Screen Rant » prince of persia

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Trailer is Here!

Rob Keyes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:36:48 +0000

Finally! Our first real look at Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has arrived in the form of this HD trailer courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes. Based on the popular video game series which made it big with the release of Sands of Time back in 2003 and its pair of sequels the following two years, the video game adaptation is hoped to help bring a change to a movie genre that has traditionally suffered from low quality movies based on known video game franchises.

Prince of Persia stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan (unnamed in the video game) as he tries save the world using the an ancient time-manipulating weapon and the help of a foe/love-interest.

Check out the action-packed and visually appealing trailer after the jump.

For those unfamiliar with the story of the movie, here’s the synopsis:

From the team that brought the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy to the big screen, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films present PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME, an epic action-adventure set in the mystical lands of Persia. A rogue prince (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess (GEMMA ARTERTON) and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time—a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

Watch and enjoy:

As Screen Rant master Vic points out, this trailer sure has the feel and aesthetic of Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy. With the team behind the movie, we can see that this is a classic summer blockbuster for everyone along the same lines of The Mummy and Pirates of the Caribbean.

There sure are some extreme and epic visuals, and I dig the shout out to Ubisoft’s (the game developer) other game franchise which followed in the footsteps of their modern Prince of Persia a series: Assassin’s Creed (the scene where he’s on the tower near the beginning about the jump off).

I can’t deny that the trailer looks like a lot of fun but I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to see two of the things most important and visually stunning about the games: the Prince running and jumping of walls and epic multi-enemy sword fights mixed with a little Zack Snyder-style slow-mo. I have a feeling there’s some of that to come though.

Starring alongside Mr. Gyllenhaal are Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace & the upcoming Clash of the Titans), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2 & the upcoming The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) Ben Kingsley (The Assignment & the upcoming Shutter Island).

If you missed it, check out the pitch trailer that Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner and writer John August used to sell the movie idea to Disney. It’s footage taken from the game, strung together to show what kind of movie and visuals they could employ in live-action.

What do you think of the first official Prince of Persia movie trailer? Could this break the trend of awful video game movies and open the industry up to the next big thing after comic book movies?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is directed by Mike Newell and opens in theaters May 28, 2010.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

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Pitch Trailer for Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Paul Young — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:57:50 +0000

There are plenty of video game movies coming out over the next couple of years and oddly enough none of them are being directed by Uwe Boll. Some like World of Warcraft and Call of Duty are making progress; others like Asteroids are merely in the developing stages. One that is almost finished shooting is Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. While a few stills from the film have been released, there has yet to be a teaser trailer released.

However, Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner and writer John August have released what they called a “pitch trailer”. Essentially, when they were trying to pitch the idea of making Prince of Persia into a movie, they came up with a unique way to convince the studios that the game would translate well into big screen adaptation. Instead of the usual storyboards and concept art, they went and grabbed some of the more exciting scenes from the game itself and edited together a trailer to help pitch their idea.

It must have worked because Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney took the bait, bought the rights and hired Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) to direct Jake Gyllenhall as Prince Dastan. Somewhere along the way they also convinced Alfred Molina (Sheik Amar) and Sir Ben Kingsley (Nizam) to join the cast (although I’m sure Disney had some help from more than one Benjamin Franklin.)

So below we have the “pitch trailer” for Prince of Persia: Sands of Time courtesy of our friends at JoBlo, enjoy:

You’ll notice that a lot of crucial elements from the game are missing (freezing, monstrous sand beasts, and such) and that was intentional on the part of Mechner and August. They wanted to sell the idea based on what the studios like the most: action, adventure, romance and marketability to children everywhere.

That last part is majorly important because with the recent acquisition of Marvel by Disney to help them tap into the male teen market, video games are a natural doorway to that demographic. I wouldn’t doubt if we see some Prince Dastan characters walking around Disney World soon.

What do you think about Prince of Persia: Sands of Time as a movie and would you pose with Prince Dastan for a picture outside of Tomorrowland?

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time opens in theaters May 28, 2010.

Source: JoBlo

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Prince of Persia Will NOT Be In 3D

Ross Miller — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:47:41 +0000

It’s a miracle! Amidst the recent glut of movies that are in the 3D works, today we get news that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will NOT be jumping on the 3D bandwagon.

