Tag: Amblin

Posted on in Film News, News

EXCLUSIVE: Amblin’s Dracula Movie ‘Last Voyage Of The Demeter’ Enlists ‘Monster Hunter’ & ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’ Production Designer

Production is underway on Amblin’s vampire movie The Last Voyage of The Demeter. The story is taken directly from Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel about the Count’s trip from Carpathia to London, where he essentially fed on the ship’s crew at night.

The script is based on a single chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel Dracula, which tells the story of the Russian schooner, Demeter, which was charted to carry private cargo (twenty four unmarked wooden creates) from Carpathia to London. The film will detail the strange events that befell the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a terrifying presence onboard the ship. When it finally arrived near Whitby Harbour, it was a derelict. There was no trace of the crew.

We first revealed that director Andre Ovredal would be reuniting with cinematographer Roman Osin (Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark).

The Ronin can confirm that Demeter has production designer Edward Thomas working on the film’s design/sets, who has been behind genre films such as Monster Hunter, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Escape Room, and the recent sequel Escape Room: Tournament of Champions.

The horror pic’s casts consists of Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton, Kong: Skull Island, The Walking Dead), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones, Clash of The Titans, The Guard) as the Demeter’s captain, Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Nightingale, Black Narcissus), David Dastmalchian (Ant-Man, The Suicide Squad, Blade Runner 2049), longtime creature actor Javier Botet (It, Game of Thrones, Slender Man, Alien: Covenant, Crimson Peak, The Conjuring 2) is set to play Dracula, Jon Jon Briones (Ratched), Stefan Kapicic (Deadpool, Deadpool 2), Nikolai Nikolaeff, Woody Norman, Martin Furulund and Chris Walley.

The Last Voyage of The Demeter has been a project kicking around Hollywood for ages with previous directors such as David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, Hannibal, American Gods, Black Mirror) and Neil Marshall (Game of Thrones, Westworld, Hellboy, Lost In Space) attaching themselves to only exit. Viggo Mortensen, Noomi Rapace, Jude Law, and Ben Kingsley were reportedly once involved at various stages.

It’s unknown when the film will debut as Amblin recently made a deal with Netflix to fund and distribute original films. There is a good shot that Demeter ends up landing at Netflix.

Posted on in Film News

‘The Last Voyage Of The Demeter’ Begins Shooting In Germany; Amblin’s Dracula Movie Adds Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Aisling Franciosi & More

Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners have started filming their long-gestating horror film The Last Voyage of The Demeter, the project has been in the works for twenty years and is based on the brief excerpt from Bram Stoker’s original Dracula novel covering the iconic vampire’s bloody journey to London.

Zak Olkewicz (Bullet Train, Fear Street) has written the script, which is based on a single chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel Dracula, which tells the story of the Russian schooner, Demeter, which was charted to carry private cargo (twenty four unmarked wooden creates) from Carpathia to London. The film will detail the strange events that befell the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a terrifying presence onboard the ship. When it finally arrived near Whitby Harbour, it was a derelict. There was no trace of the crew.

Director Andre Ovredal (Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark) announced on Twitter that filming on the horror flick began shooting on June 26 at Babelsberg Studio just outside of Berlin, Germany. The studio is currently being used for John Wick: Chapter 4 alongside recently high-profile studio projects such as The Matrix 4 and Tom Holland’s Uncharted film.

The post also confirms our report that Ovredal would be reuniting with cinematographer Roman Osin (Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark).

https://twitter.com/Filmtroll/status/1408803186484428800

The film’s cast has grown with a wave of new additions mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter yesterday. Those new names joining Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton, Kong: Skull Island, The Walking Dead) include Game of Thrones alums Liam Cunningham (Clash of The Titans, The Guard) as the Demeter’s captain and Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale, Black Narcissus), David Dastmalchian (Ant-Man, The Suicide Squad, Blade Runner 2049), longtime creature actor Javier Botet (It, Game of Thrones, Slender Man, Alien: Covenant, Crimson Peak, The Conjuring 2) is set to play Dracula, Jon Jon Briones (Ratched), Stefan Kapicic (Deadpool, Deadpool 2), Nikolai Nikolaeff, Woody Norman, Martin Furulund and Chris Walley.

The Last Voyage of The Demeter has been around for ages with previous directors such as David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, Hannibal, American Gods, Black Mirror) and Neil Marshall (Game of Thrones, Westworld, Hellboy, Lost In Space) attaching themselves to only exit. Viggo Mortensen, Noomi Rapace, Jude Law, and Ben Kingsley were reportedly once involved at various stages.

