Movie News, TV News

Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ To Get 8-Part TV Miniseries Leading Up to Movie 0 714

stephen-kings-the-stand-to-get-8-part-miniseries-leading-up-to-movie

A new adaptation of Stephen King’s epic post apocalyptic novel The Stand has been in the works in one form or another for quite a while now. The plan we’ve heard thus far is that The Fault In Our Star helmer Josh Boone was going to be directing one big budget, possibly 3-hour-long epic movie. But now we’re hearing word a revolutionary new plan on how they’re bringing story to life once more.

The Wrap reports that in addition to the big-screen outing, Warner Bros. and CBS Films are in talks to create an 8-part miniseries that would precede the movie. Wow. Boone will be the connecting tissue as he’s set to both write and direct the series as well as still being behind the culminating movie.

Interestingly the term “star-studded” in mentioned, which continues the trend of big actors wanting to do creative work on the small screen, although no specific actors are mentioned at this point. The extra miniseries will not only allow Boone to cover more of King’s ambitious, 800+ page story but also allow those eager to watch both the show and the movie time to get used to certain actors in certain roles; casting with be crucial to win fans over, I imagine. Those fans (of which I am most definitely one) will be happy to hear that King himself will be involved in at least some capacity.

For those who don’t know, The Stand is one of King’s most celebrated books which chronicles an epic battle between good and evil after a mysterious virus wipes out most of the population. It centres on the diverse group of survivors travelling to the “haven” of Boulder, Colorado, while dealing with an Antichrist-like figure called Randall Flagg. The book was famously adapted into a 4-part TV miniseries back in the mid ’90s starring Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald.

Those keeping up with King adaptation news will be hearing bells ringing and for good reason; there was a similar plan for The Dark Tower adaptation, with a season of a corresponding TV show being interwined between big movies. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo screenwriter Nikolaj Arcel recently signed on to make that project but it’s still not entirely clear whether the movie-TV show combo is still on for that one.

Back to The Stand, there’s highly level meetings planned for this week with top talent agents so it appears they really are going all out on this one on all levels. The plan is to start shooting both the movie and TV show as erly as next year as part of one production; not only will that make things feel more cohesive but is also a shrewd cost-cutting technique for the studios involved.

The Stand series could end up at either HBO or Showtime depending on which way things fall because WB is owned by the same parent company as HBO but CBS has a deal with Showtime. Either way it’s great to see cable networks being linked rather than network as King’s story has some pretty full-on stuff in it and deserves that sort of freedom.

No release date has been set for either the show or the movie but we’ll be sure to keep you up-to-date.

Source: The Wrap

Previous ArticleNext Article
I'm a freelance film reviewer and blogger with over 10 years of experience writing for various different reputable online and print publications. In addition to my running, editing and writing for Thoughts On Film, I am also the film critic for The National, the newspaper that supports an independent Scotland, covering the weekly film releases, film festivals and film-related features. I have a passion for all types of cinema, and have a particular love for foreign language film, especially South Korean and Japanese cinema. Favourite films include The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Vincent Cassel To Play Villain in Next ‘Bourne’ Film 0 1465

vincent-cassel-to-play-villain-in-next-bourne-film

After a fourth Bourne film in which Jason himself was conspicuous by his absence, things are returning to the old but brilliant formula of Matt Damon starring and Paul Greengrass directing.

We already know that in addition to Damon returning (rejoice!), Tommy Lee Jones and woman-of-the-moment Alicia Vikander are part of the cast, playing a tough CIA operative and (presumed) love interest, respectively, as well as Julia Stiles reprising her small but crucial role as Bourne helper Nicky Parsons. But now we’re getting word that one of the best French actors in the business is also joining the cast.

Variety has the news that the wonderful Vincent Cassel has signed on to the spy action sequel as its main villain, which will see him match wits and possibly even go toe-to-toe go with the former amnesiac hero. Although exact plot details are being kept secret for the time being, sources are saying that Cassel will play an assassin tracking Bourne. No doubt he will tie in with the Treadstone/Blackbriar history of the Bourne mythology – maybe he’ll be a scorned fellow assassin who feels Bourne somehow wronged him/was chosen ahead of him.

The series has a pedigree of casting great actors as assassins, whether it be Clive Owen in The Bourne Identity, Karl Urban in Supremacy, Edgar Ramirez in Ultimatum and Oscar Isaac in Legacy.

I was already looking forward to the return of the Damon-Greengrass team but the addition of Cassel – genuinely one of my favourite actors of modern times – only makes me wish next summer would get here sooner.

The as-yet-untitled Bourne sequel is set to start shooting this year for a July 29th, 2016 release date.

Source: Variety

Kenneth Branagh To Direct Disney’s ‘Artemis Fowl’ Movie 0 1798

kenneth-branagh-to-direct-artemis-fowl-movie

An adaptation of the mega successful 2001 book Artemis Fowl, and its subsequent series, has been in the works for quite a while now, with mega producer Harvey Weinstein having acquired the rights and tried to get it made for almost 15 years.

After some flipping and flopping on who exactly owns the rights (Disney acquiring Weinstein’s Miramax a decade ago put the brakes on the project), it now appears that things are finally moving forward with the long-awaited big-screen version and it’s being reported that Sir Kenneth Brannagh has been locked down to direct.

Tracking-Boarding has the exclusive on the news on the project, which has intriguingly been described as “Harry Potter meets Die Hard.” That’s just a gift to the people who will end up marketing this thing to the masses. Brannagh appears like the perfect director for it, having just come off a huge success with the $542 million-grossing Cinderella. He will also produce alongside Weinstein.

If you don’t know already, here’s the story of Artemis Fowl as reported on TR:

It follows the brilliant and cunning 12-year-old eponymous criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II, whose cunning plot to extort gold from the secret Fairy People puts him directly in the cross-hairs of some of the most dangerous creatures on earth. Over the series, Fowl becomes a sort of anti-hero rather than a full-fledged villain, often having to work together with the fairies to stop a slew of treacherous megalomaniacs.

The original draft of the Artemis Fowl script was written by Michael Goldenberg, who wrote 2003’s version of Peter Pan as well as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, one of the most action-packed installments in the wizarding franchise (in which Brannagh, of course, starred himself). Variety has extra info on this announcement stating that Irish playwright Conor McPherson is in talks to write a new draft. As for the lead character himself, is it just me or does the above artwork make him look spookily like the kid who play Bruce Wayne on Gotham?

The recent successful pate of YA fantasy stories like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner – not to mention the sure-to-be-successful upcoming Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – is probably a major contributing factor in Artemis Fowl finally getting the kickstart in needed. I have to admit I haven’t read the source books but after Harry Potter came to an end, it seems time for another all-encompassing cinematic fantasy phenomenon to come along.

Before he gets to Artemis Fowl, however, Branagh will be working on the recently announced remake of Murder on the Orient Express. He also has a drama called Italian Shoes, with Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench.

Sources: Tracking-Board and Variety