Movie News

[Krakalakachkn]

I got tired of posting a new topic for every piece of news I came across.  So, unless I find something awesome that's worth it's own post, I'll be posting most movie news here.

 

 

No more Orlando Bloom

 

Orlando Bloom has confirmed he has quit the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" film franchise.

 

The Brit played Will Turner in the first three movies, but he won't be a part of a planned fourth film, which will start shooting this spring in Hawaii.

 

Movie love interest Keira Knightley announced her "pirating days are over" in 2008, prompting speculation that Bloom would walk the plank behind her.

 

And now he has revealed he will not be starring alongside Johnny Depp in 2011's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."

 

He says, "I think Will is sort of swimming around with the fish at the bottom of the ocean. I had a great time making those movies. I just really wanted to do different things."

 

But Bloom can't wait to see the latest Pirates sequel, which will be directed by "Nine" and "Chicago" filmmaker Rob Marshall: "I think it's going to be great. Whatever Johnny does, I think it's fantastic.

 

"I think he's (Marshall) an amazing director. I think it will be a very interesting fit, because Johnny is musical anyway and I'm sure that something really beautiful will come out of it."

[Emperor]

Do we post movie news here too or is this thread only for you to update?

 

[Krakalakachkn]

anyone can post

[Krakalakachkn]

Miramax closes its doors

 

After thirty-one years of operation, the New York and Los Angeles offices of arthouse movie distributor Miramax Films closes their doors today - effectively the end of the company reports The Wrap.

 

The move has been inevitable since the Disney takeover and Weinstein brothers departure years ago. In recent years the Mouse House has shrunk the company further and further. With Rich Ross' regime change at Disney late last year, the last remnants of the once powerhouse mini-major have been swept away in the name of strengthening the Disney brand in the coming digital future.

 

Throughout the 90's and most of the 00's, the mini-major produced a string of award-winners and commercial success stories including "The Aviator," "Chicago," “Chocolat," "The Cider House Rules," "Clerks," "Cold Mountain," "The Crying Game," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "The English Patient," "Gangs of New York," "Good Will Hunting," "The Hours," "Kill Bill," "The Others," "Pulp Fiction," "The Queen,” “Shakespeare in Love," "Swingers," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Trainspotting”

 

Recently the Weinsteins have tried to buy the name of their former company back, but Disney has not responded. Disney chief Bob Iger has generally made it known he'd be willing to sell Miramax outright for around $1.5 billion - a price too rich in the still quiet economy.

 

One big question now is the fate of the six completed projects the studio has sitting on a shelf. It's expected these will either be essentially stuck on a shelf for years to come, or quietly slipped out with little to no fanfare. One hopes Disney will be wise enough to sell them off to another distributor who will devote the proper time and funds to distribute and market them properly.

 

These films include the Jennifer Aniston/Jason Bateman romantic comedy "The Baster"; the Mossad spy thriller "The Debt" with Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington; the supernatural remake "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" with Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes; the animated fantasy "Gnomeo and Juliet" with James McAvoy and Emily Blunt; the infidelity drama "Last Night" (aka. "Tell Me") with Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes; and Julie Taymor's Shakespeare adaptation "The Tempest" with Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina and Russell Brand.

[Krakalakachkn]

Here's some news on the upcoming movie Sgt. Rock

 

Producer Joel Silver tells The Los Angeles Times that the long-gestating comic book adaptation "Sgt. Rock" has moved into a higher gear.

 

Part of the reason it seems is that Silver just received a new draft of the script this week and the story will not be set during World War II but rather take place in the not-too-distant future.

 

Silver says "It's a little bit in the future. As a war movie, it's not going to be 'where it's been,' it's going to be 'where it's going.' We didn't want to do Iraq, we didn't want to do a contemporary war. We wanted to do a sort of futuristic war."

 

The famed producer adds "It's pretty strong. Chad St. John wrote the script and we've got Francis Lawrence involved in developing it with us. It's not a 'go' movie yet but I'm feeling good about it." The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

[Krakalakachkn]

Good news for Underworld fans

 

Lakeshore Entertainment and two of the key filmmakers behind "Underworld" are re-teaming for the contemporary fantasy thriller "I, Frankenstein".

