Movie News - The Professionals

Neil Marshall ("The Descent," "Doomsday") has revealed he will direct a film adaptation of classic late 70's British TV cop series "The Professionals" in an interview with Empire.

The hard-hitting action series followed CI5, a law enforcement department allowed to use any (and invariably illegal) means to solve serious crimes that didn't fall under the purview of the secret service or military.

Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins played the two best agents - a hotheaded but compassionate ex-detective constable, and a patient but ruthless ex-SAS mercenary. Together they tackled terrorists, hitmen, racist groups and espionage suspects.

Marshall says he wants to contemporise this buddy cop duo - "They deal with anti-terrorism, assassinations, political intrigue. The slogan, or kind of the tagline for the film, is 'Fight fire with fire' and that was their whole thing... Primarily, its going to be an exciting movie, but there's an inherent political angle on the story. We want to contemporise it but keep everything that made the original great, just turn it into a real wham-bam rip-roaring adventure movie."

A writer is presently at work on a script. Marshall is also attached to the Sam Raimi-produced 3D splatter film "Burst".

Movie News - Mickey Rourke

Taking time out from shooting Greek gods epic "Immortals", Mickey Rourke talked to The Orlando Sentinel about his upcoming projects and revealed a few new ones along the way.

Rourke says Walter Hill's "St. Vincent" is "not gonna happen". Tony Scott's German crime thriller remake "Potsdamer Platz" however is happening, as is a potential Hell’s Angels movie with Scott.

Most interesting though is a biopic of Mongol warlord Genghis Khan which famed filmmaker John Milius ("Conan the Barbarian," "Red Dawn") penned and will direct.

Rourke says “I read his script and you know, the man is known for his tough writing. He wrote Conan and Dirty Harry and Apocalypse Now, and it’ll be interesting to see how he works behind the camera. John wrote as a piece told from the son and grandson’s point of view, how they saw this mythic figure from their family. You see him in flashbacks, back when he was in his mid-40s. And back then, being in your mid-40s was being REALLY old.”

The production itself sounds like an adventure. “It’ll be a fascinating experience, maybe shooting in parts of India, they tell me, and China. I’ve never worked in either of those countries, so that’ll be new. Historically, if you read about the guy, he was a mystery. There’s a lot of myths surrounding him, but also some true stories. Milius went through that in prepping this, so he’ll be a fascinating character to play" says Rourke.

Movie News - Ghost Rider 2

Will Ghost Rider 2 go ahead without Nic Cage? There may be a chance according to this article from Vulture...

How badly does Columbia need to get the motor running on its Ghost Rider sequel? So badly that if Nicolas Cage can't commit to making it this year, they may have to make it without him. Insiders confirm to Vulture that Columbia is facing a ticking clock on the rights to the BBQ-skulled Marvel Comics character: Legally, if the studio isn't in production on a sequel by November 14, 2010, the franchise automatically reverts to Marvel — which means the comic company's new owner, Disney. Insiders tell us that Columbia is asking Marvel for an extension. (Asking, pleading, it's a fine line.) But time is running out. Cage has spoken about his desire to make a second Ghost Rider; the issue is whether his schedule will be free before the deadline. Disney is also hoping to get him for a third National Treasure with Jerry Bruckheimer, which could be shooting as early as this fall and would presumably earn the star a hefty paycheck. And considering Cage's well-documented money troubles, that cash may trump his deep love of comic books. But Columbia (which would not comment on this story) desperately needs a blockbuster for 2011, now that Spider-Man has been pushed to 2012 — not to mention that no exec wants to lose a moneymaking franchise to a rival studio. We hear that FlashForward writers Scott Gimple and Seth Hoffman, overseen by their show's creator (and Batman Begins scribe), David S. Goyer, have just turned in a draft of a GR2 script, which Columbia will bring to a still-evolving list of potential directors. (Earlier this year, producer Mike De Luca told Collider that the original film's director, Daredevil besmircher Mark Steven Johnson, will not be handling the sequel.)

The clock is ticking, and I really can't see the studio letting this go without a fight, i'm sure we will hear something in the coming months....

Movie News - Ninja Turtles

This may or may not be news, it could just be a pic of some guys halloween mask he is making for a kick ass turtle costume for this years Halloween.

This pic landed in the in box of Latino Review. Is it a fake, is it what turtles c0-creator Peter Laird is talking about in this quote....

"The basic idea, as I understand it, is to do an all live action shoot, with actors and stuntmen in full Turtle suits,” explained Peter Laird, co-creator of the original comic series, to MTV News. “To add expressiveness to the Turtles’ faces which would be difficult if not impossible to get with animatronics and/or puppetry, there would be ‘face replacement,’ with CGI Turtle faces superimposed on the live action performers’ heads."

TMNT was ment to be getting rebooted for a 2011 release, in a tone closer to the original comic series. In the original comic series all the turtles had the same colour bandanna, so this could be any of the turtles we are/might be looking at here.

In the end, if its fake then its a really original spin on the turtle design. If its not then we have a really exciting look at what might be a kick ass reboot.

DVD News - Ninja Assassin

Warner Home Video have announced the UK DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Ninja Assassin on 17th May 2010. Korean pop star Rain plays heroic, deadly Raizo. Trained from childhood in the way of the Ozunu Clan ninja, he is stalked by fellow warriors and their dojo patriarch (martial arts legend Sho Kosugi)…and is on the run with a Europol agent (Naomie Harris) who has proof the clan sells assassination services to governments.

Available on DVD (£19.99 RRP) and Blu-ray Combo (£26.99 RRP, includes Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy), extras include....
-Deleted ScenesBD Exclusive
-The Myth and Legend of Ninjas – The story of the ninja
-Myth, Lore, Training and Combat BD Exclusive
-The Extreme Sport of a Ninja – an elite group of noted freerunners, martial artists and gymnasts brings to life the breathtaking and bloody action BD Exclusive
-Training Rain – Transforming a singer/dancer/actor into a powerful ninja

Scripts - Kick Ass

This is the first of what may turn into a regular section. I will try to introduce you to scrips for new release films, older drafts or simply, never got made.

Let me know what you think.

Without further ado and thanks to Shadow and Act you can read the second draft script of KICKASS (pdf format) by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn.

Movie News - Arthur

To save time today I've decided to combine two hated subjects into one story, remakes of older classic films & Russell Brand.

Two extremes of British classes may be about to collide head on.

The grand dame of acting, Helen Mirren, is in negotiations to star opposite the one-time stand-up duke of debauchery, Russell Brand in "Arthur," Warner Bros.' remake of the 1981 comedy, with Brand stepping into the role originated by Dudley Moore.

Larry Brezner is producing with Kevin McCormick and Chris Bender. The original movie centered on a boozy playboy who is set to inherit a fortune if he marries an heiress his family thinks will make something out of him. However, he falls in love with a working-class woman and turns to his valet for help when his family makes him choose between money and love. In the original, Arthur's foil was his valet, portrayed by John Gielgud, who won a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance. In the new movie, the part has been reconstructed as that of Arthur's longtime nanny. The movie is eyeing a July start in New York.

So says the Hollywood Reporter.