len wiseman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Get ready for Ms. McClane in space!

The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Len Wiseman, the man behind Underworld, has picked up the graphic novel Shrapnel, created by Nick Sagan and Zombie Studios chief Mark Long. As the trade describes, Wiseman was checking out comic book stores with his daughter when he happened to see the novel the day it hit the stands -- a discovery that immediately drove him to obtain the rights.

Shrapnel is a science-fiction tale set in the future, where humans are colonizing the planets and have formed a Solar Alliance to govern them. Venus, however, is the last rebellious holdout, and "a self-exiled former Marine" has to teach Venus' inhabitants how to fight back. THR goes on to note the director's love for reluctant heroes like John McClane. But they leave out one huge detail: The marine is a woman! As they describe it on zombie.com, she's "the most INFAMOUS HEROINE" and must organize a revolt to give the colonies their freedom.

Female fighters are usually relegated to the halls of fantasy and science fiction, so this isn't the biggest surprise, but a nice one nonetheless. And maybe, just maybe, we're one step close to a Ms. McClane in real time, without the fantasy, superpowers, and space.

Considering most of us have given up on the idea that you can make a great film from a video game, you have to hand it to someone who is still willing to try. Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard) recently spoke with Bloody Disgusting about his upcoming feature based on the best selling game, Gears of War, and the big news is that he has already planned three installments of the 3rd person shooter. Wiseman tells Disgusting, "The hope is that were wanting [sic] to do a three movies and really cover the bases on everything. Basically a harder edged Lord of the Rings."

Gears of War centered on the elite military group known as the Delta Squad, and when the planet Sera is attacked by the vicious Locust Horde, it's down to the Delta to save the day. Wiseman seems to be less interested in the creatures in the story, and is going to focus instead on the bad-ass squad. When asked about the script, Wiseman told Disgusting, "It's going to be much more [on the] science fiction side of it than the creature side of it. I've always been much more of a sci-fi action fan than a horror fan,"

Wiseman will be sticking with green screen to bring the 'Hoarde' to life, saying, "the more and more I get involved with these movies and the bigger they are the more you rely on CG effects to help you out. And you can do it properly; I've been a big fan of practical work and still am, it's finding a way to incorporate them together." Unfortunately, I don't think relying on CG is the problem with most video game flicks. It might however have something to do with substandard storytelling, bad acting, and crappy dialogue; but that just might be me.

So even though Wiseman has the odds stacked against him, is there anyone out there who thinks that he has what it takes to pull off not one, but three films? Sound off below...

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gears of War is on a fast-track to the big screen, thanks to New Line. Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard) has been given the directing job, and will be developing the story alongside Chris Morgan.

Based on the hugely popular video game, Gears of War tells of an elite Delta Squad who are charged with the task of saving the planet Sera from the vicious Locust Horde. Of course, the question on everyone's mind is whether or not this video game adaptation can succeed where so many have failed? Gears of War will probably be even more problematic than most, as the appeal stems from being plunked into the action, not because of the storyline. (Though, to be fair, it has no thinner a plot than Commando.)

Chris Bleszinski, one of the brains behind the video game, is optimistic as long as Hollywood takes it seriously. "Disney made a great movie out of a theme park ride, and somebody is sooner or later going to make a great one out of a video game. Having someone like Len really helps the odds. I think we're going to create something special here."

Sadly, Len Wiseman is only marginally more popular with fanboys and girls than Brett Ratner, so his name alone could sink this project when it comes to the geeks. However, he has a knack for over the top action, so perhaps this could be the ideal film for him. Sound off, Gears fans -- do you think this has potential, or is it destined to be another Doom?

With the exception of Live Free or Die Hard, I can't say I'm all that big of a fan of Len Wiseman's work. However, I know that plenty of people still flock to his movies, so who am I to judge? Variety reports that Wiseman has signed to direct the sci-fi action flick, Shell Game.

