Posted Nov 25th 2009 3:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Casting, Scripts
In 1982,
Ben Kingsley became Mahatma Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's
Gandhi. The film instantly became a classic and went on to dominate the Oscars, earning Best Picture, Director, Actor, Writing, Editing, Costume Design, Cinematography, and Art Direction. And even though those are ridiculously enormous shoes to fill, the
Guardian reports that Kingsley is heading back to Indian history to play Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal.
Back in the mid-1600s, Shah Jahan was a Mughal Emperor who was devastated when his favorite (third) wife Mumtaz Mahal died while giving birth to their
fourteenth child. In her honor, he decided to erect a grand mausoleum that would not only be epically impressive and beautiful, but also so glorious that sins would be washed away. It took roughly 21 years to create and has been included on some Seven Wonders of the World lists.
Titled
Taj, the script was written by British novelist and playwright
David Ashton, and is still looking for a director. Alongside Kingsley will be
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who will play Mumtaz Mahal. This won't, however, be her first stab at the object of such desire: The former Miss World and
Bride & Prejudice star played Mumtaz in the 2007 short musical,
Journey Across India.
SBK Pictures is hoping to start production in the fall of 2010, but for now: Do you think Kingsley can make Indian history win in Hollywood once again?
Posted Nov 25th 2009 10:02AM by Jen Yamato
Filed under: Comedy, Scripts, New on DVD, Newsstand, Home Entertainment
If the sound of the name "Ruh-Ruh-Ruh-Raaaaaaaandy!" partnered with a few DJ effects and the sight of comic actor
Aziz Ansari jumping maniacally around a stage made you tingle in
Judd Apatow's
Funny People, then prepare yourself for what I'm about to say: Randy is getting his own movie.
To paraphrase Randy himself, if you fine folks are prepared to chortle until your genitals become disconnected from your body, let me hear you say "Yes!"
Variety reports that Ansari and fellow Human Giant collaborator
Jason Woliner pitched the
Randy spin-off to Apatow along with two other intended Ansari vehicles, a buddy road flick about motivational speakers and an astronaut comedy. While Apatow's production company will produce all three, the report doesn't mention which of the projects will happen first.
Over at the
MTV Movies Blog, Christopher Campbell notes that just last week, Apatow indicated some hesitation on Ansari's part to revisit the character of Randy. "Aziz may be concerned that more people think he's Randy than Aziz," Apatow explained. And that may be a legitimate concern for Ansari, who currently co-stars on "Parks and Recreation." His Randy characterization is so subtle, even in its bombastic raunchiness, that it's an entirely believable comic persona -- kind of a douchebag persona, but a hilarious one nonetheless. (Personally, if Ansari did nothing but "Randy" for the rest of his life, I'd be satisfied.)
More on the Randy spin-off and a video from Funny People after the jump. Continue reading 'Funny People' Star Aziz Ansari Getting His Own 'Randy' Spin-off
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 11:15AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Horror, Deals, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
What a complete non-surprise! Now that
New Moon is raking in the cash, and doing what very little it can for the werewolves of the world, the vamps are gearing up for some further sharp-toothed competition.
Variety reports that
The Howling will return to the big screen by the hands of indie producers Joel Kastelberg and Etchie Stroh under the name
The Howling: Reborn. Since it's been
over three years since we first heard rumors of a remake, my guess is that this is a whole new can of worms.
A former marketing executive for studios like MGM and New Line,
Joe Nimziki wrote the script and will direct it when the feature starts shooting this February. Once that's all done, they're hoping to get this howler into theaters for Halloween. The plot is being kept under wraps, but the original followed a TV newswoman who goes on a retreat after an ordeal with a serial killer, only to be thrust into a world of
vampires werewolves.