It’s unknown when the film will debut as Amblin recently made a deal with Netflix to fund and distribute original films. There is a good shot that Demeter ends up landing at Netflix.

SOURCE: ANDRE OVREDAL & THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Television News

‘Halo’ Showrunner Steven Kane Exiting Paramount+ Series Once Season 1 Is Complete

One of the more interesting video game adaptations is a new live-action series based on Microsoft’s Halo franchise from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, the project having multiple production shake-ups from losing director M.J. Bassett and even one of it’s showrunners Kyle Killen.

Well, even before it has aired on Paramount+ after switching from Showtime, the sci-fi series has lost a second showrunner. Variety reports that Steven Kane (The Last Ship) is exiting once Season 1 has been completed, star Pablo Schreiber (plays Master Chief) had teased on Instagram that filming in Budapest, Hungary, was wrapping-up and has since been travelling with family.

Halo’s cast also consists of Bookem Woodbine, Charlie Murphy, Olive Gray, Kate Kennedy, Yerin Ha, Jen Taylor, Shabana Azmi, Bentley Kalu, Natasha Culzac, and Danny Spani.

Otto Bathurst, Jonathan Liebesman, Roel Reine, and Jessica Lowery are directing various episodes.

Amblin could certainly find a new showrunner to handle Season 2, but there hasn’t even been a sign that Halo is even going to get a second season. The show I imagine is extremely pricey as it filmed in Budapest where other high-profile sci-fi projects have shot such as Blade Runner 2049, Terminator: Dark Fate, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune remake. It’ll be interesting to see how audiences react to the series when it debuts on Paramount+ in 2022 and if it becomes their flagship series at Paramount+ or they simply finish with a single season.

In the meantime, it was announced that Amblin would partnering with Netflix on a wave of new feature films and The Ronin revealed that Halo director Otto Bathurst is attached to helm/produce an Aurthian show Warlord Chronicles for Epix based on the Bernard Cornwell novels. This development came after his period gangster series Peaky Blinders has ended it’s run. So, it might be difficult to coax Bathurst to return as well.

It’s been an abnormally long production for everyone involved with Halo due to the pandemic that started back in the fall of 2019 and only recently wrapped, which likely has exhausted a lot of people involved with Halo. It’s crew includes production designer Sophie Becher (Mars) alongside cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub (Stargate, Independence Day, Black Book, Ninja Assassin) handling the bulk of the show’s episodes. There is also the expectation the action will be great after hiring stunt coordinator Tom Struthers, who has a laundry list of credits such as The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, Dune, Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

‘Indiana Jones 5’: Harrison Ford Reportedly Injures Shoulder During Fight Scene Rehearsal

Indiana Jones 5 started shooting earlier this month at Pinewood Studios and other spots in the United Kingdom, however, there seems to be a bit of hiccup in filming and isn’t related to COVID-19. There is now a report coming from Deadline that Harrison Ford has injured his shoulder during a rehearsal of an upcoming fight scene. Director James Mangold is said to be shooting around Ford until it’s clear what his status and recovery looks like.

Harrison Ford hurt himself rehearsing a fight scene in Indiana Jones 5, sources tell Deadline. The extent of his injury wasn’t immediately known, but it involves his shoulder. Director James Mangold will continue to shoot around him while the appropriate course of treatment is evaluated. The filming schedule will be reconfigured as needed in the coming weeks.

This wouldn’t be the first injury for Ford, as he got hurt shooting J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens and given that he’s 78, various injuries along the way are expected on an action-centric sequel like Indiana Jones 5. Hopefully, Harrison Ford can have a speedy recovery and production can chug along.

The rest of the cast consists of British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II).  Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident), and Toby Jones (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Captain America: The First Avenger).

Details have yet to be confirmed but a flashback scene that involves a Nazi train and Toby Jones had been shot recently, something most likely that will end up as the film’s opening sequence echoing Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade.

Indiana Jones 5 is set for release on July 29, 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Netflix & Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Announce New Partnership To Develop Multiple New Films

Today, it was announced by streaming giant Netflix that they’ll be partnering with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners to develop multiple new films per year for the streaming service, which includes banners such as Amblin Entertainment, Amblin Television, and DreamWorks Pictures.

