Lionsgate Picks Up Kick-Ass

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Lionsgate, Action, Adaptation, Horror, Satire, Comedy, Distribution, Upcoming Releases

Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.‘s brutal, satirical comic book, Kick-Ass, turned quite a few heads last month when a clip from the film adaptation was showcased at San Diego Comic Con. One of those heads turned out to be the key to landing their U.S. and Canadian distributor, Lionsgate Films.

Director Matthew Vaughn has, with the help of his own company Marv Films and Plan B Entertainment, financed the film after studios turned it down (most likely due to prepubescent Hit Girl’s uber samurai-carnage).

Lionsgate, which aims to see a wide-release in 2010, beat out Universal, Paramount and Fox Searchlight (among others) for the rights.

Considering its proclivity towards violence (Saw, The Midnight Meat Train, Hostel: Part II) and eyebrow-raising material (Religulous, W.), I would say that Vaughn and company should feel safe in the company’s money-making arms.

Read More | The Hollywood Reporter

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Casting Corner: James McAvoy, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Miramax, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Comedy, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases

Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:

It seems as if there isn’t a woman James McAvoy can’t romance. In the past few years, he’s been paired with Gillian Anderson, Keira Knightley, Anne Hathway and, of course, Angelina Jolie. Now the rising actor will be taking on his biggest chemistry challenge yet.

In Gnomeo and Juliet, McAvoy and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) will voice characters in a CGI-animated version of the Shakespeare drama. But those looking for any Montagues or Capulets will be pleasantly surprised. In this version, the lovers will actually come from rivaling families of garden gnomes.

This film, co-produced by Elton John, will also feature music from the Lion King musician. The feature should be completed by 2010.

Click to continue reading Casting Corner: James McAvoy, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage

Read More | Hollywood Reporter

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Marvel’s ‘Thor’ Script Gets Thumbs Up

Posted by David Onda Categories: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Filmmaking, Scripts, Upcoming Releases, Short FilmCrunch

Comic book fans rejoice! The long-dreamt-of big-screen debut of Marvel’s Thor has just gotten one step closer to becoming a reality. As reported by The Guardian, director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) and screenwriter Mark Protosevich have just finished the script for the mighty hammer-wielder’s movie this past week. In ever better news, Vaughn says Marvel has already approved it. They did, however, have one tiny issue:

“My phone has just rung. Marvel loves the script. The only problem is that it has been costed at $300m and they ask how I am going to reduce it by $150m. I think I prefer being asked what it’s like working with De Niro.”

One hurdle cleared – another $150 million hurdle to go.

Read More | The Guardian

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