So we can cover as many films as possible, rather than writing full stories on some of today’s smaller film announcements, we thought we’d give you these quick updates…
Although The English Patient won numerous Oscars, it didn’t exactly start a rush to adapt other Michael Ondaatje novels. However now producer Paul Maslansky is planning to bring the author’s book, Coming Through Slaughter, to the big screen. Maslanzsky optioned the rights in 2006 and now has a complete screenplay by Mark Bailey. The book is set in early 1900s New Orleans and tells the story of Bolden, a cornet player who had a massive influence on the birth of jazz. It’s certainly a change of direction for Maslansky, who’s probably most famous for producing the Ploice Academy movie. (Source: Variety)
Mandate Pictures has picked up the script Dream On for Laurence Marks to produce. Jason Ubaldi’s script revolves around an aspiring Olympic gymnast who gets involved in Atlanta’s underground hip-hop scenes. It seems at the moment that if you want to get a movie made in Hollywood, just write something about people dancing – either an urban kid taking on something rarefied like ballet, or a posh kid getting down and dirty with hip-hop beats. Nearly all these films have been crap, but at least you’ll get a screen credit. (Source: Variety)
R&B singer Ne-Yo has joined the cast of Battle: Los Angeles, along with Ramon Rodriguez (Transformers 2) and the lesser known likes of Taylor Handley, Jadin Gould, Bryce Cass, Joey King and Cory Hardrict. They’ll join Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan and Michael Pena in the movie about a marine platoon fighting off an alien invasion in LA, with Ne-Yo playing a corporal who’s going to blast some extra-terrestrial ass. Director Jonathan Liebesman (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) is directing the blockbuster, which is due in cinemas in 2011. (Source: THR)
Viggo Mortensen is considering retiring from the movies after the release of The Road, to concentrate on being a publisher, poet and photographer. He told Men’s Journal, “I have no plans to do another movie. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m open to seeing how I feel in a while, but right now I’m not saying yes to anything. My agent is like, ‘Well, if you don’t do anything, people will forget about you…’ I just feel like I’ve taken on too much for a while.” However he says this pretty much every time he makes a film, so if you’re a fan I wouldn’t panic too much yet. (Source: Via Cinemablend)
The final tally for the US summer box office session is in and it stands at $4.35 billion. We reported last week that the summer take was already the biggest ever, and now the Labor Day weekend has added $124 million to the total (the official summer movie season lasts from Memorial Day in May to Labor Day in September). So far this year, movies has made $7.4 billion at the US box office, which is 8.1% ahead of where things stood this time last year. Warner is the top earner, taking over a billion dollars in the US this summer, with Harry Potter 6 and The Hangover accounting for 59% of the total, showing just how much difference a couple of big hits can make. (Source: Variety)