Thanks to Bourne, the spy-fi genre is alive and well and every studio is on the lookout for a franchise of their own -- even Disney. Variety reports that super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer (along with the Mouse) has purchased the screen rights to David Ignatius' spy thriller, The Increment. Ignatius is an associate editor for The Washington Post and Increment will be his seventh novel. An adaptation of his 2007 book, Body of Lies, has already finished shooting with Ridley Scott at the helm, and Leonardo DiCaprio starring as a CIA agent hot on the tail of a terrorist.
The Increment centers on a "shadowy, elite group of British undercover intelligence operatives who are conscripted by a CIA agent to help a weapons scientist defect from Iran." Early reviews of the manuscript praised the story, citing the wealth of facts about the CIA and the international intelligence community. But insiders were shocked that Disney would want the property considering the amount of 'hot button' issues in the book, like Islamic politics and an invasion of Iran.
Ignatius' novel has not even been published yet, so it's very early days for the adaptation -- and leaving plenty of time for Disney to water down the story. In the meantime, look for Body of Lies to arrive in theaters on October 8th, 2008.
I know I'm not the first person to come to this conclusion, but Matthew McConaughey really does seem to have a charmed existence. Sure, he makes some crappy movies, but they keep paying him to star and we keep paying to see them in theaters. Coming Soon reports that the perpetually shirtless actor (I'm not complaining, mind you) has struck a deal with Anchor Bay Entertainment to release Surfer Dude, a comedy that he produced.
McConaughey stars as Steve Addington, a surf bum who returns home to Malibu after a world tour. The good times don't last long, and when the waves disappear for the whole season, Addington starts to go off the rails. In true stoner fashion, producer Mark Gustawes was quoted as saying, "Matthew plays a character who's a throwback to the '70s: Peace, love, and a righteous wave is what 'Surfer, Dude' is all about. Anchor Bay dug it -- and we decided to surf it, together." Classic, brah. McConaughey scored some (kinda) big names for the film including Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson -- I can only imagine the dust clouds of smoke coming out of those trailers.
Anchor Bay will release the film in theaters this summer, but they're also planning to release the film onto DVD shortly after. Back in the old days, when a studio jumped on the home video release it meant the movie was no good. Luckily, these days a studio can spin it into a bright shining example of the new face of film distribution.
Surfer Dude will coast into theaters in late summer.
Well, for a tempest in a teapot the controversy over Mike Myers' comedy The Love Guruseems to be heating up by the day. CJ Report confirmed that the British Film Institute has responded to Hindu protests, and has issued a statement that the prestigious institution will "not be screening this title nor will be involved with a possible release of it." Now this doesn't mean the film will not be shown in the UK, but the BFI's refusal to support the film must come as a blow to Myers, a committed anglophile.
Guru is the story of an American-born guru who returns home to help coach a lovelorn hockey player with a struggling marriage. Sure, it looks silly, and a little stereotypical, but so did The Party and a lot of people seem to like that movie. According to CJ Report, "Hindu groups have recently been approaching film distributors associations, exhibitors groups, regulatory bodies, government ministries, theater owners, etc., in various parts of the world urging them not to distribute/screen The Love Guru till Paramount Pictures makes necessary changes to it." Paramount still maintains that they will screen the film for Hindu audiences, but they have not agreed to make any significant changes to the film.
If you're anything like me, you have completely given up on the next installment of Transformers having even a whiff of plot, and instead you are just going to sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Speaking of, it looks like it's going to be quite the show, too. The keen eyes over Comic2Film noticed that in the Dolby News release for ShoWest 2008, Transformers 2 was listed as a 3D film slated for 2009.
There have been plenty of updates for the film lately, but unfortunately most of them turned out to be smoke and mirrors -- just ask Teresa Palmer. But, a 3D release could be the real deal, even though we haven't heard a peep from Michael Bay on the matter. Kind of surprising, too, considering he is not the kind of guy who likes to keep quiet about these sorts of things.
