Furious on Film Movie News Report 07.30.08

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 07.30.2008

Wonderland, Wolf Man and Twilights? Y not?

Welcome to Furious on Film, and I am not Arnold Furious. Furious has been sent on a deep, covert undercover mission to some third world country for something or another and left the much more important news report to me, Shawn S. Lealos. Talk about someone not having their priorities straight.

HERE IS THE GNUS



Y a Trilogy?
Credit: CHUD.COM

When asked if an adaptation of the Brian K. Vaughn comic Y: The Last Man was in the works, director DJ Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) stated "It's probably going to be happening, yeah. With New Line now part of Warner Brothers, Warners is now very high on the project. And Carl Ellsworth and I are probably going to deliver the script to WB/New Line by next week...I see it as a trilogy. I definitely see it as a trilogy. I see the first movie ending anywhere basically when you pick up after the incident you're picking up about six weeks later, meeting Yorick six weeks later after the incident and progressing down, I think it's about…only a five or six week journey from that point to the end of the first movie. It's been hard, in a good way, just because there's so much good stuff to choose from, and every time you start throwing certain scenes in the screenplay you'll see that it sort of dislodges and starts to head a different way.



Caruso also stated he is in talks with Shia LaBeouf to star in the role of Yorick, the last man on Earth. For those unfamiliar to the concept, Y: The Last Man tells the story of the sole male survivor on the planet and his monkey named Ampersand. Following the mysterious death of every other male mammal on the planet, he becomes a very valuable item to the remaining women on the planet as they try to move on with their lives without men. The comic series finally wrapped up earlier this year and Caruso hopes to begin filming Fall 2008. The series is a great read and if the movies rely on the people rebuilding society and not on the disease itself (which was never exactly explained in the comics), I think it should be an interesting project.

Crossing over into the Leo-Zone
Credit: Hollywood Reporter

Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian Way are in the early stages of seeking material for a feature take on one or more episodes from the classic TV series. The studio and production company are quietly putting out word to creators that they are looking for pitches and script ideas based on the show for feature development. The companies are not seeking to remake an episodic movie, as the only big-screen version of the show did 25 years ago, but rather hope to build one continuing story line based on one or more episodes. Warners owns rights to the Rod Serling-penned episodes, which comprise the bulk of its 1959-64 run. The Serling shows include famous episodes such as To Serve Man, about giant aliens who land on Earth to serve humans as food, and Eye of the Beholder, about an inverted society where the attractive are considered ugly



I enjoyed the original Twilight Zone movie, but what it will always be known for is the tragic death of actor Vic Morrow and two young child actors when a helicopter lost control and fell onto them, decapitating Morrow and one of the young actors while crushing the other. The urban legend grew that his death was shown in the movie, but it was all cut out and all footage was seized. I am pretty sure you can find it out there now if you look hard enough, but why the hell someone would want to see that is beyond me. I am all for Leo's attempts to get some movies made out of these episodes. There were some fantastic ideas developed in this show and I think a few of them might make a pretty good movie. That will be what makes or breaks this endeavor as the best of the episodes would not be nearly as good stretched out to feature length. I'll take a wait and see stance as this story develops.

Requiem for a Remake
Credit: Hollywood Reporter

RoboCop is coming out of retirement courtesy of director Darren Aronofsky and writer David Self. The writer-director of The Fountain and the writer of Road to Perdition have signed deals to develop a big-budget 21st century installment in the saga of the human-machine hybrid crime fighter. Phoenix Pictures' Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Brad Fischer and David Thwaites will produce. Cale Boyter, executive vp production at MGM, will oversee for the studio. Although the Lion has not greenlighted the reinvention, it has fast-tracked RoboCop for a 2010 release, when the studio plans to roll out its new slate. "Darren is undeniably one of the most talented, original and visceral filmmakers, and David is one of the greatest writers in Hollywood," said Mary Parent, chairman of MGM's worldwide motion picture group. The original RoboCop, written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, was directed with camp adroitness by Paul Verhoeven in 1987 and released by Orion Pictures. It focused on a mortally wounded cop in a futuristic, crime-ridden Detroit who returns to fight corruption in the guise of a tough-talking cyborg.

And in further news

Robocop has three prime directives he has to follow at all times. Producer Brad Fischer has just one: "Make a great film," he told MTV News of his hopes for a "Robocop" reboot, coming to theaters from director Darren Aronofsky in 2010. And make no mistake, Fischer and his co-producer Mike Medavoy insisted: Their new "Robocop" is a reboot along the lines of "Batman Begins," despite early online rumors to the contrary. Asked where in the series the fourth film would fall, whether it would come after the first, second or third films in the series' internal universe, Fischer and Medavoy were adamant that it would stand on its own, apart from the character's earlier incarnations.



