Though it opened to an enormous collective yawn, I thought that Stephen King's The Mist-- just released on DVD -- was one of the very best films of last year. Perhaps more accurately, I thought it was a movie that Frank Darabont and Stephen King tailor-made for me. There were moments in it that completely embodied everything I love about the horror genre: when a disheveled, bloodied Jeffrey DeMunn barreled into the supermarket, yelling that "there's something in the mist," the terror in his eyes and voice chilled me to the bone. That intersection between the mundane and the fantastical, the film straddling the line between the world we know and some place far beyond our imagination, is what makes that moment, and many others in The Mist,so scary. It approaches its supernatural conceit with an unforgettable combination of horror and wide-eyed wonder.
The last time a so-called 'urban' musician took on The Wizard of Oz, we ended up with The Wiz. Hopefully things will work out a little better this time. Variety reports that Pras Michel (of The Fugees) has secured the film and television rights to the comic series Dark Oz. The story centers on a much more violent and scary Land of Oz. A grown-up Dorothy Gale is back in town along with some of the familiar faces (Tinman, The Scarecrow), and even some less familiar characters from Frank L. Baum's fantasy.
The comics were created by Aaron Denenberg, Ralph Griffith and Stuart Kerr, and were released by Caliber Comics. After twenty issues, six specials, and two three-issue limited series, the Oz line was completed. Then, the series was revived under Arrow Comics and earned the name change of Dark Oz to finish the stories originally started in the first series. After five issues, another name change was on board, and Dark Oz became The Land of Oz. When these later stories began, a much more conventional (and far less Gothic) vision of Oz returned.
Pras is planning to produce all three live action films adapted from the Dark Oz line. Plus, he has his sights on playing The Scarecrow in the feature film. For those of you out there who only know Pras as a musician, he already has plenty of experience in the business. In 2007, he produced and starred in a documentary about the homeless, and he is also behind the sci-fi thriller The Mutant Chronicles with Thomas Jane. There is no word yet on who Pras has in mind to write or direct Oz, but stay tuned to Cinematical for any updates that come our way.
It would seem that the biggest enemy The Punisher faces is not the criminals of New York and villains of the Marvel Universe, but ... Hollywood scriptwriters? Punisher: War Zone is due to hit theaters in September 2008, already bearing the scars of development hell. Thomas Jane dropped out of reprising the title role, reportedly because of script problems. Ray Stevenson of HBO's Rome stepped into the combat boots, much to the skepticism of fans. Paddy Considine was dismissive about the five minute offer he received for the part of Jigsaw. Early stills failed to inspire much excitement.
Now, Kurt Sutter, one of War Zone's writers, has elected to take his name off the project. Over on his blog, Sutter claims that not only does he not deserve credit, as his original script has been rewritten out of existence, but he no longer wants credit or any association whatsoever with the project. In fact, he has few kind words for the film whatsoever. In his words, War Zone is a "simple story, very obvious dialogue and the inclusion of as many characters from the anthology that a movie will allow." It's a very tight script, he notes, but not very unique and not something that he could take any pride putting his name on. Sutter's dismissal of the current script earned him the ire of Punisher fans, though it is a bit perplexing as to why ducking out of WGA arbitration should earn you a death threat. Perhaps it was the seeming dismissal of comic book films and fans in general, or the implication that Jane left the project because of his draft.
He's battled creepy aliens. He's fought The Mist. Now that his second foray into the world of Stephen King is over, Thomas Jane is getting some less freaky action. According to Variety, he's signed on to star in John McTiernan's new flick for Arclight Films called Run. This won't be a Die Hard sort of film contained in small spaces. At least, not completely in small spaces. Instead, it sounds like Die Hard meets The Fast and the Furious.
Jane seems to be replacing Karl Urban, who originally signed on to the project back in 2007, and is not mentioned at all in this latest bit of news. To be shot on location in Argentina, the action flick will focus on "an American Interpol agent happening upon a conspiracy during a thrills-and-spills high-speed pursuit across the country." Now, you might remember that this cross-country car chase (at speeds over 120mph) is the one that has a 51-minute chase scene, so it sounds like the flick will get maybe a bit of an intro and something to wrap it up, with the chase plunked down in the middle. This is the guy who brought us John McClane, so I can't be totally pessimistic, but McTiernan better be on his game if he wants this to work.
