Marc Forster has always been a director who likes to take on projects about diverse subjects. He has directed serious dramas, like "Finding Neverland," great acting performances (Halle Berry in “Monster’s Ball") and has also helmed a big-budget action film, "Quantum of Solace," and now it looks as if he will take on religion for his next film.
According to Variety, Forster is being lined up as a potential director for the religious drama "Heretics" for Endgame Entertainment.
Based on an episode of "This American Life," "Heretics" centers on Carlton Pearson, a rising star among evangelicals until he was ostracized by his own church and declared a heretic after he started preaching that there is no Hell. Pearson began to do so after watching a program about conditions in war-torn Rwanda.
Marcus Hinchey ("All Good Things") is writing the screenplay. James D. Stern, Ira Glass, Alissa Shipp, Bradford Simpson and Forster will produce.
Forster is a skilled and adept director, and I think Glass’s “This American Life” is truly a great journalistic program. The combination of that along with the fact that this story is very interesting and controversial should make for a great project.
David Peace’s Japanese crime thriller novel “Occupied City” will get the Hollywood treatment by way of Warner Bros. sometime in the near future.
According to Risky Biz, the company picked up the film rights to the novel, which is the second of a trilogy by Pearce set during the U.S. military occupation of Japan.
The story is a "Rashomon"-esque tale depicting the shifting perspectives of people involved in the real life Teikoku Bank incident of 1948.
That incident involved sixteen employees of a Tokyo bank being subjected to cyanide poisoning given to them by a man claiming to be an epidemiologist sent by U.S. occupation forces to inoculate the employees against dysentery.
When all were incapacitated, the man stole all the money he could find. Ten of the victims died at the scene, two died later in hospital. A man named Hirasawa Sadamichi was ultimately convicted of the murders and died over three decades later in prison, but is widely believed to have been innocent.
Peace suggests that the real murderer was connected with an underground biological weapons unit, and he uses multiple narrators living and dead, Japanese, American and Russian in a “Rashomon”-style retelling of those events.
Peace is no stranger to getting his books optioned and he has been on a bit of a Hollywood tear lately. His gritty “Red Riding Quartet” of novels was spun into a trio of TV films last year while Steve Zaillian is currently writing a new adaptation of the “Red Riding” novels for producer Ridley Scott and Columbia Pictures.
Also, scribe Peter Morgan adapted Peace’s 2006 soccer-based novel “The Damned Utd” into a film that Sony Pictures Classics released last fall, “The Damned United.”
“City” is the second in a planned trilogy of novels. The first, “Tokyo Year Zero,” was published in 2007, and the third is still in the works.
I think that the subject matter of this story is just utterly fascinating, and it is the perfect formula for a film. The “Rashomon” style of it is well placed, and if this project is handled the right way, it could end up being an awards contender sometime in the future.
Osment, according to the The Hollywood Reporter, has signed on the lead role in the comedy "Sex Ed" for MPCA and Aperture Entertainment.
The story follows a college graduate who dreams of teaching high school Algebra. Due to budget cuts, though, he ends up teaching sexual education--a bit of a problem as he's still a virgin. He soon befriends a mentor in a blues bar, a ruthless enemy in the local PTA, and a gorgeous Polish love interest for whom English is a distant second language.
Isaac Feder, who has helmed commercials as well as shorts, is directing the coming-of-age tale the script by Billy Kennedy.
Osment, who became a star with "The Sixth Sense," hasn't appeared in a film since 2007's "Home of the Giants."
Either way, I think this project has potential to be hilarious and Osment seems to be a nice fit for the part. Although he hasn't done much work at all since "The Sixth Sense," this could be his chance to show everyone that he is more than just a child success.
I think he will do well here--he has flashed some comedic chops in the past, but nothing of this caliber, but this could be the perfect was for Osment to break out of that “child actor” mold that so many people remember him by.
Steven Soderbergh's pandemic thriller "Contagion" has just added yet another big name to its already excellent ensemble cast: Laurence Fishbourne.
Currently starring in "Predators," Fishburne will play a doctor according to Variety and will join the likes of Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Jude Law on the film.
"Contagion" is based on a script penned by Scott Z. Burns and revolves around the threat posed by a deadly disease, with multiple plotlines in the style of Soderbergh's "Traffic."
Soderbergh's developed the project with producing partner Gregory Jacobs while Participant Media is co-financing and producing along with Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher of Double Feature Films.
Fishbourne's schedule for "Contagion" had to be worked out to mesh with his commitments to the lead role in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Either way, I'm glad it did because Fishbourne is a great actor, and adding him to the already stacked cast is only a positive move.
