Joel Silver Updates Us On Lobo, Sherlock Holmes Sequel, Forbidden Planet And What Happened With He-Man?

At today's press junket for Ninja Assassin I had a chance to speak to producer Joel Silver for a couple of minutes about his upcoming projects. The man doesn't just have his hands in many pies, he's the freaking pie factory.I asked Joel what happened with He-Man, updates on Lobo including the actor I think should play the part, Forbidden Planet and if there might be a sequel to Sherlock Holmes.Do you think we'll ever see another Speed Racer?Silver: NoWhat happened with He-Man? Last time I talked to you a script was being worked on.Silver: We let that one go. We couldn't really figure out how to do it. Sony has it, it's not with us anymore.Just too difficult?Silver: Eh, it was a weird one. I'm sure somebody could figure it out. But you know, the studio didn't know really what they wanted from it and we kept trying to figure it out. But it wasn't going anywhere. For us.I'm really excited about Sherlock Holmes coming out.Silver: It's fantastic. Have you guys talked about turning that into a possible franchise?Silver: We would love for that to be a franchise. There are plenty of Sherlock Holmes stories. But let's get the movie open, let's see how it goes and we'lll see what happens.I've heard nothing but positive things about it.Silver: It's great. It's really great.And what about Lobo?Silver: We're working really close on that. It's close, ya.Because the online buzz for that is really good.Silver: There is a good shot we can make that happen.Has there been any decision on if you want to go CGI with him, or have a guy in a suit?Silver: There's been some interesting tests. It's pretty spectacular. So that's gonna come about soon I think.What about someone like Jeffrey Dean Morgan possibly playing him?Silver: Well, he's in The Losers. I love him, he did a great job for us. He's very talented.I know you like to work with a lot  of the same people. I think he'd be a good choice. I think a lot of people would like him.Silver: [inaudible. I think he said he's a good actor. -Ed.]Forbidden Planet. Any movement on that at all?Silver: Well, we've got a writer writing. J. Michael Straczynski, who wrote Ninja, he's writing Forbidden Planet now. We'll see a script before the end of the year and that's exciting too.And Gamekeeper. How are things going with that?Silver: That's something that Guy Ritchie's involved with and it's in development. Source: Latinoreview

Apaches Gets Re-Write Team

Lorenzo Carcaterra wrote the novel Apaches about a group of retired New York City cops who form a renegade unit outside of the department to take down the city's biggest and baddest offenders. Sounds kind of cool, and I'm guessing purely from the title that these cops should be scalping people, but maybe that's just a cultural stereotype.Regardless of the book's actual content, Jerry Bruckheimer and Touchstone Pictures over at Disney have been trying to bring this film to theaters for some time now, with a bevy of writers coming on board to do adaptation drafts. Marshall Todd (Bad Boys II), John Ridley, John Fusco (The Forbidden Kingdom) and David Klass (Walking Tall) have all taken their pass, and now it's two newcomers who are taking up the task.Sean O'Keefe and Will Staples will be the new scribes paid to "loosely adapt" Apaches for the screen.  O'Keefe and Staples are fairly new to the game, but have some buzz-worth scripts already in circulation. Universal has picked up their script titled World's Most Wanted, Walden Media has their adaptation of The Cruelest Miles and Sony has paired disaster director Roland Emmerich with their script The Murder of King Tut.All I know is that I'm looking for some good scalping. Inglorious Basterds gave me a taste and I hunger for more...scalp.Source: Trades

Jet Li Going Back To China

It's tempting to beg Jet Li not to go back to China, to stick around making American films because we need him so badly. But really, we haven't been treating him so well lately-- his two most recent English-language films were The Forbidden Kingdom and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and the next project on his list is the cameo-packed but sure to be ridiculous The Expendables. So back to China Li goes, with plans to star in ...

Funny Gentlemen Broncos Trailer

The official trailer for the upcoming "Gentlemen Broncos" comedy, starring Michael Angarano (The Forbidden Kingdom) and Jemaine Clement ("The Flight of the Conchords"), has appeared online. Check it out below.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie gets a writer

John Fusco, writer of The Forbidden Kingdom, has been hired to write the script for the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. However, this is no ordinary screenwriter. This screenwriter can also kick ass! From Variety: Fusco will certainly be able to handle the action elements. He’s been practicing martial arts since he was 12, and continues [...]

