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Director John Landis is looking for career rejuvenation with the upcoming Burke and Hare — his first feature since 1998's Blues Brothers 2000 — and is using a grim true story for the backdrop. The movie follows William Burke and William Hare, two real life, 19th-century grave robbers who got rich selling the corpses of their victims. Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis play the bumbling pair, with Tom Wilkinson as an anatomy professor in need of fresh corpses and Isla Fisher as Pegg's love interest, Helen. The first trailer for the movie shows the story is played strictly for laughs, unlike the dramatic 1971 version.
Burke and Hare also stars Tim Curry, Christopher Lee, and Jessica Hynes. No release date has been announced.
Posted 10.05.10 by Ryan -
Twentieth Century Fox are reportedly in negotiations to pick up John Landis' next project Chronicles. Landis — the man behind National Lampoon's Animal House and The Blues Brothers — is set to produce the movie, along with scriptwriter son Max Landis. First-time director Josh Trank is also on board, with John Davis (Predator) and Adam Schroeder (Sleepy Hollow) producing.
Chronicles is the story of 3 Portland teenagers who, after being exposed to a strange substance found in the woods, begin to develop superpowers. Fun team work ensues, before life's little problems turn the friends against each other, resulting in what is sure to be a superhero movie with a difference.Rumor has it that Chronicles will be filmed in a hand-held documentary style, much like surprise box office hits Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield. Expect a theater release for this one no earlier than 2012.
Posted 08.10.10 by reelz -
Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis are getting some company for their upcoming black comedy, Burke and Hare. After both Isla Fisher and Tom Wilkinson joined the cast, an official Ealing Studios press release announced that Tim Curry, Christopher Lee, and Jessica Hynes have also joined the production. The press release also included a brief synopsis of the movie.
BURKE & HARE is a comedic take on the true story of the 1828 Edinburgh body-snatchers William Burke (Simon Pegg) and William Hare (Andy Serkis). These two Irish entrepreneurs discover that a dead body can fetch a hefty price when the demands of the leading medical professors Dr. Knox (Tom Wilkinson) and Dr. Monroe (Tim Curry) reach beyond that of the local supply.
Hynes (neé Stevenson) will play Lucky, Serkis' wife. The actress is reuniting with Pegg for a third time, after both starting their careers in Britain with the TV show Spaced and appearing in Shaun of the Dead. Lee's role was not identified.
John Landis is directing the movie after a long directorial absence and Pegg is definitely enjoying the experience, using his Twitter account to offer an update from the set.
Today John Landis directed a scene with my 7 month old daughter in his arms. I have been a fan of his since I was 13. Squee doesn't cover it
Burke and Hare is currently shooting in London.
Posted 02.06.10 by Ryan -
Simon Pegg is set to make horror funny again. THR reports that the Shaun of the Dead star has joined the black comedy Burke and Hare, which follows William Burke and William Hare, two 19th-century grave robbers and murderers who got rich selling the corpses of their victims. Andy Serkis will play Hare, Pegg will play Burke. The movie is not a remake of 1971's Burke and Hare, which played the events for more dramatic effect.
Also joining the cast are Isla Fisher as Helen, Pegg's mistress and supposed accomplice to the murders, and Tom Wilkinson, who will play an anatomy lecturer looking for fresh corpses.
Burke and Hare was penned by St Trinian's writers Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft, and will serve as John Landis' return to directing after more than 10 years. The An American Werewolf in London director's last feature was Blues Brothers 2000.
Pegg has been using his Twitter account to update fans of the movie's progress, which has already begun rehearsals.
1st day of Burke & Hare rehearsals at Ealing Studios where I once held off a legion of zombies with an old Winchester rifle. Happy days.
Pegg has been busy finishing up the comedy Paul, about two comic book geeks who meet an alien while driving across America, as well as meeting with Burke and Hare cast.
Just had the Burke & Hare read thru. Great cast. Some lovely unannounced surprises to come. Stay tuned for them. There will be squeeeeees.
Now doing PaulADR [additional digital recording]. Have been a Regency period multiple murderer and a contemporary Alien befriending super nerd in one day. Not a bad day.
Burke and Hare starts shooting at the end of the month in Edinburgh and London.
Posted 01.28.10 by Ryan -
The Hollywood Reporter says that Dimension Films has acquired the rights to An American Werewolf in London from John Landis, who wrote and directed the 1981 classic horror-comedy hybrid.
Landis's movie tells the story of an American tourist who is attacked by a werewolf while backpacking across the United Kingdom. He eventually turns into a werewolf and proceeds to terrorize London. The remake will be produced by Sean Furst and Bryan Furst, who oversaw The Cooler and The Matador and also worked on the upcoming Daybreakers, starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Isabel Lucas.
No writers or directors have been attached to the project yet, but Dimension hopes to "make an elevated genre picture that will keep the fun comedy elements of the original as it seeks to be relevant to contemporary audiences." Like Twilight's tremendous audience, perhaps?
Here's the trailer for the original:
Posted 06.30.09 by reelz -
It's not just that this is the year for film reboots and sequels. Empire Online is reporting that that Universal Studios will re-release five classic movies in theaters. On deck for the digital big-screen treatment are Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus starring Kirk Douglas (June 9), The Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi (July 28), Brian De Palma's Scarface with Al Pacino (August 25), Kurt Russell in John Carpenter's The Thing (September 15), and John Landis's Animal House (November 2).
Posted 05.11.09 by reelz