Posts Tagged ‘300’

Zack Snyder is Developing a ‘Star Wars’ Movie

14, Jan 2013
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Zack Snyder, the director of Watchmen, 300 and this year’s forthcoming Man of Steel is developing a Star Wars project for Lucasfilm. This runs contrary to reports that Snyder was “not interested” in directing Star Wars: Episode VII, which Lucasfilm and Disney have slated for release in 2015.

However, that report seems to be technically true, as Snyder’s project is apparently a film that will be completely separate from the new trilogy. It’s not clear where in Star Wars continuity Snyder’s film will take place, but it should be sometime after the events of Episode VI, and will not be a numbered “episode” like the new trilogy.

Snyder’s take on Star Wars will be loosely based on Akira Kurosawa‘s 1954 classic Seven Samurai, a personal favorite of George Lucas, who even offered one of its stars, Toshiro Mifune, the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi when creating the original Star Wars.

via Vulture

UPDATE:

In an exclusive statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder’s spokesperson says: “While he is super flattered because he is a huge fan, Zack is not involved in any way with the new Star Wars. He is currently in post on his two films, Man of Steel and 300: Battle of Artemisia.”

UPDATE #2:

Vulture has updated their original story with the following:

“Vulture takes the accuracy of its reports very seriously. And while a piece published in The Hollywood Reporter this evening quotes Snyder’s rep as saying that the director ‘is not involved in any way with the new Star Wars,’ Vulture stands by its story. This reporter heard through a source very familiar with the situation that Snyder recently flew up to Marin County to meet with Lucasfilm execs about the project. When subsequently reached by Vulture, Snyder’s spokesperson would only repeat that he ‘is’ not currently involved. One should note the possible political ramifications here of our original story break: Snyder’s last Warner Bros. film, Sucker Punch, lost millions for the studio, and execs there could have become distressed at the idea of him getting involved with another studio’s franchise when they have so much at stake with their upcoming Man of Steel and want him available for an immediate sequel.” 

The plot thickens…

The Guilty Pleasures: Dragon Edition

27, Apr 2011
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Dragons. Are there any cooler creatures in all of mythology? Unfortunately, in the world of celluloid, these great creatures of imagination have not really gotten their due. (At least, not in live-action cinema; why I have not yet seen How to Train Your Dragon is still beyond me.)

Is there any live-action film in which dragons have truly come off as cool as they deserve? Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire wasn’t too bad, but the dragons aren’t the stars. As I impatiently await the day when Peter Jackson brings his vision of the ultimate dragon, Smaug, to life in The Hobbit, I think about other dragon-themed movies that I have enjoyed in the past. None of them are deserving enough to be called “great”, but I’m very forgiving of movies I want to like. In one of these cases, I was the perfect age to see a dragon with real presence brought to life on the big screen – even if the movie he inhabited was far from perfect. Without further adieu, I present, in ascending order on my Flickchart, my picks for Guilty Pleasures starring dragons.

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Sucker Punch: A Flickcharter’s Movie Review

29, Mar 2011
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You will be unprepared.

That’s a tagline full of promise, all right. Though I have to say, I never felt “unprepared”. There was very little in Zack Snyder‘s Sucker Punch that I didn’t expect in the wake of the trailers promoting this movie. It takes big event movies across multiple genres – a pinch of The Matrix, a heaping helping of Kill Bill, a splash of Terminator, a dose of Rambo, a dash of The Lord of the Rings, a dollop of Fight Club, a touch of Inception – and tosses them in a blender. The result is a movie that certainly looks cool, but with a narrative that may seem as cobbled-together as the visuals if you start to think about it too hard.

Watch the Trailer >

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The Under-Ranked: Sucker Punch

25, Mar 2011
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This week, director Zack Snyder releases his fifth film, Sucker Punch. This film marks Snyder’s first wholly original work, after 2004’s Dawn of the Dead and his adaptations of the famous graphic novels 300 and Watchmen and the children’s book, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. In Sucker Punch, Baby Doll, played by Emily Browning is left in a mental institution where she will receive a lobotomy in five days. Along with four other inmates, Baby Doll uses her imagination to create worlds that will help her and her other captives escape. But before going to see Sucker Punch this weekend, check out some of these under-ranked films from the film’s stars.

Along with Browning’s Baby Doll, Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie, and Jamie Chung’s Amber are Jena Malone and Abbie Cornish as Rocket and Sweet Pea, respectively. Both actresses have done some great independent features that are worthwhile to check out.

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