Friday, August 28
Steven Spielberg is planning on returning to the works of one of the writers who have served him the best in the past, the late Michael Crichton. Spielberg adapted Jurassic Park from the novel by Crichton and now he plans to make a big-budget "mission movie" from Crichton's soon-to-be-published novel, Pirate Latitudes, about an English pirate who plots to steal Spanish gold in the New World.
About Pirate Latitudes, Spielberg said:
Michael wrote a real page-turner that already seems suited for the big screen. Michael and I have had almost two decades of solid collaborations. Whenever I made a film from a Michael Crichton book or screenplay, I knew I was in good hands. Michael felt the same, and we like to think he still does.
David Koepp, the writer who adapted Jurassic Park and Lost World for the screen, is attached to craft the screenplay of Pirate Latitudes. Spielberg is producing, but may also direct the film. According to DreamWorks CEO Stacey Snider, Spielberg "always wanted to direct his own pirate film."
Spielberg and Crichton have known each other since the '70s, and the two also collaborated together in the development of the movie Twister and the TV show ER.
Posted 8/28/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Steven Spielberg | Michael Crichton | Jurassic Park | David Koepp
Wednesday, June 17
Producer Frank Marshall (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Bourne Identity) spoke to ComingSoon.net about some of his upcoming projects, including a fourth Bourne movie, which Matt Damon and The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass agreed to return for last year. Marshall says the project is moving forward, but the story is still being developed.
We'd like to shoot next year. It's trying to get everybody's schedules in the right place and getting the script right. We've done pretty well with these scripts that are pretty loosely put together, but I'd like the script to be really solid this time before we go forward. We're spending a lot of time on this story.
What about another Jurassic Park?
We just have to see if they can come up with a story. We don't have a story.
Marshall is also developing a remake of the 1980's classic The Neverending Story.
We love the book and we've always thought there was an opportunity (because) there were a lot of elements in the book that weren't in the movie. It's another one where we're still working on the rights and it's a huge thing to get it. Once we get it, we'll bring on a writer, but that's kind of off in the distance. But it's a great story.
Marshall is currently producing The Last Airbender, M. Night Shyamalan's live-action adaptation of the animated series. The movie opens July 2, 2010.
Posted 6/17/2009 by Ryan
Related: Frank Marshall | M. Night Shyamalan | Matt Damon | The Neverending Story | The Bourne Identity | The Bourne Supremacy | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Jurassic Park | The Bourne Ultimatum
Wednesday, November 5
Michael Crichton, bestselling author of Jurassic Park and producer of TV's Emmy Award-winning ER, died yesterday after a battle with cancer. Originally intending to become a doctor, Crichton nurtured a love of writing during his stint at Harvard Medical School, releasing his early work under a pseudonym. His first break in the movie business came when he wrote and directed the 1973 sci-fi hit Westworld, starring Yul Brynner.
Other Hollywood blockbusters based on Crichton's books include Disclosure, Twister, Rising Sun, and the Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World. He was 66.
Posted 11/5/2008 by reelz
Related: Michael Crichton | Jurassic Park