Morgan Freeman sees Red

Morgan Freeman is in talks to star alongside Bruce Willis in Summit Entertainment's espionage thriller Red, based on the WildStorm/DC Comic written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Cully Hamner. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian are producing along with DC Comics' Gregory Noveck overseeing. The screenplay was written by brothers Erich and Jon Hoeber, who also adapted Whiteout.

First published in 2003, Red tells the story of a former black-ops CIA agent now living a quiet life in retirement until the day a high-tech assassin shows up to kill him. With his secret identity compromised and his love interest in danger, the man must reassemble his old team to figure out who is out to get them. The Hoebers' take involves the idea of an older operative set in his ways having to contend with younger agents as well as modern technology.

It was a fantastic comic with some great set pieces. There is no news on what role Freeman will be playing, but he's a class actor (although his personal life seems a tad bizarre at the moment).

Source: First Showing
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Tales from the Script - Trailer for screenwriting documentary

Shane Black, John Carpenter (above), Frank Darabont, William Goldman, Paul Schrader, and dozens of other Hollywood screenwriters share hilarious anecdotes and penetrating insights in Tales from the Script, the most comprehensive documentary ever made about screenwriting.

By analyzing their triumphs and recalling their failures, the participants explain how successful writers develop the skills necessary for toughing out careers in one of the world's most competitive industries. They also reveal the untold stories behind some of the greatest screenplays ever written, describing their adventures with luminaries including Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Stanley Kubrick, Joel Silver, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg.

The screenwriters involved are Allison Anders, Jane Anderson, Doug Atchison, John August, Shane Black, John D. Brancato, John Carpenter, Larry Cohen, Frank Darabont, Steven E. de Souza, Gerald Di Pego, Mark Fergus, Antwone Fisher, Naomi Foner Gyllenhall, Joe Forte, Josh Friedman, Mick Garris, William Goldman, David Hayter, Peter Hyams, Michael January, Steve Koren, Jonanthan Lemkin, Andrew W. Marlowe, Mark O'Keefe, Dennis Palumbo, Zak Penn, Daniel Pyne, Billy Ray, Adam Rifkin, Jose Rivera, Mark Rosenthal, Ari B. Rubin, Bruce Joel Rubin, Richard Rush, Paul Schrader, Mel Shavelson, Ron Shelton, Ronald Shusett, Joe Stillman, Stephen Susco, Duncan Tucker, Guinevere Turner, Kriss Turner, Linda Voorhees, Richard Walter, Richard Wenk, David S. Ward, James L. White, Michael Wolk, Kris Young, Justin Zackham.

Check out the official site.

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First photo of Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela

I mentioned Invictus yesterday (when I posted the dreadful poster for it) and now here is a first peek at Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. First Showing had the image. It also stars Matt Damon and is directed by Clint Eastwood.

The film follows Mandela's attempt to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to heal his nation following his release from prison, the fall of apartheid and his election as president of South Africa.

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Invictus - Poster for Clint Eastwood's Nelson Mandela movie

Clint Eastwood is making a film based around Nelson Mandela. It was called The Human Factor (as this poster states) but had now been changed to Invictus.

Jeffrey Wells on Hollywood Elsewhere summed the poster up rather well - "Matt Damon, who plays rugby star Francois Pienaar, is wearing the same kind of green jacket that he's been photographed wearing on Clint Eastwood's set, but without the dyed blonde hair. And it sure seems as if the rendering of Morgan Freeman, who plays Nelson Mandela, is taken from Million Dollar Baby. I mean, it's just crap."

The film itself sounds pretty good though.

Invictus (meaning Invincible in Latin) film follows Mandela's attempt to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to heal his nation following his release from prison, the fall of apartheid and his election as president of South Africa.

It focuses on the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Damon plays rugby star Francois Pienaar, who as captain of the all-white South African rugby team led them to a victory at the world cup and gave the country's whites and blacks a common cause to rally around as they healed from years of apartheid.
It is due out on 11th December.

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Terminator Salvation is out...but not in the UK

If you have seen the new Terminator Salvation film let everyone know what it is like. Leave your opinions on it in the comments below. I have to wait until 3rd June before I get to see it.

