Tagged: film

Tennant to be Time Lord on Screens Both Big and Small?

  • News
  • September 10, 2008

The Sun in the UK is reporting today that David Tennant’s negotiations to return for a fifth season as Doctor Who may include a guarantee that he star in the much-rumored feature film. The contract being dangled before the 37-year old actor is reported to be worth £1.5 million.

An unnamed source told the tabloid, “For ages, BBC Worldwide held the rights and were planning to make a movie, but it got held up and former BBC1 boss Lorraine Heggessey decided to bring back the TV series in 2005.

“But everyone is keen now and the fans are clamoring. Part of David’s conundrum is that he wants to do films, so this looks like it would solve both issues.”

Peter Cushing in 1965 and Paul McGann in 1996 both starred as the Doctor in previous film versions. Tennant is already committed to four specials and a Christmas story for airing in 2009.

20th to Rely on Mutants and Blind Men to Lead Them Back to Health

  • News
  • September 10, 2008

xmen-origins-wolverine-still2-8708204As reported during our weekly box office items, this was not a good summer for 20th-Century Fox. We’re not the only ones to notice and an analysis in Variety shows the depth of their troubles as the studio has tumbled from its number one spot, getting through the lucrative season without a single film to break the $100 million box office barrier for success.

The lack of a break out film is partly being blamed on X-Men Origins: Wolverine being a year behind its anticipated release.  This was precipitated by Hugh Jackman agreeing to star in Australia, opening this fall, but pushing back Wolverine’s schedule. The production proved troubling with the studio nearly firing director Gavin Hood until Richard Donner flew to the Outback to smooth things over on the project, being produced by his wife, Lauren Shuler Donner.

Coming to their rescue, could be other Marvel Super-Heroes.  In addition to Wolverine, David S. Goyer’s X-Men Origins: Magneto inches towards green light.  Following could be the Young X-Men project we tipped you off to a while back. Now they include on their development slate Deadpool, possibly spinning out of Wolverine.  Ryan Reynolds plays the merc with a mouth and could gain his own spotlight.

They’re even thinking of rebooting Daredevil, the way Paramount rebooted Universal’s Hulk.  A director’s cut of Mark Steven Johnson’s film is due out September 30 and its performance could influence the decision.

First, they need to win back to the fanboys who are outraged that Fox’s lawsuit might deprive them of seeing Watchmen next March.
 

Hoffman as Penguin is news to Hoffman

  • News
  • September 9, 2008

The problem with smash hit films is that everyone immediately begins speculating about the sequel.  After all, Hollywood is driven by success and “tent pole” films are necessary for business.  Its one reason, studios stake out release dates years in advance, sometimes before there’s even a script (see Spider-Man 4).

Since the box office records shattered with The Dark Knight, everyone has been running around guessing who might be in the running for the third film from Christopher Nolan. Actors have let it be known they’re interested whether appropriate or not to the part.  The merest hint news sends news around the Internet in a nanosecond.

As a result, retractions, clarifications or denunciations follow just a tad slower.

No sooner did the dust settle from the Cher-as-Catwoman nonsense, MTV began reporting that Michael Caine received Warner Bros. confirmation that the next movie in the series will offer up Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin.

Of course, Nolan insists he hasn’t thought once about the next film, preferring to concentrate on a non-Bat feature as a palette cleanser before returning to Gotham City.

Hoffman, who would be terrific in just about any part short of Catwoman, told The Stone Report that ”Some friend of mine told me he read that [rumor]", Hoffman reported from the Toronto Film Festival. "First I heard of it. I don’t think so.

"I grew up a comic book fan, so I love that stuff. I love going to that stuff. I think what they’re doing with that whole Batman story is really true to what that whole Batman thing has always been. It’s one of the darkest origins of a super-hero, to get all nerdy and geeky on you. That character sees his parents gunned down as a young child. I remember when I was a kid reading that story, so seeing it now come to life as the dark tale that it really is as an intense, really dark, very visceral, adult tale that they’re doing now, all the great work people are doing on it, of course I wouldn’t say, ‘Well, no, no no.’ But I don’t know the reality of it, so I wouldn’t say ‘yes’ to you."

Marvel isn’t immune from this nonsense either as they had to quickly stomp out the word that Will Smith was being cast as Steve Rogers in the Captain America movie.  Previously, rumor had it Cap would be played by Matthew McConnaughy.

 

Review: ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’

By Allan Lamberti

terminator-season-2-2363631Easily one of the highest anticipated returns for this fall season, Terminator has been a franchise that has kept fans interested since the mid 80’s (despite the backlash against the third film). When the television series was announced, fan curiosity piqued immediately, and we all became hooked to the all-too-short first season. From the clever time-traveling aspect of the pilot (that does in fact work well within the continuity of the films), straight through to the awkward season finale (clearly shortened due to the writer’s strike), they sold the fans on another season to watch the continuing saga of the Connor family.

