relativity media Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Bradley Cooper Gains Superpowers In 'Dark Fields'
Filed under: Action », Drama », Thrillers », Casting », Universal », Newsstand »
The future Faceman may have lost the chance to fly as the Emerald Knight, but DC isn't the only place you can gain superpowers. You can also score them from top secret pharmaceuticals! (Don't try this at home, kids.) According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bradley Cooper is set to star in Dark Fields, a thriller directed by Neil Burger and based on the book by Alan Glynn. Cooper will play a writer down on his luck who manages to get his poor paws on a secret drug that promises to make one smarter. He doesn't go ask Alice before popping them, and finds that it's a wonder drug. He enjoys writing success, wealth and women until the side effects kick in. They're long lasting, potentially lethal, and have the extra kick of making time appear as a stop-motion movie. As if that doesn't suck enough, mysterious and unpleasant men begin pursuing him. Do they look like Shia LaBeouf, who was originally set to star? Hopefully not.
The screenplay was penned by Leslie Dixon, and is said to be similar to Fight Club and The Game, which might be a big spoiler as to the nature of those mysterious antagonists, which is why you shouldn't think about it too much. There's no start date, but hopefully he has no time between The A-Team and Dark Fields to squish in another frightening romantic comedy.
'The Crow' Remake Prepares To Take Flight
Filed under: Horror », Independent », Romance », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », RumorMonger », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
Last December, many Goths wept and fans of the late Brandon Lee took to message boards all over our great Internet to protest Stephen Norrington's remake of The Crow. News on the project has been so scarce that you've probably forgotten all about it, or even assumed it was dead and buried. But like its supernatural character, Norrington's Crow is alive and flying and Comics2Film is reporting that Norrington's script has been "very well received" by Relativity Media, and the film is set to go forward with casting. Cue the angry rants. While the news sparked a lot of angry comments, there were a few fans of James O'Barr's graphic novel who wanted to see a new adaptation that might stay truer to the book. But earlier this summer, Comics2Film ran a rumor that Norrington wasn't going to use the character of Eric Draven, but was inventing a completely new character and storyline for his remake / reboot. Let me stress that little item hasn't been confirmed, but if it's true, it certainly raises the question of "Why bother?" O'Barr fans want their guiding crow and self-mutilation back.
At this point, all we know is that Norrington is aiming to make it "realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style." Now that I've seen more of the graphic novel (thanks, Google Images), I can't think of a poorer approach to something so deliberately introspective. But who knows? If it's truly a whole new character who just happens to have a crow as a pal, the shaky-cam approach might work just fine.
[via Bloody-Disgusting]
'Hack/Slash' Adaptation Recruits Fredrik Bond As Director
Filed under: Action », Gay & Lesbian », Horror », Independent », Thrillers », Deals », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
We may not get a superheroine movie any time soon, but after a lot of talk and deal making, Cassandra Hack may finally get her chance to shine and swing away. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hack / Slash has lost the services of Todd Lincoln, and hired the much buzzed about Fredrik Bond. Tim Seeley and Stefano Caselli's Hack / Slash is a delight whether you're a horror fiend, a comic book lover, or simply a fan of badass heroines. (Or scantily clad ones. Hey, they have to lure in the boys somehow when it dares to star a woman, right? Yes, I'm being sarcastic.) The ongoing series stars Cassandra "Cassie" Hack, a fearless girl who is every Final Girl combined into one kick-ass, baseball bat swinging chick. Her origin story is the stuff that usually spawns a serial killer, as her mother was tired of seeing her little Cassie bullied, and went on a lunchroom killing spree. (Shades of Crystal Lake!) After surviving that, a missing father, and numerous foster homes, Cassie decides to educate herself in the ways of combat, and take on the unpleasant task of hunting and killing all manner of slashers, monsters, and demons.
Read the rest over at The Horror Squad!
Geek Daily: The Green Hornet Still Stings, Fanboy Release Dates, Ghost Rider 2, and More!
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Sony », Warner Brothers », Fandom », Scripts », 20th Century Fox », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », Images », Posters »
Rumors of The Green Hornet's demise were greatly exagerrated. Seth Rogen sent an e-mail to HitFix, upset that Drew McWeeny had not contacted him on the film's status. "The Green Hornet has many people working for it, including production designers, costume designers and many conceptual artists, office staff, etc. [The studio heads] have every intention on making it, and assuming we're able to hire a new director in the upcoming weeks, which seems like a distinct possibility, it should still hit the release date." Stephen Chow is still in to play Kato, and the LA Times' Hero Complex reports that Adam Sandler may have a cameo in the film as "a certain surprise superhero." Any guesses as to who that is?
According to its official MySpace, the long delayed Fanboys finally has a limited platform release on February 6: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Fransisco, Seattle, Houston, and Austin. Check your local listings if you live in these cities. (Two guesses where Austin's is!)
