Much of this week revolved around various film festivals taking place, most notably Tribeca Film Festival, so news this week was a little slow. However, this week saw the announcement of a few bizarre adaptations in the works, along with a few notable original works. Here’s what was newly announced in the movie world this week:
‘Crazy Rich Asians' Director Taking on Thai Rescue Project for Netflix
One of the biggest movies of 2018 was Crazy Rich Asians, a surprise hit that was the first mainstream Hollywood film that featured a predominantly Asian cast since 1993. The film was a massive success, and now director Jon M. Chu has his next project lined up, as he plans on re-telling the true story of the Thailand soccer team who wound up trapped in a flooding cave in 2018. Chu had announced his intention of recreating the rescue mission almost soon after the incident last year, and now Netflix is taking him up on that goal. Joining Chu will be co-director Nattawut “Baz” Poonpiriya, whose previous credits include the acclaimed 2017 Thai heist film Bad Genius. Whether this will be a film or a miniseries is as of yet undecided.
Shailene Woodley Joining Serial Killer Film From Acclaimed Argentinian Director
Actress Shailene Woodley, best known for her roles in The Fault in Our Stars and the Divergent series, has been busy in the television world lately, starring in the acclaimed series Big Little Lies. Though she has her next film project lined up, taking on the serial killer thriller titled Misanthrope. Woodley will play a low-ranking FBI officer who winds up getting recruited to take down a mass murderer. While this is a fairly vague plot, the film will be directed by Damian Szifron, who directed the film Wild Tales, the critically acclaimed and most successful film in the history of Argentina. Szifron will co-write the screenplay with Jonathan Wakeham, and the film will be produced by FilmNation Entertainment, who produced films such as The Big Sick, The Founder, and The Imitation Game.
'Rugrats' Live-Action Movie Coming From 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Director
In one of two incredibly strange adaptations announced this week, the live-action Rugrats movie, which was announced last year, is now starting to get underway, with Diary of a Wimpy Kid director David Bowers at the helm. For those who are unfamiliar, Rugrats was an animated series on Nickelodeon that focused on a group of talking babies who were all friends. But what’s going to be both bizarre and creepy about this adaptation is that despite this being a live-action movie, the babies themselves will be CGI. The idea of that sounds hideous, to be perfectly honest, though there’s at least some intrigue in how this is going to be translated on screen. It could possibly be due to how the babies in the series have bobblehead-sized faces and the film looks to recreate that exaggerated look. But only time will tell how whacky the final product will be.
Charlie Chaplin's 'The Kid' Getting Remade in Most Unexpected Way
Part two of this week’s weird adaptations, it was announced that Charlie Chaplin's silent 1921 classic The Kid will get the remake treatment. In an era where most of today’s remakes are mostly made up of 80’s and 90’s nostalgia trips, this seemed like an odd choice to get resurrected. However, that’s not all. The film, starring Jacob Tremblay, will be titled The Kid: An Animated Adventure, and will be an (obviously) animated film in a futuristic New York City, where Tremblay will play a young boy seeking adventure and will discover Chaplin, a robot with a human soul. While being pursued by his mother, the police, and circus performers, Tremblay also looks to discover the secrets behind the mysterious robot. Where this idea came from is anyone’s guess, and the question is if the robot will simply be named Chaplin or will actually resemble the comedian himself. The film will be produced by FilmNation Entertainment, and co-written by Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt.
Angeline Jolie Leads New Taylor Sheridan Film ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’
While the next big Angelina Jolie project that’s been receiving attention is the Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Eternals, she actually has one other project in the works. Jolie has been announced to lead the next film from director Taylor Sheridan, the director of the critically acclaimed Wind River. Sheridan, formerly an actor, has been rising to prominence in the independent scene, with most of his work having received high praise, including having written Hell or High Water and both Sicario and its sequel. His second directorial outing, Those Who Wish Me Dead, is a female-driven neo-Western set in the Montana wilderness focusing on a wildfire. Jolie leads the film along with Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult, Tyler Perry, and Aiden Gillen. New Line Cinema will back the project. Set to start principal photography this month, given Sheridan’s track record, this is sure to be a candidate for many critics’ Best of the Year lists if he’s able to get the movie released by the end of this year.
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