My Best Films

The first attempt to get cursed comic book character Spawn up on a screen back in 1997 didn’t exactly go over with audiences or critics, but that isn’t stopping creator Todd McFarlane from trying again.

Despite the 12-year gap and several abortive attempts, McFarlane reports that he has several offers – including big studios and huge budgets to more indie-style productions – and is trying to figure out his next step.

He tells IESB that he doesn’t want to go for spectacle this time around. “It’s not a ‘comic book movie,’ it’s just a scary movie, a creepy movie. Everything’s real except for one element, which happens to be the character we know as Spawn. So it’s not going to be supervillain vs superhero or any of that stuff, it’s just going to be a ‘tight’ movie."

So don’t go expecting a cameo from any massive demons this time around. That is, if the film even gets made in the first place.

Oh, and McFarlane is leaning towards one of the smaller budgeted ideas for the film mostly so that he can direct this time around and protect his baby from the rigours of Hollywood studio decision-making. He’s never made a film before, so we’re slightly sceptical about the idea, but again, it’s all still up in the air.

[Source: IESB]

Do you want to see a new Spawn adventure?
 

The first attempt to get cursed comic book character Spawn up on a screen back in 1997 didn’t exactly go over with audiences or critics, but that isn’t stopping creator Todd McFarlane from trying again.

Despite the 12-year gap and several abortive attempts, McFarlane reports that he has several offers – including big studios and huge budgets to more indie-style productions – and is trying to figure out his next step.

He tells IESB that he doesn’t want to go for spectacle this time around. “It’s not a ‘comic book movie,’ it’s just a scary movie, a creepy movie. Everything’s real except for one element, which happens to be the character we know as Spawn. So it’s not going to be supervillain vs superhero or any of that stuff, it’s just going to be a ‘tight’ movie."

So don’t go expecting a cameo from any massive demons this time around. That is, if the film even gets made in the first place.

Oh, and McFarlane is leaning towards one of the smaller budgeted ideas for the film mostly so that he can direct this time around and protect his baby from the rigours of Hollywood studio decision-making. He’s never made a film before, so we’re slightly sceptical about the idea, but again, it’s all still up in the air.

[Source: IESB]

Do you want to see a new Spawn adventure?
 

Looks like Mike Newell is becoming another of Jerry Bruckheimer’s go-to directors – the Prince Of Persia helmer is in talks to make Disney’s new take on The Lone Ranger.

Production Weekly has tweeted that the director, currently hard at work on the sandy Arabian action epic starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is seriously considering taking the job of bringing The Lone Ranger back to the screen.

The story would find the cowboy hero saving the day alongside sidekick Tonto and horse Silver.

Disney announced the reboot last year with great fanfare, but since then things have been relatively quiet.

All we know so far is that Johnny Depp is signed to play Tonto and Pirates Of The Caribbean scribes Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio are writing the script. If Newell locks in a deal, perhaps the movie will now start to gather some pace.

Newell is already attached to a film version of classic kids’ tale The Box Of Delights, so it remains to be seen what might happen with that film should Disney snap him up again.

[Source: Production Weekly]

Is Newell the right man for the Ranger job?
 

Looks like Mike Newell is becoming another of Jerry Bruckheimer’s go-to directors – the Prince Of Persia helmer is in talks to make Disney’s new take on The Lone Ranger.

Production Weekly has tweeted that the director, currently hard at work on the sandy Arabian action epic starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is seriously considering taking the job of bringing The Lone Ranger back to the screen.

The story would find the cowboy hero saving the day alongside sidekick Tonto and horse Silver.

Disney announced the reboot last year with great fanfare, but since then things have been relatively quiet.

All we know so far is that Johnny Depp is signed to play Tonto and Pirates Of The Caribbean scribes Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio are writing the script. If Newell locks in a deal, perhaps the movie will now start to gather some pace.

