jason bourne Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you happen to be a handsome ex-CIA agent who out of a rabid sense of patriotism let the US government turn you into a tech-savvy killing machine with no memories and a penchant for throat chopping people in all manner of office building and slum around the world, Matt Damon would like you to call Universal Studios and give them a heads up as to what your life is like. See, Universal wants to make a fourth Bourne film, as does series star Damon, but they currently have no idea how to plausibly bring the guaranteed money maker back to the big screen.

Damon explained to Empire in a recent interview the holding pattern America's new favorite ex-spy is in, "you can't see the guy saying "I don't remember" any more, because he's lost and regained his memory three times already! And he's not like Bond, who goes on individual missions. I mean, you could make Bond movies forever, because you'd start each film at the beginning of a new mission. But Bourne isn't built that way, unfortunately."

If your first thought is to somehow have Bourne go back to working as a G-man, toss it out right now; that's already been considered and dismissed by Damon and co. However, I'm pretty confident they haven't thought of the following. If they had, Revenge is Bourne would already have a trailer.

While doing press for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy talked up a couple sequels that have nothing to do with one another other than the fact that they probably don't need to be made. First up is the long-rumored Jurassic Park 4, which is a project that seemed to be permanently stuck in development hell. Finally, Kennedy admitted that we've probably seen the last of those dinosaurs: "No... I don't know. You know, when Crichton passed away, I sorta felt maybe that's it. Maybe that's a sign that we don't mess with it." Maybe ...

... but then that means Michael Crichton's life was worth more than Robert Ludlum's life, because folks have no problem continuing the Jason Bourne franchise. In fact, during the same press junket, Frank Marshall said that The Parsifal Mosaic (which doesn't include the Bourne character, and focuses primarily on the threat of nuclear war and a spy who falls for another spy) is a potential source for the fourth installment. Also, Marshall stressed that Matt Damon is not signed on yet, but said that once George Nolfi finishes the script, they hope Damon will hop onboard. Finally, the fourth film will not be based on The Bourne Betrayal, as it was written by a friend of Ludlum's. Says Marshall, "We want to stay true to the original character." Sooo, let's adapt a book that doesn't feature Bourne then and call it a Bourne story, right? Is that staying true to the original character?

[via Coming Soon]

Reuniting after 2004's Closer, it appears that stars Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, along with Bourne writer Tony Gilroy, are all out to have a bit more fun with Duplicity; the trailer just went up over at Apple.

If anything, it comes off as more of a zippy heist film of sorts than the thriller I took it to be from the earliest synopsis on, even though corporate espionage remains the name of the game. Then again, maybe we're overdue for another Thomas Crown Affair-like outing, and between the cast (which also includes Tom Wilkinson, who was in Gilroy's Michael Clayton, and Paul Giamatti, who shared the screen with Clive in Shoot 'Em Up) and the crew, I'm pretty much sold.

(If Billy Bob Thornton is still in this, though, as Monika reported last January, he sure isn't showing up here, and IMDb remains mum.)

Duplicity opens on March 20th of next year -- about a month after Clive's bang-ier espionage efforts in The International.

Here are some stuff and things for your lazy Sunday:

-- News of that planned Arrested Development movie has finally found its way to the trades, with both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter saying that series creator Mitch Hurwitz is real close to signing a deal to write and direct the film. Ron Howard (who narrated the show), as well as the original cast, are all expected to return (we hope).

-- Two more Star Trek character posters have arrived online, with one featuring Eric Bana as the Romulan villain Nero, and the other shows Zoe Saldana as a very sexy Uhura. These end a pretty busy week for Trek, which began with the debut of the film's first full-length trailer and a special presentation of footage by director J.J. Abrams. Check out larger versions of these posters, as well as the other two previously released character posters, in the gallery below.



