Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have announced a heavy-hitting talent will be joining long-time James Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade for the 23rd 007 film, as yet untitled. Peter Morgan, who wrote Frost/Nixon, The Queen and The Last King of Scotland will be part of the trio creating the storyline for the next Bond epic which will once again star Daniel Craig. It is anticipated the movie will be released in 2011. Apparently Oscar winner Paul Haggis will not be associated with the next film. He had contributed to the screenplays of Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace. Those two films have both grossed over $500 million each worldwide, making the Bond franchise hotter than ever even as it approaches the half century mark. Purvis and Wade are currently scripting The Brazilian Job, the sequel to the remake of The Italian Job. For more click here
Summer is here which can only mean one thing: the
Hollywood blockbuster has arrived and, in particular, the much maligned bête noireof all right-minded cinema goers, the big budget
remake is rearing its ugly head. Brad Silberling’s Land of The Lost is a new look at Sid and Marty Krofft’s much loved
70s television show that followed Dr Will Marshall, originally played by Wesley
Eure, as he travelled back in time to a land full of dinosaurs and cavemen. The
film had its world premiere in Sydney and we were lucky enough to have a few
words with Silberling and the new Dr Marshall, comedian Will Ferrell on the red
carpet.
“It was such an insane mash up of ideas that only
the Kroffts could do,†explains the director. “It was the bravery that comes
from innocence. Sid Croft in particular is an incredible puppeteer, he’s very
innocent, he’s kind of child like which prevents him from questioning the
combination of elements together which should have never have been in the same
show. You’ve got dinosaurs, aliens, a banjo; only Sid could do that without
thinking twice about it. It’s like a little bit of Willy Wonka, he liked that
flavour, he liked this flavour so he included them all. It’s why it stayed with the audiences in the
States.†Those flavours in the new film have been transformed into a fabulous
CGI rendered T-Rex called Grumpy, slow moving extraterrestrials called
Sleestacks and a cavemen called Chaka in a surreal land that fuses the past,
present and the future as a backdrop for Ferrell to work his comic madness.
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Brad Silberling (Photo copyright David Michael Brown)
A mutual love for the show brought the director and
Ferrell together for the project. “It was Will. At some point Will was talking
to a couple of friends and he, like I, was an original viewer of the show. His
manager and producing partner Jimmy Miller tried to sort out how to get the
rights to the show to potentially adapt it. It was just circumstance that I got
involved; Will and I have known each other for a very long time but have never
worked together. I was writing a piece and had a role in mind for Will, we were
just having lunch. He said 'OK, I want to talk to you about Land of the Lost.' He wanted to make the movie and there was also a
threatened SAG strike. I had been an avid watcher but hadn’t set eyes on the
show for thirty five years. It was fantastic when he told me, I just started
cracking up. My memory bank immediately refilled with the images that stayed
with me. The concept of taking a comedic sensibility and then selfishly
harnessing the elements of the show that we remembered was kind of fantastic.â€
Ferrell adds his own side to the story, “It actually had already got started
before I got signed on but when I heard it was going to hit the works I thought,
‘Oh, that is going to be so much fun because I love the show.’ When I heard the
premise that they were going to ignore the kitsch style special effects and go
for the realistic ones and play the comedy off of that, it sounded like a lot
of fun to me.â€
The artist Nicolisi unveils his magnificent portrait of Brando as Don Corleone (Photo copyright Anne Tucker)
Left to right: event organizer Bruce Crawford, John and Lori Martino, Miko, Prudence and Karen Brando and Nicolisi. (Photo copyright Anne Tucker)
On Saturday May 30, Bruce Crawford hosted his 24th
classic film salute in Omaha Ne. with a special showing of The Godfather and a
tribute to Omaha native, Marlon Brando. Brando's son, Miko and his wife Karen
and daughter Prudence, were special guests. Actor John Martino, who played
"Paulie Gatto" in the film, was also a guest speaker.
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In his usual manner, Bruce had re-enactors in 1940s
era clothing and gangster style apparel. Godfathers' Pizza, co-sponsored the
event as a benefit for the Omaha Hearing School for Children. Artist Nicolosi
created another breathtaking portrait for the event, this time one of Brando as
Vito Corleone. Miko spoke emotionally of his father to the large audience at the
Joslyn Art Museum's Witherspoon theater. John Martino told of his selection over
actor Robert De Niro for the role of Paulie. The film was a pristine restored print, the Coppola
restoration. The audience was in awe of the film as it was shown on the big
screen. Most had never seen it in its proper theatrical format. Earlier in the day, the Brandos
were taken to the home that Marlon was raised in and toured the Omaha Community
Playhouse, where Brando's mother, Dorothy, co founded in 1924. It was a historic
visit as the Brandos' had never been to Omaha before and rarely make public
appearances. For more, visit Omaha Film Events web site.
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The Brando family sent the following letter to the Omaha World Herald:
“What a
wonderful way to commemorate Marlon by showing a Cinematic Classic “The
Godfather†in his own hometown!  From the moment we landed in Omaha until the time we
left, we felt that we were treated with so much respect and received warm
welcomes from everyone. The respect that we received was the same that
Marlon had for his native land. Amber Miller was gracious enough to take
us on a tour of the Omaha Hearing School for Children.  The
tour of the Omaha Playhouse which starred Miko’s grandmother, Dorothy Brando,
back in 1925 was very moving. We were also very fortunate to have
visited the house that she lived in when Marlon was a
child.
We would like
to thank all the Omaha Film Event sponsors for giving us an unforgettable
weekend. The generous hospitality and professionalism from Bruce Crawford left
us with a very memorable experience. Miko, Prudence and I were very
touched by the amount of love and adoration the people of Omaha have for Marlon,
and we were honored to have been included in such a prestigious event.Â
It was great to see that the screening of The Godfather drew such a large
crowd. On behalf of Marlon, Miko would like to thank Bruce for honoring
his father in such a celebrated event.â€