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By 1993, Sylvester Stallone's career was in a precarious place. The "Rocky" and "Rambo" star hadn't yet reached the stage where he could be described as washed up — a point he arguably reached by the early 2000s before reviving his career with the excellent "Rocky Balboa." But the early '90s were a tricky time for Stallone. His last "Rambo" movie, 1988's "Rambo III" had failed to make as much as its predecessor and his last "Rocky" movie, 1990's "Rocky V" was a historic low point for the franchise that originally made Sly a star. Once Arnold Schwarzenegger tricked Stallone into starring in the 1992 flop "Stop! Or my Mom will Shoot," the man's career was in serious jeopardy.

In 1993, however, Stallone had somewhat of a mini comeback, starting with mountain climbing action thriller "Cliffhanger," which was not only a commercial success but managed to impress enough critics that it seemed...

In the early 2000s, Sylvester Stallone was arguably at the lowest point of his career. Having written himself into Hollywood with "Rocky" in 1976, the actor had gone on to redefine action movies as one of the most significant action stars of the '80s. When 1988's "Rambo III" and 1990's "Rocky V" failed to connect with audiences and critics, however, it seemed his time in the spotlight might have been waning. It didn't help that his longtime rival Arnold Schwarzenegger tricked him into appearing in the flop "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot" in 1992.

In spite of this, the always resilient actor found his way back to relevancy by starring in 1993's "Cliffhanger". That same year, he also starred opposite Wesley Snipes in the box office hit "Demolition Man," which isn't remembered quite as fondly as his rock climbing actioner but was a commercial success that has garnered somewhat of...

Pierce Brosnan felt a personal connection to the story in his new film The Last Rifleman, in which he portrays a nearly 93-year-old World War II veteran grappling with the pain of his past.

“I thought it was such a heartfelt story, and it took me back to a part of Ireland that I didn’t know,” the Ireland-born actor tells The Hollywood Reporter of the movie that filmed in Belfast. “My stepfather was in the Second World War. He was a Scotsman from Glasgow. He talked little of the war, but he was in the tank regiment, and he talked about a particular incident which haunted him.”

Loosely based on the true story of British D-Day veteran Bernard Jordan, The Last Rifleman is now available via on-demand platforms and includes a similarly haunting backstory for Artie Crawford (Brosnan). Following the death of his wife, Artie plans to escape from...

Renny Harlin was once the heir apparent to the coke-soaked '80s action empire built by John McTiernan, Joel Silver, and Shane Black. So the news of the Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2 director returning to high-octane cinema with The Beast is exciting for action fans who grew up with his follow-the-fun approach to filmmaking.

The Beast also reunites Harlin with Samuel L. Jackson, who he directed in the proto-shark-sploitation film Deep Blue Sea and the truly GOATed Christmas movie The Long Kiss Goodnight. The film's roster also includes Suicide Squad standout Joel Kinnaman and Guy Burnet of Oppenheimer. Harlin spoke to Deadline saying:

Sam is not just one of those screen icons, but also a dear friend, and joining forces for another action extravaganza has me inspired beyond belief. Joel Kinnaman is another magnetic talent and a good friend as well. Once in a while a new writer with...

Exclusive: Before filming got underway last month on action film The Beast, Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger) came aboard as director, taking over from the previously announced James Madigan (The Meg second unit director).

The team is halfway through an eight-week shoot in Madrid and Spain’s Canary Islands. As we previously revealed, Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad) and Guy Burnet (Oppenheimer) are starring.

The project had been due to start in early September but was pushed back a little due to LED stages needing further tech prep, we’re told. No reason was given for Madigan’s exit.

The film’s title refers to a presidential limousine nicknamed “The Beast” by the Secret Service. In the movie, when a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S., the president (Jackson) uncovers the extent of The Beast’s highly classified offensive capabilities.

Keith Kjarval (Tin Soldier...

The Bold and the Beautiful (B&b) spoilers tease that Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada) made an audacious Friday Cliffhanger appearance last week. Fans saw the jailbird in all of her kooky glory as she tried to snow her mom Poppy Nozawa (Romy Park).

Poppy could barely stand to look at Luna, who claimed that she hates what she did and doesn’t even know that person!

Then, as soon as she was back in her cell she smiled wickedly as Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) burned the letter she sent him. The problem is, Bill appeared to be affected by her words, and we can tell you that Luna may have a partner in crime—this doesn’t look good for Bill.

