Gary Whitta Leaves STAR WARS Spin-Off To Focus On Fox's STARLIGHT

Reports are coming-out from THR that screenwriter Gary Whitta is exiting Gareth Edward's Star Wars spin-off. Gary has taken to Twitter to confirm this and reveals he'll be now focusing on scripting Fox's Starlight. The film is adaptation of the Mark Millar comic which is mix of Incredibles meets Flash Gordon.

There are two other Mark Millar film projects in the works with Joe Carnahan's Nemesis and Matthew Vaughn's Superior. A director for Starlight hasn't been named but I'm sure one will be named soon. Kingsman is also looking to be gathering a lot of positive reviews which see that turn into a franchise.

My year of work in a galaxy far, far away is done! I’m onto my next project, adapting @mrmarkmillar’s STARLIGHT for 20th Century Fox!
— Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) January 10, 2015

SOURCE: TWITTER

NO JOE! Martin Cambpell Will Direct SEBASTIAN X Not G.I. JOE 3

A new report from Variety looks to have squashed any rumors that Kiwi director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye, Green Lantern) could be directing G.I. Joe 3. They are reporting that Martin is now attached to direct a feature adaptation of the French graphic novel Sebastian X. This is coming from both the production company and producers behind the hit series The Walking Dead. Not to mention Walking Dead producer Gale Anne Hurd, best known for producing films like Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2, Alien Nation, The Abyss and Tremors. Her comic book movie credits include The Incredible Hulk and Punisher: War Zone.

Here's the synopsis of the spy-like comic book. An elite cop who, after a near-fatal injury, is implanted with the memories of the world’s most notorious terrorist — Sebastian X — in order to infiltrate his group before their next attack.

It's possible Paramount wanted him for G.I. Joe 3, but it seems very unlikely any talks took place. Considering how two trade reports have linked him to other films. TheWrap mentioning him as attached for the currently stalled Hunter Killer in September. It's unlikely we'll see Campbell helping-out the real American heroes. This also seems like comic book material a bit more fitted to experience with Bond films.

You might remember that the genre hit The Snowpiercer was based on an obscure French graphic novel as well. So this could be a big deal, if handled the right way and given the right budget.


SOURCE: VARIETY 

Michelle MacLaren In Talks To Direct WONDER WOMAN Movie For Warner Bros.

Variety reports that television director Michelle MacLaren is now in talks to direct Wonder Woman for Warner Bros. The DC movie which will star Gal Gadot and will be the first solo film post-Batman v Superman, ramping up to the release of Justice League. WB intended on finding a female director, a bit of transparency which often doesn't happen. There has been a bit of "controversy" surrounding only going after female directors, but this seems more like progress than sexism (which some have claimed).

Director Michelle MacLaren Needs To Be In The Mix For WONDER WOMAN #BreakingBad #GameOfThrones http://t.co/o0UsO17OEi pic.twitter.com/Od79w06MlB
— Christopher Marc (@_ChristopherM) January 23, 2014

I've actually been championing Michelle MacLaren for the job since January. While everyone seemed to think the unreachable goal of hiring Kathryn Bigelow was the best move. Bigelow focusing on hard-boiled military films, with awards ambitions didn't seem like a director they could wrangle. I sort of knew this from the beginning and put Michelle out there, because of her fantastic TV work and more accurately a background in genre. Working on shows like Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and primarily Breaking Bad. All shows considered to be the best television has to offer us, so why not give her a bigger world and character to play with?

Plot rumors suggest the first two films could be set between 1920-1940s, I'm kind of hoping that the antagonists become the Nazis. Since that seems to be cool way to go with the character. Taking more of an Indiana Jones approach to the lore. Something that Captain America: The First Avenger attempted, but focused on the fictional HYDRA instead.

I'm obviously on-board with this choice by Warner Bros., it's also great to see that studio listened to fans and didn't strong-arm someone already loyal to the studio. Something we saw when Zack Snyder was sort of coaxed into making Man of Steel after Sucker Punch did so poorly at the box office. MacLaren is a seasoned genre director and this could be just what the project needs. The film has a release date of June 2017, which could mean production might begin late 2015 or early 2016.


SOURCE: VARIETY

Warner Bros. Making Fourth I AM LEGEND Movie, Will They Get It Right This Time?

Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is attempting a fourth adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend. The other versions include Vincent Price's The Last Man On Earth, Charles Heston's The Omega Man and Will Smith's I Am Legend. This time they are moving forward without Will Smith, a smart move on their part. Considering that Smith is known to hold-up productions and hasn't been the earner at the box office he used to be. The problems he creates during the development process, isn't worth the headaches.

