Category Archives: Movie Adaptations

Kristen Stewart To Lie Down In Darkness

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Like she recently did with Rupert Sanders, BA-ZING!

Ok, I’m going to put my K-stew serious face on. It was recently announced that Stewart is set to play the lead role in the upcoming adaptation, Lie Down In Darkness. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by William Styron that was first published in 1952.

“Lie Down In Darkness” was Styron’s first novel and has received wide critical acclaim.

The official description of the novel is as follows:

“Lie Down in Darkness” centers on the Loftis family — Milton and Helen and their daughters, Peyton and Maudie. The story, told through a series of flashbacks on the day of Peyton’s funeral, is a powerful depiction of a family doomed by its failure to forget and its inability to love.

Scott Cooper is attached to direct the project. Stewart will play Peyton, however, there is no official start date yet.

There is also no word on any other talent attached to the project or an anticipated release date.

Warner Bros. Acquires Beautiful Disaster

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Warner Bros. has won a bidding war for “Beautiful Disaster,” Jamie McGuire’s Fifty Shades of Grey-like series aimed at the young adult demographic. Donald De Line, producer of Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain, is attached to the project.

The book began as a self-published online novel, became a hit and was picked up by a publishing house, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It tells the story of squeaky-clean college student Abby Abernathy, who doesn’t drink or swear. She meets Travis Maddox, who is “lean, cut and covered in tattoos,” according to the book’s description. Maddox makes a bet with Abernathy, and if she wins, he must abstain from sex for one month. If she loses, she must live with him for one month.

Beautiful Disaster, according to THR, is being seen by studio executives as a safer and less risky adaptation than E.L. James’ increasingly popular Fifty Shades of Grey, which is full of sexual content that could cause issues at the box office.

McGuire’s book has sold more than 200,000 copies, first as an ebook, and later as a trade paperback through Amazon’s Createspace. It topped Amazon’s self-published sales chart, and appeared on The New York Times bestseller list.

Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, signed McGuire and will release an official paperback version on Aug. 14.

Read Beautiful Disaster’s official description below:

“The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend America, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand. Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the charming college co-ed. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his charms, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’ apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.”

What do you think of the new risquee trend in literature? Tell us in the comments!

Two New Cast Members Added To City of Bones

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The upcoming film adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s “City of Bones” has almost rounded out is main cast. The author announced the addition of two new cast members yesterday including Aidan Turner as Luke and CCH Pounder as Madame Dorothea.

Turner is most known for playing (incredibly sexy) vampire Mitchell on the British “Being Human.” He also is gaining attention for his upcoming role in The Hobbit trilogy in which he will play the character of Kili. Turner is set to play Luke in “City of Bones,” a character that is a father figure to Clary as well as a protector to her family.

“Luke has a hell of a dark past despite his current mild-mannered, bookstore-owning ways. The scars he bears belie his gentle heart — but he could tear you apart with his teeth if you threatened something he cared about,” says Clare about Luke.

CCH Pounder has been in several television shows over the years and has a wealth of experience in the industry. She is set to play the role of Madame Dorothea, Clary’s next door neighbor who is definitely more than she appears at first.

“You may know her from The Shield. Or The X-Files. Or Warehouse 13. Or ER. Or The West Wing. Or pretty much every cool show in the known universe. Our director’s wanted to work with her for ages and I think she will be amazing,” says Clare.

Turner and Pounder join the already star studded cast that includes:

  • Lily Collins is Clary Fray
  • Jamie Campbell Bower is Jace Wayland
  • Robert Sheehan is Simon Lewis
  • Jemima West is Isabelle Lightwood
  • Kevin Durand is Pangborn
  • Robert Maillet is Blackwell
  • Lena Headey is Jocelyn Fray
  • Godfrey Gao is Magnus Bane
  • Jared Harris is Hodge
  • Aidan Turner is Luke
  • CCH Pounder is Madame Dorothea

The film is being directed by Harald Zwart.

