wachowski brothers Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Lots going on this week -- here are a few stories that fell between the cracks ...

UPDATE: Slashfilm was sent a link to a password protected page on the Legendary Pictures website that lists the title of the Superman Returns sequel to be Superman Unleashed. No word on whether that's old or new or if it will stick, but that looks to be the title they're working with now.

-- The first official ... logo (?) for New Moon (aka Twilight 2) has arrived online via MTV (which I heard now stands for Music, Twilight, Very Bad Reality Shows) and, ya know, it looks like the original Twilight logo except with some extra yellow-orange color. Not sure if I'm crazy about the whole Twilight Saga thing, but I guess they had to find a place for the word 'Twilight' in order to remind people that it's the same franchise. Nevertheless, you can check it out at the top of this post.

-- Looks like Mickey Rourke might not be done with Iron Man 2 after all. The actor told Jeffrey Lyons recently that he's met with the screenwriter and director and there's a chance they'll work out something (the key word there being 'Give me more money you cheap bastards'). Some say Rourke and his people are holding out to see if he wins the Oscar for Best Actor, which would surely give him a bit more leverage in the contract negotiations. So we'll see ...

-- Meanwhile, in the year 2018, it looks like Linda Hamilton is in talks to reprise her role as Sarah Connor for Terminator Salvation. She confirmed earlier rumors, telling MTV that, if the talks go well, she'd be providing a voiceover -- most likely one that will open the movie.

After the jump: Scream 4, Superman and a Coming to America sequel ...

This is a wild and wacky rumor right now, but according to a scooper over at AICN who watched a television interview with James McTeigue in Berlin, there might be some funky things happening to some of those much-hyped future franchises. The scooper, Ballack, reports back that McTeigue -- who mainly talked up his upcoming Ninja Assassin -- finished up with news that if Warner Bros. doesn't let the Wachowski Bros. go with Plastic Man as their next project (and they may not, according to McTeigue, because of a "major shake up of projects at WB"), then they could be the guys who reboot the Superman franchise.

Wha??? Supposedly (so says McTeigue), the Wachowskis have been approached about Superman and are "currently reviewing their options." McTeigue, who was supposed to aid the brothers in the second unit department on Plastic Man, says that if they do take on Superman, he'd most likely serve in the same capacity on that flick. Plastic Man, however, is a passion project for the Wachowski siblings, and so expect them to fight hard to make it a reality. McTeigue also noted that Bryan Singer is done with the Man of Steel, and that he's moved on to the Logan's Run remake.

So, while this wacky news makes its way around the internet -- whaddya think of the Wachowskis taking on the Superman franchise?

Somehow I missed this on Thursday, but apparently so did everyone else, since I didn't see it linked anywhere. Roger Ebert was hanging out at a post-production studio in Chicago, watching the restored new print of The Godfather, when he was unexpectedly joined by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the famously inaccessible duo behind The Matrix, Speed Racer, and (people forget) Bound. Afterward, he got a chance to chat with them -- not in a conventional interview setting, complete with a hovering publicist (the brothers don't do that, remember?), but over a beer.

Ebert was impressed with the "zillionaires": "Nice people. Friendly. No Hollywood attitude." He writes that "[t]he blogosphere paints them as mysterious recluses, which may add to the legend but doesn't match the reality." But their being nice and friendly doesn't make them any less mysterious and reclusive: I'd wager that Ebert only ran the piece because of their reputation for not giving interviews or talking to anyone in the press.

Anyway, it's really interesting to "hear" them speak, though they mostly talk about the difficulties of keeping a moving 35 mm shot in focus and the brilliance of Coppola's Godfather shot selection. It's funny how keeping silent for a while will make such brief, mundane snippets into objects of arcane fascination. (Though since I think the Wachowskis are pretty formidable visual artists themselves, I find their perspective on that sort of thing interesting in its own right.)

No photo, of course; all you get is that old shot of the two admiring a Matrix comic book.

What do you do after Speed Racer fails to bring in the Matrix-like crowds of fan freaks, auto nuts and Ricci stalkers? Well, apparently, if you're the Wachowski siblings, you reunite with Keanu Reeves and bring Plastic Man to the big screen. According to CHUD (who received a tip they're skeptical on, so take this all with a grain of salt), a scooper from Berlin says Joel Silver announced the aforementioned news during an interview on German radio. Now since the Wachowskis had already written a Plastic Man script prior to their Matrix films, that's becoming the foundation for what we imagine will be a hot-to-trot PG-13 flick featuring Keanu Reeves saying "Whoa" every time his arms or legs stretch out. "Whoa, my arms are like plastic. Whoa."

This certainly seems like the logical place to go for the Wachowski individuals, especially since it's a comic property (hot), a script is already written (even hotter) and they can market the whole Matrix reunion with Reeves (hotter than the hottest hot you've even touched). Personally, I'm not a big fan of Reeves and I don't think he has the personality to play someone like Plastic Man, but maybe he'll have fun with it, we'll have fun with it and they'll make seven sequels. Joel Silver will be at Comic Con next week, so if nothing is announced before then, look for several folks to hound him until the man gives.

