Frickin' Eh Movie News 10.27.07: All Hail Freedonia!
Posted by Matthew Motiuk on 10.27.2007
More Wonder Woman rumours, a new Underworld, a Spyro movie, my Halloween costume pick of the year, and Freedonia!
It's getting cold in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - in fact, it's frickin' freezing. I've had to bust out the winter jacket, which I recently discovered is not all that warm. There was snow on the ground yesterday, just in time for Halloween! Which I am not doing anything for, I shall add, in my continual lack of spirit. However, I did see the most amazing costume ever: a giant Lego man costume. Absolutely amazing. But anyhow, let's get started.
And You Thought Area 51 Was Mysterious . . .
Benderspink has hired helmer Steven C. Miller to direct Area 52, a sci-fi action film based on the Image Comics series by Brian Haberlin. Newcomer Jack Phillips wrote the adaptation of the comic.
At a storage facility in Antarctica that houses top-secret alien wares after Nevada's Area 51 is done testing them, an Army nurse must restore order after a mercenary attack has unleashed a menacing terror.
Chris Bender and JC Spink will produce for Benderspink with Quattro partner Jim Strader. Haberlin will exec produce.
Benderspink also has Power and Glory and Y, the Last Man at New Line, The Ghouly Boys at Mandate and Pet Robots at Disney.
Miller's first feature, zombie horror film Automaton Transfusion, has been making the rounds of the festivals and was acquired by Dimension.
Area 52, eh? There's a bit of a lack of creativity in the title, but hey, people know what you're talking about. This sounds like it could be a really cheesy sci-fi movie, the likes of which we haven't seen lately. Or this could be a highly elaborate CG-fest, I don't know. Whatever the case, it should be mildly interesting.
Biel Dies (Only A Little)
Jessica Biel will topline United Artists' crime thriller Die a Little, which the studio has set up with Richard Gladstein through his FilmColony and Biel's Iron Ocean Films, says Variety.
Based on Megan Abbott's novel, Die a Little explores how the lives of a schoolteacher and her LAPD detective brother are turned upside down by a mysterious woman.
The novel is set in 1954 in the Los Angeles area, but the film will be set in the present day. Marcia and Geoffrey Blake are writing the script.
Gladstein will produce along with Biel and her producing partner Michelle Purple for Iron Ocean. Neil Parris will executive produce.
‘A mysterious woman'? Wow, they sure aren't revealing the plot in this one. It's almost too bad they didn't stick with the original ‘50s time frame. It's always fun to see the spins movies take on past periods of time, and how they can artistically make them interesting. Because let's face it, there's not all that much exciting in our current time.
Harrelson Visits Pinkville
Woody Harrelson is re-teaming with Oliver Stone in the director's Vietnam War drama Pinkville for United Artists.
Harrelson joins Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum, who already have been cast in the mystery drama based on the infamous 1968 My Lai Massacre, in which upward of 500 people -- mostly women, children and the elderly -- were killed by U.S. soldiers. The massacre ended up being a turning point in the war.
Harrelson will play Col. Henderson, the conflicted officer in charge of the task force that committed the massacre.
Mikko Alanne wrote the script. Production is set to begin next year, with MGM distributing.
Willis will portray William R. Peers, the real-life Army general who investigated the incident. Tatum will play Hugh Thompson Jr., an Army helicopter pilot who aided the villagers and later testified against the soldiers.
Michael Pena, who appeared in Stone's World Trade Center, also has been cast.
The only thing I can recall about Oliver Stone at the moment is that he did the movie Alexander, which our Classics teacher trashed in class quite vocally, which I found amusing. I like the concept – anything that goes against the American feeling of superiority is good in my books – and Willis has the acting chops necessary to pull off a fantastic job as always. It's all a matter of how Stone handles it, which very well could be the disastrous downfall of this movie.
Angels & Demons Fly in February
Just yesterday, the Los Angeles Times published an article talking about how Akiva Goldsman is writing non-stop to finish the script for The Da Vinci Code sequel Angels & Demons before the writers strike is expected to happen on Nov. 1.
Now, Variety adds that Columbia Pictures has set a February start date for the film, again to be directed by Ron Howard for a December 19, 2008 release. The trade says the production has begun casting around Tom Hanks, who will reprise his role as Robert Langdon.
Hanks' character, a Harvard-based expert on religious symbols, this time sleuths a mystery that involves a secret society and a conspiracy that leads to Vatican City and threatens the future of the Catholic Church.
Dan Brown wrote "Angels & Demons" prior to "The Da Vinci Code," but after the first film grossed $218 million domestic and $758 million worldwide, the studio made a deal with Goldsman to turn the earlier novel into a sequel.
I thought The Da Vinci Code was a solid movie, although it definitely wasn't as good as the book. Angels & Demons is by far a better book, with a hell of a twist in the end, so I'm quite excited to see this, and the fact that both Howard and Hanks are returning only makes me happier. The switching of the movie into a sequel shouldn't be a problem because the references made in The Da Vinci Code to Langdon's past were completely removed, and the books are really quite separate from each other.