According to its official MySpace, the long delayed Fanboys finally has a limited platform release on February 6: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Fransisco, Seattle, Houston, and Austin. Check your local listings if you live in these cities. (Two guesses where Austin's is!)
The final Watchmen poster has debuted over at Yahoo! Movies and I've added it to our gallery below. It's kind of ... bland and overly-Photoshopped. We've had such cool character one-sheets that you would expect them to come together a bit more, particularly when they can mimic 1970s newscasts so well.
If the poster has you worried about those black pants on Dr. Manhattan (which he did wear in the book occasionally) Zack Snyder assured the world that when they sit down on March 6th, you will see all of the Big Blue. Zack Snyder told MTV's Splash Page: "It's an R rated movie, right? What you see in the trailer has to be a little bit squished around so it can get on TV. I think in the final film you'll see it's true to the graphic novel. He's naked." (MTV Splash Page)
If the poster has you worried about those black pants on Dr. Manhattan (which he did wear in the book occasionally) Zack Snyder assured the world that when they sit down on March 6th, you will see all of the Big Blue. Zack Snyder told MTV's Splash Page: "It's an R rated movie, right? What you see in the trailer has to be a little bit squished around so it can get on TV. I think in the final film you'll see it's true to the graphic novel. He's naked." (MTV Splash Page)
Tarsem Talks 'War of the Gods'
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Scripts »
If there was ever a director perfectly suited to tackle a tale about warring Gods, it's Tarsem Singh (The Fall). Say what you will about the man's ability to tell a story, but there is no director working today who has more of a flair for the visually dramatic than Mr. Singh. He recently spoke with Empire magazine about his current film, The Fall, when the subject changed to Singh's upcoming fantasy tale for Relativity Media, War of the Gods. Singh tells Empire, "It's turning into, basically, Caravaggio meets Fight Club, it's a really hardcore action film done in Renaissance painting style. I want to see how that goes; it's turned into something really cool" -- I don't know about you, but he had me at "Caravaggio meets Fight Club".Back in November, Elisabeth brought us the news that Singh had his eye on Henry Cavill from The Tudors as the Greek warrior Theseus battling against imprisoned titans. Of course, there is still the small matter of a competing flick in the form of Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans remake. But I have to say, I'm intrigued by Tarsem's description of War, saying, "I'm going for a very contemporary look on top of that so I'm kind of going with, you know, Renaissance time with electricity. So it's a bit like Baz Luhrman doing Romeo + Juliet in Mexico; it's just talking a particular Greek tale and half contemporising it and telling it."
'The Crow' to Resurrect and Fly Again
Filed under: Action », Horror », Independent », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Mystery & Suspense », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
Everything old (or at least "old" in the Hot Topic sense) is new again -- and so The Crow is going to be reborn. Variety reports that Stephen Norrington has signed on to write and direct a "reinvention" of The Crow, based on the comic written by James O'Barr.Norrington is hoping that resurrecting The Crow will do something similar for his career, which has been dead in the water since The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (Tangle with Alan Moore at your peril, directors.) He was once attached to direct Clash of the Titans for Warner Bros, but fell out with the studio over his inability to "excite" the studio with his take. Louis Leterrier got the job instead.
Norrington promises the film will be a different take than Alex Proyas' version -- which, you remember, went down in cult-Goth history for claiming the life of its star, Brandon Lee. "Whereas Proyas' original was gloriously gothic and stylized, the new movie will be realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style." Now I've never read O'Barr's book -- but isn't it quite gothic and stylized? There's a lot of agony, and despairing self-mutilation, and the titular crow plays a bigger part. Does the material lend itself to the approach Norrington wants to take?
I know I should be more annoyed that they're actually remaking The Crow because it's not that old ... but in a world where Hulk was rebooted after a mere five years, fourteen years between "reimaginings" is an eon. You have to wonder, though -- after the original launched so many forgettable sequels, will audiences even pay attention to a remake?
The Gods and Titans Are Being Cast
Filed under: Action », Classics », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Warner Brothers », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels », War »
There's two Greek epics racing to production as we speak -- Relativity Media's War of the Gods, directed by Tarsem Singh, and Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans for Warner Bros. Both are looking to fill the muscle-and-sandal void left by 300, and plan to employ the stylish green-screen effects that made 300 so darn pretty to look at, and cheap to make.And it looks like they'll be borrowing something else from 300 -- manly eye candy. According to Variety, both films are in negotiations for their lead actors. War of the Gods is looking to cast Henry Cavill as Theseus, legendary king of Athens. Cavill is best known as the rakish Charles Brandon on Showtime's The Tudors, and as Albert Mondego in The Count of Monte Cristo. That's him on the right. He's ridiculously handsome, and thus an ideal candidate for a mythic Greek.
