I talked a little while ago about Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged being essentially unfilmable (but about to start filming anyway). I could kvetch for hours about how unfilmable Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is, and how ill-fated any potential adaptation would be. Apparently Wolfgang Petersen, long attached to direct the project, has decided that he agrees -- or, more likely, he's just tired of waiting for the thing to get off the ground. According to sci-fi blog io9, Petersen is officially off the long-in-the-works Ender's Game movie, but the producers are busy looking for a new director and mulling casting possibilities.

Sometimes, I wish these kinds of stories would just stay off the wire until there was some more meat on them. Empire has excitedly announced that Wolfgang Petersen is directing a sci-fi epic. Apparently, this was in the works before the writer's strike, but no one bothered to run it. I think it was because there's not much to tell -- everyone would have preferred an Ender's Game update.

All we know about the story of Uprising is that it is about a group of humans who band together to fight off an invading alien force. Yes, when I picture that with Petersen's scope, this could be really cool. But then I remember Troy (yeah, I hear the director's cut is good, I do need to pick that up), and think how good that initially sounded. Also, it's not like an alien invasion story is particularly fresh. What's going to be special about this one?

But do you know the first thought that popped into my head when I read the story idea? Battlefield Earth. I don't even know why -- it should have been V or Independence Day. Now I can't get rid of the image of alien John Travolta, and the movie is playing in my head. Great.

It seems crazy to me that studios "claim" release dates two and three years before the movies come out. I understand that it builds up anticipation, but hanging a release date over filmmakers' heads can't help the end result. For example, I attended a screening of the director's cut of Troy the other night (very cool), with director Wolfgang Petersen introducing. He discussed how at test screenings he realized the score of the film wasn't working. He wound up replacing it in a huge rush to make the release date, and it became one of many aspects of the final film he was unhappy with. Why not just give directors time to make the films they want instead of all the "starting without a finished script" -type stuff that goes on? Well, two upcoming movies -- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (or as I call it, TCONTVOTDT -- it just flows better) and The Wolf Man -- seem to be doing just that.

Prince Caspian, the second Narnia adventure, is still set for release this May, but TCONTVOTDT has been moved from May 1st, 2009, to May 7th, 2010. Taking its place on the '09 date is something called G-Force, "a Jerry Bruckheimer family-adventure about a band of animal commandoes trying to stop an evil billionaire taking over the world." If that plot description is any indication, Summer '09 is going to be a magical time at the cineplex! Mark Romanek's The Wolf Man, with Benicio del Toro in the title role, is being moved from November 18th, 2008 to Spring 2009. I love del Toro, and am really looking forward to that one. I wonder if the notoriously hairy Robin Williams was considered for Wolf Man? Might have saved money on makeup. Reasons have not been given for the release date changes, but Empire speculates that it likely has something to do with the actor's strike that could shake up the industry next June. Hopefully, putting some extra time and care into these movies will be a good thing.

It's been a long time since my teen years, when I was totally obsessed with UFOlogy and alien abduction tales. In the last decade or so, I even abandoned the interest enough to let mold infiltrate my autographed copy of Whitley Strieber's The Secret School. But I still have a passing enthusiasm for the subject, and so I'm very excited to see an adaptation of Strieber's The Grays moving into production. This time, though, the self-proclaimed abductee and horror author (The Hunger) isn't getting the barely-on-the-radar treatment that Communion received. Instead, according to Strieber's own site, Unknown Country, The Grays will be directed by blockbuster filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen (Poseidon) and produced by Sony. The movie doesn't have an exact start date, but the site says it should begin filming in the next few months for either a summer 2008 or summer 2009 release -- the latter stated as more likely.

The Grays is a more fact-based fiction of aliens than Communion, which featured Christopher Walken as Strieber. The book focuses on some aliens (aka Grays), called The Three Thieves, who are performing genetic experiments on humans, and a woman who may be able to save mankind through her ability to communicate with the Grays. Since Walken will be in anything, I'd like him to pay a nod to the earlier film by being cast in The Grays. He could certainly play the part of a military leader who tries to keep the aliens secret. Or maybe he would be better off playing some kind of Strieber substitute. I never read this particular book, so I'm unfamiliar with its characters. Strieber is on a hot streak these days; he recently sold the rights to his new book, 2012: The War for Souls, which Michael Bay is producing (and possibly directing).

[via AICN]

I'm sure I'm in the minority in thinking that Ender's Game would make a horrible film. Maybe I don't remember the book well enough, but I see it being awfully repetitive. Many devoted readers, though, are eagerly awaiting the arrival of little Bean to the big screen, so I hope for them that it isn't another disappointing adaptation. On the plus side, the book's author, Orson Scott Card, has written the script. On the minus side, Card thinks Serenity is the "best science fiction movie, ever" and in the past wrote that he wants Ender's Game to be the kind of movie that Serenity is or else never be made.

The author talked with IGN this week and had some more good and bad news for the fans. First the bad: the movie has stalled again, as Warner Bros. has put the project in turnaround. It isn't known why the studio changed its mind -- it seemed all set to go at the end of last year with Wolfgang Petersen directing -- but Card actually is happy they did. That is apparently the good news: the producers are now looking to bring the project to another studio or even finance it independently. I guess the benefit seems to be that the filmmakers will not begin the thing until they know they can make it right.

Card also dished out some other bits about the film, which are neither good nor bad. He says his script, which includes nothing of the past draft written by David Benioff and Dan Weiss, is an adaptation of both Ender's Game and its follow-up, Ender's Shadow -- though seemingly only includes parts of each. He also said that the film's producers aren't intending on making this into a franchise (I bet that is what turned off WB) and squashed rumors that Ridley Scott would be taking over from Petersen. Maybe Joss Whedon is a fan and could make Card's dreams come true.

Of all the big-budget period-piece mega-spectacles that arose in the wake of Gladiator (including Alexander, King Arthur and Kingdom of Heaven), the one I enjoyed most was Wolfgang Petersen's Troy. I know the thing was seen as something of a disappointment to many (its Tomatometer hangs at 55%) but I found it to be a pretty compelling piece of filmmaking. Sure, sure, Brad Pitt was miscast, I agree, but it's a big fat monster of a movie and it certainly might deserve a second date with your DVD player ... especially if you have one of those massive widescreen TVs.

On the other hand, you could simply head on over to the Berlin Film Festival this Saturday and enjoy Wolfgang Petersen's all-new director's cut of Troy, which takes the 162-minute film and inserts an extra half-hour into the equation. (The loooong version will also hit German cinemas on March 23.) Whether or not the home video consumers of the world will actually embrace a 3 hour and 12 minute version of Troy remains to be seen ... but I know at least one geek who'll be checking it out. (Yes, me.) Warner Bros. hasn't announced a DVD date for this extended edition just yet, but Petersen plans to record an audio commentary and produce some new extra features as well. According to Variety, he's hoping it'll be as well-received as his (seriously awesome) Das Boot re-cut. (We're also promised a little extra sex and violence in this new version, and that's always nice.)

And just so I can clear up a little confusion: Yes, Troy cost about $180 million to produce (some say more) and yes, it only grossed about $133 million in domestic box office. It also did just over $364 million outside of North America, and that's a huge international haul. So knock the flick if you don't like it, but I certainly wouldn't call it a box office bomb. And hey, things could be worse: You could be asked to contend with the 214-minute version of Oliver Stone's Alexander!, which Ryan will be reviewing next week.

Picture this: Batman and Superman get lost in the mountains while fighting some villain and, in the process, wind up falling in love with one another. Upon realizing that superheroes are not allowed to be gay, they become bitter little men and fight to the death. Okay, so maybe that's not going to happen, however a Batman vs Superman script has been written and director Wolfgang Petersen is now saying he may be into making it. Like, totally!

Awhile back, a script was written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en) and Petersen was attached to direct. But, before the studio could go all Alien vs Predator on our beloved caped crusaders of steel, the decision was made to shelf the project and take a chance with some new solo films instead. Well, now that Batman Begins totally rocked and Superman Returns is kind of looking like it's going to (crosses fingers) kick ass, inquiring minds want to know if Petersen is still interested in pissing the entire universe off by pitting these two against each other in one film.

IESB recently asked Petersen that very question and, while he admits the project has been collecting dust for some time now, he says that he might just do it...but not now. And about that script, well, it sounds pretty cool. The story is said to focus on an older, semi-retired Bruce Wayne who's trying to move on with his life after losing Robin five years earlier. Just as he's about to get married, the Joker pops back up and kills the woman he loves. This causes Batman to go all nutty and seek revenge, but when Superman questions the caped crusader's motives, the two clash - to the delight of Lex Luthor, who planned the entire thing. Eh, I think they should stay solo. You?

[via Moviehole]