john davis Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It looks like another quiet week in the land of the geek -- particularly since all my friends are off at Fantastic Fest. If you're one of the lucky people attending, eat a Wild at Artichoke Hearts pizza for me at the Alamo Drafthouse. I lie awake at night thinking about it, and wishing for the skill to replicate it.

• The biggest news of the weekend was a story that hit Variety late Friday night: Stephen Chow has landed the role of Kato in The Green Hornet and the director's chair. Rumors and Seth Rogen's wishes have attached him for some time, but now it's official, and definitely shows that the project is going to be heavy on the comedy. (Incidentally, I never realized before now what huge Green Hornet fans my geek parents were -- let's just say Rogen's ears must be burning.) The movie is scheduled to be released June 25th, 2010.
  

• Tintin has run into some major financial problems. According to the LA Times, Universal has passed on the film, leaving Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson to scramble for a new studio to financially back them. It's as embarrassing as you can imagine -- not only because its two of the biggest names in the business, but because Spielberg may have to make nice with Paramount (who's financing half the film) just as he and David Geffen are trying to extricate themselves from it. It also leaves Spielberg without a project to direct, as Tintin was supposed to be next in line, and it delays the whole thing even longer. But hey, at least struggling directors the world over can now do something they never thought possible -- feel just like Spielberg!
  

In case you were feeling like there just wasn't enough feel-good sports drama on the big screen, we're about to get a whole lot more. Variety reports that John Davis has teamed up with television producer Bruce Nash to develop a collection of sports-themed films that stem from Nash's "Amazing Sports Stories."
Davis got turned onto the idea after producing The Express, the story of Ernie Davis (the first African-American to win the Heisman). Mixing that with Nash, who has written a whopping 60 books on sports history, and we have a lot of sports drama in our future. Davis says that there are "so many untold triumph-of-the-human-spirit stories that just work so well for movies."

One idea is to focus on the story of Bert Shepard, the only one-legged MLB player. But these films won't just be solitary tales. Another idea on the plate is the story about how the Pittsburgh Steelers had to meld with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1943, when WWII made healthy players scarce.

Are there any stories you want on the big screen, sports fans?

Imagine you're just a normal woman living a normal life. Then, you experience a really traumatic event. You need time to regroup and heal, so you move to a small town on the beach. What could be better than the relaxing pulse of waves, and a cozy environment perfect for recovery? Unfortunately, while you're living in your ocean-front paradise, you end up unearthing a crime and finding yourself in the middle of a new drama. This is the premise for 20th Century Fox's upcoming thriller. It's called Darkling Cove, and it comes from a spec script by Caroline Case -- whose lone other feature writing credit is Impostor, a Philip K. Dick adaptation.

Variety reports that Gary Fleder has been picked to direct, and he'll also produce the film along with John Davis, who got the project started with his discretionary fund under Davis Entertainment. This re-teams Case and Fleder, as he directed Impostor, and Variety says she wrote a draft of Don't Say a Word. He's also the helmer behind films like Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, Kiss the Girls, and Runaway Jury. So basically, he's had a pretty decent track record. Now they just need to start casting the film. He could revisit the past and re-team with Ashley Judd, but that'd be too predictable. Who else can pull of the balance of drama, personal issues, and new thrills?

I'm going to say a phrase and then I want you to close your eyes and imagine what sort of movie that phrase would make. OK, ready? Here we go: "The Sims Movie." Let it sink in for a bit. Are your eyes closed? Good. Now imagine a live-action 90-minute movie in which all the characters do is lounge around the house, take a few showers, pee a lot, cook food, call people, wash toilets, work out, buy furniture, pee some more, woo neighbors, put out fires, dance strangely, collect mail, pee once more, read a book, and then walk outside yelling Buuu-fwoobadooo-mWAH! to anyone within earshot. Sound like fun? Well then Fox has a movie for you. (Oh, and I know you were cheating. You can't read movie blogs with your eyes closed!)

According to Variety, 20th Century Fox has acquired the rights to The Sims, and not only are they actually planning to make a movie out of it, but they've already hired a producer (John Davis) to oversee and a screenwriter (Brian Lynch) to translate all the floobadoo-fwahs into actual dialog. For those who choose to pay attention to such things (like me), John Davis produced movies like Norbit, Eragon, Fat Albert and Garfield 2. Yeah. Variety claims that Mr. Lynch was a writer on Scary Movie 3, but the IMDb doesn't seem to agree with the trade paper on that point. (Then again, the Scary Movie flicks have more writers than The New York Times, so I imagine it's tough to keep track.)

So yeah. A Sims movie. We can't wait for the expansion packs sequels.