frank miller Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Lauren Shuler Donner Talks Deadpool & X-Men Prequels
Filed under: Action », RumorMonger », Fandom », Scripts », 20th Century Fox », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
The wonderful people at Empire have landed a big interview with Lauren Shuler Donner where she foretells the future of all the X-Men spinoffs. Not surprisingly, the majority of their energy is being focused on Wolverine's adventures in Japan, and he'll be seeing production long before Deadpool, X-Men: First Class, and Magneto. While it's heartening to hear they don't plan on straying from the Chris Claremont / Frank Miller story, I'll need an amnesia bullet to forget at all the continuity errors in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so I'm not going to hold my breath. The best news belongs to the Deadpool spinoff. According to Donner, you can forget all about the abomination called Deadpool in Wolverine. "I want to ignore the version of Deadpool that we saw in Wolverine and just start over again. Reboot it. Because this guy talks, obviously, and to muzzle him would be insane." Don't look for Hal Jordan to jeopardize the future of Wade Wilson, either. "I don't see it as a problem that Ryan [Reynolds] is also playing Green Lantern. I mean, look at Harrison Ford - he was in Stars Wars and Indiana Jones at the same time and everyone was fine with that. Green Lantern could not be more different to Wade Wilson." Donner promises it will be a "dark, snarky, very funny movie," echoes Reynolds' fourth wall promises, and stresses it may be one of the hardest stories Fox has handled thus far.
Donner also made X-Men: First Class sound a lot more promising than previous stories did, but maybe I'm just softening on the idea. As you may remember, First Class will be loosely based on the comic series and will follow the early adventures and schooling of the X-Men we already know and love.
Go below the jump for more
Superheroes That Deserve Another Chance
Filed under: Action », Fandom », Scripts », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Lists »
Now that our Superhero Tournament is nearing the home stretch, I've been looking at some of the 'losers' and thinking about all the costumed heroes that have fallen by the wayside over the years. But then I remembered that reboot fever is alive and well in Hollywood, and the latest victim is Todd McFarlane, who's apparently working on a new Spawn script according to various reports. (But isn't he always working on a new Spawn script?)
Considering how beloved Spawn is in the world of comic books, it really is a shame that he wound up with such a crappy movie -- and if the Rotten Tomatoes rating is any indication, time has not improved this flick in the eyes of fans. Luckily for us then that McFarlane will be starting from scratch, and by the sounds of things, thankfully, there will be far fewer fart jokes. McFarlane told Coming Soon's sources, "The story has been in my head for 7 or 8 years. The movie idea is neither a recap or continuation. It is a standalone story that will be R-rated. Creepy and scary."
McFarlane has only just started writing, so it could be some time before we see a finished product -- but, when we do, it's going to be a brand new Spawn. McFarlane told CS, "the tone of this 'Spawn' movie will be for a more older audience. Like the film 'Departed.'" Okay, that might be a bit of a strange comparison, but then again, I'm all for taking superheroes a little more seriously.
After the jump: the five 'masked avengers' I think deserved better on the big screen...
Christopher McQuarrie Will Write 'Wolverine' Sequel
Filed under: Action », Deals », Scripts », 20th Century Fox », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
Hugh Jackman has been itching to take Logan to the land of the Rising Sun since before X-Men Origins: Wolverine hit theaters, and as a sequel was announced mere hours after Origins hit theaters, it was no surprise when he announced this week that he was actively developing it. But "active development" has resulted in a big announcement as according to The Hollywood Reporter, Christopher McQuarrie has been hired to pen the sequel. The Christopher McQuarrie. That weird noise you hear is the sound of my hopes going up despite my best efforts.As you might remember McQuarrie is no stranger to the X-Men universe, having originally penned the first X-Men script before David Hayter came in. A very brief Google search doesn't reveal what McQuarrie's script would have been like, so maybe someone else can offer up what might have been. I think I can safely say that if he had written Origins, there wouldn't have been gaping continuity errors and laughable memory-removal MacGuffins.
Like most Wolverine fans, I love Frank Miller's Japan saga. It's the first time Wolverine was actually shown to have those things called "feelings," experienced something known as "failure," and it deepened his character beyond the berserker who did nothing more than hack, slash, and hit on Jean Grey. If done right, we could honestly pretend Origins never happened, and this is Wolverine's cinematic origin story.
