LorenzoDiBonaventura Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Something tells me that the true-life movie about the infamous murderer Richard Kuklinski is about to take a turn in creative direction, judging by the latest to news to come from the NY Post. The Post is reporting that Mickey Rourke will be taking the role of Kuklinski in an adaptation of Phil Carlo's book, The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer. The scoop came courtesy of Carlo's himself, who told the Post "He's [Rourke] really looking forward to being the Ice Man, and I think he'll do a great job,...He's talking about it being his 'Raging Bull.' Originally, it had been reported that Channing Tatum of G.I. Joe fame would be taking the lead, but according to Carlo, Tatum is out and Rourke is in.

Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski was a notoriously brutal contract killer and serial murder, who claimed to have killed over 200 people in his lifetime, starting at the age of 13. Kuklinski put his 'talents' to good use by working with the Gambino crime family, and died in prison at the age of 71. The circumstances of his death were considered suspicious and it was rumored that he had been killed by a Gambino underboss by the name of Sammy Gravano.

Back in 2007, the Hughes Brothers had been attached to the project with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura in possession of the rights to Carlo's book, but unfortunately the project stalled in development and the rights have lapsed. Carlo was looking for a new producer, and according to him, that producer will be Rourke. Now it just so happens that Carlos in the midst of a publicity tour for his latest book, so we might want to take his announcement with some healthy skepticism.

After the jump: My top 5 recommendations for some other movies about hit men...

As a kid, you probably had one special stuffed animal that you were never without, or far away from. Maybe you were even one of those kids who carried more than one. If you (or a wee sprite you know) fits that description, you might get a smile out of Mike Bullock's Lions, Tigers, and Bears which has just been optioned by Paramount.

Bullock's series centers around a boy named Joey and a girl named Courtney, who discover that their stuffed animals come alive to protect them from a gang of monsters known as the Beasties. The Beasties can break into our world and kidnap children to devour ... but luckily they have their stuffed animals to protect them, a task which they have been performing "since the dawn of time."

According to Variety, Transformers' producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is the man behind the scenes on this production, which kicked into gear with Joey Aucoin's spec script. The plan is to adapt it live action, and tell the story from the perspective of a grown-up Joey. Naturally, it will have a ton of CG effects to bring the Stuffed Animal Kingdom and its guardians to life.

The conceit is a little overblown, but it's a cute idea, and the comic is an enjoyable enough romp for the younger set. (Remember, they need comics too!) It's like We3 meets Toy Story. You can check out a preview courtesy of Runemaster Studios.

There will probably be no monsters in the live-action G.I. Joe movie, but that isn't stopping Stephen Sommers from taking the job as its director. Yes, IESB called it last week, but now it is confirmed: the guy who gave us The Mummy, The Mummy Returns and Van Helsing is helming the adaptation of our beloved toy/cartoon. And hopefully Sommers won't find any excuse to insert his usual surplus of bad CGI.

Maybe I have a bad memory, but I can't think of any reason why a G.I. Joe movie would even need special effects. Sommers could try to make Destroy completely computer animated, or put in an unnecessary giant cobra somewhere -- one with The Rock's face badly superimposed on it. I know, I'm giving not giving Sommers any credit at all, but I never saw any of his pre-Mummy pics (unlike Scott, who likes his Deep Rising), so I'm going to remain an admittedly unfair cynic about the news. I also don't know how well a live-action war-type movie for kids will really work out; and as far as Sommers' efforts with kid-friendly adaptations go, The Adventures of Huck Finn and The Jungle Book don't seem to have been well-received.

G.I. Joe has been given a new release goal, too. Paramount aims to bring the movie out in 2009, rather than in 2010, and is looking to begin production come February. The studio is also going to work with a new script. Apparently Sommers pitched his own idea for the movie Wednesday night, and Paramount loved it. The new version of the G.I. Joe, according to Variety, will actually be more X-Men and James Bond than war movie. Also, the title now stands for "Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, and COBRA is an evil arms-dealing organization. I guess the "real American hero" tag has to be eliminated to appeal to international markets, too.

