Tag Archives: reboot

‘Poltergeist’ remake appears to be a scary-good time

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The classic 1982 supernatural spooker Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg, is receiving a modern franchise reboot. The new Poltergeist, though it cleverly follows the original film’s plot and borrows many of the tropes, is not connected canonically to the ’82 flick or its two sequels. Gil Kenan (Monster House) takes the reigns this time, with Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, The Grudge) producing.

[Kenan and Raimi] contemporize the classic tale about a family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces. When the terrifying apparitions escalate their attacks and hold the youngest daughter captive, the family must come together to rescue her before she disappears forever.

The dimensional closet? Check. The static TV screen? Check. A nightmare-inducing clown? Oh, you betcha. And with the advent of so many new technologies like cell phones and tablets, I can’t wait to see how the evil spirits take advantage of our myriad “black mirrors.” The trailer is a scary-good time so sit back, relax, and say it with me: They’re here.

Poltergeist, starring Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt, opens in 3D on July 24.

‘Fantastic Four’ reboot ignites with a decidedly lackluster debut teaser

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20th Century Fox is rebooting the Fantastic Four franchise with a more youthful cast, just as Sony Pictures did with Spider-Man in 2012. Miles Teller (Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic:), Michael B. Jordan (Johnny Storm / Human Torch), Kate Mara (Susan Storm / Invisible Woman), Jamie Bell (Ben Grimm / The Thing), and Toby Kebbell (Victor Domashev / Doom) are the Marvel superhero film’s stars this time around. Josh Trank (Chronicle) directs. Here’s the current logline:

Fantastic Four, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

Fox (and Marvel for that matter) have been uncharacteristically quiet about this film which has a summer release date. Rumors about creative difficulties aside, this is very much a teaser that doesn’t do much in the tantalizing department. We’re briefly introduced to the updated cast and we get a strong monologue about the human desire to discover spoken by Reg E. Cathey who plays Dr. Storm. But there’s nothing here that truly amps me up, unfortunately. It looks and feels like your run-of-the-mill superhero flick–but maybe that’s because the box office has been flooded with them as of late. Who knows. Of course I have faith in Marvel, as well as Chronicle helmer Trank whose work on that film was surprisingly risky and rewarding. Here’s to hoping a beefier full-length trailer adds some oomf to this lackluster first look.

The new Fantastic Four (whose title is actually stylized like this: Fant4stic, ugh) releases August 7 in 3D.

‘The Twilight Zone’ eyeing a comeback with Bryan Singer on board

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In my book and most others The Twilight Zone is categorized as one of the best TV shows ever made. It was a suspenseful show that mixed and matched all kinds of genres including psychological thriller, science fiction, and horror. It entertained, with its wild, out of nowhere twists and turns. It fascinated by holding a mirror to society in discreet and sometimes blatant ways. It premiered in 1959 with inventive creator and narrator Rod Serling; its original run lasted until 1964 after 156 episodes aired. Since then, the series has been revived twice in 1985 and again in 2002, and in 1983 Steven Spielberg produced a feature film based on the show. The TV revivals did not have the same spark and tenacity as the original run with Serling, but producer/writer/director Bryan Singer thinks third time’s the charm.

The Twilight Zone is looking to make another comeback. Singer, who is best known for directing the first two X-Men movies in that franchise and the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, as well as the pilot for House and the recent Mockingbird Lane special, has signed a deal “to develop, executive produce and possibly direct a reboot” of The Twilight Zone, scoops Deadline. The site reports that the new drama series project is in the “early stages” of development, so we may be eyeing a fall 2014 debut or later at this point (especially with Singer being so busy with his film career at the moment). Though the reboot hasn’t been pitched to networks yet, it is being surmised that CBS will be its home since it owns the rights to the original series. Currently it’s set up at CBS TV Studios, they’re looking for a writer to come up with a pilot script, and Singer hopes to direct it.

Are you looking forward to new installments of The Twilight Zone? Can it ever reach the same levels of success and permeate people’s psyches the way it used to without the ever-present Mr. Serling at the helm? Do you think an anthology series could work on network TV today? FX has proven it can with American Horror Story, so perhaps.

[Via Deadline]

Comic Con 2012: New look at Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’

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Director Zack Snyder and star Henry Cavill took part in the Man of Steel panel at Comic Con last week. There they unveiled footage from the flick as well as the Comic Con branded poster seen above. Snyder says that fans will get a taste of the footage Con attendees were privy to when The Dark Knight Rises hits theatres this Thursday; a teaser trailer for the upcoming Super-Man reboot will play before Christopher Nolan’s anticipated conclusion to his Batman trilogy. The teaser will be uploaded here once it hits the ‘Net.

Snyder and Cavill made it a point to say that their mission with this new Superman is to make him relatable. “How would you feel if you were Superman?” Snyder posed to the excitable crowd.

Man of Steel is out next summer.

Bryan Fuller opens up about ‘Munsters’ reboot ‘Mockingbird Lane’

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In a recent interview with EW, Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller shed light on his most recent TV project Mockingbird Lane. Here are some choice quotes from the extensive interview that can be read in full right here.

