JJ Abrams plans Diamond Heist

Uber producer and "can do no wrong" man JJ Abrams is hooking up again with Paramount for a caper flick based on a real life $100M diamond heist.

Paramount Pictures has purchased film rights to the Wired magazine article "The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Diamond Heist," by Joshua Davis. Writer-producer-director Abrams, through his Bad Robot shingle, will take on the project as a producer and, potentially, as a director.

The article, which will be published in the April issue of Wired, describes the true story of an unprecedented diamond heist in Antwerp, Belgium, and the crew that pulled it off. In early 2003, a small group of Italian thieves miraculously circumvented 10 layers of security to access a vault beneath the Antwerp Diamond Center and make off with a purported $100 million in diamonds, gold and jewelry (the actual value is still a mystery).

Over six years, Davis scored a series of interviews with the ringleader, incarcerated in a Belgian prison, who finally divulged, in French, just how it was done. Davis acquired the subject's life rights in the process.

This sounds failry awesome to me and I am glad to hear JJ is considering directing, I love heist movies but they are very difficult to pull off well. This one seems to have some very intriguing elements to it that should provide the platform for a decent thriller if mined right, the question is if JJ will use an authentric international cast or not.

Pitt and Paramount take on 'The Night Manager'

Another day another novel bought up for adaption, not that I have an issue with this as it's just like an original idea turned into a movie, only it goes through a hardcover and paperback form first. Variety reports that it is Brad Pitt and Paramount on the espionage trail this time.

Paramount Pictures has acquired bigscreen rights to John Le Carre's espionage thriller "The Night Manager."

Brad Pitt's Plan B is producing.

The story centers on the night manager of a European hotel who is recruited by intelligence agents to infiltrate the network of a dangerous international arms dealer.

Robert Edwards, who wrote and directed the 2006 political satire "Land of the Blind," has been tapped to adapt. He is a former Nicholls fellow and was an intelligence officer during the Gulf War.

British author Le Carre, who penned "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold," has seen a number of his espionage novels turned into film and TV projects including 2005's "The Constant Gardener." "Night Manager," first published in 1993, is one of Le Carre's longer and more critically lauded works.

Sounds like it could be a pretty nifty thriller, Le Carre's work has not been one Ive delved into but he seems to have a decent respect within the genre, I just wonder if Pitt is going to star given his missus has her own espionage flick 'Salt' on the go right now, the titular role certainly sounds like one that would suit Pitt.

MacGyver headed to the big screen

Ahhh making old TV shows into movies, a favourite in Hollywood over the last 15 years ince Mission Impossible hit big, the degree of success in which this has been acchieved varies but the potential is always there. Now The Hoilywood Reorter is err reporting! that 80's hero MacGyver is in line for the silver screen treatment.

New Line is using twine, bubble gum and a pencil to throw "MacGyver" into development as a feature film.

Raffaella De Laurentiis, daughter of Dino De Laurentiis, is producing through her Raffaella Prods. along with Martha De Laurentiis and series creator Lee Zlotoff.

Dino De Laurentiis is exec producing.

"MacGyver" was a science-oriented adventure series that ran from 1985-92 on ABC. Richard Dean Anderson, later of "Stargate: Atlantis" and "SG-1" fame, starred as an incredibly resourceful secret agent for the Phoenix Foundation who frequently would escape from dangerous situations with ingenious and lightning-quick engineering trickery.

Two telefilms starring Anderson aired in the years after the show's cancellation. The character eventually achieved enough cultural penetration to become a reference for anyone attempting to jury-rig a solution out of household items. "Saturday Night Live" took the concept to the next level with its spoofs "MacGruber," starring Will Forte.

No writer is attached, but the studio hopes to find a script that can acknowledge how the concept has staked a place into pop culture yet still makes for a serious and fun adventure movie.

"We think we're a stick of chewing gum, a paper clip and an A-list writer away from a global franchise," said New Line's Richard Brener, who will oversee with Sam Brown and Walter Hamada.

