New Line Cinema Finally Hires Director For Y: The Last Man

HeatVision reports that New Line Cinema has finally settled on director for their adaptation of Y The Last Man.  They've hired new director Dan Trachtenberg for the project. The comic it's based on focuses on an escape artist who is the last survivor of a mysterious plague that has killed every male mammal in the world. With his pet monkey, he sets out to find what might have wiped out the world's male chromosomes. Director D.J. Curso had once been attached with actor Shia LeBeouf eying the lead role.  Below is a short film that Dan made based on the video game series Portal.

James McAvoy Wants To Play Gandalf In THE SILMARILLION

First off, Peter Jackson and New Line/Warner Bros. haven't announced any plans to explore another trilogy based on the Silmarillion. The book is a prequel to both The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings, it's unknown at this point if they even own the rights to make films. However, this hasn't stopped James McAvoy from campaigning for a role in it. He tells TotalFilm that the next role he'd like to tackle would be Gandalf in The Silmarillion. I'm not too familiar with the book but I expect the studio would consider turning it into a third trilogy.

“I’d like to play Gandalf..It’s called The Silmarillion! It’s a collection of poems and songs that chart the ancient history of Middle-earth. My true geek is coming to the fore, but they’re really, really beautiful stories. In part of that is the genesis of Gandalf, or Mithrandir, or Stormcrow, or any of his many, many names. Anyway, maybe that’s the one!” 

The Hobbit's current success has proved audiences are still hungry for more Middle Earth adventures. An Unexpected Journey has almost made $800 million worldwide already and won't be exiting theaters anytime soon. Warner Bros. (New Line) originally budgeted for two Hobbit films ($500 million) but they added more to the budget. Including new Battle of The Five Armies scenes to be shot expanding the project into a trilogy. It's possible the studio could strike while the iron is hot and start development on the Silmarillion.

The catch seems to be Peter Jackson is exhausted making these films and likely won't be returning to direct any more installments. Originally, Guillermo del Toro was hired to direct the Hobbit only to exit over lengthy production delays. Jackson reluctantly took the director's chair but brought in Andy Serkis as his second unit director. Serkis has shot a ton of scenes for the trilogy and will be spearheading the Five Armies shoot for There And Back Again. I wouldn't be shocked if they do make these films Andy Serkis could end up being the one to direct them. As Jackson had been mentoring and grooming Serkis to direct future projects during the Hobbit production.

Stunning Banner For 'THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY'

(click to enlarge)

Jorma Taccone To Direct Comic Book Film 'THE GREAT UNKNOWN'

It's looks like Jorma Taccone (MacGruber) is getting another directing gig as HeatVision reports he'll direct The Great Unknown for New Line Cinema. The film is based on the comic from Image Comics and will be produced by Mark Gordon (Source Code, Saving Private Ryan, Speed).

"The comic centers on a slacker with delusions of grandeur who believes his so-called great ideas are popping up elsewhere. After failing to convince his friends and family that his mind is being pilfered, he goes on a quest to solve the mystery behind the idea thefts."

Jorma is 1/3 of the comedy trio The Lonely Island who are the guys behind SNL's impressively funny Digital Shorts. He's also had supporting roles in films like Hot Rod and The Land of The Lost. It's interesting to see Jorma getting another shot at a rather large film after his first film MacGruber didn't make a giant splash at the box office. The action comedy based on the SNL skit seemed humorous enough but didn't connect with audiences. The disastrous casting of non-comedians like Val Kilmer and Ryan Phillippe didn't help matters.

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.

Another Look At Martin Freeman As Bilbo Baggins

Stephen Doriff Talks Blade Prequel

Deacon Frost has to be one of the greatest on screen Marvel villains so it's no surprise Stephen Doriff wants to continue playing him. Back in 2009 it was reported that Doriff and director Steven Norrington were working on a Blade prequel focusing on Deacon Frost. The prequel could spawn into a new trilogy which made sense since New Line was aiming to reboot the franchise.

The first Blade film was the first serious adaptation of Marvel material and it's first success story even though X-Men gets all the credit. The world Norrington created was a blue print for most of the comic book films we now see which mix comic book elements in a real world film.

Doriff while promoting his current film Somewhere commented on the status of the project (via DarkLordBunnykins) and gives insight of what it could look like. He mentions making a vampire version of Scarface which sounds like a perfect fit for the character. While he seems optimistic the pair doesn't count out throwing out the use of the Frost character to avoid being held back by New Line. It sounds like the studio could be asking for a PG-13 movie which goes against every that Blade had established. By not using the Deacon Frost name they could take their pitch to other studios while still making the film they want to. Currently Steven Norrington is working on his Crow reboot with Mark Wahlberg interested in the lead role (bad idea) so it's unlikely it would get made anytime soon.