Showing posts with label mcg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mcg. Show all posts

Monday, June 11, 2007

Movie Minesweeper - The Sparkling Florida Orange Edition

- Anchor Bay are to release Zak Penn's The Grand across the continent of North America. But why are they still being called Anchor Bay? I thought that was on the way out.

- Another Poker film is about to go into production. Johnathon Schaech is starring and has co-written the screenplay, from Ed Gorman's novel, The Poker Club.

- Gus Van Sant is to direct the first film adaptation of Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. It won't be the last - those times and places are becoming more and more romanticised by the week, and after this version fails to set the world on fire, the slow turning gears will get in motion again, I'm sure.

- Paramount are to distribute Strange Wilderness. Despite the presence of film ick favourite Steve Zahn - plus Jordan Hill, Justin Long and Jeff Garlin - I'm having difficulty getting up any interest for this one.

- Didn't we already know that Escape From Planet Earth was going to be in 3D? Maybe not - but ever since I first mentioned the film last summer,
I've been convinced of its turkey status. 3D isn't going to change that.

- Harald Zwart has signed on to direct the next Pink Panther film. Of Shaun Levy, the last Panther's director, and Zwart - I'd take Levy any day of the week.

- Elizabeth Banks is to play the wicked stepmother part in the US remake of A Tale of Two Sisters. Good casting.

- After a very long engagement, McG is finally wed to his next project: Me and My Monster. I like McG a lot - even though I'm only judging him on two films. I'm keen to see We Are Marshall to see him operating in a whole new style, but I'm quite impressed by both of the Charlie's Angels films. Yes. Both. The story is about an adult who had a childhood imaginary monster friend that has hung around - Drop Dead Fred style? I'm hoping the monster will be more Sweetums than Eragon, more Sulley than Pennywise, more Lirpa Loof than Nobby the House Elf.

- Thundercats is to be a CG film on the TMNT model, rather than live action, as per Transformers.

- Natalie Portman turned down a role in the stage adaptation of All About My Mother. The Penelope Cruz role, I'd imagine.

- Tilly Guest has created her very own series of Derren Brown comic strips. I saw Brown's new live show this last Friday and it was even better than his previous tours. The man is the greatest live entertainer in the world. To tell you any details of the show would be to spoil it, but let me say I only know exactly how he pulled off about five percent of the reveals, twists and tricks; have some idea of about how sixty percent were done; could clutch at straws for another ten percent; and the remaining twenty five percent have me so foxed that I wouldn't even dare guess.

- John Dahl has described the Punisher 2 script as 'not that good'. He's also pointed out how restricted the schedule is - so, poor Lexi Alexender, his replacement, she's on a hiding to nothing.

- Disney are teaming with Yash Raj Films to make animated films with Indian stars, stories and style.

- Philip K. Dick has been admitted into The Man's canon. Does this trash his counter cultural credibilty at all?

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Three For McG

In recent months, McG has been linked to family film Me and My Monster, and now IESB seek to shackle his name to The Losers and a remake of Fantastic Voyage. I'd prefer to see the Fantastic Voyage, I think, but I doubt it would dislodge Innerspace from my cushiony heart. Which will it really be? The Losers, I'd bet. The execs will see how similar the comic book original is to The A-Team and pigeonhole McG accordingly, turn on the green light and get scribbling with their Blankety Blank paraphenalia.

Poor old McG. He gets such a hard time. Though I've only seen his Charlie's Angels films (besides any number of promos and music videos) and am still waiting for We Are Marshall to cross the Atlantic, I've got a lot of time for Joseph McGinty Nichol. A Superman film starring Beyonce Knowles and Justin Timberlake? It wouldn't have been Superman Returns, I'm sure, but it certainly had my curiosity piqued.

The motocross sequence in the second Charlie's Angels film was a better action scene than anything in Hot Fuzz, that's for sure. Well, in execution if not conception. The day Tony Scott can direct an action sequence better than McG is the day I'll start tightrope walking the standard line on those two.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Nicolas Cage As Liberace

Nicolas Cage as Liberace? That's the most perfect casting I have ever heard of. Somebody please tell me that McG is going to direct.