With superhero films being all the rage in Hollywood these days, it's no surprise that many studios are looking to reboot and remake past films that didn't work all that well. In a sense it all really started with "Batman Begins," which totally revamped the "Batman" franchise for the better and now 20th Century Fox is looking to do the same with everyone' favorite blind hero.
According to Deadline "30 Days of Night" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" director David Slade is in talks to develop and helm a reboot of the "Daredevil" film franchise for 20th Century Fox.
While the project doesn't have a writer attached yet, the film will be a continuation of the story started with the 2003 film starring Ben Affleck as the blind superhero. That film grossed $179M worldwide and was a critical failure, especially compared to films like "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight."
While Affleck will not be involved in the project, some rumors have surfaced that the project will actually be more a reboot than a sequel as the storyline is said to be an adaptation of the critically acclaimed Frank Miller-written and David Mazzucchelli-illustrated "Born Again" run of the comic series.
In that series, blind hero Matt Murdock begins to systematically destroy his life when his ex sells his identity off for heroin to the Kingpin.
While the project will obviously take some time to come together, if the film follows the Miller storyline things might actually go pretty well for this adaptation. The first "Daredevil" was just a mess, and while I honestly like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, the first "Daredevil" film just did not do the character justice. Miller's story is one of the best to grace the character's pages and if the project casts the right man, this one could help "Daredevil" break out to the mainstream much like "Iron Man" did a few years back.
Slade's next film is the period horror "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" with Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace.
Although he has been acting for quite a while, Australian actor Sam Worthington stayed below the radar until breaking out in "Avatar" and "Terminator Salvation" in 2009. Following work on those two films, his new fame led him to star in "Clash of the Titans" and got his named linked to just about every notable developing project out there.
Worthington gave an excellent performance in the 2010 film "The Debt" and is also set to star in "The Fields" as well as the sequel to "Clash," titled "Wrath of the Titans" and the actor has just added another project to his already busy future slate.
According to The ABC Screen Australia has given the green light to "Drift," the 70's-set surfing drama starring Worthington, which will be shot in the actor's hometown of Perth.
The story follows the Fisher brothers who "escape their brutal past to start a new life in a remote Australian coastal town". The pair soon battle "suspicious locals, killer waves and ruthless bikers as they struggle to kick-start a business from their greatest passion - surfing,"
In a statement released regarding the film, Screen's acting CEO Fiona Cameron said the film will be: "the first character-driven action movie set in the surfing world since Kathryn Bigelow's Point Break."
This project has a boat load of potential, not only because Worthington is involved, but also because the plot sounds like it could be very interesting and exciting. Worthington obviously will be inspired, considering it will film in his home town, and on top of that not too many films showcase surfing as this one looks to do. The comparisons to "Point Break" is a great jumping off point as well, because I don’t think there is another action movie out there that incorporates surfing so well.
Actor turned filmmaker Morgan O'Neill directs the project while Ben Nott ("Tomorrow When the War Began") will serve as the director of photography. Tim Duffy and Myles Pollard will produce, with filming to begin later this year.
A few years back when writer Joshua Foer set out to cover the U.S. Memory Championship, there's no way he could have predicted how things turned out. Foer participated in the competition for research, trained and actually ended up winning the Us title, facing off against competitors from around the world.
Foer, the brother of writer Jonathan Safran Foer, wrote a book detailing his experiences, which will now be a major motion picture. According to The Hollywood Reporter Sony Pictures has acquired the screen rights to Foer’s bestseller "Moonwalking With Einstein."
The instructional book focuses on how to improve memory as Foer relates his real-life experience as a science journalist covering the U.S. Memory Championship, which he entered as a participant.
After announcing the deal, Columbia president Doug Belgrad said: “This is a very special book which transcends the already fascinating subject of memory. By explaining in personal and entertaining fashion a great deal about how our brains work, Joshua has written a book that sheds light on how memory is connected to humanity."
Foer's story is extremely interesting, especially if you aren’t that familiar with the memory competitions. These "memory athletes" spend hours training and studying and it's so amazing to see how skilled they become when it comes to remembering numbers, patterns and more. While it may not seem like the most obvious choice to be a motion picture, the way the book is written allows for a very open interpretation, as well as an amazing story of someone who adapts to a new world and environment.
