Solo 'Lego Batman' Movie Coming in 2017; 'The Lego Movie' Sequel Likely Delayed

While there was much to love about The Lego Movie, a clear highlight was Will Arnett's hilariously arrogant and gravelly-voiced version of Batman. With so many characters ripe for a spinoff, and obviously the blessing of Warner Bros. who are seeing $$$ in their growing Lego franchise, Arnett's Batman is now set to get his own film in 2017, but it will come at the expense of another.

According to THR, the Lego Batman film will be directed by Chris McKay, the animation supervisor on The Lego Movie. But McKay was also the guy hired to direct The Lego Movie 2 which was also set for a 2017 release, and unfortunately that means the sequel is being pushed back. Arnett will be back to voice the Dark Knight, with Dark Shadows scribe Seth Grahame-Smith writing the script. Phil Lord and Chris Miller will be on hand to produce. Given the success of the Lego movies and the Lego Batman video games this could be a huge hit for Warner Bros., so no wonder they are putting it on the fast track.

The next Lego movie to hit theaters will be Ninjago, opening September 23rd 2016.

Read More

Seth Grahame-Smith to Direct 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'

After authoring the genre mash-ups Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith has quickly made a name for himself as a screenwriter. He's worked with Tim Burton on an adaptation of 'Vampire Hunter', wrote the director's Dark Shadows plus the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel, and he's also one of the co-writers on Fox's Fantastic Four relaunch. But for his first time behind the camera, Grahame-Smith has decided to tackle Ray Bradbury's 1962 horror novel, Something Wicked this Way Comes.

Disney has hired Grahame-Smith to make his directorial debut on the film, which the studio first brought to the big screen in 1983. A writer will be hired to pen the screenplay after Grahame-Smith finishes the initial treatment. David Katzenberg will be joining him as a producer. The story centers on two 14-year-old boys who encounter the mysterious Mr. Dark, the evil proprietor of a traveling circus in their small town.

Bradbury wasn't a big fan of the movie (nor was I), feeling that it left out a lot of what made the book special. Grahame-Smith apparently agrees and will look to adapt Bradbury's novel rather than simply remake the movie...

“I have been so crazy about this book and it was such a formative title in my life that I actually wrote a piece on NPR about why it is so important for young males to read,” Grahame-Smith said. “It is a classic coming of age, father-son story about the transition from childhood to adulthood and how kids can’t wait to be adults and adults romanticize their childhoods. I’m not remaking the movie; I want the haunted atmosphere that makes the book so chilling, and I want to reinstate some of the classic scenes from the book that were missing from the ’83 film.”

Read More

'Gremlins' reboot to be produced by the guy behind 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'

Rumors of a Gremlins 3 have been swirling around since 1990's Gremlins 2: The New Batch, but earlier this year it looked like Warner Bros. and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment were finally pushing ahead, only with a total reboot of Joe Dante's classic. Why? Eh, there's money to be made. Need any other reason than that? At the time it didn't sound especially close to happening, and that may still be the case, but with the addition of two high-profile producers clearly a major step forward has been taken.

The Gremlins reboot is "officially moving ahead" according to BloodyDisgusting, adding Seth Grahame-Smith and the powerful David Katzenberg to produce. Grahame-Smith is best known as the author behind horror mash-ups Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, also having adapted the former for the big screen last year. He also wrote Tim Burton's Dark Shadows and is working with him on Beetlejuice 2, so clearly he's a guy familiar with fleshing out older properties. He's currently working with Fox on their Fantastic Four relaunch, so the guy is pretty much everywhere right now.

So far there's no writer or director attached, but it wouldn't be a stretch to think Grahame-Smith could end up with the gig. Not sure if that will inspire a lot of confidence or not considering his resume. Unfortunately, nobody seems to be ringing Dante's phone to come back and direct it. Maybe once Spielberg starts making his voice heard on the matter that will change.

