the thomas crown affair Tagged Articles at Cinematical

To be honest, when word went out that the sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair was on the hunt for a director, I could never have predicted this. The master of sex and violence Paul Verhoeven told the Dutch radio program Met Het Oog Op Morgen, that he will be directing the Crown sequel for MGM. Titled The Topkapi Affair, the story will be a combination of Eric Ambler's novel The Light of Day, about a small time heist man who gets roped into an international jewel heist, and the 1964 adaptation of that novel starring Peter Ustinov. Considering the glamor of '99's Crown, the script might have to make some minor adjustments. Unless this time they are going for Thomas Crown on the skids.

Back in August, Patrick reported that Brosnan would be reprising his role as Thomas Crown, the dashing thief. Unfortunately, Renee Russo would not be returning, but previous reports have Angelina Jolie slated to star -- although there is still the chance that Jolie deal could fall through since there hasn't been any official confirmation. The script was completed back in January, and the project was given the green-light in March; (and I don't mean to be cynical, but the strike might have had something to do with MGM's enthusiasm in getting the film into production). Filming is set to take place on location in Istanbul, which might make use of the famed Topkapi Palace. Although it is unknown whether the production has permission to film in the palace -- Verhoeven just better make sure the nobody at the Istanbul Archeology Museum gets a hold of a copy of Showgirls. The Topkapi Affair is set for release in 2008.

[via ComingSoon.net]

Chalk this one up as a rumor right now, even though Moviehole feels pretty confident that it's "going to hit the trades any second now." According to the site, Angelina Jolie has been offered a role opposite Pierce Brosnan in The Topkapi Affair, a sequel to Brosnan's Thomas Crown Affair remake from 1999. Loosely based on the 1964 crime caper Topkapi, The Topkapi Affair will once again follow Thomas Crown (Brosnan) as he attempts to steal some sort of priceless jewel from the Topkapi museum in Istanbul. From there, we're not sure what happens -- but as Brosnan told Moviehole a few months back, "This version of Topkapi will have a different part, different woman, and different affair ... and we're using wonderful locations."

And if everyone has their way, Angelina Jolie will be playing that different woman. In the first film (no, not the Steve McQueen flick), Rene Russo played Brosnan's lover; a part which had the gal don her birthday suit for the first time on the big screen. Of course, folks are already conjuring up a number of naked Jolie images in their heads; hoping she follows in Russo's footsteps. And who can blame them? Personally, if they're going to shell out the dough for Jolie, then I would assume they'll also try to find a way to make the film PG-13. Sorry, but that's the way it is these days. But also keep in mind that Jolie has said that, after filming Clint Eastwood's The Changeling, she's going to take a year off to spend time with her family. So, either the powers that be are looking for a way to convince her otherwise or they're willing to wait for the mega star to get some much-needed down time. As soon as we hear more, you'll be the first to know ...

I'm not sure how much we need a biopic about Steve McQueen, who was arguably the coolest movie star ever, but that isn't stopping the actor's widow from suggesting the person to play him. Barbara McQueen Brunsvold, who was McQueen's third wife and who was only married to him for less than a year before he died, wants Daniel Craig to portray the Bullitt star if there's ever a movie about him. She recently co-authored a book of photographs of her and McQueen's three-and-a-half years together, titled Steve McQueen: The Last Mile. Whether she hopes to sell the rights to her story is unclear. McQueen, who died of cancer in 1980 (well, technically of two heart attacks following surgery), has been the subject of many books, including one by his first wife, actress Neile Adams, called My Husband, My Friend: A Memoir, and one by actress Barbara Leigh called The King, McQueen and the Love Machine: My Secret Life with Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen and the Smiling Cobra, either of which is probably more detailed about the time periods in which Craig would most suitably appear.

Though Craig doesn't look too much like McQueen, I have to agree that he may be the closest thing possible; plus, he's almost as cool. Brunsvold states that Craig, "kinda has that swagger, the good looks -- if I wasn't married I'd date him." The only other actor who might be be able to pull it off is Colin Farrell, who supposedly idolizes McQueen and credits him as his greatest influence. Anyway, because this isn't a real project just yet, there isn't much point in giving the suggestions much thought. But here's an uninteresting and useless bit of trivia, at least: McQueen starred in the original version of The Thomas Crown Affair, which was remade with Pierce Brosnan in the lead. Brosnan and Craig have both played James Bond.

[via Fark.com]

While attending the London world premiere of Casino Royale, MGM chief Harry Sloan talked a little bit about the studio's upcoming film slate, which (for the time being) includes those highly anticipated Hobbit films. Last we heard, MGM was in discussions with New Line for the rights to produce two Hobbit pics, though we weren't sure whether Peter Jackson would be involved or not. Most of you felt the same way I did -- no Jackson, no way. Well, the good news is Sloan admitted that MGM was in talks with Jackson to "make" (once again, we're not sure if that means as a director, a producer or both) two films based around the Lord of the Rings prequel.

And the bad news? Those discussions with New Line won't go anywhere until Jackson settles up a lawsuit he has with the studio over a ton of dough from the franchise that he feels he's entitled to. Drats. We hate lawsuits. However, Sloan felt confident the films would get made, and said that the first would be a direct adaptation of The Hobbit, while the second "would be drawn from footnotes and source material connecting The Hobbit with The Lord of the Rings." I'm not so sure about that second film, but the first one definitely needs to get made.

In case you're interested, Sloan talked more about The Pink Panther sequel, The Thomas Crown Affair follow-up and whether or not Rocky Balboa would continue to fight well into his 80s. Personally, I'd like to see a Rocky film that features him fighting over a game of Bingo in a retirement home. " Yo Adrian, I did it -- BINGO!"

At one point, we weren't even sure a feature film version of The Hobbit would ever see the light of day. Well folks, either MGM chief Rick Sands was all doped up on pipeweed or we're about to get not one, but two Lord of the Rings prequels. Sands made the comment while promoting MGM's future plans after Sylvester Stallone was presented with the ShowEast Icon Award in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday. According to Sands, MGM is currently in discussions with New Line for the rights to produce two prequels based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

Now, tell me if I'm out of line here, but they could make five prequels -- yet, if Peter Jackson isn't involved in any of them, then why even bother? It's important to note that Jackson's name wasn't mentioned, but you'd think the dude would play a role in some capacity, right? As far as those other MGM films Sands talked up, they're "packaging" up the fourth Terminator film right now ... minus Arnold. Sands joked that it would be called, "Terminator blah blah, not Four." On making a fourth film without Arnold, he noted, "It's like the Batman or Superman franchise in that it lends itself to having different actors in the roles." I wouldn't go that far ... but OK. MGM is also preparing a sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan already attached, as well as a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence. (OK, I made up the Kutcher and Lawrence bit, but c'mon -- nothing will ever top the original.)