Warner Brothers Pictures has pre-emptively picked up the rights to “Here, There Be Dragons,” an upcoming children’s novel by James A. Owen, for David Heyman and David Goyer to produce. The book brings together three strangers - John, Jack and Charles - in London during World War I, where they become entrusted with the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. They end up traveling to the Archipelago of Dreams, fighting the dark forces that threaten two worlds. It is later revealed that the three are future fantasy authors J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams, who met in real life at Oxford and enjoyed a competitive friendship. The book is being launched next week by Simon & Schuster with a massive hardcover printing of 100,000 copies and is one of the company’s big pushes for the year. The plan is to release six more books, one each October.
Heyday Films’ Marc Rosen discovered the story as a two-page outline when Owen was trying to shop film projects around Hollywood. Rosen suggested to Owen, an author and illustrator known for the self-published fantasy comic book series “Starchild,” that he try to do it as a book. Later, when Owen had a manuscript, he sent it to Rosen and Heyman, who at the time were sharing an office with Goyer, with whom they were collaborating on the CBS TV show “Threshold.” Heyman and Goyer used their own coin to option the project and began developing it as a feature.
Guillermo del Toro, who is readying Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, told SCI FI Wire that the sequel to 2004’s Hellboy will feature killer robots and a new character, the spectral B.P.R.D. agent Johann Kraus, but will eliminate Rupert Evans’ Agent Myers, the only character not drawn from Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comics series. As for the plot, del Toro likened it to his upcoming historical fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth. “The idea is, in a strange way, not very different from Pan’s Labyrinth,” del Toro said in a telephone interview on September 28. “It’s a clash between the real world and the fantasy world, you know? And how the world of humans is destroying, eroding, imagination.”
Del Toro said the sequel will bring back most of the main characters, including Ron Perlman’s big red demon, Selma Blair’s pyrokinetic Liz Sherman and Doug Jones’ amphibious Abe Sapien. “Yeah, actually, everybody will be back, except Agent Myers, the only non-comic-book-based character of the first one,” del Toro said. “And we’re bringing in Johann Kraus, the ectoplasmic agent from the comics.” In the comics, Kraus is a disembodied spirit with psychic abilities who maintains form by wearing a containment suit and is an active member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
Continue reading Guillermo del Toro Talks Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Ain’t-It-Cool-News reports that Robert Downey Jr. has been cast to play Iron Man for director Jon Favreau at Marvel Studios! The movie will be distributed by Paramount Pictures on May 2, 2008. Based upon Marvel’s iconic Super Hero, the film will follow billionaire weapons-manufacturer, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.), who confronts the sins of his past after he is injured by one of his own weapons. Equipped with a high-tech suit of armor, he becomes Iron Man to combat evil on a global scale. Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway wrote the film’s screenplay.
Wes Craven has made a deal with Rogue Pictures to write and direct a new horror project, says Variety. He’s also formed Midnight Pictures, a Rogue-based company that will make horror flicks with budgets under $15 million. Craven has hired Marianne Maddalena, who’s produced many of Craven’s films, to run Midnight Pictures. Plans call for the duo to produce Midnight Pictures projects and to also make films separately, with Maddalena developing her own slate.
“It is rooted in the supernatural with a 16-year old central character, but it’s more ‘Sixth Sense’ than a slasher film,” Craven said about his new film. “It’s appalling to me that you have to go back to 1994 to find an original that I wrote and directed, so this is very important to me.” New project will be released by Rogue, but not under Midnight Pictures. Craven hopes to shoot next spring. The first film under the Midnight Pictures banner will be the remake of his 1972 debut The Last House on the Left, which Rogue co-presidents Andrew Karpen and Rona bought last month.
Continue reading Wes Craven Working On A New Horror Project
Scarlett Johansson (The Prestige) is set to star in Mary Queen of Scots, depicting the antagonistic relationship between Queen Mary (Johansson) and Queen Elizabeth I of England, who tried to undermine her rule. The Hollywood Reporter says 2929 Entertainment is producing the project from a screenplay by Jimmy McGovern. The budget is expected to be in the $25 million-$30 million range.
