Tinseltown Titans--Summer of the Greeks part III

[Narukami]

"The action film is a revisionist take on the classic myth and is set in a world where the supernatural does not exist."

Oh ... :? Zeus will not be happy. :evil:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/br...les-413107

Brett Ratner's 'Hercules' to Hit Theaters in August 2014

5:56 PM PST 1/16/2013 by Pamela McClintock

The Dwayne Johnson movie is based on the graphic novel "Hercules: The Thracian Wars."

Brett Ratner's Hercules will be released in theaters Aug. 8, 2014, Paramount and MGM said Wednesday.

The two companies are partnering on the event pic, which stars Dwayne Johnson in the titular role and is based on Radical Studios' graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars. The action film is a revisionist take on the classic myth and is set in a world where the supernatural does not exist.

The screenplay was adapted by Ryan Condal, with revisions by Evan Spiliotopoulos. Producers are Beau Flynn, Barry Levine and Ratner; executive producers are Peter Berg, Sarah Aubrey and Jesse Berger.

Johnson is no stranger to Paramount and stars in the studio's upcoming sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The film, co-financed by Paramount and David Ellison's Skydance Productions, opens in theaters March 29. He also stars opposite Mark Wahlberg in Pain and Gain, which opens April 26.

Johnson is also the star of Universal's Fast and Furious 6, which opens in May.

:| :o :neutral:

Narukami

[Narukami]

But Wait -- There's more ...

There is now a competing Hercules film project. This is very normal for Hollywood, which seems to run in cycles. Whenever anyone senses a trend everyone climbs onboard in fear of being left at the station. (When Cameron's Abyss was released so too were Deep Star Six and Leviathan. Likewise, when Oliver Stone announced his plans for a film about Alexander the Great both Baz Luhrmann and Martin Scorsese were also in development on their own films about Alexander. The latter two were cancelled when it became clear that Stone would beat them to the gate.

This new trend of Tinseltown Titans is seemingly due to the success of the Clash/Wrath Of The Titans film series. Harlin promises a harder edge.

"It's not a comic book, cartoony fantasy thing," he added. It's closer to Gladiator than flying horses."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/feb/...-hollywood

Renny Harlin signs up for Hercules movie in return to Hollywood
Harlin has yet to cast his film but will rush into production to beat rival Hercules movie directed by Brett Ratner

Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin is returning to Hollywood film-making, after signing on to direct one of two competing Hercules movies.

Harlin, whose career took a nosedive in the mid-1990s with the infamous Geena Davis box office bomb Cutthroat Island, has been handed a $70m (£44m) budget for Hercules 3D. The film will be fast-tracked into production in an effort to beat a rival Brett Ratner-directed film about the Greek demigod into cinemas.

Ratner's version already has Dwayne Johnson in the lead and is expected to hit the big screen in August 2014. Harlin's take does not yet have a cast but is nevertheless heading to multiplexes five months earlier, with a shoot in Sofia, Bulgaria, as soon as May this year.

"I'm so excited and feel very blessed," said Harlin of his return to big-budget film-making. "I've been working really hard, and it's starting to pay off.

"It's not a comic book, cartoony fantasy thing," he added. It's closer to Gladiator than flying horses."

Of Ratner's competing film, Harlin told the Hollywood Reporter: "These are very different kinds of movies in their approach to this legendary character. Obviously, Hercules has been portrayed in many different films, such as the Disney animated movie. I wish them luck. Ancient Greek mythology is an endless source of good stories ... let's see both movies be successful."

Production company Millennium is confident about its "revisionist" take on Hercules, having been honing a screenplay by Sean Hood and Hanna Weg since 2007.

Competing projects with the same premise are commonplace in Hollywood, though it is rare for both films to make it all the way to production. The existence of two films based on the same character raises the prospect of a box-office battle in 2014, and if Hollywood history is anything to go by, there is likely to be only one winner. Previous celluloid double takes on figures such as Truman Capote and Wyatt Earp have seen one film prosper while the other flounders.

Ratner's Hercules is reportedly based on Steve Moore's 2008 graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars. The comic is set in barbarian Thrace and plays down many of the character's mythological traits to present a more human figure.


What, no Xena ... ?

:wink:

Narukami

[Dan D'Silva]

"The action film is a revisionist take on the classic myth and is set in a world where the supernatural does not exist."

Right. And Herc will have three-day stubble instead of a beard.

... Sorry, I'll just go grind my teeth elsewhere.