Transformers 2 is scheduled to start filming on location in Pennsylvania this June, but everything is going to hinge on whether or not the SAG strike can be averted. A 3D release does make sense if you think about it, especially since the only way to top the FX of the first film is to have them flying off the screen at the audience this time around. (Yay! A monster truck is flying toward me at 150mph! Ain't this fun!)
Weigh in below and let us know if you think 3D is the way to go for our robotic friends, or will it just be an excuse for Bay to spend even more time on the FX and even less time on the script?
With tales of Grand Theft Auto IV breaking sales records, and cartoon Russian Mob bosses plastered on billboards everywhere you look, it is the perfect time to give the Bratva more screen time (and it's probably about time we gave the Italians a break). The Hollywood Reporterannounced that Morgan Creek, in partnership with Universal, have purchased Rand Ravich's Russian mob script, Gregory Burns. Ravich's script centers on an undercover cop from Arizona who re-locates to L.A. to take down a Russian crime family.
Ravich has a mixed bag of credits to his name, including video games (Crime Lords), TV (Life), and feature films. His last feature was the sci-fi ode to Rosemary's Baby, The Astronaut's Wife. Sure, Wife might have been bad, but it was definitely a step up from his other foray into screenwriting.
According to THR, Burns has been floating around the studio for a long time and has been at the top of many a studio exec's wish list. After a series of false starts, the profitable indie studio has finally put the film into production. There is no word on casting yet, but if Morgan Creek is half as eager as they appear to get this film into the can, it shouldn't take long.
It might not be the best quality image, but the first glimpse of Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as the anime hero, Goku, has finally hit the net -- and I have to admit, it doesn't look half-bad. A dedicated Dragonball Z fan submitted a scan from the Japanese magazine Shonen Jump to the Dragonball fan site (see to the right; click to enlarge) and even though it's blurry and covered in Japanese, it does give me hope that the film won't be a total disaster. Fox has kept a tight grip on updates for the film, and other than a few MySpace entries from co-star Emmy Rossum, the most we have gotten was a leaked teaser poster.
Dragonball was written and directed by James Wong and tells the story of Goku, a young man locked in a struggle with the evil Piccolo (James Marsters) over some mystical globes known as 'dragon balls'. The debate over whether or not Chatwin was going to be able to pull off the classic manga character was a big source of contention among fans. It's not like it's easy to ignore the obvious racial 'disparity' in hiring Chatwin to play a guy that normally looks like this.
So what do you think? Now that we have finally seen Chatwin in all his manga glory, will it be enough to silence detractors? Or will it be the last piece of the puzzle that proves they were right all along?
Dragonball will arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2009.
Well, the cat is out of the bag -- all is not well over at Warner Bros. Hopefully the rocky state of affairs at WB isn't going to cause problems for their latest purchase. Variety reports that the studio has picked up Due Date, a pregnancy comedy by Alan Freedland and Alan Cohen.
The storycenters on a first-time father and burgeoning workaholic whose wife goes into labor while he is stuck hundreds of miles away in a snowstorm. The only way he can make it to the birth in time is by hitching a ride with a college student. So I can only assume that Due Date will be another one of those movies about a young man lamenting his lost youth in the face of fatherhood. I'm thinking the film will be something along the lines of She's Having a Baby, but with a dash of road movie humor thrown in for good measure.
Cohen and Freedland are two of the writer-producers of the Fox animated show, King of the Hill, and were also behind the Robert Evans cartoon, Kid Notorious. The two recently sold a comedy script to Disney with with Adam Shankman (Hairspray) lined up to direct. These two might want to stay tight with the 'Mouse', because things are starting to look a little shaky over at WB.
Just when you thought it couldn't get worse for Lindsay Lohan, Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that Lohan has been dropped from the true-life crime flick, Manson's Girls. According to DHD, "people associated with the movie told agents that Lohan quickly became more of a deficit than an asset when they discovered that they couldn't find any name actresses who wanted to co-star with her. (And even some name actors...) So now Lindsay is off the pic."
