Figured I\u2019d toss these out there while I can.<\/span><\/p>\n 1.<\/a> Ralph Winter recently talked to Infuze Magazine<\/a><\/i> about various subjects, including: whether Christian horror films \u2014 like Thr3e<\/a><\/i>, which he produced \u2014 should have R-ratings; the lack of mystery and violence in The Nativity Story<\/a><\/i>; and his own current plan to make a movie based on C.S. Lewis\u2019s The Screwtape Letters<\/a><\/i>:<\/p>\n Does the movie have a green light?<\/b><\/p>\n Not yet. We\u2019ve been talking to Randall Wallace about writing and directing. We need to have more discussions with Fox and Walden about that, and make sure that Randy\u2019s still available. Everybody wants to make this movie; I think it\u2019s going to happen, I just don\u2019t know what the timetable is right now.<\/p>\n We\u2019re very excited about that. With the right script, dealing with temptation and that whole upside down world, it could be a very, very interesting movie. And it\u2019s going to be dark. This isn\u2019t a light, happy, Narnia<\/a><\/i> piece.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n That would be the same Randall Wallace<\/a> who wrote Braveheart<\/i> (1995; my comments<\/a>) and directed We Were Soldiers<\/i> (2002; my article<\/a>), both of which were into the R-rated violence big-time. <\/p>\n Winter also says:<\/p>\n I\u2019ve read a couple of scripts lately based on Old Testament stories. One of them is about David, and his rise from a shepherd to becoming the anointed king. And it\u2019s gritty<\/i>. It\u2019s brutal<\/i>. It\u2019s reflective of the time. And it\u2019s not written by a Christian. But it\u2019s a compelling story, and that\u2019s the kind of movie I want to make!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This sounds suspiciously like that screenplay that J. Michael Straczynski<\/a> said he was finishing a few weeks ago \u2014 a screenplay that he compared to Braveheart<\/i>. Detect a theme here?<\/p>\n 2.<\/a> Variety<\/a><\/i> reports that Ron Howard is thinking about remaking Michael Haneke\u2019s Cach\u00e9<\/a><\/i> (2005). Because, of course, his last<\/i> remake of a French-language film about video-voyeurism \u2014 EdTV<\/a><\/i> (1999; my review<\/a>), a remake of the Quebecois film Louis 19, le roi des ondes<\/a><\/i> (1994) \u2014 was so memorable. What I want to know is what sort of American political subtext will replace the original film\u2019s subtext, which concerned French-Algerian relations.<\/p>\n 3.<\/a> Variety<\/a><\/i> reports that Jerry Bruckheimer has bought the movie rights to \u2018Jihadists in Paradise<\/a>\u2018, an Atlantic Monthly<\/i> article by Mark Bowden, who previously wrote the book that became the Bruckheimer-produced Black Hawk Down<\/a><\/i> (2001; my review<\/a>):<\/p>\n \u201cJihadists in Paradise\u201d details the emergence in the Philippines of the Islamic terrorist faction Abu Sayyaf<\/a> and one of its leaders, Aldam Tilao. Tilao put his group on the map by sneaking by boat into a diving resort and taking 20 hostages, including three Americans. He and his armed thugs beheaded one of the Americans and dragged the other two \u2014 a missionary couple<\/a> \u2014 across the jungles for a year and a half. Tilao was eventually tracked down and killed after a long search by the CIA and Filipino military forces.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n FEB 18 UPDATE: Reuters<\/a> reports that a spokesman for the Philippine left-wing group Pamalakaya has \u201copposed\u201d the movie.<\/p>\n 4.<\/a> In movies, Opus Dei<\/a> seems to be associated with the bad guys \u2014 whether in cheesy fiction like The Da Vinci Code<\/a><\/i> or true stories like Breach<\/a><\/i>. So now, reports Variety<\/a><\/i>, Opus Dei is going to put itself on the good-guy end of the spectrum, by teaming up with Lux Vide to make \u201ca theatrical biopic about Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer<\/a>, the onetime secretive Catholic organization\u2019s founder.\u201d Lux Vide\u2019s credits include The Bible Collection<\/a> (1994-2002), Saint Peter<\/a><\/i> (2005), Pope John Paul II<\/a><\/i> (2005) and many other religious TV-movies. But have they ever done a theatrical<\/i> film before?<\/p>\n 5.<\/a> IGN.com<\/a> reports that Summer Glau<\/a>, of Firefly<\/a><\/i> (2002-2003) and Serenity<\/a><\/i> (2005) fame, is starring in the pilot for The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/a><\/i> \u2014 but as who? Given that she already knows how to play a character who makes her first appearance in the nude and turns out to be something of a killing machine, many fanboys hope she\u2019ll be a Terminator \u2014 but perhaps that would be too obvious?<\/p>\n 6.<\/a> You knew George Lucas was going to re-issue the Star<\/a> Wars<\/a><\/i> movies on DVD again this year, right? The Associated Press<\/a>, in a story on Hasbro\u2019s upcoming toy projects, says:<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Verrecchia said he expected Star Wars to continue to be a strong performer with Lucas planning a video release for this year\u2019s 30th anniversary, a Star Wars animated TV show next year and a live-action Star Wars TV show in 2009.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 7.<\/a> Variety<\/a><\/i> says Kirstie Alley will star in The Minister of Divine<\/a><\/i>, the American remake of the British sitcom The Vicar of Dibley<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Figured I\u2019d toss these out there while I can. 1. Ralph Winter recently talked to Infuze Magazine about various subjects, including: whether Christian horror films \u2014 like Thr3e, which he produced \u2014 should have R-ratings; the lack of mystery and violence in The Nativity Story; and his own current plan to make a movie based […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n