Bryan Singer

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James McTeigue The Wachowski Bros Siblings. (V for Vendetta) have been suggested as a possible replacement for Singer on Logan's Run. Stay tuned to find out what develops!

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Singer in pilot deal with ABC

Bryan Singer has inked a rich, three-for-one deal with ABC.

Under the seven-figure pact, Singer, the director of such blockbusters as "X-Men," "X2: X-Men United" and most recently "Superman Returns," will develop three scripts for the network, one of which is guaranteed to go to pilot.

Singer, who will develop the projects through his company Bad Hat Harry Prods., will executive produce and direct the pilot.

This is the first formal television deal for Singer, who spearheaded the early development of Sci Fi Channel's critically praised series "Battlestar Galactica," executive produced the channel's miniseries "The Triangle" and directed and executive produced the pilot for Fox's medical drama "House."

Singer is an executive producer on "House," which has emerged as a blockbuster hit for Fox and recently landed a best drama series Emmy nomination.

It was during the casting of the pilot for "House" that Singer became drawn to the immediacy and longevity of the TV series business. He realized back then that he was not just assembling a cast for a 15-day shoot but also an acting ensemble that could become a staple on TV for years to come.

"You put something together in a quick time frame and get to create something that could have a long-lasting effect," Singer said.

What's more, "television has an organic quality to it," he said. "Movies are pretty set. TV shows are open-ended, they can evolve over time."

What sets Singer's deal with ABC apart from other high-profile, three-for-one pacts is that it is not tied to a studio. This gives Singer the flexibility to develop with writers at any studio.

This was the decisive factor in setting up the deal at ABC, Singer said.

"I like the freedom," he said, adding, "and ABC is a good network."

In his development, Singer is open to all genres, including comedy. Bad Hat Harry's head of production, Alex Garcia, will oversee the development process for the company.

The three-for-one formula has worked well for big-name feature directors venturing into television. This past development season, CBS inked such a deal with "National Treasure" director Jon Turteltaub. The pilot that came out of it, "Jericho," landed on CBS' fall schedule. Ridley and Tony Scott's similar arrangement at CBS resulted in the successful crime drama "Numbers," which is going into a third season in the fall.

Singer has been busy on the feature side. The director is in Tokyo wrapping up the global promotional tour for "Superman Returns." He also is in talks for a sequel to the film, which revived the "Superman" franchise after a 19-year hiatus.

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ABC's 'Footballer's Wives' gets the greenlight
'Superman's' Singer loosely attached to direct
Source: Variety

ABC's adaptation of Blighty sudser "Footballers' Wives" scored two touchdowns Monday, snagging a pilot greenlight and a potential big-name director in the form of Bryan Singer.

Chris Brancato and Bert Salke are exec producing the new take on "Wives," with Marco Pennette writing and exec producing via Touchstone Television. ABC first ordered a script for the project last summer.

Singer wasn't originally involved in "Wives" but is now loosely attached to direct.

Helmer inked a three-for-one development deal with ABC last summer to develop projects under his Bad Hat Harry Prods. banner. As a result, it's possible he could end up directing a pilot other than "Wives."

A rep for Singer said the "Superman Returns" and "X-Men" director hasn't yet decided which script he'll helm under the terms of his ABC deal.

Singer's last TV pilot was Fox's "House." He remains an exec producer on the skein.

"Wives" is based on the Shed Prods. format that became a phenom in Blighty. New take will be set in the world of pro football rather than soccer but will retain much of the over-the-top spirit of the original.

Shed's Eileen Gallagher, Ann McManus and Maureen Chadwicke are aboard as exec producers of the U.S. "Wives." Original skein, which ran for four years on ITV and spawned a spinoff, was a campy mix of "Dallas" and "Desperate Housewives" revolving around three ordinary women whose lives are transformed by the celebrity and fortune that come with marriage to sports superstars.

