Posted Aug 19th 2008 9:02AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
As our Erik Davis reported over the weekend,
Warner Bros and DC Comics are in the midst of rehashing their strategy, opting for the slow and steady route. But there's one franchise that has his "reinvention" movie, as it were: Superman. Word is, Warner Bros is utterly torn as to what to do with him.
Variety's Anne Thompson reports that the studio is really taking their time in deciding what to do, and how
Bryan Singer will play into it. At this point, despite all the rumors and
excited quotes from Singer, no one is working on a
Superman script.
Surprisingly, they're with the majority of fans on this one, and feel that the movie didn't revive the character the way they wanted, or the way they
know it can be done. (You really have changed things, Christopher Nolan.) Thompson was told that the studio is making the Man of Steel a top priority -- and if Singer is willing "to go in the right direction," they'll keep him, if not, he's off the property. One executive freely admitted that "it might be better to start from scratch."
Remember, Mark Millar and a
"big name action director" who had connections at Warner Bros were readying themselves to make a
Superman pitch. Millar claimed the world would know by December. Given that such sharks
are circling, I won't be surprised if Warners
does start from scratch. I'm as perplexed as anyone as to where Singer can go from
Superman Returns. For a healthy franchise, they're going to have to reboot, and leave
Returns in that misty category of a Donner long delayed sequel.
What do you think? Reboot or continue Singer's storyline?
Posted Aug 18th 2008 6:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Warner Brothers, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
I am starting to see a new pattern emerging in the latest graphic novel grabs -- monsters and the teams who hunt or protect them. That's a trend I can get behind (as opposed to the superhero deconstruction -- leave that to the masters). The latest according to
Variety is Jerry Carr and Allan Gross' graphic novels
Cryptozoo Crew, which has been purchased by Alcon Entertainment. No director has been named yet, but
Joe Gazzam has already penned the script.
The Cryptozoo Crew is a secret organization devoted to protecting the identity of strange and rare creatures called the Cryptids. They aren't as strange as you might think, because they're often things like the Loch Ness Monster, Yetis, and El Chupacabra. (Maybe the Montauk Monster can pop up at some point -- have they figured out what that thing is yet?)
The series centers around married crew members Tork and Tara Darwyn -- funnily, press releases are focusing on how beautiful Tara is, whereas I find Tork to be equally pleasing to the eye. They bicker about their relationship while pursing mythical creatures, thus making it the most realistic monster series yet. You can check out previews of the first two graphic novels on
the official Cryptozoo website. The series seems like it is a lot of fun, with a good dose of humor. It could be a nice summer flick. Frankly, I can't wait who see who they cast as the muscle bound Tork.
Posted Aug 18th 2008 5:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Deals, Scripts
Here's a few Vegas-themed Monday nibblets:
- All the way back in 2006, there was news that New Line had grabbed Burt Dickenson: The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth. Set in Vegas, the comedy was said to focus on rival magicians and how one of the magic men's partners dies, leaving his ex to "find a way to rediscover his love for magic." Well, it's not quite ready for the camera yet, and The Hollywood Reporter posts that Freaks and Geeks and Bones actor John Francis Daley is going to whip up a rewrite with Jonathan Goldstein. Now the plot is being described as the tale of "a big-time Las Vegas illusionist whose preeminence is threatened by a younger 'extreme magician.'" Whatever the film ends up being, hopefully it won't take another 2 years to get a step further. And hopefully it will be better than The Illusionist.
- Meanwhile, Variety reports that a feature on the first desegregated hotel and casino in Vegas, the Moulin Rouge, is in development. Titled The Fabulous Moulin Rouge, and penned by Milosz Feigin, the film will center on "a fictional African-American character who rises from mob debt collector to manager of the Moulin Rouge." It should be a pretty interesting production. A replica of the 1955 casino is getting built in Dubai, where the film will be shot late next year, and the casino itself might have attracted performers like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, but closed a mere 6 months after opening.