11 New Promo Images For The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2

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For those of you stoked about the upcoming finale movie installment in The Twilight Saga, you’ll be happy to see these 11 new promo images recently revealed online. And yes they all look positively brooding and/or ridiculous because it wouldn’t be Twilight unless all the vampires and werewolves were angsty (although the one of Stewart above appears she is sort of smiling, so thats something)

Despite being amidst a cheating scandal between stars/ former lovers Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, the film is expected to still do extremely well in the box office. The Bill Condon-directed adaptation opens in theaters on November 16.

Check out the new promo images below:

 

Based on Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, the film’s large cast includes:

Main cast
  • Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan/Cullen
  • Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
  • Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black
  • Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen
  • Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen
  • Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen
  • Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen
  • Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale
  • Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale
  • Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
  • Sarah Clarke as Renée Dwyer
  • Julia Jones as Leah Clearwater
  • Booboo Stewart as Seth Clearwater
  • MyAnna Buring as Tanya
  • Maggie Grace as Irina
  • Casey LaBow as Kate
  • Michael Sheen as Aro
  • Jamie Campbell Bower
  • Christopher Heyerdahl as Marcus
  • Chaske Spencer as Sam Uley
  • Christian Camargo as Eleazar
  • Mía Maestro as Carmen
  • Mackenzie Foy as Renesmee Cullen
Part 2 adds new cast members:
  • Dakota Fanning as Jane
  • Cameron Bright as Alec
  • Charlie Bewley as Demetri
  • Daniel Cudmore as Felix
  • Noel Fisher as Vladimir
  • Guri Weinberg as Stefan
  • Lee Pace as Garrett
  • Joe Anderson as Alistair
  • Judi Shekoni as Zafrina
  • Tracey Huggins as Senna
  • J.D. Pardo as Nahuel
  • Rami Malek as Benjamin
The Dark Knight Rises Logo

The Dark Knight Rises Tops Box Office For A Second Week

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The Dark Knight Rises Logo

The Dark Knight Rises topped the Box Office Report for the second weekend in a row since its release. The Dark Knight Rises dropped in sales Friday, partially due to the Olympics according to ComingSoon, but grossed an estimated $64.1 million on Saturday.

Internationally, the film has made $248.2 million for a worldwide total of $537.3 million.

It wasn’t an easy week for box office newcomers though, as both Adam Sandler’s That’s My Boy and the musical Rock of Ages failed to reach the top 12.

20th Century Fox’s Ice Age: Continental Drift took second place again, dropping 35% in its third weekend, and earning $13.3 million. It has earned $564.8 million globally.

Another newcomer, The Watch, took third place this weekend, earning 13 million in 3,168 theaters. The comedy, which stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and British comic Richard Aoyade, earned just over $4,100 per site.

The fourth installment of the dance franchise Step Up Revolution came in second place Friday with $4.8 million, but fell to fourth place for the weekend with $11.8 million. So far, the film has earned less than its predecessor, Step Up 3D, which opened to $15.8 million two years ago.

Seth MacFarlane’s comedy Ted, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, came in fifth place. It has earned $193.6 million in five weeks.

Another superhero took spot number six this weekend. The Amazing Spider-Man earned $6.8 million, bringing the film to a total of $654 million worldwide.

Disney-Pixar’s Brave came in seventh place with $4.2 million, and Magic Mike dropped to eighth place iwth $2.6 million.

Oliver Stone’s crime drama Savages took ninth place with $1.8 million, and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom rounded out the top 10 in its 10th week.

For a more in-depth look at the box office results, visit http://www.comingsoon.net/boxoffice/.

An Illustrative Review of The Dark Knight Rises

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Why are you interested in this adaptation?

Rachel-

No one who reads our column will be surprised that I am a huge Batman fan. I think I was introduced to Batman through the excellent Batman: The Animated Series as a kid, but since Saturday morning episodes weren’t enough for me I was also picking up whatever comics I could get my hands on.

