We all thought the live-action “Akira” movie was dead and buried, but we were wrong.
According to Collider, the update on Katsuhiro Otomo’s popular anime (based on his graphic novel) is still breathing, though it’s not exactly up and walking around just yet.
Warner Bros. has kept the project in development and is about to receive a new script from Oscar nominees Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, whose joint credits include “Children of Men,” “Iron Man” and the upcoming “Cowboys & Aliens” (which recently added director Jon Favreau and actor Robert Downey Jr.). Read more...
Published just over a year ago but pitched around Hollywood for nearly a decade beforehand, Platinum Studios' "Cowboys and Aliens" comic has been the subject of considerable discussion ever since it was optioned well in advance of its first issue hitting shelves -- and even moreso when it was announced in June that "Iron Man" star Robert Downey Jr. was attached to star in the film.
The timeline of this big-screen deal ushered in much of the modern debate over comics' use as stepping stones to television, film or video game properties, and Platinum has since become one of the most prominent companies to make a name for itself buying up the rights to comics with print publication as a secondary goal to big- or small-screen development.
MTV News spoke with "Iron Man" writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, the duo charged with adapting "Cowboys and Aliens" for film to get an update on the project, the rising star of the project's lead actor and what theater-goers can expect to see in the film. Read more...
Nothing against the very talented Justin Theroux, but given that "Iron Man" was such an overwhelming critical and financial success, it’s somewhat odd, perhaps, that screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby aren’t involved in writing its sequel.
But could the reason be because they might very well be writing a DIFFERENT super? In a word, yes. In a whole lot of words…
"There are some really juicy [movies] that we are very much talking intensely with Marvel about. We're like, 'We're the right guys for this one,’" Fergus revealed, remaining maddeningly coy on which particular movie that was. "We're interested in working on a bunch of these other Marvel projections and everything in the Marvel canon is fair game. We have a lot of ideas about all this, but until they officially ask us to come do one of these we'll keep our mouths closed about the actual ideas. It's moving along nicely but nothing official yet. But, yes, we are planning on working on some of those movies. That much I'll say." Read more...
