Fox Nabs Rights To Remake ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

Deadline reports that 20th Century Fox has landed the rights to remake John Carpenter's cult-classic Escape From New York. This new rights deal would mean the previous reboot project which had been in development for ages will be completely scrapped. Fox will be starting from scratch and likely ditching all previous scripts or outlines hiring their own writers.

The previous incarnation was looking for directors with little experience and was said to be a prequel of sorts as we would learn the origins of the franchise hero Snake Plissken, going from a national military hero to serial criminal and professional escape artist.

In the original film Snake is put on a forced suicide mission to retrieve the President who get's lost in Manhattan which is now city-sized prison colony which is led by murderous gang leader named The Duke. The less said about it's horrible sequel Escape From LA the better.




There have been plenty of actors linked for the recasting of Snake Plissken including Gerard Butler. More recently names like Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam, Thor's Chris Hemsworth and The Guest's Dan Stevens had been rumored but seemingly were only rumors.

Here's hoping Fox actively pursues Dan Stevens for the role of Snake.



Considering how Fox has handled rebooting the Planet of The Apes franchise I'm beyond excited by the news. It also opens the door for someone like Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman, X-Men First Class, Layer Cake) or Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of The Planet of The Apes, Let Me In) to direct or write the reboot.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

RUMOR! ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK Lead Down To Charlie Hunnam, Dan Stevens & Jon Bernthal?

One of the John Carpenter's most celebrated cult-film Escape From New York is getting a remake from producer Joel Silver. The dystopian sci-fi action flick follows a fallen hero who has become the most famous outlaw in a crumbling fascist America, where entire cities are setup as guard-less prisons. Propaganda and the police-state rule the country, with most freedoms becoming outlawed. Snake is forced into saving the day on suicide-missions, usually with threat of death/execution.

Starlog reports that the three new names being in the mix for Snake include  Charlie Hunnam, Dan Stevens (The Guest, Downton Abbey) and Jon Bernthal (Wolf of Wall Street, Walking Dead, Fury). Stating that Hunnam is the top-choice for the role, but cautious considering his recent involvement in top-lining Guy Ritchie's Knights of The Roundtable: King Arthur, taking the Arthur role.

Out of the three names, the one that stands-out as solid potential lead is Dan Stevens. The trailer for his well received action thriller The Guest, has gotten my attention and I expect big things for the British actor. If he decides to pursue a career in action film. I also have nominated Stevens to play Daniel Rand in Marvel's Netflix series Iron Fist. Here's hoping he lands the Plissken role first.



There has been talk the reboot will actually be a slight prequel to the events of the original movie, exploring a bit of the origins of Snake in the first film, what gave him his hero status. Before being thrown into the meat-grinder of the prison city of New York. The site mentions that it's going to be more of a team-based film than we've know the films to be. Claiming that actors being looked-at for the lead, will likely take supporting parts in the reboot. Which is said to be the first in a new trilogy (that's if this even get's made, and is even welcomed by audiences).

Producer Joel Silver talked to Collider and revealed a majority of these details back in February. Silver also confirmed they didn't have a completed script, we haven't heard names of who is actually writing or directing the film (directors have come and gone). Starlog states the studio is also looking for investment partners and will be shopping the film at The American Film Market. This could mean the remake will be made outside of the studio system, which tends to lead to more interesting films. Dredd being an excellent example of a solid indie remake.

“There was a videogame that came out a few years ago called 'Arkham City,' which shows how Gotham became this kind of walled prison and how it became a walled prison. And they never deal with that in the story of 'Escape from New York,' so part of our idea was to kind of see how the city became this walled prison and how the Snake Plissken character was a hero and how he became not looked at as a hero. And then, in the middle of the story, would be the movie that we, you know, previously saw about the President’s daughter goes down, he has to go in and get her. And then, you know, they did a sequel, 'Escape from L.A.,' but I would like to then kind of find a way to have New York go back to a place that we’d like to see what it is today.”