The Bold And The Beautiful Spoilers – Is Dollar Bill About To Blindsided?

Luna told Bill that they are a lot alike, tempestuous creatures who have made mistakes. Luna knows what buttons to push,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSLa région centrale.Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States for a second time.Major film distributors declined to pick up Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice (2024) under threat of legal action from the Trump campaign, just as recent documentaries, including No Other Land and The Bibi Files (both 2024) have been neglected.In a stunning blow to film preservation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has laid off sixteen employees from its archive and library departments as part of a broad “restructuring” plan. Several were instrumental archivists who had been at the Academy for years.Not only are Moroccan filmmakers receiving plum spots in international festival lineups, but investments from foreign productions, a new streaming service,...

$700 dollars to rent a coffee machine?

There were many topics of conversation at this year’s AFM, not least the market’s seismic switch from Santa Monica to Las Vegas and the (slightly more) seismic matter of the U.S. presidential elections, which just so happened to coincide with the first day of the event (in the swing swate of Nevada) on Nov. 5.

But there was also the matter of the various costs involved, including the somewhat eye-watering amount companies were being asked to pay should they want to offer guests coffee in their already expensively rented office rooms in the Palms.

Few sales companies Variety spoke made the splurge. Several — which shall not be named here — snuck their own machines in. Others stuck to water (a small bottle of which was going for about $6.50 in one hotel lobby).

But hideously expensive beverages are all well and good if buyers...

Pierce Brosnan will always be best known for playing James Bond in Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and more, but his career has spanned decades, genres, and scales, appearing in countless other classics, including Mrs. Doubtfire, Mamma Mia, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Mars Attacks! to name a few. Now Brosnan takes another entirely unique turn in The Last Rifleman, a true story about Bernard Jordan, the WW2 Veteran who escaped from a senior living home to pay tribute to the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. Below the surface of the story lies an investigation of the men Brosnan says were, "wrenched and thrown into gunfire and death."

The character Artie Crawford is loosely based on Jordan, and Brosnan "ages up" about 20 years. The transformation into this older man haunted by his past, the loss of his wife, and the passage of time is rendered masterfully by Brosnan in...

Like a veteran high roller playing the odds, indie film execs crowding the new Vegas venue at the Palms Casino for this year’s American Film Market are hedging their bets. The independent film business, a risky proposal at the best of times, has becoming increasingly precarious with theatrical releases an all-or-nothing proposal — the jackpot of Longlegs versus the bust of Borderlands and Megalopolis — and buyers hesitant to place their chips on anything that doesn’t look like a sure thing.

For indie movies at the AFM, that means a doubling down on genre films, particularly horror and action, and a move away from drama and comedy titles, which are considered riskier bets internationally.

“People are really focused on genre, even some of the smaller international sales companies are boosting their genre slates,” notes one U.S. seller. “Success has become impossible to predict and everyone is looking for anything that has a built-in audience.

Leading film and entertainment execs from Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia converged this week at the Tablakera, the former tobacco factory turned contemporary culture centre, for the third annual Creative Investors’ conference, held as part of San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Among those participating in the two-day event that aims to encourage collaboration between the Spanish and international industry were leading financiers and agents (Roeg Sutherland from CAA), former studio heads (ex-Universal chairman and Participant CEO David Linde), high-profile investors (Vania Schlogel from Atwater Capital) and top producers among them Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Recorded Picture Company’s Jeremy Thomas.

The belated Cliffhanger 2 could give Sylvester Stallone a much needed boost after a stretch of bad luck with franchises. During Hollywood's so-called Golden Age, movie stars avoided sequels, with most finding them inferior attempts to cash in on a hit. During the 1970s, Stallone was one of the first actors to recognize the value of building a franchise for himself, so when his post-Rocky movies flopped, he soon returned with Rocky 2. That's not to say he didn't find value in dipping back into the Rocky movie franchise and fleshing out new chapters in the boxer's life, however.

It was when Stallone hit big with the Rambo movies that he became the king of sequels, and could typically rely on a new sequel in either series to boost his box-office numbers. Other Sylvester Stallone franchises include The Expendables and Escape Plan, and over 30 years after the original, Sly...

Cliffhanger 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to Sylvester Stallone's '90s classic, gets a filming start update. Directed by Renny Harlin, the original Cliffhanger, which was released in 1993, revolves around Stallones character Gabe Walker, a search-and-rescue mountain climber who is hired to help rescue a band of criminals from the Rocky Mountains after they accidentally lose their loot. The original movie was well-received, earning $255 million worldwide. Despite this reception, Cliffhanger 2 did not materialize until years later; the official development announcement came in 2023.

