TOP MOVIE NEWS: WEDNESDAY 1st February 2012
Skyfall image lands, Ridley Scott eyes Cormac McCarthy’s The Counselor, Robocop reboot gets a writer and Katy Perry gets the 3D treatment.
First official Skyfall picture lands
The first official picture of Daniel Craig in Skyfall has been released. The image (above), shows a grizzled looking 007 complete with his familiar Walther PPK pistol and offers fans of the franchise their first official look at the secret agent’s much-anticipated return to the silver screen.
Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall will be the 23rd film in the Bond franchise and alongside Daniel Craig will star Javier Bardem as the principal villain and Ralph Fiennes in an as of yet undisclosed role. The film will also see the return of Dame Judi Dench who reprises her role as M for the seventh consecutive film.
Skyfall is set for cinemas on October 6th.
Ridley Scott eyes Cormac McCarthy’s The Counselor
A few weeks ago Cormac McCarthy whet film fans’ appetites by handing in his first original screenplay. The author behind No Country For Old Men and The Road is no stranger to the cinema after his previous work has gone on to make it big at the box office, but this is the first time his voice will be translated straight to the silver screen.
It was no surprise then to see a host of top directors jumping at the chance to bring his scribblings to life, and it looks as if Ridley Scott has stolen a march on his rivals by entering negotiations to direct the upcoming project. Reports from across the pond tip Scott as hot favourite to step behind the camera for the drama, which centres on a respected lawyer who becomes entangled in the drugs trade. Talking about the script in a previous interview, producer Steve Schwartz said: “Since McCarthy himself wrote the script, we get his own muscular prose directly, with its sexual obsessions. It’s a masculine world into which, unusually, two women intrude to play leading roles. McCarthy’s wit and humor in the dialogue make the nightmare even scarier. This may be one of McCarthy’s most disturbing and powerful works.”
Whilst there’s no studio attached yet the reports suggest that Ridley is keen to get to work on the project soon after finishing up on Prometheus, and with the talented duo behind it’s fair to say we can expect big things from The Counselor.
New writer for Robocop
An update on Paul Verhoeven’s cybernetic crime fighter has been stuck in development hell for years now. But it seems that production on the proposed Robocop reboot is finally gathering pace with news that Gran Torino scribe Nick Schenk has been approached to go over the latest draft of the script.
Schenk is a longtime collaborator of director Jose Padilha, who’s best known for his gritty action drama Elite Squad which fact fans will like to note took more money at the Brazilian box office than even Avatar managed. The duo have most recently joined forces for South American thriller Tri-Border and if that turns out to be anywhere near as good as people are hoping it will be, then fans have every right to be excited about the return of Detroit’s finest.
Katy Perry in talks for 3D film
Following in the footsteps of pipsqueak pop star Justin Bieber, Katy Perry looks set to invade the silver screen with her own 3D documentary after striking a deal with Paramount. Talks, which are in their early stages, were initiated by the studio who are looking to follow the successful template that saw Justin Bieber: Never Say Never become the highest grossing concert film in US history.
Like Bieber, Perry has a ready made fanbase just waiting to hand over their hard earned pocket money for an extra dimensional glimpse of their favourite pop star. The singer is also famed for her colourful shows and visual style which studio insiders believe will lend themselves to the cinema experience.
