Category: Film

  • Cowboys & Aliens Adaptation and Comic-Con Notes

    Actress Zoe Kazan told listeners on a radio show that her boyfriend, actor Paul Dano is having a great time on set for Cowboys & Aliens. Jon Favreau directs the adaptation starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, with Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde.

    At Comic-Con, Jon Favreau shared days old footage with the audience to give a feel for what they’re going for — not to mention finally bringing Harrison Ford to Comic-Con — and in handcuffs nonetheless. It felt like a western aside from the futuristic technology wrapped around Daniel Craig’s wrist, but eventually a small, alien spacecraft attacks the town. The thing around Craig’s wrist turns out to be a weapon he uses to shoot down the spacecraft; with onlookers bewildered; one of them being Harrison Ford’s character who wants Craig’s dead.

    Luckily the technology we saw in the footage wasn’t steampunk like Will Smith’s Wild Wild West. It would’ve made it hard for the film to stand on its own. The effects leaned heavily towards practical rather then CG, which the audience ate up.

    From what we saw at Comic-Con, Cowboys & Aliens is shaping up nicely, and hearing cast members talking about what a blast it is on set shows that Favreau truly is growing as a director. It’s gonna be a fun ride.

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  • Last Man Standing Adapted into a Film

    Daniel LuVisi’s sci-fi art book Last Man Standing: Killbook of a Bounty Hunter has been picked up by Paramount to adapt into a film. Despite it being an art book, it has a story that can easily be adapted to film — and a graphic novel which is also being planned.

    The premise deals with a bounty hunter named Gabriel who was genetically altered by a weapons contractor. He’s eventually framed and sent to prison, but he’s quick to escape and explore New Amerika.

    It made sense, especially since it was well received this year at Comic-Con. The story has a lot of potential, and Paramount intends to realize it. Stephan Lokotsch and Peter Levin Russell are set as the executive producers.

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  • New Judge Dredd Film Update

    I wrote about the new Judge Dredd film in the works, and the news making rounds is that actor Karl Urban (Star Trek) has been casted in the title role.

    Producer Andrew Macdonald said that their idea is to make a gritty, realistic, hard R-rated film that will do the comic book justice. Macdonald along with other producers are insistent on getting the tone right, which they felt the prior Judge Dredd movie didn’t do. And, unlike the prior film, this one will feature Judge Dredd with his helmet — which won’t be taken off.

    The film will be shot in Johannesburg with the same crew who filmed District 9, with Pete Travis directing. John Wagner — who is the main writer for the comic books — will be involved in every decision for the movie.

    The news for this second try at a Judge Dredd film adaptation has been increasingly good for fans of the comic books. As much as I enjoyed the original adaptation, this one has a lot of potential to become an excellent comic book film.

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  • The Courier Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan

    Arclight Films is financially backing the film The Courier, starring The Losers‘ Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Derek Haas and Michael Brandt who wrote 3:10 to Yuma have penned the script.

    Morgan will portray a courier who is hired to deliver a briefcase to an underworld crime figure while being pursued by rival crime bosses and corrupt police.

    I really enjoyed Jeffrey Dean Morgan on Supernatural, Watchmen, and The Losers — so I think he’ll do great as the lead in The Courier. Michael Brandt’s and Derek Haas’ screenplay for 3:10 to Yuma was well-written, and I expect nothing less with their script for this film. It’s just too bad that it took ten years to finally being picked up.

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  • Skyline Trailer

    The film Skyline had a building next to Comic-Con that had a poster plastered on it of hundreds of people being lifting in the air. A friend and I were curious about it, but never had the chance to find out at the Con.

    Directing the film are Greg and Colin Strause — who are veterans at special effects, and strangely enough, contributed to the upcoming sci-fi film Battle: Los Angeles. The crew consists of under 20 people with most of the very small budget being focused on the special effects.

    Instead of the usual alien invasion wrecking havoc, the aliens in this film are more focused on abducting people. I’m cautiously optimistic.

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  • Ryan Reynolds Demanded a Rewrite on Green Lantern

    Upon going through the screenplay, Ryan Reynolds noticed that the Green Lantern Corps. oath was written differently. He didn’t hesitate to bring it to attention, saying, “‘You cannot get the oath wrong! We had a meeting about this . . . this is where (the fans) will murder you.”

    I was hesitant on a Green Lantern film until the Comic-Con panel, and then this incident showing how much Ryan Reynolds wants to make sure the movie is done right for the fans has me stoked for it. He really has become an actor that every woman and geek loves.

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  • Ridley Scott and David Peoples to Film The Forever War Adaptation

    Apparently Ridley Scott will be filming an adaptation of the sci-fi novel, the Forever War, with — according to the author of the book — Blade Runner screenwriter David Peoples. They haven’t worked together since 1982, and the fact that they both excelled at the sci-fi genre makes this collaboration sound very promising.

    The Forever War is written by author Joe Haldeman, who served as a combat engineer in Vietnam. The premise is an ongoing war between humanity and a species known as Taurans. Spanning across worlds and time itself due to time dilation between worlds, the protagonist endures loss of family and unfamiliarity with society that’s quickly progressing. The novel also deals with exploring war and its affect on people.

    It’s a very immersing novel that I had a hard time putting down; the protagonist was very humanized, and therefore making it easy to relate to. I’m excited by the prospect of Ridley Scott and David Peoples being attached to the film project. They would do the novel justice.

    You can buy the book HERE.

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  • Comic-Con: The Avengers

    After the panel for Thor came to a close, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told us that he knows it’s getting late, but there’s a quick surprise he wants the audience to see. The lights dimmed and a video began to play with a voice over by Samuel L. Jackson.

    “And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born.”

    Samuel L. Jackson then hit the stage much to the audience’s delight. He approached the podium and said that there’s a group he wants to introduce us to — he began his role call: Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

    With all of them on stage, Robert Downey Jr. took over the podium and introduced the audience to Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk. He went on to introduce Joss Whedon as the director.

    The crowd went completely nuts for the cast and director of the Avengers. Downey was barely able to contain himself, giggling and saying that he can’t help himself. He was too excited. Joss Whedon went on to say that he had a dream his whole life, but it wasn’t this good. He told the audience that he’s afraid he’ll blow it and needs our support. Whedon and the cast were given a standing ovation.

    Marvel Studios really wanted to bring something special for Comic-Con, and they brought something very memorable. Days ago I said that the panel for Captain America: The First Avenger was one of the landmarks for Comic-Con this year, but the surprise role call for the Avengers is the landmark for Comic-Con.