Robert Ludlum | SpoutBlog

More Posthumous Oscar Nominations. Trade Roughage 01/28/09

By Christopher Campbell posted 10 months ago

Surely this comes as no surprise to anyone, but the Academy has bypassed its rule for the Best Picture category to allow The Reader four producers named as nominees. This special exception was made due to the film’s “rare and extraordinary circumstance” of having two of its producers, Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, die during production. Though The Reader is a dark horse for the top award, there is now a slight chance we’ll see three posthumous Oscars awarded on February 22.
If ever there was a franchise that could use a do-over, its Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Fortunately, Warner Bros. is rebooting the series and re-adapting the popular video game in a way that will “bear no resemblance to the original pictures.” That doesn’t necessarily mean it will be better, but it leaves room for that possibility.
The excellent Brazilian filmmaker Jose Padilha (Bus 174) has been stacking up Hollywood gigs since he won at Berlin last year with The Elite Squad, but the first project to go into production will be The Sigma Protocol, based on Robert Ludlum’s final novel, which will be modernized to focus on the present economy rather than on Nazis. Wait, does this mean recession fetish trumps Nazi fetish?
Joe Carnahan has put his troubled Pablo Escobar film to the side, for now, in order to direct and co-script The A-Team for producer Ridley Scott and executive producer Tony Scott. Could this be the greatest no-nonsense TV adaptation since S.W.A.T.? Carnahan’s view on the matter makes it seem so: “Fox hired me to make it as emotional, real and accessible as possible without cheesing it up.”
Dueling Steve McQueen biopics!

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Hollywood, Reviews

Where’s Waldo: The Movie. Clip of the Day

By Christopher Campbell posted 1 year ago

The Waldo Ultimatum - Watch more free videos

I don’t know where I was when this video was being circulated around the ‘net, and I don’t know where I was when it was announced (back in February) that both Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon are signed on for another Bourne Identity sequel. But better late than never, especially when the former is the greatest movie spoof and the greatest fake trailer I’ve ever seen. The reference to Carmen Santiago really clinched it for me. And while I’m a fan of the Bourne movies and thought the third was the best yet, I’d really rather they stopped while they were ahead. An actual Where’s Waldo movie is much more preferred, by myself and probably anyone else watching the above video.

Sharing this spoof (which was directed to our attention by The Movie Blog) and discussing the fourth Bourne movie is at least somewhat related to news of today. Variety reports that The Sigma Protocol, based on the book by Bourne author Robert Ludlum, is moving ahead at Universal (which also handles the Bourne franchise). The action thriller, which focuses on a secret organization that is manipulating the global economy and a hot, young investment banker who’s out to expose the conspiracy, is being scripted by Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. The duo is set to finish this project before embarking on their remake of Highlander, which, judging by their work on Iron Man, should actually be better than the original.