MacGyver is one of my favourites and one of the few shows from the 80's that still holds up, mainly because it's cheese factor was a good degree lesser than shows like Knight Rider and because it had more varied storylines than The A Team, but mainly due to the character and premise. MacGyver was a likable hero who used his brain not brawn, abored violence, cared about the enviroment, was honourable and could make something out of anything just with his brain and his trusty Swiss Amry knife! He had a much more fully realized personality than most 80's action heroes, in truth he was a character where as most from the other shows were caricatures or character types.

If New Line are to get this right nailing the tone is the key, think Raiders of the Lost Ark in a modern setting with spy secrets as opposed to ancient artifacts, as well as casting someone with the charm but everyman qualities that Richard Dean Anderson emobdied in the original show. No small feat then but I am not opposed to this.....yet.

Olga Kurylenko as a Warrior Woman in 'Centurian'

Empire has an exclusive first look at Bond babe Olga Kurylenko in Neil Marshal's upcoming movie 'Centurian' in which she plays a “a savage-looking Pict warrior woman” named Etain. Empire also grabbed a word with the lovely Olgan on set:

“She’s quite furious,” agrees Kurylenko. “Because one sense is not there – she can’t speak – all the others are more developed. She sees very well and hears very well: she is an animal!”

Kurylenko stars alongside Hunger’s Michael Fassbender, who plays the title character, stranded behind enemy lines, and a superb roster of established and up’n’coming talent, including Dominic West, Noel Clarke, David Morrisey, JJ Feild and Riz Ahmed (soon to be seen in the rather excellent Brit-grit thriller Shifty, out April 24).

Centurion is being produced by Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-snaffler Christian Colson and Robert Jones (Run Fatboy Run) and Empire has visited its sets in both Scotland and Surrey and witnessed the action and intensity up close, so expect regular updates online and in the magazine, in the build up to its release (likely to be later this year).

Marshall's prior two movies are a mixed bag. 'The Descent' was a first rate original horror film, the best ive seen in years, but his follow up 'Doomsday' was such a hotchpotch of genres and influences a lot of people felt it was a muddled and jarring mess, personally I thought it was fun but it's any guess as to where this one will land, I actually hadn't heard of it until today.

Trailer for Sam Raimi's 'Drag me to Hell!'

Personally this is not my type of movie, but for those that worshipped Raimi prior to his massive success with the Spider-Man franchise, I am sure this will come as a welcome return to his horror roots.

The film seems to have it's tongue firmly in cheek and may turn out to be fun, although it does look like an episode of Charmed on steroids.

'Drag me to Hell!' opens on May 29th and you can check the trailer out below.

Joe Wright to have an 'Indian Summer'

Joe Wright, the director of the Oscar nominated 'Atonment' and the superb looking 'The Soloist', has just inked a deal to direct an adaption of Alex von Tunzelmann novel 'Indian Summer' according to Variety.

The project is based on the book about the last days of Britain's colonial rule in India and the symbolic end of Blighty's status as a world superpower.

William Nicholson ("Gladiator") is penning the screenplay. Working Title co-toppers Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan will produce alongside Hilary Bevan Jones ("The Boat That Rocked").

Lensing is set to begin early next year on location in India. No cast has been set.

Pic will follow the fateful events as Britain's Lord Mountbatten, with glamorous wife Edwina in tow, is sent to oversee the handover of power in the summer of 1947 to Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.

"After making 'The Soloist' in L.A., I was looking for something that was primarily about the British experience," Wright told Daily Variety.

I liked 'Atonement' and I have really been impressed from what I have seen of 'The Soloist'. Wright has a painters eye visually and this material really should allow him a canvas to stretch both that and his already excellent dramatic touch as a film maker.

Alexandre Aja Takes 'Contractor'

Variety reports that horror maestro Alexandre Aja is set to direct a new drama called 'The Contractor'. Below are the details.

Ian Jeffers is rewriting the script. Alexandra Milchan will produce.

Story is set in a world where the U.S. government can no longer afford to fight wars and authorizes private contractors to send a band of elite soldiers on missions around the world. Jeffers recently wrote "The Grey" and rewrote "Castlevania" for Rogue and director Sylvain White.

