Latest news with #screenplay
Geek Tyrant
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Next JAMES BOND Film Lands PEAKY BLINDERS Creator Steven Knight as Screenwriter — GeekTyrant
The next chapter in the James Bond saga is moving forward at Amazon MGM Studios, and it's got a major writing talent onboard. Steven Knight, best known as the mastermind behind Peaky Blinders , has officially been tapped to pen the screenplay for the upcoming 007 installment. This follows the recent news that Denis Villeneuve has signed on to direct the film, giving the project some serious creative firepower. The film is being produced by Amy Pascal of Pascal Pictures and David Heyman of Heyday Films, with Tanya Lapointe serving as executive producer. Ever since Amazon secured full creative control of the James Bond franchise in a major joint venture with longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, they've been laser-focused on assembling a top-tier team. First came Pascal and Heyman. Then came a wave of meetings with high-profile directors that led to Villeneuve landing the gig. The final piece of the puzzle was a screenwriter, and Knight rose to the top after weeks of discussions. According to insiders, 'a final sign-off could not be given until he met with Villeneuve, who is currently filming the next Dune film. Insiders say that meeting finally took place in the last week, with Villeneuve fully on board for Knight to get the job.' While rumors about the next Bond actor continue to swirl, don't expect any official casting news soon. Villeneuve is focusing on wrapping Dune: Part Three , and Knight is now diving into the script. Knight is no stranger to srong prestige storytelling. In addition to Peaky Blinders starring Cillian Murphy, he's created or written acclaimed series like the Emmy-nominated Taboo ( BBC/FX ), See ( Apple TV+ ), SAS Rogue Heroes ( BBC ), A Thousand Blows ( Disney+ ), This Town ( BBC ), The Veil ( FX ), and All the Light We Cannot See ( Netflix ), which earned a Golden Globe nod for Best Limited Series. His film credits include Dirty Pretty Things , which won four BIFAs and earned an Oscar nomination for Original Screenplay, as well as Eastern Promises , Spencer , and his own directed features Hummingbird , Locke , and Serenity . Beyond film and TV, Knight co-created Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? , has published four novels, helped craft the 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, and was honored with a CBE in 2020. In 2023, the Royal Television Society awarded him a Fellowship for his contributions to UK television. With Villeneuve directing and Knight writing, Amazon MGM is building a seriously exciting creative foundation for the next era of James Bond . Stay tuned as this team shapes the next 007 adventure. Source: Deadline
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Matilda''s Embeth Davidtz Says Her Son Once Threated to Tell Fans She's ‘Nothing' Like Miss Honey (Exclusive)
Embeth Davidtz is excited for her young adult children to see the fruits of her labor The mom of two recalls balancing years of raising her two kids while also working on the screenplay for her directorial debut, based on the novel by Alexandra Fuller Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight directed by Davidtz is in theaters nowEmbeth Davidtz is excited to see her family proud of her hard work. Speaking with PEOPLE about Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, her directorial and screenwriting debut, the actress talked about the journey bringing this movie to audiences, which ran concurrently to her own journey as a mom of two — son Dylan and daughter Charlotte. "It's great because there was a moment in time when the kids were really little and people would say anything about Matilda, I'd see them sort of get thrilled that my mom is Miss Honey or something. But occasionally my son would sort of mutter, 'You're nothing like Miss Honey,' " she says, referring to her beloved role in the 1996 adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel. "If I'd say, 'You are in a timeout,' or consequences for behavior or whatever, he'd go, 'You're so mean. And the next time someone comes up and tells me that they love you as Miss Honey, I'm going to tell them that you're nothing like her,' " she continues. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Davidtz, 59, recalls a time when work was moving away from Los Angeles, making it harder for her to go after certain acting jobs. "My son, again at a somewhat rebellious stage, he'd go, 'Well what do you do all day?' And I do think I felt, there were a couple of years when they were teenagers where I thought, 'I want my kids to see me working,' " she shared. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! "And when I'd be sitting writing, because it took a long time to write this, I think they might've thought I was just on YouTube or whatever they do on their computers. But I really wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote it again," the working mom explains. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, based on the memoir by Alexandra Fuller, tells the story of apartheid South Africa through the eyes of 8-year-old Bobo, who tries to understand the harsh realities of growing up amidst familial strife and the ongoing racial conflict. In addition to writing and directing the adaptation, Davidtz also stars as Nicola Fuller. "I did many, many drafts of it. And then, when this happened, as my son left for college and my daughter was in her final year of college, they came to see the movie. I mean, it's sort of the fantasy that every parent has that your kids then go, 'Oh my God, that's what you were doing,' " she says. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Davidtz adds that it was "lovely on many, many levels" to see her children understand what she's worked toward. "It's great for women to have their kids see that they have a purpose and do work. And a lot of moms — I feel like the hardest working moms I know — are the ones who are being moms, let alone the ones who have jobs and are being moms," she continues. "I wanted my kids to know that I had done something meaningful outside of just being their mother." Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is in theaters now. Read the original article on People
CNA
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Alex Garland originally pitched a 28 Years Later movie 'completely in Mandarin'
