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Sam Worthington Gets Gritty in 'American Crime'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Casting, Deals, Noir, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Few of us have had the chance to read Rick Remender's upcoming series, The Last Days of American Crime, but it's already tapped for the big-screen treatment. To sweeten the deal, American Crime already has a face. An Australian one. Mania is reporting that Sam Worthington has signed on to play the series' star criminal, Graham Brick. American Crime is set in a near-future where the government has found a way to kill the criminal impulse in its citizens. That's good for everyone but the criminals, and chaos erupts as the unsavory element goes mad trying to get in one last job. One of these men is Graham Brick, who is in the midst of planning a big heist, and gets to watch all his best laid plans fall apart in a bloody fashion. I read the preview Radical handed out at Comic-Con this year, and like all previews, it was too short to really get a handle on the story. But the art was incredible, it was ridiculously violent, and it had that slimy feeling of Sin City. You can check out three pages here, and Radical has 15 pages up on MySpace. The first issue is scheduled to hit stands in December.
Remender will be penning the screenplay himself, and Radical will be producing it under their film shingle. We'll supposedly be getting a studio, a director, and more cast-members very soon, but it's tough to get excited without having read issue #1. Still, if this is really the mix of James Ellroy and David Mamet's Heist that Remender promises, Crime will be something to look out for.
Fun or Lame: Fox's 'Bones' Becomes One Big 'Avatar' Promo
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Movie Marketing, Fan Rant
I'm pretty easygoing when it comes to marketing and product placement. It's so ubiquitous that I tune it out, or laugh along when it shows up on 30 Rock. I can never really muster up the rage some viewers do when Pizza Hut, Ford, or the iPhone is prominently placed in a movie or television show. The most I'll do is roll my eyes and joke about it later on ("Did you notice that? Lame!"), because I find the big picture to be more important than some high-priced props. That is, I didn't care until Fox proudly announced that Bones will return in two weeks with an Avatar themed episode. (The promo is embedded below the jump for the curious and eager.)
Look, I get why Fox would think this was a slamdunk. It's on their network, and one of Bones' recurring cast members, Joel Moore, is actually in Avatar. I understand that the combination makes the December 3 episode of Bones prime advertising real estate. But come on! Can't you just run some flashy commercials, a new trailer, or "a special behind-the-scenes look" like you did with films back during the good old days? Doesn't anyone at 20th Century Fox wonder if it doesn't look a little desperate to coerce an entire show into the PR game? After all, Avatar was supposed to sell itself purely on the photo-real effects, the world of Pandora, and the name of James Cameron. Why do they need Bones?
More 'Thor': Idris Elba Guards the Bridge To Asgard
Filed under: Action, Casting, Paramount, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Asgard has just added another brilliant actor to their semi-immortal ranks. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Idris Elba has joined the cast of Thor as Heimdall, guardian of the Bifrost Bridge. He's the man you have to pass if you hope to start some stuff in Asgard, and as he's all-seeing and all-knowing, good luck trying to kick his butt.Elba's casting is undoubtedly going to cause a bit of a stir, as the Heimdall of the Marvel comics is a redhaired Caucasian. In the original Nordic myths, he was even called "the whitest of the gods" which seems like a thousand tasteless jokes in the making. (For the record, "whitest" refers to the light he emanated, not his skin color.) I imagine a lot of people are going to make those jokes, complain about things being PC, and just be very unpleasant.
But you know what? The Asgardians are gods. They can be any color they want, and should be. Marvel's Thor is also distinctly different than the original Norse myths, and I think a diverse cast is a fantastic and appropriate idea. Plus, this is Idris Elba. He's the kind of badass you want on that Bifrost Bridge, guarding the city gates, and having throwdowns with Thor. (He's always trying to prevent everyone's favorite blonde from going in or out of Asgard.) Kudos to Kenneth Branagh for recognizing that, and for creating an Ultimate Heimdall in the course of pre-production.