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Another Director for Logan's Run?   
Bryan Singer and Joel Silver part ways. Who has Sir Joel brougt in to replace him?
Source: IESB

We've learned that Bryan Singer and Joel Silver have parted ways over the re-make of Logan's Run. This apparently happened a few months back.

We've learned who Joel and Company are talking to replace fan boy favorite Bryan Singer and it's Joe Kosinski. Joel is also considering writers Jayson Rothwell and Travis Beachman to de-seventize the dated classic.

Travis Beachman co-wrote the great script A Killing on Carnival Row that we've mentioned here before at IESB.

As far as Joe Kosinski, well we haven't heard much about him and his website doesn't say much other than directing some cut scenes for Gears of War and Halo 3. Which is probably enough to get those fan boys up and drooling.

Word started trickling in some time back that Singer and Silver had indeed parted ways but we're not sure what the reasoning was behind the split.

The new writers and director are represented by Anonymous Content.

Update: Latinoreview has now also confirmed this story.

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Castro Street to Hold Up Superman Sequel?
Source: ComingSoon

Rotten Tomatoes reports that Bryan Singer will likely direct The Mayor of Castro Street after Valkyrie, which would push back the Superman Returns sequel:

"Bryan Singer had previously told us that the "Superman Returns" sequel "Superman: The Man of Steel" would be his next film after "Valkyrie." His producers tell another story. Neil Meron and Craig Zadan have Singer lined up to direct "The Mayor of Castro Street," a story of gay rights activist Harvey Milk, within a year.

"The next Superman, that's a ways off," claimed Meron, with Zadan adding. "Don't worry about it. Trust me. We may even start preproduction on Harvey Milk while he's on post production on the Tom Cruise movie."

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Singer Talks Superman Returns Sequel
Exclusive: Director confirms development
Source: Empire Online

Earlier today, IESB reported that rumours were flying that Bryan Singer was working on a sequel to Superman Returns. Well, we've spoken to Singer and he's confirmed that work's under way on the film that some said would never happen because the first was perceived as a flop.

"That movie made $400 million!" Singer says incredulously. "I don't know what constitutes under-performing these days...Look, I can understand, I suppose, what some people mean. Perhaps some people went in with the expectation of it being like an X-Men film, and Superman is a tougher character than that. Especially bringing him back. It really goes back to the fact that you can only please some of the people some of the time. But, yes, I'm just getting back with writers after the strike. We're just in the development phase. I'm starting to develop a sequel...with the intention of directing it."

Singer knows that there was some negative reaction to the fact that the first film focused more on story at the expense of action and is looking to redress that next time.

"The first one was a romantic film and a nostalgic film," he says. "I'll be the first person to own up to that without making any apologies for it. I knew it was going to be that from the outset. And now that the characters are established, there's really an opportunity to up the threat levels...Clearly there'll be a body count [laughs]. From frame one, it will be unrelenting terror! All those teenage girls who found the movie and mooned over James Marsden or Brandon? Well, I'm going to wake them up!" He may be joking about the unrelenting terror.

We have to say, we actually enjoyed a huge amount about Superman Returns. Brandon Routh made a terrific Superman and Clark Kent and Singer clearly cared about the characters. It was light on action, so it would be great to see a sequel in which we get to actually experience what Supes can really do.

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Regency eyes 'Formula' for Singer
Fox to distribute 'Ghost' comicbook adaptation
Source: Variety

New Regency has acquired "Freedom Formula: Ghost of the Wasteland," an adaptation of the Radical Publishing comicbook series that will be developed as a potential directing vehicle for Bryan Singer.

Pic will be distributed by Fox, which last worked with Singer on "X-Men 2."

Michael Finch has been hired to write the script.

The comicbook has a futuristic premise in which fighter jets have been replaced by pilots who battle in racing exo-suits. The protag is a genetically engineered racer who learns his bloodline has the power to change society.

