Jeremy Renner is quickly becoming the toast of the Hollywood scene thanks to his latest movie The Hurt Locker. Although he didn’t win the Best Actor Award at last night’s BAFTAs, The Hurt Locker did win quite a few awards, and Renner’s role as SSG William James, the adrenaline junkie that diffuses bombs in Iraq, has propelled him to the top of everyone’s short list.

Last December, Renner’s name was floating the movie news world as a possible candidate to play Hawkeye in the upcoming Avengers movie – a rumor that Renner was quick to shoot down. So while he may or may not be in a Marvel film of some sort, one thing is for sure – Renner has his pick of projects. According to a Reuters article over at the New York Times, Renner has been working as a home renovator on the side while between projects with his business partner, Kristoffer Winters.

Says Renner:

“I make more money doing that, which allows me the freedom to choose the projects I want to do. I’ll always act, but I’ll never be forced to do it because there are bills to pay.”

Lucky him! He may soon change his mind though, as his paychecks inevitably start getting bigger. One of the last homes he remodeled sold for $4 million dollars and my guess is that his movie income will soon eclipse that. Renner is going to have his pick of projects in the upcoming year, one of which is a toy-based film that has a lot (read: very little) potential for success – Battleship.

It would seem that Jeremy “Pick and Choose” Renner is in talks with Universal Studios and Peter Berg to play the lead role in the upcoming naval movie about aliens (yes, you read that correctly). Now, what the term “lead role” means is anyone’s guess. He could be the admiral of one of the ships, or the leader of the invading alien horde or perhaps he’ll actually BE one of the ships? Who knows… Either way, with names like Berg and Renner attached to the project it might – I said MIGHT – turn out OK.

Before he can even think about shouting “Aliens Ahoy!” though, Renner is looking to star in an indie film with Ewan McGregor titled The Raven. It will revolve around the final five days of macabre author Edgar Allen Poe’s life and will be directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta). Not much more is known about the film other than McTeigue calls it a poem version of Se7en.

Renner also says he has had “no less than five meetings” to star in a mystery project, the subject of which he will not reveal. What he would reveal, though, is that both Battleship and the mystery project are set to begin filming this summer; so he is going to have to choose between the two films shortly.

Do you think this mystery project could be Marvel-based or something altogether different? I personally would like to see him as an Avenger, but we’ll be keeping an eye out to see what develops.

Battleship is slated to set sail 2012.

Follow me on Twitter @Walwus

Source: New York Times

Last summer I beat my body up mentally, physically and emotionally to look into the future and make some predictions of what would be Hollywood’s next latest and greatest movie idea fads. I touched on Clothing, Appliances, School Supplies and even Mundane Everyday Activities to compile a list.  I guess I was painting with too broad a brush though, because I failed to see the onslaught of toys and board games that Hollywood was interested in making into a movie (read: messing up).

We’re entering a strange new world folks, one where a new set of Hollywood executives are in control, and much like me riding a mechanical bull with my shirt off, it ain’t pretty. Someone’s grandmother, mother or aunt was going through little Bobby Studio Exec’s old stuff up in the attic and found some old toys he used to play with. Of course Bobby Studio Exec can’t resist thinking to himself, “Oh man, this would make a great film franchise! I can’t wait to share this with my other Studio Execs on the playground!”

I know what you’re thinking, “Whew, Paul, at least Bobby didn’t mention anything about 3D.” WRONG! From this point onward, all films are assumed to be in 3D unless otherwise stated. Saying a film is going to be in 3D now is like saying it’s going to have sound and will be in color. So would you like to know what is in Bobby Studio Exec’s toy chest? Sure you do – so let’s take a stroll down memory lane before Hollywood ruins it forever.

We’ve already heard there are going to be films based on View Master, Hot Wheels, Monopoly, Battleship, Magic 8-ball, Candyland, and most recently, Erector Set building toys, but what else is in Hollywood’s toy chest? [Just in case you can’t tell, this article is completely fictional and just for fun.]

#7: Pogo Stick – Action/Comedy

Synopsis: John Pogo, a middle class vending machine repairman, is a good guy that never gets into trouble and manages to avoid confrontation by ignoring it. One day, he steps out of his boundaries  to save a woman and her son from would-be robbers. She calls him a hero and it sticks. He uses his talent for jumping on a Pogo Stick to fight crime and uncovers a plot to destroy the world.

Director: Matt Vaughn Writer: Mark Millar Starring: Taylor Lautner, Bill Murray and Gina Davis

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#6: Rubik’s Cube – Thriller

Synopsis: A crazed killer called Rubik is on the loose in the city of Los Angeles and he’s targeting reporters. Nine strangers wake up in different colored rooms, knowing nothing about how they got there or why they have been forced to play Rubik’s deadly game. Can they solve the insane puzzle before the 10^th victim falls prey to Rubik’s Cube?

Director: Christopher Nolan Writer: Eli Roth Starring: Bruce Boxleitner, Ally Sheedy, James Roday (And yes, I’ve heard of Vincenzo Natali’s Cube – these are the jokes, people.)

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#5: Operation – Horror/Psychological Thriller

Synopsis: Sam Cavity is a man living in a horrible nightmare. Every time he goes to sleep, he wakes up with a new scar in a different location. What is going on? He’s terrified and no one believes him – not the cops, not the doctors and not his friends. First his Spare Ribs were removed and then his Wish Bone; now it’s his Bread Basket and if he doesn’t figure out who is doing this to him, he could soon lose his Adam’s Apple and Broken Heart. The one person that does believe him is a familiar stranger from the hospital, who seems to know more than he is letting on. Can he help Sam from becoming a patient on the run?

Director: John Carpenter Writer: Stephen King Starring: James Van Der Beek, Mos Def

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#4: Marbles – Action/Drama/Thriller

Synopsis: When the mysterious crime boss “Shooter” declares war on the cops of Marble City, his deadly gang “The Ringers” turns the city into a crime ridden nightmare. With no one willing to help them, one guy, Tom Bowler, forms a group of neighborhood vigilantes to start taking his city back.  The group consists of Popper, Shooter, Taw, Bumboozer, Tonk, Masher and Peewee. Together they call themselves “The Marbles” but they must defeat Shooter’s right hand man Cats Eye if they want to bring order back to Marble City.

Director: Sam Raimi Writer: David Hayter Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Billy Zane, Verne Troyer, and Mimi Rogers

Continue to see the Top 3 Toys and Games probably heading to the Big Screen

]]> http://screenrant.com/upcoming-toy-movies-pauly-45980/feed/ 43 http://screenrant.com/battleship-movie-details-peter-berg-ross-36126/ http://screenrant.com/battleship-movie-details-peter-berg-ross-36126/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:38:09 +0000 Ross Miller http://screenrant.com/?p=36126

As if the idea of a movie based on the board game Battleship wasn’t worrying enough, it was recently announced that the bad guys are going to be aliens. Although, FYI, take my opinion about the antagonists with a big grain of salt, as I don’t think a Battleship movie is a good idea to begin with.

It appears that studio Universal and director Peter Berg have been lending their ears to the negative reaction their Battleship movie has gotten – particularly about the aliens being the “villains,” and so the studio sent some journalists and bloggers to the U.S.S. Sterett, where they got a chance to ask questions to Berg about the project.

Thanks to reports from Latino Review and CHUD, we now have some insight into what shape Berg’s Battleship may take:

Those lucky enough to get invited to this thing managed to get a look at some early concept art for the alien enemies, which over at Latino Review are described as, “black, [with] legs that spread out sort of like water spiders you see on the top of lakes. They looked pretty H.G. Wells-ish and supposedly each ship matches up very well to our ships.” CHUD reports the effects are being done by ILM, which is extremely encouraging news.

The alien race are apparently called The Regents, and will be a combo of real-life actors and CGI. Berg compared it to the Davey Jones effect from Pirates of the Caribbean (also done by ILM), but much less complicated. The aliens come from a different planet than us (naturally) but one with a similar ecology to ours. However, the interesting part is that Battleship will be set apart from most other alien invasion movies in that the aliens aren’t coming down to destroy or take over, but are looking to build a huge power source in the ocean. This “goal” inevitably brings them into conflict with us and our battleships.

Peter Berg on the USS Sterett (Image Source: Latino Review)

Where’s the conflict, I hear you ask? Well, it’s sort of one of those situations where the problem isn’t really with you, but if you’re in my way, then one way or another you’re getting out of my way (to paraphrase Harvey Keitel’s Mr White from Reservoir Dogs ). The aliens apparently won’t have super-advanced technology (another thing setting it apart from most invasion movies – my skepticism is diminishing, I must admit) but will employ ballistics-based weapons, like ours.

Berg also mentions that while the ships can fly and do so to get to Earth, once they land in the ocean they stay there. One of their ships will be damaged which is presumably why they can’t just fly away and are forced to battle our ships. Berg also makes mention of the fact that the story won’t all be seen from the humans’ perspective, but we’ll get to see The Regent’s side of the action, too, which is great news, IMO.

Inevitably there has to be a hero fighting on our side (this is where you insert a big name actor – Will Smith, perhaps? He HAS worked with Berg before on Hancock…) and Berg says it will be a Commanding Officer of a destroyer ship, which is the main one we’ll see in the film. The CO has a team of five guys (there’s your team that we can root for!) which include the XO (the number 2 in command), a Mustang (a man who has risen through the ranks to become an officer) and the chief engineer, who’s described by Berg as a, “modern day Scotty.”

The USS Sterett (Image Source: Latino Review)

You can head over to both Latino Review and CHUD for a whole lot more details and pics, including their tour of the U.S.S. Sterett (shown above) and more answers from Berg as he was quizzed about a lot of aspects of the movie.

I must admit I am A LOT less skeptical about Battleship now than I was before I read all of that. To me, basing a movie on what is one of the most plotless board games in history sounds stupid. And making aliens the bad guys in this specific case just adds to that. But Berg really sounds passionate about the project, and details like the aliens having similar technology to us (it’ll be a fair fight!), that they’re not coming to destroy us or take us over, and that  ILM is doing the special effects really make me reconsider my doubts.

I’m still not full on-board this battleship (see what I did there? ), but once I start to see some pics and even some footage and it delivers on the potential Berg has laid down, I may be all for the movie. What do you think of the details that have emerged about Battleship? Does it put any worries you may have had about it to rest? What aspects sound best to you?

Battleship is set to start shooting next Spring, and has a set release date of August 5th, 2011.

Sources: Latino Review, CHUD and /Film

We learned early this summer that Universal is planning a Battleship board game movie, then a couple of months ago Peter Berg (Hancock) was tapped to direct, and a release date was set for July 1st, 2011 (apparently it’s been changed to August 5th, 2011). Berg has described the Battleship movie as, “an epic naval action adventure,” that is, “a contemporary story of an international five-ship fleet engaged in a very dynamic, violent and intense battle.”

That was enough to go on at the time, but what Berg DIDN’T mention was who the enemy was going to be…that is, until now. On Friday, Latino Review got a scoop that confirmed (their words, not ours) from a source that the foes the “hero” battleships were presumably going to be battling against are… wait for it… aliens! That’s right, extraterrestrials presumably attacking earth for our wonderful resources (what’s left of them, that is…).

Echoing Latino Review’s reaction – REALLY? Aliens? That’s what they’ve come up with as the antagonist for the Battleship movie? Not only is it quite unoriginal when you consider the amount of alien invasion stories that have graced our screens, but in my eyes it’s a flat-out bad idea. Having said that, my judgement may be clouded as Battleship is just one in a long line of board games that I just don’t see working on the big-screen.

As has been one of my biggest points of discussion with all these board game movies in the pipeline: why call this movie Battleship? The logical answer is to capitalize on the name recognition – however, the plot they’re going with – an alien enemy – has nothing to do with the original game (to quote fellow Screen Rant writer, Rob Keyes – “Is there an edition of electronic Battleship that I missed?” ). To be fair, ANY plot will have that problem as the game didn’t HAVE a plot or story – it was just two people at either side of a vertical board putting pegs into it as they guess their opponent’s ship positions. I don’t see why they can’t just make a new movie about alien-battling ships without falling back on a Hasbro board game… Urgh, I just don’t see the incentive in making this thing.

To plays devil advocate on my own devil’s advocacy, I have to admit I’m sort of curious to see how Battleship turns out, particularly with Berg at the helm. He’s hasn’t got a perfect track record (as much as Hancock was fun in parts, its huge potential wasn’t made the most of IMHO), but he’s shown he’s got the talent to make something interesting out of an initially bad/boring/cliched (whatever…) idea, notably in the completely messed up Very Bad Things. I haven’t got much hope for Battleship (Whiteout screenwriters, Erich and Jon Hoeber writing it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence) but I’m fully willing to be proven wrong.

What do you think of the enemy in the Battleship adaptation being aliens? Do you think adapting this particular board game into a movie is a good idea? Or is it just another in a long line of those that should just be left in the box?

The last we heard, Battleship is set to start filming in Spring 2010, and has a release date of August 5th, 2011.

Source: Latino Review (thanks to /Film)

Back in May we reported that Hancock helmer, Peter Berg, was in talks to direct the live-action adaptation of the popular Hasbro board game, Battleship. Fast-forward four months and Berg has been confirmed to direct the movie, and a release date has been set – July 1st, 2011.

[But where does that leave Hancock 2, which Berg is also attached to direct? See bottom of the post.]

Variety is reporting that Berg directing Battleship is part of a two-picture deal with Universal, the second film being an Afghan war drama called Lone Survivor. As we previously reported, Whiteout writers Erich and Jon Hoeber have penned the script for the movie. Stuber Pictures (Scott Stuber), Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir, Berg himself and his Film 44 partner, Sarah Aubrey, will all produce the pic.

Berg has given his thoughts on why he wants to direct a Battleship movie, stating that his passion comes from his naval historian father:

“I’ve been consumed with doing one of these since I tried to convince Tom Rothman at Fox to make a film about John Paul Jones, the founder of the American Navy… As a kid, I was dragged from Navy museum to museum, and spent so much time on ships, listening to my father talk about the great battles of WWII, I did my high school thesis on the Battle of Midway. When this came up, it didn’t take me long to find a take for a film that is filled with raucous action-packed naval battles.”

With regards to the plot of Battleship (Plot? What plot?…), it was previously described as, “an epic naval action adventure,” which understandably (at that early stage) was very vague. Berg has now described the film as being, “a contemporary story of an international five-ship fleet engaged in a very dynamic, violent and intense battle.”

Battleship may only be the second board game/toy based movie to get an official release date set (after the Steve Oedekerk scripted Stretch Armstrong – set for an April 11, 2011 release), but there are plenty more in the works: Monopoly (with Ridley Scott attached to direct); Candyland (with Kevin Lima set to direct); Clue (with Gore Verbinski attached); and even one based on the Ouiji Board (with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes attached).

It’s getting frickin’ insane…

I fail to see why they’re making a movie of Battleship. The idea of the board game – i.e. two people sitting at either end of a vertical board, guessing each other’s moves on the opposite side – just isn’t translatable into a workable movie if you’re going to go the literal route. And if they’re making up a story from scratch (which it looks like they are), then why base it on the Battleship board game at all? Sure, there’s the name recognition (best bait for your buck in the business!) but that would really be it.

As with pretty much all of the board game/toy movies in the works, even though my expectations are really low, I must admit I’m still curious to see how Battleship will turn out.

What about you: Do you think Battleship or any of the toy and board game movies in the works will turn out to be any good? Is Berg the right guy to direct this flick?

Production on Battleship is set for a Spring 2010 start, and (as stated) is scheduled to be released on July 1st, 2011.

Hancock 2: With Battleship being set up as Berg’s next project (and presumably Lone Survivor coming after that), it could mean that Hancock 2 is at least a few years away. That would be kind of miffing, considering all the recent buzz about the superhero sequel, including Berg confirming that both Will Smith and Charlize Theron will return as well as two writers being brought on-board to get the script started.

If Berg is doing other projects, and the studio wants Hancock 2 in theaters ASAP, could we potentially see a change of director?

Source: Variety

Well the 2009 summer movie season is over for Hasbro and it has been financially successful. Transformers 2 has milked the entire world economy of over $800 million dollars, while G.I. Joe managed to drain the globe of $100 million this past weekend.  So what does that mean for Hasbro their future releases?

Well Steve “Frosty” Weintraub over at Collider managed to catch Brian Goldner, President and C.E.O of Hasbro, before a special screening of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and got some interesting answers about a few upcoming projects: Stretch Armstrong, Candy Land, Battleship and Monopoly.

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STRETCH ARMSTRONG

First up is Stretch Armstrong, the toy no one played with (seriously do you know anyone that owned one when you were a kid?). According to Goldner, Stretch will be the first movie released out of the lot, with a planned release of 2011. Now I know what you are thinking, what could this movie possibly be about? When asked, Goldner answered with this gem:

“Stretching as a superpower brings a lot of humor to the idea so imagine a big humorous super-powered, super-human kind of movie.”

Sigh, so to sum it up ‘We have no idea what we are doing with this but stretching is funny and my assistant once got his hand stuck in the vending machine trying to get a bag of chips that didn’t fall all the way. So we will probably have that in the movie.”

Seriously, how much of a generic answer can you give during an interview? I picture Patrick Warburton playing Stretch and Universal turning it into an Underdog meets The Tick-type action film for kids. Actually, now that I think about it, Warburton would be a great choice and I might actually go see this film if they choose him to star.

I can’t be too far off with the “humor” Goldner is referring to. Steve Oderkirk is writing the script for Stretch Armstrong. He also wrote Bruce Almighty, Barnyard, Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, and Nutty Professor 2, so I bet you a dollar to donuts that there is more than one hand/foot/head stuck in a elevator/car door/briefcase/trunk type scene where he gets stretch to the breaking point and people walking/riding bikes/carrying heavy objects trip and fall on said appendage – COMEDY GOLD!!!

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CANDY LAND

Let’s move on to my favorite board games growing up, Chutes and Ladders Candy Land. Hasbro and Universal have already chosen writer Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder) and director Kevin Lima (Enchanted) to make their board game dream a reality. The Collider interviewer asks the tough question: “What’s your take on a film like “Candy Land?” Goldner’s lackluster response is as follows:

“Well, “Candy Land” is not just about the board game.  If you really think about it, it’s an adventure that a kid goes on with his parents when they go across that board.  It’s an adventure game so think of that as the beginning point and take off from there.”

Ok, hold please while I “really think about it”… Nope I don’t see it but if I’m reading between his lines properly, and I’m pretty sure I am, they have no idea what they are going to do with this property either. More than likely, it’ll be turned into a Jumanji/Adventure of Elmo mash up. Two kids, a brother and his precocious younger sister, get a board game for Christmas from their eccentric estranged uncle. They beg their parents to play with them and are transported to a magical Willy Wonka-type world where getting to King Kandy is the only way home. Along the way they met Gramma Nutt, Princess Frostine and dodge the evil Licorice Lord and his henchman Gloppy the Molasses Monster.Oh yeah, and the whole thing will be in 3-D.

Good gravy, I wasn’t even trying and I just made up a script for them to use (they can send all payments to my PayPal account).

Remember the good old days when Hollywood just remade everything, adapted video games or extended a series beyond it’s rightful lifetime with unnecessary sequels? Oh yes, that was a simpler time…

It appears that wasn’t enough for them and they’ve gone a step further than just those three types of usually bad paths by making movies out of board games. No, that’s not some industry specific term for a new type of sequel or remake. That’s right, I’m referring to those family-friendly pastimes which usually have dice and plastic pieces you move around on a flat board when you’ve got nothing else to do…

There are already plans put in motion for movies based on the board games Monopoly (with Ridley Scott set to helm it… no joke), Candyland, Magic: The Gathering and even one based on the Ouija board (is that a board game, exactly? The director, Michael Bay, must think so…). And also on that list is one based on Battleship, and apparently they already have a director in talks to helm it.

That director is Peter Berg, who from the picture above you may recognize from the likes of Collateral, Smokin’ Aces, and a couple of episodes of Alias. But acting seems like a minor career when you look at his directing resume: He’s directed The Kingdom, Very Bad Things, Friday Night Lights, The Rundown and Hancock. Berg is in talks to direct the movie for Universal, with brother screenwriting team Jon and Eric Hoeber set to script it.

Not much is known about what form the Battleship movie will take, however we know it will only loosely based on the game and is said to be, “an epic naval action adventure.” The name recognition it would bring is the only possible reason I can see for calling it Battleship.

On a related note, rumor is that Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson may be starring in the movie. There’s nothing concrete, but Pattinson was spotted leaving Berg’s house last week, and since this is the latest directing news related to him, speculation has arisen that Pattinson may be being considered to star. However, it should be noted that Berg has a lot of stuff on the horizon (including a remake of Dune) so there’s nothing definite to say that the meeting was about the Battleship movie.

I will never understand the sudden hoard of board game movies that are in the pipeline, beyond the simple money-making reasons, that is. If you are to emphasize the business part of the “movie business” phrase, then you may see that that’s a reason on its own to do it. But most of them just don’t even make sense on a basic level of, “How will it even function as a movie?”

Take Monopoly, for example – are we going to follow one of the pieces you move around the board as they buy places and charge rent? Will it follow the little Monopoly hat character that we see on the box (what’s he called – Pennybags, or something…)? They’re really going to have to stretch to come up with a movie that will resemble watchable with that one – that, or it’ll be the game in name only and be about competing real estate magnates.

The same goes for Battleship – correct me if I’m wrong, but the playing of the game is two people, on on either side of the vertical board, and they have to guess where the other persons ships are located on the opposite side of the board. That’s it… where’s the movie in that? Where’s the motivation to make a movie from that?

If it’s only going to be loosely based on the game, my question then is why even call it Battleship? Why not just make, “an epic naval action adventure,” without it having anything to do with that board game? Like I said, beyond money reasons (which goes hand-in-hand with the name reocognition it would bring) I don’t see the incentive for this or most of the other board game movies that are in the works.

So do you think a movie based on the Battleship board game could work? Or is it just another silly idea like the rest of the board game movies?

Source: /Film