Screen Talk: Hollywood looks out for film-makers

Jafar Panahi

As a community, Hollywood takes the challenges facing film-makers around the globe very seriously. After an Iranian appeals court upheld a six-year jail sentence and 20-year film-making and travel ban against the acclaimed director Jafar Panahi, US organisations rallied in his support.

Panahi, above left, and his plight in Iran garnered messages of support from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (the Oscar folks), which said his plight and that of six other Iranian film-makers arrested recently demanded the West'sattention. According to the academy, Iranian film-makers are artists not political combatants. The Screen Actors' Guild said Iran's great tradition of the arts was "under attack" by such actions, while the Writers' Guild urged Tehran to remember that artists had "the right to hold and express opinions".

Vintage video

Classic 1980s video games featuring apes and monsters taking apart cities might not be the most obvious source for a celluloid dream, but New Line Cinema is developing a big screen adaptation of Rampage, the video game that featured just that.

It reckons the technology now is such that apes and monsters rampaging around a city are now filmable without having to cost the earth, and it will still look good. Writers are being approached now for script duties. The game revolves around a trio of mild-mannered humans who mutate into a giant Godzilla-like lizard, a werewolf and a gorilla, and fight the military while destroying buildings.

Maid of honour

As everyone knows, Tinseltown enjoys a remake, especially if it means that an existing, quality film can be aired without resorting to subtitles. So US audiences who enjoyed the Italian movie The Double Hour, directed by Giuseppe Capotondi, from Samuel Goldwyn Films, can look forward to an American reworking with Joshua Marston set to write and direct.

The original, released in 2009, follows a Slovenian hotel maid and an ex-policeman who fall in love after meeting at a speed-dating event. Marston recently co-wrote and directed The Forgiveness Of Blood. He also wrote and directed the 2004 drama Maria Full Of Grace.

Blonde ambition

Frankenstein's monster is getting a movie all to himself. So far the film – I, Frankenstein – is sewing up cast members faster than Dr Frankenstein could body parts. Yvonne Strahovski, the star of Chuck, is closing in on a part in the action monster flick that also features Aaron Eckhart. Miranda Otto, best known for playing Eowyn in the Lord Of The Rings movies, also is on board. Stuart Beattie is directing the picture, which will sees the monster (Eckhart) lumbering between humanity and monsterdom while being chased by demons that want to discover the secret of re-animation.

Strahovski will play a scientist and re-animation expert who is tricked into working for demons seeking to create an army of the undead. Otto will play a queen of the gargoyles who wants to help Frankenstein. Bill Nighy is in talks to play the demon leader. It's all based on a comic by Kevin Grevioux and is due to shoot this winter in Australia.

Woody Woodpecker knocks again

Mounting studio-level movies is often cited as being akin to knocking one's head against a brick wall. But how about doing it against a tree trunk? Plans are taking flight for Woody Woodpecker (above right) to star in a big-screen adventure. Illumination Entertainment, the Universal-based animation house behind Despicable Me, is working on a feature project centred on the woodpecker with the crimson crown. John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, who co-wrote the Will Ferrell comedy Blades Of Glory, are in talks to develop the story.