Warner And New Line Have Given Up On Trying To ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK
According to Deadline, Warner and New Line have dropped the option to reboot John Carpenter’s 1981 sci-fi classic ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. The project has burned through a good many directors (Breck Eisner, Brett Ratner and Len Wiseman were all attached at various points) and stars (Gerard Butler, Tom Hardy, Jeremy Renner, Timothy Olyphant and Josh Brolin were all rumored to be up for the new Snake Plissken) over the last couple of years only to yield zero results.
I’d love to say that I’m over the moon ecstatic that this fell apart (I am) and good riddance, but all this announcement means is that New Line and Warner won’t be the ones behind a reboot if one happens. The property is up for grabs now and I’m sure there are a number of studios just waiting to snatch it up. All this has done is delay the inevitable.
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TRANSFORMERS Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura Prepping SPACE INVADERS Pic
The arcade classic SPACE INVADERS is coming to the big screen, according to THR. Lorenzo di Bonaventura (producer of other toy/game-based films such as DOOM, G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA and TRANSFORMERS) has optioned the property with Gigi Pritzker of Odd Lot Entertainment. The two are currently on the lookout for a writer to whip up a story.
Listen, I know what your thinking. You’re probably thinking that making SPACE INVADERS into a movie is a dumb idea and you’re right. There’s no characters in INVADERS, no plot, no story, no mythology. There’s absolutely nothing in that game that can be extracted to produce a screenplay. Any writer who accepts this gig will simply be writing an alien invasion pic that will have a tiny bit of name recognition attached to it. And, to be quite honest, I’m not sure how much name value the INVADERS franchise really has with today’s gamers. I know I dropped the title to a couple of under 20-somethings earlier and neither had a clue what I was talking about.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that this really isn’t so much a bad idea but more of an idea. There’s nothing to really complain about. I love alien invasion flicks and I love video games. As long as a SPACE INVADERS movie gets the invasion part right and then does a little shout-out to the game (have some soldiers mowing down aliens from behind giant shields and I’m sold), I’ll be okay. Maybe a little annoyed that a name from my childhood was cannibalized to create something with mass market appeal, but okay.
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Warner Gives GREEN LANTERN 2 A Green Light
According to THR, Warner has green-lit (ha) a sequel to GREEN LANTERN. This might come as a surprise to most folks considering LANTERN didn’t exactly perform well at the box office (Warner admits that they are “disappointed” with the numbers but that they expect the film to do well on DVD/Blu-Ray and on cable) and was violently lambasted by most film critics (myself included).
I’m not totally sure how to feel about this. On one hand, a sequel wouldn’t be saddled with the same baggage that the first film had (no need to rehash Hal’s journey to becoming a hero or how he got the ring) and it could get to the good stuff quicker. The good stuff being anything concerning the Green Lantern Corps, Oa, space, Sinestro, any of that stuff. Give audiences a sequel in which Hal (Ryan Reynolds) is seen zipping around the galaxy and basically being the badass that we know he can be and audiences will, more likely than not, be pretty happy.
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Film Bites: Prepare Yourself For The Last HARRY POTTER Theatrical Trailer Ever
What you’re about to witness is the last HARRY POTTER theatrical trailer ever. As in, no more. This is the end, my friend. No more POTTER pics. Well, no more until J.K Rowling decides she needs another beach house and then cranks out some HARRY POTTER: THE NEXT GENERATION nonsense that Warner will, no doubt, immediately option and shove into production. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint can say all day that this is the end and they won’t come back, but when Warner shoves a fat bag of cash in front of them, they’ll come back. They always come back.
Speaking of Rowling, have you heard about POTTERMORE? Wonder what that’s all about? Click HERE to check out the YouTube channel she set up and click HERE to scope the official site. Wouldn’t shock me that when the timer (both sites currently have a simple timer counting down to…something) hits zero, Rowling announces a new series of books set in the Potter-verse. Rowling’s gotta eat.
Anyways, back on point, here’s the final trailer for HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II. Watch it, absorb it, know this is the end and grab the tissues. Tears will be welling up. Click on the pic to check it out…
Warner To Digitally Remove Tyson Tattoo From DVD/Blu Release Of THE HANGOVER PART II
If you’ve seen THE HANGOVER PART II then you already know that one of the best gags in the movie is when Stu (Ed Helms) wakes up after the Wolfpack’s wild night in Thailand and discovers that his face has been inked. And he‘s not just been inked with any old face tat, but a perfect copy of the one Mike Tyson has. It’s a funny little bit that serves as a kick-off point for some of the better jokes in the movie and really isn’t that big a deal, right?
Wrong. Turns out that one little face tattoo is the center of an on-going lawsuit between Warner Bros and S. Victor Whitmill, the man who designed it for Mike Tyson. Turns out that nobody on THE HANGOVER PART II crew bothered getting permission to use it before shooting began (ink is ink and that tat is an original piece of art designed by an artist) and Whitmill feels that his copyright has been infringed upon.