A whole slew of news items have been coming out of the Disney D23 Fan Expo, one of which was that the upcoming video game adaptation, Prince of Persia, was going to be in 3D. The possibility was first brought to our collective attention when the guys over at Coming Soon noticed a poster for the movie on a display highlighting all of the 3D Disney movies in the pipeline. That 3D status of PoP was supposedly confirmed by on-site reps for Disney, and it was noted that since the movie wasn’t shot for 3D, the process would be done entirely in post-production.

However, the folks over at FirstShowing have received an e-mail directly from a Disney rep confirming that Prince of Persia will NOT be coming to us in 3D. There’s no word on why the film’s poster appeared at the expo alongside a slate of other 3D movies, nor why on-site reps confirmed the 3D possibility. Either it was a plain old mix-up (I’m sure the expo was a busy place), or those on-site reps/those who put the film’s poster on display didn’t know what they’re doing…

I’m very happy that Prince of Persia won’t be in 3D, especially since it wasn’t filmed for that format. If they decided to convert it into 3D during post-production, it would mean that certain things would be coming out of the screen at the audience without any real reason to. That’s not my idea of good 3D.

I’m looking forward to Prince of Persia, despite the poor (to say the least) track record of Hollywood video game adaptations. Maybe It’s just wishful thinking, but I’m getting the feeling this may be one of the first truly decent video game flicks there is. I hope I’m not being too naive…

What do you think of Prince of Persia being regular ol’ 2D as opposed to 3D?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits theaters on May 28th, 2010.

Source: ComingSoon and Firstshowing

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New Prince Of Persia Images

Ross Miller — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:27:38 +0000

We’ve had a few looks at the upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time video game adaptation over the last year or so. The first images were unofficial with the first official one getting released a couple of weeks ago which showed Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan.

Not long after that came a couple of new posters for the movie, one again featuring Gyllenhaal (which isn’t surprising since he’s the lead and one of the main draws for the film) and the other featuring Gemma Arterton as the female lead. Then came Ben Kingsley’s poster as Nizam.

The images so far have been mostly reassuring that the movie will be somewhat decent…

Today we get another slick look at Prince of Persia courtesy of Empire (who have nabbed the exclusive), continuing that kind of style of the first posters (which looked more like fashion magazine covers than movie posters).

A couple of the images appear to be mid-scene, where our Prince and Princess Tamina (an alluring Gemma Arterton) look to have been at first soaked from head to toe, and then attempting to escape on horseback. The other two are behind-the-scenes, showing director Mike Newell, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Check out one of the images below:

For the full size version, plus the rest of the exclusive images, you can head over head over to Empire.

With regards to the two mid-scene images, it seems like strange ones to promote Prince of Persia. Not that they don’t look cool and all (something about water as a still image is weirdly nice to look at), but you’d think the promotion stills would be more… staged.

It’s a nice change, though…

What do you make of these latest Prince of Persia images? Are you looking forward to this video game adaptation?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina and Toby Kebbell. It is slated for a May 28th, 2010 release.

Source: Empire

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First Official Image of Ben Kingsley in Prince of Persia

Rob Keyes — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:16:06 +0000

A few days back, we got out first official look of Jake Gyllenhaal in character as Prince Dastan in the upcoming Disney production of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. While there’s debate over whether or not Gyllenhaal is the right man for the part, his costume was undeniably cool.

Today, we now have a first look at another major player of the video game movie, Nizam, who is played by Sir Ben Kingsley.

Nizam is the villainous brother King Shahrman of Persia whom he assassinates, placing blame on the hero of the story, Prince Dastan. After taking out his bro, he claims the throne and is after the Sands of Time to help him on his quest to take over the world.

Take a look and see what you think:

[Click for larger version at ComingSoon.net]

This image comes from Coming Soon who nabbed the exclusive – Head there for the full image in high resolution.

I wonder with the sudden release of first-look promotional material (including two new posters) for this movie days before Comic-Con, if we’ll be treated to something bigger for Prince of Persia later this week from the convention itself…

Stay tuned, Screen Rant will be there to keep you in the know.

What do you think of Kingsley’s character image?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time opens in theaters May 28, 2010.

Source: Coming Soon

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New Posters For ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’

Ross Miller — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:31:30 +0000

Empire has just premiered two new posters for the upcoming Jake Gyllenhaal video game adaptation, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean, Armageddon) produced action-adventure is set to be one of 2010’s biggest blockbusters, with both a big-budget and an existing video game fan base to help it do well at the box office.