Newell is already attached to a film version of classic kids’ tale The Box Of Delights, so it remains to be seen what might happen with that film should Disney snap him up again.

[Source: Production Weekly]

Is Newell the right man for the Ranger job?
 

We’re offering you the chance to see Pixar’s incredible 3D flick Up months before any of your mates. That’s right, life really is that awesome.

Up’s not out until 16 October, but you can see it on 17 June. All you have to do is keep your eyes on totalfilm.com on 21 May (and you were probably going to do that anyway) at 3pm.

We’ll announce the code you need to apply for tickets - but be quick, seats will be allocated on a strictly first come first served basis.

And it’s only the first of many Red Carpet Preview screenings we’re going to be holding from now on, so keep your eyes on the mag and bookmark totalfilm.com so you don’t miss out.

Date: 17 June

Time: 6 for 6.30pm

Location: London Cineword 63-65 Haymarket, London, SWIY 4RL

Details: One hour intro. Film starts 7.30pm

Three new Terminator Salvation TV spots have jumped into your computer and they’re absolutely brilliant.

Packed full of freshly finished effects footage, they perform their job perfectly – making Terminator Salvation look like the greatest action film ever made.

They’ve made us far more excited for the flick than the 20 minutes or so of footage we saw last year – mainly because that footage didn’t have any Terminator skeletons walking around like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Click below to see all the new spots edited together in one handy video.

How are you feeling about Terminator Salvation? Tell us below!

Universal seem to think a lot of great films weren’t good enough the first time around. Forget swine fever – they’ve got remake fever. And the latest redo to drop on their schedule? Drop Dead Fred.

The studio have lined up Russell Brand to step into Rik Mayall’s manic shoes as the grown-up but still insane imaginary friend of a shy woman who’s forced to move back home after she loses her job.

Say what you like about Brand, but this is perfect casting. Fred always was a bit of a gurning pervert.

Universal certainly seem to like him – he appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall for them, and they’ve let him headline the spin-off Get Him To The Greek.

And Fred is a much better proposition for the remake treatment than Videodrome was yesterday.

Videodrome is perfect, but Fred has elements that could be improved on – Phoebe Cates’ slightly wooden performance for one (sorry Phoebe).

[Source: FirstShowing]

Do you like Brand or think he’s subhuman scum? Do you think he’s a good fit for Fred? Tell us below!

So Robert Rodriguez is finally gearing a third crack at a solo Predator film.

While he’s going the reboot route, we wondered what he can learn from other third films in series? While many of them are shoddy cash-ins, we’d argue that this lot are worthy entries in their respective franchises.

The Film: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

How It Honours What’s Come Before It: Peter Jackson brings his Tolkien epic to a rousing close with a blend of battles, triumphs, danger and emotional high points. Sure, it has one two many endings, but it’s still a satisfying confusion to the story.
 
Why It’s Better Than The Original: Fellowship is saddled with introductions and scene setting. King throws the plot into high gear, and raises the stakes. Plus: Mordor is way cooler than the council of Elrond.

The Film: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

How It Honours What’s Come Before It: Paul Greengrass builds upon the solid work he started in Bourne Supremacy, while also cutting down on the ultra-chopping action editing.

Why It’s Better Than The Original: No disrespect to Doug Liman’s first Bourne, but Ultimatum bests both of the two movies that came before it. The Bourne Identity is a nifty thriller, while Ultimatum is a satisfyingly rounded film.

The Film: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith (2005)

How It Honours What’s Come Before It: It doesn’t honour George Lucas’ attempt to prequel-ise Star Wars, it more improves upon it. We get actual glimpses of the spirit that made us love the original trilogy and it also injected a healthy darkness into the tale.

Why It’s Better Than The Original: Um… The competition is The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones. It’s not exactly a tough job.