Who Wants to Buy 'Sin City'?
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Deals », Noir », Mystery & Suspense », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », The Weinstein Co. », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
Sin City is the series that just can't catch a break. Last week, IESB.net was reporting that the Weinstein Company / Dimension had lost the rights to Sin City, and that the franchise was being quietly shopped around. The rumors were hotly denied by the Weinsteins ... but now The Hollywood Reporter is saying the same darn thing.While the Weinsteins continue to maintain that they hold the rights, producers all around town are saying that Frank Miller's "estate" has been shopping around those same rights. It's unclear if they have lapsed due to the failure to renew or move on the property, but it seems strange that they could have expired so soon.
This is a rumor that I think we all hope comes true. I'd like to see Sin City land at a studio willing to actually put A Dame to Kill For into production instead of just talking about it. It's been four (count 'em, four) years since Sin City, with "production starting in a matter of weeks!" reports being issued every three months or so. The talent remains enthusiastic and attached. Fans are clamoring for the rest of the sleazy series. It's a no brainer for any other studio, but the Weinstein Company seems to believe delaying films until the end of the world is a sound business principle.
What would you like to see ultimately happen with the next Sin City movie, and who do you think would take the best care of it?
Watch This: Frank Miller's Buck Rogers
Filed under: Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
.jpg)
Okay, that's not entirely fair -- in reality, the video below has nothing to do with Frank Miller. It's not test footage, it's not an early short film of his and the man has probably never even seen this ... although he might take a quick look now that we've posted it. What we have for you today is a short film inspired by the Buck Rogers character created by a student (Patrick De Leon) for his editing class at the Art Institute of Colorado where he's majoring in Visual Effects. The short, which took four weeks to complete, is based on the way Buck appeared wayyy back in the day when he first arrived on the scene in the late 20's -- and it blends live action with campy sci-fi and a futuristic cityscape.
We mention Frank Miller, though, because news recently hit that Odd Lot was trying to purchase the rights to Buck Rogers off Nu Image/Millennium so that they could give Miller the chance to direct a new live-action version of the classic space hero. Seeing as how The Spirit crashed its way into the Crap Hall of Fame last month, some folks aren't crazy about Miller taking on such a beloved character for fear he'd ruin the Buck Rogers image. Me? I just don't think "camp" works with today's multiplex audience, no matter what the original source material is. But if Miller does get his hands on Rogers, should we expect something similar to this (which, I'd like to point out, is certainly impressive ... for an art student) ...
[via TheAwesomer]
The Geek Beat: The Spirit of the Age
Filed under: Fandom », The Geek Beat »
There are some things you must do in the name of the Geek Beat – and for me, it was seeing The Spirit. I knew that it wouldn't be good. I've known that since ComicCon. But seeing as some of the first pieces I did here on Cinematical were on this film, I had to see the journey to the bitter, bloody end.
There's nothing to say about it, really. It was too earnest to ever be a camp classic, and it was too campy to appeal to anyone. The frustrating thing was that it had potential. There were some moments, moments I can't really pinpoint now, where I thought: "This could have been a cool movie." Then the Octopus melted a kitten while wearing a Nazi uniform, so you know, I might have just been hallucinating some sanity where there was none. But the consensus among my gang was that if it had been directed by anyone other than Frank Miller, it could have been pretty good.
There's nothing to say about it, really. It was too earnest to ever be a camp classic, and it was too campy to appeal to anyone. The frustrating thing was that it had potential. There were some moments, moments I can't really pinpoint now, where I thought: "This could have been a cool movie." Then the Octopus melted a kitten while wearing a Nazi uniform, so you know, I might have just been hallucinating some sanity where there was none. But the consensus among my gang was that if it had been directed by anyone other than Frank Miller, it could have been pretty good.
