Remake OTD: The Wolfman

"...with this film, when I first found out they were going to do it, I went and talked to somebody I know at Universal. I said, 'You've got to let me do this! I'll do some really cool stuff.'"

-- Rick Baker, on campaigning to do makeup on Joe Johnston's The Wolfman.

There's a great interview at ew.com with preview photos. Check it out!

Scott Pilgrim Movie On The Way

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Cera ponders 'Life' with Universal
By Borys Kit - March 19, 2008

Michael Cera is in final negotiations to star in "Scott Pilgrim's Little Life" for Universal.

Edgar Wright is directing the adventure romance, which is being produced by Marc Platt and Eric Gitter. Wright and Nina Park also are producing.

"Life" tells the story of a young slacker (Cera) who meets the woman of his dreams but finds that he can only win her heart by battling and defeating her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

The project is based on the Oni Press graphic novel "Scott Pilgrim Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life," written by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Michael Bacall and Wright wrote the screenplay.

Cera and Wright had mutual admiration for each other's work, which manifested itself when Wright stepped in to act alongside Cera and Jonah Hill in a viral promo for "Superbad"; Wright acted as a snarky interviewer to an exasperated Cera and Hill.

The studio is eyeing a fall start.

Cera is filming the Judd Apatow-produced "Year One" with Jack Black. He next shoots "Youth in Revolt" for Dimension, with Miguel Arteta directing.

He is repped by Paradigm, Thruline Entertainment and attorney Jamie Feldman.

*************************************************************************************

Congratulations, Mr. O'Malley! A "Pilgrim" movie could be a lot of fun!

Thanks to I Watch Stuff! for the tip-off.

Remake OTD: The Birds

VARIETY: Naomi Watts set for 'Birds' remake
Martin Campbell in talks to direct for Universal
By TATIANA SIEGEL, MARC GRASER
Posted: Thurs., Oct. 18, 2007, 1:26pm PT

Naomi Watts will star and Martin Campbell is in negotiations to direct Universal's new version of "The Birds."

U is planning a reimagining of Daphne du Maurier's short story, which inspired the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock classic.

Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller will produce through their Platinum Dunes shingle, while Peter Guber and Cathy Schulman are producing for Mandalay Pictures.

U is not looking to rush the pic into production prior to a possible strike.

Stiles White and Juliet Snowden wrote a version of the script that is still being developed. New scribes may be brought aboard.

For the moment, Campbell's and Watts' dance cards are already filled with other projects.

Campbell is attached to Fox's runaway train actioner "Unstoppable" and crime thriller "36" at Paramount. He most recently helmed the latest James Bond installment "Casino Royale."

Watts, who will next be seen in Warner Independent's "Funny Games," is filming "The International" and will follow that up with First Look's adaptation of Amy Sutherland's "Kicked, Bitten and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World's Premiere School for Exotic Animal Trainers."

Mandalay's David Zelon and Jonathan Krauss will oversee for Mandalay. Scott Bernstein is overseeing the pic for U.

Universal Decides To Spend 100,000 Times More On Land Of The Lost Episode Than Kroffts Originally Did

VARIETY: Universal OK's 'Land of the Lost'
Will Ferrell comedy to cost $100 million
By DIANE GARRETT, MICHAEL FLEMING
Posted: Tue., Oct. 9, 2007, 8:00pm PT

Universal is pushing the button on "Land of the Lost" for a March start.

Decision to greenlight the Will Ferrell project surprised observers, who are aware that U had a rough ride with its $160 million comedy "Evan Almighty." Studio sources suggest the budget of "Land of the Lost," described as an event comedy, was recalibrated from $125 million to $100 million in order to earn its start date.

Brad Silberling will helm the bigscreen adaptation of Sid & Marty Krofft's children's skein of the same name. Jimmy Miller is producing along with the Kroffts; Julie Wixson-Darmody and Daniel Lupi exec produce.

Decision to move ahead effectively removes Ferrell from availability for other pre-strike projects on the cusp, such as "Himelfarb" for Warner Bros. The comedian has been attached to "Land of the Lost" for several years. Miller reps Ferrell and the Kroffts, who have long tried to get a bigscreen adaptation of their show made.

Adaptation by Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas revolves around a disgraced paleontologist, his assistant and a macho tour guide who find themselves in a strange world inhabited by dinosaurs, monkey people and reptilian Sleestaks.

Donna Langley spearheaded the effort to obtain rights from the Kroffts, who also produced and created smallscreen skeins such as "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Lidsville" and "Donny and Marie."

Remake/Sequel OTD: The Invisible Man

VARIETY: Goyer eyes U's new 'Invisible' film
By MICHAEL FLEMING

Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment have set David Goyer to write and direct "The Invisible Man," a new take on the H.G. Wells classic. Brian Grazer will produce.

Conceived as a sequel to Wells' original tale, the story centers on a British nephew of the original Invisible Man. Once he discovers his uncle's formula for achieving invisibility, he is recruited by British intelligence agency MI5 during WWII.

"I've always been a fan of the original H.G. Wells book as well as the Universal film and felt the property was ripe for reimagining," Goyer said.

Imagine's David Bernardi and Chris Wade will be involved in a producing capacity.

Goyer, who most recently directed ghost tale "The Invisible" and "Blade: Trinity," is planning to helm the Sheldon Turner-scripted "X-Men" spinoff "Magneto" for Fox.

Posted: Wed., Jun. 13, 2007, 7:30pm PT

*************************************************************************************

Thanks to silas216's blog for the image! The picture has nothing to do with the new film.

Remakes OTD: The Thing, Conan The Barbarian, Dressed To Kill

COMINGSOON.NET: The Thing Remake Coming to Theaters
Source: Variety
November 17, 2006

Strike Entertainment and Universal Pictures will remake John Carpenter's The Thing, reports Variety.

The script will be written by "Battlestar Galactica" executive producer Ronald D. Moore. The 1982 original dealt with a shape-shifting creature from outer space that terrorizes researchers at an Antarctic facility.

Strike partners Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce and the company will co-finance the remake, to which Universal owned the rights. David Foster, who produced the original film, will executive produce.

Carpenter's film continued the storyline of the Howard Hawks-directed The Thing From Another World. That 1951 film starred James Arness as an alien monster that wiped out workers at an Army radar station.

Carpenter's film opened with a team arriving to find that encampment has been wiped out. The alien moved from the body of one team member to another, so it was never quite clear who the villain was.

The producers said they consider the new film to be more "a companion piece" to the Carpenter film than a note-for-note remake.

*************************************************************************************

MANIA.COM: Warner Bros. making CONAN THE BARBARIAN
By: Karl Schneider, News Editor
Source: Variety
Date: Thursday, June 15, 2006

Warner Bros. Pictures is eyeing an early 2007 start of production for CONAN THE BARBARIAN, a new take on the Robert E. Howard created character.

Boaz Yakin (FRESH, REMEMBER THE TITANS) has been asked to write and possibly direct the film after his pitch impressed the studio.

Yakin's concept is reported to be more faithful to Howard's story than were the two previous Conan films which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan.

*************************************************************************************

VARIETY.COM: MGM remaking 'Dressed to Kill'
Studio pacts with Hyde Park on DVD movies
By DAVE MCNARY, PETER GILSTRAP
Posted: Tue., Jun. 5, 2007, 8:00pm PT

MGM is partnering with Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment to produce direct-to-DVD movies aimed at specific demos.

First project from the alliance will be a remake of the 1980 thriller "Dressed to Kill," with Rick Alexander signed to write the script.

Hyde Park's Patrick Aiello initiated the remake project and will head the banner's new consumer direct division, working closely with MGM's recently installed home entertainment VP Jason Weiss, who will oversee the production.

The original pic was released by Filmways, which was later acquired by Orion and ultimately by MGM. Brian De Palma wrote and directed, with Angie Dickinson, Dennis Franz, Nancy Allen and Michael Caine starring.

Alexander recently scripted the sci-fi thriller "Subatomic" for the two companies, and is producing a remake of "Conan the Barbarian" for Warner Bros.

MGM is planning to release 12 or more DVD projects per year, primarily based on popular film and TV franchises. Hyde Park recently wrapped "Asylum," is in post- production on James Wan's "Death Sentence" for Fox and has a five-year co-financing agreement with Fox, which is also the exclusive distrib for MGM's consumer-direct projects.

*************************************************************************************
Some of this news looks old. It appears the Conan remake is still on the boards, though the Thing re-remake may have mutated into the Sci-Fi Channel four-hour mini-series.

Synergy OTD: Spy Hunter

VARIETY: Universal restarts 'Spy Hunter'
Paul W.S. Anderson to direct adaptation
By MARC GRASER, DIANE GARRETT
Posted: Fri., Jun. 1, 2007, 3:47pm PT

"Spy Hunter" is revving up again at Universal.

"Resident Evil" and "Alien vs. Predator" director Paul W.S. Anderson will direct the big budget adaptation of the popular Midway video game that revolves around a transforming supercar called the Interceptor.

He will be working with another scribe to pen the project, which has already gone through several writers, including Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Zak Penn and Stuart Beattie.

John Woo was originally attached to helm the pic, in 2004, that will introduce the never-seen spy hunter who works for a secret government agency. He uses the gadget-packed Interceptor (that can transform from a car into a motorcycle, jet ski and submarine) to hunt down agents and thwart a shadowy terrorist org known as Nostra.

Considering the game's been around since the 1980s' the car's turned into a pop culture icon and is expected to have automaker's salivating over the chance to slap their brand's badge on the hood.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has long been attached to play the secret agent behind the wheel of the vehicle. Whether he'll be recast has yet to be determined.

The Rock has already starred in "Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run," a Midway game that the company released last year. The game had been planned to come out with the "Spy Hunter" movie, but when development hit a snag, the gamemaker was forced to release the title early in order to recoup production costs.

Anderson's next pic is "Death Race," which he is also directing for U. The film's a redo of 1975's "Death Race 2000."

Adrian Askarieh, who has an adaptation of the vidgame "Hitman" filming at Fox, is producing the project with Chuck Gordon and Jeremy Bolt.

Askarieh and producing partner Daniel Alter also have a bigscreen version of the Eidos Interactive game "Kane and Lynch" set up at Lionsgate and comicbook adaptations "Hack/Slash" and "Lost Squad," at Rogue Pictures, based on the Devil's Due Publishing comicbooks.

Anderson is managed by Ken Kamins at Key Creatives.

(Dave McNary contributed to this report.)

*************************************************************************************
I'm amazed at the tenacity with which studios cling to the idea that a video game is a good basis for a movie. I guess a few of them must have turned a decent profit, or there wouldn't be so many video game movies. From my point of view, none of them have made a lot of money, or been well-received by moviegoers.

Remakes OTD: Midnight, The Women

VARIETY: Witherspoon to star in 'Midnight'
'Sunshine' scribe Arndt to write script
By MICHAEL FLEMING
Posted: Wed., May 30, 2007, 7:30pm PT

Universal Pictures will develop a remake of the 1939 comedy "Midnight" as a star vehicle for Reese Witherspoon scripted by Michael Arndt, who won the Oscar for "Little Miss Sunshine."

Stuber/Parent partners Mary Parent and Scott Stuber will produce with Witherspoon and her Type A Films partner Jennifer Simpson.

Arndt hatched the idea, which prompted the producers to team.

"Midnight" has "long been one of my favorite films, and it is easily one of the best comedies of the '30s," Arndt said. "Being given the chance to update the film with Reese in the lead is simply a dream come true."

In the original, Claudette Colbert starred as a destitute young woman in Paris who becomes a pawn when a wealthy man tries to get rid of the gigolo wooing his wife. John Barrymore also starred in the film that was directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder.

The original was released by Paramount but became U property when the studio bought the pre-1948 Par library.

Project will not be next for Witherspoon, who's deciding between several films for her next slot. She's repped by CAA and Management 360 and Arndt by Endeavor.

*************************************************************************************

VARIETY: 'Women' finally ready for makeover
Eva Mendes, Annette Bening join cast
By MICHAEL FLEMING
Posted: Wed., May 30, 2007, 7:30pm PT

After more than a decade of trying, Diane English has a solid cast and an Aug. 6 start date for "The Women," the remake of the 1939 classic that she adapted and will direct.

Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing and Candice Bergen have either signed or are near committing to star in a contemporized version of the George Cukor-directed film, which Picturehouse will distribute domestically next year.

The project's less-than-$20 million budget has been financed by Inferno Entertainment, Picturehouse and soapmaker Dove, which will make "The Women" a major cog in a marketing campaign for its female-friendly brand. The financing was pieced together with an assist from the independent division of ICM, the agency that reps English.

Jagged Pictures partners Victoria Pearman and Mick Jagger will produce with English and Inferno's Bill Johnson, who brokered deals in Germany, Italy, Spain and other territories during Cannes. Johnson's Inferno partner, Jim Seibel, will exec produce.

While numerous remake attempts were made at MGM before the title sold with the MGM library to Ted Turner, the current version took root right after Turner bought New Line and set up "The Women" as a star/producing pairing of Julia Roberts and Ryan, with James L. Brooks planning to direct (Daily Variety, April 18, 1994).

English signed on to write the script shortly thereafter, at a time when she was the hottest writer on television thanks to "Murphy Brown." English became attached as the project's director in 2001 and is now in a position to reteam with that sitcom's star, Bergen.

The bitchy tone of the Clare Boothe Luce play lent itself perfectly to a 1939 original film that starred Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and others. Even though the property has always been catnip to actresses, skeptics felt the film was locked in its original period and would be difficult to remake. English, who weathered several near starts and watched actresses come and go, simply would not give up.

Her script maintains the arch spirit of the original, and the all-female cast, but the gals aren't as relentlessly catty this time around. Story follows a group of female friends when the one they envied most discovers her husband's cheating on her.

*************************************************************************************

Doesn't ten years seem like a really long time to spend lobbying for a remake? I'm assuming Ms. English has probably been working on her own scripts, too, but still... ten years?

Rodriguez Picks Barbarella

VARIETY: Rodriguez to direct 'Barbarella'
Remake written by 'Casino's' Purvis, Wade
By DIANE GARRETT
Posted: Mon., May 21, 2007, 5:01pm PT

Robert Rodriguez will helm the "Barbarella" redo for a 2008 Universal release.

The "Planet Terror" helmer is working with scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade on the remake of the 1968 film starring Jane Fonda as a futuristic mercenary. That version was produced by Dino De Laurentiis, who is producing the remake with Martha De Laurentiis.

Barbarella first appeared seven years earlier in a French comicbook written and illustrated by Jean-Claude Forest. De Laurentiis recently completed an acquisition deal with his son Julien (Daily Variety, April 12).

"I love this iconic character and all that she represents, and I'm truly excited by the challenge of inviting a new audience into her universe," Rodriguez said.

Dino De Laurentiis hinted at the flavor of the remake: "In our vision, the future is female, and I can't wait to introduce 'Barbarella' to a new generation of moviegoers," he said.

Purvis and Wade co-wrote "Casino Royale" and recently finished scripting the next installment in the Bond franchise, "Bond 22."

*************************************************************************************

So I guess Rose MacGowan will be in the orgasm machine this time.

Colossus Joins The Remake Parade

VARIETY: Grazer to produce 'Colossus'
Universal, Imagine to remake sci-fi saga
By MICHAEL FLEMING
Wed., Apr. 18, 2007, 7:30pm PT

Universal and Imagine Entertainment will remake the 1970 sci-fi saga "Colossus: The Forbin Project" as a potential directing vehicle for Ron Howard. Brian Grazer will produce.

Jason Rothenberg has been set to write the screenplay for a pic to be called "Colossus."

Based on a book by D.F. Jones, the original film was a forerunner of movies like "Terminator," introducing the idea of a government-built computer that becomes sentient and then takes control.

Rothenberg will use the original’s premise as a springboard and will incorporate two subsequent "Colossus" novels written by Jones to hatch a much broader film premise.

After a brainiac designs a supercomputer for the government as a means of protection, the computer decides itself that the most effective way it can act as protector is to assume complete control. The WMA-repped Rothenberg wrote the original draft of "The Sparrow," which has Brad Pitt attached at Warner Bros., and he adapted the graphic novel "Proximity Effect" at Universal.

Dave Collins, who was integral in tying up the rights to the series, will be exec producer.

Howard is next directing "Frost/Nixon" and then will tackle the Akiva Goldsman-scripted "Da Vinci Code" follow-up that’s based on the Dan Brown novel "Angels and Demons."