Last week, "Star Trek" fans were momentarily ruffled when Zachary Quinto revealed that he'll be taking a two-year hiatus from all things "Trek." Given his fantastic portrayal of Spock in J.J. Abrams' May '09 reboot, the revelation caused a little bit of a ruckus.
Quinto later clarified, reaffirming his commitment to the franchise in a post on his personal blog. The guy just wants to make sure that, coming off of "Trek" and sci-fi TV series "Heroes," he isn't pigeon-holed as a genre player. Can you really blame him? Now there's word that Quinto may be settling in for a much more grounded blockbuster: a George Gershwin biopic for none other than Steven Spielberg. Read more...
In early August it was revealed that Steven Spielberg would next be directing "Harvey," a remake of the Jimmy Stewart-starring 1950 film about a man whose best friend is a 6-foot-tall invisible rabbit. Rumors pointed to Tom Hanks and, later, Robert Downey Jr. for the starring role of Elwood P. Dowd, but there's been little hard news on the project since the initial announcement.
Today brings some news, but it's shaped suspiciously like a big, fat coffin nail. Spielberg has withdrawn from the project, Variety reports. The trade reveals that the filmmaker had spent the past half year developing "Harvey," but that he's now dropped out for unspecified reasons. We can certainly theorize though. Read more...
Damn this news. I can't refer to the "two Stevens" because Steven Spielberg and Stephen King spell their first name differently. Maybe the "two Steves"? That's a little too familiar. None of that really matters in the end: the news is that these two giants -- one the father of the Hollywood blockbuster, the other a master of literary horror -- are joining forces in a super team-up of almost unmanageable proportions.
Spielberg and King will partner to produce a "limited series" for DreamWorks TV, adapted from the author's just-released "Under the Dome," Variety reports. This isn't their first partnership, however. Spielberg has held the rights to King's 1984 book "The Talisman" for more than 20 years; here's hoping "Under the Dome" gets off the ground more quickly. Read more...
One of the greatest things HBO ever aired was "Band of Brothers," the deeply emotional tale of a group of American soldiers fighting their way through Europe during World War II. The Emmy-winning miniseries was gritty, poignant, violent, shocking and often with a vein of dark humor...basically all of the experiences of men and women in wartime.
The folks behind "Band of Brothers" were none other than Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, who brought their "Saving Private Ryan" expertise to this ultra-realistic outing. Well, now they're back for "The Pacific," which follows three American G.I.'s in the Pacific theater, from their initial landing at Guadalcanal, to Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and all the way through to V-J Day and back stateside.
The ten-part series won't air until March 2010, but you can get a taste for what's in store in the behind-the-scenes featurette below.
FROM MTV.COM: "Paranormal Activity" wouldn't have been shown in mainstream theaters if not for movie fans demanding it. But we can also thank one particular movie lover for getting it distributed: Steven Spielberg. A widely circulated part of the film's backstory involves Spielberg viewing — and being terrified by — the low-budget horror flick.
And "Paranormal Activity" writer/director Oren Peli couldn't be happier about his idol's reaction.
Continue reading 'Paranormal Activity' Director Oren Peli Calls Steven Spielberg's Praise 'Amazing'
Call them "cult classics." "Guilty pleasures." "Comfort movies." We all have a mental rolodex of flicks that may not be terribly popular but, for one reason or another, they resonate in a very special way. Maybe you saw it at the right moment. Maybe you just see gold where everyone else sees feces. Whatever the case, these are the special favorites that you keep stashed away for sick days. Here are some of ours.
I've been racking my brain all week for a good Halloween-themed Sick Day Stash pick. My focus had been on horror movies of course, since this is the time of year when we all dress up like someone or something else and attempt to scare the crap out of one another. Then, on Monday, I got an invite to check out a free, outdoor screening of a childhood classic (thanks to the 45th Street Block Association, 9th Avenue to the River). It's a movie that I grew up with, one that has a very special meaning. And wouldn't you know, it's got a Halloween peg. The movie: Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial." Read more...
I'm no tough guy, but honestly I don't get scared easily by horror films. However, one movie from my childhood still creeps me out to this day: "Poltergeist." Between the hungry oak tree and the demonic clown doll, I blame Steven Spielberg, who produced, co-wrote and partly co-directed the film, for many of the nightmares and fears I've had throughout my life.
Now that I'm hearing that Spielberg had the crap scared out of him by "Paranormal Activity," I'm both afraid and anxious to see the $15,000 indie sensation, opening in select cities this weekend. According to a story from the Los Angeles Times on the history of the film, after his company, DreamWorks, acquired "Paranormal Activity," Spielberg took a DVD home and was given quite a fright. Read more...
You'd think that "The Informant!" star Matt Damon and filmmaker Clint Eastwood would right now be preparing to promote their first collaboration, Oscar-bait "Invictus," which is due for a mid-December release. And they probably are, but that doesn't mean other business is being ignored. As Variety reports today, the director and star are all set to get the band back together for another project, titled "Hereafter."
There's not much to go on in terms of plot points just yet. The article states that Warner Bros. isn't saying much, other than describing the project as a supernatural thriller in the vein of "The Sixth Sense." I wasn't a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan's breakout, but Eastwood is a more nuanced filmmaker; here's hoping he doesn't pin this new movie's success to a single, mind-bending twist. The script comes from "Frost/Nixon" writer Peter Morgan, who will also produce alongside Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Tim Moore. Read more...
Okay, look. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" wasn't great. It's been out for more than a year, so let's be honest here. It had some good moments, but the shift from supernatural curios and relics to sci-fi alien overlords was not the right move. Star Harrison Ford clearly has some more Indy in him and Shia LaBeouf did a decent job of not fumbling the torch that Ford supposedly passed his way.
All that said, "Crystal Skull" fell short for a variety of reasons. Some might even argue that it's time to put Steven Spielberg's classic series to bed. Not me though. Indy is a great character, Ford is still an immensely likable actor and there are plenty of archeological ghost stories for him to pursue that have nothing to do with aliens. I'm not the only one who thinks so either. Read more...
Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg may be directing invisible rabbit remake "Harvey" next, but his follow-up gig may have just opened up. USA Today reports that DreamWorks is developing an adaptation of Michael Crichton's final, as-yet-unreleased novel "Pirate Latitudes," a 17th century adventure involving the water-borne bandits' plot to raid Port Royal and liberate of Spanish galleon of its valuable cargo. The novel isn't out until November 24, but David Koepp -- who previously adapted Crichton's "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World" for Spielberg -- is already working on a script.
The question of course is whether Spielberg will direct or not. It certainly seems like a possibility, at least according to DreamWorks CEO Stacey Snider. "Anything that Michael wrote, Steven would be keenly interested to read," she said. "But without Michael knowing it, or even me knowing it, it turns out Steven always wanted to direct his own pirate film." Read more...