Spyro to Burn Up the Big Screen? (Can Spyro Breathe Fire? Crap.)
The Animation Picture Company has optioned the rights to turn Spyro the Dragon, the purple star of Sierra Entertainment and Vivendi Game's video game franchise, into an animated feature.
APC's Dan Chuba, John Davis, Mark Dippe, Brian Manis and Ash Shah will produce the CG-animated film as a 3-D feature.
Steve and Dan Altiere, who wrote the fourth installment of Fox's "Dr. Dolittle" franchise, will write the script, to be based around the recently released "Legend of Spyro" trilogy of games, which is considered a relaunch of the entire series.
No director has yet been hired.
The fourth Dr. Dolittle? I didn't even know there was a second or third! But I'm off topic here. I don't know anything about Spyro except he's a little purple dragon and mostly appears on the PlayStation, meaning I don't encounter him very much (see: ever) in my Nintendo universe. Oh, and this probably won't work very well as a movie. Seriously, this is ridiculous. Moving on.
Underworld Goes Back In Time
Just two days after we posted shooting dates for a third "Underworld" movie, Variety has published more details on the Lakeshore Entertainment and Screen Gems prequel, to be titled Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans.
FX artist Patrick Tatopoulos, who developed the creatures for the first two films, is directing with Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy and Rhona Mitra aboard to star. Underworld creator Len Wiseman will produce alongside Lakeshore's Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Skip Williamson.
The prequel story traces the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires known as Death Dealers and their onetime slaves, the Lycans. In the Dark Ages, a young Lycan named Lucian (Sheen) emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has enslaved them. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, Sonja (Mitra), in his battle against the Death Dealer army and his struggle for Lycan freedom.
"For the first time we will experience the 'Underworld' universe through the eyes of the Lycans," Wiseman said. "Patrick has always played such an essential part in helping to create 'Underworld' from the start. ... So I feel it is both exciting and fitting that (he) now takes the helm."
Yeah, that's right, a week after I post my Rapid-Fire about Underworld, the third movie is announced. How's that for timing? Moving on . . . I thought we kind of figured out the past of the Lycans through the first two (mostly the first) movies. Why do we need a dedicated prequel? And while we do gain Nighy back, whose character died quite dramatically and unrealistically in the first, we lose the poster girl of the first two, Kate Beckinsale. And we suddenly jump into the Dark Ages from the present, which basically makes this a completely different movie than the first two. I mean, come on. The sequel was barely advisable. A prequel? I can't say I have high hopes.
Presenting . . . Wonder Woman (Maybe)
Moviehole has received good word that The Grudge 2, December Boys and Wolf Creek star Teresa Palmer has landed the role of Wonder Woman in George Miller's anticipated Justice League adaptation at Warner Bros. According to the site, Palmer just nudged out competition Minka Kelly and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Ah yes, when the first movie on your past movies list is The Grudge 2, I'm just not sure about your talent. Then again, I've never heard of any of the three, so who knows. This is a huge tumble down from the Jessica Biel rumours, I must say, although in terms of aesthetic appeal, it's not that bad. But let's remember, this is only a rumour. Who knows how this one could end up.
Everybody's Awake
MGM and The Weinstein Company have revealed the new trailer for Awake, the November 30 psychological thriller starring Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Lena Olin and Terrence Howard.
The film tells the story of a man (Christensen) who suffers "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed, during heart surgery. His young wife (Jessica Alba) must wrestle with her own demons as a drama unfolds around them.
Despite the incredibly boring leadup to the bulk of this trailer, it proves to be a semi-interesting concept. Of course, Christensen's acting chops are questionable at the best of times, so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out. But how far can you honestly take this concept? He goes under. He hears them. He dies. What happens next? But I am sure they'll work around that quickly enough.
Rapid-Fire was getting too current for me (alright, yes, my most current movie was what, Lucky Number Slevin? It's still too current for me) so it's time to hop back in time and take a look at one of the oldest movies I own, and from one of my most prized collections:
There are some people who just don't like the Marx Brothers, and to them, I say they're missing out. The Marx Brothers movies are among the funniest movies I've ever watched. Duck Soup stands at the top of that pile as my favourite Marx Brothers movie. Perfectly wrought, it puts together the amazing comedic skill of Groucho with the hilarious antics of Chico and Harpo, and a little Zeppo thrown in there as the dutiful letter-taker. The only flaw I find in the movie is the fact that at this time, the movies still contained singing scenes; however, even these are rendered hilarious by the brothers, who break out the insanity as always.
Duck Soup uses the quick wit of Groucho combined with a satirical plot to create an absolutely hilarious movie that stands the test of time seventy-four years later.
Things to watch for: Groucho constantly changing military outfits to reflect different leaders during the final battle, the minor subtleties of the mirror scene, and the guy who looks like Stalin.
Best line: I got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it.
Closing Time . . .
Well, that's it for me. Go out and get some candy trick-or-treating on Wednesday, or just sit in and watch Hocus Pocus a couple times. Until then, I leave you with this nugget of awesomeness:
