MTV Movies Blog › Paul Greengrass

Despite producer Scott Rudin's claims that the long-anticipated Angelina Jolie-starring 3-D "Cleopatra" flick is right around the corner, that film's potential director Paul Greengrass is planning to bring another famous historical figure to life (and death) first.

New York Magazine reports that Greengrass has written a movie called "Memphis" based on his own original research that will follow the events leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. How this film affects Greengrass' involvement in the aforementioned "Cleopatra" remains to be seen. Read more...

Tags cleopatra, Memphis, Paul Greengrass, scott rudin

It may be a long while before Paul Greengrass makes another movie about a formerly amnesiac spy named Jason Bourne, but that doesn't mean that the acclaimed director is sitting on his keister.

Producer Scott Rudin has revealed to Deadline that "we're pretty close" to locking down a director for Sony's high-profile 3-D historical epic "Cleopatra," which has Angelina Jolie attached to the title role... and Rudin and co. "like the idea" of Greengrass for the gig. The site goes on to say that Jolie has yet to discuss the possibility of Greengrass boarding the project.

Translation: Greengrass hasn't been hired yet, but he's likely at the top of Sony's list. And why wouldn't he be? Greengrass has proved with the last two "Bourne" films, the 9/11 flick "United 93" and the Iraq War movie "Green Zone" that he has a knack for making movies that deliver a perfect balance of spectacle-heavy action, compelling narrative and indelible characters. Sounds like he's the perfect man to bring Brian Helgeland's screenplay, based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Stacy Schiff's biography "Cleopatra: A Life," to the big screen... especially if Sony wants to avoid a financial debacle like the 1963 "Cleopatra" that almost bankrupted Fox. Read more...

Tags Angelina-Jolie, brian helgeland, cleopatra, james cameron, Paul Greengrass, scott rudin

Ever since Matt Damon swam off into the sunset, er, East River at the end of "The Bourne Ultimatum," there's been a whole lot of back-and-forth as to whether a fourth installment in the highly lucrative amnesiac spy franchise would ever get made. Well, according to Deadline.com, "Bourne 4" is now moving full-steam ahead with Tony Gilroy, who wrote the first three films, in the director's chair.

Though Paul Greengrass, the shaky-camera-loving maestro who helmed "Supremacy" and "Ultimatum," will be missed, we're more than happy to see Gilroy, who is also penning the script, take over the franchise reins for '4," tentatively entitled "The Bourne Legacy." We're less happy about the fact that Damon's involvement in the picture is still uncertain. Damon has long maintained that he was game for "Bourne 4" ... but only, repeat ONLY, if Greengrass were directing. Read more...

Tags Bourne 4, jason bourne, matt damon, Paul Greengrass, the bourne legacy, tony gilroy

Last December, shortly before "Avatar" started its blue-hued, multibillion-dollar journey toward box office glory, James Cameron told us exclusively that he was ramping up plans for a different sort of sci-fi expedition: a 3-D remake of 1966's "Fantastic Voyage."

By the next spring, as "Avatar' approached the $1 billion domestic threshold, word dropped that "Bourne Ultimatum" director Paul Greengrass was in talks to take on directing duties for the Cameron-produced, Shane Salerno-scripted "Voyage." Jump cut to late-May: suddenly, Greengrass was out of the running.

So what happened? "Fantastic Voyage" producer Jon Landau told MTV News that, in the end, the film and the director just weren't the right fit. Read more...

Tags Fantastic Voyage, james cameron, Jon Landau, Paul Greengrass

We reported the news at the beginning of April that "The Bourne Ultimatum" director Paul Greengrass was in talks to direct a James Cameron-produced remake of "Fantastic Voyage." Those talks are no longer happening, as it appears that Greengrass has moved on to another high-profile adaptation/remake: "Treasure Island." It doesn't appear to be confirmed yet; check out the full report on Deadline if you want to know more.

Tags Fantastic Voyage, Paul Greengrass, Treasure Island

Back in December, MTV learned that James Cameron was involved in producing a remake of the 1966 sci-fi classic, "Fantastic Voyage." The news today is that a potential director is moving into place: Paul Greengrass, who directed "United 93," the latter two "Bourne" movies ("Supremacy" and "Ultimatum") and, most recently, "Green Zone." For more details on this developing story, check out the full report on MTV.com.

Tags Fantastic Voyage, Paul Greengrass

The overall word coming out over the weekend from the widely attended junket for Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass' "Green Zone" seemed to be that the actor and the director had definitively said goodbye to the "Bourne" franchise. But when MTV News spoke with them, both men signaled that their involvement with the series has not completely ended: Damon held out the chance that he could return to "Bourne" territory and Greengrass is committed to assisting with the creation of a rebooted "Bourne" flick with another actor in the title role.

"We see a very clear way that they could go [with the story] that wouldn't interfere with the series that we have and that might give it a chance to have a life right now and if we come back and did another one, even after that without us," he said. Read more...

Tags jason bourne, matt damon, Paul Greengrass, Video

Plans for a fourth "Bourne" movie stalled late last year when director Paul Greengrass walked away from the franchise and star Matt Damon followed, stating he wouldn't do the sequel with anybody else. But the actor remained hopeful of his participation in the series, telling MTV News in December, "I think it's going to happen someday."

Damon continues to see himself in the role, more recently telling Empire that he and Greengrass are "probably another five years away" from the next chapter. But the next installment may be another thing entirely. Damon believes Universal will keep the franchise alive in the meantime with a feature-length flashback. Read more...

Tags matt damon, Paul Greengrass

FROM MTV.COM: As millions of moviegoers have learned over the past decade, Jason Bourne is a lethal superspy with deadly hands and an empty memory. Recruited, trained and left for dead, he has spent three hit movies searching for the answers behind his true identity. These days, fans of the "Bourne" franchise are keeping their fingers crossed for a fourth installment — but recent developments have left them nearly as confused as their hero.

In an interview with MTV News on Friday (December 4), series star Matt Damon said he has no doubt that he'll one day be killing enemies with hardcover books and ballpoint pens again soon — as long as the studio agrees to a package deal.

Continue reading Matt Damon Is Confident 'Bourne 4' Will Happen -- But Not Without Director

Tags matt damon, Paul Greengrass, Video

It sounds like Jason Bourne has a lot more than a bad case of misplaced identity to deal with. Director Paul Greengrass — who helmed the second and third "Bourne" installments — has reportedly walked away from the developing fourth "Bourne" movie, leaving the project without a director.

The Playlist has extensive analysis on the situation, suggesting that the departure of Greengrass is due to a variety of reasons, including his alleged tendency to run up budget costs and his own dissatisfaction over the way Universal has treated him during "Green Zone," his Iraq War film starring Bourne himself, Matt Damon. Read more...

Tags jason bourne, Paul Greengrass