stuart beattie Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Making a great movie poster is an art, but making a so-so one? That seems to be something that any studio can do. There are now four new character posters for the feature film version of the Real American Hero, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and for those of you who were disappointed after only receiving head shots in the last round of one-sheets -- well, you aren't going to be much happier (that is, unless you have a torso fetish). The latest batch (see below) showcase Duke, Ripcord, Snake Eyes, Scarlett and The Baroness all in their best leather fightin' gear, which might not be much to write home about, although, I'm sure fanboys will be pleased with the tight leather outfits sported by Scarlett (Rachel Nichols) and The Baroness (Sienna Miller).

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is set ten years in the future, and, like the title says, will center on the origins of the Cobra Organization. It would seem that it will be origin stories all around, as Stuart Beattie's script also puts Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) at the center of the action with their induction into the Joe team.

You would think that for a film expected to be a big hit this summer, there would be a little more 'oomph' injected into their marketing. But, I guess it wasn't meant to be ... yet ... and for now we're going to have to suck it up and deal with all these posters. However, there is one notable exception in all of the posters so far, and it is probably the one fans are most anxious about: good old Cobra Commander himself (as played by *Jason Joseph Gordon Levitt). Surprisingly, any images of Cobra have remained under lock and key, so I guess we'll have to keep our fingers crossed that he makes an appearance in the Superbowl trailer.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra will arrive in theaters on August 7, 2009. Check out the new and old posters below.

There's an interesting trend going on in film right now -- everyone is grabbing up classic characters of pulp and adventure literature right and left. We've got Conan, Sherlock Holmes, John Carter, and now Tarzan. There's a sociological study in here for an aspiring student.

Tarzan has seen many a reboot, and there's always whispers of someone wanting to make a new version. This current project has been floating around since 2003 (the same year Warner Bros tried to bring Tarzan to television and the modern city), and once boasted Guillermo del Toro's name. Now, according to Variety, it has landed in the hands of Stephen Sommers, who is cowriting a script with Stuart Beattie. Beattie boasts some impressive credits, like Pirates of the Caribbean and Collateral, so the Lord of the Apes might be in quite capable hands.

But Sommers' movies tend to fall a bit short of expectation, to put it kindly. And I mean it kindly, from someone who does actually own Van Helsing -- I could write a long defense as to why, but it really just comes down to liking Hugh Jackman and David Wenham a lot. But, in my defense, I reportedly audibly booed the ending when I saw it at the theater, though I can't remember if it was because they so visibly CGI'd pants on a naked post-werewolf Jackman, or the floating head of Kate Beckinsale. I think it was the floating head, but knowing me, it may have been the pants.

So, while I want to think about how cool a new Tarzan movie could be, what hot dude they'll put in a loincloth, how feisty Jane will be, I can't. Because I'm picturing the whole thing saddled with the same CGI Sommers has used since The Mummy, a jungle peppered with apes that can stretch their jaws for miles. Am I wrong, readers?

If you squint your eyes just right and look at a photo of the late comedian Bill Hicks, he kind of resembles a young Russell Crowe (or vice versa). So, it would have been really cool if the Australian actor had played Hicks around ten years ago, when he was still in his 30s. But if we've learned anything from Kevin Spacey and Mike Myers (respectively, star of the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea and star of an upcoming Keith Moon biopic titled See Me Feel Me), you're never too old to play an icon who died young, and therefore we must accept the fact that at close to 50 years old, Crowe is likely to portray Hicks, who died from cancer at age 32. Fortunately for Crowe, he's good enough that it shouldn't be too hard to believe such a portrayal.

The Oscar-winning actor is quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald saying he's involved with a Hicks bio, "which is going from treatment to draft stage with Kiwi writer Mark Staufer." Never mind that the quote doesn't sound like it was actually spoken by anyone, let alone Crowe, the article is mostly about how the actor is spending time with his family now that Ridley Scott's Nottingham has been postponed. Crowe also references other projects, including an unnamed documentary and the surfing gang movie My Brother's Keeper, based on the documentary Bra Boys, which Crowe narrated. Stuart Beattie, who co-wrote the doc, is currently working on a second draft of its adaptation.

Here are some Fanboy nuggets for you to chew on ...

Halo: The Fall of Reach -- While that old Halo movie is dead and buried, the property may still have a little life left when it comes to a big-screen adaptation. Stuart Beattie wrote a draft of a script based on the 2001 novel by Eric Nylund, which served as a prequel to the first game in the series. Now, Latino Review has snagged a piece of concept art from Kasra Farahani (Wolf Man, Spider-Man 3, Hancock) that's accompanying Beattie's script and will be part of an eventual presentation to Microsoft. Click on the image above to see a larger version over at LR. Hang on Halo fans, they're trying to make this happen for ya ...

