Kilmer joins forces with "The Bad Lieutenant"
The producers of the forthcoming "Bad Lieutenant" remake seem hell bent on cramming as much ‘troublesome‘ talent into their film as humanly possible. Not content with the fact that infamous director Werner Herzog is helming this one, and that Nicolas Cage is playing the titular cop, but now sparks will really fly as Val Kilmer steps on set to play Cage‘s partner! The egos have landed, taken off, performed a ‘fly–by‘ and landed again on this one!
Kilmer ("Batman Forever", "Heat"), will join a plethora of stars who have signed up for Herzog‘s re–imagining of Abel Ferrara‘s 1992 cult classic. Fairuza Balk ("Almost Famous"), Jennifer Coolidge ("American Pie") and Xzibit (next to be seen in "The X–Files: I Want to Believe") have all put their names to this project and will join Cage and his "Ghost Rider" co–star Eva Mendes.
The original "Bad Lieutenant" focused on the misdemeanours of a corrupt policeman (Harvey Keitel) investigating the sexual assault of a nun. The new film will feature Cage as the crooked cop in question and should, given Herzog‘s previous on the visceral "Rescue Dawn", be in keeping with the graphic and hard–edged feel of the ‘92 original.
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Madden calls in "The Debt"
John Madden ("Shakespeare in Love", "Captain Correlli‘s Mandolin") is currently locked in negotiations to direct the thriller "The Debt" for Miramax according to The Hollywood Reporter. Adapted from the acclaimed Israeli film "HaHov", "The Debt" will centre around a group of intelligence officers in 1960‘s Israel commissioned to track down Nazi war criminal in hiding.
The "Stardust" pairing of Matthew Vaughn (currently busying himself on "Thor") and Jane Goldman adapted the screenplay for this one and will both take a hand in producing Madden‘s version.
Assaf Bernstein‘s "HaHov" follows a trio of 1960s Israeli intelligence agents who pursue a Nazi war criminal only to have him escape. More than 30 years later their target re–emerges forcing one of the agents to track him down and preserve their decades–old operation.
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"The Goon" finding its way to the big screen
Before we get into this, let‘s just allow the fact that this is another property adapted from a comic book series. But there is hope for this one mainly thanks to the boundless invention inherent in the title. Dark Horse Entertainment, David Fincher ("Fight Club") and animation house Blur Studios are joining forces to bring cult comic "The Goon" to the big screen as a CG–animated ‘toon.
Eric Powell created "The Goon" back in 1999 and summarily crafted a bonkers world following the exploits of a low–level mob enforcer. The muscle–bound thug manages to not only cross his boss but also comes the wrong side of a bunch of paranormal entities including ghosts, zombies and even the odd mad scientist or two. "The Goon" positioned itself as a refreshing alternative to the pre–millennial superheroes on offer by rewarding the reader with a darker–edged comedic tale.
Powell, having stated his intent on his official website yesterday, will write the script and Fincher will produce. With Universal‘s first look deal with Dark Horse Entertainment, it‘s likely that the studio will be picking this one up once it‘s on its feet.
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"Wanted" scribe planning for a new "Superman"?
With "Wanted" already causing a storm at the Box Office on either side of the Atlantic, and plans afoot to reel out a sequel, life is pretty good for graphic novel author Mark Millar. But it would seem that Millar is not content to stop there. In an interview with the Daily Record, Millar declared his wish to reinvent the "Superman" franchise.
"Since I was a kid I‘ve always wanted to reinvent Superman for the 21st century…I‘ve been planning this my entire life. I‘ve got my director and producer set up, and it‘ll be 2011. This is how far ahead you have to think" Millar said. "The Superman brand is toxic after that last movie [Bryan Singer‘s "Superman Returns"] lost $200 million, but in 2011 we‘re hoping to restart it" he added.
Millar was being tight–lipped as to who exactly is said director or producer but it‘s a bold claim indeed to offer us a release date for his passion project. Millar did go on to clarify on his message boards that; "a very well known American action director heard about my love of Superman, approached my and asked me to team up with him and his producer to make a pitch for this. We‘ve been talking for several weeks now and, if this is going to happen, we‘ll know by Christmas".
Meanwhile Bryan Singer is still in the early stages of developing a sequel to "Superman Returns".
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Cohen is "Sherlock Holmes"
Yes, you read that headline correctly. In a bout of perfect casting Columbia Pictures has given the green light to an as yet untitled comedy that will star Sacha Baron Cohen as detective Sherlock Holmes with Will Ferrell as the trusty Watson alongside him.
Variety are revealing that Ethan Cohen ("Tropic Thunder") is writing the script and that Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller will produce as they did so successfully for "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby". "Talladega Nights" was the last time these two comedic titans shared the same screen and, it‘s safe to say, their surreal exchanges were the best thing about the NASCAR comedy.
This new project will be directly inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes tales though perhaps not directly lifted from the pages – think more along the lines of the Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson combo, "Starsky & Hutch". Cohen and Ferrell will not be without their competition though – Warner Bros. have commissioned a new "Sherlock Holmes" thriller with director Guy Ritchie at the helm. Let the super–sleuthing commence!
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