Now here's where I say this is a missed opportunity. It's inevitable that each old-school horror flick will get rebooted. But why not try to up the ante, or at least insert wow-factor? We've seen the increased interest in Elm Street since Jackie Earle Haley took over, and that's a pretty mainstream franchise. Now imagine what
The Howling could be if they coerced John Sayles into writing it again -- maybe not to be campy like the first, but a well-written piece of horror. That man is a pro at taking characters and situations and spinning an intricate web, so imagine if he intermingled his indie talents with his old-school horror ways. At the very least, it'd make the project immediately buzz worthy to a larger audience.
As it stands, do you want more
Howling?
Posted Nov 20th 2009 6:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Deals, Scripts
Not pleased with the likes of our latest serving of
A Christmas Carol? Want a little more originality served with your ho-ho-ho's? This might be the answer:
Variety reports that Paramount Pictures has tapped
Mike White to write the script for a new comedy called
Santa Wars. Oh yes, it's just like you'd imagine.
This project will follow the story of two rival factions that emerged within a group of professional Kris Kringles, and how they "became arch enemies during a Santa Claus civil war." And I should probably point out -- this concept is based on a true story. It all stems from
a segment on Ira Glass' radio show This American Life, which aired last December and talked about how two professional Santas formed the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, only to become bitter rivals.
Talk about picking the perfect pen. White is the writer of all things weird, whether that be with creepy stalkers, transcript trouble, discontent with mundane life, rock 'n' roll classes, strange wrasslers, or dog obsession. Furthermore, he's jumped back and forth between mainstream and edgy indies, which means the potential for a film that will appeal to more than just the casual, family fare moviegoer. Let's just hope Paramount ignores this year's strange release schedules (Valentine's Day in the summer, Christmas before Thanskgiving) and serves this puppy up during the right season.
Posted Nov 20th 2009 1:32PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Casting, Deals, Noir, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Few of us have had the chance to read Rick Remender's upcoming series,
The Last Days of American Crime, but it's already tapped for the big-screen treatment. To sweeten the deal,
American Crime already has a face. An Australian one.
Mania is reporting that
Sam Worthington has signed on to play the series' star criminal, Graham Brick.
American Crime is set in a near-future where the government has found a way to kill the criminal impulse in its citizens. That's good for everyone but the criminals, and chaos erupts as the unsavory element goes mad trying to get in one last job. One of these men is Graham Brick, who is in the midst of planning a big heist, and gets to watch all his best laid plans fall apart in a bloody fashion. I read the preview Radical handed out at Comic-Con this year, and like all previews, it was too short to really get a handle on the story. But the art was incredible, it was ridiculously violent, and it had that slimy feeling of
Sin City. You can check out
three pages here, and Radical has
15 pages up on MySpace. The first issue is scheduled to hit stands in December.
Remender will be penning the screenplay himself, and Radical will be producing it under their film shingle. We'll supposedly be getting a studio, a director, and more cast-members very soon, but it's tough to get excited without having read issue #1. Still, if this is really the mix of James Ellroy and David Mamet's
Heist that Remender promises,
Crime will be something to look out for.
Posted Nov 18th 2009 3:15PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Deals, Scripts, Comic/Superhero/Geek
The men behind
Precious and
Shooter are going back in time, according to
Variety:
Having had wild success with
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire,
Lee Daniels is itching to go historical for his next feature. He's
in "advanced negotiations" to helm
Selma, a big-buzz Civil Rights-era drama penned by Paul Webb (
Lincoln). The film, which would team him with
Slumdog Millionaire producer Christian Colson, focuses on the marches between
Selma and Montgomery in 1965, which were the peak of the Civil Rights movement. This means that while prospects of a Martin Luther King Jr. film
might be hazy, he will get some time here, one would assume -- he was one of the leaders drawn to the area where marches quickly turned to "Bloody Sunday" with force from local and state police.
