Burton Vamps, Wall-E Under Pressure, & Zombies Overrun Harvard...
Tim Burton Helms "Dark Shadows"?
(darkhorizons.com) An interesting new "Dark Shadows" rumor
cropped up at the "Get Smart" press junket over the weekend.
Almost a year ago came reports that Warner Bros. Pictures, Johnny
Depp's Infinitum-Nihil and GK Films were teaming to develop a feature
based on the '60s gothic supernatural soap.
The reports excited fans, especially the talk of Depp's potential
involvement as Barnabus Collins, but since then there's been
practically no talk about it.
Now, in an interview with IESB.Net, "Get Smart" director Peter Segal
let slip a quote about two further names who might be involved in the
project - director Tim Burton and scribe John August.
August is penning the film adaptation of the comic book series
"Shazam!" but King says that August is "jumping back and forth between
Tim Burton's 'Dark Shadows' and his 'Shazam' script trying to work on
both films at the same time".
Hellboy, Batman, Prince Caspian, & Indiana Jones Prep To Get Spoofed
(io9.com) A typical gag from the new parody film Disaster Movie is a play on The Day After Tomorrow where Lady Liberty is wearing a snorkel mask. How spoofy. It must be that time of year when all of the actors that populate the Scary Movie, Epic Movie etc. franchises need more money because Carmen Electra, Kimberly Kardashian, and a lot of the cast from Mad TV are appearing. Hellboy, Batman, Wanted, Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones among the scifi loves are set up to be spoofed. To spare you all from ever having to have to see this we've got some spoiler details, and a half naked picture of Carmen Electra and Kim Kardashian in costume (I'm assuming), after the jump.
According to sources Carmen Electra will be parodying the role of Fox from Wanted, Angelina Jolie style. Which I can only assume means lots of sexy posing and a body full of tattoos. Many, many superheroes will pop up, from Hulk to Beowulf (hopefully they've got the cash for motion capture). The picture of Electra and Kardashian "spoofing" the WWE ladies? Any excuse to get that Armenian half-naked sells tickets, I guess.
Source: http://io9.com/5011934/disaster-movie-to-be-self+fulfilling-prophecy
Watch Blade Runner With Ridley Scott
There's a BIG "Blade Runner" event happening at WB Studios on Saturday, June 14th and it's for a great cause: PAUL'S BRAIN TRUST presents: THE ULTIMATE SCREENING OF "BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT," presented in stunning 2K digital
projection in the state-of-the-art Steven J. Ross Theatre at the Warner
Bros. Studios. That's right: the same backlot where "BLADE RUNNER" was
produced more than a quarter century ago! Director
RIDLEY SCOTT himself will be on hand for a rare Q&A, along with
MANY OF "BLADE RUNNER'S" ORIGINAL COLLABORATORS. (Attending cast and
crew members will be announced soon.) We
will also be auctioning (through eBay, starting on TUESDAY 6/3) TEN
PREMIUM PASSES for an amazing opportunity that no serious "BLADE
RUNNER" fan will be able to pass up: A PRIVATE WALKING TOUR OF THE
"BLADE RUNNER" LOCATIONS on the Warner Bros. backlot, HOSTED BY RIDLEY
SCOTT HIMSELF. You'll walk the very streets where this science fiction
classic was filmed! The top bidder will win A ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECE OF
"BLADE RUNNER" HISTORY! FOR MORE INFO, CLICK HERE: http://www.thedigitalbits.com/paulsbraintrust/brscreening.htm
'Transformers' Takes The Gold At MTV Movie Awards
(darkhorizons.com) The 17th annual "2008 MTV Movie Awards"
took place Sunday night with Mike Myers hosting. The usual partying
celebrities and performances were in tow.
Some of this year's awards were:
Best Movie: Transformers
Best Male Performance: Will Smith - I Am Legend
Best Comedic Performance: Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: A.W.E.
