Category: Fantasy

Pinocchio and Bambi get the Disney's live action treatment

1/25/2020

With the success of live-action remake of The Jungle Book, Aladdin, and The Lion King, Disney studio has more remakes on the horizon. This time it's Bambi (authored by Felix Salten) and Pinocchio(authored by Carlo Collodi)'s turn to take suit. Bambi will follow the similar animation as The Jungle Book and The Lion King. Chris Weltz, Paul Weltz, and Andrew Miano ( Depth of Field production) will produce the project. Writing the script are Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. No director has been announced yet for Bambi.

Pinocchio is next as well. This project will be similar to the live-action remake of Aladdin which had live-action performances and real-world sets that interact with digitally invented characters. Tom Hanks is currently in talks to play Geppetto. Robert Zemeckis, an Oscar-winning filmmaker, will direct and co-write the feature.

Source material: deadline.com

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The Witcher Trailer takes you to another world

12/12/2019

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The secret is out! check out The Secret Garden Trailer

9/17/2019

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Book-based movies news

8/20/2019

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News #1: H.P. Lovecraft's short story titled The Color Out of Space will be screen at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. Mr. Richard Stanley adapted the film adaptation while Mr. Nicolas Cage and Joely Richardson starred in it.

News #2: Author Ms. Jennifer Bosari's YA Fantasy novel, Bloodleaf, will be adapted into a television series. Cavalry Media got the rights to the book. At the moment the studio is looking for a screenwriter.

Here is the goodreads' synopsis of Bloodleaf:

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her. But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life?

News #3: As for the film adaptation of The Woman in the Window, Disney announced that the new release date for that feature will be release on May 15, 2020 instead of October 14, 2019.

Source Material: bloody-disgusting.com
Source Material:Deadline.com
Source Material: TheWashingtonPost.com

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Interview with Mr. Andy Briggs, co-writer of Supervized

7/19/2019

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Mr. Andy Briggs is an author, conservationist, graphic novelist and a screenwriter. He has worked on Warner Bros.' animated Aquaman. He wrote contemporary series of Tarzan books. For Paramount Pictures, he worked on Judge Dredd, Foreverman, and Freddy vs. Jason. He wrote his debut adult novel titled Control-S. He produced, wrote, and executive-produced UK/Chinese movie titled Legendary which starred Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundren. He also wrote the critical acclaimed movie titled Crowhurst. His latest movie Supervized is what this blog interview is all about. Starring Tom Berenger, Ned Dennehy, Fionnula Flanagan, Louis Gossett Jr., Clive Russell, and Beau Bridges, Supervized is about four elderly superheroes in an Ireland retirement home who decided to join together for a final thrill. So, take this moment to get to know Mr. Andy Briggs and his experience working on Supervized.

1.     What is the genesis of Supervized?

While working through CROWHURST, Legendary producer Robert Halmi called me up to discuss a passion project of his. He sent me some artwork he found of an elderly Flash, Superman and Spiderman playing poker and said “Make it something like that!”.
We started chatting about Grumpy Old Men and The Quartet, and the concept quickly fell together after that.

2. Were there other titles you came up with before Supervized? If so what were they?

We had always just called it SUPERHEROES. It wasn’t ever going to be the final title, but it stuck. I was always searching for something different that would combine Grumpy Old Men with the Avengers but it was elusive. SUPERVIZED! (including the exclamation mark) just appeared on an email one day. Not sure where it came from. I was a big fan of the exclamation mark, but that fell off somewhere!

3.  In one word how would you sum up Supervized?

Fun.

4. Was there anything you find particularly challenging in writing Supervized?

The budget! On paper you’re not limited to the scope of the story. Of course, then we have to get real and the concept has to fall into line with what can be practically done. It was always going to be small in tone – a retirement home, faded powers that are more or less in the background. But the original ending had our heroes going to a genetic lab in the big city and was far more ambitious. That then moved to an abandoned dock, with a cool (and expensive) bad guy finale.

5.     Which writer/s inspired you to become a screenwriter and an author?

I was a huge Marvel fan as a kid, so it was reading those and the personification of Stan Lee as a writer that made me think it could be a cool job. Years later my brother and I worked with Stan Lee on a movie and we stayed friends. It was a full circle dream come true.

6.   Were you ever on set for the making of Supervized? If so, could you tell me what scene you were present at?

Sadly, I was working on a movie in China, so didn’t get to see any of it. They had to do a rewrite of the ending so I was annoyed to be half way around the planet!

7. Could you also express your feelings about Tom Berenger, Clive Russell, Fionnula Flanagan, Louis Gossett Jr. and/or Beau Bridges playing characters that you wrote?

