Posted Dec 3rd 2008 7:02PM by William Goss
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Casting, Mystery & Suspense, Warner Brothers
After blowing up baddies in this week's surprisingly entertaining
Punisher: War Zone, it looks like
Ray Stevenson is now taking aim at
Denzel Washington's protagonist in
The Book of Eli. In the near future, Washington's on a mission to deliver a book that may hold the key to nothing less than Our Salvation (not to mention so very many late fees), with
Mila Kunis at his side and
Gary Oldman on his tail, and now -- according to
Variety -- Stevenson (HBO's "Rome") has this makeshift messiah in his sights.
The post-apocalyptic thriller marks the return of the Hughes Brothers behind the camera for the first time since 2001's
From Hell, and between them and a cast of this talent (yes, that includes Kunis, stop snickering), they might manage to make this somewhat less derivative than it already sounds, to echo Monika's sentiments.
Production starts in early 2009 for a release date in early 2010.
Posted Dec 3rd 2008 6:15PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Action, Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Deals, Scripts
This first bit might be a bit off the cinematic path, but it's something strange enough to rival those stories of a frozen Walt Disney. You might have heard that
David Tennant (our latest Doctor Who) is starring in a stage version of
Hamlet over in the UK. Well, it seems that he wasn't using a fake skull -- in fact, it was the skull of a Shakespeare enthusiast, concert pianist and Holocaust survivor Andrew Tchaikowsky. Tennant leaked the information, and now the
BBC reports that it will no longer be used so that the audience wouldn't be distracted. Bummer for Tchaikowsky's dying wish, but imagine the possibilities. Is bone donation the next wave in creative appreciation?
In other dark news,
Variety reports that the classically creepy
Michael Wincott (Top Dollar from
The Crow) is teaming up with Swedish actor/director
Rafael Edholm for an untitled Sweden-set drama. According to Wincott: "Three people meet, something may have happened in their teenage years, and this will now result ín one death. It is drama, thriller and dark comedy." Unfortunately, we won't learn what that all means for a while -- production isn't slated to start until February 2010.
Finally, we've got a scribe for the upcoming remake of
Captain Blood.
The Hollywood Reporter posts that
John Brownlow, writer of 2003's
Sylvia, has grabbed the gig. If you're not familiar with the Oscar-nominated original, Errol Flynn starred as a doctor convicted of treason who is sold into slavery only to escape and become a pirate. This whole thing makes me itch for Cary Elwes to return to his escaped prisoner-turned-pirate roots. Who's with me?
Posted Dec 2nd 2008 4:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Thrillers, Casting
He's had the honor of being the on-screen offspring of names like Harrison Ford and Carrie-Anne Moss. He's faced a few different types of robots. And now, well, he's following the likes of Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Matthew McConaughey, and Matt Damon.
Variety reports that
Shia LaBeouf is going to star in the next John Grisham flick cooking up at Paramount,
The Associate. If it doesn't sound familiar -- that's because it's an upcoming novel slated for release in January. The film will focus on a student (LaBeouf), heading towards graduation at Yale Law School, who somehow gets manipulated into taking a job with a prestigious law firm. This gig gives him "privileged information about a multibillion-dollar lawsuit." After that, I guess thrilling twists ensue.
It looks like the Shia train has no signs of stopping quite yet. Could the fiery world of law do it? I don't know... I liked him more when he was a wee tyke, and I can't picture him as a Yale smartie. Can you?
Posted Dec 1st 2008 8:02PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Drama, Horror, Thrillers, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, Newsstand
Michael Marshall is one lucky writer -- he published a well-received trilogy, which was adapted into a comic series by Zenescope, and now
The Straw Men are coming to the big screen. According to
Variety, Benderspink has snatched the rights to the to the novels and the comic books, presumably in order to adapt some combination of them.
Unfortunately, I can't rustle up a preview of the comic -- but you can check out the gorgeously creepy covers on
Zenoscope. I'm not sure I could have these laying beside my bed, they're pretty nightmarish.
