Tag: Westworld

Posted on in News, Television News

‘Westworld’: ‘Reminiscence’ & ‘Collateral’ Cinematographer Paul Cameron Confirmed To Return For Season 4

Westworld Season 4 is indeed moving forward at HBO as production recently had to pause filming this month due to a positive COVID test (House of The Dragon had to pause too). The sci-fi thriller series is based on the Michael Crichton film that was released back in 1973 and landed a sequel in 1976 called Futureworld.

A dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the question of free will, the show was created for television by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, who are also executive producers. Nolan directed the season’s premiere episode, which has surpassed nine million viewers across all platforms.

Last month, Deadline announced actress Aurora Perrineau would be joining the next season.

The Ronin can confirm that cinematographer Paul Cameron will return to shoot an episode for Season 4. Cameron is known for his string of action film credits that include Michael Mann’s Collateral, Tony Scott’s Man On Fire, Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot, Swordfish, and Dead Man Down.

Cameron previously worked on Jonathan Nolan-directed episodes of Westworld and could suggest that Nolan will helm this Season 4 one that the cinematographer is involved with.

He also worked on Lisa Joy’s Reminiscence, the feature film directorial debut of the Westworld showrunner that stars Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson with a theatrical/HBO Max release date of August 20.

REMINISCENCE – Nick Bannister (Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?

Posted on in Film News

Director Lisa Joy Teases Follow-Up To Her Cyberpunk Film ‘Reminiscence’ Starring Hugh Jackman

Westworld’s Lisa Joy is making her feature film directorial debut with the cyberpunk thriller Reminiscence that will hit theaters and HBO Max on August 20. While speaking with Empire Magazine, the filmmaker briefly teased some ideas she is developing for a follow-up movie, but isn’t calling it a sequel but a “cousin.”

“It’s a distant cousin, not a sequel. It’s an evolution in theme and a conception of the world and man’s place within it. Plus, there’s a lot of action. I wanted to create a new type of action,” teases Joy. “It’s taking different bits from different cultures and kind of fusing a new way of approaching action that I think will be exciting,” Lisa Joy teased to Empire about her plans for an untitled second film.

At one time, there was going to be a Black Cat (a Spider-Man character) movie at Sony Pictures written by Lisa Joy before the project was altered to be team-up film Silver & Black to be directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard). The Marvel project ultimately was killed and the fate of the character in future films is up in the air.

Joy is behind the Amazon Prime Video series adaptation of the William Gibson cyberpunk novel The Peripheral and is also developing a series based on the beloved video game franchise Fallout.

REMINISCENCE – Nick Bannister (Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?

SOURCE: EMPIRE

Posted on in Film News

Quentin Tarantino Reveals He Was Offered A Chance To Remake Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Westworld’ With A Script From ‘Overlord’s Billy Ray

Quentin Tarantino spoke to The Big Picture Podcast (via The Playlist) to promote his novelization of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. During that chat, the filmmaker revealing that around the time of his Grindhouse double-feature experiment (Death Proof and Planet Terror) flopped at the box office he was offered a couple of IP projects such as DC Comics film Sgt. Rock and Westworld remake that was being written by Billy Ray. The latter would have been Tarantino’s first entry into the sci-fi genre before attempting to get a Star Trek film together with the help of Mark L. Smith (The Revenant).

If you’re not familiar with Westworld, it was an original film that was released back in 1973 and was written/directed by author Michael Crichton, who is best known as the writer of Jurassic Park and The Lost World. It focuses on a futuristic theme park with realistic robots that exist to be killed and screwed by guests, that’s until the robots malfunction and start killing their human guests.

Westworld is a futuristic theme park where paying guests can pretend to be gunslingers in an artificial Wild West populated by androids. After paying a sizable entrance fee, Blane (James Brolin) and Martin (Richard Benjamin) are determined to unwind by hitting the saloons and shooting off their guns. But when the system goes haywire and Blane is killed in a duel with a robotic gunslinger (Yul Brynner), Martin’s escapist fantasy suddenly takes on a grim reality.

