Millennium Films Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Every day, I get up and I wonder why the movie gods have never seen fit to grant us a Nicolas Cage movie in 3D. I can think of no flaw in The Wicker Man that a 3D bear suit punch couldn't fix altogether, and I know I'd be ten times more interested in The Sorcerer's Apprentice if we got some 3D trenchcoat swishing. But at last, my wish has been granted, though it probably won't be until 2010, 2011 or something, as The Hollywood Reporter has announced Cage will Drive Angry in three-freaking-D!

Directed by Patrick Lussier, who co-wrote the script with Todd Farmer, Drive Angry centers on a man who is driven literally and figuratively by rage. What has filled him with such unquenchable anger? Why, a gang that killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby. He's hunting them down, one by one, and mile by mile. I'm just going to quote THR here because to paraphrase would be a sin: "The vendetta / rescue spins out of control as the chase gets bloodier by the mile, leaving bodies strewn along the highway." If you thought Vanishing Point was too boring and 2D, Drive Angry will be the film for you.

Drive Angry will be burning rubber and leaving its gasoline fumes all over Shreveport, Louisiana in April, courtesy of Nu Image / Millennium Films' new Louisiana studio. As we wait for Cage to pop out of the screen, you can revive our Love Him or Tolerate Him debate all over again!

You can't keep a good Sylvester Stallone hero down, even if they should have been dead ten or twenty times over through the course of their 1980s careers. John Rambo is set to take another step towards complete and utter immortality as Variety reports that Stallone is officially putting a fifth Rambo film into production.

Stallone has been avidly talking about a fifth Rambo for nearly two years, and last anyone heard, was debating whether to set it in Austria or America. But seeing as there's not a ton of John Rambo-esque conflict in Austria at the moment, and Rambo did show him back on U.S. soil, he's opted for the latter. The storyline finds our hero on the U.S.-Mexican border, fighting through human traffickers and drug lords in order to rescue a young kidnapped girl. (Actually, I can see the exact same movie set in Austria, but Stallone & Company probably realized it would be too close to the story of Taken. Or maybe they really did opt in favor of geographical continuity.)

Lest you think this is just talk, Nu Image / Millennium Films have officially green-lit the film, and it's set to begin production in the spring. I know I should be really critical of this and roll my eyes, but I can't help it. There's something very comforting in seeing an old warhorse continue to unleash semi-automatic hell on those most deserving of it.

When news first hit regarding Sylvester Stallone's ensemble action flick The Expendables, it came as no surprise that some of the big names in action were willing to sign up. But it wasn't like the film had anyone attached who could be considered an 'actor with a capital A' -- however, that's about to change now that The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Forest Whitaker is in talks to take on the role of Agent Will Sands.

According to THR, "Whitaker would play the CIA liaison for a group of mercenaries who are clandestinely sent to South America to overthrow a dictator." Stallone has already secured action heavyweights Jet Li, Jason Statham, and UFC star Randy Couture to star. But those of you out there who had their fingers crossed for that 'Demolition Man' reunion with the return of Sandra Bullock are going to be disappointed since Millenium Films has since dismissed the rumor as "wishful thinking" -- although, I'm not quite sure who in their right mind would be anticipating a reunion between Bullock and Stallone, of all people.

Whitaker already has four other films being released this year, and is currently filming the drama My Own Love Song with Renée Zellweger, as well as finishing up some post-production voice work on the long-delayed adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. The talks with Whitaker for Expendables are still ongoing, but it's going to be an awfully tight timeline now that Stallone is already scouting locations for a February shoot.

The Expendables is expected to arrive in theaters in 2010.

So you might be wondering what a picture of Eric Bana swigging a beer in a Hulk t-shirt has to do with the remake of a French thriller. Well, the answer I'm afraid is nothing, its just one of my favorite pictures of the Aussie actor -- but back to the business at hand. Variety reports that Millennium Films is currently in talks with Bana to star in their remake of the French thriller, Le Convoyeur (now titled, Armored).

The original film was written and directed by Nicolas Boukhrief, but Millennium have their eye on F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job) to take over the remake. The script was also given a re-working by David Ayer (Training Day) and Andrew Kevin Walker. The story centers on a man (presumably to be played by Bana) working for an armored car company who manages to ingratiate himself into a heist planned by his co-workers. But as it turns out, our protagonist has his own motives for weaseling his way into this band of lowlifes.

Bana had originally been set to star in the flick before dropping the project to play Nero in J.J. Abram's Star Trek reboot. So what could have changed his mind? According to Variety, Bana "has a deal negotiated down to what sources described as a $7.5 million paycheck." Not bad for a guy who has yet to really break out as a leading man.

Bana's schedule would appear to be packed for the foreseeable future, including promoting Trek and the romantic weepy, *The Astronaut's Wife. Not to mention he will be making his directing debut with the documentary, Love the Beast, later this year. Armored is scheduled to start production on April 1st, so Millennium is going to have to work fast if they want to convince Bana to sign on -- I personally can think of 7.5 million reasons to sign on the dotted line.

*Correction: Bana will star opposite Rachel McAdams in The Time Traveler's Wife.

