Category: News

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‘Salem’s Lot’: James Wan-Produced Vampire Flick Adds ‘Malignant’ Cinematographer Michael Burgess

New Line Cinema, producer James Wan, and writer/director Gary Dauberman are re-teaming for a feature film adaptation of the Stephen King vampire novel Salem’s Lot.

Salem’s Lot is a small New England town with white clapboard houses, tree-lined streets, and solid church steeples. A stranger had also come to the Lot, a stranger with a secret as old as evil, a secret that would wreak irreparable harm on those he touched and in turn on those they loved. Author Ben Mears returns to Salem’s Lot to write a book about a house that has haunted him since childhood only to find his isolated hometown infested with vampires. While the vampires claim more victims, Mears convinces a small group of believers to combat the undead.

Dauberman has some strong horror credits as he previously wrote the scripts for It and It: Chapter Two for director Andy Muschietti, another Stephen King adaptation. Other projects he’s written include the Swamp Thing series, The Nun, Annabelle Comes Homes, Annabelle: Creation, and Annabelle.

Things are finally coming together on Salem’s Lot as they’re assembling their production team.

The Ronin can confirm that cinematographer Michael Burgess will reunite with director Gary Dauberman, after previously working with him on Annabelle Comes Home. Burgess has worked on other horror films such as The Nun, The Conjuring 2, The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and James Wan’s upcoming horror pic Malignant.

We’re still waiting on official news concerning casting for Salem’s Lot.

James Wan is currently shooting Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, England with Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, and Patrick Wilson reprising their roles.

His next pic Malignant will hit theaters and HBO Max on September 10.

Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.

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‘Dark City’ Series In Early Development According To Director Alex Proyas

While The Wachowskis’ Matrix got the main attention for revitalizing the sci-fi genre, movies like The Thirteen Floor, The Cell, and Dark City attempted similar themes of reality bending and digital worlds. I also recommended checking out those movies if you haven’t seen them.

Interestingly enough, 1998’s Dark City shot on the same sound stages in Australia as Matrix, the Wachowskis even reused some of the Dark City sets, which explains how it might feel like the two sci-fi films share some DNA.

It’s been likely twenty years since anyone really thought about Dark City, but it’s director seems to want to revisit it. Alex Proyas (The Crow) has revealed during a Q&A via Bloody Disgusting that he’s working on developing a series based on the film.

“Dark City right now is really an intriguing one to me because we’re developing a series, a Dark City series. Which we’re in the very early stages [of] but I’m having to reanalyze in order to construct a new story. I’m having to go back and kind of jog my memory as to what we actually did and what I think worked and what I think didn’t work and reevaluate my own film, so that’s been a very interesting experience as well which I’ve not done before.”

The original film starring Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, Kiefer Sutherland, William Hurt and others had a dream-like noir feel to it and it would be interesting the angle a series would go, but it would likely depend on who was paying for it and who ultimately was behind it creativity.

DARK CITY – John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens alone in a strange hotel to find that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders. The problem is that he can’t remember whether he committed the murders or not. For one brief moment, he is convinced that he has gone completely mad. Murdoch seeks to unravel the twisted riddle of his identity. As he edges closer to solving the mystery, he stumbles upon a fiendish underworld controlled by a group of ominous beings collectively known as the Strangers.

SOURCE: BLOODY DISGUSTING

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Dune’: Denis Villeneuve Says ‘Dune: Part Two’ Will See Zendaya’s Chani As The Protagonist

Many might know that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is on the way, but most might be unfamiliar that the movie is only the first half of a two-part story. Legendary and Villeneuve split the first novel into two films, hopefully, to make the epic fantasy tale more digestible to an international audience.

Screenwriter Jon Spaihts is currently working on a sequel, Dune: Part Two, after being pulled off the spinoff series Dune: The Sisterhood to focus on the next feature film.

Villeneuve has spoken to Italian magazine Il Venerdi (via Secrets of Dune) about the sequel (hasn’t been given a release date) and mentions that Dune: Part Two will see Zendaya’s Fremen character Chani become the protagonist.

While this might seem jarring given that the first film will essentially be told from the perspective of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, but it seems the film will end before we see either The Emperor (hasn’t been seen in any promotional materials) or Paul’s sister Alia Atreides.

Paul quickly gains a reputation among the Fremen, the native inhabitants of Arrakis, who eventually see him as part of a local prophecy (a manufactured one created by the Bene Gesserit) and they see him as religious figure worth rallying around to fight against the brutal foreign rulers, House Harkonnen.

Telling the second installment from Chani’s point of view could help establish the character as being just as important as Paul. Not to mention giving the Fremen a bigger voice in the story, given that Arrakis is their planet.

