Billy Ray

Rob Marshall to Direct Steven Sondheim’s INTO THE WOODS for Disney; Gives Brief Update on PIRATES 5

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 10th, 2012 at 6:05 pm

Director Rob Marshall is heading back to musicals. After helming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Marshall signed on to direct a remake of the 1934 film The Thin Man with Johnny Depp attached to star, and now he’s set to reteam with Disney on a feature film version of Stephen Sondheim’s fairy tale-themed musical Into the Woods. Marshall got his start as a choreographer before bursting onto the scene with 2002’s Oscar-winning movie musical Chicago, and now he’s poised to return to the world of song and dance. Hit the jump for more.

Billy Ray Adapting THE THIN MAN for Johnny Depp and Director Rob Marshall

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: October 6th, 2011 at 7:39 pm

When it comes to writing a hard-boiled detective story, few are better than Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon). As for adapting those stories to the screen, few do it as expertly as Billy Ray (State of Play). Ray has been tapped to pen the current Warner Bros. adaptation of Hammett’s novel The Thin Man, starring Johnny Depp as Nick Charles, a retired private eye who maintains his drinking habit. Although Jerry Stahl (Bad Boys II) and David Koepp (Spider-Man) were initially on board for the script, director Rob Marshall decided to go in another direction and Ray landed the job. Personally, I think Marshall made the right choice.

The Thin Man is more of a light-hearted murder mystery than Hammett’s other works, as the plot revolves around a married couple solving crimes while bantering back and forth. Though Depp can easily portray a wise-cracking, alcoholic, the equally witty and thrill-seeking Nora Charles has yet to be cast. The success of The Thin Man, in my opinion, balances on that chemistry. Hit the jump for more.

J.J. Abrams and Screenwriter Billy Ray Team Up for Mystery Adventure Project

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 3rd, 2011 at 12:02 pm

J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Billy Ray (State of Play) are teaming up for an untitled mystery adventure film set up at Paramount Pictures.  Deadline says Abrams and Ray pitched it together. That’s all we know and given Abrams’ fetishistic love of secrecy surrounding his projects and mysteries in general (he guest-edited the May 2009 issue of Wired and filled it with riddles), that’s probably all we’ll know up until a few months before the movie’s release where just about everything will be spoiled by advertising.  To his credit, Abrams was able to keep the monster in Super 8 under wraps even though the monster’s appearance bears almost no bearing on the story.

Ray continues to keep busy.  He’s working on the script for the 24 movie, the awful-sounding Channing Tatum Peter Pan prequel, the adaptation of Captain Richard Phillips’ memoir A Captain’s Duty starring Tom Hanks, and the remake of the Argentinean film The Secret in Their Eyes.

Denzel Washington Offered Lead in Warner Bros. Remake of THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: September 15th, 2011 at 12:21 pm

Denzel Washington has apparently been offered the lead role in Billy Ray’s remake of the Oscar winning 2009 Argentinian film The Secret in Their Eyes. Twitch reports that they’ve learned that the part has been offered to the thesp. The project is set up at Warner Bros, and is set to be written and directed by Billy Ray (Breach). The original film centered on a retired legal counselor who decides to write a novel in hopes of providing closure to one of his past unresolved homicide cases, as well as his unrequited love for his superior.

It’s important to note that actors are offered roles every day, so this news by no means affirms that Washington will take on the part. The actor is currently gearing up to star in director Robert Zemeckis’ return to live-action, the drama Flight. Washington will play a commercial airline pilot who’s heralded as a hero after piloting a damaged flight to safety. His newfound fame comes under scrutiny when an investigation is launched to determine whether or not he had been drinking before the flight. Production begins next month in Atlanta.

Paul Greengrass Offered MAERSK ALABAMA Starring Tom Hanks

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 8th, 2011 at 1:46 pm

Last week, we reported that Paul Greengrass was considering three projects as his next film: the Somali pirate drama Maersk Alabama, the racing biopic Rush, and an unknown third project.  Now it looks like Maersk Alabama is the frontrunner as Deadline reports that Sony has offered the film to Greengrass and talks are about to begin between the two parties.  Deadline adds that the film won’t be an impediment to Greengrass’ delayed MLK assassination drama Memphis and that Maersk will likely be the director’s next film.

