Thoughts?
Showing posts with label Nicolas Winding Refn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nicolas Winding Refn. Show all posts
Nicolas Winding Refn is being considered for the next Die Hard film...
...along with some other choices, according to Deadline:20th Century Fox is turning up the heat on Die Hard 5, even though its attached director, Noam Murro, left the picture after he got the job helming300: Battle Of Artemisia for Warner Bros. I'm told that the studio has come up with a short list of directors to helm the film scripted by Skip Woods. They are: Joe Cornish (who directed Attack the Block), Fast Five helmer Justin Lin, Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn and Max Payne helmer John Moore. The film brings the always in the wrong place cop John McLane to Russia. Bruce Willis is ready to reprise his signature role.
The surprise on the list is Cornish. While his feature directorial debut Attack the Blockhad a budget probably less than the catering bill on last weekend's other alien invasion film opener Cowboys & Aliens, the movie has become a critical darling as it opened to $130,000 in 8 theaters (it has grossed $4.3 million overseas). It would be a big jump to Die Hard 5, but remember the studio had attached Murro, whose debut was the 2008 character comedySmart People.
Lin is hot off Fast Five, and is expected to do another The Fast and the Furiousinstallment and is attached to the package to finish The Terminatorfranchise that was acquired by Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures.
Refn has much momentum for Drive, the drama that played Cannes and opens in September. Refn reteamed with Ryan Gosling for Only God Forgives,another action film that shoots late summer in Thailand, and which FilmDistrict acquired for U.S. distribution late last month. Refn is also booked to remake Logan's Run with Gosling. Then there is Moore, the Irish helmer who has directed all of his features--Max Payne, The Omen, Flight of the Phoenix and Behind Enemy Lines--for Fox. A web report indicated that Moore already had the job, but I'm told that the filmmaker meetings haven't started yet, so that might be jumping the gun.
This is certainly the big directing job of the moment. The last installment, 2007's Live Free Or Die Hard, showed there was still steam in the franchise when it grossed $384 million worldwide, not shabby considering the first installment, an action classic, came out in 1988.
-Joey's Two Cents: Refn or Cornish would be the out of the box choices, but with a less than "Die Hard" sounding plot to this one, I'm not sure how excited I am about the project yet...thoughts?
Behold the Red Band Trailer for Drive!
Take a look:
-Joey's Two Cents: I'm very excited for this one...thoughts?
Ryan Gosling has another film planned with Nicolas Winding Refn?
Yup, and it's different than the Logan's Run remake that's planned as well. Here's the story from Variety:Ryan Gosling is ready to reteam with his "Drive" and future "Logan's Run" director Nicolas Winding Refn, as thesp is in negotiations to star in "Only God Forgives" alongside Kristin Scott Thomas.
Set in the worlds of gambling, boxing and prostitution in Bangkok, pic is a revenge story centering on a Thai cop and a British gangster hiding in Thailand.
French shingles Gaumont and Wild Bunch are co-producing and co-financing the project, to which they'll share international sales rights. Pic will start shooting in November and will be delivered during the second half of 2012.
Luke Evans was initially announced as being in advanced negotiations for the film, but he was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Hobbit," in which Evans will play Bard the Bowman.
Gosling remains set to star in Warner Bros.' crime pic "The Gangster Squad" and Derek Cianfrance's "The Place Beyond the Pines." Thesp next stars in WB's "Crazy, Stupid, Love," due in theaters on July 29, as well as George Clooney's political drama "The Ides of March," which Sony will release Oct. 7.
-Joey's Two Cents: I love that Gosling is starting to take on more projects, as he's possibly the best young actor out there...thoughts?
Go figure...The Tree of Life wins the Palme d'Or!
Behold the prizes:Official Competition Palme d'Or: The Tree Of Life (dir: Terrence Malick)
Grand Prix (Runner-up to main award): (tie) Kid With A Bike (dir: Dardenne brothers), Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Mise en Scene (Best Director): Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)
Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia)
Prix du Scenario (Screenplay): Joseph Cedar, Footnote (Israel) Prix Du Jury: Poliss (dir: Maiwenn)
Palme d'Or Court Metrage: Cross Country (dir: Maryna Vroda)
Camera d'Or (Best First Film): Las Acasias (dir: Pablo Giorgelli)
-Joey's Two Cents: The top prize going to The Tree of Life was mildly surprising, but it was always going to be an all or nothing endeavor (shame on me for predicting otherwise). Overall, I was right about the acting awards, which I'm kind of proud of, and counting my alternates, I hit on Director as well...thoughts?
What's the early buzz on Drive after its first Cannes screening?
Well, /Film has the first reactions, and they're pretty positive:The first Cannes
Check out a few reactions after the break.
A few initial Tweets, which might be chalked up to post-screening festival highs, hit right after the film was out. Let’s kick things off right. Guy Lodge from In Contention says: “DRIVE (A-) I won’t lie to you: I pretty much want to have sex with this movie. Hot, clipped, nasty, beautiful. Best thing in Competition.”
An additional Twitter sampling offers:
Eric Kohn: Walking out of DRIVE, feeling kinda wobbly. In a good way.
FirstShowing: “Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive – Totally frickin’ awesome. Violent, but badass, great soundtrack. Ryan Gosling
Rope of Silicon: “‘Drive’ was a great way to end my time here in Cannes, really enjoyed and fans of Refn are in for a treat.”
IonCinema: “Cannes 2011: Refn’s DRIVE. More focus on the driving gloves than the cars. This one has got a mean streak and softer side: cult classic.”
Mike D’Angelo (Onion AV Club): “Let’s see if I can be the first person in your feed to say: DRIVE, holy shit.” and “Let’s see if I can be the first person in @albertbrooks ‘s feed to say: Dude, HOLY SHIT.”
But ‘holy shit’ can mean a lot of things. Not long afterward, Mr. D’Angelo got down to a slightly more measured take, which still makes the film sound like a success:
Drive (Winding Refn): 76. Patchy and shallow, but the highs are just insanely high. Half a dozen of the year’s best scenes. Genre bliss… And it’s not THE DRIVER II, either. Surprisingly little auto action. It should really be called LOOK given how predicated it is on faces…
And Jeff Wells chimed in with,
“Drive” isn’t as good as ” Thief,” but it’s respectably and sometimes very thrillingly in the same ballpark. Spare, hard, very high octane… All stand back & admire Albert Brooks for his older, smart-mouthed tough guy with a toupee in “Drive”…yay, Albert!… Ryan Gosling’s hard-guy, Steve McQueen character in “Drive,” but what there is he plays the he’ll put of. His first action film…wham!
Chase from Gordon and the Whale sounded one of the sour notes I’ve seen so far: “DRIVE made me really, really sad; I wanted to like it so much.”
-Joey's Two Cents: I've felt like this might be a dark horse for some awards citations since before the fest started, so perhaps I was on to something...thoughts?