Tag Archives: Warner Bros

Olivia Williams Joins The Seventh Son

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Olivia Williams recently signed on to the upcoming film adaptation The Seventh Son. Fans might recognize Williams from her role in Rushmore (one of the greatest films) and her role in Joss Whedon’s too soon cancelled television show “Dollhouse.”

The film has already has a few stars signed on along with Williams including Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Antje Traue and Kit Harington. The project is being directed by Sergei Bordrov with the script being written by Matt Greenberg and Chuck Leavitt.

This film should not be confused as being an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Orson Scott Card (although that would make more sense seeing as Ender’s Game is coming up).

The Seventh Son will be the big screen adaptation of the novel series, The Spook’s Apprentice written by (American title: The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch), written by Joseph Delaney, is the first story in the series “The Wardstone Chronicles.”

The novel follows 13-year-old Tom, a farm boy who lives in the countryside of The County. Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son, which allows him the ability to see things other cannot, such as boggarts, ghasts, ghosts and others which is tradition in the County.

The official description of the The Spook’s Apprentice:

“For years, the local Spook has been keeping the County safe from evil. Now his time is coming to an end, but who will take over? Many apprentices have tried… Some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Just one boy is left. Thomas Ward. He is the last hope. But does he stand a chance against Mother Malkin, the most dangerous witch in the County?”

Thomas J. Ward is special because he was born the seventh son of a seventh son. Based on an old folklore that the seventh son of a seventh son would have special powers; magic powers, healing, preternatural senses and hopefully eye beams; if he comes from an unbroken line with no female children born between. So with supernatural abilities, Tom furthers his training with the help of a learned Spook/Sorcerer/Wizard/Priest/Exorcist.

Expect to see the film hitting theaters February 15, 2013.

Journey 3: Profit!

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A Trip to the Moon

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island has already raked in over $270 million at the box office worldwide.  With such a huge success, the only logical thing is to milk it for more.  Warner Bros. has tapped director Brad Peyton with writers Brian and Mark Gunn to create the next movie.  It is not known yet whether we will see Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson or Michael Caine in the next movie.  If they really wanted to make it a grand tie in, they’d have all three plus Brendan Fraser from the first movie.

The film which is a sequel to Journey to Center of the Earth 2008, is also inspired by Jules Verne, The Father of Science Fiction.  The movies thus far have followed the naming convention of Verne’s novels as well as the general setting.  However I doubt the Rock is really what the first nerd author had in mind.

Obviously the movies take place with a familiar, more contemporary start point than what the books were written for; back in the 18th century and all.  Even the characters are written from scratch and have no bearing on the current day story.  Starting from present day civilization, the adventurers find themselves in extraordinary places and situations.  Then again, not all of Verne’s work is cut out for adaptation.  It would be funny though if I ever saw a Journey movie called Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen.  It’d be more hilarious if they could somehow bend the movie away from the topic of slavery; maybe they’d make it about vampires.

I haven’t watched these movies.  Up until I saw the title, I didn’t even remember they existed until I saw the trailers for both.  If I look away from the screen right now, I’m convinced that the memories will fade again and I’ll have to start tracking the memory by drawing on myself with a marker.  So I have no real reasonable argument to make against watching these movies.  In saying that, I’m not a very reasonable person.

Where’s the steam punk action?  The novel that this movie is loosely based on is a tie in to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.  Even back then, publishers were all about sequels and crossovers.  As I understand it, there is a scene in the movie where the heroes need to take Nemo’s Nautilus, but that’s backwards!

The third movie Journey 3 is currently being slated for release sometime in 2014.  The next adventure will most likely be called Journey 3: From the Earth to the Moon.  It’s pretty much planted as the Rock gives Sean the very same Jules Verne book in the current movie.  In Verne’s story, a gun club fires an oversized bullet ship into space; via the gun called Columbiad.  It’s not that different than being shot to the moon by a rocket called Columbia.

What can we expect from adventures on the moon?  Well if we can look past the deadly sentient robots, we can enjoy what Fungineers have created.

We’re whalers on the moon,
We carry a harpoon.
But there ain’t no whales
So we tell tall tales
And sing our whaling tune.