The Prince of Persia video game series was (and still is) extremely popular, so much so it’s kind of a shock that it’s taken them this long to get it firmly on the way to theaters (a film has been in the works as far back as before the 2003 video game reboot of the original 1989 Prince of Perisa video game).

The big-screen adaptation of POP follows “rogue prince” Dasdan (Gyllenhaal) and a mysterious princess called Tamina (Gemma Arterton), who together (reluctantly) safeguard an ancient dagger that could unlock what is known as the Sands of Time, a force which allows its possessor to manipulate (or reverse) time and thus rule the world.

Today we have two new international posters for Prince of Persia, courtesy of Empire. Check them both out below (click either for a larger version):

I don’t know about you, but those are not what I expected to see advertising a Prince of Persia movie. They look more like fashion magazine covers than movie posters! Does this mean we can expect something more than your standard action franchise fare? Surely not! Surprise factor aside, I really like the look of the posters – they’re sleek and sophisticated, giving off an epic feel that I suspect the film is going for.

Gyllenhaal looks awesome as Prince Dasdan – I was skeptical about him being cast in the role when it was first announced, but the more I see of him in the get-up (check out images here and here), the more he looks to be a fit for the character. And it goes without saying Arterton (who’s starting to make a real name for herself) is… appealing.

I will always be wary about any and all video game adaptations until one finally comes along that proves they can actually be good. I have every hope that Prince of Persia will be the one to do that. Is that hope in vain?

What do you think of these latest posters for Prince Persia? Are you looking forward to this video game adaptation?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is scheduled to hit theaters on May 28th, 2010.

Source: Empire

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First Official Image of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Battle-Ready Prince of Persia

Rob Keyes — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:14:26 +0000

The first official image of Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has been made available online courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. The photo presents the character Gyllenhaal plays in the movie, Prince Dastan, ready for battle in his warrior duds.

This isn’t our first look at the buffed up lead in costume however, as last summer we got a glimpse of Jake in costume behind the scenes with some crew members and back in March of this year we got another two images of him again topless on one of the sets.

Unfortunately for the filmmakers, these images were all unimpressive. But now we finally have an officially released image and it looks good:

This image looks good as does the character’s costume. Did he tie that leather strap to his bicep himself?

I hope the movie emphasizes the cool action sequences and style that the game it is based on employs – that’s really the main selling point behind this and a big part of the game’s success and evolution into a feature film project.

Alongside Gyllenhaal, the cast includes Sir Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton, Alfred Molina and Toby Kebbell.

What do you think of his look? Can this video game-based movie break the trend of bad movies in the genre?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is directed by Mike Newell and opens May 28, 2010.

Source: EW

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New Footage Of Prince Of Persia & The Surrogates

Rob Keyes — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:21:57 +0000

Over the weekend, video interviews for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Surrogates found their way online and both reveal scenes from their respective movies.

The first interview, with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, talks about the Prince of Persia movie and its lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Interlaced throughout the short video, we see some footage of training sessions and scenes from the movie.

Take a look and see what you think:

It sure looks like a big budget action epic. I really hope this movie is good; the genre really needs it to be, to give hope to the other forty or so video game movie adaptations in development.

Next up is an interview for The Surrogates with director Jonathan Mostow. Similar to the Prince of Persia video, we get to see quite a few little pieces of footage from the movie including many of Bruce Willis with hair (well, his surrogate avatar) and some creepy robot stuff.

Most of what we see is pretty action-oriented and it looks very cool. A lot of the video plays like a trailer for the movie so I’d expect the official full trailer and more marketing for Surrogates to debut soon. We did get a cool viral poster for the movie two weeks back, so the marketing should soon gear up with the movie releasing later this summer.

I’m interesting in seeing both films although I don’t expect much from Prince of Persia. While the video game it is based on is great, the movie added lots of stuff not in the game, and that usually doesn’t bode well for any video game movie. Oh, and it’s a video game movie…

What do you think of our first video glimpses of these two movies?

Surrogates hits theaters September 25, 2009 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time opens May 28, 2010.

Source: WorstPreviews

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New Images Of Deadpool & The Prince Of Persia Look Uncool

Rob Keyes — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 06:12:19 +0000

A pair of new images of Jake Gyllenhaal as the title character in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time have appeared online as well as a new still of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

In short, the Prince of Persia ones are an example of bad marketing and the Deadpool shot makes a cool actor and a cool character look cheap.

First, we have the two of Mr. Gyllenhaal who plays Prince Dastan, a name created for the movie as it was unknown in the video game for which the film is based. The first thing you’ll notice are his goofy facial expressions and the second is that this picture shows off nothing from the game.

Is Jake Gyllenhaal topless and dumbfounded what they’re trying to sell? I have no idea how they could take these pictures and use them as promotional images – They appear to be set photos as opposed to stills. Either way, this does not make me want to see the movie.

Here they are:

At least the background looks decent.

The movie is directed by Mike Newell and is based on the successful remake of the 1989 side-scroller video game. The remake came out in 2003 and was dubbed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for which this movie takes its title. I have low expectations for this film and it’s not just because it’s based on a video game.

The next image we have, courtesy of SuperHeroHype.com, is a still of Deadpool for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It depicts Ryan Reynolds in a very extravagant costume which includes a red undershirt, cargo pants and a sidearm holster that’s held on by string.

Much better than the ones above. If only the Prince of Persia pictures were like this (him with swords in action) then we’d have something to look at!

There’s quite a bit of confusion and controversy occurring online about the Deadpool character and how he’ll appear and be adapted for this movie. For more details on that, click here. And for the more recent follow-up discussion about the characters in the Wolverine movie, click here. I hope they do the character justice. I’m a big supporter or Ryan Reynolds and he’s perfect for the role.

What do you think about the images, the characters portrayed and their respective movies?

X-Men Origins: Wolverine hits theaters May 1, 2009 and Prince of Persia debuts May 28, 2010.

Source: The Huffington Post

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Prince Of Persia & Other “Game-to-Movie” Thoughts

Bruce Simmons — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:13:17 +0000

If you’re keeping track, or looking for any tidbits, the much anticipated translation of the Ubisoft game, Prince of Persia, has reportedly started filming on the 16th of September.

As we’ve noted previously, Jake Gyllenhaal of Brokeback Mountain fame, stars in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Also starring in the flick are Gemma Arterton, Sir Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina and Toby Kebbell.

The project is an effort between Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films and is slated for a 2010 release. It’s about a prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from doing some evil deeds.

So why am I not jazzed about the upcoming new video game-to-movie effort?

At the moment it seems to me that Prince of Persia has some serious industry backing with Disney and Bruckheimer. This combination alone gives me the sense that it has potential.

But what tempers my anticipation for Prince of Persia are the writers.

Carlo Bernard: Very limited experience of writing credits.
Jordan Mechner: Limited experience in writing credits, and most of them are related to video games.
Doug Miro: Three credits: One of them is Prince…, another is still to be released.
Boaz Yakin: Boaz has the most experience, and a few flicks I’ve actually heard of. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, From Dusk Till Dawn 2. Hmm… vampires and dancing. That should mix well with Persian prince politics. (I said “heard of”… I missed these two fine literary contributions to the annals of film.)

Besides filming having commenced, the only other news that’s come out of the project is about the new 22-year-old Bond girl, Gemma Arterton, moving in with the 19-year-old stuntman Eduardo Munoz, who was hired to teach her to ride horses for Prince. They said horses Eduardo. Horses! It must be chemistry because he’s already moved in with Gemma and she hired a translator to teach them each others language so they can understand each other… verbally. Kids. Sheesh. I give it till he end of filming, at best. Maybe they’ll learn enough vile language to learn how to break up properly.

The only salvation that keeps my eye in this direction is the director, Mike Newell. Newell has a history of success behind him, including putting the fantasy genre to screen. (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) But he just may have his job cut out for him.

How Many Video Games Must We Suffer Through?

I have to confess that with my digital, 5-speaker surround sound computer system I like gaming. When I’m pinned by two armored vehicles and only 2 rockets and a couple of satchel charges to my digital name, it’s fun. Or when I’m driving my NASCAR simulator, the place shakes, windows rattle and the animals run for their lives in my place – hehe. But my motivation, my story is to destroy the other guy and not be destroyed or just move that other car… who cares what happens or why. Just go go go. My first online win came from a move sort of like that. Hehehe.

