Long before TRON: Legacy opened in 2010, Disney was already working on Tron 3, but when the sequel debuted to
mixed reviews and middling box office, the wind went out of their sails. Still,
it made money on DVD and merchandising to keep its prospect open, but little
has been said since mid-2011 when screenwriter David DiGilio was brought in to
work on the script based on story elements from Legacy writers Adam Horowitz
and Edward Kitsis, who had moved onto ABC’s hit fantasy series Once Upon a Time. Today it’s being
reported that Jesse Wigutow is being tapped to pen the latest draft, as word
has come that Disney Studio’s new boss, Alan Horn, wants to move forward rather
quickly on Tron 3.
There is a problem within the
movie industry (and other areas as well) where the money people and the bean
counters think they know what’s best when making a movie. Their arrogant presumption is when hiring
writers and directors is say “follow my orders, independent thoughts and better
ideas should be left at the door.” Perhaps this why director Juan Carlos
Fresnadillo has left the long gestating remake of The Highlander? He’s exited the production under the infamous
"differing views.” One wonders if may have to do with the fact that Ryan
Reynolds is still attached to the project? I mean, when I think of Scottish
immortal heroes I always turn to America’s heartthrob Reynolds. Could this also
be why certain foreigners dislike American productions? I can understand that
we American’s can be a bit Imperialistic in the notion that other countries
should just accept poorly accented American actors playing these roles, but if
you are going to do a remake of the first film, why hobble it from the start by
casting Reynolds –he’s a fair actor, but based on the poorly received Green Arrow, I don’t anyone sees him as
a superhero. In the end, Reynolds is more suited for light romantic comedies
and Lifetime TV movies of the week.
Director Guillermo del Toro will
helm the ghost story Crimson Peak as
his next film, which he hopes to film in early 2014. The film will be produced
through Legendary Pictures and released by Warner Bros. The reason for the long
delay will be due to his commitment on publicity for next year’s Pacific Rim (and the sequel script is
already being written) and getting The
Strain, the novel series by him and Paul Hogan, off the ground at FX in
which he’ll helm the pilot.
Just a few days after CBS
announced they’re adapting Stephen King’s epic supernatural best-seller Under the Dome into a 13 episode series
to be teamed with returning Unforgettable
for next summer, ABC issued the story that they’ve given a
straight-to-series pick to a supernatural themed show Weird Desk to be teamed with Mistresses, which will also air this
summer. Ordering 13 episodes, the show sounds like a variation on The X Files, and is “based on the
alleged real-life mysteries from this world and beyond, and centers on the
workings of a clandestine organization rumored to be named “Weird Desk.” Tasked
with investigating and solving occurrences of the paranormal, supernatural and
sometimes extra-terrestrial, “Weird Desk” is led by Morgan, an obstinate,
socially inept and brilliant man who would now be dead if it weren’t for his
special forces trained partner, Rosetta.”
Another epic Stephen King novel, however, is going into turnaround, as Jonathan Demme has dropped out of the adaptation of 11/22/63. Part of the problem is the length of the book -at 842 pages, Demme is clashing with King on what to keep and what to toss out to keep the film in the 2 hour range. "This is a big book, with lots in it. And I loved certain parts of
the book for the film more than Stephen did. We're friends, and I had a
lot of fun working on the script, but we were too apart on what we felt
should be in and what should be out of the script. I had an option and I
let it go. But I hope it's moving forward, I really want to see that
movie." With it's fate now up in the air, there still a chance someone else can be brought in to rework the script. But its been know some films that suffer this fate have a tendency to lose whatever momentum they had.
Speaking of The X Files, former writer/producer Frank Spotnitz recently said
that while 20th Century Fox has no plans for a third movie at this
time, he still believes the franchise will be resurrected eventually. He said
he would not be surprised if Fox decided to reboot the series at some point
with some new hot, young agents and a fresh slate of alien invasions and
monsters: "I wouldn't be surprised at all. I mean, I don't think I would
have anything to do with it but you know, for better or for worse, these things
are titles of big corporations, like Star
Trek belongs to Paramount and The
X-Files belongs to Twentieth Century Fox and it's a huge asset in their
libraries so I can't imagine they would let it sit languishing forever.
Anything could happen. I just hope that if they do it, they do it well, that's
my only request."
Since the signing of Ian
McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman to return in X Men: Days of Future Past, there are more and more reports that
director Bryan Singer is seeking other actors who appeared in the first three
films in the series to reprise their roles as well. Nothing seems definite, but
it’s well-known that Singer is held in high regard to the three returning
actors, and if he can get anymore back, it will because of this relationship.
Of course, while the plot of the movie will allow this to happen, the future
dystopian versions of the X Men –and
the ones played by those older actors- are seen more as supporting roles to the
main cast, now played by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence,
and Nicholas Hoult. So each actor would have to decide if returning to what
might amount to a brief cameo is worth the effort. But, as I said, if the charm of Bryan Singer
can get McKellen, Stewart and Jackman back, I’m guessing he can get a few more.
Dennis Haysbert has joined the cast of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, replacing the late Michael Clarke
Duncan, who passed away in September.
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