Cliffhanger 2 has yet to receive a release date, but according to ScreenDaily, the forthcoming movie is set to begin filming in the fall. This was revealed in a larger report about various projects receiving special funding via Austria's filming incentive program. Production will take place at various locations in Austria and Bavaria. French screenwriter and director Jean-Francois Richet will helm the project.

Will Cliffhanger 2...

The 1990s left a legacy of action films that leaned heavily on stunt work and practical effects. The genre was defined by thrillers like Sylvester Stallone's Cliffhanger, which is now confirmed for a sequel more than 30 years later.

Cliffhanger 2 is moving forward after receiving more than $5.5 million in funding from the Australian Film Commission, per Screen Daily. The project received a boost of over $2 million in 2023 from Fff Bayern, a German production fund. The sequel starts filming in September or October with Jean-Franois Richet as director; Mark Bianculli (Hunters) is developing the screenplay. The film was confirmed as early as April 2023 with Ric Roman Waugh initially at the helm. Sylvester Stallone is reprising his role as Ranger Gabriel "Gabe" Walker from the 1993 original, and per plot details, the sequel finds him pursuing the same passion.

Related Cliffhanger Director Reveals Iconic Singer Nearly Played the Villain

Sylvester Stallone would...

Sylvester Stallone might be getting ready to thrill audiences with Season 2 of his hit Paramount+ crime series Tulsa King, but a new report suggests the 78-year-old star is also getting ready to deliver more death-defying stunts in Cliffhanger 2, a sequel to the 1993 action-thriller that Stallone starred in alongside the likes of John Lithgow and Michael Rooker. Produced on a budget of $70 million, Cliffhanger grossed a worldwide total of $255 million, and was met with generally favorable reviews upon its debut, and was nominated for three Academy Awards, including one for Best Visual Effects.

Per Screen Daily, Cliffhanger 2 is expected to start filming this fall after receiving a healthy infusion of cash from the Austrian film commission. Original director Renny Harlin will not be returning for the sequel, which will instead be helmed by Jean-Francois Richet, who was responsible for the 2005 remake of the John Carpenter classic Assault on Precinct...

Cliffhanger 2, the sequel to the Sylvester Stallone 1993 action thriller, in which Stallone is set to star, has become the first feature film to be awarded the maximum funding of €5m possible under Austria’s Fisa+ production incentive.

The German-uk production between Austria and Germany-based Supernix and UK sales and production outfit Rocket Science is set to begin shooting this autumn at locations in Austria, Bavaria and at the Penzing Studios west of Munich. Jean-Francois Richet is directing.

A total of €109.9m has been paid out to 113 projects so far via Fisa+ which launched in January 2023.

Guy Ritchie’s The Fountain Of Youth,...

Mahdi Fleifel’s To A Land Unknown, Gábor Reisz’s Explanation for Everything, Federico Luis’ Simon Of The Mountain and Minh Quý Trương’s Viet And Nam, were the winners of the four main competitive strands of this year’s Munich International Film Festival (Miff) which closed on Saturday July 6.

The festival’s biggest award, the €100,000 CineCoPro award, provided by Fff Bayern to be invested in a future co-production, was presented to François Morisset’s company Salaud Morisset, the German co-producer of To A Land Unknown.

The first narrative feature by Palestinian filmmaker Fleifel is a refugee drama about two Palestinians stranded in Athens.

Sylvester Stallone is known for his Rocky films, a franchise in Hollywood that remains one of the most influential pieces of cinema. However, Stallone has starred in some lesser-known offerings, that are nonetheless brilliant and engaging, if not a completely different genre from what the actor is used to.

Sylvester Stallone and Polly Walker in D-Tox | Dej Productions

Cliffhanger was a 1993 action thriller that starred Stallone, Michael Rooker, John Lithgow, and Janine Turner. The film might not have been as widely received as his other franchises like Rambo and Rocky, but the film has one of the most terrifying scenes of Stallone’s career.

Cliffhanger has one particular scene that horrifies fans to this day Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger | TriStar Pictures

Sylvester Stallone’s action thriller Cliffhanger has one of the most nail-biting scenes ever put to cinema, which sees Stallone try to attempt a rescue over a deep plunge...

