New Films in Production

[Dadapass]

From the latest issue of Film Comment: Gaspar Noé's next film will be a love story that is "50 percent sperm, 50 percent tears" and will be titled MCP.

Plus, this may be old news to some but Isabelle Huppert will be in Brillante Mendoza's next film Captured.

[Numero Trois]

We now have a hilarious review of the film! Sadly it seems like we should stick with our copies of Deep Rising as the standard bearer for entertainingly cheesy oceanic disaster films.

The question is if it's better of worse than Ghost Ship. The latter does have at least one scene thats hilarious at least in concept. For strong stomachs only.

[colinr0380]

Yes, that's a great example of only needing to watch the first five minutes and then turning the film off to not have to sit through the next ninety minutes of 'creeping about in murky corridors with the occasional gratuitous jump scare' until the damp squib (almost said "damp squid", which would certainly have livened things up! A damp ghost squid even more!) ending. Though all those Dark Castle semi-remakes have that problem.

The other recent nautical horror film that comes to mind was that film Virus (from the special effects supervisor of James Cameron's films! Who obviously has some issues with the Mir Space Station!), which features an unhinged performance by Donald Sutherland who starts off crazy before it appears that his character has to become truly insane later on (which leads to the unintentionally comic scene where the rest of the crew have to suddenly 'realise' that he has gone looney tunes, as if he hadn't been before). However Virus is undermined by the enormous beatings that Jamie Lee Curtis gets in the lead role - all heroines in sci-fi/action/horror films have to have a few knocks, but you know it has gone a bit too far when by the finale you find yourself wishing that the filmmakers could just leave her alone for a second!

[chaddoli]

Paul Thomas Anderson's Untitled Religious Drama Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman & Jeremy Renner "Postponed Indefinitely"

http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2010/09 ... itled.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One of the commenters blames CAA, whose two biggest clients are Tom Cruise and Will Smith. I'm honestly not surprised he's facing these hurdles given the material. But the Renner quote is also very ambiguous, implying it could be creative issues holding them back as well?

[Kellen]

Paul Thomas Anderson's Untitled Religious Drama Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman & Jeremy Renner "Postponed Indefinitely"

http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2010/09 ... itled.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One of the commenters blames CAA, whose two biggest clients are Tom Cruise and Will Smith. I'm honestly not surprised he's facing these hurdles given the material. But the Renner quote is also very ambiguous, implying it could be creative issues holding them back as well?

First I have to wait even longer for Malick's film. Now this? Man this sucks...

[Howard Roark]

Has anyone heard any news about Polanski's upcoming God of Carnage?

[petevoelker]

Has anyone heard any news about Polanski's upcoming God of Carnage?

Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Matt Dillon, and Christoph Waltz were just cast.

[Kellen]

New Wes Anderson film to start shooting in Spring:
http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2010/09 ... lm-in.html

[ianungstad]

Does anyone have any information on the new Nic Roeg film "Night Train" that's going into production soon? On his Facebook he has a status update from back in July which stated that they finished casting and the film will star Nic Nolte, Michael Masden and Sigourney Weaver.

I would love for Roeg to make one last great movie...

[ianungstad]

Jane Campion is returning to television for her next project which will be a six part mini-series titled "Top of the Lake" for the BBC that she will write and direct. It will run next fall/winter as six hour long episodes.

Hopefully one of the cable channels in the states pick up North American rights. Wouldn't be surprised if it ended up airing on AMC or HBO.

This is her first work for television since An Angel at my Table.

[colinr0380]

In addition to the Campion, the BBC are also producing a new play by David Hare and doing a Shakespeare season overseen by Sam Mendes.

However it also looks as if they are likely to lose the rights to screen Mad Men to Rupert Murdoch's pay TV service. (EDIT: They have)

[Numero Trois]

Borat, the "sequel"

A Kazakh director is shooting an unauthorized sequel to the Hollywood film "Borat," which left some Kazakhs feeling insulted by its depiction of a naïve easterner bumbling through America. In response, director Erkin Rakishev has set out to show the “real” Kazakhstan to the world.

[Kellen]

Emma Stone is reportedly being offered the role of Mary Jane Watson in the Spider Man reboot.

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/10/02/emm ... pider-man/

[oldsheperd]

Not much of a Spiderman fan myself, but I guess Brian Michael Bednis has been consulted so it can't be all too bad. It would be nice to see a Daredevil reboot with heavy story contributions from Bendis. He's the best writer of DD since Frank Miller.

[Markson]

Apparently, Zack Snyder will be directing the new Nolan-produced Superman film.

[Cold Bishop]

So will we get a gay, black, foreign Lex Luthor this time?

[Zumpano]

David O. Russel to direct videogame movie Drake's Fortune. WTF?

[petevoelker]

William Friedkin working on next project starring ... Matthew McConaughey

[Cold Bishop]

Well, if his last few films are any indication, it's a good sign that he's sticking with a stage adaptation. It's even the same writer (Tracy Letts) as Bug.

[ianungstad]

Disney has apparently shelved the Miramax slate again. They decided it wasn't in their best interest to release films that they weren't going to make the lion's share of profit on.

Both The Debt and Don't be Afraid of the Dark were suppose to open over the next month or two. Last Night, I don't think had a release date announced.

Ron Tutor will apparently be shopping these titles around to other theatrical distributors after the deal is finalized over the next month.

It's unfortunate. The Debt has already had a number of festival screenings this year and Del Toro has already started doing p+r on Don't be Afraid of the Dark. Kind of a momentum killer.

[domino harvey]

Amy Adams is joining the new Muppet movie-- a real battle of boundless enthusiasm is about to unfurl

[ianungstad]

From Deadline:

In a deal that puts him back into that saucy Basic Instinct territory, Paul Verhoeven has made a deal to direct Eternal, a supernatural thriller that is Fatal Attraction--with a succubus temptress. The film was developed by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment from a pitch by David Loughery (Obsessed), who wrote the script. Verhoeven comes aboard along with Richard D’Ovidio (Exit Wounds), who'll do a rewrite. Eternal shapes up as a possible next project for Verhoeven, with production targeted for next summer.

In Eternal, a married recovering alcoholic helps a woman threatening to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. They end up in bed, and in a torrid sexual affair. When he gets home, he’s confronted by his wife and a private investigator, with photos spread across a table. He thinks he’s busted, but the photos that should have shown him in the clinches with his mistress instead show him alone, drinking alcohol. He initially questions his own sanity, but progressively figures out that this temptress is a ghost who is after his soul. The picture will be produced by Kimmel, Greene Street Films' John Penotti, A Bigger Boat’s Peter Block and Sparkler Entertainment’s Charles Segars.

Under new production head Matt Berenson, the reconfigured SKE intends to finance and produce generate 3 to 5 pictures per year with budgets ranging from $10 million to $25 million. ICM repped Verhoeven and the writers.

[Matt]

Sounds like total trash. I'll be there opening day.

[willoneill]

I assume we're talking a naked ghost, right?

[Highway 61]

Sounds like total trash. I'll be there opening day.

Save me a seat. If he casts Carice van Houten as the female lead, I'll have a stroke.