Film Junk » Thriller

Steven Spielberg Teaming with Stephen King for Under The Dome TV Series

Sean — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:03:47 +0000

I was lucky enough to get an invite from my friend Mike to go check out a special event with Stephen King last night in Toronto where David Cronenberg was conducting an informal interview with him on stage. The event was to promote King's new book Under The Dome, but they talked about plenty of other things including King's upcoming comic book series American Vampire, a screenplay he just wrote for Cell, and the fact that he's thinking about writing a sequel to The Shining (no, really). Although I can't really call myself a hardcore Stephen King fan, I have to admit that it's pretty crazy that he's written as many books as he has, and he's still coming up with interesting new material today. Under The Dome is about all the madness that ensues when an invisible force field suddenly materializes around a small town in Maine, cutting them off from the outside world. Considering its length, it seems more well-suited for adaptation to a TV series and that's exactly what King is going to do... with the help of Steven Spielberg! Dreamworks TV have picked up the rights to Under The Dome, and will be developing it as an "event series", probably for cable. I guess that means HBO might still be the ones to broadcast it, as had been previously reported. I don't know if I'll get around to reading the book anytime soon, but I think the concept is great and I'm definitely looking forward to this. Anyone out there reading the book right now? Will it make for a great HBO series?

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Zhang Yimou’s Blood Simple Remake Trailer

Sean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:34:48 +0000

Ever since it was announced earlier this year, a lot of people have been wondering what the heck is up with Zhang Yimou's remake of The Coen Brothers' very first film Blood Simple. It was believed that he would be turning it into a comedy, and with the odd title Amazing Tales: Three Guns, it seems clear that we should probably expect something completely different. And wow... that's exactly what we're getting. The Playlist found the first trailer for the film on YouTube, and if you're familiar with Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, you won't be too shocked to see plenty of artistic slow-mo, thematic colours, extravagant costumes, and melodramatic acting. It looks like a Zhang Yimou film, except... what the heck does any of this have to do with Blood Simple?? Granted, the trailer is not in English (save for the voiceover) so it's a bit hard to piece together. It gets weirder though: according to Yahoo!, the movie features "a theme song rapped by the filmmaker himself"! Huh? Something tells me this may be the first Zhang Yimou film that Reed Farrington actually dislikes. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film here in North America sometime next year. Check out the wacky trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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Joe Wright to Direct Bourne-esque Thriller Hanna

Sean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:24:54 +0000

Atonement director takes on action thriller with "shades of La Femme Nikita and the Bourne movies".

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Len Wiseman in Talks to Direct Untitled Post-Apocalyptic Thriller

Sean — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:44:05 +0000

We've been hearing Len Wiseman's name thrown around a lot over the past year or two, but despite being courted for some high profile projects, he still doesn't have a gig lined up to follow 2007's Live Free or Die Hard. It's possible that he's just being choosy (which makes sense considering that Die Hard was reportedly a pretty grueling shoot), but it also seems like he's had a bit of bad luck with a few projects falling through or being put on hold. At one point he was supposed to direct the Escape From New York remake, but that seems to be dead, and he is also still attached to the Gears of War movie and the comic book adaptations Atlantis Rising and Shrapnel. However, at this point his next project is shaping up to be something entirely different. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wiseman has signed on to direct an untitled thriller for 20th Century Fox. Based on a script by Jeremy Passmore (Special, Red Dawn) and Andre Fabrizio, the movie is "about a group of people who survive the end of the world and the mystery surrounding how they got to that position". Yep, another post-apocalyptic thriller... just what we need! The working title for the movie is said to be Nocturne, but that doesn't really put us any closer to knowing what the movie is about. Are you looking forward to seeing what Len Wiseman does next? And does this movie have any hope of standing out among all the other "end of the world" movies coming out lately?