And in a wholly different historic affair, it seems
Antoine Fuqua and
Spike Lee are getting ready for a pimp-n-ho crime spree. Fuqua will direct John Ridley's
adaptation of the graphic novel Miss: Better Living Through Crime, with Lee executive producing. Set in 1900s New York, the project focuses on Sola and Slim, "a poor white girl who has learned to survive by hook or by crook since being expelled from the orphanage," and the "black pimp with an uncertain past, trying to keep one foot out of the grave." But, it's not as you might think -- the pair team up to become killers for hire.
Along with
Jennifer Hudson as Winnie Mandella, it's refreshing to see a whole slew of projects in the works free of African-American crossdressers-for-laughs.
Posted Nov 17th 2009 4:45PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Comics never really die. They become cult classics, cherished until they're revived, republished, and optioned by Disney. Such is the tale of
Alien Legion, which is soon to enjoy a revival that'll have many a comic fan claiming they were there from the beginning. (I won't be one of them -- I'll openly confess that it passed me right by.)
Creator Carl Potts described
Alien Legion as "the Foreign Legion in space," and it's probably best described as melting pot of military and sci-fi, as
Star Trek, Star Wars and
The Dirty Dozen all influenced its vision of intergalactic soldiers banding together for honor, fortune, and adventure. It was one of Marvel's longest running series under their Epic Comics' banner, and it's been one that fans have continued to champion. Now it's being republished in a beautiful Dark Horse omnibus (which means out-of-the-loop losers like myself can finally read it), and getting four brand new issues from Dark Horse starting in 2010.
It's also on its way to the big screen.
USA Today sat down all its creators, and Potts revealed that
Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney were currently developing a feature film out of the series.
Derek Haas and
Michael Brandt are currently working on the third draft of the script, and Disney is undoubtedly hoping it could become another blockbuster franchise. I'd love to see the Mouse House actually develop a viable sci-fi franchise of their own, and
Alien Legion is certainly a very promising series. Let's hope its cult of fans are rewarded with a good adaptation after all their years of devotion, and they don't resent the rest of us for coming to the party so late.
Posted Nov 17th 2009 11:15AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Executive shifts, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
The klaxons are sounding for the Nautilus and Captain Nemo's origin story.
Variety reports that Disney has quietly shelved the project, and
McG has been released from duty in order to seek better fortune ashore.
The project was scheduled to begin production this February, and was on a fast track under Dick Cook. But as you probably remember, Cook was shown the door a few months ago. Many of Disney's big projects seem to be left dangling as stars like Johnny Depp decide whether they're sailing or staying ashore.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo is just the latest, though Disney insists big popcorn flicks will still be a focus for them.
Leagues had already been a revolving door of rumors, with Will Smith said to be in the running to play Nemo.
Justin Marks was originally penning the script, but was
replaced by Randall Wallace this past July.
Variety reports that the project was being penned by Bill Marsilli, so presumably Wallace was off as well. While it's not unusual to have three screenwriters on a project, it doesn't sound like this submarine had a reliable captain. Perhaps the Nautilus will sail again as a proper steampunk picture that explores his romantic Indian past, and not a slapdash summerfest.
Posted Nov 17th 2009 9:45AM by William Goss
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Casting, Deals, Universal, Scripts
There's something to be said for those plain old reliable comedies, those that don't bust guts or break records but are always good for a spin in their inevitable cable circulation, stuff along the lines of
Role Models,
I Love You, Man and
Just Friends. That last one has proven particularly endearing (to me anyway) due to the priceless pairing of Ryan Reynolds' perfect snark with Anna Faris' endearing ditziness (they also went at each other in
Waiting..., to much amusement).
It's that combination that gives me reason enough for me to care about
TMI, an all-too-honest rom-com reuniting these two. Hell, their teaming is itself enough for me to hope that they can do right by a screenplay written by the minds behind
Serendipity and
The Ugly Truth; after all, Faris did bring all the funny to co-writer Kirsten Smith's
The House Bunny.
Not sure how much else there is to say, really. It's like hearing that someone's about to get your sexy, funny peanut butter in your sexy, funny chocolate... all over again.