Whitmill attempted to stop THE HANGOVER PART II from hitting theaters, but a judge vetoed that back in May. However, the case is still ongoing and Warner has been informed that if a resolution cannot be made then they will have to digitally remove the tattoo from the film before it hits DVD, Blu-Ray and Cable this December.
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Albert Hughes Exits AKIRA; David O. Russell No Longer Searching For DRAKE’S FORTUNE
Double blow for genre fans today as David O. Russell has bailed on the big-screen adaptation of DRAKE’S FORTUNE and Albert Hughes has left Warner’s remake of AKIRA. No word yet on why Russell decided to leave but one could safely assume that his vision for the flick (a family-oriented adventure flick that Mark Wahlberg, Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci were circling) clashed with what the studio wanted (big dumb summer action fluff). That’s just my opinion based on the sketchy info that’s been made available up to this point.
I’m sure fanboys of FORTUNE are happy about Russell’s departure as they’ve been pretty vocal that he was the wrong director for the job. I’m apt to agree, but I don’t really care either way. Haven’t played the games that inspired this flick and probably won’t anytime soon, so my opinion is kinda moot.
As for Hughes leaving AKIRA, I’m okay with this. Yeah, it would’ve been nice if Hughes had brought some of that BOOK OF ELI magic to AKIRA and made this into a smart blockbuster. But…and this is a big one…Hughes wanted Keanu Reeves for the Tetsuo role and that leads me to believe his heart wasn’t in the right place. Like maybe Warner was pushing for this to be more a new MATRIX franchise rather than a true blue adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s graphic novel. Not sure where this leaves the project, but I’m sure it isn’t a good place. Wager to guess “development hell” till Warner finds another sap to work on it.
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Warner Reveals Storyline For Tim Burton And Johnny Depp’s DARK SHADOWS Reboot
With the filming of Tim Burton’s DARK SHADOWS reboot underway, Warner has decided to release a full synopsis of the film. While the following might be a little spoiler-ish to neophytes, hardcore fans of the franchise will be happy to see that Burton is remaining faithful to the already established mythos. Even though is just a simple synopsis, I think it’s safe to say that Burton is going to do right by Barnabas Collins and that makes my dark little fanboy heart happy.
Click on the pic to check it out…
300 Prequel No Longer Titled XERXES; Zack Snyder Still Attached To Direct
300 doesn’t need a sequel, prequel or any kind of follow-up. 300 was a pretty fantastic movie that works best as a standalone feature. There, I said it. My opinion exists. Let’s move on.
Despite my opinion, Warner and producer Mark Canton have been working hard on a 300 prequel titled XERXES. I’ve mentioned it here a few times before. Zack Snyder is set to return to the director’s chair, but this hasn’t really been totally confirmed yet and there is a rumor that Guy Ritchie might replace him. But, for the time being and for the sake of this story, let’s just say that Snyder is directing the film.
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Film Bites: THE HANGOVER PART II Trailer
Not much to really say here other than the trailer for THE HANGOVER PART II is below and the flick looks to be more of the same. Guess that’s a good thing if you’re a fan of the first movie and a not-so-good thing if you weren’t one. Either way, director Todd Phillips is obviously going with the “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” method for this sequel. Prep your expectations accordingly.
Click on the pic to check it out…
Zack Snyder’s SUPERMAN Reboot In Trouble? SUCKER PUNCH Not Testing Well? Guy Ritchie Taking Over XERXES? The Rumor Mill Explodes!
I’ve always found it interesting how the Hollywood popularity scale works. One week you’re up, the next you’re down and, if the winds are right, you might be completely out of favor in the space of a few days. This up-and-down process seems to be what is happening to director Zack Snyder.
A few months back, all the movie sites and blogs were abuzz at the announcement that Snyder would be helming Warner’s big budget SUPERMAN reboot. Word had it that producer Christopher Nolan (director of INCEPTION and THE DARK KNIGHT) had hand-picked Snyder from a list that included the likes of Darren Aronofsky, Tony Scott, Matt Reeves and Duncan Jones. All solid choices, but the guy who’d brought Warner 300 was the one who got the job.
And personally, I think Snyder is a solid choice. His visual style and ability to bring comic book sensibilities to the big screen is going to lend itself well to the SUPERMAN franchise.
However, not all is good in Snyder world. WATCHMEN was far from the hit that Warner had hoped it would be. His last film, the 3D kiddie CG epic LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE, spectacularly underperformed and ended up being a huge black mark on Warner’s 2010 fiscal year. And his next, SUCKER PUNCH, is apparently not testing very well.
Click to read more and find out why Guy Ritchie is now helming the 300 prequel XERXES…
Theatrical Reviews
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