I thought I had outgrown my vamp addiction (aside from Buffy). I don't read Anne Rice anymore, and I haven't watched a new vamp movie in a while. But then I started watching Moonlight. Yup, still hooked. And now there's a new flick on the horizon: Variety reports that Celluloid Dreams has gone into pre-production on Hello Darkness, a "genre-bending vampire film."
This also marks the second vampire movie this week for the UK (remember Lesbian Vampire Killers?). But it won't be all darkness. Not much is being said about the plot, other than it's a "humor-laced romancer" where a regular guy becomes a vampire and then "falls for a posh student." So that's two UK vamp comedies, the direct-to-DVD Lost Boys sequel, plus some Twilight. Now if only we could get some adult vampire darkness, we'll be set! Oh wait -- we're kind of getting that with Celluloid Dreams' Julie Delpy thriller, The Countess.
Meanwhile, the company is also looking into prophets and immigrants. They've picked up a crime drama called A Prophet, where a young Arab becomes a mafia kingpin while prospering in a French prison. They've also nabbed Rabia, a romantic thriller about "two luckless immigrant workers in Spain."
According to Screen Daily, Law Abiding Citizen now has a director in Frank Darabont. Citizen is the first movie to be produced under Gerard Butler's production shingle; you can read all about Evil Twins and its upcoming slate here (I am gently encouraging you to be interested in this fledgling company).
Production is set to begin on August 18th in Detroit, which I hear is becoming the new Shreveport. It's being filmed on a shoestring budget of $40 million, and the screenplay has been penned by Kurt Wimmer.
The plot has been changed quite drastically since it was first tossed around. Originally, Butler was an assistant D.A. who finds himself at the center of a traumatized victim's vigilante plot. Now, it has been revamped into the story of a criminal mastermind who controls a city from the confines of his prison cell. (Which explains why Darabont was drawn to it, and why he's a good pick. Prison dramas are a good specialty for him.) Butler is the assistant D.A. who stands in the mastermind's way.
Luckily for Tom Cruise, the latest rumors surrounding him have nothing to do with Valkyrie -- for once, there's some good news for the much-maligned movie star (a round of applause, please, if you will). Yesterday, Moviehole confirmed reports that Cruise is in talks to star as the US president in Philip Noyce's DC thriller, 28th Amendment -- and according to their sources, an official announcement will be made as soon as the paperwork has been completed.
Cruise would star opposite Denzel Washington as President Ben Cahill. Tom Cruise as President? Really? Plot follows the adventures of a commander-in-chief who learns that he has no real sway at the White House after uncovering a secret organization (run by Washington) that has been the 'power behind the throne' since WWII. Unfortunately for Cahill, this group has no qualms about bumping off presidents (grassy knoll, anyone?) and as he starts to put the pieces together, he becomes the next target -- which will probably give Cruise plenty of opportunities to show off that run of his.
I guess whether we like it or not, viral campaigns are hot, hip and here to stay. Universal pictures has launched the viral site for Timur Bekmambetov's Wanted, and it all revolves around a shadowy group known as the Fraternity of Weavers. Now for the tricky part: to crack the code on the website you must enter five secret words to earn a peek at the handbook for the fraternity -- plus you get a little bit more info behind Angelina's bad-ass hand tattoo. So if you're the kind of person who likes puzzles, then feel free to figure it out on your own. But, if you're like me and a little impatient, you can click over to Coming Soon and they have the solution -- I won't spoil it here.
Wanted is based on Mark Millar's graphic novel about an everyday schmo (as played by James McAvoy) who turns out to be the heir to a secret society of assassins. Angelina Jolie stars as Fox, the second in command and mentor to McAvoy. Morgan Freeman plays the elder statesman and co-founder of the group, while hip-hop artist Common stars as the weapons expert, The Gunsmith.
The viral site provides plenty of background info on the history of the ancient fraternity, but for the most part it's a bunch of spiritual mumbo-jumbo about fate, destiny, the Cathars, and ancient weaving cults -- oh, and plenty of Wikipedia links. There's also a sign up page if you're interested in becoming a member of the fraternity (hazing optional?). One imagines more viral goodies will most likely show up at some point before Wanted opens in theaters on June 27th.
It is the wee hours of the morning here in the Colorado Rockies -- and when they said the teaser trailer was to debut Friday, they weren't kidding. They wanted you all to wake up to it. How nice of them!
