Hunter Killer has bounced between a couple of different directors over the past couple of years, and now it’s landed in the lap of yet another. McG is in talks to helm the military actioner, based on the novel Firing Point by Don Keith and George Wallace. The project puts him back in business with Relativity, which was also behind his upcoming Secret Service thriller Three Days to Kill. Get the details after the jump.
Posted on Monday, November 19th, 2012 by Russ Fischer
McG isn’t the director I think of when a kids’ movie comes to mind. But it could be argued that most of his movies are for kids — just kids who happen to be over, say, 16. Charlie’s Angels, Terminator; Salvation; and This Means War are all just kids movies with big effects, aiming for older audiences that just want a little distraction.
So let’s see what happens when he goes for actual children’s material. McG has a first look deal to direct School of Fear, based on the book series by Gitty Daneshvari. The book is about “four children, all suffering from phobias, who are sent to the exclusive yet secretive school where they conquer their fears and survive a perilous final test.” Daniel Mackey is writing, and the producers see “franchise potential” in the effort.
We see a lot of similar properties developed with the same idea: turn bookstore and Amazon success into movie gold. (In fact, this is the second big development chance for this book series, which Graham King fist optioned in ’07.) But McG gets stuff made, even if his best production efforts are often on the TV front. Before he can think about shooting this, however, he’ll make Three Days to Kill, with Kevin Costner. [Variety]
After the break, Christopher Nolan’s cinematographer isn’t the only camera guy making the jump to director lately, as Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson and Only God Forgives shooter Larry Smith plans to direct a film called Trafficker. Read More »
Posted on Friday, November 9th, 2012 by Russ Fischer
Briefly: Hollywood’s Magic Castle — that private magic club that is home to Academy of Magical Arts — was recently revealed as the location for a new film. The movie has the working title Magic Castle (surprise!), but that’s just about all we’ve known of it, other than that the film was born out of a new representation deal the organization signed with CAA. Andrew Barrer and Gabe Ferrari are writing, but the details of their script are being kept more secret than the explanation of how the old “saw a woman in half” trick works. (“Fake legs?!”)
Now THR reports that McG is set to direct the film, which, after his most recent picture This Means War, might help set your expectation level somewhat. This won’t be McG’s next film; that’s Three Days to Kill, which stars Kevin Costner. That’s scheduled to shoot soon, and then in February, when it is done, McG will have a flunky open the door to the Magic Castle and he’ll make it his own.
Posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 by Angie Han
A third Taken movie may not be in the cards, but those eager for another “older male star kicks ass” flick will not be left wanting. A couple of months back, Kevin Costner and McG were said to be circling a Luc Besson-produced thriller about a dying assassin tackling one last assignment, titled Three Days to Kill. Now it seems both are on board, which is especially exciting since a more detailed synopsis suggests there’s a little bit more to this movie than rote violence. More after the jump.
Posted on Friday, July 20th, 2012 by Peter Sciretta
In March, we were one of the first to post an animated action short film called Ruin. The short was directed by 2003 Student Academy Award-winner Wes Ball and set “way in the future” in a green post-apocalyptic universe. The film went viral in the days afterward, and signature shots from the short even appear in the pilot and commercials for the upcoming Bad Robot/Jon Favreau-directed series Revolution (and in my opinion, the visual effects from Ruin, look better than any of the effects created for the pilot).
It was only a matter of time before someone in Hollywood convinced Ball to adapt the property into a feature film. Earlier today 20th Century Fox made an offer to acquire the rights with McG set to produce the big screen adaptation.
Posted on Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 by Russ Fischer
Spy films, especially ones that might turn into series, are like crack for studios. Few efforts actually pay off in regular franchises — if duplicating Bond’s success was easy, every studio would have its own Bond — but that doesn’t stop many from trying.
In 2008, Warner Bros. bought the rights to Jon Stock‘s novel Dead Spy Running, which follows suspended MI6 agent Daniel Marchant and opens with a setpiece in which a bomb is attached to a marathon runner. At the time the novel was unpublished, though it was planned as the first of a trilogy of novels. (The second book, Games Traitors Play, was published in 2011.) McG was attached to direct, and Stephen Gaghan (Traffic, Syriana) was set to write, which is a big step above McG.
There was a point last year when McG stepped away from directing and was hoping to get Gaghan to take the job. But the screenwriter has other directorial prospects, and now the team is in talks with Jonathan Levine (50/50, The Wackness) to direct. Read More »
Posted on Monday, February 20th, 2012 by Peter Sciretta
Before Bryan Singer was brought on board to direct Superman Returns, McG was developing a Superman reboot titled Superman: Flyby, a screenplay written by a younger JJ Abrams. McG ended up leaving the project when Warner Bros became adamant about shooting the movie in Australia instead of New York City and Canada to save money on Budget. But I sometimes wonder what could have been when it comes to McG’s take on the Man of Steel.
Posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 by Angie Han
With just days to go until This Means War was scheduled to hit theaters, Fox has shifted its release date yet again. Less last-minute is Summit’s announcement of a fall release date for Alex Cross (formerly I, Alex Cross), which sees Tyler Perry ditching the Madea costume for once. But the biggest piece of news, which remains unconfirmed at the moment, is a possible 2013 release date for The Wolverine. Hit the jump for details on all three pictures. (Update: Fox just confirmed with us that the release date for The Wolverine is legit.)
