'Resident Evil 6' May Be Titled 'The Final Chapter' For Obvious Reasons

Paul W. S. Anderson has been saying for quite some time that the sixth Resident Evil film would be the last. He and wife/star/zombie killer Milla Jojovich revealed as much a couple of years ago at Comic-Con while promoting Resident Evil: Retribution, which turned out to be the second highest-grossing film of the series with $240M. So it should come as no shock that Anderson has told Collider the next movie may be titled Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.

The last update we had on the film was when Li Bingbing, who played the popular Ada Wong, was confirmed to return, but we haven't heard anything on when production could begin. It was expected to open in September 2014 and that obviously never happened as the script wasn't ready, and according to Anderson the first draft is still being written with it "absolutely" as the concluding chapter. So while a start date and release date may be far off, Anderson is planning for the film to be in 3D....

Anderson: “I firmly believe that you have to start thinking about the 3D even in the writing process. You cannot make a great 3D movie by just—it’s not some special sauce that you can sprinkle on. You make the dish and then you make hot sauce on top—it doesn’t work well like that. Yes, you can do a last minute conversion. You can not shoot the movie thinking about 3D and do a last minute conversion and it can be a 3D movie, it’s just not gonna be a great 3D movie. I approach my films right from the inception, I kind of write action scenes and pick out locations that I think and know—because I’ve done so much of it—will translate very well into 3D. Then when we build the sets, we build sets that I know will shoot well in 3D. It’s really, even from this point, 3D is something I’m definitely thinking about.” 

Resident Evil has proven a remarkably consistent money maker for Screen Gems over the years, earning over $900M through five films on a combined budget less than $250M. You can bet they'll be investing in whatever project Anderson undertakes next. Whether that turns out to be his rumored adaptation of another Capcom video game, Monster Hunter, remains to be seen.

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Li Bingbing Returning for 'Resident Evil 6'; Diane Kruger and Thomas Kretschmann Scale 'The Wall'

* Earlier this year, Paul W.S. Anderson suggested the sixth and final Resident Evil film wouldn't hit its September 2014 target date, and since there have been zero updates since we can assume that to be the case. But he has given a brief update on it while attending the Beijing International Film Festival, confirming that it will "definitely be in 3D" and that Li Bingbing would be returning as Ada Wong. Of course, Milla Jojovich will be back for more zombie-slaying action as Alice. [CNTV]

* Diane Kruger (Troy) and Thomas Kretschmann (recently seen as Baron von Strucker in Captain America: The Winter Soldier) have joined romantic drama, The Wall, about a couple whose love and loyalty are literally separated by the Berlin Wall. Michael Johnson and Theresa Alto penned the script, but a director still needs to be found before filming begins later this year.

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Review: 'Pompeii' Starring Kit Harington and Emily Browning

Knowing exactly how a disaster movie is going to end hasn't stopped Hollywood from making them. Pearl Harbor and most obviously Titanic are the clearest examples of films we know are going to end with practically none of the principle characters walking away, and yet some love these movies as inevitably tragic romances. And now you can throw Pompeii into the mix, a lava-filled historical action flick from Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson. Blending the swords 'n sandals combat of Gladiator with the doomed love affair of Titanic, we could probably fill the Roman Colosseum with all the corny clichés until the volcano erupts and destroys everything.

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington packs on some serious muscle as Milo, a Celtic slave held as a gladiatorial combatant by his Roman captors. Flashbacks take us back to Milo's childhood, when his family and entire village were wiped out by the evil senator Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), filling the boy with a lust for revenge. Now an adult, he's been sent to Pompeii where he'll continue to serve and fight. But during the trek, he encounters the broken down carriage of Cassia (Emily Browning), the daughter of Pompeii's head family (Stephen Harris and Carrie-Anne Moss). Milo's soft features and humane treatment of her injured horse melts Cassia's heart, but obviously any love between them can never be due to their stations in life.

Just in time for Mt. Vesuvius to start rumbling, Corvus arrives in Pompeii as an emissary of Emperor Titus. Looking to strike some sort of business deal, he uses his position to try and worm his way back into Cassia's life after they shared some sort of history back in Rome. Meanwhile, Milo becomes reluctant friends with Atticus (Adewale Akkinnuoye-Agbaje), a champion gladiator one victory away from freedom. It's all very Gladiator-lite up to this point, but it's entertaining in a cheesy, predictable sort of way. And really, it would work perfectly fine as such without the intrusion of the erupting volcano, which arrives and renders literally everything we just watched as meaningless.

