Fantastic Voyage

Director Shawn Levy Talks FANTASTIC VOYAGE, FRANKENSTEIN, and Which Project Will Be His “Spring Movie”

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 24th, 2011 at 3:16 pm

Over the past few months, we’ve been reporting on director Shawn Levy’s future projects.  As most of you know, he’s been attached to direct the James Cameron-produced 3D remake of Fantastic Voyage, as well as  a retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written by Max Landis.  What has been unclear is which project would go first.  So when I spoke to him today at the Real Steel press junket, I asked which was going to be his next project.  He said:

“They’re both possibilities.  I’m meeting with actors regarding both movies right now.  I love them both and I want to make them both, but I don’t know if it’s one two or two one.  But I’d say within a month I will be able to tell you with certainty which will be my spring movie.”

He also admitted the possibility exists that another project could happen instead of these two films.  Hit the jump for more.

Shawn Levy May Direct Fox’s FRANKENSTEIN, Could Be Off FANTASTIC VOYAGE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: August 24th, 2011 at 3:13 pm

Just the other day, we reported that director Shawn Levy (Date Night) was growing impatient with his James Cameron-produced 3D remake of Fantastic Voyage, threatening to walk away if he couldn’t get an A-list star (specifically Will Smith) to topline. Well now it looks like he may be done with the project after all, as he’s considering taking the reins of Fox’s Frankenstein. Max Landis (Chronicle) wrote the script for the retelling of Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic, and the studio is eager to get production moving in order to beat the other 12,000 Frankenstein projects currently in development. Hit the jump for more, including a rundown of those other iterations of Frankenstein.

Hugh Jackman May Reteam with Shawn Levy for FANTASTIC VOYAGE Remake

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 3rd, 2011 at 3:15 pm

It looks like Hugh Jackman may be reteaming with his Real Steel director Shawn Levy quite soon. Apparently Jackman is Levy’s first choice to star in his James Cameron-produced 3D remake of Fantastic Voyage. If you missed the 1966 version, the story centers on a group of scientists who shrink themselves in order to enter a colleague’s body and save him from a blood clot. Deadline reports that Jackman and Levy got along “famously” when filming Real Steel, and Jackman now has an opening in his schedule with The Wolverine now scrambling to find a director post-Darren Aronofsky’s departure.

A new draft of the script, by Shane Salerno (Shaft) and Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) is expected soon, with the tone of the film now including a “dramatic love story,” so it sounds like movement on the project is picking up quickly. Jackman isn’t locked into the role yet, and no offer has been made, but it does look like Levy has settled on a favorite. Real Steel is set to hit theaters on October 11^th.

Shawn Levy to Direct 3D Remake of FANTASTIC VOYAGE for James Cameron and Fox

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 7th, 2011 at 8:38 am

Last May, we reported that Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass was circling a 3D remake of the 1966 sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage which would be produced by James Cameron.  Sadly, Greengrass passed on the project and more-sadly, they have now signed Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy to the project. For those unfamiliar with the original, the story centers on a group of scientists who shrink themselves in order to enter a colleague’s body and save him from a blood clot.  The remake was penned by Shane Salerno (Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem) with a polish by Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island).  According to Deadline, the film will be almost exclusively CGI once the scientists enter the body.

Hit the jump for more on Levy’s hiring and other projects he has in the pipeline.

AVATAR Executive Producer Laeta Kalogridis Reunites with James Cameron to Rewrite FANTASTIC VOYAGE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 22nd, 2010 at 9:30 am

In the latest “movies about people being miniaturized and sent into another human being’s body through a tiny submarine” news, Laeta Kalogridis, who helped out on the script for James Cameron’s Avatar, has been hired to rewrite the script for the Fantastic Voyage remake.  Cameron is producing the film, which is a remake of the 1966 sci-fi flick. Heat Vision reports that Kalogridis, who wrote the fantastic Shutter Island, as well as the less than fantastic Alexander, will be joining Shane Salerno (the Shaft remake) and Cormac and Marianne Wibberly (the National Treasure films) on a growing list of writers who have attempted to tackle this script.

The original Voyage centers on a group of scientists who are shrunk down to miniscule size and sent inside the body of another scientist in order to save his life.  As we previously reported, Paul Greengrass (the last two Bourne films) considered directing for a while, but eventually dropped out.  Currently, the film is without a director.  For more on the project, hit the jump.

BOURNE Director Paul Greengrass Won’t Take a FANTASTIC VOYAGE, But May Visit TREASURE ISLAND

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 19th, 2010 at 8:26 pm

Apparently the talk that Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass was ready to board James Cameron’s production of Fantastic Voyage was a bit premature.  Greengrass was in talks to direct the remake of the 1966 film about a group of shrunken scientists who explored the human body, and is in fact the only director to have seen Shane Salerno’s script, but a deal was never finalized.  Even though there were questions about how Greengrass’s shaky-cam style would suit the sci-fi tentpole, it was an interesting combination of auteur and concept, so it’s too bad things didn’t work out.  It coulda been one of the good ones (whatever that means).

It appears Greengrass may have left the high profile project for greener pastures, though, as he is in talks to direct an upcoming adaptation of Treasure Island from Sherlock Holmes producer Lionel Wigram.  Details after the jump:

Director Paul Greengrass May Take a Trip on a FANTASTIC VOYAGE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 31st, 2010 at 9:00 pm

Director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone) is in talks to helm his first sci-fi feature with the remake of the 1966 flick Fantastic Voyage.  After swearing off a fourth Bourne film, Heat Vision reports that the filmmaker is in discussions with 20^th Century Fox to direct the picture, which, as we reported last December, would be produced by James Cameron.

For those unfamiliar with the original film, it’s about a group of scientists who shrink themselves, and take a submarine inside a defecting Soviet scientist so they can remove a blood clot from his brain before it kills him.  Heat Vision says that the remake will stay close to the original minus the Cold War stuff and with snazzier effects and 3D.  To this part of this story, let us all say together as one voice: “Well, duh.”

Hit the jump for my two cents on Greengrass and Fantastic Voyage.

James Cameron on AVATAR Sequels, FANTASTIC VOYAGE and BATTLE ANGEL

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 11th, 2009 at 7:31 am

At this afternoon’s press conference for Avatar in London, James Cameron talked about a sequel for Avatar, what’s up with Fantastic Voyage, and answered if Battle Angel was going to be his next project.

The quick info is…he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next.  Depending on how successful Avatar is will determine what project he does next, with Battle Angel still in the running. But he did say when asked about a sequel to Avatar, “I have it mapped out, but I haven’t written the scripts yet.”

The other bit of news is regarding Fantastic Voyage (which we covered yesterday).  When asked if it was a reboot/remake or original story, Cameron said, “It’s quite different…but it’s got enough of the original story that you still recognize it.”

Hit the jump for everything he said:

James Cameron’s Future Sci-Fi Project Is a Remake of FANTASTIC VOYAGE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 10th, 2009 at 3:40 pm

Yesterday, Production Weekly had an interesting news item that James Cameron would be developing a “futuristic sci-fi ‘event’ movie” working from a script by Shane Salerno (Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem), which led to the speculation that it may be a movie called THR reported on last year called Doomsday Protocol.  However, MTV Movies Blog sat down with Cameron and asked him about this mystery project and it turns out that Cameron is production (not directing) a remake of the 1966 sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage.

For those who don’t know, Voyage is about a group of scientists who are shrunken down to miniature size in order to save a nearly-assassinated diplomat by using a very, very, very tiny submarine to travel to the diplomat’s brain and stop a clot from killing him.  The remake would be in 3D like Cameron’s Avatar, which hits theaters in eight days.  Since it was screened today for pretty much every critic out there, opinions are already exploding all over Twitter despite an embargo so strict that I can neither confirm nor deny that the movie actually exists.

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