MTV Movies Blog › mike newell

Given his past body of work, our expectations of Mike Newell's future film output are certainly great: the man is responsible for classics including "Four Weddings and a Funeral," not to mention arguably the "Harry Potter" franchise's greatest installment with "Goblet of Fire," and even a video game adaptation in the form of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time."

But while a trip to the gaming world might seem like a step towards the future of filmmaking, the British filmmaker's next move is a decisive step back towards his classic, literary nature. This is, by the way, a good thing: the enormously talented director is on board to breathe life into one of the great literary works of all time, an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations."

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Tags Great Expectations, mike newell

By Irene Lee

There hasn't been a whole lot of good news lately for the adaptation of the popular literary-horror crossover "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Director David O. Russell ("Three Kings") was set to helm, but recently bailed to take the reins of "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune." And Natalie Portman, who'd been attached to star, stepped down, though she remains involved in a producer role (is there anything this Harvard-educated beauty can't do?).

But suddenly things are looking up. Deadline reports that Scarlett Johansson is potentially on tap to play leading lady Elizabeth Bennett to Bradley Cooper's Mr. Darcy. And, according to Slash Film, directors Neil Marshall ("Doomsday"), David Slade ("The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"), and Mike Newell ("Prince of Persia") are circling the project. Read more...

Tags bradley cooper, David Slade, mike newell, natalie portman, neil marshall, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, scarlett johansson

No need to fear, all you fans of "Harry Potter" in 3D out there. Despite Warner Bros.'s announcement earlier this week that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" would not be released in 3-D as initially planned because the post-production work could not be completed in time for its November 19 release, Variety reports that Warner Bros. is in the process of converting all four of director David Yates' "Harry Potter" titles into 3-D for Blu-Ray.

Right now, work has already begun on "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," with "Order of the Phoenix" to be the next in line. The conversion is being done by Prime Focus, who received a lot of flack for their shoddy last-minute conversion of "Clash of the Titans," but hopefully they have learned their lesson since. Variety reports that the 3D work is "proceeding methodically." Read more...

Tags alfonso cuaron, chris columbus, clash of the titans, david yates, Harry Potter, harry potter and the deathly hallows, harry potter and the half blood price, harry potter and the order of the phoenix, mike newell

To be fair, "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" is more of a spring release than summer. It's all semantics though. The summer blockbuster movie season officially starts next week on May 7 with the release of "Iron Man 2," and "Persia" follows shortly afterwards on May 28.

I hope you've all seen our excellent LEGO trailer for "Prince of Persia," which premiered this morning on MTV Movies Blog. I'm here to fill you readers in with a little bit of background on the flick, so you have an idea of what to expect when the lights dim on May 28. Hit the jump for the first in a full week of summer movie previews. Read more...

Tags ben kingsley, Gemma Arterton, Jake Gyllenhaal, mike newell, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

On May 28, the latest attempt to get the oh-so-difficult video game-to-film adaptation right hits theaters in the form of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time." There's a lot riding on this one: Jerry Bruckheimer is producing, Mike Newell is directing, Jake Gyllenhaal is the star and the $150 million budget is the highest yet for a game adaptation. Given the spotty history the sub-genre's had, these factors all amount to a big risk, but a calculated one for Disney. If it works -- and the trailers suggest that it will -- they'll be the first to successfully tap into a market that's built around one of the biggest money-earning entertainment mediums on the planet right now.

MTV's Larry Carroll spoke to Gyllenhaal in a recent interview at WonderCon in which the actor talked about his history with the classic game and how it translates to film. You can check out a video snippet below and check out Larry's full report on MTV.com.

Tags Jake Gyllenhaal, jerry bruckheimer, mike newell, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Video

Today brings a new trailer for Disney's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," directed by Mike Newell. It's an adaptation of the hit Ubisoft-published video game franchise. And it looks pretty badass right here. You haters need to calm down and watch. Maybe it won't win any Oscars next year, but it promises viewers a fun time when it hits theaters on May 28.

Tags mike newell, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Video

Before Christmas, director Mike Newell had essentially finished work on "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," and now all that remains before its May release is to select a song for the end credits (he's leaning toward a very well-known female artist). With that mammoth effort largely behind him, Newell has been able to turn his attention to new projects, one of which is an adaptation of "The Terminal Spy," a nonfiction book about the death of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko, who was suspected of having been assassinated by his former Russian bosses in 2006.

In a recent interview with MTV News, Newell revealed that he already has a draft of the script finished, is in the midst of casting the lead role, and envisions the film as part action thriller, part paranoid political drama. Read more...

Tags Alexander Litvinenko, mike newell, the terminal spy

Despite reports to the contrary, director Mike Newell was never in talks to direct a Johnny Depp-starring adaptation of "The Lone Ranger."

"They've never talked to me about 'The Lone Ranger,' " Newell told MTV News recently.

But that doesn't mean he's not aware of the Disney project — Newell's latest effort is the Disney-backed "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" — nor that he would turn it down if Jerry Bruckheimer came calling. Read more...

Tags mike newell, the lone ranger

My fondness for video games compels me to always follow news of game-related movie projects, no matter how doomed to fail they might be. I mean, let's face it-- adaptations of video games haven't had the best of track records. That's not to say they're all doomed from the outset though.

Take "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time." You've got blockbuster-meister Jerry Bruckheimer producing, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" director Mike Newell at the helm and Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of the titular Prince. In other words... there's a lot going for this one. Read more...

Tags Jake Gyllenhaal, jerry bruckheimer, mike newell, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

It’s been eight years since the first "Harry Potter" film hit the big screen, and in that time the franchise has gone through half as many directors. With Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell and now David Yates putting their skills to work on bringing J.K. Rowling's works to life, the various novels have been interpreted in a variety of ways.

“Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Chamber of Secrets” director Chris Columbus had the tough job of being the first to adapt the biggest children’s novel series of all time. He was further challenged with having to commit those books to film before Harry Potter’s story had even been finished; only the first four novels had been released when “Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Chamber of Secrets” hit theaters. Read more...

Tags alfonso cuaron, chris columbus, david yates, harry potter and the deathly hallows, harry potter and the half-blood prince, mike newell