The first episode of this season, entitled “Samson and Delilah,” gets off to an interesting start. Picking up immediately where the first season ended, a group of men attack Sarah (Lena Headey), John (Thomas Dekker), and terminator Cameron (Summer Glau). The men are killed, but as a result of the battle, Cameron’s chip is damaged and her mission has been altered from protecting John to terminating him. Ms. Glau, doing her best Schwarzenegger impression from the first film, is hunting them through the streets while they are injured and on the run. We also see the return of Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green) who is hiding in Sarah’s former lover’s ambulance hoping to get the Connor’s to safety before Cameron finds them. FBI Agent Ellison (Richard T. Jones) returns, as does the other terminator Cromartie (Garret Dillahunt, who has been promoted to series regular). We also meet Shirley Manson of the band Garbage, seemingly playing an evil corporate version of herself.

The good: the action and effects budget has certainly been amped up for this season, a very good sign that Fox actually has some faith in the show continuing on for a longer run. The actors have also grown into their roles a lot more. Ms. Headey is still very capable in her interpretation as Sarah, while Mr. Dekker is gradually becoming a better future-leader John Connor. Ms. Glau’s Cameron actually behaved far more like a “classic” terminator should, slow-moving and menacing – my guess is that the show runners made the decision to tone down the more comical aspects of her from last season and make her more like the film terminators we’ve come to enjoy. While Cameron’s “panic” and begging while pinned between the two trucks was becoming slightly ridiculous and stupid, thankfully the writers had John do the right thing in not listening to her.
 

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‘Watchmen’ Lawsuit Explained for You

  • News
  • September 4, 2008

In a story that has had more twists and turns than the graphic novel it’s based on, the legal battle over the movie rights to Watchmen is in the final stretch.  Gary Allen Feess, a federal judge, set a trial date of January 6th for the copyright suit between 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers.  The date is two months before the film’s scheduled release.

The comics readers, wary of anyone attempting to adapt Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal graphic novel, was set ablaze once they saw the trailer in front of The Dark Knight.  Unfortunately shortly after the trailer was released the fate of the film was almost immediately put in doubt when a federal judge’s ruling allowed Fox to seek to block the release.  Fox claims that the film infringes on their rights stemming from their attempt to adapt the acclaimed graphic novel in the early ’90s.

They key to this story legally is the concept of "turnaround".  When a studio abandons a property they put it into turnaround, basically saying that another studio can take the property and develop it but they have to compensate the original studio for development costs plus interest. 
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Tarzan Returns to the Big Screen

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

Tarzan is returning to the Big Screen but not as an animated musical sequel from Disney but a played-for-straight adventure from Warner Bros, and director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy). Variety reports this morning that Sommers and Stuart Beattie will be co-writing the screenplay. The duo last worked together on 2009’s G.I. Joe film for Paramount, which recently completed lensing.

Producer Jerry Weintraub has been trying to mount a new live-action version of Tarzan since 2003, working from a screenplay by John August (Shazam!) and at one point Guillermo del Toro was in talks to direct the film.

Ever since Edgar Rice Burroughs first wrote about his man raised by the apes in 1912, it has been repeatedly interpreted for serials, movies, radio, television and comic books. Burroughs penned some 23 books featuring his character in addition to creating other fantastic realms and characters including John carter, Warlord of Mars and Pellucidar.  While Johnny Weismuller’s performance informed the image in the minds of a generation or two of moviegoers, today more people probably know him from the 1999 Disney animated feature.

This will be Warner’s second go-round with the Lord of the Jungle after 1984’s underrated Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes from Hugh Hudson.  The film introduced us to actor Christopher Lambert later known for Highlander.  Warner’s television network, the CW, had a disastrous version of Tarzan in 2003.
 

‘Kick-Ass’ Starts Shooting Shortly

  • News
  • September 2, 2008

One of the surprise hits for Marvel this year was Kick-Ass, the series from Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. In addition to sell outs and multiple printings, it was optioned for a film prior to the first issue hitting the stands this past winter.

The movie, to be directed by Stardust’s Matthew Vaughn, stars Nicholas Cage and as the would-be hero, 18-year-old Aaron Johnson (Angus, Thongs & Snogging). While in Australia promoting Angus, he told Moviehole he goes from Down Under to Canada to begin shooting in a few weeks.

"Next week I’ll be in Toronto. I’m still trying to get my head around it. I just came back from New York actually where I was doing an independent film. I’ve gone from one side of the world to the other. My head is going crazy. I woke up this morning and said ‘Where am I?’ I looked out the window and saw the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and I’m like ‘Wow! How did I end up in Australia?’. Have you ever seen that film Jumper? It’s like I’m in Jumper."