Exorbitantly long chase scenes need good cars, and the cast are going to get some sweet rides. According to Arclight head Gary Hamilton: "This is an unrelenting action-thriller in true McTiernan style, creating acrobatic mayhem in exotic locales. BMW has come onboard to provide the cars, and Roush Performance is designing a Super Mustang for the film, setting up what will be a spectacular vehicle stunt-action chase movie." So, the question becomes who will win: the BMW guys or the Mustang guys?
After mining the soft-and-fuzzy (and yet still kinda grisly) end of Stephen King's literary catalog with The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, writer-director Frank Darabont may seem like an unlikely choice for tackling one of King's shorter, grimmer horror tales. After turning high-end King into Oscar statues and nominations, why go slumming in the shabbier-seeming sections of King's catalog? Darabont's proven he can warm our hearts with King's stories, but does he have what it takes to chill our blood with one of the author's less high-minded efforts?
The Mist answers that question with a firm "Yes," although you'll be hard-pressed to hear it over the shrieks and shouts coming from the screen and the audience. Darabont's made what can best be called a grade-A B-movie, full of jolts and jumps and classic monster-movie tricks played out with old-school showmanship and thoroughly modern special effects. The plot is vintage King, placing ordinary people in an extraordinary circumstance and watching to see who dies and who doesn't, who discovers hidden strength and who displays hidden madness. And no, The Mist is nothing new -- but it's superbly executed, and far smarter than it had to be. Apparently, Darabont read The Mist when it was published in 1980 and longed to make a film from it; instead, his debut was Shawshank, with The Mist in development limbo for years. The horror fan in me thinks it was more than worth the wait.
In a small coastal town, artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) huddles in the basement with his wife Stephanie (Kelly Collins Lintz) and son Billy (Nathan Gamble) as a storm rages. The next morning, with the power out and downed trees everywhere, David takes Billy into town to get some food, some hardware to fix up damage to the house; it looks like the storm has passed, except for the weirdly dense mist rolling towards town. ... But, as the mist rolls towards the store, a man races in -- bloody and frightened. "Something in the mist! ... Shut the doors!" He claims something in the mist "took" one of his friends. It sounds insane. It is insane. But it isn't wrong. ...
Now I understand why Thomas Jane didn't sign on for the Punisher sequel (no longer a sequel thanks to him). He's making history by making his feature directorial debut with a 3-D film titled The Dark Country. We already learned a month ago that the actor would be directing the film, for Sony's new Stage 6 label, but now Variety tells us the "noir thriller" will indeed be shot simultaneously in 3-D high definition and in 2-D high definition. The Dark Country isn't the first movie to be shot this way (though I'm unaware of the actual first), but the news nonetheless seems appropriate considering all the hype about this week's 3-D release of Beowulf. Since The Dark Country is currently shooting in New Mexico, it is likely to be released sometime next year, when it will still need to open on both 3-D and 2-D screens.
The movie, about a honeymoon turned nightmare, was written by Tab Murphy (Disney's Tarzan and Brother Bear) and it stars Jane, Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Chris Browning (3:10 to Yuma) and Lauren German (Hostel: Part II). The script had been reported as being adapted from a yet-to-be-published graphic novel by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), but as far as I can figure out, that information isn't true. Apparently there will be a graphic novel version, but it will be done by David Allcock, who also did the film's storyboards. For more information on the making of The Dark Country, you can turn to the production diary, which includes a whole ton of photos, some of which are rendered in 3-D.
Sony Pictures has just launched Stage 6 Films, "a label that will acquire and produce films for theatrical and straight-to-DVD release." The Variety announcement reports that Stage 6 will focus mostly on the DVD market, and on films budgeted at $1 to $10 million dollars. They've got a lot of movies on the horizon, with some pretty big stars involved. Conspiracy is an action flick starring Val "Iceman" Kilmer, Gary "Lumbergh" Cole, and Jennifer "Hot" Esposito. Thomas Jane is acting in and directing Dark Country (hope it's not a punisher!). The Stone House is a horror film starring Shane West and JK "Schillinger" Simmons. The Lodger stars Alfred Molina, whom I always picture in his underwear singing "Sister Christian." And Felon brings us even more Kilmer thrills, with Stephen Dorff and Harold Perrineau in tow.
