Max Brooks Talks WORLD WAR Z Flick

Yesterday at the Philadelphia WizardWorld comics convention, Max Brooks spoke briefly about the forthcoming adaptation of his popular zombie novel World War Z.

During an hour long question and answer session in which Brooks talked about his books, an upcoming zombie graphic novel and his love for zombie movies, he stated that he has no real connection with the film’s production.

"I'm just the guy who wrote the book," he quipped. "Why do they need me?"

Brooks went on to explain that a World War Z film is going to be expensive and that meant lots of executives putting their two cents into the movie. When something goes wrong and a movie flops, Brooks joked that one of those people has to die.

"Someone is going to be shot for Speed Racer," he deadpanned to much laughter. "Right now, somebody is being waterboarded for that movie."

Brooks did state that he was thrilled that J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the cult science-fiction series Babylon 5, had been tapped to write the World War Z screenplay.

“I am a HUGE B5 fan,” Brooks gushed. “I thrilled that they hired a writer who not only understands science fiction, but who also understands history and politics and emotions. The fact that they hired JMS is really cool.”

Brooks also recounted a short conversation he had with Straczynski at another comics convention shortly after he had received the screenwriting assignment. Straczynski told Brooks that he would try to not screw up his book. "I was like 'Dude, you don’t have anything to prove to me!'"

Straczynski is currently receiving positive notices for his script to Clint Eastwood's latest film, The Changeling, which screened last month at Cannes. He has recently turned in a draft of Ninja Assassin, which is being produced by the Wachowski Brothers, and has numerous other projects in the works.

While he admits that the production process could entail other writers coming in to rewrite Straczynski's script, Brooks stated that he found the first draft "really freaking good!"

"I'm not happy because there’s parts of my book in there. It’s because he is a really good writer!"

Reviews: THE STRANGERS And STUCK

Two thrillers go into release this weekend that come off as a bit smarter than the average genre entry. Neither film relies on excessive gore to get deliver their thrills and they both have some commentary on today's social and political climate.

The Strangers finds Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler fighting off a trio of masked home invaders in a film that plays on our own feelings of insecurity in a post 9/11 world. You can read our full review here.

Meanwhile, Stuck opens in a limited release that should expand in a few weeks, where both protagonist Stphene Rea and antognist Mena Suvari find themselves trapped in circumstances beyond their control. You can read our review here.

ROSEMARY'S BABY Latest Remake From Platinum Dunes

Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes, already working on remakes of Friday The 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street and The Birds, have added another horror classic to their list of cinematic retreads- Roman Polanski's Rosemary’s Baby.

Shock Till You Drop is reporting that Platinum Dunes is in negotiations with Paramount Studios to redo the story of a young Manhattan couple (Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes in the original) who begin to suspect that their pregnancy might have some distinctly sinister overtones. The original 1968 film, directed by Polanski, was based on Ira Levin's bestselling 1967 novel. According to the report, Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are looking for a screenwriter to handle the scripting chores.

It has been said that Hollywood wouldn't know an original idea if it bit them on the ass, and I'm guessing that the folks over at Platinum Dunes have a lot of teeth marks on their rumps. I can understand the desire for studios to want to remake a foreign language film, though no matter how successful at the box office certain entries in the recent cycle of J-horror remakes are, their original incarnations have always struck me as the better films. But what is the desire that drives Hollywood to want to cannibalize itself in this way? Is it the allure of a classic film already having a certain name recognition factor with the audience? Is it hubris that makes them think they can do a better job than someone like Polanski or Hitchcock can? Do the studios just have contempt for audience thinking that they aren’t interested in older films? How about remaking some crappy horror films, if you think you could do better. Where are the remakes of Swamp Thing or even Manos: The Hands Of Fate?

So many studio brass seem to have come from a business background, rather than a production background which seems to have had the unfortunate side-effect of them viewing movies simply as product, with decisions made simply based on already proven factors of profitability and an aversion to risk taking. I doubt that those absconded in their back lot ivory towers know that their predecessors, the Warners, Thalbergs, Meyers and Laemmles, all were risk takers and it was those risks that built the industry from the ground up.

Lohman Goes To HELL For Page

Last week we reported that Ellen Page had dropped out of Sam Raimi's upcoming horror thriller Drag Me To Hell because of scheduling conflicts, she didn't like the script or whatever.

Well, Raimi has found a replacement already in the form of Alison Lohman, who reports for duty when the film starts shooting on March 31. The start date is only two weks later than the film’s original beginning date when Page was attached to the film.

Via Variety.

Page Drops Out Of Raimi's HELL

Updated!

