There’s a lot of breaking news in Hollywood happening every minute. In the age of the blockbuster, it’s easy for some smaller movie and television news to slip through the crack. Last Week in Hollywood is our new weekly series highlighting all the interesting news from the last week that we thought didn’t warrant its own post, but was still worth mentioning. It’s less personal opinions and more a hearty roundup of what you might have missed.
Spielberg Developing New Bullitt Film
Steven Spielberg is developing an original feature film based on Frank Bullitt, the protagonist of the 1968 thriller Bullitt who was first played by Steve McQueen.
Josh Singer (The Post) will write the screenplay. McQueen’s son Chad McQueen and granddaughter Molly McQueen are executive producing after “a lengthy negotiation process with the McQueen estate to secure the rights to the character.” Warner Bros, the studio that released Bullitt back in 1968, is also involved. This story was first reported by Deadline.
Zemeckis and Hanks Team Up for Here
The trio behind Forrest Gump is reuniting for an adaptation of Here, the 2014 graphic novel by Richard McGuire. Tom Hanks will star, Robert Zemeckis will direct as will as co-write the script with Eric Roth.
Here is “centered in one room and focuses on the many people who inhabit it over years and years, from the past to the distant future.” The film will be produced by Playtone and ImageMovers.
Brad Bird is Finally Making Ray Gunn
Brad Bird has teamed up with Skydance Animation for his next animated film. The acclaimed writer-director will finally get to make Ray Gunn, a science-fiction noir tale that Bird has been trying to get made for almost thirty years.
Bird will direct the film. He wrote the script with Matthew Robbins. The film will be produced by John Lasseter, who previously worked with Bird when they were both over at Pixar (The Incredibles and Ratatouille are the results of that partnership).
Ray Gunn is supposed to follow “the last human private detective, Raymund Gunn, in a future world full of both humans and aliens. He’s hired to investigate the pop singer Venus Envy to find out if she’s cheating on her husband. However, Gunn finds out that she’s being set up by her husband to make it look like she killed her body double.”
It is supposed to be set in the future, but feel like a 1930s pulp novel. In 1999, Variety said the project “has been described as a melange of Raymond Chandler and Buck Rogers, set in a streamlined city of the future.”
BioShock Movie in Works at Netflix
Netflix is teaming up with 2K and Take-Two Interactive to adapt the popular video game series, BioShock, into a feature film. Vertigo Entertainment and Take-Two will produce the movie. No director or talent are attached as of yet.
The first BioShock was released in 2007 and set “across multiple dystopian and visionary landscapes gone wrong.” Gamers played as Jack, “the lone survivor of a plane crash over the Atlantic Ocean in the 1960s. He discovers an underwater dystopia called Rapture, which was created by an eccentric business magnate Andrew Ryan. Rapture had seen better days, and Jack must battle a variety of enemies, like the super-powered, drug-addicted Splicers and massive, diving-suit-clad Big Daddies, to escape. However, Jack’s own mental state and the origins of his plane crash are far from what they originally seem.”
Gore Verbinski was once attached to direct a live-action BioShock movie for Universal, but it was scrapped in 2009 over budget concerns.
First Look at Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al
The Roku Channel has revealed a first-look photo of Daniel Radcliffe in the upcoming biopic WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story. So look above and feast your eyes on Radcliffe as Weird Al. The biopic currently does not have a release date.
Robert Downey Jr. and Shane Black to Adapt Parker Novels
Robert Downey Jr. and Shane Black are teaming up with Amazon Studios for a new film adaptation of Donald E. Westlake’s Parker novels. Via ComicBook.com, Black will script the film, but no word on if he’ll also direct. Downey will star and produce with his wife, Susan Downey, through their Team Downey company.
The Parker novels have been adapted before with the most recent adaptation starring Jason Statham in the title role. No word yet when we can expect to see this new adaptation hit our screens.
James Mangold to Direct Buster Keaton Biopic
James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) is set to direct and produce a biographic feature film about the life of filmmaker and comedian Buster Keaton. The project is in development at 20th Century Studios and is based on the book Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase by Marion Meade. Studio execs are currently meeting with writers to adapt the book.
Buster Keaton is considered an icon of American cinema and a pioneer in the early days of silent movies. He is still considered one of the great physical comedians in movie history.
Disney Developing Electric Mayhem Muppet Series
A new Muppet series is in development at Disney+. The series will focus on the fictional Muppet band, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, as “they look to record a full-length album after spending life on the road as rockstars.” However, recording the album will be “easier said than done,” per Giant Freaking Robot. Adam Goldberg (The Goldbergs) is involved in the project.
The series will also feature a trio of human characters, a pair of sisters named Hannah and Nora, and a technie named Lyle. Hannah is described as “a social media star and influencer who has created something of an online empire through her wildly successful make-up videos” while Nora, a one-time music executive who put her life on hold to help raise Hannah, “is setting her sights back on the music industry” and will be “managing and helping this Muppets’ group get into the studio and make it happen for an album after all this time.” Meanwhile, Lyle is looking to get back with his ex-girlfriend Nora.
Some More News Tidbits
- Paramount has announced that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be the first film in a new trilogy. The studio also revealed that a CG animated Transformers film will hit theaters in 2024. (Twitter)
- A fourth Star Trek film featuring the Kelvin cast is set to begin production by the end of 2022. Paramount is currently in talks with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg to reprise their roles. Matt Shakman will direct.
- Paramount+ has renewed Halo for a second season.
- Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will reportedly helm the majority of episodes in season 2 of Loki. The duo directed a couple episodes of Moon Knight, which begins streaming later this month. (Deadline)
That’s it for last couple of weeks. What projects mentioned are you interested in seeing once completed? Tell us down in the comments!