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen -- We now know what Shia LaBeouf's next ride might be, and it's definitely not a used 2001 Honda Accord. Oh no, CHUD reports that Megatron will be back in the sequel! Not a giant reveal, I know, but they also claim -- possible spoilers -- that the baddie from the first film might come back to help the Autobots defeat "a new menace." (Some say that menace is The Fallen, some say it's LaBeouf's future parole officer -- we'll check our sources and get back to you.) Not only that, but Megatron might return as a tank this time. Hopefully said tank will offer up enough protection from, ya know, tight corners and multiple shots of whiskey.

More Mummy and Justice League still has a pulse after the jump ...

So it looks like all is not lost for the big-screen Gears of War. Coming Soon recently spoke with Twilight producer Wyck Godfrey about the feature film version of the best- selling video game. According to Godfrey, "We've got our script on and a director we're about to attach. We'll hopefully make that early next year for the summer of 2010." New Line had purchased the rights back in 2007, but it's not exactly a secret that they had a bit of a rough year. As a result, the future of the big-budget video game flick had a big question mark hanging over its head.

Gears was the story of your usual rag-tag group of soldiers known as the Delta Squad. When the planet Sera (a stand-in for Earth) is attacked by an alien force called the Locust Horde, Delta Squad is forced to defend the planet from this unstoppable enemy. Most of the story focused on Marcus Fenix and the rest of the Delta Squad, so I would imagine that the film would take their cue from the game and do the same.

Well, it looks like we might finally have our next Real American Hero. Ain't it Cool News is reporting that Channing Tatum (star of She's the Man and Step Up) has signed to play Duke in the feature film version of Hasbro's iconic military men, G.I. Joe. News that Tatum was in the running for the part first sprung up on Latino Review, but AICN claims that they now have word that it's a done deal and Tatum will be playing the second in command for Team Joe.

G.I. Joe will be directed by The Mummy's Stephen Sommers, and while some of the details have been tinkered with ever so slightly in Stuart Beattie's script, for the most part it looks like fans will be getting the Joes they know and love. Just last week, some plot spoilers were leaked, so if you can't wait, you can check that out here. So far, the cast includes Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (LOST), Said Taghmaoui (The Kite Runner), Sienna Miller as The Baroness, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marlon Wayans -- and I don't think I'm alone in thinking that this is one eclectic cast to say the least.

If it's true, this will be a big role for Tatum, who so far has starred in some pretty crappy teen fare. Tatum's career is on an upswing lately, and has the upcoming Iraq drama Stop Loss hitting theaters this year, as well as a role in Michael Mann's Dillinger film, Public Enemies, with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. G.I. Joe is set to start shooting in Los Angeles in the next month, so we should get some official word soon.

I might not be the biggest G.I. Joe fan out there, but even I am starting to question some of the casting decisions for Paramount's big-screen adaptation. Variety reports that Marlon Wayans of White Chicks fame has signed to play Ripcord in their feature film based on the classic cartoon (nothing against the guy, he was great in Requiem for a Dream, but then again he did star in Little Man). For those of you out there who aren't all that familiar with "the *Greatest American Hero", Ripcord was one of the good guys and was the leader of a paramilitary group. He made his first appearance back in 1985 and was thought of as the "new wave" of recruits after the first round of 'Joes' retired. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also said to be in negotiations to co-star, though his character is not named.

Mummy director Stephen Sommers will helm the script written by Stuart Beattie. The update of the story now has it set 10 years in the future and the Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity (G.I.J.O.E.) are still saving humanity from an arms dealer. News of Wayans joining the cast came just a few weeks after it was announced that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (LOST) and Said Taghmaoui (The Kite Runner) would be joining Sienna Miller and Ray Park in the cast as 'Heavy Duty' and 'Breaker'. So for fans who might be keeping track, so far making appearances in the film will be; Ripcord, Heavy Duty, Breaker, with the possibility of Scarlett and Storm Shadow also popping up. Shooting is set to begin in Los Angeles this February and G.I. Joe is scheduled for release on August 7th, 2008.

