Paul W. S. Anderson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Medical science tells us that there's a portion of the brain called the R-complex that, nestled low and close to the spinal cord, governs simple, automatic brain functions like respiration and reflex and heart rate; other outlying, larger brain structures cover language, culture, memory and art. I mention this because Death Race, writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson's re-visitation of the 1975 trash-classic Death Race 2000, is wholly, entirely and perfectly designed to appeal to the R-complex portion of your brain. Death Race roars, rages and races down the track, all velocity and visceral violence, unencumbered by logic, sense, reason or dignity. My more evolved brain structures kept objecting to Death Race's more ludicrous contortions as it whipped around its curves, but my R-complex didn't want to hear the high-pitched whining voice of logic and reason; it simply grunted, settled into a soft cushion of popcorn topping and said "Shut up, bigger brain; bald man who talk cool killing now."

Yes, there is more news on Castlevania. Like it or loathe it, the adaptation keeps moving forward! The latest news is that Sylvain White, the guy behind Stomp the Yard, has signed onto to direct the live-action film. This makes things interesting. Is it a good move? Perhaps. White found success with Stomp, but he also helmed Trois 3: The Escort. The guys behind Castlevania seem to be hopeful -- White gets seven-figures for the job, which shoots in South Africa and Romania in the late fall. The script, which was penned by W. S. Anderson, is about the clash between Vlad the Impaler (Dracula, people!) and the Belmont family, who have "unleashed the original vampire" and must fight to defeat him. White says: "Most of the vampire films have been present or set in the future, from Blade to Underworld, and I was attracted by the chance to make a dark, epic period movie that almost has an anime feel to it."

The directorial chair was originally Anderson's, but he stepped down to re-make Death Race 2000. It's just as well, he can't be the name behind every single old-school Nintendo game. Beyond his Castlevania script, he's also got Spy Hunter in pre-production, and I wouldn't be surprised if something like Zelda or Ghost and Goblins followed. My dream is for an interactive Track and Field -- where the movie has you maniacally hitting on those damned little buttons until your fingers blister, just to get your guy across the finish line (unless you had that great controller with the turbo button). If only technology would catch up...

I've got a few updates for you from recent stories:

• After bringing you word that Paul W. S. Anderson might be leaving the Castlevania adaptation, it turns out that it's a whole bunch of hooey. IGN spoke with the director, and he's still quite attached to the feature. According to Anderson: "Both Death Race and Castlevania are set up at Universal. The studio wants to make both films, but obviously there is a scheduling conflict which we are trying to resolve. I am very passionate about Castlevania and whatever happens I will remain actively involved in my role as writer and producer." So, that's it, folks. You can yay or nay, but either way... Anderson is here to stay!
• A week ago, Scott alerted us to a spicy video up on YouTube that has director David O. Russell going crazy on Lily Tomlin on the I Heart Huckabees set -- it's basically a screaming, adult male temper tantrum. Now some people seem to think that George Clooney is behind it all. While it may sound like a jump, it seems that this clip was originally shown to Hollywood agents last fall, and sources told Radar that Clooney was the man behind it. So, if he was showing people in the fall, could he be the one to do it today? A Clooney rep laughed at the idea, saying that the actor "doesn't know how to put a video on YouTube. He barely knows how to e-mail." Radar's theory: he joined together with Edward Tise, who is working on Leatherheads with the actor, and was also part of the Three Kings crew. It seems like a bit of a stretch to me, since Clooney does what he can to stay out of the tabloid craze, but maybe he took a bullet for irked Russell* actors everywhere. [via FilmIck]

*Thanks to soundboy64 for the catch!

For some, news that Paul W. S. Anderson was going to head the Castlevania movie was comparable to running sharp fingernails down a chalkboard, for others like our Scott Weinberg, it was enough to get the anxious blood pumping. Depending on your excitement level, you might be happy or ticked to find out that the latest rumors say that the director has left the film. According to sources at Dread Central, Anderson is off the project, but they're not sure if he was unhappy with how things were progressing or just impatient. Cinematical has been covering the film since back in 2005, so it sure isn't moving very fast.

For those not familiar with all things Konami, Castlevania is a long-running video game series that pits the vampire-hunting Belmont family against Dracula. Me, I can take the news or leave it. I try not to get too amped about a video game or comic book adaptation unless I really, really like the director attached, like Sam Raimi. What I am more anxious about is the fact that he isn't dropping out of Death Race 3000. Give him Castlevania, but don't let him mess with the likes of Sly's Death Race 2000! (Yeah, I'm much more of a Goonies II fan than a Castlevania fan.) It's not so much a slight against him, but the desire for some crappy goodness to exist free of a re-visiting.

[via Dark Horizons]

Hey all you Resident Evil fans - yes, all six of you: details have been firmed up for the third installment in the series, and lots of the major figures are coming back. Woo hoo! A talentless hack Paul W.S. Anderson wrote the screenplay (as he did for parts one and two) to be directed by Russell Mulcahy, and queen of all white action chicks Milla Jovovich is back as Alice, which is all that really matters. She'll be wandering from Nevada to Alaska, all the while dodging zombies, lab rats, and "the minions of the perpetually scheming Dr. Isaacs." And, because they apparently aren't getting offered any other jobs, Mike Epps, Oded Fehr, and Iain Glen are all coming back for the adventure. (As an aside, what's the deal with Glen? He's a good actor who's done some interesting stuff, and yet he can't get paid for anything that's not a video game movie.)

Though the title of this one is a rather final-sounding Resident Evil: Extinction, only a fool would assume it's going to be the last installment. I mean, Milla and Anderson broke up, and this one is still being made - if the death of love didn't kill the series off, what could?

We've reported a couple of times about the upcoming, Jet Li-starring Tekken movie, as well as the Paul W.S. Anderson-helmed Castlevania (neither of which our gamer readers seem very optimistic about). The studio behind both of those films is the small Crystal Sky Pictures, whose jones for video games movies is now officially out of control: not only did they recently buy the rights to Pac Man, but they're actually committed to turning those rights into a "live-action fantasy adventure."

Um, excuse me? Did you say "live-action?" How is this going to work, exactly? Are people going to be dressed up in giant foam costumes? And will they chase dots for two hours? Uh huh. While no director is currently attached to this project, I think we all know the man for whom this project is crying out. Say it with me now, friends: Uwe. Boll.