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Classic Scene: Se7en - The ending

Do not watch if you have never seen the film. This is a great scene and an amazing ending to a film. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey are all brilliant.

Thanks to Bodzy85 for the suggestion.

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The Code - Poster and trailer for Morgan Freeman's heist film

The Code aka Thick as Thieves is a heist movie about jewel thieves starring Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas, and Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black, Silent Hill, Surrogates). It is directed by Mimi Leder (The Peacemaker, Deep Impact, and Pay It Forward)

Freeman plays a veteran thief who recruits a young crook (Banderas) to help him pull off one final job to steal three Faberge Eggs in order to repay his debt to the Russian mob.

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Wanted: Weapons of Fate - Trailer for video game based on James McAvoy film based on Mark Millar's comic

Wanted: Weapons of Fate is an upcoming video game developed by GRIN and published by Universal Studios. It is set to be released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game is set in the continuity of the 2008 film and picks up where the movie left off with Wesley (James McAvoy) taking on the French chapter of “The Fraternity”.

The Wiki entry states, "Based on Universal Pictures’ action-thriller Wanted, starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, the Wanted videogame, Wanted: Weapons of Fate, promises to deliver the same fantastic visual style and edge-of-your-seat action as the blockbuster motion picture.

In Wanted: Weapons of Fate players continue the story of hero Wesley Gibson, picking up the action where the film left off to create an entirely new chapter exploring both Wesley’s journey to becoming an unmatched überassassin and the epic fiction of “The Fraternity" in the Wanted mythology. Players will take on the role of Wesley or his father Cross and confront all new enemies, including the French chapter of the Fraternity, a group that is fanatical about upholding the code of the Loom of Fate. The French chapter is headed by The Immortal, a severe Fraternity leader with a grudge against Wesley and his family, and also employs Araña, a beautiful but deadly Spanish assassin, and Brummel, the businessman assassin who is as street smart as he is sophisticated.

Featuring intense third-person action, Wanted: Weapons of Fate will take combat to the next level with iconic moves such as “Curving Bullets” and “Assassin Time” drawn directly from the film, as well as an innovative, multi-layered cover mechanic."

Now that states the game follows on from the film, but you can play as Wesley's father Cross, who apparantly died in the film. Not sure if this will be as a flashback in the game or just a wiki-error.

Here's the trailer.

Wanted (Game) Trailer
by GamersMOTION

What are your thoughts on this after seeing the trailer?
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Maiden Heist - Walken, Freeman, Macy together

The Maiden Heist is a crime comedy about three museum security guards who devise a plan to steal back artwork to which they have become attached after they are transferred to another museum. It stars Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, and William H. Macy, as well as Marcia Gay Harden.

Here are three new photos from the film. Additionally, a few more can be found in the official gallery. It's directed by Peter Hewitt who directed Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, Thunderpants and Garfield!

What do you reckon - will this be a great little comedy gem with three great actors or will it be another crappy heist movie like Welcome to Collinwood which also starred William H Macy?
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Christopher Nolan is officially on for Batman 3 and it starts shooting early next year

Cinema Blend say that the latest edition of Production Weekly, has Christopher Nolan officially as director of Batman 3. Also back are Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman. They also say that pre-production will begin in February 2009. It is a low key announcement for such an eagerly awaited film.

What do you want to see in the next one? What villian or villians? Batgirl, Robin or Nightwing? What do you think the title of it will be?

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The Random

Bloody Disgusting have news that Natalie Portman will be starring in the remake of Dario Argenta's masterpiece, Suspira.

US government prosecutors have decided not to pursue a possible criminal case into how Batman star Heath Ledger obtained the powerful painkillers that contributed to his fatal overdose.

Morgan Freeman is doing well after his surgery. Msn reports...

The Telegraph reports that Britney Spears will play a killer lesbian stripper Varla in Tarantino’s remake of the 1965 cult film Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Star is reporting that Shia LaBeouf called Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen producers yesterday, to inform them that he may need to amputate one of his injured fingers.

Warner Bros has released a new Watchmen video journal on Yahoo. Director Zack Snyder takes us through the making of the Owlship.

