Charles Bramesco
Upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien Biopic ‘Middle Earth’ Finds the One Director to Rule Them All
He was forged in the fires of the deepest reaches of the BBC, honed and toughened in the crucible of TV and made-for-TV movies. The one director to rule them all — or at least, to take the helm for the upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien biopic Middle Earth — has been found, and while he won’t need to be cast in Mount Doom, he is still very strong.
Max Landis to Write, Direct ‘An American Werewolf in London’ Remake in Father-Son Bonding Experience
Writer-director Max Landis has his fair share of detractors. There are some who accuse the man of failing upwards, that his status as the son of cherished filmmaker John Landis has landed him some choice jobs (the recent sci-fi series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detection Agency, for one) through good ol’ Hollywood nepotism, despite the fact that his films have almost uniformly performed poorly at the box-office and with critics. His most vocal critics express complete bafflement every time the writer responsible for such widely panned flops as American Ultra, Victor Frankenstein, and Mr. Right lands an increasingly high-profile gig, their only conclusion that the Landis name is what has gotten him this far.
No One Enjoyed the Cubs’ World Series Win More Than Bill Murray
Late last night, a little after the midnight hour, Hell froze over. Reports of pigs and other assorted swine growing wings and taking flight started pouring in from all over the country. Dogs and cats were living together — it was mass hysteria, all because the Chicago Cubs had finally won the World Series after a 108-year drought.
These Are the ‘Deadpool 2’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Working Titles to Look Out For
Nothing gums up the works during a high-profile film shoot quite like looky-loos poking around the set. When a big-name production gets up and going, the goal is to attract as little outside attention as possible, leading many crews to adopt “working titles” that conceal the true nature of the project. Most famously, George Lucas shot Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi under the codename “Blue Harvest” in an effort to give his legions of fans the slip. Christopher Nolan, perhaps in an effort to evade Batman geeks and summon Gilmore Girls geeks in one fell swoop, worked on The Dark Knight using the title “Rory’s First Kiss.” More recently, one of the production designers for Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters informed me during an interview that the remake shot as “Flapjack” while on set in Massachusetts.
The New ‘Van Helsing’ Movie Will Be Part of Universal’s Monster Universe, Says Screenwriter
In their unending battle to compete with the box-office behemoth that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Universal tapped their deep roster of classic horror properties for interlocking remakes that could form one larger narrative tapestry. The recent Dracula Untold was intended to launch the Universal Universe, or whatever better thing they decide to call it, but lackluster ticket sales gave studio higher-ups pause. They’ve since redoubled their efforts, hiring Sofia Boutella to play their Mummy and Tom Cruise as the target of her curses, Russell Crowe as their Dr. Jekyll, Javier Bardem in the role of Frankenstein’s monster, and Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man. But even with such extensive plans already laid out, Universal continues to expand.
‘Aquaman’ Will Be in the Spirit of ‘Romancing the Stone’ and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
The ages-old query of “So, who were your influences on the film?” still appears regularly in interviews following a big-name movie’s release. But in recent years, directors have started to name the films they drew from before the premiere as a way of drumming up anticipatory buzz. At the Star Wars Celebration in London earlier this year, Episode VIII director Rian Johnson name-checked Bridge on the River Kwai, Three Outlaw Samurai, Letter Never Sent, and 12 O’Clock High as points of reference for the next Star Wars picture. The initial public response went along the lines of “lol what the hell are you talking about,” but eventually cooled into “Alright, can’t front, that sounds pretty awesome.”
Bruce Springsteen Wrote a Song for the ‘Harry Potter’ Films, Which They Passed on Somehow
Back around Christmastime, the well-regarded genre-defiers Radiohead revealed that they had recorded their own theme for the latest James Bond picture, Spectre. It was baffling, not just because their composition was swooningly beautiful, but because the Spectre team ultimately ended up going with Sam Smith, instantly agreed upon as one of the lesser Bond theme singers. But that’s all peanuts compared to the latest gross injustice from the world of film soundtracking, with greater effrontery dealt to an even more esteemed statesman of rock.
Behold the No-Budget Majesty of the New ‘Death Race 2050′ Trailer
Today, the first trailer for the upcoming Death Race 2050 barreled onto the Internet like a methed-up speed demon plowing through a crowd of toddlers. But before we can start to sort through the smoking wreckage, a brief history lesson.
Will Ferrell to Star as Ronald Reagan in Satirical Biopic
As a President and as a man, Ronald Reagan has a complex and divisive legacy. To modern-day conservatives, his sweeping return of power to the free market and decentralization of federal influence was tantamount to an act of God; to his detractors, Reagan’s the guy who waged a racist “War on Drugs” and may or may not have approved the governmental manufacturing of crack-cocaine, the guy who allowe
TCM and Criterion Teaming for Cinephile-Geared Streaming Service FilmStruck
Quick, without thinking, what’s the biggest problem with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, and the smorgasbord of competing video-streaming platforms available in today’s crowded marketplace? If your answer was “They took X-Men: Evolution off of Netflix, like, what’s that all about” then I am glad to have found a kindred spirit at long last, but the much more common response tends to be “Most of t
Superman Only Has 43 Lines of Dialogue in ‘Batman vs. Superman’
The number 43 has held many different significances over the years. The newest significance of the number will surely eclipse any previous, however: heretofore, the number 43 shall be known as the exact number of lines of dialogue spoken by Henry Cavill‘s Superman in Batman vs...
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John Krasinski in Talks to Join J.J. Abrams Produced ‘God Particle’
For an actor, the tough thing about becoming famous for playing a single character for nearly a decade on a long-running TV show is that you eventually become identified with that persona, rather than as yourself. So, for instance, if you’re John Krasinski and have made a name for yourself by consistently portraying an aloof but lovable slacker with a penchant for breaking the fourth wall on a pop