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Highlander Reboot Will Be Fast & Furious

Niall Browne — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:04:35 +0000

Way back last year we brought you news that Iron Man scripters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway were penning the script for Summit Entertainment’s Highlander reboot. Now we finally have news about who is directing and producing the 21st Century Highlander update. Here’s a clue – they’re Fast and they’re Furious.

Yes – Fast and Furious director Justin Lin and blossoming super-producer Neal H. Moritz will call the shots on the Highlander remake.

The original Highlander told the tale of a 16th Century Scotsman – a highlander – who is immortal. He and other “immortals” fight through the ages in order to win “The Prize.” The only way that they can be killed is to be decapitated. Highlander starred Christopher Lambert and screen legend Sean Connery.

Patrick Wachsberger, co-chairman of Summit Entertainment had this to say :

“We are privileged to have this amazing opportunity to reinvent one of the great franchises. Neal and Justin have proven more than once that they can deliver an entertaining and exciting blockbuster.”

I can only imagine that Wachsberger would like another successful franchise to sit along Twilight in the studio vaults.

Peter Davis, the producer of the original film (and it’s three sequels) will also produce the reboot. With regards to Lin’s and Moritz’s attachment Davis said:

“Justin and Neal are an exciting directing/producing team and I am confident that they will deliver a truly dynamic film while being totally respectful of Highlander Legend.”

Now that the behind the camera talent is set for this new Highlander tale, all eyes can turn to casting.

Will Vin Diesel replace Clancy Brown as The Kurgan? Will Paul Walker be working on a Scottish accent so that he can replace Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod? Or will mooted choice Kevin McKidd get to wield a sword in a kilt?

Who knows at this stage – but considering that the film now has a director and producer, as well as the fact that Art Marcum and Matt Holloway have been attached to the film since May 2008, implies that we might be finding out very soon.

Remember: “There can only be one!”

You can find out all Highlander news here at Screen Rant as soon as we get it!

Source: Summit Entertainment

Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: August 24, 2008

Niall Browne — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:27:01 +0000

Yes folks it’s that time of the week! Once again we troll through the overlooked movie news to give you a fully comprehensive overview of what’s been happening in Hollywood.

This week:

Nicolas Cage decides to Kick Ass, every-one’s favorite Journeyman Kevin McKidd may be a Highlander, Ben Affleck Extract’s something for Mike Judge, Samuel L. Jackson eyes Red Tails for George Lucas and The Sweeney gets shafted by the British Film Industry.

1. Nicolas Cage, Aaron Johnson and Lyndsy Fonseca have signed on to Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book Kick Ass. According to The Hollywood Reporter the plot:

“…centers on a high school dweeb named Dave Lizewski who decides to become a superhero even though he has no athletic ability or coordination. Things change when he eventually runs into real bad guys with real weapons.Johnson plays title character, while Fonseca plays the object of the teen’s infatuation who believes Dave is gay. Cage is a former cop who wants to bring down a druglord and has trained his daughter (Chloe Moretz) to be a lethal weapon.“

It sounds like an interesting enough premise, but it also appears that there might be a bit too much going on to make for a focused film. At least Cage appears to be scratching his comic book itch these days, which should keep him away from Superman!

The crazy haired Elvis loving actor will next be seen in Bangkok Dangerous on September 5.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. It looks like Journeyman star Kevin McKidd may be the new Highlander. According to Joblo the actor was talking on Dublin radio and he stated that he’d been approached to star in the reboot of the series which originally starred Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert.

Is there truth in this? Who knows – but he is from Scotland and he has been known to wield a sword (see Rome) so there is a chance that there may be something to this.

Source: Joblo.com

3. Ben Affleck is in negotiations to star in Mike Judge’s new film Extract. According to Variety Affleck would play a lawyer who is the best friend of Jason Bateman’s lead in the new film.

“The Arrested Development actor stars as ‘a flower extract factory owner dealing with workplace problems and a streak of bad luck, including his wife’s affair with a gigolo.’”

It sounds quirky, but I don’t think that it’s going to break Affleck’s losing streak at the box office.

Source: Variety

4. It would appear that Samuel L. Jackson has been approached by George Lucas to direct the long gestating Red Tails.

Jackson told IGN :

“I just read it like two weeks ago. It’s a pretty good script. At one point (Lucas) was asking me if I’d ever want to direct anything. I said, ‘I don’t know, man. I’m trying to find things.’ He said, ‘Well, let me send you this thing. Maybe you might want to direct it.’ Well, I guess if I was gonna direct something George would be a great guy to kind of mentor me through that, especially a big ass special effects flying picture. The script’s good. I like it.”

However, Jackson isn’t too certain that he wants to direct:

“I don’t know. I don’t have a year and a half of my life where I wanna stop acting.”

Not earth shattering news, but it is interesting. Will Red Tails ever get made? Probably, but hasn’t the story already been told in the 1995 TV movie Tuskegee Airmen starring new CSI star Laurence Fishburne?

Source: IGN

5. The film version of the iconic British cop show The Sweeney has been put on hold. The film was due to star Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s Ray Winstone as Jack Regan, but producers were worried that without a major star the film wouldn’t recoup its $16 million budget.

It’s a shame – the show is hugely influential in the UK and the British Film industry could be doing with a good home grown franchise. Harry Potter and James Bond films are not included as they are made with American money. The 1970’s detective show helped inspire the recent quirky sci-fi cop series Life on Mars. Even with something as small as a budget of $16 million British producers are still afraid to roll the dice on a film.

The British Film industry really needs a good kick in the ass to get motivated and start producing more commercial material for the rest of the world. Romantic comedy aside the UK isn’t really known for producing commercial cinema, and when they do make a good movie it hardly gets a release (if at all).

Every few years we do get a good British film that has commercial and critical success. In the last fifteen or so years we have had films like Trainspotting, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Dog Soldiers and The Full Monty which have been very successful around the world. However, what followed the release of these movies was a series of cheap imitations that ran the respective genres into the ground.

The UK really must get it sorted if it wants to have a selt sustaining film industry that can survive on it’s own.

Source: Variety

That’s it for another week.

See you at the movies!

Two Words: Highlander. Remake.

Niall Browne — Wed, 21 May 2008 21:51:58 +0000

Since I started writing for Screen Rant I have no idea how many movie remake stories I’ve covered, but every week seems to bring a new one. This week: Highlander.

If you don’t know, Highlander tells the tale of a 16th Century Scotsman – a highlander who happens to be immortal. He and other “immortals” fight through the ages in order to win “The Prize.” The only way that they can die is to be decapitated. Ouch!

The cast included Frenchman Christopher Lambert as the titular Highlander - Connor Macleod, Scotsman Sean Connery as a Spaniard and American Clancy Brown as the Germanic Kurgan.

It’s an outstanding movie… if a tad dated. It was released in 1986 and the soundtrack was composed by the band Queen.

The tag-line for the movie was: “There can be only one.”

We have now had four sequels, two television series, an animated series and now here comes a remake…

Summit Entertainment will produce the remake in the hope of resuscitating the franchise following its destruction directly after the end credits of the first film.

Iron Man scripters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway have been hired to pen the script, so there’s at least some hope that this could actually turn out to be a decent “re-imagining” of the story.

Summit’s co-chairman Patrick Wachsberger said:

“I have always dreamed of reinventing this franchise. We think the franchise will work on a global basis.”

Apparently the film “will mix contemporary settings, action, mythology and medieval Scotland.”

Just like the original then.

No word on cast or director, but I’ll bet good money that they give Gerard Butler a call..for either the lead or the Spanish Ramirez (Sean Connery in the original).

I’ll let you know the news as we get it.

Source: Variety