*Correction: Joes were known as the "Real American Heroes"

The writers strike may be keeping the pens from flying across the page, but some deals are still getting made. Variety has reported that Stuart Beattie has signed on to write a new film called The Man Who Tried to Save the World -- once the strike is over, of course. The writer got his big break helping to suss out the story for the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, but that's not all he's been involved in. He penned Collateral, and then followed it up with the beyond-stinkariffic Derailed, he worked on 30 Days of Night, and now has got a bunch of original and adapted features on the way -- Australia, Man Without a Gun, Spy Hunter, G.I. Joe, and Without Remorse.

The Man Who Tried to Save the World is based on the life and death of U.S. aid worker Fred Cuny, and will be based on Scott Anderson's book of the same title, along with a '97 Frontline documentary called The Lost American. "The film will focus on the death-defying disaster-relief exploits of Cuny, a Texan who became known as the Master of Disaster for his accomplishments in unstable places like Iraq, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bosnia, and Chechnya." However, he could only avoid death for so long, and when he went missing in Chechnya, it is believed he was murdered there. While we have been over-saturated lately with heavy political and war dramas, this could be a bit of a different spin, if done right. At the very least, it's a sort of a real-life action hero story.

Topping that off, Beattie is also penning planning to pen a feature based on his recent documentary, Bra Boys. The film focused on the evolution of a Sydney beach surf gang of the same name, and was narrated by Russell Crowe, who Variety says will direct the feature. While I wish this is about a gang who is wild for the soft-touch of bras, I imagine it's just the typical surfer slang.

GamePro recently spoke with 30 Days of Night scribe Stuart Beattie and scored some news about his upcoming Gears of War adaptation. Based on the bestselling Epic game, the story centers on an elite military unit called Delta Squad fighting off an alien invasion by something called the Locust Hoard. But, Gears of War was never about story, it was all about firepower. So, how do you capture all that carnage on the screen? Why with green screen, of course. Beattie told GamePro, "There's no way to build that world any other way, really...That's a huge world. It's a planet and it's a bubble and it's a building. It's an epic sci-fi war and an enormous film. To get it made at all, the only way to make it for a price is to be on a sound stage. But the game also has that look, which is really interesting, so I think it will dovetail really nicely".

The rights to Gears were purchased by New Line back in March, and there were rumblings of a treatment floating around a few weeks later. There is still no word on a director yet, but New Line has promised that they will start looking for one as soon as Beattie finishes his script. Beattie is probably most famous for his work on The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but he is also responsible for Collateral and Australia, so you can't deny the man likes to make diverse choices. He has even worked on video games in the past; writing the script for an installment of the crime game, The Getaway. Beattie has yet to turn in a finished script for War, but he seems to be in a collaborative mood and has been working closely with Epic Games on the project. Gears of War is set for release in 2009.

It is now official: Stuart Beattie is the new screenwriter for G.I. Joe. As I told you a week ago, IESB already had the scoop that Beattie would be writing the live-action adaptation, joining newly appointed director Stephen Sommers (who IESB also had announced first) on the project. Beattie has sort of a strange resume, so it is hard to tell if he's really the best to tackle the movie. He started out as co-writer of an Australian family film about a boy and a kangaroo. Then he did a couple of badly received Australian movies before landing a gig as one of the story writers for the first Pirates of the Caribbean. After that, he scripted the mostly excellent Michael Mann thriller Collateral (his ending could have used work) and penned the adapted screenplay for the so-so thriller Derailed. Since, he's co-written a documentary about a surfing gang and had something to do with Baz Luhrman's upcoming epic Australia and the long-in-works video game adaptation Spy Hunter. The thing to look for, to see if he's worthy of an action-packed pic is next month's vampire movie 30 Days of Night.

Of course, G.I. Joe could be more of a thriller -- one for the whole family, that is -- but I guess it is doubtful. Beattie is probably just a writer for hire who will not have much to say. The basic idea for the movie has already been set up, and not just because at least three other writers have worked on drafts in the past. Paramount has given the simple plot as being about a Brussels-based, co-ed force that battles an evil arms-dealing organization. One thing I hadn't noticed the first time I wrote about that homogenized update is that the head of COBRA is double-crossing Scot. Funny, I never knew this when I was growing up, but after looking up COBRA on Wikipedia, I learned that, yes, Destro was a Scottish arms dealer. But was he head of COBRA? Well, no, that was Cobra Commander, but I at least thought he was a member of the organization. Now I'm confused, but I guess the movie is combining COBRA with something called M.A.R.S. (Military Armaments Research Syndicate), which was in fact led by Destro. Isn't it interesting how much of this specific stuff we don't pay attention to as children? I should go and check out an old episode to see how much I didn't understand the first time.