Universal Pictures really, really wants to get their reboot of The Mummy going.  Last September the studio tapped Underworld and Total Recall helmer Len Wiseman to direct the redo of the classic monster movie for a possible 2014 release.  The film will be set in present day and is described as “epic,” and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Transformers) are on board to produce the pic with Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) working on the screenplay.  However, Universal is now taking out a bit of an insurance policy by commissioning a separate, competing script for the film by The Hunger Games and State of Play scribe Billy Ray.  Hit the jump for more details on this atypical approach.

Earlier this year, we learned that Universal was rebooting The Mummy franchise with Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) to write the screenplay, and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman on board to produce.  In September, director Len Wiseman (Total Recall) joined the project, and now he has provided some brief details on how his movie will differ from the recent Brendan Fraser flicks.  The character originally found popularity on the screen in 1932 when it was played by the legendary Boris Karloff.

Hit the jump for more.  The Mummy reboot is set for a possible 2014 release.

It’s hard to overestimate the impact of Universal’s classic monster movies. They brought the themes and techniques of German Expressionism straight to Hometown U.S.A. and forever defined our notion of horror movies in the process. Every Halloween decoration ever made owes them some debt. Every onscreen boogeyman and misunderstood outcast can trace their roots back to them. They’ve become so ingrained in pop culture that we scarcely acknowledge their existence anymore… save during moments like this one, when they make the leap onto a new medium. As part of their 100^th anniversary celebration, Universal has packaged eight of them into an “Essentials” Blu-ray collection, a handsome set that nonetheless stumbles into a number of expected pitfalls. Hit the jump for my full review.

Things are moving rather quickly on Universal’s reboot of The Mummy.  It was announced back in May that Star Trek screenwriters/prolific producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman would be developing reboots of both The Mummy and Van Helsing, with Tom Cruise attached to star in the latter.  In subsequent interviews Kurtzman hinted at approaching the reboots with a darker tone than their original counterparts, and sure enough, Underworld and Total Recall director Len Wiseman is now being lined up to take the helm of The Mummy.

Hit the jump for more, including Wiseman’s thoughts on the monster redo.

Universal is prepping the Blu-ray release of Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection on October 2.  The box set features Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera, and Creature from the Black Lagoon.  There are 12 hours of bonus features and a 48-page book with behind-the-scenes photographs and original posters.  Notably,Creature from the Black Lagoonis presented in 3D as it was filmed.  Basically, if you are a fan of the Universal monsters, this sounds like a godsend.

Hit the jump for the press release with details on the special features that accompany each movie and a look at the box art.

People Like Us is a family dramedy inspired by true events from the life of writer/director Alex Kurtzman. The story follows Sam (Chris Pine), a twenty-something guy who learns that his father has suddenly died, leaving behind a secret 30-year-old daughter (Elizabeth Banks) that Sam never knew about, and he is forced to re-examine his own life and re-think everything he thought he knew about his family.

At the film’s press day, Alex Kurtzman talked to Collider about deciding to share such a personal story with the world, the advantages and disadvantages in writing something without a set deadline, what made him decide to direct, and how important the casting was for the tone of the movie.  He also talked about the emotional experience of returning to the Enterprise for the Star Trek sequel, what made he and business partner Roberto Orci want to sign on to write the sequel for The Amazing Spider-Man, how they just wrapped Ender’s Game (which takes place 70 years after a horrific alien war) and Now You See Me (about FBI agents who track a team of illusionists that pull off bank heists during their performances) as producers, and how excited they are to be rebooting Van Helsing and The Mummy. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

This weekend, Collider got to participate in the press junket for People Like Us, a family dramedy inspired by true events from the life of writer/director Alex Kurtzman.  The story follows Sam (Chris Pine), a twenty-something guy who learns that his father has suddenly died, leaving behind a secret 30-year-old daughter (Elizabeth Banks) that Sam never knew about, and he is forced to re-examine his own life and re-think everything he thought he knew about his family.

While we will post what Kurtzman had to say about his feature film debut closer to its June 29^th release, we did want to share what he had to say to us about the emotional experience of returning to the Enterprise for the Star Trek sequel, how insane it was to be able to really walk around the ship, how the set was built for the hallways to connect so that director J.J. Abrams could play whole scenes without a cut, and how they’re still in discussion about when the first official images or teaser trailer might be released.  He also talked about what made he and business partner Roberto Orci want to sign on to write the sequel for The Amazing Spider-Man, how they just wrapped Ender’s Game (which takes place 70 years after a horrific alien war) and Now You See Me (about FBI agents who track a team of illusionists that pull off bank heists during their performances) as producers, and how excited they are to be rebooting Van Helsing and The Mummy.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Star Trek screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman recently signed an exclusive two-year producing deal with Universal Pictures.  The studio has now sent out a press release announcing that the duo will take on reboots of The Mummy and Van Helsing with Tom Cruise attached to co-produce and star in the latter.  Last month, we reported that Prometheus co-writer Jon Spaihts has been tapped to write the reboot of The Mummy.  As for Van Helsing, Cruise has been involved with the property since 2010, but at the time, the product went into stasis after Guillermo Del Toro declined to direct.  At the time, Cruise and Del Toro were set to team for At the Mountains of Madness, but Universal pulled the plug because they wouldn’t give Del Toro the budget and R-rating he wanted.

Hit the jump for the press release.  Orci and Kurtzman were recently hired to write the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man.  It’s important to note that the successful producing/screenwriting duo are currently not attached to write the scripts for either The Mummy or Van Helsing although they’ll obviously have major input.

Because The Mummy franchise has shriveled up and died, Universal has decided to bring it back from the dead again.  Variety reports that Prometheus co-writer Jon Spaihts has been tapped to pen the screenplay for a reboot.  Says Spaihts, “I see it as the sort of opportunity I had with Prometheus: to go back to a franchise’s roots in dark, scary source material, and simultaneously open it up to an epic scale we haven’t seen before.”  I can only hope Spaihts is referring not to the Brendan Fraser movies, but the 1932 Boris Karloff picture.  I’m not sure how Spaihts plans to incorporate an “epic scale” to The Mummy, but it sounds like he’s trying to find a new angle on the franchise rather than simply do another goofy adventure tale like the previous Mummy movies.

Spaihts is also writing an untitled space adventure for producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the sci-fi script Passengers starring Keanu Reeves, and an adaptation of the graphic novel World War Robot (no connection to the upcoming zombie film, World War Z).  He previously wrote the script for The Darkest Hour.

“Only a sick society could bear the hoardings, let alone the films.”

- Derek Hill (in regards to Hammer films and their output), Sight and Sound 1958-59

The above quote, which opens Marcus Hearn’s Hammer movie-poster book, The Art of Hammer, is indicative of the content contained within. Judging by the artwork Hearn has collected, it’s not hard to see how Hammer gained such a tawdry reputation. From half naked women to fully-nude women to ghouls, vampires, murderers, psychopaths, mummies and any other monster one could possibly imagine, the posters’ single aim seems to be at appealing to the most lurid and primal impulses. As such, I – of course – found myself quite taken with the collection.