The last time we heard about the 300 sequel Xerxes it wasn’t called Xerxes any longer. We didn’t have a new title then, but now we do. In order to avoid any confusion, the producers are falling back on the title of the first film and appending a subtitle. So now what was Xerxes will hit theaters as 300: Battle of Artemisia. Assuming, that is, that the film is ever shot.
The sequel needs a director at this point, but that field seems to have narrowed down to a few possible choices that include Noam Murro and Jaume Collet-Serra. Read More »
.
Please Recommend /Film on Facebook
On Friday afternoon, it was revealed that 20th Century Fox had hired five time DGA nominated commercials director Noam Murro to direct Die Hard 5. We’ve been following Murro’s commercial career for a while now, and it was only a matter of time before he landed a big Hollywood film — and this looks to be the one. Murro was originally slated to direct The Ring Two, but dropped out. He made his feature debut with Smart People, a fun yet underwhelming indie dramedy which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Murro was set to return to the director’s chair for the drama Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, which Julianne Morre is attached to star.
Fox was impressed with the commercials he most recently shot for Microsoft’s Halo, which we’ve posted previously on the site. I thought now was a better time than any to take a quick look at Murro’s commercial career.
Read More »
Update (from editor Peter Sciretta): Deadline has learned that five time DGA nominated commercials director Noam Murro (Smart People) has been hired to direct Die Hard 5. Fox was impressed with the commercials he most recently shot for Microsoft’s Halo. Watch them here. We’ve been following Murro’s commercial career for a while now, and it was only a matter of time before he landed a big Hollywood film — and this looks to be the one. The studio has yet to officially sign Willis, but that shouldn’t be an issue. The original story, posted earlier this afternoon, follows.
Kevin Smith is one of the few outspoken, brutally honest voices in Hollywood, so when he confessed that Bruce Willis was a prima donna who wouldn’t take direction and was stuck in the mindset of the ’80s when the actors ran the show, it seemed likely that there was some truth to his claims. That could be why this news doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
Apparently, it’s not the studio that’s currently looking at directors to take on Die Hard 5, but Bruce Willis himself. He previously made it clear that he plans to do two more Die Hard films before hanging up the series for good, and now it would appear he’s making an active effort to bring that plan to fruition. To quote Smith, “[He's] what you call a fucking movie star.”
More on this after the break, including the studio’s response to the script, and an update on Willis’ casting in Stephen Frears‘ Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog. Read More »
Want to get another glimpse at what a big screen Halo movie could look like? Microsoft has released a new live-action trailer for the video game Halo: Reach, the second spot directed by 49-year old Israeli commercial director Noam Murro, who in 2008 made his feature film debut with the indie dramedy Smart People. The first trailer in the series was released in April, and was titled “Birth of a Spartan”, also directed by Murro. I have included that after the jump as well.
Read More »
Cool Posts From Around the Web:
