Jane Goldman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Above: Nicolas Cage on the set of Kick-Ass

It's not like Mark Millar is the most reserved guy when it comes to his enthusiasm for his work, but even for him, this might be a little much. Over at Millar World (a fan forum), the man himself weighed in with an update on Matthew Vaughn's version of his comic series, Kick-Ass, and says, "I hereby declare Kick-Ass as the greatest movie of 2009." Pretty bold words for a movie that stars Nicolas Cage, don't you think? (you can read the full details over at the Millar forums.)

Aaron Johnson stars as the titular 'Kick-Ass' (better known as Dave Lizewski), an otherwise ordinary New York City high school student whose interest in comic books inspires him to become a real-life superhero. Nicolas Cage and Chloe Moretz also star as a father and daughter crime-fighting team known as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl.

Millar went on to give major props to the film's crew and cast, saying, "I lucked out with Wanted and Timur and James and Angelina. But nothing-- I mean nothing-- can prepare you for Nic and Chloe as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. As I said to Nic after the first scene was shot on Saturday morning, this is a movie about comic-book guys MADE by comic-book guys.." Luckily for fans of the original series, it looks like the non-stop carnage that made the series so popular is remaining intact -- regardless of what Cage may have to say to the contrary.

I guess the actual release date didn't occur to Millar when he made his 2009 declaration, because Kick-Ass will arrive in theaters on January 1, 2010.

[Photo via Bad and Ugly]

It's not the debt of a big-budget film, but rather, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Miramax has nabbed a spec for the remake of the Israeli thriller The Debt. Matthew Vaughn, who directed Layer Cake and collaborates with Guy Ritchie, wrote the remake with writing partner Jane Goldman.

The film focuses on "three Mossad agents who, 20 years after World War II's end, learn that a Nazi war criminal is still alive, and set out to pursue him across Europe." But it's a little more than that, according to the summary of the original on IMDb. In 1965, this Nazi criminal broke out of the safehouse where he was held, and the agents who kept him there saved their own hides by claiming that he committed suicide. However, an article in a small-town paper pops up in the '90s, which says he's alive and willing to admit his crimes. The agents, now old men, concoct a scheme to finish the job and save their reputations. I imagine the "debt" comes in when they convince the woman who was with them and led to the criminal's escape, to do the deed.

For whatever reason, Vaughn is not planning to direct this script, and a bunch of other directors are said to be interested. Guy Ritchie maybe? Nah, he's busy trying to fix his own career.

If any of you out there have seen the film, what do you think?