Fuller on the inspiration behind the Munsters reboot: “It started when I was at the Tim Burton exhibit in New York and he had all these monster family portraits. And I thought there should be a show about a family of monsters. But any show about a family of monsters is going to be calling back to the original show about a family of monsters. We are reinventing The Munsters because if we didn’t everybody would just say, “You’re ripping off the Munsters!” So why not just make it official?”

On why he decided to change the name of the show from The Munsters to Mockingbird Lane: “The script is such a dramatic departure from the tone and style of the original show. If we continued to call the show The Munsters, people are just going to to think we’re doing The Munsters. We’re doing a reinvention and re-imagination of this property. I love the Universal monsters. I love The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, The Wolfman, Phantom of the Opera, The Mummy. There’s so many great characters we can run through this metaphor of family storytelling that it just felt it was ripe to do as a one-hour dramedy. Having all those elements to play with, the toy box is really, really full.” (Note: the title is a direct reference to the Munsters’ address: 1313 Mockingbird Lane.)

On what viewers can expect in the pilot: “There’s some great stories going forward in the series. Any story you can tell onParenthood we can run through a Universal monster prism and tell it in a very twisted, off-kilter way. What I love about the pilot story is it’s about a family who loves each other and they have a child [Eddie, the werewolf] with a disability and they’re trying to craft a path for that child so he can have a happy life — they just happen to be monsters. And, unlike in the original, we’re going to see our monsters do monstrous things.”

Fuller’s grand vision for the show: “We want this show to be an American Harry Potter. To have that sense of a magical world that you get to go to with your family and find stories told in a fantastical way that are instantly relatable. It’s an American Horror Story that the whole family can watch.”

Since the pilot is still being tweaked, no actual footage has been released from Mockingbird Lane…until now, that is. EW got their hands on a still that reveals the Munsters‘ mansion. “We wanted [the mansion] to have feeling of the original,” Fuller comments. “We wanted a house in the neighborhood that children would walk past faster than other houses.” The image looms above.

Mockingbird Lane, starring Eddie Izzard as Grandpa, comes to TV this fall on NBC.

[Via EW]

‘Punk’d’ returns to MTV this Spring with celeb hosts galore

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With Fear Factor back on the air, call it a return to the early naughts with this announcement. Hidden camera reality series Punk’d is making a comeback this March. Original host Ashton Kutcher will not serve as host this time around, however he remains in the background as executive producer. Each episode will be hosted by a different celebrity. So far the list of celeb guests include Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Kellan Lutz, Bam Margera, and Dax Shepard. The Parenthood star, I’m sure you remember, is part of the original Punk’d team. According to Deadline, the reboot “will also offer a behind-the-scenes look at how the elaborate pranks were put together.” MTV recently aired a preview of what’s in store for unsuspecting stars. Embedded up top you’ll find celeb host Miley Cyrus pranking the eldest Kardashian sister Khloe. It involves a penis and a zipper. Use your imagination and watch it unfold above. Punk’d premieres March 19.

‘In Living Color’ reboot coming to FOX midseason 2012

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Do you remember the sketch comedy series In Living Color that aired on FOX from 1990 to 1994? It was created by the second eldest Wayans brother Keenan Ivory Wayans and it featured a cast that was predominantly black including big stars like Wayans’ family members Damon, Shawn, and Marlon, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier, Jim Carrey and Jennifer Lopez was introduced to the world as one of the Fly Girls. Well news broke that the show is coming back to FOX as the network is celebrating its 25th anniversary later this year. Keenan Ivory Wayans is back as executive producer and this time he will play host, too. FOX has ordered two half-hour primetime specials that will air in midseason, and they picked up a series option. This means that if the sketch show performs well in the ratings, FOX can pick it up to series and allow Wayans to pump out additional episodes. (Re)introduce yourself to one of my favorite characters from In Living Color after the break, Homey D. Clown.

[Via Deadline] Continue reading ‘In Living Color’ reboot coming to FOX midseason 2012 →

‘Fear Factor’ returns to NBC this December

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That read that right, folks. NBC is rebooting Fear Factor, the reality game show that originally ran from 2001-2006. Host Joe Rogen is back and so are the disgusting and adrenaline pumping tasks the human competitors must face. Paul Telegdy, NBC’s president of alternative and late night TV, marked the occasion with these words: “We have taken the groundbreaking Fear Factor franchise that many fans remember fondly and have ramped it up to make it even more challenging and competitive than ever before. Once again, the contestants will have to face their ultimate fears to prevail — and the tension and drama of that process will make for some riveting television.” Watch a 2-minute preview of what’s in store for the new season above. Fear Factor returns December 12 and will air Mondays at the 8PM-10PM timeslot.

