Tag: Sin City

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Star Wars’ Actress Rosario Dawson Is The Latest Addition To Disney’s ‘Haunted Mansion’

Disney’s new Haunted Mansion movie is filling up roles with actors such as LaKeith Stanfield (Uncut Gems, Judas & The Black Messiah, Knives Out), Tiffany Haddish (The Card Counter), and Owen Wilson (The French Dispatch, Loki) joining the haunted-house pic.

Another name has been added to the call-sheet, according to Deadline.

Actress Rosario Dawson after recently wrapping on Clerks 3 has reportedly nabbed herself a role in the family-friendly horror film from director Justin Simien (Dear White People). Her credits include Sin City, The Mandalorian, Clerks II, Daredevil, Luke Cage, The Rundown, and the HBO Max comic book series DMZ.

Haunted Mansion is a film based on Disney’s beloved spooky theme park attraction similar to previous films Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl, Jungle Cruise, and the unfortunate flop Tomorrowland.

She’s not new to the world of horror appearing in Zombieland: Double Tap and Quentin Tarantino’s unique slasher flick Death Proof.

It’s starting to sound like Dawson won’t be shooting her spinoff Star Wars show Ahsoka anytime soon given that Haunted Mansion begins filming next month in Atlanta, the cast is said to be an ensemble which could mean she’d have to be on set for a majority of the shoot alongside her co-stars. A potential start sometime in 2022 for Ahsoka is looking more realistic.

Speaking of Star Wars, Lucasfilm announced in late 2020 that Justin Simien would be behind a new Disney+ series focusing on Lando Calrissian, but we don’t have a clear picture when that Star Wars project is going begin shooting given that Simien will be busy with Haunted Mansion for the next year or so, and Donald Glover has his own projects coming out the wazoo.

THE HAUNTED MANSION – Workaholic real estate agent Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) is accused by his wife, Sara (Marsha Thomason), of neglecting his son (Marc John Jefferies) and daughter (Aree Davis), so he takes the family on a vacation. Along the way, the family stops off at a sinister mansion that Jim has been asked to sell, only to discover it’s haunted by Master Gracey (Nathaniel Parker) ; his stern butler, Ramsley (Terence Stamp) ; and two other servants who need some help breaking a curse.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in News

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

Quentin Tarantino Muses That Longtime Pal Robert Rodriguez Should Direct ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Spinoff Movie Focused On ‘Lancer’

Quentin Tarantino has been on a press tour to promote his new novelization as Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and while he’s spend a lot of time talking about hypothetical things he might direct (likely won’t), he mused during an interview with The Q&A With Jeff Goldsmith Podcast (via The Playlist) about Robert Rodriguez directing a spinoff film about the Lancer stuff, where Timothy Olyphant played James Stacy aka Johnny Madrid Lancer.

“I actually imagine when I send Robert Rodriguez Once Upon A Time In Hollywood [the novelization], I think he’s going to read the book and go, ‘Well, what’s going on with Lancer? If you don’t want to do it, I’ll do it! I could see that being a great Robert Rodriguez movie,” Tarantino said on the podcast about Rodriguez potentially being allowed to make a spinoff film.

The pair have a longstanding relationship as Quentin Tarantino appeared as an actor in Robert’s Desperado, Planet Terror as part of their double-feature experiment Grindhouse, and the vampire pic From Dusk Till Dawn (also written by Tarantino). They also co-directed on rarely talked about Tim Roth-led hotel anthology Four Rooms the first Sin City movie.

However, Rodriguez is busy as it comes. He recently wrapped on the Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett for Lucasfilm, is currently working on the Ben Affleck thriller Hypnotic, and also developing a sequel to We Can Be Heroes for Netflix. It remains to be seen if he’d want to make a Lancer movie but being a workaholic he’d find time at some point.

SOURCE: THE Q&A WITH JEFF GOLDSMITH PODCAST

Posted on in Film News

Robert Rodriguez Thriller ‘Hypnotic’ Starring Ben Affleck To Begin Shooting July 27th At Troublemaker Studios In Austin

Despite Robert Rodriguez’s original intention to shoot his next film Hypnotic in California, the film starring Ben Affleck is instead reportedly heading to Austin, Texas. 

Even though Texas has become a new hot-spot in the United States for coronavirus, the Austin Chronicle is reporting that the Affleck project is going to attempt to begin shooting next month in the state at Robert’s Troublemaker Studios facility located in East Austin around July 27th. 

The high-end estimates of Hypnotic’s budget are said to be in the range of $80 million. However, with the explosion of new cases in Texas, I wouldn’t be shocked if the shoot is delayed beyond the summer. Production was originally planned to begin in late April.

The film’s script was penned by Rodriguez and Monsterverse screenwriter Max Borenstein (Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of The Monsters, Godzilla vs Kong). 

Ben Affleck has been set to star in Robert Rodriguez’s action-thriller Hypnotic, playing a detective who, while investigating a string of impossible high-end heists, becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program.

Robert recently worked on the Netflix superhero film We Can Be Heroes along with directing on Season 2 of the Star Wars live-action series The Mandalorian for Lucasfilm/Disney. He also released the cyberpunk film Alita: Battle Angel last year for 20th Century Studios, the manga adaption was a collaboration with blockbuster filmmaker and producer James Cameron. 

I’ve learned that cinematographer David Klein, who worked with Robert on The Mandalorian, is expected to reunite with him on Hypnotic. 

If they do end up starting production this summer or fall there is a good shot that it’ll be ready for release sometime next year.

Affleck had wrapped his erotic thriller Deep Water with co-star Ana de Armas and had been shooting a smaller role in Ridley Scott’s period drama The Last Duel before the production shutdown earlier this year.

SOURCE: AUSTIN CHRONICLE