The project eventually was remade at HBO as a series from Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, it’s heading into it’s fourth season.

Billy Ray is certainly a competent screenwriter with credits such as The Comey Rule, Richard Jewell, Terminator: Dark Fate, Gemini Man, Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games, State of Play, and the Bad Robot WWII horror movie Overlord.

Quentin Tarantino plans on retiring from feature film directing after making his 10th movie, but has yet to announce that will be and has working on a Bounty Law mini-series that will likely be next for him.

SOURCE: THE BIG PICTURE PODCAST

Posted on in Television News

‘Ghost In The Shell’ & ‘F9’ Production Designer Jan Reolfs Confirmed For Amazon’s Cyberpunk Series ‘The Peripheral’; From The Co-Creators Of HBO’s ‘Westworld’

Westworld co-creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan are behind the Amazon series The Peripheral, an adaptation of the William Gibson novel with Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, Shadow In The Cloud) and Irish actor Jack Reynor (Midsommar, Free Fire) set to play the show’s leads.

The William Gibson novel centers on Flynne (Grace Moretz) and her brother Burton (Reynor). Burton, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps’ elite Haptic Recon force, is hired for a security job which takes place in what he thinks is cyberspace. When Flynne temporarily takes his place, she witnesses something that might have been murder.

The Ronin can confirm that the Amazon series has indeed enlisted production designer Jan Reolfs, who is likely best known for working on the gorgeous box office disaster Ghost In The Shell starring Scarlett Johansson, the Keanu Reeves fantasy film 47 Ronin loosely inspired by Japanese historical events, and Universal’s massive blockbuster F9 that is about cross $300 million at the global box office before it’s domestic debut later this week.

Having previously tackled the world of cyberpunk with Ghost In Shell, it would suggest The Peripheral is going to look stunning. Hopefully, it will be a stronger and compelling adaptation than the 2017 film from director Rupert Sanders.

Production will take place around London with Vincenzo Natali set to direct the show’s pilot. Natali’s extensive credits include The Stand, Westworld, American Gods, The Strain, Lost In Space, Locke & Key, Luke Cage, Hannibal, Orphan Black, Splice, and Cube.

Gibson, alongside Philip K. Dick, is considered one of the fathers of the cyberpunk genre. Dick’s work, of course, inspired feature films such as Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall. The Peripheral isn’t the only William Gibson adaptation in the works as we’ve previously reported that Luther creator Neil Cross is looking to turn his novel Pattern Recognition into a project as well and has yet to be officially announced.

Lisa Joy is making her feature film directorial debut with the Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson dystopian cyberpunk film Reminiscence, which will hit both theaters and HBO Max on August 20.

REMINISCENCE – Nick Bannister (Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?

Posted on in Film News

‘John Wick 4’: Hiroyuki Sanada Joins Keanu Reeves & Donnie Yen; Will He Play A High Table Member?

John Wick 4 is quickly becoming one of the most anticipated action films alongside The Matrix. Another big name in action films has joined the upcoming sequel, as Collider reports that veteran Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada has joined the growing cast and plays a mysterious character named Watanabe.

While Sanada better known to western audiences for his Hollywood parts in projects like The Wolverine, Westworld, The Last Samurai, and Avengers: Endgame, he started in Japanese cinema as an action star similar to Sonny Chiba and would likely be able to do action scenes with limited help from a stunt double. 

The cast already consists of Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, Donnie Yen, Shamier Anderson, Bill Skarsgard, and British singer-turned-actress Rina Sawayama.

He previously worked with Keanu Reeves in the fantasy film 47 Ronin.

It wouldn’t be shocking if Sanada is playing a member of The High Table as there is a seat from the Japanese Yakuza. Hiroyuki Sanada had been linked for a villain role in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, but had to drop out over scheduling issues. That part was High Table assassin Zero, who was played by Mark Dacascos.