-- The 5th Annual Big Apple Film Festival came to a close last night, where yours truly moderated six very fun Q&A sessions over the course of the four-day fest and was on hand for the final awards ceremony. Winning Best Feature was The Living Wake, with The Project taking the fest's Cityscape Award (which goes to the film that best exemplifies the city of New York). Thanks to all those Cinematical readers who stopped me to say hello!

-- Looks like Universal plans to turn those Jason Bourne films into the next James Bond franchise, as Variety tells us the studio has cut a deal with author Robert Ludlum's estate which gives Universal exclusive rights to not only the Jason Bourne character, but also a first look at other Ludlum novels. As far as a fourth Bourne film goes, Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon have already signed on, and George Nolfi is currently writing the script.

There aren't many movie franchises that have managed to keep their fans happy as time goes on, with maybe the exception being those Bourne movies. I always thought one of the stand-out traits of the spy franchise was just how darn good all three films are. So it's no surprise that Universal wasted zero time in chucking the latest installment of the franchise into production. Variety now reports that Universal has hired George Nolfi, one of the co-writers of the third installment, to pen the latest addition to the super-spy flicks.

Confirmation of a fourth film appeared last spring, but both Greengrass and Damon were a little cagey on details -- plus the two had already started work on their Iraq drama, Green Zone. According to Variety, Universal is going full steam ahead with the project, and are considering it their "top priority" for the coming year. Nolfi only has a few credits under his belt, and sure, he did help write Ultimatum, but the bad news is that he was also behind the laughably awful Timeline and Ocean's 12, (arguably the weakest of the 'paper thin' trilogy).

Bourne 4 will be the first film that will not take its title from one of Robert Ludlum's novels, so I can only guess that Universal wasn't interested in using any of the newer titles or storylines. Bourne 4 is expected to arrive in theaters in 2010. What sort of adventure would you like to see Bourne take on this time around?

Is Jack Black replacing Matt Damon in the Bourne franchise? Thankfully, no, however The Hollywood Reporter tells us the funnyman has teamed back up with Kung Fu Panda writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger for a live-action comedic take on The Bourne Identity. In the film, Black will play some dude who washes up on the shores of Cuba with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Of course, he automatically believes he's a superspy (thanks Hollywood!), though nothing could be further from the truth. Sounds like a funny premise -- but is Black the right one for the role?

Meanwhile, Sky High's plant-loving sidekick, Danielle Panabaker, is going back to school. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she'll star in Chuck Russell's upcoming sci-fi action film called Prodigy. Based on Dave Kalstein's book, the film focuses on an elite prep school that takes teaching to the extreme -- they make students into geniuses with a "drug-and-diet regimen." Panabaker will play the smartie daughter of a senator who questions the powers that be. This might be particularly bad for those powers since, as Publisher's Weekly describes it, the conditioning makes these kids "ninja-assassin geniuses."

Last but not least, there's the talented Michael Sheen. Putting aside retro politics and The Music Within, Variety reports that the actor has picked up two new gigs. First, there's Sam Jackson's Unthinkable, which dips into the ethics of torture and terrorism, and then comes a little Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately, there's zip-all on who he's playing in these films. At least that leaves us free to speculate -- who on Earth will Sheen be in the world of Mad Hatters and White Rabbits?! Not Tweedledee and Tweedledum -- that's Matt Lucas, it seems.

Frankly I'm amazed that the announcement for a fourth Bourne movie wouldn't get a little more fanfare than buried half way down an article. In a press release in Variety, Universal announced that Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass will be returning for a new installment of the Bourne franchise. Originally, when the two were peppered with questions about a fourth film, they had the stock answer that Damon would only reprise his role if Greengrass returned to direct, and Greengrass would only return to direct if Damon was willing to star. Confused? Don't be, it was basically the PR equivalent of keeping the idea of a film on the back-burner without promising anything too specific.