This likely means that Amblin is going be increasing it’s output of feature films and that upcoming projects such as their vampire flick Last Voyage of The Demeter along with ones still in development stages, could end up being released by Netflix and likely won’t have as much trouble getting financing. On paper it like a win-win for both media companies.

Here’s is the official press release.

Amblin Partners, the global film and television studio led by Steven Spielberg, and Netflix have announced a partnership that will cover multiple new feature films per year.

“At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways. This new avenue for our films, alongside the stories we continue to tell with our longtime family at Universal and our other partners, will be incredibly fulfilling for me personally since we get to embark on it together with Ted, and I can’t wait to get started with him, Scott, and the entire Netflix team,” said Amblin Partners Chairman Steven Spielberg.

Netflix’s Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said, “Steven is a creative visionary and leader and, like so many others around the world, my growing up was shaped by his memorable characters and stories that have been enduring, inspiring and awakening. We cannot wait to get to work with the Amblin team and we are honored and thrilled to be part of this chapter of Steven’s cinematic history.”

The two companies previously worked together on the Academy Award-nominated The Trial of the Chicago 7, and are currently collaborating on Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein film, Maestro, which is in pre-production.

It’ll be interesting to see what this means for Amblin’s participation with the theatrical experience and this is a sign they could end up walking away completely, outside of deals with Universal Pictures and Disney.

Amblin’s recent projects include the Paramount+ sci-fi action series Halo debuting in 2022, James Mangold’s Indiana Jones 5 at Disney, and Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World: Dominion at Universal Pictures.

SOURCE: NETFLIX

Posted on in Film News

Amblin’s Dracula Flick ‘Last Voyage Of The Demeter’ Enlists ‘Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark’ Cinematographer Roman Osin

The Ronin has been able to confirm that Amblin’s upcoming vampire film Last Voyage of The Demeter has added cinematographer Roman Osin. This will see Osin reunite with Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark director André Øvredal.

Zak Olkewicz (Bullet Train, Fear Street) has written the script, which is based on a single chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel Dracula, which tells the story of the Russian schooner, Demeter, which was charted to carry private cargo (twenty four unmarked wooden creates) from Carpathia to London. The film will detail the strange events that befell the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a terrifying presence onboard the ship. When it finally arrived near Whitby Harbour, it was a derelict. There was no trace of the crew.

The project has been around for ages with previous directors such as David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, Hannibal, American Gods, Black Mirror) and Neil Marshall (Game of Thrones, Westworld, Hellboy, Lost In Space) attaching themselves to only exit. Viggo Mortensen, Noomi Rapace, Jude Law, and Ben Kingsley were reportedly once involved at various stages.

American actor Corey Hawkins has been officially announced by Amblin for taking the lead role in the new horror film. Hawkins’ credits are Kong: Skull Island, The Walking Dead, Straight Outta Compton, In The Heights, BlacKkKlansman, 6 Underground, Non-Stop, and had a brief role in Marvel’s Iron Man 3.

Filming is going to take place in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Other upcoming Amblin projects include Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World: Domination, James Mangold’s Indiana Jones 5, the WWII series Masters of The Air directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, No Time To Die), and a series based on Stephen King’s The Talisman from The Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things).

A release date for Last Voyage of The Demeter has yet to be announced.

Posted on in Film News

‘Ready Player One’ Production Designer Adam Stockhausen Confirmed For ‘Indiana Jones 5’

The Ronin has been able to verify that production designer Adam Stockhausen has indeed joined the crew for Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones 5 which will star Harrison Ford as the titular hero one more time as the new film will be a continuation rather than a reboot, as reaffirmed by studio head Kathleen Kennedy back in 2020.

Adam is a frequent collaborator with directors Wes Anderson and Steven Spielberg as his credits include films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Ready Player One, Bridge of Spies, The French Dispatch, Isle of Dogs, Moonrise Kingdom, Widows, and West Side Story.

He earned an Oscar for his work on Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Logan and Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold last year took over for Steven Spielberg when the filmmaker exited the project and is also rewriting the script for the sequel. James recently hinted on Twitter that the fifth installment might take place in the 1960’s.

Concrete plot details for Indiana Jones 5 are being kept under lock-and-key.

One thing we can likely rely on is that Shia LaBeouf won’t be returning as Indy’s estranged son Mutt given the recent allegations of abuse made by an ex-girlfriend making the idea of having him return a PR nightmare for the studio and headache they can avoid.

Disney has given the untitled Indy film a release date of July 29th, 2022 and suggested back in December production could begin shooting in late spring.