Mark Steven Johnson

Robert De Niro and John Travolta to Star in Actioner KILLING SEASON

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 29th, 2011 at 2:57 pm

Robert De Niro and John Travolta are set to team up for the action pic Killing Season. Daredevil director Mark Steven Johnson is set to helm the Appalachian Mountains-set film. The story centers on an American military veteran (De Niro) living in a remote cabin in the woods who is visited by a European tourist (Travolta). The two strike up an unlikely friendship and all goes well until the veteran realizes that the tourist is in fact a Serbian soldier bent on revenge. The film will see the two go toe-to-toe across the grueling Appalachian mountain landscape. The plot reminds me a bit of the 1997 pic The Edge, which had Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin facing off in the woods.

The script comes from Evan Daugherty, who also wrote Snow White and the Huntsman. De Niro recently signed on to star in The Comedian alongside Kristen Wiig for director Sean Penn. Production on Killing Season begins January 16th. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

GHOST RIDER Director Mark Steven Johnson Attached to Helm AUTOBAHN for Inferno Entertainment

by Jason Barr    Posted: August 3rd, 2011 at 5:19 pm

Director Mark Steven Johnson (Ghost Rider) is attached to helm an action project entitled Autobahn for Inferno Entertainment. Penned by Greg Russo, Autobahn centers on an ex-Formula One driver who finds himself trapped in a BMW on the side of Germany’s “name your own speed” road of the same name. As the story goes, the driver is informed (via a strategically placed cellular device) that he is to wheel the bomb-strapped car to its intended audience at the risk of losing his wife and daughter. Based upon this description, I can’t help but think that Autobahn is best summed up as the “Buried for people who are aroused by cars.”

The project was previously entitled I-95 but, according to Heat Vision, has seen its setting (from the U.S. to Germany) and title changed so as to appease an ever-important international audience. Per the report, Inferno is hoping to cast the film’s lead prior to the American Film Market which takes place this November. The production company is also housing Brad Pitt’s Cogan’s Trade. As for Johnson, Autobahn will be his first directorial effort since 2010′s dud romantic-comedy When in Rome. Russo currently has his action script Black Ice set up at Alloy Entertainment and is rewriting the actioner Heatseekers for Platinum Dunes.

Director Peter Segal Gets into the Ring with GRUDGE MATCH

by Tommy Cook    Posted: October 26th, 2010 at 2:07 pm

Nothing brings more joy to my heart than the thought of old people fighting one another. Their withered, crumpled flesh sagging as their arms stretch out in attempt to meet the decrepit face of their antagonist. Sheer bliss. So the news, via Deadline, that Peter Segal (Get Smart) has been tapped to helm such a feature — titled Grudge Match– may be the single greatest thing to happen in the film industry since Lee Marvin’s mere existence.

The film, written by Tim Kelleher, focuses on the renewed rivalry between two fighters 50 years after they faced off against one another in the boxing ring. Rumors have circulated that producers Billy Gerber and Mark Steven Johnson are attempting to attach Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone as the elder rivals in question. However I feel the two are just not quite old enough for the parts. How about Ernest Borgnine (fresh off Red) vs. Clint Eastwood or Gene Hackman or Sean Connery (if that is you could convince any of the latter three actors to un-retire). To be fair I don’t care who Ernest Borgnine faces off against – as long as Borgnine is doing some of the fighting.

David Scarpa is Writing DAREDEVIL Reboot at Fox

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 5th, 2010 at 8:18 pm

The Hero Complex is reporting David Scarpa (The Day the Earth Stood Still) has been hired to write the reboot of Daredevil at the 20th Century Fox affiliated production company New Regency.  While rumors of Fox wanting to reboot Daredevil were online last year, this is the first news about anyone being hired.  While I’d love to say I’m excited by this hiring…I’m not.  More after the jump:

Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel Interview WHEN IN ROME

by Sheila Roberts    Posted: January 27th, 2010 at 7:49 pm

Who says all is fair in love and Rome? Kristen Bell stars in director Mark Steven Johnson’s new romcom, When in Rome, as an ambitious young New Yorker disillusioned with romance. On a whirlwind trip to Rome to attend her sister’s wedding and after one too many glasses of champagne, she ends up wading through a fountain of love, gathering coins left there by people who wished for love.

Funny men Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Dax Shepard and Danny Devito play a street magician, an adoring painter, a narcissistic model, and a sausage magnate who chase after her heart when their passion is inexplicably ignited by her gesture. But when a charming reporter (Josh Duhamel) shows up to compete for her romantic attention, she starts to wonder if his love might just be the real thing.

We sat down with Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel to talk about their new movie, When in Rome. After the jump you can read what they had to tell us about their characters, the perils of physical comedy, and how they went about capturing the right rhythm for a romantic relationship. Kristen also updated us on the status of Veronica Mars:

Exclusive GHOST RIDER 2 Update from Producer Mike De Luca; Sequel Title May Be GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 7th, 2010 at 8:39 pm

A few weeks ago I posted something called “7 Days with Producer Dan Lin“.  The reason for the title was we discussed so many different projects, it took seven days to post them all.  Thankfully, the interview went over extremely well, and now it’s time for a new “7 Days” column and this one is with producer Mike De Luca.

As you can tell by looking over his resume, De Luca has produced over 50 films and he’s got tons of projects in development. While I’ll be posting updates on Metal Gear Solid, Butter, Fright Night, Dracula Year Zero and tons of other things in the coming days, tonight is all about Ghost Rider 2.

For those who don’t know, the sequel to Ghost Rider is moving ahead full steam with a script by David Goyer.  According to De Luca, “We have an outline that David wrote that kind of adapts his 2001 script into today’s times with incorporating kind of an original idea of Nic’s.”

We talked about whether or not Mark Steven Johnson will be back directing and if Eva Mendes would return as Roxanne Simpson.  Oh, and he told me the tentative title is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.  So much more after the jump:

GHOST RIDER 2 Moves Ahead With David Goyer

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm

While many, myself included, were let down with director Mark Steven Johnson’s “Ghost Rider” movie, the film made almost $240 million at the worldwide box office, almost doubling its production budget. So it’s no surprise Sony would want to make a sequel. Also, the superhero genre shows no signs of slowing down, and since Sony owns the rights to “Ghost Rider” as long as they keep making movies, it’s in their best interest to keep the franchise alive. And that’s what they’re going to do, as the studio is in early talks to have David Goyer create the story for the sequel and supervise whoever is going to actually write the script. More after the jump:

WHEN IN ROME Trailer – Starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 14th, 2009 at 8:13 pm

The first trailer for director Mark Steven Johnson’s “When in Rome” has been released and it’s after the jump. The film stars Kristen Bell and it’s a romantic comedy that mixes in the magic angle. Unfortunately, based on the trailer, they didn’t use enough magic as I didn’t find anything funny or romantic. See for yourself after the jump:

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