Film News Roundup – December 2009 – Week 4
Magnet sets ‘Dead’ date
George A Romero zombie pic set for spring
George A. Romero’s new zombie pic, “Survival of the Dead,” has landed at Magnet Releasing, which has set a spring release. Magnet will unspool “Survival” on VOD platforms nationwide a month before its theatrical release. Story centers on an isolated refuge where two powerful families maintain a semblance of order in the wake of the zombie holocaust. But as the inhabitants slowly die off, the two clans become sharply divided, leading to an escalating showdown with echoes of a classic Western standoff.
Paramount takes ‘Holliday’
Di Bonaventura to produce gunfighter tale
Paramount Pictures has snapped up Chad St. John’s action adventure spec “The Further Adventures of Doc Holliday” in the hopes of turning it into a Western-style tentpole. Studio is keeping the logline under wraps, but the project is described as a history-based action adventure tale in the vein of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Terry Gilliam Talks about His “Beleaguered” Past, Updates His IMDb Page, and His Thoughts on WATCHMEN
“Things kind of develop. I think it’s because I’ve had enough books and documentaries about things going wrong where other people don’t. I remember when Lost in La Mancha came out and other filmmakers started coming up to me and telling me their stories and they were worse than mine. I’ve just been lucky (or unlucky) to have these things reported. I’m the one who gets stuck with an adjective like the word “beleagured,” and I actually think I’m lucky.”
Producer Dan Lin on the Future of the TERMINATOR Franchise and the Ending of TERMINATOR SALVATION
“I’m happy with the way things turned out. It was a bit derivative of Face/Off, you know, when Sam Worthington’s character goes back and he comes back up as Christian Bale his face has been changed, so I think…I know we’ve all talked about who should live at the end, who should go on for the next movie but it wasn’t, in our opinion, that original ending was taken from other movies and wasn’t as fresh.”
Laurence Fishburne Joins Director Nimród Antal’s PREDATORS
If you’re a fan of Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) and the Predator franchise, I’m about to tell you some awesome news. That’s because I’m in Austin right now, as I got to spend all day on the set of director Nimród Antal’s Predators movie – along with a number of other online journalists. While I can’t tell you anything about what I saw or thought of the movie until my embargo lifts, I’m allowed to report Laurence Fishburne has just joined the cast and he’s playing a character named Noland.
Peter Jackson Considers “Gallipoli” Film
Jackson said in the interview he had considered making a film of the battle from a New Zealand perspective years ago to complement Weir’s film. Now however he has been thinking of doing it “from a combined Australian and New Zealand point of view. I don’t think that we need necessarily to tell a film from a New Zealand perspective because the Anzac tradition, the Australian and New Zealand, were so intertwined in that particular campaign that I think it would be a mistake.”
Writers dine on ‘Diner’
‘Panda’ pair back for animated ‘Fright’ fare
DreamWorks Animation has set Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris to write “Gil’s All Fright Diner,” an adaptation of the A. Lee Martinez novel that has Barry Sonnenfeld attached to direct. Much like the “Twilight” series, “Gil’s All Fright Diner” revolves around a vampire and a werewolf. Here, they are mismatched partners who battle zombies and try to save the world, after they stop in a diner in the desert that is a conduit for the supernatural.
Screen Australia backs ‘Bait’
Oz funder hands out coin to 22 pics
A 3D shark pic from “Highlander” helmer Russell Mulcahy tops the list of 22 projects in Screen Australia’s final funding round of the year. “Bait 3D,” the first 3D pic backed by government coin, concerns a coastal town swamped by a tsunami that brings with it a pack of sharks. Pic is produced by Gary Hamilton, Todd Fellman and Ian Maycock. Org will also back “Burning Man” from “Better Than Sex” helmer Jonathan Teplitzky. Pic is a bittersweet father and son story that Teplitzky will co-produce with Andy Paterson.
Lautner’s ‘Moon’ mileage
Actor lines up Summit action vehicle
Summit Entertainment and producers Temple Hill are crafting an action vehicle for their “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner that shapes up as the first film after his breakthrough in “New Moon.” Summit has acquired an untitled script by Eric Champnella and Grant Thompson that is best described as a teenaged “Taken” meets “Die Hard.” After an injury sidelines a teen’s plans to be an elite soldier, he tries to get on with his life by heading to college. There he meets a girl who convinces him to join her friends on a spring-break trip to Cancun. When his traveling partners are kidnapped and ransomed for the freedom of a drug-cartel leader about to be extradited, the college student uses his warrior skills to rescue them.
Summit shifts into ‘Drive Angry’
Firm will distribute Nicolas Cage pic in North America
Summit Entertainment has picked up the North American distribution to the Nicolas Cage revenge movie “Drive Angry,” setting a release date of February 11, 2011. “Angry,” which is now in pre-production, centers on a man (Cage) driven by rage who is chasing the people who killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby. The vendetta/rescue spins out of control, as the chase gets bloodier by the mile, leaving bodies strewn along the highway.
Director Guy Ritchie Exclusive Interview SHERLOCK HOLMES
“It’s all on the screen. It’s funny actually, we went through this a couple weeks ago-three weeks ago-and we were looking for deleted scenes. There aren’t any. There’s not one. Everything’s in there which is rather disappointing actually, if you want to see deleted scenes, but no we were kind of efficient in that respect. We used everything.”
