Film News Roundup – May 2009 – Week 4
Sneak peek: The Sheriff of Nottingham’s men ravage a village in Ridley Scott’s new Robin Hood movie
The upcoming Ridley Scott movie, starring Russell Crowe as the heroic archer, is currently filming at various woodland locations across the U.K. Spotted filming a dramatic sequence in Bourne Woods, Surrey, this week, a group of actors dressed in 12th century clothes rode at high speed on black and white horses.
Chace Crawford set for ‘Footloose’
‘Gossip Girl’ actor to star in Paramount remake
Chace Crawford has signed on to star in Paramount Pictures’ remake of “Footloose.” With a more mature, edgy version of “Footloose” than the original, Paramount will likely benefit from the fact that Crawford’s “Gossip Girl” following skews a bit older than Efron’s “High School Musical” audience.
‘Basterds’ lights up Cannes
Quentin Tarantino receives an eight-minute ovation
The reception for the 2 1/2 hour WWII tale was hardly a complete surprise: Tarantino has been a favorite on the Croisette since “Reservoir Dogs” premiered in 1992 and “Pulp Fiction” won the Palme d’Or in 1994.
Our Basterds Will Be Different Than The Cannes Basterds
Quentin Tarantino has confirmed that he’ll do some work on the film. The film currently runs two hours, 27 minutes. But he’ll go back for “an audience pruning cut” after some test screenings in the states.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” returning to big screen
Buffy” creator Joss Whedon isn’t involved and it’s not set up at a studio
While Whedon is the person most associated with the “Buffy” franchise, Fran Rubel Kuzui and her Kuzui Enterprises have held onto the rights since the beginning, when she discovered the “Buffy” script from then-unknown Whedon.
Will Smith acquires ‘American Can’ rights
Film centers on Hurricane Katrina hero John Keller
Standing a 6-foot-seven and 260 pounds, John Keller, the ex-Marine, lived in a five-story apartment building and after chasing some looters, emerged as the man in charge of the edifice and of the 244 residents, many of them elderly or handicapped. For five days, Keller, dubbed the “Can Man,” kept the building, isolated by 11 feet of water, safe from the chaos raging around the city. He also directed the eventual rescue operation from the building’s roof.
Robert Evans, ITV team for ‘UFO’ film
Ryan Gaudet, Joseph Kanarek writing script
Robert Evans is teaming with ITV Global on a feature film based on the 1970s British TV series “UFO.” The series was set in 1980 and revolves around Shado (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a covert military organization that thwarts an alien race that has been kidnapping and killing humans for decades, then using the body parts. Shado headquarters is hidden beneath a Hollywood studio, and the studio mogul is actually the Shado commander. The movie will be set in the year 2020.
A Doctor Who movie is in the works, but not clear if David Tennant will star
A feature film based on BBC’s hit sci-fi series Doctor Who is in the works, according to the BBC. BBC entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba said there were no guarantees a film would be made; if the project went into full production, a release would be a long time coming. It’s also unclear whether Tennant or another actor would fill the title role.
Parkes, DiGilio to adapt ‘Daemon’
Suarez techno thriller novel heads to bigscreen
Walter Parkes and David DiGilio will adapt Daniel Suarez’s techno thriller novel “Daemon” for Paramount Pictures. Project centers on an iconic game designer who, before he died, set up a program to fight mankind. The book is set to be published in January, and it is expected to spawn a sequel. Move is noteworthy given that Parkes hasn’t written a screenplay since 1992′s “Sneakers.” The producer’s only other writing credit is 1983′s “WarGames.”
Michael Moore doc gets release date
Filmmaker’s take on economy set for Oct. 2
Michael Moore’s still-untitled documentary tackling the causes of the global economic meltdown has been slotted for an Oct. 2 release date. The film is described as “a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans” that culminated in what Moore has described as “the biggest robbery in the history of this country.”
Aykroyd Reveals Details of New Ghostbusters ‘Leader’ and Busting Tech
“There’ll be a whole new generation that has to be trained and a leader that you’ll all love when you meet her. There’ll be lots of cadets, boys and girls who’ll be learning how to use the neuron splitter and the inter-planet interceptor – new tools to enable them to slip from dimension to dimension.”
Lemony Snicket Sequel is Still Possible
Director Brad Silberling: “You know it’s really funny there was a period of time, about a year ago, where I would have said “Oh, good luck” because it was mired in so many things. It was a co-production between Paramount and Dreamworks and there were studio politics and I actually think it’s going to see the light of day.”
‘Twilight’ a foursome
Robert Pattinson confirms fourth ‘Twilight’ movie in Cannes
Robert Pattinson confirmed Wednesday in Cannes that there will be a fourth installment of the vampire franchise “Twilight” based on the book “Breaking Dawn.” [Video]
Steve Coogan Reveals Plans For An Alan Partridge Movie
“I’ve got to sit down and decide what it is yet. People who like the TV series won’t be disappointed.” Coogan said, “You need to be aware of that and it might mean you readdress the character, make him slightly more subtle or build up to it in a different way. But that’s certainly something that’s going to be on our minds but I think Alan is complex enough to sustain something longer.”
‘Navigator’ to take flight again
Disney, Mandeville set remake of 1986 sci-fi adventure
Disney is readying another launch of sci-fi adventure movie “Flight of the Navigator.” The 1986 original told the story of a 12-year-old boy who is abducted by an alien spacecraft in 1978 and reappears eight years later, still the same age and with no memory of what happened.
The Fine Print
This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.
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