It is up courtesy of Yahoo! Movies (along with a bunch of new photos), so unfortunately we can't embed it. While it looks better than I expected it would, there isn't much to inspire a lot of excitement for me. I thought the one thing this movie would have in its favor was a new location. But despite being located in China, it manages to boast as many desert battles as the previous two installments. Now, I know there are deserts in China, but that isn't exactly the geography the country is most famous for. Wouldn't you take advantage of the beautiful mountains and bamboo forests? Unless, of course, you were banking on using those dissolving sand effects again, already evident on the poster. (They do venture into the Himalayas at some point from the looks of things. Dissolving snow effects?)
Still, it looks like there are some impressive action sequences. Those terracotta soldiers have always given me the creeps, so bonus points for managing to play on one of my archeological fears. And its nice to see Brendan Fraser again -- like Johnny Depp, he must have a portrait of himself aging in an attic somewhere. His movie son looks older than he does.
The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor will be released August 1st. What do you think -- a good way to spend the end of the summer, or are you just going to buy another ticket to Indiana Jones?
(In addition to the trailer, Universal released a slew of new Mummy images. Check those out in the gallery below.)
Would you like that shaken or stirred, Leo? Writing in Los Angeles Times, Jay A. Fernandez reports that Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way company recently came on board to produce a biopic about Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, based on an original script by Damian Stevenson. Fernandez speculates that DiCaprio might play Fleming: "During the writers' strike, DiCaprio showed interest in Fleming and his world, but he's looking to take the script in a different direction with a new writer."
Leo has produced other films in which he did not appear (The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Gardener of Eden) and already has a very full plate of upcoming projects. Still, it's fun to speculate because Fleming was such a fascinating character. According to Wikipedia, Fleming was a journalist first, including time in Moscow in 1933, then a stockbroker, before working in Naval Intelligence for Britain during World War II. He personally directed an intelligence-gathering unit that employed "lock-picking, safe-cracking, forms of unarmed combat, and other techniques and skills." He published his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1953. Stevenson's script started on the eve of Fleming's wedding in 1952 before flashing back to his years as a journalist, playboy and spy planner.
Fleming sounds like it could be a good, thrilling drama. What do you think? Could Leo pull off the part? If not, who would you like to see as Ian Fleming?
While David Lynch prepares to team up with Werner Herzog to make a guerilla-style murder drama, his daughter is doing quite well on her own, thank you very much. indieWIRE reports that Surveillance, the first film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch in 15 years, has been picked up by Magnet Releasing for distribution in the US. The thriller will be playing out of competition at Cannes next week in one of the three Midnight screening slots.
Surveillance is set in the Santa Fe desert, where a blood-curdling killing spree has been unleashed, according to the official synopsis. The FBI arrives and listens to three eyewitnesses, including an eight-year-old girl whose family was brutally murdered. It becomes clear that the little girl knows something about the FBI agents ... and then two more bodies are found.
Creepy, eh? But not nearly as creepy as Lynch's first film, Boxing Helena, in which a surgeon held a woman captive and started amputating her limbs, all in the name of love. Based on the premise, Surveillance sounds much more straightforward, but perhaps the younger Lynch has some surprises up her sleeve.
The film stars Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman (David Lynch's Lost Highway) as the FBI agents, Pell James, Ryan Simpkins, and Kent Harper as the witnesses, and Michael Ironside as the local police chief. French Stewart and Cheri Oteri are also featured. Harper co-wrote the script with Lynch. Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, plans a fall theatrical roll-out.
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.
Back in January, I alerted you to writer/director Rupert Wyatt's latest film called The Trail, which was set to start shooting this spring in New Mexico. Written by Wyatt, Trail is about a few soldiers on a base in New Mexico who get led on a trail by a Native American woman to help her brother, "who has been badly hurt in mysterious circumstances." Now the film is heading into production this September, and Variety reports that two other films are getting added to the mix.
Through Paramount Vantage, he will adapt Samuel Logan's book, This Is for the Mara Salvatrucha. The book is about a girl named Brenda Paz, who was a teen member of the MS-13 gang. When she became an informant for the FBI, she was killed by fellow gang members. This should be a pretty personal account, as it's getting made with the cooperation of her court-appointed guardian, Greg Hunter, who was not only her defense attorney, but her friend.
Also up for filming is a flick at Warner Bros. called Slipping Into Darkness, which Blake Masters is adapting from Peter Blauner's novel. This one is a "cat-and-mouse thriller about a cop who, 20 years after sending a teenage to jail for life, watches him freed on a technicality."
Between informants and friendships, freed-killer thrillers, and soldiers heading into mystery, Wyatt has his hands full. In the meantime, we can wait for Think Film to release his film The Escapist, which debuted at Sundance this year.
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.
