Scott Z. Burns Hired To Rewrite ‘PLANET OF THE APES 2’
HeatVision reports that 20th Century Fox has hired Scott Z. Burns to help rewrite the script for Planet of The Apes 2. The untitled sequel to Rise of The Planet of The Apes is gathering speed with a draft already written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa who wrote the first film. Burns is best known for Bourne Ultimatum, Contagion and the in-development film version of The Man From UNCLE.
Director Rupert Wyatt and actor Andy Serkis are currently locked for the sequel, no word on James Franco. I think James Franco monotoned performance was one the worst aspects of the film it’s possible his character could be done away with or even recast. Normally with the Planet of The Apes sequels the humans leads are usually replaced new actors with each installment, hopefully this trend continues.
The next film will likely continue the viral sub-plot that should eventually wipe out a majority of the human population. Human survivors align themselves with Caesar and his new society. In the sequel to the original film that Rise was based on, a group from this new society goes into the now abandoned city sparking aggression with the militarized surviving humans set on wiping out the apes. These humans are armed to the teeth with guns, vehicles and tanks. It’s doubtful this sequel will go that far into the lore.
Rooney Mara Replaces Blake Lively In Side Effects
Variety reports that Oscar nominated actress Rooney Mara (Dragon Tattoo, Social Network) has signed on to replace Blake Likely in Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects. The financiers of the film backed out when the unproven Lively was cast in the lead role. Which forced Soderbergh to look at other actresses. Mara who isn’t very well known has a bit of pedigree to her budding career starring in David Fincher’s Social Network and Dragon Tattoo. The latter earned Rooney an Oscar nomination for best actress.
Soderbergh’s Bitter Pill Gets A Cast
Recently Steven Soderbergh walked from directing The Man From UNCLE for Warner Bros. Guy Ritchie would come on to produce and possibly direct that project instead. ThePlaylist has word that Soderbergh’s other project is set to go with principle actors set for The Bitter Pill. The cast includes Blake Lively (The Town), Channing Tatum (Haywire) and Jude Law (Contagion). Tatum seems to be Steven’s current muse as he’s starred in his last two films Haywire and Magic Mike.
David Fincher Might Choose 20,000 Leagues Over Dragon Tattoo Sequels
Earlier it was announced that Sony was indeed making the sequels to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. David Fincher was not mentioned as signing on to direct those two films. Now, ThePlaylist is hearing that because of tension during the production of Dragon Tattoo, Fincher might walk. They site troubles between David, Sony and producer Scott Rubins during the filming. I assume Fincher ended up butting heads with the studio over creative control and the material’s graphic nature.
Fincher could end up jumping on board his long in development 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea project at Disney. The script by Scott Z. Burns which the director is happy with is currently undergoing rewrites from Se7en scribe Andrew Kevin Walker. There is no confirmation that he has chosen either project but the director has options that he can use when talking with Sony about contracts.
Guy Ritchie Will Likely Direct The Man From UNCLE
Deadline reports that Warner Bros. in talks with Guy Ritchie (Lock Stock, RockNRolla, Snatch) to direct The Man From UNCLE. The project was written by screenwriter Scott Z. Burns and previously had Steven Soderbergh as it’s director which is based on the classic 60’s spy television show. The project seemed to come to halt when the studio and Steven couldn’t work out the casting and it’s budget. I’m sure with this news casting announcements won’t be far behind.
Ritchie has been a loyal director for the studio helming two Sherlock Holmes installments with a third in the works. However, Robert Downey Jr. has stated recently with his new baby on the way he would be slowing down big projects. This could mean that Guy would have time to fit in a couple of films before we see Sherlock Holmes 3 go into production. It’s also expected that UNCLE could become a new franchise for the studio similar to Mission Impossible. That would mean Ritchie might have agreed to make sequels if the first film is successful.
Steven Soderbergh Wont Direct The Man From UNCLE
ThePlaylist reports after an exhausting casting search and budget restrictions Steven Soderbergh has called it quits on The Man From UNCLE. The budding spy franchise had been an active project for Soderbergh who was considering retiring before announcing he would direct it. It mainly came down to Warner Bros’ limited budget of $60 million for a action film set in the 60’s and would hop to four different continents. Think Mission Impossible or Bond meets Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy it would be expensive even before the actors were cast. Soderbergh had also been ticked off when the studio asked for younger actors giving them the suggestions of Michael Fassbender and Joel Kinnaman. Only to have them turned down then taken for other studio projects Londongrad and Arthur And Lancelot.
