Michael Moore’s Next Film Will Not Be Fahrenheit Sequel
Slashfilm Reports:
“To just say it’s a sequel is so wrong,” Moore told The Associated Press. “It would be easier and safer to make a sequel, if that’s all it was, but this isn’t about Bush. We all know this. Regardless of who the president is come November, we have a big mess, a big, big mess to be cleaned up, and I don’t know whether it can be cleaned up. The toxicity of the spill may be so great that there’s nothing we can do about it. If that’s the case, where are we now as America and as Americans?”
“What I’m going to say in this film is what probably 70 percent of them (audiences) don’t want to hear,” Moore said.”
Piranha in 3-D
“Variety” Reports:
“The Weinstein Co. is going 3-D. Dimension Films is producing “Piranha 3-D,” a remake of Joe Dante’s 1978 cult classic about a school of flesh-eating piranhas released into a summer resort.
Alexandre Aja (”The Hills Have Eyes”) will helm the project and co-write the script with “Hills” scribe Gregory Levasseur based on a draft by Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg.
The Weinstein Co., whose previous “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” grossed $197 million worldwide, is working with 3-D specialist Neville Page (”Star Trek,” “Avatar”) to create the project’s peckish piscatorial creatures.
Dimension has rights to U.S. and English-speaking territories. The Weinstein Co. will be selling international rights at Cannes.
Mark Canton is producing along with Marc Toberoff, Alix Taylor and J. Todd Harris from IPW. Aja and Levasseur will also get a producer credit.
“The film presents us with a unique opportunity to launch a new global franchise and take advantage of the incredible developments in 3-D technology,” said Dimension topper Bob Weinstein.
While U.S. studios are embracing 3-D fare, R-rated “Piranha 3-D” is one of the few pics, along with Lionsgate’s “My Bloody Valentine,” utilizing the technology in films aimed at adult auds.”
Leonardo DiCaprio To Play Ian Fleming
IESB Reports:
“Leonardo DiCaprio’s company Appian Way just came on as a producer of the Ian Fleming biopic. The film based on an original screenplay written by Damian Stevenson about the life of the British author and journalist who created James Bond.
The LA Times had the news today in their Scriptland column, “In fall 2005, just before the lucrative Bond franchise rebooted with Daniel Craig, Stevenson made his first script sale to Warner Bros. He then spent months mollifying the WB legal department about the historical accuracy of the Fleming story and worked through dozens of drafts with Lazar.
“It’s the real James Bond,” says the 35-year-old Stevenson, who previously worked as a development executive at Kopelson Entertainment and DreamWorks. “In England, Ian Fleming’s exploits are much better well known. Talking to people out here, no one had any idea that M was based on a real person, Miss Moneypenny was based on a real person.”
Some script time line details are also included, “His latest version of the screenplay begins on the eve of Fleming’s Jamaica wedding in 1952, just before his first Bond novel, “Casino Royale,” was published (a wedding present to his new wife).
It then flashes back to Fleming’s years as a Reuters journalist stationed in Moscow and then a Commander of Naval Intelligence (MI6 code name “17F”) during World War II who devised innovative spying plots.”
So will DiCaprio take on the lead role and add Fleming to his list of historical figures he’s portrayed on screen?
The article says, “During the writers’ strike, DiCaprio showed interest in Fleming and his world, but he’s looking to take the script in a different direction with a new writer.”
Fruitcake
“Variety” Reports:
“The Wagner/Cuban Cos.’ 2929 Intl. has picked up worldwide sales rights to John Waters’ Johnny Knoxville-Parker Posey topliner “Fruitcake,” and is shopping the project at the Cannes film market.
This Is That’s Ted Hope and Anne Carey are producing alongside Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler.
Waters’ Fruitcake is the story of a cheerfully weird ten-year-old boy who gets separated from his loving small-time crook parents on Christmas Eve. At Cannes, 2929 Intl. also is handling international sales for Barry Levinson’s “What Just Happened?,” produced by 2929 Prods. and starring Robert De Niro; James Gray’s Joaquin Phoenix-Gwyneth Paltrow starrer “Two Lovers”; Guillermo Arriaga’s Charlize Theron-Kim Basinger topliner “The Burning Plain”; and “The Road,” starring Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce.”
The Beast In Magneto?
“LatinoReview” Reports:
“While on a visit today to the creature effects shop for Hellboy II: The Golden Army I noticed some pictures that were lying around for other movies like Land of the Lost and of course, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
But I also noticed a photograph of a young looking Beast leaping through the air. Not a drawing, although it could have been computer generated, but an actual photo.