Legendary is also in a unique position as author Frank Herbert penned six dense books before his death, leaving a legacy of work that could be adapted for years to come. There are also subsequent books from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, so there is a hefty amount of source material to pull from for future films and television shows.

Dune will hit theaters and HBO Max on October 22.

DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

SOURCE: IL VENERDI

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‘Alien’: FX Says Noah Hawley’s “Very Grounded” Series Could Release In 2023 & Will Feel Part Of The Cinematic Universe

We’re all excited to see Noah Hawley’s latest entry in the Alien franchise with his FX series that will be produced by Ridley Scott. FX boss John Landgraf spoke at the TCA presentation via Deadline and gave some brief updates on the Earthbound show he’s calling “very grounded.”

First, Landgraf made it clear that the “beast” of a show will feel familiar to fans.

“I think you’ll also see that the show will feel like a part of the cinematic universe you’re familiar with in terms of Alien.”

He also teased a potential release in 2023.

“I have optimism that that show may well roll out in 2023. It will probably roll out 2023, but we want to get it right.”

Noah Halwey has talked up the idea of an Alien story focusing on the humanity/company angle previously and told Vanity Fair the following:

“Those are great monster movies, but they’re not just monster movies. They’re about humanity trapped between our primordial, parasitic past and our artificial intelligence future—and they’re both trying to kill us. Here you have human beings and they can’t go forward and they can’t go back. So I find that really interesting…It’s a story that’s set on Earth also. The alien stories are always trapped… Trapped in a prison, trapped in a space ship. I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of ‘What happens if you can’t contain it?’ are more immediate.”

“On some level it’s also a story about inequality. You know, one of the things that I love about the first movie is how ’70s a movie it is, and how it’s really this blue collar space-trucker world in which Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton are basically Waiting for Godot. They’re like Samuel Beckett characters, ordered to go to a place by a faceless nameless corporation. The second movie is such an ’80s movie, but it’s still about grunts. Paul Reiser is middle management at best. So, it is the story of the people you send to do the dirty work…In mine, you’re also going to see the people who are sending them. So you will see what happens when the inequality we’re struggling with now isn’t resolved. If we as a society can’t figure out how to prop each other up and spread the wealth, then what’s going to happen to us? There’s that great Sigourney Weaver line to Paul Reiser where she says, ‘I don’t know which species is worse. At least they don’t fuck each other over for a percentage.’”

It’ll be interesting who they will ultimate cast and might end up start production sometime in 2022, given that 2023 target mentioned for a release.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Filming On ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Officially Moves From New Zealand To UK: Production On Season 2 Begins In 2022

Filming on Season 2 of Amazon’s Lord of The Rings series has officially moving from New Zealand to United Kingdom. Amazon Studios claims that it’s part of their commitment to expand their footprint in the United Kingdom, but failed to mention what facility they’ll be using as the homestead stage location.

Below is the official press release:

Amazon Studios announced today that its untitled The Lord of the Rings original series will film Season Two in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The shift from New Zealand to the U.K. aligns with the studio’s strategy of expanding its production footprint and investing in studio space across the U.K., with many of Amazon Studios’ tentpole series and films already calling the U.K. home.

The highly anticipated The Lord of the Rings series recently wrapped principal photography on Season One in New Zealand and is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries around the world on Friday, September 2, 2022.

Season One post production will continue in New Zealand through June 2022, and pre-production on Season Two will begin concurrently in the U.K. after the first of the year.

This should be hugely disappointing to fans hoping that Amazon would keep the series in New Zealand for all five seasons.

The new epic drama brings to screens for the very first time J.R.R. Tolkien’s fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. Beginning in a time of relative peace, thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.

The series is led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. They are joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado. Wayne Che Yip is co-executive producer and directs along with J.A. Bayona and Charlotte Brändström. Christopher Newman is a producer and Ron Ames is a co-producer.

SOURCE: AMAZON

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Robert Rodriguez Signs First-Look Deal With HBO & HBO Max: Will He Tackle DC Comics Projects?

WarnerMedia has announced via The Hollywood Reporter that they’ve striked a two year first-look deal with Robert Rodriguez and his Austin-based Troublemaker Studios. He’ll specifically develop various film and television projects for HBO/HBO Max.

The filmmaker had this to say about the deal:

“It’s intriguing to be able to tap into the wealth of iconic IP available across the WarnerMedia portfolio and explore new stories to tell. I’m looking forward to a meaningful collaboration with the high caliber creative talent at HBO and HBO Max who have proven they’re willing to take risks, challenge norms and tell inclusive stories while producing a wide breadth of quality content.”

