Screen Rant » 20000 leagues under the sea

Disney Halts ‘20,000 Leagues,’ McG Off The Project

Ross Miller — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:42:03 +0000

Wow, I didn’t see this one coming. According to Variety, Warner Bros. has halted moving forward with their remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. On top of that, McG, who was set to direct, is off the project, and will now concentrate on other things such as the Warner Bros. drama, Dead Spy Running.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea seemed to be moving ahead pretty well, with a tentative shooting start of February, 2010. McG even said not that long ago that they’d already looked at different shooting locations including Japan, France and Canada. The Terminator Salvation director sounded pretty enthusiastic back in August when he talked about such things as how he was planning on contemporizing the story while still maintaining the spirit of adventure from the original 1870 story and 1950’s movie.

There’s no real word on why Disney has halted 20,000 Leagues, nor why McG has left the project (the latter is probably because he doesn’t wanna’ wait around for Disney to put it back on track). With regards to McG, as stated he’ll move on to concentrate on Dead Spy Running (written by Syriana scribe, Stephen Gaghan), and he’s still attached to Terminator 5. However, the fifth Terminator movie is currently in limbo as the franchise works its way through the courts.

The closest the 20,000 Leagues project had to casting was Will Smith being eyed as one of the two leads (which was really just McG wanting him to star), but apart from that no cast was set, so small disappointment there…

As for Disney, it certainly isn’t short of big-budget adventure films to fill our movie screens with: on top of Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides (which is clearly a priority), they also have John Carter of Mars and the quite highly-anticipated Tron Legacy. So it’s not like they NEED 20,000 Leagues to tide them over. Nonetheless, I think it’s a shame the film isn’t moving forward (at least for now); even with McG at the helm I was still looking forward to what Disney would deliver with such a great story to work off of.

No Captain Nemo for McG…

Are you surprised Disney has put a halt on their 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Are you glad McG isn’t directing anymore? If the project ever does get started up again, who would you like to see direct?

Stay tuned to Screen Rant for any updates to this story.

Source: Variety

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Sam Worthington Talks Avatar, Terminator Reaction & More

Rob Frappier — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:01:42 +0000

Hollywood’s newest favorite Aussie actor Sam Worthington has a lot on his plate coming up. In addition to being the lead in James Cameron’s long-awaited special-effects extravaganza, Avatar, Worthington will be playing Perseus in the upcoming remake of Clash of the Titans and is rumored for the part of Captain Nemo in Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Wow, I’m just writing about these films and I’m tired.

Anyway, Steve Weintraub at Collider had the chance to sit down with Worthington on the set of Clash of the Titans to talk about some of his upcoming projects and his thoughts on his most recent big-budget film, Terminator: Salvation. Check out some portions of the interview below. For the full interview, make sure to head over to Collider.

On the critical reaction to Terminator: Salvation:

“You know, there was a lot of kind of, you know, I can nitpick with the best of them, man, and kind of go down the list of things I saw on IMDB where they found holes in it and go, you are f***ing right. If there was a big ten ton robot coming outside that gas station, surely we would f–king hear it! And I missed that. So I’m going to be a bit better when I’m looking through my f***ing scripts. So it raises my game a bit, because now I feel like an idiot for not saying it to McG, you know?”

On reactions to Avatar’s trailer:

“It’s got a hell of a lot of hype. I read all what was said yesterday about the, about the trailer. I can see their point. But as I said, it wasn’t meant to be built for an Apple Mac. It’s built for IMAX. It’s built for 3D. That’s what he’s designed it for. He’s designed it to bring people back to the cinema.”

On wanting to get involved with comic book movies:

“I’ve got a mate that like I was sending to Comic-con to go and find stuff. Man, he’s a dude, he plays Guitar Hero and reads comic books and I thought f–k it, I’ll put you on the pay roll. They’re the movies getting made so I flew him to Comic-Con and he had a ball, and he came back and went I met this person and this person and this person and this person… He came back with lots of different material. He talked to a lot of different kind of comic book companies.”

In a separate interview with the website Moviehole, Sam Worthington also talked about the possibility of reuniting with Terminator Salvation director McG for Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. While McG has gone on record as wanting Will Smith for the role of Captain Nemo, Worthington’s name has been loosely tied to the role since McG stated his preference for the actor in an interview with IGN UK a few weeks back. In the interview, Worthington states:

“We haven’t discussed it seriously. I wrote him an email and he wrote back saying ‘I don’t think you have these qualities, blah, blah..’ and I wrote back saying ‘it’s your job as a director to bring it out of me.”

Hmmm… Doesn’t sound too compelling. Nevertheless, the more I learn about Sam Worthington, the more I like him. In interviews he comes off as very down-to-earth and accessible, which is a great characteristic for an actor. I look forward to seeing his work in Avatar, Clash of the Titans, and (possibly) in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. What do you think? Is everyone fully on board the Worthington bandwagon, or is it just me?

Source: Collider and Moviehole

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McG Updates ‘20,000 Leagues’, Prepping Terminator 5

Ross Miller — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:29:40 +0000

Two film directing projects on the horizon for McG (Terminator Salvation) is the Disney remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and the fifth installment in the Terminator franchise, currently being referred to as simply Terminator 5. It appears that McG’s focus is currently on 20,000 Leagues, with T5 to follow after that. Thanks to IESB and Collider, we have an update on both high-profile projects.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

McG’s film appears to be both a remake of the Richard Fleischer film from 1954 that starred Kirk Douglas and James Mason, as well as a new kind of adaptation of the 1870 novel by Jules Verne. McG has talked about the aim to for his version:

“It’s a bit of a departure from the Fleischer movie, and much more in keeping with the spirit of the novel, as far as what Aronnax is up to, and the becoming of Nemo, and how the man became at war with war itself. So there’s a little bit more meat on the bone in regard to the genesis of the Nemo character than you’re given in the ’50s movie that Disney made. And also, it’s a little more contemporary.”

“I love that [original] movie, but there were two female characters, and they were both prostitutes. And, there were a couple of black people in the film, and they were all electrocuted. So, nowadays, I think we need to progress a little bit beyond that.”

The movie appears to be quite far along in the development stages, since McG reveals they’ve been scouting various shooting locations around the world from France, Japan and England, to Canada, Australia and Hawaii (the latter for some sort of “little volcano work”). McG has revealed he is aiming for it to be an action-packed film, trying to capture the spirit of the adventure from the original story.

Terminator 5

Although McG says his focus is very much on 20,000 Leagues at the moment, he reveals that he’s also prepping Terminator 5. With such a complex world to manage in the Terminator franchise, I’d say McG is wise to at least have the next installment in mind, even if it’s still a ways off.

McG talked about his intention for the Terminator franchise, speaking about whether or not he wants to take a break from it or dive back in, as Michael Bay did with Transformers 2. He says he’s excited about the next part of the series’ story, and talks about a possible angle for it that could see it getting, “out of the apocalyptic world and into the contemporary world.”

Hmmm…

One great thing to hear is that McG is listening to what fans have been saying (good and bad) about Terminator Salvation, and reassures us he takes it on board. He admits that when people don’t like something you’ve done, all you can do is look at what you did wrong (and, indeed, what you did right) and try and evolve as a storyteller.

Although I don’t think McG should allow fans to completely shape his vision for the next Terminator, he should pay at least some attention to those who ultimately buy the tickets to see the movies.

I’m very interested to see how 20,000 Leagues will turn out, specifically with McG at the helm. He’s not the director I would have personally picked, nor did I see coming the news about him being chosen for it, but nonetheless it’s an interesting choice.

The part about the next Terminator possibly going from the, “apocalyptic world into the contemporary world,” was first hinted at a few months ago when McG brought up the time travel angle again. An industry source then said that T5 would see the franchise (specifically John Connor) transported back in time to London, England. That, combined with what McG has said above, could mean that rumor could very well turn out to be true.

If this was the case, it would take the franchise away from the future war between man and machine that we’d heard about for the first three movies, and back to the old (no pun) travel-back-in-time formula. Haven’t we been there and done that? Isn’t three movies of that enough? As much as Salvation had problems, one of the aspects I loved was finally getting to see the future war. I just don’t know if it’s right to revert back to the old ways of the franchise.

What do you think about what McG has said: Do you like the direction he’s going with 20,000 Leagues? How about the direction he’s thinking about going with T5?

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is currently in the development stages and doesn’t have a release date yet. Terminator 5 is in the prep stage and also doesn’t have a release date.

Sources: Collider and IESB

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20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Remake Gets A Rewrite

Ross Miller — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:15:20 +0000

The script for the upcoming McG directed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remake was originally written by Bill Marsilii (Deja Vu) and Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li). But today we learn from The Hollywood Reporter that Oscar-nominated screenwriter Randall Wallace (Braveheart, Pearl Harbor), has been brought on to rewrite Disney’s update of the classic Jules Verne tale.

THR reports that Wallace’s rewrite aims to focus (the newly titled) Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea on:

“the origin of Captain Nemo and his submarine warship, the Nautilus. Nemo is a mysterious but noble antagonist in the book, a scientific genius with a thirst for knowledge and a desire for revenge against the forces of imperialism.”

A lesser-known sequel to Nemo was later written by Jules Verne called The Mysterious Island, which revealed Captain Nemo as an Indian Prince who took part in a rebellion and lost his wife and children. It is currently unknown just how close Disney will stick to this character backstory (if they do at all), but Wallace’s rewrite will reportedly make the film “decidedly action-adventure.”

With the success Disney has had with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, I am not surprised that’s the route they want to take with Nemo…

With the type of story that the original 20,000 Leagues is, I can definitely see the appeal for Disney to turn it into a modern day big-budget action-adventure movie. The issues with Hollywood remaking yet another project aside, 20,000 Leagues has both the decades-old story and the modern-day special effects to merge together. I can see this one being a big hit at the box-office if it’s done right.

There’s no word on WHY Wallace was brought on to rewrite Nemo, so that just leaves us all to speculate.

Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is currently in pre-production and doesn’t have a release date as of yet.

Sources: THR (via FirstShowing)

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McG Wants Will Smith For 20,000 Leagues Remake

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:11:05 +0000

Man, a lot of things came to light during director McG’s Terminator Salvation panel in NYC this past week. Besides silencing skeptics and seriously amping up the buzz-o-meter for Salvation, McG informed our good friends over at Latino Review about his plan for the upcoming remake of Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

And, to everyone’s surprise, McG had this say: he wants Will Smith to star in the film.

According to Kellvin Chavez from Latino Review, about his conversation with McG after the screening:

FINALLY I had to go for the kill so then I asked him, “How do you go from Terminator to the Captain Nemo story?”

McG talked a bit about his idea and frankly I was getting my jacket to get out of there when all of a sudden I heard him say, “The character Nemo in this film is more about obsession, he is obsessed and people tend to forget that when you become so obsessed you end up being the villain.”

AND THEN THE KILLER ANSWER!! (In an interesting way.)

McG continues, “’Man I’m trying to get Will Smith to do it, been trying to get a hold of him. I’ve been wanting to work with him for a long time already. That guy’s great”

Wow. Thanks to Kellvin for being a good old-fashioned nosy reporter. Great scoop.

However, as Kellvin is quick to point out, there is no indication yet of whether McG wants Big Will to play the role of Nemo, or the role of good-sailor Ned Land, who was played in the original 20,000 Leagues by actor Kirk Douglass. But I expect an answer will soon come to light, since McG is scheduled to hold a West Coast panel for Terminator Salvation in a few days time. Hopefully our fellow bloggers out West will press him to elaborate on the Will Smith issue.

Until then, which role would YOU like to see Big Will play in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

Source: Latino Review

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McG To Direct 20,000 Leagues Remake

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:49:44 +0000

2008 seems to have been the year of career for director McG. Despite a ton of fanboy hateration, the Charlie’s Angels director managed deliver what looks to be a kick-ass addition to the Terminator franchise, Terminator Salvation. Now, with five months yet to go before Salvation hits theaters,word comes that McG is being handed another big-budget project to helm: Disney’s remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

The official title of the film is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. The script by Bill Marsilii (Deja Vu) follows the source novels of Jules Verne, about Captain Nemo’s quest to design his mighty undersea warship, The Nautilus, in order to explore the mysteries of the deep.

For those besides Screen Rant-runner Vic who are ancient enough to remember, the original 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea movie was Walt Disney’s first live-action film. The 1954 production was a monumental financial risk for the studio–one that ultimately paid off. 20,000 Leagues was awarded two Oscars in 1955 and became the second highest-grossing film that year. (And of course there is that classic sequence with the giant squid attack.)

The McG remake is being pitched as a family film, which is a bit disappointing for yours truly, considering I’ve been hoping for (and trying to write) a 20,000 Leagues sci-fi/horror film remake for a while now. Ah, C’est la vie, no?

So what added tricks can we expect from a kid-friendly version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo? Disney digital 3-D? IMAX? Both? Guess we’ll find out pretty soon: Disney is fast tracking the project and hopes to have it under way this year. We’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, what do think is a 20,000 Leagues remake something you’ve been hoping for? And if so, is it going in the direction you hoped it would? Let us know.

Source: Variety

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Sam ‘Spider-Man’ Raimi Has Some Serious Job Security

Vic Holtreman — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:18:09 +0000

Sam Raimi doesn’t have to work on anything at all if he doesn’t want to, but his options are wide open. Following the success of his Spider-Man films the red carpet now belongs to him. He’s kicking back and pondering quite a few projects right now, including the possibility of Spider-Man 4. From the sound of it, he (and Marvel and the studio) realize that they need to do something very different with the next Spider-Man film considering the reaction of moviegoers to the weirdness that was Spider-Man 3.

Regarding Spidey, Raimi stated:

“Right now, Sony is meeting with different writers to try and bring a fresh, new story and approach to the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise, different writers have been coming in and spinning different tales of where ‘Spider-Man’ could go from here… A lot of people are working very hard to work on a really good story right now.”

He’s not contractually obligated to direct, but if the right story and circumstances arise he’s open to it.

Regarding other movie projects, Raimi said that he’s still open to the idea of having someone come in and do a remake of the cult classic Evil Dead. The original was done on a shoestring budget and shot on 16MM and he says he’d love to see “a young filmmaker to reimagine and remake it at some point.” But before you get all excited (or angry) about it, at this point it’s all just talk.

And in case you’ve forgotten, Raimi is also the guy behind the American Grudge remakes of the original Japanese horror films. There’s a Grudge 3 in the script stage at the moment and they’re trying to get it done before the possible strike next year.

What else? How about a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? This is the first I’ve heard about this project and he’s producing the film. Regarding a movie based on The Hobbit, Raimi says he’d love to do it but thinks that Peter Jackson (who directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy) should be the man.

Finally, in an interesting counterpoint to the fact that he laments that Evil Dead was made for such a low budget, he has a film in mind that seems to be a throwback to that one called Drag Me to Hell. It’s barely into pre-production and all he says about it story-wise is “It’s the story of a curse. Real bad things happen.” It will be directed by Jeff Lynch, who did the second unit work on the Spider-Man movies.

Sam just finished up producing the upcoming vampire flick 30 Days of Night which opens this Friday.

The man is not hurting for work.

Sources: Sci Fi Wire and MTV Movies

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