Posted on Wednesday, March 6th, 2013 by Russ Fischer
There has been speculation about MGM’s remake of Poltergeist for a long time now. It reached a height when Sam Raimi was announced as a producer, and once we thought there was a chance he would direct. But now MGM has announced the studio’s choice for director: Gil Kenan, who directed the animated film Monster House and the YA adaptation City of Ember. Read More »
Posted on Friday, March 1st, 2013 by Germain Lussier
Director Antoine Fuqua has been developing a boxing drama named Southpaw for some time. Written by Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) it’s the story of a left-handed boxing champion whose life is destroyed and he’s forced to fight his way back. Eminem had long been attached to star as the fighter, but when DreamWorks dropped the film that casting became less likely. MGM then scooped up the rights to Southpaw but Fuqua went off to make Olympus Has Fallen.
With that film in theaters later this month, Fuqua’s attention once again shifts to Southpaw. Eminem will still be involved in some way, but odds are he won’t star. To fill the lead role, Fuqua said he’s recently spoken to three of the most popular leading men around: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner. Read More »
Posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2013 by Angie Han
Joe Carnahan has been adding projects to his slate left and right since 2011′s The Grey, but he’s now dropped one of them from his schedule. The filmmaker has abruptly exited Death Wish, Paramount / MGM’s remake of the 1974 thriller starring Charles Bronson.
That doesn’t mean his slate is getting any less crowded, though. Carnahan is now reportedly circling Narco Sub, the drug smuggling thriller that Tony Scott was set to helm before he passed away. Hit the jump to keep reading.
Posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2013 by Angie Han
It’s been about a year since Dwayne Johnson first signed on to play the titular hero of Brett Ratner‘s Hercules, but now that the project actually has a set release date it’s really picking up steam.
The film has just added Aksel Hennie in the part of Tydeus, one of Hercules’ allies. The actor has gained acclaim in his native Norway as the star of Headhunters and Max Manus, and is now poised to cross over into the U.S. Hercules will be his first major studio role. Hit the jump for more details.
Posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2013 by Angie Han
Might tiny humans be the next big-screen trend? Probably not, but there are a couple of them headed toward the big screen in the near(ish) future. As Marvel readies Ant-Man, MGM has acquired the rights to The Shrinking Man, the classic sci-fi novel by Richard Matheson. The same source material inspired the 1957 movie The Incredible Shrinking Man, so it’s a reboot of sorts.
To help bring the story to life, the studio has hired two writers who should be intimately familiar with the original book. The 86-year-old Matheson will pen the screenplay with his son Richard Matheson Jr., updating the plot to keep up with the times. More details after the jump.
Posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2013 by Germain Lussier
Briefly: Ratner. Rock. August 2014. Brett Ratner‘s latest film, Herclues, an adaptation of Steve Moore‘s graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars has been given an August 8, 2014 release date. It’ll star Dwayne Johnson as the legendary hero and be in theaters a week after James Gunn’s Marvel adventure Guardians of the Galaxy. Read more about the film here. [Deadline]
Posted on Wednesday, January 16th, 2013 by Russ Fischer
Briefly: MGM may be primarily the home of remakes at this point (Red Dawn, Carrie, RoboCop, WarGames) but did you know it also makes sequels? The last film MGM put into production before bankruptcy temporarily silenced the lion was Hot Tub Time Machine, the comedy with John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke.
Now a sequel is coming together, with early talks taking place to bring the cast back together, and director Steve Pink in talks to return and possibly write with Corddry. Read More »
The 1959 film Ben-Hur, starring Charlton Heston, is one of the most revered films of all-time. Along with classics such as Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane and The Wizard of Oz, it’s regularly in the discussion of the best American films ever made. Which, one would think, would make a remake off limits.
MGM has found a way. The company, which released the original film but then sold the rights to Ted Turner, has just purchased a spec script by Keith Clarke (The Way Back) that is “much different” from the original film and “more faithful” to the original book, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace. There’s more after the jump. Read More »
