Andrew Niccol

Started by MacGuffin, November 03, 2006, 12:07:30 AM

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MacGuffin

Niccol framing 'Dali' for Room 9
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Andrew Niccol is attached to direct "Dali & I: The Surreal Story," a film from Room 9 Entertainment about Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali that will serve as the company's follow-up to the successful political satire "Thank You for Smoking."

Room 9 originally acquired "Dali" as a spec written by John Salvati, based on Stan Lauryssens' autobiographical book "Dali and I." Niccol is doing a rewrite on the script and the company is eyeing a shoot next spring.

Room 9's David O. Sacks, Daniel Brunt and Michael R. Newman will produce.

The movie will cover the life of Dali through the eyes of Lauryssens, a young art dealer who knew Dali and his wife Gala. The movie will span the 1960s-1980s, covering Dali's later period when most of this great work was behind him while he became more flamboyant, and focusing on a mentor-protege relationship between Dali and Lauryssens.

"What I think is interesting about this period in his life is that he painted less and sold more, just as modern art became more commercialized," said Sacks. "There are pictures of him turning his mustache into dollar signs. He became very obsessed by money and this was spurred on by Gala."

Gala, a Russian immigrant 11 years his senior, was his muse and inspiration and the artist was very dependent on her though their relationship was tempestuous.

"We don't want to do another artist biopic," said Sacks. "We want this to ask questions like 'What is modern art? Does it have value? Is it worth the millions of dollars that people are paying for?' "

"Dali" will be overseen at Room 9 by Brunt and Newman, who were both promoted to partnership positions at the company. They now serve as co-presidents and will continue building a slate of films that they will develop and produce with Sacks. Sacks remains CEO of the company, as well as a financial backer.

Niccol is the filmmaker behind "Gattaca," "Simone" and last year's "Lord of War." He also wrote "The Truman Show," which garnered him an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Surreal life: Pacino plays Dali in biopic
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Al Pacino is reuniting with writer-director Andrew Niccol for "Dali & I: The Surreal Story," Room 9 Entertainment's follow-up to its successful political satire "Thank You for Smoking."

Pacino will play Dali in the movie, which will span the 1960s-80s, a time when most of Dali's great work was behind him and he became more flamboyant. The story also will focus on a mentor-protege relationship between Dali and Stan Lauryssens, a young art dealer.

Room 9 partners David O. Sacks, Daniel Brunt and Michael R. Newman are producing. A June start date is planned.

Room 9 originally acquired the project as a spec written by John Salvati, based on Lauryssens' autobiographical book "Dali and I." Niccol is rewriting the script.

Room 9 and NBC/Universal are developing a television series based on "Smoking."

CAA-repped Pacino starred in Niccol's 2002 sci-fi drama "Simone." He next appears in "Ocean's Thirteen," which Warner Bros. Pictures will release June 8, and in Millennium Films' "88 Minutes."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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matt35mm

As long as they don't make another Simone, which was one of the worst movies I've seen, then it might be interesting.

MacGuffin

Murphy joins Pacino in 'Dali' portrait
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Cillian Murphy is stocking up on his paint brushes in order to star opposite Al Pacino in "Dali & I: The Surreal Story" for Room 9 Entertainment. Andrew Niccol is directing while Room 9 partners David O. Sacks, Daniel Brunt and Michael R. Newman produce.

The movie, which will span the 1960s-80s, follows the time in Dali's life when most of his great work was behind him and he became more flamboyant. Dali (Pacino) also developed a mentor-protege relationship with a young art dealer named Stan Lauryssens, who will be played by Murphy.

The part of Gala, Dali's wife, has yet to be cast.

Room 9 originally acquired the project as a spec written by John Salvati, based on Lauryssens' autobiographical book "Dali and I." Niccol rewrote the script.

"Dali" is scheduled to begin shooting in early 2008 on location in Spain and New York.

Daniel Brunt is overseeing the project at Room 9, which was behind Jason Reitman's award winning "Thank You For Smoking."

Murphy most recently starred in Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" and Ken Loach's "The Wind That Shakes The Barley." He is currently shooting Beeban Kidron's "Hippie Hippie Shake" for Universal Pictures/Working Title.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Orlando Bloom to star in 'The Cross'
Cassel, Kurylenko also join sci-fi project
Source: Variety

Orlando Bloom, Vincent Cassel ("Eastern Promises") and Olga Kurylenko ("Quantum of Solace") will topline "The Cross," to be directed by Andrew Niccol ("Lord of War" ).

Niccol has initiated pre-production on the $24 million sci-fi escape story, which is scheduled to start principal photography in July in Australia.

CAA packaged "Cross" and is selling North American distribution rights. Gregoire Melin's Kinology is handling international rights.

