Rupert Sanders to Direct Live-Action 'Ghost in the Shell'

Turning Japan's most cherished manga into live-action features has been a problem Hollywood continues to struggle with. The problems Warner Bros. faced with Akira are legendary at this point, and aren't likely to be resolved any time soon. Years ago Dreamworks began developing a live-action take on Masamune Shirow's classic Ghost in the Shell, with a script to be written by Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island). Then nothing ever happened and there wasn't any word on it until now, as the project appears to be back on with Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) directing.

Deadline reports that Sanders will direct the film in 3D, with William Wheeler providing a new script. The original 1989 cyberpunk manga was adapted into an anime movie in 1995, directed by Momoru Oshii. It was followed by a sequel and an anime series, Stand Alone Complex. Set in the not-too-distant future, the story centers on Major Motoko Musanagi, a cyborg member of a special unit designed to take down a cyber-criminal known as the "Puppet Master".

It's unclear where this would fit into Sanders' schedule as he has a number of projects in the works including Napoleon, 90 Church, and The Kill List. Considering how long Dreamworks has been trying to get moving on Ghost in the Shell they may want Sanders to make it a priority.

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Rupert Sanders Preps 'The Kill List'; Baltasar Kormakur Eyes Next Crime Film; Simon Beaufoy To Pen 'Everest'

A few things that escaped my notice over the last few days that are worth keeping track of, if only because of the talents behind the camera: Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, and Contraband helmer Baltasar Kormakur.

Sanders is set to direct an adaptation of the upcoming Frederick Forsyth espionage thriller, The Kill List. Producers picked up the rights to the book barely a month ago and are moving on this quickly, so there's a good chance this will be next for Sanders and his other projects will have to wait awhile. Last fall he came aboard to helm The Juliet, a sci-fi "Bonnie & Clyde" film, but we haven't heard anything about it since. The Kill List follows a U.S. Special Forces "tracker" hunting down an extreme fundamentalist terrorist.

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur has a couple of films in the pipeline, so let's start with the new one. He has an untitled crime film in the works that is based on a real life scandal involving corrupt politicians releasing criminals from prison as hired killers. The story inspired the recent Filipino film, On the Job, but Kormakur's version won't be a remake.

Before that, Kormakur has Christian Bale all geared up to star in Everest, which details the disastrous 1996 expedition to scale the titular mountain, which was hit by sudden, blinding storms leading to the deaths of eight climbers. Our friend Brendon Connelly over at Bleeding Cool recently spoke to Kormakur, who revealed that Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) is penning the script.

Kormakur recently wrapped up the action comedy 2 Guns with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. I wish his American work was half as inspired as what he does back home, but maybe Everest will change all of that. He does seem to have a great command of films involving the ferocity of Mother Nature, such as with his deep sea survival film, The Deep. You can check out our review of that here.

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Kristen Stewart in, Rupert Sanders out for 'Snow White and the Huntsman' sequel

Well I'm glad this whole sordid mess has been figured out. For awhile there it looked as if the Snow White and the Huntsman sequel would be moving forward without its star, Kristen Stewart. With rumors already floating around that it would focus more on Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman character, it certainly didn't help that Stewart found herself wrapped up in romantic entanglements with the director, Rupert Sanders, who happens to be very married. Maybe not much longer, but we'll see.

Universal quickly took a boot to those rumors and said Stewart was still very much in their plans, but it always could have been the infamous "show of support" that precedes a quick firing. No such show of support was given for Sanders, however. Besides, it never really seemed likely he would return just as a means of helping to save his broken marriage. Stewart has managed to conveniently hook back up with Robert Pattinson in time to hype The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. It's all for show, people.

RadarOnline now has an anonymous source who says Universal is prepared to proceed with the sequel with Stewart on board, but Sanders is a definite bye-bye. Here's the relevant portion....

"The script has already been written and production will begin late next year," a source close to the situation tells Radar. "However, Rupert Sanders definitely won't be a part of the project. Rupert didn't want to be a part of it to begin with because he is desperately still trying to save his marriage. The search is still on for a new director."