Soderbergh should have no trouble juggling multiple big name actors and storylines considering he has done that so many times in his career already. I have high hopes for this film--I think "Traffic" is one of the best films of the last decade and I hope that he can recreate a feel on this film as he did with that one.
In March of this year, it was announced by Variety that Hyde Park Entertainment had picked up the rights to Andy McNab’s 12-novel espionage series based around the character Nick Stone. It was only a matter of time before the company would cast its leading man.
According to Pajiba, Australian hunk Eric Bana will play the lead character of Stone in "Echelon," a film adaptation of McNab's espionage novel "Firewall."
The film will follow the ex-SAS grunt as he attempts to prevent a terrorist organization from accessing the world’s largest computer intelligence database.
In the book, the third of 12, Stone is hired to kidnap a Russian mafia warlord and deliver him to St. Petersburg. When he arrives, he soon finds himself raiding a house in the cold wastes of Estonia, where Russia has launched an online offensive to tap into the West's military secrets--secrets the Russians, the Americans, the Brits and rival mafia gangs all want to get their hands on.
The script comes from John Connor, who is also a producer on the project. Aside from creating an awesomely badass character in Nick Stone, author McNab is quite a fascinating character himself. He was (not surprisingly) an SAS officer himself and also was the weapons coordinator on Michael Mann's film "Heat."
Adding even more to his resume, McNab also was the most highly decorated British soldier of the Gulf War, after he commanded the Bravo Two Zero operation and was held and tortured by Iraqi soldiers for six weeks.
Oh, and by the way, adding even more bassassness (is that even a word?) to the author is that Andy McNab is not even his real name. For security reasons it had to be changed but that hasn't stopped him from turning his novels into a Hollywood franchise.
Ever since I saw Bana play a tough-as-nails soldier in "Black Hawk Down," I was a fan. I think he will be perfect in the role of Stone--he has the right pedigree, attitude and screen presence to take on the persona. Bana's upcoming slate is looking pretty good with the actor wrapping up Joe Wright's "Hanna" as well as the upcoming "The Emperor's Children."
There is no start date as of yet for "Echelon," but that could change soon once a director comes on board.
We're in a recession, but Wall Street seems to be on a hot streak.
Following Oliver Stone's "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," it looks as if we'll be getting another look at the world of stocks, this time with an adaptation of Jordan Belfort's '90s stock market memoir, "The Wolf of Wall Street."
At first looking to be another re-teaming of Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese, Deadline says it looks as if Ridley Scott is in early discussions to take the reins of the film.
The book follows the supervisor of a group of stockbrokers who live off the extravagant funds they scored from squeezing clients to buy stocks that pay off in the broker's favor. The federal authorities eventually brought down the shady brokers.
DiCaprio and Scorsese came close to doing the project two years ago but it stalled due to a dispute between Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures, resulting in the duo collaborating on "Shutter Island." Now, the scenario is that Scorsese will produce the project alongside DiCaprio, who will star.
Scott loves the script adaptation by Terrance Winter ("The Sopranos," "Boardwalk Empire"), but the biggest obstacle this film has in its way is scheduling.
Between Scott's "Alien" prequel, Scorsese's "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" and DiCaprio's starring role in Clint Eastwood's "Hoover," finding time to actually make the movie might be difficult.
The script is reported to be funny, dramatic and fast paced, and manages to make something of a sympathetic character out of a stockbroker who squeezed clients to buy stocks that paid off for the brokers.
How that will fare in a post-Madoff era remains be seen, but with Scott, DiCaprio and Scorcese involved, I think it will turn out quite fine.
Look for more on this project in the coming months.
While his brother Ridley preps his prequel to "Aliens," Tony Scott is keeping himself busy locking in the cast fir his upcoming film "Potzdamer Platz."
The Playlist reports that Christopher Walken and Johnny Hallyday have joined while Javier Bardem has been confirmed to be onboard the $38 million action thriller.
The drama follows two soldiers in a New Jersey-based crime family who try to expand internationally. Though the title refers to the famed public square in central Berlin, the action will be shifted to Puerto Rico and the title will likely change with it.
Mickey Rourke already has been confirmed to be involved. Jason Statham was said to be circling earlier this year while Scott was hoping to lure both Al Pacino and Gene Hackman for roles.
Former "Cold Case" lead Kathryn Morris is heating up since switching casting agencies this past April.
In her first move since signing with the Gersh Agency, the actress is in negotiations to star in baseball drama "Moneyball" for Sony Pictures, according to Risky Business.
Morris will play the second wife of the lead character, Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt). She loves baseball as much as her husband, so she understands and shares his passion for the game.
Bennett Miller directs the film, which stars Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Stephen Bishop. The script was written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin and will shoot some scenes at Oakland Colliseum over the summer.
