Sony Pictures 2009 Preview in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy
Posted by dominie in Films, News on December 31st, 2008
Continuing with our 2009 preview, below we have the lineup from Sony Pictures including Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, and Sony Pictures Animation films.
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Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (January 23, 2009)
Studio: Screen Gems (Sony)
Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
Screenwriter: Danny McBride, Dirk Blackman, Howard McCain
Starring: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh, Kevin Grevioux
Synopsis: “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” delves into the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires, known as Death Dealers, and the barbaric Lycans (werewolves). A young Lycan, Lucian (Michael Sheen), emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Bill Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has persecuted them for hundreds of years. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, the beautiful vampire Sonja (Rhona Mitra), in his battle to free the Lycans from their brutal enslavement. Visit EntertheUnderworld.com 
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Obsessed (April 24, 2009)
Studio: Screen Gems (Sony)
Director: Steve Shill
Screenwriter: David Loughery
Starring: Idris Elba, Beyonce Knowles, Ali Larter, Bruce McGill, Jerry O’Connell, Christine Lahti
Synopsis: Derek Charles (Idris Elba), a successful asset manager who has just received a huge promotion, is blissfully happy in his career and in his marriage to the beautiful Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles). But when Lisa (Ali Larter), a temp worker, starts stalking Derek, all the things he’s worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy. 
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Angels and Demons (May 15, 2009)
Studio: Columbia Pictures (Sony)
Director: Ron Howard
Screenwriter: David Koepp, Akiva Goldsman
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Synopsis: The team behind the global phenomenon “The Da Vinci Code” returns for the highly anticipated “Angels & Demons,” based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Ron Howard again directs the film, which is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and John Calley. The screenplay is by David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman.
When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival. Visit AngelsandDemons.com 
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2012 (July 10, 2009)
Studio: Columbia Pictures (Sony)
Director: Roland Emmerich
Screenwriter: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser
Starring: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson
Synopsis: Never before has a date in history been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, scientists, and governments. “2012″ is an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. 
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District 9 (August 14, 2009)
Studio: Screen Gems (Sony)
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Screenwriter: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Mandla Gaduka, William Allen Young, Vanessa Haywood, Kenneth Nkosi, Devlin Brown
Synopsis: “District 9″ depicts a science fictional world where extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa.
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Zombieland (October 9, 2009)
Studio: Columbia Pictures (Sony)
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Screenwriter: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg
Synopsis: Woody Harrelson has signed on to star in the horror comedy “Zombieland,” which revolves around a mismatched pair of survivors who find friendship and redemption in a world overrun by zombies. Harrelson plays one of the men, a zombie fighter named Albuquerque.
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The Stepfather (October 16, 2009)
Studio: Screen Gems (Sony)
Director: Nelson McCormick
Screenwriter: J.S. Cardone
Starring: Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Penn Badgley, Sherry Stringfield, Jon Tenney, Paige Turco, Amber Heard
Synopsis: Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) returns home from military school to find his mother (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side? 
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Planet 51 (November 20, 2009)
Studio: TriStar Pictures (Sony)
Director: Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad, Marcos Martinez
Screenwriter: Joe Stillman
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Seann William Scott, Gary Oldman, John Cleese
Synopsis: Animated sci-fi tale set on “Planet 51,” whose inhabitants live in fear of an alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when astronaut Capt. Charles “Chuck” Baker arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, the astronaut has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and return home. 
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Vinyan (TBA)
Studio: Sony
Director: Fabrice du Welz
Screenwriter: Oliver Blackburn, Fabrice de Welz
Starring: Rufus Sewell Emmanuelle Béart Julie Dreyfus Borhan Du Welz
Synopsis: Still not having accepted the loss of their son in a tsunami disaster, Janet and Paul Behlmer are back in Bangkok. Hanging on to the fact that his body has never been discovered, Janet desperately clings to the idea that pirates might have kidnapped their kid in the confusion that followed the catastrophe. Looking for someone to guide them in the Thai underworld, they bribe their way to a mysterious Mr. Gao, who takes them to Ranong, where a mercenary supplies them with a boat and crew to explore the pirate-infested shores of Burma. Slowly, they will lose themselves into a strange child-infested jungle and to their inner demons. 
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Malice In Wonderland (TBA)
Studio: Sony
Director: Simon Fellows
Screenwriter: Jayson Rothwell
Starring: Maggie Grace Danny Dyer Nathaniel Parker Katia Winter Bronagh Gallagher Matt King Paul Kaye
Synopsis: Jayson Rothwell’s script has Alice re-imagined as an American student who is hit by a London taxi and finds herself disoriented in Sunderland, where she has to navigate a macabre underworld of characters.
