Film News Roundup “ June 2009 “ Week 4
Michael Bay: ‘I’ve had enough of Transformers world’
“It’s easy to go shoot an art movie in a winery in the South of France. But people have no idea how hard it is to create something like Transformers. After the three-and-a-half years I’ve spent making these movies, I feel like I’ve had enough of the Transformers world. I need to do something totally divergent, something without any explosions.”
Ivan Reitman Sits Down To Discuss The Past, Present And Future Of ËœGhostbusters’
The three actors and I and Columbia Pictures, think of us as five equal powers, each with veto power. The real truth is the project just sat there. It was just lately when Columbia decided on their own to hire some writers to come up with a story that would entice the rest of us. It was a very prescient thing to do because you can feel it’s in the zeitgeist now. The movie has always been popular but now it seems to be more popular than ever. Partially that’s because of the game and the Blu-ray.
‘Akira’ Project is Dead as a Doornail
Sad news comes in this weekend as we have learned that not only has Ruairi Robinson left the project, but Tetsuo and Kaneda’s adventure is “dead as a doornail,” a report we’ve confirmed with two separate sources. I can only hope it gets revived in the near future as this could have been one of the coolest effin’ movies ever.
These A-list U.S. stars will voice Miyazaki’s Ponyo for its American release
An A-list castâ€including Liam Neeson, Matt Damon and Tina Feyâ€will voice the masterful, otherwordly animation of Japanese virtuoso Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea for its North American release. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Little Mermaid,” Ponyo tells the story of a goldfish and her quest to become human.
Meet the new Conan, same as the old Conan
Companies are in talks with a 41-year-old Austrian actor named Roland Kickinger to play the title role that Arnold Schwarzenegger made famous in the 1982 classic “Conan the Barbarian.” There are parallels between the two: both bodybuilders-turned-actor from Austria; both played a T-800 in the “Terminator” franchise (Kickinger in “Terminator Salvation”); and Kickinger played a Conan-era version of Schwarzenegger in “See Arnold Run,” the 2005 A&E biopic.
Indiana Jones 5 Is A Go!
Frank Marshall spills the beans
Although he didn’t specify timelines, Marshall told Empire that ideas would be worked on with a view to green-lighting production sooner rather than later. “It’s really about the script,” says the veteran Indy producer. “Once we see that, we’ll see. We’re not going to wait another 20 years. We’d all love to make another one. I’m anxious to hear the idea!”
Sean Penn backs out of two films
‘Three Stooges,’ ‘Cartel’ lose Oscar winner
Penn star has dropped out of two films: “The Three Stooges” and crime thriller “Cartel.” He is taking a leave from his Hollywood career to focus on his family. Penn has already informed the productions he will not be available. It’s unclear how long the absence could last, though sources have said up to a year.
Jason Sudeikis cashes in ‘Bounty’
To star opposite Jennifer Aniston in comedy
Jason Sudeikis has been cast in the Columbia comedy “Bounty Hunter” opposite Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. The movie centers on Milo (Butler), a bounty hunter hired to track down his ex-wife, Casidy (Aniston), who has skipped out on bail. Sudeikis will play Stewart, a work friend of Casidy’s who falsely believes he is her boyfriend and takes off after her when she goes on the run.
It may be Quixotic for Gilliam to think he can get Depp back
ËœI love Terry and I’d do personally anything the guy wants to do,’ Depp said. ‘The thing with Quixote is that my dance card is pretty nutty for the next couple of years, so I’d hate to put him in a position to wait for me. That would be wrong.’
Framelight, Uslan pump ‘Trueheart’
To adapt the children’s book trilogy into films
Framelight Prods. and David Uslan are set to adapt the “Tom Trueheart” children’s book trilogy into a series of feature films. An adventure fantasy, the “Trueheart” series follows a young boy and his older brothers in the Land of Stories. The original “Trueheart” was published in 2007, and a second book, “Tom Trueheart and the Land of Dark Stories,” was published last year.
Two cast in ‘Red Dawn’ remake
Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki join Chris Hemsworth
osh Peck and Adrianne Palicki have been cast in the remake of “Red Dawn,” the story of a group of teenagers who form an impromptu insurgency when their town is invaded by Chinese and Russian soldiers. Peck will play Matt Eckert — the role originated by Charlie Sheen — the hotheaded younger brother of Chris Hemsworth’s Jed Eckert and star quarterback of their Spokane high school football team. Palicki will play Toni, the role first inhabited by Jennifer Grey. She’s a tough fighter the brothers encounter who develops romantic feelings for Jed, a Marine home on leave and the group’s unofficial leader.