The aspect I ponder is how video games translate as a story into a movie? What’s my motivation? It’s a single emotion, maybe two. Escape some of my daily woes, destroy the enemy. But yet, on that premise alone, it seems that many games have been made into movies.

Many game-to-movie efforts have floundered, heck there were many I didn’t even know were translated to movies. Sometimes it seems that they hire actors who look like the game characters, hand them props from the game and thell them to run that way, and pull the trigger. Go go go!! That’s a wrap! Now jump through the window. That’s a wrap! If he survives, we’ll have him jump over a car! Dialog… Oh yeah… forgot that. Propmaster!!?? What do you think he might say here?

At the front of my brain is Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson in the translation of one of my old favorite first-person shooters, Doom! Despite the fact that I tend to gravitate to action oriented, lead splaying movies that just make me feel better after a rough day, it was just OK. Even I need some story behind the bullet distribution patterns.

The video game-to-movie rendition I’ve enjoyed was Resident Evil. I never played the game. I was too busy with Doom and all the add-ons, add-ins and add-to’s, but I liked the premise of Resident Evil, not to mention really enjoying watching Milla Jonovich kick butt.

Speaking of watching, I think when you “cross a Playboy Bunny with Bruce Wayne” archeologist type character in the Lara Croft films with Angelina Jolie, and add semi-Ok writing, it’s bound to be a hit and is one of my perennial favorites on the tube as repeats when nothing else is competing for my writers eye. (I hope my wife isn’t reading this.)

A lot of the time I can’t imagine trying to create a story out of a first person shooter that is a compelling tale to tell. To further complicate the situation is not committing the money and nabbing up-and-coming actors that may not have the draw of big names. The one flick I am not even holding my breath on is Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li starring Smallville’s Kristen Kreuk. Without a Clark to pine about, what will she do? Oh… did I just say that?

One movie that I think has a lot of anticipation is Max Payne. It stars Mark Wahlberg, and written by Shawn Ryan, whose latest endeavor includes The Shield. This flick is due to come out October 17th. The previews look like it doesn’t suck and it’s got me interested, unlike most previews of game-to-movies previews.

Yes, I’ve left out a lot of game-to-movie names. And there are a lot. So like I said, or recommend to the game / movie makers: If you don’t have the bucks, and can’t hire the big names, maybe it would be best if you just waited a bit to get the mula. I’d rather have a movie I’ve made to have a lasting impression than something that only gets remembered because it’s added to a list somewhere.

Just ask Bruce. He’ll tell ya’ like he sees it.

DISCLAIMER: When I say I enjoyed a game-to-movie translation, I did not say it was a fantastic, earth shattering story captivating movie. I just enjoy it for what it is. I thought I’d say that before you started slamming me for calling something good. It is good for the moment. Kind a’ like candy or beer.

Sources: Metro.co.uk, Daily Mail.co.uk, IMDB

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First Pic Of Jake Gyllenhaal From Prince Of Persia

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:56:51 +0000

We’ve got the first pic from the upcoming Prince of Persia movie, with star Jake Gyllenhaal trying his best to look the part of titular Prince Dastan. (What, they couldn’t find a Persian actor to play the part?)

I bet right about now Naveen Andrews is feeling pretty slighted.

Anyway, Prince of Persia is based on the popular video game about a young prince (Gyllenhaal) who is tricked by an evil wizard (Ben Kingsley) into unleashing the evil sands of time. The film is being directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and is currently slated for a May 28, 2010 release.

Take a look at the pic and let us know what you think about Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia. (Ladies, try not to get too giddy. Fellas, you either.)

Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia

For more images head over to Just Jared.

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Prince of Persia Moves To Summer 2010

Jamie Williams — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:30:22 +0000

Despite talking up a storm last week at the San Diego Comic Con, the video-game inspired Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has officially moved from its June 19, 2009 release.

Instead, the Mike Newell-helmed blockbuster tentpole will now open on May 28, 2010 for the Memorial Day weekend.

The film (produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Jake Gyllenhaal) is sandwiched between Dreamwork’s Shrek Goes Fourth (which will have been in theaters for a week already) and Marvel’s Thor (opening the following week!)

I wonder if Disney was afraid that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (which was to have opened the week after Prince of Persia’s original release date) would eat a good chunk of their business. Then again, maybe the film simply can’t be finished in time.

Let’s just hope Newell & Co. won’t be entirely secretive with every little detail regarding the production like J.J. Abrams is being with Star Trek.

Source: Coming Soon

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: June 8(ish) 2008

Niall Browne — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:11:30 +0000

Hey Guys welome to another Weekend Movie Wrap Up. I know, I know -I’m late, but it’s because of the new site and my time difference here in the UK. However, it’s better late than never!

This week in our video game driven segment we look at :

Leonardo DiCaprio running Atari, who will be joing Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia, Bruce Willis signs up for Kane and Lynch, Keira Knightley is the new Audrey Hepburn and Merlin decides to recapture that old magic in Roundtable.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to Atari. The film follows the life of Nolan Bushnell – the creator of Atari. Paramount purchased the script in the hope that DiCaprio will star in the film and produce it through his Appian Way production Company.

Is it just me or does this sound like it could be boring?

Source: Variety

2. Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina have signed on to Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time film starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

The Jerry Bruckheimer produced film starts shooting next month in Morocco.

An interesting fact – I once ran over Sir Ben Kingsley’s foot with a luggage trolley whilst running for the Euro-star!

3. Pop Culture lover Bruce Willis has attached himself to Kane and Lynch. The film based on the video game of the same name follows two hit-men, named… er Kane and Lynch trying to find a microchip. Simon Crane is attached to direct the project. Crane is currently working as stunt coordinator on Willis’ The Surrogates.

See what happens when you get to know somebody!

Source: Variety

4. Keira Knightley appears to be stepping into Audrey Hepburn’s shoes for a remake of My Fair Lady. Sony pictures is eyeing the remake of the seminal musical that co-starred Rex Harrison.

Knightley would play Eliza Dolittle the cockney flower girl who is transformed into a “proper lady” by Professor Huggins.

Yeah – I’m not too excited about this either, but it’s interesting to note that Knightley rarely plays contemporary characters.

Source: Variety

5. It looks like the legendary Merlin will be returning to the big screen in an action-comedy. Brian K. Vaughn has penned a script for Roundtable, which follows Merlin into the present day in order to fight an ancient evil. Merlin must gather the best Knights that he can muster, who turn out to be a rag-tag bunch of geeks, nerds and athletes.

There was a bidding war for this. Seriously.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

That’s it for another week.

See you at the movies!

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Yes, We KNOW Jake Gyllenhaal Is The Prince Of Persia

Vic Holtreman — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:32:36 +0000

Click on the image for the full poster at MoviesOnline.ca

The “Trades” as they’re called (Variety, Hollywood Reporter,etc) have announced today something that you’ve known was probable for over a month if you’re a regular Screen Rant reader.

Jake Gyllenhaal will play the Prince of Persia in Jerry Bruckheimers upcoming film of the same name.

Latino Review first broke the story that Jake was being pursued for the role back on April 8th of this year. Did any of the mainstream media outlets give them any credit?

Hell no.

There’s been a lot of discussion regarding the lack of acknowledgment of what’s come to be called “the new media” by what some are calling the “dinosaur media” via email this past weekend between a bunch of the heaviest hitters in the online movie news world. I felt honored to be included in that discussion.

Collider first brought this up last week in a post on their site and it’s been picked up by Latino Review and now Moviehole as well. I guess I’m throwing my hat in the ring now, too.

The issue is not only the utter lack of recognition when a movie news site breaks a story ahead of one of the big ones and then THEY publish it as if it’s the first that’s been heard about said story – there have also been cases where the originating site’s content has been grabbed and re-published almost verbatim, again with no mention of the originating site.

Now I’ll admit that’s not much of an issue here at Screen Rant… we’re more about dissecting the news and telling you what you should think about it (JUST kidding!) than we are about snagging scoops. But we’re standing with our brothers in a sign of solidarity and just what’s plain right.

Well, hell… THAT certainly went off track, didn’t it? But it’s something that needs to be dragged out into the light of day.

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Gyllenhaal of Persia?

Niall Browne — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:35:48 +0000

I’d barely finished my Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time story and gone to bed yesterday when news broke that Maggie Gyllenhaal had been offered the lead role that was first mooted for Orlando Bloom and Zac Efron. (Yes, that picture is for the ladies that read Screen Rant.)

The video game adaptation is to produced by uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Mike Newell.

Maggie Gyllenhaal?

Fooled you! Of course it’s Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie’s brother – she’s too busy romancing The Dark Knight..

