Darren Aronofsky in talks to direct Red Sparrow adaptation

20th Century Fox recently acquired the rights to Jason Matthews' globe-trotting espionage thriller Red Sparrow and are in early discussions with critically acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky to be at the helm. If Aronofsky agrees to direct Red Sparrow, then he will begin working on the project after his current film Noah finishes production and makes its way into theaters in the spring of 2014. Red Sparrow would be a good fit for Aronofsky since the project has a few similarities to 2010's Black Swan, most notably the presence of a female protagonist who is required to make full use of both her body and mind in regards to her line of work. Also the genre of femme fatale spy thrillers has had a bit of success as of late with films such as Lust, Caution (Ang Lee) and Black Book (Paul Verhoeven). Darren Aronofsky is fully capable as well to give the film's overall tone the epic suspenseful-yet-energetic feel it needs to be on the level of spy thrillers such as the previously mentioned films as well as the Bourne series.

Since the discussions have only just recently began, there is no news yet on who will star in the espionage thriller, nor is there a release date yet. As of now Aronofsky is not even officially attached to the project either. Time will tell if Darren Aronofsky will sign on to the project and then begin it once he is finished with the production of Noah. If he does not sign on to Red Sparrow, the next project that Aronofsky has his sights on is a George Washington biopic titled The General.

UPDATE: Since entering negotiations to direct Red Sparrow, Aronofsky has officially decided to move on and not direct the adaptation. Fox is still looking to adapt the book, but since they don't have a script yet, they will hire a writer and then look for a director. There is a possibility that the extra time needed to flesh out a script will allow talks between Fox and Aronofsky to begin again and he could officially sign on. It will probably depend on whether or not the George Washington biopic moves forward soon, or some other project Aronofsky becomes attached to.

Source: Screen Rant , Collider

New trailer for The Equalizer starring Denzel Washington has been released

The first trailer for action thriller The Equalizer starring Denzel Washington has finally been released, and boy does it look like it's going to be good. Based on the popular 1980's TV series by the same name, Denzel plays the lead role of Robert McCall, a former intelligence officer turned private detective. The role was previously made famous by Edward Woodward on the original series.

From the trailer it looks like a dark cross between The A-Team and Burn Notice. The tone of The Equalizer reminds me of Man on Fire. Denzel plays Robert McCall, an intelligence officer who gets caught up in a controversy involving the Russian mob and a missing prostitute. To save the girl, he must go underground against the Russian mob.

It's unclear just how close the film will stay true to the source material, but it sure looks like it's going to be good regardless. The Equalizer marks Denzel Washington's first film with Antoine Fuqua as the director since making Training Day back in 2001. I personally can't wait until its release date on September 26, 2014.

The Equalizer will debut on September 26, 2014.



Source: Total Film

The Railway Man

As World War II plunges the world into conflict around him, a young engineer named Eric Lomax is serving in the British Army when his company is ambushed and taken captive by Japanese forces while stationed in Singapore. For several years he and his comrades are forced to build a railway between Burma and Siam. Eric's only source of relief comes in the form of a makeshift radio which allows the prisoners to hear how the war is going on the outside, as well as a few maps Eric drew of the railway to figure out where they were. Their Japanese captors soon find the radio and the maps, and torture Eric for information because they believe he is a spy.

Years after the war finds Eric - as well as several other survivors - a shell of the man he once was. The only way he finds any peace is through riding the train all throughout England. While riding the train he meets a young woman named Patti. He eventually falls in love and marries her, but he still feels like something is missing. It isn't until a friend who served with Eric mentions that one of his captors is still alive that he finally feels like he can get some peace. What follows is a remarkable story of mercy, forgiveness, and redemption.

The Railway Man is definitely one of the better films to be released this year. In the beginning I almost thought it was going to be boring because it had a few pacing issues, but after the first 10-15 minutes the story and acting got monumentally better. The one thing I most appreciated was the redemption/forgiveness aspect of the story. I do enjoy a good revenge action flick now and then, but it is refreshing to see a change towards a more positive note.

While I do in general recommend it, especially to people who enjoy films based on a true story, I feel like I have to also caution people because there are a few scenes of torture that might make some people a bit queasy. For those that can handle these scenes, however, I highly recommend The Railway Man.

Warner Bros. announces Lego Movie spinoff titled Ninjago

Recently coming off of the success of The Lego Movie, the film based on the children's toy line, Warner Bros. has unsurprisingly announced that there will be a sequel to The Lego Movie as well as a spinoff based on the Ninjago line of Legos. The direct Lego Movie sequel will be arriving in theaters sometime in 2017, but in the meantime Warner Bros. has been working on the production of Ninjago for a September 23, 2016 release. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who directed and wrote The Lego Movie will be back as producers for Ninjago. They will also be producing The Lego Movie sequel.