I love Batman. I love the whole Bat Family! They’re all so DAMAGED!

Needless to say, I’ve seen Nolan’s Batman Begins (I FELL ASLEEP in the theater watching that, you guys…I own it, though, so I’ve since seen it several times. I hate it. I HATE IT), and it’s not my cup of tea. Nolan’s obsession with making Batman realistic, the made-up character of Rachel…. The Dark Knight is much better and far more watchable, but I still feel like Nolan’s take on Batman is more like a Bond film with a different suit and not a comic book movie. I’m interested in The Dark Knight Rises because I want the Nolan trilogy to end. That’s kind of harsh. But it’s true. I’ve sat through the other two and I’m going for some Batman kicks.

Elena-

Can we change the question to be “why are you not interested”?  Because I am not interested.  Do you guys remember how when The Dark Knight came out in theaters, everyone loved it—and I mean everyone—except there was always that one token friend or friend of a friend that you had who didn’t like it, but they were such a minority they were almost the exception that proved the rule?  Y’all recall that?  I was that one friend.  I was the one person I and all of my friends knew who didn’t like the movie.

I liked the first one okay.  I don’t have a strong attachment to Batman or any of the old manifestations, so I didn’t mind the attempt to make it more realistic and less comics.  Whatever.  The directing was good, and the story didn’t piss me off.

The Dark Knight was awful for me. Too long by about an hour, waaaaay too many ancillary and pointless plotlines, and I guess it made me dislike Batman’s entire ethos because it is clearly not preventing awful people from doing awful things but rather punishing them for doing awful things.  Totally different thing.  Drop the Joker off the building, city-destroying disaster averted.  Oh, wait, what’s that, it would be immoral to do it?  Look, I’m as libertarian as it gets on civil liberties, I respect things like due process more than 99% of politicians would like, but that’s if you’re acting within the law—it’s to prevent the government from trampling your rights.  In the context, Batman has SEEN the Joker plan atrocities and LAUGH.  And his decision as a goddamned vigilante is to not kill him when he has the chance?  THE FUCK?  And then that shit went on for a whole nother 90 minutes before it was over.  It’s the closest I’ve come to walking out of a movie in recent memory.

I’m still traumatized by that one.

So I was only enthused about TDKR in the abstract, in the sense that if it exists to finance Nolan’s next Inception then I am all on board with him making it…I just don’t want to see it.  The one thing that would make me want to see it would be if it turns out to be, as the title suggests, Batman giving up his morality to actually be a dark knight who kills the motherfuckers before they can burn his ghetto to the ground.  Give me THAT movie, and MAYBE I will go see it.

What would make it awesome?

Elena-

I believe I just answered that question.  Abstain from redundancy.

Rachel-

What would make it awesome is if Batman is in the movie? The other two films show Bruce having to discover then rediscover Batman. If Batman has to re-Batman again in another hour and a half of “inner struggle” about how Gotham doesn’t need Batman…I will freak out.

I’m hoping for some Catwoman action. Out-smarting all these tech obsessed boys would also be great.

What would make it suck?

Rachel-

I know already that it’s going to be three hours long…so that will probably suck. Only because I know how the Nolan Batman films can DRAG, and sitting there for three hours while Batman batrasps at me and moons over dead fakeRachel will suuuuuck.

I’m really nervous about Bane. Why is Bane British? Why can I not understand him in the trailers? What’s going on with his aerosol mask?  Is this movie going to be one unintelligible guy shouting at another unintelligible guy with Anne Hathaway making stupid jokes in between?

Elena-

It will suck if it is as needlessly overcomplicated as the second one was.  That many plotlines that are ancillary to the main story are basically masturbation fodder.  Which, fine, if you’re into that sort of thing, but I’m not, so save it for the director’s cut and let me skate out of this with only two hours of my life lost and not three, k thx bye.

Thoughts on casting/production?