Posted Aug 18th 2008 1:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Horror, Thrillers, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, Scripts, Newsstand
If you were a young whippersnapper in 1992, chances are the
Goosebumps books were a lurid staple on your bedside table. My sister was an enormous fan, whereas I preferred, shockingly,
Star Wars novelizations and sword-and-sorcery. I was just a little too old for their goofy twist endings -- although the single one I read gave me nightmares, I think because a dog was killed or something. (Let's ascribe it to a fragment of underdone potato, shall we?) In retrospect, you really are what you read as a kid -- my sister went on to a lifelong love of Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe, whereas I memorized
Beowulf.
Well, now they will get to terrorize and influence even more children, because Goosebumps is coming to the big screen. According to
The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia bought the rights to R.L. Stine's endless series in May, and has now hired
Larry Karaszewski and
Scott Alexander to pen a script. Columbia is hoping to turn it into a franchise -- and since there are 62(!) books currently lining bookshelves round the world, they will have plenty of material to choose from. It's not clear which book they will adapt first, or if the film will be a hodgepodge of several. At this time, no director is attached, though producer Neal Moritz already has an eye for casting. He wants unknown children, and well-known adult actors in supporting roles.
Many of the books are homages to classic horror films, like
Night of the Living Dead and
Invasion of the Body Snatchers. If the books inspired a love of horror literature in my sister, perhaps the films will create a whole new generation of
Scott Weinbergs. I know there's probably a number of
Goosebumps readers out there so share your fond memories, nightmares and I-hope-they-film-this-one thoughts below ....
Posted Aug 14th 2008 8:03PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Universal, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
No matter how you look at it, one group of dedicated fans aren't going to be very happy about this. In an
interview with MTV Movies blog, writer/director
David Goyer dropped the hint that his
X-Men origin flick
Magneto may be taking a back seat to his
Invisible Man update -- not the choice I would have made, but maybe Goyer is a little 'Superheroed' out. Goyer tells MTV that
Magneto, "may be next," but he wouldn't confirm which film is going to get priority on his schedule, saying, "So it could be 'Magneto,' or it could be 'The Invisible Man' next." -- Gee Dave, thanks for clearing that up.
Goyer's
Invisible update is just the latest in a series of adaptations of the classic H.G. Wells
story on the big screen. Universal famously adapted the novella in 1933, with
Claude Rains as the invisible Jack Griffin, and don't forget about the embarrassingly bad
comedy version starring
Chevy Chase back in 1992. Goyer told MTV that his story, "involves Scotland Yard getting their hands on the current Invisible Man and basically saying, 'Wow, you'd be a really good secret agent to send into Imperial Russia right now,'" an enthusiastic Goyer said of the plot. "It starts off from there." -- I'm suddenly having flashbacks to
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and that is not a good sign.
So the real question is: What does this mean for
Magneto? We all know that there is no danger that the film won't get made (No please, don't bring that dump truck full of money to the studio doors), but his work on
The Dark Knight earned Goyer the reputation of 'Patron saint of comic book movies' (well, until
Watchmen is released anyway), and it will be hard to top that; you can't blame the guy for wanting a break.
Stay tuned to Cinematical for the official word on which film will cross the finish line first.
Posted Aug 14th 2008 4:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Deals, Scripts
Over the last few years, Italian director
Gabriele Muccino has been busy with superstar
Will Smith. He helmed
The Pursuit of Happyness, and just wrapped up
Seven Pounds. Now
The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's cooking up a
Kramer vs. Kramer style film that may or may not involve Smith's production company, Overbrook.
The project, titled
What I Know About Love, is being written by Muccino along with the writer of
Sex and the City, Liz Tuccillo. The director says: "It's the story of a family's collapse, but with the complexity that relationships have today. It's a different world now, one that I think is more open and more destructive somehow."
Considering the fact that Smith has starred in both of Muccino's recent films, I imagine that there's a decent chance that this film could be led by the ol' Fresh Prince as well. Smith brings the butts to the seats. Whatever happens, this should keep the filmmaker busy for a while with familial issues. He's also got an immigrant film called
Man & Wife in the works.