Best Summer Movie So Far: Iron Man
Indiana Jones & the Low Budget Crystal Skull
(indymogul.com) We are finishing up our two part Indiana Jones special by showing you how to make your very own crystal skull*. You can't miss this episode! Erik dressed as professor Indy, test film by Waverly Films and much more!
*Supernatural powers not included.
http://www.indymogul.com/backyard-fx/episode/BFX_20080602
Warner Brothers Calling All Superheros
(comics2film.com) Warner Bros. desperation to get a tentpole franchise in place for the rapidly-approaching 2009 season, in the wake of the collapse of the 'Justice League' movie.
Once such savior might be the 'Supermax' movie, which frans know was David Goyer and Justin Marks' "Green Arrow fights for his life in supervillain prison" movie. According to IESB, the movie is now referred to as 'Green Arrow', and not 'Supermax'.
'Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam' is also rumored to be a contender for a franchise launch next year, with director Peter Segal having developed it over the past year, and soon to be clear of 'Get Smart'.Furthermore, IESB hears that 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' has a workable script (also from Justin Marks) and could get the greenlight for a 2009 target.
IESB's sources also claim that 'Justice League' isn't dead altogether. However, rather than rushing it for the 2009 season, the studio has now resolved to move it forward at a more deliberate pace and aim for 2010 or 2011. Writers are currently working on the script, although its unclear if its the original writing team of Kieran and Michele Mulroney or somebody new. Further, director George Miller's involvement in the film is no longer certain.
Can Wall-E Bail Out Prince Caspian?
(news.toonzone.net) Mr. Lasseter, speaking by cellphone during a commute home, said: "The toughest part of my job is probably just managing my schedule. But I think everything is going pretty well." He added that there have been times in the past — such as when he was directing "Cars" — that his walk — around time at Pixar was limited. "It ebbs and flows," he said.
FOR now, attention is focused on "Wall-E." Directed and written by Andrew Stanton, the creative force behind "Finding Nemo," the picture tells the story of a cuddly trash-compacting robot who lives on an abandoned, heavily polluted Earth 700 years in the future. His sidekick is a perky cockroach named Hal.
"Wall-E," which features long sequences without dialogue, is under extra pressure to perform at the box office because of soft initial receipts for a recent Disney film, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." Adding to the weight are Pixar's last three films; though all were blockbusters, they have gradually trended downward at the domestic box office. A reversal would quiet critics who say the studio's best days are behind it. (Disney notes that an increase in foreign box office sales has offset the slide.)
As
with "Cars," Disney is counting on "Wall-E," set for release on June
27, to take off with a tough crowd: little boys. It has prepared a
collection of 300 robot-themed consumer products that will arrive on
store shelves over the next month.
Zombies to Overrun Harvard
(Variety) Warren Zide (American Pie) is bringing to life
The Harvard Zombie Massacre, buying up the comedy-horror spec script
by newcomers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, says Vareity.
Zide will produce through his Parallel Zide with Ryan Lewis executive
producing. Shooting is planned for early next year.
The story centers on a scenario in which Harvard is overrun by the
undead and America's most brilliant minds fend off America's most
brilliant zombies.
Platinum Studios' 'Final Orbit' Coming to the Big Screen
(Variety.com) Platinum Studios is teaming up with Valhalla
Motion Pictures to bring the not-yet-published comic Final Orbit to
the big screen. The fact that it hasn't been read by us nerds leaves
us little to talk about, but I'll try anyway.
Final Orbit follows a group of thrill-seekers who win a lottery to
vacation aboard a newly completed International Space Station. Things
go horribly wrong when the station is damaged, stranding the tourists
in a damaged module with no trained astronaut to assist them. It
sounds like a combination of Space Camp and, well, every space movie
from Sunshine to Apollo 13. Don't space journeys ever go well? How did
we ever make it to the moon?
The script is being penned by Russell Gewirtz, the author behind
Inside Man and the much-discussed DeNiro-Pacino thriller Righteous
Kill. It's another addition to the super busy slate of Platinum
Studios, who are producing everything from Witchblade to Atlantis
Rising, and publishing loads of comic books on the side. They are
unstoppable. I'm wondering when the heck they're going to green-light
Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space. (I'm not kidding, it is one of their
titles. Go to their website if you don't believe me.)
