News of the Week (24/10/12) – The Hobbit, Ghostbusters and Assassins Creed

After a few weeks that have been fairly quiet on the news front in terms of things that have grabbed my interest this week has exploded and there is a lot to catch upon.

First, let’s start with a small update on the Assassin’s Creed feature film that is being lined up (starring and produced by Michael Fassbender). This will no doubt gain more exposure when it starts filming as Assassin’s Creed is one of the most famous and popular video game franchises of the past few years. Assassin’s Creed has now seen production company New Regency team up with Ubisoft to get this project off the ground; an official statement has said that the movie is being fast tracked and they want to get it out as soon as possible, to the highest standards reachable. Good news as I would hate this one sit in pre-production for years!

Talking of films that have been in pre-production for years: Ghostbusters 3. Obviously, there have been rumours about Ghostbusters 3 knocking around for years but now Deadline are reporting that the studio are hoping to be able to start filming next year, with or without Bill Murray’s permission which has been holding them back so far. So roll on the fantasy casts for the new generation of Ghostbusters: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Matthew Gray Gubler and Emma Stone are being touted as possible leads.

It has been eleven years since the awful events that struck America. 9/11. And there have been a couple of films about the events, World Trade Center and United 93 and now it looks as though we are going to get another one. September Morn is a film that will detail the findings of the 9/11 Comission and Woody Harrelson, Martin Sheen and Ed Asner are all attached to star so far. But will a film about the findings of 9/11 really be wanted in America? Who knows.

So let’s round up the rest pretty quickly. The Hobbit is set for a December release this year and it has been released this past week that Stephen Colbert (Saturday Night Live) and the brilliant Jim Beaver (Supernatural) will be seen in cameo roles in the huge feature. A running time has also been quoted by Peter Jackson to be around 2 hours and 40 minutes, that’s a grand total of 160 minutes of Middle Earth adventure! Andy Serkis, fresh from directing the second unit on The Hobbit, is set to direct a motion capture film version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Serkis may also star in the film, nothing is confirmed yet, but he is clearly a great choice to direct after bringing such famous characters as Gollum and Caeser to life! And finally… Hugh Grant is set to return to his famous romantic comedy roles as he teams up with Music and Lyrics director Marc Lawrence again. No female lead has yet been signed on.

Stiller & Vaughn Star in Red Band Trailer for ‘The Watch’

UK Release Date: 29th August 2012.

The Watch (previously known as Neighbourhood Watch) is an upcoming sci-fi comedy film following the lives of Evan, Bob, Franklin and Jamarcus who make up their town’s neighbourhood watch. They use the neighbourhood watch front as a way to get away from their families but they are forced into real action when they accidentally uncover an alien plot that threatens the world.

The Watch features some of the biggest and best names from comedy in recent years. Akiva Schaffer is the director and he has earned his trade primarily on Saturday Night Live where he has written and directed many of their famous sketches. The script for The Watch is written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the duo behind hits Superbad, The Green Hornet and the fantastic Pineapple Express. The cast brings together Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, veterans of the comedy circuit; Jonah Hill who is currently churning out hit after hit and fast becoming hot property; and Richard Ayoade who is best known for his performance as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd.

The trailer, I think, looks great! I haven’t been impressed with much of Stiller or Vaughn recently with films such as Little Fockers and The Dilemma coming out in recent years but they both look good in this trailer. Jonah Hill will no doubt be a highlight and his comedy turns in the trailer really highlight his talent and sense of humour.

The premise has the potential for great comedy already; bringing together four guys who just want to stay away from their families for a bit only to end up trying to save the world from an alien invasion is something that should write the comedy itself and with such an experienced cast it should be done easily. The comedy in this red band trailer is very much based on sexual humour and things usually seen as disgusting but these are the things that make majority audiences laugh and it is this that people want to see.

I’m not a huge fan of comedy films usually but this is one that I will be looking forward to!

The Devolution of Adam Sandler

Seriously Adam, what is going on?!

Adam Sandler’s career infuriates me. He made a name for himself in the world of comedy during the early 1990s thanks to his several appearances on Saturday Night Live and then made the journey to become a big movie star. During the late 90s and the early 2000s he was one of the funniest men working in film and his films were always (okay, most of the time) a treat and well worth a laugh or two. Then something happened. I don’t think anyone quite knows what happened, or even if Sandler himself knows, but his films turned terrible.

After impressing with his writing on Saturday Night Live, Adam Sandler was given the chance to perform on the show. He did so and became famous for his amusing songs that he would write, ‘The Chanukah Song’ being one of his best.

Sandler made the leap into films in the mid 90s and for the rest of the decade continues to be funny. Films such as Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy and The Waterboy made Sandler a legend among comedy fans. His films were funny, they were worth seeing and they were something that you could laugh about with your friends after watching. These ones still are.

Then the turn of the century came and Adam Sandler continued to make movies. Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, Anger Management and even 50 First Dates are all good films and worth watching for a laugh. And Sandler impressed everyone in 2002 when he took the lead in romantic comedy Punch-Drunk Love.

For a couple of years Adam Sandler left the mainstream comedy circuit and made sports film The Longest Yard (among his best films in my opinion, not for Sandler’s performance in particular, just as a film on the whole) and he made Click. Click was based in comedy but it was a dramatic performance from Sandler that was worth noting; it was a different performance to his other comedy films and it was very very good.

So far, so good.

Then 2007 came and something absolutely terrible hit cinemas and this is what I have pinpointed as the turning point in Adam Sandler’s career: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. It is a rubbish film. Nothing more needs saying. But then Sandler went on to do a ridiculous role in You Don’t Mess With the Zohan in which he played an Israeli counter-terrorist commando who fakes his own death to pursue his real dream of a career in hairdressing. THAT. IS. STUPID!

Sandler continued the decline with Bedtime Stories, Grown Ups and Just Go With It (not helped by the fact it features the cardboard actress that is Jennifer Aniston). None of these films have ever reached the heights of his earlier outings. And his most recent effort, Jack and Jill where he plays both of the title characters saw Sandler nominated for a series of Razzies.

Today I watched the trailer for Adam Sandler’s newest project hitting cinemas in the UK later this year: That’s My Boy. I really hoped the trailer would look good, I want nothing more than for his career to just get back on track, unfortunately though, this film will not be the rebuilding of Sandler’s comedy efforts. Guaranteed.

Adam Sandler needs to take a long hard look at his recent films and think about his career, not just for me but for himself. I can only assume he is working through some massive mid-life crisis and the sooner he gets through it the better, for everyone.

Below is the trailer for That’s My Boy being released in the UK on 7th September 2012.