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Film News Roundup – January 2010 – Week 2

Film News Roundup – January 2010 – Week 2

Gerard Butler In ‘Machine Gun Preacher’
Gerard Butler has teamed with director Marc Forster to tell the story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing biker tough guy who found God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who’ve been kidnapped and pressed into duty as soldiers.

This Just In! Paul Reubens Spills The Beans On His Pee Wee’s Playhouse Movie
The plot of the movie is, in the opening of the movie, right in the middle of the cartoon the film jams, it burns, it’s blacked out and when the lights come back up, the King is gone. The King is missing. The King of Cartoons has been kidnapped. He’s being held hostage by a character named El Chunky Boobabi (sp?). Chris Rock has already given me his word he would play him. And El Chunky is holding the King of Cartoons for ransom. So it’s all in Puppet Land.

Mel Gibson Interview; Talks MAD MAX 4 and He’s Using Old Norse in His Viking Movie With Leonardo DiCaprio
“I’ve talked to George [Miller]. We talk all the time anyway,” said Gibson “I’m abreast of that.  He’s been trying to do this for years, the 4th installment.  At one point I was involved and it fell to bits… so now it’s probably gone through a lot of changes and I can’t wait to see it because everything he does is magic.  There is a touch of genius about George.”

‘The Karate Kid’ redo: testing through the roof
the film scored just below Sony’s highest research screening ever, 2005’s Hitch, which ironically starred Jaden Smith’s dad Will, the last reigning movie star. With positive scores in the 97th percentile, the movie, which doesn’t open until June 11, might be one of those films that outdoes everyone’s expectations. Not that it’s likely to match Hitch’s gross, but that film did earn close to $370 million worldwide.

Bill Murray finds ‘Passion’ with Megan Fox
Bill Murray is starring as the villain in “Passion Play,”  a romantic thriller being directed by Mitch Glazer. Rhys Ifans (“Notting Hill”) has also joined the cast which is being toplined by Megan Fox and Mickey Rourke. The period story tells the tale of a down-on-his-luck jazz trumpet player who forms a bond with a winged beauty (Fox) who’s now part of a sideshow attraction at a carnival.

Producer Mike De Luca on PRIEST and the Remake of FRIGHT NIGHT
“I get it that remakes are a drag to hear about. I’m on the Internet all the time. I know what they say. Like there’s no original ideas in Hollywood. I understand the responsibility on the remake front of things because there are fans…you have responsibility I think to the fans of the original and you also have the responsibility to not suck even more than something original because you have so many people expecting you to suck because of the predisposed bias against remakes and stuff.”

‘Jurassic Park 4′ News
Well, there is going to be a Jurassic Park IV. And it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve seen. It breaks away from the first three—it’s essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It’s going to be done in a completely different way. That’s pretty much all I can tell you.

Actor Louis Ozawa Changchien Talks Predators
Changchien plays Hanzo, one of the people abducted by Predators who must fight for his life in the alien’s hunting field on an alien planet. “He’s basically a mean yakuza,” says the actor of Hanzo. “A yakuza abducted by the Predators. Very much feared and very skilled. Excellent gun man and also competent with a sword.”

Director already plans 2 sequels to the apocalyptic Legion
“I have two other films in mind after Legion.Yeah, we talked about it, and I have mapped out two other very different kinds of movies. Of course, it’s too early to say how if it will happen, but I want to do something different and change the genre quite a bit, like James Cameron does with his sequels. I can see this as a three-part story, and the next part would be a very broad kind of movie,” Stewart said. “I would open up the next movie [with the Legion] characters, and make it more accessible to a bigger audience,” director Scott Stewart said. “That is my goal.”

Director Stephen Norrington finds ‘The Lost Patrol’
Stephen Norrington has come aboard to write and direct, “The Lost Patrol” for Legendary Pictures. Plot details are being kept under wraps though it is described as a supernatural action thriller set against the backdrop of World War II. The project was picked up as a spec last year by Andrew Hilton. Matt Cirulnick did a previous rewrite.

Choi, Lee star in Kim’s ‘Saw a Devil’
Korean director prepping heist pic ‘Max’
South Korean helmer Kim Ji-woon has cast “Oldboy” topliner Choi Min-sik and Korean Wave star Lee Byung-hun in thriller “Saw a Devil.” Lee, who was last seen in “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” plays a man pursuing the psychopath, played by Choi, who killed his fiancee.

Kevin Spacey in Chinese film
Actor to star in Mandarin/English-language pic
Kevin Spacey has signed on to star in director Dayyan Eng’s black comedy “Inseparable.” Spacey’s involvement makes him the highest-profile Hollywood actor to ever star in a Chinese production. The film, which will be shot in Mandarin and English, centers on a young man (Daniel Wu) with problems at home and work who is befriended by a mysterious American expat (Spacey). Beibi Gong also stars as the investigative-reporter wife of Wu’s character.

Tatum, Angarano go for ‘Knockout’
Pair set for Soderbergh’s action-thriller
Channing Tatum and Michael Angarano have joined the cast of Stephen Soberbergh’s action-thriller “Knockout.” Thesps are joining Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, and martial arts champ Gina Carano. “Knockout” marks the screen starring debut of Carano, who’s portraying a top-level private security operative, who’s convinced she has been betrayed by her boss and the government and goes on the run to prove her suspicions are true.

Hideo Nakata to direct ‘Incite Mill’
Horipro produces Japanese psycho thriller
Horror maestro Hideo Nakata (“Ring,” “Ring 2″) has inked with talent shop Horipro to helm psychological suspenser “The Incite Mill.” Pic, based on Honobu Yonezawa’s eponymous bestseller, tells a “Big Brother”-ish tale of 10 people hired for a “job” paying $1,200 per hour, only to find themselves locked in an underground complex and forced to play a murderous game for seven days.

‘Paranormal Activity 2′ gets ready with ‘Saw VI’ director
Paramount has hired screenwriter Michael R. Perry and director Kevin Greutert to create the sequel to 2009’s biggest surprise hit, “Paranormal Activity,” which scared up $151 million in worldwide grosses in the fall on a shoestring $15,000 budget and a shrewd, opt-in Web marketing campaign.

The Cutting Room Floor

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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About The Author

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Scott is an art director, writer and comics creator living in Los Angeles. He has been a pop culture maven from a very young age. His very first job was as a manager of a comic book store. He spent several years working in a video store, and yes, we are talking VHS tapes. A student of literature and Writing, he brings his obsessive love of comic book trivia, movie history and science fiction/fantasy writing to bear on the work he does for CoolShite.

Article Information

  • Posted: Thursday, January 21st, 2010
  • Author: Scott From LA
  • Filed Under: Movie News,News
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