We previously saw J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot’s deal with WarnerMedia leading to them tackle a wave of DC Comics projects such as Justice League Dark, Constintine, Madame X, and producing a new Superman film.

It wouldn’t be shocking to see Rodriguez/Troublemaker Studios attempt to adapt various comic book projects given their experience with existing material. They were behind films such as Predators, Sin City, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, and Alita: Battle Angel. Robert was once approached by Ryan Reynolds and 20th Century Fox to direct the first installment of Deadpool, but declined.

Most recently Robert Rodriguez was working with Lucasfilm on Star Wars shows such as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

There are plenty DC Comics projects Rodriguez could end up bringing to life such as various movies that had been gestating at Warner Bros. for ages such as Lobo (Guy Ritchie formerly attached to direct), Sgt. Rock (Quentin Tarantino was offered it), and Deathstroke (The Raid’s Gareth Evans was developing at one point).

Hopefully, this is a sign that James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is giving WarnerMedia the impression they can continue to keep making mature projects based on their IP.

Like Gunn, Rodriguez has a unique style and vision that clearly is imprinted on his inventive/energetic R-rated action projects such as Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Planet Terror, Machete, and Machete Kills. Applying that to the DCEU could only make for exciting and entertaining adaptations.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News, News

Tom Hardy Planning ‘Venom 3’ & ‘Morbius’ Director Daniel Espinosa Spoils Eddie Brock Cameo

Tom Hardy is returning to the Eddie Brock role in Venom: Let There be Carnage, which he’ll earn a “story by” credit and is sounds like he’s already preparing for the potential of a third film. Hardy recently did a lengthy interview with Esquire and brought-up that he’s already in early planning stages for a Venom 3, but wasn’t ready to stay that it was sure bet as Sony Pictures still hasn’t greenlit it.

“I’m thinking about the third movie as well, because I think you need to write that at the same time. A third won’t be greenlit until the second is successful, but the studio were really, really pleased with number two.”

The British actor was also hopeful for crossovers and it looks like Morbius might be where that first happens.

Swedish outlet Movie Zine (via The Direct) recently spoke with Morbius director Daniel Espinosa (Snabba Cash, Safe House, Life) about the upcoming Spider-Man spinoff and seemingly spilled the beans about Tom Hardy’s cameo as Eddie Brock/Venom in the movie.

“It usually feels strange before the day begins, when you look at the schedule and stand on the set yourself. When you walk around there, the recording looks just like a Swedish production, but then when you look at the schedule and read names like Michael Keaton, Jared Leto, Tom Hardy, then it feels cool and very exciting.”

However, there have been statements from both Sony Pictures and Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis (See below) that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man won’t be involved in the Venom sequel, despite that Michael Keaton’s Vulture is expected to show up in Morbius (as seen in the trailer).

“Obviously, there are links between Venom and Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe and the Spider-Man story, but in this, we’re treating this very much as it’s his own world, the Venom story is his own world. There are nods and little moments just like this, the newspaper Daily Bugle, of course, but on the whole, he’s unaware, they’re unaware, at this point of other characters like Spider-Man. So that’s the way we’ve chosen to play this particular episode of the movie but well, we’ll wait and see, what little things you can pick out of it.”

Multiple projects are in the works at Sony Pictures with J.C. Chandor’s (Triple Frontier) Kraven The Hunter starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and director Olivia Wilde’s (Booksmart, Don’t Worry Darling) untitled film (expected to be Spider-Woman) to be the next projects to go into production.

MORBIUS – One of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted characters comes to the big screen as Oscar-winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero, Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed and transforms this healer into a hunter.

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE – Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as the lethal protector Venom, one of MARVEL’s greatest and most complex characters. Directed by Andy Serkis, the film also stars Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris and Woody Harrelson, in the role of the villain Cletus Kasady/Carnage.

SOURCE: ESQUIRE & MOVIE ZINE

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Marvel Studios Promotes Brad Winderbaum To Head Of Streaming, Television & Animation: Multiple New Animated Series In Development

Big news was made yesterday when longtime producer Brad Winderbaum was promoted at Marvel Studios.

Winderbaum’s new role at the studio, according to The Hollywood Reporter, will be head of streaming, television, and animation. Essentially, overseeing all the work at Disney+ and other platforms that will be developing animation/television projects using their huge lineup of characters.

Kevin Feige will still keep his role of Marvel Studios head and chief creative officer at Marvel. This just allows someone else to do a lot of the day-to-day business on the television side of things and we have to assume that Winderbaum’s role will be similar to what Jeph Loeb did before Marvel Television was dissolved (rebranded as Marvel TV Studios after Loeb’s exit).