So what are my views on this?

Yep- Keep reading to find out.

Not a bad choice. While he’s no Tom Cruise (come on give the guy a break these days) he does have a certain screen presence and he is much, much better than Bloom (don’t even get me started on Efron). Oh, and the dude can act- if you haven’t seen David Fincher’s Zodiac go and check it out- it’s one of the best films of the last 10 years- seriously.

Every young actor needs a franchise, strike that- every actor needs a franchise- sorry Harrison, Sly, Bruce and maybe you too Clint! Over the years Jake Gyllenhall has come close to the role of Batman and he was inches away from replacing Tobey Maguire on Spider-Man 2 so we know that he is willing to sign up to a multi-picture deal.

The main problem at the Gyllenhall has injured himself on the basketball court and he’s walking around on crutches- or should that be hopping around on crutches? You get my gist anyway.

Will he be fit and reading for the physically demanding role?

With a bit of luck yes, he’s one of the better younger stars working in Hollywood today and he is a bit like a young Tom Cruise (the little fella gets enough bad press these days- I feel that I must stick up for him).

Will injury prevent the Donnie Darko star from nabbing this career making role?

With a bit of luck we might find out The Day After Tomorrow. See what I did there?

The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is set to open on June 19, 2009

Source: Latinoreview

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Who Will Be The Prince of Persia?

Niall Browne — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:20:21 +0000

Jerry Bruckheimer is a fantastic producer. He makes slick entertainment that may not be mentally challenging, but it is enjoyable. His resume looks like a collection of $100 million dollar hits, and with the CSI franchise under his belt on television it can be truly said that the man is an entertainment phenomenon.

One of the next projects on the Bruckheimer conveyer-belt is the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (based on the videogame). With any big movie comes the question- who will star. Apparently the smart money is on everyone’s favorite elf and pirate fighter- Orlando Bloom. However, it may also be Zac Efron.

I’m guessing that the character description for the lead reads: wooden actor.

Now, I love Bruckheimer movies, and I’m also a CSI addict- Vegas nothing else… man that Grisson dude is cool. I also dig the Pirates of the Caribbean movies but the weak link in the franchise is Orlando Bloom. As much as he tries, the man cannot act. He makes Keanu Reeves look good. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but he is not leading man material- no matter how many $300 million blockbusters he stars in. Sadly, money talks in Hollywood so I doubt may humble opinion will be accepted by executives.

Now Zac Efron on the other hand makes Bloom look like Brando. High School Musical? Please!

Jerry, Mr Bruckheimer- I was there for Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun and even Bad Company- please don’t cast Efron or Bloom. I know that you want a franchise, I know that you wan’t kids to see the movie, but don’t let the film suffer because of an age demographic.

You worked well with Tom Cruise- give him a call- he looks 30- it’s about time you renewed your working relationship.

I think Cruise- who do you think?

The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is set to be directed by Mike Newell and will lens shortly in Pinewood Studios (here in the UK) and in Morocco for a June 19, 2009 release.

Source: Comingsoon

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: Mar 9, 2008

Niall Browne — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:05:12 +0000

An old saying says that a week is a long time in politics – well that dude obviously didn’t follow movie news, because a week in film can make or break a career, or in Vic’s case: a DVD player.

It’s once again time for us to fill you in on some of the news stories from the past week that we missed and make sure that you know everything about every film that is currently in production. That is a slight exaggeration, but you see what I’m getting at.

Just keep reading to heighten your Screen Rant experience.

1. Quantum of Solace has apparently had to cancel shooting in Peru. According to MI6.co.uk EON

decided not to film in Cusco because of unpredictable weather conditions that could jeopardize the production team’s work and the group of famous actors that are to take part in the new Bond movie.

2. Variety is reporting that Jerry Bruckheimer is prepping Prince Of Persia: Sands of Time for a mid-June shoot. The film is due to lense in Morocco and it will be helmed by Mike Newell. Disney hopes that the film will launch a new franchise.

3. Entertainment Weekly has published a new picture of Indiana Jones in action. Nuff said!

4. DeNiro and Pacino together again. The Heat stars reunite for the Jon Avnet directed Righteous Kill. Excited? Well check out the teaser trailer on Yahoo. It looks good, however it also looks generic. Time will tell.

And that’s it for this week’s wrap-up!

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, MI6.co.uk & variety

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