Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
28 Months Later Confirmed, Fox Atomic To Fold?
Posted on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
In 2006, the Fox Atomic production label was established under the big 20th Century umbrella as a home for comedy and ‘genre’ films - ie. films specifically aimed at those in their teens and 20s. Turistas was their rather inauspicious debut release, and since then they’ve spawned horror sequels The Hills Have Eyes 2 and 28 Weeks Later; comedies Miss March, The Rocker and The Comebacks; and Renny Harlin’s turkey-lookin’ 12 Rounds (not yet released in the UK, please explain its awfulness to me in the comments).
It seems now that the imprint is to be folded, with the chief exec moved over to Fox to continue shepherding just the same style of film there instead. In the Variety article that reports this breaking-news-come-rumor, there are also a couple of asides about films originally planned for the Fox Atomic label that now, presumably, will just be plain and simple Fox releases.
Jonathan Levine to Direct The Sitter — Adventures in Babysitting meets Superbad
Posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
You might remember a little film we absolutely loved at last year’s Sundance Film Festival called The Wackness. Sony Pictures Classics did a horrible job marketing the flick, and the movie went largely unnoitced. If you havent yet seen The Wackness, buy or rent the DVD/Blu-ray tonight.
Anyway, director Jonathan Levine has found his next project, this time set up at Fox Atomic. The Sitter is described as Adventures in Babysitting meets Superbad, and tells the story of a suspended college student who “has a night to remember when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door — two boys and a wild 8-year-old girl.”
The spec script by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka was the subject of a heated bidding war and was snapped up by Fox Atomic in January. Gatewood and Tanaka also had a college comedy script on the 2006 Blacklist titled Who the Hell is Sanjay Patel which is set up at Universal. I heard a rumor that Jonah Hill was circling the project, not sure if that is still the case.
First Look: Concept Art for Fox Atomic’s Blacklight
Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Fox Atomic has acquired the rights to turn indie developer Zombie Studio’s original action property Blacklight into a feature film, comic book series and video game. The multi-pplatform project is described as “a covert military action epic set twenty-five years in the future.” Both the game and movie will be written by Jason Dean Hall, whose film Spread (Ashton Kutcher/Anne Heche) sold at Sundance to Summit Entertainment.
And according to the official press release, everything will be intertwined. The movie, , video game, and comics will feature “the same characters and high caliber military action, but with unique, intersecting storylines that complement each other.” The images in this post is actual concept art from the projects. More photos after the jump.
Could There Be A Dark City 2? Maybe… But Not From Fox
Posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
There’s a whole lot of Alex Proyas around the web at the moment, what with the imminent release of Knowing. Of course, Mr. Proyas himself is blogging here on /Film, which gives him a direct route to you, like a syringe to your brain, but he’s also being quoted here, there and everywhere. Some fascinating possibilities are being dug up, as well as the odd BIG RED SIGN of priceless advice for all filmmakers, up and coming or otherwise.
MTV are quoting Proyas on the matter of a Dark City sequel, and Chud have the dirt on why Proyas will never work with Fox again. Jump over the fold for the good stuff.
Megan Fox has been cast in Warner Bros’ adaptation of Jonah Hex and Fox Atomic’s adaptation of Fathom.
Directed by former Pixar animator Jimmy Hayward, Jonah Hex tells the story of a former alcoholic and confederate soldier (played by Josh Brolin) turned supernatural loner and gunslinger. The comic book was introduced in the 1970’s, created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga, the character received his signature scar at the hands of Indians who placed a hot tomahawk to his face. His mother was a prostitute and his dad sold him into slavery. Fox will play Leila, Jonah’s beautiful gun-wielding love interest. John Malkovich plays the film’s villain, a voodoo practitioner who wants to raise an army of undead to liberate the South. The film is scheduled to begin production in April, with an announced release date of August 6th 2010.
And in Fathom, Fox plays a young woman named Aspen who was discovered at sea by a cruise ship, and later learns she is a member of a race of aquatic humanoids who possess the ability to control water. James Cameron was at one point developing a feature film based on the Top Cow comic (which totally makes sense considering the director’s obsession with the ocean), but now the project is being adapted by Jordan Mechner, the creator of the video game Prince of Persia (who also wrote an initial draft of the Jerry Bruckheimer produced film adaptation Sands of Time).
source: THR
/Film reader Stark1288 sent me this official production photo from the Jason Reitman-produced, Diablo Cody-scripted horror film Jennifer’s Body.
Update: Turns out the photo came from Entertainment Weekly, and we’ve now replaced the photo with a clear version.
Yes, that is Megan Fox, who plays a possessed cheerleader in the film, and in the photo is drenched with blood. I’m not sure exactly where the photo came from, appears to be a scan from a magazine. When small-town high school hottie Jennifer (Megan Fox) is possessed by a hungry demon, guys who never stood a chance with her, take on new luster in the light of Jennifer’s insatiable appetite. From the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Juno.” Jennifer’s Body hits theaters on September 18th 2009.
The Jason Reitman-produced Diablo Cody-scripted horror comedy Jennifer’s Body has been given a release date by Fox Atomic. The Megan Fox thriller will hit theaters on September 18th 2009, the same weekend as the Matt Damon/Melanie Lynskey crime thriller The Informant and the Sony Pictures animated adaptation of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
The official plot synopsis follows: “When small-town high school hottie Jennifer (Megan Fox) is possessed by a hungry demon, guys who never stood a chance with her, take on new luster in the light of Jennifer’s insatiable appetite. From the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Juno.” Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, and J.K. Simmons also star.
source: BoxOfficeMojo
Sacha Baron Cohen to Produce Accidentes, Possibly Star
Posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Cultural humor alert: Sacha Baron Cohen will produce and possibly star in a film for Fox Atomic entitled, Accidentes, a pitch from Borat co-writer Peter Baynham. Here’s the logline:
“The protag will be a lawyer of Latin descent who transforms from contingency attorney to hero of the working class when he helps an immigrant win a judgment against his wealthy employer after a landscaping mishap. He also becomes the enemy of L.A.’s power elite.”