Renny Harlin hopes "for their own sake' that the team behind Cliffhanger 2 will shoot on real locations, which is crucial for authenticity, as digital effects can fall short of audience expectations. Sylvester Stallone will reprise the role of Gabe Walker from Harlin's Cliffhanger (1993) in the sequel. Ric Roman Waugh is directing the new Cliffhanger, focusing on the evolution of Sylvester Stallone's character alongside his daughter.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) was a life-changing event for The Strangers: Chapter 1s director, Renny Harlin. Robert Shaye of New Line Cinema took a chance on young Harlin when the producer hired the virtually unknown Finnish filmmaker for Nightmare 4. Flash forward five years, and Harlin is helming Cliffhanger starring Sylvester Stallone. And during an exclusive interview with MovieWeb, Harlin was asked if he had any advice for the team behind the upcoming Cliffhanger sequel, which Ric Roman Waugh is attached to as director.

Sylvester Stallone will be heading to Philadelphia again for The Epiphany, a new serial killer thriller: more here.

Continuing to keep himself busy and off the streets is Sylvester Stallone, who’s added another project to his current collection.

This one is called The Epiphany, and it’s a new serial killer thriller that’s going to bring Stallone back to the streets of Philadelphia. This time around, he’s not going to be player the heavyweight champion boxer of the world; instead, he’s going to be taking on the role of a police detective on the eve of retirement.

Said police detective sounds suitably grizzled and hard-nosed and – in the style of 1980s movies – he’s going to be teamed up with a young cop. Oh, and just as something a bit leftfield, a priest is being thrown into the mix as well. Perfect.

Between the three of them,...

In the 30+ years since Cliffhanger arrived, a lot has changed, including star Sylvester Stallone now being in his 70s and the action genre transforming significantly. But Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin has another worry entirely for the upcoming sequel: technology, expressing concern that it may rely too much on CGI.

Speaking with ComingSoon.net, Harlin said that while he isn’t attached to Cliffhanger 2, he is still holding out hope for the production’s success, further saying he isn’t confident that the studio will maintain the “real” quality of the 1993 original. “Now, of course, it’s a long time later, so I have no idea what kind of a story they are planning to tell or what Sly’s role in it is. But I wish them the best of luck. I hope they don’t try to replace what we did with a lot of CG. Because I...

Director Renny Harlin has been trying for decades to make a Cliffhanger sequel, but worries that it will rely too much on CGI. Harlin believes that the success of the original film was due to its realistic stunts and dangerous feel, and hopes the sequel will maintain the same spirit. He expresses concern about the increasing use of CGI in movies and hopes that the studios will not replace practical stunts with digital effects in Cliffhanger 2.

The director behind the original Cliffhanger, Renny Harlin, has offered his thoughts on the upcoming legacy sequel, which was first announced back in May last year. Speaking with ComingSoon.net, Harlin said he has been trying “for decades” to get Cliffhanger 2 off the ground (so to speak), but worries that, after so much time, they will now use too much CGI to create the cliff-hanging drama and spectacle.

"To be honest, I've tried for decades.

Director Renny Harlin hopes that Cliffhanger 2 takes after the original by prioritizing real, practical action over CGI. A Cliffhanger sequel with Sylvester Stallone was first announced last year from Greenland director Ric Roman Waugh. The practical action in the original has helped it stand the test of time, and maintaining this will help Cliffhanger 2 achieve this same status.

Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin shares what he hopes to see in the announced Cliffhanger 2. Released in 1993, the original film stars Sylvester Stallone as Gabe Walker, a search-and-rescue mountain climber who becomes entangled in the botched heist of a U.S. Treasury plane in the Rocky Mountains. It was announced last spring that Cliffhanger 2 is officially in the works, with Stallone set to reprise his role and Greenland director Ric Roman Waugh to direct.

Now, as news on Cliffhanger 2 remains scarce, Harlin reveals in an interview with ComingSoon.

Director Renny Harlin on why the original plans for Cliffhanger 2 never happened, as the sequel finally moves forward.

The original Cliffanger was directed by Renny Harlin and released in 1993. Starring Sylvester Stallone, the film is fondly remembered as a classic of 90s action cinema, not least for its memorable set pieces which, being of early 90s vintage, were largely practical in execution.

Although Stallone is of course returning for the long-belated sequel, Harlin isn’t involved in the follow-up, which will be helmed by Plane director Jean-Francois Richet. Cliffhanger sparked a career revival for Stallone, but Harlin worries that a key facet of the film’s production won’t stay true to that early 90s style of production.

