‘SIN CITY 2: A DAME TO KILL FOR’ Shooting This Summer, Michelle Williams And Mel Gibson Wanted For Roles?
Deadline has the official press release that Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For is moving forward with a summer production start. It also includes the announcement of Robert Rodriguez re-teaming with his co-director Frank Miller for the sequel. This is a massive relief for fans who have been waiting more than five years to hear this news. Don’t get your hopes up until cameras actually start rolling. We’ve all been here before with Rodriquez when he famously had costumes and sets built for the Barbarella remake only to walkout on it. It’s unknown at this point if they’ll be able to get original cast members to return but casting is going to be in full swing soon.
Deadline adds that Michelle Williams and Mel Gibson are being pursued for roles. If Gibson did agree to join the cast the assumption is that if the film is successful it could help resurrect his acting career. Similar to how the first film helped Mickey Rourke back into the spotlight leading to Oscar nominated roles like The Wrestler. I wouldn’t be shocked if Mel ends up replacing Rourke as Marv, since Mickey has repeatedly stated he wouldn’t return because of the makeup involved. A lot of the characters that were killed off in Sin City are expected to return in some fashion for A Dame To Kill For since most of the events take place prior to that film.
FILMS THAT SHOULD BE MADE: Frank Miller’s Hard Boiled
During the height of the successful releases of Sin City and 300 it was back in development. Frank Miller talking to MTV mentioned he was in talks to direct it. The project quickly went into limbo when Miller’s directing debut The Spirit tanked. If Warner Bros. is dying to make more comic book films Hard Boiled should be on the top of their list since the material if prime for an adaptation. The studio is currently beginning production on the sequel/prequel to Miller’s 300 in the next couple of months which is somewhat inspired by his new graphic novel Xerxes.
THOUGHTS ON A DIRECTOR:
My first thoughts went to Luc Besson mainly because of the design and scope of his film The Fifth Element. That film borrowed a lot of from the original Hard Boiled artwork by artist Geof Darrow. Yet it looks like he’s got enough projects in development along with another original science fiction blockbuster on the way.
Ultimately the best director for this would be Paul Verhoeven who has tackled this satirical science fiction material previously with Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers. Yet, the Dutch director has stated many times his distaste for sci-fi. It’s extremely assuming since he’s one of the best directors of the genre. Personally, I’d love to Verhoeven return for one more crazy genre outing like Hard Boiled.
I wouldn’t rule out a studio loyalist like Christopher Nolan tackling the material. Since someone like Fincher was originally interested I wouldn’t dismiss Nolan taking on the subject matter. He’s long stated that he’s a massive a fan of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and has dabbled with science fiction elements with both Prestige and Inception. This film explores similar elements used in Blade Runner and other films based on Philip K. Dick stories. Nolan is exiting the Batman franchise but hasn’t announced for sure what his next film will be. He’s notorious for not committing to another film until the one before it is released, focusing his entire attention to one film at a time. Given that fact we have no clue what he’ll do next.
Snyder has already proven he can handle large scoped projects and delivered somewhat successful comic book adaptations with 300 and Watchmen. The way Zack recreated a 1980’s Manhattan could work when a super stylized future L.A. is the setting. It helped earn him the coveted directing gig on Man of Steel. If the studio does end up for an R-rated rating Zack seems like one of the best directors to pull this off. The only problem here is that it’s expected if successful he’ll be asked to make the sequel to Man of Steel. If a sequel happens I assume a trilogy will be worked out during the development of Man of Steel 2.
Newcomer directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger seem like they could do big things with a large budget film like Hard Boiled. The pair are about to release their smaller budgeted science fiction actioner Lockout in April which they both directed and wrote with producer Luc Besson. This Hollywood-like film was made on the cheap and has some impressive sets/effects all things considering. I feel if Lockout is successful big studios will be knocking down their door very quickly. I get the impression that they could make a plausable adaptation and without a massive bloated budget. Along with writing a tailor-make script to fit both a low budget and their visual style.
WHO SHOULD PLAY NIXON?:
When the news first surfaced I originally had Bruce Willis in mind but that doesn’t possible as the role seems more psychical than I believe he can handle stunt-wise at his age. This is something I picture a younger 90’s Willis being perfect for. With that in mind a few names come to mind. They include Russell Crowe (Gladiator, American Gangster), Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Take Shelter, Boardwalk Empire) and Clive Owen (Sin City, Children of Men) who are able to play the everyman but can be highly action driven as well when needed.
CAST EM": X-Men First Class Sequel
20th Century Fox seems eager to start production on a sequel to X-Men First Class. They already have a writer working on draft while they still have to resign Matthew Vaughn to direct. We know that the original cast is likely returning as they signed a three picture deal which is common with these type of films.