This is so freaking cool. Aronofsky is one of the most talented directors working today but has thus far been making movies that really don't attract the majority of the movie goers. Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain are all beautiful, intriguing movies that are nothing if not highly original and mind blowing. I still profess that if you want to teach kids that drugs are bad, sit them down at a young age and make them watch Requiem. It will blow their minds and is a better deterrent than anything Nancy Reagan ever tried to do. But they are also difficult to watch, overly complicated and very much over the head of the common Joe. That is why I got so excited when he signed on to make a movie about wrestling. I don't know if it will be good or not, but it is at least a step in the direction of a more consumer-friendly product. And now he is talking about remaking RoboCop? I can stand behind that. They say if you remake a movie, choose one that was not great to begin with. RoboCop was a very fun and exciting movie, but has flaws that are more apparent today and I can't even fathom what Aronofsky will do with this movie. Add to that the writer of the best Sam Mendes movie and I am eagerly anticipating this remake.

Alice to get weirder in Wonderland?
Credit: Hollywood Reporter

Tim Burton and Disney have found their new Alice -- not in Wonderland or down the rabbit hole but Down Under. Australian actress Mia Wasikowska is in final negotiations to walk through the looking glass in Burton's take on Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy novel Alice in Wonderland. The deal marks the end of a long search for the big-budget project's title character. The film, based on a script by Linda Woolverton (The Lion King), will be produced by longtime Burton collaborator Richard Zanuck, former Disney chairman Joe Roth and Jennifer and Suzanne Todd. It will be shot with live-action and performance-capture footage and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. Disney creative executive Jason Reed will oversee the project, set to begin principal photography in November.



I don't think I have heard anything about this before now. Tim Burton shooting a movie based on Alice in Wonderland gives me a "HOLY CRAP" feeling in my heart. I am someone who never saw the animated Alice in Wonderland until earlier this year and I had mixed feelings after watching it. My first thought was "how the hell did Disney release a movie like this for kids?" My second thought was "Those filmmakers did a lot of acid when they were younger" (or maybe even while creating the movie). With those two statements, I say this is a perfect project for Burton. Take a good look at The Nightmare Before Christmas and tell me he isn't the perfect man for this crazy story. Taking a look at Mia, I think he might have found a good Alice as well. The Los Angeles Times has also reported web rumblings that Johnny Depp may play the Mad Hatter.


Wolf Man to lose his bite?
Credit: MTV.COM

"When my parents died, that made it clear in my mind that there's definitely an end, and it's not that far away," [explained Rick Baker... who finished his work on "The Wolf Man" with Benicio del Toro two weeks ago, and spoke...at Comic-Con about the film. "I don't want to be doing movies I don't want to be doing: I only take films I want to take…it has to be something I really want to do." As such, Baker took on the flick for the thrill of returning the hairy anti-hero to his Lon Chaney roots – and to revisit his own masterstrokes on such films as "An American Werewolf in London." Baker revealed to us that the Benicio-to-Wolf transformation seems likely to be created with computer-generated graphics, however, and the film's producers are robbing him of an honor he feels he has earned. "[CGI] can be really great, and I think it's a great tool. But I think we should have been more involved with makeup in the transformation," he sighed. "Because, basically, we aren't involved with the transformation at this point. Which is one of the more fun things to do in a movie. At this point, nothing's really been done [that is permanent]," Baker said of the April 3rd film, which also stars Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt. "So, I'm lobbying to be part of that; I've been talking to the producers and saying ‘It's my creation in the end, there's a certain logic in the design of it. I know it's different between Benicio's face and the wolf face, because I sculpted that face. I know how the anatomy changes; I should at least be giving some guidance to the guys who are doing [the transformation in CGI]." At this point, Baker's rationale seems to be falling on deaf ears; but as a man who feels passionately about the work that has won him 6 Oscars for films like "Men in Black" and "American Werewolf," he is refusing to give up.



The biggest thrill for me with the new Wolf Man movie was the elimination of the CGI that, when used in the classic monster flick remakes, has been shoddy to say the least. Remember the horrible CGI in Van Helsing? How about the flying vampire in Underworld 2? Now look back onto the transformation in American Werewolf in London and how completely awesome that was. I am guessing it is only the transformation that is being CGI'd and they are still using the makeup and Del Toro in the actual Wolf Man scenes, but I want to see everything natural this time around. Why hire a guy as talented as Rick Baker and then make him feel like he can't do a good enough job on the transformation. And if they are willing to make the transformation CGI, what is to keep them from tinkering with even more CG as they near completion on the project. It's just disappointing after all my excitement has built for this movie.

That's the news for this week, but how about that trailer for Oliver Stone's W?



What do you mean you've never seen…?
THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS

Instead of doing one of the former and a few of the later, I'm just going to mix the two into one big review.

THE FIRE WITHIN (1963)


Louis Malle is a filmmaker that was always reinventing himself. He was never as popular as in his early career, but continued to release great films throughout his amazing career. At the age of 24, he won the prestigious Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his documentary The Silent World. In 1958, he made the controversial film, The Lovers, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Despite all the success, Malle believed there was nowhere for him to go but down. He was nearing thirty years old and believed that nothing good would come with age, save stagnation. He became obsessed with the theme of death following the suicide of a friend and soon decided to adapt the novel Le feu follet by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle.

