Collider is reporting that Zac Efron has landed the role of Andy McGee in Blumhouse’s remake of the sci-fi action thriller Firestarter based on the Stephen King novel. Andy is the father of Charlie a young girl with telekinesis powers that include the ability to create fire out of thin air. Keith Thomas will direct a script penned by Halloween Kills screenwriter Scott Teems.
Zac Efron’s Netflix series Down To Earth turned heads when the actor revealed his “dad bod” which has led to him now playing dad roles.
The original 1984 film starred Drew Barrymore as Charlie.
Firestarter was a huge influence on the Netflix series Stranger Things.
Universal Pictures hasn’t given the film a release date.
FIRESTARTER – As youths, Andy McGee (David Keith) and his future wife, Vicky (Heather Locklear), participated in secret experiments, allowing themselves to be subjected to mysterious medical tests. Years later, the couple’s daughter, Charlie (Drew Barrymore), begins to exhibit the ability of setting fires solely with her mind. This volatile talent makes the youngster extremely dangerous and soon she becomes a target for the enigmatic agency known as “The Shop.”
Scott Derrickson Teases Remaking John Carpenter’s ‘They Live’ – Matt Reeves Almost Made A Reboot Of The Film For Universal
Yesterday there was an update that John Carpenter and Blumhouse would be working together on an upcoming remake of The Thing based on the lost manuscript Frozen Hell, the longer original version of Who Goes There? written by John W. Campbell.
It was interesting to see another John Carpenter remake being brought-up by Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson. He says his kids are trying to convince him to remake the 1988 film They Live starring Roddy Piper and Kieth David. The film was a political satire covering classism wrapped around an alien invasion action film.
My 17-year-old is trying to convince me to pursue a remake of THEY LIVE.
— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) August 22, 2020
They Live has seen a newfound relevancy given what is currently going on in the United States with violence and misinformation being used to pacify citizens questioning authority, the system, and current leadership. It was a direct product and commentary of the Ronald Reagan era from Carpenter.
THEY LIVE – Nada (Roddy Piper), a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.
Scott recently exited Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness and is now attached to make a sequel to Jim Henson’s Labyrinth.
Like The Thing, They Live was an adaptation of an existing science fiction story turned into a screenplay by John Carpenter. In the case of They Live, it was loosely based on Ray Nelson’s short story Eight O’Clock In The Morning.
While we’re not sure of any active plans for a reboot, there have been attempts in the past with Universal Pictures hiring Matt Reeves in 2011 to both write and direct the project. Reeves seemingly being hired after he successfully did an English remake of the Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In with his version Let Me In.
Of course, Reeves ended up making Dawn of The Planet of The Apes and War For The Planet of The Apes for 20th Century Fox instead of tackling a They Live remake for Universal Pictures. He’s currently in production on The Batman reboot in England which recently dropped an impressive teaser trailer cobbled together with footage from a shoot that was only 25-30% complete when it was placed on hiatus due to the pandemic.
It doesn’t seem like Reeves is in any position to return to the They Live reboot given that he’s been talking about complete a Batman trilogy with Robert Pattinson’s incarnation of the DC Comics hero.
There is a strong chance that Universal, Blumhouse, and John Carpenter could eventually make a deal for They Live after reviving Halloween and is expected to remake The Thing as well.
Variety is reporting that Universal and Blumhouse are indeed developing a reboot of the classic science fiction horror film The Thing and are getting John Carpenter involved, not unlike with their recent revivals of the Halloween franchise.
This isn’t exactly new information, however, John Carpenter’s reported involvement certainly is. What his exact role on the project will be isn’t clear but becoming an executive producer and consultant would be an excellent bet to make.
Back in January, it was announced by John Betancourt that Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions were aiming to fast-track a new version/remake of The Thing based on the lost manuscript version Frozen Hell, which is much longer and predates the original novella Who Goes There? from author John W. Campbell Jr.
“In 1938, acclaimed science fiction author John W. Campbell published the novella Who Goes There?, about a team of scientists in Antarctica who discover and are terrorized by a monstrous, shape-shifting alien entity. The story would later be adapted into John Carpenter’s iconic movie The Thing (following an earlier film adaptation in 1951). The published novella was actually an abridged version of Campbell’s original story, called Frozen Hell, which had to be shortened for publication. The Frozen Hell manuscript remained unknown and unpublished for decades, and it was only recently rediscovered.”
The novella was adapted into two films with John’s 1982 film The Thing and 1951’s The Thing From Another World, there was also a disastrous prequel to 1982 film released in 2011 which was a commercial flop for Universal and famously ruined practical effects by painting CGI all over it.
Variety also points out that Carpenter revealed talks with Blumhouse and their plan to reboot The Thing has taken place during a Q&A at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
CARPENTER: “I have? I don’t know about that, but we’ve talked about — I think he’s going to be working on The Thing, rebooting ‘The Thing.’ I’m involved with that, maybe. Down the road.”
It was suggested back in January it was being fast-tracked but a screenwriter isn’t being named in this new report.
The Carpenter film is considered the apex of practical special effects.
THE THING – In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. When they take in the dog, it brutally attacks both human beings and canines in the camp and they discover that the beast can assume the shape of its victims. A resourceful helicopter pilot (Kurt Russell) and the camp doctor (Richard Dysart) lead the camp crew in a desperate, gory battle against the vicious creature before it picks them all off, one by one.
It looks like Blumhouse and Universal Pictures has found the director for their upcoming Wolfman reboot starring Canadian actor Ryan Gosling (Blade Runner 2049).
Deadline reports that Leigh Whannell has been tapped and is currently negotiating to direct.
Leigh gave Universal their post-Dark Universe hit with Universal Monsters character The Invisible Man, the modern remake of the H.G. Wells story. That success likely is behind the reason why Universal/Blumhouse wanted him to tackle another iconic monster like the wolfman.
Whannell wrote the treatment with Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo tackling the script.
There had been some previous comparisons to thriller Nightcrawler and will have a modern setting.
When filming is expected to begin is a little unclear.
THE RONIN 