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Del Toro & Eick Behind ABC’s New Hulk

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Remember the new live-action Incredible Hulk series that Marvel and ABC are working on? Geek-friendly writer/director Guillermo del Toro and Battlestar Galactica producer David Eick are the team behind this new imagining of the Hulk’s story for TV.

Del Toro’s involvement is enough to get me onboard, as this will be his first-ever foray into television. And the Hulk is just the kind of outsidery character that he’s known for.

This new incarnation of the Hulk will be an origin story for the character and his alter ego Bruce Banner, who will be younger than past versions (mid-twenties is likely). The Hulk himself will be realized with a mixture of CGI, puppetry, and prosthetics (no doubt to keep the effects budget under control). Del Toro will put his design skills to good use in giving the Jade Giant a new look, and may even direct the pilot. Eick will write the script, based on a story by himself and del Toro.

The series isn’t expected to be ready to air as part of the Fall 2011 season, but could be a mid-season replacement, or a Fall 2012 new show. Assuming it gets picked up in the first place.

It’s Alive! ‘Munsters’ Reboot in the Works

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When I first saw a headline proclaiming that The Munsters was being reimagined for NBC, I let out an audible groan. Like many others, it always seemed to me like a kitschy, unfunny copycat of the sublime Addams Family. The thought of updating it for today sounds just plain awful.

But then I saw who was re-creating the show: Bryan Fuller. The genius behind the delightfully whimsical Pushing Daisies. And you know what? Fuller might just be able to pull it off. After all, the Munsters themselves could have walked into an episode of Daisies and not felt all that out of place. Fuller has just the right sensibility to make something like this work, and since the new show is going for a “Modern Family meets True Blood” vibe, I think it’s in the perfect hands.

My enthusiasm was solidified when I saw that Guillermo del Toro, the big-screen writer/director behind Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, and many more, might be involved in producing the show in some capacity. That did it for me.

I’m in. Bring it. I don’t care what the property is, I’ll follow my favorite creatives wherever they go, and Fuller and del Toro are definitely among them.

The Hobbit to be moved to 4Q 2012

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I’m pretty sure that a lot of people are eagerly anticipating the film adaptation of The Hobbit. Count me in as one of those people. I’m a huge Tolkien fan so It’s already a given but with the adaptation to be directed by Guillermo del Toro, who is one of my favorite directors, my excitement for the movie has doubled.
The initial release schedule for The Hobbit was already pegged for December 2011, and that’s just a little less than two years away. But then, this is Hollywood and schedules are sometimes meant to be broken. According to Warner Bros., it looks like The Hobbit will only be ready by the last quarter of 2012. A full year after the initial 2011 scheduled release.
Where does the movie — two of them, actually — stand in terms of its work schedule? The script for the second film is still being finished by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Del Toro. Only after this has been submitted and approved would a budget for both movies be locked in along with the start of casting.
Looks like we’re in for a longer wait, Tolkien fans.

The Orphanage remake announced

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the-orphanage
Yet another remake has been announced.
I knew that when The Orphanage, the Guillermo del Toro – produced and Juan Antonio Bayona directed horror film was released and gained great reviews from critics worldwide that Hollywood won’t be able to keep its talons off this beautiful film.
New Line / Warner Bros. has announced that it will embark on a remake of The Orphanage. Instead of hiring original director Bayona, the studio has announced that it has signed Mark Pellington to direct the English language remake.
Even though Bayona will not be sitting on the director’s chair for this remake, Guillermo del Toro will still be involved as one of the producers (along with Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson). Del Toro will also co-write (along with Larry Fessenden) the script for the remake. With Del Toro’s close involvement in the remake there is hope that this is not going to suck as much as the other Hollywood remakes that essentially just butcher the source material for the sole purpose of Americanizing it.
Director Pellington’s previous credits include Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies and Henry Poole is Here. He also directed the concert movie U23D. So in the directorial front, it looks like there is a bit of promise too. Let’s hope that the Hollywood version of the The Orphanage is a refreshing interpretation of a wonderful Spanish horror movie.

McKellen talks The Hobbit

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Sir Ian McKellen recently shared some news about The Hobbit, the prequel to the Lord of The Rings trilogy, which will be helmed by Guillermo del Toro.
In an interview with Empire Magazin, McKellen said the scripts for the two films (yes, it will be divided into two movies) will be submitted very soon. The next step will be budgeting the movies and then finally casting can begin. He did reveal in a latter interview that the Lord of The Rings cast whose characters were included in The Hobbit will be returning. Of course, this includes McKellen who will reprise his role of Gandalf.
McKellen shared that Del Toro plans to shoot the movie for 383 days, which is quite a long time.