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Zombieland Sequel Heads to TV, Writers Take on Micronauts for J.J. Abrams

Sean — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:34:40 +0000

If you're a fan of Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland, listen up! We've got a pair of Zombieland-related news stories for you this week, starting with an update on the sequel. As it turns out, Zombieland 2 probably not happening in the form you might expect. A couple of years ago, the original film opened to $24 million and Sony seemed pretty eager to get a sequel off the ground. A script was written but it has been slow to get a greenlight, partially due to scheduling complications (Emma Stone, in particular, is busy with The Amazing Spider-Man). Now word on the street is that Fox is teaming up with Sony to develop it for the small screen instead. Why would they suddenly want to bring Zombieland to television? Why, because of the success of AMC's The Walking Dead, of course! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures Television is producing a half-hour comedy series based on Zombieland with an eye on the 2012-13 broadcast season. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who wrote the first movie (along with a script for the sequel), would also handle writing duties for the show. Considering that MTV is also setting up a zombie-themed series called Death Valley, things are about to get crowded very quickly. In related news, Deadline reports that Reese and Wernick have also been hired to write a Micronauts movie for J.J. Abrams and Paramount Pictures, based on the 1970s Japanese toy line. They also recently wrote G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation and the Deadpool movie for Fox which may or may not ever see the light of day. Clearly Zombieland has been given a huge career boost to most of the people involved. Are you still interested in seeing the story continued?

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Nike to Officially Release Back to the Future Self-Lacing Shoes (UPDATED)

Sean — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:35:57 +0000

Update: It looks like the shoes aren't self-lacing after all, they just light up. More to come... Update #2: The shoes will be auctioned off on eBay for charity, 150 per day over 10 days for a total of 1500. Check out nikemag.ebay.com to try and win yourself a pair. Hit the jump for a new video that reveals the shoe and a quote from the press release. When Frank Marshall hinted at a big Back to the Future announcement on Twitter yesterday, I don't think too many people expected this. It would appear that Nike is finally going to release the actual shoes that Marty McFly wears in Back to the Future II! Fans and collectors have been clamoring for these things for years, and although a special edition version was released in limited quantities a few years ago, this time there's one big difference: the shoes will actually have self-lacing technology. Back in 2009, Nike did actually file a patent for self-lacing shoes, and now we know why. Although there hasn't been an official announcement from Nike as of yet, they are holding a launch event in L.A. today for the new shoes, known as "Air Mags". Now if we could just get Mattel to keep up their end of the bargain and officially release a hoverboard. We'll have more info as it becomes available, but until then check out a short teaser trailer for Marty's kicks after the jump. From the official press release:

"The Air Mag is the first rechargeable footwear from Nike were designed as an identical replica to the originals seen in the Back to the Future II movie. Some of the constant elements include the upper contours, the glowing LED panel and the electroluminescent Nike logo in the strap. The Nike Air Mag actually illuminates with the pinch of the “ear” of the high top, glowing for five hours per charge."

Sadly, there are no power laces to be found here.

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Ridley Scott’s Monopoly Movie Picks Up a Pair of Writers

Sean — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:26:13 +0000

With the exception of Peter Berg's Battleship, it has been starting to look like cooler heads might prevail when it comes to the recent board game and retro toy craze in Hollywood. Most of the announced movies based on playthings have been slow to materialize, with some studios choosing to wait and see how Battleship does before they spend more money on their own board game blockbuster. Even Universal, which entered a partnership with Hasbro to produce a number of these films, has decided to drop a few of their projects (including the Ouija movie) due to budgetary concerns. But still the madness continues! According to Heat Vision, Hasbro is moving forward on their Monopoly movie without Universal, and yes Ridley Scott is still attached to direct. This week it was announced that screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have been hired to write the script for Monopoly. Alexander and Karaszewski are both fairly accomplished scribes who won a Golden Globe for their screenplay for The People vs. Larry Flynt. Some of their other credits include Ed Wood, Man on the Moon and 1408. Once again, you have to wonder if these people actually see anything in a Monopoly movie other than dollar signs (both literally and figuratively). With Ridley Scott currently hard at work on Prometheus and recently signing on for a Blade Runner sequel, it's hard to imagine him having any passion for a project like this. Earlier this year, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner had this to say:

"Monopoly is still happening, and we're developing a great story. It's a very fun take. Ridley Scott is still the perfect creative steward, because he creates these great, fictionalized worlds. It's going to be a very fun story to tell. It's a very human and personal story. It's not really Wall Street, not at all. It's a fictionalized story of a family, and there's a lot of intrigue in the story. Suffice it to say, it's a story about a family with a history, and we're projecting that into current times. But it's not Wall Street.' It's more about property ownership and of the play-pattern of the game."

Do you think this will actually see the light of day, and once again, is it actually possible to make a decent movie based on a board game?

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Battleship Trailer Starring Liam Neeson and Rihanna

Sean — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:10:41 +0000

May 18th, 2012 is going to be an historic day... one that could change all of our lives forever. That day marks the release of Battleship, a major Hollywood blockbuster based on a board game, and if successful it could open the floodgates for much more of the same. The world will never be the same again. In all seriousness, I'm well aware that there was already a Clue movie back in the '80s, but this is different. We've seen studios option all kinds of board games over the past year or two, and Hasbro and Universal even have a partnership virtually guaranteeing that there will be more of these. But for now, all eyes are on Battleship, which will be the first one out of the gate. What you might not know is that for some unknown reason, Battleship is actually an alien invasion movie. It could probably be a Battle: Los Angeles sequel or spin-off, if not for all the laughably bad Screenwriting 101 cliches. I mean, dating the admiral's daughter? Really? Directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, Hancock), and starring Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna and Brooklyn Decker, this trailer will likely get a lot of viral attention a la Snakes on a Plane. If they're smart, they'll do some reshoots to add the line, "You sank my battleship!" somewhere in there too. But in the end, will the Hasbro branding hurt this movie's chances at the box office or will it help? Check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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Spike Jonze Directs Beastie Boys Action Figures in Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win

Sean — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 22:54:48 +0000

As many people know, Spike Jonze got his start directing TV commercials and music videos, including what is arguably one of the greatest music videos of all time, the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage". Now Spike Jonze and the Beastie Boys have teamed up again over a decade later for their latest video "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (feat. Santigold)", taken from the album Hot Sauce Committee, Part Two. The video was written by Adam Yauch and was shot entirely using Beastie Boys action figures... think Team America: World Police meets Fantastic Mr. Fox. Am I alone in wanting to see a full-blown Spike Jonze stop motion animated film after this? Check out the extended 11 minute cut after the jump.

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Live Action Captain Planet Movie in the Works

Sean — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:42:33 +0000

Here's another upcoming Hollywood project to file under the "WTF" category: producer Don Murphy (Transformers, Real Steel) is apparently setting up a live action adaptation of the early '90s animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The show ran for six seasons and also spawned a toy line, comic book, and a handful of video games. It was born out of the sudden wave of concern for the environment at the beginning of the '90s, and aimed to educate kids about pollution and alternative energy sources (and teamwork!). Magic rings are given to five kids across the globe (The Planeteers), allowing them to control various elements of nature and also to combine their powers to summon Captain Planet himself. Yeah, it's about as lame as it sounds, although maybe I was just a little too old to truly appreciate it at the time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy and his producing partner Susan Montford are teaming up with the Cartoon Network to get the movie off the ground. This, along with the announcement of a Joel Silver-produced Ben 10 movie, marks the networks first foray into live action feature films. Apparently cartoons alone just aren't paying the bills anymore. Murphy had this to say:

"We are extremely excited about bringing the good Captain back to life. His adventures are known worldwide and he is recognized across generations. We expect to make a spectacular series of films with the amazing team at Cartoon Network."

