Ridley Scott

Started by MacGuffin, July 08, 2003, 11:14:03 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

RegularKarate

This reminds me of when my friend and I were writing adaptions for "MineSweeper" and "Solitaire: Starring Kenny Rogers as The Gambler".

MacGuffin

Exclusive: Scott Talks Blood Meridian
Sir Ridley on his dark Western project
Source: Empire Online

We talked to Sir Ridley Scott recently about his new Middle East-set spy thriller Body of Lies and he told us a little bit about his long-mooted adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's blistering Western, Blood Meridian, and the difficulties of adapting a book that is steeped in violence and which deals with seriously un-PC topics.

"It's written. I think it's a really tricky one, and maybe it's something that should be left as a novel. If you're going to do Blood Meridian you've got to go the whole nine yards into the blood bath, and there's no answer to the blood bath, that's part of the story, just the way it is and the way it was. When you start to scalp Mexican wedding parties that'll draw the line. One scalp of coarse black hair is pretty well either Mexican or Indian, and there was no difference to the scalp hunters in Arizona at that time, who didn't draw the line."

He also passed on a few tidbits about the background and setting for another proposed film, Tripoli,  a William "Kingdom of Heaven" Monaghan-scripted tale of high adventure in 19th century North Africa, as a US diplomat teamed up with the dispossessed heir to the throne of Tripoli to challenge the heir's usurper brother.
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

md

Quote from: RegularKarate on November 12, 2008, 01:03:59 PM
This reminds me of when my friend and I were writing adaptions for "MineSweeper" and "Solitaire: Starring Kenny Rogers as The Gambler".
Oh, you did this?
"look hard at what pleases you and even harder at what doesn't" ~ carolyn forche

MacGuffin

LOOKS LIKE THE UBIQUITOUS, SUPER-TALENTED Cate Blanchett (she can play anything!) will take over the Maid Marian role in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood movie titled "Nottingham." They decided Sienna Miller was too young for their Robin, the somewhat rotund, weighty and contentious Russell Crowe. So, if they have Cate, they have upped their "classy" status considerably and are ready to roll -- except for their leading man. Where is Errol Flynn when we need him the most?
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

private witt

Cate Blanchett could act circles around Russell 'assault with a telephone' Crowe.  I predict Crowe will throw temper tantrums and threaten to quit if he's not made to look like the better actor here. 
"If you work in marketing or advertising, kill yourself.  You contribute nothing of value to the human race, just do us all a favor and end your fucking life."  ~Bill Hicks

Gold Trumpet

Quote from: private witt on February 10, 2009, 12:20:02 AM
Cate Blanchett could act circles around Russell 'assault with a telephone' Crowe.  I predict Crowe will throw temper tantrums and threaten to quit if he's not made to look like the better actor here. 

Oh come on. Crowe will be working with his collaborator of choice, Ridley Scott, and the film prodction will be a finely tuned machine. There will be no headlines of Crowe's misbehaviors. And considering he's playing two roles, his acting will dominate the film too much for him to be concerned about Blanchett.

private witt

Well he's certainly put on enough weight to pass for two people.
"If you work in marketing or advertising, kill yourself.  You contribute nothing of value to the human race, just do us all a favor and end your fucking life."  ~Bill Hicks

MacGuffin

EXCLUSIVE: Ridley Scott Reveals New Name For 'Nottingham' And It's Back To Basics
Source: MTV

When I caught up with the legendary Ridley Scott last week, I was there to discuss his "Alien" character Ellen Ripley being named one of our "Top 10 Movie Badasses of All Time ."

While I was there, however, I couldn't resist running over a few other key projects that could become his next classic. "I am in a constant stage of development," he told me in a conference room of his Scott Free Productions office. "I am liable to do 'Gucci.' I am liable to do a thing called 'Child 44,' and I am doing 'Robin Hood' next."

That statement is notable, not only in that those first two projects are moving forward, but that "Nottingham" has now officially been renamed to reflect its lead character. "Oh yes, I think we are just going to call it 'Robin Hood'," Scott revealed. "We start in almost 2 months."

In an attempt to clarify all the confusion from a few months ago about Russell Crowe playing multiple roles, Scott was eager to say that he had changed his mind, and that Crowe will simply portray the famed archer who rises from an unlikely background. "Robin Hood is in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion," he said of how we'll find the character early in the film "He is a bowman in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion."