Ouch, that can't be good for her self-esteem, although the gossip gal in me would have liked to hear the names of some of those "name actors".
Remember how for the longest time whenever anyone talked about Samuel L. Jackson it was usually followed by the description of Jackson as one of the hardest working actors in the business? Well, it is not like he didn't earn that reputation -- Jackson currently has one film already headed to theaters and three other films in production. Variety reports that Jackson will add the spy thriller Unthinkable to the pile.
Gregor Jordan (The Informers) has already signed to direct the story of a "major threat to the United States when the locations of three nuclear devices are shrouded in secrecy by a single terrorist. With only two days before they are deployed, a black-ops interrogator and a female FBI agent have to decide how far they will go to find them" -- knowing Jackson's flair for interrogation I can only assume he will play the interrogator in the film.
Jackson is still filming the musical comedy Soul Men with Bernie Mac, so production on Unthinkable won't start until this fall in Minneapolis. But remember, Jackson likes to keep busy, so stay tuned for those Nick Fury updates -- because let's face it, Unthinkable will likely not be the Jackson film everyone is talking about in 2009.
I have to hand it to the wardrobe people for Steven Soderbergh's The Informant since it's not easy making a guy who normally looks like this look like such a schlump. The Bad and Ugly have posted some behind-the-scenes photos for the comedic thriller, and even though there is nothing earth shattering going on, they are definitely a step up from the other pics floating around out there.
The Informant is based on the true-life novel by Kurt Eichenwald. The story revolves around Mark Whitacre (Damon), a rising star at the agriculture conglomerate, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). At the urging of his wife (who had threatened to go to the FBI), Whitacre spilled the beans to an agent that he had been involved in a price-fixing scam with other major corporations over the food additive, lysine. As if that wasn't enough of a story, it was later revealed that Whitacre (one of the most high profile, whistle-blowers in history) was suffering from Bipolar disorder and had defrauded millions from ADM.
For such serious subject matter, it came as a bit of a surprise when casting announcements first went out for the film and the list was chock-full of comedic actors (including Scott Bakula and Tony Hale). Soderbergh later confirmed that the film was going to be a "dark comedy", which makes sense because Damon is a pretty funny guy, and a great straight man. Soderbergh has just begun filming on location in Decatur, Illinois and there is no official release date, but The Informant is expected to arrive in theaters in 2009.
I've been hankering for a good crime flick with a women in the lead for a long time (I can't be the only one who thinks that Catherine Zeta Jones' pregnant drug runner deserved way more screen time in Traffic). But, in the grand tradition of most crime movies, women are relegated to the sidelines as either 'the downfall of the anti-hero', or, 'sexy punching bag' -- neither of which is very flattering, but hopefully that will change with Queen of the South. Variety reports that Eva Mendes has signed to star in the big screen adaptation of Arturo Perez Reverte's crime novel, La reina del sur (Queen of the South).
The story is being touted as a "female Scarface," and centers on a woman who flees to Spain when her drug-dealing boyfriend is murdered. Once she arrives, she starts her own narcotics operation to finance revenge against her lover's murderers -- and quickly becomes top dog. Joining Mendes in the cast are Josh Hartnett and Ben Kingsley in as-yet unnamed roles.
News of the flick first surfaced last year, with Mendes, Jennifer Lopez, and Penelope Cruz on the short list for the role, but in the end Mendes won out. Personally I would have liked to see Lopez take on the role (it's been too long since we had the chance to see her be a bad ass), but I guess in a pinch Mendes will do.
Do you think Warners made the right choice with Mendes? Or is there anyone else out there who would have liked to watch Lopez 'tussle' just one more time?
I can't be the only one who's just a little relieved that Jonah Hill has dropped out of negotiations to star in Transformers 2. Hill is riding high on the comedy wave, and while a big-budget summer flick is always a career booster, it's not like Michael Bay is known for his comedy. According to Entertainment Weekly, "negotiations between Jonah Hill and Dreamworks have broken down, and the Superbad star is no longer expected play a sidekick to Shia LaBeouf in the upcoming sequel from director Michael Bay."
