Pierre Morel Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Oh, us Americans. Even when we turn out for the movies with the words on the screen, we still can't seem to stand those words on the screen. After all, why else would Variety say that an English-language remake in the works for both last summer's art-house hit Tell No One as well as District B13, which kicks ass in any language?

The former was based on a crackling mystery by American author Harlan Coben, albeit one transplanted to a French setting, and was most noteworthy for one sweet foot chase and a fairly loopy denouement. (Here's a thought: have the bi-lingual Kristen Scott Thomas reprise her role here.)

The latter was pretty much one sweet foot chase drawn out to feature length, with some punches and kicks thrown in for good measure, as a cop and a criminal parkour their way through post-apocalyptic Paris. (Don't believe me? After the jump... pun moderately intended.)

You know what? Let's combine the two. A doctor under suspicion for the murder of his wife -- who appears to be very much alive -- goes on the run to clear his name AND deactivate a nuclear weapon. With a plot like that, who needs words?

For the past several years, there has been a tug-of-war in the world of action films. Some, like the Jason Bourne and recent James Bond movies, have sought to establish moodier, more introspective heroes who face realistic dilemmas in the midst of the usual shooting and car chases. Others, like Shoot 'em Up, Crank, and The Transporter, have gone the other way, decreasing characterization to almost nothing and focusing entirely on over-the-top action. Both philosophies are viable; the only problem is when a film tries to have it both ways, like Quantum of Solace and Transporter 3 did.

It's very pleasing, then, that after playing nearly everywhere else in the world, the French-produced (but English-language) Taken has finally come to American shores, where it is welcome as a delightfully dizzying balm to soothe the pain inflicted by recent action films that have failed to deliver. It subscribes to the less-talk-more-rock school of thought, intentionally free of nuance but overbrimming with relentless, efficient, energetic mayhem. It plays out like a season of 24, crammed into 90 minutes.

Our Jack Bauer is named Bryan Mills, played by Liam Neeson -- and yes, they found a way to make Oskar Schindler into an action hero. Mills used to be a CIA operative, but he quit and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to his teenage daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), who lives there with her mother (Famke Janssen) and filthy-rich stepfather (Xander Berkeley). Mills regrets letting his work ruin his family life, and he wants to make up for lost time.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from the film Taken, starring Liam Neeson as a former spy who must use his old skills when his estranged daughter is kidnapped and forced into the slave trade. Taken is director Pierre Morel's follow-up to the fun and exhilarating District B13, and with a script from both Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, you know you're in store for a little action. In fact, advance buzz on this flick is extremely positive -- so much so that some websites are questioning the late January release date. Personally, I think it's fine to release a good film in January or February. Heck, if it's a great flick, does it really matter when it's released? Last I checked, people were still willing to go to the movies in the middle of winter when it's freezing out and there's nothing better to do.

So bring on Taken this January 30th -- I'm officially stoked to see it!

Liam Neeson's thriller Taken hasn't hit stateside yet -- but it looks like its director, Pierre Morel, already has another job. Relativity Media acquired the rights to Arne Schmidt's screenplay Hunter-Killer, based on Don Keith and Commander George Wallace's novel Firing Point.

Hunter-Killer fills a giant gap in today's cinema -- there just aren't enough movies set on submarines. (Have you ever toured one? If you can stop yourself from imitating Sean Connery or Das Boot, they really are terrifying places to be.) The story follows an American submarine commander and a team of Navy SEALS who must avert all-out war, rescue the Russian President in the midst of a coup, and defeat a renegade Admiral. No word on casting yet, but it will be fun to see what up-and-coming action stars land the macho parts -- particularly since American cinema is reportedly quite short of them.

It sounds a bit like The Hunt for Red October, which isn't a bad thing -- and it's a pretty timely choice for Relativity in light of recent geopolitical events. After Eastern Promises, I thought we were going to see Russian mafia dramas replace the Italian and Irish ones ... but instead, the Russians are making a huge comeback as the villains of action cinema. Coincidence, or savvy optioning on the part of Hollywood? Who knows? It definitely feels like 1980 again ... and I'm okay with that. Are you?

I'm not convinced that the Liam Neeson kidnapping thriller Taken, due during this year's annual September movie wasteland, is going to amount to much. I can't get too excited about the concept -- former superspy goes after his kidnapped daughter instead of paying ransom -- and I'm not nearly as enamored with director Pierre Morel's parkour-popularizing debut, District B13, as other folks are. But I'll say this: the speech that's the centerpiece of the film's new trailer, which you can see above, is kind of a tour de force. Casting Neeson was a masterstroke, and the fact that he took the role speaks well of him, I think.

By the way: that's a masterfully cut trailer, don't you think? Quick, exciting; maybe a bit too revealing for my tastes, but still vague enough that it doesn't (seem to) give away the whole thing. I love the way it's driven by the sound of Neeson's voice, using it to build momentum.