Posted Aug 14th 2008 11:32AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, Warner Brothers, Scripts, Newsstand, Johnny Depp, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Religious
It's been a while since we heard anything about Johnny Depp's second foray into the world of comic book adaptation, otherwise known as
Rex Mundi. Back in 2006, Depp purchased the rights to Arvid Nelson's Dark Horse series under his Infinitum Nihil banner, with the intention to star as Dr. Julien Sauniere.
To refresh your memory,
Rex Mundi is set in an alternate history where Martin Luther was assassinated, the Reformation never took place, and the Catholic Church still reigns supreme. The comics take place in the 1930's, in a world where the Inquisition still runs rampant, Europe is ruled by monarchs, but magic manages to exist. Into this walks Dr. Sauniere, who finds himself investigating the disappearance of a medieval scroll, and a trail of horrific ritual murders. You can find out more on
its official site, if you're interested. Depp was drawn to the project not because he's a comic reader, but because he's keenly interested in the Templar Knights, and "loves that kind of research" according to
Barry Levine, who's co-producing.
According to
MTV, Rex now has a script, penned by
Jim Uhls, and is looking for a director. Depp has been right in the thick of all the decision making, says his co-producer Barry Levine. "The second draft is now coming in from Jim, and Warner Bros. is pretty excited about it. They came up with a couple of names for directors, so now we just need Johnny to look at the list. It all begins and ends with Johnny. He's got to be happy with the script, and he gave his notes, so we'll see what happens next."
Continue reading Johnny Depp's 'Rex Mundi' Has Script, Needs Director
Posted Aug 13th 2008 6:02PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Lionsgate Films, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Lionsgate is very eager to get their remake of
Conan the Barbarian up and shooting. How can they not be? At this point,
Conan spin-offs
Thulsa Doom and
Red Sonja are neatly beating it in the pre-production department (
Red Sonja already has a star, a director, and merchandise already!), and both were green-lit after
Conan. A sad state of affairs for the Cimmerian, indeed.
But it looks like things are moving again. According to
The Hollywood Reporter, they've has hired
Dirk Blackman and
Howard McCain to rework the script. They seem a pretty good fit for the pulpy source, being fresh off
Outlander (which McCain also directed) and
Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans. They're still looking for a director, but would anyone be surprised if they decided on McCain?
They're replacing
Thomas Dean Donnelly and
Joshua Oppenheimer, who wrote several drafts, apparently none of which was to the studio's liking. The CEO of Paradox Entertainment, Fredrik Malmberg, is aiming to stick close to the source material. He'd also like to become a franchise. (Is that a surprise to anyone? Thought not.) "There's no reason there couldn't be a Conan movie every two years. He's almost like Batman: He's a dark hero. He's a hard hero. He has to be badass, but we also have to like him."
Lionsgate is also looking to restart another long-delayed swords-and-loincloths project -- McCain and Blackman's
Amazon, to which
Scarlett Johansson has long been attached, has landed in the studio's loving hands. They're looking for a director for that, too. It wasn't that long ago that I wished for a resurgence of swords and sorcery -- and I'm getting it. It's going to be glorious! Chainmail bikinis and dudes with eight-packs, all worthy of being painted on the side of your van. Welcome back, 1980!
Posted Aug 12th 2008 6:32PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Action, Horror, Scripts, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Other than the fact that the heroine looks an awful lot like
Megan Fox, I can't say I know all that much about the horror comic
Hack/Slash, but it looks like that is about to change. In an interview with Newsarama,
Slash screenwriter
Justin Marks (
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li) decided to share a few details about Todd Lincoln's upcoming
feature film version of Tim Seeley's series.
First up is that the film "won't be an origin story, per se, but the origin will be covered." -- which probably means get ready for some rapid fire flashbacks. Marks also went on to say, "we wanted to do something very different, because this is the first chance to see a slasher movie where there is more than one slasher! Because it follows a hunter, you're going with her and her accomplice as they go from one to another, and building out the mythology of how this world works with its undead slashers."
Hack/Slash is the story of Cassie; a girl traumatized at a young age, who becomes a hunter of 'Slashers' (better known as Revenants). Along with her partner Vlad, the two are responsible for keeping the world safe from the undead menace.
