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Which Director is Strongest With the Force?
Like many Star Wars fans, it took us a while to process the news that the creator and caretaker of the greatest sci-fi epic of all time, George Lucas, had sold Lucasfilm Ltd. to Disney. And, as if that news wasn't momentous enough, Disney concurrently announced that plans were already underway for an all-new Star Wars movie, a sequel to the original trilogy that would likely be the first movie in a new trilogy.
Minds thoroughly blown, we started to think about the future of the franchise. Jar Jar Binks and Hayden Christensen's horrible acting had really hurt the prequel trilogy and Lucas' constant meddling with the original trilogy tested our faith in ol' grey beard even further. With Lucas out of the picture, could the franchise regain its former glory?
In the days following the announcement, it was revealed that Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) had been hired to write the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode VII, while rumors continue to swirl that Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) is in the running to direct. Do you think that Vaughn is the right man for the job or would you like to see J.J. Abrams (Star Trek), Jon Favreau (Cowboys & Aliens) or someone else direct? Who do you think has the vision to chart the course of the future of the Star Wars franchise?
Rate the Top 10 Best Directors To Helm Star Wars: Episode VII >>
Posted 11.13.12 by BrentJS -
The first trailer for the upcoming sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas clocked in at 5 and a half minutes, basically because, as directors Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy) explained, the movie is "hard to describe." As Tom Hanks explains in a new featurette for Cloud Atlas, the movie "is going to have a scope that's bigger than anything I've ever seen." So we guess they weren't kidding when they said it was hard to describe.
watch the video >> Posted 10.16.12 by Ryan -
We got our first good look at Cloud Atlas yesterday, when a score of new still images from the upcoming sci-fi epic co-written and co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) were released online. Now, the first teaser poster has also been released, along with an an awesome, 5-plus minute trailer for the movie.
Why such a long trailer? In an introductory video released along with the trailer, the notoriously camera-shy Wachowskis and Tykwer explain that they felt they needed a "really, really, really long trailer" because the movie — which takes place in many different locations and time periods, with multiple actors playing multiple roles — is both "hard to describe" and "hard to reduce" to a single genre.
see the poster and videos >> Posted 07.27.12 by BrentJS -
An incredible, five-plus minute international trailer for Cloud Atlas, the new sci-fi epic co-written and co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), hit the 'net yesterday; however, it apparently was not supposed to be released online yet as it was quickly taken down by most sites. Fortunately, Warner Bros. has released, via EW, a score of official still images from the movie, so you can gaze in wonder at the complex, emotionally-charged sci-fi goodness to come.
Based on David Mitchell's award-winning 2004 sci-fi novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas is comprised of six interconnected storylines, each taking place in different locations and time periods. The impressive cast includes Matrix alum Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess, Jim Broadbent, Keith David, Doo-na Bae, Ben Whishaw, and Academy Award–winners Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon and Halle Berry.
SEE THE NEW IMAGES >> Posted 07.26.12 by BrentJS -
It appears as if, despite the best efforts of filmmakers Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy) to keep their sci-fi follow-up to Cloud Atlas under wraps, the inside source that fed juicy details about Jupiter Ascending to New York Magazine's Vulture blog was on the money. At least regarding the casting of Channing Tatum in a major role.
In a recent "MTV Sneak Peek Week" interview, Tatum confirmed that he is "absolutely" signed on to star in Jupiter Ascending.
It's going to be a crazy action movie from the [directors] who did The Matrix. They will reinvent the wheel, as far as action goes, all over again.
more about Jupiter Ascending >> Posted 06.06.12 by BrentJS -
After revolutionizing the sci-fi genre with The Matrix in 1999, everyone expected that Andy and Lana Wachowski would build a movie legacy to rival the likes of visionary filmmakers George Lucas or Steven Spielberg. But the diminishing quality of the two Matrix sequels and the mediocre (V For Vendetta) and truly dismal (Speed Racer) adaptations that followed left many wondering whether the siblings were already spent.
To top The Matrix may be an insurmountable task, but that doesn't mean that the Wachowskis are going to stop trying. The duo is currently in post-production on Cloud Atlas, an ambitious adaptation of David Mitchell's award-winning 2004 sci-fi novel that they co-wrote and and co-directed with German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). It's comprised of six interconnected storylines, each taking place in different locations and time periods.
The Wachowskis have also been developing an original sci-fi movie as a follow-up to Cloud Atlas so shrouded in secrecy that all we know for sure is that it's called Jupiter Ascending and it will feature a female protagonist. However, if Vulture's inside source can be believed, Jupiter Ascending will simply be the first movie of a trilogy and Mila Kunis will play the female protagonist, a lowly maid possessing the "same perfect genetic makeup as the Queen of the Universe."
more secrets about Jupiter Ascending >> Posted 05.31.12 by BrentJS -
The release dates of two highly anticipated genre movies have finally been announced.
First up is Cloud Atlas, an adaptation of David Mitchell's award-winning 2004 sci-fi novel that was co-written and co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, (The Matrix) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). Warner Bros. (WB) initially passed on Cloud Atlas, feeling that it was unaffordable at $170 million, but the Wachowskis and Tykwer found foreign backers and ended up making it for $101 million — thanks, in part, to Tom Hanks taking a smaller fee for his participation — and WB picked up North American distribution rights at Cannes for "about $20 million" despite the movie's lengthy 2:44 running time exceeding the contractural running time of 2:30. According to IndieWire, producer Grant Hill revealed that WB "plans to open the movie stateside December 6" and may screen it at the Berlin International Film Festival to make it eligible for Oscar consideration.
more about Cloud Atlas and Sin City 2 >> Posted 05.18.12 by BrentJS -
Practically nothing has been revealed about Andy and Lana Wachowski's planned follow-up to their currently-in-production sci-fi movie, Cloud Atlas. All that has been revealed is that it's called Jupiter Ascending, it's in the sci-fi genre, and they want to go into production on the movie as early as spring of this year. Well, whatever the movie is about, it's apparently intriguing enough for Academy Award-winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan) to consider taking a break from baby duty to get back in front of the camera lens. According to the L.A. Times, an anonymous source "briefed on the project" has revealed that the Wachowskis are courting Portman for a role in the movie and the new mom is "seriously weighing taking the part."
what else is on Portman's plate? >> Posted 01.05.12 by BrentJS -
It's been extremely quiet on the Cloud Atlas front since the sci-fi epic co-written and co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, The International) went into production in Glasgow, Scotland, and Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany, in September. Other than the "spy" photos of Hugo Weaving and Halle Berry on the set in Glasgow, the only thing we've seen or heard about the movie since production began is the production photo featuring the trio of directors that apparently includes several key props from each of the movie's six interconnected storylines. Now, however, Korean movie site HanCinema has posted online two gorgeous pieces of concept art and a still image from the movie that features South Korean actress Doo-na Bae (The Host) as Sonmi-451, a clone living in dystopian Seoul, Korea, in 2144.
see the concept art and still image >> Posted 12.29.11 by BrentJS -
A new sci-fi action tentpole from the creators of The Matrix trilogy? Yes, please!
According to Deadline, Warner Bros. has given the green light to an original creation by Andy and Lana Wachowski called Jupiter Ascending that could go into production by as early as Spring 2012. Nothing is known about the plot and no cast members have been hired as of yet, but considering the incredible impact The Matrix had and continues to have on cinema and pop culture in general we are already sold on whatever the movie is about and whomever they end up casting in it.
what have the Wachowskis been up to? >> Posted 10.22.11 by BrentJS