Cannes Posters: Bad Lieutenant, Law Abiding Citizen, Slumdog Millionaire
MTV has a batch of new movie posters from Cannes. The three most interesting can be seen above:
- Werner Herzog’s (Grizzly Man) remake of Bad Lieutenant starring Nicolas Cage.
- Frank Darabont’s (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) Law Abiding Citizen which stars Gerard Butler as an assistant D.A. is targeted by a victim of the legal system who looks to exact a certain revenge.
- Danny Boyle’s (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later…) Slumdog Millionaire, a comedy about an illiterate kid who looks to become a contestant on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire in order to re-establish contact with the girl he loves, who is a huge fan of the show.
Slumdog Millionaire has completed filming, while the other two films are in preproduction. Check out more movie posters from Cannes on MTV.
G.I. Joe Screenwriter Stuart Beattie Has Written Halo Spec Script
Note: This is a not an April Fool’s Day joke. Screenwriter Stuart Beattie, whose script is behind the $170 million G.I. Joe that’s currently filming, has written a full spec-script for a potential Halo movie according to Latino Review. Moreover, his script is based on Eric Nylund’s first book tie-in, the prequel Halo: The Fall of Reach, and carries the same name.
For those not in the know, a “spec script” means a script that’s written without the screenwriter being paid or contracted to do so. Apparently Beattie (Spy Hunter, Pirates of the Caribbean 1) is a fan of Bungie’s ginormous video game franchise and wishes to get the first film off life support, where it’s been since last summer when producer Peter Jackson and hotshot director Neil Blomkampf once again threw in the towel after an eruption of distribution differences.
Not only does Beattie’s Halo: The Fall of Reach deliver a worthy action film according to LR’s inside source but it sets up a trilogy of films to coincide with the three Xbox installments. Here’s what the source said…
“The script is, first and foremost, a character-driven story about a soldier named John who was kidnapped or “conscripted” by the UNSC when he was just six years old, and then brutally trained to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117.
The script then takes us through the horrific first contact with the Covenant hordes on the doomed colony world of Harvest, and then climaxes with the spectacular fall of the UNSC forward base on Reach, during which every other Spartan is slaughtered.”
The source goes on to compare the script to Jaws, in that the Covenant (the series’ cunning alliance of aliens) isn’t seen until the half-way point, thereby making the first film financially attractive. In 2005, a script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later) that went through several rewrites was set to be used for Blomkampf’s film. Of note, Beattie also wrote the Gears of War video game adaptation that is now reportedly scheduled for 2010.
Jason Reitman says No Juno Sequel
The Hollywood rumor-mill is starting to spin the idea of a Juno sequel. You might be scratching you head wondering: Why would they even consider making a Juno sequel anyway?
Juno has taken in over $136 million at the box office. By the end of its theatrical run, Juno will likely have grossed more (domestically) than Superbad, Enchanted, Bee Movie, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Live Free or Die Hard, Hairspray, Ocean’s Thirteen, Ghost Rider, Beowulf, SAW IV, Halloween, Sweeney Todd, and Resident Evil: Extinction. And I’m sure we’ll see another Fantastic Four movie, and they’re already prepping two more SAW films.
But director Jason Reitman wants no part of a sequel, citing possible story problems.
“I can’t see it. She got pregnant once; I just can’t see her getting pregnant again,” Reitman told the New York Post.
And with Diablo Cody being the IT screenwriter of the moment, I don’t think she’ll be finding time to work on a potential continuation. That’s not to say that the studio might not demand a sequel (hey, it’s easy money). And didn’t Searchlight proceed on a sequel to 28 Days Later without Danny Boyle’s participation? (Boyle was technically credited as executive producer). Readers are telling me that I’m incorrect about Boyle’s lack of involvement.
Juno is a much different entity and I don’t see any sequel talk progressing without the interest of Cody or Reitman. Kevin Smith made a Clerks II more than a decade after the release of the first film. So you never know if a story might present itself later on which may lead to a cinematic reunion.
Fox Atomic to Invade Comic Con
Fox Atomic wants everyone to know that just because their big brother (20th Century Fox) has pulled out, doesn’t mean that Fox’s genre division won’t have a presence at this week’s San Diego Comic Con. Check out the press release below.
Fox Atomic Announces Presence at San Diego Comic-Con 2007
LOS ANGELES, July 23 — Fox Atomic announced today its
plans for the upcoming Comic-Con International Convention in San Diego, CA
on July 26-29. The initiatives planned will include signings and giveaways
on behalf of the Fox Atomic graphic novels The Nightmare Factory (retails
9/07), 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, and The Hills Have Eyes: The
Beginning; an online sweepstakes to win the 1969 Ford Mustang from the film
Death Sentence (8/31), starring Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, and Kelly
Preston, and directed by James Wan (Saw); and a contest at the Fox Atomic
booth where fans enter to win a Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by the
cast of The Rocker, which stars Rainn Wilson and Christina Applegate.
On September 4, 2007, Fox Atomic Comics will release The Nightmare
Factory, a compilation of short stories based on the work of horror writer
Thomas Ligotti. The Nightmare Factory is the third graphic novel to be
released by Fox Atomic Comics, the graphic novel publishing arm of the
studio that enjoyed glowing reviews and exceptional sales for its debut
book 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, written by horror master Steve Niles (30
Days of Night), as well as for their second novel The Hills Have Eyes: The
Beginning, written by comics veterans Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. On
hand at the booth throughout the day to discuss these novels will be
artists Ben Templesmith, Ted McKeever, and Michael Gaydos, and writers Joe
Harris and Stuart Moore (The Nightmare Factory); writer Steve Niles and
cover artist Tim Bradstreet (28 Days Later: The Aftermath); and writers
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning).
On behalf of Fox Atomic’s upcoming film Death Sentence (8/31), Kevin
Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, and director James Wan (Saw) will be participating
in a booth signing on Saturday, 7/28 at 3 PM. Fox Atomic will also launch
an online sweepstakes to win the 1969 Ford Mustang from the film. The
contest officially begins when the doors to Comic-Con open on Wednesday,
7/25. Fans can enter to win at the computer kiosks set up at the booth or
at the official movie website, http://www.deathsentencemovie.com, until
opening day, 8/31. Moreover, Fox Atomic will release a limited edition
poster of the film that will be exclusive to Comic-Con.
In anticipation of the forthcoming film The Rocker, starring Rainn
Wilson, Christina Applegate, Josh Gad, Emma Stone, and Jeff Garlin, Fox
Atomic will launch a contest at the booth where fans enter to win a Fender
Stratocaster guitar signed by the cast. The contest commences when the
doors to Comic-Con open on Wednesday, 7/25 and closes when the Convention
ends on Sunday, 7/29.
About Fox Atomic
Fox Atomic is a culturally branded entertainment company providing
theatrical movies and digital content targeting the 17-24 year old
demographic. Their next release will be the sports comedy The Comebacks
(October 26th). Atomic also houses a graphic novel division, with
distribution through sister company HarperCollins. Their next graphic
novel, “The Nightmare Factory,” will be released on September 4th. “28 Days
Later: The Aftermath,” Atomic’s first graphic novel, hit shelves on April
3rd. Shortly following was “The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning” (July ‘07).
Formed in 2006, this new entity of Fox Filmed Entertainment produces and
acquires product spanning all media platforms, and various genres.