alex proyas Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Let's assume for the moment that there's such a thing as a hard line between "small, smart movies" and "big, dumb movies." Of course, we all know this isn't true -- just take a look at The Matrix (1999) for one example -- but this distinction will help me explain just how Alex Proyas's new Knowing doesn't work. It will also help simply because I don't want to give away the film's major plot turns and ending. (Although I'm afraid I may not have done such a good job of that; so if you're hoping to avoid spoilers -- even unintentionally implied ones -- please stop reading now.) OK, so let's assume that hardly anyone ever sets out to make a "big, dumb movie," except for maybe Michael Bay or Jerry Bruckhemier. Let's assume that Alex Proyas started out to make a small, smart movie, just like his great Dark City (1998).

Then let's assume that Nicolas Cage came on board, and since he was fresh from big, dumb hits like Ghost Rider and the National Treasure films, the producers begin to tailor it for him. It became bigger, with more plane crashes, car chases and explosions. But rather than becoming a comfortable hybrid between a small, smart movie and a big, dumb movie, Knowing became a horrible mutation, bulging out in all the wrong places, with unsightly scars where the butcher's knife had been. Now the movie's ideas no longer flow from one to the other; sometimes they make huge leaps and other times they just fizzle out. And the movie's big, dumb elements come in all the wrong places; they provide lots of anxiety but little relief.

Back in July, Eugene brought up the initial teaser for Nicolas Cage's new thriller, Knowing, and as Cage struggled to crack a numerical pattern that has a nasty habit of correlating with major disasters past and future, it struck me as some sort of cross between The Mothman Prophecies (not bad) and his own Next (not good).

Now, this latest trailer comes across as more of a mix between Mothman and Dark City, which was also directed by Knowing helmer Alex Proyas, which gives me mild cause for concern. It's nothing against Dark City -- which is a fine film and all -- but I find the introduction of pale figures known only as "the whisper men" significantly less intriguing than the central doomsday concept. Whatever answer I had hoped might be behind the mystery at hand simply didn't involve creeps who often stand on the horizon and, well, whisper.

The train and plane crashes seem creep enough as it stands, and for all I know, those fellas on the outskirts could figure into the plot quite nicely. I, and we, won't know until March 20th if my skepticism is unfounded. At the moment, though, are any of you guys and girls sold on this?

Everything old (or at least "old" in the Hot Topic sense) is new again -- and so The Crow is going to be reborn. Variety reports that Stephen Norrington has signed on to write and direct a "reinvention" of The Crow, based on the comic written by James O'Barr.

Norrington is hoping that resurrecting The Crow will do something similar for his career, which has been dead in the water since The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (Tangle with Alan Moore at your peril, directors.) He was once attached to direct Clash of the Titans for Warner Bros, but fell out with the studio over his inability to "excite" the studio with his take. Louis Leterrier got the job instead.

Norrington promises the film will be a different take than Alex Proyas' version -- which, you remember, went down in cult-Goth history for claiming the life of its star, Brandon Lee. "Whereas Proyas' original was gloriously gothic and stylized, the new movie will be realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style." Now I've never read O'Barr's book -- but isn't it quite gothic and stylized? There's a lot of agony, and despairing self-mutilation, and the titular crow plays a bigger part. Does the material lend itself to the approach Norrington wants to take?

I know I should be more annoyed that they're actually remaking The Crow because it's not that old ... but in a world where Hulk was rebooted after a mere five years, fourteen years between "reimaginings" is an eon. You have to wonder, though -- after the original launched so many forgettable sequels, will audiences even pay attention to a remake?