The story centers on your prototypical gumshoe type who is investigating the black market for something just a little more valuable than pirated DVDs. In this future, for a price, you can buy yourself immortality. Justin Bondi and Andrew Ludington wrote the screenplay, but it has undergone some rewrites. The most recent draft was written by Wiseman and Chris Morgan.

Wiseman says that he considers Shell to be a passion project and told Variety, "I've been wanting to make this film for the past five years, but it's a huge film and has always been too expensive to make at the level I've wanted to make it at, now I'm finally getting a chance to do it at that level." I guess that means we can count on the film having some expensive special effects.

Also, even though he won't be directing it, Wiseman is still planning to produce the third installment of the Underworld franchise. But it looks like most of his attention is going to be placed firmly on Shell Game instead. Judging by the reaction to his last Underworld flick, I'd say it was probably a good call.

Once again, I'm going to pretend like I made something happen. Two days ago, on this very Cinematical program, I declared that there can be only one Snake Plissken in movieland, and he shall be forever played by Kurt Russell. Well, perhaps Gerard Butler agrees with me, because he's now dropped out of the remake of Escape from New York, according to Variety. The trade says the decision was due to creative differences, which could very well mean that New Line wants to go with the Snake Plissken name, while Butler sided with me in saying that was a bad idea. Of course, I don't want to be responsible for Butler quitting a gig; after all, I implied that it was okay for the 300 star to do the remake, just that he needed another, less-iconic character name. Regardless, though, Butler's departure follows news that Brett Ratner is no longer or was never attached to direct the movie, which had followed news that Len Wiseman was also not involved. And suddenly the project is empty of talent. But for those three of you who are looking forward to it, the remake is not dead yet. New Line has hired Jonathan Mostow to script a rewrite and has apparently offered him the option to direct as well.

Mostow, who interestingly enough directed Russell in Breakdown, will be revising the current script penned by Ken Nolan. Back in July, Aint it Cool News posted a review of the earlier draft; revealing that it was relatively faithful to John Carpenter's original while also being modernized with timely relevance to the Middle East conflicts. The script also was said to feature flashbacks to Snake's military career in order to show background for his imprisonment. We'll have to wait and see if Mostow changes much of the details from that version, but I think we can trust the project in his hands. Sure, he's been known to play with history, substituting Americans for British in significant WWII plots, and he seemed to piss off a lot of fans with his direction of Terminator 3: Rise o the Machines (not me, though; I enjoyed it), but Mostow is a heck of a lot better than Wiseman and Ratner. So, should he direct? Is it like choosing the lesser of evils? Do you wish New Line would just scrap the whole thing altogether (they won't -- they paid too much for it)? And most importantly, who should play Snake, or "guy who isn't called Snake" as I suggested the character to be named, now that Butler is out?

Fire up the flame war, because I'm about to admit to another crazy opinion: John Carpenter's Escape from New York is boring. It's a great concept -- that of Manhattan being a maximum security prison in which a military prisoner must seek and rescue the President of the United States in order to receive a pardon. The movie is even relatively impressive considering its low budget, regardless of how dated it now looks. But it just doesn't have enough going on to garner as much praise as it receives. Maybe if I'd seen it 25 years ago I would have the same fondness that its fans have, but I saw it this year and was seriously disappointed; and yes, I was extremely bored. Because of this crazy opinion, I actually wouldn't mind seeing a well-done remake. Unfortunately, I don't believe I will get to see such a thing considering the directors so far linked to the job. First there was Len Wiseman (I still haven't seen Live Free or Die Hard, so I can't judge him completely). Then there was the much worse news that Brett Ratner was taking the helm. Fortunately, we can count him out too, as Aint it Cool News has relayed an email claiming Ratner himself denied his involvement.