The Film: Back To The Future Part III (1990)

How It Honours What’s Come Before It: Many have written it off as a poor third film, but BTTF ‘s Western outing is still a hugely enjoyable adventure. All the elements that made the first two films work are present and it finishes off the story in a satisfying loop.

Why It’s Better Than The Original: It’s a lot less annoyingly twisted than the second, and while it can’t quite better Back To The Future for sheer class, it has a flying train. A time travelling flying train!

The Film: Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

How It Honours What’s Come Before It: Building on the foundation crafted by Chris Columbus, Azkaban snatches up the successful elements of Potter – the great supporting cast, the solid fantasy story – and runs with them.

Why It’s Better Than The Original: It’s the first film to truly break the series out of the rut that was Columbus’ slavish devotion to the plot of the first two movies. The young stars also finally grow into their roles and deliver great performances.

The Film: Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989)

How It Honours What’s Come Before It: Last Crusade sparks new life into the Indiana Jones story thanks to Sean Connery’s Henry Jones Sr. But while it occasionally dips into farce, it’s a hell of a lot better than Crystal Skull.

Why It’s Better Than The Original: It’s another case where the first film in the series is so iconic that almost nothing can match it, but while Last Crusade is head and shoulders above Temple Of Doom’s dirgey darkness, it takes a solid stab at bringing back the fun of Raiders.

The Film: Army Of Darkness (1992)

How It Honours What’s Come Before It: Sam Raimi keeps his madcap style in place and Bruce Campbell hams it up in trademark style, albeit on a bigger budget and scale. Groovy!

Why It’s Better Than The Original: It’s everything amped up and feels like Raimi and co were busy mastering their craft with the first two and hit their stride with the third. It’s not everyone’s favourite, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
 

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On 2 February, 2009, the world found out that Christian Bale lost his temper.

July, 2008. Bale was acting in a scene for McG’s Terminator Salvation with Bryce Dallas Howard. His DP, Shane Hulburt, walked into his line of sight to adjust some lights.

This put Bale off his stride, and he let Shane know that he was upset in no uncertain terms. Unfortunately for Bale, his four-minute expletive-laden rant was recorded for posterity, and released to the internet.

You might have heard it. In fact, we think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t.

It was one of the biggest internet stories of 2009. Within 24-hours t-shirts had been made and sold, a sophisticated sound-board had been created and a signed indie-band had written, recorded and made a video for a song inspired by the outburst.

That song, R U Professional was well-received by the indie press, and you can see it below.

But somewhere in the maelstrom there was a man who had lost his temper trying to do his job. A man who had been in the middle of filming an intense scene, a method actor playing an angry fighter.

We sat down to discuss the incident with him – becoming the first magazine to get an answer to the question: What the hell happened?

“Hey listen, I did it, it’s in the public space. I take the consequences for it. I’m not hiding from that. I went overboard.

“I’m not making any excuses, but there is an essential trust and it’s not a tacit one, which is every sound guy says, ‘We are not only not recording, we are not even listening.’ So, well, there goes that.”

“I do stress though, it’s not in anyway a trust that’s there to cover up bad behaviour. It’s not about that. It’s an essential trust that’s needed for creativity.”

“I just don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to know that much either. I’m actually someone that’s very anti the whole B-Rolls, DVD extras and stuff like that.

“I understand people are interested, I get that they want to hear about it, but to me I look at it as old school movie magic and with magic you do not reveal your secrets.

“I’m not making any excuses. I’m not whining. I’m not going [puts on silly voice] ‘Oh well, if it hadn’t have been for that!’ But it’s that. It’s a creative trust. It’s not a behavioural trust.”

This interview continues in Total Film 155, on sale today.

For Bale on Terminator Salvation, The Dark Knight, Batman 3 and Public Enemies check out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday’s entries.

For a final word from Bale check out totalfilm.com tomorrow.

 Like This? Then see…

Christian Bale talks to us about Batman 3 Christian Bale talks Public Enemies Christian Bale talks Terminator Salvation

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