With Dreamworks and Paramount finally settling their divorce there is just one thing left to do. Move on.
So with that in mind, Dreamworks has set its eyes on a handful of projects that will be getting the majority of their attention in the near future.
— “Motorcade”: Big names are looking to join the convoy on this story of terrorists commandeering the presidential motorcade in Los Angeles. The studio is in talks with “Underworld” helmer Wiseman to direct Billy Ray’s script. The ICM-repped Wiseman is on a hot streak after his “Live Free or Die Hard” earned $380 million worldwide.
— “Hereafter”: The supernatural-themed original screenplay by the Oscar-nominated Peter Morgan has been a priority at the new studio. And it could soon have a director, Eastwood, to whom the studio has reached out. Such a pairing would have the added appeal that it could go into production quickly given the helmer’s habit of shooting scripts after a minimum of development.
— “Dinner for Schmucks”: With original star Sacha Baron Cohen’s involvement wavering, the studio has reached out to another hot, and very busy, comedic actor: Carell. And director Jay Roach, who had long been attached, is considering coming back on board.
— “The Trial of the Chicago 7”: With a number of directors associated with it during the past year, DreamWorks hopes to attach a helmer quickly and get this high-priority project — which Steven Spielberg himself at one time was eyeing to direct — moving forward. Ben Stiller, fresh off the success of “Tropic Thunder,” recently has become the prime candidate.
— “Cowboys and Aliens”: The large-scale comic book adaptation is now being penned by writer-executive producers Kurtzman and Orci (“Transformers,” “Star Trek”), who took on the gig from “Iron Man” co-writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby. Imagine is producing, and director-producer Ron Howard, who remains a long shot to lens the film, is developing the project for attached star Robert Downey Jr.
— “Real Steel”: The futuristic boxing movie is being penned by “Dante’s Peak” scribe Les Bohem, who created and wrote the Spielberg-executive produced Sci Fi Channel show “Taken.”
— “The 39 Clues”: The project is a potential Spielberg directing vehicle, though it’s still in script phase, with Jeff Nathanson only recently hired to adapt the first novel, “The Maze of Bones,” in the 10-book “Clues” series.
— “Button Man”: “Eagle Eye” co-writer Hillary Seitz has turned in her latest draft of this adaptation of a graphic novel written by Arthur Ranson and John Wagner. There’s one key advantage to it moving forward: Mark Sourian, DreamWorks’ new co-president of production, was the original exec on the project.
I don’t really care what studio is putting out the movies as one movie varies from another just as much as kids on the playground, it doesn’t matter who makes em.
Are there any on this list that make you curious with even these brief descriptions?
I really want to keep an eye out for Trail of the Chicago 7 and perhaps Buttonman.
You?
Motorcade sounds too much like a ground based Air Force One.
A few of them spring out to me.
“Real Steel” – a futuristic boxing film, eh? I wonder if this is a loose remake-update of an old ‘Twilight Zone’ episode Steel(with Lee Marvin) and based on a short story by Richard Matheson.
“Hereafter” – While I don’t think Eastwood has ever done a ‘supernatural’ thriller, he has done thrillers as a director. But this project would be interesting, since it would be one of the first films he would direct that had little, if any, connection to Warner Bros. (That does not rule out distribution from WB, however)
And any film that Spielberg directs himself.
Cowboys and Aliens. The graphic novel was kick ass and the early script kicked just as much ass.