NEWS: Oldboy Remake DOA?

Well, as of this second, it looks so (and that was the girlsh scream you heard me just yell out of excitement)

Steven Spielberg and Will Smith have been developing (or so news has said) an American remake (of sorts) of the famous and brilliant film, Oldboy, which was the second film of Chan-wook Park's vengence trilogy (with Sympathy for Mr. Vengance, and Sympathy for Lady Vengance as the trilogy's bookends). It was going to be an adaptation of the original Manga by Nobuaki Mingegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, which the afformentione film was also based on.

However, that may have just been thrown in the gutter by Japanese publisher Futabasga. Here's what a report from AnimeNewsNetwork stated:

Futabasha is suing to confirm the lack of a binding contract between the two parties, due to an alleged breach. Futabasha asserts that Show East violated its basic agreement with Futabasha, and thus nullified it, when Show East pushed for the production of a film remake with America’s Universal Pictures. Show East signed its contract with Futabasha over film rights in September of 2002, and signed a second contract in December of 2003 that amended the original one to cover other materials.

If you have not seen the original film, Oldboy, then you have something important to do right now. The film is easily one of the best modern revenge films (possibly the best of all time), and one of the best films period, from the past 10 years. It follows a man, named Dae-Su, who is locked in a room for 15 years without knowing why or who is his captor. He is suddenly released, given money, clothes and a cellphone and is sent on journey for revenge. Really, this movie is something that should not be missed by anyone. Also, tell me this fight scene isn't bad ass.

This is perfect news, and while I do love Speilberg, Smith is NOT someone who should be in this film, and really, Speilberg isn't a director that should be doing this film. It's not a big film, but quite the opposite. It's a stark and disturbing look at revenge, and the films style is equally as intimate and dark. What do YOU think?

Go see something good!

Some News And Notes...

Hey guys! I just thought I would drop in this fine day, to let you all in on some rumblings I've been reading while skowering the thing we like to call the Internet...

- While a live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film is not in the works, a Live action/CG Hybrid film, ala Alvin and The Chipmunks, is indeed on its way...
- When asked who he would like to see in the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman if an adaptation of his legendary comic book, The Dark Knight Returns (one of the few graphic novels I've actually read, and for any person looking to get into Batman, THE quitensential piece of work), Frank Miller said the following...thanks to /film for the info...


“Just that mouth of his, the scowl and the way it would look in a mask. I loved Rocky Balboa. This wounded warrior, that’s what Batman is in Dark Knight Returns. “


STALLONE!?!?!? First, before I say anything, I would love to hear what you guys have to think about this...I mean, don't get me wrong, anyone who has read the book knows that Bruce Wayne in TDKR is not the same Brucy we all know and love. He's brooding, vicious, old, and battered down after the death of Jason Todd, aka the second Robin, and NO ONE does brooding and beaten better than Rocky himself. However, you also have to cast for Bruce Wayne, and I just couldn't buy it. Thats the thing thats different between heroes like Batman and Spiderman. With Spidy, you cast for only Peter Parker, but with the Bat, you have to cast for both Wayne and The Dark Knight, and Stallone doesn't fit, at least to me...what do you think? This IS NOT HAPPENING. It's complete talk, but it would be fun to see who you all would cast...

- Looks like Spielberg and Dreamworks are heading to court...thanks to Yahoo! for the info...

According to the lawsuit, filed by the Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust, the basis for Hitchcock’s 1954 film was “Murder from a Fixed Viewpoint,” a short story by Cornell Woolrich. Hitchcock and actor James Stewart obtained the motion picture rights to the story in 1953. The lawsuit argues that Dreamworks should have done the same.

“In the Disturbia film the defendants purposefully employed immaterial variations or transparent rephrasing to produce essentially the same story as the Rear Window story,” the lawsuit said. In reviewing “Disturbia,” the New York Times called it “a kind of adolescent ‘Rear Window.”‘ The Toronto Star newspaper called it “a rip off with wit.”


What are your thoughts?


That's all I've got for now...I just started The Fall, so I should have a review of that up in a couple of hours...

