Archive for April 2nd, 2008

Universal puts FIRST MAN in motion

I never got around to reviewing it but the best documentary I saw last year was easily In the Shadow of the Moon, a fascinating look at the small number of men who have left out planet and actually stepped foot on a surface not called Earth. I would highly recommend it. What am I saying - I am recommending it.

There seems to be a revival for space movies brewing. We already know that Doug Liman (Jumper) will next helm a fictional space exploration to the moon with Jake Gyllenhaal which should be out before the end of the decade for Dreamworks.

And now comes word of potentially a huge project from Universal. They have acquired the rights to The First Man: The Life of Niall Armstrong, a biopic written by NASA expert and former astronaut James R. Hansen.

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Nicole Perlman will adapt the screenplay. She is a newcomer to screenwriting who has already completed a script about the aftermath and investigation of the doomed Challenger space mission of the 80’s. She said this to Variety

“The closer he got to the moon, the further away he became from his family,” Perlman said. “He had a family tragedy before Apollo that turned him into this driven astronaut, and he became such a perfect hero that while Buzz Aldrin was announced to be the first man on the moon, NASA reversed its decision because Neil was regarded as more heroic.”

Armstrong’s life after the moon has become something of much discussion. He angered and confused many when he didn’t adopt the hero status that the public wanted him to be after such an incredible feat but for others he became a hero by simply being a quiet family man with an ordinary life. Is he not a hero for just being normal or has it gone further than that, is he a depressed recluse?

I REALLY hope the movie looks into Armstrong’s life after the moon landings in great detail and reading some of the reviews of the book online it would seem the author does go very personal with Armstrong.

If Apollo 13 is the best and truest biopic of a space mission then this movie has a lot to live up to. And that’s before you even mention an iconic name such as Neil Armstrong.

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April 2nd, 2008 by Matt Holmes no comments

Vampires who protect humans in LAST BLOOD?

Bobby Crosby’s comic book series Last Blood which centers around a twist on the vampire genre has been picked up by Benderspink, the studio who found a home for the massively popular series Y: The Last Man at New Line.

The twist in this book is that a small bound of vampires are actually protecting the last living humans on the planet who have survived a Zombie apocalypse.

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Original? Possibly but it will be beaten by the Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill vampire movie Daybreakers when it opens this year with a similar idea which can be seen below…

In the year 2017, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Same movie?

Gotta wonder about the timing on this one. It’s going to be fighting a losing battle if audiences think it looks too similar. Personally though, I don’t particularly care much for the “vampires are good, save humanity” plot line, I don’t think it really has much potential to work.

It’s kinda like making Freddy Krueger a good guy in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, it just defeats it’s own purpose.

source - variety

April 2nd, 2008 by Matt Holmes 1 comment

Ben Stiller is KING DOUG

Is Ben Stiller starring in a remake of Steven Spielberg’s Hook?

No of course not. But he has attached himself to produce and possibly star in The Return of King Doug for Dreamworks, the adaptation of an upcoming Oni Press graphic novel which from the plot synopsis shares some theme’s with Robin Williams star vehicle…

Written by Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, “King” centers on a man who must return to the fantasy world which he abandoned 30 years earlier. Erb and Oremland will also write the screenplay.

And who doesn’t love Hook, right?

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source - the hollywood reporter

April 2nd, 2008 by Matt Holmes no comments