unstoppable Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Rosario Dawson is 'Unstoppable' Alongside Denzel Washington
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Casting », 20th Century Fox », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
It looks like Tony Scott's train thriller Unstoppable is living up to its title, and is back on the rails. The film was facing a delay thanks to Fox being leery of financing it, and its leading man, Denzel Washington, was reportedly set to disembark the project. But according to Variety, Washington is back on board, as is Chris Pine, but it takes more than two guys to get a train back on track. Sometimes you need the help of a fierce woman, and so Rosario Dawson has come on board. (I wonder just how many "nice caboose" jokes are going to be made by the male writers of the moviesphere. Or maybe I made the only one. Ahem.)
The film has Washington playing a veteran engineer who jumps on board a runaway train in order to help its young conductor (Pine) try to stop it. Naturally, it's stocked with toxic cargo, and is headed straight for a major city. It's not clear what part Dawson will play, but one would hope that she isn't a mere love interest. This is a film that's a race against the clock after all, and something tells me there's not a lot of time for kissing and toplessness when you're trying to prevent a train from poisoning a city. But then again, lots of grindhouse films achieved that, so who knows. We'll find out when Unstoppable begins filming this fall, with all aboard.
Denzel Washington is Not 'Unstoppable'
Filed under: Casting », Deals »
UPDATE: Wait a second -- now it looks like Denzel is considering another offer, and will take a look at the latest draft of the script. So this one still has a pulse ... stay tuned for further details.For a project that's titled Unstoppable, Tony Scott's potentially upcoming flick seems to be anything but. When Chris Pine signed on back in June, I noted how it was delayed for a few years. Then Elisabeth followed up with news that budget snags were delaying the project, and that not even Scott himself was officially signed on. Now Variety adds another nail to the coffin, reporting that Denzel Washington has left the project. He doesn't want to wait around, and is now looking for other projects to fill his fall schedule.
One would think that losing the high-ranking star could hurt the film, but perhaps this could also be a kick-start. Sure, the star-power is gone, but Variety notes that Fox wanted Washington to take a $4 million pay cut and grab a $16 million paycheck for the film. He declined. Could it be that hard to find a bankable star willing to earn merely 16 mil? I'd think not. Besides... Pelham was not a stellar achievement, and it didn't pull in the cash that was expected, and this is really too much like the subway flick. So why not scrap it once and for all or get fresh, cheaper blood?
Similar to Pelham, Unstoppable focuses on a runaway train full of toxic chemicals. So who just grab the engineer gig now?
Tony Scott's 'Unstoppable' Derailed?
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Celebrities and Controversy », 20th Century Fox », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
A mere week after Sony canned Steven Soderbergh's Moneyball, another big-budget film may have bitten the dust. Fox is putting the breaks on Tony Scott's next project, Unstoppable, over budget concerns, and may can the project altogether.According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was set to begin shooting in fall, and Denzel Washington and Chris Pine were attached to play the leads. But none of the acting deals have been officially closed, and not even Scott is definitively signed to the project. Fox is growing more and more concerned about the cost of production on the thriller, which would be quite high -- after all, it centers around a runaway train loaded with toxic chemicals, and it's being stopped by the $20 million dollar Denzel Washington. While the film isn't in as much production peril as Moneyball, its budget is definitely a roadblock, and fat will have to be trimmed somewhere. Maybe they can make a smaller train, or just have it be an unstoppable semi-truck, or maybe some of the A-Listers can take a pay cut ... something like that.
This summer has seen a lot of big-budget films falter at the box office, so studio hesitations are understandable, and budget trimming has been a long time coming. Though I do love a good action flick, I'm neither here nor there about the plot of Unstoppable, but it would be a shame for Pine to lose his next big role, and kill his Captain Kirk Buzz. So let's hope they figure out how to cut some corners.
Tony Scott Rides with 'Hell's Angels'
Filed under: Drama », Scripts », Newsstand »
Just because Tony Scott decided to put the brakes on his A L I E N prequel, doesn't mean that he won't have plenty of projects to keep him busy in the meantime. For starters; there's his Warriors update, a sequel to his 1983 vampire flick, The Hunger, and the action flick Unstoppable with Chris Pine starting this fall. But that's not all, because now the director has been talking about an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's non-fiction classic, Hell's Angels. In an interview with Coming Soon, Scott confirmed that Traffic's Stephen Gaghan has already been hired to write the script, and while Scott claims to own the rights to Thompson's book, there is still confusion over what Gaghan will be using for the script. According to the "motorcycle club's" legal counsel, Scott's film will be based on the book, Hell's Angels: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club -- but my guess is that the script will be a blending of the two books.The Wild One may have brought bikers into the popular consciousness, but by the time the 60's hit, clubs like The Hell's Angels were a status symbol for the counter-culture. Thompson's book was one of the first accurate looks inside the 'gang', but was a far cry from his usual 'gonzo' work. Which isn't necessarily the best fit for the kind of flashy action movie you expect from Scott, but luckily Gaghan has a knack for making sense of complicated subject matter. There is no word yet on whether Scott will just produce, or whether he will direct the film as well. But, the Scott brothers seem to have a thing for packing their schedules, and unfortunately, they tend to bite off a little more than they can chew.
