SteveZaillian Tagged Articles at Cinematical
When Did We Start Immediately Remaking U.K. Movies?
Filed under: Drama », Deals », Scripts », Remakes and Sequels »
Remakes are inevitable. I know, I know. But at least when the remakes are of foreign-language films, I can rant whilst understanding that they're spoon feeding the anti-subtitle audience. Lots of people don't like making their eyes watch a scene and read text scrolling along the bottom at the same time. I get it. But since when did English films, as in films from the U.K., get the same treatment? Variety reports that Columbia Pictures has grabbed the rights to the British miniseries Red Riding, and Steve Zaillian is in negotiations to shrink the story into one film while Ridley Scott is spotlit to direct. Miniseries doesn't quite cover it. We're talking about David Peace's quartet of books going into a trilogy of films. Movies directed by Julian Jarrold (Kinky Boots), James Marsh (Man on Wire), and Anand Tucker (Shopgirl). And by the way -- they only premiered this year, and are currently running through the festival circuit. The collection of stories cover the years 1974, 1980, and 1983, and place a fictionalized drama against the backdrop of real-life serial killer cases like the Yorkshire Ripper. This new incarnation, which will be whittled down to one solitary film, will move things to the U.S., and presumably cover Stateside killers.
'Moneyball' Still Rolling at Sony, Aaron Sorkin Up to Bat
Filed under: Drama », Sports », Deals », Sony », Celebrities and Controversy », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Brad Pitt »
If you were absolutely heartbroken at the loss of Sony's Moneyball, cheer up! It's still alive and swinging. Variety reports that the project has been revived with some new talent, though now it's in desperate need of a new director. The good news is that the man in charge of repairing it all is none other than Aaron Sorkin, who is riding high at Sony thanks to The Social Nework. Everyone's favorite screenwriter is taking a crack at Steve Zaillian's original script, and is expected to have it finished by August. Sorkin is steering it back to the film the studio wanted all along: a nice sports film that focuses on Billy Beane, the Oakland A's, underdogs, and statistics. It's also retained the services of Brad Pitt, who is still attached to play Beane.
The bad but not altogether unexpected news is that Steven Soderbergh is off the project. His draft took a more documentary approach that Sony was certain would fail with moviegoers. I guess we'll never know, but I can't really blame Sony for being afraid of an approach that used an animated Bill James character. At least the director has a million other projects he can turn to for comfort. Will it be Making Jack Falcone? Liberace? Cleo? None of the above and out of nowhere? Very possibly.
David Cronenberg Digging the 'Timecrimes' Remake?
Filed under: Foreign Language », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Sundance », Magnolia », United Artists », Fantastic Fest », Remakes and Sequels »
The last time I saw my awesome amigo Nacho Vigalondo, it was at a Sundance party during which he was A) very thrilled to have his film play the festival, B) mega-elated that writer/producer Steven Zaillian would be involved in the English-language remake of his film (Timecrimes), and C) seriously drunk and hanging out with an overworked karaoke machine. When I pressed him for additional details, he said something to the effect of "I don't know yet, but .... Steve SALE-IAN, man! He wrote Bobby Fischer and Gangs of New York, man..." To which I responded, "Yeah, dude. Damn good writer. Plus Schindler's List, A Civil Action, American Gangster, and the awesome Falcon and the Snowman!"The drunken Spaniard's eyes went absolutely wide: "Steve SALE-IAN is remaking my movieeeee!" He was like a little kid on Christmas morning, I swear. It was an awesomely sweet thing to see. But since we weren't really sure about Mr. Zaillian's specific attachment to the remake, this fresh news is also pretty exciting. Wouldn't it be cool if the Timecrimes remake had a Steve Zaillian screenplay and a director named ... David Cronenberg?? (I've seen Timecrimes more than once, and I think Mr. Cronenberg would be a perrrrrrrrfect fit for this time-travel / serial killer material.)
The United Artists re-do is still in the very early stages, so we could see a lot of personnel changes before the American version of Timecrimes hits the scene -- but given how positive the reaction has been among festival audiences, flick-buyers, and remake makers, we might just see it a little sooner than later. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the original film, which is a favorite among the Magnolia gang, and should be getting a release some time later this year.
Gracias: Shock and Blogdecine
Steven Zaillian to Adapt and Direct 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Sony »
There's no doubting Steven Zaillian's talents as a writer. He won an adapted screenplay Oscar for Schindler's List and also was nominated for Gangs of New York and Awakenings. As a director, too, he's had his share of accolades. Remember Searching for Bobby Fischer? Not bad at all. But considering he last gave us the long-delayed, much-condemned remake of All the King's Men, he has a lot to prove with his next go behind the camera. According to Variety, he's announced his follow-up, and it's a project that will be judged with extra scrutiny since it happens to be an adaptation of one of this year's most popular books. Zaillian will write and direct the screen version of Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns. Maybe you heard of it; the novel only held the top spot on the New York Times Bestseller List for most of the summer. Personally, I noticed more people reading Hosseini's previous (and debut) novel, The Kite Runner, but still, it's clear the author is the Dan Brown of 2007.A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story of two Afghan women married to the same man and their alliance against their abusive husband. It also covers the last three decades of Afghan history, through the Soviet invasion, the civil war and the Taliban rule. It was so highly anticipated after the success of The Kite Runner, that producer Scott Rudin picked up the rights five months before it was even released. It should be pointed out that Rudin produced Zaillian's first two directorial works, Bobby Fischer and A Civil Action, but did not produce All the King's Men. The movie version of The Kite Runner, which was directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) and will be in theaters in November, should be good enough to also build interest for Zaillian's version of A Thousand Splendid Suns. Meanwhile, Zaillian's latest script-work (rewriting himself) will be on display in November's American Gangster, from director Ridley Scott, who also helmed Zaillian's much-panned adaptation of Hannibal.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
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