Posted Nov 16th 2009 10:32AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Deals, Scripts
Remember that super-cute and super-rocking senior documentary
Young@Heart, which hit screens last year? It's becoming a feature film, and
The Hollywood Reporter posts that Working Title has found a new scribe in
Will Reiser (
I'm With Cancer). The rights had originally been bought back in 2007, and writer Bob Nelson had written a draft, but now, much like their senior subjects, the project is getting a new jolt of life.
As I hope you know by now, the film follows a chorus of senior citizens (average age of 80) who came together and toured -- not singing "old folks" songs for retirement homes, but all-out mainstream concerts featuring modern hits and classics from the likes of The Clash, Coldplay, and James Brown. The documentary dipped into their performances and their lives (some passed away during production).
Can you think of any movie that could be more fun on the big screen? Think about the senior-aged talent and Hollywood, and then imagine them rocking out. It would make that scene in
The Wedding Singer look like nothin'. Betty White. Cloris Leachman (and
New York, I Love You co-star Eli Wallach). Andy Griffith. Adam West. Anne Meara. The list goes on and on. This could be epic, and of course, I'm probably getting my hopes up way too high, but just think of the possibilities. What older stars would you like to see on the big screen, belting out rock tunes?
Rock out to this clip and weigh in below.
Posted Nov 12th 2009 6:03PM by Peter Hall
Filed under: Thrillers, Sony, Scripts
When was the last time you recall seeing an actual bicycle messenger? Unless you live in a densely populated, car-hating metropolis, chances are rather slim that you ever see someone on a bike with a package under their arm, ducking and diving all manner of obstacles before screeching to a halt in front of a skyscraper and racing inside to drop off said package just in the nick of time. Which is why it is simultaneously bizarre and fascinating to me that
David Koepp would pick the high-stakes world of two-wheeled courier services as the frame for his next directorial project.
What's even more fascinating is the scale
Premium Rush, which I am 99% positive is the name of a Capri Sun flavor I used to drink in the '90s, is set up to be. Sony is bankrolling the production, which
Variety says they see as "a big-budget actioner, much like the films Koepp is known for penning, and will feature the kind of elaborate chases associated with a William Friedkin pic." The Friedkin emulation I can understand, as
The French Connection still remains a benchmark chase film, but the big budget Koepp titles they're referencing include
Spider-Man,
Jurassic Park, and
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Continue reading Bicycle Messengering Gets Intense With David Koepp's 'Premium Rush'
Posted Nov 12th 2009 11:16AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Horror, Deals, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
The
Fright Night remake is back on.
Back in January, we learned that the project had been halted when they couldn't come up with a good script. Ten months later,
The Hollywood Reporter posts that
Marti Noxon (executive producer and writer on
Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has been hired to rewrite the horror comedy, trading one set of vamps for another.
While Joss Whedon
is facing cancellation, Marti Noxon is going strong. The vampire slayer marked Noxon's big break in the biz, and since helping run the show, she's had her hand in a slew of series from
Prison Break to
Mad Men. This will be her first big cinematic gig, her lone movie credit to this point being the 1998 film
Just a Little Harmless Sex. But what will it all mean for a redo of
Fright Night, where a kid finds out that a vampire lives next door?
Noxon kicked off her
Buffy writing penning the "What's My Line" duo, the terrible "Bad Eggs," and the sex that turned Angel evil. From there, most of her writing gigs were mainly toss-off eps, with occasional perks in episodes like "I Only Have Eyes For You" and "The Prom." In other words: I'm not so sure what to make of this, other than the fact that her strongest writing seems to be linked to big interpersonal moments, which do not make for the best vamp comedy. Thoughts?
Posted Nov 10th 2009 9:45AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Warner Brothers, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, War
Once upon a time,
Sgt. Rock was
in the hands of Guy Ritchie, and many an Easy Company fan was upset. But you'll undoubtedly wish that Ritchie and Joel Silver had made it to the finish line, because
Sgt. Rock will not make it to the big screen in a form you'll recognize. According to
The Hollywood Reporter, he has a new director in
Francis Lawrence and a whole new space-time continuum.