Personally I'm not sure that this show holds the same element of nostalgia that certain other retro cartoons might hold, but he's right that the brand is at least familiar to people all around the world. Either way, it will still be a challenge to overcome the squeaky clean do-gooder image of the show and make it seem hip. On the bright side, the villains from the original show had an impressive voice cast that included James Coburn, Martin Sheen, Ed Asner, Sting, Meg Ryan and Jeff Goldblum. Let's get some of them back on board (okay, maybe not Coburn)! What do you think, does a live action Captain Planet movie actually have potential?

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G.I. Joe Sequel Casts Jinx, Lady Jaye… and Bruce Willis?

Sean — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:51:37 +0000

A few weeks ago we reported on the first major casting announcement for the upcoming G.I. Joe sequel, a movie that may or may not be titled G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes. After going back to the drawing board and deciding to bring in all new characters aside from Duke, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, Paramount recruited The Rock to play heavy machine gunner Roadblock in the film. Since then they have begun to fill out the roster with a variety of additional actors, some more well known than others. Most notably, on Friday it was announced that Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights) has been hired to play Lady Jaye. Palicki's schedule has just been freed up now that NBC passed on the Wonder Woman series, and this could be another big role for her. She will be joined by another female Joe member, the ninja Jinx, who will be played by Elodie Yung (District B13: Ultimatum). Detroit 1-8-7 star D.J. Cotrona has also reportedly landed the role of Flint, who could also end up being Palicki's love interest if they stay true to the cartoon and/or comics. If that wasn't enough, they've also cast Wu-Tang Clan member RZA as the Blind Master, a character that is believed to have trained both Snake Eyes and Jinx. Sure, I'd pay to see that. Last but not least, there are rumours swirling around the casting of the original Joe, better known as Joe Colton. According to Deadline, Bruce Willis is a frontrunner for the role, and if they can get him on board, I think this movie would be looking a whole lot better than the first. What do you think about the casting of G.I. Joe 2 so far? Could this movie actually end up being decent?

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The Rock to Play Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes?

Sean — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:29:33 +0000

Slowly but surely, a sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is edging closer to becoming a reality, whether we want it or not. After Stephen Sommers quit the project earlier this year, it left the door open for someone else to come in and potentially do something different with the franchise. So Paramount went and hired Jon M. Chu, director of Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never to replace him. Normally I try not to judge a director without having seen any of his films, but let's be honest, this does not sound like a resume well-suited to a G.I. Joe movie. Soon after, they also announced that only three characters would return from the first movie: Duke, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Although I still think that Channing Tatum should have been the first one to get the axe, I could live with it if they surrounded him with some interesting new faces. Today it sounds like they've taken the first step to making that happen: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is reportedly in talks to play badass heavy machine gunner / chef Roadblock! With Fast Five earlier this summer, it seems that The Rock has finally taken steps to becoming the gritty action star we all want him to be. He bulked up and went toe to toe with Vin Diesel, leaving memories of Tooth Fairy and The Game Plan far behind. Hopefully this is a sign that they will be casting more "manly men" for the Joe team this time around... at the very least, it's a big improvement on Marlon Wayans. The G.I. Joe sequel is apparently going under the title G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes, and although I didn't initially have any interest at all, this first casting announcement has my curiosity piqued. The biggest question in my mind is, will The Rock speak in rhymes just like Roadblock from the '80s cartoon? If so, I am definitely in. Are you excited to see The Rock star in G.I. Joe 2?

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G.I. Joe 2 Gets a New Director and Possibly a New Cast

