Graham King

HUGO Screenwriter John Logan to Adapt Broadway Hit JERSEY BOYS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 11th, 2012 at 7:48 am

In October 2010, we reported that producer Graham King (The Town) had picked up the feature film rights to adapt the smash Broadway musical Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.  Today, THR reports that screenwriter John Logan will handle the script for the movie.  For those unfamiliar with the Four Seasons, they’re the 60s pop group who brought us songs like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.”  Jersey Boys was a ridiculously massive hit on Broadway, and the musical has grossed over $1 billion since premiered in 2005.

Jersey Boys will re-team Logan and King as the two previously worked together on Hugo, which is likely to earn some Oscar nominations including one for Logan for Best Adapted Screenplay.  Although I had some problems with Hugo, Logan had an undeniably great 2011 career-wise.  He picked up screenwriting credits for Rango and Coriolanus, and he’s got the new James Bond flick, Skyfall, on deck for 2012.  Jersey Boys won’t be his first time adapting a musical; he previously adapted Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Producer Graham King Talks HUGO, the TOMB RAIDER Reboot, JERSEY BOYS, His Freddie Mercury Biopic, THE VAULT, More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: November 28th, 2011 at 5:41 pm

Last week, director Martin Scorsese released his first 3D film, Hugo.  Based on Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret and written by John Logan, the film stars Asa Butterfield as a young boy secretly living in a train station in 1931 Paris.  As he attempts to piece together a puzzle that he’d been working on with his father, the results transform not only Hugo, but everyone he comes in contact with.  The impressive cast also includes Chloe Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sir Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Emily Mortimer, and Michael Stuhlbarg. You can watch a trailer here.

Anyway, last week I got to sit down with producer Graham King for an extended interview. During our wide ranging conversation, we talked about how Hugo came together, how he determines the budget for each production, and how much 3D added to the cost.  In addition, with King involved in so many other projects, I got updates on the Freddie Mercury biopic that he has in development with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Mercury, the Tomb Raider reboot, the Jersey Boys movie adaptation, The Battle of Britain, and The Vault which he’s developing with Johnny Depp‘s production company Infinitum Nihil.  Hit the jump for more.

Producer Graham King Says Sacha Baron Cohen May Sing Queen Songs in Upcoming Freddie Mercury Biopic; Also Talks Adapting JERSEY BOYS

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: November 22nd, 2011 at 8:05 am

With director Marin Scorsese‘s Hugo getting released tomorrow, Steve got the chance to sit down with producer Graham King over the weekend.  That interview produced a Sunday article with updates on the Tomb Raider reboot.  King has several promising projects in the works, though, so today we wanted to pass along what he had to say on two other films set up at his production company GK Films.

The first is the Queen movie, in which Sacha Baron Cohen will play Freddie Mercury.  King suggests Cohen may even sing the classic Queen songs.  Currently, there is no director attached and the script is still in development because King knows with a subject so iconic, “You’ve got to get it right.”  King also talked about his adaptation of the Broadway musical Jersey Boys.  That script is also in development, and while there will be some changes in the translation from stage to screen, the “DNA of the movie is going to be the same.”  Hit the jump for the full interview.

Producer Graham King Provides Update on TOMB RAIDER Reboot; Says It’s More of a “Character Study” and Goes Back to Her Roots

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 20th, 2011 at 1:25 pm

While a reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise has been in the works for quite some time, we hadn’t really heard much about the film until early this year when a 2013 release was targeted.  Iron Man scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby came aboard the project in May.  They stated at the time that their intention was to craft an origin story and solidify Lara Croft as a strong female character in the vein of Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor.

Steve is currently in New York covering press for Martin Scorsese’s Hugo and he sat down with producer Graham King who gave an update on the Tomb Raider reboot.  King said that they just got the script in and they hope to start production next year.  The producer also spoke about the direction and tone of the story they’ve come up with, and even mused on the prospect of bringing Angelina Jolie back in some capacity.  Hit the jump for the full interview.

Graham King’s GK Films Hires Robert Towne to Write THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 4th, 2011 at 3:13 pm

Graham King’s GK Films is planning to make a film about the largest air battle in history. Deadline reports that the studio has tapped Robert Towne (Chinatown) to pen the script for The Battle of Britain. The air fight took place in 1940 over London, when the Royal Air Force took on the German Luftwaffe for control of the British airspace which ultimately prevented the Nazi invasion of Britain. It’s a personal story for King, as his father lived in London at the time and watched the dog fight over the city. Towne is no stranger to action oriented character-centric fare, as he’s also responsible for the scripts for Mission: Impossible and Days of Thunder. The scribe most recently wrote the HBO miniseries Pompeii for Ridley Scott’s Scott Free productions. He’s also writing a pilot for Scott Free/Fox called Compadora and Next of Kin for producers David Fincher, Sam Raimi, and Josh Donen.

