Talk about picking your battles: John Moore, director of the upcoming thriller Max Payne, has openly lashed out at the MPAA for granting the film a full-blown R rating instead of an hoped-for PG-13, explicitly calling out the ratings board for granting leniency towards The Dark Knight. His NSFW thoughts on the matter were brought to light during an interview with Das Gamer; I'd recommend that you head over there and give it a look-see.

Now, most filmmakers shoot for the more profitable PG-13 due to contractual obligation, and while I don't doubt that's part of the drive here -- as a studio, Fox has shown no scruples about trimming out the naughtier bits of last month's Babylon A.D. and last summer's Live Free or Die Hard -- Moore has been quite openly set on earning one. Who knows, maybe the man is actually out to prove the difference between lots of action and lots of violence, or perhaps it's just semantics as he shuffles back to the cutting room.

Moore made the PG-13 action flick Behind Enemy Lines for Fox, but also the R-rated horror remake The Omen, and judging from this most recent trailer, this seems to be a fair cross between the two in terms of genre intensity (guns and demons -- what kid wouldn't sneak in if they had to?). We'll just say how rough and tough Max Payne really turns out to be come October 17th.

[And a tip of the hat to /Film.]

I must admit that, after watching this new trailer on Yahoo! Movies for upcoming actioner Max Payne, I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it, but I'm willing to predict this much: it won't be boring.

Having not played the games, I can't speak for much faithfulness beyond the incorporation of slo-mo, but beyond that, this strikes me as some sort of cross between The Punisher (as Mark Wahlberg's eponymous NYC cop has lost his family to criminals) and Constantine (seriously, what's with the angelic demons here?).

That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you -- for a video game adaptation, this thing looks pretty slick and atmospheric so far -- but how will this flick play out under an assured PG-13 rating? Doesn't that somewhat defeat the purpose of anything titled 'Max Payne' (or anything starring Mila Kunis for that matter)?

Regardless, Max-ish Payne opens on October 17th, opposite the teen-targeting (but R-rated) romp Sex Drive and Oliver Stone's controversy-magnet-in-waiting, W.

It's funny how little things can make a big difference. When the first poster was released from the big-screen version of Max Payne, I have to tell you; I was pretty underwhelmed. But my opinion of the design has improved now that I've gotten a gander at the two new posters for the flick (see larger versions of both in the gallery below). Although, I have to ask, who knew that Mr. Payne was such a 'shoe-gazer'? The original Max seemed a bit more thick-skinned than his feature film version; Wahlberg makes the man look downright depressed at times.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Payne, a cop who has lost his family and partner at the hands of a powerful crime syndicate. When he is left to his own devices, our hero sets out on a mission of revenge for his loved ones, and discovering some unnatural secrets along the way. Starring alongside Wahlberg are Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) as Mona Sax, Beau Bridges as Payne's friend and mentor, and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as an IA agent.

We finally got a look at the trailer back in July, and if you are fan of the series, you probably noticed that the film has taken it's look from the original game. Payne was directed by John Moore, who has the dubious credit of being behind the remake of The Omen back in 2006. But, to be fair, the flick seems like an easy sell. Wahlberg seems suited to the more 'violent' strain of moviemaking. Plus, once you throw in the pre-existing fan base, and competition-free release date, Fox should be able to rake in some serious dough.

Max Payne will arrive in theaters on October 17th.

The first trailer for Max Payne has arrived online, and it looks pretty good. Based on the popular video game (of which I've played some), Payne stars Mark Wahlberg as a former NYC detective whose family was murdered. Three years later, he finds himself working undercover for the DEA deep inside the Punchinello crime family. So he's got issues and he's got a pretty important (and dangerous) gig -- something is bound to go wrong.

