Sin City 2, which has lived in development hell for the past six years, may finally be coming to life.  Director Robert Rodriguez says he now has financing for the flick and he would shoot the film before the year was out as long as he had a quality script.  However, he also hit upon a unique problem with the original Sin City in that the movie was not so much written as it simply used Frank Miller’s comics as a storyboard while bringing hardly anything new to the table.  It remains the strongest case for why a 100% faithful adaptation is pointless.

But I have some hope that Sin City 2 may be better because Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) is coming on board to work on the script.  Hit the jump for more.

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.

Oblivion, Joseph Kosinski’s follow-up to TRON: Legacy, is getting a new title and a new draft.  Heat Vision reports that the sci-fi action film will now be titled “Horizons“, which makes the movie sound less like the popular Elder Scrolls sequel and more like an out-patient drug rehab facility. In addition to the title change, Karl Gajdusek has been brought in to re-write the script.  When we previously reported on this movie, the plot was based on Radical Publishing’s upcoming graphic novel that was “set on a future Earth, where civilization lives above the clouds and scavengers collect ancient artifacts from the polluted surface below. When one young scavenger finds a crashed spacecraft planetside, it lead him on a journey filled with romance and adventure.”  However, the story now seems to be about “a soldier assigned to patrol a desolate planet who meets a mysterious traveler.”

Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) wrote the previous draft, but it’s unknown how much of his story they’ll keep since the story being reported now  sounds drastically different from the original logline.  For those unfamiliar with Gajdusek, he worked on the TV series Dead Like Me and penned the upcoming Joel Schmuacher thriller Trespass starring Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman.

Earlier this week, we reported that Oscar-winning writer-director William Monahan (London Boulevard) was on the shortlist to helm an adaptation of Ken Bruen’s crime novel Once Were Cops, which is about “two unlikely partners become a devastatingly effective force in the war against crime.”  However, Monahan has now told us,

“I’m not on any short list for Once Were Cops, I never even heard about it.”

Monahan is already keeping plenty busy.  You can read all about his other projects in the  recent extensive interview he did with Steve.  In the interview, Monahan talks about London Boulevard as well as Becket, The Gamblers, Tripoli, Blood Meridian, and Oblivion.

March, 2009. That’s the first time I started talking with William Monahan about doing an interview for his directorial debut London Boulevard.  At the time, he was in prep in London, and we talked about why he wanted to adapt Ken Bruen’s novel and what the experience was like for him.  But for many reasons, the interview fell apart, and we decided to continue talking at a later point.  Of course later became a few months, and then we started and stopped a few more times.  Until last week.  That’s because about a week ago, at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, I finally sat down with the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of The Departed to talk about his directorial debut, which stars 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).

During our extended interview, which lasted close to an hour, we covered everything from the genesis of the project to what it was like in the editing room.  Of course we also covered things like his writing process, why it is coming out in the UK before America (it gets released November 26 in the UK), the test screening process, why the British gangster genre is so popular, his other projects like The Gamblers, Becket, what’s up with Tripoli, what got him involved in Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion, and so much more.

While I hate to compare interviews against one another, I can honestly say this is one of the best conversations I’ve ever had with any filmmaker.  Hit the jump to check it out:

William Monahan (The Departed) and David Michod (Animal Kingdom) are the lead candidates for the director’s chair of Once Were Cops, an adaptation of Ken Bruen’s crime novel.  Bruen tells the story of a pair of unstable cops in the NYPD: “the two unlikely partners become a devastatingly effective force in the war against crime.”  The setting of the film will sub Boston for New York to better accentuate the Irish roots of the central character.

More, including the full synopsis of the book, after the jump.

Oscar-winning scribe William Monahan (The Departed) has signed on to write/direct an adaptation of the 1959 Jean Anouilh play, Becket.  Calling the project “an adaptation, or re-invigoration, of an older play, which has already been a brilliant film,” Monahan will have his work cut out for him if he’s to match the critical success experienced by 1964′s adaptation which starred Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole as Becket and King Henry II respectively.  That film was nominated for twelve Academy Awards and brought home the statue for “Best Adapted Screenplay” for writer Edward Anhalt.

For more on what the writer/director had to say about the project as well as a brief overview of the story itself, hit the jump.  Monahan’s directorial debut, London Boulevard, stars Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley.  It is slated to open in the UK on November 26th and in the United States in February 2011.

The trailer for London Boulevard starring Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley is now available online.  Directed by Oscar-winning scribe William Monahan (The Departed), London Boulevard is based on the Ken Bruen book of the same name.  Briefly, the film tells the story of an ex-con (Farrell) who falls hard for a young actress (Knightley) and finds himself in a messy situation with a gangster as a result.  As for the trailer, I’m getting a Snatch vibe with a hint of romance from the two minutes on display.  As a fan of Snatch, I think this is a good thing.  As for something more contemporary, I would also compare the style and tone with what we’ve seen so far from Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie’s The Tourist.  That said, I’m more intrigued by London Boulevard due to Farrell’s charisma beating out the general creepiness that Jolie totes around during the trailer for The Tourist.

In addition to Farrell and Knightley, the film features a great supporting cast including the likes of Ray Winstone, Stephen Graham, Anna Friel, David Thewlis, Ben Chaplin, and Ophelia Lovibond.  London Boulevard hits UK theaters on November 26th with a U.S. release set for February 2011.  To check out the trailer, hit the jump.

