Ed Zwick Bringing Manga 'Soul Reviver' to the Big Screen

Live-Action adaptations of manga and anime haven't exactly broken the bank, or even really had an easy time getting made. But that's not going to stop Hollywood from trying, and now Ed Zwick (The Last Samurai) hopes to bring supernatural manga Soul Reviver to the screen.

Deadline reports Zwick will direct the film, which he'll co-write with Marshall Herskovitz based on the series created by Tohru Fujisawa and Manabu Akishige. The series is an odd one, even for Japanese manga, centering on "Jin and Clara, two soul revivers who have the ability to move between the worlds of the living and the dead and to bring certain people back whose mission on Earth was not complete at the time of their demise."

Zwick plans for production to begin in time for a 2016 release.

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Will Smith eyes two new projects as 'After Earth' moves up a week

It's not often that news of three potential Will Smith films emerges in the span of a few days. The box office juggernaut is usually good for about one film a year, and often goes a few years without stepping in front of the camera. But he seems to be picking up the pace, as he recently agreed to star in the crime caper, Focus, and now has added two more potential projects to his slate. But first, there's been a little movement on his next film, the sci-fi flick After Earth.

Columbia Pictures has chosen to bump the M. Night Shyamalan-directed film up from June 7th to May 31st, where it will face stiff competition from illusionist thriller Now You See Me. After Earth pairs Will with his son Jaden in the story of a military commander and his kid who crash land on an Earth abandoned by humanity after an alien attack. It's up to the son to make a dangerous journey to signal a rescue beacon and save his father's life.

Where that film is the sort of popcorn flick Smith used to churn out on a regular basis, the next two projects are something else entirely. The first is The American Can, which Smith has been circling for more than four years. His Overbrook Productions shingle picked up the rights back in 2009 with plans for Smith to star, with John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) co-writing the script and directing. Hancock has since departed, although his draft remains, and for awhile Smith backed out with hopes of landing Denzel Washington for the lead. Now Smith is starring again, and reaching out to Ed Zwick (Love and Other Drugs) to direct.

The true story is actually pretty incredible, and puts Smith back in the familiar "hero" position. He'd play John Keller, an ex-Marine who, during the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, manned a boat and rescued more than two hundred residents in the American Can building. Using his military training and resourcefulness, Keller was able to find food and help fend off looters until help arrived a few days later. Smith would like this to be his next film after Focus, but there is one more possibility on the table.

Smith is also considering The Accountant, which features a Black List script by Bill Dubuque about a government accountant who moonlights as an assassin. He had been interested in it before back when it was at Warner Bros. with Mel Gibson circling the director's chair, but now Sony has taken over and Smith is suddenly mulling it over again.

With a small role in Akiva Goldsman's Winter's Tale coming up, Smith could be on the verge of a prolific streak the likes of which we haven't seen since very early in his career.

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Ed Zwick lands future Superman Henry Cavill to star in 'The Great Wall'

It was back in August that we first learned of Ed Zwick's intention to return to the sort of big, historical masterpieces he's become so closely associated with. His follow-up to romantic comedy Love and Other Drugs would be a China set epic titled The Great Wall, and center on the mysterious construction of the world wonder. While further details remain foggy, Zwick has landed someone super to be the star.

Henry Cavill, set to play Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, has been cast in the film according to Variety. The script was co-written by Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, based on an idea conceived by Max Brooks(World War Z) and Legendary Pictures head man Thomas Tull.

The jury's still out on Cavill as a leading man, but it should be noted that Immortals, which most critics savaged mercilessly, has earned over $200M worldwide so somebody likes him. He'll really be put to the test when Man of Steel opens on June 14th 2013.

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Ed Zwick to direct, co-write The Great Wall

Back when we had our chance to talk to Ed Zwick last year, you could sense his overwhelming enthusiasm for his latest film, Love and Other Drugs. While that rom-com may have fallen a bit short of expectations, it didn't really slow Zwick down any, and he's going back to what I think he does best. To me he's the guy you turn to when a historical epic is on the slate, having helmed such flicks as Glory, The Last Samurai, and Legends of the Fall. But he's just made a deal with up 'n coming studio Legendary East to co-write and direct The Great Wall, about the legend surrounding the construction of the massive Chinese structure.

The China-based Legendary East was founded by Thomas Tull with the intent to produce a couple of English language films a year centered on Chinese culture. Marshall Herskovitz will team up with Zwick on the script, based on an idea conceived by Zwick and Max Brooks(World War Z).