Kidding? Yes, that's right, as in kids, young 'uns, rug rats. This week on Trailer Park, we're scoping out previews of movies that are for or about the kiddies. The Rocker Kid is a relative term, but the teens populating this comedy are kids from where I'm sitting. Probably best known for playing Dwight on NBC's The Office, Rainn Wilson stars as a washed up 80s rocker who was booted out of a succesful band right before they hit it big. Kind of like Pete Best but with spandex and big hair. His teenage nephew's band is playing at the prom and they need him to fill in. The gig goes well and Wilson's character ends up touring with the band. There's a definite hint of School of Rock, but Wilson is so appealing in the role that I've chosen to overlook that and the groin injury joke (a hokey device that is often a deal breaker for me). Here's what Erik thought of the trailer.
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.
Remember the days when FBI profilers hunted serial killers the old fashioned way, assisted by their fellow law enforcement officers? But ever since Clarice Starling had to go and enlist the help of Hannibal Lecter, now it is just standard protocol to pair up with a serial killer.
Deal with the Devil is the latest version of that tale -- except this one is a comic book by Mike S. Miller. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it's just been picked up by Lionsgate. The story follows FBI Agent Anthony Goodwin, a legendary manhunter until his final case. The killer he was after, Kevin Runyan, turned the tables and became his hunter. He loses his career and his suspect -- who turns up four years later, asking for his help. Goodwin must decide whether to help the man stop a dangerous copycat killer.
I'm about to take off for a week-long vacation, but I'll leave you with this: James McTeigue, whose V for Vendetta was wonderful, angry and brave, has signed on to direct a sci-fi thriller that sounds a bit like a second X-Files sequel -- which may be why I think it sounds so cool. Revelations, from a script by John Salvati (the forthcoming Andrew Niccol/Al Pacino Dali biopic), will involve a female journalist who investigates a series of bizarre murders and discovers that the dead were all being treated by the head of an organization that studies alien abductions.
V for Vendetta, as well as McTeigue's follow-up Ninja Assassin, due next year, were produced by the Wachowski Brothers. In fact, V was known more as a Wachowski Brothers film than a McTeigue film -- sort of the way Judd Apatow stole all the credit for Superbad from Greg Mottola. It doesn't sound like the Wachowskis will have a hand in this one, which might let the talented McTeigue spread his wings a bit. V showed fantastic promise; smart filmmakers who strive to make great genre films are hard to come by.
What we need is another good alien invasion TV show. Shame that no one wanted to watch the last one...
It sounds like a prank. We would all like it to be one. But it seems to be legit.
The story comes from Screen Daily, who reports that S. Darko is being shopped around, with Fox already picking up the North American distribution rights. Touted as the sequel to the 2001 cult hit, the story picks up seven years after Donnie Darko left off. The youngest Darko, Samantha, is now 18 and abandoning her commitment to Sparkle Motion. She heads to Las Vegas with her best friend Corey, but the two are plagued with bizarre visions. I imagine they will involve a rabbit.
Richard Kelly, the original director, is in no way involved. Chris Fincher Fisher* will direct instead. Daveigh Chase, who played Samantha in the original, will reprise her role. It looks like she is the only one. The movie also stars Ed Westwick, Briana Evigan, and Justin Chatwin.
As to the big looming question of why, oh God, why, Simon Crowe of UK sales company Velvet Octopus says they're thinking of the children. "I think there is a new generation of cinema-goers who will be very excited to see this film." Which generation came of age between 2001 and 2008? Why haven't they rented Donnie Darko? I am afraid these are questions to which Crowe has no answers. But he did quip, "Donnie's not in [the new film] but there are meteorites and rabbits."
Nothing is safe from the all mighty dollar, my friends. Nothing. Even when there is a pretty conclusive ending, there can always be a sequel. I'll leave you to think about that as I go pen my script for No Country for Old Men 2.
*Very kind thanks to astute reader toad_stone for pointing out our egregious misspelling of director Chris Fisher's last name. Correction made, with our apologies. - Ed.
Hello, vampires!
According to 
Luckily for 
I guess whether we like it or not, 
Would you like that shaken or stirred, Leo? Writing in 
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 
Back in January, 
With tales of Grand Theft Auto IV breaking 
Remember how for the longest time whenever anyone talked about 
Remember the days when FBI profilers hunted serial killers the old fashioned way, assisted by their fellow law enforcement officers? But ever since Clarice Starling had to go and enlist the help of Hannibal Lecter, now it is just standard protocol to pair up with a serial killer.
I'm about to take off for a week-long vacation, but I'll leave you with this: 
It sounds like a prank. We would all like it to be one. But it seems to be legit. 
Insert Caption: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian_thumbnail.jpg)
SCOOP: Spider-Man 4 and 5 Might be Shot at the Same Time!
Cinematical Seven: Disney's Awesome Live-Action Kid Adventures