‘Creature From the Black Lagoon’ emerges
When director Breck Eisner parted ways with Universal’s remake of “Creature From the Black Lagoon” earlier this year, fans of the 1950s camp classic wondered if and when the new film would ever see the light of day. But now the story of Gill-Man and his victims is getting a new director — and possibly some new momentum. Carl Rinsch, the hot commercials director who recently signed on to direct the samurai adventure “47 Ronin” for Universal, is now also in talks to direct “Creature From the Black Lagoon” for the studio.
Danny Trejo Talks MACHETE. Could the Sequels be Called MACHETE KILLS and MACHETE KILLS AGAIN?
“Machete kicks ass. It is a culmination of Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico…there’s even a little bit of From Dusk ‘Til Dawn in there. I think it’s gonna be one of his best. And I’m not just saying that cause I’m the lead, it’s just a great movie. I think everybody’s gonna walk away from that movie with some opinion. It’s a battle for our border, you know? People are really serious about what’s going on with the border, and it shows the negative side of both sides. Not just, we want everybody to cross or we don’t want anybody to cross. It shows the negative side of both sides. Everybody’s gonna be pissed off.”
Robert Rodriguez Talks SIN CITY 2, MACHETE, and the Next SPY KIDS Movie
“I owe The Weinstein’s another movie and I’ve already turned in a script for Spy Kids, another Spy Kids, which is a reboot of Spy Kids. It’s different kids not the old kids and that one is really cool. I’d probably do that in the early part of next year March or April and then I do have something for later in the year, I can’t say what that one is though. Spy Kids I can say that cause they already announced it.”
‘Clash of the Titans’ done shooting? That’s a myth
“We’re going to be going back and shooting more scenes for it, they cut loose with some money so we can add to it,” Sam Worthington “We’re going to be shooting more scenes in January, so we’re going to be right up against it — the movie comes out in March. There were some creaky parts but they are the parts that we knew were creaky and that we knew were going to be creaky going into it. The studio is also letting us add some gods and scenes. And they’re talking about making the movie a 3D film.”
The Cutting Room Floor
- ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’ directors have a chance to direct ‘21 Jump Street’
- James Cameron talks about 3D’s industry implications
- SAVED BY THE BELL Movie in the Works
- James Cameron: Terminator has run its course
- A LOOK AT A FUTURE THAT STILL MIGHT BE- HARDWARE 2 SCRIPT ONLINE
- Spain’s Ibermedia hands funds to 40 pics
- ‘Get Smart’ Director Peter Segal eyes ‘Neighborhood Watch’
- Lionsgate Picks up Mystery Thriller called PANOPTICON
- ‘Sherlock Holmes Would Tear Tony Stark Up,’ Says Robert Downey Jr.
- Studio Ghibli to adapt Mary Norton’s book series ‘The Borrowers’
- Filmmaker Roundtable: Cameron, Jackson, Reitman, Tarantino, Bigelow and Daniels [Video]
- ‘Wild Hogs’ sequel stalls
- Maria Bello, Michael Sheen wrap ‘Beautiful Boy’
- Warner Brothers buys script for Steve Carell for nearly $2 million
- Steven Spielberg on ‘Avatar’: the most evocative sci-fi movie since ‘Star Wars’
- Swedish Music icon, Cornelis Vreeswijk, gets biopic
- Screen Australia supports first 3D title, Russell Mulcahy’s ‘Bait’
- Steve Carell, Tina Fey eyeing ‘Mail-Order Groom’ film
- VIDEO: James Cameron on ‘Avatar’ as a PSA
- Cinema Guild acquires US distrib rights to Jacques Rivette’s ‘Around a Small Mountain’
- DreamWorks to adapt Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel ‘War Horse’
- Michel Piccoli, 83, joins Nanni Moretti’s comedy ‘We Have a Pope’
- Pilar Lopez de Ayala joins Manoel de Oliveira’s ‘The Strange Case of Angelica’
- ‘Percy Jackson’ and ‘Clash of the Titans’ draw on same Greek myths but with epic differences
- Italo journo Roberto Saviano’s ‘ Tatanka scatenato’ (Raging Tatanka) to be adapted
- Sony nabs screen rights to crime novel ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
- The Hollywood Reporter critics list top films of 2009
- Watch the deleted ‘fire’ scene from District 9
- MARVIN THE MARTIAN Movie is Moving Forward possibly with Mike Meyers
- Bond 23 to Have a Shocking Story, Says Screenwriter Peter Morgan
- Wong Kar Wai’s ‘The Grand Master’ adds Korean star
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.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
The Great Movie Never Made – Podcast Special
Rare Unsigned Copy – Book Review
Universal Soldier: Regeneration – Podcast Review
The Big Racket – Movie Review
The Men Who Stare At Goats – CSW Podcast Review
Slice Of Life – Book Review
Games Roundup – Week Three, March 2010
Signs of the Apocalypse Roundup – March 2010 – Week 1
Comic News Roundup – March 2010 – Week 1
TV News Roundup – March 2010 – Week 1
The Top and Bottom 5 films of 2009 – A (Cool) Shite Poll
The (official unofficial) Top 5 Video Games of 2009!
Australia’s R18+ Discussion Paper and Submissions – The Great Debate
Separation City – Paul Middleditch Interview
Kick Ass: Aaron Johnson – Interview
Planet Hulk: Josh Fine – Interview
Star Chicks – Interview
Van Diemen’s Land: Jonathan auf der Heide – Interview
Predators – Movie Trailer
Predators – Featurette
The Losers – Movie Trailer
Tron Legacy – Full Trailer
Iron Man 2 – Trailer 2