The book is currently on the NY Times and Amazon.com best seller lists.
Sometimes when a film project falls into development hell, it's impossible to get it out, but when they do, sometimes the results can be amazing. For example the "Batman" franchise was stuck in development hell for years until Christopher Nolan totally kicked ass with "Batman Begins," and now it seems another director is trying to work his magic on a project stuck in the depths.
According to The Hollywood Reporter "The Bourne Identity" director Doug Liman's long-in-development sci-fi feature at Paramount Pictures may have escaped development hell.
The story centers on a renegade group of former space employees, led by an Eastern European woman, who travel the world, stealing space equipment in an attempt to go back to the moon to acquire an energy source. The last item to steal is an ever valuable ex-NASA employee.
A few years ago the project had a chance at some life at Dreamworks with Jake Gyllenhaal attached to star, but interest in the project cooled over time. Liman pursued other films while the script received rewrites from Ken Nolan, Mark Bowden and Simon Kinberg. The site reports that interest is swelling, and that the project could start shooting by as early as the end of the summer.
The biggest piece of the puzzle comes with casting. Liman has met with a crop of talented young actors for the project, including Andrew Garfield, Emile Hirsch and Chris Pine for the male lead, while Rosario Dawson, Megan Fox, Rachel McAdams, Eva Mendes, Zoe Saldana and Olivia Wilde have all had meetings about the female lead.
Once any casting becomes official, this film could get the go ahead and move along quickly. I really hope it does, because when I first heard about the project I thought it was infinitely interesting, and with that crop of actors meeting with Liman, this could be a huge project down the line.
Science fiction and space exploration films have become very trendy these days, with projects like "Skyline," "Battle: Los Angeles," "District 9" and "Super 8" all gracing theaters.
While development hell has consumed many of a project, lets hope this one that makes it out alive.
Ridley Scott's new film "Prometheus" has been through some fluid transitions since it was announced last year. First it was supposed to be a direct "Alien" prequel, but now it seems that it will be more of a stand-alone story, with some connections to the original. Either way, for science fiction fans, it's a project that offers a ton of excitement, one reason being the awesome cast, which looks as if it just filled another starring role.
According to Variety, actor Logan Marshall-Green ("Devil," "24," "The O.C.") has signed on to play one of the lead male roles in the movie for 20th Century Fox.
Marshall-Green will play the role of Holloway, the love interest for Noomi Rapace's character. Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron also star in the film.
The Internet has been buzzing since last year about what the film will show and when it will take place. Some sites have reported that the story will take place thousands of years in the future, while others say it will show the origin of the "Space Jockey" from the original film.
Whether the project actually connects to the original "Alien" almost seems moot at this point. The film has Ridley Scott, Michael Fassbender Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron involved. So, no matter what the plot is, it should be an awesome science-fiction adventure because of them.
The addition of Marshall-Green is a small but a very solid one. While he hasn't starred in all that many films, Green has put on solid performances throughout his entire career, including on TV shows "24" and "The O.C.," in which he played Ryan Atwood's brother.
The past year or so hasn't been all that kind to Bredan Fraser. He starred in two pretty awful movies, "Furry Vengeance" and "Extraordinary Measures," and also starred in a Broadway production of "Elling," which closed after only nine performances due to lackluster reviews. Obviously, not the best run of luck for the actor who is best known for starring in "The Mummy" franchise.
While Fraser isn't one of Hollywood's "best" actors, the man has proved over time that he has a load of potential. He was great in the 2002 film "The Quiet American" and say what you will about "The Mummy" trilogy, but the first film was flat out great.
Fraser will next be seen in the Steve Carell film "Crazy Stupid Love" and he just recently joined another brand new project as well. According to Variety, Fraser will star in Terry George's comedic heist film "Whole Lotta Sola."
The script from George and Thomas Gallagher centers on a young man who plans to rob a fish shop to pay off his gambling debts. However, his plan goes awry, leading to an unexpected hostage situation. Fraser will play the shopkeeper who is on the run from his gangster father-in-law.
One reason this project is a step in the right direction for Fraser is due to the fact that George is directing. This could turn out to be a run-of-the-mill hostage film, but George has proven over his career he is not the run-of-the-mill director. George directed "Hotel Rwanda" from his own script and directed "Reservation Road," both of which were excellent emotional dramas.
