Ellen Page to star in Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell
Sam Raimi doesn’t get his dream job of directing the Lord of the Rings Hobbit prequels… What is the Spider-Man director to do? Anything he wants - he’s Sam f’n Raimi. And what Raimi wants is the hottest actress in Hollywood right now in his next film.
Ellen Page has been cast in Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, which Raimi wrote with his brother Ivan. After Spider-Man 3, Raimi has something to prove, and is returning to the genre where he made his name - horror. The director’s long-time collaborator Robert Tapert describes the film as follows: “Sam calls it a ’spook-a-blast,’ a wild ride with all the chills and spills that ‘Evil Dead’ delivered, without relying on the excessive violence of that film.” It’s a morality tale about the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse.
Hell will begin principal photography in Los Angeles on March 17th 2008.
The Hobbit: Peter Jackson Returns
The rumors are true: Lord of the Rings trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and New Line have come to an agreement, and will band together to bring The Hobbit to the big screen, split over two live-action films. MGM and New Line will co-finance the project, with New Line handing North American distribution, and MGM handing the International. It is currently believed that Peter Jackson will not be available to direct either of the two films, as his schedule is full. The announcement says that Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films, which will be shot simultaneously.
Spider-Man director Sam Raimi has been anxiously watching this project, and his future schedule is pretty much clear. Raimi has said that he wouldn’t be involved unless Jackson produced, and it looks like the perfect situation is now in place. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the Raimi announcement before Christmas.
Said Peter Jackson, “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”
Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start with a production budget of $150 million per film. They are currently eyeing release dates in 2010 and 2011. It has been previously rumored that the film would be shot and released in 3D, although Jackson and New Line are keeping mum at this time.
Sam Raimi to direct Clash of the Titans Remake?
IESB is on a roll this week reporting some juicy rumors. I wonder how many will actually pan out. The latest one is that Warner Bros has offered Sam Raimi a multi-picture deal which includes the Clash of the Titans remake. As of press time, Raimi has not accepted the deal. The Spider-Man director is also supposedly being courted by New Line to make a big screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and by Sony for Spider-Man 4. While I could definitely see Raimi’s interest in the project, he could just be using this as a bargaining chip for a better deal on one of the other projects.
In April, Warner Bros hired Lawrence Kasdan to write the remake. Kasden was a legendary screenwriter whose credits included Return of the Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Big Chill. The once great screenwriter has had a run of bad luck in the last ten years, turning out two films (and only two films) that were less than successful Mumford and Dreamcatcher. It’s exciting to imagine that Kasden will make a huge comeback (both creatively and financially) with this one.
The original Desmond Davis film was an adaptation of the myth of Perseus which told his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster in order to save the Princess Andromeda. The movie is famous for its use of Ray Harryhausen’s stop motion animated creatures.
The Hobbit Movie gets 2009 Release Date
Despite his public falling out with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, New Line chairman Robert Shaye still plans to release The Hobbit in 2009.
As we all now know, Jackson sued New Line regarding The Fellowship of the Ring payment inaccuracies. The King Kong director has refused to work with the company as long as the lawsuit and money is withstanding. Fanboys around the world have hoped that Shaye would somehow give-in, and allow Jackson to direct.
In an interview with The New York Times, Shaye revealed his plans to forge ahead on the JR Tolkien saga without Jackson:
But the ill will has held up plans to make The Hobbit. Without specifically saying he would not make the film with Mr. Jackson, Mr. Shaye made it plain that he had no interest in working with difficult filmmakers. Some directors are impossible, he said. Are there a few people I wouldnt work with? Yes, but I wont name names.
And he would not comment on reports in the news media that the Spider-Man director Sam Raimi had been asked to direct The Hobbit. He said, however, that although there was no workable script yet for the film, he intended to release it in 2009.
We wish the whole deal between New Line and Jackson could be worked out, but that’s never going to happen. We can only hope that a director of Sam Raimi’s size will step up to take on this upcoming challenge. Because, after all, The Hobbit film adaptation could turn into the disaster that Tolkien always feared it could be if it were left in the wrong hands.