James Mangold was just as apprehensive as the rest of you when the idea of a Wolverine movie fell into his lap — so much so that he spoke with predecessor Darren Aronofsky, who was originally set to direct, before taking on the project. So what enticed him to take the helm on the Hugh Jackman-starring X-Men spin-off, anyways? And how exactly will it evoke such American classics as Chinatown and Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales?
From The Playlist:
“I think part of the reason I’m doing this picture has been because it isn’t to me a conventional superhero movie. It isn’t an origin story, so I’m freed from that burden, and it also isn’t a save-the-world movie, which most of them are. It’s actually a character piece; I actually think it has more in common with The Outlaw Josey Wales and Chinatown, what we’re doing, than the conventional, ‘Will Wolverine and his compatriots save the world from this thermonuclear device’ question.”
And further:
“…The fact that half of the characters in this movie speak Japanese, this is like a foreign-language superhero movie that’s as much a drama and a detective story and a film noir, with high-octane action as it is anything like a conventional tentpole film.”
So, Mangold’s Wolverine is an unconventional foreign language superhero detective noir-actioner character piece, set in Japan, with shades of Chinatown and The Outlaw Josey Wales. Gotcha. Another way to look at it: Wolverine will finally reunite the star and director of Kate & Leopold! Rejoice or lament as you will.
• James Mangold Calls ‘The Wolverine’ A Dark Character Piece Like Eastwood’s ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’ [The Playlist]
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Also in this special Comic-Con edition of the Friday Broadsheet: Posters for The Raven and Haywire… Dredd gets a release date… Hugh Jackman sneaks Wolverine baddie… and more ahead.
· And you thought Robert Rodriguez was the only person at Comic-Con making promises about long gestating projects. Via press release, Relativity Media announced that it is moving forward with a live-action adaptation of the 1984 animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe. Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven (The Dark Knight) and Richard Suckle will produce with a script from Thomas Dean Donnelly (Conan the Barbarian) and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara). Somewhere in the deep recesses of your memory, there’s a six-year-old positively beaming over this news. [Press Release]
· Speaking of Relativity Media, the company has released posters for both Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire and The Raven with John Cusack. Note to the marketing gurus behind that disappointing first poster for Contagion: THIS is how you sell a Soderbergh movie. Click for bigger.
· Lionsgate continues slotting highly anticipated geek properties on the calendar. The studio has set Dredd — the Judge Dredd reboot with Karl Urban in the titular role — for Sept. 21, 2012. [Deadline]
· Speaking with fans during a Real Steel event at Comic-Con on Thursday, Hugh Jackman revealed that the villain in the upcoming James Mangold-directed Marvel sequel The Wolverine will be Silver Samurai. For those who aren’t versed in the ways of Mr. Silver, here’s some notable information from the always reliable Wikipedia. [Coming Soon]
· Mike Judge is at Comic-Con with the upcoming MTV reboot of Beavis and Butt-Head, but that doesn’t mean he…
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That “shortlist” of eight directors to replace Darren Aronofsky at the helm of The Wolverine has been narrowed down to one. Deadline reports that Twentieth Century Fox has begun negotiations with James Mangold to take over the coveted X-Men spin-off sequel following months of speculation. What other rumored names did Mangold beat out for the gig?
You’ll recall the original short list included Mangold, Jose Padilha, Doug Liman, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Romanek, Justin Lin, Gavin O’Connor, and Gary Shore. Per Deadline, that list was whittled down to Mangold, O’Connor and Fuqua heading into this week, with the Knight and Day director left as last man standing.
Twentieth Century Fox is hoping to shoot The Wolverine this fall. What that will do to star Hugh Jackman’s schedule — especially in light of the reports that he might star in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables adaptation — remains to be seen.
· James Mangold Fox’s Choice For ‘The Wolverine’ [Deadline]
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