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Harry Houdini's Birthday Comes With A New Movie

Posted 3/24/11 12:37 pm EST by in News


Harry HoudiniIn what could prove to be his best illusion yet, Harry Houdini has managed to recreate himself... four times!

That's the magic of the movies, at least, where for every one idea for a film there are at least three other potential projects. Fittingly, today, on what would have been the masterful illusionist's 137th birthday, Variety reports that "Water for Elephants" director Francis Lawrence is in talks to direct a biopic about the life of Houdini for Sony Pictures. That would make for, yes, the fourth Houdini-related project currently in development.

Find out more information about each of the different projects after the jump.

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Harry Houdini And 'Sherlock Holmes' Creator Join Forces In 'Voices From The Dead'

Posted 2/10/11 11:21 am EST by in News


Houdini and DoyleThe greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. That's nothing compared to the works of expert magician Harry Houdini, however, and it's certainly nothing that Sherlock Holmes couldn't puzzle out on his own.

We'll get the chance to see Houdini and Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle put their heads together in "Voices From the Dead," an original screenplay written by "Changeling" and "Thor" writer J. Michael Straczynski.

Heat Vision reports that DreamWorks has purchased the script, which tells a fictional account of Houdini and Doyle investigating a set of murders in 1920s New York.

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EXCLUSIVE: James Cameron Confirms He Is 'Actively Involved' In 'Forbidden Planet'

Posted 12/15/09 6:00 pm EST by in News


This time last year, a rumor emerged that "Avatar" director James Cameron might step up to helm a remake (of sorts) of the sci-fi classic, "Forbidden Planet." The possibility was sort of substantiated by Latino Review, who reported that Cameron had seen the script and "flipped" for it.

Shortly after, we had the opportunity to follow up with "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski, who was reportedly developing the "Planet" script. As he told MTV News at the time, "I’ve always wanted to do something involving 'Forbidden Planet.' It’s my favorite science-fiction film of all time. I’ve watched the rights go from one company to the next. I heard that the rights at Dreamworks were about to expire and I went to Joel Silver and said I think if you move quickly you can grab it and I can write it. And he did. It’s the dream of a lifetime to play in that universe."

Straczynski went on to explain that he has a very specific plan for the project, something unique and fresh. "It’s not a remake. It’s not a reimagining. It’s not exactly a prequel," he explained at the time. "You’ll have to see it. It’s something that no one has thought of when it comes to this storyline." With all of this in mind, MTV's Josh Horowitz had to ask what was up with "Planet" when he spoke to Cameron recently at the "Avatar" junket in London. Read More...

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'Shattered Union' Computer Game Getting An Adaptation From Jerry Bruckheimer And J. Michael Straczynski

Posted 10/27/09 4:00 pm EST by in News


by Blair Marnell

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski have signed on with Disney for a film adaptation of 2K Games' real-time strategy title “Shattered Union.” According to Variety, Mike Stenson and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films will also come onboard as executive producers. The duo is also attached to the upcoming film adaptations of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" and “The Sorcerer's Apprentice.”

Originally released in 2005, “Shattered Union” is a turn-based tactics game that chronicles the second American Civil War following the nuclear destruction of Washington D.C. and the assassination of the President of the United States along with most of Congress. In the aftermath, several states secede and wage war against each other. Read More...

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J. Michael Straczynski On 'World War Z': 'The Scale Of What We're Doing Here Is Phenomenal'

Posted 12/3/08 12:43 pm EST by in News


'World War Z'When "Quantum of Solace" director Marc Forster was chosen to helm the adaptation of Max Brooks' "World War Z" zombie-stravaganza, we noted that it was a surprising pairing -- but with noted television, movie and comics author J. Michael Straczynski already penning the screenplay and Brad Pitt's Plan B producing, the project was certainly developing some heat. Now, with "Solace" in its fifth impressive week at the box office, MTV News spoke to Straczynski about the addition of Forster to the already buzzworthy project and how he plans to adapt Brooks' novel.

"We talk about it as a thriller, the closest comparison being 'The Bourne Identity,'" explained Straczynski, who's also penning a "Forbidden Planet" revisiting. "Most zombie movies to this point have been small, focusing on a few people in a house. And this has got real scare. You’re in India with hundreds of boats trying to get out of there with a tidal wave of zombies. The scale of what we’re doing here is phenomenal." Read More...

