Paul Greengrass

Paul Greengrass to Direct FC Barcelona Documentary BARCA

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 17th, 2012 at 8:19 am

Though soccer (or “futbol”) isn’t exactly the most popular sport over here in the States, we all pretend to be huge fans when the World Cup rolls around.  I actually find the sport quite interesting to watch, and now I’m doubly interested seeing as how one of the most talented filmmakers working today is set to tackle the game in a new documentary.  Per 24 Frames, Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) will direct a documentary about the legendary FC Barcelona soccer club.

Titled Barca, the film will chronicle the franchise’s preparation for the 2012-2013 campaign.  FC Barcelona is coming off a title win last year, and the film is expected to focus on the club’s successful run over the last four years.  Hit the jump for more.

Sony Sets March 22, 2013 for Paul Greengrass’ CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Starring Tom Hanks

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 9th, 2011 at 7:57 am

Sony Pictures will release Paul Greengrass‘ Captain Phillips (previously titled Maersk Alabama) on March 22, 2013.  The movie stars Tom Hanks as real life ship captain Richard Phillips who allowed himself to be taken hostage by Somali pirates in exchange for the safety of his crew.  Phillips’ memoir—A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea—recounts his three days as their captive and his dramatic rescue.  Billy Ray wrote the screenplay, and Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti, and Kevin Spacey (the team behind The Social Network) will produce.  While it seemed like this could have been prime awards bait, the March release date makes Captain Phillips look like steady genre fare along the lines of Greengrass’ Green Zone, which was also based on real events.

Captain Phillips currently shares its March 22, 2013 release date with the DreamWorks Animation movie The Croods featuring the voices of Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, and Nicolas Cage.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of A Captain Duty’s.

Paul Greengrass to Executive Produce Fox’s New Untitled CIA Drama Series

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: November 17th, 2011 at 11:46 am

After crafting a successful sci-fi series for TNT in the form of Falling Skies, writer Joe Weisberg now has a new CIA drama series set up through Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox Television with a talent familiar with espionage coming aboard as executive producer. Deadline has word that The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultiamtum director Paul Greengrass will make his first foray into U.S. television as executive producer of the currently untitled series along with Brian Grazer and Weisberg himself. As of now his deal only has him aboard in the producing capacity, but apparently there’s a chance he might also direct the pilot if his schedule allows.

Plot details are limited, but the series is said to be a high-stakes character-based drama centering on the young assistants of high-ranking officers in the U.S. Intelligence community which includes being inside the walls of the CIA, as well as the DIA, NSA, FBI and other various intelligence components at the White House. Sounds like Fox really needs to fill that void left by the end of 24, and this sounds like it has the potential to bring a real action thriller back to the network. Maybe we could get a little Jack Bauer cameo at some point? I doubt it, but you have to dream every now and then.

SCARFACE and UNITED 93 Blu-ray Reviews

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: September 20th, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Brian De Palma’s Scarface is one of the most entertaining bad movies ever made. Overwrought, overacted (by Al Pacino, Michelle Pfieffer and Robert Loggia, among others), overlong, its indulgences make it the definitive 80′s movie par excellence. I kinda love it. Paul Greengrass’s United 93 dramatizes one of the most traumatic episodes in American history. What do they have in common? Violence, and the fact that Universal has issued both on Blu-ray. Check out our reviews for both on Blu-ray after the jump.

Paul Greengrass Eyeing Adaptation of THE FEAR INDEX?

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 25th, 2011 at 12:06 pm

Paul Greengrass needs to get a film going.  Not for him.  He’ll be fine.  For me.  I want to see a new film from him.  He’s been flirting with a variety of projects ever since Green Zone including Fantastic Voyage, Treasure Island, Cleopatra, The Deep Blue Good-By, and Rush.  It looked like the MLK assassination drama Memphis was going to be his next project but Universal got cold feet at the last minute.  From my understanding, it showed Martin Luther King Jr. as a real person instead of saint (I think showing his flaws does the man more credit than trying to gloss over his flaws).  Greengrass was then offered the Somali pirate drama Maersk Alabama starring Tom Hanks but the project seems to have stalled.

Now it looks like he may be circling an adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel The Fear Index.  Harris tells The Telegraph [via The Playlist] that Greengrass is on board to direct the Harris’ script, which is a thriller about an impending meltdown in the financial markets.  Timely!  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel and my thoughts on Greengrass potentially taking the gig.

Ron Howard in Talks to Direct Formula 1 Racing Biopic RUSH

by Jason Barr    Posted: June 21st, 2011 at 5:06 pm

Earlier today Ron Howard seemed pretty optimistic that his Dark Tower adaptation would be coming in at budget and perhaps moving forward in the near future. The director is now throwing all of that optimism into question as Variety reports that he is in early talks to direct the Formula 1 biopic Rush. Written by Frost/Nixon scribe Peter Morgan, Rush focuses on three-time F1 champion Niki Lauda who returned from a fiery crash in 1976 just in time to continue his rivalry with fellow driver James Hunt. Paul Greengrass was interested in heading Rush before taking the helm of Sony’s A Captain’s Duty adaptation.

As for what this means for Howard’s Dark Tower, it’s important to note that the director is still attached to Dark Tower and that his Rush talks are in the very early stages. Given that Dark Tower is a massive undertaking and is moving along slowly/cautiously as a result, it makes sense from a professional standpoint that Howard would dip his toe in other projects while waiting for the go-ahead from Universal. If anything, news of his interest in Rush reaffirms what we already knew: that the Dark Tower series adaptation still has a lot of work to do. That said, if Howard ends up taking on Rush, it should act as evidence that Tower is further away than his recent sentiments may have suggested.

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.

Paul Greengrass Considering MAERSK ALABAMA, RUSH, and a Untitled Project as His Next Film

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 2nd, 2011 at 10:27 am

We need more Paul Greengrass in our lives.  The kinetic energy and thoughtful subtext he brings to his movies is exhilarating and satisfying and he’s been searching for a new project since Green Zone.  He’s circled a remake of Fantastic Voyage, a Cleopatra biopic, and he almost got his MLK assassination drama Memphis off the ground before Universal pulled the plug.  Now he’s searching for new projects and Vulture reports that they’re Maersk Alabama, which is an adaptation of A Captain’s Duty, the racing drama Rush, and an untitled project.

We first reported on A Captain’s Duty in March when is was announced that Tom Hanks would play Richard Phillips, the captain of the cargo ship the Maersk Alabama, who agreed to become the hostage of Somali pirates in exchange for the safety of his crew.  His memoir recounts his three days as their hostage.  Hanks is shooting Cloud Atlas for the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer this summer, and it’s possible that Kathryn Bigelow’s Triple Frontier could still go before cameras this fall if she manages to wrap up Kill Bin Laden.  No one likes waiting (except for Tom Hanks in The Terminal), so Greengrass is also considering other projects.  Hit the jump for more.

Paul Greengrass Pushes MEMPHIS Back, Will Next Direct THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BY?

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 25th, 2011 at 1:45 pm

After Universal crushingly declined to move ahead with Paul Greengrass’ Martin Luther King Jr. flick Memphis, it looks like the director will be shelving the project for at least a year, and is now looking at other projects. The Bourne director had been working feverishly on Memphis alongside producer Scott Rudin (The Social Network), in hopes of releasing the film next February in time for MLK weekend. Universal pulled the plug for “scheduling reasons,” though many have said that the MLK estate put pressure on the studio to halt the project.

While most expected Greengrass and Rudin to look elsewhere for Memphis financing, Deadline reports that the director will put the film on hold for at least a year and is now looking at other projects. Chief among Greengrass’ prospects is an adaptation of John D. MacDonald’s novel The Deep Blue Good-By. Hit the jump for more.

