When it was first announced that JJ Abrams and Tom Cruise were reteaming to co-produce a fourth Mission Impossible film, a lot of factors were unknown. Would it be a reboot, a spinoff? Would Tom Cruise return as Ethan Hunt? Would JJ Abrams also direct? Well now we finally have our answer — Paramount Pictures has signed a deal with Tom Cruise to reprise his role as Ethan Hunt in M:I-IV. The bad news is that JJ Abrams is sitting this one out.
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Paramount might force Michael Bay into filming Transformers 3 in 3D following the success of James Cameron’s Avatar. Bay has been vocally against the growing popularity of 3D, at last year’s theatrical exhibitors ShoWest convention making the very popular statement that “I think it might be a gimmick.”
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What a weird set of potential buyers for Catfish, the documentary hit that has already been tagged as the next Paranormal Activity. Not that Catfish is anything like Paranormal Activity at all, except for the fact that it is a low budget documentary-style film (more on that in a second) and is now being courted by Paramount.
The studio is holding a test screening of the film on its lot today to see how it plays in front of a non-festival audience. JJ Abrams reportedly wants Paramount to buy the film. But much in the style of the movie’s narrative, there’s a late twist — Brett Ratner has come up with an offer to buy the film outright, with no audience testing necessary. Read More »
Paramount Pictures has released 20 high resolution photos from Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, which I’ve included after the jump.
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Here’s a quick precis of what we told you so far, then a zinger of a punchline.
Paramount offered the Paranormal Activity 2 directing gig to Saw 6 helmsman Kevin Greutert. As an underhand measure, Lionsgate have exercised their option on the director and obliged him to direct Saw 3D instead. The two films are currently slotted in for the same release date, and the Paranormal sequel would appear to be without a director.
So, how does Greutert feel about this? His first response was relatively polite:
I’m in the middle of something really terrible right now, as anyone who has come to this site probably knows. While I fight for justice in this, the important thing is to avoid giving in to hatred and anger, because these emotions are life killers. Hopefully we will all arrive at an amicable solution. Thank you to everyone who is working with me on this.
His second, less so. It follows after the break.
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UPDATE: As one might expect, Kevin Greutert isn’t happy about this move. Check out his response at the end of the article.
This is a crazy development that, if true, sounds like stereotypical Hollywood business and absolutely terrible PR. A report has it that Lionsgate, irked by the fact that Paramount hired long-time Saw editor and recent Saw VI director Kevin Greutert to direct Paranormal Activity 2, has exercised an option on the filmmaker and will oblige him to direct Saw 3D. That’s right — the studio is, in essence, forcing Greutert to make the seventh Saw film so that he can’t help Paramount with the rival Paranormal Activity franchise. Read More »
Consider this photo like a letter from Paramount and Marvel saying, “yeah, we know that Sundance is dominating the movie biz right now, but hey, remember us?” Because, yes, that’s a new photo from Iron Man 2, and yes, it’s Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) driving his race car. Your guess is as good as mine that this takes place shortly before Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) cuts the car into a couple of pieces and attempts to do the same to Stark.
Too bad we can’t see a reflection of Whiplash somewhere, or anything else that would juice up the image a bit. But hey, it’s Downey, and he’s fun. Right? Probably best to just watch the trailer again.
Variety’s report that True Grit will be released on Christmas Day 2010 reveals two things. One - What I want for Christmas*. Two - that Paramount want to position the film for Oscar glory.
Maybe their decision making was as simple as “Coens. Wide open spaces. Sounds like No Country For Old Men, bound to get gongs” or maybe they’ve been sophisticated enough to appreciate how fine the script is, how high-calibre the cast is shaping up to be and how surely Joel and Ethan can handle this kind of material.
*UK cinemas are actually closed on Christmas day, so the film won’t be getting released here then, anyway.
With Paranormal Activity, the comparisons to The Blair Witch Project films just keep on coming. Like Blair Witch, 2009’s Little Film That Could was made on a shoestring budget and cleverly marketed into mega-success. Now, Paramount has hired a writer and director for the film currently called Paranormal Activity 2. Just as when Artisan made the Blair Witch sequel, the studio is keeping original Paranormal creators Jason Blum and Oren Peli on the payroll as producers, but is giving the reigns to different talent. In this case, said talent happens to be screenwriter Michael R. Perry and director Kevin Greutert, the latter of which you may recall directed the most recent Saw film. Read More »
Hot off of Quantum of Solace, Marc Forster is now set to direct The Chancellor Manuscript — an adaptation of the Robert Ludlum thriller of the same name. The film is a potential starring vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio (who’s also producing), and Peter O’Brien has been tasked with adapting the screenplay.
The story concerns an author named Peter Chancellor who writes a novel about political types that are blackmailed into altering national policy. His manuscript is then discovered by operatives who mistakenly think he has uncovered their plot. Hijinks (of the violent variety) ensue.
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