I guess it's official: Speed Racer was not the summer smash hit the Wachowskis were hoping for. For their sake, I hope they have better luck with the martial arts flick Ninja Assassin. Details on the film had been kept under wraps, but Movieweb has now posted an official press release from Warner Bros. with an outline and official character info for the film.

Ninja Assassin will center on, "Raizo (Rain), one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them...and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge." WB also confirmed that Naomie Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) will play a Europol researcher named Mika Coretti, Ben Miles (V for Vendetta) plays her partner, martial arts performer Sho Kosugi stars as the leader of the assassins and Rick Yune will portray Raizo's rival, Takeshi.

At the Long Beach Grand Prix, the roar of high-powered race car engines fills the air, a deep bass thrum cutting through the smell of exhaust in the early summer heat. Tens of thousands of race fans have gathered to take in the metal-and-rubber reality of racing, but in the Long Beach Convention Center, a small group of journalists have gathered to talk about a big-screen fantasy vision of the spectacle roaring around us, Cinematical was there to speak with the people behind Speed Racer: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox, as well as producer Joel Silver.

Emile Hirsch, relaxed and fairly amused, is asked about embodying a classic character. "It's pretty cool." He laughs; "I was a very big fan of the show growing up ... I would just watch it every morning with cereal ... sometimes soda in the cereal. ..." I then asked Hirsch if, after reading the script, he was worried about being Mark Hamill to Matthew Fox's Harrison Ford, that Speed would be out-cooled by Racer X. "Well, now I am ..." The rest of the sentence is unprintable, but Hirsch then mocked Fox's masked mystery man and spoke sincerely about Speed's virtues: "Yeah, (Racer X) is so cool ... No, no, no; Speed's got the nobility; Speed does the right thing; Speed is ... Speed's cool."

(Hirsch on coolness:)

It is no end of strange that with all the superhero movies being greenlit, one of the biggest comic book icons has languished in development hell for years. How is it that the Hulk managed to get remade before Wonder Woman landed a single movie?

We've heard it before, but she may finally be on her way. IESB.net caught up with Joel Silver at the Speed Racer press junket, and to everyone's surprise, Silver mentioned the future of the Amazon superheroine. Silver says he has two new writers working on the script -- Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland, authors of the WWII Wonder Woman script that Warner Bros bought last year.

The two are writing a whole new script, shying away from any origin story, but instead one looking at her background, and her homeland of Paradise Island. I don't know, that sounds like an origin story to me. No word on what has happened to the WWII spec.

Like they did last year, The Tribeca Film Festival will feature at least one, giant blockbuster movie on their slate. Back in 2007, they opened the fest with Spider-Man 3. This time, however, they'll be closing with Speed Racer. The press release received by Cinematical also states that several cast members will be in attendance for the special screening, which will be held on Saturday, May 3 -- just about one week before the film opens theatrically. There will also be a screening at the Pace University Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts. Of course, Cinematical will do all we can to see this film early and bring back word.

Speed Racer is one of those films that could go either way. Will people get too wrapped up in the dazzling special effects, as they seem to have already with the release of each trailer? Personally, and I've said this before, I think Speed Racer will be one trippy moviegoing experience. First off, the Wachowski Brothers are back -- and I'm sure they'll do some things we've never seen before. And secondly, the PG rating will guarantee a fun time for kids (who are more drawn in by visuals) and adults shouldn't take this flick too seriously. The Wachowskis aren't messing with the friggin' Holy Bible here -- it's Speed Racer. An old cartoon. Have fun. I know I will.

Speed Racer officially hits theaters on May 9.

So they might not be as likely to 'freak your trip' as the last poster, but Comics2Film now has four new character posters for the Wachowski's highly-anticipated adaptation of Speed Racer. Our first poster release came back in December and now these new releases give some of the main characters their very own one sheet. Racer X, Trixie, and two new posters of the Speed Racer himself, Emile Hirsch, are now available (I guess nobody thought that a Chim Chim poster would help draw in the crowds).

Based on the popular Japanese series, the film centers on a young man with the unlikely name of Speed looking to be the champion of The Crucible; a cross-country car racing rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon star as Speed's parents, and Christina Ricci plays his girlfriend -- with the advantage that she kind of looks like a cartoon to begin with. Rounding out the cast is Matthew Fox (LOST) as Racer X and Scott Porter as Rex Racer.

There has been plenty of discussion about the somewhat 'trippy' look of the film, and these new posters are keeping right in line with that psychedelic vibe. Which is kind of funny if you think about all the hassle the Wachowski's got over keeping the film 'family friendly'. So whether fans like it or not, it seems like the new Speed Racer is going to be all about wholesome spectacle (probably best enjoyed in IMAX). If you don't believe me, you could always take a look at the new trailer over at Yahoo. Speed Racer will arrive in theaters on May 9th, 2008.