While information regarding William Monahan’s London Boulevard (his directorial debut) has been sparse, I can report Monahan is done with the film and we’re very close to getting some new images and a trailer.

If you’re not familiar with London Boulevard, it’s about a man newly released from prison who falls in love with a reclusive young movie star and finds himself in a duel with a vicious gangster (synopsis via IMDb).  The film stars Keira Knightley, Colin Farrell, Jamie Campbell Bower, Stephen Graham, Anna Friel, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone, and Eddie Marsan.

Even though I can’t offer any new images today (hopefully soon), I can report Sergio Pizzorno (from the band Kasabian) has done the original score and the film will be released in the UK on November 26 and in the US in February.  London Boulevard will be the first offering from Graham King and Bob Berney’s new distribution company, FilmDistrict.  More after the jump.

HBO has acquired two literary adaptations from producer John Lesher, both scripted by folks known for the work in features.  According to Deadline, Oscar-winner William Monahan (The Departed) will adapt Keys to the City: The Tales of a New York City Locksmith.  The book is a collection of fourteen stories about the characters that author Joel Kostman encountered during a twenty-year stint as a locksmith; Kostman is on board as consultant.

Meanwhile, Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married) is hard at work  milking a series out of The Three Weissmanns of Westport, Cathleen Schine’s homage to Sense and Sensibility.  As the book begins, Betty Weissmann’s husband of nearly fifty years announces he is divorcing her.  She then moves to a beach cottage in Westport, Connecticut and reconnects with her daughters, who suffer from their own problems.  Hit the jump for full synopses of both novels.

At least in terms of commercial viability, you can never go wrong with a John Grisham novel.  That just might be enough to hook Tony Scott, as 24 Frames reports the Englishman is “just a step away” from signing on to direct the Grisham adaptation The Associate.  When we checked in with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura early last month, he said LaBeouf is “attached,” though the report states more definitively that the young actor “is starring.”

Following Kingdom of Heaven and Body of Lies, The Associate represents the third script that William Monahan has written for the Scott family — brother Ridley Scott directed the first two.  The plot centers on newly minted lawyer Kyle McAvoy (LaBeouf), the owner of a dark secret which falls into the wrong hands.  Hit the jump for a full synopsis.

While you may not recognize the name Graham King, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen some of the movies he’s produced like The Departed, The Aviator, Traffic, and Blood Diamond.  Also, with over a dozen projects listed in development on IMDb, he’s clearly positioning himself as a producer to follow.

Anyway, since he produced Edge of Darkness (which opens tomorrow), I recently got to sit down with this busy producer and we discussed not only his latest project, but all the other thinsg he has in development like Dark Shadows, The Tourist, Rum Diaries, Rango, LondonBoulevard , The Town, and Mel Gibson’s Viking movie.  Also, since he has such a great relationship with William Monahan, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, I asked how he manages to keep working with them.  It’s a great interview so hit the jump to check it out:

Opening tomorrow is director Martin Campbell’s (Casino Royale) Edge of Darkness.  A GK Films Production based on the BAFTA Award-winning BBC miniseries of the same name (which Campbell directed), Edge of Darkness is about a homicide detective whose daughter is gunned down on his front steps.  When he starts to look into what really happened, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.  The film stars Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic and Shawn Roberts and it’s been written by William Monahan (The Departed) and Andrew Bovell (Lantana), based on the original television series written by Troy Kennedy Martin.

To help promote the film, I got to do an exclusive interview with director Martin Campbell. We talked about why he wanted to revisit the material, working with Mel Gibson, filming in Boston (and why he didn’t have any Dunkin Donuts in the movie), deleted scenes, and, of course, we talked about his next film, Green Lantern.  Hit the jump to read what he had to say:

Opening this Friday is director Martin Campbell’s (Casino Royale) Edge of Darkness.  A GK Films Production based on the BAFTA Award-winning BBC miniseries of the same name (which Campbell directed), Edge of Darkness is about a homicide detective whose daughter is gunned down on his front steps.  When he starts to look into what really happened, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.  The film stars Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic and Shawn Roberts and it’s been written by William Monahan (The Departed) and Andrew Bovell (Lantana), based on the original television series written by Troy Kennedy Martin.

To help promote the film, I recently participated in a press conference with Gibson, Winstone, Director Martin Campbell and Producer Graham King.  If you’re a Mel Gibson fan, you’ll really like this interview as almost all the questions were directed at him.  Gibson talks about everything from making the movie to whether or not he’ll be in Mad Max 4 and his Viking movie.  Hit the jump to read the transcript.

Opening on January 29 is director Martin Campbell’s (Casino Royale) Edge of Darkness.  A GK Films Production based on the BAFTA Award-winning BBC miniseries of the same name (which Campbell directed), Edge of Darkness is about a homicide detective whose daughter is gunned down on his front steps.  When he starts to look into what really happened, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.  The film stars Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic and Shawn Roberts and it’s been written by William Monahan (The Departed) and Andrew Bovell (Lantana), based on the original television series written by Troy Kennedy Martin.

To help promote the film, we’ve been provided seven clips and you can watch them all after the jump.  If you’ve been looking forward to Mel Gibson’s return to cinemas after a eight year break, the clips are a great taste of the film…which I really enjoyed.