More Muhammad pics are in the planning stages and this time, they may include cinematic quality. By now, just about every filmmaker or aspiring filmmaker knows that it’s a full-on major taboo to depict the Prophet Muhammad in a movie. That rule doesn’t just apply to the recent low-budget video that appeared on YouTube, Innocence of Muslims, which didn’t exactly depict the Muslim prophet in the best of light, but any depiction is absolutely forbidden among Muslims or anyone else for that matter, at least according to the raging crowds that have rioted for the past two weeks in front of American missions around the Muslim world. But while depictions of Muhammad have remained mostly absent in Hollywood and Western movies throughout the decades, the anti-Islam pic may have had the unintended (or not) effect of opening up a floodgate – or at least a trickle – as at least two filmmakers are looking to make separate pics featuring the prophet, and if all goes according to plan, their budgets will likely be higher.
Leading the next possible wave of Muhammad projects are two ex-Muslims who are developing biopics that will give critical takes on Muhammad, according to the Los Angeles Times.
L.A. based Palestinian filmmaker Mosab Hassan Yousef told the paper he has cast a “prominent Hollywood actor” to play Muhamad in a project he says has a proposed budget of $30 million. The story would center on the prophet from age 12 until his death and would be reminiscent of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
“My goal is to create this big mirror to show the Muslim world the true image of its leader,” Yousef is quoted as saying. The one difference with the depiction of Jesus Christ, however, is…
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Also in Tuesday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams and more begin work on a new project. The Abu Dhabi Film Festival unveils its lineup. And Beasts of the Southern Wild director begins work on a new “Louisiana-fable” project.
Helen Mirren to be Honored by European Film Academy
Mirren will receive the honorary European Achievement in World Cinema 2012 prize at the 25th European Film Awards ceremony on December 1st, this year taking place in Malta. Mirren received an Academy Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in 2006’s The Queen.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright Begin Work on A Most Wanted Man
Principal photography began Monday in Hamburg in a film adaptation of John le Carré’s worldwide best-selling 2008 novel A Most Wanted Man, being directed by Anton Corbijn (Control). In the film, a half-Chechen, half-Russian, tortured half-to-death immigrant turns up in Hamburg’s Islamic community, laying claim to his father’s ill gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest: as the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man’s true identity – oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist?
Around the ‘net…
Tom Rothman to Produce Steven Spielberg’s Robopocalypse
The exiting Fox chief will produce Spielberg’s next film, which will star Chris Hemsworth. Anne Hathaway is the filmmaker’s choice to play the female lead. The story, which explores the fate of the human race following a robot uprising is scheduled to be released day and date in April, 2014, Deadline reports.
Abu Dhabi Film Festival Unveils Lineup
David Ayer’s End of Watch, Robert Zemeckis’ Flight and Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep are among the titles that are…
How does a media-savvy screenwriter promote his modest Kickstarter.com-financed film when the media is fixated on tentpole pictures?
What if he connected one of his project’s actors — who happens to be a porn star — to the seriously sexy and much buzzed-about film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey?
That’s what I suspect novelist and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis is doing with The Canyons, the L.A. noir thriller he wrote.
The Canyons, which Paul Schrader is directing, stars Lindsay Lohan and James Deen, a 26-year-old porn actor and director, who, like Sasha Grey, appears to be looking for more traditional acting work.
On Sunday, Ellis tweeted from his official account: ”Just got inside information that James Deen is actually in the running to play Christian in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey‘ with EL James support,” tweeted Ellis. He later added: “Movie will DEFINITELY be written by a woman and the budget will be below 15m. Ana will be played by an unknown.”
I’m a fan of Ellis’ fiction and film work. I even liked The Informers more than most. As a longtime media observer, I also can’t help but admire the way he has hitched himself to the Fifty Shades roller coaster by lobbying to be considered as the screenwriter of the film adaptation and holding forth on why Matt Bomer shouldn’t play Christian Grey.
Through some pretty savvy social-media self-promotion, Ellis has become a kind of soi disant Fifty Shades expert, and now that he’s been passed over as a potential screenwriter for the project, my gut tells me the fiction writer is shining on fans of James’ books to build awareness for a film he actually did write: The Canyons.
I sent a message…
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Also in Thursday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs thriller Maniac is heading to North American theaters. An Icon Productions exec joins The Weinstein Company as head of acquisitions. And an Artist actress will replace Marion Cotillard in Oscar-winner Asghar Farhadi’s follow-up project.
Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land Set for Late December Release
Two-time Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant’s contemporary drama Promised Land will open in theaters in L.A. and New York December 28th and expand further in January. Starring Rosemarie DeWitt, Oscar nominee Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild), Scoot McNairy (Killing Them Softly), Titus Welliver (The Town), and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand, the film revolves around Steve Butler, a corporate salesman who arrives in a rural town with his sales partner, Sue Thomason. The duo hope to persuade the economically down and out town to go for an offer of drilling rights. But things get complicated when a school teacher objects with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man. The film’s original screenplay was written by John Krasinski and Matt Damon, based on a story by Dave Eggers.
