The Gambler

TOP 5: TRANSFORMERS 4 and 5, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, THE THREE MUSKETEERS Interviews, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, William Monahan on SIN CITY 2 and More

by Jason Barr    Posted: October 22nd, 2011 at 11:11 am

I’m writing to you this week in full “World Series Mode.” While there are plenty of things going on around the Midwest this time of year (homemade haunted houses are always a welcomed annual treat), a majority of my focus is on trying to will my beloved Cardinals to Fall Classic glory. Combine that with the fact that Batman: Arkham City is consistently calling my name and it’s a wonder that I’m even writing this right now. Hold on, what’s that, Arkham City? Okay, okay…I’ll be there in a second…

…In this week’s installment, you’ll find talk of Transformers 4 and Transformers 5 shooting back-to-back with Jason Statham potentially starring, a six-minute prologue for The Dark Knight Rises being attached to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol‘s IMAX release, interviews with director Paul W.S. Anderson and the cast of The Three Musketeers, David Fincher and Rooney Mara talking about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and William Monahan discussing projects including London Boulevard, The Departed sequel, Sin City 2 and more. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

Exclusive: William Monahan Talks LONDON BOULEVARD, THE DEPARTED Sequel, SIN CITY 2, THE GAMBLER, MOJAVE, TRIPOLI, More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 17th, 2011 at 8:03 am

Almost a year ago, I ran an extended interview with William Monahan for his directorial debut London Boulevard.  Starring Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, Anna Friel, Jamie Bower, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone, Stephen Graham, Eddie Marsan, and Ben Chaplin, the film is about a man just released from prison (Farrell) who falls in love with a reclusive young movie star (Knightley) and finds himself in a duel with a vicious gangster (Winstone).  At the time, the movie was about to hit theaters in the United Kingdom, and our wide-ranging conversation covered the making of the film and all the other projects he was involved with.  When I posted the interview, I said it was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had with any filmmaker.

However, with London Boulevard now available on VOD in the United States and hitting theaters November 11, I recently sat down with Monahan again and we have bested our last conversation.  During our 45 minutes conversation we covered everything from his thoughts on VOD and what changes were made to the film, the digital revolution, the crime genre, writing dialogue, and working with actors.  In addition, he gave me updates on The Departed sequel/prequel, Sin City 2, The Gambler, Tripoli, Becket, Mojave (which might be his next film), and revealed there is another version of Kingdom of Heaven that no one has seen.  Hit the jump for more.

Exclusive: Screenwriter William Monahan Talks SIN CITY 2 and THE GAMBLER Remake

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 14th, 2011 at 2:02 am

One of the most popular Best Picture winners of the past decade was 2006’s The Departed. The film had it all: a legendary director in Martin Scorsese, a star-studded cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg, and screenwriter William Monahan. The writer instantly became a household name and he won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. Now, Monahan is hard at work on two highly anticipated projects: a remake of The Gambler and Sin City 2. A remake of the 1974 film starring James Caan, The Gambler reunites Monahan with his Departed director Scorsese and possibly DiCaprio too. The long-awaited Sin City sequel features the return of director Robert Rodriguez, bringing Frank Miller’s graphic novel to life once again.

A few days ago I got to speak with Monahan about his directorial debut London Boulevard (which is currently playing on VOD and opens in theaters November 11th). During the extended interview we talked about a wide variety of subjects and in the coming days you can expect the full interview.  However, as a tease, after the jump I’m offering updates on both The Gambler and Sin City 2, including what changes he’s making to The Gambler, how he views remakes, what approach he’s taking to adapting Frank Miller’s material on Sin City and more.

Martin Scorsese Reunites with THE DEPARTED Writer William Monahan for THE GAMBLER Remake; Paramount Eyeing Leonardo DiCaprio to Star

by Jason Barr    Posted: August 26th, 2011 at 11:15 pm

Considering it won four Oscars, I’d venture to say that, for the most part, people liked 2006′s The Departed. By that same logic, one would think that reuniting some of the most prominent talent from that film for another crime drama is a good recipe for success. At least Paramount hopes. According to THR, the studio has tapped Martin Scorsese to direct a remake of 1974′s The Gambler starring James Caan and has brought screenwriter William Monahan on board to pen the script. But wait, the good news doesn’t stop there.

Per the report, Paramount is also interested in landing Leonardo DiCaprio to reprise Caan’s role (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe) as Axel Freed, an English professor from New York whose gambling addiction causes a slew of twists and turns. Unlike Scorsese and Monahan, DiCaprio is not yet attached to the remake. Nevertheless, I’d guess that the talent behind it has to be enough for the film to at least be on the highly coveted actor’s radar. Directed by Karel Reisz, the original was based on a short novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. For a little more on the pic, hit the jump for a full plot synopsis.

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