Bestselling author Jeff Guinn combines exhaustive research with surprising, newly discovered material to tell the real tale of two kids from a filthy Dallas slum who fell in love and then willingly traded their lives for a brief interlude of excitement and, more important, fame. Go Down Together has it all—true romance, rebellion against authority, bullets flying, cars crashing, and, in the end, a dramatic death at the hands of a celebrity lawman.

This is the real story of Bonnie and Clyde and their troubled times, delivered with cinematic sweep by a masterful storyteller.

Up in the Air‘s screenwriter Sheldon Turner is writing it. Go Down Together could be Burger’s follow-up to Uncharted, which he is in pre-production now on.

Source: Deadline

Nathan Fillion told SDCC 2011 attendees this:

“I am certainly still interested in playing Nathan Drake. I think every actor I know wants their action-adventure hero, their Indiana Jones. That would be a good one for me, I think. What I don’t want is people pressuring that poor man [director Neil Burger] and souring him on the actual idea. If we could somehow just… do you remember the movie Inception? I think that’s what we need to do. We need to let him land on the idea on his own.”

As much as we all love Nathan Fillion, and with Castle getting more and more popular, doesn’t this all seem futile?

Source: Screen Rant

“Mainly we’re beginning from scratch and going back to the videogame,” says Burger, who hasn’t even looked at former director David O. Russell’s plans for the project, “...It’s really one of the most cinematic videogames, and one that has really developed characters. So, you know, there’s a lot of cool, really intense things that, if they work for the film’s story, I want to use them.”

“It’s really up to date in its own way,” he says, “The Bourne Identity isn’t your father’s Cold War movie and this is a very different kind of treasure hunt movie. It’s very real and it has kind of an insane, wild feeling that comes out of the character; Nate being this con man and a bit of a hustler, living by his wits, ballsy and capable of anything.”

“I think he’s a good actor,” Burger adds, “[But] I think there’s a lot of really good actors who don’t even look like [Nathan Drake] who could play it. Where we are right now is that we’re literally starting from scratch on the screenplay, and I think that once we finish it, then we’ll go to actors and see who’s available and who’s right for the parts. Whenever that happens.”

Thoughts?

The Film:

Everywhere you look, people are trying to be more than human. It’s the Digital Age and a 4G network is just a firmware upgrade to get our information and lives faster than light. Can we even process the speed of information? By this, we appear rather primitive, and if Singularity is inevitable, we better find an app to better ourselves – and fast. Limitless is a wonderful parable to our current times and dilemma. A startling movie about not questioning a “what if?” scenario, but answering “what now?”

The only side effects is the God Complex app, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) created. Limitless is a real-life sci-fi tale as if Gordon Gekko was Jesus Christ.

By taking a simple clear pill, called NZT, the world and all of Eddie Morra’s brain’s knowledge was at his finger tips. It’s a wonderful set-up and if true, I would highly recommend doing drugs, but the consequences are far more fascinating. If one man had all the answers, would we blindly follow him and accept it? Or question it? What if we could possess it? Limitless is endless with its parables. At its core, the film is a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse, aided by a visual style that’s always moving, always ambitious. Director Neil Burger’s (interview here) visual flair is reminiscent of Fight Club. As Eddie takes the NZT pill, we’re taking on a HSR trip through the city. It’s an adrenaline rush in itself, but it helps craft the feeling of the trip Eddie’s on.

Bradley Cooper is just debonair; his character goes from the typical loser who sucks up the welfare to this suave know-it-all, is impressive, as is his handling of the comedy and dramatic touches in the script. Without Cooper, Limitless doesn’t work. The film is intelligent, pops energy, and offers us interesting situations, which makes for more than your typical Hollywood entertainment. Maybe we have reached our boundaries as a species? But given the opportunity to be more than a man, maybe we could fix our issues and get there before A.I. does. Limitless is science-fiction, minus the fiction, and it’s damn entertaining.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: While Fox Home Entertainment has sent over a screener copy for this DVD review, it’s hard to fully judge the standard def quality of the video and audio. Knowing Fox, and after seeing this copy, if this is a final version of the disc, then we should be getting a solid release. Colors are bold, audio is aggressive, although all of this would be better on HD (Blu-ray), but fans should not be disappointed. 

