MikeNewell Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I was just watching Monsters, Inc this past week, and wondering why it belonged to Pixar's no sequel club ... and guess what's in the works now? Dedicated Disney blogger Jim Hill visited this year's Licensing International Expo, and talked to the fine people who were representing Disney and Pixar, and buying up licensing rights.

Reportedly, Pete Docter (fresh off his success with Up) is planning to return to Monstropolis and helm a sequel to his previous Pixar effort, Monsters, Inc. Obviously, story details are shrouded in secrecy, but they've got Cars 2 and Toy Story 3 in the works, it's not much of a stretch to believe they'd revisit Mike and Sully. While it's a delightfully complete film, it's also a wonderful world, and I'd like to go there again.

Hill also reports that Disney is really focusing its efforts on The Lone Ranger, and are hoping to have it in theaters by Summer 2011. As you may remember, Mike Newell was hired to direct, and Johnny Depp is set to play Tonto.
Intent on launching a Ranger franchise, they've pushed back Jack Sparrow's, and are now planning to release the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean installment to a tenative date of Summer 2012. Both franchises offer a dose of Depp, so the Pirates fanbase should be pretty happy with that. Frankly, I'm willing to trade tricorns just to know just who they cast as that masked man ....

It's been a long time since we had any buzz or movement on The Lone Ranger. For a movie that reunites Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, and Pirates' scribes Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott ... it's just kind of sitting there. But that's probably a good thing -- we want them to take their time.

At last though, they might have a director. Production Weekly Tweeted that Mike Newell is "in talks" to direct The Lone Ranger for Disney. Yes, the British director of Four Weddings and a Funeral, High Fidelity, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and perhaps most importantly, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Clearly, Bruckheimer is hiring from within the "family," but let's look at it as a sign that Disney and Bruckheimer might really dig what Newell did with Prince of Persia. (Erik Davis liked what he saw too, for the record.)

It's not official, but let's talk about it like it is. I thought Newell did a pretty bang-up job with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and directors from Across the Pond tend to do a pretty good job tackling Western mythology like The Lone Ranger. Do you think he'd be a good pick?

Well, for all of us out there waiting for Jake Gyllenhaal to don the infamous puffy pants for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, it turns out we are going to have to wait a lot longer than we thought. Variety announced yesterday that Disney has scrapped their original release date of June 19, 2009 for the big-screen adaptation of Ubisoft's best-selling game, and has pushed the release back to May, 2010 (that's right, almost a full year later). Disney has a lot riding on the production, and are hoping to turn it into their next big franchise -- so why the delay?

The official word from Disney was that the change was required to "to allow plenty of time for post-production considering that the tent pole will require extensive special effects to create its fantasy world and set pieces." Not to mention that the delay gives producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney some wiggle room in the event of an actor's strike. But the more logical reason for the delay was that if Persia kept its original release date, it would be going up against Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen -- and I think we all know who would win that box-office battle.

So what 'summer behemoth' will Persia battle instead? The lucky winner is Shrek Goes Fourth; which will probably prove to be an easier opponent for the video game flick at the box office. Director Mike Newell just started shooting on location in Morocco last week, and then will head off to London to finish the film. Now, if we can just get the film into theaters, we are all set.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will now open in theaters on May 28th, 2010.

Despite all the awards attention it received, Joe Wright's Atonement still sounds too much like a lushly romantic period melodrama for my personal taste. Still, it's one of those movies you probably need to experience yourself before deciding if the praise was too lavish (Ryan Stewart thought it was a "stunning achievement") or the criticism too harsh. The DVD from Universal Studios includes deleted scenes, two "making of" features, and an audio commentary by the director.

From all that I've read, Southland Tales sounds like an astonishing train wreck. Nick Schager began his review for Cinematical by writing: "Let me present Exhibit A in the case against granting talented young filmmakers extensive creative autonomy." Given my perverse nature, that makes me want to see Richard Kelly's futuristic epic even more. The DVD from Sony Pictures includes a "featurette" and an animated short.

Steep presents thrilling footage of big mountain skiers who swoosh down incredibly steep slopes. As I noted in my review, though, I felt it raised more questions than it wanted to answer. The DVD from Sony Pictures includes an audio commentary by director Mark Obenhaus with some of the skiers, photo montages, and an additional interview with one of the sport's masters.