Morris is a solid actress, and I think a role like this could be a breakout part for her. She was always great on "Cold Case" and she also has been solid in supporting roles in “Minority Report,” “Resurrecting the Champ” and “Paycheck.”
The book "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis was fascinating, even for people who aren't baseball fans. With such a great cast and excellent director like Miller in place, "Moneyball" is a project to look forward to.
What’s more important, quality or quantity? That question has been debated over and over for many years within music circles and after all this time, one thing is certain: when it comes to Dr. Dre, quantity doesn’t mean a thing.
Dre’s debut album, “The Chronic”, was released in 1992 is considered one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. When you debut with an album of that nature, fans want one thing and one thing only; another album.
Instead of quickly churning out a follow up, Dre made fans wait. And wait. And wait. During this time he worked on producing and discovered a rapper named Eminem. But finally, in 1999 he gave fans what they were waiting for: a new album.
“Chronic 2001” was the long awaited follow up to Dr. Dre’s debut and it also helped revitalize the West coast hip-hop scene. They say sequels are never as good as the original, but this album puts that statement to shame. Fans were clamoring for another album, and Dre didn’t disappoint.
The album harps on the same topics Dre took on years ago, like gangs, violence, crime and marijuana, but this time around he digs deeper into those subjects (especially marijuana) and the beats are just unbelievable.
While other artists have produced way more albums, Dr. Dre is 2-2 in his career and batting a thousand. “Chronic 2001” is at 22 tracks long is stacked from top to bottom and includes a slew of guest stars including Nate Dogg, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige.
"Still D.R.E." and "Forgot About Dre" are probably the most popular songs on the album, but "What's the Difference", "Big Ego's", "Xxplosive" and "Bang Bang" are all excellent as well.
"Still D.R.E." was the first single off the album, and it is easily one of the best songs of all time. The track, which features Snoop Dogg, has one of the best beats I’ve ever heard and it marked Dre’s return to the hip-hop scene.
The chorus is one of the most memorable in hip-hop history, with Dre and Snoop rapping: “I'm representing for them gangsters all across the world/Still hitting them corners in them low low's girl/Still taking my time to perfect the beat/And I still got love for the streets, it's the D-R-E.”
You can hear how enthusiastic Dre is to be back in the game once again as he raps: “Still, I stay close to the heat/And even when I was close to defeat, I rose to my feet/My life is like a soundtrack I wrote to the beat/Treat rap like Cali weed, I smoke till I sleep/Wake up in the A.M., compose a beat/I bring the fire till you're soaking in your seat.”
“Bang, Bang” is one of the more underrated tracks on the album, and it has Dre spitting some of his cleverest lines. The track takes a fly on the wall look at crime on the streets. Dre raps about the violence that lurks around every corner and how things have gotten a bit out of hand since he last was in the game.
The constant ringing of gunshots throughout the beat fits in perfectly with Dre as he spits one of the best verses on the album. He puts is all in to perspective as he raps: “I think the attitudes are twice as worst/It takes half the time to get your life reversed/Always tryin to play Rambo with they ammo/Make a nigga wanna stay in family mode.”
“The Next Episode” was nominated for a Grammy award and is my personal favorite tracks on the album. The track features Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, which gives an old school West coast feel to it. The entire track feels like it should be playing out of a low rider convertible riding along the California highway.
Dre is at his gansta high point as he raps: “It's California Love, this California bud got a nigga gang of pub/I'm on one, I might bail up in the Century Club, with my jeans on, and my team strong/Get my drink on, and my smoke on.”
Snoop just kills it on this track as he raps in his perfected, laid back style: “Top Dogg, bite 'em all, nigga burn the shit up/D-P-G-C my nigga turn that shit up/C-P-T, L-B-C, yeah we hookin' back up/And when they bang this in the club baby you got to get up.” Nate Dogg’s line at the end of the track: “Heeeeeeey……smoke weed every day,” is perfectly placed and extremely memorable to any hip-hop fan.
Dr. Dre made fans wait a long time for “Chronic 2001”, but it was completely worth it. The album was the perfect follow-up, with Dre expanding on everything he previously created and throwing the spotlight back on the West coast and gangsta rap.
It’s been over a decade since “Chronic 2001” was released, so only time will tell when Dre will release a third album (if he ever does). Either way, his second effort was a fantastic combination of amazing beats and clever rhymes and will go down as one of the best ever.
As the hip-hop industry moved from the 90's to the new millennium, mainstream rap and the radio waves had become dominated by money driven, mediocre thug rap and was just waiting for an original group to stand up and take over.