Rachel-

I am ambivalent about Tom Hardy. He’s cloned Captain Picard from Stark Trek: Nemesis. He has puffy lips. Those lips will supposedly never be seen as he is playing Bane, and Nolan’s version of Bane is a dude permanently hooked up to Darth Vader’s respiratory machine. I don’t know why. Will we learn why?

Elena-

Wait, Tom Hardy is Bane?  Suddenly I almost want to see this!  Hardy is still on my automatic-cred list because of Bronson.  It’s going to take a few more stinkers from him for that glamour to wear off…although he does seem to be trying pretty hard to just play the same character every time now.  I guess that’s ergonomic.  Maybe Bane will add some range to his recent portfolio.

Rachel-

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman is both really interesting and really terrifying. Hathaway has that old-fashioned brunette with a round face look that Nolan casts IN ALL OF HIS FILMS. The Catwoman costume I’ve seen is OK. It’s a black jumpsuit with stupid-ass goggle cat-ear things. There appears to be no whip. She also wears RIDICULOUS shoes. Nolan is so obsessed with making everything hyper-realistic, but he’s got Catwoman in shoes she wouldn’t be able to climb around buildings on. So I’m going to assume that she doesn’t climb around buildings and she just wiggle-walks everywhere…hopefully while flipping everyone off. Her casting is definitely a callback to Julie Newmar rather than the Darwyn Cooke design with the head gear, goggles, and short hair.

Elena-

Gotta be honest, Hathaway is a challenge for me. She is one of those actresses that I can never see as the character; I always just see her as Anne Hathaway, even though I think she actually is kind of okay at acting?  Maybe?  So she seems pretty much like a terrible choice to me for Catwoman.  But I don’t know who would do it better so why not?

Reaction to film: ***Spoilers Abound***

Elena-

So.  Convince me to see this one. If you can.

Rachel-

Welp….

That was…that was, well actually it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, Batman did have to re-Batman his Batman for two hours. WHY? WHY CAN’T HE JUST BE BATMAN?

Bruce has spent the last eight years being a shut-in with a cane (why he needs the cane is unknown, because he seemed FINE at the end of the last film…I guess he was shot?) even though, and this is the fundamental part of Batman that Nolan seems to not understand, Bruce would never STOP being Batman. This is an issue that comes again and again in the film, culminating in an ending where Bruce permanently gives up Batman.

WHAAAT?

That’s just a Batcation, right? Bruce is going to get bored in about 12 seconds (five seconds after Selina realizes spending all her time with a no-longer-super-rich dude not stealing things suuuucks) and head back to Gotham and the mansion he left to the city for a Vigilante Orphan Boys Home. He’ll go down into the Batcave and let notRobin know how to sign in to the Batcomputer and then call out to Alfred, who would also HAVE NEVER LEFT BRUCE, “Alfred! Bring me another Orphan Boy!”

And all will be well with the world.

Wedging Bane in as Talia’s protector and tying it all back to the League of Shadows in Batman Begins felt a little forced, an attempt by Nolan to bring his trilogy full circle. (I see what you did there, you Lazaraus Pit hater! GHOST LIAM NEESON CAN BITE ME!)  However, I still appreciated the fact that Nolan dipped more into the comics for TDKR than in his previous Batman films. Several scenes seemed pulled straight from the comics, if not in meaning then at least in visual language.

I still found Bane to be absolutely unintelligible.  I got maybe every fifth word. It was incredibly frustrating. Nolan’s attempt to make Bane more intelligible seems to have been to just up his dialogue track by 200 percent and give us the finger. Thanks. That didn’t help at all! It just made Bane seem like he was being dubbed in and mixed by a telenovela team.

Elena…I know you are not into Batman, so I want to make it clear: ROBIN’S NAME IS NOT ROBIN. His name is also not John. I…don’t understand how this happened. Nolan is so anti-Robin that he’ll make up a dissatisfied cop character and…NAME him Robin? IT’S SO WEIRD! There are plenty of actual Robin name’s to choose from but…well, what’s wrong with naming him Richard?