News of a feature film version first hit back in 2006, and other than a few
rumblings that Fox was on the short-list for the lead, there hasn't been much to report. Luckily for fans of the gory comic, Marks is committed to making an R-rated film, and told Newsarama, "It was written with that mentality in mind, yes".
Well, maybe if Fox does sign on as Cassie, an R rating could guarantee that fan boys finally get that glimpse of skin they've been
promised.
Hack/Slash is expected to arrive in theaters in 2009.
[Thanks:
Coming Soon]
Posted Aug 12th 2008 5:15PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, RumorMonger, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Have you had your fill of giant robots on the big screen yet? Well, Hollywood is banking that you haven't, and while we wait for the next installment of
Transformers, it's time to turn our attention to some of the
other giant robot flicks heading our way in the not-so-distant future. It's common knowledge that
Justin Marks (
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li) is in charge of the big-screen adaptation of
Voltron, and today a
review of Marks' script has popped up online over at Latino Review -- and, thankfully, it looks like good news for fans of the 80's cartoon. But first off, you should know that the review is pretty descriptive about the plot and 'spoiler alert' doesn't even begin to cover it. If you don't feel like reading the whole thing (and it
is pretty long), it can all be boiled down to this: the script rocks.
If you didn't grow up watching 80's cartoons, then
Voltron might not inspire much excitement. But, for those of a certain age,
Voltron was a religion. The story of
Volton centered on a team of five young pilots commanding five robot lions which could be combined to form a giant fighting machine called Voltron. Our heroes are left with the task of protecting their home planet from an evil king and a witch named Hagar. But those were the old days, and according to Latino Review, Marks' script is going to deviate from the original anime origins. For the update, Marks' story centers on the fact that "The
Drules have invaded Earth and kicked our ass in the ONE DAY WAR. Humanity has gone underground. New York has been decimated and our story opens on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Drule invasion."
Continue reading Early Script Review for 'Voltron'
Posted Aug 12th 2008 4:37PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sports, Deals, Scripts
News bites for your Tuesday:
- In the wake of failed attempts at the Triple Crown and terrible horse injuries, Variety reports that Disney is getting ready to revel in Big Red, Secretariat. Mike Rich wrote the script, and Randall Wallace has signed on to direct. The film will focus on the story of owner Penny Chenery, and how she took over her father's horse farm, was slapped with a huge inheritance tax upon his death, and still managed to save the farm and horse. Secretariat then became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
- On the more artsy side of things, Variety reports that Taylor Hackford is cooking up a film called Tenn, focusing on "the formative years" of Tennessee Williams. Robin Shushan wrote the screenplay, which delves into the playwright's "tumultuous upbringing -- complete with a scornful father, depression, conflicts about sexuality and watching his beloved sister institutionalized and lobotomized." In other words, a rip-roaring laugh fest. The project is said to be similar to Capote and how tragedy can breed success.
- Lastly, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Alexander Belyaev's The Amphibian is headed for the big screen, courtesy of Stone Village Pictures. The hunt is underway for a screenwriter, and the company is planning comic books/graphic novel adaptations to accompany the film. It's a strange twist of a story -- an American surgeon in the Amazon saves his son from a fatal respiratory disease by giving him shark gills. But when the underwater kid saves a girl from a shark attack, things get complicated as they fall for each other. It's like Aquaman meets Splash!
Posted Aug 12th 2008 2:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
I'm digging the Greek revival in Hollywood -- I know I should sniff at it as an empty trend that cashes in on
300, but I'm just not hard hearted enough. (And I continuously hope that they'll forget about the dumb parts of
Troy and greenlight
The Odyssey with Sean Bean in the lead.)
According to
Variety, the latest Greek myth to be "remade" is
Jason and the Argonauts (shortened to the pithier
The Argonauts), though I'm skeptical in calling any story that's been around for thousands of years a remake. Jason hasn't sailed on the bigscreen since 1963, when he was assisted so famously by Ray Harryhausen. (There was a television miniseries in 2000 -- that was such a weird era for CGI mythology.) This time, he'll be doing his sailing for 20th Century Fox, and the movie will be written and produced by
Zak Penn.