After the jump; updates on Tony Scott's other projects...
Chris Pine is 'Unstoppable'
Filed under: Action », Casting », RumorMonger »
For a while it looked like Unstoppable was, indeed, stoppable. Martin Campbell was prepping the project in 2007, and then the project slipped into the void of development hell. But now the train is back on track, Tony Scott is leading the rush, and he's grabbed Denzel Washington and Captain James T. Kirk.While chatting with Washington, MTV learned about Chris Pine's involvement in the upcoming action film, and just how this feature is going to shape up: "I'm going to shoot a movie in the fall called Unstoppable -- me and Tony Scott -- and Chris Pine's going to do it with us. I hope I'm not speaking out of line. I think they made a deal with him, and I'm supposed to meet him next week."
Scott has described the project as "Speed on steroids," so this should be fun, popcorn action fare. Based on an actual event, the film will focus on an engineer who teams up with a young train conductor (we presume Pine) to stop a runaway train full of toxic chemicals. Since the story has some truth to it, Scott plans to shoot it like a documentary, a la Touching the Void.
Personally, I kinda wish it was Silver Steak on steroids, but Chris Pine is no Gene Wilder, and Denzel Washington is no Richard Pryor.
Martin Campbell Signs for Another Movie -- Still Not 'Bond 22'
Filed under: Thrillers », Paramount », James Bond », George Clooney », Remakes and Sequels »
Just last week we got news that Martin Campbell was possibly going to direct a movie called Unstoppable for 20th Century Fox. Now there's another report that says Campbell is already attached to helm 36, the remake of Olivier Marchal's 36 Quai des Orfèvres, which we told you about back in January. The original, which stars French superstars Daniel Auteuil and Gérard Depardieu, is about two detectives investigating a series of armored car robberies. The remake was set to cast George Clooney and Robert DeNiro (who is still producing through Tribeca Films) in place of Auteuil and Depardieu, but a new rewrite from Richard Price (Clockers) has the detectives' ages lowered, so younger actors will now be required.According to Variety, Campbell is currently prepping for Unstoppable, so his attachment to 36 won't be conflicting with that film. But unfortunately for many James Bond films, these two projects seem to indicate further that Campbell will not be directing the next 007 feature, despite his acclaim for and success with Casino Royale. One thing I find interesting is that previously 36 was being reported with Marc Forster set to direct. Forster was also rumored to have been offered "Bond 22" last month. If he was to take it, there would have to be a petition from Campbell's fans to call for another switcheroo. Meanwhile, I'll be circulating a petition calling for somebody in America to put out a Region 1 DVD of the original 36.
Director Martin Campbell In Talks for Next Film -- Won't Be 'Bond 22'
Filed under: Action », Drama », Deals », 20th Century Fox », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
Hollywood is one of those places where things happen -- movies become big hits, actors become huge stars or directors take on certain projects -- that I sometimes just don't quite understand and can't really explain. Maybe it's because I am, for the most part, not inside the studio system and basically on the outside looking in. One of the things I don't get today and can't quite explain is someone like Martin Campbell not signing up for another go-around as director of the next James Bond film -- at the moment known as Bond 22. According to Variety, Campbell, whose other directorial efforts include GoldenEye, The Mask of Zorro and one of my favorite guilty pleasures, No Escape, will not be taking the reigns of Bond 22 as his next project. Instead, he is in talks to direct the action-thriller Unstoppable for 20th Century Fox and producers Julie Yorn and Mimi Rogers. The film, said to be on the "fast track" at Fox, is scripted by Live Free or Die Hard vet Mark Bomback and tells the story of a train engineer and his conductor in a race against time to stop a runaway train filled with toxic chemicals before it derails and takes out a town. Ok, I guess that sounds better than another Bond film. Although, given that other directors have decided not to do Bond 22, including Roger Mitchell (which I told you about before), perhaps there's something negative about the project that's influencing their decisions?
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