Director Raja Gosnell (Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Never Been Kissed) has been tapped to helm Sony's upcoming animated/live action hybrid Smurfs movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film is slated for release in both 3D and 2D formats on December 17, 2010.
Source: EW
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Warriors (2010)
Huzzah! Another genre film remake is coming our way courtesy of director Tony Scott, the guy who is about to deliver an entirely unnecessary remake of classic 1970s crime thriller, THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE. (On a side note, do yourself a favor and rent Joseph Sargent's original 1974 film, starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, before wallowing into the remake opening June 12th.) The film I am referring to is a remake of Walter Hill's cult street gang classic THE WARRIORS (1979). Rotten Tomatoes recently sat down with Scott to discuss this upcoming project.
"I'm not doing a straight remake," Scott insisted. "I love the original WARRIORS and I'm using the same basic story. It's really still 10 guys stuck at point B and they need to get back to point A. But I'm going to set it in Los Angeles and it's going to be a kind of study of gang culture in LA today."
Scott says he plans to play up the vertical nature of how Los Angeles is laid out opposed to the horizontal nature of New York with its many skyscrapers. In the original film, the setting of tightly packed high-rises and the subway gave much of the film a closed-in look. Scott says he wants to get 100,000 real gang members standing on the Vincent Thomas Bridge for one shot, presumably to replicate the gang meeting that takes place at the beginning of the 1979 film.
Scott has been meeting with representatives of the area gangs, who so far have expressed interest in being in the film since, according to the director, they're all fans of THE WARRIORS.
Tony Scott seems to be on a mission to repackage old film and TV properties. The TOP GUN helmer has already produced a made-for-TV remake of the sci-fi classic THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN and has further plans to produce a feature-film adaptation of THE A-TEAM and an ALIEN prequel.
Kung Fu Cinema
"I'm not doing a straight remake," Scott insisted. "I love the original WARRIORS and I'm using the same basic story. It's really still 10 guys stuck at point B and they need to get back to point A. But I'm going to set it in Los Angeles and it's going to be a kind of study of gang culture in LA today."
Scott says he plans to play up the vertical nature of how Los Angeles is laid out opposed to the horizontal nature of New York with its many skyscrapers. In the original film, the setting of tightly packed high-rises and the subway gave much of the film a closed-in look. Scott says he wants to get 100,000 real gang members standing on the Vincent Thomas Bridge for one shot, presumably to replicate the gang meeting that takes place at the beginning of the 1979 film.
Scott has been meeting with representatives of the area gangs, who so far have expressed interest in being in the film since, according to the director, they're all fans of THE WARRIORS.
Tony Scott seems to be on a mission to repackage old film and TV properties. The TOP GUN helmer has already produced a made-for-TV remake of the sci-fi classic THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN and has further plans to produce a feature-film adaptation of THE A-TEAM and an ALIEN prequel.
Kung Fu Cinema
Drop Dead Fred (2011)
Universal Pictures is developing a remake of Drop Dead Fred for Russell Brand to star in, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Dennis McNicholas (upcoming Land of the Lost) will write the remake. Marc Platt is producing via his studio-based Marc Platt Productions along with Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
The 1991 original starred Phoebe Cates as a wallflower who loses her job and husband during the course of a lunch hour. Forced to live back home, she's reunited with her childhood imaginary friend (Brit actor Rik Mayall), who promises to help but causes more havoc.
The trade says the take for the update is to make a film in the tone of Beetlejuice, building a universe around the concept of imaginary friends. Brand would play the trouble-making pal.
Coming Soon
Dennis McNicholas (upcoming Land of the Lost) will write the remake. Marc Platt is producing via his studio-based Marc Platt Productions along with Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
The 1991 original starred Phoebe Cates as a wallflower who loses her job and husband during the course of a lunch hour. Forced to live back home, she's reunited with her childhood imaginary friend (Brit actor Rik Mayall), who promises to help but causes more havoc.
The trade says the take for the update is to make a film in the tone of Beetlejuice, building a universe around the concept of imaginary friends. Brand would play the trouble-making pal.
Coming Soon
Death At A Funeral (2010)
Hollywood is set to remake a British comedy from 2007, a film directed by Frank Oz, and it's set to be transplanted to the U.S. and will star Chris Rock who will also co-write the script.
It's a strange choice, especially as it will be adapted and transplanted to an American setting, particularly as the film was made less than two years ago.
Chris Rock is not only starring and co-writing the Death at a Funeral remake along with Aeysha Carr (who wrote several Everybody Hates Chris episodes), but he's also going to produce the film alongside William Horberg, Sidney Kimmel, Share Stallings and Laurence Malkin who are producers from the original version.
The Hollywood Reporter tells us that the original was made for around US $9 million and made around US $55 million worldwide, and that's quite a nice figure, but will the American version fare better and will anyone not see it?
Well one thing is that the US only brought in about $8.5 million of those box office returns, so it's fair to say that it wasn't too well seen over there, so maybe there is some mileage in remaking it for an American audience.
