Roland Emmerich’s SINGULARITY Winds up at Sony; Will Be Released May 2013 [Updated]
by Matt Goldberg Posted: June 29th, 2011
Sony Pictures previously distributed Roland Emmerich’s 2012, they’re planning to release his new film Anonymous this fall, and now it’s looking like they’ll be working with him again. Details on the film’s story are scant (as if there will be much story to begin with) but THR reports that Emmerich will be writing the script. THR also says that the movie is untitled, but Deadline reports that the picture is called Singularity, a title that implies a sci-fi bent (a “singularity” is a term used in astrophysics to describe “A point in space-time at which gravitational forces cause matter to have infinite density and infinitesimal volume, and space and time to become infinitely distorted.”)However, Singularity may not be Emmerich’s next film. He’s also attached to direct an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy as well as a movie based off the classic arcade game Asteroids. Anonymous, which is a historical thriller that presumes Shakespeare didn’t write his plays, is set to open on October 28th. [Update: Deadline confirms that Sony has picked up Singularity. The studio plans to release it on May 17, 2013, which implies that this will be Emmerich's next flick. The only other film currently set for that date is Ron Howard's adaptation of Steven King's The Dark Tower] http://collider.com/roland-emmerichs-singularity-sony-pictures/99526/
Roger Avary to Pen Adaptation of William Faulkner’s Crime Novel SANCTUARY
by Matt Goldberg Posted: June 29th, 2011
Cops producer John Langley has tapped Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary to pen an adaptation of William Faulkner’s 1931 crime novel Sanctuary. Deadline reports that Ali exec producer Lee Caplin will co-produce with Langley. The book was adapted back in 1933 as The Story of Temple Drake, but the plot had to be readjusted to adhere to the Production Code, and there’s a lot to readjust. The story involves rape, murder, abduction, and other brutal acts set against the backdrop of the American South during Prohibition.Avary’s last produced screenplay was 2007′s Beowulf and his career was slightly way-laid when he pled guilty to a vehicular manslaughter charge in 2009 and while he was at first given a work furlough and five years probation, he was dumb enough to complain about it on Twitter and as a result was sent to jail to serve out the remainder of his sentence. He was released last July. Personal problems aside, Avary is an interesting screenwriter who has no trouble tapping into the ugliness of characters and their situations and he sounds like a perfect fit for this adaptation. Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel. http://collider.com/roger-avary-william-faulkner-sanctuary/99506/
Warner Bros. Wants to Send David O. Russell and Brad Pitt on THE MISSION
by Matt Goldberg Posted: June 29th, 2011
Killing Osama Bin Laden hasn’t just been great for America’s morale. It’s also been great for Hollywood. Columbia Pictures will distribute Kathryn Bigelow’s Kill Bin Laden next year, Relativity recently up picked up the Navy SEALs film Act of Valor and now Warner Bros. is getting in on the military-men-on-a-mission game with the appropriately titled The Mission. Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is fast-tracking a film based on the real-life six-year mission between American and Columbian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Columbian jungle. David O. Russell is reportedly circling the director’s chair and Brad Pitt is being courted to star. The movie won’t focus on the hardships of the hostages but instead on “the numerous governments, diplomats and intelligence services and a vast network of spies, military advisers and soldiers plus high-tech surveillance measures.”Hit the jump for more on O. Russell and Pitt’s current projects and likelihood of signing on for The Mission. http://collider.com/mission-david-o-russell-brad-pitt/99498/
Will Ferrell and Adam McKay SWEAR TO GOD
by Matt Goldberg Posted: June 29th, 2011
Warner Bros. has picked up the buddy comedy Swear to God with Will Ferrell attached to star and Adam McKay set to produce and direct. The script is from Due Date screenwriters Alan Cohen and Alan Freedland and Deadline reports that Ferrell will play “a narcissistic hedge fund manager who thinks he has seen God.” If the project goes into production, it will be the fifth or sixth film directed by McKay that stars Ferrell. However, it will be the first one McKay didn’t write (although I’d be surprised if he didn’t have input into the script). Hit the jump to learn more about the Ferrell and McKay’s other projects. http://collider.com/will-ferrell-adam-mckay-swear-to-god/99493/Two More Images from THE HOBBIT
by Matt Goldberg Posted: June 29th, 2011
Hit the jump to check out the new images. The two-part film is currently shooting in New Zealand and also stars Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, and Stephen Fry. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released on December 14th, 2012, with The Hobbit: There and Back Again hitting theaters on December 13th, 2013. http://collider.com/hobbit-movie-images/99479/
Jean-Pierre Jenuet to Adapt THE SELECTED WORKS OF T.S. SPIVET and RED LEAVES
by Matt Goldberg Posted: June 29th, 2011
French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet hasn’t directed an English-language film since 1997′s Alien: Resurrection, but he may give it another shot by adapting Reif Larson’s debut novel The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. Variety reports that Jeunet plans to make Spivet his next movie and that he is currently writing the screenplay with his Amelie co-writer Guillaume Laurant. Per Variety, Spivet “tells the story of a 12-year-old cartographer’s cross-country adventure from Montana to the Smithsonian Museum. Project fits into Jeunet’s body of work as it explores the imaginative mind of a child, mixing realism and fantasy.”Jeunet has also picked up the screen rights to Thomas H. Cook’s novel Red Leaves, although it’s unknown if the adaptation would also be in English. Red Leaves is a markedly darker tale than Spivet and “centers around the crumbling life of a father of a 15-year old boy accused of kidnapping an 8-year old.” While Jeunet at times struggles with story and can get lost in quirk, his visual flair is undeniable and hopefully he’ll be able to balance it with a compelling narrative. Hit the jump for synopses of both novels. http://collider.com/jean-pierre-jenuet-ts-spivet-red-leaves/99471/