Warner Bros. seems to have dropped the ball since Soderbergh’s Contagion ended up a solid success for them. You’d expect them to be more compromising when they’re shelling out budgets twice as big for riskier projects. It’s unknown if the project will keep going without Soderbergh but I’m sure he’ll tackle something else soon.
Joel Edgerton Offered Lead In The Man From UNCLE
Vulture reports that Joel Edgerton (Warrior, Animal Kingdom) has been offered the second lead in Steven Soderbergh’s The Man From UNCLE. News of Edgerton being offered the lead in 300: The Battle of Artemisia had been revealed earlier today.
Bradley Cooper (Limitless, Hangover 1-2) had already landed the role of American spy Napoleon Solo, which had been vacated by George Clooney. Joel would play Russian spy Illya Kuryakin which had been linked to both Ryan Gosling and Joel Kinnaman. Kinnaman was recently offered an equally large role as Lancelot in the studio’s Arthur & Lancelot. Oddly enough months back it was rumored that both Cooper and Edgerton were up for the lead in Ant-Man.
CAST EM’: Ridley Scott’s Untitled Blade Runner Film
Now that Prometheus is wrapping up and starting post-production Ridley Scott’s next film is gathering some steam. The yet Untitled Blade Runner Film is gearing up to be another exciting experiment of Ridley revisiting his past masterpieces. This time focusing on the world of replicants (cyborgs) and blade runners. We have no idea where the story will go or how it will be connected to the original film. My hope is that at the very least still it’s as dark and violent as the first movie.
I have a few ideas of actors and actresses who should be considered for roles in the film. I’m using the fact that Prometheus’ casting ended up with a majority of actors Ridley hasn’t worked with before. The casting of Prometheus is being used to influence how I could see Ridley, Alcon and Warners Bros. could be placing actors in roles. Of course the film is from starting production any time soon with a writer only rumored to be in talks.
RYAN GOSLING: High in demand at the studio Ryan is quickly moving into the leading man role. He’s gathered praise for films like Blue Valentine, Lars & The Real Girl and Half Nelson (Oscar Nominated). Along with a lot of buzz for his art house action thriller Drive that could see him earn some awards nominations this year. Gosling is currently shooting Gangster Squad, attached to Nicolas Winding Refn’s Logan’s Run remake and being considered for Steven Soderbergh’s The Man From UNCLE.
TOM HARDY: Hardy is also quickly becoming important to Warner Bros. starring in two large Christopher Nolan films Inception and Dark Knight Rises. He’s also seemingly getting his own WB franchise in the making replacing Mel Gibson in Max Mad Fury Road. Warrior could be the breakout film for Hardy as it’s getting a lot of awards talk. He’s also worked with Ridley previously on Black Hawk Down.
RICHARD ARMITMAGE: Richard (Captain America, Hobbit) is another actor about to explode in the next couple of years. He’s mostly known for his work on British television on shows like Spooks, Robin Hood and Strike Back. However, this will all change when the two Hobbit films are released with Richard playing Thorin Oakenshield. Warner Bros. is financing the films and might look to the actor who is almost unrecognizable in his dwarf makeup for future big projects like Blade Runner.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Tom is another rising star having a breakout commercial role in Marvel’s Thor 1-2 and Avengers playing the villain Loki. He’s also gathering some praise for upcoming films Deep Blue Sea and Steven Spielberg’s War Horse. I’d like to think that he would fit nicely in this world either in the role of hero or villain. I could see Hiddleston becoming the next Michael Fassbender if given the right film projects.
JOEL KINNAMAN: The Swedish actor blew up when he headlined the thriller Snabba Cash. Landing roles in David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and the acclaimed show The Killing. Joel re-teamed with director Daniel Espinosa for the Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds film Safe House. He’s currently filming the Snabba Cash sequel and is wanted by Steven Soderbergh for a lead role in The Man From UNCLE.
ROONEY MARA: David Fincher’s muse is going be big after The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is released in December. From the trailers it looks like Rooney might be Oscar bound and could end up with a nomination. Ridley actively pursed Noomi Rapace for Prometheus who played Lisbeth in in the original Swedish film. She has similar qualities being able to give a strong psychical performance.
