A little over three months ago we reported on the news that the mindlessly fun 2008 movie, Death Race, was going to be getting a sequel – or rather, as was reported at the time by Shock Till You Drop, a prequel that would lead up to the first Death Race and Jason Statham’s antics as top driver Jensen Ames.

And now, thanks to SpoilerTV we get some info on both what the plot and the characters will be , by way of casting call info. Nothing has changed in terms of it being a prequel, in fact this news is kind of a confirmation of that. It will indeed take place before the first film, this time being called Death Race: Frankenstein Lives (Frankenstein is the name of the top driver, FYI, they’re not just trying to turn it into a horror movie for no reason…).

So what is writer Tony Giglio (overseen by the first film’s director, Paul W.S. Anderson, who’s serving as exec producer on this one) going to bring to the car-driving mayhem this time around? Something different to the first one, maybe? Perhaps going a bit more serious this time, exploring the collapse of the U.S. economy and such that led to the state of the affairs we witnessed in Death Race? Apparently not, as by the sounds of the following info, it’s almost an EXACT replica of the original (inevitably minus Statham and Co. from the first). Along with a one line plot description, here’s just some of the casting call info for some of the main characters:

STORY LINE: Newly arrived at Terminal Island, a prison for the most nonredeemable of convicts, CARL “LUKE” LUCAS must prove his mettle in a race to the death…

[CARL "LUKE" LUCAS]

In his 20s-30, American, European, British, Australian, Latino, etc., handsome and confident, with a hint of danger, Lucas has been in trouble since the age of 12. Right-hand man to a notorious mobster for twelve years, he is sent away for life

after killing a cop in the course of robbing a bank. Offered a deal by the DA if he turns state’s evidence, Lucas opts to take his chances behind bars, where he soon captures the attention of a violence-peddling television producer. Possessed of some serious driving skills, assertive, strong, and charismatic, Lucas is a natural fit for the ultimate test, aka, the “Death Race.”…LEAD (2) STAR NAMES PREFERRED – ANY NATIONALITY, ANY ETHNICITY

[SEPTEMBER JONES]

In her 20s – early 30s, a model turned journalist, September is is “insatiably ambitious and eye-poppingly gorgeous,” a woman who knows how to use what she’s got to get what she wants. She’s callous and self-serving, dressed provocatively, with the soul of an ice-pick, but the brains to know how to market violence to the masses. When ratings for her gladiator-style television show begin plummeting, September is quick to come up with the “Death Race” concept, thrilled by its stunning success sptv050769…LEAD (2) STAR NAMES PREFERRED – ANY NATIONALITY, ANY ETHNICITY

[ELIZABETH JAYNE CASE]

In her 20s – early 30s, and sexy, she is a card girl for the fight matches, later a navigator when the prisoners are forced to test their driving skills. Intelligent (valedictorian of her high school class), decent, with a good heart, Case landed in prison after killing her abusive cop husband. Quick to come to the aide of girl in peril or help Lucas outwit an adversary, she’s a courageous, admirable young woman. Teamed with Lucas for a death race, the chemistry soon heats up between the two…LEAD (16) STAR NAMES PREFERRED – ANY NATIONALITY, ANY ETHNICITY

[DOUGLAS WEYLAND]

In his 30s – 60, American or foreign, bold, opulent and self-indulgent, the CEO and Founder of the Weyland Corporation, he is a opportunist at best, a man who makes millions on the backs of others. Clearly not immune to September’s come-hither charm, he agrees to produce a televised gladiator-style series of fighting matches, later disappointed by the ratings. However, he’s quite impressed when September’s idea for a race to the death has the viewers tuning in again…LEAD (11) STAR NAMES ONLY – ANY NATIONALITY, ANY ETHNICITY

For the rest of the info, you can head over to SpoilerTV.

If you’ve seen the first Death Race, you’ll already recognize a lot of what’s described above. Now I must get to the obvious question, namely, why even make this prequel? It’s clearly not bringing anything new to the table, and it’s apparently going straight-to-DVD, so it’s not like it’s going to collect on a huge box office return (the first one made decent money, doubling its $45 million budget to make almost $100 million if you count DVD sales).  And it remains to be seen whether any of the original cast, notably Statham, will make a return, but logic story-wise (since it’s a prequel) that just doesn’t make any sense.