The studio is looking to reboot with a spec-script entitled A Garden At The End of The World, which will be retooled to fit the I Am Legend world. This Black List script comes from newcomer screenwriter Gary Graham. A new actor will be looked-at to spearhead this potential franchise. I'm very curious what director they'll land that will be able to turn this property into a serial horror franchise.

Before the 2007 film the project had been set to film back in 1997. Ridley Scott was actually hired by the studio to direct with Arnold Schwarzenegger attached to star. John Logan (Skyfall, Hugo, The Aviator, Last Samurai, Gladiator, Any Given Sunday) penned a rewrite of the original draft, which included a long stretch of the film without any dialog for the first hour.

While that awesome film was never to be, we have some idea of cool it could have been. Studio ADI posted images and video from the makeup tests from Scott's version. To say it's impressive is an understatement. Considering the final film ended-up using unrealistic looking CGI creature effects, it's a shame to see all this practical work went to waste. However, the design work surely did influence Francis Lawrence's film greatly. The studio felt Ridley's vision was too expensive and he would go-off to make Gladiator instead.

As we're in the era of Walking Dead, you'd think Warner Bros. would aim for more practical horror effects in this new project, time will tell. Digital effects are seemingly less expensive, but don't always age well and aren't best used in horror films. Smith's I Am Legend is only seven years old, but the film looks twice it's age due to the poor digital work. The downside of digital horror effects is that they never end-up looking scary enough to be convincing, as practical makeup can.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Director Michelle MacLaren Needs To Be In The Mix For WONDER WOMAN

We learned today that Warner Bros. is considering finally making a Wonder Woman feature, with Gal Gadot in the lead role. At this point we don't even know if this project is even going to happen, or is just an option added to her contact. The studio hasn't named a director or even a writer at this point, so we should approach this slowly. As it seems like the Warner Bros. is doing the same, seeing if Gal's performance deems a solo film.

When it comes to potential directors there is a couple of interesting names, one being Nicolas Winding Refn. While stating he'd love to make film based around the character, he will likely spend his time with his original films and producing his Barbarella series. I'd even believe that 300: Rise of An Empire director Noam Murro is being groomed by Zack Snyder and WB for future DC films. Yet, I love to see WB branch out and at least consider a female director to handle one of the most high-profile superheroine films. I'm not saying a female director "has" to direct but at least consider one or more as candidates.

I recently spoke to the fact, that Lexi Alexander would have been a excellent choice to direct The Expendables spin-off The ExpendaBelles, until the script turned out to be total misogynistic garbage. Lexi recently blogged about the challenges for female directors in the industry, she called for more open-doors, allowing an equal shot at directing studio pictures, no matter the genre or budget. This blog entry caught a lot of attention online to fellow bloggers and industry people (studios too?). I believe fully in this opinion and  hope that Warner Bros. considers taking the first step, when it comes to their big comic book films.

Marvel had a chance to do this by hiring Patty Jenkins (Monster, The Killing) for Thor: The Dark World, but would later exit over creative clashes. Sadly, Alexander has turned out to be our only example of a female director taking on a major comic book film. Lexi did an excellent job servicing Punisher fans and we commend her for it, War Zone is what fans were asking for. Achieving something two previous Punisher directors couldn't. We need to see this across the board, but comic book films allow studios to take more "risks" by hiring their directors. I mean look at Winter Soldier, who would have thought the showrunners of Community would direct a massive Marvel film?

The MCU is lacking the department of female lead characters with superpowers. We know that Captain Marvel/Ms Marvel is being developed at the studio (script is being written), but looks like the character could be saved until Phase Four (2018-2022). Allowing Warner Bros. to make the first major superhero franchise that would focus on a female character. Surpassing and hopefully learning from previous missteps in movies like Elektra and Catwoman. It's possible that Wonder Woman will come out before Marvel, giving DC an edge in the genre.

So what kind of female director is suitable to make such leap into making a massive blockbuster like Wonder Woman? After a bit of researching to what made Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder such interesting comic book directors, I came up with their possible female counterpart. That would be Canadian director Michelle MacLaren, best known for her stellar television work. You'd be surprised how much awesome material she's directed over the years. Below is a bit of a run down of her credits and why directing these shows would make her an excellent candidate.

BREAKING BAD: A lot of people have been clamouring about the amazing series, but oddly we haven't heard a lot about their directors. Michelle directed a bunch of episodes (11 in total) and really understands how to give audiences a gritty world, without going overboard (it wasn't given a mature rating, like Walking Dead). Something we've come to attribute to Christopher Nolan's PG-13 films.

If you've come to love the dark and sometimes chilling performances given by Bryan Cranston, you'd have to give a lot of that credit to MacLaren. I think if she could pull out amazing dramatic skills from supporting/daytime players on Breaking Bad, imagine what she could do with Gadot and the rest of the Wonder Woman cast. I think the interesting turnaround performances by characters like Hank and Skyler are also due to her involvement.

