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Scott Charles Stewart Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Bless You! It's Paul Bettany in 'Priest'

Filed under: Action », Horror », Sony », DIY/Filmmaking », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Religious », Images », Western »



Look what's got a promo poster! Scott Stewart's resurrected Priest, the Tokyo Pop adaptation that stars Paul Bettany and Cam Gigandet. (I've got to be honest, it will continue to be "That movie Gerard Butler was supposed to be in way back when" for me for a very long time. It's a curse of fandom and incessantly covering such stories.) Anyway, this little promo piece has appeared on the official Priest website Sony has just put online. Obviously, there's nothing there but this photo, but it does a bit of glowing animation you mind find amusing. It's a nice nod to the original Toyko Pop cover, though Bettany is missing Ivan Isaacs' long and flowing hair.

I think what makes this creepy is not that Bettany does resemble the bony Isaacs, but that those not following the intricacies of film news won't know the difference between this and the upcoming Legion which is also a Bettany-led film directed by Stewart. I have really enjoyed many of Bettany's films, and I think he's a fine actor, but he really really needs to take a break from the religious orders. I can see Joe Moviegoer seeing the Priest poster and going "Isn't that the archangel movie we already saw?" "No, dummy, it's that DaVinci Code sequel!"


'Priest' Blessed With a New Director

Filed under: Action », Foreign Language », Horror », Deals », Scripts », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Religious », Western »

Gone is the morally ambiguous costumed vigilante trend for 2009, and in comes the stiff white collars! Just in time to compete with Jonah Hex and Preacher comes the resurrected Priest. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ScreenGems is reviving the project and has brought on Scott Charles Stewart to direct Cory Goodman's screenplay.

Hyung Min-woo's manga has been kicking around for a few years -- Andrew Douglas was once set to direct, with Gerard Butler and Steven Straight starring, but that version abruptly fell apart around the time 300 was released. (I wish it had taken off now, I would much prefer to see Butler in a horror-Western than another romantic comedy. Well, no one's playing Ivan Isaacs yet ... are you still into taking priestly vows, Mr. Butler?)

Fans of the manga have complained that the story has been simplified to the point of having little in common with the original -- and sadly, that doesn't seem to have changed. The movie will still center on Isaacs as a warrior-priest who turns his back on the church in order to hunt a pack of vampires who have kidnapped his niece. However, considering that Stewart is fresh off filming the biblical thriller Legion, perhaps he'll rewrite it to include those demons, zombies, crucifixions, and evil angels that make Priest something more than a vampire story.

I'm not that attached to the manga, so I shall merely hope they can make an awesome horror-Western out of it. I firmly believe cinema needs a High Plains Drifter with vampires, zombies, and demons.



 
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