And you know when you're talking direct-to-DVD, you're talking about some really random sequels. Stage 6 has announced a prequel (a prequel?) to this year's pretty cool horror flick Vacancy. There will also be a second Starship Troopers sequel -- Starship Troopers: Marauder, with Casper "Van Dien" Van Dien, Boris Kodjoe, and Jolene Blalock. Wesley Snipes will star in a sequel to the absolutely terrible action movie TheArt of War, which I will refer to as The Art of War 2: Seriously? And Center Stage 2 will capitalize on the public's love of melodramatic teen dance dramas. I must confess a special place in my heart for the original Stage, because it led to a memorable high school back seat rendezvous. Put that quote on your poster, Sony! "Stage 6 will also continue to leverage our vast library of studio films, as we have done with Daddy Day Camp and the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise," threatens a Stage 6 executive.
After the release of the trailer for The Mist, I think expectations for the Stephen King adaptation rose significantly -- at the very least, I know Scott's did. Now, Ain't it Cool News has an early look at a new poster for the film, and it's only a slight let-down. To be fair, it's not a bad poster, it's just kind of there. Written and directed by Frank Darabont, The Mist is based on King's story that was originally published in the 1980 book, Dark Forces.
The story focuses on a group of townspeople trapped in a supermarket when a unnatural mist rolls into town, and if you have ever read a Stephen King book, you can probably guess what happens next -- containing the usual 'motley crew' in so many of King's works; an artist and his son, a religious zealot, and a soldier. Eventually the paranoia and fear combine and the situation inside the supermarket becomes as dangerous as the unknown creatures outside. Casting was finalized last winter with Thomas Jane as the protagonist David Drayton. Joining Jane are Marcia Gay Harden as the bible thumping Mrs. Carmody and Shawshank alum Bill Sadler.
It was a long road for the production, starting back in the 90's when Darabont put Mist on the back burner to focus on The Shawshank Redemption -- and I doubt many would disagree with that particular decision. When you consider Darabont's previous successes with Stephen King adaptations, it's going to be interesting to see what he can do with one of King's more traditionally 'scary' stories. The Mist opens November 21st.
Without Thomas Janereturning for The Punisher 2, Lionsgate Films has decided to reboot and go for a fresh start. Of course, the studio is hoping for a new franchise with this new effort, so hopefully Ray Stevenson, who we previously learned is the new Frank Castle/Punisher, will want to or will be contractually obligated to stick around for sequels. Also, the fans will hopefully be satisfied with the new incarnation of Marvel's popular anti-hero, who will now appropriately be in pursuit of mobsters in New York City rather than Miami* Tampa (the setting of Artisan/Lionsgate's 2004 effort). The decision to reboot could also be because Lionsgate didn't officially greenlight the last film -- the studio only acquired it when it bought Artisan -- and wants to redo it their own way. Because we all know it isn't uncommon to produce a sequel in which the main character is played by a substitute actor.
The thing that makes this reboot more interesting is that the 2004 film was already like a replacement for the 1989 version, which starred Dolph Lundgren. So technically this is the third attempt to get the character right. Some might liken it to next year's The Incredible Hulk, which is a reboot of 2003's Hulk, itself somewhat a replacement for the 1977 TV-movie/pilot, The Incredible Hulk. I wonder, though, what Lionsgate could possibly call the new Punisher movie without confusing audiences. At least the new Hulk movie has added "The Incredible" to the title. Perhaps Lionsgate will drop the "The" and just go with Punisher? Or will it go with a completely new title a la The Dark Knight or at least a subtitle, say The Punisher: War Zone? Whatever the title, the movie better be filled with plenty of martial arts, since former world kickboxing champ Lexi Alexander (Hooligans) is directing it. If you remember, he** she took over when John Dahldropped out, claiming the studio wouldn't spend enough on the film and the script was no good. I'm not sure if Lionsgate has retooled the screenplay since then, but Variety now credits it to the writers Nick Santora (TV's Prison Break), Kurt Sutter (TV's The Shield), Matt Holloway (Iron Man) and Art Marcum (Iron Man) -- formerly it was Sutter with Stuart Beattie and Jonathan Hensleigh.
