John Lee Hancock

Mark Wahlberg in Talks to Produce and Star in John Grisham Adaptation THE PARTNER

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: April 10th, 2012 at 8:30 pm

Mark Wahlberg is in early talks to produce and star in New Regency’s adaptation of the John Grisham novel The Partner.  The legal thriller revolves around “a young partner in a prominent law firm who fakes his own death to steal a fortune from his company before starting a new life in Brazil.”  Wahlberg would board the project with his producing partner Stephen Levinson (Contraband).  John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) was attached to write and direct the adaptation, but Variety hears Hancock is no longer involved with the project.  The studio is now on the search to replace Hancock.

Read a synopsis for The Partner after the jump.

Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson May Star as Walt Disney and P.L. Travers in SAVING MR. BANKS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 9th, 2012 at 5:08 pm

Despite a pretty swell fake poster pitting Ryan Gosling as Walt Disney, it appears Tom Hanks may be the one to portray the legend onscreen.  While we previously heard he was a possibility, Variety now reports that Hanks is officially in talks alongside Emma Thompson to star in the “making-of Mary Poppins” film Saving Mr. Banks.  The pic tells the true story of Disney’s 14-year courtship of Australian author P.L. Travers for the rights to the Mary Poppins character.  Thompson is negotiating to play Travers, who was ultimately displeased with the 1964 feature film adaptation (especially the animated sequences) and even more upset with the way the property was treated by Disney.  Ironically, Disney is the studio that’s putting Saving Mr. Banks together.  Hit the jump for more.

THE BLIND SIDE Director John Lee Hancock to Helm John Grisham Adaptation THE PARTNER

by Matt Currie    Posted: January 27th, 2012 at 4:08 pm

Directing a Best Picture nominee (even one that’s only there because they had a few extra spaces on the ballot) will always be a sizable chip for advancing one’s career. Today comes news that The Blind Side helmer John Lee Hancock is cashing his in to write and direct New Regency’s The Partner.  It’s an adaptation of the 1997 John Grisham novel about a jaded Mississippi lawyer Patrick Lanigan who, after four years on the run, is brought back to the US to answer for a laundry list of crimes including defrauding the government; as his attorney tries to build a defense, the real story of how Patrick faked his own death, stole a bunch of money and stayed one step ahead of the folks you inevitably piss of by faking your own death and stealing lots of money is gradually revealed. Per Deadline, this will be Hancock’s next film, even if he does happen to sign on for Highwaymen, a drama about retired cops tracking down Bonnie and Clyde that he’s been kicking the tires on.

No word yet on when The Partner will be making it to the silver screen, but an ill-conceived NBC TV adaptation is probably being tentatively scheduled for 2032. Hit the jump to read a synopsis for the novel.

THE BLIND SIDE Writer/Director John Lee Hancock Returns to Television with New Crime Drama at ABC

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: September 13th, 2011 at 9:09 pm

Though he’s been dabbling in feature films like The Rookie, The Alamo and most successfully, The Blind Side, writer/director John Lee Hancock previously worked on the small screen with series like Falcone and L.A. Doctors. Now Hancock is poised to return to TV as Deadline reports he will write, direct and executive produce a new untitled crime drama which follows an unorthodox protagonist described as the “Walter Mitty of the crime world.” Does that means he only imagines himself to be a successful criminal, but he’s really a bumbling, average guy? That remains to be seen as those are all the details we have on the new series at this time. ABC picked up the potential series, and we’ll likely hear more about it between now and the next television season in the fall of 2012.

Will Smith Wants Denzel Washington for Katrina Drama THE AMERICAN CAN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 28th, 2011 at 6:52 pm

Will Smith has been working on getting his Hurricane Katrina drama The American Can made for a while now, and it looks like he’s found his star. While Smith originally intended to both produce and star in the film, a schedule conflict with filming M. Night Shyalmalan’s One Thousand A.E. has forced him to take a strictly behind-the-scenes role on the flick. Vulture reports that Smith is now keen on casting Denzel Washington in the lead role.

