The producers of Fox’s hit action serial television series 24 have been talking about doing a big screen movie adaptation for years now. I just assumed that it was one of those things that would never happen, and that the made for television movie prequel they did last season was an easy out. Well it looks like star/producer Kiefer Sutherland is serious about bringing Jack Bauer to the big screen, as he has convinced Fox to hire Billy Ray to pen the screenplay adaptation. All we know about the planned story for the feature film is that it will be set in Europe. Sutherland and producers have said that the big screen movie would be “a two-hour representation of a day.”
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I’m not sure that you can really call this a ‘reboot’, but there’s word that Fox and Regency Enterprises are working on a new Mr. and Mrs. Smith film that would, in effect, be just a new film story entirely. The new movie, called Mr. and Mrs. Jones, would essentially be a way to keep the core idea going forward from the original film, but with two new characters and a pair of cheaper actors. Who’s cheaper than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? Almost everyone, of course.
Vulture has the details, saying that the idea is to create an “origin story” in which a couple much like the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie characters in the 2005 film is assigned to live as a fake married couple after graduating from their special agent training. So: different setup, different story, different characters. Not sure how this qualifies as a reboot, or how it could even do much to draft off the name brand of the ‘first’ movie. It’s a curious scenario, but not the lamest studio idea we’ve heard today.
We’ve known that this would be happening, but a last-minute Friday report from Mike Fleming at Deadline Hollywood confirms Daredevil as the latest superhero reboot. David Scarpa, writer of The Last Castle and Fox’s The Day the Earth Stood Still remake, is scripting. No other talent is announced at this point. Peter Chernin, who is also working on that new Planet of the Apes movie, is producing.
Just in case you have any doubt about how things will go with other Marvel character movies lodged at studios like Fox, Fleming notes that this reboot is going forward for one simple reason: unless Fox moves forward with Daredevil the studio risks losing the character to Marvel/Disney. Yeah, that means we’ll still be hearing about Fantastic Four and likely Silver Surfer movies at some point, too. (The LA Times followed up with a report about the reboot, but doesn’t offer any other new info)
McG’s next film may be his first romantic comedy; the director is in talks to direct a film called This Means War for Fox. We’ve reported on this project very briefly before, but had very little info at the time. McG’s talks suggest that Fox is really pushing the film forward. As we last mentioned, Reese Witherspoon and Bradley Cooper are currently attached, but none of the three are signed. Variety stresses that McG hasn’t yet made a deal.
THR offers a few more plot details, noting that it is a “tale of two best friends, inseparable since childhood, who fall in love with the same woman (Witherspoon). The two men’s bond disintegrates and their ensuing battle escalates to mammoth proportions, with New York City demolished in their wake.”
Fox has had this one for a long time; it was originally intended as a Martin Lawrence film, and a number of directors have been attached over the years. More than anything else, this is probably good news for people who want McG occupied so he can’t become involved with other projects of note.
A quick note, and hopefully one of the last stories we’ll have to run about Avatar breaking yet another box office record. This week, James Cameron’s current film overtook his last one in the domestic box office tally. In its full theatrical run, Titanic grossed $600.8 million while Avatar has now taken $601.2 million in only 47 days. Go ahead and cite inflation and the 3D surcharge on ticket prices as factors in Avatar’s gross; reportedly, more than 80% of Avatar’s domestic business is from 3D screenings.
For a film that was pegged as a sure-fire failure by some, beating Titanic in less than two months is a hell of a thing, even with inflation and the 3D price bump.
During a quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, Fox chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch revealed that he is in “very early talks” with Director James Cameron about greenlighting a Avatar sequel, adding that Cameron “has ideas” for a sequel, and that “We will be pushing for one.” Well, duh!
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You may have heard about Avatar. James Cameron’s 3D juggernaut has reportedly topped $2b globally as of this weekend, and seems poised to dominate the box office for weeks to come. 3D showings are sold out days in advance in major cities, and there’s every reason to believe that the film has at least another month’s worth of box-office fuel in the tank.
But there are only so many 3D screens to go around. So what happens when Disney releases the 3D Alice in Wonderland on March 5? Which movie gets the limited number of 3D screens? Read More »
What a weird teaser this is. Pushed along by an unlikely chugging rock score, bookended by the Fox logo and movie title card (above) that are nearly identical, this is Oliver Stone’s return to the world of Gordon Gekko? I wasn’t sure what to expect when Stone moved forward with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the long-dormant sequel to his landmark 1987 film Wall Street. But I didn’t quite expect this. Read More »
As James Cameron’s Avatar overtakes Titanic to become the biggest box office success of all time, winning Golden Globes and getting ready for a possible Oscar sweep, rumor has it that pre-production might be gearing up on a sequel to his 3D sci-fi epic. I have received word, from a source who has provided /Film with some good tips in the past, that technical crew members have already begun to be hired for Avatar 2.
According to the source, some behind the scenes technical crew have signed on for three to five year contracts, just in case it runs long. While I’m unable to confirm this report with a second source, this bit shouldn’t come as a huge surprise as Cameron has always said that he hopes to create an Avatar trilogy. And with the box office receipts and awards, you can be sure that Fox is pushing for a sequel. But will this really be Cameron’s next film?
Looks like Gavin Hood isn’t waiting around for Fox to sign him to direct Wolverine 2. Can’t imagine he’d relish the job even if it was offered. Instead, he’s looking to jump on a dog sled with Walden Media. The company is looking to adapt the book The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic, and is negotiating with Hood to direct. Read More »