I said it when this prequel was announced – I really enjoyed Death Race for what it was and wouldn’t mind a sequel. I wouldn’t be terribly excited about it, but at least I’d give it a shot. But this prequel… I realize it’s all about the driving carnage, but c’mon, they could’ve come up with something a LITTLE different than just copying the first.

What do you think of the info for the Death Race prequel? Have you seen the original and do you think what they have in store for the prequel is going to be more fun, or just a more of the same?

Death Race: Frankenstein Lives is supposedly to start shooting on February 22nd, 2010. No release date (theatrical or DVD) has been set as of yet.

Sources: SpoilerTV (thanks to Joblo for the heads up)

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Shock Till You Drop is reporting that the 2008 Jason Statham high speed action-fest, Death Race, will be getting another movie. But not a sequel, no, the next Death Race will be a prequel. I guess we won’t be seeing Statham in this one, and not just because he’s got better things to do.

Director of the first Death Race, Paul W.S. Anderson, has already tapped writer Tony Giglio (Timber Falls, Chaos) to script the prequel, based on a story by Anderson. The film will be produced by Impact Pictures (a production outfit shared by Anderson and Jeremy Bolt), and word is it will delve into the past of the driver, Frankenstein.

The late-great David Carradine played Frankenstein in the original Death Race 2000 back in the ’70s, with him doing a brief voice appearance as the character in the remake before Statham’s character, Jensen Ames, replaced him in the driver’s seat. As I said, since this is a prequel, logically we can expect not to see much of Death Race’s cast, most notably Statham (I’m sure they’re mulling over ways they could include him, but it just doesn’t make sense story-wise).

Having said that, Tony Giglio (who may also direct this prequel), directed Statham in the straight-to-DVD Chaos. And with the potential that this could go straight-to-DVD, it almost seems like all the dots are already being connected. Anderson will next go to work on the 3D Resident Evil 4: Afterlife (on which Giglio will be a second unit director), but after that he and Bolt will oversee the Death Race prequel.

It was almost inevitable they’d want to go back to the Death Race well more than once, both because the metal carnage it allows is probably too hard to resist for an action director, and it more than doubled it’s money at the box office. It cost $45 million to make and made almost $100 million if you count DVD sales. Will they keep the budget in the same range, go higher or lower? I’m willing to guess the latter.

I really enjoyed myself with Death Race when it came out last year – no, it wasn’t technically a great movie, but it was a load of fun, particularly in a movie theater with the huge screen and speakers. Although I guess that aspect would be lost if the prequel went straight-to-DVD.

The idea of a prequel doesn’t really bother me either way – I wouldn’t necessarily be the first in line to see it, but nor would I actively avoid it.

What do you think about a Death Race prequel? Any thoughts on what the story could specifically be?

Source: ShockTillYouDrop

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Screen Rant’s Death Race DVD mega-contest is now closed, and here are the winners!:

• Filipe Muffoletto -Seattle, WA
  
• Jon Stalnaker -Turlock, CA
• Travis Johnson – San Diego, CA
• Andy Coe – Tucson, AZ
• Aika Itami – Warrior, AL
• Liz McDonough – Syracuse, NY
• Dave Fernandes – Nashville, TN
• James P. Sotis – Ipswich, MA
• Ryan Ferrier – Calgary, AB, Canada
• Eric Hall – Cincinnati, OH
  

Congratulations and thanks to everyone for entering. There’s another contest RIGHT around the corner!

Hot on the heels of today’s winners we have another Screen Rant DVD giveaway. This time we’re giving away 10 copies of the unrated version of the Jason Statham starring remake of Death Race on DVD.

Yup, you read that right: Ten (10) copies.

No promises, but based on the number of entries we usually get I’d say your odds are probably better than 1 in 20. WAY better than hitting the lottery.

