For a while it looked like Whitney Houston was getting her life back on track and she even planned a return to cinemas, shooting a role in Sparkle (as well as producing), which is her first film since the TV movie Cinderella in 1997. The movie is out in October, but sadly Houston never lived to see it. A remake of a 1976 movie, the film tells the story of the title character; Sparkle (Jordin Sparks), the youngest of three sisters and a music prodigy who struggles to becomes a star while overcoming issues that are tearing her family apart. Sparkle is from an affluent Detroit area, naive to the unexpected experiences her new life will bring as she and her two sisters blossom into a dynamic singing group during the Motown-era. Houston play’s the trio’s mother, Emma. It all looks very Dreamgirls, but could be good fun.
GENERAL MOVIE NEWS
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser (www.moviemuser.co.uk)
Melissa Leo & More Join Sam Rockwell In A Single Shot
While Sam Rockwell spends most of his time in supporting roles, occassionally he gets to take on a meaty leading role. He’s got just such a part in A Single Shot, which recently started shooting and has now announced a rather rocking supporting cast, with Deadline reporting that William H. Macy, Jeffrey Wright, Joe Anderson, Jason Isaacs, Kelly Reilly, Ophelia Lovibond, and Melissa Leo are all onboard.
Based on Matthew F. Jones’s novel (who also wrote the screeplay), A Single Shot is the story of a dark and deadly game of cat and mouse, prompted by the tragic death of a young girl. Rockwell plays a wild-game poacher who makes a fatal mistake that leaves him with a suitcase full of blood money and hardened killers on his trail. As the hunter becomes the hunted, John Moon is forced to defend his family and fight for his life.
David M. Rosenthal is directing.
Suits Star Tom Lipinski Joins Jason Reitman’s Labor Day
You’d have thought Josh Brolin might have been able to play a version of his character who’s in his 20s, but apparently not, as Variety reports that Jason Reitman has cast Tom Lipinski as the young version of Brolin in his upcoming Labor Day.
The film is based on Joyce Maynard’s novel and follows Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin), an escaped convict who seeks shelter with a depressed single mom (Kate Winslet) and her teen son over the Labor Day weekend.
Lipinski will appear in flashbacks as young Frank, who returns from Vietnam and promptly marries his hometown sweetheart, only to find that she’s no longer the innocent teenage girl he left behind.
Jason Reitman is directing, writing, and producing with shooting expected to start fairly soon.
Roland Emmerich May Be Up For White House Down
Roland Emmerich vowed to stop blowing up the world after 2012, but people weren’t that interested when he turned to questioning the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays in Anonymous. So what to do next? Well it appears he’s mulling a dip into thriller territory, as Deadline reports he’s in talks to helm White House Down, based on James Vanderbilt’s (The Amazing Spider-man) script that Sony bought last week for over $3 million.
It’s one of the biggest spec script sales of the last couple of years and so Sony is keen to lock in a director and get moving as soon as they can.
Emmerich has blown up the White House a few times, but this time he’ll be going more Die Hard, as the script focusses on a paramilitary takeover of the famous building. It’s not as overblown as 2012 or as overly-dramatic as Anonymous, so let’s hope it works out for Emmerich.
Timur Bekmambetov Snaps Up Max Landis’ Woogles
Thanks to Chronicle, Max Landis is just about the most popular young writer around at the moment – he can sneeze and someone will snap up what comes out. Variety reports that his latest sale is to Wanted helmer Timur Bekmambetov and his Bazelevs production company, who’ve picked up Max’s pitch, Woogles.
Don’t be shocked if the name changes at some point, although it’s difficult to know what to, as there’s pecious little info on the plot, other than it’s be an edgy family adventure. It will be filled with special effects though, as one of the attractions for Bekmambetov was the ability to use his own Bazelevs CG team.
Landis won’t be writing this one himself (he’s sold so many ideas around Hollywood, he simply doesn’t have the time), but he came up with the original story and has now handed the actual scripting to MTV’s Teen Wolf veterans, Nick Antosca and Ned Vizzini. The film will be Lanids’ producing debut though.