These aren't the first names to be linked for the Snake Plissken role, during the reboot's many years of development. Names such as Gerard Bulter, Jason Statham, Tom Hardy and Timothy Olyphant (Justified, Dead Wood) have been mentioned in trade reports concerning the recasting the Snake role. It's unknown if any of these past candidates would be willing to appear in the film.

SOURCE: STARLOG

Tom Hardy And Jason Statham In The Mix To Play Snake Plissken In ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK Reboot?

NYDailyNews is reporting that actors Tom Hardy (Max Mad, Dark Knight Rises) and Jason Statham (Hummingbird, Expendables) are currently in the mix for the role of Snake in Escape From New York. A reboot of the classic cult film which is being produced Joel Silver and is expected to reveal the origins of Snake.

Hardy is currently shooting Animal Rescue and is expected to shoot the thriller Child 44 next. He also recently wrapped on Mad Max: Fury Road and lined up a starring role in Splinter Cell. Jason Statham may have a role in Fast And Furious 7 and is expected to reprise a supporting role in Expendables 3. Tom is easily the go to actor since he was previously in the mix for the film when it was still with producer Neal Mortiz. Considering he's already been apart of the reboot of Mad Max the studio could believe he could do the same for Snake. Statham hasn't really had a franchise role since The Transporter and Crank.

Remake Of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK Back On Track With Producer Joel Silver, Will Gerard Butler Reconsider Taking The Lead?

Looks like the remake of John Carpenter's Escape From New York is getting new life thanks to producer Joel Silver (Lethal Weapon, Predator, The Matrix, Die Hard, 48 Hours, Commando, ) and his Silver Pictures (who are teaming up with Studio Canal) according to Deadline. Joel is no stranger to the action genre and has a solid track record. New Line Cinema had been trying to put together a reboot with producer Neal Moritz (Total Recall 2012) and Breck Eisner (The Crazies) attached to direct. Actors such as Tom Hardy (Inception, Mad Max Fury Road, Dark Knight Rises), Jeremy Renner (The Town, Avengers, Hurt Locker) and Gerard Butler (300, Olympus Has Fallen) had been in the mix for Snake Plissken but the project ultimtely went into limbo. New Line lost the rights which allowed Silver Pictures to pickup the film's rights. Joel is looking to reboot the entire franchise, starting with an origin story for Snake which will lead to a trilogy. This gives the impression we might see a fresh take on the material along with learning how Plissken went from war hero to the most notorious convict. They are currently on a search for writers and a director will likely soon follow that announcement.

It won't be hard to imagine Joel trying to wrangle the linked actors back into talks. Hardy has attached himself to a number of projects (Splinter Cell, Child 44, Animal Rescue) and already has his budding Mad Max franchise which get a fasted-tracked sequel, it's unlikely he'll be considered this round. Renner might also have issues as sequels to Avengers, Bourne Legacy, Mission Impossible and Witch Hunters are in the works. Out of the original three I see Butler ending up with the role. His upcoming film Olympus Has Fallen is in the same ballpark and could prove he's ready to carry an action franchise on his shoulders. Silver produced RockNRolla which starred Gerard and was directed by Guy Ritchie (Joel also produces Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes franchise).

Liam Neeson's name has been mentioned for the role (Silver has produced Neeson's Unknown and the upcoming Non-Stop). However, if the trilogy talk is true they might looking for a younger actor that will be able to commit to three films. I could see others such as Chris Hemsworth and Jai Courtney in the mix for the role as well.

Platinum Dunes Producing New Halloween Film

Platinum Dunes is known for some of the more impressive horror remakes in the last decade their credits include Amityville Horror, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hitcher, Friday The 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street. BloodyDisgusting reports that Dunes is now taking over production on the next Halloween film which had Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine, Drive Angry) attached to direct. It looks like they're going to replace Lussier with another director and find a new writer. However, it's unknown at this point if they'll reboot again or continue Rob Zombie's storyline.