There is no denying that 'origin tales' are all the rage, and it's not just for superheroes anymore. In an interview with MTV Movie Blog, director Alex Proyas gave a few updates about what he has planned for Dracula Year Zero, and the word of the day is 'realism'. Proyas told MTV, the film will be, "sort of the origin tale that mixes [the historical] Prince Vlad of Transylvania with sort of [fictionalized] Bram Stoker [take]" -- I guess if it helps, just think of it as 'Portrait of a Bloodsucker as a Young Man'

Proyas (like so many before him) is planning to mess with the mythology of the big, bad, Transylvanian. But, don't worry, there are still plenty of fangs to go around, Proyas tells MTV, "Oh, you've got to have teeth, I mean, the teeth are really important. I think Frank Langella in the 'Dracula' movie that was made in the 70s, I think he didn't want to have teeth in the movie. But, no, I like the teeth. I want to see girls with a lot of teeth." -- and maybe most importantly to fans, "...lots and lots of blood!"

Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless were hired to write the script for Universal, who are probably expecting this project to dovetail nicely with their other classic 'monster' flicks (The Wolfman and The Mummy). But is a realistic Dracula really the way to go? If you do a little digging on the life of Vlad the Impaler, it's not exactly the romantic tale that Coppola provided us with back in 1992. So keep your fingers crossed that Sazama and Sharpless have a copy of The Legend of Dracula lying around, and hopefully they have something like this in mind for Year Zero.

Dracula Year Zero is expected to arrive in theaters in 2009.

You have to feel bad for the Silver Surfer. Everyone else is getting their own spin-off and franchise, and he can't even get the green-light. J. Michael Straczynski already said that his script was dead, but rumors continued to swirl that Alex Proyas was attached to direct.

But as reported by Slashfilm, Proyas shot that down at ComicCon. He didn't even know where the rumor originated. And while he's very fond of the character, he told MTV this week that he will never even consider directing a Silver Surfer movie. Why? "Because it's a Fox picture. And I'm determined never to work with them ever again because of my experience on I,Robot." Nor is he happy with the way the character was handled in Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer. "It's like the origin of Silver Surfer was in that movie, and I'm going, 'This is such a f–king great story, why throw it away? I think they messed it up ... Silver Surfer would have been something I would have loved to have done. He's one of the last cool ones left, really."

Who knows -- maybe Fox will relinquish the rights to the Fantastic Four characters (it's not like they're using them), and Proyas will not only get to direct a comic book movie, but fans will get a Silver Surfer movie from someone who really gets the character. But with all the studios jealously guarding their franchises, we'll probably see a Fantastic Four reboot before we see the Silver Surfer in the hands of someone that cares.

My heart goes pitter-pat with a mix of both anticipation and dread whenever a classic sci-fi book is optioned. Even when I haven't read the book in question (and believe me, I know I need to read more Robert A. Heinlein), I know the bookshelves of the world are lined with great movie material. But I also know how devastating it is when the studio mangles a beloved book.

And here's one that could go either way. The Hollywood Reporter says that Alex Proyas and Phoenix Pictures have optioned Heinlein's The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. It's the story of a man who, when asked what he does for a living one evening, realizes he has no memory of any of his daytime activities. He hires a private detective agency, run by a husband and wife team, and their investigation becomes a rather terrifying one. (Having not read this book, I'm trying to skim through descriptions without spoiling it -- but it sounds scary.)

The novella has been one of Proyas' favorites since childhood. "I read this story as a kid, and it really stayed with me. It's part of my creative DNA." (It had to have inspired Dark City.) From what I've gleaned of the story, it's right up his alley -- and he's penning the script, so there will be no wild departures like we saw with I, Robot. And it's about time Heinlein had his name on the big screen again. I know there has to be some Jonathan Hoag fans out there, so chime in with your thoughts.

Usually when a harebrained idea like remaking Flash Gordon starts to make the rounds, you can usually count on it being at least a few years down the line -- but I guess today I'm just not that lucky. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have now signed to pen the update of the classic sci-fi tale with Sahara director Breck Eisner at the helm. Eisner signed to direct last May, and with the addition of the screenwriting duo, it could mean the project just entered the fast track. Sazama and Sharpless have had a busy 2008, and were already hard at work on scripting duties for Alex Proya's Dracula Year Zero and Zack Snyder's Cobalt 60 when the Flash deal finalized.