Anderson shows surprising restraint for a good deal of the film, holding off on many of the big set pieces until the lava starts flowing. There are a number of solid sword clashes, in which Harington gets to show off his well-versed combat skills from Game of Thrones, and despite the PG-13 rating they are sufficiently brutal and bloody. Harington gets plenty of opportunity to show off his glistening abs and glistening locks, although his romance with Browning lacks any true spark. Once Vesuvius blows, Anderson gets to show off the talent for visual effects spectacles he's always been known for. More than lava threatens to destroy the city as Anderson hurls giant fireballs, rains burning ash, and unleashes a deadly tsunami that would have Noah racing to build another ark. These are captured in epic fashion, seen from up close and afar to encapsulate the entirety of the devastation.

If looked at merely as an action film, Pompeii has all the technical merits, rippling muscles, and chariot battles one could ask for, but as a romance it's something of a disaster itself.

Trav's Tip: For more on Pompeii, check out my interview with star Kit Harington.

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Watch the Super Bowl TV Spot for 'Pompeii'; Paul W.S. Anderson Delays Next 'Resident Evil'

Ever since 2002, Paul W. S. Anderson has been pretty good about dropping another Resident Evil on us every couple of years. The inexplicably long-lived franchise, far and away the most successful video game adaptation ever, released its fifth film in 2012 with Resident Evil: Retribution, with the sixth and "final" one expected to arrive this year. But while making the press rounds for Pompeii, Anderson revealed to Comingsoon that it may be awhile before we see his wife Milla Jojovich slice up more zombies.

Anderson's comments suggest the film won't hit the September 12th release date because Jojovich is off shooting another movie. He's also going to take that time to relax and spend time with their kids, which is certainly his right to do. Chances are it will arrive as part of the jam-packed 2015 field. I have a feeling he'll also begin plans for whatever form the franchise will take after the sixth movie, whether that involves a continuation or a total reboot. 'Retribution' earned $240M and they aren't all that expensive, so why mess around with what isn't broken?

Meanwhile, the Super Bowl spot for Pompeii has been released before the opening kick-off and...well, it looks like an Anderson movie. Lots of lava, people screaming, big action and not much else. It might be entertaining, though, if only due to the cast that includes Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sutherland, Adewale Akkinuoye-Agbage, Jared Harris, Jessica Lucas, and Paz Vega.  Pompeii opens February 21st 2014.


Pompeii (2014) - XLVIII Trailer [VO-HD] by Eklecty-City.fr

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Fiery New Trailer for 'Pompeii' Starring Kit Harington and Emily Browning

Between 300: Rise of an Empire and Pompeii, there are going to be a lot of muscle-bound gladiators in loincloths and armor on the big screen. But unlike the former, Pompeii doesn't have the benefit of a hit film to springboard off of. All it has is Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson; the name of a city city everyone remembers from history class; and at least judging by this new trailer, an awful lot of CGI lava.

Starring Game of Thrones' Kit Harington, the film centers on Milo, a slave in the titular doomed city who must rescue the woman he loves (Emily Browning) and his best friend (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbage) when Mt. Vesuvius erupts. Jared Harris, Kiefer Sutherland, Paz Vega, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jessica Lucas co-star with a script by Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes, so perhaps there's more to it than the trailer suggests?

Pompeii burns down theaters on February 21st 2014.


Pompeii trailer by FilmBoy-gr

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Paul W.S. Anderson will direct 'Resident Evil 6'

There is no Resident Evil franchise without its star, Milla Jojovich, so learning that she's definitely coming back for the sixth and presumably final film isn't exactly news.  Screen Gems set a September 2014 release date for the film earlier this month, and while it was suggested that Jojovich's husband Paul W.S. Anderson would be behind the camera, it wasn't confirmed until now.

Firstshowing has confirmed Anderson as the director, and while he's been the engine driving the franchise since the beginning, he's also been known to hand over the reins to others on a couple of occasions. The plan is to begin filming this fall, using the same visual effects house who worked on the last three films and The Three Musketeers. I thought Afterlife looked incredible, but Retribution was dark, muddy, and incomprehensible just like the plot. Speaking of which, there are still no details on how Anderson plans to wrap up the 11-year old series, which began life as an adaptation of the hit Capcom video game.

Resident Evil: Full Throttle/Incineration/Revolutions/Whatever hits theaters on September 12th 2014. Anderson will first tackle Pompeii, the historical disaster film starring Kit Harington, Emily Browning, and the newly added Jared Harris.

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Emily Browning joins Kit Harington in Paul W.S. Anderson's 'Pompeii'

Sometimes it seems like things are conspiring against making Emily Browning the star she deserves to be. She's a terrific young actress, but her films either don't measure up or are largely ignored. Her most high-profile role to date was in last year's Sucker Punch, which critics went overboard in bashing. She was very good in Julia Leigh's Sleeping Beauty, which nobody saw.