The game itself includes slo-mo scenes -- kinda like that Matrix stuff -- and based on this trailer, it seems we'll get a fair amount of it in the film (which also seems to have a Sin City sorta vibe to it too). It definitely looks highly-stylized, which seemed to work for this summer's Wanted. John Moore directs, after giving us films like Behind Enemy Lines and The Omen, while the very beautiful Mila Kunis co-stars alongside other folks like Beau Bridges, Ludacris and Chris O'Donnell (who it's nice to see back on the big screen as of late).

Check out the trailer above, and let us know what you think -- especially for those fans of the video game. Can Max Payne become one of those rare successful video game adaptations? It hits theaters on October 17.

It looks like things are getting pretty destructive on the set of the video game adaptation, Max Payne. Slash Film has new on-set photos for John Moore's (The Omen) crime thriller starring Mark Wahlberg as the undercover cop and noir hero; and even though Wahlberg doesn't make an appearance in this latest batch, (you can see him in full scowl here), we do get a glimpse of the action that Moore has planned.

Payne originally centered on an undercover DEA cop whose family had been murdered by a gang of junkies. In a hunt for revenge, he becomes obsessed with tracking down the crime family running the drug racket in big bad New York City. Beau Thorne's script kept some of the game's original story, but has changed some details for the big screen. Now, years after the loss of his family, Payne notices similarities between what happened to his wife and child, and a series of gruesome murders taking place. Some of the characters from the game series that will be making an appearance in the film are Mona Sax (played by Mila Kunis), mob-boss James Lupino, and veteran cop, B.B. Hensley (played by Beau Bridges).

There are still some concerns from fans that Moore will be aiming for a PG-13 rating, and I still can't get my head around that decision. Why even bother bringing a shoot-em up game like Payne to the screen if you are going to cut out half the fun?

Max Payne is expected to arrive in theaters on October 17th.

Now that just about every horror movie ever made has been RE-made, I guess we're now preparing for a massive onslaught of science fiction retreads ripofffs remakes. New versions of The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and When Worlds Collide are in various stages of re-production -- and now it's time for the 1970s sci-fi flicks to be exploited. To that end, Irish director John Moore will direct a remake of Peter Hyams' 1978 sci-fi thriller Capricorn One. I imagine it will be only weeks before we get fresh news on remakes of Logan's Run, Soylent Green, Zardoz, and Silent Running.

The original Capricorn starred Elliott Gould and James Brolin, and it was about the trouble that goes down after NASA decides to "fake" a moon Mars landing. According to Variety, the screenplay comes from Jurassic Park 3 writer Peter Buchman and the funding will come from New Regency / Fox. The director's last film was an ill-fated remake of The Omen (which was just so damn boring), but I'm definitely a fan of Moore's Flight of the Phoenix as well as his basic-yet-entertaining Behind Enemy Lines. Also, he just finished up Max Payne for Fox, and I'm definitely looking forward to that one.

OK, so the first photo to emerge from the set of the big-screen video game movie Max Payne probably isn't as exciting as we would like it to be. But, I've been in this business long enough to know I should take what I can get. Dark Zero has the first picture of Mark Wahlberg on set of the action flick, and to be expected, he's in full scowl (you can also get a glance at a slightly more relaxed Wahlberg on-set here).

Payne centers on a NYPD detective in Hell's Kitchen. When his family is brutally murdered, Payne is left to uncover the reasons why, all the while being accused of the crime himself. Throw in the mafia, corrupt corporations, and shady lady named Mona Sax, and you have all the ingredients of a decent noir thriller. It was just announced that Mila Kunis (Family Guy) will star as Sax. In the film, Kunis will play a young woman who joins up with Payne to get revenge for the murder of her sister.

Payne just started shooting in Toronto, Canada last week. Director John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines) had hinted that the film might aim for a PG-13 rating. But if you take out the violence from Payne, what exactly do you have left? I guess we will find out when Max Payne hits theaters on October 17th.

