WB vs Sony - Two Movies About Real-Life Colombian Hostage Rescue

Warner Bros will make an untitled action thriller about last summer’s real-life hostage rescue in the Colombian jungle.

In July, 15 prisoners were freed by undercover forces who tricked the captors, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), into thinking they were moving the hostages to another location.

The film will focus on Operacion Jaque, a five-year plan to locate and rescue three Americans who had been captured in 2003 by Colombian guerilla group FARC. The covert effort involved numerous governments, diplomats and intelligence services and a vast network of spies, military advisers and soldiers plus high-tech surveillance measures.

New York Times Magazine’s foreign correspondent Peter Landesman will script the drama.

“We’re fed so many post-9/11 movies filled with political ambiguity, but this story is unequivocally about good vs. evil, with a happy ending,” Landesman said.

Warner Bros becomes the second major studio to put a rescue film in development. The rival is Sony’s “Operation Checkmate,” which also explores the same event, scripted by Jessica Postigo, with Simon Brand to direct.

McG To Direct “Dead Spy Running”

Warner Bros. has acquired rights to “Dead Spy Running” for McG to direct.

The spy novel which tells the origin story of newly trained spy, written by British author Jon Stock will be published next summer as the first of a trilogy, aims to reinvent the spy genre.

McG will direct at least the first installment.

McG is in post-production on “Terminator: Salvation,” the fourth installment in the “Terminator” franchise, which is set for release May 22, 2009.

Will Smith’s “I Am Legend” Prequel In Works

“I Am Legend” was very successful so Warner Bros will make Will Smith’s movie prequel which is the only way to extend a franchise that grossed $584 million worldwide.

His character was killed in the first film, after extracting a potential cure for the virus for the scattered but this news is great for fans - more adventures of younger Robert Neville.

Will Smith will reprise his role as scientist Robert Neville and Francis Lawrence will return to direct.

The prequel will chronicle the final days of humanity in New York before a man-made virus caused a plague that left Smith’s character the lone survivor among a mutated mob in the city.

The studio has set DB Weiss to write a script that is based on a detailed outline that was hatched over the past few months by Smith, Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter and Lawrence.

Hoffman, Depp and Caine and “The Dark Knight” Role Rumors

We recently wrote about Johnny Depp’s reactions on rumors about his potential The Riddler role in also potential upcoming “The Dark Knight” sequel.

“It seems like it’d be a fun gig for a while, yeah,” he said.

Fake The Riddler Poster

The same thing is with Philip Seymour Hoffman and role of The Penguin. Hoffman spoke about the rumor for the first time at the Toronto International Film Festival. He said that no one from Warner Brothers has given him a call:

“Some friend of mine told me he read that. First I heard of it” and added:

“I grew up a comic book fan, so I love that stuff. I love going to that stuff. I think what they’re doing with that whole Batman story is really true to what that whole Batman thing has always been. It’s one of the darkest origins of a superhero, to get all nerdy and geeky on you. That character sees his parents gunned down as a young child: I remember when I was a kid reading that story, so seeing it now come to life as the dark tale that it really is as an intense, really dark, very visceral, adult tale that they’re doing now, all the great work people are doing on it, of course I wouldn’t say, ‘Well, no, no no.’ But I don’t know the reality of it, so I wouldn’t say ‘yes’ to you.”

But, Michael Cain, who plays Bruce Wayne’s butler in “The Dark Knight” confirmed to MTV News that both Depp and Hoffman are currently in talks with Warner Brother for the exact roles that fans suggested (!?)

“They’ve already got them in mind,” said Caine. “It’s Johnny Depp as The Riddler. And The Penguin is Philip Seymour Hoffman. I read it in the paper.”

“When Christopher Nolan said we were going to do “The Dark Knight” next, I didn’t know what that meant in Batman terms. I said, ‘What’s the story?’ and he said The Joker. I said, ‘Oh, sh*t! How are you going to top Jack Nicholson?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ve cast Heath Ledger. And I went ‘Ha! I couldn’t top Jack, but if anyone could, maybe Heath could.’ And he did.”

Caine continued:

“I was with a Warner Bros executive and I said, ‘Are we going to make another one?’ They said yeah. I said, ‘How the hell are we going to top Heath? And he says ‘I’ll tell you how you top Heath — Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.’
I said, ‘Sh*t, they’ve done it again!’”

And would you like to see Johnny Depp as Joker … maybe?

Stephen Sommers To Direct Tarzan

The Jungle Book director Stephen Sommers is in negotiations to direct a big screen version of Tarzan for Warner Bros, reports Variety. Two years ago, the studio was negotiating with Guillermo del Toro to direct but his commitment to The Hobbit has put him out of the running.

Jerry Weintraub (Ocean’s Eleven) is producing through his Jerry Weintraub Prods.

Variety says that Sommers will also co-write the “Tarzan” script with Stuart Beattie. With the first two “Mummy” movies, “The Scorpion King” and “Van Helsing,” Sommers, who is repped by WMA, has become a connoisseur of the big-budget, effects-driven spectacle. He recently finished shooting the summer 2009 Paramount tentpole, “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra,” which Beattie came in to write for him. Read the rest of this entry

Mark Millar Wants Three Superman Films

Mark Millar, comic book writer extraordinare, had an interesting interview with G4 that offered up some insight into his plans for writing a Superman movie. At this point, Millar has pitched the idea to Warner Bros and is currently waiting for the studio’s reply.

“I’ve had this plan for like 10 years for a big three-picture Superman thing, like a big Lord of the Rings epic, starting over from scratch again with a seven-hour Superman story. And hopefully one year after the other,” Millar told G4.

You can watch the full interview below, where Millar also talks about his other upcoming film project - Kick-Ass. Read the rest of this entry

Warner Bros’ “Watchmen” in Serious Legal Trouble

Watchmen - movie photo

A judge has denied a Warner Bros motion to dismiss 20th Century Fox’s lawsuit over Warners’ right to make a film based on the graphic novel “Watchmen.”

The ruling is a huge victory for Fox, which may end up as being a profit participant in the film. Fox retained the rights to the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, which the studio originally purchased in 1991. When producer David Gordon picked up the option on the project out of turnaround in 1994, the judge ruled, he never excersised that option for Fox’s remaining interest in the film, therefore, Fox’s rights to the film should still be intact.

Project, which has been in development for two decades, finally began lensing in September with Zack Snyder at the helm. Warners was set to release the film, which stars Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earle Haley, on March 6th in the same slot in which “300” opened. Read the rest of this entry