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Duncan Jones to Direct Source Code Starring Jake Gyllenhaal

Sean — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:16:14 +0000

A lot of people still haven't had a chance to see Duncan Jones' Moon, the indie sci-fi film starring Sam Rockwell, but from all the positive reviews, it's clear that critics are marking this as the arrival of an exciting and talented new director. The movie hits DVD on January 12th, but in the meantime Jones has started to line up a number of new projects. A WWII submarine thriller called Escape From The Deep, and another science-fiction film called Mute had been previously announced, but now it looks like something else will take priority over both of those projects. Variety reports that Jones has signed on to direct Source Code, a sci-fi thriller about a soldier who wakes up inhabiting the body of a stranger. He must relive a train bombing over and over again until he can find out who is responsible. Jake Gyllenhaal is in talks to star, taking over for Topher Grace who was previously attached. The script was written by Ben Ripley (Species III), with a new draft by Billy Ray (Breach, Flightplan). According to Jones, the offer was one he couldn't turn down; Mute is still in the works, but having a bit of trouble finding a studio to back it. In other news, a bunch of Moon-related props are now up for auction on Ebay!

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Man on Wire Director Hired for Exorcism Thriller The Vatican Tapes

Sean — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:55:42 +0000

You want more "found footage" horror? You got it! Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment are prepping development of a new thriller called The Vatican Tapes, about an exorcism gone awry. The story, which was conceived by Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast & Furious) and written by Chris Borrelli (The Marine 2), involves a tape that gets leaked from The Vatican with footage of this frightening exorcism. While it's unclear if the entire movie will actually be the footage itself, this week they've announced that they've hired Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker James Marsh to direct it. Marsh is best known for the fantastic 2008 doc Man on Wire, about Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers, but most recently he directed Red Riding: 1980, a fictionalized crime thriller about the Yorkshire Ripper murders in England. I have to admit, I really like the sound of this, but great documentary directors don't always make fantastic horror flicks (see: Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2). It also seems suspiciously similar to Eli Roth's upcoming exorcism flick, Cotton, which is also being directed by someone with a background in documentaries. What do you think, does this sound promising, or at this point will it seem like just another Paranormal Activity knock off?

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David Fincher Reuniting with Writer of Seven for The Reincarnation of Peter Proud Remake

Sean — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:30:13 +0000

I know a lot of people are still unsure about the fact that David Fincher's next project is a movie about Facebook, but if that's not your cup of tea, his follow-up project should put you at ease. For his next movie, it looks like Fincher will be bringing back together the same team that worked on his 1995 thriller Se7en starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, in order to remake the 1975 film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud. According to Heat Vision, screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker will adapt the Max Ehrlich novel on which the movie was based, while Fincher will produce along with former New Line president of production Michael De Luca. The story centers on a college professor who begins to have visions of a previous life, and finds himself drawn to a woman and her daughter who are seemingly connected to his past. The original movie starred Michael Sarrazin and Margot Kidder, but this will not be a straight-up remake as they plan to rely on the novel for source material, moving it to a modern day setting. What do you think, will this be a return to form for Fincher or will he continue to branch out with his career?

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Alfonso Cuaron to Direct The Tourist Starring Johnny Depp

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:16:14 +0000

Although Y tu mamá también was Alfonso Cuaron's breakout film in terms of proving his talent and putting him on Hollywood's radar, it was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men that made him an instant favourite among fantasy and sci-fi fans. Of course, Children of Men was released back in 2006, and Cuaron hasn't really done much since then outside of producing. Now this week it looks like his next directorial gig may finally be falling into place, picking up the pieces of a potentially high-profile project that has gone through multiple changes to cast and crew. If all goes according to plan Cuaron will direct The Tourist, a remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer, about an American vacationer in France who is unwittingly used as a decoy for a French spy. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others) had previously been attached, as well as Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). Cuaron would be inheriting a cast that includes Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, who were recently brought on to replace Sam Worthington and Charlize Theron. (Tom Cruise was supposed to star at one point as well.) All in all, it sounds like they are potentially trading up here, no? Check out a trailer for the original film after the jump.

