Archive for November, 2009
Disney is developing a reinvention of the 1979 sci-fi film The Black Hole, with Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski and producer Sean Bailey on board, along with Clash of the Titans scribe Travis Beacham working on the screenplay. Kosinski might direct if he can find time in his schedule, with his planned sci-fi epic Oblivion and further possible Tron sequels.
The details of the update are being kept tightly under wraps, though HeatVision reports that the new take grounds the story in “the science of a black hole, much more so than in the original,” and will see the return of the red robot Maximilian. Knowing Disney’s history, I’m sure this project is being developed for a 3D release.
The original film was Disney’s first PG-rated film, at the time, the most expensive movie ever produced by the company, with a price tag of $20 million plus another $6 million in advertising. Te movie’s opening credits sequence featured the longest computer graphics shot at that point in film history. The movie, which earned $36 million at the US box office, making it the 13th highest grossing film of the year, went on to be nominated for cinematography and visual effects Academy Awards.
For those of you who haven’t seen the original film, here is the plot synopsis from IMDb:
The crew of the spaceship Palamino stumbles across the ”lost” ship U.S.S. Cygnus, hovering on the edge of an immense black hole. Once aboard, they find the ship is manned by robots - it’s only human inhabitant, one Dr. Hans Reinhardt; an eminent scientist, missing for the past twenty years. His plan - to enter the Black Hole . . . Whether Dr. Reinhardt is a genius or a mad-man, one thing is for sure, he will not be denied his life’s dream. What lies beyond the Black Hole? Immortality . . . or, Oblivion . . . ?
Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright provided commentary on the trailer for The Black Hole, one of his childhood favorites, in a previous version of Trailers From Hell:
You can watch the trailer without Wright’s commentary below:
Ben Magid’s spec screenplay Invasion has sold to Summit Entertainment/Participant for low to mid six figures. The story, which is an alien invasion thriller in the same vein as Cloverfield, is being produced by Eli Roth and Eric Newman (Children of Men, Slither). According to Shock, “the film opens with a wicked subway accident in Los Angeles in which the survivors (the film’s protagonists) climb from the wreckage to find the, now “snowy,” city in ruins.” No further details are available at this time. Magid made a name for himself in 2006, selling a pitch to New Line for his script Pan, a spin on J.M. Barrie’s tale of Peter Pan, where Pan is a villain being hunted by a police captain named Hook. He has since taken a stab at an early draft for the live-action adaptation of Hack/Slash.
With the success of recent films like the Transformers movies and District 9 (and to a lesser extent, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is the 26th highest grossing film worldwide), it seems like Hollywood is going alien crazy, giving the green light and putting a lot of alien-based stories in development — more than ever before. In a couple years, will aliens be the new vampires? Here is a round up of the alien-related projects in development right now.
- Sam Raimi made news earlier in the week by snapping up Uruguayan filmmaker Federico Alvarez after his alien invasion sci-fi short film Panic Attack went viral on the web. The plan is to develop a feature film.
- James Cameron’s Avatar is set on the alien world of Pandora, with tall blue tiger-striped aliens named the Na’vi. Cameron hopes to shoot two sequels,
- Jonathan Liebsman’s Black Hawk Down-style alien invasion film Battle: Los Angeles, which is currently shooting for a 2011 release.
- The alien invasion television series V is currently in primetime.
23 more film projects listed after jump.
- 20th Century Fox is in preproduction on both a new Predators and new Alien films.
- Paramount just acquired Area 51, a found footage film about a group of teenagers stumble upon an area in the Nevada desert known for hosting an alien encounter, directed by Oren Peli, the filmmaker behind Paranormal Activity.
- Cloverfield 2 is always lurking around the rumor mill.
- The Jon Favreau-directed comic book adaptation Cowboys and Aliens , about Apache Indians and Western settlers who must lay their differences aside when an alien spaceship crash lands in their city. Robert Downey Jr is in talks to star.
- Trick r Treat director Michael Dougherty is teaming with Disney Robert Zemeckis’ ImageMovers on Calling All Robots, an animated sci-fi adventure the screenwriter plans to direct using the same type of performance capture technology used in A Christmas Carol. The project is said to be a throwback to Godzilla films.
- Wolfgang Petersen is developing an alien invasion film called Uprising about a group of people organize a resistance movement after Earth is taken over by aliens.
- Also written by Fringe co-producer/writer Brad Caleb Kane is a Dreamworks movie produced by Orci/Kurtzman based on the stereoscopic Viewmaster toy, rumored to involve aliens.