More casting news for Inglorious Bastards. The Office (American version) star B.J. Novak is in talks to play PFC Utivich, a New York-born soldier of “slight build”.

MTV chats with James Franco and he confirms that they're working on a Pineapple Express / Superbad crossover.

Sam Bayer, a music video director making his directorial debut, will helm Heights, an "action thriller" set up at Michael Bay's production company, Platinum Dunes.

Discuss in the forum.

The Random

Going to whack a load of stories in the Random to cover the past few days.

Morgan Freeman, 71 has been in a bad motor crash. He has a broken arm, broken elbow and minor shoulder damage. He is expected to make a good recovery. Last year it was announced the actor would play former South African president Nelson Mandela in forthcoming film The Human Factor.

"Casualty" star Gregory Foreman will play Mick Jagger in a new film about The Rolling Stones. Foreman revealed his new role to a journalist while queueing up to see "The Dark Knight" in London.

Woody Allen's next film, starring Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood, will be entitled "Whatever Works".

Jim Hill Media explains how the clip for the Tron sequel came about.

Pierce Brosnan has confirmed that only "a sliver" of 1964's Topkapi will be used in his "Thomas Crown Affair" sequel which has the billionaire thief after a rare diamond. Angelina Jolie is in the running for the female lead.

Samuel L. Jackson is super keen to play Nick Fury in a larger role than his "Iron Man" cameo, saying that he may cameo in other upcoming Marvel films including "Iron Man 2," "Thor" and "Captain America".

Pictures are out of the various characters in Disney/Pixar's "Up" over at PixarBlog

"Dragonball" film character photos at DB The Movie

Keanu Reeves is being rumored for the lead role of Spike in the Cowboy Bebop live-action movie. The big-budget film version of the anime classic is being put on a fast track for 2010.

Judd Apatow says that Russell Brand will reprise his "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" rock star character in "Get Him to the Greek". 'Sarah Marshall' director Nicholas Stoller has written and will be directing.

Nearly a year ago The Rock pledged he'd be playing Black Adam in the upcoming "Shazam" movie, then last weekend he talked about where the movie and role stand right now.

Richard Dean Anderson talks a little bit about the possibility of a MacGyver movie. He says "I have heard something actually. I guess it might be happening."

Pixar have floated around a couple of ideas for a "Monsters, Inc." sequel

Official sites are up for Race to Witch Mountain and Friday the 13th.

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Wanted, 2008 - Review

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman
Running Time: 110 minutes

Score: 9/10
Another great review from Steven.

A flawed, but beautifully orchestrated assault on the senses. A fantastic summer action flick, and nothing less of what I'd expect from Timur.

Wanted, based off of a graphic novel along the lines of Sin City and V for Vendetta, is the tale of Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), and his introduction to the mythical, secretive and ancient assassins' guild, The Fraternity. Wesley is hilariously introduced as a nobody, with an out of body, auto-narrator guiding the story, somewhat akin to the show Scrubs. From there the film picks up running and doesn't let up until the final bullet finds its resting place.

Wanted is directed by the masterful Timur Bekmambetov, the Kazakh filmmaker behind the Neo-Vampire Russian language films Night Watch, and Day Watch. People will at once compare this to Fight Club and The Matrix films. However Wanted is much more akin to Bekmambetov's previous work that expands and borrows from the aforementioned films. Think of Wanted not as a blatant rip-off of these films, but an evolution. Bullets curve, wax heals all wounds, and the ultimate weapon is a vat of peanut butter mixed with gasoline. Wanted uses every trick in the action film checklist, and turns these elements up to 11. Sex Appeal, check, Car Chases, check, Extremely High body count, check, Double Crosses, check, gallons of blood, check, an unlikely "hero", check.

Wanted is ripe with all of these and more, the story is nothing what it seems, and you simply need to wait till the end to the satisfying conclusion which contains, an infamous line, to see how it all goes down. It's a bloody, adrenaline pumping, sickly funny, and blood curdling romp down a lane less treaded in cinema today, and frankly its the most fun I've had at the cinema since Hot Fuzz last year.

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