Steven Spielberg

Shawn Levy to Direct Adventure Novel Series Adaptation THE 39 CLUES for DreamWorks

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 10th, 2012 at 5:26 pm

The adaptation of adventures novel series The 39 Clues is now in the hands of director Shawn Levy (Real Steel).  The feature rights to the on-going 15-volume series were acquired by DreamWorks as a project originally intended for Steven Spielberg. When that didn’t pan out, Brett Ratner stepped in to direct with Spielberg staying on as a producer, but that must have fallen through as well.  That’s good news for the series, in my humble opinion, as DreamWorks is envisioning The 39 Clues as a family-friendly, action/adventure film franchise.  Levy already brings experience in that realm, citing the Night at the Museum films.  Then again, Levy is attached to damn near everything at the moment, including the Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson team-up comedy, Interns, which shoots this summer.  After that, who knows.  Hit the jump for more on Levy and The 39 Clues.

New SNL Digital Short for LASER CATS Goes Full-On Spielberg

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 15th, 2012 at 8:24 pm

The popular SNL Digital Short series Laser Cats got a new installment last night featuring none other than the legendary Steven Spielberg.  And with the Spielberg touch, just about everything in the short parodied the director’s most popular movies, or at least his popular popcorn movies.  Don’t expect to see any Saving Private Ryan or Schindler’s List references floating around.  Even though you won’t see anyone shouting “Give Us Us Free!” it’s nice that Spielberg decided to drop by and join in the Laser Cats fun even though he wasn’t promoting an upcoming movie or TV series.

Hit the jump to check out the short, which also stars Laser Cats regulars Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels.

Universal Confirms Digitally Remastered JAWS Coming to Blu-ray August 14; Watch Steven Spielberg Talk About the Restoration

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 10th, 2012 at 5:40 am

Though the rumors have been swirling about the release for the past few months, Universal has officially announced that a digitally remastered and fully restored Jaws will be coming to Blu-ray on August 14th in honor of Universal’s 100th anniversary celebration.  I’m beyond thrilled to own Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece on Blu-ray later this summer, and the deal is sweetened by some truly fantastic special features.  The Blu-ray combo pack comes with the DVD, digital copy, Ultraviolet, and over four hours of bonus features including the long-delayed feature-length documentary The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of JAWS.

Other special features include an in-depth look at the restoration process, a two-hour documentary called The Making of JAWS, deleted scenes, outtakes, storyboards, production photos, and more.  Basically, this set is a must-have for any and all cinephiles.  Hit the jump to watch a trailer for the Blu-ray and you can also see a cool eight minute video showing the extensive process that went into restoring the film.

WAR HORSE Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: April 5th, 2012 at 5:35 am

Steven Spielberg had two movies come out within days of each other at the end of 2011, and it’s weird how neither got the attention they deserved. War Horse was the best picture-nominated of the two, but the film made less than $80 Million at the box office. It deserved better, and now the film is on Blu-ray to be discovered. Jeremy Irvine stars alongside a horse in an episodic film about how his equine pal Joey goes through World War I. Our review of War Horse on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Netflix’s Plan to Revive TERRA NOVA Goes Extinct

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: March 26th, 2012 at 7:28 pm

After Fox officially canceled Terra Nova at the end of its first and only season, fans of the prehistoric sci-fi adventure series got a brief glimmer of hope when it was announced that Netflix had an interest in picking the show up for new episodes (at an obviously reduced cost). Well, I’m here to dash your hopes in meteoric fashion as word has it that talks have fallen through between Netflix and 20th Century Fox Television. THR reports that neither side was able to come to terms on salvaging the series. Although it carried a bloated production budget and never produced the necessary number of viewers, I was intrigued by Terra Nova’s premise even more so than its visual marvels. Netflix continues to be aggressive with its series pickups, notably Eli Roth’s horror series, Hemlock Grove; new episodes of the fantastic comedy series, Arrested Development; and David Fincher’s House of Cards, a drama starring Kevin Spacey.

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: March 24th, 2012 at 5:51 am

When The Adventures of Tintin came to America, there was a sense that it was almost an obligatory release. Even though it came from director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson – and from writers Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish – Herge’s Tintin has long been an international phenomenon that never made much of an impression on Americans. The film did okay in a busy season, but it feels like that should be way more celebrated. Tintin is Spielberg doing Indiana Jones in a way he never could before, and in doing so makes Crystal Skull look that much worse. This is Spielberg – one of the finest action directors in cinema history – unbridled. This is Spielberg not having to worry about cranes, or stuntman’s lives, or even editing. And for that The Adventures of Tintin is massively entertaining. Starring Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Tintin is one of 2011’s most undervalued movies, and our review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

NBC Renews SMASH for a Second Season

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: March 22nd, 2012 at 12:27 pm

Look out Glee! NBC’s gamble on their more mature, and far superior musical series Smash from producer Steven Spielberg seems to have paid off. The network has just revealed that the Broadway centric drama series has been given an order for a second season as it’s currently NBC’s top drama amongst the all-important 18-49 demographic. With Glee waning in its presentation nearly every single episode, I’ve found myself absolutely enthralled with this new series, currently focusing on the development of a Marilyn Monroe based musical and a great competition between Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty for stardom.

While the cover songs in the series may not be as fun or catchy as those on Glee, it’s the original songs from the musical in progress that really keep my attention. Frankly, I couldn’t be more excited to hear that NBC is sticking with the series for at least one more season and I can’t wait to see where it goes. Now if we could only get some more attention to NBC’s other mind-blowing drama Awake, then I’d be the happiest viewer in all the land. Hit the jump for the full press release.

JURASSIC PARK 3D Re-Release Set for July 19, 2013

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 15th, 2012 at 3:43 pm

Since 3D re-releases seem to be all the rage these days (thanks to The Lion King), we’ll soon get the opportunity to re-watch some fan favorites in theaters. Disney has a full slate of 3D re-releases planned, including Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid, and now comes word that dinosaurs will once again terrorize movie theaters, though this time it’ll be in three dimensions. Variety’s Jeff Sneider reports that Jurassic Park is set for a 3D re-release on July 19th, 2013. That weekend is currently only home to the DreamWorks Animation film Turbo, but it’s also a couple weeks after Steven Spielberg’s Robopocalypse hits theaters.

Steve (the Collider one) spoke with producer Kathleen Kennedy about the possible 3D re-release of Jurassic Park back in December. At the time she said they only wanted to do the 3D conversion if they could do it right, with Kennedy clarifying that that means Spielberg and director of photography Janusz Kaminski would be sitting down and evaluating the film frame-by-frame. Hit the jump to see what else she had to say about Jurassic Park’s 3D conversion.

Steven Spielberg Provides TINTIN Sequel Update; Confirms Plan is for Peter Jackson to Film Motion-Capture After THE HOBBIT

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 14th, 2012 at 1:02 pm

While it didn’t necessarily break box office records here in the US, The Adventures of Tintin was a massive success across the globe. This wasn’t exactly a shock, as international audiences are incredibly familiar with Herge’s source material whereas many in the US were befuddled by this “Tintin” character. Given the film’s box office haul, a sequel is now actively in the works. The plan is for Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson to swap roles this time around, with Jackson directing and Spielberg producing. Spielberg recently provided a brief status update on the sequel, confirming that the plan is for Jackson to shoot the follow-up this summer after he finishes photography on The Hobbit. Hit the jump for more.

Oren Peli Talks THE RIVER; Premieres Tonight on ABC

by Christina Radish    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 9:36 am

ABC’s intensely scary paranormal thriller The River follows the story of world famous wildlife expert and TV personality Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), host of the beloved series “The Undiscovered Country.” After Cole goes missing deep in the Amazon, his wife, Tess (Leslie Hope), and estranged son, Lincoln (Joe Anderson), decide to lead a rescue mission deep into the unexplored reaches of the Amazon River, where nature is cruel, magic is real and nothing is what it seems.

While at the TCA Winter Press Tour, executive producer Oren Peli (creator of Paranormal Activity) talked about how he ended up developing an idea for a TV show, the extent of Steven Spielberg’s involvement, the challenges of telling a season’s worth of story in only eight episodes, doing the episodes with a scare-of-the-week while also advancing the overall mystery, trying to create moments where you don’t know what’s going to happen because it’s the unexpected that’s scary, and that even though no one is safe, characters won’t be killed off just for the sake of killing them off. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Steven Spielberg Near a Deal to Direct “Gritty” Moses Epic GODS AND KINGS in Spring 2013

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 25th, 2012 at 7:27 pm

Warner Bros. and producers Dan Lin and Matti Leshem are developing a Moses epic by the title of Gods and Kings.  They reached out to Steven Spielberg to direct last fall, but the odds seemed low since the man is already juggling so many projects.  Yet Spielberg entered into negotiations with the studio before year’s end.  Now word comes that Spielberg is very close to signing on the dotted line.  The director just wrapped on Lincoln, and is already at work on Robopocalypse, so he’s tied up for at least a year.  But Warner Bros. hopes they can get Gods and Kings in production with Spielberg in the director’s chair by March or April of 2013.

With the new report comes new details on what Spielberg has in mind for the massive project, which he reportedly sees as a “Braveheart-ish version of the Moses story.”  Hit the jump for more.

Fox to Co-Finance and Handle International Distribution for Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 23rd, 2012 at 12:00 pm

20th Century Fox is now set to handle two very different Abraham Lincoln projects this year. The studio has come aboard Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln as a co-financier for the historical drama. Per THR, Fox will handle international distribution duties while Disney will distribute the DreamWorks production domestically. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as our nation’s 16th President alongside an incredible supporting cast that includes Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, Lee Pace, and Jared Harris. The pic is slated to open sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, after the presidential election.

As Fox boards the project, it makes their second Lincoln-centered film of 2012. The studio is also behind the decidedly non-historical Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Directed by Timur Beckmambetov, the adaptation stars Benjamin Walker as the axe-wielding president and opens June 22nd in 3D.

Steven Spielberg Talks LINCOLN, the TINTIN Sequels, and ROBOPOCALYPSE; Says He Isn’t Directing JURASSIC PARK 4

by Talia Soghomonian    Posted: January 12th, 2012 at 6:35 pm

“You want me to speak French to you? That wouldn’t be a good career choice for me. I got a lot of fans here. I don’t want to lose them with one bad accent!” Steven Spielberg joked when the French media asked him to say a few words in their language at a press conference in Paris this week, where he was promoting War Horse.  All kidding aside however, the legendary director does not like to talk about uncompleted projects.  Yet he did offer some insight into four of his upcoming movies.

While he spent much of the 45 minutes answering questions about his new film, he also discussed Lincoln, Robopocalypse, the Adventures of Tintin sequels and Jurassic Park 4.  Hit the jump for more.

Steven Spielberg Talks ROBOPOCALYPSE; Film Will Be Set 15-20 Years in the Future

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 12th, 2012 at 1:31 pm

Steven Spielberg delivered a double-whammy to audiences last month with the release of The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse.  Neither film hit me like I had hoped, but I was in the minority.  The legendary director is now at work on his Abraham Lincoln movie, Lincoln, and then he’ll move on to an adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson‘s novel Robopocalypse.  Spielberg spoke about the movie with his War Horse star Tom Hiddleston.  He tells Hiddleston that Robopocalypse takes place about 15-20 years in the future because “it’s a future that is coming true faster than any of us thought it would.”

Hit the jump for more.  Robopocalypse is slated to open July 3, 2013.

WAR HORSE Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 24th, 2011 at 5:05 pm

“A Boy and His Pet” stories can be immensely charming.  Pets are sweet and they look up to the boy (or girl, but usually it’s a boy in these stories) and the boy loves his faithful friend.  The genre started out as a “A Boy and His Dog”, but has expanded to “A Boy and His Robot” (The Iron Giant) and “A Boy and His Dragon” (How to Train Your Dragon).  Steven Spielberg‘s War Horse pulls it back to terrestrial creatures and starts out trying to tell the story of a boy and his horse.  But then the movie changes gears, separates the two and rather than show the struggle of both to get back to the other, the story uses the horse to try and tell a series of vignettes about life during World War I.  However, those vignettes lose their honesty when Spielberg refuses to show the devastating horror of war.

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