Sean — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 19:10:31 +0000

We rejoiced earlier this year when it was reported that Stephen Sommers would not be returning to direct a sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. For the past few months, Paramount has been in search of a director to replace him, and this weekend appears that they have finally settled on someone. According to Heat Vision, the job will go to Justin Bieber: Never Say Never director Jon M. Chu. So, uh... is it still too late to get Stephen Sommers back? The interesting thing is that they are saying that some roles may end up being recast for the sequel. How about all of them? If they do end up recasting the film, I would much prefer that they simply start over with a clean slate and reboot the whole thing. However, word on the street is that they are planning to keep Channing Tatum as Duke, who is, incidentally, the very first person I would want to see recast. Chu worked with him previously on Step Up 2: The Streets, but somehow I don't think that should account for much. Both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Sienna Miller are mentioned as the most likely to be recast in their roles as Cobra Commander and The Baroness respectively. This is unfortunate, but understandable I suppose. No word yet on whether or not Marlon Wayans will return. Chu is not the first filmmaker to transition from dance movies to action flicks. Last year Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) directed The Losers, which was flashy but completely bland in my opinion. As a fan of G.I. Joe, I can't say I have much hope for the future of this movie franchise. On the other hand, I know a lot of people enjoyed the first flick and might have been satsified with more of the same. What do you think, does this news make you more or less interested in a G.I. Joe sequel?

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Stephen Sommers to Return to Direct G.I. Joe 2

Sean — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:14:24 +0000

It's been a little while since we've heard any talk about a sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. After the first film generated $300 million worldwide, the continuation seemed like a foregone conclusion, but apparently no one wanted to rush the sequel into production like they did for Transformers. Now it seems that things are slowly starting to gear up for G.I. Joe 2 again, and this week The Wrap has learned that director Stephen Sommers is the man most likely to helm it. Which is great news, I guess... assuming you liked the first film. Personally I hated the first film, but I know there were plenty of fans who thought the movie was decent and appreciated the fact that it didn't take itself too seriously. The script for the sequel was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland), which might indicate even more comedic content. Still, there is not much they could add that would make me want to revisit the franchise, and with Sommers in the director's chair I can only assume it would be more of the same. Either way, it seems like those rumours about Sommers being fired during post-production probably weren't true after all (big surprise, I know). Are you game for G.I. Joe 2? And would you like to have seen someone else direct, or is Sommers the ideal choice here?

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Two Meatballs Doing a LEGO Movie

Kasper — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:37:07 +0000

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are now attached to direct Warner Bros.' proposed LEGO feature film, so says The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision Blog. They really don't have anything else to report about the blocky toys, except for the fact that Lord and Miller's pitch is for the movie to take the live-action blended with CG route, which really doesn't make it sound more appealing, but rather less. However, apparently it did impress both Warners and the LEGO people, so game over naysayers, we're getting another Alvin and the Chipmunks... but with LEGOs!!! Even though they've done the fancy presentation to win over both LEGO and Warners, this doesn't mean that we'll see blocks running around Manhattan anytime soon, as Lord and Miller are also attached to direct the big screen adaption of the old TV series 21 Jump Street, and that project comes first. While I wasn't personally a big fan of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs -- the humor in it just wasn't my cup of tea -- I can respect the work they did on the film, adapting a short children's book into a feature length film. Everybody else seemed to love it, so if anybody is going to make a movie about LEGO with nothing else to base the script on, I believe they can pull it off. Does this announcement make you more interested in a LEGO movie?

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Wolfgang Petersen to Direct Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots: The Movie?

Sean — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:20:42 +0000

Good ideas rarely make it through the Hollywood system without being ripped off and imitated, and actually, come to think of it, the same can probably be said for bad ideas as well. I'm still not sure which category DreamWorks' Real Steel falls into, but it looks like it's about to get some direct competition courtesy of Mandeville Films (Surrogates, Beverly Hills Chihuahua). When the first photo from Real Steel debuted online last week, a lot of people joked about the similarity to the classic '60s toy Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Now it looks like there is actually a real Rock' Em Sock 'Em Robots movie in development... that's right, yet another damn toy movie. According to Pajiba, Mandeville and Mattel are teaming up for a movie based around the red and blue boxing robots. However, where Real Steel seems to focus on the human characters who control the robots, this movie is being described as "Gladiator meets Iron Man" and the "human story of one robot that becomes part human, part robot." Uh... okay? Apparently Wolfgang Petersen (Troy, Poseidon, Das Boot) is attached to direct, with Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium, Law Abiding Citizen) possibly writing the script. They could certainly do a lot worse, although at this point I have to remain suspicious of just about any movie based on a toy. What do you think, could this actually work? Which robot boxing movie would you prefer to see?

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