GAME OF THRONES: She's only directed two episodes that have made it to air, but "The Bear and The Maiden Fair" was my favorite of last season, and it was directed by Michelle. Giving us a true sense of awesomeness that is Brienne and Jamie's friendship. In the fourth season we'll see more of her contribution to the Westeros, but if Alan Taylor can end up landing both Thor: The Dark World and Terminator: Genesis from his work on Thrones, Michelle could easily make the the jump to studio work as well. Michelle can handle telling stories within Martin's giant sprawling world, working within the DCU can't be as difficult.

WALKING DEAD: Besides the other shows mentioned, I don't think you could find a larger or more loyal fanbase. She may of only directed two episodes but spending time on that set, must have been a master class on how to work with in camera special effects and makeup. Something that would be needed for a film like Wonder Woman. I have to also assume that the Wonder Woman budget won't be as gigantic as Superman, Batman or Justice League films, because it hasn't really been established as a film franchise. After Green Lantern becoming a massive box office bomb, they might want to lower expectations and will be more cautious when setting the budget. Walking Dead has a minimal production budget and Michelle must have learned a lot cost cutting measures from working on that show.


Michelle MacLaren is the type of female director we need to see making the jump from television to studio pictures. If we are going to see things changes in the industry, having talented female directors thrown into the mix for studio projects like this would be a start in the right direction. This lady can direct drama, genre, fantasy, horror, action and crime stories, why not give her a shot at Wonder Woman? It would be a logical choice to get a well rounded director to take on such a complex character/world like this.

Michael Rooker Will Play Original Guardian Yondu In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Deadline reports that Walking Dead's Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder, Tombstone) has signed on for a role in Guardians of The Galaxy. Rooker will play Yondu an alien big game hunter who becomes one of the original founding members of Guardians of The Galaxy. Yondu will likely be the only character from the original team to be among the lineup. It's the first time we've had confirmation of a new addition to the lineup of Starlord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Michael has also had roles in both James Gunn's previous films Slither and Super.

Michael Rooker Wants To Be Rocket Raccoon In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

While there has been lots of speculation that Nathan Fillion is a lock for the role of Star-Lord in Guardians of The Galaxy there hasn't been much of the way for the other team members. There had been rumblings of Bob Hoskins' gravely cockney voice for Rocket . However, character actor Michael Rooker (Super, Slither, Mallrats, Henry, Walking Dead) has come out in support for James Gunn landing the directing gig via MovieWeb. Rooker has a solid supporting role in both Gunn's Slither and Super having a close working relationship. He hopes that he'll be asked to take on the role of Rocket Raccoon which seems like a perfect fit. Michael is known for badass roles, so to see him take on Rocket could make him yet another breakout star from the Marvel franchises.

"Oh, yeah. Most certainly. I know that James Gunn is doing it. He is directing it, and he is re-writing it. He is a very loyal director. He is a very loyal writer, when it comes to working with people that he knows and loves. He really appreciates the efforts that each actor puts into these roles. And I would be very honored and pleased to work with James Gunn again...Whether it will happen or not, I don't know. But he is a dynamite guy, and we have remained friends ever since we worked together on Slither.

I haven't done much research on it at all yet. Because I don't know what is going to happen. I'm really crazy busy with The Walking Dead right now. But you know what? Write this up. Tweet the [frick] out of it. If the fans want me as Rocket Raccoon, Marvel will listen to you guys, I think, sometimes...Perhaps I will be lucky and blessed enough to go in there, and go at it with Mr. Gunn again, who knows?"

SFX Guru Gregory Nicotero Talks Evil Dead Reboot

Gregory Nicotero is one of the best special effects artists working in Hollywood today. He's not as well known as Tom Savini or Rick Baker but he has just as an impressive resume. It includes The Walking Dead, Predators, Planet Terror, Jennifer's Body, Drag Me To Hell, The Mist, Scream, John Carpenter's Vampires, From Dusk Till Dawn, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Inglourious Basterds, Sin City, Death Proof, Land of The Dead, Kill Bill and Hostel 1-2. Greg is best known for his stunning gore effects along with interesting makeup concepts he also worked on Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. So when he was asked by STYD if he was going to return for the Evil Dead remake he gave this answer.

"We would love to do [that project]. I believe they might be shooting in New Zealand, so that might be prohibitive. I know they would love to have us and I know we'd love to do it, I just don't know where it's going to go. I spoke to [producer] Rob [Tapert] and said, with the stuff we're doing on The Walking Dead, I can only imagine how cool it would be to do something with the make-up would be so much fun."