Universal released the info in a release about their upcoming slate of films, and according to them both Damon and Greengrass are definitely returning to work together on the spy franchise. There are two books left in the Bourne series, so at least there would be some source material to start with. The two are currently working on the Iraq drama, The Green Zone, and Damon has already signed to star in The Informant for Steven Soderberg and is also in talks to star in The Human Factor for Clint Eastwood. Greengrass is also going to be busy with his upcoming Vietnam drama, They Marched into Sunlight. So it could be as late as 2010, before the two can even get started on making another Bourne flick, let alone get one into the theaters. However, with Bourne Ultimatum taking home three Oscars last night (three!), I imagine the fourth flick might be made a priority. For Universal's sake, I hope this one is a done deal. I can't help but think how embarrassing it must have been for MGM's Harry Sloan when his studio got a little overzealous about a certain spy franchise.

[via Empire]

Dang, there sure are a lot of hitman characters in the movies. And what's the difference between a hitman and an assassin, anyway? Does Jason Bourne count, or is he no longer a hitman/assassin by the time his cinematic story begins? Are Pulp Fiction's Vincent and Jules really hitmen or are they technically bagmen? Yeah, it's a difficult task to make a list of prominent hitmen in film. So, I'll let someone else make a "25 Greatest Hitmen" list; here, I present my seven favorites.

Feel free to mention your own preferences. With so many characters, whether easily falling within definition or not, I'm certainly leaving out a lot of good ones. But, as I said, these are my favorites. The cool, the funny, the interesting, they're the ones I enjoy watching over and over again, despite their lethal nature.


Martin Q. Blank in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997, George Armitage)

There is no better hitman than John Cusack's Martin Blank. He's good at his job, and he's funny, and he's willing to give it all up for love. Of course, he's bored enough by the occupation that he'd probably give it up for any good reason. It doesn't seem to matter to him that it's morally wrong; he's just another normal guy, dissatisfied with his job. And while it does seem to be a gag that's stretched thin, his issues do make him more entertaining than the usual silent-yet-conflicted hitmen. Plus, it's enjoyable to think that this is what really happened to Lloyd Dobbler, or Lane Meyer, or any other Cusack character from the '80s.

Signature line: "I was hired to kill you, but I'm not going to do it. It's either because I'm in love with your daughter or because I have a new found respect for life."

Alright, all you movie hounds. We know you've spent all summer watching the endless slew of sequels, from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End to Shrek the Third, from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to The Bourne Ultimatum, from Spider-Man 3 to Rush Hour 3 -- it's been one long, hot, summer. But how well do you know your movie sequel history? Over at the Guardian, they have a nifty little quiz up with questions that will test your sequel mettle. I scored 70% on the first pass, not too bad, I guess (hey some of the questions are a little tricky, I'm not that up on my Leonard Part 6). Go check it out, then let us know how you did.

Now here's a little movie sequel pop quiz for you: Can you put the three stills of each of these series in order?



More after the jump ...

James Bond -- when played by Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and now Daniel Craig (and a bit less so when played by Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby) -- has long been the gold stanard by which all other cinematic spies have been judged. He's smooth, aloof, quick-witted and charming. Guys want to be like him and women with names like Pussy Galore want to sleep with him. But these days, 007 has some serious competition from a more reserved, grittier and -- dare we say -- more likeable amnesiac spy named Jason Bourne (Matt Damon).

When The Bourne Identity came along in 2002, it pretty much reinvented the action-spy genre, placing its hero, Jason Bourne, squarely in the real world (where things like Bond's invisible car do not exist) and dealing with the unheard of (in the Bond world, at least) issues of moral accountability, character metamorphosis and even vulnerability. Clearly influenced by his neophyte rival, a new Bond was born in 2006's Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig stepping into the tux of a more down-to-earth, relatable and gadget-free 007. Even so, the gap between these two men remains enormous.

From the cars they drive to the villains they battle to the way they fight to the women they bed, Moviefone compares the two most badass spies ever to grace a movie screen in a Jason Bourne vs. James Bond gallery. Check it out and then tell us: Who do you think is the more super spy?