There's often times when you hear the mention of a particular filmmaker, and immediately recoil, as if the actual words have caused an indelible stain on your very soul. I wouldn't go so far as to say that's John Herzfield, because I quite enjoyed his 1996 ensemble caper, 2 Days In The Valley. But those with a more discerning and high cultural palette may not be interested to know, what has he been up to recently?
Way back in 2011, fledgling director Dan Trachtenberg's first short, Portal: No Escape, became a viral sensation - and captured Hollywood's attention. It wasn't long before Universal and writer-producer Chris Morgan snapped up his next pitch, entitled Crime Of The Century. Hard at work developing the feature with writer Daniel Kunka (12 Rounds), Trachtenberg also took on his directorial debut project, Valencia, for Bad Robot. Whether or not this has slowed progress on Crime, it's unknown. But Universal have hired Gary Dauberman to come aboard.
Tim Burton's pending adaptation for 20th Century Fox, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, may have found its lead in Ender's Game star, Asa Butterfield. According to The Wrap, the actor is being strongly considered for the lead role.
Mary Shelley's estate is probably laughing all the way to the bank. The celebrated author's gothic horror, Frankenstein, is a noted literary classic. And we all know what happens to popular novels. Yes, they wind up on the school curriculum. But more pertinently - they're adapted for the big screen. Kenneth Branagh's version flopped like a beached whale, even if some of its sequences were worthy of a punchier script. This year's action horror reimagining, I, Frankenstein, didn't fare much better either. Let's see if the man whose 1992 horror Candyman made everyone terrified of coat hooks, Bernard Rose, can finally get it right. Aye aye, kiddies, there's gonna be another big-screen adaptation - and it's just landed a leading man-ster.
There's certainly been a lot of water under the bridge since we last heard any news about Calibre Media's Bone Tomahawk. The violent yarn has been in development for a long while, with Timothy Olyphant and Peter Sarsgaard attached to star at one point. Back in October 2012, Kurt Russell joined the flick, along with Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter. Since then, talk on the film has been largely silent. Things are picking back up for the western again, however, as Insidious star Patrick Wilson and Lost alum Matthew Fox have joined the project.
Ted 2, the sequel to 2012's teddy bear gross-out comedy, is gearing up to be one of next year's starriest affairs. Director Seth MacFarlane looks set to top the cameo-fest leanings of the first outing, and took to Twitter today to celebrate his good fortune.
Talk about jumping the gun! As the October 14th home video release of X-Men: Days Of Future Past looms ever closer, 20th Century Fox have taken steps to ensure its success on the small screen matches its theatrical achievements. Filming on the follow-up sequel, X-Men: Apocalypse, doesn't commence until next Spring.
Retiring his mighty crossbow, Jeremy Renner took a seat in the dug-out for Marvel's Phase Two. Many were saddened to lose out on across-the-room-gazes with Black Widow, but fear not, he'll be back for Avengers: Age Of Ultron. And, it seems, Captain America 3.
Ridley Scott might be involved in post-production for Exodus: Gods And Kings, but that isn't stopping him from taking things up a gear or two on The Martian. In the last month we've had numerous casting rumours circulating, and the latest from Variety hints that End Of Watch star Michael Pena is in early talks for a part.
The status of Warner Bros. upcoming political comedy-drama, Our Brand Is Crisis, is heating up. Developed in conjunction with Smokehouse Pictures, the feature has been building up momentum in recent weeks. It was nearly a year ago that Sandra Bullock became attached to star, with Prince Avalanche director David Gordon Green on board to direct. Who else is in the running for this cunning political expose? The Drop actress Ann O'Dowd, that's who.
