capricorn one Tagged Articles at Cinematical
MGM Studios Officially For Sale
Filed under: Deals », Executive shifts », Lionsgate Films », MGM », Warner Brothers », RumorMonger », Distribution », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », James Bond »
MGM Studios' financial troubles will soon be coming to a sad end. Back in September, it was reported that MGM was in such poor shape that they might be forced to auction off their assets, including James Bond and The Hobbit. That day has come to pass. Variety reports that MGM Studios is officially on the auction block.MGM has been given a month of breathing space from their interest payments, time they plan on using to begin "a process to explore various strategic alternatives including operating as a standalone entity, forming strategic partnerships and evaluating a potential sale of the company."
But all hopes of survival may rest on what they sell off from their glorious history, including a library of 4,000 titles, the logo, the United Artists company, James Bond, and half ownership in The Hobbit. Time Warner, News Corp, and Lionsgate are said to be interested in all of the above.
As their library scatters to the four winds, it'll be really interesting to see what remakes and reboots it spawns. Remember, Robocop was on the MGM remake slate, and surely some hungry studio will snap that up. The Cannon Films and ITV Global Entertainment collections are just ripe for harvesting. Perhaps you'll finally see a Lifeforce movie, or a remake of Capricorn One, or an aspiring Tarantino type will buy up all those American International Picture rights and revive motorcycle gang movies. Sure, we all want to know who will wind up with James Bond, but it'll be far more fascinating if someone tries to remake Psych-Out. *
*It's possible this is considered one of AIP's "early" films, though it's unclear where that cut off date is.
Directors I Like: Peter Hyams
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Drama », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Noir », Remakes and Sequels »
So a few months ago I'm enjoying a stupid cigarette outside of my Park City (Sundance, woo) hotel, and I see my old friend Chris Hyams walking my way. Chris is one of the founders and wizards behind Bside.com, an outfit that does everything from mega-nifty festival schedules to full-bore film distribution. So because I am loud (and also a pathetic movie nerd), I say "Hey Chris! Wouldn't it be cool if your Dad was PETER Hyams?"Chris smiled and said "It sure would be. And he is my dad!" After about four minutes of Chris trying to convince me he was telling the truth, we quickly got rambling about the awesomeness of Outland, which is a film his dad made way back in 1981, and is still the finest "High Noon in space" movie that Sean Connery ever starred in. During my conversation with Chris, my brain kept screaming "Don't mention The Musketeer! You HATED that movie!" So I didn't.
But then Chris was off to see a movie and I was left thinking "I'm a moron. Been a Hyams fan since I was a kid and Outland is all I could come up with?" So in an effort to rectify my idiocy, I offer this (rather eclectic) list of Peter Hyams flicks that I sorta, really, or very much dig.
Capricorn One (1978) -- Elliot Gould and James Brolin star in this dated-yet-interesting sci-fi tale of a FAKED Mars landing. As he would later do (several times) in his career, Mr. Hyams wrote, directed, AND shot the movie.
Hanover Street (1979) -- Follow a sci-fi film with a wartime romantic drama? With Harrison Ford? Sure, why not?
Outland (1981) -- If you're going to do an unofficial semi-remake, you could at least do it with half the cleverness found here. It really IS High Noon in Space, and it works surprisingly well. Even holds up well today. Solid brawls, a nice percolation of tension, great character ensemble and a great performance by Frances Sternhagen.
John Moore to Helm 'Capricorn One' Remake
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », 20th Century Fox », Remakes and Sequels »
The original Capricorn starred Elliott Gould and James Brolin, and it was about the trouble that goes down after NASA decides to "fake" a









