Gods and Kings is being described as “a movie like a Braveheart-ish version of the Moses story.” The film isn’t set to be a remake of Cecile B. DeMille’s film, and the studio wants to make it in the same vein as Saving Private Ryan. ”There have been glossy versions of the Moses story but this would be a real warrior story,” an insider said. Oh, and no. The film isn’t being made for 3D.

Source: Collider.

From the director of Paranormal Activity, Oren Peli, and executive producer, Steven Spielberg, comes a suspenseful drama series about an explorer who goes missing and the attempt made by his wife, son and others to track him down. The River will premiere early 2012 on ABC.

Source: You Tube

Spielberg’s film is already getting some good early feedback, but  he states that a sequel has yet to be green-lit. However, everything is good to go. ““[Sony and Paramount] were willing to do one movie with us and then give us the financial werewithal to develop a script, do all the visual storyboards and get it really in launch position. So we can launch pretty quickly on a second movie. The script is already written,” he said. The only problem is that Jackson will be busy with The Hobbit for the next couple of years, and it will take a while for the sequel to develop.

Well, we should next year if he intends to continue working on the franchise. But the biggest issue many fans are likely curious about is the direction of the story. Dark of the Moon tied up alot of loose ends, and we’ve already heard the film won’t be a reboot (here) as many were hoping. However, all they have to do is go back and look at what the comics did. There’s plenty of source material to continue into a fourth film. It’s all a matter of doing it right, and Bay showed us in the last film he’s learned from his mistakes.

The film is expected to cover Moses’ life from beginning to end. During Moses’ life he led slaves out of Egypt to freedom, the Ten Plagues occurred, the Burning Bush, the Ten Commandments, escape across the Red Sea, and the delivery to Israel. That’s a lot of ground to cover in one film, but Spielberg would be the right person for the job. It’s not meant to be a remake of the 1956 classic, and will be based upon The Book of Exodus.

His answers? On Indy 5, he off-handedly stated: “[I'm] hopeful for a 5th film.” Uh…

On the inevitable Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark/Temple of Doom/The Last Cursade Blu-rays, he mentioned: No set dates, but once George Lucas is done with the Star Wars Blu-rays, he’ll begin on Indy. Probably Christmas 2012 is my best guess.

Source: Collider

Jaws

While at SDCC 2011, under all of the Jurassic Park 4 and The Adventures of Tintin talk, Spielberg muttered an interesting tidbits about a new Jaws film, although it’s unclear if it’s a sequel or remake.

Spielberg confirmed he has an idea for a scene but remained reserved in revealing too many details, says WTMA. “I don’t want to give Universal any ideas, they’re going to run off and make it with somebody else,” he said.

Hmm.

Steven Spielberg has recently had meetings with screen writer Mark Protosevich, the very same man whom was going to be apart of the failed Oldboy remake. Those said meetings are concerning how to reboot Jurassic Park, throwing around ideas and such. Universal and Spielberg have stated that there is no script, but the ideas are brewing.

It is interesting to consider, and since the days of the original film, technology has come a long way. And Spielberg is producing the upcoming dinosaur themed television series Terra Nova. Is there enough interest and ideas to bring this franchise back? Time will tell.

Source: Heat Vision

Tyrese Gibson recently spoke to MovieWeb and offered this interesting tidbit about the series’ long-time producer, Steven Spielberg. “If Michael Bay decides to come back for Transfomers 4, I’ll be there. We’ll make it happen. (Right now), I think we are all exhausted with the process. If this movie does what we are all assuming it’s going to do, then, I think its time to revisit this conversation. When it’s time. There are no concepts, no direction, no nothing for Transfomers 4, because everyone has been so focused on Transformers: Dark of the Moon. But here is the safety net. Are you ready for this? Michael Bay decides to not come back for Transfomers 4. There is always Steven Spielberg! I am not saying that Steven Spielberg is for a fact going to direct Transfomers 4. But it is a beautiful safety net to know that one of the biggest, most respected directors in the world happens to be an executive producer on Transformers. He is someone who knows this world. And he could easily step in and direct Transfomers 4 if he decided to. The thing is, there are a lot of directors who deal with producers who happen to not be Steven Spielberg. So if the director decides to bow out of their film, they are sent scrambling. “Who can we get to direct this?” What a hell of a safety net this is if Michael Bay decides not to come back. Steven Spielberg could easily step in and make it happen.”

Seems to me, more like wishful thinking. Isn’t Spielberg tied up with other robots in Robopocalypse?

Super 8 is J.J. Abrams throw back to early Spielberg, and films of the late 70′s and early 80′s. Straight off the bat, it had elements of Close Encounters/E.T./Jaws/The Goonies to name a few. While it had those elements, it did not feel like a rip off or a recreation, instead it really is its own vehicle. Certain things aside this film felt like it could have been lifted right out of that time frame, it was an old school approach to film making. Rather than have something that shows off what it is right away, this film slowly reveals itself, it has an almost slow burn feel to it. We get the set up, we meet our characters and we become involved with them, it takes the time for us as the audience to connect with them. When certain things start happening, we’re invested in the characters and more than willing to go on this journey with them.

The marketing and advertisement for this film revealed as little as possible, and it worked really well as far as my experience went. This is a film best seen with little knowledge, as seeing this mystery unfold is part of the fun. The beginning of the film is a fantastic way to really grab the audience, we meet our main characters starting with Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), his father the Deputy Sheriff (Kyle Chandler) and his group of friends (Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Riley Griffiths, Gabriel Basso and Elle Fanning). Joe is dealing with a lot, and his escape is making this film with his friends and his excitement that the girl he likes is going to be involved. The performances in this film are nothing short of fantastic, with Joel Courtney being the real heart and soul of it. The kids were not annoying in the least, they felt real and I could even see pieces of myself in each one of them. The way they acted, their friendship and the reactions they had were very much natural. Kyle Chandler is a fantastic actor, his role as the father and Sheriff was quite good and the chemistry he had with Courtney worked so well. Their dynamic as father and son was believable and at times very moving. I was quite impressed with Ron Eldard in a small role, he is a talented actor and it was nice to see him.

There is no doubt that J.J. Abrams is a talented man and director, he hit all the right notes with this film. He got fantastic performances from his actors, and he gave me this feel of mystery and wonder that I don’t think I had felt sitting in a theater seat since the likes of Jurassic Park 18 years ago. There were scenes in this film that actually gave me goosebumps, when someone can do that to do they have done their job. The score by Michael Giacchino was great, it helped give the film that classic feel it was going for. Super 8 isn’t one of those fares where you can just leave your brain at the door and watch crazy action on the screen, it actually makes you sit and pay attention and care about the events that are unfolding in front of you. He makes sure to reveal things in due time and go by ‘the less is more’ approach and it worked like a charm. The film had heart, it was smart and made me feel like a kid again. It had different themes running through it, with a real coming of age feel shining through. It was actually really nice to have a film where the characters are developed and you can get a real feel for who they are. The relationships between everyone plays a huge part, and there are some truly beautiful moments (I will not divulge which they are). I almost would have been just as satisfied if this was a coming of age film about a group of kids making a film. The sci-fi aspect of this was handled superbly, it worked really well and it didn’t feel out of place or unwelcome.

For me Super 8 was a return to the magical days of cinema, in an era where bigger blockbusters are full of crazy action, underdeveloped characters and an ADD approach, it was refreshing to see something different and wondrous. This is something I look forward to having many adventures with.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars