Posts Tagged ‘Sam Raimi’
Posted by dominic in Films, General, News on November 2nd, 2008
I’ve had a precarious relationship with the Spider-Man franchise. I didn’t enjoy the first film, though I seem to be one of the few. I couldn’t get past the cheesy dialoged and campy directing by Sam Raimi. That said I found myself completely thrown off by the sequel. To me Spider-Man 2 seemed the perfect comic-book film (before The Dark Knight that is). Though there existed some cheese for the kids there was deeper character development and a more believable and sympathetic villain in Doctor Octopus.
Enter Spider-Man 3 and the whole thing fell apart. First of many complaints, if you introduce Venom as an adversary don’t waste our time with Sandman, or any other nemesis, there’s no need. But I won’t get into a heavy laden critique of these films, for that is not the purpose of this post.
Pulitzer winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire has been hired to pen Spider-Man 4 according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lindsay-Abaire, who follows James Vanderbilts attempt at scripting the fourth installment of the lucrative franchise, won the Pulitzer for his 2007 play Rabbit Hole.
The decision to hire Lindsay-Abaire signals that Avi Arad and crew may be leaning towards a heavily character driven story rather than the spectacle and camp that disappointed many with the third installment.
With most of the key cast and crew signed on or rumored to return for the film, I can only hope Mr. Lindsay-Abaire is allowed to add depth and pathos to a franchise which seems to teeter on the edge of overly cheesy and deeply compelling.
And finally, can we please come up with a better name for the film this time? How about The Amazing Spider-Man or The Spectacular Spider-Man? Please Mr. Raimi, learn from The Dark Knight we don’t need numbers in our sequel titles.
Posted by dominie in Comics, Films, News on October 19th, 2008
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. has signed newcomer Brad Ingelsby (The Honeyfields) to pen the script for DC Comics/WildStorm’s Sleeper comic book for the big screen.
In August, Tom Cruise was loosely attached to join Sam Raimi in developing the adaptation. Cruise’s involvement, though not officially signed, has seemingly set the project on the fast track for a 2011 release date and Warner Bros. is hoping to turn Sleeper into a new studio franchise. Cruise will rumored to star, while Raimi and Josh Donen will produce the film through their Stars Road Entertainment banner.
In regards to Ingelsby, early this year in March, he made his first script sale, The Low Dweller, a thriller feature to Relativity Media for $500,000 against $1 million, which Ridley Scott is now attached to direct and Leonardo DiCaprio will star.
The original Sleeper comic, written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, “is a high-tech noir series published from 2003-05 that puts superheroes in a stylish, hard-boiled crime saga not unlike The Departed.” The series follows the protagonist, Holden Carver (a.k.a The Conductor) a spy placed undercover in a criminal organization led by TAO, a WildC.A.T.s villain. Carver is fused with an alien artifact that causes him to be impervious to pain and have the ability to pass on the specialty to other through skin contact. When Carver’s only real link to the outside, John Lynch, falls into a coma, Carver’s life spirals into an internal struggle between right and wrong while he rises through the ranks under TAO’s organization.
Posted by dominie in Comics, Films, News on October 17th, 2008
In an effort to gain some solidarity in the mist of all the Spider-Man sequels rumors, MTV caught up with director Sam Raimi to discuss the details.
A couple weeks ago Kirsten Dunst told MTV “I’m in if they’re in,” referring to Raimi and Maguire, but when asked to confirm officially her role, the actress was not so quick to answer. Raimi replies to MTV, “Kirsten, I’d love to work with her again. I hope she’ll be written into it. I couldn’t imagine making one without her, and I think she’s an important part of the movies.” That’s great I thought, but Raimi continues, “I wish I could work with James Franco again. But his character died in the last one; same with Uncle Ben. Fortunately, we’ve been able to bring back all the dead characters [like Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn or Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker]. I can’t let them go, in each and every picture; but it gets harder and harder.” So ultimately, we have no answer.
And as for the villain, Raimi teases, “[Dylan Baker’s] a great actor, and I think one day The Lizard’s story will be told. I don’t know if it will be this one or not. I just don’t know. I’m definitely hoping to work with Dylan in the picture. I just don’t know who the villain is yet.”
Raimi denies having a script yet for the sequels, but insists that production will begin by March 2010. He also reveals that the final decision to shoot Spider-Man 4 and Spider-Man 5 hasn’t been made yet, and that he’s also curious to know what Amy Pascal, Sony’s Chairman, will decide.
Posted by dominie in Films, News on October 8th, 2008
Summit Entertainment has announced that Sorority Row, the remake of 1983 The House On Sorority Row, is slated to hit theaters on October 2, 2009. Directed by Stewart Hendler from a script by Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger, the cast includes Briana Evigan, Rumer Willis, Audrina Patridge, Carrie Fisher, Julian Morris, Leah Pipes, Margo Harshman, and Jamie Chung, in a tale about a sorority prank goes wrong and the culprits find themselves hunted by a mysterious killer.
New artwork for Universal’s The Wolfman remake has been stirring up quite some noise. Directed by Joe Johnston, the film stars Benicio Del Toro as Larry Talbot who unwittingly becomes the Wolfman. Emily Blunt, the damsel in distress, is also featured in one of the new art pieces. See Shock Till You Drop for more images. The Wolfman releases April 3, 2009.
Sam Raimi has been in the news taking on every project except The Evil Dead remake and a possible Evil Dead 4. Ok, that statement was out of frustration, but let’s face it, with Spider-Man 4 and 5 now filming next year over a six month span, it will be long due before we see any action.
Bruce Campbell is reportedly just as frustrated with the “all talk and no game” BS that’s been in play. In an interview with Toyfare, Campbell exclaims, “Look, let’s cut to the chase because you keep dancing around it. If you’re talking about Ash coming back again, Sam Raimi has the best perspective. He says, ‘Look, I can go back and do Ash vs. whoever whenever I want. I can do that when I’m 70; I don’t have to do that now. Right now I’m on a fast, fat groovy rain in Hollywood.’ And he’s going to follow that, and he’ll come back and to Evil Dead stuff when he’s unemployed and living at the Old Director’s Home.”
Posted by dominie in Films, News on October 1st, 2008
Kirsten Dunst has made a pretty strong charge back into the media as of late. Busy prepping for her role in A Jealous Ghost, which she will also partake in producing and promoting her upcoming film with Simon Pegg, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, she has also been the subject of many conversations regarding the Spider-Man 4 and 5 sequels being shot back-to-back.
Will Dunst be returning to don MJ’s red wig once again? “I’m in,” the actress told MTV News. “I’m in if they’re in,” referring to director Sam Raimi and actor Tobey Maguire. While Raimi and Maguire have signed on to return, the actress remained reserved from making any official announcements about her return.
Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 19th, 2008
Remakes are popping out much like the baby boomers did post-World War II. I’ve already lost count of the number announced in this week alone. But I suppose at the very least, we should offer our thanks for this tiny (said below) breather in the recent slew of American remakes.
A second Spanish horror announced to be remade this week is Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopena’s Fermat’s Room, which has been making its way through festivals, the last one being the Tribeca ’08 in April. According to Bloody Disgusting, Fermat’s Room plays similar to our Saw series (minus the excessive violence), dealing four math experts with checkered pasts various number-crunching time-tests in a contracting chamber by an unknown killer. They must solve the riddle and uncover how they are connected or die. IFC Entertainment has picked up the original film for release via their VOD service.
And then we move on the the Danish. THR reports that Mandate Pictures is doing a remake of Danish helmer Ole Bomedal’s The Substitute, which follows the case of a sixth grade class whose substitute teacher turns out to be an alien with an agenda. Columbia Pictures will develop the project under Sami Raimi’s Ghost House label, the genre arm of Mandate Pictures. Ghost House Underground and Lionsgate will release the original film on DVD October 14.
Posted by dominie in Events, News on August 26th, 2008
We learned from FEARnet that Sam Raimi’s (30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust) homepage for the Ghost House Underground arm was just launched. The Underground arm of Raimi’s production was created when Ghost House Productions partnered with Grindstone Entertainment to provide fans with all the indie horror films they can get their hands on. Grindstone Entertainment is today’s leading distributor of direct to video films. Check out the official website for more details on upcoming slated releases which we previously reported on here.
Posted by bob in Comics, Films, News on July 31st, 2008
Everyone is anxious for details on Sony’s fourth Spider-Man film, already announced for 2011 so fans got surprised when Variety reported this morning that the studio is now focused first on a Venom spinoff project.
Jacob Estes (Mean Creek) had been assigned the unenviable task of writing a screenplay featuring the monstrous alien symbiote that ruins people’s lives while consuming other people. After his draft, the production execs have decided to go in a different direction so he’s off and a new writer has yet to be named. (more…)
Posted by bob in Films, News on July 29th, 2008
Lionsgate will be releasing the first round of titles from Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Underground on October 14th.
Ghost House Underground
Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, the creative forces behind 30 Days of Night and the Spider-Man, The Grudge and Evil Dead franchises, bring you Ghost House Underground - eight premium branded horror movies in one frightening collection. Featured in branded plastic O-card packaging, the DVDs included are Dance of the Dead, No Man’s Land: The Rise of the Reeker, The Substitute, Dark Floors, Trackman, Room 205, Last House in the Woods and Brotherhood of Blood. Almost every disc comes loaded with special features including short films, commentaries, interviews with cast and crew, featurettes and behind-the-scenes footage. Hand picked by Raimi and Tapert, the most trusted names in horror, Ghost House Underground will bring fans a fresh look at horror from around the world. (more…)
Posted by bob in Films, News on July 27th, 2008
Sam Raimi knows how to work a room. After being lionized by the faithful for his work on the Spider-Man films, the audience was predisposed toward loving whatever he had come next. That just happens to be Drag me to Hell, an original thriller starring panelists Dileep Rao, Justin Long, and Alison Lohman.
Raimi explained he is inspired to produce horror films because he enjoys building suspense like telling a good campfire story. “Spider-Man has so many effects and I wanted to get back to the basics and have a small bunch and get back to a more intimate relationship with the actors and get back to the old campfire story.” (more…)