Brad Pitt Prepares to Enter the 'Dark Void'
Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Games and Game Movies
A guy like Brad Pitt can do anything he likes. He's handsome, he's talented, he's rich, he's funny and outspoken ... and apparently he gets to play sci-fi-action-type video games long before the rest of us. (Bastard!) Variety reports that Mr. Pitt and his Plan B production company have snagged the rights to an upcoming Capcom game called Dark Void. Their report indicates that the game is about "a pilot who crash lands in the Bermuda Triangle following a routine mission and wakes up to find himself in an alternate world."You can learn more about Dark Void at its Wikipedia page. For example, I just learned that the awesome Bear McCreary is doing the music for the game. (I say keep that guy around for the movie version.) You can also see a bunch of nifty Dark Void artwork over at Capcom's blog. Could this be the beginning of a swanky new action franchise for Brad Pitt? I say the guy has earned one by now.
More information on this project as it becomes available. At this point I just want to check this game out. It looks pretty cool. (Game trailer after the jump!)
For the Real Vampire Lovers: A 'Daybreakers' PSA
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Horror, Trailers and Clips
It's time for a brief reprieve from the romantic battles between painted-on vampiric pecs and CG fur. As you might know, the Spierig Brothers have whipped up an excellently dark vampiric flick called Daybreakers, which William Goss reviewed last month. The film is gearing up to hit screens on January 8, 2010, and in the midst of all the other vampire chatter out there, Lionsgate has whipped up a rather excellent public service announcement which you can see after the jump.If you have any questions or concerns about the movie, this PSA should answer them because it's a dead-on representation of the feature. It explains the film while also managing to describe the tone and style of the pic: dark, sleek, modern, and scary with a healthy dose of ridiculousness and comedy mixed in. These things might sound like they clash -- and to be honest, they do a little bit -- but not in any way that ruins the movie.
You know that whoever made this clip had a perfect understanding of the film and could sum everything up with delivery rather than unnecessary exposition. (Yes, there's a voiceover in this, but it's different than saying: "Daybreakers serves chills and laughs.") If only we could get this with all the trailers and marketing that floods our way...
Does the PSA tantalize you into seeing Daybreakers?
[via CHUD]
'Call of Duty' Movie Talk Highlights Kevin McKidd's Sense of Humor
Filed under: Action, Fandom, War
I'm already a big Kevin McKidd fan from his work on television shows like Rome and the woefully under-seen Journeyman, as well as his turns in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven and Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers, but his comments on the increasing possibility of a Call of Duty film have made me love the actor even more. For those who weren't in line at midnight for the recent launch of the latest CoD entry, Modern Warfare 2, you should know that Call of Duty is a first-person-shooter video game series that started off during World War II but has since spread its settings throughout the last hundred or so years of combat.A few months ago Activision, the game's publisher, filed for a Call of Duty movie-related trademark, hinting that they were planning on kick-starting a film franchise as well. After the $550 millon success of Modern Warfare 2, the New York Post caught up with Kevin McKidd, who lends his voice to Soap, one of the games' staple characters, about his involvement with the project and if there was any progress on the film front. His response is golden:
"They were looking for a rough, Scottish actor in Hollywood they probably couldn't get Gerard Butler, so they got the No. 2 Gerard Butler, me. I had no idea it would be so huge, and now there are talks of a feature film," ... "if the script is good, and Gerard isn't available [laughs], then absolutely."
Casting Rumors: Julia Stiles in 'Spidey 4', Steve Carell in 'Young@Heart' and More!
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek
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A whole bunch of casting rumors have arrived online this week, pushing some, like CHUD's ever-vocal Devin Faraci, to write an editorial-ish piece on why we shouldn't really be paying too much attention to these rumors because, well, they're rumors. And while your parents may have told you that rumors come from a stork who brings them in its mouth and drops them off on your pillow, the reality of the situation is that rumors can start from just about anywhere -- whether it's something overheard by some blabbermouth low-level assistant at an agency or something that's completely fabricated for more internet traffic (I'm looking at you The Sun and The Daily Express!), these days it's really hard to tell. That being said, rumors can be fun because they foster discussion and get those inner studio exec wheels turning in our brains, so here are a few making the rounds right now.