* This was just an ignorant mistake, sorry about that.
A very reliable source at Latino Review is reporting that the new Punisher has been cast. It looks like it will be ... drumroll please ... Ray Stevenson. Latino Review expects this information to be confirmed at ComicCon later this week or possibly before. Stevenson's biggest film role so far was probably as Dagonet in 2004's King Arthur, but he's likely best known as Titus Pullo on HBO's very entertaining (and of course, canceled -- damn you, HBO!) Rome. Thomas Jane played the Punisher in 2004, Dolph Lundgren played the part in 1989. Former World Karate and Kickboxing Champion Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans) will direct The Punisher 2. The villain will be Jigsaw, whom I faintly remember from my days of collecting comic cards to fit in at junior high school.
I somehow managed to miss both film versions of The Punisher, but I've heard they kind of live up to their names. Was John Travolta as ridiculous in the 2004 version as he looked in the previews? I can't say the thought of this new one is thrilling me, either. I was intrigued when John Dahl was going to direct it. But as Jessica told you last month, he decided the script, written by Stuart Beattie, Jonathan Hensleigh and Kurt Sutter, was "not that good." Yikes. A little wikipedia research reveals that what little I remember about The Punisher is accurate: he "considers killing, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence and torture as acceptable crime-fighting tactics." Hey, whatever pays the bills. Ray Stevenson is probably a better choice than Thomas Jane, but don't you think a perfect selection would be Henry Rollins? How has that guy not been considered?
A roster of actor names has been splashed over at Filmick, alongside what may be their roles in Zack Snyder's upcoming Watchmen movie. There's absolutely no sourcing on this -- Brendan only says that the list was sent in by a Filmick regular and that around the same time, the same list also popped up on a Russian site. We all know that the words 'Russian website' are synonymous with credibility. At the very least, the source of the list appears to be up on the latest, since Keanu Reeves' name is gone from the roster and Patrick Wilson is still there. Speaking of Wilson, if this list holds any water the film may be turning into something of a Little Children reunion -- Kate Winslet's name is now at the top of the list as Silk Spectre, and there's a general consensus that Jackie Earle Haley is a shoe-in for the role of Rorshach.
Thomas Jane is on the list as The Comedian, who had much involvement in the series with Silk Spectre, so I guess that makes sense. Jason Patric is also on the list as Dr. Manhattan and Gretchen Mol is there as Janey Slater. I like all of these names so far, so this list has my blessing. There are also some lesser known names on the list, such as Jonah Hill, who may be playing Seymour and William Fichtner, who will be playing Bank Manager. Sorry, wrong casting sheet -- he's linked to the character Detective Fine. And of course, Jude Law is still hanging around as Ozymandias on the list. Let me close by saying that again, this is blatant rumor-mongering and probably fan fiction, but it sounds like a pretty good list, I think. Here's hoping it's real. Watchmen is currently in pre-production, and aiming for a release date sometime in 2008.
It seems pretty definite to me: Patrick Wilson is playing Nite Owl (aka Dan Dreiberg) in Watchmen. In an interview with Coming Soon.net/Superhero Hype!, Wilson does everything but actually confirm the rumors. But he comes pretty darn close. Basically, through his wording of answers and his questions to the interviewer (Max Evry), he insinuates that he's doing the movie but that he's unsure if he's allowed to talk about it -- though he claims he's never been told not to. What he does mention is that the script is phenomenal writing and that the project is really exciting stuff. He also says he should be respectful and wait until everyone is on board and there is an official announcement. So, yeah, he's been cast.
