WATCHMEN TAKES STEP FORWARD
Those knowledgeable people at Scifi.com managed to bag a quick word with Zack Snyder on his forthcoming WATCHMEN project. After turning in a script written with Alex Tse, he says of the suits at Warner Bros “They feel like it’s a movie, and they get it now, and they’re into 1985, and they’re into the Cold War and Nixon and all the cool bits. So we’re really excited. We’re doing another little bit of changes, and then, I mean, knock on wood, we’ll get going.” The project brought a whole new meaning to the phrase development hell, and was well in to Pre-Production last year, with Paul Greengrass at the helm when the studio got cold feet and pulled the plug. What this writer wants to know is who will be donning the blue body paint to play Doctor Manhattan. Just out of professional curiosity of course. . .
MOORE GOES TO SPRINGFIELD
WATCHMEN scribe Alan Moore is to feature in a forthcoming episode of THE SIMPSONS. Moore, aged 53, recorded his lines at The Lodge studios in Abington Square last month for an episode that will be called Husbands and Knives.
THE SIMPSONS’ production team are long-time fans of Moore’s, whose reputation in the world of graphic novels is legendary. A chance meeting with his fiancée Melinda Gebbie got the project rolling.
Mr Moore said: “Mel was in America promoting our new book The Lost Girls and one of THE SIMPSONS’ producers spoke to her and asked if I would be in the show. “She said: ‘Why don’t you give him a ring he’s very approachable’. “I was happy to do it. I’m a big fan of THE SIMPSONS.”
He features in a sub-plot which sees a new ‘cool’ comic shop opening in Springfield in competition with the Android’s Dungeon, run by Comic Book Guy who is voiced by Hank Azaria. The new shop has persuaded Moore to make a public appearance. In reality, Mr Moore rarely makes publicity appearances, preferring to concentrate on his prolific output of work. This has earned him a reputation in America as a recluse although in Northampton he has a wide network of long-time friends and family.
Mr Moore’s latest work, The Lost Girls, has garnered rave reviews around the world although it is not due to be published in the UK until 2008 due to a legal dispute with Great Ormond Street Hospital. The Lost Girls features elements of the Peter Pan tale, which Great Ormond Street owns the rights to, and he has agreed to delay publication while Great Ormond Street promotes its own sequel to JM Barrie’s original, Peter Pan in Scarlet.
Mr Moore also wrote The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta, From Hell and Constantine, which were all made into Hollywood movies. The Watchmen, a tale of dysfunctional superheroes, cemented his reputation in the 1980s and was credited with opening up the graphic novel as a medium for adult stories.
WAR GAMES 2
WAR GAMES 2: THE DEAD CODE has announced that Matt Lantner (COMMANDER IN CHIEF, HEROES) will take the lead. He joins director Stuart Gillard (KART RACER. – Nope. Me neither), who starts shooting on November 20th. For those of you who need reminding of the premise of the original film (after all, it has been 26 years since it came out), fresh-faced Matthew Broderick is the bored teenager who hacks in to a Defence Department computer to play a quick game of Global Thermonuclear War. It all goes spectacularly sideways, in a film which captured the paranoia of the Cold War, along with the paranoia of Artificial Intelligence seen in films such as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
WG2 will no doubt be going after a similar tone. According to reports, the computer this time decides that the entire human race is a terrorist threat, which must be stopped. No doubt at any cost. This has the potential to be a brilliant piece that captures the constantly shifting paranoia of terrorist attacks, phoney wars, and shady governments. Don’t hold your breath though.
THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
Lena Headey (THE BROTHERS GRIMM) will be stepping in to Linda Hamilton’s shoes for Fox TV’s recently announced SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. According to IMDB the pilot picks up “after the events in ‘TERMINATOR 2’, Sarah Conner and her son John, trying to stay under-the-radar from the government as they plot to destroy the computer company Skynet in hopes of preventing Armageddon.” No prizes then for guessing how that turns out. From the pen of Josh Friedman who gave us THE BLACK DAHLIA, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS and CHAIN REACTION, it will be directed by David Nutter. Nutter directed the pilot for DARK ANGEL, as well as racking up directing credits on THE X-FILES, MILLENNIUM, SMALLVILLE, and ROSWELL.
DENEUVE & ROWLANDS TO VOICE PERSEPOLIS
Catherine Deneuve and Gena Rowlands have been tapped to provide voices for the English-language version of the French animated film PERSEPOLIS, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the film in the U.S.
Based on Iranian author Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel autobiographies, the tale is the true story of a precocious girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution. Deneuve will voice the lead character’s mother, which she is also doing for the French version. Rowlands will provide the voice for her grandmother.
The film is scheduled to be completed in April 2007.
WACHOWSKI BROS TO HELM SPEED RACER
THE MATRIX masterminds Larry and Andy Wachowski are set to write and direct a long-in-development, live-action version of SPEED RACER, reports the trades. The project will reunited the brothers with their MATRIX collaborators – producer Joel Silver, exec producer Grant Hill and visual effects supervisor, John Gaeta.
Based on Tatsuo Yoshida’s classic 1960s anime series, the story will chronicle the adventures of the young racecar driver Speed as he strives for fame and glory in his pimped out vehicle, Mach 5.
“The Wachowskis are approaching these racing scenes in a way you’ve never seen before,” said Silver, who said the film will be family-friendly. “They wanted to do something that could appeal to everybody.”
Filming is set to begin in summer 2007 for a summer 2008 release. It will be a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, of a Silver Pictures production.
ROGUE CAPTURES CASTLEVANIA
Universal Pictures-based Rogue is set to distribute Paul W.S. Anderson’s adaptation of Konami classic videogame, CASTLEVANIA, reports Variety. Rogue will handle the rights in North America as well as the U.K., Spain and German-speaking territories.
The $50 million film, written by Anderson, takes place in multiple eras, mainly transpiring in 15th century Transylvania. This take on the Dracula legend will utilize elements from the real life story of the Romanian prince Vlad the Impaler.
“It’s an action/horror project in the vein of UNDERWORLD and BLADE, and hopefully it will be a big franchise for us,” Rogue co-president Andrew Rona said.
Anderson and his producing partner Jeremy Bolt plan to start shooting next spring in Eastern Europe. Bolt and Anderson are producing alongside Crystal Sky chairman Steven Paul and president Benedict Carver.
KOREAN STAR JUN TO STAR IN YU’S BLOOD VAMPIRE.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, South Korean star Jun Ji-hyun, Star of the Korean blockbuster IL MARE (remade as Warner Bros.’ THE LAKE HOUSE), has signed on to make her English-language debut in the live-action remake of BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE, titled BLOOD VAMPIRE.
Based on Production I.G.’s Oshii Mamoru anime hit, the original story follows Saya (Jun), a vampire hired by the U.S. government to kill demons in post-World War II Japan. The film will begin filming in March in China and Argentina with a 2008 release in mind. Ronnie Yu (JET LI’S FEARLESS) is directing.
TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE FINDS NEW DIRECTOR
Robert Schwentke (FLIGHTPLAN) is in final talks to helm New Line’s adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s novel, THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The sci-fi romance tells the tale of a couple, in which the man is inflicted with a genetic disorder that involuntarily propels him to travel through time. Jeremy Leven penned the screenplay.
Previously, directors Steven Spielberg, David Fincher and Gus Van Sant had all considered the project.