Film News Roundup – December 2009 – Week 1
Dimension Films to Remake ‘The Amityville Horror’…Again?
he Amityville Horror which was remade in 2005 by Platinum Dunes and starred Ryan Reynolds is going to get remade a second time by the Weinstien Company and Dimension Films. It only been five years since the first remake, and now it’s already being remade again. According to Bloody-Disgusting the film may even already have a director attached to it.
Twitter Questions: Gerard Butler
The star on deep-fried Mars Bars, Hallowe’en and what he’s done with his 300 costume
We asked you for questions to ask Gerard Butler and Twitter responded with questions about the planned Escaped From New York remake, deep-fried Mars Bars and – surprise surprise – that 300 outfit. We caught up with the Law Abiding Citizen star to find out what it’s like to go to Hallowe’en parties and be surrounded by people dressed as characters you’ve played… [Video]
Caine makes it look easy
Actor has enjoyed performing wide range of roles
“I started out 56 years ago in rep theater playing a different part every week. So when I got into films, my one criteria was that each role should be different from the last one. After ‘Alfie,’ I got offered 30 womanizers, but I didn’t do any of them.”
Peter Jackson says Tintin film is ‘finished’ and ‘Hobbit’ news
“We’re writing Ian McKellen’s dialogue just the same as we did in Lord Of The Rings. But Guillermo, being the director, will obviously take the script and interpret that and shoot his film. So that’ll be interesting to see. That’s actually the reason I wanted him to do it. I felt like I’d be trying to compete with myself and deliberately do things differently, which is not the way I want to work. I want it to be natural.”
J.J. Abrams Producing Samurai Jack: The Movie
According to a post on the Frederator Films blog from back in September, J.J. Abrams revealed himself to be a huge fan of Samurai Jack and is now co-producing the movie through his company, Bad Robot Productions. Samurai Jack is also being distributed through Paramount Pictures, which helps guarantee that it will actually end up in theatres rather than getting dumped direct to DVD.
Director James McTeigue on the Wachowskis, SUPERMAN, Edgar Allen Poe, NINJA ASSASSIN, MAGNETO, and a Lot More!
I try and get James McTeigue to tell me what the Wachowskis are working on, his next project on Edgar Allen Poe (The Raven), the Superman and Magneto rumors, what’s on the Ninja Assassin DVD/Blu-ray, could Hugo Weaving be in his Edgar Allen Poe movie, his thoughts on Star Wars (he was second unit director on Episode Two), extended edition DVDs, and a whole lot more!
Revolver making Robert Pattinson documentary
‘Robsessed’ charts the rise of the ‘Twilight’ star
As a prelude to setting up Stateside theatrical distribution operations, U.K. distrib Revolver has latched on to “New Moon” fever, making a digital bow with Robert Pattinson docu “Robsessed.” Pic, charting the rise of the British star of the “Twilight” pics, is the London-based company’s first title to be made available to buy or rent through iTunes in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in the U.K.
So Paul Greengrass Has Quit ‘Bourne 4′? Yes, At Least For Now…
Some have suggested Greengrass walking away is a “typical Paul move” and again, that he possibly could be back on the project in a few more months, but at the very least it does strongly indicate the tension and problems that have been brewing between the director and the studio for several months now. “Bourne 4″ is way off track. The studio, Greengrass and Damon’s schedule (which he kept open) was hoping to shoot the film in the fall of 2010. With no script, that’s unlikely going to happen (though anything’s possible). Damon said earlier this fall (before Greengrasss quit) that the film was probably 18 months away from even going before the cameras. During TIFF he said two years.
Magical ‘Creatures’ at Warner Bros.
Studio looks to LaGravenese for another wizard franchise
Studio has acquired “Beautiful Creatures,” the first of a five-novel series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl that’s being published todayby Little, Brown. Richard LaGravenese is set to write the script and direct the film. In the first book, high-school student Ethan Wate meets and becomes bewitched by Lena Duchannes, a 16-year-old whose family has moved to the small South Carolina town where he lives. The two must confront a curse that has haunted her family for generations as she comes to grips with her powers.
Hobbit Filming Delayed to Mid-Summer
“We’re currently working on the second script which we hope to have completed by the end of this year or beginning of next. When the scripts are completed, we can begin with the exact calculation of the necessary budget. We hope to start filming in the middle of next year. However, we’ve received no green light from the studio yet.” – Peter Jackson
Alvarez & Raimi Plan Alien Invasion
Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez has signed a million dollar deal to make his directing debut on an alien invasion film for Ghost House Pictures reports Variety. Alvarez helmed “Panic Attack” (“Ataque de panic”), a sub-$500 five-minute short about an apocalyptic robot attack which became an online video hit and was linked on Kanye West’s official blog. He then pitched the alien invasion idea to Sam Raimi who’s Ghost House Pictures signed him up for a holding deal. A high-end screenwriter is being hired to turn the idea into a feature that if greenly, Alvarez will direct and Raimi will produce.