One of my biggest pet peeves with First Class was that most of the supporting mutants were beyond obscure even for me as an X-Men fan. Mutants like Darwin, Riptide and Angel Salvadore could have been replaced with ones fans recognize. I understand having Havok and Azazel in there to plant seeds for future films. If this is indeed a reboot of the franchise we need to see wronged characters retooled and reintroduced similar to what they plan to do for Deadpool.
A few characters that deserve redemption include Juggernaut, Psylocke and Gambit. Two unused characters that have been rumored for a while include Cable and the villain Mister Sinister. Throw in another decent sized cameo for Wolverine and we’re in business. I feel like this is still very much the story of Erik and Charles now that they’ve chosen their sides. We need to see them fully explore that new relationship. Jean and Scott no matter how popular they are, really should be saved for the third film.
MY CASTING THOUGHTS
AARON JOHNSON AS REMY LEBAEU (GAMBIT)
STEPHEN LANG AS NATHAN SUMMERS (CABLE)
RICHARD MADDEN AS CAIN MARKO (JUGGERNAUT)
MICHELLE RYAN AS BETSY BRADDOCK (PSYLOCKE)
CLIVE OWEN AS MISTER SINISTER
Clive Owen And Mia Wasikowska In Talks For Oldboy
Director Spike Lee doesn’t seem to be getting the cast he originally wanted for his American remake of Oldboy which is based on the manga and Korean film. Lee had Colin Firth in mind for the villain and Rooney Mara for the female lead, both passing. Twitch reports that Clive Owen (Children of Men) is in talks for the villain and Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland, Jane Eyre) could also join.
RUMOR: Clive Owen The Next 007 In Bond 24?
While Daniel Craig will be playing James Bond in the 23rd installment there is talk it could be his last film. TheExaminer reports that MGM was going to try to have Clive Owen replace Craig but with the actors two picture contract it would have been a costly buy out. The only problem is that Owen is rumored to be asking for a three picture deal which the studio might not want to commit to.
You might remember Clive Owen was originally on the shortlist to play 007 in Casino Royale before Daniel Craig was eventually cast. It’s expected that he would end up in the role in Bond 24. There has been rumored and confirmed interest from directors like Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and Danny Boyle to make a Bond movie. You never know these directors could end up taking on Bond 24.
Do You Think Clive Owen Should Replace Daniel Craig? Who Should Be The Next 007?? Leave Your Comments!
Frank Miller’s Hard Boiled
Not to be confused with John Woo’s Hard Boiled, based on the ultra-violent comic book created by Miller and Geof Darrow. Unlike Sin City the artwork wasn’t done by Frank and it is brightly colourful. Darrow’s style has a very “Heavy Metal” feel to it with a bit of “Blade Runner”. Yet the film noir feel is still apparent in the story and dialog. It looks like Frank Miller is in talks to direct. Miller talked to MTV during the New York Comic Con about the project. At one time it was developed as a starring vehicle for Nicolas Cage with none other than David Fincher directing.
Originally published in 1990 by Dark Horse Comics and drawn by Geoff Darrow, “Hard Boiled”. Winner of the coveted Eisner Award! Carl Seltz is a suburban insurance investigator, a loving husband, and devoted father. Nixon is a berserk, homicidal tax collector racking up mind-boggling body counts in a diseased urban slaughterhouse. Unit Four is the ultimate robot killing machine — and the last hope of the future’s enslaved mechanical servants. And they’re all the same psychotic entity.
I could see Bruce Willis as Nixon.
Although Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation) and Clive Owen (Children of Men, Sin City) could easily fit into the role as well.
Frank Miller’s The Spirit success will be very important if he wants to be able to helm. If it doesn’t do well I could see a few directors that could do it justice. Luc Besson, Robert Rodriguez or Zack Snyder would be able to bring this futuristic vision of L.A. to life.
Here are a few more panels from the graphic novel. They are great examples of the scale that should be in mind.
Wicked City (2010)
Back in 2006 Variety reported that there would be a live-action film directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé (Spawn: The Movie). Since then there has been little to no information, maybe for the best. It may have been killed or sold off to another studio. The original was one of the influential anime films that inspired The Matrix films. Considering the cult status of the original anime film I would expect a bigger studio and director to get involved.
I would have loved to see David Cronenberg replaced as the director. His previous films “Naked Lunch” and “eXistenZ” are perfect examples of the type of movies which are similar to the anime. The sexual themes are very important to the story and mood of the picture and Cronenberg isn’t afraid of using sex in his movies. He would also attract a well known cast.
“My Casting Picks”
-Clive Owen cast as Taki and Marion Cotillard as Makie.
CINEMA INVASION 