A MacGyver Movie?!

It's a sad day for Hollywood. They've finally crossed that line that no one wanted them to ever cross. New Line has greenlit a MacGyver feature film. Legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis and his daughter Raffaella are producing, along with series creator Lee Zlotoff. No word on whether the original MacGyver, Richard Dean Anderson, will be involved, but our guess is that he's not going to have anything to do with this. New Line hasn't hired a writer yet either, but they hope to find a script "that can acknowledge how the concept has staked a place into pop culture yet still makes for a serious and fun adventure movie."

As a quick refresher, MacGyver was an adventure TV series that first debuted in 1985 on ABC and eventually got two spin-off made-for-TV movies both in 1994. Richard Dean Anderson starred as an incredibly resourceful secret agent for the Phoenix Foundation who frequently would escape from dangerous situations with ingenious and lightning-quick engineering trickery (refer to this MythBusters episode). If this news itself wasn't painful enough, just listen to this pitiful pun from New Line's Richard Brener. "We think we're a stick of chewing gum, a paper clip and an A-list writer away from a global franchise." Goodness…

Lawrence Kasdan Penning Robotech

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed CHUD's story that veteran screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan has been hired to write Robotech Warner Bros.' adaptation of the anime classic.

Lawrence Kasdan, most well known for the screenplays from Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Return of the Jedi, has been hired to write the adaptation of the 1980s cartoon series. Tobey Maguire is one of the many producers involved in bringing this series to the big screen previously said that "there is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film." With Kasdan involved, that might actually be a possibility.

Robotech takes place at a time when Earth has developed giant robots from the technology on an alien spacecraft that crashed on a South Pacific isle. Mankind is forced to use the technology to fend off three successive waves of alien invasions. The first invasion centers on a battle with a race of giant warriors who seek to retrieve their flagship's energy source known as "protoculture," and the planet's hope for survival ends up in the hands of two young pilots. Robotech was a 1980s cartoon series that was re-edited and re-dialogued to combine three Japanese anime series.

As much as I don't want to jump to conclusions so quickly, Lawrence Kasdan's involvement definitely is a good thing. He also recently signed on to the Clash of the Titans remake. I'm very interested in seeing if he's still able to write great scripts, considering his last major film was that horror sci-fi flick Dreamcatcher from 2003. I'm not that familiar with Robotech either, but if Kasdan can actually put together a script that could start a new era of sci-fi action, then definitely count me in. I think the concept sounds promising, but it's so unique that it'll be hard to determine whether it has actual potential until we hear more about the direction Kasdan will take it in. However, it's a great start to hear that he's involved and I think this means that Warner Brothers and Maguire definitely aren't taking this adaptation lightly. Does Kasdan still have it in him?

Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

Looking to profit off the millions of folks who want to see more of the trailer, the Onion has decided to adapt it into a full-length film. (Unfortunately, out of the 758 Iron Man trailers currently available online, they do not say which one will be getting the feature treatment. One assumes, however, it will be the seventh international teaser extended intro scene.)

Luckily, those crazy cats at The Onion were all over this story -- debating whether or not it's smart to extend what most people felt was an excellent trailer 179 more minutes. Good news is Robert Downey Jr. has decided to reprise his role from the trailer (fans would've freaked if they re-cast the character) and reporters from The Onion do hope they bring back that pretty red head played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Amen to that! Says The Onion, "The studio has tried to reassure the public that everything they love about the trailer will be incorporated into the movie, right down to the actual lines from the trailer."

Awesome. Could go either way here -- but what do you think: Would you pay to go see a feature-length trailer?

Source: Cinematical

Blue Sky Studios Adapting The Anubis Tapestry?

Blue Sky Studios has made quite a formidable dent in the animation genre since they arrived on the scene in 2002. Their first big feature, Ice Age, was a huge success and they've since followed it up with two more Ice Age sequels, Robots, and Horton Hears a Who. Peter over at SlashFilm has picked up an unconfirmed scoop regarding another one of their future projects - an adaptation of Bruce Zick's small press book The Anubis Tapestry. Apparently Zick was also recently hired by Blue Sky to "develop several of their future film concepts," which makes this seem oddly coincidental and all the more legitimate. Zick's illustrations are incredibly cool and would definitely be great inspiration for an animated film - take a look at some of his work below.

When a mummy's curse condemns Dr. George Henry's spirit to the Egyptian Underworld, his son Chance must try to free him. But Chance risks becoming a mummy himself when he binds himself in the wrappings of the mysterious Anubis Tapestry. Led by a comical creature named Blixx, Chance plumbs the depths of the Underworld and encounters a variety of horrible monsters. If Chance can't return by twilight, he and Blixx will be trapped forever in the dead's domain! You can pick up a copy of the book over at Amazon.com.

Bruce Zick has been a conceptual artist for countless films, including Finding Nemo, Titan A.E., A Bug's Life, The Lion King, and Wall-E. He's a very capable illustrator and I can only imagine his book is as wildly imaginative as his drawings are. Chris Wedge, the director of Blue Sky's Ice Age and Robots, wrote this quote which appears on the cover of The Anubis Tapestry. "Bruce Zick lives in a rich world of fantasy. Fortunately there is a portal into it — his effortless drawing style and his thoughtful, descriptive prose."

Blue Sky is currently finishing Ice Age 3, set for the summer of 2009, as well as The Fantastic Mr. Fox, due out in late 2009. If this rumor turns out to be true, it's likely that this is one of Blue Sky's 2010 films.

If you take a look at some of the drawings from the book, it's definitely obvious that this could easily be adapted into something fun. I hope Blue Sky studios doesn't turn this into a big pile of mush (I didn't like Robots at all), but I'm expecting with Zick involved, it won't go that way. You can see more examples of Zick's work at SlashFilm or check out the one I've included below.

Source: Firts

Justin Marks Adapting Hack/Slash Comic

After tackling Voltron, Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li, and He-Man, screenwriter Justin Marks will move on to adapt the comicbook Hack/Slash. The series revolves around Cassie Hack, a young woman who travels the country and takes on homicidal maniacs and serial killers along the way. Hack/Slash marks another high profile project for Justin Marks, which should say quite a bit about his talent, but then again most of his new projects haven't hit theaters yet. This was actually announced previously (around Comic-Con last year), but it seems Marks has been brought on to re-write the script.

Rogue Pictures is adapting with Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter, of 2007's Hitman, and upcoming flicks Spy Hunter, Kane and Lynch, and Jonny Quest, producing. Newcomer Todd Lincoln has been set to direct. The film is being described as an action movie that will be heavy on comedy and horror, which sounds about right considering the story. The focus of the series is on a horror victim, Cassie, who strikes back at the monsters, known as "slashers", with Vlad, a freakish man who frequently wears a gas mask. You can pick up a copy over at Amazon.com.

At Comic-Con last year, STYD reported that Megan Fox "is incredibly interested" in the role of Cassie. That's definitely the perfect choice and I truly hope she gets on board.

I'm not sure why, but I've heard of Hack/Slash enough (or maybe seen it on the show floor at comic conventions) to believe it might lend itself to a good film adaptation, but I could be wrong. Unfortunately I can never get The Covenant out of my mind when I think about lesser-known comic projects like this, and that's definitely not a good thing. Hopefully Marks keeps the cheese out and write a new script that Lincoln can turn into something enjoyable. We'll definitely be keeping our eye on this project as it develops.

Source: Variety