These are the top movie stories that got the Flickchart staff talking this week. We rank ’em, you read ’em.
#1. DeNiro still planning mob film The Irishman with Pesci, Pacino, and Scorsese
Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese have been talking about adapting Charles Brandt’s true-crime book I Heard You Paint Houses for years now (the film will be called The Irishman) – in 2010, Scorsese said it would be his next film. That obviously didn’t happen, but according to DeNiro on The Tonight Show this week, the project is still on. Hopefully that means on soon, and not another five years from now! (via Entertainment Weekly)
“Yeah, we’re gonna do it…in 2020.”
#2. Back to the Future short featuring Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown to bow on October 21
The 30th Anniversary of Back to the Future is getting bigger all the time. We already knew there’d be a nice new Blu-ray collection of the trilogy, and now Universal posted a very brief teaser trailer (see below) for a short film that will be included in the set, entitled Doc Brown Saves the World. Maybe he can tell us where our hoverboards are at. I’m sure you already have your pre-orders in for this, and now you’ve got a little something extra to look forward to. (via Variety)
#3. Paramount remaking The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Hollywood remaking itself is nothing new, and isn’t going anywhere soon, so let’s not whine about this news that Paramount (and specifically producer Matt Jackson) are working on a new version of John Ford’s end-of-an-era classic. Instead, let’s wonder how they’re going to transpose the story to the “1980s Western Pennsylvania amid the retrenchment of the steel and auto industries”, as they’re reportedly considering. The film’s about the end of the frontier, but I’m all for seeing things reimagined and recontextualized, so we’ll see what happens. (via Variety)
Who’s on your James Stewart/John Wayne replacement wish list?
#4. Ridley Scott says Blade Runner 2 will address replicant death
Ridley Scott sure is talking about a lot of films that aren’t The Martian during his press tour for The Martian. We’ve been hearing a lot of details about the upcoming Prometheus sequels, and now he’s spilling some bean about Blade Runner 2, which has been in development for a couple of years (Scott isn’t directing; Denis Villaneuve is, which may actually be an upgrade depending on your personal perspective). Looks like the question of whether Deckard is a replicant is settled once and for all, the story will deal with the death of replicants, and Scott is also open to the idea of more sequels. (via /Film)
Get with the program, Ridley, we’re not doing sequels anymore, we’re doing universes now.
#5. Thor 3 finds its director in Taika Waititi
Whenever Marvel starts casting directors, the first question is always “what cool indie auteur are they going to pick this time” followed immediately by “how long before they drop out?” This time around we’re talking Thor 3: Ragnarok, and the director in question is Taika Waititi, a New Zealander known for Flight of the Conchords, Eagle vs. Shark, Boy, and most recently What We Do in the Shadows. None of these sound a LOT like Thor, but they do all exhibit a quirky sense of humor and a sense of unusual but close-knit family dynamics that could actually fit the MCU quite well. One also hopes that this means Thor 3 will return to some of the goofiness that made the first Thor film surprisingly fun (and the loss of which made Thor 2 rather dull). (via Variety)
I hope he directs in his What We Do in the Shadows costumes. That’d be awesome.
#6. Kevin Feige confirms that Marvel movies will ultimately reference events in their TV shows
Speaking of Marvel, you know how you’ve been avoiding Agents of SHIELD since it’s a) not that great and b) is basically the unimportant bastard stepchild of the movies? You might want to rethink that if you’re committed to the MCU, as Kevin Feige has admitted that the Marvel films will inevitably begin to reference events that happened on the shows (including Netflix shows like Daredevil and the upcoming Jessica Jones). Of course, if you’re like me and you’re skipping half the movies anyway at this point, you can probably just Wikipedia anything you don’t get. (via Variety)
What’s next, having to read COMIC BOOKS? Geez!
#7. Fox offers 100 films digitally to celebrate their centenary
Many film collectors still love our physical media (and I count myself among them), but adding digital options is always a good thing, too, and Fox is celebrating its centenary by releasing films from throughout their illustrious history on digital HD for the first time. Everything from silent classics like Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans to obscurities like Pigskin Parade (a 1936 musical that marked Judy Garland’s screen debut) to more modern favorites like Romancing the Stone. Fox hasn’t been great about releasing their catalog titles on Blu-ray, but hopefully they’ll do right by their digital catalog. (via Variety)
Oh, man, I can’t wait to finally get my hands on a digital copy of Fox’s classic Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
#8. Russell Crowe to get sandy, bloody again with In Sand and Blood
In Sand and Blood definitely sounds like a sword and sandal epic, but it’s actually set a bit later in history – a 19th century sea captain gets shipwrecked in Western Africa and has to guide his crew across the Sahara. Crowe will be playing the captain, of course, and there’s no news about other casting or director yet, but desert epics are totally my thing, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for this one. (via The AV Club)
“Are you not entertained?” “Actually sir, I’m just dying of thirst and sunstroke…”
#9. American Psycho musical lands Broadway theatre, starts previews in March
“American Psycho” and “musical” may not be concepts that you’d ever consider in the same thought, but this is a thing that exists and has already played in London with Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith in the lead. Now it’s headed for Broadway, has its venue all nailed down, and will start previews in March with Benjamin Walker as Patrick Bateman. It’ll be the second major production for composer/lyricist Duncan Sheik this season, as his critical favorite Spring Awakening launched a well-received revival recently. (via Variety)
Wait, no one’s asking why AMERICAN Psycho premiered in LONDON? Discrimination! Murrica!
#10. John Carpenter to perform live for the first time ever at ATP Festival in Iceland
John Carpenter has composed most of the scores for his own films, but he branched out into non-film connected music earlier this year with an album of original music entitled Lost Themes. Taking the next logical step as a musician, he’s now booked his first ever live concert, at Iceland’s ATP Festival. Presumably he’ll concentrate on music from the album, but I’m sure fans hope he also pulls out some favorite themes from his movies, as well. (via The AV Club)
The performance isn’t until next July, so you’ve got some time to get your plane tickets in order.
Top Trailers of the Week
The first trailer for The Revenant was dialogueless, but this one gives a bit of the backstory and conflict we’ll be seeing when the film hits this Christmas. It looks bloody, violent, and beautiful.
We’re about a month out from the release of Spectre, the latest James Bond film, and here’s one last trailer to hook you in if you’re not already.
The book collecting interviews Francois Truffaut conducted with Alfred Hitchcock generally known as Hitchcock/Truffaut is possibly the most famous film book ever published, and now THIS Hitchcock/Truffaut is a new documentary about the relationship between the two filmmakers, and the influence the book has had on subsequent generations of filmmakers.
A Bigger Splash reunites director Luca Gadagnino and Tilda Swinton after I Am Love, and this time Swinton is a rock star (yes please!) whose life with her filmmaker boyfriend gets upended when her ex (Ralph Fiennes) and teenaged daughter turn up. Looks full of passion and intensity. And did I mention Tilda Swinton plays a rock star?
Promising to do for Viewmasters what The Ring did for VHS tapes (i.e., imbue dead technology with terror), The Forest stars Natalie Dormer as an identical twin who knows something bad’s happening to her sister – and when she follows her into “the suicide forest,” three guesses how it’s going to turn out for both of them.