Unrated Extended Cut: Minimal differences; just extended violence and whatnot, which really doesn’t hinder or help the film. Because the difference are so minimal, it’s hard to fully support or deny this cut, but fans are offered a choice between the theatrical and this version at the start of the main menu.

Commentary: Neil Burger flies solo for this track, and while most of what he says we all sort of know already, there’s plenty of discussion on the story, the making of the film, and the visual FX, which should make for a decent listen.

A Man without Limits: Filled with interviews and on-set footage, we get a decent making of here even if it’s just an EPK featurette, so all comments from the cast are all quite observational.

Alternate Ending: Not too much is different here, than the one in the theaters, except a subtle nod to maybe Cooper’s character is looking for a way off the drug for good.

Trailer rounds out the extras.

The Film: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The DVD: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I thought Limitless was an interesting film visually, with decent weight to the drama. Can Burger deliver on this video game adaptation? Thoughts?

The only side effects is the God Complex app, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) created. Limitless is a real-life sci-fi tale as if Gordon Gekko was Jesus Christ.

By taking a simple clear pill, called NZT, the world and all of Eddie Morra’s brain’s knowledge was at his finger tips. It’s a wonderful set-up and if true, I would highly recommend doing drugs, but the consequences are far more fascinating. If one man had all the answers, would we blindly follow him and accept it? Or question it? What if we could possess it? Limitless is endless with its parables. At its core, the film is a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse, aided by a visual style that’s always moving, always ambitious. Director Neil Burger’s visual flair is reminiscent of Fight Club. As Eddie takes the NZT pill, we’re taking on a HSR trip through the city. It’s an adrenaline rush in itself, but it helps craft the feeling of the trip Eddie’s on.

Bradley Cooper is just debonair; his character goes from the typical loser who sucks up the welfare to this suave know-it-all, is impressive, as is his handling of the comedy and dramatic touches in the script. Without Cooper, Limitless doesn’t work. The film is intelligent, pops energy, and offers us interesting situations, which makes for more than your typical Hollywood entertainment. Maybe we have reached our boundaries as a species? But given the opportunity to be more than a man, maybe we could fix our issues and get there before A.I. does. Limitless is science-fiction, minus the fiction, and it’s damn entertaining.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

What if we told you that we could make you smart, rich, and powerful with one easy step. All you have to do is take one pill a day for the rest of your life and the possibilities are limitless. Is Sir Branson on the NZT like Bradley Cooper’s character?

Find out:

We’ll have more on Limitless soon, but feel free to check out our interviews with screenwriter Leslie Dixon and director Neil Burger, online now!

Jon: I’ve been really curious about this film ever since those viral campaigns were released. Those were fun, can you explain them?

Neil Burger: Those were an idea that we had. How do you present the film in a new way, with the idea of what if a new pill could make you rich and powerful? Would you do it? We started playing with it, coming up with stuff, until Bradley (Cooper) came up with the “side effects” angle of the coma, suicidal tendencies, etc. It was like “oh my gosh, we should do that as a commercial!” So we did it, and the studio was game for it, luckily.

Jon: It’s been a few years since your last film, The Lucky Ones, so how did Limitless come to you?

Neil Burger: Interesting, um, when did The Lucky Ones come out? Two? Two and a half years? Yes. The producers sent me the script for what was then called The Dark Fields and up until then, I had only written scripts to direct, so this was different. At first I was reluctant, but I soon realized it was a fantastic opportunity to take what was written on paper and just go with it. Push it into something that’s a new realm for me, in visuals and  in a narrative, something where I can just direct. It was kind of liberating.

Jon: Did you go back to Alan Glynn’s novel?

Neil Burger: Yes, I did. I went back and read it. We reshaped the script somewhat, even though Leslie Dixon (here) did a great job, she was open to some changes. It’s one of those things, where you hand you baby over, the director’s change things, the actors get a hold of it, then the audience knows more about the film somehow. That’s a sad part of the process, but we looked at the novel for some things again. But it’s all Leslie.

Jon: The novel had a darker, more personal ending. Did you like her changes to the final third of the film?