Pic is a co-production of Bad Hat Harry Prods. and Radical Pictures, with Singer producing with Radical principal Barry Levine. Jesse Berger and Michael Zoumas are exec producers.

Singer and Levine teamed on the project when the four-issue comicbook series debuted at last summer's Comic-Con (Daily Variety, July 25). The comicbook was created by Edmund Shern, who runs Storm Lion, the Radical-owned imprint that published it. Shern will be associate producer.

"Mike Finch came up with an incredible take that goes deeper into the mythology of the source material," said Radical's Levine, who is also working with Universal and Spyglass on the Radical comicbook title "Hercules: The Thracian Wars," with director Peter Berg attached and Ryan Condal writing the script, based on Steve Moore's five-issue comicbook series.

Regency's Navid McIlhargey is steering the project.

Finch just made a sizable spec deal with Regency for "Medieval," an action script set in the Middle Ages that he wrote with Alex Litvak.

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Singer Interested in Returning to X-Men
Source: ComingSoon

Many X-Men fans were disappointed when director Bryan Singer decided to venture off to Superman Returns instead of directing X-Men: The Last Stand, the third movie in the trilogy he kicked off with X-Men and X2 in 2000 and 2003, respectively.

In a recent interview for the July issue of Total Film (reprinted in the Coventry Telegraph's The Geek Files), Singer mused about returning to the franchise:

"I'm eternally intertwined with X-Men now," he told them. "What takes an audience four hours to watch - the first two movies - took six years of my life. So, to not be part of it....It's a shame."

They also asked Singer whether he wished he had directed the third "X-Men" movie, to which he replied, "It's weird for me to watch it, because I'm so close to the universe. And also Brett is a good friend of mine. But, of course, I would love to return to that universe."

Lastly, they tried to get his thoughts on possibly directing the in-development X-Men Origins: Magneto that had been announced years ago with David (Blade: Trinity) Goyer attached to direct. Singer gave a tentative "possibly" response, because he expects it to cover some of the same WWII Nazi Germany territory he's covered before:

" The only thing that concerns me about Magneto is that if the prequel were to follow the track I used in X-Men, which is Magneto's history in the concentration camp, then I've lived in that world. Apt Pupil, X-Men and now Valkyrie...I've lived in that Nazi universe for quite a while. I just might need to take a little break before I do something like that."

He was even less committal about making another Superman movie:

"I don't know, I don't know. There are still issues...I just...I just don't know. I don't necessarily...I don't know. It's one of those things where...It's so weird talking about stuff unless I'm about to ramp up and shoot it."

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Singer Tackling Battlestar Galactica?
X-Men and Superman helmer rumored for new big screen version.
Source: IGN

X-Men and Superman Returns director Bryan Singer has reportedly been approached by Universal Pictures about developing and possibly directing their feature film version of the TV series Battlestar Galactica.

Sources for HitFix "indicate that the big decisions haven't been made yet. Singer is the first major creative element to be approached, so once they sign him, they'll go find a writer and they'll figure out exactly which story they're telling."

IGN Movies broke the news in February that the big screen version that Universal and BSG creator Glen A. Larson would bring to the screen would be based on Larson's original TV series, and not the Ron Moore rebooted version that recently went off the air.

As HitFix reminds us, Singer and his longtime collaborator Tom DeSanto had previously tried to bring Battlestar Galactica back to the small screen in 2001 but that version fell apart and paved the way for Moore's later incarnation.

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Bryan Singer to direct "Battlestar Galactica"
Source: Variety

Universal Pictures has set Bryan Singer to direct and produce a feature version of "Battlestar Galactica," confirming a report on the Hitfix website.   

The development is something of a surprise because the most prevailing rumor had Singer flirting with the idea of returning to the X-Men series by taking the reins of "X-Men: First Class," which focuses on the younger mutant characters seen fleetingly at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz wrote the first draft of that script.