"[Crowe as both Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham] was an idea so far back, way back when at the time I had this proposed to me, and I read it and thought, 'I don't really know what it does for it, but it's alright'," Scott recalled of the now-abandoned idea. "It is better to simply have the evolution of a character called Robin Hood, who will come out of a point in the Crusades which is the end."

As a result, in Scott's film the Sheriff will be "less important; the Sheriff of Nottingham is always a kind of an amusing character in most of the movies, who represents the hierarchy in the story at that point," Scott explained. "The hierarchy and the wealthy always ruled over the under class, and fundamentally that doesn't change, because Robin Hood is actually the person who finally - in terms of the overall classical idea of the film - will help the poor, probably taking from the rich."

So, rather than the Robin-vs.-Sheriff showdowns we've come to expect from "Robin Hood" movies, Scott has instead employed the history of the time to make an entire country the villain. "It is from France. It is the French," he insisted. "The villain is much bigger in that sense; much more important, and much more dangerous."

"[In] 1066 Harold II went against William the Conqueror. Harold took an arrow in his eye, and William the Conqueror took over England, and so France owned everything right through," Scott explained of the turmoil of that age. "Even to the extent of changing the architecture of the churches from Anglo-Saxon to Roman, that's French; they changed the arches in the churches."

And speaking of physical changes: While some have questioned whether Russell Crowe can ditch his "Body of Lies" gut and lose enough weight to play Robin Hood, Ridley says it's not a problem. "Oh that is silly; all that stuff is bullsh-t," Scott insisted. "He is going to be totally fit. That is not a problem at all."

"And he's been working on his bow and arrow for about 4 months," Scott revealed. "He sends me tapes of him hitting targets at about 45 meters. He's pretty good!"
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

EXCLUSIVE: Ridley Scott's Monopoly Movie To Address Real-Life Economic Problems
Source: MTV

Bringing board games to the box office may sound ridiculous at face value, particularly if the game is "Monopoly" and the director is "Alien" and "Blade Runner" visionary Ridley Scott. But Scott and executive producer Brian Goldner, who also happens to be the CEO of "Monopoly" owner Hasbro, have a single driving plot device that they hope will get audiences' attention — the economy.

"The whole world is about the financial markets," Goldner told MTV News. "You can't turn on the news today without understanding the financial markets and what's going on out there."

If there is one underlying theme that will resonate with filmgoers across the world right now, it's the drama behind money and houses. Owning railroads and big red hotels may be a little outside of that everyday scope, but Goldner, who is also producing films based on "Stretch Armstrong" and the "Ouija Board," sees a feature-length story to be told within the the "personal story" he characterizes as the "Monopoly" experience that is worthy of Scott's direction.

"He's built these great big worlds of imagination," Goldner said of the director. "Combine that with Pamela Pettler who's writing this great script about real people kind of playing a real-life game of 'Monopoly,' not the board game, although they're icons of the game. And then you really get the idea why this story could make sense right now."

Scott seems to agree. Though he is hesitant to reveal specifics right now, he did corroborate Goldner's vision. So like it or not, there is a large-scale reality-based "Monopoly" game on its way.

"I have to direct it," the Oscar-nominated director told MTV News. "We're in progress right now. We're having it written. We have identified a pretty good story and it is fundamentally a movie, not a game, probably describing in a way the characters in the film, the passion of the game, and how the game came about."
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Trio join Ridley Scott's Robin Hood film
Scott Grimes, Kevin Durand, Alan Doyle are Merry Men
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Scott Grimes, left, Kevin Durand and Alan Doyle

Robin Hood has found his Merry Men.

Scott Grimes, Kevin Durand and Alan Doyle have been cast as the group of adventurers in Universal and Imagine's untitled Robin Hood tale being directed by Ridley Scott.

Russell Crowe toplines the movie, which is being billed as a retelling of the origins of the key characters of the Robin Hood legend. Cate Blanchett is on board as Maid Marian in the project written by Brian Helgeland.

Scott is producing with Imagine's Brian Grazer.

Grimes has been cast in the role of Will Scarlet, a skilled swordsman and Hood's nephew. The actor, repped by Domain and Levine Okwu Talent, appears on NBC's "ER" and does voice work for Fox's "American Dad."

