Tag: Denis Villeneuve

Posted on in Film News

Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot Reunite For Paramount’s ‘Cleopatra’ Movie – Written By ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis

Deadline has some interesting news this weekend as Wonder Woman duo of director Patty Jenkins and actress Gal Gadot are set to reunite on a Cleopatra biopic film written by Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Alita: Battle Angel, Altered Carbon, Shutter Island) for Paramount Pictures. The studio won a biding war that included contenders such as Warner Bros., Netflix, Universal, and Apple.

It most recently had Dune and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve attached for a time before it eventually moved to Jenkins.

Cleopatra is the daughter of Ptolemy, ancestor of the leader of Alexander the Great’s army. When Rome’s ruler Julius Caesar’s mentor-turned-rival Pompey fled to Egypt after a brutal war for control of the empire, Egypt became a fixation of Roman rulers. Two siblings battled for the throne of Egypt. After winning that internal struggle by appealing personally to Caesar, Cleopatra had a complicated relationship with Rome, becoming the lover of Caesar and later Marc Antony. The latter alliance would become the undoing of both Antony and Cleopatra.

While Jenkins is currently known for directing Wonder Woman and the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984, she has tackled mostly serious features including the serial killer film Monster that earned Charlize Theron a Best Actress Oscar.

Laeta Kalogridis’ background in the action genre would suggest that the film could be more than strictly a period drama.

When filming is expected to begin is a little unclear at the moment as Gal is currently shooting Netflix’s Red Notice and has other projects in the works as well.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Dune’ Reportedly Delayed To 2021 – Takes Over ‘The Batman’ Release Date On October 1st

According to a report from Collider, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movie will be released on Oct 1st, 2021 after been previously set for a date of December 18th by Warner Bros./Legendary.

The October date was originally meant for Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

This would mean that The Batman would be either given an earlier date or possibly delayed further. I have to imagine given how crowded 2021 has become and it hasn’t completed filming that pushing to a date in 2022 might be the right move. It’s possible it could nab the Black Adam’s release date of December 22nd, 2021 as that film is looking a delay after production was delayed due to Dwayne Johnson finishing up the Netflix film Red Notice.

I’m sure we’ll hear about a new release date very soon once Warner Bros. confirms that Dune is being bumped to 2021.

Wonder Woman 1984 moving to Christmas Day seemed to telegraph that they wanted to bump Dune to a later date, however, I wouldn’t be shocked if that film is pushed into 2021 as well.

Major American theater chain Regal has announced they will be closing their doors again, but some have speculated that the company might not reopen all (not enjoy evidence to support that). Then again, studios pulling their massive movies out of 2020 would give chains plenty of reason to close their doors again as No Time To Die, Black Widow, and now Dune haven’t left them with many options.

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.

The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

SOURCE: COLLIDER

Posted on in Film News

WB Moves ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ To Christmas and Keeps ‘Dune’ In December 18th Spot

This seems like a horrible idea but Warner Bros. has moved Wonder Woman 1984 to December 25th from it’s former October 2nd spot announced via The Hollywood Reporter. The interesting angle here is that the massive film Dune is still slated to be released on December 18th.

This would certainly hurt one or both films releasing them so closely to each other.

I suspect Warner Bros. will realize the issue and bump Dune to another date in 2021 and just hasn’t figured out where to place it.

The Wonder Woman 1984 move sounds like a direct response to Tenet’s weak domestic opening of $20.2 million (estimated) and they’ll be hopeful that things will be better in December.

WONDER WOMAN 1984 – Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah. With director Patty Jenkins back at the helm and Gal Gadot returning in the title role, “Wonder Woman 1984” is Warner Bros. Pictures’ follow up to the DC Super Hero’s first outing, 2017’s record-breaking “Wonder Woman,” which took in $822 million at the worldwide box office. The film also stars Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Kristen Wiig as The Cheetah, Pedro Pascal as Max Lord, Robin Wright as Antiope, and Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

TRAILER: First ‘Dune’ Footage Explores Fantastic World of The Sci-Fi Epic

Today, Legendary and Warner Bros. have finally revealed the first official trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s new feature film iteration of Frank Herbert’s science fiction fantasy masterpiece Dune. 