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J. Michael Straczynski: Hollywood's Overnight Success Story?

Posted 11/19/08 4:45 pm EST by in Commentary


Clint Eastwood and J. Michael StraczynskiMeet J. Michael Straczynski. 54-years-old. Veteran writer of everything from “Babylon 5” to that “He-Man” cartoon in the 80s (I know, I got excited when I saw that on his resume too.) And overnight success story?

Admittedly it’s more than a little odd for publications like Variety to call Straczynski -- a scribe with an IMDB listing as long as they come -- as one of their ten screenwriters to watch. But that’s just what his screenplay for the new Clint Eastwood film, “Changeling,” has provoked.

“It’s proof that the Hollywood fairytale still exists,” Straczynski told MTV News this week. And listening to him tell the story of how the film came to be makes it hard to argue. “Changeling,” tells the true story of Christine Collins, a single mother in Los Angeles in the 1920s who had her abducted child returned to her by the LAPD only to find that it was not her son at all. Read More...

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'Quantum Of Solace' Director Marc Forster Takes On Zombie Apocalypse For 'World War Z'

Posted 11/14/08 10:14 am EST by in News


'World War Z'One of the most hotly anticipated zombie (or is that post-zombie?) books finally has a director! According to Variety, the adaptation of Max Brooks' insanely popular "World War Z" has snagged Bond helmer Marc Forster for the job. It's like they didn't think it was buzzworthy enough, what with J. Michael Straczynski writing the script, and Brad Pitt's Plan B producing.

If you haven't read the book, "World War Z" is a seriously detailed, often creepy account of the zombie apocalypse that wiped out humanity in the 2010s. Compiled by a U.N. Postwar Commission researcher, its a first-person retelling of the war that wiped out every country on the map. Forster was drawn to the project for its journalistic style. "The genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the '70s like 'All the President's Men.'" Read More...

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J. Michael Straczynski To Pen 'The Forbidden Planet' Remake

Posted 10/31/08 10:16 am EST by in News


'The Forbidden Planet'After generating some major mainstream buzz with "Changeling," it looks like J. Michael Straczynski is making a big (and possibly risky) return to the science-fiction genre. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he's been hired by Warner Bros to pen their remake of the sci-fi classic, "The Forbidden Planet."

For those who haven't seen it, "Planet" is the futuristic tale of an expedition sent from Earth to the planet Altair IV to check up on a scientific colony set up 20 years earlier. Only one member is left -- Dr. Morbius, who lives with his daughter and Robby the Robot, the rest having been wiped out by a mysterious force. Morbius reveals he's boosted his intellect with the technology left behind by Altair's extinct race -- but unsurprisingly, using it produces a few nightmares, too. Read More...

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J. Michael Straczynski Says Kenneth Branagh Perfect Pick For 'Thor' Movie

Posted 9/30/08 5:10 pm EST by in News


FROM SPLASH PAGE: With the internet absolutely a’blaze over the recent announcement that Kenneth Branagh could possibly be the director on Marvel’s upcoming “Thor” film, Splash Page decided to get current “Thor” comics writer J. Michael Straczynski’s take on the news.

“Honestly, I can’t imagine anyone better suited to this,” said Straczynski, who is more widely known as the creator of “Babylon 5” and more recently, the screenwriter of the upcoming Clint Eastwood-directed Oscar contender “Changeling.” "'Thor,' at his best, has always had a classical bent to the character in terms of his history, the way he speaks, and the often Shakespearean intrigues and dramas that surround him." Read More...

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The Dailies: June 19, 2008

Posted 6/19/08 7:15 pm EST by in Dailies


Sienna Miller- The rich get richer, eh Robin? Sienna Miller to play Maid Marian in Ridley Scott’s “Nottingham.” (BBC)

- Screenwriter J Michael Straczynski talks about his abandoned script for “Silver Surfer.” (AMC)

- Bill Hader and “Superbad” director Greg Mottola working on vigilante parody. (/film)

- Trailer for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” finally viewable in glorious quicktime. (Apple)

- Aaron Yoo to date Lindsay Lohan in “Labor Pains.” (THR)

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