- Andrew Stanton’s adaptation of John Carter of Mars follows a Civil War vet who is transplanted to Mars and encounters the inhabitants of the planet.
- Bryan Singer’s big screen version of Battlestar Galactica.
- Peter Berg’s Battleship, which involves aliens attacking Earth. Production begins Spring 2010.
- Gattaca and Lord of War director Andrew Niccol is adapting Stephanie Meyer’s novel The Host, a love story set in the near future on Earth, which has been assimilated by an alien species of benevolent parasites that call themselves “Souls.
- Disturbia and Eagle Eye director D.J. Caruso is attached to direct a big screen adaptation of EA’s popular video game Dead Space, about an 26th century engineer who responds to a distress signal from a mining ship finds the vessel infested with monstrous alien creatures called Necromorphs.
- Michael Bay’s producing I Am Number Four, an adaptation of a planned six-volume series purportedly co-written by “A Million Little Pieces” author James Frey, about nine alien teens assimilating to high school on Earth after their planet is destroyed by an enemy species.
- Dark Castle Entertainment is developing an adaptation of Devil’s Due graphic novel The Nye Incidents, about a medical examiner on the hunt of a killer of alien abductees.
- Aliens vs. Ninjas
- Final Destination 2 and Snakes on a Plane director David R. Ellis is directing a high concept 3-D horror film called Humpy Dumpty, about a an alien mother is “abused” by two rednecks in the deep south, she gives birth to a a half-human, half-alien creature that eventually goes on a murderous rampage.
- Superbad/Adventureland director Greg Mottola’s sci-fi comedy Paul starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.
- The rumored Independence Day sequels.
- Transformers 3
- Ice Age’s Chris Wedge is developing a big screen adaptation of Will Wright’s video game Spore.
- Sony is still developing a Spider-Man spin-off film for Venom.
- Guy Ritchie is signed on to direct a big screen adaptation of DC Comics series Lobo, about an alien who works as an interstellar mercenary and bounty hunter.
- Neil Blomkamp is still planning a District 9 sequel.
So what do you think: Will Aliens be the New Vampires?
Invasion news via: trackingb
Last month when I posted the last casting update for the hybrid live-action/computer animated feature based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Yogi Bear, I wondered if Park Ranger Smith would be included in the film, as he had yet to be mentioned. Variety now has word that Tom Carvanagh (Ed) has joined the cast, and will be playing Ranger Smith.
Carvanagh will play the live-action lead, and romantic interest of another live-action character named Rachel (Anna Faris), a nature documentary filmmaker who is trying to film Yogi and Boo-Boo for her next project. Dan Aykroydwill voice the computer animated Yogi, the lovable Jellystone Park bear who is notorious for his attempts at stealing picnic baskets from campers, much to the displeasure of Park Ranger Smith. And Justin Timberlake will voice the computer animated Boo-Boo, a bow-tied bear cub who acts as Yogi’s constant companion and conscience.
The film also features T.J. Miller (Hud from Cloverfield) as Ranfer Jones, a comic relief character. Miller auditioned for the role by recording a video with a real life bear. The reel made it all the way to Barry M. Meyer, chairman of Warner Bros. Miller was offered the role shortly thereafter. Watch that video and find out more here.
The big screen 3D movie is being directed by Eric Brevig (Journey to the Center of the Earth), from a screenplay by Brad Copeland (Wild Hogs). The film is currently filming in New Zealand . Warner Bros is aiming for a December 17th 2010 release.
A holiday tradition is A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS and we pretty much have a Mad Man to thank for it. John Allen was a Don Draper at McCann-Erickson in the mid 60s. On behalf of Coca-Cola he was lobbying for Charlie Brown. It would be the first animated adaptation of Charles M. Schultz’s classic PEANUTS comic strip. But Allen had to really twist arms because in typical fashion, CBS hated it.They thought the animation was awful, the story too thin and depressing, the jazz score inappropriate for kids, and of course wanted a laugh-track. I'm surprised they didn't require a laugh-track on THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
And CBS was especially opposed to Linus reciting the story of the birth of Christ from the Bible. What the hell is that doing in a Christmas Special?
Oh, and they didn’t like that children were doing the voices of the…uh, children. In other words, all the things that made it distinctive; all the things that made it great. One high-ranking CBS program executive/visionary said it was a “piece of shit”.