This will be sad news to both John Cusack and his fans, who have been hoping the actor would get the part of Nite Owl. But Wilson isn't a bad choice for the part. And Watchmen loyalists (and Cinematical commenters) are already happy enough that Keanu Reeves apparently turned down the part of Dr. Manhattan. We still have to see if the Jude Law rumor is also true (director Zack Snyder nearly confirmed him and Reeves, but now that Reeves is out, who knows?), and we still await some word on the rest of the characters' casting. We are getting some more rumors, though. According to AICN's 'Moriarty', the new front-runner for Dr. Manhattan is Jason Patric. According to actor Paddy Considine (in the forum part of his site), the part of Rorschach has gone to Jackie Earle Haley. And somewhere, while writing about these other two rumors, film ick has gotten the idea that Thomas Jane will be playing The Comedian. So when are we going to hear something about the part of Laurie (aka Silk Spectre 2)?
Having never seen the Thomas Jane's incarnation of The Punisher, you can't blame me for failing to gather much enthusiasm for Marvel's vigilante after what Dolph Lundgren did with the character. Back in May, Scott had brought us the news that John Dahl could be taking over directing duties for The Punisher 2. Well, here we are almost a month later and Dahl is no longer interested in going ahead with the film, despite some early enthusiasm for the project. In an interview with UGO with Dahl while he was out promoting his latest film, You Kill Me with Ben Kingsley, the topic of Punisher 2 came up. Dahl said: "I actually thought I could make a better movie. But then when I really started thinking about what it was and the fact that the studio kind of didn't want to spend a whole lot of money, it was like "Do I want to do an action movie in 40 days? With a massive second unit?" Dahl goes on to state that the script "was not that good" -- Which is probably bad news for fans that were worried the studio was toying with the idea of turning the film into a straight to DVD cash grab.
Talk of a sequel to the 2004 film began to heat up back in December, with promises of a new direction for the movie that was going to correct the mistakes of the past. But the loss of Dahl is the second hit the project has taken since Jane dropped out back in May. Dahl seems happy to be off the hook for the film and instead is going to focus on independent projects. For now, it looks like The Punisher 2 is not only in the market for a new star and director, but they might have to go back to the drawing board all together.
Bad news for the Punisher posse: After a few years of waiting for Lionsgate to give The Punisher 2 a green light, actor Thomas Jane has decided to move on and worry about other gigs. Early word was that the sequel would be decidedly darker and more action-packed than its flat-footed predecessor, and Jane seemed more than amped to leap back into the role of Frank Castle and turn the series around. And then ... nothing.
And now comes something that looks like the final word: According to AICN's Quint, who recently received an email from Mr. Jane, the actor is done done done waiting around for his Marvel sequel ... but he doesn't exactly say WHY, either: "I am, sadly – no, make that heartbrokenly – f*** it - just rip out the heart and stomp it into the pavement a couple of times – pulling out ... What I won't do is spend months of my life sweating over a movie that I just don't believe in. I've always loved the Marvel guys, and wish them well."
So what this tells me -- keeping in mind that this is pure conjecture on my part -- is that Lionsgate wants to stick on the PG-13 track if they make a Punisher follow-up. And maybe even go the direct-to-video route, which is something Mr. Jane probably wouldn't dig. Between The Mist and The Mutant Chronicles, the guy's on his way up ... and doing just another lame-o sequel might be counter-productive at this point. (Plus he's also got Killshot on the way, which has been sitting on a Weinstein shelf for well over a year now.) Check out Tom's entertainingly rambly email message right here.
Everything else is pretty much old news: Frank Darabont will be adapting his third King story (after The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile); production's already underway; Dimension aims to get the creeper into theaters by the end of the year. Looks like King fans are about to enjoy a new cinematic resurgence; Dimension also has 1408 this summer and Cell some time next year. Plus I heard that George Romero was doing a movie of From a Buick 8, and that might be interesting ...
The last time a so-called 'urban' musician took on The Wizard of Oz, we ended up with 
It would seem that the biggest enemy The Punisher faces is not the criminals of New York and villains of the Marvel Universe, but ... Hollywood scriptwriters? 
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SCOOP: Spider-Man 4 and 5 Might be Shot at the Same Time!
Cinematical Seven: Disney's Awesome Live-Action Kid Adventures
