Juan Carlos Fresnadillo To Direct Bioshock Movie
Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is in talks to direct the video game adaptation “Bioshock” for Universal Pictures.
Gore Verbinski, who dropped out of helming due to his commitment to animated movie Rango, remains the film’s producer through his Universal-based Blind Wink. Fresnadillo’s producing partner, Enrique Lopez Lavigne, is also in talks to become a producer. John Logan (Gladiator) wrote the script.
In order to keep costs lower (budget of “Bioshock” rose to $160 million) the studio has decided to move the production aboard in order to take advantage of production tax credits and try to squeeze more out of the dollar with the favorable exchange rates.
Ralph Fiennes’ Directorial Debut Coriolanus
Ralph Fiennes will make his directorial debut with an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Roman tragedy “Coriolanus.” Fiennes will also play the title role, Roman general Caius Martius – Coriolanus.
Fiennes will direct from the script by John Logan (”Gladiator,” “The Aviator,” “The Last Samurai,” “Sweeney Todd“).
“People who have read it think it’s a page-turner,” said Fiennes. “I want it to be an edge-of-the-seat film.”
Fiennes, who was Oscar-nominated for his roles in “The English Patient” and “Schindler’s List,” said he wanted to make Shakespeare accessible, citing Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet as an influence.
“I don’t want it to be in that Shakespeare voice that puts you off,” he told trade paper Screen International at the Cannes Films Festival. “Audiences want to hear Shakespeare and they understand more than they think they are going to. The second film I ever saw was Olivier’s Henry V when I was nine years old and I loved it.”
William Hurt, Vanessa Redgrave and Jessica Chastain have joined Fiennes. Redgrave will take the role of Coriolanus’ mother Volumnia, while Chastain plays his wife Virgilia.
The adaptation of Shakespeare’s study of the way power corrupts is set in the early years of the Roman Republic. Coriolanus, who returns from war and is urged by his mother Volumnia (Redgrave) to run for consul, but his ambition leads to his downfall.
Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” is one of his most politically challenging examinations of the way power corrupts. In the aftermath of a famine, the people demand the right to set their own price for the city’s grain. In response to their protests, the ruling aristocracy grant the plebeians five representatives, a decision that provokes the ire of Caius Martius, who has nothing but contempt for the lower classes. After winning a war against a neighboring tribe, he is granted the name Coriolanus, and returns with the hope of joining the Senate.
Shooting will begin in Serbia in early 2010.
Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski Reteam on “Rango”
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp is reteaming with “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy director Gore Verbinski for “Rango,” an animated feature for Paramount.
The Paramount movie is about a household pet (Depp) that goes on an adventure to discover its true self. And while that may seem thuddingly generic and been-there-done-that, we’re trusting that Depp and Verbinski will bring a fresh approach to this material. And hiring John Logan to write the script isn’t a bad start.
Last time Depp lent his voice for an animated character was for clay-animated movie “Corpse Bride” back in 2005
John Logan (The Aviator) has written the script from an idea hatched by Verbinski. Verbinski will work with Industrial Light & Magic on the animation.
Rango aims to use cutting-edge animation techniques that “will allow us to capture and translate every aspect of Johnny’s performance, using it to drive the computer-generated character in a way that has yet to be seen in an animated feature,” Verbinski said.
Depp is set to start working on the film in January. Verbinski will direct the project as he continues to develop an adaptation of the Take-Two video game “BioShock” for Universal.