As you likely remember from your school days, this is the story of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece. Charged with its retrieval by the unpleasant king (and usurper) Pelias, Jason assembles a great group of heroes (including the legendary Heracles) known as the Argonauts. Naturally, they had all kinds of crazy adventures, encountered horrible monsters, and loved a lot of women.
Penn is writing an original take on the Greek epic -- but I imagine all the standbys like the Harpies, the Sirens, and the Symplegades will be present. And I fully expect that it will have a
300 flavor, at least in the costuming and the muscles sported by Jason and company. Just about every studio has a Greek movie they're shoving into production (including that much discussed
300 prequel/sequel/whatever), so they're all going to be vying to outdo each other. At this point, my money is on
Anabasis and this one, if only for Penn might bring a bit of
X2 goodness to it. What about you?
Posted Aug 12th 2008 10:02AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Warner Brothers, Fandom, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
The alternate film universe must be an incredible place -- a land where George Lucas directed
Apocalypse Now, Frank Darabont's
Indiana Jones 4 script was made, and
Joss Whedon directed
Batman Begins. Actually, in that other dimension, Whedon has probably written and directed everything, including enough
Firefly to sate our hungry souls.
Whedon told
MTV that once upon a time, he pitched a
Batman reboot to Warner Bros when
Batman Begins was in early development. "It wasn't what they did but the vibe was very similar. Mine was a bit less epic. It was more about the progression of him and it was more in Gotham City. He didn't go to Tibet and meet cool people, but it was very similar in vibe." But most interesting of all was the idea that he didn't plan on using any villains from the comic book canon. "In my version, there was actually a new [villain], it wasn't one of the classics - which is probably why they didn't use it. It was more of a 'Hannibal Lector' type - he was somebody already in Arkham Asylum that Bruce went and sort of studied with. It was a whole thing - I get very emotional about it, I still love the story. Maybe I'll get to do it as a comic one day."
Continue reading Joss Whedon's Batman -- It Existed!
Posted Aug 11th 2008 8:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Deals, Scripts
In between
Pineapples, a grown man who dresses like a bat, and a dude who medically changes his skin color,
Variety has posted about some folks who are looking for more historical projects:
- On this shore, word has broke that Chris Columbus will direct a feature about Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential run, based on Thurston Clarke's book The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America. Columbus is adapting the work himself, and might ask another scribe to co-write if schedules allow. The film will center on the campaign, "which focused squarely on poverty, racism, and ending the unpopular Vietnam War," while also showing the man's strength and fearlessness in the wake of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassinations.
- Meanwhile, the China Film Group is jumping far back in time for a $22 million biopic on Confucius, which will be released next year on October 1, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and Confucius' 2,560th birthday. Hu Mei will direct the film, which heads into production this November, but no cast has been set yet. Hu says: "Confucius exists as a saint in many people's hearts. Almost every Chinese remembers his famous sayings, but not everyone can see him as an ordinary person and imagine his daily life." And if you dig Confucius' work, there's more -- "A big-budget toon biopic is also in the works." Now THAT sounds different...
Posted Aug 11th 2008 6:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Deals, MGM, Scripts
Tell me if this sounds familiar:
The Hollywood Reporter posts that writers Ken Kaufman and David Agosto have sold an action-comedy pitch to MGM for $1 million. The project is tentatively titled
Wardogs, and producer Michael Ewing says: "it's an action ensemble comedy in the vein of
Ocean's Eleven, where the casting becomes an event. It is a bunch of these terrific actors getting together and having a good time, it's that kind of thing."
Did they keep seeing ads for
Tropic Thunder while mourning the end of the
Ocean's series? The film will be directed by
Peter Segal, the man behind films like
Tommy Boy, 50 First Dates, and most recently,
Get Smart. So far, nothing is being said regarding
Wardogs' plot, nor is there any word on when we'll start hearing about this super-cool group of actors.
Huge star ensemble comedies can be fun, but it kind of rubs me the wrong way when the only thing mentioned about the project is the plan for superstars, with no time given to the story. But here's your chance to dream up the ultimate star cast. What "terrific actors" would you cast in a film called
Wardogs?
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