Johnny Depp and GK Films Join Forces to Adapt Image Comics’ THE VAULT

by Jason Barr    Posted: August 4th, 2011 at 4:43 pm

Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil label will co-produce an adaptation of the Image comic mini-series The Vault alongside GK Films. The latter acquired film rights to the three-issue property, written by Sam Sarkar and illustrated by Carrie Gastonny, which just debuted last week. While Sarkar and Gastonny’s book may very well be worth the adaptation (I’ve yet to check it out, so I really can’t comment), Heat Vision points out that its acquisition may have been expedited by Sarkar’s place as an executive at Depp’s Infinitum.

In terms of plot, The Vault follows a small team of treasure hunters who, when excavating a legendary treasure pit, unleash an “ancient evil.” Co-producing the film alongside Depp and GK’s Graham King is Infinitum president Christi Dembrowski and Tim Headington of GK. Most recently, GK Films teamed up with Depp on Rango and will release Martin Scorsese’s Hugo on November 23rd via Paramount. The second issue of The Vault is currently slated to hit comic shelves on September 28th.

Don’t Worry, Kubrick Fans, This Isn’t A Remake: GK Films Acquires SPARTACUS Pitch from 300 Co-Writer Michael B. Gordon

by Jason Barr    Posted: July 19th, 2011 at 3:41 pm

Rebel uprising leader Spartacus is heading back to the silver screen courtesy of Graham King and Tim Headington’s GK Films banner. The label has acquired a pitch from 300 co-writer Michael B. Gordon that will introduce the legendary military leader to a new generation of moviegoers more than fifty years after Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus starring Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier. Those suffering from remake fatigue needn’t worry as Variety reports that the film will make a point to avoid replicating the aforementioned Kubrick pic as well as the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Instead, the project will focus on depicting Spartacus in a more historically accurate light via centering on his leading gladiators and slaves in a revolt against the Roman Empire.

In addition to 300 and this most recent work, Gordon also received a story credit on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. As for GK Films, the label is only in its fourth year of existence and already has a number of high-profile pics to its name including The Town, Rango, Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Hugo, and the forthcoming reboots of Tomb Raider and Dark Shadows.

FX Announces PORT ROYAL Drama Series from ALIENS and THE WALKING DEAD Producer Gale Anne Hurd

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: May 24th, 2011 at 11:32 am

Today FX Productions announced an all-new project in collaborations with The Town producer Graham King’s GK-TV and The Walking Dead producer Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment for a new one-hour drama series called Port Royal. Set in the late 17^th century on the island of Jamaica, the series will chronicle the namesake port’s notorious rise as the “richest and wickedest city” in the new world, and as a self-governing safe haven for cutthroat pirates, corrupt politicians, and ruthless merchants. Hurd says, “I’ve long been a fan of FX’s original programming, and I’m thrilled Port Royal has found a home with them. I’m looking forward to working with FX to make the show I’ve envisioned, and one that fits in perfectly with their incredible slate.” No cast, writers and directors have been announced yet, but the concept sounds like it cold be FX’s version of Boardwalk Empire.

IRON MAN Screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby to Write TOMB RAIDER Reboot

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 5th, 2011 at 10:20 am

I’m not in favor of a Tomb Raider reboot.  I’ve never been particularly enamored of the Lara Croft character simply because I think she’s not an icon of ass-kicking female empowerment as much as she’s eye-candy for lonely male gamers.  I’ve said before that simply giving a woman a weapon and having her murder stuff doesn’t automatically equal a strong character.  Hopefully newly-hired screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby can pull the character away from the awful video games (the original 1996 game is still the best one) and terrible movies and give her a worthwhile story.

Hit the jump for what Fergus and Ostby had to say about their plans for the character.

TOMB RAIDER Reboot Scheduled for 2013

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: March 7th, 2011 at 8:35 pm

GK Films has announced the acquisition of the feature film rights to the video game Tomb Raider.  Producers Graham King and Tim Headington have plans to reboot the franchise by Angelina Jolie in 2001′s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; the sequel The Cradle of Life followed in 2003.  The first GK Films Tomb Raider movie is scheduled for a 2013 release.  Heat Vision suggests the new film will be an origin story, so presumably Jolie is not involved with Tomb Raider 2.0.