Nimród Antal Talks About Predators
“Let me tell you, I was so much of a fan that I stood in line when I was 14 and I had the poster on my wall. I was a huge fan. Again, it was a challenge in finding a balance. I think when we cast Adrian, there were a lot of people going, ‘What?’ but at the same time, if we cast a Vin Diesel in that role or if we cast anyone who is Arnold-esque, we would have been attacked for doing that. So we decided early on to go in a very different direction as far as the casting process, but it turned out fantastic. He plays a mercenaryin the film and if you look at the guys in Iraq and Afghanistan today, they’re not ‘yolked-out’ Schwarzenegger-looking guys. They’re all very wiry and thin guys, and I think it’s going to play well.”
Jason Reitman Answers Questions NOT On His Pie Chart and Jason Schwartzman as Wes Anderson in Stop-Motion
A couple of unusual interviews have hit the web. The is first from our friends at FilmSchoolRejects, who talked to director Jason Reitman, not about his new movie Up in the Air, but instead quizzed the filmmaker on the pie chart he keeps of all the questions asked while on his press tour. The second of which was conducted by MoviesOnline.ca, with Fantastic Mr. Fox star Jason Schwartzman pretending to be director Wes Anderson, in a movie website first — an interview which was conducted entirely in stop-motion animation.
The Crow Relaunch Moves Forward With Casting
“Can’t talk about [casting] yet, but we’ve got good ideas. We’re looking. We’re in discussions….” said producer Ryan Kavanaugh. “I think it’s something cool, we’re approaching it differently. It’s really a whole relaunch of the franchise, much more of a dark superhero type. It will be an actor you’ve heard of, yes. We’re not ruling anything out. We’re looking at both, with the very well known and the “very talented but they may not be quite there yet.”
‘Tron: Legacy’ team mount a ‘Black Hole’ remake
Joseph Kosinski and Sean Bailey, the director and producer of Disney’s new “Tron: Legacy,” and scribe Travis Beacham are teaming up for what is being labeled a reinvention of the 1979 sci-fi film, which at the time was the most expensive movie Disney had ever produced. The original followed a group of space explorers aboard the USS Palomino who come across a lost ship, the USS Cygnus, hovering outside a black hole. Inside the Cygnus, the explorers meet a scientist, commanding an army of faceless robots, who explains his crew deserted him as he planned to go through the black hole. The explorers soon discover that the robots are the remnants of the former crew and that the scientist has no intention of letting them leave.
The Cutting Room Floor
- International deals challenge studios’ traditional role
- ‘The Baader-Meinhof Complex’ is hottest property on Iran’s black market
- Justin Chadwick helming ‘The First Grader’
- Russian pic biz faces crisis, shows drop in B.O.
- Argentina’s Juan Jose Campanella lines up animated feature, ‘Foosball’
- Argentinian Adrian Caetano prepares hitwoman thriller ‘Mala’ to star Natalia Oreiro
- Guy Pearce hops on to ‘Hungry Rabbit Jumps’ opposite Nicolas Cage, January Jones
- Woody Allen recruits France’s first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
- Neve Campbell Says Wes Craven is returning for ‘Scream IV’
- Rain, James McTeigue, and Joel Silver on Ninja Assassin
- Adam Green Officially Back to Write, Direct Hatchet 2
- Mexico’s Anima Estudios to co-produce CGI pic about a cat TV star, ‘Gaturro’
- Richard Linklater on BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET, and Would They Ever Make a Third Film
- Confirmed: Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe to do a nude scene!
- Tom Cavanagh nabs ‘Yogi Bear’ role
- Naomie Harris joins Kenya-set drama ‘The First Grader’
- Japanese pop star scandal of Noriko Sakai to be turned into pic
- MTV sets ‘Avatar’ webcast on Dec. 3
- Paramount lands Oren Peli’s next film, ‘Area 51′
- The Cast Talks ‘The Road’
- ‘Multiple Sarcasms’ Indie ensemble drama set for release
- Amazing new Avatar interactive trailer is just … OK
- Summit’s ‘Twilight’ dilemma: splitting last novel into two films means expensive talks
- Imagine signs India-based Reliance deal
- Is Hollywood Going Alien Crazy? Will Aliens Become the New Vampires?
- British director John Madden circling ‘My Fair Lady’
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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