Xavier Gens Should Direct The Escape From New York Remake

New Line Cinema has been slowly developing a remake of John Carpenter's cult favorite Escape From New York. Producer Neal H. Mortiz (Total Recall) got a hold of the project and screenwriter Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down) took a shot at the script. Scottish actor Gerard Bulter was attached for Snake Plissken when director Len Wiseman (Total Recall, Die Hard 4) was going to make the film. Wiseman dropped out to make Total Recall instead and it lead to Butler's exit as well. Jonathan Mostow (U-571) came on to also work on the script with some intention to direct. That also didn't pan out so the studio looked to newcomer Breck Eisner and he's the last name attached to the remake. Jeremy Renner had been rumored for Snake but he would later deny his involvement.

While Len Wiseman could have made a fun action film I doubt the quality would have been there. I recently watched The Divide from French director Xavier Gens (Frontier(s)) which is a mix of genres that includes psychological thriller, science fiction and post-apocalyptic horror. The film isn't breaking new ground as it takes key elements from projects like The Walking Dead and Screamers. That being said it ended up a great little low-budget genre flick. There are even some moments it felt like an John Carpenter film, I assume it was also taking cues from his films as well.

If New Line wants a visionary director who can work with a lower budget then I believe that Gens should be given a shot. Breck Esiner's films Sahara and The Crazies didn't exactly set the world on fire. As a fan I don't have confidence in his limited vision. I feel the only reason he's being looked at is because he'll do it on the cheap. Xavier would be an inspired choice compared to Mostow, Eisner and Brett Ratner.

Matt Reeves Making New Film Based On The Short Story That Influenced They Live

Deadline reports Universal Pictures has hired Matt Reeves (Let Me In, Cloverfield) to write and direct a re-imaging of John Carpenter's They Live. Instead of remake they will be directly adapting the original short story 8 O' Clock In The Morning by Ray Nelson which influenced They Live. Strike Entertainment will produce, they made Zack Synder's Dawn of The Dead and The Thing prequel which is due out this fall. Reeves spoke on the film and gives insight on the direction they will be going. Fans of the original should rest easy as this will likely be a totally different film. This news likely puts Reeves out of the running to direct The Wolverine.


“I saw an opportunity to do a movie that was very point-of-view driven, a psychological science fiction thriller that explores this guy’s nightmare,” Reeves told me. “There could be a desperate love story at the center of this. Carpenter took a satirical view of the material and the larger political implication that we’re being controlled. I am very drawn to the emotional side, the nightmare experience with the paranoia of Invasion of the Body Snatchers or a Roman Polanski-style film.”

John Carpenter To Direct Darkchylde

Months back Weta Workshop (Lord of The Rings, King Kong, District 9, Avatar, Hobbit) posted test footage of their work on a Darkchylde adaption based on the popular comics. It looked like it was put together to help investors and directors commit to the project. The footage is somewhat promising but they didn't have a director at the time. Now ComicBookMovie has the official press release naming John Carpenter as the film's director. Carpenter is a legend in the world of horror making films like The Thing, Halloween, Escape From New York, Big Trouble In Little China, They Live, The Fog, Vampires, Starman, Prince of Darkness, Christine, In The Mouth of Madness, Assault On Precinct 13 and Ghosts of Mars.

John Carpenter To Direct Hilary Swank In Fangland

ComingSoon says that John Carpenter (The Thing) has been hired to direct Fangland based on the novel by John Marks. The film has been in development for Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank who is also returning to horror with Hammer Film's The Resident. Sent on assignment to Transylvania, a reporter delivers more than a story when mysterious e-mails, coffins, and a creepy guy named Torgu descend on the New York office.



The vampire genre is a return for both Carpenter and Swank. Hilary appeared in the original Buffy The Vampire Slayer film while John directed his own slayer film Vampires. I'm a massive fan of John Carpenter so I'm dying to see him turn out more films. His next film The Ward will be his first film in almost a decade.