Peter Berg Hunts for 'El Chapo'; Daniel Espinosa is 'Boston Strong'; and More

Peter Berg, coming off some solid reviews for last year's Lone Survivor, will turn his attention to a different kind of war with his next project. He'll take on the drug war in an adaptation of "The Hunt for El Chapo", from the New York Times article by Patrick Radden Keefe. Craig Borten (Dallas Buyers Club) will write the script that centers on the notorious Sinaloa drug kingpin who built a global empire and stayed on the run from authorities until his capture earlier this year. [THR]

Casey Affleck may be out, but the Boston Marathon bombing drama Boston Strong is still...uh, going strong. Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) is on board to direct the film that "follows the massive manhunt to apprehend the two men believed to be responsible for the bombings, as well as examining the city’s reaction following the events." Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy (The Fighter) wrote the script.

And E.L. "Evan" Katz, whose dark comedy Cheap Thrills won him a lot of fans this year, has signed on to direct You'll be the Death of Me, which sounds like it will be in a similarly murderous vein. Mark Hammer's script follows  "two single New Yorkers whose budding romance is complicated by the attention of a masked knife-wielding psychopath."

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Mark Wahlberg Could Star in Rebuilt 'The Six Million Dollar Man'

To paraphrase TV's The Six Million Dollar Man, "Hollywood can rebuild old franchises. They have the technology."  A big screen take on The Six Million Dollar Man has long been in the works and with some considerable names attached. The last we heard about it was when Bryan Singer was attached to direct with Leonardo DiCaprio eying the lead as cybernetic hero, Steve Austin. Before that it was Kevin Smith who took a stab at the script, eventually turning it into a comic book, while Jim Carrey and Todd Phillips briefly flirted with the film as Universal and Weinstein argued over film rights. But those issues have been settled and now Mark Wahlberg is said to be up for the title role.

The story comes courtesy of The Tracking Board, meaning there are no confirmations on anything just yet, but it's worth noting that Wahlberg has talked about the film before. He even mentioned the remake's new title, The Six Billion Dollar Man, which has been the plan since Singer was on board.  Wahlberg's would be reuniting with Lone Survivor's Peter Berg, who is on board to produce and possibly direct if everything comes together.

The Six Million Dollar Man was based on Martin Caidin's novel, Cyborg, and was preceded by three television movies before the Lee Majors-led series debuted in 1974, lasting through 1978 and spawning a popular spinoff, The Bionic Woman. The show centered on Steve Austin (not the wrestler, obviously), a severely injured astronaut whose body is rebuilt with bionic parts by the government so he can become a secret agent.

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Review: 'Lone Survivor' Starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, and Ben Foster

If there's one thing obvious about Peter Berg it's that he has the utmost respect for our servicemen and women, and even in the ridiculous flop Battleship you can tell he wants to do them proper justice. While there's a certain over-the-top patriotism present in most movies about the military, Berg has found it difficult to blend with his Hollywood "shock and awe" style of filmmaking. The true story behind Lone Survivor is one of heroism, brotherhood, and sacrifice, and the film is undoubtedly a visceral powerhouse of raw emotion captured in full glory. Berg can't let that be enough, though, and his tendency to "blockbuster-ize" everything saps some of the inherent drama of a harrowing real-life ordeal.

Unlike the similar but ridiculously cartoonish Act of Valor, Lone Survivor's reverence for Navy SEALs seems sincere, beginning with documentary-style montage of the extreme conditions each goes through from boot camp on, a stark reminder that they are meant to be the elite. Those who survive, and it really is a fight for survival right from the beginning, form a kinship forged in blood and sweat. Berg takes that idea to heart in his depictions of Seal Team 10, including  Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), Lt. Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), Danny P. Dietz (Emile Hirsch), and Matthew Axelson (Ben Foster). We're breezed through snapshots of their personal lives; one is getting married, and his colleagues ruminate confusedly about women and what it takes to keep them happy. Murphy's wife wants a really expensive horse he can't afford, while Luttrell wonders if a hot bridesmaid will be at the wedding. "She's a bridesmaid", Murphy banters back sharply. An earnest newbie recruit (Alexander Ludwig) is in the midst of rookie hazing, while others race around the barracks in an obvious test of manhood. Subtlety isn't Berg's strength and it evaporates pretty early on.

While their personal lives are sketched pretty thin, it's enough to establish the camaraderie and clue us in to the machismo pecking order, which surprisingly doesn't have Wahlberg's character at the top. Instead it's Kitsch who emerges early on as the muscle and the level-headed one of the group, leading his men into a doomed mission in Afghanistan to kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The mission chronicled is Operation Red Wings, detailed in Luttrell's book Lone Survivor, and this is one instance where the title can be taken at face value. And since it's Wahlberg's mug adorning all of the movie posters, it's safe to say he's the one who'll be walking away from the upcoming firefight. Right away the mission gets off to a rough start due to the rocky, mountainous terrain and the poor communications. Early on one of the four soldiers remarks there are "a lot of moving parts" to what should be a simple hit-and-run op. Things turn instantly dangerous when locals stumble upon them, and the men are forced to make a quick decision. Do they kill the locals and maintain their cover? Or do they set them free and risk exposure to the Taliban? The argument that follows is rational and impassioned, with no easy answers to be found. Taking charge, Murphy decides to let them go, and within minutes they are surrounded by more than a hundred armed Taliban fighters. Escape isn't really an option. All they can do is fight and pray rescue shows up in time.

And the firefight that ensues is truly something to behold, not that it's exactly enjoyable, but because it's so brutal that it's tough to look at without wincing. It wouldn't be so bad if these men endured a quick, bullet-riddled demise; this is death by degrees in which the greatest threat doesn't come at the end of a gun. Instead it's Mother Nature posing the greatest obstacle, with the trees and rocks forming a jagged tag team of destruction, picking the men apart as they tumble and crash from one cliff to the next. These are some of the most intense war scenes ever depicted on screen, and there never seems to be an end to it. For nearly an hour we're forced to watch these men face overwhelming odds with bravery and an unflappable sense of duty, protecting one another like brothers in every sense of the word. Berg doesn't trust in their courage to be enough, though, glorifying in the chaos and sickening sounds of bodies cracking against the rocks. He just can't help himself from turning a truly heroic, noble act into just another action movie.  While Berg largely avoids any philosophizing on the necessity of our presence in Afghanistan, his one-note depictions of Shah and the Pashtun people speaks volumes. But it's also to his credit that he's able to keep the suspense at a high level despite our knowing how tragic it all turns out and one could say that actually makes their slow demise tougher to endure.

While the four leading performances are better collectively, there are a couple of individual stand-outs. Kitsch has never been more charismatic than he is here, showing a maturity that was sorely lacking in his previous efforts. He gets the film's defining moment, a momentous act of self-sacrifice that reverberates right up until the end, and perhaps this is Berg doing him a favor for that whole Battleship fiasco. It's probably no surprise to learn that Foster finds layers of complexity in the passionate Axelson, while Wahlberg is in full "everyman" mode here. Poor Emile Hirsch is basically left carrying everybody else's luggage, and Eric Bana frustratingly spends most of his time on the telephone.

The film ends with one final show of respect, honoring the 19 soldiers who perished during Operation Red Wings. Despite Berg's painting in broad strokes and reveling in the violence too much, Lone Survivor is itself a glowing tribute to the drive, determination, and spirit of our armed forces.

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Peter Berg confirms the 'Friday Night Lights' movie probably won't happen

As a Taylor Kitsch fangirl, I'm wiping away my tears as I write this: the "Friday Night Lights" movie probably isn't happening. Years after the series finale in 2011, after NBC dropped the series and brought it back, after cast members Kitsch and Kyle Chandler and Michael B. Jordan and Connie Britton and Jesse Plemons have all gone on to better things, the dream has died.

According to Peter Berg, who developed the show and whose Mark Wahlberg-starring film "Lone Survivor" comes out later this month and early next year, "There's not gonna be a movie." In a talk with Collider.com, Berg also went on to say that he, although initially wanting to do the film, has now "come to believe it's probably not a good idea and I seriously doubt it's gonna happen." This comes only a day after Kitsch told Vulture he was "never gonna be in that movie" because he thought the series ended in the right way.

And the other cast members? Well, Britton has talked before about wanting to do the film, but said back then that Chandler's growing film career - he's been all over the place recently, from "Zero Dark Thirty" to teen drama "The Spectacular Now" to the upcoming "The Wolf of Wall Street" - was holding up the project. Chandler never confirmed or denied that, but now Britton is on "Nashville," so she probably doesn't have time, either. And everyone else - Kitsch had a bad year in 2012 (remember the duds that were "John Carter," "Battleship," and "Savages"?), but he's in "Lone Survivor" and a few more high-profile projects; Michael B. Jordan has tons of work lined up after being so great in "Fruitvale Station" earlier this year; Plemons owned it on this last season of "Breaking Bad"; Minka Kelly is busy being Chris Evans's on-again, off-again girlfriend; and Scott Porter is on the CW's "Hart of Dixie," which is somehow still a show that gets good ratings! So the likelihood of this cast getting together again ... doubtful.

But was the dream of a "Friday Night Lights" movie even that worthwhile to begin with? As a crazy "FNL" fan, I have to agree with Kitsch that the show ended in the right way. All the storylines were effectively wrapped up. We saw the best marriage on television continue to be the best marriage on television. We saw Matt and Julie end up together (spoiler alert, whatever, watch the damn show). And we got to see Riggins say "Texas forever" one last time. Isn't that enough?! I would say Berg and Kitsch are right on this one. Five seasons, seventy-six episodes, of "FNL" was enough.

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Peter Berg's 'Lone Survivor' gets a second trailer; 2014 release date

"God's looking out for us," say the men in "Lone Survivor," the latest film from Peter Berg. And here we go, with a second trailer for the film that was originally slated for a Christmas release but is getting moved to the middle of January instead.

What does that say about the film's quality? Well, it certainly has a good ensemble cast, led by Mark Wahlberg and including the likes of Taylor Kitsch and Ben Foster. It's certainly an amazing story of, well, survival. But a movie like this can veer into masturbatory patriotism territory very, very fast, and although it's getting early buzz, that release date move takes it out of awards consideration. Which I'm not sure is exactly what director Peter Berg might want.

But hey, make your own opinions. The new trailer is below, and Lone Survivor is now slated for a Jan. 10, 2014, release. I'll be honest; I'm a sucker for this ensemble. But I'm still mixed on the film itself, and I'm not sure if this trailer is doing anything new for me. What does everyone else think?

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First Trailer for 'Lone Survivor' with Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Eric Bana, and Ben Foster

The recent Oscar success of The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, The Messenger, and others have led to at least one film connected to the "war on terror" emerging every year in hopes of achieving similar notoriety. Universal is hoping Lone Survivor will be the film to capture the headlines this season. A passion project for director Peter Berg, no stranger to the Middle East after 2007's The Kingdom, the film is based on a true story with echoes of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, so there's a good chance it will attract a lot of attention.

Starring  a mashismo-laden cast with Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, and Eric Bana, the film is based on the autobiography by Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell about an ill-fated 2005 mission to in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan to eliminate a high-level Taliban leader. The decision to let go of an old man and three kids who they rightly could have killed under the rules of engagement comes back to haunt them when they are suddenly attacked by enemy forces.

Berg probably isn't the first director many think of as an Oscar candidate, and trailers like this are the reason why. Lacking any subtlety whatsoever, it's little more than a dude movie with lots of killing, gunfire, vague notions of brotherly comraderie, and not much else. Tonally it's no different than The Rundown, The Kingdom, Battleship, and nearly every other Berg movie. But Universal wouldn't have such high hopes for no reason, and the cast is spectacular, so maybe we'll see something more substantial in the coming months.

Lone Survivor opens in limited release on December 27th, then goes wide January 10th 2014. Check out the trailer and a bunch of images below.


LONE SURVIVOR - Trailer by dmagianet

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Sure Shots: Mireille Enos; Alexander Ludvig; Chloe Moretz

* Better than almost anyone I've seen lately, Mireille Enos has used her TV success in both The Killing and Big Love to launch a film career that is really starting to take off. She'll appear in Gangster Squad, World War Z, and is currently filming the West Memphis Three film, Devil's Knot. Now you can add David Ayer's Ten(formerly Breacher) to her busy schedule. The cop thriller stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington as part of a DEA Task Force that are picked off one-by-one after robbing a drug cartel for millions of dollars. Enos will play a member of the team and the wife of Worthington's character. Terrence Howard, Olivia Williams, Joe Manganiello, Dawn Olivieri, and Malin Akerman co-star.  [Deadline]

* So his character in The Hunger Games may not have survived to be a part of the upcoming sequel, that doesn't mean Alexander Ludvig can't be a Lone Survivor for Peter Berg. The young actor has joined the cast of Berg's Navy SEAL film, which is based on Marcus Luttrell's memoir about a 2005 incident in which his team was ambushed by Taliban forces in Afghanistan, where they were sent to kill a terrorist leader. Mark Wahlberg is playing Luttrell, with Taylor Kitsch, Eric Bana, Ben Foster, and Emile Hirsch the other members of the squad. Ludvig will play Navy SEAL Shane Patton. Ludvig just recently completed filming on Grown Ups 2 where he'll hopefully put Adam Sandler out to pasture. [Deadline]

* Looks like a Let Me In reunion is in the works, as Chloe Moretz is set to join Kodi Smit-McPhee in the indie film, The Wilderness of James. Written and directed by newcomer Michael Johnson, the film is a coming of age story about a Portland boy dealing with the absence of his father. Filming begins next month, so it probably won't interfere with her return as Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall. Moretz is currently filming a remake of Carrie, which you can check out the first images from here. [Deadline]

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Peter Berg says "We're doing" a 'Friday Night Lights' movie

"Clear eyes, full hearts". For fans of the Friday Night Lights TV series, those words have come to mean something special. When the show finally ended it's run, kept alive solely on the rabid support of the fan base, the hope was always that their beloved story would continue in some way. Within weeks, Peter Berg had expressed his own desire to keep it going on the silver screen, and then shortly thereafter we learned that the film was in development. Now, while Berg was chatting to Details about Battleship, FNL co-star Connie Britton dropped by and...well, let's let her say it herself....


Britton: So, I had a meeting at Jason Katims' office. And we were talking about something else and I said, "Forget about all that. Is this movie going to happen?" I was sitting on his couch, and he's like, "Look behind you." And I look behind me and it's a wall with a big, huge corkboard on it with all these 3x5 cards. That's what these writers do, they do the whole story on 3x5 cards. He's like, "That's the movie."

To which Berg replied "We're doing the movie". Simple as that, right? It's certainly the clearest indicator that the film is happening. Berg has spoken about it in the past, stating that if the film was made it would be based on the recent Texas Tech controversy that saw head coach Mike Leach fired for supposedly abusing a player. That player turned out to be Adam James, the son of football star and ex-ESPN analyst Craig James, who I remember going on TV as much as possible to run Leach into the ground. James admitted to lying about what happened, and Leach ultimately wound up coaching at Washington State.

There are some obstacles, though. The film hasn't been given the greenlight by Universal, and even though Berg has some serious stroke, a lot of this is going to depend on whether her can all of the major cast members to return. That includes star Kyle Chandler, who has seen his stock rise over the last year. Most important would be Taylor Kitsch coming back as Tim Riggins.  Berg seems confident in getting both, so I think FNL fans can start re-watching those old episodes in preparation.

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Dwayne Johnson will flex his muscles as 'Hercules' for Brett Ratner

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his ability to make every movie better is about to get put to the test in a serious way.  Already a franchise hero for Fast Five, jumpstarting the Journey to the Center of the Earth franchise, and will do the same later for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Johnson will now take on the herculean task of making a Brett Ratner film not look like warmed over garbage.

Early last year we learned Ratner had been in discussions to direct Hercules, MGM's adaptation of the Radical Comics series, Hercules: The Thracian War. Ratner will be behind the camera, with Peter Berg producing, and Johnson taking on the role of the mythological warrior. The story has Hercules, weary after completing his famous Twelve Labors, hired by the Thracian king to turn his men into the greatest army in the world.

When Ratner isn't busy insulting half the world's population by opening his big mouth, he's insulting everybody else with his bad movies, so Johnson has his work cut out for him here. But if anybody can pull this off, it's him. A filming date isn't set in stone just yet, but will have to wait until Johnson is finished with Michael Bay's Pain and Gain. Then he'll jump right into the Fast Five follow-up. [Variety]

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Ice Cube's N.W.A. biopic moving forward...without John Singleton

John Singleton's head must be spinning. It was only a few days ago that the Higher Learning director was openly discussing his ongoing talks to join Ice Cube in his production of a biopic on legendary rap crew, N.W.A. And now? Well, now he's apparently out of the picture.

Vulture has the news, stating that three names have entered the picture to direct the film, now titled Straight Outta Compton: Peter Berg, F. Gary Gray, and Craig Brewer. All three have the cred to make a legitimate claim for the job, but then again so did Singleton. Brewer's past films, Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan in particular, I think make him the ideal choice. All you have to do is think back to the phenomenon Hustle and Flow was back in 2005, with the soundtrack earning an Academy Award for Three Six Mafia. Remember the shocked faces of all those cinema stiffs as they performed "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" on stage? Awesome.

F. Gary Gray has worked with Ice Cube in the past, notably on 1995's urban comedy hit, Friday. But also as a music video director, so he could no doubt work with the hip hop heavy flick.

Peter Berg? Kinda out of left field, but all of his movies do pack amazing scores, especially Friday Night Lights. He might be the most high profile filmmaker of the bunch, though, and could woo audiences with his name alone. 

Singleton had previously stated that New Line was really into getting this movie made, and this news seems to back that up. But it's by no means guaranteed, and a big director may be the final touch that kicks things into high gear.

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Friday Night Lights not dead yet? Peter Berg wants to bring it to the big screen

TV shows get cancelled all of the time. And more often than not, you get an uproar from the loyal diehards who do silly things like sending peanuts to the networks, or start hundreds of online petitions nobody reads. Friday Night Lights was saved by it's audience after a second season of low ratings, leaving NBC and turning up on DirecTV where it just concluded it's fifth and final season. The show, about a small football town in Dillon, TX, was based on the great 2004 film directed by Peter Berg, which was itself adapted from the acclaimed 1990 novel. Berg didn't want to let it go, and put together the TV series, which has won raves for it's portrayal of small town life and the relationships within.


While the DVD of the final season has been out for a few months, the final rebroadcasting aired on NBC just a couple of nights ago. And just like when the movie was over, Berg appears to be reluctant to leave Friday Night Lights in his rearview. According to TVLine, Bill Simmons(editor at Grantland) tweeted that Berg is already working on a way to keep FNL going strong...

"PS: We didn't put it in the oral history, but Peter Berg told us he wants to do an FNL movie with Chandler/Britton off the final episode."

We've seen a lot of these stories over the last couple of years. Arrested Development, Party Down, Veronica Mars, and many more cult hits have gotten their fans' hopes up with wishes to bring their low rated projects to theaters. It almost never happens. However, Friday Night Lights may have more momentum than others. For one, the show is receiving more awards buzz than it ever has before. The show was just nominated for a Best Drama Emmy for the first time, with nominations also earned for stars Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. Plus, Berg is a heavy hitter in the biz right now. He may have the clout to get this done. Friday Night Lights is a proven commodity, on the big and small screen. Somebody's going to want to cash in on that. No deal is in place as of yet.

I adore the movie, thinking it may be the one perfect football film. Yet I've never seen the TV show. Maybe now that it's done I'll start from the beginning.

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