Courtesy of the Screen Rant Lifestyle Convenience Initiative, here’s a quick glance at the latest from Tony Scott. ALIEN PREQUEL

When a new Alien film was first announced, Ridley and Tony Scott were attached as producers with their protege (and possible future son-in-law) Carl Rinsch attached to direct. When details became clear that the new Alien was going to be a prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic, suddenly 20th Century Fox was reportedly not-so-sure about Rinsch at the helm, supposedly asking for Ridley himself to take the reigns (Alien fans are currently holding their breaths in anticipation).

Here’s a bit of what Tony Scott had to dish about the Alien prequel:

“I don’t want to get caught in the middle. We’re in process on that, but I don’t have enough information to bring it to this table, but we’re going to make it.”

Ok, so it sounds like the whole director issue is getting sort of kind of fought out worked out right now. We’ll see how it plays.

For more from Tony Scott about the Alien prequel, hop on over to Coming Soon.

.

THE WARRIORS

The Warriors is a cult classic (“Can you dig it?”) and since the news surfaced that Tony Scott was going to be helming a remake of the 1979 original, The Warriors has been slowly drifting onto my radar screen. Here’s the deal so far with the remake: Out is the story of a gang framed for murder, on the run back to their home turf in Coney Island; in is the visionary story of a gang framed for murder, on the run back to their home turf in Venice Beach. See, that’s how remakes need to be done – you gotta switch it up!

Here’s what Tony Scott has planned :

…It’s almost like 9/11, bodies coming off, it just goes ballistic. Then these guys have got to get from the Vincent Thomas back to Venice, through all these different gang territories. And it becomes anarchy. The gangs are meeting, they’re meeting for a truce. Just like they were in the original. But once that truce is broken, they go back to their turf. And our guys, the Warriors, they’ve got to get back to their turf, back to Venice.”

Not to fear Warriors fans, Cyrus is still in there. For more with Tony Scott talking all the crazy things he has planned for The Warriors remake, hop on over to Cinema Blend.

Be sure to read through the interviews on both sites, as Tony Scott goes on to talk about a variety of other projects he has in the works, including a sequel to the 1983 David Bowie vampire/goth cult-classic, The Hunger; an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s famous journalistic memoir about the infamous Hell’s Angels, and even a project based on the true story of a Jersey mob who tried to take over the construction business in Germany, called Potsdamer Platz (apparently that’s the name of a train station in Berlin, and they’re already thinking of losing the name. Smart move).

That’s a pretty busy list there for Tony Scott. Which project looks good to you?

Sources: Coming Soon & Cinema Blend via Slash Film

Screen Rant reviews The Taking of Pelham 123

The Taking of Pelham 123 is a remake of the highly regarded 1974 film The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which starred old-school actors Walter Matthau, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizando and Earl Hindman. I will confess that it’s probably been at least 20 years since I’ve seen it and don’t remember much about it – but I plan on renting it very soon to watch it again.

Like in the original, the story revolves around a handful of men who hijack a New York City subway train in an attempt to extort millions of dollars from the city using hostages as leverage. Denzel Washington plays Walter Garber,  a console dispatcher at the rail control center of the NYC subway who happens to be on duty when the hijacking takes place. John Travolta plays Ryder, the extremely hard-edged leader of the train hijacking.

While the setup for the film is a pretty typical hostage taker vs. negotiator story, albeit with a “civilian” (Denzel) dealing with the bad guy (Travolta), there is plenty to keep you guessing. Ryder gives the city one hour to deliver $10 million or he will begin killing hostages, one every minute. Of course at first the good guys don’t know who they’re dealing with, but it doesn’t take long for them to determine they need to take Ryder and his crew very seriously.

Director Tony Scott gave the film a highly stylized look that was employed in overdrive during the opening credits which while cool, was thankfully used less throughout the film. They tried to inject some ambiguity into the plot in order to keep things interesting for the audience, but while Ryder’s plan was pretty evident early on, it wasn’t clear what was going to happen with Denzel’s character.

I enjoyed seeing Travolta chew up the scenery as an unadulterated bad guy, James Gandolfini was great as the mayor and it was a pleasure seeing John Turturro in an authority role not acting like a total idiot (*cough* Transformers *cough*). I also liked the New York City vibe that Scott imbued into the film. What didn’t fit was fitting a cross town car chase sequence into what was shaping up to be a fairly tense thriller – and it was even pointed out by characters in the film that they should have just used a helicopter.

