Mila Kunis and James Franco join OZ GREAT AND POWERFUL
Mar 28
There was a time when Robert Downey Jr. was going to star in this prequel to The Wizard of Oz, but now it seems the casting director has gone back to the drawing board. Today, Mila Kunis and James Franco were announced as the leads. Sam Raimi is still directing.
WTF is OZ: The Great and Powerful about? I hear you ask/txt/tweet. Basically: Back in the real world, the Wizard’s hot air balloon fucks up on an everyday float, hurling him back to OZ.
It’s not a Hollywood jab, it was one of the actual books. Yes, The Wizard of Oz was a series of books first… oh, never mind.
Call Sheet: THE AVENGERS at Comic-Con, Brad Pitt in WORLD WAR Z, Jim Carrey, Katherine Heigl, Guillermo del Toro, Tim Burton
Jul 26
Call Sheet: A weekly run-down of movie casting news and rumours from around the web.
Comic-Con 2010 is underway in San Diego leading the way with most headlines across the web this week. Amongst all the preview footage, panels, exhibitions and guest appearances, only a handful of casting news has trickled out of the convention.
Without a doubt the biggest casting news out of Comic-Con came when the cast of The Avengers movie gathered on stage, live, in person, causing fans to go into shock-gasm at the pure awesomeness of the occurrence. Or so I’m led to believe. I’ll get excited if the film itself actually turns out to be any good. On stage were: Clark Gregg as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Hemworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, and then Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) showed up and announced Mark Ruffalo will indeed be playing the new Bruce Banner/HULK, and Jeremy Renner will be Hawkeye. I have no doubt these silly hero names are fucking awesome if one is aware of the comic.
News that I actually did get excited about was that of Brad Pitt attaching himself to star in the movie adaptation of the Max Brooks apocalyptic zombie novel World War Z. It was common knowledge that Pitt’s production company Plan B had purchased the rights, but now that it is official Pitt will be the leading guy, a distributor and green-lit script seems likely. Brooks himself told MTV of the news.
Disney released a statement, detailing how director Guillermo del Toro surprised the 6,500 fans gathered at his Comic-Con panel with the announcement that he is currently developing a new film based on the classic Disney theme park attraction, The Haunted Mansion. Apparently it’s going to be fun for the whole family, but still scary. So really, not scary. At all.
Heat Vision notes that Simon Pegg is in talks to likely return as his MI:3 character Benji Dunn in Mission Impossible 4, should Paramount decide to green-light it. Any day now.
Slashfilm landed the scoop from producer Roy Lee that Tim Burton will be directing Universal’s ‘adaptation’ of Monsterpocalypse. What the fuck is Monsterpocalypse, you ask? I had no idea either… Apparently it’s a kaiju-themed collectible miniatures board game that involves battles against a variety of enemy monsters that take place in a metropolis. Paint it black, Tim.
Cinemablend talked to Anchorman director Adam McKay who confirmed there will be no Anchorman 2. Thank fuck for that.
Shocktilyoudrop reports that Daniel Radcliffe will star in a 3D supernatural thriller adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel The Woman In Black. It’s being produced by Hammer Films, the same company behind Let Me In. So long as he doesn’t wear glasses, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Variety reveals that Sam Raimi will be direct and produce Earp: Saints For Sinners, a modern-day reimagining of the classic western hero, Wyatt Earp. It’s based on the graphic novel of the same name created by Matt Cirulnick (who is also writing the screenplay) and David Manpearl. So much for Oz: The Great And Powerful and World of Warcraft (for now).
Deadline reports that Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno, Religulous) has signed on to direct Jim Carrey in the comedy Pierre Pierre. Carrey plays an obnoxious Frenchman who transports a stolen painting from Paris to London.
Finally, THR notes actress Katherine Heigl will star in Andy Tennant’s Adaline, a film about a young woman, born at the turn of 20th century, who is rendered ageless after an accident. I suspect it’s a romantic dramadey and Katherine will look stunning.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT movie alarmingly close to getting made
Jun 26
You’ve probably heard of World Of Warcraft; it’s kind of like Farmville on Facebook, but with more particle effects and Tolkien plagiarism. The idea that 11 million people pay money to keep playing a game that never ends literally hurts my brain.
It’s like paying $5 per episode to watch “The X-Files,” but they only give you the monster-of-the-week episodes, rather than the story arc ones, and they delete the scenes where Mulder and Scully actually talk to each other. That is to say, it’s completely unfulfilling and cunningly designed to acquire currency rather than provide an emotionally engaging experience.
Sam Raimi, who recently perused the latest script for Oz The Great And Powerful, has been attached to the World Of Warcraft movie adaptation for a while, and it looks like he’s coming alarmingly close to actually getting the film made. That the most exciting elements of WoW that Raimi can identify are the landscapes, the scale of the monsters, and the battle systems is a little concerning.
Speaking at the recent Saturn Awards event at Los Angeles, Raimi expounded on his enthusiasm for the project, talked about the state of the script, and elaborated on who else was involved in the WoW film project. It’s an intersting interview, even if Raimi seems a little distracted. Witness how he deflects the leading questions with practiced nonchalance; that, folks, is a rare skill. Marvel also that his in-game character is level 72 — that requires dozens and dozens of hours of repetitious tedium to accomplish; that, sadly, isn’t so rare a skill.
Sam Raimi Interview WORLD OF WARCRAFT Movie Saturn Awards 2010 – Funny home videos are a click away
Look at all that scale!
Reel Thinker Podcast #01, June 25 2010
Jun 26
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You’re moments away from listening to our first ever podcast. Go ahead, click the players above or below to start streaming from the web or Download the mp3 file (19 mb). Jason Stringer, Danny Clark and Nyrie Anne share their thoughts on today’s movie topics.
Podcast #01 Topics:
- Intro
- Toy Story 3
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- Sequels in franchises
- Transformers 3
- The cinema experience of Transformers 1
- Sam Raimi directing Oz: The Great and Powerful
- The Green Hornet target audience
- Tomorrow, When The War Began trailer
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Sam Raimi directing OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, starring Robert Downey Jr.
Jun 16
Where do you go searching for your next project after being axed from the mega-bucks Spider-Man franchise you helped create? Why, you simply follow the yellow brick road.
Deadline reports that Sam Raimi has officially signed to direct the project Oz: The Great and Powerful, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz detailing how the man who becomes Wizard wound up in the land of Oz in the first place (also via rogue tornado– hopefully complete with flying old ladies still-cycling mid-air).
Man-of-the-moment Robert Downey Jr. is attached to star as the circus wrangler character who inadvertently becomes Wizard, though it’s not certain if he will remain attached at this stage.
Things we can be thankful for:
- At least it’s a prequel and not a flat-out remake of The Wizard of Oz
- Robert Downey Jr. as the Wizard. I mean, why not?
- Sam Raimi’s slapstick, comic-book, Three Stooges-style of filmmaking should be right at home with this kind of project.
- It’s not being made by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp and/or Helena Bonham Carter (God, just imagine).
The screenplay has been kicked around for a while, and at one stage Sam Mendes was attached to direct. It’s only now that my interest is perked, however. Sam Raimi in the chair and Robert Downy Jr. on the screen in a prequel to The Wizard of Oz is undeniably intriguing.
OPINIONS COUNT