Melanie Johansson - the actress’ mother and manager - will produce the film along with Alexandra Milchan and Donna Gigliotti. Melanie Johansson produced A Love Song for Bobby Long, in which her daughter also starred. Producers are looking for a director but plan to begin shooting the film by the end of summer 2007.
Jim Caviezel has signed on to star in Outlander, a science fiction adventure movie that Howard McCain is directing for the Weinstein Co., according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sophia Myles and Jack Huston are in negotiations to join the cast. The story centers on a man from another galaxy who crash-lands on Earth during the time of the Vikings. By accident, he brings with him an alien predator that he must destroy with the help of a Viking tribe. McCain wrote the screenplay with Dirk Blackman.
Ascendant Pictures’ Chris Eberts, Kia Jam and Chris Roberts are producing, along with Barry Osborne. Don Carmody, Andreas Grosch, Karen Loop and John Schimmel are executive-producing. Karl Urban was at one point attached to star in the production, which was to have shot in New Zealand. Caviezel has the thriller Unknown for the Weinstein Co., opening Nov. 7, and appears opposite Denzel Washington in the Tony Scott-directed Deja Vu, which opens November 22.
Dimension Films has acquired the movie rights to O.C.T.: Occult Crimes Taskforce, an Image Comics series co-created by actress Rosario Dawson, which launched in July, Variety reported. Dimension is crafting the project as a star vehicle for Dawson, who also co-writes O.C.T. The comic centers on an animated version of Dawson. Dawson, who will produce as well, will play a New York police detective who, after stumbling upon a gruesome and bizarre crime scene, is enlisted for a covert squad that uses black arts and mystical weaponry to hunt down and kill soul-sucking ghouls.
Continue reading Dimension Aquires Rights To Occult Crimes Taskforce
New Line has signed a video-game licensing deal with Sega for His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman’s fantasy book series, to which New Line also holds film rights, Variety reported. The deal marks a big jump back into Hollywood licensing for the Japanese video-game publisher and also signals New Line’s plans to turn His Dark Materials into as big a game franchise as The Lord of the Rings. The deal, which also involves book publisher Scholastic, gives Sega interactive rights to all three books in the trilogy. New Line is currently shooting a movie based on the first title, The Golden Compass, and expects to make two more, with Sega producing companion games.
Electronic Arts has made several successful Lord of the Rings games not tied to the New Line films and recently extended its deal with New Line and books rights holder the Saul Zaentz Co. to produce more. Sega would have to make a separate deal to produce games not tied to film releases. New Line is expected to unveil several other major licensing deals for Materials in the next few weeks, including a master toy license and numerous promotional partners.
Rob Cohen has signed on to direct Scared Straight, a prison thriller for New Line Cinema, says The Hollywood Reporter. Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson are producing through their Contrafilm. The film centers on a governor’s teenage son who is sent to prison as part of Scared Straight, a crime-prevention program that imprisons delinquent teens for a short period in the hopes of deterring them from a life of crime. While the teenager is there, a riot breaks out and the prisoners take him hostage. He teams with other street kids and a con to stop the riot.
Cohen said the setting will not be an old, traditional prison but rather an ultra high-tech slammer. “It’s going to be a sophisticated, state-of-the-art prison, which of course will be its weakness.” Ron Brinkerhoff, who penned Contrafilm’s The Guardian, is rewriting. Cohen’s previous credits include The Fast and the Furious, XXX and Stealth. He also is writing a biopic of filmmaker Russ Meyer and his wife titled King of the Nudies, which he plans to direct.
Jake Gyllenhaal will star opposite Reese Witherspoon in New Line’s Middle East political thriller Rendition. Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) will direct and Steve Golin will produce via his Anonymous Content. Bill Todman’s Level One is co-financing with New Line. Todman will executive produce. Variety says the aim is for a mid-November production start. This multilayered story centers on a CIA analyst, based in the Middle East whose world spins out of control as he questions his assignment after overseeing the interrogation of a suspected terrorist.