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Posted: |
Mar 6, 2014 - 10:18 AM
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By: |
fisch
(Member)
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THURSDAY, MARCH 6
WEST SIDE STORY---Steven Spielberg has expressed an interest in directing 20th Century Fox's remake of the Oscar-winning 1961 Robert Wise movie that starred Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer.
JAMES BOND---writer John Logan updated the status on the 24th Bond movie by saying, "Right now the first draft is almost done. I'm terrifically excited about it! I've been working very closely with Sam (Mendes), and it's been joyous to pick up from our work on SKYFALL and just continue on with the storytelling. The new movie continues the themes of SKYFALL. Some of the characters and themes that we began to introduce in SKYFALL will play out, I hope successfully, in the next movie."
He added about Quantum possibly returning in the sequel "There might be! Honestly, not being evasive, but the great thing about Bond is that I have fifty years of movies – 23 movies and all the Ian Fleming novels and short stories, all of which are fodder. And when I'm working on the new Bond I'm constantly going back to Fleming and the other movies – what are the bits and pieces, what are the resonances? One of the things we learned in SKYFALL is that the audience really enjoyed those, they enjoyed when they saw the Aston Martin, they enjoyed when we had references to things they grew up with, either from Ian Fleming or from the other movies, and that's always been a part of my thinking about Bond." Logan's comments also might hint at Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE returning after producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli reached a settlement with the estate of Kevin McClory (THUNDERBALL) which owns the rights to Blofeld and SPECTRE. Premiere is November 6, 2015.
WORLD WAR Z---Juan Antonio Bayona (THE ORPHANAGE) will direct the zombie plague sequel. He will also direct A MONSTER CALLS which is based on the novel about a young boy who retreats into a world of monsters and fairy tales to cope with his mother's illness and being a bullying victim.
PENNY DREADFUL---new photo of Timothy Dalton (THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS) starring in the Showtime psychosexual horror series. Eva Green (CASINO ROYALE), Josh Hartnett (BLACK HAWK DOWN) and Billie Piper (DOCTOR WHO) also star. Premiere is May 11.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR---Michael B. Jordan commented on fan criticism of him playing The Human Torch, "It was expected. You kinda know going into it that people are used to seeing something one way, it's a continuity thing more than anything. People don't like change too much. But annoyed? Eh, you just kinda accept it, it is what it is. You can't make everybody happy...I grew up a comic book guy, I read comic books as a kid growing up, and the Fantastic Four/Human Torch is one of my favorite characters so I'm going to give it my everything. I can't wait. I don't really let it bother me at all. I just want to go into it and do the best job I can..."
THE BALLAD OF RICHARD JEWELL---Billy Ray (CAPTAIN PHILLIPS) will write the script for the movie about the Atlanta security guard who was the hero-turned-bomb suspect in the 1996 Olympics. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill star.
BLOOD ON SNOW---Daniel Espinosa (SAFE HOUSE) is in talks to direct the movie based on the upcoming novel trilogy about a hitman who is paid to kill his boss' wife only to fall in love with her. Leonardo DiCaprio stars.
HALT AND CATCH FIRE---new AMC series about the rise of the PC business in the early 1980s. Premiere is June 1.
CONSTANTINE---the NBC pilot based on the comic book has added cast members Lucy Griffiths (TRUE BLOOD), Harold Perrineau (LOST) and Charles Halford (TRUE DETECTIVE). Neil Marshall (DOG SOLDIERS, THE DESCENT) is the director.
FEED ME---NBC sitcom pilot starring Mary-Louise Parker (WEEDS, RED) as a member of a dysfunctional family and the restaurant they own.
CSI---Patricia Arquette (MEDIUM) stars in the untitled CBS spin-off pilot about the head of the FBI's Cyber Crimes Division.
AMERICAN CRIME---ABC pilot from John Ridley (12 YEARS A SLAVE) starring Timothy Hutton as a man whose son and his wife are murdered which leads to a racially-charged trial.
2 BROKE GIRLS---Lindsay Lohan will guest star on the April 14 episode as an uncertain bride-to-be who wants Max and Caroline to bake a wedding cake for her.
LEAH REMINI---new untitled TLC reality series underway starring Remini and her family.
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Well, I was thinking just the other day that I'd love for them to re-make the movie version of "My Fair Lady" -- I happen to adore Audrey Hepburn, but it was sheer lunacy not to have used Julie Andrews -- a movie with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison would have been something for the ages. At least we have the songs to remind us how wonderful they were in the stage version.
As for a new version of "West Side Story," I have mixed emotions. Nothing will erase the original, and I love my big Blu-ray set of it. But I happen to differ, feeling that it could be quite interesting to take a new look at it -- and it has the potential of being very exciting, although they'll probably do away with the Jerome Robbins choreography, which was a bit over the top, and make it more realistic.
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I would love to see a black & white WEST SIDE STORY made in an Elia-Kazan-social realism style that really emphasizes the grit, poverty and desperation of the milieu, I would like a very blonde, Eastern European Tony (Anton) and a skinny, pretty but undernourished, and decidedly Puerto Rican Maria. It won't happen, but it would make for a nice contrast with the very enjoyable, but too cozy-looking, 1961 version.
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Mark: I would love to see a black & white WEST SIDE STORY made in an Elia-Kazan-social realism style that really emphasizes the grit, poverty and desperation of the milieu, I would like a very blonde, Eastern European Tony (Anton) and a skinny, pretty but undernourished, and decidedly Puerto Rican Maria. It won't happen, but it would make for a nice contrast with the very enjoyable, but too cozy-looking, 1961 version.
You know, that's a fascinating thought, and I wouldn't be surprised that one of these days, long after you and I are gone, that some enterprising filmmaker will do just that -- perhaps long after the story and the music are in the public domain. Are you aware of the re-do of the Rodgers and Hammerstein "Flower Drum Song" in which writer David Henry Hwang updated it to the time of the T Square massacre? He adeptly rearranged the songs and gave some of them to different characters, and it was simply thrilling -- just loved the CD, which I misplaced and ended up re-buying online. In that case, they got permission from the Rodgers and Hammerstein estates, and in a perfect world, I suspect that your wonderful idea may one day come to fruition. Bravo!
As for Grecchus, what in the world does that mean?
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Ron H: Thank you for your kind words about my WSS "re-imagining." I am aware of the Hwang "Flower Drum Song" revisal from a few years ago, but I didn't care for it. Although I'm all for adding new concepts to revivals, I'm a purist when it comes to staying with the original text - no matter how flawed it is.
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I think the biggest reason I don't want Spielberg to make a new version of WSS is that it will compromise any new John Williams score.
Even if he does some work on it (connective score), I would much rather a brand new score from him than score excerpts and song adaptations (like he did on Fiddler, Tom Sawyer, Mr Chips). Even worse, the score tends to stay unreleased from those CD releases, unless FSM step in 
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Mark: Re: Ron H: Thank you for your kind words about my WSS "re-imagining." I am aware of the Hwang "Flower Drum Song" revisal from a few years ago, but I didn't care for it. Although I'm all for adding new concepts to revivals, I'm a purist when it comes to staying with the original text - no matter how flawed it is.
Well, I thought it was thrilling on stage with José Llana and Lea Salonga and the cast album is both a delight and very moving ... when the cast comes out at the end and announce where each of them were born (from all around the world) I'm close to choking up. Different strokes....
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Not the Spielberg part just the remake part. Cause you know Footloose did so well the second time around.
