Neal Moritz Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When we last heard about New Line's adaptation of Jack and the Giant Killer, the fantasy tale was being helmed by D.J. Caruso. It started popping up on Bryan Singer's To Do list when they announced the inexplicable Excalibur remake -- but now it's become official, as The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Jack will be Singer's next film, leaving Caruso free to work on Y: The Last Man if he so chooses.

Jack is a slight reworking of (shocker!) Jack and the Beanstalk with a dash of The Brave Little Tailor. It dispenses with that "I'll sell you some magic beans, and some oceanfront property in Arizona" trope, and is instead set in motion when a giant kidnaps a princess. Obviously, that premeditated action is unacceptable, and it threatens the longstanding peace between men and giants. A young farmer named Jack is given the task to lead an expedition to the giants' kingdom in the hopes of rescuing her. Mark Bomback and Darren Lemke penned the script, which is reportedly a more mature take on the fairy tale than you or I might expect. I don't think that means any rampant sex, violence, or cussing but rather that it'll feature the kind of unblinking action that Lord of the Rings did. I mean, Jack's fighting giants. That's hardcore when done realistically.

The project has no start date, but is being fast-tracked and will be Singer's next film if something else doesn't catch his eye. There's no rumors yet as to who might play farmer Jack, but if they run into a crunch, I think our own Erik Davis still knows the script by heart. He already did a fine job on stage from all reports, and going with an original cast member is always good for the material.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, everyone's favorite webslinger is tackling another comic book adaptation. Tobey Maguire is teaming up with Neal Moritz to produce Afterburn, a comic series published by Red 5 Comics. There's no word yet if Maguire plans to star, or if he's sticking behind the scenes on this one. No writer has been assigned to adapt.

Afterburn is a sci-fi adventure set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, where the Eastern Hemisphere has been destroyed by a massive solar flare. Those who survived have mutated due to the radioactive fallout. In this bleak setting lives a group of treasure hunters, who are happy to track down priceless treasures like the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone, and the Crown Jewels -- for the right price. After all, they have to combat rival hunters, mutants and pirates. It sounds like Tomb Raider meets the X-Men. It's been getting pretty good reviews across the Internet, so I may just have to check it out since I'm a sucker for anything involving treasure hunters.

As cute, cuddly, and companion-filled as pets are, there's always been that eerie and underlying fear about what they could accomplish if. Would the buggers turn on you and try to eat you if the world's food supply disappeared? Could they become possessed by an old burial ground, like Pet Sematary?

There's no creepy graves in sight, but The Hollywood Reporter posts that Columbia Pictures has picked up a new spec for Neal Moritz to produce called Animals, from newbie writer Mike Sobel. Said to be a horror/thriller, the film will focus on what happens when the Earth's animals turn on humans. (Will they stop being polite, and start getting real?) We're not just talking lions, tigers, and bears, but chipmunks, house cats, and tiny lop-eared bunnies. ALL animals. I'm sort of surprised that comedy isn't mentioned anywhere, so I imagine the protags will only have to deal with the scarier animals. If some bunny goes human-hungry on-screen, that'll just end up looking like Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

As for Sobel, he's some guy who worked as an assistant district attorney in New York, and left his job to make it big in Los Angeles a year ago. Hmm... I imagine there are a lot of struggling writers out there grumbling right now. But still, kudos for making it, Mike.

All we have is a director and a leading lady, but it sure looks like we're due for another trip into Horror Remake Country. The actress is Brittany Snow, the director is Nelson McCormick, and the title is ... Prom Night. Yes, Prom Night, the horror flick that Jamie Lee Curtis did after Halloween and The Fog, but before Terror Train, Roadgames and Halloween 2. Yes, Prom Night, one of the only "modern" films in which you're asked to accept Leslie Nielsen as a normal human being. (Creepshow would be another.)

Sony's Screen Gems is the one behind this particular remake, and it's producer Neal Moritz who'll be coaxing Prom Night back to the silver screen. Mr. Moritz's most recent movies include Click, Stealth and xXx: State of the Union. Horror fans may know Moritz from titles like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legends: Final Cut, I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer ... and Soul Survivors. Can't wait. Raise your hand if you think the new Prom Night will be a PG-13 affair. Sigh.

Seriously though -- have we learned nothing from the remakes of 13 Ghosts, The Amityville Horror, Black Christmas, The Fog, The Haunting, The Hitcher, House of Wax, House on Haunted Hill, The Omen, Psycho, When a Stranger Calls or The Wicker Man? What's that? Most of those lame-o remakes turned a profit? Oh. Then I guess we really have learned something...

[ via Bloody-Disgusting.com ]

So a few years back there was this Japanese film that was SO outrageously and controversially violent that no U.S. distributor would touch the thing -- it was about a bunch of high school kids who were dropped onto a deserted island and forced to murder each other. It, of course, was Battle Royale, and it's as blisteringly, nastily cool as its sequel is virtually worthless.

So now comes word that New Line Cinema and producer Neal H. Moritz have acquired the rights to make an American version ... because, I guess, we've allowed enough time to pass since Colombine, and it's now perfectly acceptable for Battle Royale to make its way stateside -- if only in an inevitably diluted package full of MTV-style actors.

For the record, Mr. Moritz's previous films include (get this) all three Urban Legend flicks, all three I Know What You Did Last Summer travesties, both of the xXx sweat-fests, all three of the retarded Skulls movies, and the painfully bad Cruel Intentions trilogy, as well as S.W.A.T., Torque, Stealth, Slackers, Saving Silverman, Blue Streak, Volcano, Soul Survivors, and the freakin' Fast and the Furious trilogy, allllll of which give a pretty good indication as to what the American Battle Royale might look like: junk.