For those of you out there not familiar with the Depression-era hero, Flash Gordon centered on a dashing polo player who is abducted and taken to the faraway planet Mongo. Along with his gal-pal *Gail and scientist Hans Zarkov, Flash lands in the middle of a battle with the dreaded Ming the Merciless (possibly one of the best villain names around). Originally, Universal was holding the rights to the title, but when the project fell through, the rights reverted to King Features Syndicate and eventually found a home at Sony.

This latest incarnation of the adventurer/polo player will mark the third time the classic comic strip has had a home on the big screen (including the original serial). Now that Hollywood is mining the comic book store at a furious pace, the third time could be a charm for Flash.

But it's going to be pretty hard to top Dino DeLaurentiis' psychedelic trip of a film back in 1980 -- don't ya think?

*Correction: Apologies to all the Flash fans out there; Flash's better half was Dale Arden.

What is the appropriate reaction to have when a movie you love, adore, and cherish is somehow ... improved? I know, it's a strange feeling. I happen to think my all-time favorite film (A L I E N) is much better in its theatrical version than in its extended -- but where Aliens is concerned, I much prefer the longer version! It's something you have to approach on a case-by-case basis, of course, and it's the sort of movie-nerd activity that should be attempted only by those with a lot of free time -- or someone who gets paid to write about this sort of stuff. (Fortunately I am both.)

So it was with MUCH enthusiasm that I sat down with the brand-new Director's Cut of Dark City, a film that I absolutely love a whole lot -- and I know I'm not nearly alone when I say that. Like many of the finest sci-fi films, Dark City was pretty much overlooked for a good long while -- put once it hit DVD and heavy rotation on the cable channels, the sci-fi freaks found a film worth watching and re-watching, to say nothing of analyzing, deconstructing, and debating. And so I happily continue that trend by explaining what the fans will find in New Line's very impressive new Dark City package...

Hi. I like movies by Alex Proyas. Everyone likes Dark City and The Crow, but I like I, Robot, too. Is it a visionary masterpiece like Dark City? It is not. But in 2004, it was the most seamlessly beautiful f/x spectacle I had ever seen. If there's one thing Proyas can do, it's make one hell of a great-looking movie.

By the look of the trailer that debuted at IGN yesterday, Knowing, Proyas's new sci-fi project with Nicolas Cage, will be along the conventional, expensive lines of I, Robot rather than his earlier work. The plot seems like a less-than-promising mix of Next and The Number 23, and Cage looks like he'd rather be somewhere else. But, uh... it sure looks great. And the thing that happens about a minute-and-a-half in convinces me that everything they said after September 11th about what we will and will not be able to consider entertainment from here on out has gone completely out the window. Which is just as well.

Despite my affinity for all things Proyas, I'll take yesterday's genuinely creepy trailer for The Day the Earth Stood Still over this one. But at least we have some non-comic-book sci-fi to look forward to.

Considering the amount of flack Nicolas Cage received over his last time-bending flick, I am a little surprised that he decided to come back for Alex Proyas', Knowing. Coming Soon is now hosting some on-set photos from the sci-fi thriller starring Cage and Rose Byrne. Sources managed to snap the pics on location in Geelong, Australia, and while there are no shots of Cage or Byrne, at least we get to see some stuff blowing up.

Knowing centers on a time capsule buried in 1958 that was chock full of doom and gloom prophecies. When the capsule is dug up 50 year later, it lands in the hands of a young boy and his professor father (Cage) who becomes obsessed with decoding the messages and preventing all-out destruction.

The production has had a long history in Hollywood, ever since the film was first set up over at Columbia. There have been a few directors attached over the years, notably Richard Kelly and Rod Lurie. Proyas came on board in 2005, and after a few rewrites, the film went into production in 2007. As if a long and troubled production history wasn't enough of an obstacle, it is no secret that Cage's 'shine' has been slowly diminishing over the years (thank you very much, Ghost Rider), so Knowing could be a hard sell to audiences who might still be ticked over shelling out their hard-earned dollars for Next.

Knowing is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2009.