Though it was ignored during last fall's awards season, Mike Newell's Love in the Time of Cholera might be ripe for discovery. (On the other hand, Jeffrey M. Anderson really didn't like it.) Javier Bardem and Benjamin Bratt star in an adaptation of the novel by Gabriel García Márquez. The DVD from New Line includes an audio commentary by Newell, a "making of" feature, and deleted scenes.

Since way back in 1897, Morocco has been a popular location for movies looking for a little 'exoticism' in their backdrops. Variety reports that the next big-budget Hollywood flick to land there will be the big-screen version of The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Director Mike Newell signed on back in November, and will be shooting from a Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) script starting early this June. Persia is based on the best-selling franchise from Ubisoft about a royal son with the power to control time -- with the added bonus that he is responsible for unleashing the mother of all curses on his kingdom.

Back in December, producer Jerry Bruckheimer had confirmed that a script was in the works. Other than some info that they would be using plot elements from the game Sands of Time, nothing had been finalized. In fact, there are still a lot of question marks hanging over the film, including who was going to be donning the hero's puffy pants. Earlier this month, there was a quick glimpse of concept art, but let's just say you aren't going to learn much about the flick by looking at a few title cards. Bruckheimer and Disney are eyeing a summer release in 2009 so they are going to have to get to work if they want to meet the deadline. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is tentatively scheduled for release on June 16th, 2009.

Collider recently caught up with blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer during a press junket for National Treasure 2, when the subject of the big screen version of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia came up. Bruckheimer tells Collider that Persia is set to begin shooting this June. Unfortunately it all hinges on whether the writer's strike has been resolved, since Bruckheimer admits that the script is far from complete, saying, "we have a screenplay, we're just starting to develop the look of it" -- which roughly translates to "my assistant has made some notes while playing the game," I'm guessing. The original plot of the game centered on Prince Shahraman, who is tricked into unleashing a plague on his land and gains the power to control time. Of course, there is also the usual video game goal of rescuing a princess.

Back in November, Chris had reported that Harry Potter director Mike Newell had been offered the job. Well, it seems that Newell is officially on board since Bruckheimer told the site, "We hired a very interesting director, Mike Newell, who did one of the Harry Potter's and also did Donnie Brasco and he's a very inventive, ingenious director and I think he's going to bring something really special to it." The film is expected to work in some of the plot elements of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

The third person action game released by Ubisoft back in 2003 was a huge fan favorite. Combined with the outright suckiness of most video game flicks, there is a lot for Newell to overcome if he wants to make sure that audiences are happy with the final product. Two more sequels to the game were released in '04 and '05, so there is plenty of opportunity for additional films. Considering Bruckheimer's fondness for franchises, there is a real possibility we will be seeing more of the Persian Prince in the years to come.

Not only is playing a Harry Potter character one of the most sought after jobs for British actors, it apparently is a gig some of them wish they could keep. In an interview with MTV, Kenneth Branagh, who played Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, revealed that he was hoping to see his character's name prominently featured in the seventh and final book, Deathly Hallows. That way he could return to the movie franchise, something he had also hoped for with the making of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the character appears briefly in that book). But Branagh didn't simply want a little cameo in the final movie, he jokes that he should have been revealed to be Harry's dad. At least, I think that's what he meant. I'm not sure how that plot revelation would have worked out, but I guess since the actor-director was kidding, it doesn't matter.

Branagh did also reveal that he was considered to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but it ended up going to Alfonso Cuarón. He said the main reason he wanted to direct an installment was because of the kids, who he liked working with a lot. He thought they had more potential than they were exhibiting -- perhaps he can cast some of them in one of his Shakespeare adaptations down the line? I think Emma Watson would make an excellent Viola/Cesario -- which I personally think they finally got to show in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, under Mike Newell's direction. However, when asked whether or not he'd like to helm the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Branagh said he thinks Warner Bros. will likely choose one of the series' previous directors (Columbus, Cuarón, Newell or Yates), any of whom he thinks would do nicely. Anyway, Shawn over at MTV Movies Blog put out the question of what character the fans most wanted to see reappear in the movies. You could leave him a comment about that over there, or feel free to tell us below.