Browning has a chance to turn it around as she's just joined Paul W. S. Anderson's upcoming historical disaster flick, Pompeii. She'll play the love interest to Game of Thrones star, Kit Harington, in the film which takes the city's famous destruction by volcano and turns it into an action-romance. Harington will play Milo, a slave in love with a rich senator's daughter (Browning), and must come to her rescue her and his gladiator friend when Mt. Vesuvius erupts. The script was recently given a fresh rewrite by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey), so maybe it'll be better than Anderson's usual stuff.

Browning has another potential blockbuster on the way, appearing in a small but pivotal role in Andrew Niccol's The Host. I won't give her role away, but it in a film I found to be hard to follow her appearance is definitely a surprise. She also stars opposite Michael Cera and Juno Temple in the psycho-thriller, Magic Magic, which you can check out my early review of here. [The Toronto Star via Bleeding Cool]

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Sure Shots: Jack Nicholson; Kit Harington; Sylvester Stallone

* You can't just pick any ol' body to play Robert Downey Jr.'s father. Whoever does it has to be someone of equal or greater stature, and one guy who certainly fits the bill is Jack Nicholson. Warner Bros. is looking for him to join Downey Jr. in The Judge, a new dramedy directed by David Dobkin and with the latest script written by Bill Dubuque. The film follows a successful attorney who returns home for his mother's funeral, only to learn that his father, a former judge now suffering from Alzheimer's, is the murder suspect. He must defend his old man in court, and in the process he'll learn some life lessons or something. Sounds potentially hilarious and bittersweet. No deals are in place, and Downey is set to meet with Nicholson next week to iron things out. [THR]

* Somebody somewhere seems to think Game of Thrones star Kit Harington has what it takes to be a star outside of the HBO series, but if Silent Hill: Revelation showed anything it's that he probably doesn't. He was pretty awful. Anyway, he'll have a chance to star in his biggest film yet as the lead in Paul W.S. Anderson's Pompeii. With a script rewrite by Julian Fellowes(Downtown Abbey), the story will follow the 2-day volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that buried the titular city. The plan is to basically make this like Titanic with liquid hot magma, as Harington will star as Milo, a slave who loves a rich senator's daughter, and must rescue her and his gladiator best friend when the eruption begins. It sounded awful a year ago, and it sounds just as awful now. Filming will likely begin early next year before filming on season 4 of Game of Thrones begins. [Variety]

* Noted indie auteur Sylvester Stallone has joined the cast of Reach Me, an independent film from his Cobra co-star, John Herzfeld(The Death and Life of Bobby Z). Stallone has already wrapped shooting on his role, which is being kept under wraps. Starring Nelly, Omari Hardwick, Danny Aiello, Rebekah Chaney, and Elizabeth Henstridge(who recently joined Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D.), the story follows a group of people who all have a connection to a self-help book written by a reclusive ex-football coach. [Variety]

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Paul W. S. Anderson to direct Capcom's 'Monster Hunter'?

Hard to believe that this weekend's Resident Evil: Retribution will mark the fifth of Paul W. S. Anderson's flicks, and a decade since they began. A spinoff of Capcom's wildly popular, long-running horror video game series, I think people looked at the movies initially as something that would fade away quietly like all other such adaptations had done. Obviously that didn't happen, and while it can be argued just how much the RE movies make any sense at this point, they are without a doubt the most successful video game adaptations ever, not particularly expensive to produce and a minimum $150M box office a lock.

With series star and Anderson's leggy wife Milla Jojovich revealing that the franchise would end with the sixth film, the search is on for something equally lucrative to take its place. In a conversation with Japanese site, Cinema Today(translated via Google), Anderson revealed he wants to stick with Capcom and bring their Monster Hunter games to the big screen. The company has justifiably put all their faith in Anderson to do pretty much whatever he wants, and the direct admitted to falling in love with the action RPG games, and is now in the planning stages of development.

Monster Hunter began on the PS2 back in 2004, and as the title suggests it follows a newbie hunter who must complete quests given to him by a village elder. These tasks mainly include tracking and hunting specific creatures, with the goal sometimes to kill and other times just to capture. The game has been spun into a media empire all its own, with numerous sequels, anime films and manga.

Of course this sounds like something that could easily be built for Jojovich to take over, so we can see her shoot an arrow through a brontosaurus' neck in slow-motion ad nauseum. No word on when this could start, but I'm guessing we'll hear more about it soon.

