Paul W S Anderson takes on The Warded Man

Paul W. S. Anderson and longtime producing partner Jeremy Bolt have acquired film rights to Peter V. Brett's debut fantasy novel The Warded Man, according to MovieWeb.

Anderson is attached to direct and will produce with Bolt. Stephanie Johnson, who brought the title to the pair, will executive produce.

The book is set in an undetermined future where mankind is beset by nightly attacks from demonkind and has been thrown back into a feudal state. Three young people emerge with the potential power to turn the tide, including the title character, a man who has wards (spells) tattooed on his body.

"It was an occasion where it paid to be British," Anderson said. "It launched in the U.K. six months earlier than in the U.S., and we got wind of it when it was in galley form before the U.K. release. We think it has the potential to be a new 'Lord of the Rings'-style epic, and the book has all this great imagery."

Novelist Brett was an ad man with a two-hour commute to Manhattan; he wrote the book on his BlackBerry.

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Classic Scene - Conan punches out a camel

Thanks to bjornage for reminding me of this scene.

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By the Power of Grayskull - He-Man gets another rewrite

Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures have signed on Evan Daugherty to write the latest draft of Grayskull, the studio's big-screen version of Mattel's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon and toy line.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) is attached to direct the adaptation of the show, which followed a blond warrior named Prince Adam who, when uttering the magic words, "By the power of Grayskull -- I have the power," turned into the heroic He-Man. He and his allies -- Battle Cat, Man-at-Arms and Orko -- defended their planet Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor, who tried week after week to conquer the fortress Castle Grayskull, which imbued He-Man with his powers.

Warners sees the big-screen version as a gritty fantasy and reimagines Adam as a soldier who sets off to find his destiny, happening upon the magical world of Eternia. There, Skeletor has raised a technological army and is bent on eradicating magic.

That sounds as if Prince Adam could well be from Earth and ends up in Eternia which is basically a reversal of the previous film that starred Dolph Lundgren.

Who would you like to see play the various characters in the film?

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The Game of Thrones begins

Tom McCarthy has come aboard to direct HBO's fantasy pilot Game of Thrones, on which the star of his first feature, The Station Agent's Peter Dinklage, has been tapped for a key role according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Based on George R.R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire novels, "Thrones" is described as an epic struggle for power set in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom. Dinklage will play Tyrion, the Queen's brother who is treated as an outsider because of his size.

"Thrones" is to begin filming this autumn in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in what the country's First Minister Peter Robinson hails as "the first TV production of such vast size and scale that has been filmed in Northern Ireland."

"Thrones" marks the first TV directorial gig for McCarthy, an actor who wrote and directed two features, 2003's "Station Agent" and 2007's "The Visitor," both of which landed him Indie Spirit Awards. On the acting side, McCarthy next appears in 2012.

McCarthy is a bit of an odd choice to direct this piece of fantasy as his previous work has revolved about quirky stories set in the here and now. Mind you, both his features have been excellent little movies and he may bring a different style to the proceedings that will hopefully make this something a bit special.

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The Hunt for Gollum is now online

I've posted the trailers for this fan-film a while back but now the full 38-minute film has premiered online and is available for free. Click HERE to see it at the site as it is currently not embeddable.

The story was adapted from elements of the appendices of The Lord of the Rings. The story follows the Heir of Isildur; the “greatest huntsman and traveler in Middle Earth” as he sets out to find the creature Gollum. The creature must be found to discover the truth about the Ring, and to protect the future Ringbearer.

It was directed by Chris Bouchard for $3000.

Trailer 2 - The Hunt For Gollum [2]
by HuntForGollum

Let me know what you thought of the full film.

Source: Fan Cinema Today

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The Magistical - Trailer for animated fantasy film

Once upon a time, a guardian was chosen to watch over all living things. She was called the Magistical. Hoping to preserve all precious life, the Magistical created a spell, granting the last of every type of creature immortality. However, to one very evil Draken, the spell would carry a very different meaning. She thought by killing all other Drakens, she would no longer fear death and rule the world. Now only one baby cub stands between her and her evil ambitions, a small, but determined obstacle, named Foible.

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Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire

From the time of the long ago past arrives Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire, Comedy Central’s epic new half-hour, live-action series that chronicles the adventures of Krod Mandoon (Sean Maguire) and his hopelessly futile band of warriors as they take on the evil Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas). Marking the all-comedy network’s first foray into fantasy-comedy, the groundbreaking series premieres on Thursday, April 9 at 10:00 p.m. marked by a special one-hour episode with limited commercial interruptions.