Le feu follet tells the story of a failed writer who decides to commit suicide. It is based on the suicide of poet Jacques Rigaut, a nihilistic and lonely man. Malle took the actual events and created one of the greatest films to come out of France and one of the most powerful movies in the history of cinema.

We open the film with a couple making love. There is a voice over, signifying the thoughts of the man, Alain Leroy, and his doubts that the woman feels anything beyond the physical pleasures of the moment. We learn that the woman, Lydia, was sent to make sure he was alright by his wife. He has been institutionalized in a health clinic in Versailles for two years, agreeing to a cure for alcoholism, while his wife had gone on with her life in New York.

Alain's life in the clinic is ordered and absolute. It might be the one thing that kept him alive throughout the two years. His room tells much of his life at this juncture in time. Trinkets are scattered throughout the room, match books, playing cards, a chess board which keeps him excited for the upcoming day's opportunities for victory. We meet the other patients in the institution, who carry on the most boring, tedious conversations imaginable. Alain seems to be above such trivialities and appears bored with the entire ordeal. However, when the doctor mentions that he is healed and can leave when he chooses, Alain tells him he is weak and only feels he can remain strong in this ordered environment.

When the doctor leaves, we come to understand Alain's final decision. Wrapped in a handkerchief is a gun. On the mirror is the date July 23 (23 Juillet). It is on this day that Alain Leroy has decided to kill himself. He reads clipped news articles about suicide, one in particular describing the death of Marilyn Monroe. The first person he communicates with, Lydia, tells him she cannot stay with him and asks if he would like to return to New York with her. He refuses, claiming he would not make it in New York as an alcoholic. When she leaves him, it seems his fate is sealed as he has become obsessed with the idea of suicide. He sets out on the final day of his life to reconnect with old friends from a past that he cannot let go of.

The film is not so much one about suicide as it is one about surrendering to your fears. As a young man, Alain was a writer, a drinker, a womanizer. He dreamed that he would find that one person that he could reach out and touch, feel and love. Despite the fact that he is a married man, he believes he never found the person he could connect with in such a way. Through his writing, he wanted to touch other people's lives but believes himself to be a failure in that area as well. At the ripe old age of thirty, he believes it was either time to grow up or check out once and for all. When he discovers what has become of his friends, he chooses the latter.

His best friend has been neutered and settled into a life of the bourgeois, a life they had fought and rallied against in their youth. When asked if he is satisfied with his life, his friend admits it doesn't not matter if he is because it is simply how he now lives. Instead of rallying against the order, he now raises a family, writes his books and lives a life of relaxed boredom. Alain also reconnects with a female friend who has decided to escape from her life through drugs by surrounding herself with a strange collection of characters who relies on drugs to make it through each day. Finally, in the best scene of the movie he attends a dinner party and sees his once nihilistic and debauched acquaintances have all traded in their former lifestyles for the bourgeois life that his best friend had slipped into. He clearly sees what he believes lays in store for him if he were to continue on the life's road ahead.

A second theme of the movie is that of his friends turning their heads while the warning signs are clear as day. Alain tells his friend he wants him to help him die. His friend, whether he refuses to believe it or considers it a metaphor, ignores these signs and simply tells Alain how great his new mundane life is. When he sees old friends at his former stomping grounds, they all mention how bad he looks but none of them offer him words of comfort or general thoughts of concern. When he enters the final dinner party, the woman he could have loved, Solange, refers to him as a revenant (a French word meaning to return, although it is also a reference to someone returning from the dead). His best friend offers him alcohol, knowing full well that he has returned from being institutionalized for alcoholism. These friends and acquaintances do nothing to help him in his moment of dire need. I also assume these friends will wonder why he did it the next day.

The character of Solange is a unique and complex character in the story. At one moment, she is protective and tender with Alain, treating him as a loved child. In the blink of an eye, she turns scathing and rude, almost daring him to make that jump, that fatal final step. Alexandra Stewart, a relatively unknown actress, pulls off this complicated character with a deft touch that elevates the "last supper" into as brilliant a scene as you could imagine. I would be remiss not to mention the performance of Maurice Ronet in the lead role. I compare his acting with that of French sensation Alain Delon, an actor who was also considered for the role. He moves throughout the movie in a daze, reflecting on the world that surrounds him while not giving thought to his existence in general. He moves through the day, watching what everyone around him has become, and then makes the decision at the end of the film. He lets you know he does not consider himself an important piece of this puzzle called life and sometimes it is better to burn out than to fade away.

Louis Malle has presented us with such classical masterpieces as Murmer of the Heart and Au revoir les enfants, as well as the recently released The Lovers. While contemporary directors such as François Truffaut and Michelangelo Antonioni, who both deserve all the admiration thrown upon them, remain prevalent in the minds of cinephiles everywhere, it is unfortunate that Malle has become a forgotten artist. The Fire Within holds up well to any film by the two aforementioned directors and might be the greatest film to ever broach the subject of depression and suicide in a thoughtful and inlligent way. This is not only a seminal classic film, but one of the greatest films of any generation.


HOLLYWOOD WHORES

will return when Arnold gets back...


You stay classy…Planet Earth.