Monday, July 23, 2007

Movie Minesweeper - The Sign Of A Better Biscuit Edition

Robert Zemeckis, Christopher Lloyd, Michael J Fox, The Lovely Bones, Tom Cruise, Kurt Wimmer, Futurama, Reboot, Steve Guttenberg, Steve Miner, Jessica Simpson, Jackie Chan, Johnny 5, Volker Schlondorff, Beowulf, Aardman, Dave McKean, Bond, 1-18-08, Dark Knight, Prince Caspian, Sean Bean, Family Guy, Heroes, Halo, Henson.

- Jim Hill would have us believe that Robert Zemeckis is planning to reunite Christopher Lloyd and Michael J Fox. Nope - not in any time travelling capers, but amongst the cast of A Christmas Carol - as Jacob Marley and Tiny Tim. He also seems to have plans to include Tom Hanks as Bob Cratchit. The best thing in the report, however, is the piece of pre-production art. You really should
go see it.

- Stanley Tucci is in negotiations to star as child murderer George Harvey in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. Okay... not the approach to the role I had in mind, but I do trust Jackson and Tucci is rather brilliant.

- Tom Cruise is to play Edwin A. Salt in the Kurt Wimmer-scripted film. Oh dear. Terry George is in talks to direct. Wimmer's not much cop, and while I haven't read this particular script I don't expect much from it at all.

- Scott Weinberg has dug up the titles of the Futurama films.

- Embarrassingly naff TV show Reboot is being remade as a series of direct-to-DVD films. Tron is ropy, but good when it is good and great when featuring a light cycle chase (and happy at home on my shelf), but Reboot was just ropy.

- Who would be hilariously misguided enough to cast Steve Guttenberg in a comedy these days? Steve Miner, that's who. Guttenberg joins Cheri Oteri, Vivica A. Fox and Jessica Simpson in Major Movie Star. Apparently, the script has recently been revised by Oteri also. Lord help me. (Incidentally, Guttenberg has worked with both Sean McNamara and Miner now - he can retire 'happy').

- Talking of Guttenberg, Johnny 5 has turned up on eBay. The real Johnny 5.

- Jackie Chan is to produce and star in The Shinjuku Incident, a drama about Chinese immigrants to Japan during the 90s.

- Volker Schlodnorff has left the director's chair for Saint Joan after failing to agree with the producers' plans to create two cuts: a feature film and a TV mini-series. Place your bets: will they net Oliver Hirschbiegel as a replacement? He conceded to two v
ersions of Downfall, after all - or is he too Hollywood now?

- Aardman's designs for Webbliworld can now be seen on the official site for the Puffin Books/World Wildlife Fund project.

- The world premiere of some Beowulf footage is coming, and soon. What I wouldn't give to be there.

- Dennis Gassner will be handling production design for the next Bond film. Good.

- Even if a Family Guy film really is coming, I would find it hard to care much at all.

- The Dave McKean short films DVD is almost upon us. Unsurprisingly, it has a great cover.

- Somebody has seen the teaser for The Dark Knight, apparently, and described it for us. Hypemongering plant? Probably.

- IGN have some Prince Caspian artwork. Nothing to get too excited about.

- Scenes in the Sarah Connor Chronicles pilot are being reshot due to 'similarities' to the Virginia Tech killings. Of course, this is no reason to reshoot the scenes at all - in fact, quite the contrary. These are just the subjects we need to be dramatising, considering, investigating, discussing.

- Weta's Warthog, from the live action Halo promo, is on display.

- Apparently, George Takei will be displaying super powers on the next series of Heroes.

- There appears to be a 1-18-08 teaser poster on display at Comic-Con. Perhaps. Fuzzy, but looks like the real deal.

- Sean Bean is to star in The Cache.

- Vicki Lawrence has 'won' a role in The Kentucky Fried Horror Show.

- A new line of Henson-designed toys called 'Jim Henson's Critters' is to be unveiled at Comic-Con. And very beautiful they are too.

- The line up for the Venice Days festival sidebar has been published.

- The ties that bind Dreamworks and Paramount may be coming loose. Awww.

- The Sno Cone Stand, Inc. is to star Tony Sirico and Morgan Fairchild. it's a get-rich-quick caper comedy.

- Andy Fickman is directing a remake of Escape to Witch Mountain. Not an entirely redundant remake, of course, but highly likely to be worse than the original.

2 comments:

Mark Kardwell said...

The Brendan McCarthy fan in me says I should defend REBOOT... but fuck it, I couldn't be arsed. It was innovative, though. And the second series, when it went all dark, was okay.

JD said...

Man that poster shot of 1-18-08 was BEYOND blurry. Jesus.