The movie was written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, who also collaborated on the Transporter films. Besson, of course, also produced, wrote, and brought to prominence District B13.

The new international trailer for Taken has just hit the net, and I don't know about you, but I'd like to ask 20th Century Fox to please set up a domestic release date for this flick because it looks pretty damn good. I mean, heck, Liam Neeson plays a badass! That should be more than enough to get you interested in Taken, which comes to us from director Pierre Morel (whose District B13 was a fun watch). Taken stars Neeson, Maggie Grace and Holly Valance, and it revolves around an ex-soldier (Neeson) whose daughter (Grace) gets kidnapped while traveling in Paris, and his subsequent quest to find her, as well as those responsible for her disappearance.

So far, Fox has set a February 27th release date in France, but nothing here in the states. Not sure why; the film looks intense, well acted and definitely the kind of flick I could see doing well in early March before the summer madness begins. Check out the trailer above, and let us know what you think. (Personally, I've never been so afraid of Liam Neeson in my entire life. Damn. And he's the good guy!)

A whole swarm of Daniel Silva spy novels are heading to the big screen. Universal has forked over a seven-figure sum to get the rights to the author's award-winning spy series that focus on a Mossad agent-turned art restorer Gabriel Allon. So far, they're not too interested in chronology, and won't be focusing on the first, The Kill Artist, which details the guy getting pulled out of retirement to stop the assassination of Yasir Arafat. Instead, they're looking to start with The Messenger. While not a story about Joan of Arc, the religion is right on cue -- Allon has to help stop planned attacks against the Vatican -- namely Pope Paul VII and Monsignor Luigi Donati.

So, we've got the story, which could be good, but what else? There's no screenwriter attached yet, but there is a director -- Pierre Morel. Now, the man has worked as a cinematographer on films like The Transporter and as a camera operator for The Dreamers, Before Sunset and funny enough -- The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. But forget all that -- he's also the guy who directed the uber-awesome Banlieue 13, otherwise known as District 13. I'm a big fan of David Belle and Parkour, so I'm really, really hoping he somehow slips it into the film. It's about spies, so it could happen...right?

The sex/slave trade continues to be on the minds of filmmakers. In the last year, we've had Transe screen at the likes of Cannes and TIFF, and Trade has been gearing up for its August 2007 release. With both films now wrapped, there's another on the horizon -- Taken. (Apparently movies with this theme need to have a one-word T-starting title in a fit of ultimate originality.) The screenplay comes from the "retired" Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen -- the man who not only brought us The Karate Kid, but has also collaborated with Besson on films like The Fifth Element and The Transporter. Similar to Trade, Taken revolves around a former spy who uses his professional skills to find his estranged daughter, who has been sold into slave trade.

Soon-to-be Lincoln actor Liam Neeson has already signed on to play the ex-spy and father, and now The Hollywood Reporter has announced that he has a daughter in Maggie Grace. If you're a fan of the show, Lost, you'll remember her as Shannon Rutherford. If not, she also starred in the recent remake of The Fog. She's also just wrapped two films that will undoubtedly push her a little further into the spotlight -- Suburban Girl with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin, and The Jane Austen Book Club with Emily Blunt and Maria Bello. The film will begin shooting this month in Paris, under the eye of Pierre Morel, who is another Transporter collaborator.

Made at a rumored cost of just over $15 million, and released in the US with the support of an advertising budget that appears to consist of $100 and a ball of string, District B13 is miles from the studio bloat of such tentpole summer movies as Mission: Impossible III and The Da Vinci Code. In place of contrived storylines and massive stars crisscrossing the globe, District B13 offers the awesome, graceful power of parkour alongside a simple story, sneaky wit and 90 minutes of thrilling, absolutely gleeful action. It might just be the best action movie of the summer.

Co-written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by long-time action cinematographer Pierre Morel, the film is set in the Paris of 2010, a city so ravaged by crime and poverty that walls have been erected around the poorest districts to keep the trouble in. As a side effect, of course, most of the help and hope is kept out. Within District B13, there is a single building untouched by the drugs and crime that dominate the rest of the walled city, and that building's unofficial mayor is Leito (David Belle). Though he keeps his building and it's occupants meticulously clean, Leito is in no way above using the same tools and tricks as the criminals he abhors: The building is guarded by heavily-armed thugs and, when we first meet Leito, he's frantically try to destroy the €1 million worth of cocaine that he stole from a K2, a thuggish District B13 gangster. Not surprisingly, K2's boss, Taha, wants payment for the coke, and he wants it now. Despite being captured in his own hideout and turned over to the police by Leito, Taha nevertheless manages to escape, taking Leito's gorgeous, ass-kicking sister (Lola, played by Dany Verissimo) with him.