Saturday, September 12

• Josh Hartnett to Star in Gunslinger

  

  A recent report says that Josh Hartnett has signed on to star in Gunslinger, a revenge story about a man (Hartnett) and his brother who seek retribution against the gang that killed their parents in a post-apocalyptic America. Gunslinger is being produced by Mark Williams and Albert Martinez Martin, with Chris Nahon directing. Williams commented on the production:

  This story takes a unique and startling look at what might happen when the lawlessness of the Old West returns ... but with better weapons.

  If the title and plot sound familiar to you, perhaps you're thinking of author Stephen King's novel The Gunslinger, which is part of his incredibly popular Dark Tower series. Considered by King to be his masterpiece, The Gunslinger was first published in 1982 and revolves around the quest of a gunslinger to catch "the man in black" in a post-apocalyptic, alternate timeline world. So far, though, Variety has given no indication that the two works are related in any way.

  
  

  Posted 09/12/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Josh Hartnett | Chris Nahon | Stephen King

Tuesday, June 30

• Public Enemies Author Praises Mann's Film

  Readers are often disappointed by Hollywood's attempts to turn their favorite books into films. For every success — The Notebook — there are dozens of films that simply don't live up to the source material, such as most Stephen King adaptations. But, it's not just the fans that feel slighted when a poor film is made from a great book. From Alan Moore (Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) to Ursala K. Le Guin (Earthsea), disappointed and disillusioned authors have been very vocal in condemning films they believe are not true to their source material.

  However, that is not the case with Michael Mann's latest film. Partially based on the book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough, the film follows FBI Special Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) and his attempt to capture the infamous bank-robber-turned Depression-era-hero John Dillinger (Johnny Depp). Burrough recently wrote an article praising Mann's adaptation and the historical accuracy of the film:

  This is the first Dillinger and the first gangster movie I'm aware of that takes great pains to get not only the details but the sites right. Mann not only shot at the actual scene of Dillinger's greatest jailbreak, the lockup in Crown Point, Ind., but at the actual scene of his greatest shootout, at the Little Bohemia lodge. Somehow he prevailed upon Chicago to hand over six entire blocks of North Lincoln Avenue, where Dillinger memorably met his fate outside the Biograph Theater one hot night in July 1934.

  Burrough went on to say:

  Yes, I know it's just a movie, and I know most in the audience won't especially care that the details are historically accurate, but I can vividly remember looking around and smiling nevertheless, happy that, in this one small case at least, Hollywood was getting it right.

  
  
  

  Public Enemies - Trailer

  Johnny Depp & Christian Bale Star - Releasing July 1, 2009

  Posted 06/30/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Christian Bale | Johnny Depp | Michael Mann | Stephen King | Alan Moore | Watchmen | Tales From Earthsea | The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Monday, February 9

• As New Moon Rises, Twilight Buzz Refuses to Die

  While New Moon gets ready to start shooting in first in Canada and then in Italy, the buzz around Twilight continues to grow. "Twilight saves the Economy" reads one somewhat exaggerated headline in New York Magazine's Vulture Blog. Save, perhaps not. Stimulate definitely. Twilight fans have helped propel teen retailer Hot Topic into the black, even as sales at most stores plummeted. More stimulus is yet to come as ousted Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke gets ready to release a book offering a behind-the-scenes look at how the movie was made.

  Most notably though, horror novel guru Stephen King turned some heads with his dim assessment of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's writing ability. "Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn," he said. "She's not very good." Ouch. He couldn't deny her success though, acknowledging the way her narratives have managed to strike a deep chord with the audience, particularly with young girls. And the success remains in evidence in theaters, where Twilight continues to play long after its November 21 release.

  
  

  Posted 02/09/2009 by reelz

  Related: Catherine Hardwicke | Stephen King | Stephenie Meyer | Twilight | The Twilight Saga: New Moon