“What’s this?”
“This is young Beast from the prequel they’re gonna be doing. Magneto.”
“Oh, ok.” I replied, trying to act calm before my head exploded from seeing this picture. “So Beast is in Magneto, huh?”
“Ya.”
The picture showed a younger guy in the Beast getup leaping down. He was in the full blue costume with his long tail and you couldn’t mistake him for anything other than Beast. The picture also had ‘Magneto’ written in the upper corner. Like I said, I was only able to see it for a few seconds, but it did not look like a computer rendered picture, it looked like an actor in full makeup. Nevertheless, Beast IS in the movie.”
21 Jump Street…The Movie
“Entertainment Weekly” Reports:
“21 Jump Street by way of…Jonah Hill?! Yes, it’s true: The breakout Superbad comic and Judd Apatow acolyte is in negotiations to develop a movie adaptation of the popular ’80s TV show starring Johnny Depp. It hasn’t been decided whether Hill will actually star in the movie, but Sony confirms that he’ll work on the screenplay and serve as executive producer. The series, which ran from 1987 to 1991 on Fox, centered on a group of young cops whose youthful appearance allowed them to work undercover in high schools and colleges and search out troubled kids. Sony declined to give any details on the tone or direction of the movie, but it’s probably safe to say that this new version won’t be featuring any earnest public service announcements, as the series often did. Neal Moritz (I Am Legend) and series cocreator Stephen J. Cannell will produce.”
Poster Post: Righteous Kill
“Moviehole” has poster up the poster for the new Al Pacino and Robert De Niro film Righteous Kill. Check it out.
IMDB Synopsis: “Two veteran New York City detectives (De Niro and Pacino) work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?”
Sasha Grey To Star In Smash Cut
“Yahoo” Reports:
“Porn star Sasha Grey, the 2008 Adult Video Network female performer of the year and star of more than 80 porn films, is set to star in the Canadian low-budget horror film “Smash Cut.”
Grey will play a TV news personality who goes undercover as an actress in a horror film to discover the killer of her older sister, a stripper.
“Smash Cut” director Lee Demarbre insists his indie movie has no nudity or sex, and Grey will remain fully clothed throughout.
“The only penetration is by knives and axes,” he said of the slasher pic, a production of Ottawa-based Zed Filmworks.
Grey will co-star with B-movie legends David Hess (”Last House on the Left”), Michael Berryman (”The Hills Have Eyes”), Ray Sager (”The Wizard of Gore”) and director-turned-actor Herschell Gordon Lewis (”Blood Feast,” “2000 Maniacs”).
Demarbre and “Smash Cut” producer Rob Menzies hope to release the film on the festival circuit ahead of a theatrical run in 2009.”
Surfer Dude
“Yahoo” Reports:
“The comedy “Surfer, Dude,” starring Matthew McConaughey as a soul-searching surfer who’s experiencing an existential crisis, is set for a summer release.
Starz Media subsidiary Anchor Bay Entertainment has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film and plans to release it theatrically in late summer.
Anchor Bay, whose primary business is home entertainment, has been moving toward independent theatrical releases with films such as “The Grand” and “Sex and Death 101.”
“The acquisition of ‘Surfer, Dude’ underscores where this company is headed,” Anchor Bay president Bill Clark said. “We will continue to acquire strong titles for theatrical and DVD release while maximizing the abilities of the various divisions at Starz, including our global sales team and the premium entertainment channels.”
King Of The B’s
“Yahoo” Reports:
“The man who brought more top-drawer directors and bottom-of-the-barrel schlock to Hollywood than anyone will be profiled in the documentary feature “King of the B’s: The Independent Life of Roger Corman.”
Stick ‘N Stone Prods. will finance and produce Alex Stapleton’s docu examining the impact of Corman, who over five decades has directed more than 50 films and produced close to 400.
The docu will look at how Corman has influenced the industry through films like 1960’s “The Little Shop of Horrors” and the auteurs, including Martin Scorsese, he has mentored. Films like Alexandre Aja’s upcoming remake “Piranha 3-D” continue his legacy.
Stapleton, who produced Spike TV and Canal Plus’ docu “Just for Kicks,” will make his feature directorial debut with “King.”
