Darren Aronofsky Begins Talks To Direct 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2,' Also Offered 'Tales From The Gangster Squad'
Source: The Playlist
For a guy who professes not to be a comic book fan, Darren Aronofsky could have fooled us. Since breaking through with "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream," he's been attached to a number of graphic novel-related properties, including "Watchmen," "Batman: Year One," the Manga adaptation "Lone Wolf and Cub" and "Robocop" (which yeah, isn't based on a comic book, but might as well be). With his latest film "Black Swan," picking up excellent buzz, he's been linked of late to "Preacher," "Superman" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2." Supposedly, Aronofsky was pursuing "Superman" fairly vigorously, but proved to be too much of a perfectionist for Warner Bros, and Zack Snyder landed the gig on Monday. As a result, both Vulture and Deadline are reporting that offers and/or talks are underway between 20th Century Fox and the director for the latter to helm the 'Wolverine' sequel. A number of names had been linked, including "Let Me In" director Matt Reeves, Robert Schwentke, who dropped out the running in favor of "R.I.P.D" and "The Osterman Weekend," and "Twilight: Eclipse" helmer David Slade, but franchise star Hugh Jackman was apparently keen to reteam with his friend and director on "The Fountain," and seems to have gotten his way. Supposedly, Aronofsky met with studio head Tom Rothman to ensure that, if he signed on, he'd be given full creative control (man, we bet Gavin Hood wished he'd taken a similar meeting...), and that talks are now underway. It remains to be seen whether Aronofsky will sign on, but clearly, Fox are serious about trying to land the director. We've heard some very good buzz on Christopher McQuarrie's script, which follows Wolverine to Japan (if anyone happens to see it lying around, you know where to send it...), and with Aronofsky on board, this should be a sequel that far surpasses the original. Although, having said that, the film could be nothing but 90 minutes of Jackman clubbing baby seals, and it would still far surpass the original. According to Jackman, filming will kick off in March/April next year, for a Summer 2012 release. Just to cement how in-demand Aronofsky has become, Vulture also report that, as a consolation prize from Warner Bros., he's been offered "Tales From The Gangster Squad," a period gangster movie about cops attempting to bring down notorious LA gangster Mickey Cohen. Ben Affleck got a similar offer last week, but turned it down, so WB have moved on to Aronofsky. Supposedly 'Wolverine 2' has the edge, but that could all change in the next few days.
It's like he's trying to screw up his career.
Finally the dancing in between Arnofsky and Hollywood appears to be over. Excluding the Fountain, all of his indie films have been underwhelming for me. I think he's a possible Christopher Nolan level type of talent and could drastically improve the scale of Hollywood films. Even if I don't agree with Nolan's decisions sometime, I absolutely love the challenges he brings to all of his films. He's up scaling the ambition level of Hollywood and it's a great thing. If Arnofsky isn't interested in the betterment clause for Hollywood like Nolan is, then he will approach Hollywood like he was making a commercial by just trying to add a few better compositions to the usual snuff. May not see his potential here in a sequel, but he could show it down the road.
Aronofsky trying out a big Hollywood film isn't the problem for me, but making a sequel to a movie that sucked seems like a bad way to make your entrance.
Egh, this kind of makes me sad. I know the dude wants a hot paycheck, but I wish he could just come up with an idea bigger audiences would want to see than succumb to a sequel.
He should go Kubrick or go home.
Quote from: Gamblour. on October 06, 2010, 09:15:31 PM
He should go Kubrick or go home.
I think he tried that and failed miserably with the fountain.
Like I said, someone has to bring home a paycheck since his wife made a vow after the mummy to never again star in a successful movie.
If someone told me after I saw a leaked copy of Wolverine that there would be a sequel to this shit and it would be directed by Aronofsky... I probably would not have done anything but I would've been pretty surprised by that.