I'm not sure what this legend is, but the first ideas of creating a Great Wall were established back around 220 BC during the Qin Dynasty. Maybe that's what it'll be. Whatever it is, if Zwick is at the helm then this is a film worth paying attention to.  Legendary East is aiming for a 2013 date on their first films, so expect to see The Great Wall around that time. [Variety]

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Love and Other Drugs

I expect a lot out of Ed Zwick. The filmmaker has been a master at capturing important moments in time and presenting them from unique angles. It began with his fresh take on the Civil War in 1989's Glory, and it's a skill he's perpetuated ever since. You could even include his production of My So Called Life, the teen drama series people of a certain age still look upon as the shining example of young adult life in the 1990s. Love and Other Drugs is firmly rooted in the era of the 90s as well, during huge pharmaceutical boom that saw a new drug created for every possible ailment under the sun. Commercials flooded the market, new and interesting drugs were around every corner and in every doctor's office. Drugs were being shoved down people's throats like M&M's. We also got the beginnings of the great Viagra boom, which caused quite a "rise" in sales.  In such a scenario, you'd think that the story of a slick talkin' pharmaceutical rep and his tragically ill girlfriend would make for some weighty, inspired material. You'd be right normally, but in the case of Love and Other Drugs what we got was barely a notch above romantic comedy fluff. It's good, but has the potential to be so much more.


Jake Gylenhall and his puppy dog eyes stars as Jamie Randall, a slick talkin' stallion with a killer sales game. He can sell anything, but the product he pushes the most is himself. His womanizing ways have been both a blessing and a curse, and when we meet him he's just lost his job for screwing the boss's girl. Jamie isn't down and out for long as he signs up for a training course to be work for Pfizer, one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world. He soon meets the gorgeous and hard hearted Maggie Murdock(Anne Hathaway), a woman with commitment issues worse than any guy. She and Jamie are a perfect fit....to be friends with benefits, and it isn't long before the two are spending all their spare time together. By "spending time" I mean lots of hot, unexpectedly explicit sex. More open and honest than you'd expect to see from two such mainstream performers.

When Jamie starts to develop feelings for Maggie, the crap starts to hit the fan. She's been afflicted with early on set Parkinson's Disease, which carries the promise of some truly horrific times ahead. With that future in front of her, Maggie's in a "live for today" mode. Can hardly blame her, but it puts him in an awkward position. How does a guy who makes his living pushing marginally necessary drugs on people live with a woman who needs constant medication just to get through the day? One of Maggie's biggest hang ups is that she is always dating pharmaceutical reps just like him. Does she do it as a form of self loathing? It has to bother her that he sells cures for ailments most people could live with while she takes a ton of drugs that will never cure her condition. Does that bother her at all? We never really find out, and that's my biggest problem with this film.

I expect more than a cursory examination of their relationship. Zwick  has only made one other romantic comedy, the Demi Moore/Rob Lowe steamer About Last Night. So I get that he might be a bit out of his element. There are awkward shifts in tone, going from light hearted to extremely dark in the blink of an eye. One moment our heartstrings are effectively tugged by Anne Hathaway as her character struggles in her weakness to simply open a bottle. The next moment Jamie's brother is wackin' off to a homemade porno. But at no point do we ever get any reason to care about Jamie and Maggie as a couple. I wanted to know so much more about her in particular that I was fed up by the time the movie was over that we never got that chance. It's a testament to Anne Hathaway's performance that she made me care about Maggie's plight. Expect her to get an Oscar nomination for sure. Jake Gylenhall is so much more effective when he's not trying to play a charmer. It's not his natural suit. Never has been. They were much more effective together in Brokeback Mountain as a couple basically stuck in a sham marriage.

The problem is that Love and Other Drugs doesn't exactly fit anywhere. It's too dark to be a traditional rom-com. It's not funny enough to be a comedy. Yet, it's still too breezy to be a drama. Love and Other Drugs is so close to being great that it actually makes me angry. A little more exploration of the time and the characters would've sealed the deal, but instead what we got is like a spoonful of really weak medicine.

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Punch Drunk Critics Live! Ep. 75: Ed Zwick interview; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Love and Other Drugs; The Next Three Days

 

It's our golden 75th anniversary! 75 shows is gold, right? Even if it's not this is a very special show as we're joined by Ed Zwick the prolific director of Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond and a ton of other greats to discuss his latest film, Love and Other Drugs. That's not even the half of it, as muggles and mudbloods alike have been eagerly awaiting the first act of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final chapter of the boy wizard's fight against Voldemort. We've seen it, but for an event this big we need a little help, and who better than our friend Jen Chaney of The Washington Post to join us? Plus all the news, DVD releases, and whatever else pops into our heads! It's going to be a crazy show, so be sure to tune in this Sunday night at 7pm eastern, courtesy of our friends at Blogtalkradio!

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