One of the biggest potential remake projects of the past couple years was the much-derided Steven Spielberg / Will Smith version of Oldboy. Never mind that their film was said to be a new adaptation of the original manga, rather than a straight remake of Park Chan-Wook‘s widely praised (and quite excellent) film. The remake was proclaimed dead many months ago and fans cheered.
Did they cheer too soon? Pajiba has tweeted that Mandate Pictures is high on a new draft that Mark Protosevich is ready to turn in, and that it will go out to Steven Spielberg, Matthew Vaughn and, should they pass, Danny Boyle. Read More »
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The San Diego Comic Con is a giant tangle of new publications, and it can be difficult to sort out the good from the bad. One title I came across on the last day of the con (the only time I got to wander the show floor at my own pace) was Freakshow, from writers David Server and Jackson Lanzing and artist Joe Suitor.
And I’m glad I did because, for one, I enjoyed the book, and having read it I’ve got a better frame of reference from which to talk about the fact that I Am Legend and Thor screenwriter Mark Protosevich has optioned the comic. He’ll write the script, and it may become his directorial debut. Read More »
I’m surprised it has taken this long after the release of Mass Effect 2 for a deal like this to go down: Legendary Pictures has picked up the rights to the BioWare game series Mass Effect. I Am Legend and Thor screenwriter Mark Protosevich has been assigned to write. Read More »
This is basically TweetNews confirming a plan that was mentioned in May. Last night, Production Weekly said over Twitter that Marvel Studios would begin shooting Thor in January. With Kenneth Branagh‘s tale of the Norse thunder god on schedule and finally about to go before cameras, hopefully we’ll soon see some production design, costumes and other materials. Meanwhile, here’s a rundown of what we know so far. Read More »
Fox have option the non-fiction book The World Without Us, with the view that it will become a fictionalised, sci-fi tentpole movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter they have Mark Protosevich attached to write, and Francis Lawrence to eventually direct the film.
Alan Weisman‘s original book was Time Magazine’s number-one non fiction pick for 2007, and we all know what perfect taste they have in making such lists. It deals with a simple but profound feat of imagination, exploring how Earth would “respond without the relentless pressure of human presence”. Weisman even went so far as to label Chapter 9, Polymers Are Forever, with a Read this Chapter! tag, so important are its lessons.
So… how would Protosevich and Lawrence go about churning hundreds of millions of dollars of popcorn out of an ecological hypothesis?
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Screenwriter Mark Protosevich is in talks to write the American remake of Oldboy for director Steven Speilberg. Star Will Smith recommended Protosevich for the project after working with him on I Am Legend. Yes, your worst fears have come true, the guy who wrote the 2006 adaptation of Poseidon might be writing the script for the English-language adaptation of Old Boy. This can’t be good news.
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Emmy Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated Northern Irish actor and film director Kenneth Branagh is in talks to helm a big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Thor. Branagh is an odd choice as he hasn’t directed an action movie in 19 years. And his feature directorial debut of William Shakespeare’s play Henry V is hardly audition material for a big budget American superhero film. But I guess the same could be said for Bryan Singer, before he was brought on to direct X-Men.
Written by Mark Protosevich, the story begins as the arrogant God Thor is sent by his father Odin to learn humility in the body of a partially disabled medical student Donald Blake. He discovers Thor’s hammer and learns to change back and forth into the Thunder God. Marvel will self-fiance the production, and a distributor is expected to be announced shortly. Marvel has announced a June 4th 2010 release date for the film.
Branagh will next be seen in Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie this December. Branagh’s last directorial effort Sleuth starred Jude Law and Michael Caine, and grossed $703,000 worldwide. His filmography also includes The Magic Flute, As You Like It, Hamlet (1996), Frankenstein (1994) and Much Ado About Nothing.
Discuss: What do you think of Marvel’s choice of Branagh to direct Thor?
source: Variety
With Matthew Vaughn off directing Kick-Ass and his once-proposed $300 million Thor epic but a memory, DJ Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) is now expressing interest in bringing Marvel‘s Son of Odin to the big screen. In an interview with IESB he said…
“…I would definitely tackle it and I sort of wrestled with it before and I was always a fan of Thor growing up as a kid. I know that they [Marvel] have a script, but there’s something, there’s a fear I have about Thor and depending on what Thor story you want to tell, whether you want to bring Thor into the modern world or if you want to go back to Asgard…”
He added that he’s even had talks with Marvel about the film, but it all comes down to the screenplay. Last year, screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, longtime Thor fan/collector) described his script to the Daily Herald as…
“It’s going to be like a super hero origin story, but not one about a human gaining super powers, but of a god realizing his true potential. It’s the story of a Old Testament god who becomes a new Testament god. I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people.”
And Vaughn was attracted to the project due to its pricey vision of Norse mythology, saying, “It’s very much a Marvel superhero story but against the backdrop of something you’ve never seen before.” All of which lends credence to a storyline focusing on Asgard and Thor’s villainous brother, Loki.
In the past, Peter hasn’t been too convinced that this character will work on film (Adventures in Babysitting excluded?), but mixing LOTR and Conan-like fantasy, a timeline that can jump across thousands of years, and a huge budget sits well with me. I like the idea of seeing iconic comic characters placed in film genres like War and Pulp Noir rather than running around another modern day metropolis; though Thor could go that direction as well. Caruso is still circling Y: The Last Man with Shia LaBeouf (and hopefully not Alicia Keys), a property that is nearly as challenging to pull off as this one in my opinion (I’ve got 15 issues to go).
And in a report on 20th Century Fox‘s future plans, Variety says the studio is mulling “the possibility of more X-Men spinoffs, including a young-X-Men project as well as Deadpool, based on a character played by Ryan Reynolds in Wolverine. The studio is even considering reviving the Daredevil property.”
In the summer of 2003, the groanable Ben Affleck-starrer coasted to a disappointing $102 million, and led many to predict the cooling of the comic book film, especially after the hokey 2005 Elektra spin-off (which Johnson produced). Recently, Jason Statham threw his name in for a DD remake. While I’m not adverse to that hypothetical casting, since a reboot would remain parked at Fox and not Marvel Studios, I do hope it stays on ice a while longer. Peter has suggested that the character is perfect for a live-action HBO series, and I agree. There is a humanity and struggle—not to mention room for a great procedural drama—to Daredevil that would be better explored on a smaller screen rather than in a me-too blockbuster.
Discuss: DJ Caruso for Thor. Why not? What’s the argument for a big budget Thor working as a Marvel Studios film and vice versa? Is a Daredevil reboot needed? On one hand, Batman Begins, on the other, The Incredible Hulk. Would you prefer a hypothetical HBO series, like Slashfilm’s crew, instead?