Darren Aronofsky Turns Down 'Gangster Squad,' Nears Deal To Direct 'Wolverine 2'
Source: The Playlist
It looks like Darren Aronofsky is eager to scratch the itch of a big budget blockbuster, and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2" may be the film to satisfy that urge. Deadline reports that the director has turned down Warner Bros. offer to helm "Tales From The Gangster Squad," a period gangster movie about cops attempting to bring down notorious LA gangster Mickey Cohen. The move now leaves him wide open to take on 'Wolverine 2' and it looks like it's merely a matter of hammering out deal points. In the wake of the festival success of "Black Swan," Aronofsky is ready to get real paid. He's apparently working out a deal that will see him bank $5 million against 5% of the gross of 'Wolverine 2.' That's one helluva incentive. We're big fans of Aronofsky and are a bit dismayed he's seriously in contention to helm a boring franchise film, particularly when he has much more interesting films he could be doing instead. We guess we now have a reason to care about the second installment of the Hugh Jackman payday vehicle which takes place in Japan and will have ninjas or something. But if this means Aronofsky eventually gets to make his own "Inception," we suppose there is a potential silver lining in all of this.
Quote from: P on October 06, 2010, 09:26:23 PM
Quote from: Gamblour. on October 06, 2010, 09:15:31 PM
He should go Kubrick or go home.
I think he tried that and failed miserably with the fountain.
Like I said, someone has to bring home a paycheck since his wife made a vow after the mummy to never again star in a successful movie.
Yeah, I think Kubrick was a man of his time and place in the industry. I found it fascinating reading a book of interviews with him about how much he cared about the critical response and the box office. He really understood the concept that films existed to make money.
Hugh Jackman: Wolverine 2 will be a 'very different' X-Men movie
Source: SyFy
Hugh Jackman said on Monday night at a benefit in New York City that he expects Wolverine 2 will not be a "usual" X-Men movie. But what exactly did he mean by that?
Jackman made his comments to Vulture, which caught the Australian star just as he was sitting down to dinner. First noting that he was bulking up to play Logan again by eating "six meals a day," Jackman predicted that Wolverine 2 is "hopefully for me, going to be out of the box. It's going to be the best one, I hope. Well, I would say that, but I really do feel that, and I feel this is going to be very different."
With Darren Aronofsky, the genius behind Pi, The Fountain and the upcoming Black Swan, all but confirmed to direct this sixth X-Men-related feature, it seems almost certain that Wolverine 2 will head down a different path than its underwhelming predecessor, 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. "This is Wolverine. This is not Popeye. He's kind of dark," Jackman said. "But, you know, this is a change of pace ... [Aronofsky's] going to make it fantastic. There's going to be some meat on the bones. There will be something to think about as you leave the theater, for sure."
The script is by Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie and is said to be based on Wolverine's famed early adventures in Japan from the comic books, although a lot of the movie's interiors will reportedly be shot in New York so that both Aronofsky and Jackman can be close to their families.
Filming begins early next year on the project, possibly in March, with a 2012 release likely. Will Aronofsky's art-house sensibilities fit well with an established comic-book franchise? Or will the heavy hand of executives at 20th Century Fox give him the same hard time they gave Gavin Hood, director of the first Wolverine? Can this director and star really make the best X-Men movie yet?
sorry but wolverine was the worst movie ever. Aronovsky is dead to me.
i think this has the potential to be good.
the fountain was a piece of shit and i hate hugh jackman, but i think aronofsky has shown that he's best when he doesn't write his own original material. adaptations and movies someone else wrote have been the best stuff he's done, (requiem + wrest + swan?).
that's one good sign. another is that you need to start to think of this in a different way. this isn't a sequel to the worst movie ever.. it may appear to be that but it's actually obviously not going to continue the aesthetic or cinematic quality established in the first film. pete has made great observations about comic book films when trying to explain how a sequel/remake/reimagining could be made so soon after a previous version.. such as the case with HULK. it's because this doesn't make sense in film world but it makes sense in COMIC world. the methods of restarting a franchise with a whole new point or drastically increasing the artistic credibility of a series is not uncommon in the world of comic books.