Franck Khalfoun’s Thriller Maniac Heading to Theaters
Elijah Woods stars in the remake of William Lustig’s 1980 film of the same title. The film revolves around Frank who develops an obsession with a young artist when he decides to help her with an exhibition. But the obsession unleashes a compulsion to stalk and kill a la a 21st century Jack the Ripper. IFC Midnight picked up rights to the Cannes out of competition title for North America.
Mark Gooder Joins The Weinstein Company
Gooder, who served as CEO for Icon Productions for six years, will serve as President of Acquisitions/ Australian Operations. Gooder’s new role involves the day-to-day…
David Koepp couldn’t envision a Snow White and the Huntsman sequel without Kristen Stewart — which is one reason he says he’s no longer involved in the project.
Koepp — who scripted Jurassic Park, the original 2002 Spider-Man movie and co-wrote and directed this weekend’s new bike-messenger thriller Premium Rush — tells Movieline that he departed the project because he had worked on a script idea “that I really liked” involving Stewart’s character. “And you know, their situation, I hear, changed a little, so they weren’t interested in pursuing that idea anymore.”
Koepp says that was a sign for him to move on. ”I felt like there was a good path with her, but then, you know, they wanted to explore a different thing that I had no ideas for,” he says. ”If you don’t have any ideas, you should probably put your pen in your backpack and go home.” As a result, he says, “we agreed to part ways and stay friends.”
Stewart’s involvement in a Snow White sequel has been hotly debated since reports broke in late July that she cheated on her on- and 0ff-screen Twilight love interest Robert Pattinson with SWATH director Rupert Sanders and apologized for it.
On Aug. 15, Deadline reported that, internally, Universal is discussing whether to focus the next movie on the Huntsman character played by Chris Hemsworth, who is fast proving himself to be leading-man material. Universal also bought a crime drama called 90 Church: The True Story of the Narcotics Squad from Hell for Sanders.)
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The demise of film and the seeming triumph of digital has been a hot topic of discussion for insiders and hardcore enthusiasts for a number of years. But Keanu Reeves is taking the topic into the mainstream(ish) realm with his latest project, Side by Side, which bowed recently in Los Angeles and is set to hit cities around the U.S. in the coming weeks. Co-produced and narrated by Reeves, the 98-minute documentary landed the likes of James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, George Lucas, Danny Boyle, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh to weigh in on movie-making’s (d)evolution. Nolan, he noted, was the most difficult to reach among the people who appear in the doc, which features interviews with 70-plus filmmaking powerhouses. To lure The Dark Knight Rises filmmaker, Reeves went snail mail.
“I actually wrote to him on an old-fashioned typewriter,” Reeves told Reuters. “I think he got a kick out of that and we finally shot him in his trailer on the Batman set in LA.” Reeves noted that Nolan’s schedule was “so crazy” because he was in the midst of filming The Dark Knight Rises, but wanted the filmmaker because of his long-standing opinions about the film vs. digital debate, which caught Reeves’ attention in earnest while finishing on a previous project a couple years back.
While working on Henry’s Crime, which he also produced a couple of years back, Reeves and the film’s production manager, Chris Kenneally, began talking about the rise of digital technology. “We were sitting in the post-production suite trying to match the photochemical image with the digital image, side…
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Also in Tuesday morning’s round-up of news briefs, the New York Film Festival will debut a portion of a new Oliver Stone project. Paramount nabs Kevin Costner for Kenneth Branagh project. Jim Carrey is being courted for super-hero project. And Italian television warns of a “racy” Venice lineup.
Dick Van Dyke to Receive 49th SAG Life Achievement Award
The award is SAG-AFTRA’s highest honor given to an actor that exemplifies the “finest ideals of the acting profession.” Van Dyke will receive the honor at the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, taking place Sunday, January 27th.
New York Film Festival to Feature Oliver Stone Debut & More
The 50th NYFF will include a sneak preview of Oliver Stone’s The Untold History of the United States, produced as a 10-part mini-series for Showtime. The first three chapters will be presented by NYFF. Additionally, the event will present anniversary screenings of the classics Lawrence of Arabia, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and The Princess Bride as part of its 2012 event taking place September 28 – October 14.
Around the ‘net…
Tony Scott’s Family Says He Did Not Have Brain Cancer
Initial reports that Scott’s suicide may have stemmed from brain cancer apparently were incorrect. ABCNews.com initially reported the director suffered from inoperable brain cancer, but family members denied that he was suffering any severe medical issues, USA Today reports.
Paramount Gets Kevin Costner for Jack Ryan and Without Remorse Pics
The studio had been courting Costner for the Kenneth Branagh-directed Jack Ryan film with Chris Pine as well as the spinoff franchise Without Remorse, Deadline reports.