It’s a fantastic cast. Director Steve Barron always insisted he wanted actors who played the ages they were in the script and who you could believe, when they were younger, could have portrayed heroes. To have a set of such legendary actors assemble was such a previlage!

8. Silly-Game question: From Control-S novel, could you please leaf through the pages and point at a random place. What is the full sentence? And what is the page number of this random sentence?

Well I still don’t have a copy yet (out in e-book/airport edition in July! Hit’s the shelves properly in November, so the page numbers won’t quite sit right. But…
“Kaiju Killer then raised two fingers at the camera and furiously flipped them like some ADHD kid on a caffeine high.” – page 24

9. If a self-published author is seeking a screenwriter/ producer, how would one get you or any expert to read his or her story to see if it would make a compelling movie?

That’s quite a difficult question as most screenwriters would gravitate towards a more traditionally published book. But that’s not to say it’s impossible (look at The Martian). Rather than pursue a screenwriter, it might be worthwhile the writer attempting the script themselves.

10.  Which novel/novella/short story/article have you read that you would like to turn to a screenplay?

There are a couple – but I am not telling just in case those rights are available, I would rather grab them myself!

11. Do you have any fun, interesting fact to tell about working for comic creator Stan Lee and legendary producer Robert Evans?

Plenty! Stan was always generous with his time, and always fun to talk to – even during script notes when he had a very specific idea on how things should play through. When I wrote my YA superhero books (Hero.com and Villain.net) he gave me a huge full-page set of quotes, but we could only use one for the cover.

What always makes me chuckle is my brother, Stan and I were posing for a photo with a life-sized Spiderman statue in his POW! Office. My brother re-positioned it, and the arm came off (it was detachable!) – Stan gave a total look of comic horror.

Robert’s office on the Paramount low was our base camp for the project, so we had the back office there. The front is in an enclosed courtyard, so the Paramount tour trolley can’t access it, and passes around the back. So we decided to stand a full-sized Kid Notorious cut out in our office window. Thereafter the trolley always stopped so the guide could relay some excellent Robert Evans tales….

12.  Who is your favorite superhero?

Old school Daredevil just beat Spiderman when I was a kid. However, now, it has to be Spidey.

13.  Could you describe the movie Crowhurst in three words?

Insane true story.

14.  What’s the best thing that happened to you this month?

It’s been a good month! My new children’s book was up for an award (which I lost!); it’s now part of a huge reading campaign from Booktrust (https://www.booktrust.org.uk), which will roll out across the UK in September. I was asked to do an interview about my part in The Philadelphia Experiment for the original movie’s blu-ray re-release. And I may…. may… be directing a movie later this year. Let’s see….

15. Last question, what book did you read because everyone was reading it?

I hate doing that, so always try to avoid the books causing the most chatter. The last time I did so was the Harry Potter series. I jumped aboard around book 3. I’m quite happy with a Clive Cussler book on the beach, or re-reading some Michael Crichton….

I really like to thank Mr. Andy Briggs for taking his time to do this interview. Make sure you check out Supervized since it's available today! July 19th. If you want to know more about Mr. Andy Briggs and his future endeavors, you can visit his website: http://www.andybriggs.co.uk/  Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a great day.

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Interview with Mr. Brian Gunn and Mr. Mark Gunn, screenwriters of Brightburn

5/3/2019

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He's Not Here To Save The World

Story-line from IMDb: What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister?
Director: David Yarovesky. Producers: James Gunn and Kenneth Huana. Starring: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, and Matt Jones.

Mr. Brian Gunn and Mr. Mark Gunn are both screenwriters and producers (with the exception of Brian Gunn, who also acted, while Mark Gunn worked on soundtracks).Together, they worked on such projects as 2gether, Bring it on Again, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Now, Brightburn is their latest feature film and just by the trailer alone you can tell this movie will be brilliant. So, take this time to get to know these superb screenwriters and the genesis of Brightburn.

1. How did you guys come up with Brightburn?

One day at work the two of us got to talking about this tradition - from Moses all the way up to modern-day superheroes - of people finding infants out in the wild somewhere, and raising them as their own. In the classic telling of these tales, the infants grow up to be noble and heroic. We started to wonder: what if they grew up to be sinister instead? Hence Brightburn was born.

2. Who came up with the title Brightburn? Were there other titles you guys have in mind?

Truth be told we came up with a zillion different titles before we settled on Brightburn. Early on the film was called RECKONING, which is sort of a limp title. Then we changed it to the kid’s name - which at the time was XANDER. Then it changed again a few times before we settled on BRIGHTBURN (one of our fine producers, Simon Hatt, came up with the title).

3. What was the most difficult thing about writing the screenplay of Brightburn?

There was a key subplot in the movie that we had to rethink and rewrite. We probably went through dozens of ideas and drafts before we landed on the right take.

