Stalingrad Director To Tackle The Odyssey

Fedor Bondarchuk helming Warners' Odysseus

A decade on from Wolfgang Petersen's Troy (adapted from The Iliad), Hollywood is finally getting around to Homer's other great epic, The Odyssey. Warner Bros. have set Stalingrad director Fedor Bondarchuk to work on Odysseus , the story of the titular Greek warrior-king-hero's return home from the Trojan War.

300's Gianni Nunnari is among the producers, indicating that, to some extent, this is the same Odysseus that was developing as long as five years ago. There have been plenty of changes afoot between then and now, however. Back in 2009, the screenplay was by Ann Peacock (The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe) and the thrust was not The Odyssey itself, but what happened to Odysseus after he got home to Ithaca.

But the latest script is by Jeremy Doner (The Killing), indicating a new focus, and raising the possibility that we may see Odysseus dealing with Cyclops, sirens, Scylla and shipwrecks after all.

The Russian Bondarchuk is an intriguing choice, although directing the much-garlanded Stalingrad - Russia's first 3D IMAX feature - obviously meant it was only a matter of time before Hollywood snapped him up. Deadline suggest that the fact he's already wildly popular in Russia and China is advantageous for Warners, who have a keen eye on foreign markets.

Stalingrad, despite its size and spectacle, was filmed entirely without the use of green-screen, so it's tantalising to wonder whether Bondarchuk will attempt the same in this case - whether or not it's Odysseus' journey or homecoming that's the point.

There's no start date yet, but the wheels are clearly in motion. Sean Bean played Odysseus in Troy. The campaign to seem him return starts here.

from Empire News

Tina Fey Conjures Hocus Pocus Sequel

Salem Witches: The Next Generation

Back in April when news of the project first emerged, the word on the street was that Disney had in mind "leads in the vein of Tina Fey and Melissa McCarthy" for its developing Hocus Pocus sequelboot. The Mouse House has just seen the first half of that wish come true (at least to some extent): Tina Fey has joined the project as a producer, via her Little Stranger production company. It's unclear yet whether she's planning to star as well as oversee.

Yes, we are talking about the same Hocus Pocus: the 1993 family comedy starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as a coven of witches accidentally resurrected at Hallowe'en by youngsters Omri Katz, Thora Birch and Vinessa Shaw.

According to The Tracking Board's intel, the new film will pick up years later, and centre on a housewife related to the original witch trio. When her children get on the wrong side of some other witches while they're out trick-or-treating, she teams up with a local witch-hunter to save them.

Fey, we'd imagine, is being courted to play the mom, with the no-doubt broader witch-hunter role the one Disney would like McCarthy (or their "McCarthy type") for. With Fey aboard, however, it's not impossible that it could turn into a vehicle for her and her regular comedic other half Amy Poehler. There seem to be no plans to bring back any of the original stars, but cameo reappearances don't seem totally unlikely.

That's all total speculation for the time being, since we're a long way from a cast or a director... or anything. With Fey's involvement though, Hocus Pocus 2 is suddenly looking more interesting than it might have done. We'll keep you posted.

from Empire News

Horrible Bosses 2 Teaser Arrives

The boys are back. And still in trouble...

Horrible Bosses was a solid hit for Warner Bros. back in 2011, and the studio has been quick to reassemble stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, despite busy schedules, for more malicious madness. The teaser trailer for the comedy sequel is now online.

Directed this time by That’s My Box/ Sex Drive man Sean Anders, working alongside regular co-writer / producer John Morris from their script, Horrible Bosses 2 finds Kurt (Sudeikis), Dale (Day) and Nick (Bateman) launching their own business, but falling afoul of a dodgy investor (Christoph Waltz). Their boneheaded solution to this new problem? Kidnapping, which also involves the man’s son (Chris Pine).

There’s not much of the new plot in this first quick look at the film, as it’s more focused on return engagements for original horrible bosses Dave Harken, now in prison, but still played by Kevin Spacey, and Julia Harris, the ever-horny dentist played by Jennifer Aniston. Oh, and Jamie Foxx’s “crime consultant” Dean “MF” Jones is back as well.

With Keeley Hazell, Kelly Stables and Suzy Nakamura among the cast, Horrible Bosses 2 will be out on November 28.

from Empire News

Enchanted Sequel Conjures Up New Writers

Shrek veterans J. David Stem and David N. Weiss aboard

It was in no way surprising, given the success of the first onscreen twirl for Amy Adams’ Disney-princess-meets-reality tale Enchanted, that the Mouse House would look to magic up a sequel. What’s slightly more shocking is how long it is taking the company to figure it out. The latest development? Writers J. David Stem and David N. Weiss have been hired to take a crack.

The pair, who worked on the likes of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Shrek 2, and, um, both Smurfs movies to date, are aboard to work out the next step in the story. Enchanted, as you’ll recall, found Adams’ Giselle tricked into our world by the evil sorceress played by Susan Sarandon. Landing in New York, she confronted the harsh reality of a land seemingly without true love or happy ever afters by singing a lot and generally trying to have everyone see her point of view.