Japan is also a confirmed filming location.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ended with John surviving the fall from the roof of The Continental hotel after Ian McShane’s Winston shot him, Winston’s motivations weren’t entirely clear as he didn’t seem shocked that Mr. Wick got away and could be giving The High Table a false sense of security. Wick eventually lands at the feet of Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King, who had his organization taken away from him by The High Table and convinces John to go to war with him against the mysterious group of criminal syndicate puppet masters. 

Production will kick-off this month at Germany’s Babelsberg Film Studios and has a release date from Lionsgate for May 27, 2022.

Franchise director Chad Stahelski returns for the four installment as the studio is pursuing John Wick 5 and having Stahelski tackle a Highlander reboot that may star Henry Cavill.

SOURCE: COLLDIER

Posted on in Film News

UPDATE: J.J. Abrams-Produced Action Flick ‘Lou’ Starring Allison Janey & Jurnee Smollett Adds Cinematographer

The Ronin has learned that the latest action film from Netflix, Lou, has nabbed cinematographer Michael McDonough (I Am The Night, Fear The Walking Dead, Bosch, Pieces of Her). Bad Robot and J.J. Abrams are producing the film that stars Oscar-winner Allison Janey (Juno, Mom) and Jurnee Smollett (Birds of Prey, Lovecraft Country, Escape From Spiderhead) that is set to begin filming soon in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The story centers on a woman whose daughter is kidnapped, so she teams up with the mysterious older woman next door to pursue the kidnapper — a journey into the wilderness that will test their limits and expose dark and shocking secrets from their pasts.

It will be directed by German filmmaker Anna Foerster, who previously helmed Underworld: Blood Wars.

Foerster also worked on episodes of Outlander, Jessica Jones, Westworld (explains the Bad Robot connection), and Carnival Row. At one time, she was attached to direct a sequel to Duncan Jones’ sci-fi thriller Source Code. As a second unit director, working on big action projects such as The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 B.C., and the Charlize Theron pic Æon Flux.

Production is said to begin next week in Vancouver and wrap in late August. This comes after there were extensive delays due to the pandemic in 2020, but things are getting better allowing more productions to begin in various Canadian cities.

I’m sure we’ll be getting more casting announcements in the coming weeks.

Abrams and Bad Robot closed a development deal with WarnerMedia which already has them working on a new Superman film featuring a black incarnation of the iconic superhero and a Justice League Dark series at HBO Max, among other projects.

Netflix hasn’t given Lou an official release date.

Posted on in Television News

‘Midsommar’s Jack Reynor Takes Lead Role In Amazon Cyberpunk Series ‘The Peripheral’ From Lisa Joy & Jonathan Nolan

Westworld showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan are developing a series adaptation of William Gibson’s science fiction novel The Peripheral for Amazon. It was created by Scott B. Smith and will be showrun by Greg Plageman.

There is news of another casting addition to The Peripheral as Deadline reports that Irish actor Jack Reynor has taken a lead role of in the show. He’ll be playing Burton, the Marine brother of Chloe Grace Moretz’s Flynne.

The book centers on Flynne (Moretz) and her brother Burton (Reynor). In the novel, Burton, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps’ elite Haptic Recon force, is hired for a security job which takes place in what he thinks is cyberspace. When Flynne temporarily takes his place, she witnesses something that might have been murder.

Jack Reynor is likely best known from Transformers: Age of Extinction, Ben Wheatley’s action comedy Free Fire, and Ari Aster’s horror flick Midsommar.

If you’re not aware, author William Gibson is one of the fathers of the cyberpunk genre. His first novel, Neuromancer, was published in 1984 and became popular in the wake of the release of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. That film was based on the work of legendary science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, another famous author connected to the creation of cyberpunk. At one point, Gibson attempted to write a screenplay for an early incarnation of Alien 3 that never got made but was eventually turned into graphic novel by Dark Horse Comics.

