Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Lawsuit Won’t Slow Down Spielberg’s Oldboy Remake
Posted on Sunday, June 28th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
When it was first announced that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were developing an American remake of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy with the screenwriter of Poseidon, fans freaked out. It was later revealed that the remake wasn’t a remake at all, but an American adaptation of the original Japanese manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, which Park’s film was based on. Even though the book and the movie deviate from one another, fans were still not pleased. A couple weeks back we told you that Japanese publisher Futabasga was suing the Korean film production company Show East over the rights to remake the story in Hollywood. But apparently the project is still proceeding despite the legal battle.
When it was first announced that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were developing an American remake of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy with the screenwriter of Poseidon, fans freaked out. It was later revealed that the remake wasn’t a remake at all, but an American adaptation of the original Japanese manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, which Park’s film was based on. Even though the book and the movie deviate from one another, fans were still not pleased.
Well now fans can rest happy (at least for a bit) as AnimeNewsNetwork is reporting that Japanese publisher Futabasga is suing the Korean film production company Show East over the rights to remake the story in Hollywood.
Earlier this month when Academy Award-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson was cast in Columbia Pictures’ reimagining of The Karate Kid, we asked you if she brought any credibility to the project. Tonight it has been revealed that a new screenwriter has been hired for the Will Smith-produced reboot.
Who is the new scribe? Steven Conrad, whose credits include Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, The Weather Man, The Pursuit of Happyness and the underrated comedy The Promotion. An obvious choice considering Conrad’s connection to Smith. But will a new screenwriter be able to save this project from expected doom? Don’t count on it, especially considering the bits and pieces of information that leaked out of Chris Murphy’s previous draft. Lets just hope that the final film is retitled The Kung Fu Kid, or something else entirely.
source: RiskyBiz
It’s a slow news day so I thought I’d point out a story over at Forbes Magazine that profiles director Michael Bay from a financial perspective. The bottom line is that Bay makes some serious cash. Here are some interesting tidbits I learned from the article.
- When there wasn’t enough money to bring back the crew to shoot a sequence where Will Smith punches out a bad guy in Bad Boys, the first time feature director put up $25,000 of his $125,000 fee to shoot the scene.
- Bay declined upfront pay for Pearl Harbor in favor of a 50% split of what remained after the studio recouped production and advertising costs. The film grossed $450 million; and Bay made $40 million.
- Bay gets an estimated 8% on Transformer toys tied to movies, second only to that of George Lucas, who gets an estimated 15% royalty on all Star Wars figures.
- As a producer, Bay gets an average 8% of the studio’s net on each film.
- Bay bought James Cameron’s visual-effects house Digital Domain in 2007 (when the company had fallen on hard times) with his business partner, John Textor for $35 million.
Head on over to Forbes to read the whole article.
Rumor Killer: The Rock NOT Cast in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Posted on Monday, May 4th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Update: McG has denied reports of Johnson’s casting to SciFi: “I’ve never spoken to Dwayne Johnson about this. I like him. He’s great. He’s a wonderful human being and an excellent screen presence, but we have not spoken about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Not a word.”
After it was first announced that McG would be developing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo for Disney, the filmmaker went on to tell everyone that he wanted to cast Will Smith as the film’s title character. Production Weekly reported over the weekend a rumor that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been cast in the project instead of Smith. Johnson has a great relationship with the mouse house, and possibly even a multi-picture deal, so if the rumor were true, it completely makes sense.
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Production Weekly were good to their tweet and this weekend’s edition is a monster. Their publication, in case you don’t know, is designed to inform craftspeople and crewfolk from the film industry about projects that will be hiring - and, not to put too fine a point on it, result in people getting work. As a side effect, they also give the world all manner of bits and pieces of breaking film news. My heroes.
One of the most interesting notes is this bumper, super-expansive edition is their listing for The Robinsons - an adaptation of The Swiss Family Robinson designed to star Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and all three of the Smith kids - Trey, Jaden and Willow.
Francis Lawrence Reveals Details For I Am Legend Prequel
Posted on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 by David Chen
A month ago we posted details of what an I Am Legend prequel might look like. Now, SciFi Wire has an interview with Lawrence in which he discusses what he is hoping to achieve with the prequel. Lawrence explained:
That was the real reason I wanted to do the movie in the first place, really, was the idea of ‘What does that world look like, what does it do to you when you’re by yourself? … What does it do without people, without companionship and sound and the loss of your family, without anybody to talk to? I think that’s really what people connected to, and so the tough thing is, how do we do that again and in a different way?
Awwww HELL Naw: McG Trying To Get Will Smith To Play Captain Nemo
Posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 by David Chen
The other day, we reported on McG’s new directing gig helming 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. On the /Filmcast the other night, we expressed hope that Hollywood would man up and cast an ethnically correct (i.e. Indian) version of Captain Nemo, undoubtedly one of the most psychologically fascinating characters in literature. As usual, it seems our hopes were misplaced, for the most part.
Over at Latino Review, our colleague Kellvin is reporting that at the recent Terminator Salvation event, McG revealed who he really wants in the role of Nemo:
Man I’m trying to get Will Smith to do it, been trying to get a hold of him. I’ve been wanting to work with him for a long time already. That guy’s great.
