Basil Iwanyk

Harrison Ford Attached to Play Wyatt Earp in BLACK HATS Adaptation

by Jason Barr    Posted: July 23rd, 2011 at 4:10 pm

With one cowboy turn in the bag via Cowboys & Aliens, Harrison Ford is now trading in his brown hat for something a little darker. The star is attached to play iconic outlaw Wyatt Earp in an adaptation of Max Allan Collins’ novel Black Hats: A Novel of Wyatt Earp and Al Capone. Penned under the pseudonym Patrick Culhane, the book is a fictional account in which Earp teams up with his former deputy Bat Masterson to help the son of Doc Holliday who has become tangled up with Al Capone and his gang (whew, that’s a lot of historical names for one sentence).

For more on the project, including a synopsis of Allan’s book, hit the jump.

Jonathan Liebesman to Direct Epic Julius Caesar Film

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 13th, 2011 at 2:22 pm

Warner Bros. has picked up a pitch for an epic Julius Caesar film as a directing vehicle for Battle: Los Angeles director Jonathan Liebesman.  According to Deadline, the film wouldn’t be a biopic as much as a “Patton­-like approach” and would cover Caesar’s Spanish campaign, his formation of the 10th Legion, and the battles that would eventually establish Caesar as ruler of the Roman republic (Rome didn’t become an empire until Augustus, Caesar’s heir, took over following his uncle’s assassination).   The concept is to create a sweeping drama with a major movie star playing Caesar and to leave the door open for a second film that would cover Caesar’s journey to Egypt and his assassination.  Chris Boal will write the script and Liebesman will produce alongside Basil Iwanyk (Clash of the Titans 2).

Liebesman recently wrapped shooting on the Clash of the Titans sequel, which is due out March 30, 2012.  Last year we reported that 17 Again director Burr Steers was working on a Caesar film that would focus on the historical figure’s teenage years.

Sam Worthington Attached to Warner Bros.’ Space War Project

by Jason Barr    Posted: June 6th, 2011 at 4:35 pm

Fans of watching Sam Worthington (Avatar) participate in science-fiction projects with ample action and war overtones will be glad to hear that the actor is attached to star in a “space war” project for Warner Bros. Deadline reports that the studio has acquired preemptive rights to the project pitch with scribe Aaron Guzikowski (Contraband) set to pen the script. The film will reunite Worthington with Clash of the Titans producer Basil Iwanyk who will produce through his Thunder Road label. This is more good news for Guzikowski who recently had director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) take over the reins of his Black List-alum script Prisoners. As for Worthington, moviegoers will have plenty of opportunities to catch the actor in upcoming projects such as the Clash sequel Wrath of the Titans, thrillers Man on a Ledge and The Fields, and F. Gary Gray’s The Last Days of American Crime.

Producer Basil Iwanyk Video Interview THE TOWN; Reveals an Extended Cut is Coming on DVD/Blu-ray

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 15th, 2010 at 4:59 pm

With Ben Affleck’s great movie The Town getting released this weekend, I was able to sit down with producer Basil Iwanyk at TIFF to discuss not only making the film, but how he got into producing.  He explained that he was originally an executive that helped decide what projects got made.  However, upon realizing that he was more interested in making movies, he changed careers.  It’s an interesting story as most would be happy as an executive.

Anyway, during the interview we also discussed the challenges of making The Town, and Iwanyk revealed the editing process on the film was challenging and there are plenty of deleted scenes.  In fact, so much was cut, he revealed we’ll be getting an extended cut on DVD/Blu-ray with 15 to 20 minutes of additional footage.  Also, if you’re a fan of alternate endings, we’ll be getting one of those as well.  Hit the jump for a lot more:

Exclusive: Producer Basil Iwanyk on CLASH OF THE TITANS 2, the Remake of A STAR IS BORN, and THE EXPENDABLES 2

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 12th, 2010 at 7:32 pm

With director Ben Affleck’s The Town premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, I got to sit down with the producer Basil Iwanyk to talk about making The Town and his other projects like Clash of the Titans 2, the remake of A Star is Born, The Seventh Son (with director Sergey Bodrov), and he even gave me an update on The Expendables 2 because he just spoke with Avi Lerner.

The big news about A Star is Born is he thinks in the next 6 to 8 weeks the film might be coming together and they’re aiming to shoot in the first 4 or 5 months of next year.  He also tells me that he’s incredibly happy with the script for Clash of the Titans 2 and that it takes place 5 or 6 years after the first film and it’ll be more realistic – including the depiction of the monsters.  He also reveals Gemma Arterton will be back.

Finally, for people who thought the first Clash of the Titans had some problems…Iwanyk is extremely candid about his thoughts on the first film and why it didn’t completely work.  He also reveals why we’ll never see the full set of deleted scenes.  So much more after the jump:

New Late-Night Wars Miniseries in Development but It’s About Johnny Carson, not Conan O’Brien

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 29th, 2010 at 2:28 pm

Battles over The Tonight Show have been going on for longer than you think.  Most people are aware of the drama that occurred between Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman, which Bill Carter chronicled in his book, The Late Shift.  And we’re all well aware of the more-recent dust-up between NBC, Leno, and Conan O’Brien.  But Deadline reports that producers Kevin J. Cleary and Basil Iwanyk are currently working on a mini-series called The King of Late Night, which centers on “the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding the development of the show and its first three hosts, Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Johnny Carson.” Cleary says the project is “The Rat Pack version of The Late Shift,” and “will draw inspiration from other films made about the 1950s and 1960s TV industry like Quiz Show and Good Night, and Good Luck.”

While I know there are plenty of folks (myself included) who want a Late Shift-style expose about the drama between Conan O’Brien, I think this project could be very cool.  I’m sure we’ll see a chronicle of the Conan-Tonight Show drama, but let’s at least give that story some time to simmer and be properly researched before we’re jumping all the way to a mini-series.

New CLASH OF THE TITANS Movie Posters in High Resolution

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 9th, 2010 at 4:41 pm

Warner Bros. has sent over high resolution versions of all the new Clash of the Titans movie posters that recently hit the net.  Originally scheduled for release on March 26 and in 2D, WB has moved the release date to April 2 and Clash is now going to be a 3D release.  While I have no idea how they were able to get this done so quickly, if they were able to make Clash look cool in 3D, I’m all for it.

As of now, there have been no test screenings of the film, and I don’t know anyone that’s seen the final version.  But I was on the set last year and what I saw looked awesome.  Look for my set report on the 18th – along with interviews with the cast.  Hit the jump to check out the posters in high res:

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