Jim Carrey Being Courted for Kick-Ass 2
It is not clear he’ll accept, but…
Also in Monday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, IFC Films picks up a Tribeca 2012 romantic comedy for U.S. theaters. The Writers Guild of America is accepting applications for its 2013 awards. Gary Ross finds a new project and a look at comics who are heading behind the camera.
Vet Indie Execs Launch A24 Distribution Outfit
A24 is a new film company that will focus on distribution, financing and production. The New York-based company will acquire finished films and finance and produce original content. A24 aims to distribute 8 – 10 titles per year, several of which will have wide theatrical releases. The new company is being spearheaded by former Oscilloscope Laboratories exec David Fenkel, Daniel Katz from finance group Guggenheim Partners (The Social Network) and John Hodges of Big Beach Films (Little Miss Sunshine). The three said in a statement: “We see an exciting opportunity right now for movies in the domestic space especially given all the new ways to target moviegoers and the changes that are happening in the marketplace. We are looking forward to working with great storytellers to bring their films to audiences.”
Rom-Com Cheerful Weather for the Wedding Headed to Theaters
Donald Rice’s romantic comedy Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, based on Julia Strachey’s 1932 novel of the same name, has been picked up by IFC Films. The film stars Elizabeth McGovern, Felicity Jones, Luke Treadaway, Mackenzie Crook, Zoe Tapper, and Ellie Kendrick and centers on a woman who realizes on her wedding day she’s about to make a serious mistake. The film had its world premiere last spring at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Writers Guild Accepting 2013 Doc Screenplay Awards Contenders
The Writers Guild of America, West and the WGA, East are accepting submissions for…
Ben Affleck’s come a long way since his 1998 Oscar co-win for Good Will Hunting, arguably the first time Hollywood stood up and took notice of the multi-hyphenate as more than just an actor; according to Variety, he’s now being sought after to direct WB’s Justice League, DC’s answer to Marvel’s billion-dollar rival franchise starter The Avengers. But even after the successes of modest-scale thrillers Gone Baby Gone and The Town, and with his buzzed-about forthcoming picture Argo poised for awards season, is the writer/producer/actor/director the right filmmaker to helm the superhero studio tentpole?
Sources tell Variety that Affleck has been given the Justice League script as WB approaches him to direct, speculating further that he could additionally star in the pic. But take it all with a healthy grain of salt: Insiders tell Movieline that the report, while plausible, “is ridiculously vague and early.”
That’s pretty much what the report sounds like, coming conspicuously just a day after Disney’s Bob Iger spilled the news that Joss Whedon will be coming back to helm Avengers 2. So somebody out there wants to gauge public opinion, generate a little Justice League buzz, stir the pot. Given the mixed reaction rippling through the blogosphere today, consider that pot stirred.
The question is, would Affleck make a good choice for the Justice League movie? Notwithstanding the possibility that he’d star while simultaneously helming an epic megamillion-dollar production with billions of box office, a multi-film franchise, and the fiscal fate of the studio on the line — really, would he? Would anyone? — maybe he’d only take one job at a time in this case. Just maybe. What Gone Baby Gone did to put Affleck on the map as a bona fide seriouspants filmmaker to…
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Also in Wednesday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs news Hawk Koch steps down from PGA presidency; A pair of film pick-ups for U.S. release; Two companies team for a “social film project” and William Hurt and Michael McDonald take on new roles.
Hawk Koch Temporarily Stepping Down as PGA President
Koch was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last night. He’s taking a leave of absence from the presidency of the Producers Guild of America. Co-president Mark Gordon will continue as the sole president of the group.
Excuse Me for Living Headed for U.S.
The film will open October 12 both theatrically and via day and date VOD platforms via DadaFilms/Required Viewing, which announced its acquisition of the title Wednesday. Starring Tom Pelphrey, Christopher Lloyd, Wayne Knight, Jerry Stiller, Robert Vaughn and Melissa Archer, the film centers on a charming, suicidal druggie must obey his rehab-clinic’s demand to lead a seniors men’s group or face incarceration and lose the love of his psychiatrist’s daughter.
Sushi Girl Heads to U.S. Theaters
Phase 4 Films and Magnolia Home Entertainment jointly picked up North American rights to the film directed by Kern Saxton. The revenge thriller will have a theatrical release in the U.S. and cable VOD by Phase 4 in late 2012, with Blu-ray, DVD and digital VOD handled by Magnolia in early 2013. Mark Hamill stars as Fish, who has spent six years in jail. The night he is released, the four men he protected with silence celebrate his freedom with a congratulatory dinner. The meal is a lavish array of sushi, served off the naked body of a beautiful young woman. The sushi girl seems catatonic, trained to ignore everything in the room, even if things become dangerous.
Toshiba and…
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