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Eclipse might not be out for another month or so, but the Twilight bandwagon rolls ever forward, with Summit Entertainment revealing Bill Condon will take the reigns for fourth instalment, Breaking Dawn.

It’s a bit of a coup for the teen saga, with Condon lending some Oscar-winning credibility (he snagged one for his scripting work on Gods And Monsters) to the toothy angst-fest.

“I’m very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen,” he says, in the official press release. “As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book, and we’re hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience.”

Fairly generic stuff there, but fans can expect a steady hand on what could otherwise be a fairly hysterical climax, what with Bella’s half-human/half-vampire sprog causing all sorts of mayhem.

That said, Condon was responsible for Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh, so maybe we’ll see a splatter-tastic conclusion to the series!

With the final novel a bit of an epic, it remains to be seen whether the story will be spread across one or two films, but we certainly wouldn’t bet against it. Will Summit be after one box-office payday or two? Hmmm.

Are you excited for the Twilight climax, or happy to see the back of it?

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We’re used to reporting on 3D filmmaking in relation to the latest money-spinning genre sequel, so the announcement that Fox plan to roll out the technological big guns for a whimsical literary adaptation has caught us a bit by surprise.

Fox have been sitting on the rights to Yann Martel’s Life Of Pi since 2000, with a host of big-name directors attached, all of whom have fallen by the wayside. Alfonso Cuaron, M. Night. Shyamalan and Jean-Pierre Jeunet have all come and gone, but it’s now sounding like the studio have settled on Ang Lee as the man to take things forward.

Oscar-winner Lee will produce and direct, whilst an early screenplay has been knocked together by Finding Neverland’s David Magee. So far, so logical, but then comes the curveball, as Indiewire reports Lee plans to deliver, “a 3-D magical fantasy adventure crammed with visual effects.”

Lee will supposedly have a $70 million plus budget to tell the story, involving a boy who is marooned in a lifeboat with a group of zoo animals, and according to Fox executive Elizabeth Gabler, he’ll need every penny.

“It has a gigantic visual effects component,” says Gabler, before helpfully pointing out that, “you can’t put a live tiger in a boat with a child.”

 The visual plans do kind of make sense when you think about it, with the shipwreck that strands the young boy with his four-legged chum just one of a series of set-pieces that would lend themselves to the 3D treatment.

How exactly Lee will get a hold on a story that involves some tricksy parallel plot strands is anyone’s guess, but we’re excited by the idea of a more cerebral approach to cinema’s newest toy.

Fox have yet to greenlight the project, but from the sounds of it, this is the closest they’ve come since acquiring the property a decade ago. Watch this space…

Source: Indiewire

Pi in the sky, or something you can see happening? Tell us!
 

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Eclipse might not be out for another month or so, but the Twilight bandwagon rolls ever forward, with Summit Entertainment revealing Bill Condon will take the reigns for fourth instalment, Breaking Dawn.

It’s a bit of a coup for the teen saga, with Condon lending some Oscar-winning credibility (he snagged one for his scripting work on Gods And Monsters) to the toothy angst-fest.

“I’m very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen,” he says, in the official press release. “As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book, and we’re hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience.”

Fairly generic stuff there, but fans can expect a steady hand on what could otherwise be a fairly hysterical climax, what with Bella’s half-human/half-vampire sprog causing all sorts of mayhem.

That said, Condon was responsible for Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh, so maybe we’ll see a splatter-tastic conclusion to the series!

With the final novel a bit of an epic, it remains to be seen whether the story will be spread across one or two films, but we certainly wouldn’t bet against it. Will Summit be after one box-office payday or two? Hmmm.

Are you excited for the Twilight climax, or happy to see the back of it?

Total Film on Facebook

We’re used to reporting on 3D filmmaking in relation to the latest money-spinning genre sequel, so the announcement that Fox plan to roll out the technological big guns for a whimsical literary adaptation has caught us a bit by surprise.