One question could well arise, is Chris Rock the right one to bring this project to the big screen? They are of course still looking for a director, but he's producing, co-writing and starring, so this is most definitely a Rock vehicle.
The film saw a strong British cast star in a comedy about a funeral ceremony that begins to fall apart at the edges when everything possible seems to go wrong and the worst nightmare of family and relatives turn up.
Now the film is set to be in "urban America" as the story tells us with a mainly African-American cast.
One good thing though, Rock is supposedly a big fan of the original film, and he supposedly came up with an original rework of the script. I hope that means more than transplanting it to America and changing the cast.
Remakes are happening faster and faster, and I think this is a record with a film that's been released just under two years.
Film Stalker
It's a strange choice, especially as it will be adapted and transplanted to an American setting, particularly as the film was made less than two years ago.
Chris Rock is not only starring and co-writing the Death at a Funeral remake along with Aeysha Carr (who wrote several Everybody Hates Chris episodes), but he's also going to produce the film alongside William Horberg, Sidney Kimmel, Share Stallings and Laurence Malkin who are producers from the original version.
The Hollywood Reporter tells us that the original was made for around US $9 million and made around US $55 million worldwide, and that's quite a nice figure, but will the American version fare better and will anyone not see it?
Well one thing is that the US only brought in about $8.5 million of those box office returns, so it's fair to say that it wasn't too well seen over there, so maybe there is some mileage in remaking it for an American audience.
One question could well arise, is Chris Rock the right one to bring this project to the big screen? They are of course still looking for a director, but he's producing, co-writing and starring, so this is most definitely a Rock vehicle.
The film saw a strong British cast star in a comedy about a funeral ceremony that begins to fall apart at the edges when everything possible seems to go wrong and the worst nightmare of family and relatives turn up.
Now the film is set to be in "urban America" as the story tells us with a mainly African-American cast.
One good thing though, Rock is supposedly a big fan of the original film, and he supposedly came up with an original rework of the script. I hope that means more than transplanting it to America and changing the cast.
Remakes are happening faster and faster, and I think this is a record with a film that's been released just under two years.
Film Stalker
Robocop (2011)
Not all that long ago, MGM made public their plans to either remake or do a sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 sci-fi actioner “Robocop”. To say that the fanboys weren’t happy is an understatement. (But then again, since when has the fanboys been happy about anything?) Then not that long ago, MGM officially introduced their “Red Dawn” remake, and there was a little tidbit buried in there about Darren Aronofsky potentially coming on board to direct the “Robocop” reboot. It now looks like MGM is dead set on getting the “Pi” and “Requiem for a Dream” director onboard their project.
This from Bloody-Disgusting:
Today we received word that MGM and Phoenix Pictures are close to pegging Darren Aronofsky to direct the latest “remake”, which we also discovered is actually a sequel! Here’s the logline: Present day Los Angeles, 20 years after the termination of the RoboCop program, the city decides to reinstate the program. If this all happens, I’d love to introduce Aronofsky to THE DARK KNIGHT, where he can see how to do it right…
Wait, Los Angeles? Present day? Wasn’t the first “Robocop” set in the “near future” in Detroit? How does that then translate into “20 years after” and “present day Los Angeles”? Eh, it’s MGM. They probably got some monkey to pound out the logline.
But Aronofsky directing a hyper violent “Robocop” sequel? I’m giggly all over just thinking about it.
Beyond Hollywood
This from Bloody-Disgusting:
Today we received word that MGM and Phoenix Pictures are close to pegging Darren Aronofsky to direct the latest “remake”, which we also discovered is actually a sequel! Here’s the logline: Present day Los Angeles, 20 years after the termination of the RoboCop program, the city decides to reinstate the program. If this all happens, I’d love to introduce Aronofsky to THE DARK KNIGHT, where he can see how to do it right…
Wait, Los Angeles? Present day? Wasn’t the first “Robocop” set in the “near future” in Detroit? How does that then translate into “20 years after” and “present day Los Angeles”? Eh, it’s MGM. They probably got some monkey to pound out the logline.
But Aronofsky directing a hyper violent “Robocop” sequel? I’m giggly all over just thinking about it.
Beyond Hollywood
The Shadow (2012)
I'm one of the few who think that The Shadow was a good and enjoyable film, and that Alec Baldwin was a great choice for the character, so although I would like to see a remake as much as the next person I'm not desperate to see it done right, I think it was already done pretty well.
However it does look like we're getting another version and with Sam Raimi still on board as one of the producers along with Michael Uslan, and we're finally getting an update on the possible film.
In the original The Shadow we saw the Alec Baldwin character play the man behind the superhero, and he was the sole Shadow, however the producer Michael Uslan is suggesting that the next Shadow film might have more than just the one person behind the mask.
Well there are a few maybes in that comment through MTV and Coming Soon, but it does sound like they're looking at being different from the first film version, but is that such a good thing? I think not. I do get the faint whiff that they are deliberately trying to make it different to the first, something that I don't believe they have to do. The first film wasn't perfect, but do they really need to go and make it as different as possible?