"Battlestar Galactica" appears to be on a fast track and sources said that Singer could be looking at a $10 million paycheck to sign on to the film.

Singer has long been intrigued with "Battlestar Galactica" and flirted with relaunching it into a TV series right after he directed the original "X-Men." Back in 2001 I wrote about his plan, which involved teaming with Tom DeSanto to exec produce the series. Singer planned to direct the pilot of the new version of a series that originally launched on ABC in 1978 and ran two seasons. Here is what he said at the time, comments that certainly proved prescient:

"The lesson I learned on `X-Men' is to have a healthy respect for the fan base of sci-fi fantasy franchises, and I'm confident that the `Galactica' brand is a sleeping giant. It was a show I watched during its initial run, from the pilot to the final episode. The essence and the brand name is quite potent in a climate where there's a great deficit of scifi programming."

It is possible that the timing of the series went awry because of the World Trade Center disaster that occurred later that year. Certainly, it made a series that launched with the attack and destruction of earth unpalatable. 

The director got busy on other projects. Ronald Moore came on as executive producer and oversaw the 73-episode series relaunch, which had a critically acclaimed run on Syfy.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Moore would be invited to write the screenplay, but it is clear that Singer will put his own creative stamp on the project as the studio indicates that the film will be "a complete re-imagination."

Glen Larson is aboard to produce. Singer's repped by WME and attorney Dave Feldman.

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Singer Sticks Sword into "Excalibur" Redo
By: Mike Fleming, Variety

Warner Bros. has closed a rights deal to remake the 1981 "Excalibur," with Bryan Singer producing and developing the picture as a potential directing vehicle.

Deal comes as Singer gets serious about making the New Line-Legendary co-production "Jack the Giant Killer" his next directing effort, according to sources. 

WB and Legendary Pictures have labored for months to pull together the rights to the film, which Singer will produce with Julie Yorn. Polly Johnsen, who was Polly Cohen when she was the WB exec who presided over the Singer-directed WB/Legendary collaboration "Superman Returns," will also be a producer.

"Excalibur" is the quintessential myth-of-King-Arthur film, complete with the enchanted sword, the Knights of the Round Table, Merlyn the wizard and the quest for the Holy Grail to save Arthur's life. The original film was directed by John Boorman and adapted from the Thomas Malory book by Rospo Pallenberg and Boorman.

Boorman's film broke talent such as Helen Mirren (who played the evil Morgana) and Liam Neeson (Sir Gawain) as well as Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Stewart and Ciaran Hinds. WB had some of the rights as a library title; the rest were secured from Boorman.

Singer hasn't set a writer yet. Matt Reilly is overseeing for WB, Erik Olsen for Yorn and Singer's former partner Alex Garcia is overseeing for Legendary.

Singer recently signed on to develop to direct and produce "Battlestar Galactica" at Universal, a project he'd been eyeing since he originally made a deal to godfather a series revival in 2001. At the same time, Singer has been flirting with directing "X-Men: First Class," a 20th Century Fox spinoff that got a first script draft by "O.C." creator Josh Schwartz.

It looks like his next directing assignment could well be "Jack the Giant Killer," a riff on the Jack and the Beanstalk legend developed by New Line with scripters Darren Lemke and Mark Bomback and producer Neal Moritz. The story revolves around a young farmer who leads an expedition into the land of the giants to recover a kidnapped princess.

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Singer Confirmed for Jack the Giant Killer
Source: Heat Vision

Bryan Singer has signed on to direct Jack the Giant Killer, the fantasy adventure from New Line and Legendary Pictures.

The film, written by Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard), takes an adult look at the Jack and the Beanstalk legend. When a princess is kidnapped, a long-standing peace between men and giants becomes threatened, and a young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giant kingdom to rescue her.

Neal Moritz is producing via his Original Film along with David Dobkin.

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Singer says he may make another 'X-Men' movie

BUSAN, South Korea - Bryan Singer said Sunday he's interested in making another "X-Men" movie and has discussed the possibility with Twentieth Century Fox.

