Screen Junkies » jaume collet-serra

Load Your Weapons, ‘Akira’ Gets The Green Light

Wookie Johnson — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:59:53 +0000

After years of rumors and false starts, Warner Bros. has finally given the official green light to a live-action remake of Akira. Does this news surprise or upset you? Do you even have any nerd-scorn left for the project? Don’t worry. If you’re a fan of the classic anime, there’s enough going on with the remake to obsess about.

First, Jaume Collet-Serra is in the director’s chair with production slated to begin early next year. He’s the man behind House of Wax, The Orphan, and Unknown. That news gets me pretty riled up and I have no emotional connections to Akira. The next update is that, based on his light-cycle experience, Garrett Hedlund is the favorite to zip around Neo-Manhattan in the lead role. I know how upset this must make you die-hards. Maybe you should go outside and get some air or a bialy. Treat yourself. (Variety)

‘Akira’ Gets An ‘Unknown’ Director In Collet-Serra

Penn Collins — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:35:10 +0000

The Akira news factory keeps plugging along, this time with news that, after the departure of Albert Hughes, directing duties will be taken over by Jaume Collet-Serra, the director of both Unknown and Orphan. It’s a choice that indicates that they might not want to pump as much money into the project as was originally thought, as Collet-Serra has been able to demonstrate strong returns on nominal budgets, with Unknown collecting over $130 million on a budget of only about $30 million. The budget for Akira is rumored to be in the $90 million range, a big step up for Collet-Serra, but not in the ballpark of many other tentpole releases.

The Variety story also mentions offhand that the film will be set in “New Manhattan,” a move that will a) explain the presence of all the white movie stars, while also b) frustrating fans of the source material. Not a huge surprise, given the casting rumors that had been circulating.

The choice doesn’t shed too much light on the constantly-shifting project, but getting a director on board might help the producers from Appian Way start garnering cast members to turn “New Manhattan” into “White Tokyo.”

Jaume Collet-Serra And Noam Murro Battle Over ’300: Battle Of Artemisia’

Wookie Johnson — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:05:26 +0000

6 photosLena Headey

Two men now stand atop the wall of corpses that has become the 300 sequel’s director shortlist. With gritted teeth and clenched abdominal muscles, they hold their weapons nearly as tight as their love for their homelands. But there can be just one.

Unknown‘s Jaume Collet-Serra and Die Hard 5‘s Noam Murro are the final two in consideration to be passed Zack Snyder‘s ceremonial directing headdress to take the helm of 300: Battle Of Artemisia (formerly known as Xerxes). Snyder, who is currently busy with Man Of Steel, will come on in a producer’s capacity and force both men to try to kick one another down a deep pit of doom. The same pit made famous by the film Meet the Spartans. (Deadline)

Director Of ‘Unknown’ And ‘Orphan’ Thinks He’s Good Enough To Ruin Other People’s Movies

Joseph Gibson — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:12:42 +0000

John-Pierre Melville’s The Red Circle is a French crime classic, with archetypal men in hats being badasses and stealing shit. Obviously this makes it a prime candidate for a Hollywood remake, despite the fact that the actual plot is the least interesting part of The Red Circle. Not because it’s a bad plot, but because the plot isn’t the point: Melville’s crime movies are all about style and looking cool. So I’m disappointed to announce that instead of noted Melville fan John Woo directing this remake, it’s noted shitty movie fan Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, the now in-theaters Unknown) who got the job. I’ll give you a second to groan really loudly in response to this news.

The one possible bright spot is that the script is being written by Steven Knight, who did the script for the fantastic Russian gangster movie Eastern Promises. So maybe this will be more like that and less like Orphan. Grooaaaaannn. (via Deadline)

Director Shortlist For ‘G.I Joe 2′ Induces Indifference, Yawns

Dave Horwitz — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:38:48 +0000

Do we really need a sequel to 2009′s G.I Joe? Box office receipts aside, did anyone come away from that movie with any real satisfaction? The whole thing smacks of film making as a numbers game, and the search for a sequel director isn’t helping, as Paramount is batting around 3 different but equally middling talents for the job. Jon Chu (Step Up 2, 3), Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown), and F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen) are all being considered.

Honestly though, who cares? And that’s not even a snarky, sarcastic blogger question. I really want to talk to someone who cares passionately about either G.I Joe getting a sequel, or any of these three directors. Okay, I will personally admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for Step Up 2 The Streets. I like movies about break-dancing and I saw it on Valentines Day 2008 with my ex girlfriend, okay? There, I said it. Does that mean I want to see G.I Joe pop and lock all over Cobra Commander’s shiny face mask? Yes? Did I just accidentally endorse Jon Chu as the lesser of 3 evils because he knows how to shoot people dancing? Fine. Congrats to everyone! Enjoy your paychecks! We’ll be enjoying the fruits of your labor on coast-to-coast flights, and on HBO at 3 am sometime in the near future. (The Playlist)

Liam Neeson Wants Answers In ‘Unknown’ Trailer

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

_{Liam Neeson in suspended animation.}

Warner Bros. has dropped the new trailer for Unknown. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (House of Wax), it stars Liam Neeson as a guy who wakes from a coma and discovers that someone has taken is identity and not even his hot wife (January Jones) believes him. He teams up with a hot cab driver (Diane Kruger), who originally put him in the coma by crashing into a lake, to help him make sense of the whole mess. Neeson kicks some ass in it Taken-style, so despite the whole clichéd "why does no one recognize me!" premise, it could be worth checking out.

Unknown wanders into theaters February 18, 2011.

Check out the trailer after the jump…

Unknown — Trailer – Watch more Movie Trailers