It sounds like the book is, too. The story begins with two men calmly opening fire at a McDonald's in Palmerston, Pennsylvania before jumping ahead ten years to meet up with Ward Hopkins, who is convinced the death of his parents was no accident. Elsewhere, a 14 year old girl is kidnapped by a serial killer, and two FBI Agents are on the manhunt to find him. These events are no coincidence, they're the first clues to the nightmarish individuals known as The Straw Men. Marshall's thriller has received nothing but praise -- Publisher's Weekly squeamishly noted its "dismemberment scenes," Stephen King praised it, and
Newsarama is calling it "one of the best horror thrillers ever written."
There's no director or screenwriter attached yet -- and Benderspink is adapting every other graphic novel known to man, so this could sit in pre-production for awhile, which gives us all time to read the book. Has anyone out there read it or the comic? Tell us everything (well, not
everything, but give us a good review) in the comments below.
Posted Nov 27th 2008 4:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Thrillers, Casting, Deals, Scripts
While the Material Girl gets back to single life, her brother is getting ready for the big screen.
The Hollywood Reporter posts that Madonna's brother
Christopher Ciccone will make his feature directorial debut with a new teen thriller called
Twist. The script was written by
Jay and Karyn Milner, and while no plot details are being released, you can get a taste of the stories they write by clicking on their names -- it's the usual fish-out-of-water stories with strange and dangerous twists. Considering the name of this project, I think it's safe to say that this will be no different.
THR also reports that
Maurice Kanbar (
Hoodwinked producer) is gearing up for an indie with
Daphne Zuniga called
The Scene. Aside from
reliving her days as Princess Vespa, Zuniga is producing and starring in the black comedy, which is adapted from
Theresa Rebeck's (
Gossip) play about the "Manhattan party circuit and entertainment industry."
While I wish this meant something of the Whit Stilman oeuvre, this is more modern. Zuniga will play a cynical talk show producer who meets a chameleon social-climber played by Heather Gordon. What happens after that, we'll have to wait and see.
Amy Glazer is directing, and this should be a bit of an intimate affair since
THR says that sets have been built IN Kanbar's home. Talk about cutting costs!
Posted Nov 26th 2008 6:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Thrillers, Deals, Scripts
Could you see
Paul Scrader in Bollywood? See, this is much more than merely Hollywood delighting in all things Bollywood.
The Hollywood Reporter posts that Paul Schrader, the pen behind
Taxi Driver and
Raging Bull, is heading to Mumbai to helm a Bollywood action flick called
Extreme City.
What's convinced him to head overseas? He says: "I've been getting indie movies made for 20 years. But I take a good look around and what I see is a barren, barren place -- in terms of the financial community, in terms of audiences, in terms of distribution. It's cold out there." So in this non-barren Bollywood, what will he direct? It's the story of an American man who goes to India to aid in the resolution of a kidnapping case for his father-in-law, and gets stuck in a gangster plot. Schrader admits that there will be a mix of dialogue and musical numbers, but it's "not a Masala movie."
I wonder... Will this continue to be a trend? If indie filmmakers can't get love here, will they take it elsewhere? And if they do, imagine the headaches the Oscar committee will get with an influx of overseas projects with mixed dialog by Americans!
Posted Nov 25th 2008 9:32PM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Drama, Horror, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, Sony Classics, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Cinematical Seven
In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday that nears, it seemed only fitting that our minds turned to those films for which we are most unexpectedly grateful, those flops and duds, those bombs and turkeys rife with unintentional humor and renewed entertainment values. Now, we've pretty much stuck with the past decade or so with our picks; anything before that has either been done right by
MST3K or is probably titled
Showgirls.
With that said, please enjoy this Cinematical Seven responsibly, and do feel free to contribute your own personal favorite howlers of late in the comments below...
1.
Twilight (2008)
Oh, dear God, I'm kidding. J/K!
Continue reading Cinematical Seven: Terrific Turkeys of the Aughts
Posted Nov 25th 2008 2:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Thrillers, Deals, Scripts
There's nothing quite like a father incensed with possible harm to his kid and fighting the odds to find and save her. But it's familiar. We've been there, and seen that. So, what would that be like with a French director who freaked out film festival audiences with
Martyrs?
The Hollywood Reporter posts that
Pascal Laugier has been tapped to write and direct a new supernatural thriller called
Details. Based on a short story by China Mieville, the film follows a dad obsessed with finding his missing daughter. However, this isn't a simple case of kidnapping -- she disappears after "stirring up dark forces." But if you want something more familiar, the man is also bringing us the
Hellraiser remake.