 

Based on the upcoming Darkstorm Studios graphic novel, the story follows the original monster of Victor Frankenstein who is the only force that stands between the human race and an uprising of supernatural creatures determined to overthrow the world.

 

"Underworld" series scribe Kevin Grevioux will pen the script and FX designer turned filmmaker Patrick Tatopoulos ("Underworld: Rise of the Lycans")

 

Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Richard Wright will produce. Kevin Grevioux and Robert Sanchez are attached as executive producers. Filming kicks off in July.

[Krakalakachkn]

Daredevil Reboot

 

 

With 20th Century Fox having already floated talk of a "Fantastic Four" reboot, it comes as no major surprise that the studio is planning another cinematic take on the Marvel Comics property "Daredevil" reports Deadline Hollywood.

 

Like various rights deals, the studio has to keep producing films based on the property otherwise the rights revert back to the owner - in this case the now Disney-based Marvel Studios.

 

The comic was previously adapted in 2003 with Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell in the key roles. The $78 million film went on to a $179.2 million worldwide gross despite very mixed reviews. An R-rated director's cut with 30 minutes of extra footage was released in 2005 to a better response.

 

For the new version, David Scarpa ("The Day The Earth Stood Still") will pen the script while Peter Chernin will produce.

[Krakalakachkn]

De Niro and Scorsese team up for a new Mobster flick

 

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are re-teaming for a presently untitled mobster drama reports Reuters.

 

At the premiere of "Shutter Island" at Berlinale on the weekend, Scorsese says "Bob De Niro (and I) are talking about something that has to do with that world… We're working on something like that, but it's from the vantage point of older men looking back, none of this running around stuff"

 

Scorsese and De Niro previously worked together on "Raging Bull," "Taxi Driver," "Cape Fear" and "Casino".

[Krakalakachkn]

Good Lord No!

 

Disney Pictures is aiming to try a new franchise to hopefully come close to their hugely successful "High School Musical" brand says Variety.

 

"Prom" will be a comedy revolving around nine teenagers (played by unknowns) prepping for the big dance. This will not be a musical, rather the tone is expected to be teen comedy along the lines of John Hughes' works such as "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club".

 

Joe Nussbaum ("Sydney White," "Sleepover") is directing from a script by Katie Wech ("The Dead Zone"). Once her draft has been delivered, a budget will be determined as the studio is considering several potential options. Ted Griffin and Justin Springer will produce.

[Krakalakachkn]

MORTAL KOMBAT!  FATALITY!!!

 

Threshold Entertainment is suing Warner Bros. Pictures over its development of "Mortal Kombat 3" reports The Wrap.

 

A third "Mortal Kombat" movie has long been in development and never seemed to be going anywhere until last year when Warners scored most of the assets of Midway Games' in bankruptcy court, including the film rights to its game franchises.

 

On Tuesday, Threshold filed the suit in state court in Los Angeles, accusing the company of "failing to co-operate and respond to Threshold and seeking to cut out Threshold" who claims to have ownership of the next 'Kombat' film due to agreements already made with the defunct Midway Games back in 2006. Threshold says a federal bankruptcy court upheld its interests and licenses as a part of the sale.

 

When news broke in late January that the studio was looking into a reboot and hiring a script writer for the project, it seems Threshold decided to take their actions further. More as it develops.

[Krakalakachkn]

Brie Larson and Lucy Liu are joining Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") in the indie comedy "East Fifth Bliss."

Hall will portray a 35-year-old whose static life comically unravels when he embarks on an awkward relationship with Larson's character, the 18-year-old daughter of a former high school classmate. Liu plays an unhappily married neighbor.

 

Michael Knowles is directing. He adapted the script with Douglas Light from Light's novel of the same title, which received the 2007 Benjamin Franklin Award for Fiction.

 

John Ramos and Knowles are producing for 7A Prods., and John Will is producing for Torn Sky Entertainment. Susan Leber also produces. Lensing is set to start in April in New York.

 

Knowles directed and wrote "One Night,"starring Melissa Leo.

 

Hall's set to return to production for the fifth season of "Dexter"following completion of "East Fifth Bliss."Larson co-stars on Showtime's "The United States of Tara,"and her film credits include "Greenberg"and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World."Liu will make her Broadway debut in "God of Carnage"on March 2, starring with Dylan Baker, Janet McTeer and Jeff Daniels.

