Good news and bad news for "Zombieland" fans, starting with the bad: it's looking likelier and likelier that we won't get a sequel to the 2009 zombie action-comedy after all. The reason? Well, that's the good news — looks like we're getting a TV series instead!
Posted 9/28/10 5:09 pm EST by Tom DiChiara in News, Video
Mark Zuckerberg is itching to kill the undead. Kind of.
Jesse Eisenberg, who plays the punk/genius/billionaire man-child behind Facebook in David Fincher's upcoming "The Social Network," recently told MTV News that he's game for a "Zombieland" sequel. Eisenberg starred as a geeky, Emma Stone-loving destroyer of the undead in the delightfully graphic 2009 horror-comedy; he says the cast and crew have a "great affection" for the film and "if they were to put together a good sequel, we would all probably be really excited to do it."
So, Eisenberg did qualify his statement with a well placed "if" and equally strategic "probably," but "Zombieland" fans should most definitely be optimistic. Read More...
Posted 2/26/10 8:00 am EST by Larry Carroll in News
Nearly two years after would-be blockbuster “Earth vs. Moon” was snatched up following a bidding war between four studios, the writers of the red-hot script have become even hotter. But, now that they’re better known as the creators of “Zombieland” and have sequels in the works to that film, “G.I. Joe” and “X-Men” character Deadpool, where does that leave the sci-fi epic – and their hopes to someday film it with Will Smith?
“’Earth vs. Moon’ is in the background,” explained writer Rhett Reese, when we interviewed him along with partner Paul Wernick and asked for an update on the long-simmering project. “We’ve written a first draft. We’ll be writing a second draft at some point.” Read More...
Posted 2/17/10 1:00 pm EST by Larry Carroll in News
Being a huge “G.I. Joe” fan, I’ll be the first to admit that last year’s “The Rise of Cobra” was a pretty massive disappointment. But, being a fan of “Zombieland,” I’ll also be the first to say I’m excited about the fact that the film’s two writers have been hired to pen the sequel. To paraphrase Michael Corleone: Just when I thought I was out (roughly around the time Marlon Wayans put on that stupid robot suit), they pull me back in.
Recently, we caught up with red-hot screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick – and they assured us that their “G.I. Joe” sequel will be something closer to the roots of the toyline.
“We’re excited,” explained Wernick. “Rhett was such a huge ‘G.I. Joe’ fan growing up, as was I.” Read More...
Posted 2/11/10 4:30 pm EST by Larry Carroll in News
You might not realize it, but long before there was a “Zombieland” hit movie, there was nearly a “Zombieland” TV series. Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick originally envisioned the reality of a post-apocalyptic, zombie-heavy world as ideal for the television medium, had a pilot script that ended when Wichita and Little Rock drove off and left Tallahassee and Columbus behind, and only expanded it after the networks passed. Now, the flick is on DVD, sequels are on the way – and the writers are determined to still make a “Zombieland” TV series.
“We wrote it as a TV show almost five years ago – the summer of 2005 - and sold it to CBS,” said Paul Wernick, who conceived the project with his writing partner Rhett Reese as the first-ever zombie TV show. “Ultimately, it just wasn’t the perfect fit at the right time for CBS, and they ended up not moving forward on it.” Read More...
Posted 2/9/10 5:52 pm EST by Larry Carroll in News
Last October, “Zombieland” took a big, gory bite out of the box-office, debuting at number one and bringing in over $25 million in ticket sales. Immediately, there was talk of a sequel, and when we caught up with the hit film’s red hot writers recently, they said the plans are moving forward.
“We want to stick with our dysfunctional family,” revealed Paul Wernick, who created the post-apocalyptic zombie world (now on DVD!) with writing partner Rhett Reese. “But also introduce new characters.” Read More...
Posted 2/5/10 7:00 pm EST by Larry Carroll in News
It was the greatest movie cameo of 2009, possibly among the greatest of all time. It was a top-secret series of scenes that had such actors as Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone sworn to absolute secrecy. Now, “Zombieland” is on DVD, and the hilarious subplot involving Bill Murray is on display for all to see.
So, with the gag order officially lifted, we had to ask the makers of the film: How did the cameo by the reclusive, eccentric star come to be? And the story, it turns out, is as hilarious as the movie itself.
“We started with Patrick Swayze,” co-writer Paul Wernick told us when he stopped by the MTV studios recently. “Patrick Swayze was the original celebrity cameo [in the script] when we wrote it, but he unfortunately got sick, and we didn’t have the opportunity to present him the script. So, once he got sick, the producer Gavin Polone and us and [director] Ruben [Fleischer] all sat down and figured ‘Who can we go to next?’” Read More...
Posted 1/12/10 5:00 pm EST by Larry Carroll in News
As a “G.I. Joe” nut, I was intrigued by the long-simmering rumors that Brendan Fraser was going to pop up for a cameo in the “Rise of Cobra” film as macho Marine Gung-Ho. Sure enough, the movie comes along, but the “Mummy” star instead seemed to be some generic drill sergeant who trained the other Joes in hand-to-hand combat. So I couldn’t help but wonder: Who is he supposed to be?
The interesting thing is this: Fraser has no idea, either.
“I want to say that I know the answer to that,” the star said with a laugh when we caught up with him recently. “Who exactly was I? I did not know until I saw the credit crawl when I saw the movie!” Read More...
Posted 1/7/10 8:34 pm EST by Adam Rosenberg in News
Well isn't this exciting. "Zombieland" was one of the better movies to come out last year, right? Well the writers of that movie, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, are some busy guys now. It was only a few months ago they were joking (half-joking) with us about landing Will Smith to star in their original sci-fi project, "Earth Vs. Moon." Now all of a sudden they're scripting the "Deadpool" movie.
And it only gets better. Yesterday, Collider reported via an anonymous source that a writer, some writer, had been hired to pen the "G.I. Joe" sequel. Now they've got another source, "a great source," saying that Reese and Wernick are doing the sequel. Read More...
Posted 1/6/10 10:30 am EST by Josh Wigler in News
FROM SPLASH PAGE: File this one under awesome news — the writers of "Zombieland" are taking their bloody appetites to "Deadpool."
According to Variety, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick — the writing duo behind "Zombieland" and Sony's proposed "Venom" movie — have been hired to pen the screenplay for "Deadpool," the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" spin-off starring Ryan Reynolds as the titular merc with a mouth.
Reese and Wernick are reportedly sticking closely to "the mythology of 'Deadpool' given that Reynolds is a huge fan and protector of the property." While Reynolds has already stated his desire to stay true to Deadpool's comic book roots in the past, it's still great to hear that Reese and Wernick are on board with the actor's vision.
Continue reading 'Zombieland' Writers To Script 'Deadpool' Movie
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