Fox have been sitting on the rights to Yann Martel’s Life Of Pi since 2000, with a host of big-name directors attached, all of whom have fallen by the wayside. Alfonso Cuaron, M. Night. Shyamalan and Jean-Pierre Jeunet have all come and gone, but it’s now sounding like the studio have settled on Ang Lee as the man to take things forward.

Oscar-winner Lee will produce and direct, whilst an early screenplay has been knocked together by Finding Neverland’s David Magee. So far, so logical, but then comes the curveball, as Indiewire reports Lee plans to deliver, “a 3-D magical fantasy adventure crammed with visual effects.”

Lee will supposedly have a $70 million plus budget to tell the story, involving a boy who is marooned in a lifeboat with a group of zoo animals, and according to Fox executive Elizabeth Gabler, he’ll need every penny.

“It has a gigantic visual effects component,” says Gabler, before helpfully pointing out that, “you can’t put a live tiger in a boat with a child.”

 The visual plans do kind of make sense when you think about it, with the shipwreck that strands the young boy with his four-legged chum just one of a series of set-pieces that would lend themselves to the 3D treatment.

How exactly Lee will get a hold on a story that involves some tricksy parallel plot strands is anyone’s guess, but we’re excited by the idea of a more cerebral approach to cinema’s newest toy.

Fox have yet to greenlight the project, but from the sounds of it, this is the closest they’ve come since acquiring the property a decade ago. Watch this space…

Source: Indiewire

Pi in the sky, or something you can see happening? Tell us!
 

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He created Cloverfield, gave a whole new life to the new Star Trek franchise, and exec produced some seriously successful TV programmes; but now JJ Abrams is hoping to collaborate with Steven Spielberg.

Apparently Abrams has written a script that pays homage to Spielberg’s films of the late 70s and 80s and he’s hoping to direct - with a view to get Spielberg involved.

Plot details are currently a safe guarded secret, but it’s been rumoured to have an anti-Avatar feel – not quite sure how that will work seen as most 80s projects were essentially of the action/adventure, science fiction and fantasy mould – and isn’t that how we’d describe Avatar?

The project’s also supposed to have a low budget – but then again if Spielberg does get on board as the exec producer – do we really think they’ll stick to that?

Abrams and Spielberg – will it be a Close Encounter? Or does the project sound a bit Lost?

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In what’s said to be a 1970s style spy thriller (think The Conversation), Gere and Grace will play CIA partners who are paired up after the killing of a US Senator.

In Double, Gere’s character is long retired, but when it’s feared that the killer is a Russian assassin, he’s reinstated and teamed up with FBI newbie Topher Grace.

So an action pairing of ‘veteran’ Richard Gere and the guy who’s probably best known for ruining Venom in Spider-man 3? Hmm….

The film will be a directorial first for screenwriter Michael Brandt who’s better known for penning Wanted and 3:10 To Yuma with his writing buddy Derek Haas - who will also be working on the project.

Shooting is set to begin in June but will this be a great Cold War thriller? Or will it just feel us leaving cold?

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Following the surprise smash of animated flick How To Train Your Dragon 3D, DreamWorks have announced that they already have plans for a sequel.

Although figures were low for its opening weekend, the dragon has flown with popularity and managed to find its way back to the top of the US box office charts after five weeks of its release.

DreamWorks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg has stated that he’s hoping for a sequel to be released in 2013, so with Shrek Forever After due out this summer, and Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom out in 2011, it looks like it’s going to be a busy few years for the company. Busy – but probably financially rewarding.

Obviously, they’re not the only studio with sequels on their mind; the Clash of the Titans franchise has also been given the go ahead. Yes that’s right – if you weren’t bored enough in the first one, you get a chance to do it all over again in 2012.

And if that wasn’t enough sequel action – as New Line are hoping for a 2011 release date for their Journey to the Centre of the Earth sequel – although reasons for this seem less obvious.

More Dragons, Titans and Brendan Fraser? We can hardly contain our excitement. What do you think?

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Keep those fingers firmly crossed San Diego, because Adam McKay believes a potential Anchorman sequel could be up and running as soon as February 2011…as long as Paramount open their cheque book.