Lisa Joy is making her feature film debut with the Hugh Jackman sci-fi thriller Reminiscence for Warner Bros. and Jonathan Nolan is an accomplished Hollywood screenwriter. Jonathan writing scripts for his brother, Christopher Nolan, those projects include The Prestige, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar. The pair are producing via their production company Kilter Films which is also working on a series based on the post-Apocalypse video game franchise Fallout.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Hugh Jackman’s Dystopian Sci-Fi Movie ‘Reminiscence’ Directed By ‘Westworld’s Lisa Joy Coming To Theaters & HBO Max On September 3rd

Today, Warner Bros. has announced that their upcoming sci-fi drama Reminiscence has landed a late summer release as it will drop on September 3rd in theaters and on HBO Max.

The project is part of WarnerMedia’s controversial day-and-date release model.

Directed by Westworld’s Lisa Joy, the film stars X-Men actor Hugh Jackman, who plays a private eye who deals in recapturing vivid cherished memories for clients. He becomes vexed by one of those clients played by Mission: Impossible’s Rebecca Ferguson. The setting takes place slightly in the future as Miami has been transformed by climate change as much of the city submerged underwater.

Other actors in the film include Thandie Newton and Cliff Curtis.

A trailer is likely just around the corner as we’ve seen a glimpse of footage from a recent HBO Max promo. I’m curious if Reminiscence will skew more in the realm of Inception.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

Posted on in Television News

‘Constantine’ Getting Dark HBO Max Series Reboot From J.J. Abrams & Bad Robot

After it was previously announced that J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot would be working on a Justice League Dark series, there is word from Deadline that he’ll also be working on a new Constantine series reboot that will be written by Guy Bolton based on the occult DC Comics character. Bolton is said to be prepping to open a writers’ room next month.

The report stating the new version will skew darker than the previous series. Matt Ryan most recently played John after the Keanu Reeves film released back in 2005, they are reportedly seeking a diverse young actor to play the new version.

This is part of the overall deal that Bad Robot has with WarnerMedia. Abrams is also a producer on HBO’s Lovecraft Country and Westworld.

It’ll be interesting to see if this project will directly connect to that Justice League Dark show in development given that John Constantine is a key character on that team. Justice League Dark originally was put together as film for Guillermo del Toro before the studio attempted to give to other directors before deciding to turn it into a series instead.

CONSTANTINE – As a suicide survivor, demon hunter John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) has literally been to hell and back — and he knows that when he dies, he’s got a one-way ticket to Satan’s realm unless he can earn enough goodwill to climb God’s stairway to heaven. While helping policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) investigate her identical twin’s apparent suicide, Constantine becomes caught up in a supernatural plot involving both demonic and angelic forces. Based on the DC/Vertigo “Hellblazer” comics.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘The Wolverine’s Hiroyuki Sanada Joins Brad Pitt In ‘Bullet Train’

Deadline reports that Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada (Westworld) has taken a role in Sony’s Bullet Train, an action film is set on a Japanese bullet train filled that happens to be filled with assassins with various motivations.

Hiroyuki Sanada is a legendary actor in Japan along with roles in Hollywood films such as The Last Samurai, The Wolverine, and had a brief cameo in Avengers: Endgame playing a Yakuza boss. I have to assume he would be playing some sort of Yakzua character in the film given the subject matter.

The rest of the cast consists of Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Joey King (The Dark Knight Rises), Andrew Koji (G.I. Joe Origins: Snake Eyes), Michael Shannon (Knives Out, Man of Steel), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla, Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla vs Kong, Widows, Joker, Eternals), Logan Lerman (Fury, Hunters), Lady Gaga (Gucci, A Star Is Born, Machete Kills), Masi Oka (Heroes), and Zazie Beetz (Joker, Deadpool 2).

Filming is taking place in Los Angeles with director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, John Wick, Atomic Blonde) at the helm.

SOURCE: DEADLINE