“I hope they don’t try to replace what we did with a lot of CG. Because I think the audience will be able to tell that we did everything for real,...

Sylvester Stallone will return to the top of the mountain in 2024 for Cliffhanger 2. More on the sequel here:

Earlier this year, before the Hollywood strikes sent the world of film production into a chaotic tailspin, we heard that Sylvester Stallone would be making a follow-up to his 1993 hit, Cliffhanger.

The film still ranks as one of Stallone’s best action movies and is remembered fondly. Greenland’s Ric Roman Waugh signed on to direct, the talk was of a Top Gun: Maverick-style legacy sequel – and it all sounded pretty interesting.

Fast forward to a post-strike world, and the project is thankfully still alive – although a few changes have taken place.

Waugh is no longer on the project and has, as reported by Screen Daily, been replaced by Plane director, Jean-Francois Richet. The project is truly international given that it’s a British/German co-production with an American movie star headlining,...

Sylvester Stallone’s Gabe Walker is again taking to the mountains in Cliffhanger 2. A few months ago, it was announced that Greenland director Ric Roman Waugh was set to direct the Stallone sequel, but now that the movie is set to go into production in the summer of 2024, it will have a new director. Jean-Francois Richet, who made the two-part crime classic Mesrine starring Vincent Cassel, will now be at the helm of the sequel, which Screen Daily reveals finds Stallone’s character running a mountain lodge in the Dolomites, where he and a client are taken hostage. The sequel is set to center around Gabe’s daughter, who uses the climbing skills she learned from her father to save the day. Of course, this isn’t the first time a Cliffhanger sequel has been plotted. A few years back, director Ana Lily Amirpour was set to direct a...

Fff Bayern awards funding to action thriller follow-up which now has French director Jean-François Richet on board

Cliffhanger 2, the sequel to the 1993 Sylvester Stallone action film, has been awarded €2m in funding from German production fund Fff Bayern ahead of a planned summer 2024 shoot in Europe with director Jean-François Richet now on board.

The screenplay by Mark Bianculli sees Stallone reprising his role as the ranger Gabriel “Gabe” Walker who is now living in the Dolomites where he runs an exclusive mountain lodge.

When Gabe and a high-profile client are taken hostage during an adventurous weekend trip, his daughter...

Exclusive: Twenty six years after the iconic original debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, Neal Moritz’s (The Fast And The Furious) awaited reboot of hit action-thriller Cliffhanger is heading to the Cannes Marché where it will be among the buzziest projects on sale.

In a zeitgeisty twist, the reimagined, big-canvas package will have a female lead — casting is underway — and a female director in the shape of Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night). Aquaman star Jason Momoa is talks for a key cameo.

Rocket Science will launch international sales on the hot prospect in Cannes after prizing rights away from StudioCanal in a competitive situation. The latter had tried to mount a remake a couple of times with Moritz in the past decade and it was a long negotiation to convince the French studio to part with the property given its strong box office potential.

Prison Break has sentenced Mark Feuerstein to a life of violence and heartache domestic bliss with Dr. Sara Tancredi.

TVLine has learned that the Royal Pains alum is joining Fox’s forthcoming revival in the recurring role of Scott Ness, the formidable husband of Sarah Wayne Callies’ Dr. Sara Tancredi. Callies is in talks to return as Sara, but there’s no deal currently in place.

PhotosPrison Break Returns: 9 Characters Who Must Be a Part of Fox’s Revival

Series stars Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell have signed on to reprise their lead roles as brothers Michael Scofield and...

Very cool news! More comic book movies from Hot publisher Valiant! I personally collect & read both Bloodshot & Ninjak which I highly recommend you do! The full press release below!

.Valiant Entertainment and Sony Pictures today announced a deal to bring two of Valiant’s award-winning comic book superhero franchises—Bloodshot and Harbinger—to the big screen over the course of five feature films that will culminate in the shared universe crossover film, Harbinger Wars.

Bloodshot, arriving in theaters in 2017, will kick off the five-picture plan leading to Harbinger Wars and will be directed by David Leitch & Chad Stahelski (John Wick) from a script by Jeff Wadlow (Kick Ass 2) and Eric Heisserer (Story of Your Life). Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe from Original Film (The Fast and the Furious franchise) and Dinesh Shamdasani from Valiant Entertainment will produce the film. Matthew Vaughn and Jason Kothari will serve as executive producers.