John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) wrote the script and will direct the film, which tells the true story of a group of residents who were trapped in their apartment complex when the levees broke during Katrina. An ex-Marine named John Keller stayed with the group for days, which included dozens of aged (and white) residents, warding off looters and successfully obtaining much-needed air-dropped food, water, and medical supplies. Washington is currently giving notes on the project, and apparently Smith and Sony will make their casting decision based on his input.

John Lee Hancock to Direct ELECTRIC BOY GENIUS

by Ramses Flores    Posted: November 9th, 2010 at 7:02 pm

John Lee Hancock, who directed last year’s Best Picture nominee The Blind Side, has signed on to helm Electric Boy Genius for Disney.  The film is based on a 2002 GQ article written by Andrew Corsello, which tells the story of Ryan Patterson.  Described by Deadline as a “real life Doogie Howser,” Patterson was already “building robots by the time he was in high school and developing innovations like an electronic sign-language translator.”

In 2001, Patterson won the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which landed him a job working in aerospace robotics for Lockheed Martin. Screenwriter Doug Wright (Quills), who has also won the coveted Pulitzer Prize for his theater work, will write the script.

THE BLIND SIDE Director John Lee Hancock Graduates to College Football with AMC Series THE WRECK

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: June 23rd, 2010 at 10:11 pm

The surprise success of The Blind Side last year ($256 million domestic, y’all!) launched Bullock into a whole new stratosphere, but what about writer/director John Lee Hancock?  Surely he deserves some credit for the elevation of the subject material, anchored securely in the often clichéd inspirational sports genre (especially after he accomplished a similar feat in the 2002 baseball tale The Rookie).  Well AMC, notably fraught with credibility right now, noticed.  The cable network is looking to add the college football series The Wreck to its development slate, with Hancock as executive producer.  More after the jump:

THE BLIND SIDE Blu-ray Review

by Germain Lussier    Posted: April 8th, 2010 at 1:45 pm

What is there to say that hasn’t already been said about The Blind Side? With its surprising $255 million domestic box office gross and best actress Oscar for star Sandra Bullock there’s surely no one who reads this site who needs to be sold on the movie. Whether you love it or hate it, you respect it for what it is: A well-made version of a story worth telling that does nothing extraordinary, but does everything well enough to open itself to a massive audience of women, sports fans and more. The Blu-ray does this blockbuster justice and then some with fantastic and insightful special features. It’s a real treat, even for non-fans. Read more after the jump.

7 Movie Clips from THE BLIND SIDE Starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: November 6th, 2009 at 10:53 am

I’ll admit that when I sat down to watch “The Blind Side” last week, I really didn’t expect much.  I thought it would be a Lifetime movie of the week except on the big screen.  But even though I walked in ready to dismiss the film, I’m forced to say “The Blind Side” was a lot better than I expected and I enjoyed the way it mixed a few different genres together.  What you need to know is, “The Blind Side” is both a football movie and a family values film.  It’s also a bit of a comedy.  When films try and mix genres like this, you almost always end in disaster.  So I have to give credit to director John Lee Hancock (“The Rookie”) for crafting a film that should appeal to both football fans and families.  He even made me feel something for Sandra Bullock.  Trust me, that’s not easy.  Anyway, to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with seven clips and you can watch them after the jump.

For those unfamiliar with the book it’s based on, the film is based on the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home who is taken in by the Touhys (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw), a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhys’ lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.

WB Fall 2009 Preview – New Images from WHITEOUT, NINJA ASSASSIN, THE INVENTION OF LYING, THE INFORMANT!

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 12th, 2009 at 6:18 pm

Warner Bros. has released a preview of their upcoming 2009 movies. In the preview, they’ve got updated synopsis’ along with new images from “Whiteout”, “Ninja Assassin”, “The Invention of Lying”, “The Informant!” and a few others. So if you’d like to see the new images and read what’s coming later this year (it’s a lot of great stuff), it’s all after the jump:

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