Film School Rejects got hold of these two exclusive featurettes below in which stars Alex MacQueen (Barnabus) and Matt Lucas give us a little bit of insight into their characters, the show’s two villains.

The series also stars John Rhys-Davies as Grimshank , the lovely India de Beaufort as Aneka (pic below), James Murray as Longshaft, Kevin Hart as Zezelryck and Steve Speirs as Loquasto.

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Hawk the Hunter - Sequel to Hawk the Slayer I kid you not!

Who would have thunk it. A sequel to the decidely beautifully dreadful yet cool Hawk the Slayer from 1980.

You remember the one. Had the bloke from the Carry On films (Bernard Bresslaw) as a giant (achieved by having the camera looking up at him from the ground), the Elf (Ray Charleson) who was very fast (achieved by repeating the same shot of him firing an arrow in quick succession).

It starred John Terry (Jack's Dad from Lost) as Hawk (he was the hero don't you know) and the scene munching genius of Jack Palance as Hawk's villainous brother, Voltan (Dun-dun-Dahhh - that was suspenseful music) It also had the cool Mind-sword with the fist at the end of the hilt. That's it. You remember now.

It was directed by Terry Marcel and now he is bringing Hawk back with Jinga Films in the deliciously titled, Hawk the Hunter. This time Hawk will be played by Tom Hardy (Layer Cake, Star Trek: Nemesis, RocknRolla, Bronson). No word on who will be the big bad Voltan.

Always good to hear about a fantasy movie being made. As long as they keep the charm of the original but tone down the cheese it should be a great film. Got to be better than Krull anyway! Does anyone want to make me a Krull Sucks T-Shirt?

Below is the trailer for the original Hawk the Slayer.

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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawntreader Concept Art

Some concept art for the new Narnia film, The Voyage of The Dawntreader. What did you think of Prince Caspian and will you be looking forward to this new one?

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George R R Martin's A Game of Thrones to be HBO Fantasy series

Paul will be happy about this one. He lent me the first in the series and I thought it was excellent. This from /film

HBO has given the greenlight to film a pilot based on George R.R. Martin’s bestselling fantasy novel series A Song of Fire and Ice. The show will be titled A Game of Thrones, named after the first novel in the series. Martin has planned seven books in the series, and the plan is to turn each book into a full season of television.

David Benioff (25th Hour, Troy), who is executive producing the series with D.B. Weiss (I Am Legend Prequel), says that “High fantasy has never been done on TV before and if anybody can do it, it’s HBO. They’ve taken tired genres and reinvented them — mobsters in The Sopranos and Westerns with Deadwood.” While supernatural and sci-fi have boomed in recent years, it does seem extremely odd that the fantasy genre hasn’t been tried in primetime, especially considering the huge box office and critical success of the Lord of the Rings films. The only fantasy television series that comes to mind is Xena: Princess Warrior, and that was syndicated and… uh, bad.

Sure, dragons, magic, and even swords cost money (Thrones has all three), but in the last decade sci-fi television shows have pushed the boundaries in the visual effects department. The producers claim that Thrones is more character centric, and most of the action takes place off screen - a formula that has worked well for Battlestar Galactica.

A Game of Thrones was published in 1996, nominated for 1998 Nebula Award and the 1997 World Fantasy Award, and won the 1997 Locus Award. The official plot description follows:

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

A Game of Thrones has also been turned into a successful board game and CCG. Who would you like to see playing the various characters? Fans of the books do you feel it would be a good TV series?
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Solomon Kane Concept Art

Here are a few pieces of concept art for the movie Solomon Kane. It looks awfully good from this. Wikipedia describe the Puritan guy as follows:

Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A 17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms. His adventures, published mostly in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, often take him from Europe to the jungles of Africa and back.
Howard describes him as a somber and gloomy man of pale face and cold eyes, all of it shadowed by a slouch hat. He is dressed entirely in black and his weaponry consists of a rapier, a dagger, and a couple of flintlock pistols. During one of his latter adventures his friend N'Longa, a black African shaman, gave him a juju staff that served as a protection against evil, but could easily be wielded as an effective weapon. It is revealed in another story, "The Footfalls Within," that this is the mythical Staff of Solomon, a talisman older than the Earth and unimaginably powerful, much more so than even N'Longa knew. In the same adventure with N'Longa, Kane is seen using a musket as well.