Read More

Panorama Media jumps aboard the stalled 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'

In the pantheon of troubled projects, the adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies will rank right at the top. Grahame-Smith, who also wrote and adapted Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, has been trying to get it off the ground for years with a number of talented folks dipping their toes into the pool before jumping right back out. David O. Russell was initially going to direct it, having also written the screenplay. He left and was followed up for a hot minute by Mike White (Enlightened), and then Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) was around before he too dropped out.

After a long stretch in limbo, the film is now back on course as Panorama Media has joined Darko Enertainment and others in developing the novel for the big screen. Russell's script is still in play, but it was the inability to find a director or lead actress that was always the sticking point. I don't suspect that will suddenly change. Rooney Mara, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Blake Lively, and Mia Wasikowska all turned down the role of Jane Austen heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, who in this version is an ass-kickin' ninja warrior. The story is exactly what the title says, tossing the undead into Austen's classic period romance.

We'll see if this pushes the needle forward in any noticeable way. I'm not holding my breath.

Read More

'Dark Shadows' writer Seth Grahame-Smith boards 'Fantastic Four' reboot

Best-selling author Seth Grahame-Smith's jump to Hollywood got off to a bumpy start last year, to say the least. The adaptation of his historical horror Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter turned out to be more of a joke than the title would suggest, and his Dark Shadows remake with Tim Burton was a very public failure. Despite that, he's still a writer highly in demand, and now Fox is turning to him to do a script polish on Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot.

Grahame-Smith comes aboard just days after Matthew Vaughn joined the film as a producer. He'll be taking a pass at the draft penned by Michael Green and Jeremy Slater, with THR noting the story will take a "grounded superhero and sci-fi approach" to Marvel's first family of heroes, tapping deep into comics mythology.

The world of comic books isn't far from the genre Grahame-Smith has nurtured in his two novels, the other being Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, so he should right at home. It's hard to ignore just how awful his two screenplays were, though. Fantastic Four hits theaters on March 6th 2015.

Read More

Sure Shots: Jennifer Aniston; 'Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho'; Tim Burton

* After an eternity in development, the gears may finally be turning for We're the Millers, a road trip comedy that at most recent report had Jason Bateman set to star. Well, he's out, with Jennifer Aniston stepping in and her Horrible Bosses co-star, Jason Sudeikis, close to signing. Written by Wedding Crashers scribes, Bob Fisher and Steve Faber, the story would have Sudeikis as a drug dealer who creates a fake family and heads off into an RV to cross the border into Mexico and pick up over 1,000lbs of marijuana for one big score. Aniston would play a hooker who gets roped into the scheme playing the mom of the family. Rawson Thurber(Dodgeball) is still attached to direct, but there's no timetable for when, or if, this will shoot. [Deadline]

*  CSI star Wallace Langham will play legendary graphic designer Saul Bass in Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, the film by director Sacha Gervasi which already boasts Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, James D'Arcy, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Stuhlbarg, Toni Collette, Michael Wincott, and Danny Huston. Wow. Bass was known for his inventive title and credit sequences(The Man with the Golden Arm is the best in my opinion), and he did the same for Psycho along with serving as storyboard artist. He would work alongside Hitchcock many times, but as proved to be the case with others involved with the film, the director's personality would cause this to be the final time.  The film is based on the novel by Stephen Rebello. [Variety]

* Does Tim Burton have a new running buddy not named Tim Burton? It appears so. The director will pair up with Dark Shadows scribe Seth Grahame-Smith(he also wrote Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter which Burton produced) for a stop-motion animated film which Burton will direct. Titled Night of the Living, details are under wraps at this point but it sounds like some sort of zombie movie. Grahame-Smith will also provide the script for Burton's Beetlejuice sequel, and will next adapt his own upcoming novel, Unholy Night.