Bay and company are expected to start production on Transformers 2 this summer at the University of Pennsylvania, which fit with early reports that Hill would be playing Sam Witwicky's (LaBeouf) college roommate. Now that Hill is out of the picture, maybe a little co-ed co-habitation could be in his future since Teresa Palmer signed for an unnamed role last week.
There were no details about why Hill chose not to sign on the dotted line, but I'm sure a lot of fans are glad that he did. Unfortunately it's not all good news coming from Hill's people; instead of starring in Transformers 2, he has agreed to appear in the follow-up to A Night at the Museum -- so now I don't know what to think. As crappy as Transformers 2 might turn out to be (and there is a good chance it could be pretty darn crappy), it would definitely be a step up from A Night at the Museum 2. Or maybe not.
What do you think? Should Jonah stick to the simple comedies without all the big-budgeted effects?
With every piece of marketing that comes out for Mike Myer's The Love Guru, I am less sure about whether or not this movie is going to work. The new trailer for the self-help comedy is now up on The Guru Pitka's MySpace page (that's right, he has his very own page), and after watching it I just don't know what to think. The first trailer wasn't so great, but then there were those hilarious You Tube messages. The latest trailer, though, puts the film back in the 'meh' category -- talk about confusing.
Guru is the story of an American-born guru who is hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs to provide counseling to their star player (played by Romany Malco). Joining in on the hilarity are Justin Timberlake (as a French Canadian player), The Daily Show's John Oliver as Pitka's assistant, and Jessica Alba as the love interest.
Luckily somebody over at the production blog for Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li has finally taken the hint and done away with the MySpace-style writing (I'm not sure how much more of that I could have taken). At least now it's way less annoying to catch up on the latest updates for the video game adaptation. First up is a picture of the newest addition to the story, Det. Maya Sunee, a half-Thai detective in Bangkok's Gangland Homicide division (played by Moon Bloodgood). For dedicated SF fans, the name is not going to ring any bells because Maya is a new character created just for the film. But that is not all; fans now have the chance to submit questions to be answered by cast and crew.
Legend focuses on the story of one of SF's favorite characters, Chun Li. It's the classic revenge tale about her search for her mentor's murderers. Smallville's Kristen Kreuk stars as Chun Li and Robin Shou plays her Tai-Chi master. Even though the story has been modernized slightly, some of Street Fighter's main baddies (including Bison, as played by Neil McDonough, Balrog, as played by Michael Clarke Duncan, and Vega still get to make an appearance. And as an added bonus, the site also gives a glimpse at the storyboard for a fight between Chun-Li and Vega.
Andrzej Bartkowiak is still shooting on location in Bangkok, so there is plenty of time for more updates in the coming weeks. Stay tuned. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li will arrive in theaters in 2009.
While I'm still not convinced that North American audiences are ready for the strange genius that is Steve Coogan, at least they will get the chance to have a little taste. The first poster for Andy Fleming's comedy Hamlet 2 has arrived in our inbox (see to the right, and click to enlarge). So in case anyone was confused, the poster (and R-rated trailer) makes it clear that this movie is going to be packed to the brim with poop jokes.
Coogan stars as a hapless drama teacher in danger of losing his job. In an attempt to drum up some interest in his drama class, he writes the sequel to Hamlet. Now, as any good English student knows, everyone dies at the end of Hamlet (oops, 400-year- old spoiler alert), so where can you go from there? It turns out you make a politically incorrect musical with numbers like Rock Me, Sexy Jesus.
Thanks to Bourne, the spy-fi genre is alive and well and every studio is on the lookout for a franchise of their own -- even Disney. Variety reports that super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer (along with the Mouse) has purchased the screen rights to David Ignatius' spy thriller, The Increment. Ignatius is an associate editor for The Washington Post and Increment will be his seventh novel. An adaptation of his 2007 book, Body of Lies, has already finished shooting with Ridley Scott at the helm, and Leonardo DiCaprio starring as a CIA agent hot on the tail of a terrorist.
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