Whatever the writers – assuming they’re the ones to make it work – cook up, Anne Fletcher is still aboard to direct, but there’s no sign yet of which of the cast – that also included James Marsden, Patrick Dempsey and Idina Menzel – will be back.

from Empire News

Woody Harrelson Headed By Way Of Helena

Liam Hemsworth also on for the revenge Western

They’re more used to sharing a film set made to look like District 12 for the Hunger Games films, but Woody Harrelson and Liam Hemsworth are headed for the Old West. Deadline reports that they’re set to butt heads in revenge Western By Way Of Helena .

Matt Cook wrote the script, which Kieran Darcy-Smith will bring to life, following the story of David (Hemsworth), an 1880s Texas Ranger dispatched to an isolated frontier town to investigate some mysterious murders.

But when he arrives, he discovers the place is in the iron grip of local preacher Abraham (Harrelson), who is none too happy with the new arrival poking around in his town’s affairs. You can reasonably assume from that synopsis that tempers will flare and bullets will be exchanged.

Harrelson is part of the cast for John Hillcoat’s crime thriller Triple Nine and has been working on scenes for both films comprising The Hunger Games: Mockingjoy. He’s also attached to the Now You See Me sequel. Hemsworth will likewise be back on Hunger Games duty, with the next film due on November 20. In addition to that, he’s appeared in thriller Cut Bank and has Aussie drama The Dressmaker on his schedule.

from Empire News

Paul Mazursky 1930-2014

Talented actor/writer/director dies aged 84

His name might not be feted to the level of contemporaries such as Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola, but Paul Mazursky certainly lived a life and career worth celebrating. He has died at the age of 84.

Born Irwin Mazursky in Brooklyn, Mazursky studied at Brooklyn College and kicked off his career in front of the camera rather than behind it. His first acting job – on which he changed his name – was quite a launch pad for a young performer, working with the meticulous Stanley Kubrick on Fear And Desire in 1953. In 1955, he played Emmanuel Stoker in Blackboard Jungle, before switching for a few years to write and perform on television. After working on series such as The Twilight Zone, The Detectives and The Untouchables, he was hired to script and act on The Danny Kaye show.

And it was the small screen that birthed one of Mazursky’s enduring legacies, as he’s the man who developed the Monkees TV show. Film-wise, he enjoyed peeling back the layers of civilised society and poking at relationships with work such as I Love You, Alice B. Tokias!, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice which was nominated for four Oscars), Alex In Wonderland and Tempest.

His acting career was in no way diminished by his switch to writing and directing, though, and he continued to make memorable appearances not only in his own films, but also in others, including Punchline, Carlito’s Way and Into The Night. He’s survived by his wife, Betsy Purdy and his daughter, Jill.

from Empire News

Neil Gaiman's American Gods Back In TV Development

Now US cable channel Starz has the rights

Leaping from perch to perch like a metaphorical parrot, the attempt to adapt Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods has had trouble sticking the landing. In February this year, rights holders Freemantle Media announced it would attempt to find it somewhere to start over. Now it has, landing on US cable network Starz.

The channel, which has brought the world the likes of Spartacus: Blood And Sand and Strike Back is now in development on a show, with a pilot to be written by Bryan Fuller (who is also busy with the TV version of Hannibal) and Heroes’ Michael Green.



"When you create something like American Gods, which attracts fans and obsessives and people who tattoo quotes from it on themselves or each other, and who all, tattooed or not, just care about it deeply, it's really important to pick your team carefully: you don't want to let the fans down, or the people who care and have been casting it online since the dawn of recorded history,” says Gaiman in a statement.

“What I love most about the team, who I trust to take it out to the world, is that they are the same kind of fanatics that American Gods has attracted since the start. I haven't actually checked Bryan Fuller or Michael Green for quote tattoos, but I would not be surprised if they have them. The people at Fremantle are the kinds of people who have copies of American Gods in the bottom of their backpacks after going around the world, and who press them on their friends. I can't wait to see what they do to bring the story to the widest possible audience able to cope with it."



The previous attempt to turn the book into something for screens was in 2011, when Gaiman hinted that someone had the rights and was developing it. Then, a month later, the news broke that HBO and Tom Hanks’ Playtone company had snagged the option, with Gaiman at work on a pilot script, only for the channel to decide it couldn't crack the script. Despite its reputation for shows that push the sex and violence aspect first, Starz at least seems like a more flexible, natural home for Gaiman’s work than had it ended up at one of the mainstream networks.

Gaiman's novel, first published in 2001, and again in an expanded edition in 2005, involves old gods and mythological creatures from various Old World pantheons (Low Key Lyesmith, Mr. Nancy, Mr. Jacquel), brought to the US by the immigrants who founded it. But their powers are waning as people's beliefs shift to modern woships like media and technology. When our hero, Shadow, is released from prison, he takes up with the mysterious Mr. Wednesday on an odyssey across America recruiting old gods for a war against the new.

During the journey, Shadow learns some interesting facts about his heritage, and faces down a child-killer. Characters from Sandman crop up occasionally, and the whole thing feels like a tour through forgotten corners of Americana as well as the mythology of, well, the entire world. The novel's companion piece Anansi Boys came out in 2005, and a follow-up story, Monarch Of The Glen, is in Gaiman's Fragile Things collection.

Fuller and Green will be whipping up a pilot for the show, but there’s no guarantee – as with previous versions – it’ll make it to series.

from Empire News