In 2016 we will witness an expansion of the world of Harry Potter; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will depict adventurer Newt Scamander documenting the world’s most fearsome creatures seventy years before Harry’s arrival at Hogwarts. The writer of the legendary book series JK Rowling will tackle the screenplay for the first time while the search for a director as so far proved fruitless. Alfonso Cuaron, Oscar winning director of Gravity and Children of Men as well as the acclaimed third Potter instalment Prisoner of Azkaban, reportedly turned down the job leaving suggestions for other previous directors of the franchise. Both Philosopher’s Stone/Chamber of Secrets’ Chris Columbus and Goblet of Fire’s Mike Newell have somewhat lost their way since. David Yates, helmer of films 5-8, would then seem a viable choice were he not preoccupied with the new adaptation of Tarzan. Variety have know reported that Yates may wriggle through scheduling conflicts to direct both as he’s now in talks to direct Fantastic Beasts.
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It wasn’t long ago that The Hateful Eight was dead. Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Jackie Brown, Inglourious, Reservoir Dogs, Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction) had announced his new Western thriller but then cancelled after a script leak. However, when a live script read proved massively popular, the project kicked back into gear. Samuel L Jackson (The Avengers, Jurassic Park), Kurt Russell (The Thing, Vanilla Sky) and Bruce Dern (Nebraska, Coming Home) have already been cast but it’s now rumoured that one of today’s biggest stars may also join the ensemble. Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, best known as star of Winter’s Bone, American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook as well as franchise figurehead Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, is rumoured to be in talks for a role in the film.
Thanks to the massive successes of The Sopranos, Mad Men, Game of Thrones and their like, television is no longer perceived as a step down for film stars, rather an equally respectable art form. It has attracted huge stars such as Matthew MacConaughey and Woody Harrelson to True Detective or Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright to House of Cards. With quality at a high, there’s been an resurgence of shows based on films. The most recent was the brilliant adaptation of the Coen brothers’ cult classic Fargo, starring Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton. Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys is next up although that’s far less promising.
The latest to get snapped up is Minority Report, a greatly underated high concept sci-fi thriller. Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Colour Purple, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Munich, Lincoln, Jurassic Park) was the director for the 2002 release whilst Tom Cruise, Max Von Sydow and Colin Farrell starred. We can see the concept, a Phillip K Dick invention of detectives preventing future murders from occurring after witnessing them in precognitive visions, working well in serial form as a futuristic crime drama. Spielberg will produce the show while Godzilla’s Max Borenstein is set to write it.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – November 18th 2016
The Hateful Eight – December 2015
Minority Report – 2016?
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