#416. Movie Buzz
1. Reboots should be afraid of their directors ...
Brett Ratner may no longer be associated with the Conan the Barbarian reboot but word from CHUD.com is that another director is already in line for the job.
He's James McTeigue, longtime first assistant director to the Wachowski Brothers, and who scored an impressive debut with V for Vendetta.There's talk, though, that McTeigue not being a guaranteed hitmaker of Ratner's stature may result in the Conan movie's budget being trimmed. That is just not on!
2. No barbarian days for Brett
Director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand) is no longer linked with the Conan the Barbarian reboot. According to Empire Magazine, Joe Gatta - the producer of the planned new Conan film - said neither side's timing could fit which led to the mutual parting of ways.Ratner had been linked with the proposed movie for at least six months. He was the latest in a long line of filmmakers and actors associated with a third Conan movie.If past trends are anything to go by, we might see a repeat of the whole Superman fiasco here: where folks come and go and finally, we get a dull-as-dishwater effort a la Superman Returns.Crom, but there'll be hell to pay if that happens.
3. Free Willy Willy Willy
Warner Bros is banking on the premise that Everybody Loves Whales, and has picked up that script by Jack Amiel and Michael Beglar.The script is based on the true-life 1988 rescue of three grey whales found trapped under the ice near Barrow, Alaska - yep, the very same town so famously savaged by vampires in 30 Days of Night. According to Dark Horizons, it's based on a book by Tom Rose about the massive rescue effort that involved both the US and then-Soviet governments as well as locals, environmentalists, corporations and the military.
4. Lone Ranger director unmasked?
Could Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell be the man to put the Lone Ranger through his paces in a new tale of the classic western hero's adventures? Production Weekly says Newell is in negotiations to direct the movie, set for a 2010 release and rumoured to have George Clooney and Johnny Depp on board as the Lone Ranger and Tonto respectively.The studios behind the project are Disney Pictures and Bruckheimer Films. Newell's latest project, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, is currently in post-production for a 2010 release.
5. More gossip on Piranha 3-D casting
More casting news on the Alexandra Aja-directed Piranha 3-D "retelling" due next March: director of the original Piranha Joe Dante will have a cameo in the movie, Sci Fi Wire reports.Other sites, meanwhile, have weighed in with more casting news. Jessica Szohr of TV's Gossip Girl has joined the cast, along with Jerry O'Connell (Sliders, Mission to Mars).The trio join confirmed stars Elisabeth Shue and Adam Scott as menu choices for a horde of ravenous prehistoric piranha, unleashed by a tremor from their hidden subterranean cavern into a lake resort.