Cinematical Rocks the /Filmcast
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Awards », Universal », Warner Brothers », RumorMonger », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », Oscar Watch »
Last Monday, yours truly was invited to help a friend of a friend out by offering to review Frost/Nixon on their podcast. As it turns out, it was the /Filmcast we were talking about, and it happened to be the same night that head honcho here Erik Davis was due to join in. Small world, eh?So we tag-teamed our film chatter with the cool guys over at /Film -- David Chen, Adam Quigley, and Devindra Hardawar, to be specific -- and you can listen to that episode right about here. When Erik isn't twirling his hair around his finger and gushing about MTV's episodes of True Life, he and the gang manage to get around to discussing all the latest film news from Terminator: Salvation to the potential Suck Rogers with Frank Miller at the wheel.
I also took part in the /Film After Dark podcast and a recent year-end horror wrap-up extravaganza with just about everyone over at Bloody Disgusting, so with any luck and nearly no shame, we hope to share those as well. For those of you wishing to listen to David, Devindra and Adam record their next /Filmcast live, they'll be looking back on 2008 in film this coming Monday at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST.
Review: The Spirit
Filed under: Action », Drama », Noir », Lionsgate Films », Theatrical Reviews », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
With all due respect to the monumentally talented Frank Miller, I'm just going to lay it out clear: I don't think the man is cut out to direct movies. At all. I've always suspected that Mr. Miller earned a co-director credit on Sin City because A) it's his baby, B) having Miller involved helps the film come release time, and C) Robert Rodriguez is a classy dude. But have you ever wondered what Sin City would look like if Rodriguez was out of the picture? Wonder no more, comic fans: Frank Miller has directed a film all by himself ... and it really isn't good.
Looking for slick-looking white-on-black panorama shots of a square-jawed hero as he leaps across the city rooftops? Anxious to get a lot of hot young actresses into sexy outfits? Into highly-stylized pulp dialog that sounds like outtakes from a Dick Tracy comic? Then apparently Frank Miller is your man. Taken as a series of unrelated sequences that sure LOOK cool, The Spirit might just float your boat. If, however, you like your films to include stuff like good sense, character development, internal logic, and a smooth-flowing story ... well, all I can say is that someone should have gotten Robert Rodriguez on the phone.
Frank Miller is Doing Buck Rogers?!
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Scripts », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
The Greatest American Hero ... Now Buck Rogers. If someone cooks up a re-do of Danger Mouse, all of my childhood superheroes will be accounted for.Yes folks -- Buck Rogers is getting another reboot, and this time, Frank Miller is the man in charge. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Odd Lot is trying to buy Buck's rights off of Nu Image/Millennium, so that Miller can write and direct his own take on the burly space explorer. But it won't be the Buck we all know and love -- "while the creator has only begun to sketch ideas, it's expected to be a darker take, with many of Miller's signature visual elements and themes, such as corruption and redemption."
Rogers could fall into a wicked coma that has him wake up in the 25th century, get frozen in space, or something completely different, but he will have one heck of a dark future to look forward to, being in the hands of Miller. While it makes sense, I'm not so sure about Miller taking on Buck, and the ill feelings surrounding The Spirit make me all the more apprehensive.
Buck's my guy -- in all his '80s beefcake glory with ridiculously tight and spandexy outfits and billowing chest hair. I just can't imagine Rogers without Gil and Erin, let alone the late and splendid Wildfrid Hyde-White, or wonderfully birdy Thom Christopher. Thrust into a dark and creepy world -- that I can imagine even less. Now Jon Favreau taking it on, and bringing Dennis Haysbert back and promoting him from Communication-Probe Officer to co-star, that I could handle.
Exclusive: Three TV Spots for 'The Spirit'!
Filed under: Action », Fandom », Home Entertainment », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Trailers and Clips »
.jpg)
Cinematical has received three (count 'em three!) exclusive Christmas-related TV spots for The Spirit, directed by Frank Miller (300, Sin City), and starring a whole crop of pretty faces like Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Paulson, Jaime King and Samuel L. Jackson. Each of these TV spots look the same, except a different character is featured. One puts Sand Sarif (Mendes) front and center, one focuses more on The Octopus (Jackson), and one teases us with a little Ellen Doran (Paulson). Check out the first spot below, and the other two after the jump.
The Spirit slides its way down your chimney on Christmas Day.
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
Jaycee Dugard's Horrific Story to Get a Sleazy Adaptation
_thumbnail.jpg)
