. One thing the novel has going for it, as far as multiplex interests are concerned, is an American love interest, described by Amazon.com as a "sexually frustrated FBI agent." Also, Sonchai apparently has conversations with the ghost of his dead partner. Millennium Films hopes to turn Burdett's series into a franchise of films, so McTeigue will definitely need to deliver something better than V for Vendetta. And since this time he will be without the assistance and guidance of the Wachowski Brothers, who are probably too busy making Speed Racer, I wish McTeigue a lot of luck.