Variety reports that Mark Wahlberg has signed for the lead in the big-screen adaptation of Max Payne. The 3rd person shooter game was released by Rockstar Games (makers of Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto Series) back in 2001. The story centered on Max Payne, an embittered cop from Hell's Kitchen who comes home one day to find his wife and baby daughter have been murdered by junkies. Now undercover in the DEA, Max is given up to the mob all the while, uncovering a government conspiracy surrounding a designer drug called Valkyr. The game spawned two sequels and Fox had purchased the screen rights back in 2003.

John Moore has already been slated to direct the Beau Thorne script (Moore is also behind the vampire zombie flick Virulents that Scott told us about a few months ago). Some changes have taken place with the story; they kept the dead family, but it seems like the conspiracy angle has been tossed. Now, the story is about a cop (Wahlberg) with, "little regard for rules as he investigates a series of mysterious murders. He finds himself up against an adversary bent on destroying Max and the streets he protects".

Producer Scott Faye told IGN back in July that, "I think this is a real actor's part because although the story will have action and intrigue, at its core it's a story about a man who loses everything in life that's dear to him" -- so I can only assume that Faye is convinced that Wahlberg is the man for the job -- if nothing else, he does have the sneer down pat. Wahlberg recently replaced Ryan Gosling in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones and will start work on Payne as soon as Bones has been completed. Max Payne is tentatively scheduled to start shooting early next year and head for theaters in 2010.

I swear to you, when I first read the headline for this story I thought, for a second, they were remaking the very awesome 1993 sports romantic comedy Airborne, starring Shane McDermott (whatever happened to him?), Seth Green and, in one of his first roles, Jack Black. But then I got realistic (I mean, out of any movie, why in the world would they remake freaking Airborne?), and realized that this is something entirely different. Variety reports that John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines) will rewrite and direct a different Airborne. Instead of focusing on a bunch of kids from Cincinnati who race each other on roller blades, Moore's Airborne looks to be an action flick set on an aircraft carrier. And the theme to Top Gun has officially entered my head.

Producer Arnold Kopelson acquired the original script, penned by Eric Tipton, using his Equus Media development fund, and has decided to hand it off to Moore for another go-round. They already have the Dept. of Navy's approval, but have not ironed out a start date just yet. Kopelson, along with his wife Anne, have produced some excellent films over the years -- including Platoon, Se7en and The Fugitive ("You find this man!"). Apart from Behind Enemy Lines, Moore directed last year's The Omen remake, as well as 2004's Flight of the Phoenix. Additional plot details are being kept under lock and key. Bummer.

What would it take to make a war movie extra special? How about zombified vampires? Yep, that's what you'll find in the cinematic adaptation of xxx's* graphic novel Virulents. According to Variety, director John Moore has been tapped by New Regency to turn the Virgin Comics release into a big gooey movie. By my estimation, John Moore has made two stylish and generally entertaining adventure flicks (Behind Enemy Lines and Flight of the Phoenix) and one resoundingly pointless Xerox of a genuine classic (The Omen). Still, two out of three isn't bad.

Here's a plot synopsis from the official Virgin Comics site: "A small platoon of American soldiers in search of their missing comrades comes across Indian commandoes looking for a group of terrorists suspected of hiding a most heinous weapon in the craggy breast of the Hindukush. It's a night of revelation as the Americans discove the fate of their lost brothers, and the Indiams discover the fate of their terrorists. But the terror is not in the form of flesh and blood, or bullets or gunpowder. Terror has a new name."

And that name is ... zombie vampires! Woohoo! So it's like a cross between Black Hawk Down, Dawn of the Dead and Near Dark? (Yeah, in my dreams it is.) Newcomer scribe John Cox has been given adaptation duties, and producer Gotham Chopra seems more than a little psyched about the project: The story is "set in a part of the world that has a long history of myth and mystery, and it's going to rock." So there you have it: It's set in Afghanistan. It's got soldiers and terrorists and zombo-vamps. It's going to rock. I'm officially psyched to see Virulents.

* Neither the Variety article nor the official Virgin site can tell me who wrote / drew the Virulents book. I'd dig a little deeper and find out for sure, but I think it's pretty weird so I choose to let it just hang there for now.