If he was worried that his heavy-handed foreshadowing throughout the film was ruining the surprise, then keep the John name and change the “actual” name stupidest last line for a movie ever from “Robin” to “Richard.” What? Was he worried that people who didn’t know DICK about Batman wouldn’t get the reference?

Here’s a thing…

…How about you shouldn’t CARE! If my mom watched that movie and didn’t get why having him named “Richard” (assuming “Dick” was too old fashioned) was related to the character taking on the Batmantle, as it were…WHO CARES?! My mom isn’t watching this film. You know who is? FANS. People for whom the reference is a Google or a lean over to the person next to them away if they didn’t get it already.

ROBIN IS NOT HIS NAME. That would like me becoming “Rachel Gal” and then attempting to have a secret identity.

UGH. THAT WAS REALLY ANNOYING.

I think the people who are really into the Nolan Batman films are fine. I’m glad they enjoy them. I’m glad that they can watch those films and read the comics and not have issues. I’m not one of those people. I don’t think an adaptation should slavishly follow the source material, but I do think that the main identifying characteristics and personality of the most important characters should make it from page to screen.

Nolan’s Batman has always been a tool for Bruce Wayne to go from damaged child to well-adjusted adult. Batman is something that holds Bruce back, if Nolan’s Alfred is to be believed. In actuality Batman has always been more than a mask and more than a symbol. Batman IS Bruce Wayne. The play boy, the rich kid…he is the tool of Batman. Bruce is the mask. Nolan doesn’t think this, and so I’ll never like these movies as much as some of you, but I respect that Nolan has ushered in an era of comic book movies as more than comedy action flicks. They should be as topical and inspiring as the comics. Hopefully though, the next Batman reboot won’t take it QUITE so seriously. I’d like to see a Gotham that has room in it for a Batman that never gives up.

Elena-

Even your fake enthusiasm was not enough to sell me on this one.  Maybe some pictures might help?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lionsgate Acquires Time and Again

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Lionsgate recently announced that is has acquired the film rights to Jack Finney’s illustrated novel “Time and Again.”  The project will be directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith).  Liman will also produce the project alongside his Hypnotic partner Dave Bartis.

Published in 1970, the romantic time-travel novel tells the story of Simon Morley, a Manhattan illustrator who enlists in a secret government experiment which transports him to 1882 New York. While there, he falls in love and must choose between living in the present or the past.

Sleep. And when you awake everything you know of the twentieth century will be gone from your mind. Tonight is January 21, 1882. There are no such things as automobiles, no planes, computers, television. ‘Nuclear’ appears in no dictionary. You have never heard the name Richard Nixon? Did illustrator Si Morley really step out of his twentieth-century apartment one night — right into the winter of 1882? The U.S. Government believed it, especially when Si returned with a portfolio of brand-new sketches and tintype photos of a world that no longer existed — or did it?

The book sold 27,000 copies in hardcover, and more than 200,000 copies over the years, according to Variety.

“From Time to Time,” the novel’s sequel, was published in 1996, one year after his death. The sequel left room for a third and final installment that will never be written due to the author’s death.

Erik Feig, Mike Paseornek, Gillian Bohrer and Jeyun Choi will oversee the project for Lionsgate, according to Variety.

This is not the first time the book has been eyed for adaptation. In the mid-1990s, Robert Redford began developing the project after Paul Newman introduced him to the book.  Tom Thayer, former president of Universal Television, attempted to adapt the work into a network miniseries.

While numerous filmmakers have considered the job, it has yet to be completed by anyone.

Throughout his career, Liman has proven himself to be a versatile director, with projects ranging from indie flicks (Swingers and Go) to action (The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith), and even science fiction  with 2008’s thriller Jumper.