The original game was published in 1996 and centers on the adventures of British archaeologist Lara Croft.  There are now nine titles (with a tenth on the way), plus a slew of novels, comic books, theme park rides, and of course, the films.  Hit the jump for more background on the Tomb Raider story.

5 Movie Clips and Behind the Scenes Footage from THE TOURIST; Stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 2nd, 2010 at 4:06 pm

With director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Tourist getting released next week, Sony has released 5 movie clips and 4 minutes of behind the scenes footage.  So if you’re curious about the first on screen pairing of Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, these clips should make you very happy.  While the trailers haven’t done much to excite me, I’m still checking this film out opening weekend because like you…I want to see Depp and Jolie on screen together.  Here’s the official synopsis:

Johnny Depp stars as an American tourist whose playful dalliance with a stranger leads to a web of intrigue, romance and danger in The Tourist. During an impromptu trip to Europe to mend a broken heart, Frank (Depp) unexpectedly finds himself in a flirtatious encounter with Elise (Angelina Jolie), an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path. Against the breathtaking backdrop of Paris and Venice, their whirlwind romance quickly evolves as they find themselves unwittingly thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Hit the jump for the clips.  Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Chuck Hogan Scripting Crime Drama About the Winter Hill Gang for Producer Graham King

by Bill Graham    Posted: October 18th, 2010 at 11:08 pm

Chuck Hogan is a busy man these days. His bestselling novel Prince of Thieves was recently adapted into the Charlestown crime drama The Town. Hogan is set to revisit Boston with a crime drama that centers on the Winter Hill Gang and enforcer John Martorano.  Graham King and Tim Headington (The Town) will produce. King is best known for his work with Martin Scorsese, particularly the crime drama that won them a Best Picture Oscar: The Departed. Hit the jump for more details on the film and what Hogan and Guillermo del Toro are working on.

GK Films Picks up Feature Film Rights to Hit Broadway Musical JERSEY BOYS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 6th, 2010 at 2:32 pm

Producer Graham King’s GK Films (The Town) has picked up the feature film rights to the hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys.  The musical tells the true story of 1960s rock-n-roll sensation The Four Seasons.  Deadline reports that the deal was “groundbreaking” and “in the substantial seven-figures”.  Book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice will write the script while King and GK Films partner Tim Headington will produce.  The film will use the music and lyrics of the group’s hits songs which include “Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Rag Doll”, “Oh What a Night” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”.

Jersey Boys picked up four Tony awards (including Best Musical) and has sold over a $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide.  Although the musical debuted in 2005, the screen rights were only made available six weeks ago.  Jersey Boys now joins other high-profile movie musicals in production like Green Day’s American Idiot over at Playtone, and Universal is developing adaptations of Wicked and In the Heights.

Producer Graham King Exclusive Interview: Talks EDGE OF DARKNESS, DARK SHADOWS, and THE TOURIST

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 28th, 2010 at 11:23 pm

While you may not recognize the name Graham King, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen some of the movies he’s produced like The Departed, The Aviator, Traffic, and Blood Diamond.  Also, with over a dozen projects listed in development on IMDb, he’s clearly positioning himself as a producer to follow.

Anyway, since he produced Edge of Darkness (which opens tomorrow), I recently got to sit down with this busy producer and we discussed not only his latest project, but all the other thinsg he has in development like Dark Shadows, The Tourist, Rum Diaries, Rango, LondonBoulevard , The Town, and Mel Gibson’s Viking movie.  Also, since he has such a great relationship with William Monahan, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, I asked how he manages to keep working with them.  It’s a great interview so hit the jump to check it out:

Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Director Martin Campbell and Graham King Interview EDGE OF DARKNESS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 27th, 2010 at 8:23 pm

Opening this Friday is director Martin Campbell’s (Casino Royale) Edge of Darkness.  A GK Films Production based on the BAFTA Award-winning BBC miniseries of the same name (which Campbell directed), Edge of Darkness is about a homicide detective whose daughter is gunned down on his front steps.  When he starts to look into what really happened, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.  The film stars Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic and Shawn Roberts and it’s been written by William Monahan (The Departed) and Andrew Bovell (Lantana), based on the original television series written by Troy Kennedy Martin.

To help promote the film, I recently participated in a press conference with Gibson, Winstone, Director Martin Campbell and Producer Graham King.  If you’re a Mel Gibson fan, you’ll really like this interview as almost all the questions were directed at him.  Gibson talks about everything from making the movie to whether or not he’ll be in Mad Max 4 and his Viking movie.  Hit the jump to read the transcript.

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