James Absolon explains how this Pope-themed film, despite its risky premise, works
Alex Pollard reviews Hollywood's biopic of the controversial Margaret Thatcher
- The Hobbit has finally been officially given the greenlight after multiple problems with MGM were resolved (although it still may not be filmed in New Zealand). Peter Jackson will be returning to the helm to direct and the film will hopefully retain the grandeur of The Lord of the Rings trilogy after the failure of Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. It has also been announced that British actor Martin Freeman (The Office, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Sherlock) will play the lead role of Bilbo Baggins.
- James Cameron will make Avatar 2 and 3 as “a single large production,” for release one year apart. He also suggested that along with the planned re-release of Titanic in 3D (scheduled for 2012), he may also look back at Terminator 2: Judgement Day for a possible 3D conversion.
- A new feature film version of The Twilight Zone is in development. It is being written by Jason Rothenberg (The Sparrow). Presumably this would involve adaptations of classic tales from the 1950s television show of the same name, although few details have been revealed.
- Mandate Pictures has won the rights to create a new version of Day of the Triffids. Sam Raimi (the Evil Dead series and Spiderman) is tipped to direct, citing the original 1962 effort as one of his favourite films as a boy.
- Iron Man 3 has been announced for release on May 3, 2013. This comes hot on the heels of news that Disney has bought the distribution rights from Paramount for this superhero sequel.
- Paranormal Activity 2
After Paranormal Activity became the most profitable mainstream horror film in history, we all knew there would be an obligatory sequel. A slight change to the mixture sees a family haunted by a demon spirit which can only be seen by a dog and a baby. However, despite a bigger budget and all that goes with it, the chances of it maintaining the same creeping dread appear doubtful.
- RED
Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman star in the new action movie RED (Retired, Extremely Dangerous). The main cast have a combined age of well over 200 and it remains to be seen how effective they will be in the film's complex action scenes. Starring alongside them is the ever wisecracking Bruce Willis, and it looks like this may well be an enjoyable action fest.
- Easy A
Perhaps the most exciting release of the week, Easy A is supposed to be a smart and intelligent teen comedy that has achieved surprising critical acclaim both here and across the Atlantic. It tells a modern comedic re-imagining of Nathaniel Hawthorne novel (The Scarlet Letter), with its protagonist pretending to sleep with a friend to boost their credibility and soon ending up a social outcast. It’s particularly worth noting that its star Emma Stone (Zombieland) has gained vast praise from the film which has effectively landed her the role of the Spiderman love interest (Gwen Stacy) in the upcoming reboot.
Also, there will be a free screening of the new black comedy based upon the infamous "bodysnatchings" in Edinburgh, Burke and Hare (starring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis). This will be happening at 10.30pm on the 28th October at City Screen for members of the Slackers Club, which you can join at facebook.com/SlackersClub.
"It tells a modern comedic re-imagining of Nathaniel Hawthorne novel ('The Red Letter')"
That would be the Scarlet letter...
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