it doesn't mean that it's intentional, that somewhere studio heads are sitting back and being masterminds about using some cool new business model for resurrecting a waning franchise. but the point is that it HAS BEEN DONE. it is only a new thing to the film medium. on one level the necessity to make millions of dollars from a property they still own and the desperate measures that studios go to in order to squeeze every last cent out of it is pretty transparent, and alone can explain the machinations that lead to a series like the xmen still continuing after being decimated critically on two fronts (x3 and wolverine) and financially (the latter). but that is not necessarily the whole story, nor the whole consequence of continuing a film series.
if you think of aronofsky and i guess this usual suspects writer as the new illustrator/writer team that takes on a challenge to resurrect and REDEEM a franchise then you can see them as something like Alan Moore writing Swamp Thing. or someshit like that., i don't know much about comics but i hope you get the idea. don't be so quick to dismiss something like this, there's still potential here and i hope xixax can keep an open mind -- instead of once again completely being ignorant about what turns out to be a great movie (you know the ones i'm talking about, aka all of your favourite films this year).
not every good director is a good candidate for franchise films. I sincerely hope the last james bond proved that. but aronofsky probably has at least one good franchise film in him. so, go darren.
though, at a Q and A at the fountain (when Matt, Xerxes, Lucid and I first met) he did make fun of hugh jackman and wolverine repeatedly.
For me, in theory, Wolverine is the second most fascinating super hero behind Batman. No idea whether this will be good or not, but at least I'm not trying to legitimize the idea of a new movie for The Flash or someone. There's as much potential for this as there can be for a super hero movie. Also not saying too much.
Yeah, at the end of the day, this isn't too different than David Gordon Green directing a stoner comedy.
That being said, I wonder what direction visually Aronofsky will go with this. Snorrie cam on Wolverine running and attacking people, or maybe just a sad camera that follows him from behind the whole film.
More worrisome is A. Fox and B. Aronofsky being completely disinterested in the material.
'Wolverine 2' Now Simply Called 'The Wolverine'; Darren Aronofsky Calls Film A "One Off"
Source: ThePlaylist
A few new details on the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" sequel have emerged. Yes, we're still wrapping our heads (in disbelief) around the fact that Darren Aronofsky ("The Fountain," "The Wrestler") is going to be directing this thing, but we suppose since he dabbled and flirted with an adaptation of "Batman: Year One," and "Watchmen" and "RoboCop," that he would have eventually taken on a big tentpole like this one.
There is some hopeful news though. First off it's no longer called, "Wolverine 2." Now simply titled "The Wolverine," during press for "Black Swan" this weekend—his excellent upcoming psychological ballet horror starring Natalie Portman—he revealed the new title and told HitFix encouragingly that the film would be a "one-off," suggesting it will live within its own universe, won't be a sequel in any conventional sense and won't have to follow or adhere much to what came before in the awful, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
This is all frankly, very good news. 20th Century Fox basically butchered "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and or at least, made Gavin Hood's version of the film even worse (poor guy's Hollywood career is over just as it began; so much for that Foreign Film Oscar). It sounds like Aronofsky agreed to do the film because he would—knock on wood—have free rein and would be able to tell a much darker, different story. This could be akin to Christopher Nolan rebooting "Batman Begins" and finally doing a comic-book character justice so fans and fanboys should be very optimistic.
And truthfully if all goes well, Aronofsky getting his way with Wolverine's story in Japan—full of ninjas, samurais and a good love story to boot—is almost too good to be true. More good fortune is recent news that Matthew Libatique, the cinematographer of "Black Swan," "Iron Man," "The Fountain," will also be the lenser of "The Wolverine"—prepare for more behind the head hand held tracking shots than any comic book movie ever.
Yes, we openly resisted the idea of Aronofsky taking on "The Wolverine," mostly because we initially would have rather seen him take on projects that he had gestating like Noah's Ark project, or the adaptation of non-fiction survival thriller "The Tiger" with Brad Pitt, or the highbrow literary adaptation "Serena" with Angelina Jolie, or most intriguingly, "Jackie," about Jackie Kennedy in the days following JFK's assassination, which would star Rachel Weisz (however, now that the couple have sadly split this could mean this project is now dead).