Read More

Craig Gillespie officially off Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I knew it. Back in August, a story hit the web  that the troubled adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies had lost yet another director for unknown reasons, this time in Craig Gillespie(Fright Night).  That story was reversed without much explanation a few days later during the whirl of activity surrounding Blake Lively's possible casting, which she, like all the actresses before her, ultimately turned down. Now comes word from Deadline that Gillespie is now officially off the project,but at least we have a reason why this time.

The split is said to be amicable, but something is clearly wrong with for the film to have had this many problems. As has been detailed many times here on the site, the revisionist take on the Jane Austen classic was first under the guidance of David O. Russell. Who then left the film to do other things after a facing budget concerns, putting it briefly in the hands of Mike White(Year of the Dog), who left almost as rapidly as he showed up. Gillespie seemed like the one sure fire bet, and all seemed to be in order. So what gives?

The problem seems to be stemming from the inability to come up with a female lead to star as a butt kicking version of Elizabeth Bennet. The list of actresses who have passed on the role reads like a Hollywood casting agent's dream: Natalie Portman(also a producer), Emma Stone, Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway, and most recently the aforementioned Lively. Really that's just a few of the names that have been mentioned for the part. It's a meaty role that could put a number of these actresses into a far different genre than they've previously been attached, so maybe it's a matter of money that's holding them back? The budget is reportedly very small(like $25M), and these women come with a high price tag.

I've long since thought this film would never get off the ground, and to me this looks like a final nail in the coffin. Maybe give it a rest for a couple years, see how Grahame-Smith's other film, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, pans out and maybe then there will be more of a demand.

Read More

Blake Lively may star in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

There have been so many problems getting Pride and Prejudice and Zombies rolling that it's almost become like a running joke. It all starts with the directors, with David O. Russell the first man attached to both write and helm, only he bailed for what was mostly budgetary concerns. Mike White(Year of the Dog) was the guy just long enough to have a cup of coffee on the studio's dime, then backed out. And now there's Craig Gillespie(Fright Night), who was hired, then said to be off the project, and now is apparently back on.

All that doesn't even cover the list of actresses who have turned down the lead female role of Jane Austen's classic heroine, Elizbeth Bennet. Natalie Portman, Mia Wasikowska, Emma Stone, all have said "no" at one point or another. But now a new name is emerging, and I think this one might actually stick. I've got good vibes on this one.

Twitch reports that Blake Lively has been offered the Bennet role in the film that reimagines the Jane Austen classic by throwing in a zombie infestation plot. The Bennet girls aren't just prim and proper socialites, but ass kicking ninja broads protecting their home from the undead. Lively has been impressing a lot of people as of late, most notably in The Town. I'd say she also the lone bright spot in this summer's Green Lantern, not that it's saying a whole lot.

So yeah this is the dreaded "offer story", but it's one I hope to see pan out. Lively's got the juice to make this film work, and if she signs on them maybe we'll finally see some forward progress. I'm tired of writing about the many ways the adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's book is crapping the bed.

Read More

Craig Gillespie no longer directing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Unbelievable. The problems getting an adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies have been well documented. David O. Russell was initially attached to write and direct, but eventually dropped out. That left Mike White(Year of the Dog) in place to helm, but he was only there for a hot minute before he too departed. And let's not even talk about the issues they've had finding someone to play the Jane Austen's famous lead character of Elizabeth Bennet, reimagined as a butt kicking ninja broad in a tight corset. Natalie Portman(also a producer) once had the role, but left, and Emma Stone flat out said no. It was starting to look like the film was cursed until Craig Gillespie(Lars and the Real Girl) signed on to direct back in April. Well, somebody better get out the chicken blood and frog legs because this curse is still in full effect mode.

Twitch is reporting that Gillespie has now left the project for unknown reasons. We aren't sure if he left on his own or if the studio punted him out after the dismal response to his Fright Night remake. If it's the latter, then causes another interesting ripple because his Fright Night scribe, Marti Noxon, was doing rewrites on O. Russell's initial script. So if he's gone because Fright Night bombed, chances are she might be too.

