Mark Poirier Tagged Articles at Cinematical

There have been murmurs of a sequel, but what about an English language remake for the insanely awesome Korean horror flick, The Host (Gwoemul)? (Come on, you know it was inevitable.) Variety reports that Universal is teaming up with Gore Verbinski to bring Bong Joon-ho's horror insanity stateside. But don't worry about this turning into Pirates of the Caribbean. Commercial director Fredrik Bond is making the jump to the big screen to helm the remake, with Smart People scribe Mark Poirier penning the script.

It sounds like they're going for the same scenario -- toxins from a military base flow into a river and create "a giant mutant squidlike creature" (or tadpole!). The creature hits land, steals a little girl, and her "dysfunctional family" must team up to save her.

Do we need it? No. The original cast and crew did an amazing job and made one of the funniest horror movies that I've seen in years. But we're going to get it. So now we have to decide: Would we want it to be as similar to the original as possible, or should Poirier go wild with the script so that it doesn't look anything like Gwoemul? I'm leaning towards the latter -- there's no way he can top the original, and a lot of the strangeness and jokes just won't translate.

Who would have thought four little words on a banner would have caused such a commotion. Variety reports that Paramount and MTV films are hoping to cash in on some of the 'righteous indignation' over a young student whose high school suspension became a national free-speech debate. The deal was struck with Joseph Frederick (the student in question), his father Frank, and Doug Mertz, the local attorney who took his case. All three made life rights deals for the film.

In 2002, Frederick (along with several friends) held up a banner with the words 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' during the Winter Olympics torch relay, passing through his home town of Juneau, Alaska. Even though he was not on school property at the time, his principal ordered that he be suspended from school for 10 days for supposedly violating their drug policy (c'mon, he wasn't even doing said 'bong hits' at the time!) Supported by family and friends, Frederick took his suit to the Supreme Court. The court ultimately ruled that "a school principal may, consistent with the First Amendment, restrict student speech at a school event when that speech is reasonably viewed as promoting illegal drug use".

Mark Poirier (Smart People) will write the script, but there is no word on a cast or director yet. Producer Michael Shamberg (who has already worked on true-life dramas like Erin Brockovich and World Trade Center) tells Variety, "The tone is 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,' about a young man standing up for his rights." He adds, "The heart of this story is the relationship between a father and son. Frank Frederick was an insurance adjuster facing the loss of his job if his son didn't back down" So even though they might have lost the case, no one is making a feature film about Frederick's principal, so I guess Frederick and family will get the last laugh after all. So, do you think the title will stand? And what in the world does 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' have to do with the Winter Olympics?

After lingering around the studio system for awhile now (with Robert Redford and Gary Winnick previously attached), commercial director Noam Murro has been brought on to make his feature debut with Smart People, a co-production of Groundswell Prods. (second day in a row for them), QED International and Grosvenor Park. Joining the pic is a very smart cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Rachel Weisz and Thomas Hayden Church (who reunites with Sideways producer Michael London).

In the film, Quaid will play a college professor who turns a bit nutty following the death of his wife. However, life soon becomes even more complicated when he falls in love with a former student (Weisz) and his adopted brother (Church) drops in to pay a visit. Flick goes into production this November in Pittsburgh with a script by Mark Poirier (who, as a novelist, is making his screenwriting debut).