Might this do for L.A. what Borat did for Kazakhstan, Jean Girard did for France and Bruno did for “high fashion”? Do you see a pattern? The project is a high profile catch for Fox Atomic, which has been off our radar in recent months. A director was not announced. Cohen is also attached to star as Sherlock Holmes alongside Will Ferrell’s Watson for producer Judd Apatow. Bruno, which is now a wrap, opens May ‘09.
Discuss: Thoughts?
via Trades
Why Hollywood Can’t Make a Grand Theft Auto Movie
Posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Because everyone has been wondering, Nikki Finke explains why Hollywood probably won’t make Grand Theft Auto: The Movie. In its first week, Grand Theft Auto IV sold approximately 6 million copies worldwide and grossed over $500 million, more than most movies make theatrically. So it seems only logical that Hollywood would be interested in bringing the the controversial video game series to the mainstream. As it turns out, Fox Atomic actually owns the rights to “Grand Theft Auto”, but not a film based on the game. Atomic is developing a remake of the Ron Howard directed / Roger Corman produced film with the same name from 1977. And by “developing”, we mean that it is one of hundreds of projects that Fox Atomic has sitting around waiting for a screenwriter.
And I’ve never heard this before, but Finke claims that a legal settlement dictates that Fox can’t make a video game out of the Ron Howard film, and more importantly, Rockstar isn’t allowed to make a feature film based on their video game series. And as much as fans of the game would love to see a big screen movie, I’m not sure that it could capture the free-roaming magic of the game. Besides, many aspects of the game series are closely inspired by the classic mob films. I even remember reading interviews with Rockstar where they admit this obvious fact. What’s to stop a big screen adaptation of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or Grand Theft Auto 4 from feeling like a Scarface rip-off?
The Rocker Teaser Poster Borrows from Judd Apatow
Posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Is it just me or does the teaser poster for The Rocker look a lot like the posters for Judd Apatow’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up?
The Rocker follows the story of Robert “Fish” Fishman, the drummer for an eighties hair band. He’s living the rock n’ roll dream… until he is kicked out of the group. Twenty years later, the desperate rocker joins his nephew’s band, “A.D.D.,” finally reclaiming the rock-god throne he’s always thought he deserved — while taking his much younger bandmates along for the ride of their lives. Starring Rainn Wilson and Christina Applegate, The Rocker hits theaters on August 1st 2008.
School of Rock with teens instead of squirts equals this new trailer for The Rocker. Example: “You don’t ask your parents for permission to rock!” And if you watch closely Rainn Wilson (yes, veddy good on The Office) even begins to resemble Jack Black in SoR near the end.
There are some laffs here: fat guy hurricane’ing snot on a hot gal’s forehead (Superbad’s Emma Stone), noodle eating, Jeff Garlin off the bat…and Wilson sprinting is always funnay. There is dated lameness here: a band called ADD, creepy girl saying “Hello YouTube,” porn site password jokes in 2008, cliche “it’s about the music” confession, an unfunny recreation of 1988 (hard to do). Not appearing much, if at all, here, but on the plus side: Fred Armisen, Aziz Ansari, Jane Lynch. Hard to say if this Fox Atomic (ohai) comedy is going to connect or whimper off like a sappier Hot Rod. Who’s the audience, Office fans with bored nephews?
The Rocker opens nationwide on August 1st.
Discuss: What do you think of the trailer for The Rocker? Are soft-irony movies about white guys “rocking out!!!” still funny sans the already championed Anvil! The Story of Anvil?
Jason Reitman and Jim Carrey team for Pierre Pierre
Posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Jason Reitman has officially signed on to team up with Jim Carrey on a comedy titled Pierre Pierre (yay!) for Fox Atomic (barf). You first heard about this project on /Film in early December 2007, before Juno became a monster hit at the box office.
Pierre Pierre was ranked the 11th hottest screenplay in Hollywood in the Black Lis, an annual poll of 150 development executives and high-level assistants. Here is what I wrote about the project in December:
“Fox Searchlight paid close to a million dollars upfront for the screenplay by Edwin Cannistraci & Frederick Seton. Described as simular to Bruno/Borat, the story follows a “self-indulgent, lazy, French nihilist who is transporting a stolen Mona Lisa from Paris to London.” Through the journey, “he comes to love his home country again.” Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking) was in talks to direct, with Jim Carrey in talks to star.”
Well the project is now set up at Fox Atomic (boo!) with a budget pegged at $13 million, and is being prepped as a potential vehicle after the possible actors strike. So this will not be Jason Reitman’s next film, and I’m sure we’ll get an announcement on that soon enough. Reitman is also producing Jennifer’s Body, starring Megan Fox, directed by Karen Kusama, from a script by Oscar winning screenwriter Diablo Cody, also set up at Fox Atomic.
Jason, I loved Thank You For Smoking, and was one of the biggest cheerleaders of Juno in the webspace, but please please, get as far away from Fox Atomic as fast as you can. Go back to Searchlight.
Discuss: Jim Carrey as a self-indulgent French nihilist transporting a stolen painting? Does that even sound like a Jason Reitman movie?