In other news...
Are you ready? Hollywood is bringing us a romcom that will strap us in seats for a full month of romantic comedy! Okay, not quite, but
The Hollywood Reporter does say that Lionsgate has picked up a spec by new writer Corinne Kingsbury called
31 Days of Larry. So far, we've got one lone word to describe it: "irreverent." Let's hope that doesn't mean a romcom starring Kevin James, as he's romanced by Adam Sandler. I'm a bit tarnished on the whole "Larry" on the big screen thing. (Not James, just anything that reminds me of that film.)
Posted Nov 23rd 2008 1:02PM by William Goss
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger
Oy vey: after shifting more dates than an old lady working in the produce section, it appears that Richard Kelly's thriller
The Box has been bumped once more, from next March to next November. Usually, this would be a bad thing, but I'm still seriously intrigued by this adaptation of Richard Matheson's short story, in which a young couple (James Marsden and Cameron Diaz) are given a mysterious box that can make them wealthy, but at the cost of killing a stranger the moment they use it.
The film is completed enough to merit a PG-13 from our pals over at the MPAA (for "thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images"), so it's not post-production woes holding the film up. One suspects this is a much less sprawling film than his
Southland Tales, which we'll come back to soon enough. Is it part of WB's strategy to spread out product as the strike catches up to them, as they had by
moving Harry Potter from this week to next summer?
Man, if I could just kill a stranger to get some answers...
Posted Nov 20th 2008 10:20AM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Deals, Lionsgate Films, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Western
With only two features to their credit -- they co-wrote and co-directed 2006's
Crank, and together scripted this past spring's
Pathology -- maybe it's a bit premature to declare myself a fan of the duo known as Neveldine/Taylor. (Even if that's the case, Eugene's
got my back.) Yes, I'm the guy psyched for
Crank 2: High Voltage, and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for other upcoming projects, such as the Gerard Butler actioner
Game and the comic book adaptation
Jonah Hex...
Well, now, the latter's lost maybe only a fraction of what precious little interest it had, as Neveldine/Taylor has reportedly walked away from directing the project, citing (and say it with me now) "creative differences." However, the implication from
this Variety brief is that their script is already done and will be the same one that
Josh Brolin is still tapped to star in (to Thomas Jane's
probable dismay).
Something tells me that a film that's gathered this much attention to date won't go unmade, but it's now a matter of who will helm it. 2009 will remain the year of N/T regardless, with
Crank 2 scheduled to open in April and
Game in September.
Posted Nov 19th 2008 8:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Lionsgate Films, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Trailers and Clips
It's the middle of the work week, and I think you need some violence to carry you through the rest.
Yahoo! Movies has a new behind-the-scenes clip from
Punisher: War Zone, which you can access by clicking the link or the scope of Frank Castle's gun. It's short, but sweet, with some peeks at the glorious violence that will make this a real Christmas treat, at least in my warped out world. There's not much new footage, but you get to hear from Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Julie Benz, the controversy magnet Lexi Alexander, and producer Gale Anne Hurd.
The best part? Hearing Stevenson's real Northern accent. I wish we had gotten a few more videos like these, Zack Snyder style, showing off the Punisher's hardware or something. My fondness for Stevenson has been
well documented here, so you will sneer at that wish, but they
really needed to sell their new Frank Castle. I'm convinced he's the perfect guy for the part, I just hope the film lets him prove it. If nothing else, at least we get to see someone killed by chair leg. I know that scene alone is going to be responsible for 95% of the tickets sold.
Posted Nov 19th 2008 3:32PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, War
Since I started this crazy
Cinematical gig, Gale Anne Hurd has become one of my heroes. She digs comic books, and she digs badass chicks, and she's often behind a movie that combines the two. And this project is no exception. According to
Variety, she's has optioned
Gearhead, Dennis Hopeless' four issue series from Arcana Comics.
Gearhead is the story of Shelby Cooper, a chick who disdains the electric cars and PC-living of a United States set in a fascist and post-apocalyptic future. She's the daughter of Gearhead, a vigilante hero who lacked superpowers, but fought crime with a giant wrench. Though she's more into racing and repairing her illegal gas guzzling car, she find herself taking on her father's vigilante persona in order to find her missing brother.