I know I'm relatively alone on this, but my favorite Harry Potter movie is Goblet of Fire, which was directed by Mike Newell. I thought Newell, who also gave us Four Weddings and a Funeral and Enchanted April, got a lot of great stuff out of the cast and also seemed to inject a Britishness that I felt was missing from the series. Now, I'm not sure if either character development or Anglo-ization is something needed in an adaptation of the video game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, but I'm still happy to see that Newell could be hired to direct the movie. According to Variety, Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney have offered Newell the project, which is expected to spawn a new franchise for the producer and studio -- likely as a replacement for the maybe-done Pirates of the Caribbean series. The Prince of Persia script has been written by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) and had earlier been offered to blockbuster director Michael Bay.

I probably know the least about video games than anyone (I only like playing Rampage at my favorite arcade-bar), and Wikipedia's detail of the storyline of Prince of Persia makes my head spin. So, all I can really tell you about the story is that it involves an ancient Persian prince, a "Dagger of Time" that allows the prince to control time, and some undead creatures made of sand. Hopefully a game-playing reader can give a more concise plot description in the comments. It sounds a little more action-packed than Newell is used to, and I suspect many fans of the games will be skeptical of his ability to handle the material. I think I like Newell more than most people -- though I couldn't bring myself to watch Mona Lisa Smile -- and I look forward to seeing what he does with it. I'm still anxious to see his upcoming adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera (out 11/16), despite the few bad reviews I've seen, and I really wish he'd be called back for the final Potter movie.

We have only a month and a half until Mike Newell brings Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera to the big screen on November 16. Between a script from The Piano scribe Ronald Harwood, and a cast that includes Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt, Liev Schreiber, and John Leguizamo, the picture should be well-worth the admission price. Last month, Erik Davis unveiled the wet rose one sheet for the film, that included a naked, lounging woman and a strategically-placed rose petal. Now, following the new trend of seeing film openings before the release date, the title sequence for the film has been put on Submarine Channel. This time around, however, there's no spoilers or plot, just lots of hand-made, moving art.

The title sequence was created by Paul Donnellon of VooDooDog, and it consists of a bunch of bright flowers that have the feel of a moving oil painting. He says: "The idea was to give a feeling of the colors and atmosphere of South America for the audience. The animation was a bit painstaking to produce as each frame of the beautifully rendered flowers had to move in a different way, rather than some mechanical animation." While they look like some simple flowers and ivy, the team studied time lapse footage and went for painting-like foliage with an accurate moving feel. Unfortunately, the moving art is all too brief before the film heads into still picture of flowers with the names of those involved in the production. If funky art title sequences are up your alley, the site also includes bits from projects like Lemony Snicket and The Starter Wife.

[via Movie City Indie]

In the last ten years or so, the popularity of Gabriel García Márquez's work has increased exponentially. Oprah made him a sensation with her book club, but One Hundred Years of Solitude isn't his only buzzing tale. Love in the Time of Cholera has gotten its fair share of media attention as well -- most notably in two John Cusack movies. In Serendipity, he had to find the novel to get Kate Beckinsale's number, and in High Fidelity, Rob Gordon says that he understands the book (along with The Unbearable Lightness of Being) and says: "They're about girls. Right?" Just a week ago, Erik Davis shared the film adaptation's one sheet, and now The Hollywood Reporter has posted that it will get its world premiere during the Rio International Film Festival -- one of Latin America's biggest fests.

You still have a little bit of time to get in on the action, that is, if you have a schedule where spur-of-the-moment fest trips can be fit in. Rio runs from September 20-October 4, and the film is slated to close the fest. In case you're not familiar with the story -- it's a late 19th and early 20th century love triangle between Fermina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) and Doctor Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt), which spans 50 years in Colombia.* Sweetening the screening, director Mike Newell, Bardem, and some of the film's producers will be there on closing night. I can only hope this film does well and brings some of García Márquez's lesser-known works to light. I'd love to see what cinema could do with his non-fiction, first-person recreation -- The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor. We'll find out soon enough -- the movie opens on November 16.

*Thanks to Lauren for the catch!