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Franklyn - Neo-noir set in Meanwhile City

Interesting sounding film. Franklyn, starring Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green, Sam Riley and Bernard Hill among others. Written and directed by Gerald McMorrow. The story of four lost souls in a futuristic London society where there is no separation between Church and State.

Quiet Earth have this description of it: Preest, a masked vigilante detective, searching for his nemesis on the streets of Meanwhile City, a monolithic fantasy metropolis ruthlessly governed by faith and religious fervor. Esser (Bernard Hill) is a broken man, searching for his wayward son amongst the rough streets of London's homeless. Milo (Sam Riley) is a heartbroken thirty-something desperately trying to find a way back to the purity of first love. Emilia (Green) is a beautiful art student; her suicidal art projects are becoming increasingly more complex and deadly.

Looks like four intertwined stories and is probably not going to be a bundle of laughs, but does sound intriguing and the imagery seems rather Sandman and DC Vertigo in general. Suicidal art projects does sound a bit silly though. Surely you can only ever do the one?

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The Hobbit script is being Written

This from theonering.net:

“Ive just got home from an early screening of Hellboy II The Golden Army hosted by PopcornTaxi at the Greater Union Cinema in Sydney, where Guillermo did a telephone Q & A from Berlin after the film…The last question though related to the Hobbit - and Guillermo said that although there was nothing to add at the moment - he can say that scripting has started - and he described the process as something ‘beautiful.‘”

Excellent news. I can't wait to see del Toro's take on Middle Earth, Smaug, Beorn, the spiders and many other great things. Who should play Bilbo? Who should voice Smaug?

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Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, 2008 - Movie Review

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Seth MacFarlane, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt, Brian Steele

Running Time: 120 Minutes

Score: 10/10

This review from Topher-Liam Froehlich

In April 2004, the original Hellboy film took in a modest $23 million during its opening weekend, going on in the course of its run in theaters to gross a not so impressive $69 million estimate. The studio felt it was not in their best interest to make a sequel. Universal thought differently, and bought the rights. In the meantime, the B film became a hit on DVD and cable re-runs and its director, Guillermo del Toro, achieved auteur status (aka, A-list director) with his success making the acclaimed "Pan's Labyrnth". Now in 2008, against all odds, and in a rare risk for a studio, comes the sequel to this cult film sensation.

And in the tradition of small-budget features getting the big Hollywood treatment (ala "Terminator 2" and "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" two films that benefited from larger budgets and the expanded visions of grade-A filmmakers James Cameron and George Miller), "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" bests its predecessor. It takes the setup, makes it bigger, better and louder. The film, to be sure--an eclectic medley of self-aware humor, an over-dose of dazzling visual monsters, sets and thrilling action, cheesy-yet-fun movie-making--is not for everyone. It's an acquired taste; a film to either be completely loved or entirely deplored varying on the viewer.

For anyone interested in a bizarre, unique, visual stunner of gleeful monster madness (like me) I'd say catch this flick. For anyone else...I might suggest you stay away.

In the first creature-feature, the story was a near laughable plot involving Rasputin, a couple of regenerating hell-hounds, and some other forgettable nonsense. What made "Hellboy" succeed, was the director's visual panache and enriching vision, Ron Perlman's insta' classic turn as the titular character, a bizarre yet beautiful set and monster design, and a superb, hilarious dose of self-aware humor. Take all those ingredients, and add some elements that better it, and you have the upgraded, perfected version of what del Toro attempted to achieve in round 1.

This time the story is better centered in its own rules and universe. A vengeful Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) seeks three pieces to a crown that will grant him control of the mechanized, unstoppable, indestructible Golden Army (big, round, blade-equipped, gear-moving robots). Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is dispatched by our government, with his usual good humor, to protect the third piece (held by Nuada's sister, played by Anna Walton) and hunt down the bad-guy before he completes his mission.

This works better for several reasons as a story. Nuada (played with icy style by Goss) is a formidable villain to our hero, not the barely glimpsed and hardly personified mere image Rasputin was. He has a plan, a motive, and skill to be feared. Secondly, the main players Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and Abe Sapien (the indispensable Doug Jones, who also does other characters) are treated more as members of Hellboy's team; they work and operate together. This allows for more personality to be revealed in each of them, such as a love interest for Abe in Princess Nuada, or the domestic issues (hilarious) between Hellboy and Liz.

