Posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 by Russ Fischer
This is unexpected. Evidently Warner Bros. really liked what Albert and Allen Hughes did with The Book of Eli, because the brothers are reportedly finalizing a deal to direct the long-discussed live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga Akira. Originally floated in early 2008 as a two-part film to be directed by Ruairi Robinson, the films were put off by the WGA strike, then the scripts took forever to crack and the project was reported dead. In September of last year the Akira remake was said to be alive and well, and that brings us to this interesting point. Did the Hughes Brothers show the proper chops in The Book of Eli to pull this off? Read More »
Warner Bros’ live-action adaptation of Akira is not dead afterall. Collider has confirmed that screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby are hard at work on the project.
Posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Everyone was left confused when it was announced that Tropic Thunder screenwriter Justin Therou would be penning the script for Iron Man 2. Why would Marvel Studios completely bypass the original screenwriting team of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (also of Children of Men fame) for a guy whose only screenwriting credit was a comedy film? No offense against Justin, but the choice just seemed extremely odd. Perhaps Thunder star Robert Downey Jr asked that Therou be brought in to write the sequel. Or maybe Fergus and Ostby were busy working on ideas for other Marvel projects. Fergus revealed to MTV that they are currently “talking intensely with Marvel about” some “really juicy [movies]“.
“We’re like, ‘We’re the right guys for this one.’” … “It’s moving along nicely but nothing official yet. But, yes, we are planning on working on some of those movies. That much I’ll say.”
Most, if not all of the previously announced Marvel adaptations already have screenwriters attached. So either Fergus and Ostby are vying for an unannounced project or are hoping to be brought in to rewrite one of the current projects. I’d be happy if they replace Zak Penn on either Captain America of The Avengers.
Discuss: Which Marvel project do you think Fergus and Ostby are hoping to tackle next?
Robert Downey Jr. is in negotiations to star the big screen adaptation of the graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens. The project has been in development for the last ten years, even though the comic book was only released a couple years go (it was pitched for years before it was ever actually written). I haven’t read the book, but I will admit that the title alone makes it worthy of a big screen movie.
Written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, the story takes place in the Old West, where “settlers and Native Americans wage a bloody battle for control of the land. But when the Earth is threatened by conquerors from the stars, these sworn enemies must work together to save all humanity.” Downey Jr would play a former Union Army gunslinger named Zeke Jackson. You can read the entire graphic novel for free online on drunkduck.com or check out the teaser trailer for the comic book below.
The latest screenplay was written by Iron Man and Children of Men scribes Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus. DreamWorks/Universal is eyeing as a possible 2010 tentpole release date.