A previous script was written by Skip Woods (Swordfish) that reportedly wasn't very good; it is unclear whether David Elliot and Paul Lovett (co-writers of Four Brothers) are still the new screenwriters for Sommers version (Variety says the studio is hiring a writer immediately -- presumably someone(s) new. According to another unconfirmed IESB scoop, the new scribe is actually Collateral's Stuart Beattie). It also wasn't announced whether or not Jason Statham is in fact appearing in the movie. Sommers and his Sommers Company partner Bob Ducsay now join Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers) and Hasbro's Brian Goldner as producers.

What with Rocky, Rambo and John McClane making late comebacks, it only makes sense that we'd get a new visit from Axel Foley. If producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has his way, we'll be seeing Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop 4 some time relatively soon. (Yes, even after that third one. Ugh.)

The producer told ComingSoon.net that while they haven't officially hired any writers yet, they've been consulting with folks and trying to hash out what the infamous cop's next adventure might be like: "We have not hired a writer yet, but we've been analyzing the franchise and asking lots and lots of people about Axel Foley. 'What do you love about Axel and what would you want to see with an Axel Foley movie?' I think we have enough information now that we'll probably be hiring a writer in the next four to eight weeks and taking a good shot at it."

The original Beverly Hills Cop (1984, Martin Brest) still stands as one of the mega-blockbusters of all time ($234 million, domestic). The first sequel (Tony Scott, 1987) was more of the same, right down to the profit margin ($153 million). The wholly unnecessary and frankly terrible second sequel (1994, John Landis) pretty much killed the franchise ($43 million) ... until now, it seems. Despite the fact that I only like the first BHC flick, I'd probably be open to a third sequel. If I have to choose between Beverly Hills Cop 4 or Norbit 2, well, that's not a very tough decision. (Knowing Eddie, we'll probably get both of those movies.)

Is Mark Wahlberg a real American hero? Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura apparently thinks so. IESB is reporting tonight that at the press junket for the Wahlberg vehicle Shooter, di Bonaventura said that as soon as his other project, Michael Bay's Transformers, wraps, he will "immediately" jump onto a G.I. Joe film, hopefully with Wahlberg on board as Conrad "Duke" Hauser. IESB also reports that the film will be set before the rise of COBRA, and focuses on how the future COBRA Commander started his terrorist group. COBRA villains Destro and Stormshadow will also apparently be featured in the film, while Hawk and Snake Eyes are slated to stand in for the good guys.

Wahlberg recently wrapped shooting on the crime drama We Own the Night, co-starring Joaquin Phoenix and Eva Mendes. He also has his name attached to a couple of other forthcoming projects, including a sequel to The Italian Job and The Fighter, which is the biopic of boxer Irish Micky Ward that will co-star Matt Damon. There's no further indication at this time how solid plans are to fast-track the G.I. Joe film, but it doesn't seem like the kind of project that sits on the back-burner for long.

Well the only other movie I can think of that was based on a Vanity Fair article was The Insider, and that was a fantastic film that managed to generate box office and Oscar buzz -- what more could you want? I would imagine that Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Jason Blum had similar ideas about adapting a high profile VF article,when they picked up their latest project for Paramount.

Variety reported that Blum and Di Bonaventura have bought the rights to David Wise's article The Shop for Paramount. Wise's article has yet to be published, but already a movie deal is on the table -- wow, they didn't waste any time did they? Wise, an investigative journalist, co-authored the infamous book about the CIA called The Invisible Government. Wise also is remembered for a column in the New York Times in 1981, that attacked Reagan for the pardon of Mark Felt (who's now probably better known as Woodward and Bernstein's Deep Throat).

Details about the project are being kept under lock and key, since the article hasn't even published. Plus, would you expect any less from a project about the intensely secret organization? Kelley Sane has already been hired to adapt the piece, but there is no word of a director yet, I can only assume it will be on a "need-to-know" basis. ...

[via Empire Online]