It's been a long time since the Red Sonja remake was announced -- actually, it's not so much a remake as an all-new movie based on the character who originated in the pages of Marvel Comics (and who was based on two separate characters created by Robert E. Howard) -- but now we finally have some updates, courtesy of USA Today. First, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Desperado) will be producing. Second, Rodriguez' girlfriend, Rose McGowan (Grindhouse), is playing the lead. Third, Rodriguez protégé Douglas Aarniokoski (second unit on Once Upon a Time in Mexico) is directing. Fourth, shooting begins this October. Supposedly neither Rodriguez nor McGowan have seen Richard Fleischer's 1985 version, so we should attempt to wipe away all memories of that critical and commercial failure, if possible, and try to imagine something completely different. Something that will be good enough to kick off a franchise.

I'm actually not sure if I ever saw the old Red Sonja, either, but I can still only picture Brigitte Nielsen in the title role. It's just one of those iconic -- I don't want to say performances, because it's just the actress and costume I picture -- casting decisions. You know you can see her, too: that awesome red mullet; that scale armor skirt; the breast plate that hardly covers her breasts. OK, now try to imagine Rose McGowan in the same costume. I know, it's hot, but it still doesn't seem right. However, Rodriguez told USA Today exactly why she does seem right: "Rose is a pistol. She's whip-smart, has attitude to burn, is sexy, extremely strong, yet has a vulnerable side that would surprise her closest friends. That description also fits Red Sonja."

There must be a Hollywood rule that stipulates a new version of The Three Musketeers every ten years or so. The last outing of the gallant Frenchmen was 1998's The Man in the Iron Mask, so they are right on schedule. Variety is reporting that Millennium Films is the latest to tackle the tale.

Details are scarce, but what sets this new take apart is that it will be an origin story for Aramis, Porthos and Athos. As their backgrounds were shrouded in mystery, this means it will not really be using much that is actually written by Alexander Dumas.
The film is intended to be a franchise, with D'Artagnan appearing in the second or third installment.

He's one of pop culture's most beloved outer space adventurers, but we sure haven't seen a lot of good ol' Buck Rogers lately. (Then again, Flash Gordon's most recent incarnation was pretty awful, so maybe that's a good thing.) Born in 1928 from the pen of Mr. Philip Nowlan, Buck Rogers was a pilot / astronaut who fell into a five-century coma, only to awaken to find the world all futurized and stuff: robots, laser guns, spaceships, interstellar wars, all that jazz.

On screens of various size, the character has appeared in a 12-part 1939 serial from Universal Pictures, a short-lived 1950 television series, and (of course) a 1979 movie / TV program that starred Gil Gerard and (sigh) Erin Gray. So the big guy is heading back to the cinemas? Yep. According to IGN Movies, it's Avi Lerner's Millennium Films that will resurrect the Buck Rogers character for a whole new generation of sci-fi nerdlings. (I guess Millennium is using their Rambo money on this project.)

But it gets even geekier! Apparently author / artist / filmmaker Frank Miller will be the one in the director's chair! IGN says that the $40 million Buck Rogers project will be Miller's next gig once he's all finished with The Spirit. The screenplay comes from genre veteran Flint Dille, but there's one thing that gives me a little pause, and it's this quote specifically: "The cheapness of the low-budget effects will be a running joke in the movie, which will retain the campiness of the 1980s TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century starring Gil Gerard." Whoa, really? That's the direction you want to go in, fellas? Maybe I'm just an old-school Kaelist, but I think BAD things happen when you try to force "campiness." A sense of humor is fine, but let's not make a cheap joke out of good ol' Buck Rogers.

Even though we reported a few months ago that New Line Cinema had acquired the rights to Robert E. Howard's famous sword-fighting Cimmerian Conan the Barbarian, it now appears that news was a bit premature. According to Variety, production/distribution company Millennium Films has finally won the rights to the character after New Line could not close the deal -- even after getting the exclusive right to negotiate for the franchise back in June.

According to the article, rights-holder Paradox Entertainment president and chief executive officer Fredrik Malmberg finally chose Millennium Films after extricating the rights from Warner Brothers last spring -- where the franchise had languished for several years under various directors including The Wachowski Brothers and Robert Rodriguez. With New Line unable to come to final terms this week, Malmberg went with Millennium in a seven-figure deal allowing the company to produce a slate of films based on the character.

Malmberg will produce the new films along with Millennium's Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, Joe Gatta and George Furla. The company intends to start production on the first of the films by next spring. Reading this news I have to say I'm a bit concerned. As a huge fan of the original Robert E. Howard books and many of the subsequent print and cinematic versions of Conan -- with the notable exception of Red Sonja -- I worry that the cinematic future of this great character is now in the hands of the people responsible for films like Alien Hunter, The Shepherd and Blonde Ambition.

Although, to be fair, Millennium has also turned out some good films too, including, um, well help me out here . . At least, according to the article, they say they intend to be more faithful to the original source material than the series of films featuring His Honor the Governor of California. I hope they stick to that and the films turn out great because the character and the story deserve it. Although, I have to say I'm not particularly optimistic about the chances of that actually happening.

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.