harry houdini Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Earlier this year, Summit decided that they needed another franchise, one that would cater to those who don't particularly dig sparkly vampires. Their answer was Harry Houdini, and they optioned a controversial biography with an eye to making him an Indiana Jones type. If you were thinking "That's a pretty weird idea, I bet it'll never happen," it's become a little more solid today. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Summit has hired Jeff Nathanson to adapt and direct William Kalush and Larry Sloman's biography, The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero.

Kalush and Sloman's book claims that Houdini was an English spy, and was once offered an position at Tsar Nicholas II's court. (This means the movie will have him fighting Rasputin.) They also try to stir up a conspiracy theory around his unfortunate death, suggesting that he was murdered by the charlatans he enjoyed debunking. Summit has the idea of adding lots of action, and turning him into something akin to Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes.

We all know Harry Houdini. In my youth I was mesmerized by him, and the movies that outlined his impressive escapes and watery final failure (a death that is 100% fabricated). He's the man who swam Niagara Falls, the man who wiggled out of straightjackets whilst hanging by his feet, the man who survived the Chinese Water Torture Cell. But we don't know him as a cross between Indiana Jones and Sherlock Holmes.

Believe it or not, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Houdini is heading to the big screen once again, in a project that's not a biopic, but rather an action thriller that could turn into a franchise. It will be based on The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero. It's a rather controversial tome that says that Houdini was a spy for Britain, was asked to advise Czar Nicholas II, and the most popular claim, that almost led to the man's exhumation: that the spiritualists he debunked over the years plotted to kill him as payback. Considering that, it's a bit funny that the tale is being described as part Sherlock Holmes, since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was mighty peeved for Harry's debunking persistence.

The idea sounds a bit silly, but who knows? It might be campy fun. The project is so fresh that there aren't even writers attach yet, but that doesn't stop speculation. Harry's already been played by Tony Curtis, Guy Pearce, Harvey Keitel, Johnathan Schaech ... who's next? I'm thinking Victor Garber.

Lovely to look at and packed with some solid doses of charm and wit -- but sorely lacking in historical accuracy and romantic chemistry -- Gillian Armstrong's Death Defying Acts tells the story of a brief but (mildly) interesting relationship between Harry Houdini and a beautiful con woman in the summer of 1914. How much of the film is actually factual I have no idea, but I do know that Harry Houdini looked more like Gene Wilder than Guy Pearce, but hey ... this is full-bore Hollywood fantasy all the way. Only some of the names are unchanged to keep you interested.

So, fine: Guy Pearce as Harry Houdini. I'll bite. And the guy delivers a fine and firmly affable performance; I just never really bought him as THE Harry Houdini. As the single mother with a flair for fake fortune-telling, Catherine Zeta-Jones is just as lovely as ever. Her character isn't given too many shades to work with beside "sneaky" and "doe-eyed," but the gal oozes old-school movie-star vibes whenever she walks across the screen. And young Saoirse Ronan makes for a plucky little sidekick / daughter, just in case you happen to bring your kids to the movie.

Before the weekend hits, here are some just-made deals:

• The duo who brought us the likes of Chicken Little, Steve Bencich and Ron Friedman, have just sold their latest pitch, The Devil You Know, to 20th Century Fox. The film will be an adaptation of Nathan Hale's children's book, and while they're known for their animated films, this will be live-action. The books are about the Fell family, who share their house with a literal "little devil." The get fed up with his trouble-making, and call on Ms. Phisto (a spoof on Mary Poppins and Mephistopheles) to get rid of him and take his place. However, she proves to be more trouble -- she brings in boxes full of demons and calls a lake of fire and brimstone in the kitchen. How the pair are handling the adaptation is being kept under wraps, but hopefully it will maintain the charm and quirkiness of the original.
• The writer/director who brought us Camp in 2003, Todd Graff, is gearing up for another teen movie fueled by music. He is currently re-writing Josh Kagan's coming-of age dramedy -- Will. It is about an outcast in high school who befriends a popular girl because of their love for music. They bring together "a like-minded crew of misfits," form a rock group and plan to compete in their school's battle of the bands. Basically, it's just like Camp, but not at camp. Stay tuned for his upcoming films about misfits joining to form an air band for the local talent show, students doing a music internship over Spring break and wacky hi-jinx from a high school chorus class.
• In October, Mark Beall reported that Mark Waters, The House of Yes and Mean Girls, was going to be directing Walden's Media's upcoming film on Harry Houdini. Slowly but surely, the project is coming together and they've finally got a screenwriter. Variety has reported that Brett Merryman will be grabbing the pen to write the story about a 14-year-old boy who finds out that he is a Houdini descendant -- and decides to go on a quest to unlock the secrets of his famous ancestor. I'm waiting to see if the film gets the word "house" in it. Three out of the four films the screenwriter has been involved with have has it in the title.
  

Walden Media is taking a break from the "turn books into movies" business to develop a project of their own. The project doesn't have a solid working title yet, but the general idea of the plot centers around a young teenage kid who discovers he is a descendant of the famous Harry Houdini. This leads him on a discovery quest in an attempt to learn the (often secretive) story of Houdini's past. Walden is still looking for a screenwriter (brush up your resumes, guys) but they have attached a director to the project -- Mark Waters, of Mean Girls fame.
If I were to admit to a guilty pleasure as a geek beat writer, it would certainly be kid flicks/family films. While I generally view, enjoy, and write about films with titles like Sin City which are packed full of non-family friendly goodness, I also really enjoy a nice little PG flick with fun, simple characters and a happy ending. I know, weird, right? One of my favorite movies in the recent past was Curious George. In the same vein, I've been thoroughly geeked out for the upcoming Happy Feet. There isn't enough information about this Houdini movie yet (obviously, since a script hasn't even been written), but I think it has good kid-flick potential. Stick around, Cinematical will be sure to bring you plot/casting updates if and when they happen.

Odds and ends for Thursday:

• Even though IMDB lists Zach Braff as its director, Barry Sonnenfeld is in final negotiations to helm Andrew Henry's Meadow for 20th Century Fox. Pic, which is based on the popular children's book, follows a boy inventor who escapes suburbia and travels to a meadow. There, he sets up some sort of community where he eventually teams up with other outcasts on a mission to save their parents. Braff, along with his brother Adam, originally set up the pic and developed the story while Adam wrote the script. Perhaps, since Zach is now off directing a Danish re-make, he has relinquished his director's hat.

• Who knew Catherine Zeta-Jones was so into magic. Apparently, the actress is in talks to star opposite Guy Pearce in biopic about the one and only Harry Houdini. Set in the mid-twenties, Death Defying Acts will pick up Houdini's story while he's at the height of his career, touring the country and amazing the public with his brilliant escape acts. That's right folks, David Blane has nothing on this guy. Zeta-Jones will play an exotic psychic (I wonder if that means she tells your fortune while in her underwear?) who seduces Houdini into a passionate affair.

• Well, it looks like HDNet Films is really starting to make some moves. Not long after Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban's company decided to up its budget cap from under $2 million to under $5 million (assuming the right talent was attached), comes word that Zoe Cassavetes' Broken English has wrapped up its stars and will become the latest HDNet venture to head into production. Onboard what appears to be a quirky romantic comedy about a woman lost in her 30's and looking for love, will be Parker Posey, Drea de Matteo, Gena Rowlands, Jeanne Moreau, Justin Theroux and Josh Hamilton.