BELLA HEATHCOTE: Bella is already making a name for herself starring alongside Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt. The Australian actress is likely to explode after she is seen in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows (A Warner Bros. Production) and Andrew Dominik’s gangster flick Cogan’s Trade.
FELICITY JONES: Felicity (The Tempest) is a young actress who is giving interesting performances in smaller films like Cemetery Junction and Like Crazy. She had been in contention to play Snow White in the dark fantasy thriller Snow White & The Huntsman. Jones has a lot of potential and isn’t over exposed like many other actresses her age.
GEMMA ARTERTON: Gemma had originally met with Ridley for a role in Prometheus but ultimately didn’t get it. Catching his eye with her film The Disappearance of Alice Creed. Where she went from damsel to a lady who can kick some ass. While that didn’t work out I think she might be a better fit for this with her sultry look. She’s been mostly a background player in large films but is moving more into the spotlight with Alice Creed and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters alongside Jeremy Renner.
RUTH WILSON: I’ve been vocal on the site recently for Ruth to be put in more films. Ruth is the main reason the BBC series Luther is such a success. She’s currently attached to Disney’s Lone Ranger along with a role in Joe Wright’s (Hanna, Atonement) Anna Karenina.
Scott Z. Burns To Write New Blade Runner Film?
Twitch is reporting on some progress on the Untitled Blade Runner Film from Ridley Scott. They say Ridley, Alcon and Warner Bros. are looking at screenwriter Scott Z. Burns to work on the film’s script. It might be a move similar to bringing on Damon Lindelof (Lost) to re-work the Alien prequel Prometheus. Burns isn’t a big name but wrote The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion. He’s also written scripts for large upcoming projects such as Steven Soderbergh’s The Man From UNCLE and David Fincher’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. The fact is that Burns seems to be able to write action well and let’s hope the science fiction side of things works out.
Many of the details concerning the project have yet to be answered. Like, if this is a direct sequel/prequel or like Prometheus just set in the Blade Runner universe. If the film noir aspect will be brought up or if it will be a straight up science fiction action film. Along with if will be set on Earth or off-world which had been mentioned a number of times in the original film humans are busy colonizing other planets. Using replicants as work slaves and soldiers in the process of this expansion leading to an outright rebellion by the cyborgs.
UPDATE: Word from ThePlaylist via Twitter is that both Burns’ reps and Scott himself are denying the rumors of him working on Blade Runner. This could be a move by Burns to keep early talks going or Twitch’s original story was bull to begin with.
Steven Soderbergh In Talks To Direct Man From U.N.C.L.E.
HeatVision reports that Warner Bros. is interested in hiring Steven Soderbergh to direct The Man From U.N.C.L.E. based on the spy themed television series from the 60’s. The show was co-created by James Bond author Ian Fleming so it could be a new franchise for the studio. Previously it had been setup as a comedy but more than likely will have more of a serious direction now that Soderbergh could be involved. Not to mention screenwriter Scott Z. Burns who wrote both The Informant! and Contagion for Steven is also in the mix. The Cold War-set spy series, followed the adventures of American and Russian members of a secret agency known as the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Hopefully this project will turn out more like Mission Impossible rather than the horrible I Spy, The Saint or Avengers films.
Fincher In Talks To Direct 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
It looks like Disney’s reboot of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea isn’t dead after all. HeatVision reports that director David Fincher has approached Disney with his own version of classic. Previously director McG had pitched a $150 million dollar film with Will Smith rumored to play Nemo. It’s expected that if Fincher signs on it would go into production sometime after he’s finished filming The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for Sony. Considering the project is still in development stages.
Now that McG’s version has been scrapped screenwriter Scott Z. Burns has been brought into write a new treatment. Burns is best known for writing The Informant!, Bourne Ultimatum and most recently Steven Soderberg’s Contagion. I believe with the history Burns and Matt Damon have I expect he could end up starring in the film.
If I had to pick someone to play the new Captain Nemo it would have to be Jared Harris who played Captain Mike in Benjamin Button. Since Nemo is both charming and dangerous I could see Harris bringing lots to the character.
*What do you think of David Fincher tackling the Disney classic?
CINEMA INVASION 