Spider-Man 4
Who: Julia Stiles
Role: Unknown, though with recent information somewhat confirming that Black Cat will be a character, folks are assuming she tried out for that part.
Source: UGO are the ones claiming Stiles met with a casting company in New York City to discuss joining the film in some capacity.
Our Thoughts: Stiles has been in a lot of films throughout her career, though she's dabbled in the big-budgeted before playing Jason Bourne's sidekick in all three Bourne movies. Thus, she definitely brings enough bad-assery to play a Spidey villain, and also enough sincerity to play a Spidey ally. Good choice for Black Cat in my opinion.
Joe Wright to Tackle Action With 'Hanna'
Filed under: Action, Focus Features
The director of Atonement, The Soloist, and Pride & Prejudice is jumping into the action pool? That's what The Hollywood Reporter indicates: Director Joe Wright, best known for Oscar-friendly drama, is about to sign on the dotted line to helm Hanna, which THR describes as a La Femme Nikita style project: "The story centers on a 14-year-old Eastern European girl who has been raised by her father to be a cold-blooded killing machine. She connects with a French family, forms a friendship with their daughter and goes through the pangs of adolescence. When the girl is dragged back to her father's world and discovers that she was bred as a killing machine in a CIA prison camp, she must fight her way to a free life."Sounds to me like a fairly conventional, rather familiar tale -- so then why were Danny Boyle and Alfonso Cuaron both (briefly) attached to the project? I have to assume that there's more on the page than just another action flick to draw in directors like that. And to those who may doubt that Wright can handle high-end action, I recommend you take another look at the most talked-about sequence from Atonement (a long and staggeringly cool tracking shot of a horrific battlefield) and think about how that would look in a "fun" action film.
Also, I bet they change the title.
Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney Developing 'Alien Legion'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Comics never really die. They become cult classics, cherished until they're revived, republished, and optioned by Disney. Such is the tale of Alien Legion, which is soon to enjoy a revival that'll have many a comic fan claiming they were there from the beginning. (I won't be one of them -- I'll openly confess that it passed me right by.)Creator Carl Potts described Alien Legion as "the Foreign Legion in space," and it's probably best described as melting pot of military and sci-fi, as Star Trek, Star Wars and The Dirty Dozen all influenced its vision of intergalactic soldiers banding together for honor, fortune, and adventure. It was one of Marvel's longest running series under their Epic Comics' banner, and it's been one that fans have continued to champion. Now it's being republished in a beautiful Dark Horse omnibus (which means out-of-the-loop losers like myself can finally read it), and getting four brand new issues from Dark Horse starting in 2010.
It's also on its way to the big screen. USA Today sat down all its creators, and Potts revealed that Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney were currently developing a feature film out of the series. Derek Haas and Michael Brandt are currently working on the third draft of the script, and Disney is undoubtedly hoping it could become another blockbuster franchise. I'd love to see the Mouse House actually develop a viable sci-fi franchise of their own, and Alien Legion is certainly a very promising series. Let's hope its cult of fans are rewarded with a good adaptation after all their years of devotion, and they don't resent the rest of us for coming to the party so late.
'Captain Nemo' Is Dead in the Water at Disney
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Executive shifts, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
The klaxons are sounding for the Nautilus and Captain Nemo's origin story. Variety reports that Disney has quietly shelved the project, and McG has been released from duty in order to seek better fortune ashore. The project was scheduled to begin production this February, and was on a fast track under Dick Cook. But as you probably remember, Cook was shown the door a few months ago. Many of Disney's big projects seem to be left dangling as stars like Johnny Depp decide whether they're sailing or staying ashore. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo is just the latest, though Disney insists big popcorn flicks will still be a focus for them.
Leagues had already been a revolving door of rumors, with Will Smith said to be in the running to play Nemo. Justin Marks was originally penning the script, but was replaced by Randall Wallace this past July. Variety reports that the project was being penned by Bill Marsilli, so presumably Wallace was off as well. While it's not unusual to have three screenwriters on a project, it doesn't sound like this submarine had a reliable captain. Perhaps the Nautilus will sail again as a proper steampunk picture that explores his romantic Indian past, and not a slapdash summerfest.
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