All four issues are up on Wowio -- I've only read the first so far, but it seems like a lot of fun. Plus, Shelby owns a pug dog, which endears her to me even more than her skull-splitting ways.
Hurd is a self-avowed fan of the book, and told UGO last month that she thinks Ellen Page would be great in the title role. The dialogue certainly has that Page level of snark to it -- and it would be pretty fun to see her mouth off while bloodying someone up. I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the series, and looking forward to seeing Hurd bring another tough chick to the screen. Someone has to do it!
Posted Nov 17th 2008 2:46PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, United Artists, Scripts, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
As William Goss
noted yesterday,
Guillermo Del Toro must be allergic to sleep. He's moving forward with another producing project on his insanely busy slate --
The Champions, a big screen version of the British television series of the 60s.
Variety reports that
Christopher McQuarrie will be penning the script for United Artists, and acting as a producer alongside Del Toro, Tom Cruise, and Paula Wagner. Del Toro optioned the project last November, and seemingly mindful of the anniversary, has brought on McQuarrie.
Frankly, I'm surprised
The Champions hasn't been grabbed long before now, since everyone is dying to have a franchise of superheroes. The series (which ran for a single year) followed a team of government agents who were rescued from a plane crash in the Himalayas by an advanced civilization. As if rescue wasn't nice enough, the super civilization gave them superpowers. Yeah, this is totally going to end up a franchise.
Del Toro has apparently found himself a writer as happy to be sans sleep as he is -- McQuarrie is a hot property at UA after
Valkyrie. In addition to
The Champions, he'll also be penning and producing
The Monster of Florence. Based on Douglas Preston's book, it will follow his investigation into the serial killer nicknamed the Monster of Florence, Italy's version of Jack the Ripper. Preston discovered that one of the murders had been committed on his just-purchased Italian property, and decided to pair up with Italian journalist Mario Spezi to try and solve the case. Their well-meaning investigation ended up embroiled in controversy, arrests, and all kinds of tense insanity that should make for a really enjoyable crime movie -- and be easy peasy for the writer of
The Usual Suspects.
Posted Nov 16th 2008 1:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Deals, Scripts, Family Films
What would Hollywood do if there were no books?
First up,
Variety reports that New Regency has grabbed Isaac Asimov's
The End of Eternity for a trip to the big screen. The time travel novel is set in a future where humanity is controlled by a ruling class called Eternity -- a lucky group who can alter history, remove undesirable people, the usual. But then one of the time cops falls for a girl back in time (like
Somewhere in Time?)... I imagine we can expect a pretty big visual production with this puppy -- before a writer is chosen, the project is hunting for a director.
Next,
The Hollywood Reporter posts that J. Saunders Elmore's debut novel
The Amateur American has been picked up by Likely Story. A political thriller, the novel centers on an American expat in France who has a job translating for "a shadowy powerbroker" who "draws him into violent political intrigue, corruption, and murder." I tell ya -- no job is safe these days!
Ross Katz will adapt and direct the book, which hits shelves next summer.
Finally,
Thor Freudenthal is picking up more family-friendly material, according to
Variety. He's going to direct Ian Ogilvy's
Measle and the Wrathmonk for Warner Bros. -- a piece that was purchased four years ago. The tale centers on a young kid who gets sent to live with his eccentric uncle, who happens to be a wizard. Gee, is it any surprise that this is part of a trilogy? I wonder if it will come out just as Potter mania wraps up...
Posted Nov 16th 2008 10:02AM by William Goss
Filed under: Action, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels
Supposedly retired action maverick*
Luc Besson, currently making the rounds on behalf of
Transporter 3 (which he produced), told
Collider that not only was 1997's
The Fifth Element supposed to be the first in a trilogy, but that he also has vague plans for another sci-fi trilogy after finishing up the two sequels
that no one asked for to
Arthur and the Invisibles (see a pattern here?).
I must say: more power to the man if he just keeps coming up with ideas and happens to be good at executing them. As flimsy as his promise of retirement has been, if it brings us
a sequel to District B13 and the reportedly entertaining Liam Neeson vehicle
Taken (which doesn't open in the States until next January), then I can live with watching him keep on keepin' on, as it were.
(Well, except for those
Arthur flicks, but perhaps that's a finger of blame better pointed towards
the Weinsteins...)
*Us film bloggers are taking this word back, damn it.
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