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Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me Trailer Starring Casey Affleck

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:34:32 +0000

I'm not always eager to post promo and sales trailers for movies when they find their way online because they're usually too long, rough around the edges, and quick to be pulled off the web anyway. They're not intended for the general public, and shouldn't really be judged as such. In this case, however, we've got our first look at what appears to be a very promising flick, and with all the talent involved I simply couldn't help posting about it. Michael Winterbottom's most recent film Genova didn't get a ton of attention at TIFF last year, but his previous two films, A Mighty Heart and The Road to Guantanamo both made my top 10 lists in their respective years. This time around he's teaming up with Casey Affleck, who is riding a wave of critical acclaim from outstanding performances in Gone Baby Bone and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, for an adaptation of the book The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson. Affleck plays a deputy sheriff in Texas who also turns out to be a cold-blooded killer. The trailer shows a couple of potentially disturbing scenes, but it also gives off a pretty awesome No Country for Old Men vibe. Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba co-star, offering them both a chance to prove their acting chops. What do you think, does this look like a winner? The movie is currently in search of a distributor but will probably be hitting the festival circuit in 2010. Check out the promo reel after the jump.

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Danny Boyle to Direct Stranded Mountaineer Story 127 Hours

Sean — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:15:01 +0000

2008 was quite a year for Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, and as he has been winding down from the roller coaster ride that was Slumdog Millionaire, he has also taken some time to carefully choose his next project. He had been attached to possibly direct a handful of projects including Johannesburg (a movie about South Africa based on the novel Ponte City by Norman Ohler), and Solomon Grundy (which has since been shelved due to its similarity to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). There had also been rumours about him possibly returning to direct another sequel to 28 Days Later. This week, Variety has confirmed that his next movie will be none of these. Instead, Boyle will helm a project called 127 Hours, about a mountain climber named Aron Ralston. Ralston had a pretty harrowing experience during a climb in Utah in May, 2003, when his right arm was accidentally pinned under a boulder. After waiting for five days he was forced to amputate the limb with a dull knife, and then scaled a 65-foot sheer wall in order to seek rescue. Sounds a bit like a cross between Touching the Void and Castaway (minus Wilson). I'm assuming it will be a challenge to turn it into a film, however, since the main character will be completely immobile for a large chunk of the film. Boyle will reteam with Fox Searchlight, producer Christian Colson and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy for this one, while Ryan Gosling has been rumoured as a possible star. Thoughts?

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Salt Trailer Starring Angelina Jolie (in English)

Sean — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:53:21 +0000

Earlier this week, a Russian trailer for the upcoming Angelina Jolie action-thriller Salt found its way online, but was quickly pulled down by Sony... and really, who wants to see a low-quality, dubbed version of a trailer anyway? (A lot of people... I know.) Today they have debuted the first domestic trailer for the film over at Yahoo!, and although it looks fairly action-packed, I can't say there is anything all that noteworthy about it either. Is Angelina Jolie really the biggest current female action star? It seems weird to say that, but I guess her filmography proves it. Either way, I'm sure they're hoping to attract fans of Wanted with this one. The production history on Salt has kind of a weird twist in that Tom Cruise was originally supposed to star in the lead role (and not in drag). Somewhere along the way they rewrote the story so that the main character was a woman instead. Weird. The script comes courtesy of Kurt Wimmer (Law Abiding Citizen, The Recruit, Equilibrium) and Brian Helgeland (Man on Fire, Mystic River, Payback). Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger, The Saint, Patriot Games) is in the director's chair. These guys all have some good stuff on their resumes, so it could end up being a pretty solid spy flick. I guess I'm just a little disappointed that a movie about a Russian sleeper agent is not set during the Cold War. Boo. Salt hits theatres on July 23rd; check out the trailer after jump.

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Paul Greengrass’ Green Zone Trailer Starring Matt Damon

Sean — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:44:58 +0000

Bourne in Iraq... that's the three word summary that's going to sell this movie for most people, but with any luck the latest collaboration between Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon will be something even more than that. Green Zone is inspired by the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, a non-fiction look at the American attempt to set up a transitional government in Iraq. The movie uses this as a jumping off point for a fictional thriller about a group of army inspectors in search of weapons of mass destruction. When I first heard about this film, it was being described in the same vein as Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, but after seeing the trailer it seems more reminiscent of Ridley Scott's Body of Lies... which to me, is a lot less exciting. Still, with a cast that includes Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan and Brendan Gleeson, and Paul Greengrass once again using his trademark handheld camera work, I am definitely willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Are you looking forward to it? Green Zone hits theatres on March 12th, 2010. Watch it in HD over at Yahoo!, or check out an embedded version after the jump.

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