Tag: Justin Marks

Columbia Snags ‘He-Man’

he-man masters of the universe

Evidently, Columbia has the power.  Okay, that was lame, but, seriously, The Hollywood Reporter is claiming the feature film adaptation of ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ has found a home with Columbia.  Escape Artists is on board to produce the film, as well.  This news comes just a few weeks after it was reported Warner Brothers dropped the project due to differences on the direction of the film.

John Stevenson (‘Kung Fu Panda’), who was set to direct the film when the property was at WB, is no longer on the project.  It wouldn’t surprise anyone to learn Columbia has even hired a writer to rewrite the screenplay.  There have been several rewrites already, but the latest treatment, titled ‘Grayskull,’ comes from Justin Marks, who, unfortunately, is having a hard time getting his first screenplay produced.  Marks also worked on the long-gestating ‘Voltron’ movie, whose difficulty in getting made has, most recently, spun off into a lawsuit regarding rights holders.

There is no word yet on anything regarding the production of this new iteration of ‘He-Man,’ though expect word to come down the pipeline soon.

No ‘Masters of the Universe’ for Warner Brothers

he-man masters of the universe

It looks like we might be waiting a little longer for another ‘Masters of the Universe’ film.   According to Variety, Warner Brothers and Mattel are parting ways on the adaptation due to differences on the direction of the project.   WB and producer Joel Silver have been working on getting the film completed since 2007.

Mattel is taking back sole rights to the property, while ‘Kung Fu Panda’ director John Stevenson is still on board to helm the film.   No telling who Mattel may turn to to get the project off the ground.   They could be growing desperate, since a ‘Masters of the Universe’ re-adaptation has been in the works for a number of years.   The latest script treatment, titled ‘Grayskull,’ on the project came from Justin Marks, who has also had a script for ‘Voltron’ ending up in development hell.

While the idea of a floating property like ‘Masters of the Universe’ may seem tantalizing to some studios, there don’t appear to be any surefire, hit brands any more, unless you’re dealing with mainstay comic series, and WB and Disney seem to have those all wrapped up.   The latest branded toyline to get feature film treatment, ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,’ hasn’t hit their budget price of $175 in the states yet, though that film has grossed just over $280 worldwide.   And, while studios may be seeing dollar signs in their eyes from films like ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ that level of money-making is never a guarantee but more a phenomenon that goes against the rule.   Surely, Mattel won’t have any problem selling a ‘Masters of the Universe’ project to a studio, but they shouldn’t expect their doors to be knocked down.

‘Voltron’ Movie Ready to Form

voltron

From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend; the legend of Voltron, Defender of the Universe, a mighty robot, loved by good, feared by evil.   Yes, fans, we’re talking about a ‘Voltron’ movie finally coming together. Continue reading ‘Voltron’ Movie Ready to Form

Sony unleashes ‘Colossus’ onto the Big Screen

shadowofcolossus

Another big trend in Hollywood right now is developing popular massive action video games into big screen extravaganzas. Granted, we haven’t actually seen any of these hit theaters yet, but there are many in the works and at various stages of pre- and post-production, such as ‘The Prince of Persia’ and ‘God of War’.

Chalk this up as the next of what I am sure will be many. Sony is developing a feature film adaptation of their PlayStation 2 title ‘Shadow of the Colossus’.

“Colossus,” which bowed exclusively on the PlayStation 2 in 2005, revolves around a man named Wander who must travel across a cursed wasteland and defeat 16 creatures, known as the colossi, in order to restore the life of a girl. — Variety

Kevin Misher (The Scorpion King, Public Enemies) is in talks to produce the film, which Justin marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li) currently writing the screenplay. OK, let’s break this down for a moment…

As a producer, Misher isn’t the most experienced choice out there, but he’s developed some pretty successful films. While not my favorite, ‘The Scorpion King’ was fairly popular and ‘Public Enemies’ is stacking up to be one Helluva movie, like… Oscar, baby! Then again, Justin Marks has been touted as one of these Hollywood golden children as of late, with his name being attached to writing several different high profile projects.

However, the only one of his scripts that’s come fully to fruition so far was ‘Street Fighter’ which barely survived two weeks in the box office… and I don’t even want to know much much green was lost on that! Then again, his next script to be produced is looking to be a live-action feature film adaptation of the comic book ‘Hack/Slash’. Hopefully, second time is the charm.

[source: Variety]

Warner Bros shakes things up with ‘Suicide Squad’

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The thought has been there for awhile, but it appears the taunting may finally be over. If you’ve ever wondered whether a movie about comic book super humans would be made about the “bad guys” then this is right up your ally. Warner Bros in developing a feature film adaptation of ‘Suicide Squad’ from DC Comics. The project will be produced by Dan Lin (Sherlock Holmes) and, yes… a very familiar and currently red hot name in The Biz will be writing the screenplay, Justin Marks (Hack/Slash, Street Fighter).

In a departure from normal comic-based fare, “Suicide Squad” concentrates on a group of incarcerated super villains rather than the usual focus on superheroes. The first version of the squad debuted in a 1959 DC Comic, and a series was launched in 1987.

“Suicide Squad” will feature a mix of well-known and unknown villains recruited by the government to accomplish a task deemed too dangerous for superheroes. The historically independent operators must bury their own interpersonal conflicts and agendas to form a cohesive unit to take on a singular task. — Variety

[source: Variety]

Justin Marks rewriting ‘20,000 Leagues’

20000leaguesremake

You may have already heard about Disney’s remake of the classic Kirk Douglas action/adventure ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ but, apparently things haven’t gone quite as planned. Justin Marks has been brought on by Disney to rewrite the script for the remake. Actually, the film will be more of a sequel than a remake. The official title will be ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo’.

Remake will serve as an origin story of Nemo as he creates his warship, the Nautilus. Characters come from the Jules Verne novel and the 1954 actioner, that was the first live action film made by Walt Disney. — Variety

Justin Marks is something of a hot commodity in Hollywood right now. He’s written the scripts for in development projects including ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’, ‘Voltron: Defender of the Universe’, ‘Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li’ and for the untitled Green Arrow project. However, it’s yet to be determined if all this hype is due, as none of his films have met the eyes of the audience yet.

[source: Variety]

Marks is the Man, Justin that is …

Justin Marks is one writer I’d like to meet. He’s proving to be one of Hollywood’s new golden boys, just so long as the five different works in progress he has his hands in don’t go belly up. Marks is becoming as synonymous with the action/comic book geek genres of movies as Guillermo del Toro and David Goyer have become with the dark, stylistic goth horror genres. He was the primary writer involved with the ‘Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li’ franchise reboot and the cult favorite comic book ‘Hack/Slash’ movie adaptation, both of which are currently in production. On top of this, Marks has written the revamping script for ‘Masters of the Universe’ and the new ‘Voltron’ script. Even better, the on again off again Green Arrow movie ‘Super Max’ is apparently back on again now with more gusto than ever, due allegedly to Marks’ fabulous new draft of the script. The big news recently is that a review of Marks’ ‘Voltron’ script is resulting in smiles, and it apparently is fan-friendly towards those of us who grew up with the original animated series:

[…today a review of Marks’ script has popped up online over at Latino Review — and, thankfully, it looks like good news for fans of the 80’s cartoon. But first off, you should know that the review is pretty descriptive about the plot and ‘spoiler alert’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. If you don’t feel like reading the whole thing (and it is pretty long), it can all be boiled down to this: the script rocks.] — Cinematical.com