Sam Rami Talks Evil Dead Remake

Producer Sam Rami has spoken about what fans can expect from the reboot of his cult classic horror franchise The Evil Dead, with a new remake currently being directed by Fede Alvarez. Speaking about the collaboration with the younger director, Rami explained his enthusiasm for rebooting the series.

“I thought it would be fun and, in fact, it has turned out to be a tremendous amount of fun because it’s like an old melody that you write and you’ve brought in this really great, cool, young, hip jazz musician, and he’s riffing on it and showing you places it could go that you never dreamed. It’s very exciting for me.”

As for how the new version will match the original trilogies gruesome black comedy and playful chainsaw wielding adventures Rami added that

“I’ve seen almost all the dailies and they’re really going for it. It’s gonna be grisly and intense and non-stop. Definitely R [rated]. Maybe worse.”

Though Rami’s original trilogy has a devoted fan base and proud cult classic status, he’s quick to assert that there is definitely room to improve on their low budget charms

“Well, I always thought that Evil Dead was a little campfire story that you tell at a camp to kids to scare them at night. But, I don’t think anybody thought it was a beautifully produced, theatrical experience. It was shot in 16mm, all the effects were done for a quarter, and I always thought it could be done in a big screen movie type way that was really high quality with photographic effects.”

Responding to fan concerns that adding slick special effects and glossy production value might rob the series of some of its gritty edge Rami added that

“It could still be just as gritty, but it could be done in stereo and not just mono, and it could be done in 35mm versus 16mm. There were a lot of ways to improve it. There could be much better writing than I was capable of, at the time, as an 18-year-old kid writing that screenplay. And honestly, the directing could be a lot better, and the characterisations could be better. I was very happy with it, but it was something that was crudely done and I thought deserved re-exploration.”

Horror fans will have the chance to decide for themselves when Evil Dead arrives in UK Cinemas on 12 April 2013.

Dumb and Dumber Sequel Details Confirmed

The Farrelly brothers appear to be getting ever closer to making an unlikely Dumb and Dumber sequel a reality. Bobby Farrelly claims shooting may start before the end of the year, potentially arriving in cinemas Autumn 2013.

Bobby Farrelly has also recently confirmed that both original stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are on board for the long delayed comedy project, eager to finally reprise their roles as infamously moronic heroes Harry & Lloyd.

“It’s definitely something we’ve been hoping for a long time. We always wanted to get the two original guys Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels back together and see what they’re up to. Now it’s almost 20 years after the original and the other guys are in a point in their career where they had so much fun the first time that they’re willing to do it. We will make this movie.”

As to exactly what kind of mental and emotional progress Harry and Lloyd will have made in the past two decades Farrelly is quick to reassure fans

“I can tell you that there is no growth out of either one of them.”

As proof he offer us details of the bumbling shenanigans that will form the plot of the sequel

“The story revolves around the fact that one of them may have sired a child. They want to go and find the child because he’s having a kidney problem and he wants to ask him for one of his kidneys.”

Time to dust off the ugly pastel coloured tux boys….

Kevin Costner Joins Jack Ryan Reboot

Kevin Costner has officially signed on to join the cast of Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan reboot alongside leading man Chris Pine. Costner is undergoing a major career resurgence thanks to a prominent role in new Superman movie Man of Steel and has landed the key role of William Harper in the similarly rejuvenated Jack Ryan franchise.

William Harper is the former military figure responsible for recruiting and training Ryan, he’s also set to feature in at least one other film based on Tom Clancy’s books, with Costner reprising the role.

Chris McQuarrie is set to direct Without Remorse a spinoff film about John Kelly, a familiar figure to fans of the Ryan books and past films. The character previously featured in both Clear And Present Danger and The Sum Of All Fears. Kelly is a Vietnam vet and skilled mercenary; the new film will find him getting caught up in a personal vendetta against an international drugs cartel.

Paramount is reportedly eye in Dark Knight Rises and Lawless star Tom Hardy to take on the role of John Kelly. Potentially setting up an unlikely rapid on screen reunion for This Means War stars Hardy and Chris Pine.

All-Female Expendables Movie In Talks

The testosterone fuelled success of the Expendables franchise both in terms of its box office haul and reinvigorating the careers of countless former action superstars may span an unlikely all-female version.

Dredd producer Adi Shankar is reportedly keen to persuade a host of female action stars to band together for their own ensemble adventure. Shankar is currently in talks with several as yet unidentified big-name stars with plans to put his own money behind the project.

Expendables 2 director Simon West, who was previously  responsible for  Angelina Jolie’s gun totting performance as Lara Croft  in Tomb Raider, has already given his reaction to the news and seem to lie the idea.

“I like the idea of seven or eight women mercenaries. It would be Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Milla Jovovich, the list goes on. Helen Mirren, Jamie Lee Curtis would be great.”

Fanboys are already eagerly speculating which action heroines might feature, with names like Carrie Anne Moss, Sigourney Weaver, Uma Thurman, Michelle Rodriguez, Michelle Yeoh, Linda Hamilton, Kate Beckinsale , Summer Glau and Gina Carano all being mentioned with various degrees of seriousness.

It remains to be seen exactly who Shankar actually has in mind and whether or not fans have as much interest in watching women of a certain age blow things up as they clearly do in older gentlemen with explosive anger management issues.

 

Disney To Remake The Rocketeer

Disney’s new studio head Alan Horn is reportedly keen on giving cult classic The Rocketeer a second chance on the big screen, over 20 years after their first effort directed by Joe Johnston (Captain America) was publically declared a box office disappointment.

Created by Dave Stevens, The Rocketeer is a 1980’s comic book hero created, much like Indiana Jones,  as homage to the Saturday matinee heroes of the 30’s and 40’s. This retro hero is Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a secret prototype jetpack that allows him to rocket into the sky ready to do battle with evil Nazis and rescue darling dames in distress.

The 1991 film version starred Billy Campbell, Alan Arkin, Jennifer Connolly and then James Bond Timothy Dalton. It generally was well received by critics and existing fans of the comics, but failed to perform at the box office due to ineffective marketing campaigns and being unfairly labelled as a kid friendly Indiana Jones rip-off.

Disney is currently hearing pitches from several writers as they try to decide what direction to take the new project in. The studio will be hoping that if they get it right this time they can once again make ‘flying jetpack’   the present children are most likely to want, but least likely to actually get…