Alex Garland's original pitch for 28 Years Later had the film "completely in Mandarin". The 55-year-old writer-and-director teamed up with Danny Boyle for the third instalment of the horror franchise, and he's admitted the screenplay he started working on following the COVID-19 pandemic was "completely and utterly generic", but with a "punk" twist. Garland told Rolling Stone magazine: "Yeah, it was completely and utterly f****** generic. "There's always been something slightly punk about 28 Days Later…, which I think stems from my age, Danny's age, and where we grew up. "The idea was that a group of military commandos would break quarantine and try to get to the place where the virus had originated, in order to find a cure. When they got there, they found another group that had got there first, and who were trying to weaponise the virus. "The punk element was that the commandos would be Chinese Special Forces, and the film would be completely in Mandarin and subtitled, and just sort of be f****** with people in various ways.' The film would have seen major action sequences, including shootouts and mass attacks, which Garland could "think of a bunch of filmmakers who could have effectively picked it up and run with it.' However, his concern the plot was predictable and not quite right was confirmed when he turned the script over to Boyle. Garland recalled: "Danny, in effect, said to me: 'Alex, are you kidding?' 'He didn't come out with it quite that bluntly. Or maybe he did. But he very nicely kept trying to make it work, suggesting 'what if we did this, what if we did that?' Finally, we both gave up on it." However, the early idea had one advantage because it gave the pair a sense of freedom that allowed them to have a "totally blank slate" for the third film in the franchise.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
James Gunn Says the 'Movie Industry Is Dying' Due to Films Being Made With Unfinished Scripts
James Gunn has a 'number-one reason' why he believes the 'movie industry is dying.' The filmmaker and co-head of DC Studios recently told Rolling Stone that a lot of the bad movies being released are due to production dates being set before scripts are completely finished. More from The Hollywood Reporter Rachel Brosnahan Says Actors Should "Stand By" Their Bad Superhero Movies Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios Order Adult Animation Series 'Mister Miracle' 'Superman' Final Trailer Shows David Corenswet "Doing Important Stuff" 'I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies. It's not because of home screens getting so good,' Gunn said. 'The number-one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.' When Gunn took over at the helm of DC Studios with Peter Safran, he emphasized that superhero films under his guidance would not go into production until scripts were finalized. He even admitted that they 'just killed a project' due to that very reason. 'Everybody wanted to make the movie. It was greenlit, ready to go,' the Superman director said. 'The screenplay wasn't ready. And I couldn't do a movie where the screenplay's not good.' Gunn added, 'And we've been really lucky so far, because Supergirl's script was so fucking good off the bat. And then Lanterns came in, and the script was so fucking good. Clayface, same thing. So fucking good. So we have these scripts that we've been really lucky with or wise in our choices or whatever the combination is.' Not having a mandate from Warner Bros. to deliver a certain number of DC projects has also helped Gunn, as the Guardians of the Galaxy director believes Disney's previous mandate to increase Marvel films and TV shows 'killed them.' Disney CEO Bob Iger has since refocused Marvel on quality over quantity. 'We have to treat every project as if we're lucky,' Gunn explained. 'We don't have the mandate [at DC Studios] to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year. So we're going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality. We're obviously going to do some good things and some not-so-good things, but hopefully on average everything will be as high-quality as possible. Nothing goes before there's a screenplay that I personally am happy with.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Geek Tyrant
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
James Gunn Says 'Very Famous Movie Actor' Is Writing a DC Elseworlds Movie Script — GeekTyrant
In a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly, DC Studios co-head James Gunn dropped an intriguing little bombshell that a very famous movie actor is currently writing a script for an Elseworlds project. But before anyone gets too excited, Gunn made it clear that the project is far from a done deal. This is what he said: 'The script still needs to be good. We're not going to make it unless we like the script. But I think that there are exceptions. I told it to one person who came in and pitched something that was an Elseworlds tale. It was a very, very, very famous movie actor. 'I said, 'It depends on how the screenplay comes out … If it's a masterpiece, I'll make it, but it has to be a masterpiece.' [Laughs] And he is like, 'I don't know if it's a masterpiece.' He got all funny. 'He's still working on it, though. He is still trying to do it, so we'll see. Masterpiece might be pushing it, but it's got to be really great.' So who's the actor? Gunn didn't say, and that mystery might be half the fun for now. Still, this gives us a peek behind the curtain at how Elseworlds projects are being considered under the new DC regime. For Gunn, they need to be just as strong as the main DCU films to warrant their own space. He continued: 'If it's an Elseworlds tale, then it's worth telling something that might tend to confuse a few people. But also part of our thing is really being clear about what is Elseworlds and what is DCU.' So far, the Elseworlds banner only officially includes Matt Reeves' Batman universe, which covers The Batman , its upcoming sequel, and the spin-off Penguin series. The Batman Part II has been delayed to 2027, and Gunn has asked fans to be patient while Reeves finishes the script. Meanwhile, DC Studios is focused on launching its new shared universe. After Creature Commandos gave us a taste, things kick off this summer with Superman , followed by Supergirl , Clayface , and more DCU entries over the next few years. The tricky part here, as Gunn notes, is avoiding audience confusion. Juggling multiple Batmen or having parallel versions of major heroes can get messy. Gunn has even admitted that Batman is currently 'a problem' for DC. Which brings us back to this A-lister's script. Even if it turns out to be something special, there's no guarantee it'll ever make it to production. The future of any Elseworlds project will hinge on timing, quality, and talent. But, I do love that they are looking at making self-contained, creatively driven comic book movies without the commitment of a cinematic universe.