As there isn't even a working preview on Platinum's website, we shall
simply wait and see. Which leaves the perfect opening to wonder if
where we're going with Final Orbit, we will need eyes to see. Come on,
someone had to say it.
Wild Things CGI Goes Bollywood
(dnaindia.com) The well-known visual effects artiste Muthu
Stalin's has pocketed a 115 multi-million dollar animation film titled
Where the Wild Things Are. Incidentally, one of the co-producers of
the film is Tom Hanks. Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker lends his voice
for the lead character Wild Thing.
Muthu has been part of the visual effects team of Bollywood films like
Krrish, The Rising—The Ballad of Mangal Pandey, Sunday and the most
recent Sarkar Raj. He will now be the lead match-mover of the
Hollywood film that releases next year.
Stalin confirmed the news saying, "I'm working on the film. We are
doing innovative visual effects for the characters like combining the
3D and 2D animation with live action for enhanced body movements and
expressions."
Directed by Oscar-nominated Spike Jonze the film will also feature the
voices of award-winning actors Benicio Del Toro, Michelle Williams,
Paul Dano and James Gandolfini among others. The film, which is
currently in post-production, started shooting in April 2006 at
Central City Studios in Melbourne. It has seven creatures. For the
animation sequences, the actors have worn up to nine-feet tall foam
suits, which the visual effects team has monitored for body movements
of the creatures. Muthu says the faces of the animals will be
computer-generated.
This fantasy drama will combine live action, suitmation, animatronics
and CGI—some of the very high-end visual effects, he added.
Where the Wild Things Are is a film adaptation of a Maurice Sendak
picture book. The film is about the imaginary adventures of a young
mischievous boy Max. "I'm happy to be working with the big guns of
Hollywood. When you have so many names on board you are a little taken
aback but it worked out fine," Stalin adds.
"Star Trek: Unity" Makes The Move To Full CGI Animation
(startrekunity.wordpress.com) Matt Boardman, the project's Head of Graphics and lead animator, announced today that "Star Trek: Unity" has moved from using machinima as the animation technique to be used in the creation of the animated series to full CG animation.
The decision to move from the machinima technique to full CG animation was decided by Matt and the rest of the Unity production team after seeing some of the latest design work provided by Jami Avalos, Unity's set/prop designer. Matt had this to say about Unity's move toward using CG animation, made popular by such movies as the "Shrek" series and the numerous films created by Pixar -
We are excited about this new direction and feel that it will provide a richer, more entertaining environment to allow us to tell stories in.
Of course, we don't want our audience to have to wait until the premiere animated episode is released to see what this new approach means for the look and style of "Star Trek: Unity". As such, Matt and I have been working on creating a little surprise that will showcase to the audience what they can expect from the animated portion of our series. We expect to release that sometime this summer.
Matt went on to point out that there is still more exciting news coming regarding the development of the animated series, but that news will be revealed at a later date.
Universal Studios Shows Us The Black Lagoon
(vfxworld.com) Drawn from Universal's crypt of classic
monsters and updated with spectacular Broadway production values and
special effects, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON -- THE MUSICAL will
rise, live, on stage at Universal Studios Hollywood beginning spring
2009.
With state-of-the-art stagecraft, acrobatic choreography and
hilarious, toe-tapping music, the Creature will be brought to life in
a story based on the original screenplay, updated to emphasize the
element of romance and just a bit of comic relief. Original new music
and dazzling production numbers will keep the attraction contemporary
and lively.
Audiences will be immersed in the ominous environment of the deepest
Amazon, enveloped by the exotic sounds and scents of the jungle. And
from the production's first moments, they'll be thrust into an
unexpectedly outrageous, strangely romantic, frequently melodic and
often hilarious adventure as a monster classic is re-imagined for the
21st century.
CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON -- THE MUSICAL will be staged as an
attraction within the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
Admission will be included in the price of theme park tickets and
annual passes.