You can watch the first trailer below along with an interview from super-fan Stephen Colbert as Twitter Movies is streaming the reveal event.

The studio is splitting the first novel into two movies with the sequel expected to be titled Dune: Part Two and is currently being worked on by screenwriter Jon Spaihts. 

Author Frank Herbert left the Denis and Legendary plenty of material to use as he wrote six rather hefty novels before son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson took over the franchise writing multiple installments in various points in the mythology. 

A spinoff series in the works for HBO Max called Dune: The Sisterhood that will see Denis direct the pilot and produce the series. 

Dune is set for release on December 18th, but there is a shot it could be delayed to 2021 like a majority of other 2020 films. 

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.

The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

SOURCE: WARNER BROS

Posted on in Film News

Timothee Chalamet Teases First ‘Dune’ Trailer Coming This Month and Director Denis Villeneuve Calls It His Dream Project

While we’re excited to see any footage from Legendary’s upcoming Dune movie, actor Timothee Chalamet has teased on Twitter that a trailer might be dropping this month. 

Also, an in-depth interview with director Denis Villeneuve for the Shanghai International Film Festival made it’s way online recently via Secrets of Dune and he talked about finishing Dune on time during the pandemic while in Canada. Along with mentioning the casting of Timothee as Paul Atreides and Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho. 

He also reveals the impact of Dune on his career and calling it his “dream project”. 

You can watch that below. 

They’re expected to do some additional filming in Budapest, Hungary soon. 

The studio is splitting the first novel into two movies with the sequel expected to be titled Dune: Part Two and is currently being worked on by screenwriter Jon Spaihts. 

Author Frank Herbert left the Denis and Legendary plenty of material to use as he wrote six rather hefty novels before son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson took over the franchise writing multiple installments in various points in the mythology. 

A spinoff series in the works for HBO Max called Dune: The Sisterhood that will see Denis direct the pilot and produce the series. 

Dune is set for release on December 18th, but there is a shot it could be delayed to 2021 like a majority of other 2020 films. 

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.

The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

Posted on in Film News

Jared Leto Wants To Return To The World of ‘Blade Runner 2049’ With An Origin Story For Villain Niander Wallace

Last week, actor Jared Leto took to Twitter suggesting that he’d like to return to the role of Niander Wallace, the overreaching villain of Blade Runner 2049. He seems to want to tackle an origin story about Wallace.

LETO: “Maybe we can do a Niander Wallace origin story one day. Would be interesting to see where this mad man came from. He must have had some history. I have some ideas…”

Wallace’s fate is unknown at the end of the film has he zipped off-world in a ship to one of the many human colonies. The villain is behind the latest version of the disposable workforce with his version of the Replicants. 

Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve has teased in the past he’d like to return to the world of Blade Runner as well, but suggested he wouldn’t be interested in making another sequel. 

A Blade Runner live-action series might not be out of the realm of possibilities as Villeneuve is producing and expected to direct the pilot for the Dune spinoff series for HBO Max titled Dune: The Sisterhood and there is already an animated series set in the universe of Blade Runner coming soon with Blade Runner: Black Lotus. 

SOURCE: JARED LETO

Posted on in Film News

‘Dune’ Officially Returning To Budapest For Additional Photography In August

Deadline has revealed that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune will be returning to Budapest, Hungary to film an unknown amount of additional photography. The film is the latest adaptation of the sci-fi novels written by Frank Herbert.

Filming had previously taken place at Origo Film Studios in Budapest along with exterior shoots in Norway and Jordan.

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.

It’s cast includes Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Zendaya, and David Dastmalchian.

Legendary is already developing a sequel will act as Part 2 of the first novel with screenwriter Jon Spaihts currently working on the script. There is also an HBO Max series in the works titled Dune: The Sisterhood.

The release date has been set for December 18th, but with all the various shifting dates for Warner Bros. movies, it’s hard to assume that they’ll ultimately stick to that holiday spot.

SOURCE: DEADLINE