David R. Ellis Reveals KITE Remake Details
Moviehole caught up with director David R. Ellis recently and, in the midst of discussing the box office reception to SHARK NIGHT 3D (seems it was popular enough to possibly spawn a sequel), managed to squeeze in a few questions about his upcoming live-action remake of the Japanese anime (actually hentai) KITE.
While the original KITE centered around a young girl (really young…so young that the original film was banned in a good many countries) forced into a dark world of sexual debauchery and professional assassination by the corrupt cop who murdered her parents, this new version is going to shift gears a bit. Kinda has to in order to be more marketable to the masses. Now the film will be a character-driven actioner centered on a young woman living in a failed state, post-financial collapse, where the corrupt security force profits on the trafficking of young women. When her father, a cop, is slain by someone dirty inside the force, she vows to track the murderer down with the help of her father’s ex-partner — never realizing he is, in fact, the man who had her father killed.
Is anyone really shocked to see that most of the hentai stuff (which really comprised about half the runtime of the original 60-minute feature) has been deleted in favor of semi-relevant political commentary? Guess that’s the way of the world as of late: Sneak in the jabs at the government wherever you can fit them.
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Screen Gems To Remake THE RAID
THR is reporting that TIFF Midnight Madness sensation THE RAID is getting the remake treatment. Screen Gems, the studio responsible for THE ROOMMATE and PRIEST 3D, is in negotiations for the rights. The hope here, I assume, is for Gems to recreate the financial success they had when remade the Spanish horror pic [REC] as QUARANTINE.
The reality here is that a big-budget (probably PG-13 and starring Gems fav Cam Gigandet) redo has probably sidelined Sony’s plan to release the original theatrically. Expect it to be shuffled off to the DVD and Blu-Ray sometime early 2012.
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Lussier And Farmer No Longer Attached To Dimension’s HELLRAISER Reboot
Todd Farmer and Patrick Lussier (the duo behind MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D) are no longer attached to Dimension’s 3D reboot of Clive Barker’s HELLRAISER, according to Bloody Disgusting. Farmer recently sat down with BD and talked Pinhead, HALLOWEEN 3D and a new series that he and Lussier are working on, but the big news presented itself in the first question:
Bloody Disgusting: So what is the status with ‘Hellraiser’? Are you guys still involved?
Todd Farmer: I don’t think so. We developed several versions for Dimension, but in the end we never saw eye to eye creatively. We wish them the best and look forward to seeing what they come up with.
Considering INSIDE duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury have been rumored to be attached to Pinhead’s big comeback for a few months now, I’m not sure this is news. I am sure that there was never an official announcement stating the project had swapped hands. Seen lots of rumors that so-and-so left and these guys came in, but nothing official. Farmer saying he and Lussier are off the project is as probably as close to an official announcement as were going to get.
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SHARK NIGHT 3D Director To Helm Remake Of Ultra-Violent Anime KITE
Little late with this bit, but I guess late is better than never. Variety is reporting that David R. Ellis (the stunt-man-turned-director who brought the world SNAKES ON A PLANE and SHARK NIGHT 3D) is attached to direct a live-action adaptation of the 1998 anime KITE. Flick is set to be produced by Anant Singh and Brian Cox (who I’m pretty sure is NOT the actor who appeared in X2 and MANHUNTER) through their Distant Horizon production banner.
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CONAN THE BARBARIAN
Marcus Nipsel’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN begins with a scene so over-the-top, so viscerally shocking and so flat-out ballsy that I was almost inclined to give the film six bullets based on that bit alone. I won’t spoil the moment (it is far too good a bit to spoil here), but know that when the posters and trailers say that Conan (Jason Momoa) was “born on the battlefield” they are not joking. Dude was literally born on the battlefield! And delivered into this world by Ron Perlman no less! Hellboy delivered Conan unto the world!! Nerdgasm!
Unfortunately, the film (as good as it is) never reaches the heights of that sequence again nor does it ever reach the levels of greatness achieved by the 1982 version of CONAN THE BARBARIAN directed by John Milius. Yes, I realize the ‘82 version isn’t a “classic” in the truest sense of the word. Flick is basically a b-movie that did well for itself and made a star of a heavily-accented Austrian who was mostly then known for bodybuilding achievements and not his acting skills. Thing is, the ‘82 CONAN works. Not just as an action movie, but as…I don’t know…an art film. This new take on the character is less impressive.
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Theatrical Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN
Marcus Nipsel’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN begins with a scene so over-the-top, so viscerally shocking and so flat-out ballsy that I was almost inclined to give the film six bullets based on that bit alone. I won’t spoil the moment (it is far too good a bit to spoil here), but know that when the posters and trailers say that Conan (Jason Momoa) was “born on the battlefield” they are not joking. Dude was literally born on the battlefield! And delivered into this world by Ron Perlman no less! Hellboy delivered Conan unto the world!! Nerdgasm!
Unfortunately, the film (as good as it is) never reaches the heights of that sequence again nor does it ever reach the levels of greatness achieved by the 1982 version of CONAN THE BARBARIAN directed by John Milius. Yes, I realize the ‘82 version isn’t a “classic” in the truest sense of the word. Flick is basically a b-movie that did well for itself and made a star of a heavily-accented Austrian who was mostly then known for bodybuilding achievements and not his acting skills. Thing is, the ‘82 CONAN works. Not just as an action movie, but as…I don’t know…an art film. This new take on the character is less impressive.