I'll admit one other thing, that may save me from too many flames: Kurt Russell is the only Snake Plissken. No matter who New Line gets to direct the EFNY redo, the studio might as well save themselves some pain by changing the main character's name. Technically there's no reason to do this, but for those of us who associate Russell with Snake, it would be a wonderful, narratively insignificant change (I even have a suggestion for a "new" name: Ben Richards). Yeah, I know I just saw the movie for the first time within twelve months, but even without sitting through the thing, I spent the last 25 years with the image of Russell with the eyepatch in my head. That means he's a part of the pop-cultural consciousness. Giving us a new Snake, at least by name, is like trying to re-introduce Mickey Mouse as a rat. Or Ronald McDonald as a bearded lady. Or Willy Wonka as Michael Jackson. Anyway, that is my invitation for scrutiny for the day, and I'm sticking by it. The Escape from New York remake, hopefully starring Gerard Butler as "some other dude with an eye patch," is due in 2009.

You know how people try and make you feel better by saying things could always be worse? Well, if Ain't it Cool News is right, then things have officially gotten worse with regards to the remake of Escape From New York. According to AICN's Merrick (via one of their ultra hip scoopers), a rumor has been making the rounds that claims Brett Ratner in in talks (or in the running) to take over directing duties on the remake of John Carpenter's classic. Now, to be fair, AICN is not confirming the news to be true, but you could probably already hear the collective groans from fans of the original film at the thought of Ratner ruining a cult favorite. Len Wiseman was officially attached to the project back in August, but according to AICN's source, Wiseman is off the project for good.

Released in 1981, the original film starred Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken; a mercenary soldier turned convict who is forced into service to rescue the daughter of the president in the apocalyptic wasteland formerly known as New York. Ryan had reported back in May that Gerard Butler (300) would be taking over the lead -- much to the dismay of the original Snake Plissken . Changes seem to be the order of the day when it comes to the remake, since there had been talk that the script would be getting an update as well. Since the original film was a comment on Watergate and political corruption, it has been assumed that the new film would be working in some Iraq war commentary. Although if Ratner does take over, this will probably be some pretty ham-fisted discourse. But before anyone gets too upset; just remember that so far this is all just speculation. So keep your fingers crossed that this is all just someone's idea of a cruel joke.

UPDATE: IESB claims this rumor is 100% true, and that Brett Ratner has indeed replaced Len Wiseman as director of the Escape from New York remake.

Len Wiseman did the nearly unthinkable this summer and made me like (not love, mind you, but certainly enjoy) a fourth Die Hard film. I was mighty concerned going in that the guy would dump all over one of the greatest movie series ever made, but instead Wiseman made a solid flick with some very cool action scenes (loved that tunnel "lights out" sequence in particular). Miraculously, the movie didn't make me cringe once. Live Free or Die Hard won't join "The Thrillogy" in my DVD collection, but it impressed me with all the mistakes it didn't make. I never saw Wiseman's Underworld films, but now there's a much greater chance I'll queue the suckers up. And Wiseman must be feeling pretty cocky these days, (being married to Kate Beckinsale probably helps) because he's following up LFODH with another project that could potentially tick off action fans.

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Wiseman is in negotiations to direct the remake of Escape From New York. 300's abbed-up hero Gerard Butler is attached to star as Snake Plissken, a role memorably played by Kurt Russell in John Carpenter's original film and the dreary sequel Escape From LA. Ken Nolan (writer of Black Hawk Down) wrote the script for the remake, which "will combine an origin story for Plissken merged with the story of the 1981 movie." That story, for those of you who've never seen the Carpenter classic, envisions a futuristic (the original was set in 1997) New York City as one big maximum security prison. When the president's plane crashes, inmate Plissken is sent on a mission to rescue him. Carpenter will executive produce the new film. For some past Escape news, here's a script review, Kurt Russell's angry response to Butler's casting and the project in general, and his later, friendlier response to the film, What say you, Cinematical readers? Wiseman and Butler -- can they pull this thing off?