Talk of a sequel has been floating around for years, with McKay, Judd Apatow and Will Ferrell all having spoken about the idea, whilst the rest of the cast are similarly open to a return. “We had an idea and we contacted Steve and Paul and (David) Koechner and Christina (Applegate),” McKay told MTV, “and they were all game for it.”

Encouraging stuff, but the problem for the studio bean counters has always been that the stars of the original now come with a much heftier price-tag than first time-around. However, McKay is hopeful a compromise might yet be reached.
 
“It’s a tricky movie because everyone went and did really well after it,” said the director, “but at the same time, graciously, Steve and Paul and everyone agreed to cut their price to come and do (a sequel), and cut their price substantially. It’s just a budgetary thing with Paramount in terms of how much they’ll give us to make it.”

Provided Paramount do loosen the purse strings, McKay plans to get a script knocked together by the end of the year in order for filming to kick-off in early 2011. Meanwhile, the director is refreshingly honest about the nature of sequels like this.

“Our thinking was there’s no way the second one is going to be as good as the first, because the first one is the first one,” he said. “So our idea is if we’re going to do a second one, we better go for it and try some insane stuff, and we’ll be enjoying it and that way it can’t be half bad.”

In fairness to the studio, the original film did fairly average business at the box office, but surely they can’t pass this one up, particularly if they’re getting A-listers like Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd on the cheap? Come on gentlemen…do the right thing.

Ready for more Burgundy, or tired of the Apatow frat-pack? Let us know.

Source: MTV Movies

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Following the surprise smash of animated flick How To Train Your Dragon 3D, DreamWorks have announced that they already have plans for a sequel.

Although figures were low for its opening weekend, the dragon has flown with popularity and managed to find its way back to the top of the US box office charts after five weeks of its release.

DreamWorks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg has stated that he’s hoping for a sequel to be released in 2013, so with Shrek Forever After due out this summer, and Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom out in 2011, it looks like it’s going to be a busy few years for the company. Busy – but probably financially rewarding.

Obviously, they’re not the only studio with sequels on their mind; the Clash of the Titans franchise has also been given the go ahead. Yes that’s right – if you weren’t bored enough in the first one, you get a chance to do it all over again in 2012.

And if that wasn’t enough sequel action – as New Line are hoping for a 2011 release date for their Journey to the Centre of the Earth sequel – although reasons for this seem less obvious.

More Dragons, Titans and Brendan Fraser? We can hardly contain our excitement. What do you think?

Total Film on Facebook

Keep those fingers firmly crossed San Diego, because Adam McKay believes a potential Anchorman sequel could be up and running as soon as February 2011…as long as Paramount open their cheque book.

Talk of a sequel has been floating around for years, with McKay, Judd Apatow and Will Ferrell all having spoken about the idea, whilst the rest of the cast are similarly open to a return. “We had an idea and we contacted Steve and Paul and (David) Koechner and Christina (Applegate),” McKay told MTV, “and they were all game for it.”

Encouraging stuff, but the problem for the studio bean counters has always been that the stars of the original now come with a much heftier price-tag than first time-around. However, McKay is hopeful a compromise might yet be reached.
 
“It’s a tricky movie because everyone went and did really well after it,” said the director, “but at the same time, graciously, Steve and Paul and everyone agreed to cut their price to come and do (a sequel), and cut their price substantially. It’s just a budgetary thing with Paramount in terms of how much they’ll give us to make it.”

Provided Paramount do loosen the purse strings, McKay plans to get a script knocked together by the end of the year in order for filming to kick-off in early 2011. Meanwhile, the director is refreshingly honest about the nature of sequels like this.

“Our thinking was there’s no way the second one is going to be as good as the first, because the first one is the first one,” he said. “So our idea is if we’re going to do a second one, we better go for it and try some insane stuff, and we’ll be enjoying it and that way it can’t be half bad.”

In fairness to the studio, the original film did fairly average business at the box office, but surely they can’t pass this one up, particularly if they’re getting A-listers like Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd on the cheap? Come on gentlemen…do the right thing.

Ready for more Burgundy, or tired of the Apatow frat-pack? Let us know.

Source: MTV Movies

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