4. What was the most surprising thing you guys learned when writing Brightburn?

We did a couple test screenings for the movie, and the feedback we got from the audience members was almost always very thoughtful and engaged. Sometimes people like to write off moviegoers as young and stupid, but we think audiences are much much smarter than people typically give them credit.

5. What was your writing schedule when you guys wrote Brightburn?

We wrote the first draft on spec in a few weeks, while writing another script for which we were getting paid. Then we went back and did many rewrites - producer and director drafts, actor drafts, budget drafts, etc., etc.

6. What writers inspired you guys to become screenwriters?

Mostly guys from the ‘70s and ‘80s like Bo Goldman, Robert Towne, Robert Getchell, along with lots of others.

7. On average, how many draft scripts do you find yourself writing until you are happy and satisfied with your work?

There’s wild variation project to project. And tricky to count b/c most of the time we may rewrite some scenes dozens of times and other scenes not much at all. But for a project that gets to production let’s say on average 10 full drafts.

8. What piece of advice do you guys have for screenwriters starting out?

Write write write write write. It’s a cliche, but it’s the best way to learn. Like Beckett said, “Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

9. What is your favorite line from one of your screenplays?

We honestly have no idea.

10. Have you guys ever considered writing a short story, novella, or novel?

Yes. There are a few big world-building ideas we’ve had for TV that we think may be better suited for a novel. But novels require so much time and dedication (we’d be learning as we go) that it’s unlikely we’d find time to do it outside of our screenwriting work.

11. Which fictional character (besides yours) would you like to sit down and chat with?

Quint from Jaws. The man could tell some tales.

12. Did any of your writing experience help you guys, in any way, with Brightburn?

Not sure we understand the question. Our writing experience helped a ton.

13. Were you guys ever on set for the making of Brightburn? If so, could you tell me what scene you were present at?

Yes, we were in Atlanta for the shoot for a couple days. We saw a scene in a principal’s office, along with a few others that we can’t mention b/c of spoilers and all!

14. How were you two able to get Mr. David Yarovesky involved with the project? What are your overall thoughts about him directing Brightburn?

Dave is an old friend of both ours and James. It was great having someone who we trusted so much and who seemed to ‘get’ the project from the beginning.

15. What are your thoughts on Elizabeth Banks and David Denman playing Mrs. Breyer and Mr. Breyer respectively?

They’re both phenomenal. Elizabeth is able to combine steeliness with warmth in a way that’s essential for the character (and rare for an actor). And David has a great haunted quality that never feels remotely forced or phony. We’re so lucky to have them.

16. If a self-published author is seeking a screenwriter, how would one get you guys to read his or her story to see if it would make a compelling movie?

Most likely reach out to our agent. He’s pretty good about passing along promising material to us and filtering out the rest.

17. What would it take for you guys to be interested in translating a self-published story into a screenplay?

Depends on the story, but we’re not really in the business of translating material like that.

18. Could you guys give a sneak peek about your next project Journey 3: From the Earth to the Moon?

We wrote Journey 3 years ago. Who knows what’s going to happen with it. It seems Dwayne Johnson has moved on to other franchises, but again, who knows.

19. Last question, who would you guys get to play as you in the movie of your life?

The other day someone compared Brian to Michael Gross, the dad from Family Ties. So how about him? And for Mark, let’s maintain the theme and go with Michael J. Fox.

There's no doubt Brightburn will be an amazing experience in theaters. You should definitely check it out when it comes out Friday, May 24th 2019. I truly appreciate Mr. Brian Gunn and Mr. Mark Gunn for getting off their busy schedule to answer my questions. To get the Brightburn experience just visit the website by clicking here: https://www.brightburn.movie/ Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you are having a fantastic day so far. Take care.

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Watership Down Trailer is afoot

12/14/2018

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Mortal Engine Featurette: Shrike

12/6/2018

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Netflix is adapting Roald Dahl's stories

11/28/2018

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On Netflix website, it was announced that Roald Dahl's book would make its animated adaption at Netflix. Best selling books such as The BFG, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Going Solo, The Magic Finger, and much more will be made available for every children and adult that admired Roald Dahl's beloved tales.

As Roald Dahl's widow, Ms. Felicity Dahl put it, "our mission, which is purposefully lofty, is for as many children as possible around the world to experience the unique magic and positive message of Roald Dahl's stories. This partnership with Netflix marks a significant move toward making that possible and is an incredibly exciting new chapter for the Roald Dahl Story Company. Roald would, I know, be trilled."

Ms. Melissa Cobb, NetFlix's Vice President of Kids & Family Content stated, "...We have great creative ambition to reimagine the journey of so many treasured Dahl characters in fresh, contemporary ways with the highest quality animation and production values."

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