But now that it's here and in our faces, we've accepted it. More importantly with Libatique on board and "The Wolverine" sounding like it's going to be a Darren Aronofsky film, not a 20th Century Fox one, we're now greatly anticipating it. 2012? We're looking forward to getting a first glimpse of the picture. Pajiba recently put up what were called "spoilers" from the film, but the details were pulled by the studio and it's "rumored" that the Silver Samurai will be the main villain of the movie. Here's a tip though. Just read the original "Wolverine" mini-series and you'll get all the details you need as the film is based off that excellent Chris Claremont-written and Frank Miller-illustrated/co-written story.
edit: removed all the bullshit.
Okay, now I'm excited.
Wow, how did that happen?
Quote from: modage on November 14, 2010, 11:38:17 AM
More good fortune is recent news that Matthew Libatique, the cinematographer of "Black Swan," "Iron Man," "The Fountain," will also be the lenser of "The Wolverine"—prepare for more behind the head hand held tracking shots than any comic book movie ever.
A) Scooped 'em
Quote from: Gamblour. on October 24, 2010, 07:51:22 AM
I wonder what direction visually Aronofsky will go with this. Snorrie cam on Wolverine running and attacking people, or maybe just a sad camera that follows him from behind the whole film.
B) They totally got it wrong, anyway. Maryse Alberti was the DP on Wrestler, and I'm pretty sure the handheld-behind-the-actor shots are attributable to him, not Aronofsky or Libatique.
Fox in 2-year pact with Aronofsky
First pic under deal will be 'The Wolverine'
Source: Variety
Fox has signed Darren Aronofsky and his production company Protozoa Pictures to a two-year overall deal covering development and production of films for 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight.
Fox disclosed Thursday that the first pic under the pact will be the previously untitled "The Wolverine," starring Hugh Jackman and written by Christopher McQuarrie. Production is scheduled to begin in April on "Wolverine," a spinoff from last year's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which also starred Jackman.
Fox said the deal solidifies its relationship with Aronofsky, whose recent films "Black Swan" and "The Wrestler" have been distributed by Fox Searchlight, which also produced "Black Swan."
"Darren's vision has brought audiences some of the most original and memorable stories and characters in recent motion picture history," said Fox Searchlight heads Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley. "We at Fox witnessed this first hand with his work on 'The Wrestler' and 'Black Swan' and now on 'The Wolverine,' which will be an exciting take on that iconic figure and on the genre itself."
Fox has 19 producing deals, including pacts with John Davis, James Cameron, Peter Chernin, Ben Stiller, Shawn Levy and Ridley and Tony Scott.
Playlist articles get really short when you remove the bullshit. We approve.
Quote from: Gamblour. on November 18, 2010, 09:16:03 PM
Quote from: modage on November 14, 2010, 11:38:17 AM
More good fortune is recent news that Matthew Libatique, the cinematographer of "Black Swan," "Iron Man," "The Fountain," will also be the lenser of "The Wolverine"—prepare for more behind the head hand held tracking shots than any comic book movie ever.
A) Scooped 'em
Quote from: Gamblour. on October 24, 2010, 07:51:22 AM
I wonder what direction visually Aronofsky will go with this. Snorrie cam on Wolverine running and attacking people, or maybe just a sad camera that follows him from behind the whole film.
B) They totally got it wrong, anyway. Maryse Alberti was the DP on Wrestler, and I'm pretty sure the handheld-behind-the-actor shots are attributable to him, not Aronofsky or Libatique.
Libatique shot Black Swan, which is loaded with the behind the head handheld shots, so that style is something that Aronofsky has definitely been really into. A brief look at Maryse Alberti's IMDb page suggests that she doesn't necessarily have a distinct style that she brings onto projects, but who knows?
The behind the head shot could show up in Wolverine, but it's pretty clear to me that he's never gonna do the Snorrie thing again.
Wolverine's Aronofsky warns: Fox has no idea what it's in for
Source: SyFy
The award-winning writer-director reveals his plans for making the pseudo-sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine—"we're definitely going to make something great."
Looking at Aronofsky's resume, there's nothing on it that would lead you to believe that he should be directing a film about Wolverine—except, perhaps, his relationship with Hugh Jackman, who starred in The Fountain. Nevertheless, Fox has handed him the keys to the jewel in the X-Men crown and is letting him adapt Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's "Wolvie goes to Japan" miniseries—which is all about doomed love, tested honor and a boatload of ninjas.