Well that all sounds good, but when are we going to get any idea of what the film is about? Uslan tells us that Siavash Farahani is writing the screenplay, something we heard that he was doing way back in December of 2006, and then all went quiet.
I hope that they really are putting time and love into this remake and not just trying to make it different from the first and end up with something more akin to The Spirit.
Film Stalker
However it does look like we're getting another version and with Sam Raimi still on board as one of the producers along with Michael Uslan, and we're finally getting an update on the possible film.
In the original The Shadow we saw the Alec Baldwin character play the man behind the superhero, and he was the sole Shadow, however the producer Michael Uslan is suggesting that the next Shadow film might have more than just the one person behind the mask.
“I think the one thing going in is we all see The Shadow as more of a force of nature than a specific person in a secret identity...The Shadow may actually be many people.”
Well there are a few maybes in that comment through MTV and Coming Soon, but it does sound like they're looking at being different from the first film version, but is that such a good thing? I think not. I do get the faint whiff that they are deliberately trying to make it different to the first, something that I don't believe they have to do. The first film wasn't perfect, but do they really need to go and make it as different as possible?
“We’ve gone back to the pulp roots, the comic book roots of The Shadow, with a dash of the radio roots...But we’ve deeply ensconced ourselves in the world of pulps and comics.”
Well that all sounds good, but when are we going to get any idea of what the film is about? Uslan tells us that Siavash Farahani is writing the screenplay, something we heard that he was doing way back in December of 2006, and then all went quiet.
I hope that they really are putting time and love into this remake and not just trying to make it different from the first and end up with something more akin to The Spirit.
Film Stalker
Romancing The Stone (2012)
Fox has decided they want to remake Romancing the Stone. I thought we already did this? Wasn’t it called “Fool’s Gold” and didn’t it star Kate Hudson and Matthew McCan’tspellit’s abs?
They’re giving money to Daniel McDermott. He used to be a development executive for DreamWorks and decided instead that he ought to be a writer. Eagle Eye was partially his fault. So they’ve signed him on for this, a remake of Soylent Green — it’s made of people! — and my personal favorite, a project for Tom Cruise called Adventurer’s Club. It’s probably not about a club for pedophiles who travel around the world having sex with children. No, wait, that was the Super Adventurer’s Club, you know the group that kidnapped Chef in the South Park episode when they took him to task for running away to Scientology. This just the regular Adventurer’s Club, the ones who pull up to schoolyards in panel vans with bags of candy and Nintendo DS’s.
They haven’t announced a cast yet. I’d like to see Lindsay Lohan actually take on the Joan Wilder part, because she looks about 40 and she’s got that chewing on cigarettes and cock voice going for her. Michael Douglas’s Jack Colton is a real man’s man. It’s one of those Kurt Russell-y parts, that grinning smart ass bravado. Sean William Scott might be able to pull it off. He’s actually started acting now, I know it’s hard to believe.
The only actor in Hollywood who can be Danny Devito is apparently me. I’ve been called in for several television programs based solely on that fact. However, I think the best move is to go with David Krumholz, the Jew stoner from Harold and Kumar who stars in “Numbers.” Or “Num8er5,” if you want to be like that. The dude’s got this awesome combination of Costanza and Columbo. He’d be a perfect angry foil.
They also asked Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas to make cameos. Douglas is going to be the alligator boots, and Turner’s going to be the boat.
Pajiba
They’re giving money to Daniel McDermott. He used to be a development executive for DreamWorks and decided instead that he ought to be a writer. Eagle Eye was partially his fault. So they’ve signed him on for this, a remake of Soylent Green — it’s made of people! — and my personal favorite, a project for Tom Cruise called Adventurer’s Club. It’s probably not about a club for pedophiles who travel around the world having sex with children. No, wait, that was the Super Adventurer’s Club, you know the group that kidnapped Chef in the South Park episode when they took him to task for running away to Scientology. This just the regular Adventurer’s Club, the ones who pull up to schoolyards in panel vans with bags of candy and Nintendo DS’s.
They haven’t announced a cast yet. I’d like to see Lindsay Lohan actually take on the Joan Wilder part, because she looks about 40 and she’s got that chewing on cigarettes and cock voice going for her. Michael Douglas’s Jack Colton is a real man’s man. It’s one of those Kurt Russell-y parts, that grinning smart ass bravado. Sean William Scott might be able to pull it off. He’s actually started acting now, I know it’s hard to believe.
The only actor in Hollywood who can be Danny Devito is apparently me. I’ve been called in for several television programs based solely on that fact. However, I think the best move is to go with David Krumholz, the Jew stoner from Harold and Kumar who stars in “Numbers.” Or “Num8er5,” if you want to be like that. The dude’s got this awesome combination of Costanza and Columbo. He’d be a perfect angry foil.
They also asked Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas to make cameos. Douglas is going to be the alligator boots, and Turner’s going to be the boat.
Pajiba
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