Universal to Make Paul Greengrass’ MLK Assassination Drama MEMPHIS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 23rd, 2011 at 12:06 pm

Last month, we reported that Paul Greengrass (United 93) had written Memphis, a script that’s centered on the days in Memphis, TN leading up to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  It was rumored that producer Scott Rudin (The Social Network) was interested in getting the film to Focus Features, Universal’s art house division.  However, Deadline makes no mention of Focus Features, which is surprising since this could easily be awards fare and Universal rarely does solo work on serious dramas (although they’ve co-produced plenty of high-brow flicks).

More surprising is that Greengrass is getting back together with Universal.  Greengrass was reportedly unhappy with the way they were handling the future of the Bourne franchise and the studio was less than pleased that Green Zone cost a pretty penny and didn’t deliver at the box office.  But Greengrass has delivered hits for Universal in the past and he’s one of the best directors working today.  It’s not crazy to gamble on him, especially when he’s previously done beautiful work when it comes to films based on historical tragedies.  Filming is set to begin in June.

Paul Greengrass Writes MEMPHIS About the Last Days of Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 12th, 2011 at 8:37 pm

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.  I know this, because it was my mother’s birthday, and she wondered which nation’s king had just died.  Director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum) is well aware of the date, because it serves as the climax of what looks to be his next film, Memphis.

Greengrass’ script is set in the middle of King’s visit to Memphis to support the strike of the black sanitation workers.  King was shot on the balcony of his motel room, which incited riots in dozens of cities nationwide.  No formal discussions have begun, but producer Scott Rudin (True Grit) is reportedly interested in setting up Memphis with Greengrass at Focus Features.  Memphis is one of three MLK-related films currently in the works that we know about.

Paul Greengrass Rumored for CLEOPATRA with Angelina Jolie

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 4th, 2011 at 8:30 pm

James Cameron briefly flirted with the idea of directing Cleopatra, a 3D epic with Angelina linked to the title role.  That hypothetical sounds like the biggest production ever, but it was not meant to be.  Later in the month, it was announced Cameron will be tied up for the forseeable future by two Avatar sequels.

That leaves a high profile directing gig open for the rest of Hollywood’s elite.  Producer Scott Rudin (True Grit) revealed that he and Sony Pictures are “pretty close” to landing a director.  He didn’t specify, but sources suggest that Paul Greengrass (Green Zone) is under consideration.  More after the jump:

Matt Damon Talks THE BOURNE LEGACY, CONTAGION, WE BUILT A ZOO, and LIBERACE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 27th, 2010 at 3:20 pm

Universal is moving ahead with the Jason Bourne franchise and they’re doing it without Matt Damon.  As we previously reported, Tony Gilroy will direct The Bourne Legacy from his own script and the movie will be Bourne-less.  While initial reports seemed the show that Damon was miffed at his exclusion, in a recent interview with EW, he explains that he thinks it’s a smart move and it opens the door for a future Bourne movie directed by Paul Greengrass (who helmed The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum).  Said Damon:

As I understand it, Jason Bourne is alive in the world that Tony’s going to create. I don’t appear in it, but it’s very much that world. As far as Paul and I are concerned, as long as there’s room for us to come in and do another one, we’re thrilled.

Hit the jump for more on what Damon had to say regarding his schedule concerning Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and Liberace biopic, and Cameron Crowe’s We Built a Zoo.

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.

Lawrence, Greengrass, Cooper, Berlanti, and Campbell on Shortlist to Direct TALES FROM THE GANGSTER SQUAD

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 6th, 2010 at 9:32 am

Earlier today, we reported that Warner Bros. was offering the director’s chair to Tales from the Gangster Squad to Darren Aronofsky after Ben Affleck decided to pass on the project.  Latino Review is now reporting that Warner Bros. has some other major names lined up should Aronofsky choose to go another way (a way that would most likely involve retractable adamantium claws).  The five other candidates for the gig are Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend), Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum), Scott Cooper, Greg Berlanti (Life As We Know It), and Martin Campbell (Casino Royale).

Latino Review also reports that they’ve read the script for Tales from the Gangster Squad and “it’s all sorts of kickass.”  The story centers on Sgt. John O’ Mara and his off-the-record gang of LAPD officers who attempt to bring down legendary gangster Micky Cohen in the late 1940s.

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