Click on the pic to read my full review…
Lionsgate And Director Kenny Ortega Are Rebooting DIRTY DANCING
File this one under “Sh*t That Was Bound To Happen”: Deadline is reporting that Lionsgate has hired director/choreographer Kenny Ortega to direct the remake of DIRTY DANCING. It should be noted that Ortega has previous history with DANCING– he was the one who choreographed all the famous moves in the original and he did helm two whole episodes of the short-lived TV spin-off series. Big whoop, I know.
Want to know the reason that why DIRTY DANCING redo will never work? It has nothing to do with the original being a cult classic (it is cult, people) or the fact that Lionsgate has previously attempted to mine this franchise for box office gold (Remember DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS?) and failed…no, it has to do with a little thing called luck. The makers of the original were lucky. Oh sure, there was talent and some desire to get this story out right, but it was mostly luck. They took a story that was a little sleazy (16-year-old girl hooks up a dance instructor who‘s looks every day of 30), a bunch of side crap that should’ve never been in a PG-13 movie (abortion, both date and statutory rape, forbidden dancing, male prostitution), a metric sh*t ton of anachronistic little bits and bobs (Ever notice the fact that both 80s fashion and music manage to weave their way into a film clearly set in the 60s?) and somehow managed to make a film that worked. DIRTY DANCING is not high art nor is it some untouchable film classic, but it is something that people respond to and love.
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Alexandre Aja Developing TV Show Based On David Cronenberg’s SCANNERS
Dimension and PIRANHA 3D helmer Alexandre Aja are developing a TV series based on David Cronenberg’s 1981 head-popper SCANNERS, according to Deadline. Aja is set to produce the series and will potentially direct the pilot. The series appears to be a last ditch effort by Dimension to do something with the property after multiple failed attempts to theatrically reboot it (last I’d heard BATMAN BEGINS scribe David Goyer and SAW III helmer Darren Lynn Bousman were working were involved).
Having seen SCANNERS recently, I can safely say that I’m 100% behind the idea of a reboot. Yes, Michael Ironside causing some poor bastard’s noggin to pop like a blood-filled water balloon was amazing. But, outside of that brilliant moment, SCANNERS is far from classic. It’s actually quite boring really. Had the head explosion and the batshit finale not been included, I doubt it would’ve ever achieved cult status.
So yeah, this is one of those rare occasions where a reboot (especially a series that could expand the origin/mythology of the “Scanners”) might actually trump the original. Aja’s involvement is a good sign. Bringing it to cable (HBO or Starz perhaps?) would be a better one. Convincing Ironside to return in some capacity could potentially catapult this to instant glory.
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Kaneda Unhappy That Warner Is Still Trying To Reboot AKIRA; Tetsuo Unavailable For Comment
AKIRA lives! Yay?
Variety is reporting that Jaume Collet-Serra (director of the excellent ORPHAN, the kinda okay HOUSE OF WAX remake and the thoroughly disappointing Liam Neeson actioner UNKNOWN) has been tapped by Warner to revive the live-action adaptation of AKIRA. Warner hopes that, rather than following previous director Allen Hughes’s vision of a massively expensive two-part R-rated epic, Serra will deliver a single film. One that won’t cost 300 million dollars to produce, will be delivered on time (a Collet-Serra trademark) and will be palatable to the masses. In other words, a PG-13 nightmare along the lines of the recent DRAGONBALL movie. Yay???
Just let this flick die already! The hardcore fans don’t want it and the non-fans have no idea what the hell this property is, so what’s the point of this? Why is Warner jonesing so hard to bring this to the big screen? And, seriously, how is a 90 minute long abomination going to make this situation any better? I mean, the two-parter with the guy who directed THE BOOK OF ELI was bad enough, but this? This is hurtful. Almost like Warner and producer Leonardo DiCaprio are aiming to piss off fans…like me. And yeah, I’m pissed. “Boycott the f**king movie” pissed.
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Film Bites: Get The Flea Powder, The Trailer For THE HOWLING REBORN Has Arrived!
The first trailer for THE HOWLING REBORN has popped up over on STYD and it ain’t pretty. Hardcore fans of this franchise (who’ve basically had to endure a multitude of sh*tty sequels leading up to this full-on reboot) are pretty much going to lose their minds when they see that their beloved franchise has been ripped apart and reconfigured as a hairy TWILIGHT clone. Nothing like seeing a bunch of filmmakers reboot a classic horror film that they clearly didn’t understand.
I will admit that that the second half of this trailer has me moderately intrigued (some of the images seem to point to epic werewolves VS humans battle and the flamethrower bit is a nice nod to NIGHT OF THE CREEPS), but the first half damn near caused me to throw up. Werewolves are supposed to be scary and evil, not weepy and love-stricken.
Click on the pic to check it out…
Theatrical Reviews
- STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
- IRON MAN 3
- SINISTER
- PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4
- TAKEN 2
- PITCH PERFECT
- HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET
- DREDD 3D
- LOOPER
- RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION 3D
- THE EXPENDABLES 2
- TOTAL RECALL
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