While Dead Prez didn't substantially take over the hip-hop industry, the duo stood up firmly for what they believed in, and injected rap with some political flavor that it had sorely been missing.
Comprised of M-1 and SticMan, the group first met on the campus of FAMU (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University), where M-1 was attending to school and SticMan liked to hang out. While the group had formed somewhat of an underground following, they didn't get their big break until they met (by chance) with Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar at a Brooklyn block party. Afterwards the duo signed a recording deal with Loud Records.
The group isn't shy about their beliefs and they won't hesitate to stand up and fight for them. Before the group became successful, M-1 took matters into his own hands and joined the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement in Chicago for three years and also found himself interested in the Black Panthers.
These experiences, along with the fact that the duo enjoyed talking about politics and other similar cultural topics, all contributed to the release of the group’s first album "Lets Get Free".
Released in February of 2000, "Lets Get Free" was an extremely politically charged debut, and was showered with critically acclaim by journalists and other artists alike. Dead Prez didn't shy away from any topic, taking on a slew of cultural touchstones including police, corporate control over the media, the music industry, education, the prison system, as well as religion and political repression.
The group also takes on some pressing issues, which pertain specifically to the black community, like the inadequacies of inner-city public schooling ("They Schools") and about the effect of socially repressive government ("Police State").
Along with these two there are a ton of other good tracks on this album, which has 18 in all. "Hip-Hop", "Animal in Man", "Be Healthy", "I'm a African" and "Behind Enemy Lines" are all excellent and each illustrate the type of group Dead Prez is, and the intelligence they contain. The group took social activism to new heights; proving that Dead Prez were the most revolutionary hip-hop group to emerge since Public Enemy fell off and N.W.A broke up.
"Hip Hop" was released as a single in 1999 and is probably the most well known track off the album. Dave Chappelle, showing off his fantastic taste in music, used the track as the intro to his super-popular "Chappelle's Show", and it also found its way into the soundtrack of a skating video game.
Either way, the track is one of Dead Prez's best and the beat (with Chappelle's help of course) is instantly recognizable to any hip-hop fan. On the track the group raps about the state of the modern music industry and the fact that its become over-commercialized.
While the line "It's bigger than hip hop, hip hop, hip hop," is the most significant on the track, the group spits some of their most intelligent lines in this one. Dead Prez shows that they look out for their own as M-1 raps: "Uh, who shot Biggie Smalls?/If we don't get them, they gonna get us all/I'm down for runnin' up on them crackers in they city hall/We ride for y'all, all my dogs stay real."
"Be Healthy" is one of the most original tracks on the album, and if you didn't know anything about Dead Prez you might think it's a joke. The group raps about eating healthy and having self-respect for one's body and mind. I think it's one of the group's most brilliant tracks, because you rarely would find a hip-hop group rapping about vegetables and eating the right way. There are so many good lines on "Be Healthy", but its the way it gets started that sets the stage for the rest of the track. It opens with the line "I don't eat no meat, no dairy, no sweets/only ripe vegetables, fresh fruit and whole wheat."
While that line is clever, the best verse comes later in the track. The group shows once again that they are like no other hip-hop duo around as they rap: "They say you are what you eat, so I strive to be healthy/my goal in life is not to be rich or wealthy/cause true wealth comes from good health, and wise ways/we got to start taking better care of ourselves, be healthy y'all." When else will you ever find rappers valuing veggies over dollars? That's the brilliance in the track. Funny enough the track has become extremely popular in the vegetarian and vegan communities.
"They Schools" is my favorite track on the album and is easily one of the best of all time. I still can remember the first time I heard the track, and while I was young I still felt I understood what Dead Prez was trying to convey. The group doesn't shy away from anything on the track, as they open up with the line: "I went to school with some redneck crackers/Right around the time 3rd Bass dropped the Cactus album/But I was reading Malcolm."
Education was (and still is) a huge problem in our country, and here Dead Prez takes it head on. SticMan raps with ferocity on this track and you can tell he is rapping from experience. You can hear the truthfulness in his voice as he spits: "I took a history class serious/Front row, every day of the week, 3rd period/Fuckin with the teachers had, callin em racist/I tried to show them crackers some light, they couldn`t face it."
"Lets Get Free" came along at a time when hip-hop needed a splash of originality. It needed Dead Prez.
While they never quite achieved the popularity of other mainstream artists of their time, the group will be remembered for far longer for what they contributed to the industry. Their intelligence is unmatched, and the group's topical diversity is equally inspiring; you'll be hard pressed to find another album that tackles both the penal system, oppressive government and vegetables.
Either way, "Lets Get Free" is one of the best political hip-hop albums of all time, and is definitely a classic.
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