There are plenty of tense moments in the movie and the interplay between the characters is very good – Tony Scott keeps you guessing as to who these characters really are and how everything will play out. You won’t be bored while watching this film.

Overall The Taking of Pelham 123 wasn’t all that bad despite what some critics are saying, and if you’re a fan of the actors listed above you’ll probably enjoy it.

Beyonce is Obsessed with being number one; Tony Scott and Denzel Washington are Unstoppable; it’s all Greek to Warner Bros. with Odysseus; James Marsden hassles the “Hoff” in Straw Dogs; will DiCaprio Beat the Reaper? Catherine is Keener for Jackson.

Box Office

It looks like all the independent women threw their hands up in the air for Beyonce Knowles starring Obsessed. The female fronted film grossed $28.5 million – which is about $10 million more than the studio predicted.

Zac Efron had to settle for a runner-up spot this week with an $11.5 weekend take for 17 Again. The film has so far banked about $39 million clearly going through the door-marked profit.

Channing Tatum (who’s on the cusp of big things with G.I Joe) and Iron Man’s (but not Iron Man 2) Terrance Howard came a close third this weekend with $11.3 million for Fighting.

Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr was fourth with The Soloist. The film which co-stars Jamie Foxx was delayed by Paramount and although reviews were good it couldn’t make enough sweet music. With a weekend gross on just over $9 million it looks like The Soloist might have to sing for its supper.

Monsters vs. Aliens earned another $8.5 million. With a total of almost $180 million – expect a sequel.

State of Play couldn’t use its good reviews to build on its audience. With just over $7 million it looks like the Russell Crowe/ Ben Affleck film will have to find its audience on DVD.

Hannah Montana: The Movie has now banked $65 million (if you care) at least Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus will be happy. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker’s Fast and Furious has powered to $145 million. I wonder how fast and furious the next installment will be?

Movie News

1. Tony Scott and Denzel Washington are like er… Tony Scott and orange filters – inseparable.
Washington is in talks to star in Unstoppable, Scott’s runaway train movie.

If Washington cho-cho-choses (I know I made that joke before) the action pic will be their fifth film together…

Their fourth The Taking of Pelham 123 opens on June 12.

Source: Variety

2. Warner Bros. have won a major bidding war for the script Odysseus.
According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The story centers on the legendary hero Odysseus, famed king of Ithaca, who returns to his island after 20 years of fighting the Trojan Wars, only to find his kingdom under the brutal occupation of an invading force. Odysseus single-handedly defeats every last man and takes back his wife, his son and his kingdom.”

Warner’s seem to love Greek based movies – a few years ago they had Troy, 300 and they have the forthcoming Clash of The Titans.

Haven’t they heard the expression “beware of Greeks bearing gifts”?

Source: Variety

3. James Marsden will play the Dustin Hoffman role in Rod Lurie’s Straw Dogs remake.
The former X-Man will star in the film which is due to start shooting in August.
The controversial original film Sam Peckinpah saw an American return to his wife’s rural village in England, only for the locals to turn nasty.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

4. Brian Koppelman and David Levien have been hired to adapt the Josh Bazell novel Beat the Reaper in the hopes that Leonardo DiCaprio will star.

“The drama, being developed as a potential star vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio, revolves around a Manhattan ER doctor whose life becomes complicated when a mobster recognizes him from his former life as a hitman.”

Well, we haven’t seen this since A History of Violence.

Source: Variety

5. Catherine Keener will join former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd in Christopher Columbus’ Percy Jackson.

The non Warner Bros. produced Greek fantasy film “put(s) Greek gods in modern times, (it) involve (s) Poseidon’s half-human son, Percy, who is on a quest in modern America to prevent a war among the gods.”

Keener will play Percy’s mother in the film which is currently shooting in Canada.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington Circle David Cronenberg and make him nervous; Tony Scott cho-cho- choses his next project; Kevin Spacey is The Father of Invention and Paul Walker and Vin Diesel start the engine on Fast and Furious 5!

1. David Cronenberg has been talking about The Matarese Circle – a thriller that may possibly star Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington.The film would be the first (real) time that Cronenberg has played the Hollywood game. Having said that he nearly helmed Basic Instinct 2, what a lucky dodge that was!