As the teen turned costumed crimefighter, he won’t be required to do a lot of stunt work compared with the other members of the cast. "There’s a younger girl in it. [Chloe Moretz, Dirty Sexy Money] and Nicolas Cage do a lot of the fighting. I don’t do much fighting – I get my faced kicked in a lot though. She goes around with a samurai sword cutting people’s heads off. It’s very violent obviously. It’s going to be quite a crazy one. I play an American comic book nerd so it’s very different from the sex god roles".

The movie has been adapted by Jane Goldman who previously worked with Vaughn on adapting Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess’s graphic novel to the screen. The film will also star Lyndsy Fonseca (Desperate Housewives) and Omari Hardwick (Saved). A 2009 release date is anticipated.
 

Actors Want Odd Parts

  • News
  • September 2, 2008

russell-crowe-picture-4-3310925Competing Sherlock Holmes movies will be racing to see who can get before the cameras faster.  Guy Ritchie (Rocknrolla)’s version already has Robert Downey, Jr. on board as Holmes but now Russell Crowe says he wants to play Watson. He was quoted in Australia’s Daily Herald as indicating this desire although an anonymous source was cited. 

Crowe is looking for a project now that his Robin Hood film with Ridley Scott is on hold for at least a year.

Meantime, also in Australia, Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia was quoted by Showbiz Spy indicating his desire to play a decided adult Boy Wonder. "I always thought I would make a great Robin. I would love to be Christian Bale’s sidekick in Batman," he told the reporter. "Even when I was younger I never wanted to be Batman." Of course, director Christopher Nolan has already said for years now that his film version of the Caped Crusader will never feature a Wonder – boy, teen or adult.

This, on the heels of the absurd notion of Cher as Catwoman, means we have years of casting rumors to endure before Nolan mounts the third film in the franchise.
 

Batman Breaks $500 Million Barrier

  • News
  • September 1, 2008

The summer box office ended anemically although The Dark Knight did as expected, and sailed past the $500 million domestic box office mark.  By doing so in just 45 days puts it on a faster pace than the #1 champ, Titanic. With $11 million for the four-day weekend, the film stands at $504,696,000. Add in the $416,700,000 from foreign receipts and the film has earned Warner Bros. $919,121,000 (this despite our report that it’s tanking in Japan).

Warner Bros. has recently revised their estimate of the film’s final domestic number to $530 million, down from the $550 million it announced in mid-August. On the other hand, adjusted for inflation, the film rises from 49th on the All-Time chart to 30th as of this weekend and will likely climb a little higher before all is said and done. Not bad for a sequel to a super-hero movie.

To put this into additional perspective, The Dark Knight alone will account for almost one-eighth of the summer box office, which saw dozens of films open and many turned out to underperform. The summer b.o. is anticipated to close today with $4.2 billion in ticket sales.

Tropic Thunder remained atop the weekend chart in its third week of release, locating some $83.8 million along the way. Right behind it was the opening weekend for Babylon A.D. which was savaged by its director and the critics but still took in $9.7 million.  The better-reviewed Traitor, with Don Cheadle, opened in fifth place, taking in just $7.9 million.

Comedy had a tough summer as veterans Mike Meyers and Eddie Murphy crashed and burned and even inexpensive spoofs like the just opened Disaster Movie and the beer-soaked College opened poorly. Thunder and Pineapple Express were the exceptions, showing a shifting taste in theatrical comedies.

If any studio suffered, it was 20th-Century Fox which misfired with Meet Dave, Space Chimps, The Rocker, Mirrors, and most notably X-Files: I Want To Believe.
 

Paramount to use Mobile Comics

  • News
  • August 29, 2008

Paramount Pictures is embracing the mobile content aspect of movie marketing by hiring Singapore-based Omnitoons to craft comic stories based on current films.  According to Variety, the first film will be Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, a British feature from Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham). The movie is currently in release throughout Europe but lacks a domestic release date.

The Manga-style stories will appear on enabled phones in single panel manner with each strips taking up to four screens and short stories up to 20 screens. The next release to receive this treatment will be the Shia LaBeouf actioner Eagle Eye. Mission: Impossible, not currently an active film franchise, was also mentioned in the story indicating Paramount is examining their library for appropriate series to work with.

The mobile comics are now available in MMS and J2ME formats in the U.S., Australia, Europe and India. The phone companies will likely treat these promotional comics as premium content and will charge users for downloading each installment.

"By adapting movies to the mobile comics format, we believe fans will be able to extend their entertainment experience at their own pace, with the privacy of their phone," Karen New, CEO of Omnitoons, told the trade. "Omnitoons aims to continue our pursuit of bridging the mobile and movie industries by creating even more comics based on popular film titles through innovative and cost-efficient techniques.”
 

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