Meanwhile, the increasingly in-demand Sam Worthington is in talks to play Perseus in Clash of the Titans. By now, Warner Bros has undoubtedly seen him in action in Terminator: Salvation so they'll know if he's the right man to take on Medusa. Again, he's not a bad looking fellow, and should look good in bronze and leather. Incidentally, both he and Cavill were once in the running to play James Bond.
Both films are expected to start production in late winter or early spring, so this will be the first of many casting announcements. I wonder if both films are doomed to move in sync, lumped together in the trades until the day they hit theaters.
Jean-Jacques Annaud Heading to 'Kashmir'
Filed under: Action », Drama », Independent », Thrillers », Deals », Scripts », Newsstand », War »
Another day, another intriguing project from Ryan Kavanaugh and his Relativity Media shingle. According to Variety, their latest script acquisition is D. B. Weiss' Kashmir, which has already attracted the interest of director Jean-Jacques Annaud.Weiss' script revolves around three ex-mercenaries who receive a tip as to the location of a terrorist who boasts a $30 million bounty on his head. For that kind of money, they decide to brave a trip into Kashmir, the volatile region between Pakistan and India. And because nothing is ever so simple as heading into a dangerous region to hunt a terrorist, all three men have their own reasons for the journey, and their working relationship is sorely tested.
The idea comes from those early days of the War on Terror, when the U.S. government actually was putting up wanted posters -- it's a sign of how much has happened that I can't remember if anyone ever collected on them. Annaud, ever the adventurist, has every intention of shooting as close as he can to Kashmir, and is traveling to Pakistan with Weiss for research.
While I'm a bit tired of terrorism plotlines, the story has all the classic marks of a Western -- and I'd love to see it tackled as such. Annaud certainly does grueling journeys (inner and outer) and sweeping vistas well, though the final result can be wanting. Here's hoping he can take the best parts of Enemy at the Gates and combine it with his eye for landscapes, and give us a good old fashioned bounty hunt.
Pierre Morel Wants to Be a 'Hunter-Killer'
Filed under: Action », Independent », Thrillers », Deals », Scripts », Newsstand », War »
Liam Neeson's thriller Taken hasn't hit stateside yet -- but it looks like its director, Pierre Morel, already has another job. Relativity Media acquired the rights to Arne Schmidt's screenplay Hunter-Killer, based on Don Keith and Commander George Wallace's novel Firing Point. Hunter-Killer fills a giant gap in today's cinema -- there just aren't enough movies set on submarines. (Have you ever toured one? If you can stop yourself from imitating Sean Connery or Das Boot, they really are terrifying places to be.) The story follows an American submarine commander and a team of Navy SEALS who must avert all-out war, rescue the Russian President in the midst of a coup, and defeat a renegade Admiral. No word on casting yet, but it will be fun to see what up-and-coming action stars land the macho parts -- particularly since American cinema is reportedly quite short of them.
It sounds a bit like The Hunt for Red October, which isn't a bad thing -- and it's a pretty timely choice for Relativity in light of recent geopolitical events. After Eastern Promises, I thought we were going to see Russian mafia dramas replace the Italian and Irish ones ... but instead, the Russians are making a huge comeback as the villains of action cinema. Coincidence, or savvy optioning on the part of Hollywood? Who knows? It definitely feels like 1980 again ... and I'm okay with that. Are you?
Jim Sheridan Directing 'I, Claudius'
Filed under: Classics », Drama », Independent », Deals », Scripts », Newsstand »
I love when Hollywood remembers to adapt (or re-adapt, in this case) a classic. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Relativity Media has picked up the rights to Robert Graves' brilliant novel I, Claudius for Jim Sheridan to direct. He'll also be writing the adaption, along with his usual collaborator Nye Heron. I, Claudius purports to be the secret autobiography of Claudius, the fourth emperor of Rome, who used his wits and intelligence to survive his murderous family and become one of Rome's greatest emperors. Fans of HBO's Rome will love it, as it features four strong and manipulative women who manipulate their men in and out of power, peace, and war. Seriously, read it. It's the perfect read for fall.
A new adaptation has been kicking around Hollywood for a year or more -- last year, producer Scott Rudin won the rights, and attached Leonardo DiCaprio and William Monahan to the project, but the deal ultimately fell through. Given that DiCaprio has the busiest pre-production schedule in the world, it's just as well, and it's fallen into good hands now.
I'm quite attached to Graves' work, and the literature nerd in me hopes that Claudius could spur a revival of interest in his works. I would love to see a biopic of the man himself, as he was -- as one of my favorite professors delicately put it -- "a very, um, interesting man." I, Claudius came about because Graves dreamed the emperor himself came to him in a dream and told him to write it -- and then he later decried them as just a moneymaker. And that's not including his White Goddess, and the lover who believed she was a witch. Pick up Goodbye to All That or Miranda Seymour's biography along with I, Claudius -- you'll thank me. I'm going to dig them out of my basement myself.
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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Exclusive 'Nine' Poster Premiere!
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
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