While the comedy theme will be a change up for George, having Fraser may turn out to be a great bit of casting if he can tap into that comedic charm that at one time made him a box-office star.
The film will shoot later this year in Northern Ireland.
In 1993 when the Wu-Tang Clan released their debut album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)," the group emphatically put the New York scene back on the map in a big way, and helped to shepherd in East Coast Renaissance of hip-hop. The album enabled members of the group to put out solo albums, many of which were good, such as "Tical" from Method Man and "Iromman" from Ghostface Killah.
While releases from Ol Dirty Bastard and RZA were successful as well, the most influential and arguably most important album released from the group came from the one and only Raekwon.
His debut album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." was released in 1995 to great critical acclaim and is considered one of the most creative and inventive hip-hop albums out there. The album is structured in a cinematic style and features Wu-Tang members Ghostface Killah as the "guest-star," and producer RZA as the "director." Ghostface appears on numerous tracks throughout while RZA produced the entire album.
"Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." plays out in a beautifully cinematic way and details the types of things Raekwon and Ghostface Killah experienced in their lives in Staten Island, including tracks revolving around hustling, cocaine dealing, street life, and the Mafioso lifestyle. Another aspect of the album that elevates it above the rest is how Raekwon and Ghostface seamlessly incorporate Italian Mafia influences, nicknames and distinctive slang throughout the connected tracks on the album.
From top to bottom the lineup of tracks is fantastic, with highlights including "Criminology" and "Ice Cream," "Rainy Dayz" and the utterly distinctive "Wu-Gambinos,"
"Criminology" was the second single released of the album, but in my opinion was one of the best. Like many of the tracks, it features a sample from a film, this one being the '80s crime classic "Scarface." The dialogue fits in perfectly on the track, which features two illustrative and fierce verses from Raekwon and Ghostface and one of the smoothest beats on the album.
The second half of the track is strong as Raekwon spits: "But anyway, let's toast, champagne thoughts with Ghost/I max the most shotguns through the nose/Phonograph hip-hop put me on top/'Lo wears, and Tommy Hil fly shit with a knot /The witty unpredictable live shit, drive by shit/Do or die shit, I'll take your lie and shit /And then you know, I'm runnin through the penal, foul/Four-toothed child was wild/The old lady snitched, but fuck it, you know it, one love kid/No I'm not doin a bid."
"Rainy Dayz" is one of the more laid back tracks on the album, but what it lacks in explosiveness it makes up for in quality. RZA's production is at its sharpest on the track, with the beat having a haunting, creepy repetitive sound to it. Ghostface has some of his best lines on this track, but its Raekwon who steals the spotlight on the track.
The second verse is one if his best as he spits over the memorable beat: "What brings rain hail snow and earthquakes/The beat breaks, cause all my niggaz to break son / Styles is similar to criminals locked up/With gats, ghetto tabernacles is fucked up/I live once though, the mind stays infinite/Travel in the church, nine planets, in my midst/While I carry, to earn a decent salary/Soon get married, raise a family, but the plan'll be/real great, to sit up in the loft, count stacks and max/And real cats cold watch my back."
"Wu-Gambinos" is easily my favorite track on the album and is one of the most creative and original of the bunch. The track features numerous samples of dialogue from the John Woo film "The Killer" and features verses from Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, RZA and Method Man. The track prominently features the various nicknames and "la cosa nostra" Mafia influences mentioned earlier.
Raekwon's verse on the track is another example of the rapper's skills as a lyricist, showing of how illustrative he can be, as he raps: " This goes for niggaz who know/Wu will grow like llello, ley no/Plus coolin in Barbados/Ricaans be givin me much shit, the dutch shit/Stay cool papi, seize it with enough shit/Back at the lab a, crack's bagged up/Yo niggaz act up, what blow up the workers if they hafta/Senoritas, fuckin up a storm buyin guards margaritas/Suckin his dick, up in the whip long."
"Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." is an album which warrants numerous listens, allowing yout to fully soak in all the lyrical details, slang and intricacies that make it so inventive. Raekwon and crew form a sort of "Mafioso" family of their own, and RZA's production is second-to-none and helps create a completely connected atmosphere throughout the tracks on the album.
The lyrics are realistic and complex, the first person narratives detailed and ambitious. No matter what way you look at it, Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." is one of hip-hops all time best and most definitely a classic.