After signing to the film just a month ago, Ellen Page has suddenly decided to drop out of writer/director Sam Raimi's upcoming horror film Drag Me To Hell. While the official word is that the Juno star wasn't happy with the latest draft of the script, co-written by Raimi and his frequent collaborator/brother Ivan, it is being speculated by Bloody Disgusting, who first reported the story, that the Academy Award nominee may just have a case of "Oscar cold feet."

The film's story revolves around a young girl who becomes the receipiant of a supernatural curse. Hmmmmm... That sounds vaguely like the major plot point of scripter Diablo Cody's upcoming Jennifer's Body. Could it be possible that Page saw some similarities and decided to do her Juno screenwriter a favor by backing out of the project?

UPDATE:
AintItCoolNews has posted a statement from Raimi's Ghost House Pictures and the film's distributor Mandate Pictures, shifting some of the blame for Page's departure to the possibility of a Screen Actors Guild strike-

We were racing to start production so that we could accommodate Ellen's schedule. But like so many other productions trying to start before the potential SAG strike date, this one needed more time and we had to push back the start of production.

Of course, "this one needed more time" could be their way of acknowledging, yet still downplaying the script is the thing that still needs work.

Script Review: JENNIFER'S BODY

She just won an Academy Award for her first produced screenplay, a feat not done since two guys from Boston did it with a movie called Good Will Hunting. But even before her Oscar win, Diablo Cody has become quite the media darling as the author of the quirky teen pregnancy comedy Juno.

But is Cody a one hit wonder or does she have what it takes to have a screenwriting career with some longevity? People are already looking towards her next script, the dark horror/comedy Jennifer's Body, for the answer to that question.

We've read the script and we'll give you the lowdown in our script review, right here. (Note: There will be spoilers in the review.)

Englund To Direct Gothic Horror THE VIJ

There's no need to feel too upset that Robert Englund won't be back for Platinum Dunes' revamp of the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise that we reported on last week. The former Freddy Kruger is turning his eye to directing, taking charge of the dark Gothic fantasy The Vij, Variety reported today.

Based on a novel by Russian writer Nikolaj Gogol, the movie will tell the story of a young priest who is led into temptation and sin by an evil genie. The film is being produced by the Rome-based company ReDark, in association with Canada’s Remstar and Spain’s Canonigo Films.

Christopher Lee, another horror film icon, is set to star, with Englund also taking a role in the film.

Filming is set to begin in April in the Lazio region of Italy with the uninhabited medieval village of Civita di Bagnoregio serving as one of the production's prime filming locations.

Joe Johnston Vs. THE WOLF MAN

When he walked off pre-production of Universal Pictures' $100 million dollar production The Wolf Man, speculation as to who would replace Mark Romanek in the director's chair began swirling almost before the door closed behind him. Harry Knowles at AintItCool made an impassioned plea to the Powers That Be to NOT hire Brett Ratner for the project. (I'd go one further and request that Ratner not be hired for any project ever again.) Cinematical reported that American Werewolf In Lodon director John Landis was on the shortlist of possible replacements. Cloverfield director Matt Reeves name was also reportedly in the mix, not doubt due to his current box-office noteriety.

But now Variety is reportinng that the new man behind the camera will be Joe Johnston. An interesting choice, Johnston has a background in visual effects, having won an Academy Award for a little known movie called Raiders Of The Lost Ark. While his most recent directorial effort, the period adventure piece Hidalgo, flopped at the box office, he has also directed the underrated drama October Sky as well as the fan favorites The Rocketeer and Jurassic Park III.

Personally, I'd classify Johnston as a journeyman director, someone who delivers a technically proficient film that can entertain, but one who lacks a clear directorial style, a visual stamp where one can look at just a short moment of his work and be able to identify it. And I say this even with The Rocketeer being a personal favorite film. He’s a safe choice for Universal to go with, just not a particularly interesting or exciting choice.

There also remains the fact that Romanek left the project due to "creative differences." Is there a problem with Andrew Kevin Walker's script that he felt needed addressing before production started, but couldn’t be due to the ongoing Writers Guild strike? Considering that he has been working on developing the project with star Benicio Del Toro for about two years, I’m inclined to think that perhaps he was requesting more money that the studio was reticent to kick out.

Filming on The Wolf Man, which stars Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt, was scheduled to begin on February 18th. There has been no word as to whether that date is still firm or will be pushed back to allow Johnston to come up to full steam.

Review: TEETH

Acrtor turned writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein brings us the curiously horrific story of Dawn (Jess Wiexler), the head of a local teen celibacy group who discovers that she is the possessor of a certain condition that grants her a strange empowerment over men.

Part horror, part satire and part cautionary tale, Teeth is that rare horror film- one that smartly uses its genre conventions to actually say something.

You can check out the full FilmBuffOnLine review here.