10.15.2008

Mel Gibson Passes on Lethal Weapon 5?

Mel Gibson Passes on Lethal Weapon 5?

October 13, 2008


The Los Angeles Times spoke to 78-year-old Richard Donner, director and producer of all four "Lethal Weapon" movies, about the proposed Lethal Weapon 5. While Donner isn't involved with the movie, earlier this year it was reported that screenwriter Shane Black and producer Joel Silver were working on a fifth installment of the franchise. Then, last week, actor Columbus Short revealed that he is in talks to play Murtaugh's (Danny Glover) son in the film.

Here are a few of Donner's quotes:

"Mel turned it down," Donner said. "I would like to think that Mel turned it down because I wasn't involved. Knowing Mel, I would like to think that. Would that be the kind of thing he does? It sure would be."

"It's too bad, actually, because Channing Gibson, who wrote the fourth one, and Mike Riva, a designer on three of them, and myself and Derek [Hoffman, an associate at The Donner Company] had an incredibly strong story for the fifth movie. But we weren't given the opportunity and I think maybe I could have convinced Mel to do it. But Warners chose to go with Joel Silver."

"Yes, the project is pretty much dead in the water unless someone had the sense to come to me."


You can read the full article The here. What do you think? Is the project dead without Mel Gibson?






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Mark Wahlberg Updates ComingSoon.net on His Film Slate

Exclusive: Mark Wahlberg Updates CS on His Film Slate
Source: Heather Newgen, The Playlist
October 13, 2008


Earlier today, ComingSoon.net's Heather Newgen talked exclusively to Mark Wahlberg from the junket for his new 20th Century Fox movie Max Payne, and he updated us on a few of the projects he's been attached to in the past few months. Apparently, Darren Aronofsky's boxing movie The Fighter might have been backburnered, for Aronofsky to direct the new RoboCop despite the buzz surrounding his latest movie The Wrestler. (UPDATE: At the same time, The Playlist has posted a story saying that Brad Pitt had completely dropped out of the project, which may be part of the reason for the problems Wahlberg alludes to below. You can read about that here.)

Wahlberg also talked about progress on the true-life Miami drug thriller Cocaine Cowboys he's producing with Peter Berg based around the doc of the same name and brief blips about sequels to two of Wahlberg's most popular movies, The Italian Job and Martin Scorsese's The Departed.

But first, she asked Wahlberg what was going on with The Fighter:

ComingSoon.net: Have you started shooting that yet?

Mark Wahlberg: No and I don't know if we're going to start.

CS: What do you mean? There's so much buzz about it.

Wahlberg: I know. I keep on training and I don't know. We'll wait and see. Hopefully we'll get a start date one of these days and we can make the movie.

CS: What's the hold up?

Wahlberg: A whole bunch of things. It's too depressing to talk about. I get up everyday at 5:00AM to train for a movie that might not even happen. It's depressing.

CS: I know you're producing "Cocaine Cowboys." What stage of development is that film in?

Wahlberg: We're waiting for the first draft of the script which should be in about eight weeks. I'm very excited about it.

CS: Do you have anyone attached to the film yet?

Wahlberg: Just Pete Berg to direct and produce with me.

CS: Who do you have in mind for the cast?

Wahlberg: Well there's a bunch of great, great roles so we'll have to see. I have some people in mind, but nobody set in stone.

CS: Will you be in the film as well or are just producing?

Wahlberg: No, hopefully I'll be playing Jon Roberts.

CS: What is it about "Cocaine Cowboys" that made you want to produce the film?

Wahlberg: It's just the most amazing story I've seen. The documentary was fantastic. The stuff that these guys were doing down there in Miami was just crazy. We're going to make "Scarface" times 10. I know that's a big feat, but this is the real deal.

CS: What's going on with "Departed 2"?

Wahlberg: I don't know. They're still trying to make "Italian Job 2" so who knows. If it's worth doing and it's better than the first than it's worth entertaining. People loved the first one. If we can make it better than the first then we'll go on to do the prequel and go on to bring everybody back for that.

CS: Is there a script or have you heard anything about it?

Wahlberg: No, they've tried many scripts on the "Italian Job", but we'll see. I'm never holding my breath.

CS: What about a script for "The Departed 2"?

Wahlberg: I don't know if they're working on it yet. I have no idea what's going on. I'm so focused on "Fighter" and that's not even happening so it's all depressing. I'm just looking for the next thing. I'm always looking for the next thing. I've done three or four movies since I've been training for "Fighter."

CS: How long have you been training?

Wahlberg: Quite a long time. It will be two years tomorrow. They finally got the green light, now we have to figure out the cast thing. I'm going to meet with Darren Aronofsky on Tuesday in New York so we'll see. The great thing about training is that I just keep getting better and better in the ring. Ultimately if I can train for another six months and look like a world class fighter that would be great as opposed to other people who have done it and probably trained for three weeks and then shot it and looked like they're in a Hollywood movie.

Look for more with Wahlberg talking about Max Payne later this week before it opens on Friday, October 17.






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Paul Levitz Talks Batman, Superman and More!