The story goes on to say that Stewart is extremely "panicked" over her career after this latest escapade I guess because she doesn't want to be thought of as a trollop or something. She's worried that Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and Ashley Greene or getting more and better projects than her, and that she isn't currently attached to anything. Oh? What about Focus with Ben Affleck? And Scott Cooper's Lie Down in Darkness?  Are those not happening? Anyway, I don't think she's got anything to worry about. So the search for a new director is on, and I'm curious if Universal will again seek out a relatively unknown commodity, or go after someone more established. I don't think there's any fear of Stewart hooking up with Steven Spielberg or Terrence Malick.

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'Snow White and the Huntsman' follow-up to move on without Kristen Stewart?

So what are the chances Kristen Stewart's roll in the hay with director Rupert Sanders just cost her the Snow White and the Huntsman sequel? Eh, probably not that much, but the fact that so many are asking that same question can't really be good for the Stewart camp.

Here's the deal: Deadline is reporting that Universal is continuing to weigh their options on how best to follow-up the summer hit, which grossed just shy of $400M at the box office. Not bad, but hardly gangbusters in this day and age. Currently they're trying to figure out whether to do a straight up sequel, or possibly spin the Huntsman character off into his own solo franchise. That would give Chris Hemsworth yet another franchise to call his own, while Stewart would likely be dropped. It's unclear how Charlize Theron fits into either scenario.  Nothing has been finalized at this point, but Universal knows enough that they've dropped Davod Koepp, who had been hired back in April to start work on a script.  Making it even less likely this is just another shot across Kristen Stewart's bow, we first learned plans of a Huntsman spinoff back in April, so it's possible Universal is just considering what we already knew.

As for Sanders, he's not inked to a deal no matter which direction they choose, but he's still the likely candidate to remain on board. And clearly, Universal has faith in him, as they've just picked up the rights to Dean Unkefor's upcoming novel, 90 Church: The True Story of the Narcotics Squad From Hell, with plans for Sanders to direct. The book follows a team of Federal Bureau of Narcotics agents in NYC who use any means necessary to combat organized crime in the 1960s and 1970s.

So don't listen to those reports that are saying Stewart's already out the door. Nothing's concrete yet, although the writing does appear to be on the wall, doesn't it?

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Bad timing? Alex Pettyfer is Kristen Stewart's boyfriend in 'Cali'

Awesome publicity alert! With Kristen Stewart mounting her apology tour today after getting caught cheating on R-Patz with R-Sands(aka Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders), casting news for her latest flick is probably furthest from her mind. But it's fun for us anyway, because the role is as her boyfriend in the indie crime flick, Cali.

Alex Pettyfer, last seen workin' it in Magic Mike, has joined the film, based on a script by Michael Diliberti and directed by Nick Cassavetes(The Notebook). Stewart and Pettyfer play a couple who make a ton of cash selling a fake snuff film, then beat it out of the San Fernando Valley. When she's forced to return home years later to attend to family issues, they must contend with the people they screwed, including angry former business partners, stoner vet techs, homicidal porn stars, and an unstoppable  killing machine in a cowboy hat. Somehow they'll have to overcome the odds and and manage to keep their relationship intact.

This was always going to draw a lot of tabloid attention simply with Stewart on board, but with the sexy Pettyfer close by, you can bet the press will be watching the set like a bunch of greedy hawks. Production begins later this summer.

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Universal moves ahead with a "Snow White and the Huntsman' sequel

Long before Snow White and the Huntsman opened last week, Universal had been talking up plans for a sequel. It was in July of last year, eleven months before its release, that we heard the first inklings of a follow-up. David Koepp(Men in Black III) was brought on in April to get crackin' on a script, with rumors that the film would follow Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman character. Then a few days before the film hit theaters, Universal got gun shy, and started to walk back the sequel chatter. 

A $118M opening weekend cures a lot of ills, though, and now Deadline reports that Universal is back on board and looking to put a sequel on the fast track. All of the principle players, Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Chris Hemsworth have options for two more movies and are expected to be back. The only variable is Rupert Sanders, who made his directorial debut with the film, as he was the beneficiary of a sweet deal that put him in the driver's seat if he produced a hit. Basically, he doesn't have to come back if he doesn't want to, and since he's red hot right now, he has all the leverage. Chances are he'll return, simply because a sequel would be a guaranteed blockbuster.