The story is based Captain Richard Phillips’ memoir A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea which recounts his three days as a Somali pirate hostage and the dramatic rescue from a team of Navy SEALs.  Tom Hanks is attached to play Phillips; Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti, and Kevin Spacey are producing, and Billy Ray (State of Play) wrote the script.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the memoir.

Tom Hanks to Play Captain Richard Phillips in Somali Pirate Drama

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 15th, 2011 at 1:52 pm

Tom Hanks has signed on to star in Sony Pictures’ adaptation of Richard Phillips’ memoir A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea.  Hanks would play Phillips, a captain of a cargo ship who gave himself over to Somali pirates in exchange for the safety of his crew.  Phillips was hostage to the pirates for three days and was eventually saved by Navy SEALs who killed three of his captors and left another in custody.  We reported back in 2009 that screenwriter Billy Ray (State of Play) was working on the script and Deadline reports that Hanks sparked to the latest draft.  The producing team behind The Social Network (Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti, and Kevin Spacey) will produce the adaptation of A Captain’s Duty.

Hit the jump for a synopsis of the memoir and other projects on Hanks’ schedule.

Sony Pictures Pays Big Bucks for PAN Starring Channing Tatum

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 7th, 2011 at 1:37 pm

Every piece of classic literature is getting a reboot these days and it was foolish to think Peter Pan would buck the trend.  Last week, a pitch went out for a package called “Peter Pan Begins” with Channing Tatum attached to star, screenwriter Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) writing the script, and Joe Roth (Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland) producing.  Because audiences must know Peter Pan’s origin story, the pitch ignited a bidding war and Heat Vision reports that Sony Pictures came out on top to the tune of about $1 million.

We still don’t know much about the pitch, which is now titled “Pan” (so there goes the title for my Spanish-language drama about satyrs who bake bread), but HV says that the prequel envisions Peter Pan and Captain Hook as brothers.  Let me guess: Hook is jealous that Peter got to stay a kid.  Wonderful.

PETER PAN BEGINS Pitch Makes its Way Around Town with Channing Tatum Set to Star

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 1st, 2011 at 4:33 pm

In keeping with the current trend of mining classic fairy tales/stories for “fresh take” remakes, a pitch package is making the rounds called Peter Pan Begins. The package includes Channing Tatum attached to star, with Billy Ray (Breach, Shattered Glass) tapped to write the screenplay and Joe Roth producing. Roth has been a staple in the “classics update” trend lately, as he has both Oz, the Great and Powerful and Snow White and the Huntsman currently in development. Details on Peter Pan Begins are scarce, but one can assume that Tatum would be donning the Pan tights.

Heat Vision’s report on the matter doesn’t reveal more than the title and the parties involved, so at this point no one really knows what the movie is about. It’s a bit hard to picture Tatum taking on the role of Peter Pan, given that Pan is a young boy and “Begins” implies this could be a prequel of sorts to the J.M. Barrie tale. Or maybe they’re going for a gritty version of Pan, a la Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (adding “begins” to the title of a movie automatically makes it gritty). Either way, the whole project sounds a bit strange. Maybe the whole thing will make more sense once the plot is revealed. Until then, speculate away.

Fox Passes on 24 Movie Script

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 1st, 2011 at 11:05 am

20th Century Fox Television has axed Billy Ray’s (State of Play) 24 film script.  While this probably means Mr. Jack Bauer won’t be gracing the silver-screen in the immediate future, according to executive producer (of the series and, purportedly, the film adaptation) Howard Gordon, the film is by no means dead:

“As far as I know, it is in suspended animation.  There is talk about re-approaching it.  I understand (director/producer) Tony Scott is meeting with Kiefer to talk about ideas. People are still talking about it.”

To read more from Gordon and for a reminder on what Kiefer Sutherland has to say about the 24 film, hit the jump.

Gary Ross to Direct THE HUNGER GAMES; Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray Writing the Screenplay

by Ramses Flores    Posted: November 4th, 2010 at 5:18 pm

He was already in talks to direct the film, but Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit) is now confirmed as the director for the upcoming adaptation of The Hunger Games.  The novel – written by Suzanne Collins – is the first book in a trilogy which takes place in a post-apocalyptic future and centers on heroine

“Katniss Everdeen, an enterprising 16-year old from a poor territory that was once Appalachia, who becomes a teen gladiator in a reality show event that is a battle to the death against other teens from the 12 districts that make up what is left of the USA, which is run by a cruel totalitarian government.”