"There's not too much blowing s--t up," he says. "It's a stand-alone piece that has nothing to do with anything in the whole franchise or in that universe."
"Every single film I've done so far, I've been the only person in the room who wants to make the movie. I'm kind of excited about doing a film where everyone wants to make it."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXI0l_9n_GE
^
haha... nice scarf
haha. Man, yeah, he gotta get rid of that scarf and especially that mustache. He's been wearing it for years. I thought he was doing it ironically, but he's been rocking it for awhile. It's always perfectly groomed too, which means he knows it's there. What's his problem?
Darren Aronofsky Leaves 'The Wolverine'
via The Playlist
Wow, David Slade must be pissed. After losing out on "The Wolverine" to Darren Aronofsky and just recently signing on to direct the "Daredevil" reboot, some pretty shocking news has now arrived.
THR reports that Darren Aronofsky has left the director's chair for "Wolverine." Last fall, it was reported that the film was gearing up to start shooting next month for a 2012 release but we'd wager both of those dates are now up in the air. With shooting expected to take a full year, including on location work in Japan, Aronofsky—who recently split with long time partner Rachel Weisz—cited the distance and time from home (and most notably, his son) as a factor.
"As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, who have been totally supportive throughout my work on the movie, it became clear that the production of 'The Wolverine' would keep me out of the country for almost a year," Aronofsky said in a statement. While it may comes as a bit of a surprise, the director was wary about being away for so long from the start. Last fall, it was said the film would shoot largely in New York so he could be close to be home, but clearly, that won't be happening.
A number of names cropped up last year for the director's chair including Slade, including Matt Reeves (Jackman and 20th Century Fox, pay attention, he would be a great choice!) and Robert Schwentke (who has since committed to "R.I.P.D." which is likely to shoot this summer). But this is a big blow to the film on a number of levels, but foremost, finding someone with both geek and critical cachet like Aronofsky to take over will be an exceedingly difficult task. Expect a host of names to start circling soon as the studio "aggressively" finds a replacement.
What the hell? Obviously this has something to do with Black Swan making a gazillion dollars, and I don't give a shit about Wolverine, but its still weird.
Let's see what he is prepping...
Quote from: kal on March 17, 2011, 02:44:04 PM
What the hell? Obviously this has something to do with Black Swan making a gazillion dollars,
...and nothin to do with the fact that this would keep him in Japan for over a year
He knew that already though. You can't accept a job and quit the day before you start because you hadn't realized it didn't involve bungee jumping. Weird example.
Did I miss the old news of the split with Weisz or we didn't know that?
It's a little sad because I wanted to see Aronofsky make the Wolverine a fun and terrifying character again, but I'm also not a fan of the trend of major style filmmakers taking two year breaks from doing ambitious films to make super hero movies. Darren Aronofsky is riding high off Black Swan and had the chance to do more kinds of his films. If he does Robocop and shrinks the budget to make the filming logistics rationale, I think that would be awesome.
In some way, Steven Soderbergh would be perfect to find something like this since his career is waning enough for him to threaten retirement (sounds more like Che sadness), but these films need more style oriented filmmakers like Aronofsky. For what he does, he is one of the better and more interesting choices. Whoever the replacement is, it will be a step down.
yeah there's no way this is not a business decision.
I can't believe anyone would buy his "I need to spend time with family" line.
Quote from: Pas on March 17, 2011, 04:37:51 PM
Did I miss the old news of the split with Weisz or we didn't know that?
stefers and i covered it lil while back
Quote from: Pozer on December 01, 2010, 06:37:24 PM
Quote from: Stefen on December 01, 2010, 05:05:45 PM
Quote from: modage on December 01, 2010, 04:15:10 PM
Rachel Weisz demanded $100 protein bars that craft services provided exclusively to the Oscar-winning actress during her four days on set.
haha fer real? pretty high demands from an actress who's proven to be box office poison. I can see why she's married to a dude who wears a scarf in the summertime.
at least his fuzzy garment soaks up his tears cos him and B.O.P. are done.
