V For Vendetta’s James McTeigue to Direct Revelation
Director James McTeigue looks to follow-up his gig on the Wachowskis-produced Ninja Assassin, currently in production, with Revelation, a thriller with a sci-fi twist from Inferno Distribution. The pic will follow a female journalist following a string of “bizarre murders and discovers that the victims were all treated by the head of an org that researches alien abductions.” The brothers Wachowski are not listed as being involved this go around. John Salvati, who penned 2009’s Dali and I: The Surreal Story starring Al Pacino, wrote the screenplay. Nothing about this news makes me raise an eyebrow or a sparkler just yet, you?
via Variety
Not Another Invasion of the Body Snatchers!
I was very disappointed today when I read a posting here on Slashfilm about the remake of the 1956 horror classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. While I initially planned to just post a comment, I realized I had more to say on the topic than just a few lines. It has been awhile since I have written an op/ed piece for Slashfilm, but here I go again.
My objection is that there should not be any more remakes of this classic. There was the very dated 1978 version with Leonard Nimoy and Donald Sutherland. Then in 1993, Forest Whitiker had a role in the version titled, Body Snatchers which updated the story and gave it a very cheesy and ultra happy ending. And now, in addition to other rip offs, we are getting a fourth big screen addition, with The Invasion. As long time Slashfilm readers might remember, I have written several times about the lack of creativity in Hollywood, and this just rams my point home. I cant believe there is another version coming out.
What really gets me down about it is the level of talent involved. Obviously the Wachowskis have done very impressive work, and can certainly bring talent to this project, but couldnt they bring that talent to something more fresh and new like they have done in the past with The Matrix and last years very underrated V For Vendetta. Of course, right now they are working on Speed Racer so I guess they arent exactly going for originality in their careers right now.
But the Wachowskis arent the only talented people involved in this project. The film stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Criag. Kidman has had a very good and long career and Criags career has sky rocketed since Casino Royale. I would rather they put their acting abilities elsewhere.
I guess my big question is, arent two remakes enough?
And I guess the answer would be, no.
That is very disappointing to me. Is it too much to ask that Hollywood come up with some fresh new ideas? There are so many sequels coming out this year, films based on novels, graphic novels, and comic books it drives me crazy. Yes, adaptations, sequels and remakes can be very good, but I crave a little balance of more original ideas.
Speed Racer Movie to be shot Almost Entirely on Green Screen?
It looks like the Wachowski Brothers’ big screen adaptation of Speed Racer may be shot entirely on green screen.
Apparently, John Mathieson (Gladiator, Matchstick Men, Kingdom of Heaven) turned down an offer from the Wachowski Brothers to be director of Photography on the film. The cinematographer told students that he would rather make a Kylie Minogue video than shoot something entirely green screen, according to AICN.
Joel Silver previously told Empire Magazine “I dont know if well even use any cars,” spawning rumors that the Wachowskis would rely largely on CG for the film.
Also, at Wondercon Joel Silver confirmed that it would be a family friendly movie. This project just keeps sounding worse and worse. And a studio is giving them big bucks to film this thing. Do they expect a big return on their investment?
7 Minute Spider-Man 3 Video Clip Now Online
The Spider-Man 3 clip that aired on tonight’s episode of Heroes is now online in full high definition.
The seven and a half minute clip weighs in at almost 300mb, available at nbc.com/spiderman.. The file might take a while to fully download (and that’s not taking into account the thousands of fans causing a strain on NBC’s servers).
Update: People are having trouble with the official site, so here is a workaround, click this link to go directly to the 480p video or this link for the 720p video. ALSO, we just added a streaming version below:
http://www.iklipz.com/flashplayer/servers.xml&streamName=5a34c452-03d4-4370-9178-f18f636f1bd8&movieID=6a058998-841c-42da-8484-ece6e729f4cb[/coolplayer]
The sequence is basically the same one shown at CES in January. It begins with a romantic talking sequence between Mary Jane and Peter, as they lay ontop of a spider-web. Peter decides to propose to her, and gets a ring from Aunt May. Next we cut to a sequence where Peter is fighting The New Green Goblin (Harry Osbourn) high above the streets of New York City. This is a pretty cool action-packed fight sequence. I imagine this is what the Wachowski Brothers had in mind with the final confrontation between Neo and Agent Smith. But where the Wachowskis failed, Sam Raimi succeeds. This might possibly be the most cinematic superhero action sequence ever captured on film.
The effects in the previous trailer clips worried a lot of fans. The montage at the clips conclusion shows some really promising effects footage of Sandman in action.
Here are a few photo captures:
Spider-Man 3 hits theaters on May 4th 2007.