Our friends at IESB have gotten their hands on a 5-13-07 draft of Edward Norton’s The Incredible Hulk. The good news is that that they are raving about calling it an “incredible ride” that “will attract both fans and non-fans alike.” They claim it has the action and humor that the first film lacked. Here are some quick spoilers, read no further unless you want to know. Here are some of the highlights:
- Hulk appears in the first sequence in the film. No waiting around for the green monster’s appearance.
- Bruce Banner is hiding out in Brazil in search for exotic flowers that he believes will help destroy the gamma radiation in his blood.
- While working at a bottle factory, Bruce is cut and a drop of his blood falls into one of the bottles. A woman in Minnesota drinks the juice and almost dies. The gamma is detected in her blood and this alerts the military.
- Bruce escapes to the States, meets up with Betty Ross, and they both leave for New York City to find Dr. Sterns, who has developed an “anti-dote” for Bruce. But they are caught by General Ross and the military.
- A soldier named Blonsky who was crushed by Hulk, takes a super gamma serum developed from Bruce’s Blood and transforms into Abomination.
- Hulk must save the city from Abomination.
Read more plot details at IESB.net.
.
Please Recommend /Film on Facebook
The Yari Film Group is fast-tracking Killing Pablo with Christian Bale (Batman Begins) and Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) set to star. The Pablo Escobar bio-pic has been in development for nearly five years, and was originally set-up at Paramount. Joe Carnahan (Smoking Aces) is still attached to direct. Bardem is slated to play Escobar, while Bale is in talks to play Major Steve Jacoby, the Delta Force commander who led the hunt for Escobar. Everyone agrees that Bardem is incredible in the new Cohen Brother’s movie.
The Escobar story has also influenced countless movie and video game storylines. I’m guessing that the Entourage storyline which involved a Escobar biopic might have been responsible for the renewed interest. Medellin, the fake movie within the show, was greeted by horrible reviews at the Cannes Film Festival in the season finale storyline. Let’s hope that Carnahan’s version will be better received.
Based on Black Hawk Down author Mark Bowden’s book, “Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlaw” is a tour de force of investigative journalism-this is the story of the violent rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin cocaine cartel. Escobar’s criminal empire held a nation of thirty million hostage in a reign of terror that would only end with his death. In an intense, up-close account, award-winning journalist Mark Bowden exposes details never before revealed about the U.S.-led covert sixteen-month manhunt. With unprecedented access to important players-including Colombian president César Gaviria and the incorruptible head of the special police unit that pursued Escobar, Colonel Hugo Martinez-as well as top-secret documents and transcripts of Escobar’s intercepted phone conversations, Bowden has produced a gripping narrative that is a stark portrayal of rough justice in the real world.
The Los Angeles Times called the book: “The story of how the U.S. Army Intelligence and Delta Force commandos helped Colombian police track down and kill Pablo Escobar is a compelling, almost Shakespearean tale.”
Yari told Variety that the film could begin shooting as early as June 2008, if SAG doesn’t go on strike (June 30 is the deadline). If a SAG strike does happen, the production will be delayed until after the work stoppage.
Update: This story has now been confirmed as False.
Shoot ‘Em Up was one of the many of a few great Hollywood films that somehow failed to find an audience this year (Grindhouse, anyone?). A couple months ago we told you that writer/director Michael Davis had already completed a screenplay which could function as a sequel or a completely unrelated action film. We lost hope for the sequel when the first film failed to make more than $12 million at the box office.
But our friends at FirstShowing are reporting that “the script was turned in and approved and it is in pre-production and the leading actors have signed on for the second film.” The film is being fast tracked for a pre-strike production, which means Shoot ‘Em Up 2 is likely to hit theaters late next year. But the question is: Is it a Shoot ‘Em Up sequel, or has it been edited into an entirely unrelated action film.
Clive Owen just began production on The International, which isn’t likely to wrap by year’s end. And Owen is currently scheduled to start filming The Boys Are Back in Town early next year. So I think it’s safe to assume that Owen is not part of this “sequel”.
Ben Affleck talks candidly about his upcoming feature film directorial debut Gone Baby Gone in Details Magazine:
“It’s pretty simple. If people don’t go see it – I’m fucked,” admits Affleck. “I feel like (Gone Baby Gone) is the linchpin for my life. My career. I have a lot riding on it. I want [the film] to work. Badly. I mean, a shitty movie comes out on 2,800 screens? I’ve been there and it’s embarrassing.” “Listen, I’ve gone out and directed a movie and made it really f-king good. If the movie’s good, people will like it and go see it. All the rest of it is bullshit.”
I’ve seen Gone Baby Gone, and it is (as of this moment) on my list of the top 10 films of 2007. It’s an amazing film, never-mind an incredible first film. Hopefully it finds an audience.
The official movie trailer for Pixar/Disney’s Wall-E hit the web
Check out the new WALL-E trailer after the jump, followed by a new official plot synopsis.
Read More »
It all started when Dick Cook, the Chairman of Walt Disney Pictures, mentioned during a Question and Answer session at North Carolina School of the Arts that Disney would be announcing a new stop-motion animated film in the next couple months. Cook slyly revealed that project would be helmed by “the creative mastermind behind the majority of stop-motion pictures in the last decade.” That leaves only two possibilities, Tim Burton or Aardman Animations. But the latter is more of a collective group of creative masterminds that were responsible for the Wallace & Gromit films and Chicken Run, where the former is a one man namebrand. The consensus is that Cook was talking about Burton, who is currently in post production on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
AinitCool later received an anonymous e-mail tip claiming that Burton will in fact be making a stop motion animated feature length remake of his infamous short Frankenweenie. Burton made the short black and white film in 1984. It is rumored that Disney decided to shelve the project because the content was too “questionable” for children. However, after the mainstream success of such Burton films as Beetlejuice, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, and Batman, the film was given a home video release on the Nightmare Before Christmas DVD.
Frankenweenie is a parody of the 1931 Frankenstein film. When young Victor’s pet dog Sparky is hit by a car, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked “monster” wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor’s neighbors, he has to convince them and his parents, that despite his appearance, Sparky’s still the good loyal friend he’s always been. The film starred Shelley Duvall, Daniel Stern, Barret Oliver, Sofia Coppola and Jason Hervey.
I’m a huge fan of Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, and would love to see him design a new stop animated film. Burton for me has never been a great director, but instead a great artist, who has a fantastic sense of production design. The stop animated world is a perfect fit for his genius. Check out a slideshow presentation featuring a look at the original 29-minute Frankenweenie short film below via YouTube.
Note: This project has not been confirmed, and until such time should be considered a rumor.
Read More »
1408 hits DVD store shelves tomorrow (October 2nd), and we have a copy for two lucky /Film readers. All you need to enter is to e-mail us with the reason why you should win. On October 9th we will e-mail the winner with the best answer.
John Cusack (Identity, Runaway Jury) gives a chilling performance as a best-selling author who specializes in debunking the paranormal. For his latest novel, he checks into the Dolphin Hotel’s infamous room 1408 where there have been 57 deaths since it’s opening and shortly discovers that unlike his previous “haunted” encounters, the terror of room 1408 is real! Based on King’s story published in the Everything’s Eventual Collection, 1408 was brought to the screen by director Mikael Hafstrom (Derailed), and also stars Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane, Star Wars films) and Mary McCormack (“The West Wing”).
Featuring an extended director’s cut with a surprising alternate ending, the theatrical version of the film, five deleted scenes, collectible Dolphin Hotel postcards and much more!