In this Internet day and age, it's hard to imagine a spoiler or plot detail staying secret for too long, especially when it comes to some of the more high-profile films set to be released in the near future, including this summer's "The First Avenger: Captain America."
That film had quite a few secrets leak out over the past few months, but one thing that stayed quiet was who actor Derek Luke would play in the film. That is until now. Although the role was cast months ago, it's only now finally been revealed whom Luke will play in Marvel's upcoming superhero film.
According to Blackfilm, its been confirmed that Luke will play Gabe Jones, an original member of the elite Howling Commandos combat squad of World War II in "The First Avenger: Captain America."
In the original comics, Jones was the first African-American to serve in an integrated unit and a close confidante to Sergeant Nick Fury, who is played in the films by Samuel L. Jackson. Jones would later join Fury as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Luke is part of a studded cast that includes Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Sebastian Stan, Toby Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Dominic Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, and Neal McDonough.
Luke has been a powerful actor throughout his career and he definitely will bring some intensity and quality acting skills to his part. It really seems that Joe Johnston's film is going to pay a lot of homage to the original comics, which is always a plus for fan boys out there. The footage from the film really looks great so far and it has the feel of an "Indiana Jones" film with superhero elements mixed in, which is not a bad thing at all.
HBO was the first cable network to really put a lot of effort into truly original programming and for years they were ahead of the curve. Between shows like "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," "Deadwood" and "The Wire," the network was second to none when it came to quality programming.
In recent years the network has been just as strong, with shows like "True Blood," Boardwalk Empire" and the upcoming "Game of Thrones" and according to Entertainment Weekly they are developing another uniquely original show.
According to the site HBO is reportedly developing "Hobgoblin", a period drama series involving illusionists during the WWII era. The story follows a group of con men and magicians who battle Hitler and the Nazis during WWII, using their powers of deception to outwit the Third Reich.
Michael Chabon ("Wonder Boys") and Ayelet Waidman ("Bad Mother") are attached to the project, which is in early development.
While magicians might not be the first thing to come to mind when thinking of fighting the Third Reich, if anyone knows how to handle it is Chabon. He is easily one of, if not the best American authors out there and his book "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" was a Pulitzer Prize winner and featured a main character who had magician's skills and took place during the same WWII era.
While the show is in early development it will definitely be something to keep an eye on because Chabon's involved. The idea of the story sounds totally unique and could turn out to be a surprise hit for HBO in the future.
While both have taken different routes along the way, actors Chris Pratt and Rhys Ifans have been hot commodities in Hollywood as of late.
Pratt has been putting in steady work on "Parks and Recreation" for a couple years and has spun that into some solid film roles including in the recently released "Take Me Home Tonight" (which also stars his wife Anna Faris) and in the upcoming films "What's Your Number?," the highly anticipated "Moneyball," as well as in the Channing Tatum indie "Ten Year."
Ifans has been putting in solid supporting work for a long while and been drawing attention recently for some lower profile roles, including as notorious pot smuggler Howard Marks in the British indie "Mr. Nice," but looks to break out big as the villain in Marc Webb's upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man.
Both actors are on the cusp of mainstream stardom and have added a new wrinkle to their resumes, joining up on a new comedy project. According to Variety Ifans along with "Parks and Recreation" star Pratt have joined the cast of Nicholas Stoller's comedy "Five-Year Engagement" for Universal Pictures.
Jason Segel and Emily Blunt star in the film which chronicles the highs and lows of a lengthy relationship. "Community" actress Alison Brie co-stars as Blunt's younger sister.
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek" scribes Segel and Stoller co-wrote the script, while Judd Apatow, Rodney Rothman and Stoller are producing.
Everything about this project seems like it should add up to a winning combination. Anything Judd Apatow produces always warrants some attention, but what this has going for it is the fact that Segel and Stoller are teaming up once again. The duo did an amazing job on "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and although "Get Him to the Greek" wasn't as good, Stoller has shown he has a knack for comedic timing.
Adding both Pratt and Ifans is a great move as well, because both are excellent supporting actors and should provide Segel and Blunt some relief throughout the film. The cast of the film was great even before the two were added, with Emily Blunt and Allison Brie also starring in the film. Blunt is one of Hollywood's underrated talents and Brie is just perfect in her role on the NBC sitcom "Community."