While Cruise and Washington aren’t officially attached they are interested in the film that has a rewrite by Cronenberg on the way.

Cronenbeg told The Toronto Star:

“I’ve spoken to both Tom and Denzel, and they both want to do it. Usually when I write, I don’t visualize the characters, because I want them to have a life of their own, but in this case I am writing it specifically for these two actors. Tom and I get along very well. I was at his house in L.A. a couple of weeks ago, and he’s very excited.”

However, it seems that Cronenberg is slightly nervous playing in the big leagues:

“They’re waiting to read my script, so I’m under a lot of pressure and I don’t want to screw it up. It’s not easy to keep all the satisfying elements people expect and still find a way to subvert the genre and surprise the audience.”

Source: Toronto Star via Joblo

2. A-list action director Tony Scott will direct Unstoppable for 20th Century Fox.
According to Variety:

“The drama involves an unmanned runaway train that is carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals. An engineer and his conductor find themselves in a race against time.”

Writer Mark Bomback and Scott are currently working on the script in order to tailor it to Scott’s needs.

I’m a huge fan of Tony Scott’s movies so this is going to move up my must see list for the next year or two.

The main question is will it star Tony Scott favorite Denzel Washington?

Scott’s next movie is the trained themed Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 starring John Travolta.

3. Kevin Spacey will star in and produce Father of Invention.
According to Variety:

“Story centers on a humble inventor-turned-egomaniacal billionaire who loses it all when one of his inventions goes horribly awry. After eight years in federal prison, he returns bankrupt, homeless and determined to rebuild his reputation and fortune.”

Sounds like a Lex Luthor spin-off movie!

Source: Variety
5. A fifth Fast and Furious movie (is that the right thing to call it?) is in the works.
When being interviewed by Moviesonline Paul Walker said:

“It’s beyond rumors at this point. I’ve spoken with executives at Universal and they’re pretty serious about it. They’re developing it. They know where they want it to take place. They want to do it in Europe.”

Walker and Vin Diesel are expected to return if Fast and Furious is on the fast track to profitability.

Source: Moviesonline

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

As the original plot has been pillaged in everything from Die Hard to Reservoir Dogs it was pretty obvious that a remake would appear later down the line (pun intended). Now Denzel Washington and John Travolta will face off in the remake being helmed by Top Gun pilot Tony Scott.

So how does it look?

Not too bad actually.

[See post to watch Flash video]

I’m the first to say that I hate remakes, but the pedigree behind the film is worthwhile. Director Tony Scott is a man who knows how to direct action and thrills and his team-ups with Denzel Washington have all been good – Crimson Tide, Man On Fire and Déjà Vu. Throw Travolta (sans toupees) into the mix as the villain and Pelham suddenly has a curiosity factor at the very least. There is also able support from the likes of James Gandolfini, John Turturro and the always reliable Luis Guzman so there are no worries about bad acting.

While The Taking of Pelham 123 may not bring a whole lot new to the hostage-thriller genre it does look like it will be a fun, old fashioned action film when it opens on June 12th, and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Source: Catch The Train

Check them out below (click for high res versions):

A well designed poster (whatever constitutes that), can be an effective and powerful advertising tool. A well done one will grab the passer-by’s attention, be clear enough about the feel of the movie and who stars in it – but isn’t so obvious and generic that it comes off as bland.

And I think these two are examples of well designed posters, with The Last House on the Left being effectively simple and The Taking of Pelham 123 one being decisively fuller but certainly attention and interest grabbing.

The Last House on the Left poster is effective because of the lack of imagery in it; the marketing people clearly know you don’t need a lot to advertise the film other than the name and just the house on its own. It’s certainly an improvement over the last poster we saw (although it was pretty well done as well).

The Taking of Pelham 123 poster has, like I said, a lot more on it but the combination of the train blended with the city near the bottom and the stylishly done depictions of the two leads make it stand out and work very well, neither being too showy (which would make it hard to look at) or too subtle (which would leave people confused as to what the film is supposed to be).

So what do you make of these two posters? Do you agree they’re really effective or have you got another opinion?

The Last House on the Left is set to be released on 13th March 2009 and The Taking of Pelham 123 on 12th of June 2009.

Sources: ShockTillYouDrop and Joblo