Whoa! Didn’t see this coming.. the other day we just heard about BOND 23 being put on hold because of financing problems due to the uncertainty of MGM’s fate, the producers did mention writers but nothing about directors and now according to Heat Vision, Oscar winning Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Away We Go) is in final talks to direct the 23rd James Bond installment, with the story written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Peter Morgan… Read the rest of this entry »
The other man that I need to thank besides director John Hillcoat, for how faithful The Road was to Cormac McCarthy’s book is scribe Joe Penhall. Nothing about that film was disappointing. I’ve been hearing harsh reviews regarding Peter Jackson’s upcoming adaptation The Lovely Bones, maybe he should’ve let Penhall take a shot at it. For his next gig, Penhall might be working with American Beauty director… Read the rest of this entry »
One of the graphic novel adaptation that I’m looking forward to is PREACHER because a, the premise sounds violently cool, and b, I’d watch anything Sam Mendes directs, that man is a maestro. He previously said that John August had finished the script and he had read it, he thought it was very good and the movie was getting closer to being made but he didn’t disclose any actor he may have in mind for the roles.
One actor wants it, and that’s the star of the upcoming Emmerics’ end of the world flick 2012, John Cusack. In a recent chat with io9, he implied that he’s intrigued by the concept… Read the rest of this entry »
This past summer, Sam Mendes’ production company Neal Street Productions signed a two-year first-look deal with Focus Features which now holds worldwide rights to any features that Neal Street produces. Mendes previously helmed AWAY WE GO for Focus Features.
According to Variety, Focus Features, Neal Street and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Prods. have all joined forces together for an adaptation for NETHERLAND based on a book by author Joseph O’Neill. Harpo bought the rights when it was published last year
Scribe Christopher Hampton who was nominated for ATONEMENT which was also a Focus Features pride and joy, will write the script and Sam Mendes is attached to direct.
I’m looking forward to this project because it’s going to be more or less an immigrant movie (check out my favorite 7 movies about immigrants)
Now, regarding Mendes’ other adaptation that’s long been in the works, PREACHER, via Aceshowbiz, the Oscar winning director said John August has finished the script and the movie is getting closer to being made.
“It’s getting closer.”
“I’ve seen a script and it’s very good. We’re a little further down the road than when I last spoke to you.”
Here’s the synopsis of the book NETHERLAND
“In a New York City made phantasmagorical by the events of 9/11, and left alone after his English wife and son return to London, Hans van den Broek stumbles upon the vibrant New York subculture of cricket, where he revisits his lost childhood and, thanks to a friendship with a charismatic and charming Trinidadian named Chuck Ramkissoon, begins to reconnect with his life and his adopted country. As the two men share their vastly different experiences of contemporary immigrant life in America, an unforgettable portrait emerges of an “other” New York populated by immigrants and strivers of every race and nationality.”
The Following Is An Official Press Release From Focus Features:
OSCAR WINNER SAM MENDES’ NEAL STREET PRODUCTIONS IN 2-YEAR FIRST-LOOK DEAL AT FOCUS FEATURES;
DIRECTOR’S AWAY WE GO IN RELEASE THROUGH FOCUS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes’ production company Neal Street Productions, in which he is partnered with Pippa Harris and Caro Newling, has signed a two-year first-look deal with Focus Features. Focus will hold… Read the rest of this entry »
Collider had a chat with director Sam Mendes who’s attached to the movie adaptation PREACHER based on the graphic novel by Garth Ennis, about Jesse Custer, a down-and-out preacher in the small Texas town of Annville, joined by his old girlfriend Tulip O’Hare, as well as a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three of them encounter all types of saint killers along the way. Previous info announced that scribe John August (Big Fish, Corpse Bride) is set to write the screenplay.
Mendes said he couldn’t say much more than what the world already knows, he loved the book and John August is currently writing the script. Unfortunately PREACHER won’t be his next project because he wants to do 2 plays in Brooklyn and then travels around the world with them, so he won’t be doing a movie until 2010.
He also talked about meeting the graphic novelist Garth Ennis, and his way of dealing with screenwriting process, for more just check out the interview video OVER THERE.
Mendes has an upcoming drama that I can’t wait for, AWAY WE GO, which has that Little Miss Sunshine/Juno indie vibe to it (watch the trailer). Could be an Oscar contender, ya never know. It opens limited on June 5th, 2009
Director Sam Mendes has more reason to be happy these days especially after his woman, Kate Winslet won an Oscar. But I didn’t know that he was happy enough to go astray from his usual movies. Yahoo has the trailer for Mendes’ upcoming dramedy AWAY WE GO, which is not his typical previous dark, heavy, depressing works like Jarheads, Revolutionary Road, and American Beauty.
The story centers on the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski of “The Office” and Maya Rudolph of “Saturday Night Live”), as they travel the U.S. in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family.
AWAY WE GO opens limited June 5th, 2009
One of the graphic novel-based movie projects I’m anticipating is the recently announced PREACHER which will have Sam Mendes to direct. Mainly because the story has aroused my curiosity, I have to pick up the comic series the next time I’m at a book stand. Let me give you a heads up, the story is a bit f*cked up… In short, it’s about a Texan preacher who’s involved in supernatural power and is blaming God for not doing banged up job and so he teams up with an ex-girlfriend and Irish Vampire to hold God accountable while encountering all types of saint killers along the way.
But apparently, director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) said to Empire recently that it’s still in the development process, barely even in the early stages, but he is excited about the opportunity nonetheless and can’t wait to do some awesome stuff with the movie version.
“I’d love to make Preacher,” he smiles. “But there’s no script.”
“Basically they should have written, ‘Mendes in development with PREACHER’. What I’m doing is, I’ve gotta find a script. I’ve just got to get it written.”
“It’s brilliant, it’s an incredible twisted vision,”
“There’s so much of it you couldn’t possibly fit it all into one movie. It’s just about what you keep and what you leave out, and how you structure the story. But just to have that toy set again, being able to paint on a big canvas and to say ‘I am gonna do crazy crane shots and massive action sequences again because I want to,’ it’s exciting..”
This should be interesting to see how he can pull this off, because the name Sam Mendes usually isn’t attached to massive action visual effect movies, he’s always been more about heavy drama, and that includes the upcoming Oscar worthy flick that stars leo DiCaprio and the mother of Mendes’ child, Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
