With the Alien prequel due to be released next year it will be in need of some stars. British actress Gemma Arterton has revealed that she will be meeting Sir Ridley Scott to discuss starring in the reboot of the franchise. It is believed the central character will be similar to Ellen Ripley, keeping the series trait of a strong female character.
There are a large number of DVD and Blu-ray releases this week. We PAMers are looking at four new releases, two action comedies, a dialogue comedy and a serious drama. We also have ten re-releases this week from a number of genres, including sci-fi such as George Lucas’ first, fantasy, comedy and horror.
Late next week, Lionsgate will choose a director for The Hunger Games, a film adaptation of the first book in Suzanne Collins’ hit trilogy. There are three men in the running right now: Sam Mendes (American Beauty), Gary Ross (Seabiscuit), and David Slade (30 Days of Night).
The fall movie season got off to a typically slow start. Labor Day weekends are never legendary for business, so it was anyone’s guess which movie would make the top spot. It turned out to be The American, a dramatic thriller starring George Clooney that made $16.1 million in five days. Aside from the “Oceans” series, Clooney is not actually a box office bonanza. His films are typically artsy or left of mainstream and his stardom stems from work on the television show E.R., a stint playing Batman, and his good looks.
Machete, a little advertised film from Robert Rodriguez managed to overcome Takers for the number two spot. The Mexsploitation film was a spinoff of a fake trailer from Grindhouse which made $11.5 million its opening weekend in 2007. Machete made $11.4 million despite strong reviews and a 73% on RottenTomatoes.com.
Actress Ziyi Zhang is set to portray the legendary Mulan in an upcoming Jan de Bont film. While many tend to think of the animated Disney classic of the same name upon hearing the word “Mulan,” the story of the heroine actually originated from a poem written in the 700s, according to Empire Online.
James Cameron will make a documentary about the Amazon’s indigenous people, particularly those that are against the construction of a dam because they think it will flood the tribal lands. The famous director will travel to Brazil later this year to make this film. According to ComingSoon.net, Cameron has been to the Amazon twice and has already filmed a short piece on this subject.
Olivia Thirlby is set to star in Pete Travis’ Judge Dredd, an adaptation of the comic with the same name. According to The Wrap, the young actress will portray Dredd’s telepathic sidekick Cassandra Anderson. Since her most famous role as the best friend of the titular character in Juno, Thirlby has appeared in independent films such as The Wackness and had a guest stint on the Emmy Award-winning HBO comedy Bored to Death.
Guillermo Del Toro and Universal are slightly at odds on their upcoming collaboration on the film At the Mountains of Madness. Collider reports that Universal is looking to James McAvoy (Atonement) to lead the film. On the other hand, Del Toro is seeking Tom Cruise for the role.
Deadline has learned that cable network FX, known as much for their film library as they are for their original programs, has acquired the television rights to The Other Guys and Takers.
Fans of the 1995 Vertigo comic Preacher know the film adaptation of the cult comic hit has long been in developmental limbo since Columbia Pictures picked up the film rights and brought Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road, American Beauty) to direct. Unfortunately, due to a lack of momentum moving the movie forward, Mendes dropped out of the project to pursue the next Bond film, which is another story. Now, executive producer Neil Moretz tells Total Film magazine that the project is moving forward with a new, unnamed director.