Set in a border town, "Cross" returns Niccol -- Oscar-nommed for writing "The Truman Show" -- to his favorite domain: the near future. Bloom plays a man seeking to cross a mysterious border, something no one else has achieved; Cassel limns the guard who will go to any lengths to foil him. Kurylenko takes the femme lede. Structured as an Australia-France-Germany co-production, "Cross" is being produced by Bluewater Pics in Sydney, Paris' Spangherabero Films and Berlin's Opal Film Produktion. Wieland Schulz-Keil, Jonathan Shteinman, Jean-Vincent Puzos, Remi Burah and Niccol will produce; Alexander von Hohenthal is serving as German co-producer. "Cross" is a high-profile project on Kinology's Berlin slate, which also features gangster thriller "Vengeance" from Johnnie To. Film is written by Wai Ka-fai and features To stalwarts such as Anthony Wong, Lam Ka Tung, Lam Suet and Simon Yam. Gallic rocker Johnny Hallyday stars as a hitman-turned chef moved to action when his daughter (Sylvie Testud) and family are murdered. Currently in post and skedded for delivery in May, "Vengeance" is produced by Michele and Laurent Petin at Paris' ARP, To and Ka-fai.

At Berlin, Kinology will also be showing footage from "My Own Love Song," now in post, from Olivier Dahan and toplining Renee Zellweger, Forest Whitaker and Nick Nolte.

Kinology's slate is big on French helmers: Mathieu Kassovitz's "Rebellion"; Joann Sfar's "Gainsbourg," now shooting; Juan Solanas' "Upside Down"; and Antoine Charreyron's "The Prodigies."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Andrew Niccol's new sci-fi project: 'I'm Mortal' (exclusive)
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Andrew Niccol is readying his next sci-fi movie.

New Regency is in negotiations to pick up "I'm Mortal," the latest script from Niccol, who also will direct the film project.

Strike Entertainment, the production outfit run by Marc Abraham and Eric Newman that is currently shooting "The Thing" prequel for Universal, is in negotiations to produce.

The story is set in the not-too-distant future where the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality.

The protagonist is a poor young man who comes into a fortune of time, though too late to help his mother from dying. He ends up on the run from a corrupt police force known as "time keepers."

The script is the latest entry into the arena of "social sci-fi," a genre that uses one big idea to reflect on societal issues. Examples range from last year's "District 9" to "Children of Men," which Strike produced.

Niccol's oeuvre is dotted with such work, including "Gattaca," "The Truman Show" and "S1mOne," and insiders say the project, with shades of a grounded "Logan's Run," could be Niccol's most commercial work yet.

The script is one of the hot projects for the under-25 set because every character looks young. (The scenario makes it so that onscreen, adults such as parents appear to be the same age as their kids.) CAA-repped Niccol is currently ensconced in meetings with a deep pool of candidates, eyeing a summer start in L.A.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Amanda Seyfried to Lead Andrew Niccol's 'I'm.mortal'
Source: SciFi Squad

Earlier this morning I was thinking about how lucky sci-fi fans have been two summers in a row now and how great it would be if the summer streak started by District 9 and maintained by Inception continued into next year. Then I was wondering about what films currently in the pipeline would be contenders to keep that trend of intelligent sci-fi going and the first title that came to mind was Andrew Niccol's I'm.mortal. I hadn't thought about the film much since its initial announcement, but I began wondering whether or not it was on a smooth track for production.

How convenient, then, that I return home to find news that Amanda Seyfried has been cast as the female star of the film, which is set in a futuristic society where the aging process has been defeated entirely. However, to prevent overpopulation, years of life has replaced financial-backed currencies all over the world. Time Keepers are the police force that keep track of how much time each person is spending/receiving, presumably terminating all those who have no more years left in their time bank.

One day a man poor in years suddenly comes into a great deal of years, but the corrupt Time Keepers force believe he obtained said time by killing a rich man, so he's forced to take a female hostage and then go on the lam. The man has yet to be cast, but Variety tells us that Seyfried will be playing his hostage.

Being clueless about the finer details of the script I obviously can't say whether or not this is perfect casting for the role, but I for one am always happy to see the lovely Seyfried attached to a project. I've been a fan reaching back to her days as Lilly Kane inVeronica Mars and it has been great to see her grow from the bubbly blonde to an actress capable of bringing more depth to roles than most actresses in her age bracket.

I'm even happier to see her in a project like this as we've already seen her do comedy, horror, teen dramas, and even romantic thrillers. Director Andrew Niccol is certainly no stranger to the sci-fi genre, though, having written The Truman Show (yay!),S1m0ne (meh) and Gattaca (one of the best sci-fi films of the '00s). I'm not sure what time frame New Regency and Strike Entertainment are looking at to get this finished and into the hands of distributor 20th Century Fox, but I'd certainly like to see this hitting theaters during summer 2011 to keep the streak alive. Assuming it's any good, of course.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Pubrick

hmm i wonder what happened to The Cross?

anyway new niccol is great news. the dude is underrated even if he does throw a few misfires, i think his record will speak for itself when the great lord descends upon this earth to watch every movie ever made (at once).
under the paving stones.