Paul Levitz Talks Batman, Superman and More!

Source: Latino Review
October 10, 2008


Latino Review got a chance to talk to DC Comics President Paul Levitz this week about the status of the third Christopher Nolan-directed Batman film, the Superman reboot (Brandon Routh is still in the mix!), and more. Here are several clips:

In fact, he told me that "Last week Brandon Routh has come around the offices in New York and Los Angeles as of late to talk about Superman and what we want to do."

"Everyone is waiting for Nolan to sign on for another Batman, once that happens, the release date for Superman and all other future projects will follow."


You can read the full interview here!





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Producer Lauren Shuler Donner Teases Wolverine... and Deadpool?


Producer Lauren Shuler Donner Teases Wolverine... and Deadpool?

Source: Scott Huver
October 8, 2008


The secrets behind the origins of Marvel Comics' most popular mutant Wolverine remained murky and mysterious in the comic books for decades, and the filmmakers behind X-Men Origins: Wolverine have also been working furiously to keep the curtain drawn on Logan's cinematic beginnings before the movie bows next May.

But ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! had a red carpet encounter with the film's producer, Lauren Shuler Donner (who also oversaw the "X-Men" films as well as a diverse assortment of features, from Pretty in Pink to Free Willy to You've Got Mail to the upcoming The Secret Life of Bees), and with a minor pop of the claws in her direction she gave up a few details on Logan's first solo outing on the big screen – and a possible spin-off for the "Merc with a Mouth," Deadpool.

CS/SHH!: What's the latest you can tell us about "Wolverine"?
Lauren Schuler Donner: May 1st, 2009! I guess it's closer to the first "X-Men" in tone because it's a little darker, but there's a lot of action. It's his origin story. It's really good. I've been in the editing room the last couple of weeks and I think that it's good and that audiences are going to like it. But it's a little darker.

CS/SHH!: How is Hugh Jackman's interpretation of the character different or new, compared to what we've seen in the "X-Men" films?
Schuler Donner: Well, you haven't seen this side of him. It's darker and sadder and it's kick-ass. There's a ton of action. It's really kick-ass.

CS/SHH!: How was working with Gavin Hood as the director?
Schuler Donner: It was fun. It was good. I like taking someone out of the indie world and bringing someone into the action world because it grounds the movie. It gives it a reality. It gives it an emotional core, and then you can have as much fun and action in it as you want.

CS/SHH!: This was Gavin's first time playing with really big cinematic toys. Was there a learning curve on that for him?
Schuler Donner: Yeah. He had a learning curve, but the thing basically for the director, honestly, it's sort of like, "Here's what I want..." and then the visual FX guys create that. Then it's like, "No. I want it more like this or like that." A director doesn't have to know how to do it. They have to know about lighting and shooting someone against green screen and that sort of stuff, but in terms of actually creating it, we do that.

CS/SHH!: And Ryan Reynolds is playing Deadpool.
Schuler Donner: Yes. Ryan Reynolds is playing Deadpool... he plays Wade Wilson.

CS/SHH!: Is that in hopes of a "Deadpool" spin-off film?
Schuler Donner: I hope so. I really hope so. He's so good at it.

CS/SHH!: Are there any comic book storylines in particular that the movie is drawing from?
Schuler Donner: There's an "X-Men: Origins" that some of it is pulled from, and then it's sort of an amalgamation of some of them. But "X-Men: Origins" sort of goes back into his young, young past, and we started there. [Note: Schuler Donner is referring to the 2001 Origin miniseries by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, Paul Jenkins, Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove].

CS/SHH!: And is the Stan Lee cameo obligatory at this point, even though he didn't personally create Wolverine?
Schuler Donner: Well, we shot in Australia, and so we don't have a Stan.

CS/SHH!: Oh no... Maybe he can get placed in the background digitally?
Schuler Donner: Yeah, I know. Oh, you know what, we're doing some additional shooting in January and that's a good idea. I love Stan!

CS/SHH!: And on a personal note... you're about to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
Schuler Donner: Yes, I am. I'm so excited.

CS/SHH!: What's it like getting THAT phone call?
Schuler Donner: I was literally jumping up and down. I'm from Ohio and who gets a star, really?

CS/SHH!: You expect people in your movies to get them, but...
Schuler Donner: Oh, of course. I went to Halle Berry's and that was cool, but me? It's great. And my husband ["Superman" director Richard Donner] is getting one and they're going to be next to each other. It's so great. I'm so excited.





