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By Collin, on May 27th, 2011

David O’Russell leaves Uncharted.

The stars are aligning and the two filmmakers, O’Russell and Hughes, that were odd choices for franchises I love (Uncharted, Akira) have left their respective movies and gone on to do other things. Sadly, Aronofksy (a hero of mine) also left Wolverine – so you take the bad with the good. Deadline reported that:

David O Russell is no longer developing Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. He’s stepped out of the project. Since getting the Oscar accolades on The Fighter, Russell has been juggling a number of projects. Sony Pictures is getting a new writer to work from the draft done by Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer. Studio’s still keen on the picture.

I sighed a bit of relief on this decision because he might have taken a more serious approach to the movie, which the material doesn’t warrant. Also, Mark Wahlberg, O’Russells alter-ego, might not stay on as Nathan Drake. I think Wahlberg was a weird choice and I’ve always been a champion of Nathan Fillion or Josh Duhamel as Drake.

What also annoyed me about the whole thing is people keep referring to it as an “Indiana Jones remake”. First off, Indiana Jones was a rip-off of older movies that were shown on television. Second, Indiana Jones is an archeologist and intellectual. Nathan Drake, while very smart, is far from a good comparison. His comparisons to the likes of Jack Colton (Romancing the Stone) are better.

-Collin

By Collin, on May 27th, 2011

Albert Hughes leaves Akira film adaptation


I’ve been posting things on and off about Akira because it happens to be one of my most beloved works of graphic fiction. On a side note, my favorite graphic novel, as well as one of the best books I’ve ever read, is Black Hole – a work that I honestly think trancends the medium. But anyway, Akira has been going through a lot of growing pains lately but is still being fast tracked.

I rarely let the fanboy out, but when it comes to Akira I can’t help but nerd rage and the news that the mediocre talent Albert Hughes was going to helm the movie with and that Keunu Reeves was being courted with major roles made me face palm. What a joke. Don’t get me wrong though, Hughes has his talents: Making mediocre movies (From Hell, Dead Presidents, Book of Eli). Menace To Society is pretty damn good, but that was ages ago and he was only a kid (something like 21).

Anyway, in stroke of great fortune Albert Hughes has left the movie and hopefully someone better will step in. Deadline reports that:

Director Albert Hughes is exiting the movie, I’m told. Insiders say that it is an amicable creative differences  parting of the ways. Warner Bros will try to put him on another movie right away (Hughes and his brother Allen directed the hit The Book of Eli, and WB topper Jeff Robinov is their former agent and is very close with them).

Also interesting from that article was the little snippet that, “Warner Bros is back to the other plan, and will likely go back to that list of actors in hopes of making the picture later this year or early next.”, referring to their return to using “fringe famous” actors such as McAvoy, Patterson, and Garfield.

I’m still fairly satisfied with how things are going and can always be satisfied I can return to the books and/or movie if this one never gets made.

-Collin

 

By Collin, on May 13th, 2011

Lars Von Trier is challanging Scorsese to remake one of his films, but with a set of limitations.

 

Cool news! But movies like this are usually bad. That is, experimental movies that challenge filmmakers to step outside the conventions of the normal Hollywood narrative.

They’re interesting and self-contained, but are never movies that I obsess over. Von Trier (Antichrist, Breaking Waves) is famous for this stuff, often times never even following his own rules, such as Dogme 95, and choosing instead to be inspired by limitations in general.

Limitations are good. Think of El Mariachi – zero money and two camera lens. Limitations are a filmmaker’s best friend. If you’ve ever spent a few hours watching through the Dogme 95 influenced films from Denmark – you’ve probably seen a lot of garbage.Von Trier’s masterpiece, Break Waves, came almost immediately after the release of Dogma 95 and contained almost none of the restrictions. Or maybe it did? That is up for you to decided..

Moreover, Von Trier is a champion of restrictions, believing it sets a filmmaker free. Von Trier is throwing down rules for Scorsese to follow when he remakes one of his famous shorts or re-shoots a famous sequence or scene. What does all this prove? Very little. But Scorsese, of all the active filmmakers, has most command over what makes filmmaking artistic. His command of his film technique can not be matched. Maybe he’ll flesh out some cool ideas.

Source: hollywoodreporter

-Collin

By Collin, on March 25th, 2011

Musical Les Miserables will finally make it to the big screen.

 

 

Well, shit. It is finally happening: Tom Hooper, fresh off his best picture win, will be heading into controversial territory with his next film – an adaptation of the beloved Les Miserable musical.

Deadline reports that, “The screenplay is apparently already written by Bill Nicholson and the hope is to begin production on the musical before the end of the year, with shooting taking place somewhere in Europe.”

Holy shit! I consider myself a mega-fan of the musical and have been waiting a long time for a film adaptation to be announced. I’m not afraid either. Most people will be chirping about the possible damage this could do to a masterpiece of the stage, but I’m pretty confident that Hooper is going to do a good job. If Les Mis can survive a fat troll from England stepping all over the song “I Dreamed a Dream”, even going as far as making them inextricably linked, it can survive anything.

Moreover, Les Mis is the best musical ever made. There will be people who deny, deny, deny and this is mainly due to its overwhelming fame and success.

Phantom of the Opera and Lion King enjoyed similar successes, but are just not poignant enough. King and I and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat are fantastic, but just not grand enough. Cats and Wicked are fantastic, but eh, they don’t resonate with with everyone. Rent and Spring Awakening are my personal favorites, but I recognize how they could alienate an older audience. Chicago and 42 Street are too showy and glam. I always arrive back at Les Miserable. It is epic and powerful. Emotional and poignant. Tragic, but seemingly uplifting. It is a bit long for most people, but there is never a boring part and all of its strengths come from the masterful story written by Victor Hugo.

Hugo is a writer whose stories contain such sadness, desperation, longing, and tragedy, it is hard for many to watch/read his stories. I heard rumors in my family that my grandfather refuses to see a production of Les Mis because it is too sad. This might be true for a lot of people. However, I think the musical’s popularity can be attributed to the awesome power of Hugo’s story and characters, as well as the fantastic book by Claude-Michel Schongberg.

A big bee tee dubs, this musical does not take place during The French Revolution, a myth that so many people seem to be certain about. To be honest, I always call it the July Rebellion, and then reminded it is the June Rebellion. Or is it the other way around?

Anyway, Hooper will make this a fantastic movie. He’s got the technique and artistry needed to make a long musical entertaining. More importantly, he has the experience of dealing with stage works and taking them into the cinematic medium.

I’m excited. Hopefully they won’t hire another Jonas brother like they did in the recent concert version. That would be a shame. I’m calling Lea Michele in this movie now, quote me on that.

-Collin