Here’s the official description of the film:

Terminal Island: The very near future. The world’s hunger for extreme sports and reality competitions has grown into reality TV bloodlust. Now, the most extreme racing competition has emerged and its contestants are murderous prisoners. Tricked-out cars, caged thugs and smoking-hot navigators combine to create a juggernaut series with bigger ratings than the Super Bowl. The rules of the Death Race are simple: Win five events, and you’re set free. Lose and you’re road kill splashed across the Internet. International action star Jason Statham leads the action-thriller’s cast as three-time speedway champion Jensen Ames, an ex-con framed for the murder of his wife. Forced to don the mask of the mythical driver Frankenstein, a Death Race crowd favorite who seems impossible to kill, Ames is given an easy choice by Terminal Island’s ruthless Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen): Suit up and drive or never see his little girl again. His face hidden by a hideous mask, he must win the insane three-day challenge in order to gain freedom. But to claim the prize, Ames must survive a gauntlet of the most vicious criminals-including nemesis Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson)-in the country’s toughest prison. Trained by his coach (Ian McShane) to drive a monster Mustang V8 Fastback outfitted with 2 mounted mini-guns, flamethrowers and napalm, an innocent man must destroy everything in his path to win the most twisted spectator sport on Earth.

Ten (10!) lucky winners will receive:

• DEATH RACE DVD (UNRATED)
• Starring: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Natalie Martinez, and Tyrese Gibson.

BONUS FEATURES

• THEATRICAL AND UNRATED EXTENDED VERSIONS OF THE FILM
• START YOUR ENGINES: MAKING A DEATH RACE: From pre and post-production to the casting of Jason Statham, this bonus documentary takes viewers on set to see how a huge, stunt-driven Hollywood movie was made.
• BEHIND THE WHEEL: DISSECTING THE STUNTS: In this featurette, the many jaw-dropping stunts in the film are documented including interviews with the cast and crew.
• FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR PAUL W.S. ANDERSON and PRODUCER JEREMY BOLT (Unrated Version Only).

• Death Race Prequel On The Way
• Death Race Prequel Character & Plot Details
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• Win Val Kilmer & Cuba Gooding Jr. In ‘Hardwired’
• Screen Rant’s Awesome Watchmen Giveaway – WINNERS!

Short Version: Don’t ask for more than what’s being offered and you will enjoy it.

Screen Rant reviews Death Race: Fast cars, big guns, hot chicks. As promised.

If there is one thing that can be said about Jason Statham, it’s that the man is an action star you can tell is hungry for success, willing to put life and limb on the line for your entertainment. And that effort usually shows in the finished product.

Death Race is no exception.

Naysayers have accosted it for being a mindless, video-game-wannabe, T&A parading, testosterone-ridden mess of a film. (If there is one thing I hate, it’s those whose only “critical” talent is stating the super-obvious.)

And indeed, Death Race is every single thing critics have accused it of being. But for those of us capable of discerning exactly what a film is offering, all that means is that the movie delivers on what it promises, no more, no less. Whether that offer is something you want to receive depends on you.

The plot, as you might imagine, is pretty simplistic: In the future America’s economy has spiraled out of control. Unemployment is rampant amongst the working class, the government’s position has been weakened, leaving private corporations to call the shots. In these dire conditions, many people are forced to turn to lawlessness, causing the prison system to overflow with inmates until a corporate shark known only as Hennessey (Joan Allen), offers up a novel idea: transform prisoners into the new gladiators, pitting them against one another in battle for the viewing pleasure of Web junkies worldwide.

And so, Death Race is born.

Enter Jason Statham as Jensen Ames, a former badass NASCAR driver turned loving husband/father, struggling to make ends meet. When an assassin murders his wife, Ames takes the fall for her death and is sent to prison. There, Hennessey makes him an offer he can’t refuse: either Ames can don the iron mask of perennial Death Race champion, Frankenstein, or he can rot in prison and never see his daughter again. Obviously Ames chooses the former, otherwise we wouldn’t have a movie to talk about.

What happens next can be summed up in two words: Death Racing. Each stock-character racer (an Asian, a Skinhead, a Latino, a Black guy,) is given a car with enough armor to be considered a tank, mounted with obscenely large (and deafeningly loud) guns, some defensive weapons like smoke screens and oil slicks, and a hot-chick navigator to help them steer the course, find shortcuts, etc. Like any good video game, the race is held in three stages, and weapons can only be accessed by driving over electronic “power-ups” that look like manhole covers. After 15 minutes of setup, the drivers start their engines and murder and mayhem ensue for the next 70 minutes.

(How Joan Allen got stuck in this quagmire is a secret only the Devil knows for sure.)

There is some plot involved now and again, like Ames uncovering the conspiracy behind his wife’s murder and getting revenge on those involved; “Frankenstein’s” long-standing vendetta with fellow death-racer, Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson); and a hackneyed third act, complete with a cringe-worthy sugar-coated ending. But none of that matters. The (only) moments where Death Race shines is during the racing scenes, which director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) films with an unflinching eye for fast action, old-school stuntman F/X, buckets of gore, drab colors and enough explosive eye-candy absurdity to keep the A.D.D. generation interested. (The sound effects hammering your ear drums also make it hard to sleep through this movie.)

So, final word: Forget about plot, dialogue, character development, or the definition of the word “originality.” If you like fast cars, video game absurdity and hot chicks, go to a Sunday matinee (or wait for a rainy Sunday to watch the DVD), turn your brain volume all the way down to zero, and enjoy Death Race for the guilty pleasure that it is.

And if you can’t do that… well, my friend, you’re probably watching movies for all the wrong reasons to begin with.

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• Death Race Prequel Character & Plot Details
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I can’t believe that it’s now the end of August! Soon the winter blockbusters will be knocking at our door and the next thing you know it’ll be Oscar time again. Where does time go? Is it playing like a re-run somewhere, can you just flick to another dimension to a time where you are still awaiting a fourth Indiana Jones movie? Who knows, but I do know that it’s another Weekend Movie News Wrap up featuring a new aspect: a weekend box office update.

This week:

After our box office round-up we see what George Clooney and Jason Reitman are doing Up in the Air, we find out what former superhero is joining the Toy Story franchise, we look at who might be helming the Poltergeist movie and the Voltron film and what is new on the Inglorious Bastards casting front.

Weekend Box Office

It looks like Tropic Thunder will retain its box office crown and gross another $14-16 million over the Labor day weekend. Fox’s tinkering with Babylon A.D. didn’t do any good as the film will only bank $11-13 million this weekend. Ouch – what a summer Fox has had!

Don Cheadle’s Traitor did a modest $2.2 million on Friday and it should bank $10 million when all is said and done over the weekend. Meanwhile Disaster Movie was a disaster coining only $2 million on Friday – look for an $8 million weekend.

Death Race crashed an burned on its second weekend dropping a mighty 63% grossing just $1.7 million on Friday. Look for a little over $8 million by the end of Labor Day weekend.

Art house hit The Dark Knight will have crossed the $500 million barrier and the Caped Crusader epic should bank about another $11.5 million. Holy legs, Batman!

Movie News

1. Speaking of Batman, former Dark Knight George Clooney has signed on to Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air. The comedy film follows a business man who is addicted to collecting air miles. Sounds strange and quirky so it should be up Clooney’s street. I imagine it’ll fly high in awards season!

Source: Variety

2. Another former Batman, Michael Keaton has signed on to Toy Story 3. Keaton will play Ken (of Ken and Barbie fame). His other half will be voiced by Jodi Benson. Benson was also the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid. I didn’t know that already. Seriously.

Source: IESB

3. It looks like the Poltergeist remake has snagged itself a director. Vadim Perelman director of House of Sand and Fog is in talks to direct the horror film. Nothing is set in stone yet, so this could change. Heck, they could even give Brett Ratner a call.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

4. More Bastards have landed (that’s a Peter Jackson reference for you). Christoph Waltz has joined Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards as the main evil-doer of the film, Colonel Hans Landa. Meanwhile National Treasure star Diane Kruger has also come on-board the film, in the role first intended for the much older Nastassja Kinski.

Source: CHUD

5. The Voltron movie has nabbed a director in the form of Max Makowski. The film is a Transformers-esque giant robot movie.  Makowski has in the past brought us One Last Dance (a film that I have sitting on DVD but have never watched), as well as episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

No, seriously, he did. I have nothing to say about this. Nothing at all.

I will say that there’s probably a joke in there somewhere.

Source: Latino Review

That’s it for another week. See you at the movies!

• Poltergeist Remake Gets A Release Date
• Poltergeist Remake Delayed
• Movie News Wrap Up: May 25, 2009
• Movie News Wrap Up – July 27, 2009
• Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: February 22, 2009
• Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: March 22, 2009

ShockTilYouDrop has the first poster for the upcoming remake Death Race.

Appropriately, it has a bit of a a early 70’s action flick vibe to it. I really don’t expect much from this, but hopefully at the very least it’ll turn out to be a guilty pleasure. And Jason Statham is a great action guy to watch on screen.

See a larger version below and for the high res click on the pic.

Death Race opens August 22, 2008.

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The first, and hopefully only, Death Race trailer has been released. Why do I hope it’s the only one? Because this one gives away so much of the plot that there’s almost no reason to go watch the movie.

Death Race is a remake based on the cult classic Death Race 2000, made way back in 1975 when the year 2000 still seemed like “the future.” The original is the sort of film that I believe is OK to be remade, because it was a campy, cheesy B-movie that has nowhere to go but up. Don’t get me wrong – while very violent for the day, it was a ton of fun. It starred David Carradine as the masked “Frankenstein” and Sylvester Stallone as one of the racers.

For a while this was titled Death Race 3000, but I’m not sure why since it seems to take place in the not-too-distant future.

The original film made a statement about society’s obsessive need to be entertained at ever higher levels of intensity, culminating in a cross-country race where drivers received points for murdering civilians by running them over with their race cars. This version is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson who has brought us such gems as the first Alien vs Predator, Resident Evil and Soldier.

People haven’t been expecting much from this, however the trailer looks like it will deliver what it sets out to give: Tons of action, sexy women, tough guys and stuff blowing up all over the place. If you don’t want pretty much the entire plot given away, you might not want to watch this trailer, which contains more shots of the hero in direct profile than I think I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Official Site: DeathRaceMovie.net

Find higher-res versions of the trailer at movies.yahoo.com.

Death Race opens on August 22, 2008.

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A slew of new photos have been released by Universal for the new Death Race movie directed by the infamous Paul W.S. Anderson. I don’t have the time to dig into this right now, but it’s starting to look like they’ve dropped the “3000″ from the title. If that’s true, it at least drops the “cheese factor” on the title. Whether that transfers to the movie…

Click on the image for a bunch more pictures from Death Race

It will be interesting to see how this one stacks up against the original Death Race 2000 which starred David Carradine and (seriously) Sylvestor Stallone. While some movies don’t hold up well 30 years later, that one still does as a violent but funny satire about society’s hunger for violent entertainment. Will this one retain any of the wit of the original?

Somehow I doubt it.

Death Race opens on August 22, 2008.

Source: /Film

• Death Race Prequel On The Way
• Death Race Prequel Character & Plot Details
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Here’s this week’s edition of the Screen Rant podcast with my thoughts on this week’s news including why Death Race 3000 won’t be any good, the double-dose of “punking” received by AintItCoolNews, Iron Man updates, a reminder to enter the Spider-Man 3 contest and more!

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• Another Comic-Con Contest: Ghostbusters Is Hiring
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Jason Statham has officially signed on to star in the upcoming remake Death Race 3000.

There is good news and bad news in regards to this. The good news is that I think Statham is perfect for this type of movie. I haven’t heard what role he’ll be playing, but my guess would be that he’ll play the character called Frankenstein in the original movie (Death Race 2000).

The bad news is that this is being written and directed by Paul Anderson. I gave my initial reaction to this news here, and it certainly wasn’t positive.

Among the films that Anderson has been responsible for are Soldier, Event Horizon and Alien vs Predator, not one of which I would even use the word “good” to describe them. It’s a bummer too, as /Film points out this could be a really cool movie, but the odds are stacked against it and I’m pretty sure the opportunity will be wasted.

Source: /Film

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Oh, joy.

Some brilliant person has given Paul W.S. Anderson the green light to write and direct a remake of the B-movie classic Death Race 2000. Now Paul is the guy who brought us the [sarcasm on] wonderful [/sarcasm] Alien vs. Predator and such gems as Soldier and Event Horizon.

Now I’m not saying that Death Race 2000 is Citizen Kane, not by a longshot. It was a cheaply made, campy, violent Roger Corman flick, but it was fun, dammit. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that “3000″ won’t be. Oh, it’ll probably try to be cool, edgy, gory (well, sorta, since they’ll go for the PG-13 rating, guaranteed), but it won’t succeed (unless you’re 15 or so).

Sure, the guy’s movies make money (but only if you include overseas box office), but how many properties are the studios going to let this guy trash?

Yeesh.

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