Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up - Sept. 3, 2008

Another Wednesday and therefore another Mid-Week Movie Wrap up to furnish you with the latest movie news around.

This week we look at:

Why Tim Roth isn’t in Inglorious Bastards, who will be directing a new Tarzan film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles go live action, Jerry Bruckheimer decides that Killing Rommel is a good idea and we search for The 39 Clues.

1. The reason that Tim Roth has not signed on to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards is because he is going to star in the film version of Skellig.

The film will be based on the children’s novel by David Almond. The book follows a young boy named Michael who discovers what may or may not be an angel in his garage. The film will costar John Simms and Kelly MacDonald and it will be directed by Annabel Jankel of Super Mario Brothers fame. Ouch.

The book isn’t a bad little read, but sometimes the blatant imagery feels like Almond is hitting you in head with a sledgehammer.

Source: Variety

2. Stephen Sommers will direct a new film version of Tarzan.  The director of the first two Mummy films and the forthcoming G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra will helm the Stuart Beattie penned film.

Sounds like the type of film that Sommers loves to make, but I doubt that he will add anything new to the character -except maybe CGI. This new version of Edgar Rice Burroughs character was originally going to be helmed by Guillermo del Toro, but he’s making something called The Hobbit. I can’t imagine that being a hit! Sarcasm.

Source: Variety

3. Those “heroes in a half shell” are coming back…again. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman has been talking up a reboot of the fun loving Turtles franchise. Eastwood posted this on HeavyMetal.com:

“Yes, it is true. Although the CGI film did well enough to warrant a sequel, there has been much talk between Imagi and Warners to do a better “re-invention” (newest Hollywood buzzword) of the TMNT’s, in a live action film–like what was done with Batman. Back to basics, back to the origin and the intro of the Shredder, etc…there have been talks, trips to Northampton to talk to Mr Laird, and discussions with the original “first” TMNT film director Steve Barron to come back and do it right–but no official word yet…will keep you posted. Best, Kevin”

Funny thing is - I think that the message has now been deleted.  Odd.

Does anyone really care? Those Turtles must be hitting middle age by now.

Sources: Comingsoon and Heavy Metal

4. Hollywood loves a sequel, so therefore they really love WW2. Hot on the heels of Valkyrie and Inglorious Bastards comes Killing Rommel. According to Variety:

“Killing Rommel focuses on the British Long Range Desert Group and its attempt to stop Rommel, the legendary Desert Fox who routed the British in the North African desert in 1942 and threatened to overrun the Middle East thanks to his battlefield strategies and Panzer tanks”.

Jerry Bruckheimer will produce the film for Disney. The film is to be adapted from a book by Steven Pressfield who wrote Gates of Fire (based on the same historical events as 300) which was due to star Bruce Willis and George Clooney at one point.

Killing Rommel will be adapted by Randall Wallace the man behind Braveheart, We Were Soldiers and Pearl Harbor.

Expect Christian Bale or Daniel Craig to be offered the script first.

Source: Variety

5. Jeff Nathanson has signed on to pen the screenplay for The 39 Clues. Based on a forthcoming “interactive multi-platform adventure”  the film “may” be directed by Steven Spielberg. I wouldn’t hold my breath for that. The director has more films on his plate than Tom Cruise.

Nathanson has written such diverse films as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Rush Hour 2,  Rush Hour 3, The Terminal and Catch Me If You Can.

To be honest the whole idea sounds rather naff.

Source: Comingsoon

That’s it this time around. See you at the movies!

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