Screen Junkies » Christopher McQuarrie

Rosamund Pike Joins Tom Cruise In ‘One Shot’

Penn Collins — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:07:17 +0000

Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher will have a lady friend, it would appear. Rosamund Pike is in final talks to play opposite Cruise in One Shot, the film adaptation based on author Lee Child’s series of novels.

Rosamund Pike has the somewhat attainable goal of playing a hot defense attorney coming to the aid of Cruise’s Reacher. Which pales in comparison to Tom Cruise’s unenviable job of somehow playing a 6’5 250-pound ex-military cop, when he’s actually shorter than Pike, let alone the gargantuan cop he’s to play.

Pike has made a name for herself recently in fare such as Barney’s Version and An Education, and will be adopting an American accent for the role. Shooting begins early fall, and word is that they’re using donkeys to stretch out Tom Cruise as we speak.

Tom Cruise To Give America The Reacher Round In ‘One Shot’

Joseph Gibson — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:56:02 +0000

It looks like Tom Cruise may have finally found the role he was born to play (other than Ethan Hunt or Stacee Jaxx): A 6’5″, 250 lb ex-military-policeman-turned-drifter. The character’s name is “Jack Reacher,” the protagonist of author Lee Child’s bestselling book series. While that may seem like outside of Tom Cruise’s wheelhouse, the enthusiastic author had this to say about Cruise’s casting: “Reacher’s size in the books is a metaphor for at unstoppable force, which Cruise portrays in his own way.” The movie will be titled One Shot, which should make things interesting if this thing is successful enough for a sequel (One Shot 2 seems odd).

One Shot will be directed by Christopher McQuarrie, perhaps best known as the screenwriter behind The Usual Suspects, and the director and writer behind The Way of the Gun. Here’s a plot synopsis:

“In One Shot, Reacher investigates a case in which a lone sniper murders five victims before being captured. Reacher discovers it’s more than a simple open-and-shut case.”

'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' Trailer Is Here

I can’t wait to hear Tom Cruise begin to quietly explain what’s going on and then quickly transition to SHOUTING ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON! Seriously, I like it when he does that. (Deadline)

Anime With Normal Name, ‘Star Blazers’, May Come To Big Screen

Geoffrey Golden — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:10:59 +0000

It took a few years, but every American cartoon property – Garfield Yogi Bear, Alvin and the Motherf*cking Chipmunks – has been made into a movie. Now where will Hollywood turn for movie ideas, in their concerted effort to avoid making anything original? Japan, of course.

Skydance Productions is actively pursuing the rights to “Star Blazers, the American redubbed version of 70s anime series that was first called “Space Battleship Yamato.” Actually, for an anime title, that name isn’t so crazy. I feel like it should have been called “Space Battleship Victory Romance Schoolgirl Turbo Adventures.”

Skydance, run by son-of-a-bazillionaire David Ellison (his dad runs Oracle, one of the most boring computer companies ever), was behind the endlessly awesome True Grit. If the deal goes through, he’ll hire screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), producer Josh C. Kline and Deputy Captain Derek Wildstar, a hotheaded kid who will eventually become a wise leader. The original series is a “space opera” that centers around a starship crew and their kooky adventures. Actually, it’s already been made into a live action movie, but the Japanese did it, so that does not count.

David Ellison and his sister Megan have shown good taste in movie financing by backing True Grit. I wonder if David’s space gambit will pay off. (Deadline)

I Knew It; George Clooney Is ‘The Monster of Florence’

Jame Gumb — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:34:21 +0000

Big news! George Clooney is the notorious “Monster of Florence,” a serial killer who murdered seven couples between 1974 and 1985. I knew it all along!

Oh wait, I read that wrong. Clooney is actually starring in a film based on the best-selling crime book, The Monster of Florence, which chronicles the killings. My bad.

Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander will adapt the book, which was written by Douglas Preston, the man Clooney will portray in the film. No word yet on what piqued the actor’s interest in the project. Could it be the compelling story line? The popularity of the book? Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Clooney lives in the Italian countryside, and filming in Florence would prevent him from having to return to the cesspool that is Los Angeles? I guess we’ll never know…unless I ask him…via threatening emails…again. (Deadline)

There’s No ‘Top Gun 2′ Without Maverick

Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Christopher McQuarrie, the proposed screenwriter for Top Gun 2, says there will be no sequel in which Maverick is not in the starring role. The comments come just days after director Tony Scott suggested the film would focus on younger pilots, a move that would seem to diminish the role of Tom Cruise’s famous character from the original film.

Regardless of whether Cruise stars in the film, we’ve yet to hear what role Anthony Edwards will play. Might I suggest "Moose," the lovable twin brother of "Goose," who meets Maverick while searching for a lost treasure map hidden in his dead brother’s helmet. It’s just a suggestion. Take it or leave it. (Vulture via /Film)