Bad Lieutenant Re-Make
“Cinematical” Reports:
“Werner Herzog is remaking Abel Ferrara’s gritty, NC-17-rated cult classic,Bad Lieutenant, and none other than Nicolas Cage is going to star. Nic Cage! Werner Herzog! Am I the only one who’s completely blown away by this bizarre news? (Though, to be fair, we did kinda see this coming …)
Cage will take on the role originally played by Harvey Keitel; he’ll slip into the part of a drug and sex-addicted corrupt cop, though there’s no word on how far they’ll take this version of the film. However, exec producer Avi Lerner did promise this new take will “deliver as much filth as the original.” Wonderful! We’ll look forward to it Avi! Nu Image/Millennium Films will finance, with Pressman Film Corp. producing. When asked about his opinion on this new project, Cinematical snark expert Scott Weinberg said “Awesome, let’s hope it’s as funny as his last remake. The Wicker Man as a comedy … brilliant!” (Oh man, this is such a nasty, nasty film.)”
Twilight Filmmakers Hope Sequels Can Be Shot Back-To-Back
“MTV” Reports:
“It was a gamble that paid off in a big way for the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but may have helped sink the “Matrix” films. As for the “Back to the Future” flicks, well, that battle continues to rage on. Now, the “Twilight” series is the latest blockbuster franchise making plans to shoot multiple sequels at the same time.
“It’s been discussed,” producer Greg Mooradian revealed to MTV News. “I can’t tell you we’re at that place yet, but it’s definitely been discussed.”
The advantages to such a plan are obvious: Rather than building sets and tearing them down only to be re-built a few years later, they can film multiple scenes; instead of selling vehicles and re-buying them (such as Carlisle Cullen’s Mercedes, which can be seen here), they can hold on to them; rather than having thirty-year-old actors pretending to still be in high school, they can stay the same age in each film.
“Our vampires can’t age…if they were like 45, people would say ‘What’s up?’” laughed director Catherine Hardwicke, citing one of the main problems with filming Stephenie Meyer’s “New Moon” and “Eclipse” novels. “[Filming them together] could be the case. Then, you just get it done.”
The main actors indicated to us that they are signed on for sequels, and Hardwicke said she hopes to return as well. “We’ve got our fingers crossed,” she beamed. “If the fans show up for this one, we’ll get to make more.”
Mooradian explained that as a producer, his goal is to get the movies done right, but also to get them on film quickly enough to maintain Meyer’s vision of perpetually-teenaged vampires. “We’re going to go as fast as humanly possible, especially since there are at least four stories to tell,” he insisted, factoring in the “Breaking Dawn” sequel due to be published in August. “We’d like to keep a real consistency as to how quickly we are able to do it. Some of the other stories are even bigger productions, so they require more prep time.”
Eyeballing such near-annual events as the “Harry Potter” films, Mooradian indicated that if “Twilight” is a hit, the sequels will go into production almost immediately. “The goal is to keep it moving quickly,” he explained. “[That will] give the audience a sense of knowing that the next installment is going to come at a really specific increment of time.”
Metropolitan Museum of Art To Exhibit Superhero Fashions
“Metropolitan Museum of Art” Reports:
“The symbolic and metaphorical associations between fashion and the superhero are explored in this compelling exhibition. Featuring movie costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high-performance sportswear, it reveals how the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor for fashion and its ability to empower and transform the human body. Objects are organized thematically around particular superheroes, whose movie costumes and superpowers are catalysts for the discussion of key concepts of superheroism and their expression in fashion.
The exhibition and its accompanying book are made”
Thundercats Models
“tgisfw” has a photo of some possible models for the upcoming CG film “Thundercats”. Which is based of the hit TV show. Check them out.
Fahrenheit 9/11 Sequel in 2009
SlashFilm Reports:
“Paramount Vantage and Overture Films have announced that they are co-financing and co-producing a sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11 with documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. Overture will distribute the film domestically, while Vantage will handle international. The big news is that Moore is leaving The Weinstein Co, which distributed his last two films. The yet-to-be-titled documentary will be released in mid-2009. Depending on what source you read, Moore is either already working on the documentary or will begin production immediately following Cannes. The completed film could feasibly premiere at next year’s Festival, if it isn’t released earlier.
Details are being kept tightly under wraps but Vantage topper Nick Meyer claims the movie has “global appeal”. All we know is the sequel will pick up where Fahrenheit left off. And while you might expect an “I Told You So type story of how Bush ruined the country, insiders expect the film to be much more than that.”