Durand is playing Little John, Hood's right-hand man. He is best known in the legends for fighting a duel with Hood using quarterstaves while trying to cross a river. Durand, who appears as the Blob in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," is best known for his work on ABC's "Lost," where he played a mercenary named Martin Keamy. Durand is repped by Abrams Artist Agency and Alchemy Entertainment.

Doyle is playing Alan a Dayle,CQ who in lore was a roving minstrel and needed help when his love was being forced to marry another man. Doyle, repped by Sonic Entertainment Group, is the lead singer of Great Big Sea, a Canadian folk-rock band known for its sea shanties.

An April shoot in the U.K. is being eyed.
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Ridley Scott's 'Robin Hood' Will Feature 'A Lot Of Singing'
Source: MTV

Recently, it was announced that Alan Doyle — lead singer of the popular Canadian band Great Big Sea — had been cast as Allen a-Dale in Ridley Scott's upcoming "Robin Hood" film. We caught up with the frontman soon after, and Doyle was ready to dish on his new role. The film is set to star Russell Crowe as Robin Hood and Cate Blanchett as Lady Marion.

Doyle's character, Allen a-Dale, is one of the Merry Men in the Robin Hood story. "He's a troubadour," exclaimed Doyle. "He's an Irish lute playing balladeer. He's an artist who loves to sing a song. With two or three other guys, Allen a -Dale is one of the Merry Men who's followed Robin Hood for a long time and hopes to continue to do so. Yes, I will be playing the lute in the film."

Doyle explained that Ridley's re-imagining of Robin Hood is to be surprisingly musical. "There is a lot of singing in the film," he told us. "A lot of it by different people in different parts of the film. I don't know quite yet if Russell and I will be singing together. But there will be lots of music in the film."

So, how did this Canadian rock star with very little acting experience land such a gig? Doyle explained that Russell Crowe is a longtime close friend. "Russell knew there was a role coming up in this film and they needed a guy that could do the training and the physical stuff that was required, but also someone who has a long history in Celtic music and somebody who could play the lute. I'm sure there's lots of people in the world who can do that, but he called me and asked me if I'd like to come to LA to read for the part. And off we went."

With filming to begin in England on April 1st, there is still much mystery surrounding Ridley's vision and the script is still evolving. However, there will clearly be some "Gladiator"-esque action scenes for Crowe and Doyle, as they have been training with horses, archery and sword fighting.

"I was just training in Australia with a couple of the other Merry Men," he said. "It's like a ten-year-old boys fantasy schedule; you wake up and have horse riding at ten o'clock, archery at eleven o 'clock, sword fighting at twelve o'clock. It was really fun, I'm really looking forward to it all."

It should be interesting to see Crowe and Doyle on screen together in this film. The duo has performed together in the past, so perhaps they'll be bringing their musical collaborations to the big screen as well. "I wrote a few songs with Russell for his band, and he wrote a few with me for Great Big Sea, and I also produced a record for his band and actually toured a couple of times in Australia and in Europe, I was sort of a guest in his band. It was a great collaboration, to be honest. He's got a real different skill set than I have. He's a real keen word smith as most of my actor friends are.

"It's funny how they can do that isn't, those actor types." Doyle laughed, "But I'm an actor type now, so I have to stop referring to them in the third person!"

Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood" is slated for a 2010 release.
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Ridley Scott to shoot Forever War in 3-D
Source: SciFi Wire

Ridley Scott, who is developing a film version of Joe Haldeman's seminal SF war novel The Forever War, told reporters in Britain that James Cameron's Avatar is inspiring him to shoot War in 3-D, according to SlashFilm.

"I'm filming a book by Joe Haldeman called Forever War," Scott reportedly said. "I've got a good writer doing it. I've seen some of James Cameron's work, and I've got to go 3-D. It's going to be phenomenal."

First published in 1974, The Forever War chronicles the interstellar war between humanity and the enigmatic Tauran species.
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Ridley Considers Return to Aliens
Could the director return to the beloved franchise?

IESB is reporting on comments made by Fox Co-Chair Tom Rothman from the Wolverine premiere that director Ridley Scott could potentially be mulling over a return to the franchise that helped to make him a legend.

