I am a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz. It’s just one of those movies that is not only a timeless classic, but it is also one that I grew up watching and really love. It is this fact that makes me slightly skeptical that a prequel is being made. I admit, I found the Broadway prequel, Wicked, to be somewhat enjoyable and I know a film version is currently in the works, but I always feel like some of these things are just unnecessary and take away from the magic of the original.
Back in 2009, Stephen Sommers released the action blockbuster G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra to less than good reviews. The sub-par acting, excessive use of destruction to cover up a lack of storyline and some uncertain writing left most disappointed which could be why Sommers and most of the original cast will not be returning for the sequel.
Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn has had Only God Forgives on his agenda for quite some time now, but it got pushed aside when Drive fell into his lap, which had Ryan Gosling on board to star and I don’t blame him. You’d have to be crazy to pass up a film with someone as incredibly talented as Gosling attached. With that finished now, though, and it being a competitor at the upcoming Cannes International Film Festival, Refn is getting in full gear for Only God Forgives.
Head of Marvel, Kevin Feige, spoke to The Playlist recently and revealed some interesting insights into the future of some of their comic book characters possibly making their way to the big screen. We’ve already seen Scarlett Johansson in the role of Black Widow in Iron Man and will see Jeremy Renner in action as Hawkeye in next summer’s The Avengers, but now Feige is talking about the possibility of these characters getting solo films.
Leslye Headland (Terriers) has penned and will be helming Bachelorette (currently just a working title) for the Will Ferrell and Adam McKay run comic production company, Gary Sanchez, THR is reporting. With an all-star cast that includes: Kirsten Dunst, Adam Scott, and Lizzy Caplan as well as Saturday Night Live’s Casey Wilson, the story follows three best friends (Caplan and Dunst – third friend has yet to be cast) who are invited to be bridesmaids at the wedding of a girl they deemed “Pigface” in high school.
In a day and age where we like our news fast and accessible via Internet, it is surprising to see an actual newspaper still triumphing while so many are going bankrupt. Despite the transformation of print news into social media, the New York Times, as Kevin Jagernauth of indieWIRE phrases it, “remains one of the banner institutions.” For yesterday’s Osama Bin Laden story, the NYT printed an additional 125,000 copies of the issue because people still turn to them as the reigning authority for the latest news.
It has been almost four years since Wes Anderson’s last live-action feature, but he’s back with Moonrise Kingdom, which has just begun filming in Rhode Island and been picked up by one of the leaders in truly great and original films, Focus Features. It is set in the 1960s on an island off the coast of New England, following the story of a young boy and girl who fall in love. The two are so in love that they are moved to run away together, turning the town upside down as they marshal to search for the young couple.
The film will star newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the young lovers, and they will be sharing the screen with some pretty big names: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray.
Paramount Pictures is at work on their latest project with Sacha Baron Cohen's, The Dictator, after competing against three other studios for the distribution rights. Paramount took the prize when they sent two goats wearing Paramount logo t-shirts to visit Baron Cohen and his reps.
According to Deadline, one of Hollywood’s most talented and underrated comedic actresses, Anna Faris, has been offered a part and is now in negotiations to take on the leading female role in the film.
CEO of the French videogame company Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot, announced at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival that he is launching a new branch of the company called Ubisoft Motion Pictures in order to adapt its own game franchises into movies and television programs, although he did not make mention of any projects the company may already be developing.
Shortly after a big press conference for the upcoming Gotti: Three Generations, director Nick Cassavetes stepped away from the project. This caused quite a panic in Hollywood but rest assure that this gangster story will be told as a new director has stepped up to the plate.
According to Variety, Barry Levinson (Rain Man, You Don’t Know Jack) has entered negotiations to take over the film, which stars John Travolta. For those unfamiliar with the project, it is the story of the notorious Gotti crime family told from the perspective of John Gotti Jr., who was the one to sell the idea for this film.