Ninjago is currently gaining success as a popular television series on Cartoon Network since 2011, so the discussion of a film adaptation was to be expected. Writers Dan and Kevin Hageman were expected to write the screenplay for the film adaptation, since they did the TV show and previously worked on The Lego Movie; however, Warner Bros. decided to go with Bryan Shukoff and Kevin Chesley to write the screenplay for Ninjago.

Warner Bros. domestic distribution president Dan Fellman made a statement about the Ninjago spinoff by saying: "Following the huge success of ‘The Lego Movie,’ we are very excited to build on the Lego franchise. We know there are already Ninjago collectors who can’t wait to see their favorite characters on the big screen. This promises to be a terrifically fun and thrilling entry into our Fall 2016 slate, with broad audience appeal."

Hopefully that statement is true, and the Lego Movie sequel as well as Ninjago will keep the same amount of kid-friendly fun that should also appeal to (most) adults. As a young adult in their mid-20's I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed The Lego Movie. I'm actually looking forward to a sequel as well as the Ninjago spinoff. Time will tell if both the sequel and the spinoff can live up to the original.

Ninjago will make its way into theaters September 23, 2016. The Lego Movie 2 is expected to arrive almost a year later on May 26, 2017.

Source: Screen Rant , Deadline

Assassin's Creed script gets revised

Ubisoft Motion Pictures (the film production branch of Ubisoft video game company) will launch its new line of video game movies with a film version of Assassin's Creed. The film will be produced by Michael Fassbender, as well as feature him as the main character. The idea behind the adaptation has been in the process for the last few years, but it is finally getting its act together and scheduled to be released in the summer of 2015.

A script for the film has already been written, but apparently Ubisoft Motion Pictures felt it need a few alterations before it made its way in front of the cameras. Scott Frank, who most recently worked on The Wolverine, has been tapped to do the revisions to the script. In an interview with Creative Screenwriting Scott Frank mentioned he is trying to recreate the world of Assassin's Creed with an entirely new concept for the film. The semi-purist in me is kind of cringing at this news - I usually prefer it when film adaptations of games or books stay as close to the source material as possible. However, I also realize there are some things that just do not translate well from book or game to film, so I trust that the changes to the script will stay true to the core of the source material, even if there are characters, places, or events changed. The Assassin's Creed game franchise is so complex as well with the story and other elements that can be explored, it shouldn't be too hard to stay true to the essence of the franchise while still creating a new world.

Personally, I never really got into the whole Assassin's Creed franchise, but I did try out Assassin's Creed 2 and thought it was a pretty great game. I think it will be exciting to see it be translated from video game to film. I am even more excited to see Michael Fassbender be a part of the film, I think he is a perfect fit for this type of adaptation. Fassbender is a fantastic actor, so to see him take on this kind of role is making me look forward to the film despite being a fair-weather fan of the game franchise.

Assassin's Creed is out in theaters on June 19th, 2015.


Source: Screen Rant , Creative Screenwriting

Anthony Mackie set to portray Jimi Hendrix in 'Jimi' biopic

For several years there have been multiple attempts to effectively capture the life and career of the late iconic Jimi Hendrix. The process has been proven difficult, not only due to figuring out how to show the crucial moments in his career, but also due to trying to gain the Hendrix estate's blessing. One such project, with Andre 3000 cast as Jimi Hendrix, recently moved forward without the approval of the estate, and as a result was banned from using any of Jimi Hendrix's original songs.

Recently, however, a new project named Jimi was announced with Anthony Mackie to star as the rocker, and this time it looks like it has the blessing of the Hendrix estate. Reportedly announced at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Jimi will star Anthony Mackie as Hendrix and Thandie Newton in an unknown role, with Newton's husband Ol Parker in the director's chair. Noomi Rapace is in talks to portray Jimi Hendrix's girlfriend Kathy Etchingham. 

Jimi has actually been in the works for several years, but is finally hitting the ground running and is set to begin production soon. When Jimi first began, the project was originally titled Crosstown Traffic and had Paul Greengrass directing. The Jimi Hendrix estate originally halted production with the project by objecting to the way the script portrayed Jimi Hendrix. Thankfully those objections seem to have been dealt with and the biopic has moved forward again.

I'll go ahead and admit, I am not that familiar with the life and music of Jimi Hendrix. After first hearing about Jimi, however, I went and looked up all of his songs on iTunes. In doing so I've become more and more interested in his music and in the biopic. It'll be interesting to see how well Anthony Mackie will portray the late, great Jimi Hendrix. Anthony's a great actor, so I have no doubt he could do justice to the role.

Sources: Screen Rant , Shadow and Act