Variety also spoke to Winderbaum, who indicated multiple animated series were on the way and are in “various stages of development” at Disney+, although, no new titles were mentioned. He also indicated that Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige will continue to be closely involved with future projects.

“All of our animation ambitions are going to still be under Marvel Studios, which means they’re going to be produced by Kevin Feige and they’re going to be born of the same stuff that makes the rest of our content.”

Winderbaum also commented on the idea of working with Pixar and Disney Animation at some point, however, isn’t indicating that is something that is actively happening.

“It’s something that we’d be open to under the right circumstances. It all depends on the project.”

We already know that Captain Carter is returning for multiple seasons of What If…? and there had been previous reporting at HN Entertainment that a Power Pack animated series was heading to the streaming service.

Marvel Studios is expected to make a big announcement about their upcoming lineup in the near future and may include a heap of streaming projects alongside new movies.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER & VARIETY

Posted on in Film News, News

Taika Waititi Says He’s Still Keen On Making The ‘Akira’ Movie; “I Don’t Wanna Give Up On That”

Warner Bros. has been trying to make a live-action feature film version of the beloved cyberpunk/body horror anime and manga Akira and their development goes back almost twenty years starting with Stephen Norrington (Blade) in 2002.

Multiple directors had tried to bring the project to the big screen only for things dissolve and the next set of creatives being hired.

The most recent incarnation had Oscar-winner Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit) attempting to adapt for the studio, but seemingly hit a brick wall when trying to make sure he was able to cast a string of young Asian kids for the roles. Warner Bros. had been trying to whitewash the project for ages and even relocate the extremely Japanese story to Manhattan.

There had been an assumption that Taika Waititi had moved to bigger and brighter things with an original Star Wars movie on the horizon and his Flash Gordon movie at 20th Century Fox being upgraded from animation to live-action.

While promoting his acting performance in Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy, he spoke to Wired giving the impression he’s still involved with Akira and hasn’t entirely walked away from it.

 “I’m still trying [to make it]. I don’t wanna give up on that.”

Given his busy schedule and admitting his focus is now on his Star Wars project, it’s unlikely he’ll pivot to Akira anytime soon.

The last big anime adaptation was DreamWorks’ box office flop Ghost In The Shell, hopefully, Warner Bros. learns their lesson from that disaster.

If you’re interested in the development of Akira, you can read a feature I wrote for IGN covering the history of live-action adaptation and it includes a heap of concept artwork from various incarnations.

AKIRA – In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019, 31 years after the nuking of the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo’s supernatural powers suddenly manifest. A final battle is fought in Tokyo Olympiad exposing the experiment’s secrets.

SOURCE: WIRED

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‘Ahsoka’: Lucasfilm Reportedly Seeking Actress To Play Sabine Wren In ‘Star Wars’ Series

Last year, we saw a bit of a fake-out with previous rumors stating that Star Wars: Rebels character Sabine Wren would be appearing in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, only for that character seen in trailers to be someone else completely. But, we did see live-action versions of Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan giving fans the idea that surviving members of Star Wars: Rebels would be making the jump to live-action for Disney+ shows.

In December, it was announced by Lucasfilm that Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka would be getting her own solo series on Disney+ with an unannounced release date.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch is now stating from sources that the studio is looking to cast an actress to play Sabine Wren for the Ahsoka series.

For now, What If …? is focusing on characters who have already appeared in live-action. But animation history has noteworthy examples of popular characters who appeared in animation first before making it big in live-action. Harley Quinn debuted in the 1990s Batman animated series decades before debuting in Suicide Squad, while Ahsoka Tano, the fan-favorite Jedi, appeared in animation in 2008 before Rosario Dawson made the jump to live action in The Mandalorian season two. Now, Dawson is leading a live-action Ahsoka spinoff for Disney+, with sources saying Lucasfilm is looking for an actress to star opposite Dawson as Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren.

This could line-up with other character rumors for the show and might explain why Sabine didn’t show up in The Mandalorian, as she was being saved for Ahsoka Tano’s solo series.

The Ronin is hearing that it’s possible that Ahsoka might end up shooting in the United Kingdom rather than California, but we’ll have to wait for further confirmation of that before saying that is a “sure thing.” It’s worth nothing that both The Mandalorian Season 3 and Obi-Wan Kenobi are currently using the Californian facilities over the summer.

Lucasfilm is notoriously hush-hush when it comes to casting on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. They might be just as secretive with Ahsoka. Then again, with Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi they were willing to share names on the call-sheet.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER