Chris Pratt Turned Down 'Uncharted' but may Saddle Up for 'The Magnificent Seven'

After leading Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and snagging the top part in Jurassic World, everybody wants a piece of Chris Pratt. His name has popped up for nearly every major studio film, and now he's been courted for two more: the video game adaptation Uncharted, and Antoine Fuqua's remake of The Magnificent Seven.

Pratt is reportedly circling a role in The Magnificent Seven, which would see him saddle up alongside Denzel Washington, Fuqua's Training Day star. The film is a remake of the 1960 Western classic which starred Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, and Steve McQueen as part of a group of gunmen hired to protect a Mexican village from bandits. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) wrote the most recent version of the screenplay. Pratt also turned down the starring role in Uncharted, based on the hit video game series and directed by Seth Gordon. Most recently Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) was brought on to rewrite the screenplay, but without a star that one is clearly still a ways off.

Recently Pratt agreed to star in and develop an adaptation of graphic novel Cowboy Ninja Viking, which he will try to fit in between his Marvel commitments.

Read More

Denzel Washington Confirmed for 'The Magnificent Seven'; Director Reportedly Hired for 'Seven Samurai' Remake

Akira Kurosawa's classic Seven Samurai has been the direct influence on a number of movies, but the most clear example is the Western, The Magnificent Seven. They're each great in their own right and have inspired numerous copycats, but now we're faced with a situation where both are getting remakes at roughly the same time, and both have apparently taken big steps forward.

First up comes the hopefully apocryphal  rumor that Rob Letterman, director of Jack Black flicks Gulliver's Travels and Goosebumps, has been hired to direct Seven Samurai.  In the works for nearly a decade, and once envisioned as a Thailand-set story centering on a team of armed military contractors (!!!), the project is basically starting over from scratch. And part of the decision in hiring Letterman is his experience directing Monsters v. Aliens and Shark Tale since one approach The Weinstein Co. is considering is animation. I would encourage them to watch the excellent series Samurai 7 before going down this route. And let's be honest, the real worry is that Letterman will bring on Jack Black and turn this into a comedy. You know it might happen, right? Be afraid. Seven Samurai is one of my favorite movies ever and I'm terrified this story is true. [The Tracking Board]

So what about the remake of the remake, The Magnificent Seven? Some months back Antoine Fuqua was set as helmer for the Western, and quickly sent an offer out to reteam with Denzel Washington, his star on Training Day and The Equalizer. While at TIFF for the latter film's premiere, Fuqua confirmed that Washington is on board to play 1/7th of the infamous Seven. Where all this fits in their schedules is unclear as the two could be working together again very soon on a sequel to The Equalizer, assuming it performs well enough. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) wrote the most recent draft, coming aboard just as Tom Cruise dropped out of the lead role.

Read More

Rumor: Antoine Fuqua Offers Denzel Washingon 'The Magnificent Seven' Role

In a few months Denzel Washington will reteam with his Training Day director, Antoine Fuqua, for The Equalizer. And basically it looks like the kind of film we'd expect from both; it doesn't require the ever-busy Fuqua to stretch himself too far, and Denzel gets to play the cool, tough badass we're used to seeing him as. And considering the success they've had together in the past, it's not surprising that talk of a reunion for The Magnificent Seven has begun.

Recently MGM offered Fuqua the directing gig on The Magnificent Seven remake, and while he has yet to give an official response, Schmoes Know say he has already signed on and personally offered a role to Denzel. This would be Denzel's first true Western, although The Book of Eli certainly had elements, and pairing him up with Fuqua would make a ton of sense.

All of this relies on Fuqua's answer, and considering he's already got the boxing drama Southpaw, followed by the drug world thriller Narco Sub and a sequel to The Equalizer, he may not have time to do it unless something else gets dropped.

Read More

Antoine Fuqua to Direct 'Narco Sub'; Circles 'The Magnificent Seven' Remake

Antoine Fuqua is what we like to call a "hired gun" director. He's solid enough, good enough to stay plenty busy, but doesn't have a particular style to get pigeonholed into. And that's why his name often pops up for wildly different types of films. His next film is The Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington in a remake of the '80s TV series, and after that he'll direct the boxing drama, Southpaw. And now he's looking to add a couple more projects that have absolutely nothing in common.

Fuqua is on board to direct Narco Sub, a narcotics thriller the late Tony Scott was attached to before his sudden passing. Doug Liman considered it for awhile, too, but now it will be Fuqua at the helm for the film set in the world of drug smuggling. The title refers to the submersible crafts South American drug cartels use to smuggle drugs into the U.S. David Guggenheim (Safe House) wrote the first draft of the script with Simon Kinberg (X-men: Days of Future Past) and Anthony Peckham (Sherlock Holmes) giving it a rewrite.

Also, Fuqua is said to be eying that remake of The Magnificent Seven nobody wants to see happen. Tom Cruise was briefly set to star but he rode out of town just as John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) came aboard to write the screenplay. But if Fuqua's name is getting mentioned that mean the project is still very much on, sadly.  [Deadline]

Read More

John Lee Hancock Rewriting 'The Magnificent Seven' as Tom Cruise Exits

Not that there was a lot of positive buzz swirling around MGM's planned remake of Western classic, The Magnificent Seven, but at least when development began in 2012 Tom Cruise was involved. Now that's no longer the case as The Wrap reports Cruise has exited the picture, just as Saving Mr. Banks director John Lee Hancock has come on to give it a rewrite.

Considering the busy slate ahead of Cruise this doesn't come as a total surprise. He's currently hard at work on Mission: Impossible 5 and will jump into a Jack Reacher sequel once that's done. Hancock will be taking over for writer Nic Pizzolatto (HBO's True Detective) who wrote the initial draft based on the 1960 film starring Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and more as a group of hired gunmen protecting a village from outlaws. It was itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.

There's still no director officially on board but Hancock has experience in the genre, directing 2004's big budget flop, The Alamo.

Read More