Danielle Panabaker checks in to ‘Ward’
Amber Heard also stars in John Carpenter thriller
Danielle Panabaker will star opposite Amber Heard in “The Ward,” a psychological horror thriller that John Carpenter is directing. The story follows a girl (Heard) who is admitted to a psychiatric ward, meets other girls there with distinct personalities and discovers a mysterious girl haunting the halls at night.
Julianne Hough joins ‘Footloose’ remake
‘Dancing With the Stars’ mainstay making her film debut
“Dancing With the Stars” mainstay Julianne Hough will be punching her card for “Footloose.” The dancer, singer and choreographer will join Chace Crawford for her feature film debut in Paramount’s remake of the 1984 film, assuming her scheduling works for the March shoot.
Sony scraps Soderbergh’s ‘Moneyball’
Columbia Pictures drops ball on Brad Pitt pic
Columbia Pictures topper Amy Pascal placed the picture into limited turnaround, giving the filmmaker the chance to set it up at another studio. The move came after Pascal read a rewrite that Soderbergh did to the script and found it very different from the earlier scripts she championed. Pascal was uncomfortable enough with how the vision had changed that she applied the brakes. It was just 96 hours before the participants were ready to take the field, following three months of prep and with camera tests completed and cast and budget in place.
Mitchell to make ‘Time’ with MGM
‘Shrek’ director to tackle live-action fantasy
MGM has tapped Mike Mitchell (“Shrek Forever After”) to direct its live-action fantasy “Once Upon a Time”. The story has Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty married to their handsome princes, the Charming brothers, and planning to live happily ever after — only to see their spouses go missing. The sisters-in-law set out to save their husbands and the fairy tale kingdom.
Brody, Whitaker, Wood to ‘Experiment’
Scheuring to direct remake of German thriller
Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Elijah Wood and Cam Gigandet will star in “The Experiment,” a remake of the German psychological thriller “Das Experiment”. “Das Experiment,” directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, centered on a group of ordinary men recruited to take on the roles of guards and prisoners as part of a research study and examined how the effects of assigned roles, power and control affected the participants. Brody will portray the de facto leader of the prisoners while Whitaker will play a guard who’s corrupted by the power he’s given.
First look: What a weird ‘Wonderland’ Burton’s made
Those who have grown curiouser and curiouser about what the offbeat reinventor of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory might conjure up in his version of Alice in Wonderland can feast their eyes on this array of concept art and publicity images, due to hang in movie theaters this week to promote the March 5, 2010, release.
M. Night Shyamalan Still Considering ËœUnbreakable’ Sequel
I am, revealed Shyamalan. I don’t know where all the parties are in the world. Sam [Jackson] is like ËœMr. Comic Book’ now. And Bruce, I don’t know what he’s up to. I don’t know where Disney’s at in their head and what kind of movies they’re up for making. But yeah, I love that movie.
Rambo 5 Tones it Down, Expendables Goes PG-13?
Producer Avi Lerner said that they lost at least half the audience for Rambo (2008) with such a hard R, so neither The Expendables nor the Rambo sequel will be as brutal. He did, however, say that it is not an “if” but a “when.” Rambo 5 is definiteley coming to theaters near you. Also interesting, there will be both PG-13 and R rated cuts for The Expendables and they will test each to decide which to release.
Teen Wolf Howls Again?
A remake of the classic Michael J. Fox starrer Teen Wolf is in early development. Warner Bros (who snagged the rights to the film series about five or six years ago) are currently out to writers, looking for the craftiest reinterpretation of Rod Daniels’ 1985 hit. They’re not quite certain ”which way they’re going to go”¦
Don Murphy Takes Option on Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, Lines Up More Good Stuff
Don Murphy has optioned Cory Doctorow’s semi-sci-fi political activism adventure novel, Little Brother. Thanks to Creative Commons, you can download it for yourself, for free [http://craphound.com/littlebrother/Bruces_Little_Brother.pdf]. The story doubles as a kind of handbook on how to use social networking media, wit and chutzpah to fight back in a dictatorship. Murphy has retained Doctorow as a consultant for the feature adaptation.
Kurtzman and Orci Talk About The Future of Star Trek
We have had discussions about the debate of the exploration sci-fi plot where the unknown and nature itself is somehow an adversary or the villain model. That’s an active discussion we’re having right now. In terms of thinking about more than one movie, we want the movie to be self-contained in a way, but we’re discussing the idea of having a couple of threads where if the second movie works, you could pick up into a cohesive whole. No thread more exciting and shocking for me when in Star Trek III you realize that Spock grabbed Bones and downloaded his Katra into him. When I saw Star Trek II I was like, ËœWhat’s going on here?’ and two years later, you’re watching it and you’re like ËœThey’re geniuses! They’re geniuses!’ [Video]
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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