Aja will tackle the project after he completes "Piranha 3-D" for Dimension Films. The fish pic follows Aja's "Mirrors" and "The Hills Have Eyes."

This will seemingly be a departure for Aja as it appears to be something that will more likely focus on action as opposed to horror, but if he brings the strong character work he did in the Hills remake, and fuses it with the action as he did the horror, then this could be a little gem of a movie, because right now I'd say the premise is a very interesting one.

'X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes' Remake on the way

So they are now remaking Roger Corman movies, well at least this one sounds semi interesting, kind of like a twist on the Invisible Man with the same moral quanderies.

Variety reports that Spanish helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) has made a deal with MGM to develop a film based on director Roger Corman's 1963 pic X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes.

The original starred Ray Milland as a scientist who is near a breakthrough in X-ray vision technology when his funding is cut off. Desperate to show results, the doc applies eye drops that eventually cause him to lose control over his growing powers.

Milland was a great actor with a strong screen presence and distinctive voice, if this is going to work then the casting needs to be top level. I am not familiar with the directors work but his '28 Weeks Later' garnered solid enough reviews.

Update on Wed, March 11, 2009 by Peter Georgiou

When I read the title I thought they were making a "Cyclops" origin film.

Sean Penn and Javier Bardem to go after 'Cartel'

In a double punch of Oscar winning heavyweights, Universal Pictures looks to nab both Sean Penn and Javier Bardem to star in their upcoming drama 'Cartel'. First up was Variety with their piece on Penn circling the lead role of a father looking to protect his son after his wife is murderd by a Cartel.

Then today Latino Review weighed in with this scoop on Bardem.

With Sean Penn in talks to star in "Cartel," a drama for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, us Latin Rascals at Latinoreview found out that Javier Bardem is also in talks for the role of RAFAEL CASTILLO (40s), a wealthy but righteous DA who wants to put the cartels away. Castillo shunned his rich family for the law.

 

Asger Leth will direct and Brian Grazer is producing.

Written by Peter Craig, the mission movie will follow Sean Penn's character as he journeys to protect his son after his wife is brutally murdered in the gritty world of Mexican cartels.

The drama took root at Imagine as a remake of 1993 Italian film "La scorta," which followed four cops' struggle to guard a special prosecutor trying to bring mob bosses to justice. It evolved into an action vehicle for Penn.

Leth makes his dramatic feature directing debut on the film. He previously won a DGA Award for directing the 2006 documentary "Ghosts of Cite Soleil."

The studio and Imagine want to get the picture into production by summer. Start date won't be firmed until Penn's deal is made.

Sounds like a promising movie and an action role for Penn will make a change, although I am sure there will be lashings of social commentary in there as well to boost Oscar chances. Bardem's role interests me just as much, Ive only seen him in two movies and he was completely different in both, from his Oscar winning performance as weird and creepy psycho hitman Anton Chigurh in 'No Country For Old Men', to his charming turn as hopeless romantic artist Juan Antonio in 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'. So the idea of him as a crusdaing DA really appeals to me, Hopefully this one comes together as planned.

Milla Jovovich to topline 'Mile Zero'

I love the sound of this one but it has to be said that Milla, who burst onto the scene as Leeloo in Luc Besson's 'The Fifth Element' has a pretty patchy record for picking scripts.

Variety reports that she is in talks to star in thriller 'Mile Zero' for Phoenix Pictures.

Marcel Langenegger has signed on to direct and develop Phoenix Pictures' thriller Mile Zero as a possible starring vehicle for Milla Jovovich, says Variety.

Mile Zero, written by Holly Brix, centers on a young woman attempting to clear her father's name in a string of gruesome murders at an Alaskan oil refinery.

Langenegger, a veteran commercials helmer, made his feature directing debut last year on Fox's Deception, starring Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams.

So we essentially have a cool sounding premise due to the setting, but the director of a pretty much panned thriller and a star that has picked a stack of duds, we can only hope that this is a case of both getting it right this time.