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Studios Getting Ready to Ramp Up Production

Studios Getting Ready to Ramp Up Production

Source: Variety
October 8, 2008


While the studios are still in a contract stalemate with the Screen Actors Guild, they are ramping up production so that they will have releases for 2010 and 2011. Variety reports that the following projects are on the studios' slates (some are already filming):

COLUMBIA

* Ruben Fleischer-directed "Zombieland"

* Phillip Noyce-helmed "Edwin A. Salt" with Angelina Jolie

* Stephen Chow-directed "The Green Hornet" with Seth Rogen

DISNEY

* Tim Burton-directed "Alice in Wonderland";

* "Tron" sequel;

* Robert Zemeckis-produced motion-capture film "Mars Needs Moms";

* Jon Turteltaub-directed "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with Nicolas Cage;

* Walt Becker- helmed "Wild Hogs 2"

FOX

* James Cameron-directed "Avatar"

* Shawn Levy-helmed "Date Night," with Steve Carell and Tina Fey

* "A-Team"

* "Ramona"

* Chris Columbus-directed "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief"

* "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

* John Carney-directed "Town House"

* "Alvin and the Chipmunks 2"

* Tom Bezucha-directed "Orbit"

* Rick Famuyiwa-helmed "Family Wedding"

MGM

* Drew Goddard-directed "The Cabin in the Woods"

* Kevin Tancharoen-helmed "Fame"

* "The Matarese Circle," which David Cronenberg is negotiating to direct Washington

* Darren Aronofsky-helmed "RoboCop"

MARVEL
(Paramount distributing)

* Jon Favreau-directed "Iron Man 2" with Robert Downey Jr.

* Kenneth Branagh-helmed "Thor"

MIRAMAX

* John Madden-directed "The Debt" with Helen Mirren

* "Man on a Train"

* "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark"

NEW LINE

* "Torrente"

* "Sex and the City 2"

* "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

* Len Wiseman-helmed "Gears of War"

PARAMOUNT

* Kenny Ortega-directed "Footloose" with Zac Efron;

* M. Night Shyamalan-helmed "The Last Airbender"

* "Morning Glory"

* "Beverly Hills Cop"

* "Us and Them"

UNIVERSAL

* Edgar Wright-directed "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," starring Michael Cera

* Untitled Nancy Meyers-helmed comedy with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin

* Peter Billingsley-directed "Couples Retreat" with Vince Vaughn;

* Gore Verbinski-helmed "BioShock"

* Nicholas Stoller-directed "Get Him to the Greek"

* Ridley Scott-helmed "Nottingham" with Russell Crowe

WARNER BROS.

* Clint Eastwood-directed "Human Factor" with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon

* Mark Neveldine/Brian Taylor- helmed "Jonah Hex"

* "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the David Yates-directed final, two-part installment in the franchise, which begins production in February;

* Alcon-financed "Book of Eli," the Hughes brothers-directed Denzel Washington starrer

* Louis Leterrier-helmed "Clash of the Titans"

* Zack Snyder-directed "Suckerpunch."






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Marvel to Film Next Four Films at Raleigh Studios

Marvel to Film Next Four Films at Raleigh Studios

Source: Marvel Studios
October 7, 2008


As Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc., powers up to begin production on its next highly anticipated slate of films, the studio has made an agreement with Raleigh Studios to film each of Marvel's next four films at Raleigh's facility in Manhattan Beach, CA. The four projects to be produced at the studio facility over the next three years include Iron Man 2, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, The Avengers. Keeping these four major tent pole film productions in Southern California allows the studio access to outstanding crews and resources and makes Marvel the largest tenant on the Raleigh lot. Additionally, Marvel Studios will move its Beverly Hills-based executive and production offices to Raleigh's facility in Manhattan Beach.

"In making this deal with Raleigh to produce our upcoming films at the Manhattan Beach Studios, we are most excited about keeping our film production here in California and taking advantage of the best crews in the Los Angeles area," stated Louis D'Esposito, Marvel's President of Physical Production. "All of our production partners on these upcoming films have been incredibly accommodating in terms of their creativity and financial structures, allowing us to remain in California. Raleigh Studios has long been known for the superior quality of its film production facilities and we know that Manhattan Beach will be the ideal location to produce our movies to the highest standards that our fans expect."

"We are thrilled that we were able to find a way to make this deal work for Marvel," said Michael Moore, Raleigh Studios President. "We could not have asked for a greater compliment than having a quality company like Marvel put their faith in us to provide a home for its film productions."

The Marvel live action releases to be filmed at Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios are scheduled to arrive in theaters beginning in 2010 and going through 2011. Specifically the release dates are Iron Man 2 on May 7, 2010; Thor on July 16, 2010; The First Avenger: Captain America on May 6, 2011; and The Avengers on July 15, 2011.

Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios first opened for operations during 1998. This studio consists of 14 sound stages on 22 acres with an additional 300,000 square feet of office and support space. As a result of this venture, Raleigh Studios along with its sister company Hollywood Rentals, are now the largest operator of independent film studio facilities and production services in North America.






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WB Developing Get Smart Sequel

WB Developing Get Smart Sequel

Source: Variety
October 7, 2008


Variety reports that Warner Bros. Pictures is developing a sequel to Get Smart. Steve Carell would return to play Maxwell Smart.

The first film, also starring Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin and Terence Stamp, has earned $130 million domestically and $94 million internationally for a global total of $224 million. It cost about $80 million to make.

In related news, the studio has signed Carell to a three-year first-look deal. Carell has formed Carousel Productions, which will be run by Vance DeGeneres and Charlie Hartsock.

The Get Smart sequel is not part of the new overall deal.






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