The American director made "X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United," but passed on the third installment so he could make "Superman Returns." "Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner ended up shooting that film, "X-Men: The Last Stand." South African filmmaker Gavin Hood made another spin-off, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which was released earlier this year.

"I'm still looking to possibly returning to the 'X-Men' franchise. I've been talking to Fox about it," Singer said at a talk at South Korea's Pusan International Film Festival.

"I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast," he said, referring to the Australian actor who plays Wolverine.

Singer said he enjoyed making science fiction and fantasy movies because they allowed him to discuss serious issues through entertainment. He said the "X-Men" series, which follows a group of mutants with superpowers who struggle to fit in with humans, is about tolerance and social structures.

He said he likes to "trick audiences into thinking they're seeing fireworks, but they're learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say."

"The excitement about working in science fiction and fantasy is — the stories, if they are good, are about the human condition," Singer said.

Appearing at a panel discussion with South Korean director Kim Ji-woon, the American director also said he appreciated the creative freedom South Korean filmmakers enjoyed to make the final cut, compared to Hollywood, where directors must negotiate with studio executives.

Hollywood movie budgets are so high that "the risk is too great to leave it in the hands of a filmmaker," he said, adding that he "has a responsibility to help studios feel secure in their investments."

Singer made his name with the 1995 critically acclaimed thriller "The Usual Suspects" but later earned a strong following among comic books fans for his adaptations of popular comic book series.

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Singer and McQuarrie reunite for 'Jack the Giant Killer' (exclusive)
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Christopher McQuarrie, an Oscar-winning writer who worked with Bryan Singer on movies ranging from "The Usual Suspects" to "Valkyrie," has teamed up with the filmmaker again for New Line and Legendary Pictures' "Jack the Giant Killer."

McQuarrie is penning the current draft of the fantasy adventure, the tale of which is set in motion when a princess is kidnapped, threatening a long-standing peace between men and giants. A young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giants' kingdom in hope of rescuing her.

Singer is about to begin casting for the film, which he will shoot this summer in England.

Neal Moritz is producing via his Original Film banner with David Dobkin.

Mark Bomback ("Live Free or Die Hard") and Darren Lemke ("Gemini Man") wrote previous drafts.
McQuarrie, repped by CAA and Key Creatives, has worked on many of his own projects or with other directors — at one point he was developing "The Champions" for Guillermo del Toro to produce for United Artists — but it's his work with Singer that has gained the most attention.

He also worked with Singer on "Public Access" and "X-Men."

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Bryan Singer to Direct, Executive Produce NBC's 'The Munsters'
The project, which received a pilot order earlier this month, is a reimagining of the 1960s sitcom from "Pushing Daisies" creator Bryan Fuller.
Source: THR

Bryan Singer is moving from mutants to Munsters.

The producer-director-writer, who has been involved with three of the X-Men films in the superhero franchise, is closing in on a deal to direct and executive produce NBC's The Munsters, sources confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

The project, which received a pilot order earlier this month, is billed as an imaginative reinvention of the classic comedy series as a visually spectacular one-hour drama.

Singer will executive produce alongside Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies), who also is writing the Universal Television-produced project.

Fuller and NBC first made an attempt to revive the 1960s CBS sitcom last year, with the network ultimately passing. His newer version is said to be an edgier and slightly darker take exploring origins of Herman and Lily Munster (originally played by Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo) and how they arrived at the famed 1313 Mockingbird Lane address.

The original series, produced by Universal Studios, aired 70 episodes from 1964-66 on CBS.

Singer directed the first two X-Men films and produced the second and third in the series. He also helmed and produced Superman Returns and Valkyrie and directed the upcoming Jack the Giant Killer.

On the TV side, he directed the pilots for Fox's House and ABC's Football Wives. His executive producing credits include House and ABC's Dirty Sexy Money.