[Via Deadline]

New Line Cinema taps Kevin Tancharoen to reboot ‘Mortal Kombat’

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Ah we all knew this day would come. After proving himself worthy of rebooting the beloved video game franchise, Kevin Tancharoen has been given the reigns to direct a Mortal Kombat reboot feature film. Though his preview credits include Fame and Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, Mortal Kombat fans know that Tancharoen holds a special place in his heart for the violent and controversial game. In June 2010 a MK short film surfaced on the ‘Net and people went bananas. The nearly eight-minute long video Mortal Kombat: Rebirth reached millions of hits in a matter of days. Turned out that it was Tancharoen’s attempt to pitch a reimagined Mortal Kombat movie to the studios. Though he wasn’t immediately granted the rights to helm a movie early on, he was given the opportunity to produce a 10-part web series based in the MK universe. Apparently Mortal Kombat: Legacy and the rebooted video game that followed gained enough steam and attracted enough viewers/gamers to make Warner Bros. (New Line’s parent company) greenlight the movie with Tancharoen in the director’s chair. Oren Uziel (who collaborated with Tancharoen to make the short film) will pen the script. No word as to whether or not the actors in the web series (Michael Jai White, Jeri Ryan, Ian Anthony Dale, etc.) will reprise their role in the reboot feature film. In the end, Kevin’s wish was granted.

Update: Tancharoen shared his vision for the movie with EW. Choice quote right here: “Up to this point, we’ve only been talking ‘rated R.’ I like realistic takes on things, I like it when it’s a little darker and grittier. And I want the martial arts to feel real as opposed to balletic and super-choreographed. It needs to feel brutal, because that’s the nature of the video game itself.” As long as he can recreate what he did in the original short film (and with a much higher budget from New Line I’m sure he’ll exceed expectations) I trust Tancharoen will have no problem injecting new life into the aging, classic franchise.

[Via Deadline]

Stills from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’

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Entertainment Weekly’s got their hands on a batch of amazing stills from the set of Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man reboot. Peep the gallery below to see images featuring Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), a blonde and beautiful Emma Stone (Gwen Stacey), Martin Sheen (Parker’s uncle Ben), Sally Field (Spidey’s aunt May), and Rhys Ifans (antagonist Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard).

The Amazing Spider-Man releases in 3D on July 3, 2012.

[Via EW]

Trailer: Footloose

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Reboot time! The 1984 classic Footloose is making a comeback with a brand new cast. Newcomer Kenny Wormald is ready to step into the big shoes once filled by a young Kevin Bacon to star as the rebellious Ren MacCormack. Country singer Julianne Hough plays the minister’s daughter Ariel, Dennis Quaid is her father, and Miles Teller is Ren’s friend Willard. Need a recap on the story? Here it is:

Ren MacCormack is transplanted from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by a tragic accident that killed five teenagers after a night out and Bomont’s local councilmen and the beloved Reverend Shaw Moore responded by implementing ordinances that prohibit loud music and dancing. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister’s troubled daughter Ariel in the process.

Footloose is a timeless classic. Is a remake necessary? Probably not. But the music and dancing entwined in this love story is so fantastic that I wouldn’t mind watching it all over again in a slightly altered modern form. Dig the trailer above and get ready to snap in the aisles when Footloose circa 2011 hits theatres this October.

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ will resurface in reboot film, Joss Whedon not attached

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And the fanboys and girls shrieked!  That’s right–Buffy the Vampire Slayer is being primed for a comeback, but this time around Buffy (TV) creator and beloved showrunner turned Avengers director Joss Whedon is not attached to the project.  Today Warner Bros. and Atlas Entertainment announced that a Buffy reboot film is in the works.  Atlas’ Charles Roven and Steve Alexander and Vertigo Entertainment’s Doug Davison and Roy Lee are signed on to executive produce the upcoming vampire flick.  Whit Anderson, actress turned screenwriter, will pen the script.  If you didn’t know, Buffy actually started out in the movies.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Fran and Kaz Kuzui, hit theatres in 1992.  Joss Whedon worked his magic to spin the feature into a long-running TV series on The WB (1997-2003).  Warner Bros. managed to option the rights to Buffy from the Kuzuis to Atlas and Vertigo.  Let’s take a look at some choice quotes surrounding this surprising announcement.

Says Roven of Atlas: “Generally,  I wouldn’t have said,‘Let’s revive this,’ but Whit’s take is pretty compelling and a lot of fun, and it’s interesting to see all of this reimagined. This is a completely new reboot. Tone is extremely important, and you want the audience to realize what is at stake and the peril is real, but at the same time what’s going on should be fun and inviting and keep everyone engaged. It needs to be relevant to today too, and that is what Whit has found a way to do.” … “There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return. … While this is not your high-school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough and sexy as we all remember her to be.”

And Whedon made sure his two cents were heard ’round the world shortly after the announcement: “Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, “Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER.” Apparently I was misinformed. Then I thought, “I’ll make a mint! This is worth more than all my Toy Story residuals combined!” Apparently I am seldom informed of anything. And possibly a little slow. But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?”

You’re going to want hop after the break to read the rest of Whedon’s remarks.  In so many words, he is not happy about a Buffy comeback at this moment in time (he’d prefer it come “after [his] death”), but he understands that the situation is out of his hands.  Buffy fans, what say you?  Can a Whedon-less Buffy survive today?

[Via LATimes; EOnline; Deadline] Continue reading ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ will resurface in reboot film, Joss Whedon not attached →