Darren Aronofsky’s Riverview Towers
After The Fountain failed to perform at the box office (likely due to marketability), I was worried that Hollywood might have lost faith in writer/director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream). Good thing that isn’t true, because Aronofsky will prove himself as one of the best filmmakers of our generation, I’m sure of this. Aronofsky is doing post production on The Wrestler, and is set to go into the ring with Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter.
And now AMC has hired Aronofsky to develop a new drama series called Riverview Towers. The show will revolve around a family that moves into an apartment building with paranormal activity. Sounds intriguing. Unfortunately Aronofsky doesn’t have the time to pen the pilot teleplay himself, and the network has hired John J. McLaughlin, who wrote Aronofsky’s upcoming film Black Swan. Aronofsky will serve as executive producer. Patty Jenkins (Monster) is in talks to direct should the pilot get picked up.
source: THR
Forest Whitaker Not Cool with Where the Wild Things Are Reshoots, Loves Spike Jonze’s Vision
There was an instance where I was arrested at a student protest and it would have been great if Forest Whitaker had suddenly appeared to passionately articulate and argue my case to the police rather than the guy who yelled, “Dude! Run! No! Don’t!” Whitaker, who plays one of the main Wild Things in in the notoriously delayed and troubled Where the Wild Things Are, is backing the film’s director, Spike Jonze, and the flick 100 percent. Good to see, innit? So, is the film really too scary and mature for kids as test audiences have reported? Here’s what Whitaker, who saw the film with his children aged 9, 13, and 16, just told MTV…
“I play Ira, he puts the holes in the trees,” the Oscar-winner grinned. “I have a wife and kid, and we’re the only family unit inside [the land of the Wild Things]. It’s a good movie. I saw an early cut of it. I brought my kids to see it, and I was really impressed.”
And then he got all deep….
“[The dark scenes] are the point of the movie, and I hope that they maintain that point, because I think children can identify with a character who is upset. …[Max] rolls by himself, no father figure; this is a single family home,” he continued, with passion. “His mother ends up having a boyfriend that becomes like a monster to him…people have to build trust with the people their parent starts to date…These are real issues that the character deals with, and I hope that [the filmmakers] continue to explore them, because kids need to see that; they need to see that other kids are dealing with it.”
“The thing is, it’s one thing to read [scary stuff] in a book, but when you see an itty-bitty kid running alongside a 10-foot-giant on the side of a cliff, it gets intense. But that’s the point, because we’re representing the things inside of the kid. They represent his struggles, either him being too angry or being confused, or not feeling like he belongs. They’re a gargantuan extension of the way he’s feeling inside.”
Whitaker said he’s going to give Jonze a ring and see what the deal is with the ambitious and pricey ($75 mill) kid’s film. As we previously reported, Warner Bros. has now a set the film’s release date for October 2009; you know, that’s only 19 months to go. Jonze hasn’t released any more statements for the picture after identifying the early test footage that hit the Net back in February to oooh’s, ahhh’s and hmmm’s. Let’s hope Warner Bros. takes the Oscar winner’s opinion into consideration, and don’t let your support fall by the wayside either.
Spoiler Pics For The X Files 2
Back in January, we posted a possible spoiler photo for this July’s sequel to 1998’s The X Files, though its authenticity is still debated. Perhaps creator/director Chris Carter was throwing out an intriguing placebo to the Internet fanboys? Today, more spoiler pics of an altogether different persuasion have popped up at Fly Net. In my opinion, these pics could be “staged” by filmmakers, Gillian Anderson (Agent Scully) and David Duchovny (Agent Mulder) as well, but who knows? I liked the first revelation (prank?) better, but if you dig soap operas and slippers, this one’s for you…
Spoilers…
Matt Reeves Having Cloverfield 2 Talks, Already Signed For Invisible Woman
The nearly 70 percent drop in Cloverfield’s box office take last weekend has not deterred Paramount Pictures from starting early talks with director Matt Reeves to helm a sequel to the Monster Movie That Ate the Internet. In fact, Variety reports that Cloverfield 2 (our title) may very well be Reeves next film, depending on how fast Reeves, producer J.J. Abrams and writer Drew Goddard can put their hands in a circle and call out “Go Team.” No others details were revealed, but is that a surprise?
The ink has settled on Reeves’s other project, The Invisible Woman, described as a “Hitchcock-style thriller that probes the mind of a former beauty queen who turns to a life of crime to protect her family.” The deal was made with GreeneStreet Films, complete with a script by Reeves, who will also produce the film alongside J.J. Abrams and a few others. Is the title’s meaning literal? It’s hard to say, unless the word “probe” is a hint. Try scanning the description with a black light.
Of course, several hours ago, Reeves’s name was rumored to be in the running for the newly vacant, day-old directing gig on The Wolf Man. Looks like he officially has other half-fish to fry. As for a Cloverfield 2, success wouldn’t be a sure thing, even with a small budget, as the original film’s reception was far loss positive amongst audiences than a similarly Internet-buzzing and viral marketed movie like Saw. While I thought the original was everything its filmmakers promised and more, I’d much rather revisit Rambo theatrically and I don’t really care to see Cloverfield on DVD. Simply mentioning Reeves’s landmark movie makes some people woozy or behave like they lost a contact in shag carpet. Seconds?