John Fusco to Write Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Young Guns and The Forbidden Kingdom writer, John Fusco, is set to pen the relaunch of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that we heard about a few months ago. According to Variety, he’s more than capable of handeling the project from all angles including the action because he’s been practicing martial arts since he was 12, [...]

Young Guns Scribe Writing Live-Action TMNT Movie?

Update [by Editor Peter Sciretta]: Variety has confirmed this earlier report. Fusco issued the following statement: "It is always exciting when you can come aboard a project that bridges the worlds of what you do with what you love." No other new information has been revealed. A TMNT fan blog noticed the other day that the official TMNT site had released details of the Turtles' panel at Comic Con, and the page (since deleted) had some new info. Among the guests listed for the panel was John Fusco, noted in the listing as the writer for the live-action movie due in 2011. That's an interesting choice for the project, and suggests that the aim is to create more than a simple cash-in that preys on fan nostalgia. Fusco wrote the two Young Guns movies, Hidalgo with Viggo Mortensen, the recent Jet Li picture The Forbidden Kingdom and may be writing the ...

TMNT Reboot Hires Young Guns Writer

We're probably going to be getting a few more details on the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action reboot at the San Diego Comic Con next week, but for now, we've got at least one piece of news to tell you about. It seems that the movie has landed a screenwriter by the name of John Fusco. How do we know this? Well, because he will be appearing at the TMNT Comic Con panel along with Kevin Eastman, Mirage Studios CEO Gary Richardson, and Steve Barron, who directed the first live-action TMNT movie back in 1990! Fusco's writing credits include Young Guns, Young Guns II, and Hidalgo, which could mean that the movie will have a bit of a Western flavour to it. However, I'm guessing the main reason why he was hired is because he also wrote The Forbidden Kingdom and the upcoming Seven Samurai remake. It sounds like he's potentially the right man for the job, even though The Forbidden Kingdom received mixed reviews. In other news, it was confirmed that the Foot Clan will indeed be a part of the new TMNT movie, as an open casting call [1] for martial arts experts is taking place this Saturday in Hollywood. What do you think, is there a chance this could actually turn out even better than the original TMNT film? [1] http://gogreenmachine.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/calling-all-foot/

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Young Guns Scribe Writing Live-Action TMNT Movie?

A TMNT fan blog noticed the other day that the official TMNT site had released details of the Turtles' panel at Comic Con, and the page (since deleted) had some new info. Among the guests listed for the panel was John Fusco, noted in the listing as the writer for the live-action movie due in 2011. That's an interesting choice for the project, and suggests that the aim is to create more than a simple cash-in that preys on fan nostalgia. Fusco wrote the two Young Guns movies, Hidalgo with Viggo Mortensen, the recent Jet Li picture The Forbidden Kingdom and may be writing the latest attempt to remake Seven Samurai. None of them cinema classics by any means (not talking about the Kurosawa Seven Samurai, obviously) but it's a resume that has a strong western/martial arts bent. And what is TMNT (also no cinema classic) really but a cheeky urban ...

New Live-Action TMNT Movie Has a Writer - John Fusco

I hope everyone is a big TMNT fan, because we're going to be covering the hell out of this new live-action movie. The official TMNT25.com website has posted an article with details about their appearances at the San Diego Comic-Con. Their keynote presentation is a special TMNT panel on Friday, July 24th featuring a lot of big names - creator Kevin Eastman, Mirage Studios CEO Gary Richardson, director of the original TMNT movies Steve Barron, and producers Galen Walker and Scott Mednick. Listed last is John Fusco, whose title is "writer of the new TMNT movie (slated for 2011)." Looks like they finally have a writer! Fusco's past credits include Young Guns, Thunderheart, Hidalgo, and The Forbidden Kingdom recently. That last one makes me shudder. It seems he's involved probably for his knowledge of martial arts and its mythology, like Bushido, as he's writing The Seven Samurai remake as well (and ...