Neil Burger: I did. I liked the book, but the film is a different beast, you know. Like a symphony, it had to go out with a bang, and the book just petered out. It could have been interesting, but you make an agreement with the audience, so we came up with something that’s more powerful. The ending I liked, it was something we were playing around with.

Jon: Shia LaBeouf was originally cast as Eddie, but fell out, which gave us Bradley Cooper. Can you talk about the casting?

Neil Burger: Well, yeah Shia was in it, but then Shia broke his hand, so it didn’t work out for him. Bradley just came out in The Hangover and his star was rising. He was actually perfect for the role. He liked the script, we met for a meeting, met again, and he agreed. The studio was starting to think he could lead the film, which was hard, since financing depends on a bankable star, but it was all aligning for us. We were really lucky, since it’s a real tour de force part and did an amazing job in it.

Jon: Robert De Niro also is in the cast. On The Illusionist, you worked with Edward Norton, and both Norton and De Niro are intense actors and some directors have claimed that they are hard to work with. What’s your secret?

Neil Burger: De Niro is an intense actor, but it’s his acting that is that way. He’s actually a gentle and kind man. He’s generous; he wanted to be directed, which is fantastic. Bradley felt the same way, since he said De Niro was one of the more giving actors, present on set and generous, really honest. I don’t know how he’s been in other times in his career, for me, he’s incredibly easy and game for anything, a real collaborator. It’s intimidating having such a legend there, in your face, but no, he’s great.

Jon: The film has a fascinating premise of a man who pushes himself to the brink of access and riches, all through a pill. With the recent baseball steroids scandals, Enron, and our economy, the film feels like a parable or a warning.

Neil Burger: Yeah, I think so too.

Jon: So was it these elements that drew you to the film after a three year hiatus?

Neil Burger: Yeah, I think your right. I’m interested in all those ideas about power and what one would do to get and keep all of that power. What would we give up morally? In terms of Bradley Cooper’s character, he takes this pill and he’s willing to do anything to keep this pill, even though there is characters more ruthless trying to get it. His girlfriend asks him to stop, and he won’t.

I think that idea, that moral question, as you say, it’s like Enron; it’s this illusion of riches. How far are you willing to go? Power. Money. Bradley Cooper is a real winning character and you’re with him despite whether he does good things or bad.

Limitless is in theaters March 18th.

Friel will play Cooper’s ex-wife, a woman who was a go-getter before their breakup (THR). The story is about Eddie hooked on MDT-48, a sort of Viagra for the brain-a designer drug that’s redesigning his life. But while MDT is helping Eddie achieve the kind of success he’s only dreamed about, it’s also chipping away at his sanity-splitting headaches, spontaneous blackouts, violent outbursts. Now that his supply is running low, Eddie must venture into the drug’s dark past to feed his habit. What he discovers proves that MDT, once a dream come true, has become his worst nightmare.

The feature, already set for distribution under Universal Pictures, is positioned to be released on March 18th, 2011. Friel wrapped up her roles on a couple of upcoming productions, those being Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and William Monahan’s London Boulevard.

Bright Star

We’ve been going off on here for quite some time about the thriller The Dark Fields that’s been helmed by Neil Burger. Cornish is going to take on the lead role in the picture that already includes the talents of Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper. The feature, based on the novel by Alan Glynn, centers on a guy who gets his hands on a top-secret pharmaceutical smart pill but soon discovers that it has lethal and lasting side effects. Both features are expected to be released sometime in 2011.

The story centers on a down-and-out Gotham writer (Cooper) who comes into possession of a designer drug that gives him newfound intelligence and success. De Niro will play a brilliant financial mogul who begins pursuing Cooper’s character (Variety).

Neil Burger is attached to direct, his previous credits include The Illusionist and The Lucky Ones. De Niro can be seen once more on the big screen in a few films this year, a couple of them being the John Curran thriller Stone, Little Fockers and the Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez directed Machete.

The Dark Fields was originally written by Alan Glynn and is being adapted for the big screen by scribe Leslie Dixon. Dixon is also attached to write the sequel to the hit 2004 film “Mean Girls” and penned “Hairspray”. Producing the film will be Ryan Kavanaugh under Relativity Media along with Scott Kroopf and Leslie Dixon.

Source: CinemaBlend