So it remains to be seen what happens now. Back when the film was still in it's earliest stages there was talk of Grahame-Smith possible directing it himself. Maybe that's the final option left if this thing's ever going to happen. Perhaps the saddest part about this set back is that the film has a leading man who is probably more in demand than he'll ever be, and that's Dominic Cooper(The Devil's Double), who recently signed to play Fitzwilliam Darcy.

My personal thought is that the film should just quietly go away, but that's partially because I tried to read the book and found it to be dull as dried wood. At least Grahame-Smith can be happy with Timur Bekmambetov's adaption of his other novel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Read More

1st look at Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Maybe it's because I haven't read Seth Grahame-Smith's book yet, but I don't know what to think about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I've heard dismal things about his Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and the adaptation of that novel has had more than a few problems getting underway. On one hand I love the premise, which has Lincoln surviving a vampire attack as a kid and spending the rest of his life(and his time as President) as a secret killer of the bloodsuckers.  Timur Bekmambetov(Wanted, Night Watch) is directing, which is also a positive. The cast rocks: Benjamin Walker, Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Alan Tudyk, and Robin McLeavy are all featured heavily. So what's my issue? Tone.

Bekmambetov describes the film as a cross between D.W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln(back in 1930) and Noferatu. To me that sounds like a train wreck in the making. Might be a better idea to tackle this thing from a pure camp angle, like Bubba Ho-Tep or something.

We're still more than a year away before the June 22nd 2012 release date hits, but Fox is getting out in front of things by releasing the first image from the historical horror. It comes courtesy of the New York Times(via The Playlist), and doesn't really show much but it does give us our first look at Benjamin Walker as "Honest Abe". 

Read More

Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper join Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

As if the concept of ol' Honest Abe slashin' and hackin' vampires isn't cool enough, the cast surrounding Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is starting to look pretty slick as well. Alongside Benjamin Walker as Lincoln comes word that Anthony Mackie(The Hurt Locker) and Dominic Cooper(Mama Mia) have signed on as well.

Mackie will be taking on the role of Will, Lincoln's best friend and fellow vampire hunter. Cooper will be filling the spot recently rumored to be going to Joaquin Phoenix, that of Henry Sturgess, the vampire who helps train Lincoln in the ways of bloodsucker destruction.

Ever since 2006's Half Nelson, where I think he out-acted Ryan Gosling, Mackie has been on fire. Obviously it was The Hurt Locker that really catapulted him into the public eye. He was recently featured on the cover of Vanity Fair, and can next be seen in The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. He's outstanding in that film as well.Cooper will be seen next as Howard Stark(Iron Man's daddy) in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. Tim Burton is co-producing, along with Timur Bekmambetov who is also on board to direct. It's due out in theaters on June 22nd, 2012.

Read More

Joaquin Phoenix's big screen comeback in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter?

So, Joaquin, how'd that rappin' career work out for ya? Oh? It was all a trick? A ruse? A cunning attempt to fool us? Well now that all theI'm Still Here nonsense is over, and I assume that Paul Bunyan beard has been shaven off, it looks like the eccentric Joaquin Phoenix could be making his return to real movies for the first time since 2008's underrated Two Lovers.  Deadline is reporting that the actor is mulling over a major role in Timur Bekmambetov's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith.

If accepted, Phoenix would be tackling the role of Henry Sturgess, a vampire who teaches the 16th President how to fight and kill other bloodsuckers. Benjamin Walker is currently slated to star as Lincoln in the action flick, due out in theaters on June 22nd 2012.

Very happy to see Phoenix at least considering a return, even though I'm a bit pissed at the way he blew up the marketing campaign for Two Lovers with his silly antics. He remains an extremely talented, versatile actor and his presence has been sorely missed, in my opinion. 

Read More