Mostly though, the plot serves to offer a more enriched universe created by Guillermo del Toro. Here is a man who turned down job offers on "I am Legend", "Harry Potter 6" and "Wanted" (all good flicks, and well paying jobs I imagine). He's committed to the material, and knows what he's doing. Del Toro's precision is felt in every frame; his perfect visual eye, sense of composition, brilliant art direction (the film definitely gains from perfect, eye popping sets and lighting), and engaging, well-choreographed action scenes. Pulling out all the stops, scene-for-scene are eyes are tantalizingly overwhelmed with interestingly created beasts and locales.

Ron Perlman still enchants as Hellboy; piercing through all those prosthetics to deliver a performance balanced with humor, machismo, heart ache, charm, and swagger. He fits into the character even more comfortably than in film one. Selma Blair, who in her last outing seemed kinda dour and flat in my opinion, gets to play up on Liz's fury (and flames) and emotions. Doug Jones is as priceless as ever, and given much more screen time as Abe.

Early on in the movie, Hellboy reveals his cover to the public; letting all the world know of his existence and the existence of his fellow 'freaks'. He expects to be treated as a hero, yet is rejected for having the appearance of a horrendous monster. The movie takes advantage of this notion and plays out Hellboy's potential choice to either save us all or join in with his own kind (as Nuada constantly says he should, ala very Darth Vader, 'join the dark side'). Throw in a hilarious drunken rendition of Barry Manelow's "I can't Smile Without You" sung by Abe and Hellboy, and a competition for team leadership in the form of gas-based character Johan Krauss (pricelessly voiced by Seth Macfarlane), and you have an admirable perspective shown on Hellboy's character: the nature, up's and down's, of being a hero. One who does not look traditional and suffers for it.

I rate this film a 10/10, not in the same way I would rate "The Godfather" a 10/10. I give it a perfect score for achieving what it set out to, and being no more than what I expected: a fun, bizarre, visually gorgeous, summer blast. 10/10

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Red Sonja - Poster

Here's a look at Rose McGowan as Red Sonja. It's from the folks at MTV so may well be taken down from here before the day is out. It's certainly a striking image.

Some more news on ths Red Sonja movie from the 2008 Comic Con. Robert Rodriguez won't be directing it due to contract problems with the Weinsteins. However, he'll probably have quite a bit of say in the matter as the director is going to be Douglas Aarnioko who was first assistant Director on a load of Rodriguez movies. The film will be shot on location but also with green screen work as they did on Sin City and 300. The mix of the two is in order to give the whole thing a different feel to the other fantasy type movies.

As for the action in the movie, Rose McGowan went on to say that it would be similar to the opening chase scene in Casino Royale with lots of free running type stunts but with swords and barbarians. This last bit interests me as it would be a marked difference to the previous Red Sonja and Conan movies.

This project originally sounded a bit naff to me, but I'm starting to get a tingly good feeling about it. How about you?

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Krull, 1983 - Review

Director: Peter Yates
Starring: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones
Running Time: 121 minutes

Score: 7.5/10


This review is from forum contributor, Daan.

On the planet Krull two enemy kingdoms merge by the marriage of Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony). Things quickly go bad when The Beast invades Krull, and sends slayers to kill everyone in the kingdom where the marriage was held, and to kidnap Princess Lyssa. Prince Colwyn, however, survives the attack after being unconscious for a while. Ynyr (Freddie Jones) wakes him up and tells him he is now the king of Krull and he is to rescue Princess Lyssa. He first has to retrieve the Glaive, a magical weapon to assist him on his quest to defeat The Beast. His quest is full of meetings between friendly, and sometimes not so friendly people/creatures.

I remember seeing this film quite some time ago and it has stuck with me ever since. I decided to buy the DVD. It was just as I remember it, a film packed with action, adventure and science fiction, just the way i like my movies. Its not the best movie out there, and it can't be compared to bigger productions such as Star Wars. The graphics weren't all that special, but looked good nonetheless. It's a great adventure, and completey worth your time if you are a Sci-Fi /Adventure fan. Its also good if you just want a fun flick to watch on a boring Saturday night.It's a great classic and fun for everyone.

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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

I am really looking forward to his. Jet Li, car chases, action, adventure and a big Yeti. Looks a damn site better than the second Mummy film.

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