And CBS had a lot riding on this. It was going to pre-empt THE MUNSTERS and follow GILLIGAN’S ISLAND. The quality had to be top notch to join that pantheon of excellence.
But John Allen pushed and pushed and finally persuaded the reluctant program chief to air the special. A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS premiered 44 years ago this month.
And got a 50 share.
It won an Emmy and a Peabody and became an instant holiday classic. I guess children doing the voices of children did not result in a viewer revolt.
CBS began running the special every year (taking credit for it of course). And it achieved the almost unheard of feat of getting higher ratings year after year. By 1969 it was scoring a 53 share.
CBS continued to air the special until 2000. ABC then took over. It was supposed to air again Tuesday night -- digitally remastered -- but is being pre-empted by the President's speech. It will play later this month. CBS meanwhile, will still air its holiday special this evening -- THE VICTORIA SECRETS FASHION SHOW.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY CHARLIE BROWN.
And thanks to John Allen.
Six new television spots for James Cameron’s Avatar is making the rounds, included an extended one and a half minute spot (which is long enough to be called a trailer). A bunch of new footage is spread throughout. But for me it’s really interesting to see how Fox is marketing the film, and trying to appeal to different demographics. For instance, one trailer is extremely family friendly, in an effort to appeal to the Nickelodeon crowd. Another trailer focuses on selling the film baseed on James Cameron. Watch all six spots after the jump.
Beyond Imagination 1.5 minute (family friendly) spot:
Greatest Adventure:
Greatest Adventure 2:
Survival:
New Life:
From James Cameron:
Okay, you guys don’t have any time for Twilight, I get it. But what do you know about how utterly bizarre - and seemingly unmarketable - the fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn gets? It’s not your standard mopey emo fare, that’s for sure.
There’s been plenty of speculation about when, or even if, Summit could bring Breaking Dawn to the screen. It’s a story that features a surprising amount of sex, even some rather surreal sex, and perhaps some transgressive sexual perversity - some notches beyond the vamp biting stuff from the series overall, which is a “safe” sexual metaphor acceptable for the tween market now, it would seem.
According to a new video interview with Making Of, clearly conducted before New Moon was released to record breaking bank, producer Wyck Godfrey promises that a big screen adaptation of the series’ final volume will follow. “There’s every intention to make Breaking Dawn“, he simply states. Does it really need to get any more official than that? Here’s the video.
I really don’t know why anybody should be more interested in seeing Breaking Dawn than Twilight, New Moon or the Eclipse one, neither buying into either the It’s-So-Bad-It’s-Good mindset nor any desire to see this whole emotween phenom go batcrap crazy and implode. Aren’t bad films just bad? I certainly don’t find them funny. Sad and pathetic, sometimes, but mainly tiring and infuriating.
I dread to think what would happen if the soft outer rings of Twilight viewers were suddenly plunged into the Breaking Dawn novel’s world of toxic vampire super-sperm and Wolfboy baby love (as in, Jacob Black falls in love - “romantic love” - with an infant). I’m quite sure things will be… er… tidied up a bit in the screenplay adaptation. Perhaps that’s what is delaying the announcement of a start date? Perhaps team Twilight are trying to rework the material in a way that they’ll still be able to get a PG-13 rating at the same time as at least loosely resembling their source.
Update: Sony has sent us three more photos, check after the jump.
People Magazine has the first official photo from the Will Smith-produced remake/re-imagining of The Karate Kid (and yes, we still wish they would revert back to the old Kung Fu Kid title and leave the Karate Kid title out of this). You might remember when we posted a couple set photos and even official teaser art back in September, but this is the first time Sony has released an official photo from the upcoming film. The article doesn’t reveal much: Jaden Smith trained every day for four months with the film’s fight coordinator Master Wu, and they filmed a scene atop the Great Wall of China.
Jaden Smith plays Dre, a skateboarding video game buff who is forced to move to China after his single mother (Taraji P. Henson) is forced to transfer to the China for work. Of course, unable to speak Chinese, Dre finds it hard to settle in, and gets beat up by the local bully. Jackie Chan plays Mr. Han (the Mr. Miyagi character), a maintenance man who spots Dre’s black-eye and offers to teach him both martial arts and Chinese, so he can defend against the students of Li Quan Ha’s Fighting dragon school of Kung-Fu. Directed by Harald Zwart (The Pink Panther 2) and written by Chris Murphy and Steven Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness). The Karate Kid will hit theaters on June 11th 2010.
Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment have premiered the first official movie poster for Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2 on Yahoo. A poster usually means that a trailer isn’t far off. The new poster plays off the number 2 and features Iron Man back-to-back with War Machine. Favreau previously hinted on his twitter account that we might see the first trailer for Iron Man 2 attached to Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, which hits theaters on Christmas Day. Check out the full poster below.
Here is what we know about the film so far:
- Sam Rockwell plays a fast-talking weapons manufacturer named Justin Hammer, “who fancies himself the next Tony Stark”. He sells Stark the weapons he uses to construct War Machine.
- Mickey Rourke plays Russian criminal Vanko, who creates his own battle-suit while incarcerated in a Soviet prison.
- Whiplash’s suit “shoots devastating, whip-like beams.”
- Hammer and Whiplash join forces to take on Stark/Iron Man.
- Scarlett Johansson plays Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff (aka the Black Widow), who is hired as Stark’s assistant which inevitably sparks romantic tension between Stark and former assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s been promoted to CEO of Stark Industries.
- Tony is trying to learn more about his father’s mysterious past, specifically the Stark Expo, which must “play a major role in the energy crisis, which is a chief issue in the film.”
Iron Man 2 will hit theaters on May 7th 2010.
Sideshow Collectibles have teamed with Quantum Mechanix to produce a Serenity - ‘The Big Damn Replica’ Scaled Prop Replica. The titular ship of Joss Whedon’s sci-fi western television series/movie has existed only in digital form only - until now.
More than three years in the making, Serenity - The Big Damn Replica, has been painstakingly crafted to be absolutely screen-accurate in every aspect. Unlike most ships from science fiction, Serenity was designed from the ground up to be as realistic as possible, from her floor plan to her construction, using real-world components and manufacturing processes. As one of her creators observed, the idea was to make Serenity so real, fans could see themselves walking her decks. With such a sense of place and familiarity, viewers would never feel lost in this Firefly-Class Transport.
Now for the bad news: This highly detailed scaled prop replica is limited to 1,000 pieces worldwide, and made to order for $2699.99. Yeah… it ain’t cheap. More information and photos after the jump.
When it came time to develop this replica, wevery seam and every asymmetrical plate has been recreated with exacting attention to detail in this first and only screen-accurate replica of Serenity. Years of intense effort have gone into all aspects of this model, from the model sculpture built from the movie special effects master files to the paint job created to match not just the colors of the ship, but the materials as well.
The Serenity - The Big Damn Replica Prop Replica features:
- One big boat. Our Serenity measures 19″x12″x7″, or 1:180 scale. (display stand adds 4.5″)
- Incredible complexity.The kit used to build Serenity consists of more than 250 parts, including resin, brass, aluminum and laser-cut acrylic. Many of the parts are custom-cut by hand, just for your replica.
- Film-quality build. Some 30 different colors, including flat and metallic paint, are used in the ship’s multilayer paint job.
- Spitting image. Weathering, wear and other painting effects are used to exactly mirror the movie version of ship.
- Superior components. Surfaces are crafted to simulate real-world materials - metal, ceramic, even the mirrored surfaces of the solar panels.
- No decals. All graphics on Serenity are painted on by hand, even Serenity’s logo.
- SFX Edition. Serenity - The Big Damn Replica incorporates some 32 lighting effects, including static, flashing, strobe and chase lights.
- Signature Edition. Nathan Fillion, Captain Mal himself, will be signing the builder’s plaque that comes with each Big Damn Replica.
- Wireless remote. The SFX Edition replica includes a wireless remote control to operate lights with a special button for activating “hard burn.” Lighting system automatically shuts down after 15 minutes to help protect the both the lights and model.
- Cool display. Serenity’s display base/diorama looks like a landing pad straight out of The Verse. It comes with an acrylic cradle that shows Serenity in flight.
- Big Damn Heroes. Crew members can be seen on the bridge.
- Pro Prop Crate. Each Serenity is shipped in custom-cut foam and stored in a hand-built wooden apple crate, just like what the pros use to safeguard their props.
- Jason Palmer Exclusive Art Print. Jason Palmer, one of the premier portrait artists working in entertainment today, was so taken with our girl that he’s creating an special art print of Serenity only available with the Big Damn Replica.
- The Build. The Big Damn Replica is offered for order built as shown in the attached photos.
- The Edition Size. limited to 1,000 pieces worldwide.
Cool Stuff is a daily feature of slashfilm.com. Know of any geekarific creations or cool products which should be featured on Cool Stuff? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.