Go see something good!!

Watchmen's History of Problems...In and Out of The Courts...

Hey guys! So, early this morning, information was released, that says that the court date for the legal battle between Fox and Warner Brothers over the rights to the comic book The Watchmen, is set for January 6th. Well, the news on this court case has come quickly over the past month or so, and it may not be clear to some people how everything got to this point. I know I'm late on this news, but I had class so shoot me, this is a great piece of writing right here...

The wheels for a Watchmen adaptation began in August of 1986, when Lawrence Gordon, a Fox Studios executive, purchased the "rights" to the comic and it's adaptation. Fox first asked Alan Moore, the comic's author, to pen the screenplay, but when he declined, they went another way, with Sam Hamm, writer of the Tim Burton Batman films, who brought the first draft into the studio in September of 1988. Now, Terry Gilliam was attached to direct, but when they could only raise 25 Million bucks for the budget, roughly a fourth of the needed amount, he abandoned the project, which would not be restarted until 2001. In 2001, they got David Hayter, writer of X Men and X2 (also the voice of Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid), to write and direct it. He left in 2002, and in 2004, Darren Aronofsky was set to helm it, with Simon Pegg as Rorschach, but this also was put to an end when Aronofsky left to make the great film, The Fountain.

Fast forward to Feburary 8th, 2008, as today's version of Watchmen, helmed by solid director, Zack Snyder and starring Jackie Earl Haley, Patrick Wilson, and Billy Crudup, is just fiinshing up filming. On this date, Fox officially filed a suit stating that the finishing and release of this version of The Watchmen should be put to bed. Remember Lawrence Gordon? Well, it has been said, and is the basis of the lawsuit, that Gordon sold the rights to The Watchmen to WB, but neglected to pay out Fox. Gordon had left the studio as a producer, and shopped the rights around, without giving any sort of buy out to Fox. So, in August of this year, a judge denied an injunction by WB to get the charges thrown out, and now it is slated that this case will see the court on Janurary 6th, two months before the intended release of the film. The studios are trying to get this date moved up even further, so it looks as though they don't want to delay it. However, the date is in jeopardy, if WB and Fox don't settle out of court.

So, all of that being said, what do you guys think about the case? Is there one, or should this be thrown out? Don't forget, WB isn't to low on cash with The Dark Knight and next years Harry Potter film, so this may not even see a court. What are your thoughts??

Here's the trailer for The Watchmen...



In other news!
- In an interview with G4, Mark Millar said some pretty interesting stuff about the possibilities of the Superman franchise...

“I’ve had this plan for like 10 years for a big three-picture Superman thing, like a big Lord of the Rings epic, starting over from scratch again with a seven-hour Superman story. And hopefully release them one year after another,” continued Millar. “If it works out, we’ll have to start shooting next summer.”

Thoughts? What do you think about an epic Superman arch?

- Finally, Russell Crowe is NOT going to be Watson in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes adaptation...


So, that's all I've got now, so come back later for more news and notes!

Go see something good!!

This could be big...

Alright guys...so, I wrote a post on some news, and one of the articles I talked about was a suit between Warner Brothers and Fox...I was really not clear at all, so here's the article I read...


Nikke Finke reports that a federal judge has denied to dismiss 20th Century Fox’s legal claim on Watchmen. You may remember that they filed a lawsuit back in February claiming that their rights to the DC property still held. They seek an injunction to prevent Warner Bros’ adaptation of Watchmen from being released at all.
And at this point, that federal judge agrees with them.

This shit is not good AT ALL...Thanks to cinematical for the info...

So, this is the gist of it. Fox sued Warner Brothers for allegedly taking a film they had the rights to, and the judge DISMISSED a motion to get rid of these charges, so Fox actually may have a leg to stand on. This is really really not a good thing. What are your thoughts?

Sorry if my last post was a little unclear. If there are any questions on some notes, please, leave a comment. I was in a rush to post, as my internet has been going in and out.

What are your thoughts on this suit? Is it legit, or is Fox playing dirty pool?

Go see something good!