Variety is also now reporting that Collins will be adapting her own book for the screen, while Billy Ray (Breach) has been brought in to polish the screenplay. Lionsgate has high hopes for The Hunger Games.  The studio is hoping to create the next Twilight with the series due to its popularity and shared demographic.  You can hit the jump to read the official plot synopsis for The Hunger Games.

Billy Ray Writing/Directing Remake of Oscar Winner THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: October 6th, 2010 at 8:57 pm

Heading into this year’s Oscar telecast, no one could be sure which movie would walk away with Best Foreign Language Film honors.  It was a tossup between France’s A Prophet and Germany’s The White Ribbon.  Then The Secret in Their Eyes won, becoming only the second Latin American film to do so in the award’s 62-year history.

Warner Bros. is now spearheading an English-language remake of the Argentine film, with Billy Ray (Breach) writing and directing.  Hit the jump to hear Ray explain his approach to the material, in which he cites the work of Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain) and Alan Pakula (All the President’s Men).

GEARS OF WAR Adaptation Missing A Few Cogs, Being Scaled Back

by Bill Graham    Posted: April 6th, 2010 at 12:47 pm

Video game film adaptations have a knack for spinning their wheels. Even sprawling and successful adventures like Bioshock and Halo, which seem ripe for a cinematic retelling, get bogged down in production hell despite having enormous talent attached. The latest large-scale video game adaptation to stall is New Line’s Gears of War, which, according to the LA Times, may be in search for a new director and writer, while also dropping off a hefty budget and its lofty scale.

Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld franchise), who is still attached to direct the project, has been attached to another film called Nocturne, which is set up at Fox. That film, penned by Red Dawn writers Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore, is described as an apocalyptic thriller and will be garnering Wiseman’s attention, leaving his role in Gears up in the air. Additionally, New Line is looking for a new writer as they are scaling back the epic nature of the film that screenwriter Chris Morgan (Wanted) had provided, with character touches by Billy Ray (State of Play).

For what all of this news means, and what the future holds for Gears of War, hit the jump.

24 Movie Might be Happening as Fox Has Hired Billy Ray (State of Play) to Write Feature Film Script

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 9th, 2010 at 8:54 am

24 might be heading to movie theaters, as Twentieth Century Fox has hired Billy Ray (State of Play, Breach, Shattered Glass) to write the script for the feature version.  According to Variety, Ray pitched taking Jack Bauer to Europe, and his take met with enthusiasm with Fox execs and producers of the television series.

For a long time Kiefer Sutherland has talked about making a 24 feature film, as a year ago he told me the movie “would lose the real time aspect, which would be a huge freedom for the writers.” He went on to say the film “would be a two hour representation of a twenty-four hour day.”

More after the jump:

Director Duncan Jones Cracks THE SOURCE CODE with Jake Gyllenhaal; Jones Also Puts MOON Props and Costumes Up for Auction

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 8th, 2009 at 7:12 pm

For the moment, it looks like “Moon” writer-director Duncan Jones is hitting the pause button on development for his upcoming film, “Mute”.  The film is currently struggling through the financial phase because it’s going to be a sci-fi film with a higher budget than the critically acclaimed “Moon” and since it’s an original idea that may not appeal to every single demographic, “Mute” is in a holding pattern.  Thankfully, we won’t have to wait for Jones to make a return to directing as he’s signed on to helm “The Source Code” written by Ben Ripley, revisions by Billy Ray, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

In addition to this great news, Jones has announced that he will auction off around 70 items from “Moon” starting tomorrow at noon Eastern/9am Pacific.  Hit the jump for details on both endeavors.

Billy Ray Writing Columbia Pictures’ Somali Pirate Pic

by Ramses Flores    Posted: October 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 pm

Do you remember that crazy pirate thing that happened earlier this year? Well, just in case if you forgot about how truly crazy that news story was, Columbia Pictures is now aiming to bring it to the big screen as they’ve hired writer Billy Ray (“Breach”, “State of Play”) to write the screenplay, which will tell the story of Captain Richard Phillips.  More after the jump.

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