[Naked~Frog]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1277941/

 

That's the Wheel of Time update thingy, and by the looks of it they have the beginnings of a cast?

[Krakalakachkn]

No, the script hasn't even been written yet as far as I know and there's definitely been no news out of Tor or Red Eagle regarding directors, actors, scripts or anything. I'm thinking there won't be any significant news for 2 years or so and if the movie ever happens it probably won't release for at least 4 or 5 years.

 

Edit: Ok I just did a little searching and apparently Brandon tweeted on January 4 that the screenwriters have been chosen and they've at least begun working on the script.

[dapianoplay3r]

so thats atleast a year before we even think of directors and actors

[Krakalakachkn]

I didn't want to make a separate thread, so I'll post it here:

 

"Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights" director Adam McKay has reportedly sat down with Russell Crowe to discuss the Oscar winner's chance of playing the lead role in his upcoming adaptation of the comic "The Boys" at Sony Pictures reports MTV News.

 

The comic follows the adventures of a CIA squad, known informally as "the boys," whose job it is to keep watch on the proliferation of superheroes and, if necessary, intimidate or eliminate them. Crowe's role, if said initial meeting should progress beyond that, would be that of team leader Billy Butcher. McKay has already said he'd love Simon Pegg in the role of new recruit Wee Hughie.

 

McKay is still tweaking Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay's script while Neal H. Moritz will produce. However McKay admits the project is going to be a hard sell - "You really have to wait until the draft is done to get serious about it, plus it's like a $100 million, Rated-R, anti-superhero movie, so we have to see who bites on it."

 

 

I think this sounds awesome and I can't wait to hear more about it.

[paetric]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I saw the trailer last night. It seemed really promising and like it had the makings for a good story and explanation for the story we all know and love. But then the ending sequence or three of the trailer showing what looked like hundreds of apes swarming all over the place seemed very odd.

 

Has anyone else seen this and what is the word on it?

[ravenfier]

Posted 08 February 2011 - 12:32 AM

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1277941/

 

That's the Wheel of Time update thingy, and by the looks of it they have the beginnings of a cast?

 

quick who has IMDB PRO? post post.

[Krakalakachkn]

Not me.

 

Also, I'm pretty sure absolutely nothing worth knowing has happened yet.

[Krakalakachkn]

Some rumors concerning Planet of the Apes sequels.

 

With "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" smashing all early estimates and scoring a very impressive $54 million opening weekend, talk of a sequel is already flying around.

 

Director Rupert Wyatt recently spoke with Bleeding Cool about some of his potential ideas for a storyline, including a possible ode to a classic Kubrick film "'Full Metal Jacket' with apes... you could start this story again eight years from where we left off, the next generation of apes, those that have come from our protagonists, perhaps going in to a conflict with humans and showing real fear, in the same way as going into war for young soldiers in this day and age, telling their story."

 

Another possibility is something more akin to a spy film - "apes are taking over cities, and being moved into human environments and having to interact with them and deal with things that are part of our culture and understand and evolve through them. Spies that are in the employ of the apes, working against humans and humans maybe existing underground, because that's a way they can avoid the virus, coming up above ground wearing gas masks, and maybe that's what dehumanises them."

[Krakalakachkn]

Blade Runner Sequel?

 

Ridley Scott's revisiting of the "Alien" universe in his upcoming epic "Prometheus" has obviously inspired the helmer who intends to give a similar treatment to his other seminal sci-fi classic - 1982's "Blade Runner".

 

Deadline reports that Scott is committing to both direct and produce a "new installment of Blade Runner" for Alcon Entertainment.

 

At this point it's unclear how this will relate - will it be a sequel, a prequel or something more akin to a tangential project ala "Prometheus" - set on the same futuristic Earth filled with Replicants and Blade Runners but revolving around entirely different characters.

 

Warner Bros-based financing and production company Alcon secured the franchise rights to the property back in March in a deal which very specifically stated they could essentially do what they wanted with the exception of one thing - they could NOT remake the original. Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will produce.

 

Things are still in early stages with no script yet locked which means it could go in all sorts of directions for the moment. "Prometheus" famously began as a prequel before morphing into a kind of 'cousin' to the original "Alien".