MacGuffin

Justin Timberlake Leading I'm.mortal?
Source: ComingSoon

Apparently, Nikki Finke's Deadline has so much news piling on their laps, they don't know what to do with it all. This may be why a scoop on the possible casting for what could turn out to be a high-profile science fiction movie was buried in a post about possible candidates to take over for Simon Cowell on "American Idol."

In this case, she was talking about Justin Timberlake, who could be a viable candidate for the reality show if he wasn't so busy making music and trying to have a movie career. It's the latter part that's of most interest to us, because buried in that bit of television gossip, she also says,

"And he's been offered the lead in the Andrew Niccols-directed I'm Mortal for New Regency and Fox."

Being cast in I'm.mortal seems like a pretty big deal, especially just two weeks after actress Amanda Seyfried was offered the lead in the movie set in a future society where people can't age and can only stay alive as long as they pay. Seyfried is playing the role of a woman kidnapped by a man whose time has expired so he goes on the run, taking her with him. Some probably presumed that this man would be significantly older than the 29-year-old pop sensation though having an actor closer to Seyfried's age (24) would probably make more sense in the grander scheme of things.

As we know, being offered the lead and actually signing on the dotted line to take the part are two different things, but certainly this bit of potential casting news deserved better treatment than being buried in an "American Idol" story.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Cannes: Andrew Niccol To Direct Saoirse Ronan In Stephenie Meyer's 'The Host'
BY MIKE FLEMING; Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Niccol has been set as the director of The Host, directing his scripted adaptation of the bestselling novel by Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer. The project, which is being shopped here at Cannes by Inferno Entertainment and producers Nick Wechsler and Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz, will star Saoirse Ronan. After resisting overtures to sell the book, Meyer finally entrusted it with the producers, who gave her strong creative input. She chose Niccol originally because she was a fan of his film Gattaca and script for The Truman Show. While Niccol adapted the book into the current script, he exited to make the film Now, which he has completed with Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy starring. The producers went down the road with several directors, but talks with Niccol to return started heating up in recent weeks. Ronan ramped up interest in the film when she was set to star.

Ronan will play Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans putting up a fight against an alien species called Souls. These parasites invade human bodies, fuse to each person's consciousness and systematically erase their personalities. The story follows Melanie as she is captured by the aliens and implanted by a Soul called Wanderer, something of a legend because of all of the "hosts" she has attached to on numerous planets. Wanderer's goal is to get Melanie to give up the remaining pockets of humans, but instead the alien finds Melanie to be unique in her unwillingness to surrender her consciousness. Wanderer is so overwhelmed by Melanie's memories and feelings that she is driven to reconnect with Melanie's old life, which includes falling for Melanie's boyfriend. The result is a complex, romantic and emotional human/alien love triangle. Inferno's Marc Butan, Jim Seibel and Bill Johnson are executive producers, and Roger Schwartz is co-producer. Inferno and the producers are financing the film, with Inferno kicking off foreign sales this week. "Having Andrew at the helm for us is incredibly invigorating as he truly shares Stephenie's vision on this film," said Kimberly Fox, Inferno's President of International Sales. "We literally began sales this week and the response from the international community, and from domestic buyers, has been beyond our highest expectations. We expect to have every territory in the world sold out very shortly, and then it's about getting to the exciting part of making the movie." Niccol is repped by CAA. Inferno is currently in pre-production on Chuck Russell's Arabian Nights, a film that will star Liam Hemsworth, and is in post production on: the Andrew Dominik's Cogan's Trade with Brad Pitt; the Joe Carnahan-directed The Grey with Liam Neeson; and the Gary McKendry-directed Killer Elite, which stars Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert De Niro.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Andrew Niccol, Ethan Hawke Team Again
Source: Deadline
   
EXCLUSIVE: Writer/director Andrew Niccol has found his next film, and set a familiar face to anchor it. Ethan Hawke is in talks to star for the third time in a Niccol film. This time, he'll play a fighter pilot in the untitled thriller who  becomes a Las Vegas-based drone pilot. He fights the Taliban by remote control for twelve hours a day, then goes home to the suburbs and feuds with his wife and kids for the other twelve. He starts to question his mission, and asking himself if he is creating more terrorists than he is killing in a war seemingly without end. Hawke previously starred in the Niccol-directed Gattaca and Lord Of War. He has also had a strong year with The Purge and the Sundance darling Before Midnight.

The film will begin shooting in February, and it will be sold at AFM. Voltage Pictures' Nicolas Chartier (The Hurt Locker) and Zev Foreman (Dallas Buyers Club) are producing, and Voltage will handle worldwide sales. Hawke, repped by CAA and The Schiff Company and attorney George Sheanshang, just wrapped Cymbeline opposite Dakota Johnson and will begin previews of Macbeth at Lincoln Center on October 24th. Niccol is repped by CAA.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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