Quote from: Stefen on December 01, 2010, 07:01:25 PM
^Oh, psh, like I know. I wear a wife beater to work.
Any other Hollywood romances, breakups/shakeups you want to get us up to date on, Us Weekly? :love: :boxing:
:yabbse-cool:
Quote from: Pozer on December 01, 2010, 08:59:20 PM
you nerds all xixax on the toilet i catch up on hot gossip (https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi272.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fjj184%2Fbefje%2Fsmileys0%2Fbf-citroenwcsmiley.gif&hash=a2ea339ad8a958a186dbfe3a648cfbd0e7f047eb)
Duncan Jones is now front runner to helm this. I don't think a better choice on the fly could have been made.
Fox Chooses James Mangold For 'The Wolverine'
BY MIKE FLEMING | Deadline
EXCLUSIVE: James Mangold is 20th Century Fox's and star Hugh Jackman's choice to direct The Wolverine, ending one of the most competitive contests among directors for a major studio film. Negotiations are about to get underway, but I'm told that Mangold will take the helming job on the sequel to the X-Men spinoff film, a post that became vacant when Darren Aronofsky dropped out of the film in March. I'd heard that Mangold was on a very short list coming into this week, along with Warrior director Gavin O'Connor and Brooklyn's Finest helmer Antoine Fuqua. I've heard that Fox will look to start principal photography in the fall. Scripted by Christopher McQuarrie, The Wolverine takes place mostly in Japan. Mangold most recently directed the Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz starrer Knight and Day for Fox, and before that 3:10 to Yuma and Walk the Line. Mangold's repped by WME and Management 360.
the very best thing about that guy's filmography is Heavy, which was his first from 1995, but that doesn't make me think he'll be any good at directing this. Bleh....this coulda been awesome.
Jessica Biel to Play Viper in 'The Wolverine'
Actress is latest to join the Fox superhero pic starred by Hugh Jackman.
Source: THR
Jessica Biel is in negotiations to play Viper in 20th Century Fox's The Wolverine.
Biel will play a friend-turned-foe of the titular Marvel mutant, played by Hugh Jackman.
Biel joins a cast that already includes at Will Yun Lee, Brian Tee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, Rila Fukushima and Tao Okamoto.
James Mangold is directing the film, which begins shooting next month in Sydney. Fox will release the pic July 26, 2013.
Biel is no stranger to the comicbook genre. The actress, who was once in talks to play Wonder Woman for Warner Bros., has appeared in Blade: Trinity.
Seeing as Jessica Biel only acts in terrible movies, this does not portend well for the film.
ol scarfs woulda better cast the role, eh polks ...
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd179%2Fpolkablues%2Faronofskycreeper2.gif&hash=bab5a0166e4db94bef6fb1ace898a7e2a82b7ffa)
Words escape me
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chud.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F03%2F3_25_Wolverine2.jpg&hash=c136c840c711a969fbf92a5f3b85af079ed82879)
I like the ninja at the bottom who's looking directly at us, he looks like a nice guy.
Is this them trying?
I actually like the idea behind it.
Wolverines be wolverining.
I'm looking at it on a different monitor now and would like to retract my previous dismissive wanking motion; looks more like a comic book cover to me now, which suits it all right.
Quote from: ddiggler on March 25, 2013, 11:46:15 AM
Words escape me
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chud.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F03%2F3_25_Wolverine2.jpg&hash=c136c840c711a969fbf92a5f3b85af079ed82879)
Quote from: matt35mm on March 25, 2013, 08:27:33 PM
I'm looking at it on a different monitor now and would like to retract my previous dismissive wanking motion; looks more like a comic book cover to me now, which suits it all right.
It still sucks on my monitor.
I seriously doubt that's real, but my God that poster is hilarious.
It looks like he's covered in milk.
TrailerInternational Trailer
Whew... I can let go of any hope for that movie. What a relief.
I was hoping for Kate and Leopold II.
This doesn't look any better than the last Wolverine movie.
who thought ninjas are still relevant