Bolivar the Last Dinosaur Optioned For The Big Screen

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In another bold move, Warner Bros. has picked up the adaptation right for an upcoming graphic novel that has not been released yet. The graphic novel is due for release come May 2013 is called Bolivar, written and illustrated by Sean Rubin from Archaia Entertainment.

Bolivar is a story about a young girl named Sybil who moves to New York. Sybil discovers that her neighbor is Bolivar, a dinosaur. Well aren’t they extinct? Yes, well he is the last of his kind.

Bolivar refuses to befriend Sybil despite her persistent efforts. Somewhat of a recluse, the dinosaur hides away from the world, a world that Sybil wants him to explore with her. He soon realizes that Sybil means a lot to him and that he would risk everything for her.

I’m conflicted here. This could go three ways.

One, this could be very kiddy where everyone learns a valuable lesson from caring and sharing in the end. Bolivar who can be equated to a garbage can dwelling muppet, might learn the true meaning of ‘friendship’ for once in his life. There may also be songs that I cringe at.

Two, this could be sadistic and evil on so many enjoyable levels; to me at least. Asides from the difficulties that Bolivar should have with combustion engines; they run on the liquefied remains of his people; this could be a very sarcastic movie. For example, Bolivar must be able to get whatever job he wants as no one has met the dinosaur quota for employees. Heh, affirmative action is funny. I’m also reminded of one of my favorite movies, Leon/The Professional. Leon the creepy assassin befriends a child named Matilda and later gives up everything for her. I really want to see a dinosaur wearing the toque and round sunglasses now.

Three, the story becomes serious in a mock sense. Take some of Rubin’s previous works in Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard. It’s about cute mice in medieval garb fighting for their lives! They struggle for survival against their natural foes and against each other with lots of treachery. So for as cute it is, it has a lot of death and mature themes. For all we know, the story of Bolivar might be a tale of his victimization and survival, the failing struggles of a guy who was born looking like a dinosaur.

Though it would be interesting as a live action movie, Bolivar has been slated as an animated feature. This will be adapted and directed by Irish filmmaker Kealan O’Rourke, winner of the best animation prize for The Boy in the Bubble at the Irish Film and Television Awards. Akiva Goldsman and Kerry Foster are expected to produce this film via their Weed Road company, while Archaia editor-in-chief Stephen Christy will also produce.

Bleach Manga To Become Live Action Film? Please No!

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Haven’t we had enough terrible live action versions of animated movies in our time? I mean c’mon Avatar the Last Airbender as a live action film, who thought that would be a good idea? And even worse, please, world, stop turning amazing animes into live action films! Just stop!

Apparantly, my appeals go unheard as Warner Bros. recently announced plans to adapt Tite Kubo’s manga series Bleach into a live-action feature. It is already an anime and a manga which usually go hand in hand so I am ok with that, but a live action movie? I have definite reservations.

If you haven’t read the manga or seen the anime here is the plot:

Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki who is a teenager gifted with the ability to see spirits. His life is drastically changed by the sudden appearance of a Soul Reaper—one who governs the flow of souls between the human world and the afterlife—named Rukia Kuchiki, who arrives in search of aHollow, a dangerous lost soul. Ichigo obtains the powers of the Soul Reaper (死神 Shinigami, literally, “Death God”). With her powers diminished, Rukia is left stranded in the human world until she can recover her strength. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over Rukia’s role as a Soul Reaper, battling Hollows and guiding souls to the afterlife realm known as the Soul Society. – it is bascially pretty awesome.

With it already being super popular in terms of anime fans, I can see why they would want to make it a movie that everyone would enjoy but it would lose so much  of the reason it is awesome.

Firstly, if they want it to be a huge commercial success they would have to move it from Japan to America. They made the decision to do this to the live action adaptation of Akira and look what happened to that? It got put on hold! (and it upset many fans who felt that a story set in Japan should stay in Japan and I agree).  I can imagine this would similarly piss off many of the fans of the original because a change in setting changes much of the feel of the show and manga. Also, if you a hardcore fan of the series you probably watch it in its original Japanese language subtitled in English. Which certainly will not be the case if it is a feature length live action film. (This would also mean that most likely it would feature american actors rather than Japanese which would just be… weird!)

You can not turn these characters into live people!