While this might be better than M. Night Shymalan’s atrocious and much-maligned decision to cast four white leads for Avatar: The Last Airbender, it is nonetheless disheartening to see that a role originating from a South Asian character might go to someone who just happens to have the same shade of skin color. Putting aside arguments about ethnicity, the last time Smith played someone who was as tortured as Nemo was probably Seven Pounds, and we all know how that turned out (other instances might include The Pursuit of Happyness or Ali, but let’s not mention I, Robot or Hancock please). At the same event, McG explained that “The character Nemo in this film is more about obsession, he is obsessed and people tend to forget that when you become so obsessed you end up being the villain.” Would this really be the best type of role for Smith anyway?
Still, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo seems likely to be a mass-market Disney film, so who knows how complex a character Captain Nemo will be?
The Dark Knight Tops the 35th Annual People Choice Awards
Posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
The Dark Knight walked away with five awards (every award it was nominated for) on Wednesday night at the 35th Annual People Choice Awards. Other big winners include The Secret Life of Bees, which won both Best Drama and Best Independent Movie and Will Smith who took home both Male Movie Star and Male Action Star. Most of the winners are listed after the jump.
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Reader Forum: Is Will Smith’s Seven Pounds the Worst/Creepiest Movie of 2008? (spoiler warning)
Posted on Sunday, December 21st, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Post contains spoilers
Want to be seen as an even more exceptional Samaritan than Will Smith’s pained character in Seven Pounds? Look up the start times for the film at your local cineplex, show up at one or more screenings anytime before the final credits and angrily yell “…of shit!” while shaking your fist and exiting. The majority of the audience, though exhausted from enduring one of the worst films in recent memory, will thank you with a smile or a defeated nod.
Movie stars playing the martyr in films is nothing new (see The Dark Knight, Milk). What is new is the biggest movie star on the planet playing the martyr with such eerie righteousness and penitent disconnect that it may come to (purposely?) affect the public perception of every performance and media appearance that follows. It is difficult to recall a film that manipulates viewers into shamefully disliking its protagonist at an intuitive level. From the odd psych-ward haircut to the weight-of-the-world whimper that Smith wears for the duration of Seven Pounds (reminiscent of Will Ferrell’s kitchen-table snivel in Step Brothers), this guy is Creepsville, USA. Moreover, his illegal, stalker-like behavior is justified (endorsed by the filmmakers, even) by a probable mental breakdown that resulted from a tragic accident. Place Smith’s character in the similarly unstable role of the driving instructor in Happy-Go-Lucky and Sally Hawkins’s character would find herself the happy, burdened owner of a sparkly used car!
By film’s end, we are supposed to take weepy-eyed comfort in the fact that the bogus on-screen relationship between Smith’s IRS agent and Rosario Dawson (absolutely terrible or brainwashed) is not a prolonged segment of Unsolved Mysteries that ends in a forest. You see, director Gabriele Muccino’s follow-up to The Pursuit of Happyness (a film I liked) is simply the legend of Johnny Appleseed reimagined for these ever strange days as Johnny Bodyparts with a dash of Falling Down. Happy holidays, and remember to put down your Blackberries while driving into oncoming traffic.
Discuss: Many critics are in agreement, but do you think Will Smith’s Seven Pounds is the worst/creepiest movie of 2008? And how about that box jellyfish (e-meter?)?
I Am Legend Prequel Will Show The Fall of Manhattan and DC
Posted on Saturday, December 6th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
At Comic Con, filmmaker Francis Lawrence revealed that he was working to develop an I Am Legend prequel. Then came rumors that the prequel was actually a sequel, and somehow Will Smith would still be involved. It really didn’t make much sense. Thankfully our friends at Collider got the chance to clear up the rumors while talking to Will Smith at the Seven Pounds junket — It’s a PREQUEL.
“We’re still trying to work through a couple of bumps in the story,” said Smith. “It’s essentially the fall of the last city – the last stand of Manhattan. The movie would be… within the body of the movie D.C. and then Manhattan would fall as the last city. It’s a really cool idea trying to figure it out… there’s a reason why we have to take a small band and we have to get into D.C. So we have to make our way from New York to D.C. and then back to New York.”
A couple days ago we were talking about how World War Z might be the first large scale zombie film, but it now looks like Smith and Lawrence are planning the same type of thing. It spans two cities! How cool is that?! Sure, we know where Smith’s character is likely to end by the time the credits roll, but it might be a fun roller coaster ride. And for those wondering, Smith also confirmed that the dog would return, but as a puppy.
Did you enjoy Hancock? Too bad, Will Smith says a sequel is “definitely” happening, telling JoBlo that there are a lot of unexplored characters in the Hancock universe that would be ripe for a sequel. I’m actually one of the few who liked Hancock, or at least the first half of it. But I have absolutely no interest in a sequel. Unfortunately, Hancock grossed over $623 million worldwide, which solidifies the idea to movie studio executives. But the real question is: Will moviegoers pay for a second Hancock film? Answer: Yes, because all Will Smith films make huge bank.