Liman is currently working on Warner Bros.’ All You Need is Kill, which will star Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

Warner Bros. Considering Creating A Prequel For The Shining

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In a controversial move, Warner Bros. is considering the possibility of releasing a prequel to The Shining, Stanley Kubrick’s highly regarded 1980 horror classic based on the novel written by horror specialist Stephen King.

There is no word yet on whether King will be involved, though he has stated he is penning a sequel.

The original novel, “The Shining”, was released in 1977. The title was inspired by the John Lennon song “Instant Karma!”, which contained the line “We all shine on…”. It was King’s third published novel, and first hardback bestseller, and the success of the book firmly established King as a preeminent author in the horror genre.

The cult classic film version was originally released in 1980. The book was also later adapted into a television mini-series in 1997.

King also stated that the novel was heavily influenced by Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death and The Fall of the House of Usher, and Robert Marasco’s Burnt Offerings. The story has been often compared to Guy de Maupassant’s story “The Inn”.

Hollywood writer-producer Laeta Kalogridis and her partners Bradley Fischer and James Vanderbilt are on-board to produce, according to a report by Los Angeles Times.

Kalogridis, according to Los Angeles Times, already has experience with the horror genre, as she wrote Shutter Island for Martin Scorsese two years ago. She also wrote and executive produced James Cameron’s Avatar.

The film would take place before Jack Torrance brought his family to the eerie Overlook Hotel, and would focus on the events that made the hotel “haunted,” (because with Kubrick, you never really know).

A representative for WB said the project is in very early stages, and is not even formally in development. Still, many fans are already voicing strong opinions on the matter, many against tampering with Kubrick’s work.

The news certainly raises some questions. Do you think it will it be possible for filmmakers to step out of Kubrick’s shadow? Or are you dreading the possible prequel altogether?

Kevin Zeggers Cast In City of Bones Adaptation

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Actor Kevin Zeggers has been cast as Alec Lightwood in the upcoming film adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones. 

City of Bones is the first novel in the series, The Mortal Instruments. 

Alec Lightwood is the brother to Isabelle Lightwood, who is set to be played by Jemima West. Alec also has feelings for Jace Wayland and later Magnus Bane.

Zeggers joins main characters Lily Collins as Clary Fray and Jamie Campbell-Bower as Jace Wayland. Also cast is Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Kevin Durand, and Robert Maillet.

City of Bones follows teen Clary Fray, who discovers she is a descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, an order of half-angel warriors who protect the world from demons. The rest of the characters include her best friend Simon, who is in love with her, while she has feelings for fellow shadowhunter Jace Wayland, who also may or may not be her brother, and siblings  Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, with Alec Harboring feelings for Jace as well.

Screen Gems is producing the adaptation with Harald Zwart directing.

The film is scheduled for release on August 23, 2013.

Could Battle Royale Become A Television Series?

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The 1999 novel and 2000 film, Battle Royale, is a cult classic and many fans are yearning for a remake. However, thanks to the recent release and extreme popularity of The Hunger Games, a film remake is looking less likely.

But, could a new television series be on the horizon?

The LA Times recently reported that the CW has been in recent discussion for adapting the novel into a one hour drama series on the network.

If they do decide they want to move forward with the project, they will need to gain the approval of Takami, which according to Japanese law must be secured before any remake can begin.

The CW argues that the television show could flourish much like the popular series, “The Vampire Diaries” found success despite the Twilight Saga dominating the film industry.

While the talks are only in the preliminary stages, the network (CW) would acquire the rights of Koushun Takami’s underlying novel, then unpack and expand on it for an hourlong dramatic series.

Producers Neal Moritz and Roy Lee had been working on a new film way before Suzanne Collins published her novel series, but the project stalled when New Line operations consolidated in 2008.

Then when The Hunger Games was released, the film remake was effectively killed.

Hopefully a television series can get off the ground. While it wont be ideal to fans who want a film reboot (we can also assume it will not be in anyway as gory and brutal as the film and novel) the TV series could be something to look forward to.