“We are very excited to bring Max, Nick, and Ned’s vision to life,” Bekmambetov says. “Bazelevs considers itself a place for great, young talent to grow, and we look forward to working with this team.”
First Poster For Oliver Stone’s Savages Debuts
Will Taylor Kitsch be able to reclaim his year? John Carter flopped and there are already rumblings that Battleship isn’t very good, but he does have another movie that’s very different to his big budget rides and could show he’s got real star potential after all – Savages. Now the rather cool first poster for the movie has arrived, via JoBlo, which you can see above.
Based on Don Winslow’s novel, Savages is about two California weed growers (Kitsch & Aaron Johnson), whose lives are turned upside down when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican cartel enforcer (Benicio Del Toro). The film is due in cinemas in September.
Some new character posters for Pixar’s Brave have also popped up online, and you can see those below. That film’s out August 17th.
Adam Sandler Producing Summer School Remake
If it were me, I’d probably leave a few days between sweeping the board at the Razzies and announcing my company was going to remake an utterly unmemorable comedy most people had forgotten existed, but then I’m not Adam Sandler. THR reports he’s signed on to produce a remake of the 1987 comedy Summer School for Paramount Pictures.
The original Summer School starred Mark Harmon as a teacher whose vacation plans are ruined when he is forced to teach an English class filled with an unruly group of misfits. Kirstie Alley and Courtney Thorne-Smith also starred. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Or not. Sandler has no plans on starring in the project at this time.
The film is currently seeking writers. Producers Jordan Kerner, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci were once attached to the project, but they are no longer involved.
Hammer Plans The Woman In Black 2
Hammer scored a huge hit with The Woman In Black, which has taken over £20 million in the UK to become the highest grossing horror-thriller of the last 20 years in Britain. Having crossed $120 million worldwide, it’s perhaps not surprisingly Hammer would like to make a follow-up.
They’ve now announced that Hammer and Talisman are developing Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death for the big screen, a new film which continues the story of The Woman in Black 40 years on. Screenwriter Jon Crocker (Desert Dancer) is working on the screenplay, which is based on an original story by Hill, which has been under development for the past few years and is now complete.
The Woman in Black is set in the early 1900’s and follows a young lawyer (Daniel Radcliffe) who is ordered to travel to a remote corner of the UK to sort out the papers of a recently deceased client. In the eerie setting of Eel Marsh House he discovers the vengeful ghost of The Woman in Black. This next instalment, The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death, will continue this story four decades later and focus on the concept of a couple and the experience they have when they encounter the haunted setting of Eel Marsh House.
It sounds like Radcliffe is unlikely to be needed if this is set decades on, unless Hill has found a way around this (although his character could be involved). There’s no news either whether Jame Watkins will direct, although Hammer does say The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death will be brought to the big screen by the same production team behind first film.
Ted Red Band Trailer – Seth MacFarlane channels his inner teddy bear
It’s taken Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth MacFarlane way too long to bring his unique brand of comedy to the big screen, where he isn’t hemmed in by the prurience of network TV. Now a red band trailer for Ted has arrived, which is bound to get a lot of people very excited with its silliness, rudeness and potential to be a real laugh-out-loud corker. Ted revolves around an average Boston guy (Mark Wahlberg) who, when he was young, was granted his dearest wish, that his teddy bear would come to life. Years later the teddy is still his best friend, but the relationship has become strained as rather than being a sweet and nice Care Bears type creature, Ted is a carousing, irresponsible, womanising, pot-smoking slacker, who is getting in the way of his buddy committing to adulthood and the girl he loves (Mila Kunis).’ A UK release is set for August 3rd.
Total Recall Trailer – Colin Farell has an identity crisis
This is less a trailer than a lot of flashy images, but it does suggest this new take on Total Recall will be both very different to and yet oddly similar to the Paul Verhoeven version, as well as rather hectic. Here’s the synopsis: ‘Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.’ The film’s due out August 22nd.
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