I liked Snow White and the Huntsman, but didn't love it. It certainly doesn't scream "sequel" to me, so if it is going to happen let's hope they fix some of the problems with the pace and poorly developed characters next time.

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1st look at the cast of Snow White and the Huntsman

Clearly, Snow White and the Huntsman isn't going to remind anybody of the classic fairy tale. That was pretty obvious from the start, with the plot diverging wildly from the source material, allowing for the Huntsman(Chris Hemsworth) to defy the Evil Queen(Charlize Theron) and not kill off Snow White(Kristen Stewart) as commanded. Even by comparison to Tarsem Singh's competing film(first image here), that's a pretty big leap. Judging by the new images of the cast, Snow White and the Huntsman is going to be less Disney and more Lord of the Rings.

The below pics feature most of the principle cast, all armored up and ready to crack a few heads. I'm loving that pic of Stewart, as it's nice to see her ready to fight rather than sitting around while others fight over her. Charlize Theron looks deliciously evil and sexy at the same time. The ladies will no doubt dig Hemsworth grizzled, rugged appearance. And even Sam Claflin is pretty much unrecognizable from how he looked in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Now all we need is a shot of the dwarves, played by Toby Jones, Stephen Graham, Nick Frost, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Bob Hoskins, and Eddie Marsan.

Rupert Sanders directed the film, due out on June 1st 2012.

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Chris Hemsworth confirmed for Snow White and the Huntsman

After months of headaches trying to find a lead for Rupert Sanders' Snow White and the Huntsman, we learned last week that Chris Hemsworth was made an offer. And now over the star of Thor and future Avenger has taken the job, which will see him opposite Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Sam Claflin.

Hemsworth will be playing the titular huntsman in the film, an action packed twist on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. In screenwriter Evan Daugherty's vision, the evil queen hires the huntsman to track down and kill Snow White, but upon finding her decides to take her under his wing and escape.

With Thor performing so well domestically and overseas, the spotlight is on Hemsworth now more than it likely ever will be, so this is a pretty big score for Universal who have been desperately seeking a big name for the role. But Hemsworth is a totally different actor than Viggo Mortensen, Hugh Jackman, and even Joel Edgerton, who were all previously contenders. Kristen Stewart and Hemsworth are much closer in age and there will have to be some romantic sparks, even if that's not the intention of the story. Will there be a rewrite to perhaps expand on the tension between the two? Maybe a reduction in role for Sam Claflin as the Prince? Or will they beef up the Prince role to emphasize him as her one true love? All questions I'm very curious to see answered.

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Chris Hemsworth the frontrunner for Snow White and the Huntsman

With Thor about to strike theaters this weekend, Chris Hemsworth is about to have his profile raised in a mighty way. So much so that his name is showing up for a role that a pair of A-listers recently passed on. Variety is reporting that Universal now has Hemsworth pegged for the lead in Rupert Sanders' Snow White and the Huntsman.

This is a big change in direction, as the the two previous contenders, Viggo Mortensen and Hugh Jackman, both skewed much older. Even Joel Edgerton, who is still in the running but behind Hemsworth now, is nearly 40. Hemsworth is 27, and closer in age to star Kristen Stewart, so it wouldn't be as icky if they were to make out or something.

Variety is quick to note that an offer hasn't been made, but the gig is his if he wants it. It's probably going to boil down to scheduling, as Hemsworth finds himself hip deep in Marvels superhero universe now. He'll be shooting The Avengers soon, and who knows what else that will entail when it comes to sequels and spinoffs.

Huntsman is a more action oriented take on the Snow White fairy tale. The Huntsman is dispatched by the evil queen(Charlize Theron) to kill Snow White, but refuses and the two go on the run. Sounds like a perfect setup to some close quarters sexual tension.

Universal has already set December 21st, 2012 as the release date, but have seen the film fall behind Tarsem Singh's Snow White project(starring Julia Roberts) in the race to completion.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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