Secondly, can you imagine a main character with bright orange hair? You probably think, yeah just get an actor with naturally red hair, a ginger! But no, if they do the same as they did on Dragon ball Z you know that they will probably try to style the hair just like the anime which will look ridiculous on a live human person.

Yeah, Kind of like this. It is just ridiculous.

So, I really think if they try to live action it, the characters that I love will end up being just ridiculous looking. Anime features are exaggerated for a reason and can’t be on a real person! (Although I am looking forward to seeing what they do with Kon….live action killer stuffed animal? hmmmm….)

Also, if this is to be commercially successful much of the humor will have to be changed or it definitely won’t be appropriate. I mean if they kept in every reference to Orihime’s boobs then you can bet that many people will not be amused. It would also mean that much of violence would have to be cut down because some of those hollows are pretty intense.

Basically what I am saying is this: PLEASE DONT MAKE THIS LIVE ACTION! I think a CG version could be cool but in reality it will probably look like the Hulk movie from 2003. The only saving grace is that it has a decent director attached. Peter Segal, who most recently directed Get Smart, will produce and potentially direct while Dan Mazeau (Wrath of the Titans) is attached to draft the screenplay.

But if they put the live action film, Akira on hold, I wander if this will even go any further? But as a fan of the manga series, Bleach, I can only hope they do this film adaptation correctly, and not have another Dragon Ball Z situation unleashed on world giving anime fans a bad name.

Magic Kingdom for Sale – Sold! To Warner Bros.

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Warner Bros. Pictures has bought a magic kingdom, and it isn’t Disney Land. Terry Brooks, the author of the Shannara fantasy novel series also wrote a series called the “Magic Kingdom of Landover”. The first of the series is Magic Kingdom for Sale – Sold! Had it’s film rights optioned by Warner Bros. reports Variety.

First published in 1986’s, the story follows a talented but depressed trial lawyer who finds an advertisement in an upscale Christmas catalog; reminiscent of those huge Sears catalogs with a massive toy section I used to fawn over as a kid. The advertisement offers a magical kingdom for a million dollars by a man named Mr. Meeks.

As most lawyers have been brought up to crush the dreams of others, he buys this otherworldly magical land and hijinks ensue.

Publishers Write-Up includes:

“Landover is a genuine magic kingdom, complete with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement promised. But after he purchases it for a million dollars, Ben Holiday discovers that there are a few details the ad failed to mention.

Such as the fact that the kingdom is falling into ruin. The barons refuse to recognise a king and taxes haven’t been collected for years. The dragon, Strabo, is laying waste to the countryside, while the evil witch, Nightshade, is plotting to destroy the world. And if that isn’t enough for a prospective king to deal with, Ben soon learns that the Iron Mark, terrible lord of the demons, has challenged all pretenders to the throne of Landover to a duel to death – a duel no mere mortal can hope to win.

But Ben Holiday has one human trait that even magic can’t overcome. Ben Holiday is stubborn.

Magic Kingdom for Sale – Sold! is the first book in a gripping fantasy of mystery, magic and adventure from the author of the world-famous Shannara series.”

This almost sounds like a reboot of The NeverEnding Story 1984, “A troubled boy dives into a wonderous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.” says IMDb. Except it’s a big shot lawyer with money instead of a whiny kid with wishes. I can almost imagine this movie will be Iron Man to the Batman like Never Ending Story. Light and funny about the antics of real people abusing their power, instead of dark, serious and brooding. Hmmm… The book also came out two years after the NeverEnding Story. Coincidence?

The movie will be produced by Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road Pictures; I Am Legend, Hancock; Andy Cohen’s Grade A Entertainment, and Weed Road’s Kerry Foster and Alex Block.

Universal Pictures has previously tried to adapt the story back in 2005 with a script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, while Stephen Sommers was attached to direct. I guess the magic just wasn’t there anymore.

Open “Hobbit” Auditions End With Police

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There was recently an open audition for the upcoming Hobbit films that ended with police. My guess is the casting call was for extras but when more than 3,000 hopefuls turned up, things got out of hand. When they were initially expecting around 1,000 applicants to appear, they were overwhelmed with the extra 2,000 that ended up turning up. Continue reading →