"There's been some talk. Ridley Scott, Ridley is right now working on Robin Hood, but I think he's toying with the idea and that would be great for us. I mean, it's always been a matter of, really, if you can get the originator to do it that would be the greatest thing, so I've got my fingers crossed, all of them."
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

A new world for a 'Brave New World'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Ridley Scott is going back to the futurism.

The director who helmed "Blade Runner" will take on one of the most highly regarded dystopian works of literature, Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World."

Scott will produce the project as a directing vehicle at Universal, while his occasional collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio is on board to produce as a starring vehicle.

The studio has brought on "Apocalypto" scribe Farhad Safinia to pen the script; he's expected to be working shortly.

Scott and DiCaprio also will produce via their respective Scott Free and Appian Way banners, with Michael Costigan also producing for Scott Free and George DiCaprio producing at Appian. Peter Cramer is overseeing for Uni.

Scott has mentioned casually in interviews that he's interested in the 1931 novel, which Appian Way owns, prompting a flurry of rumors on sci-fi and other blogs over the past year. But the studio details as well as DiCaprio's personal involvement always have been murky.

Now, with a writer on board and Scott Free and Appian execs meeting frequently during the past six months, the project has more momentum, though several people familiar with it emphasize that it remains at the development stage.


Much of the timing going forward will depend on the script. Scott is not committed to direct anything beyond "Robin Hood," his period actioner that's in post. DiCaprio is shooting the Christopher Nolan adventure tale "Inception" but does not have a movie lined up after that.

"Brave" has had several go-rounds on television, including a Leonard Nimoy-Peter Gallagher pic on NBC in 1998. But Huxley's idea-rich novel hasn't had a shot on the big screen.

Huxley sets his book in a seemingly perfect 26th century world that has achieved harmony by tightly controlling birth, which takes place mainly in laboratories, and outlawing family. The world is populated by a series of five castes, each with its own defined roles.

Characters who figure in are Bernard, a lower-caste member, and Lenina, the woman with whom he is infatuated. DiCaprio is would likely play Bernard, who is persecuted when the leaders of the society find his behavior antisocial.

Dystopian stories have sometimes proved difficult to film. George Orwell's "1984" has had several theatrical turns, including Michael Anderson's Columbia version in 1956 and the somewhat better regarded John Hurt-toplined take 25 years ago.

Scott, repped by WME, has been regarded as one of the few who can pull it off. The director took the Philip K. Dick novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" and turned it into the 1982 futurist pic "Blade Runner." While the movie divided critics and didn't enjoy a great theatrical run, it has had a long life on video and become a cult classic.

Safinia, repped by Category 5 Entertainment, has experience in man-on-the-run action pics with "Apocalypto," Mel Gibson's chase movie set in the Mayan jungle.

Scott directed DiCaprio, repped by The Firm, in Middle East thriller "Body of Lies," and the two are also producing dark thriller "The Low Dweller" at Relativity.
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Logan runs to 'Passage'
Fox 2000 bites vampire tale
Source: Variety

In a seven-figure deal, John Logan has been set by Fox 2000 to adapt "The Passage," the Jordan Ainsley vampire novel being developed for Ridley Scott to potentially direct. It marks the first time that Logan and Scott have collaborated since the Oscar-winning "Gladiator."

Fox 2000 acquired the book two years ago, paying seven figures for the three-book series right after its publishing rights sold to Ballantine for $3.75 million (Daily Variety, July 9, 2007). Ainsley -- pseudonym for PEN Hemingway Award-winning author Justin Cronin -- sold the book based on the first 400 pages and an outline, but the film adaptation awaited his completion of the book, which is nearly 1,200 pages.

In the novel, terminally ill patients become healthy after they are bitten by bats in South America, and the government conducts secret tests on human subjects to see if the virus can cure illness. The result is an apocalyptic unleashing of bloodthirsty vampire test subjects that include death row inmates.

Logan, who scripted "Gladiator" with David Franzoni and William Nicholson, most recently scripted the Gore Verbinski-directed animated Paramount film "Rango," the Juan Carlos Fresnadillo-directed "Bioshock" and "Empire" for Michael Mann. Logan's play "Red," will debut at London's Donmar Warehouse on Dec. 3 and runs through Feb. 6.
"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


Skeleton FilmWorks