Joel Silver is still on board as producer, and he's bringing
Akiva Goldsman on board to help. They've hired newcomer
Chad St. John to pen the script.
As you may or may not know, Sgt. Rock is a WWII soldier. He's always fought in WWII. The poor guy has never even gotten to leave the European theater. (It was rumored in
Swamp Thing that he was transferred to the Pacific, but never confirmed.) Any attempt at a movie adaptation has always gone forward with this central idea of keeping him in his element. But budget, politics, and popularity has always been an issue, and no one believes you can make
The Dirty Dozen in this day and age unless you're Quentin Tarantino. So Warner Bros has decided to bypass the drama, and put Sgt. Rock in the future. CG is cheaper than Nazis, and a nondescript soldier of the future is less problematic than an American fighting a good fight. (While no war is a good war, I do think we can all agree that fighting Nazis
was a good thing.)
Nothing else is known about this storyline, so I hate to jump to a knee-jerk conclusion as to who or what Sgt. Rock will face there, or whether he will be transported to the future from WWII. But I think this is an unfortunate thing to do to a character who resides in WWII for a very specific and honorable reason. The last thing he should become is a
Universal Soldier or
Terminator ripoff.
Posted Nov 9th 2009 9:45AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Thrillers, Deals, Scripts
Se7en... I'll never forget the first time I watched it, nestled with friends into the old seats at Gettysburg's Majestic Theater, all of us enamored, shocked, chilled, and buzzed on the thrill of the film
IMDb ranks as #27 out of the Top 250 Films. It's one of those movies that elicits glazed eyes of fandom at its mention. But could the magic be brought to life again?
The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision Blog reports that
Se7en alums
David Fincher, Andrew Kevin Walker, and Michael De Luca are re-teaming to make a new adaptation of Max Ehrlich's
The Reincarnation of Peter Proud for Columbia Pictures. Fincher is, of course, attached to direct, and Walker will pen the script. (The book was originally adapted by Ehrlich himself for the film back in 1975.) The story focuses on a college prof who becomes plagued by recurring dreams and nightmares that he realizes are memories of a past life. With the help of his girlfriend, he tries to find the source of the visions and "discovers a woman and her grown-up daughter who are keys to his past life." The original story got in some hot water for a subplot rife with incest, but methinks that will be diluted or deleted this time around as everything gets updated.
With all of this in place, the only blocks left are the cast. It might seem like an easy pick, but I'd love to see Kevin Kline bite into this. Yes, he's the go-to guy for college professors, but he's also severely talented and severely under-utilized. A role like this could rip him out of the crap. But if the choice was yours, who would you like to see crack the past? Or are you just recoiling at word of another remake?
Posted Nov 7th 2009 3:33PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Deals, Scripts
I hope you don't hate vampires, because they don't seem to be going anywhere. Now
Amy Heckerling, the woman behind
Fast Times at Ridgemont High and
Clueless, is getting in on the bloodsucking. According to
Screen Daily, Parlay Films has grabbed the international rights to an upcoming romantic comedy called
Vamps, that Heckerling will write and direct.
"The film will be a modern-day tale of two young female vampires living the good life in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality."
Krysten Ritter will star as one of the lead vamps, and they're still searching for the other bloodsucker. This marks a big jump from the actress, who has moved from bubbly side gigs on shows like
Gilmore Girls and
Veronica Mars to some cinematic supporting roles, a lead gig in the web series
Woke Up Dead, and now her first starring film job.
Perhaps I'm being overly hopeful, but it's time for Heckerling to bring us her next comedy classic, and I'm hoping this is it. There was a 13-year span between
Ridgemont and
Clueless, and it's been 14 years since Cher found love with Josh, so could this be the next Heckerling extravaganza we won't want to heckle? Or, just another project in an oversaturated market?
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