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Jojovich confirms Resident Evil 5 "definitely" will happen

Not that this should come as a surprise to anybody, but Milla Jojovich confirmed that there will be a fifth(!!) installment of the Resident Evil franchise. Resident Evil: Afterlife had the biggest opening weekend of any of the series' films thus far. Of course it also had the benefit of 3-D ticket sales backing it up.  She told Vulture...

Jojovich: “This new Resident Evil is the first one to ever open at number one worldwide. It’s the biggest movie in the franchise,” “So we’re definitely going to make another one.”

The leggy actress also says that the creation of the next film will be an interactive experience, with her husband, director Paul W.S. Anderson possibly seeking fan input and  ideas via Twitter. Hey, I got an idea. Let me tweet it right quick....

@PaulWSAnderson Jojovich. Larter. Kissing in undies. Shower scene. Zombies attack. Big $$$ opening weekend. Fans luv u 4ever.

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Resident Evil: Afterlife

Paul W.S.Anderson has been nurturing his Resident Evil franchise through four films now. I've seen them all. Ask me how much I remember about the previous three? Absolutely nothing. Straight down the memory hole. What began as a series based on the popular video game turned into a muddled mess of corporate conspiracies, clones, and steroid jacked mutant zombies. At this point they could probably start over from scratch and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. In a way, that's exactly what happens as Resident Evil: Afterlife goes back to it's survival horror with a story similar to one of George Romero's classics. While I hesitate to call it good, at least I might be able to recall it in a couple of weeks.

After a massive battle with the sinister corporation known as Umbrella, Alice(Milla Jojovich) finds herself completely powerless. All of her numerous clones are destroyed, and she's off on her own. Suddenly remembering all those folks she sent away at the end of the last film, she goes off in search of her friends at an idyllic town called Arcadia but finds only a brainwashed Claire Redfield(Ali Larter). As Claire slowly regains her memory of exactly what happened, the two sexy femme fatales team up with a group of human survivors holed up in an abandoned prison. Of course it's surrounded by thousands of zombies, including a massive boss wielding a hatchet the size of Brock Lesnar.  They must all band together to escape and make their way to the assumed safety Arcadia has to offer.

The biggest draw this go 'round has nothing to do with the threadbare plot, the insane Matrix-inspired action, or even the hotness of it's two leads. That was enough for me, of course, but what's been pushed the most was Anderson's startling use of James Cameron's 3-D technology to push the intensity to another level. It's clear that he was having way too much fun with the camera as blades, bullets, blood literally pop from the screen. The technique is hit and miss, as some sequences are amazing to behold, some of the best uses of 3-D seen this year. The problem is that the style is overused, and Anderson seemed to be looking for any excuse to utilize it even when the scene doesn't ask for it.

When I say the action is similar to The Matrix, it's not an understatement. Bullet time, slow motion gun battles in office buildings, and a villain who looks eerily like Agent Smith make me think Anderson has been spending too much time with the Wachowskis. The action is intense, and bloody, with Jojovich and Larter dishing out the most punishment. You'll never hear me complain about the insane number of slow motion shots of these two slicing their way through a horde of the undead.  As long as the bullets are flying and nobody's stopping to chat, Afterlife isn't all that bad. The freshly plucked supporting cast is solid, and it's a definite plus introducing Claire's mysterious brother, Chris Redfield(Wentworth Miller). If only these characters had more to do. While turning this story into a dynamic variation of Romero's Dawn of the Dead is a nifty idea, the rest is mostly predictable nonsense.

Fans of the previous Resident Evils are bound to like this one. It's made solely for them. Anyone trying to jump into this franchise at this late stage would get lost from the very first mention of the T-Virus. The conclusion pretty much guarantees us more zombie hacking action is on the horizon. Just like one the zombie hordes infesting their world, Resident Evil just won't stay down for good.

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Bloom Joins The Three Musketeers

Hey, this'll be something new for him to do! Orlando Bloom(Elizabethtown) has signed on to Paul W.S. Anderson's rapidly developing Three Musketeers film. Bloom will be tackling the role of the Duke of Buckinham.The modernized, 3-D take on the classic tale already features Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz, Milla Jojovich, Ray Stevenson, Mads Mikkelsen, Matthew MacFadyen, and reportedly Juno Temple.

Doesn't it seem like Bloom sorta faded from existence for a few years there? Other than the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Bloom has done little outside of a brief segment in last year's ensembleNew York, I Love You. Looking back at his resume, he has a ton of movies just like this one, so this is a natural fit. Although it's not gonna help him break out beyond the level he's at now. The problem is his movies that aren't swashbuckling period dramas tend to tank at the box office.

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