Jason Reitman is in desperate need of a career bump. His last two films, Labor Day and Men, Women, and Children, felt like they were made my someone who did not know why he was making them. This is shame coming from the guy who made Up in the Air, which I rewatched recently and is still vibrant and specific. Thankfully, Reitman will be stepping back into dramedy territory with I Would Only Rob Banks for My Family, based on a rather unusual Texas Monthly article. The story follows a Texas family who pull off two rather impressive bank heists. Nick Hornby (An Education, Wild) will come on to pen the screenplay. Jason's poppa Ivan Reitman will produce the film. The two have not worked together since Up in the Air, so hopefully, they can create that same magic once again with this film. Reitman is in need of some quality.

“The Machinist” director Brad Anderson has signed up to helm Sony’s “Bourne-esque spy tale” (aren’t they all?) “Shadow Run,” according to Deadline. The script, written by “Cliffhanger” writer Joe Gazzam, was the subject a frenzied bidding war earlier this year and is being kept under tight wraps with no plot details revealed yet. Truth be told, an action thriller isn’t too much of a stretch for Anderson’s sensibilities, since his filmography has trended towards genre fare with films like “Session 9” and “Vanishing on 7th Street.” If anything, at least “Shadow Run” has a bigger potential to actually reach audiences, as opposed to his latest output, “Stonehearst Asylum,” which saw release last month unbeknownst to anyone. Here’s hoping the next one washes away the stink of Anderson’s Halle Berry-starring “The Call.” Jon M. Chu, who has made dance ("Step Up 2: The Streets...

Sony has just signed The Machinist‘s Brad Anderson to direct Shadow Run, the action thriller script by writer Joe Gazzam (Cliffhanger, Replay) that the studio picked up in February. The Bourne-esque spy tale is produced by Neil Moritz for Original Film and exec produced by Hernany Perla; Michael De Luca and Andrea Giannetti will oversee for Sony. Anderson, who broke out with the Christian Bale starrer The Machinist and has notched features Transsiberian, The Call, and the recent Stonehearst Aslum in recent years, has also been directing for TV on shows including The Wire, Fringe, Boardwalk Empire, and The Killing. Anderson recently helmed the pilot for Forever for ABC, WB TV, and Lin Pictures. He’s repped by Wme, Lbi Entertainment and Sloss Law.

David Twohy goes from the world of Riddick to the world of time travel for his new thriller...

David Twohy's career first took off thanks to his writing, with his name on the screenplay credits for the likes of The Fugitive, Waterworld, Critters 2, Warlock and, er, G.I. Jane. His directorial breakthrough, however, came at his third attempt, Having steered films such as Disaster In Time and The Arrival (which itself isn't too bad), it was Pitch Black where everything clicked. It remains the best film he's directed to date (although we have a soft spot for A Perfect Getaway, which we talked about when chatting about whether star names ruin modern thrillers, here).

Twohy, following last year's latest Riddick film with Vin Diesel, is now circling a new time travel movie, which goes by the name of Replay. It's being funded by Relativity, and is based on the...

Riddick helmer David Twohy is heading back to the sci-fi landscape, as Deadline reports he’s in the crosshairs for Relativity’s Replay. The studio purchased the then-untitled screenplay back in July from writer Joe Gazzam, and it’s gone through some stages in development since then as it has also landed a title.

The story follows a man called Tyler Vaughn, a test subject in a quantum experiment who’s sent four days into the future. Upon arrival he discovers his son has been killed and he’s being blamed for the murder. When that day ends, he’s taken back one day prior. When he realizes time is jumping backwards one day at a time, he vows to solve the mystery of his son’s death from happening on the day of the initial experiment.

It might sound a little confusing, but damn if it hasn’t got me excited.

Filmmaker David Twohy is poised to tackle time travel in his next film. Deadline reports that the director behind the Riddick trilogy will helm the thriller Replay for Relativity. The story follows a test subject in an experiment who is sent four days into the future, only to discover that his son has been killed and he’s being accused of committing the crime. When the day is over, he wakes up to find it’s now the previous day, thus beginning a murder mystery in reverse as he must solve the murder before he reaches the day of the initial experiment, which is when the killing occurred. The project was penned by Joe Gazzam, who is writing the upcoming Cliffhanger remake. This is not to be confused with the other time travel movie called Replay, which is based on Ken Grimwood’s novel and previously had Robert Zemeckis in line to direct.

Exclusive: Riddick helmer David Twohy has been tapped to direct time-travel pic Replay at Relativity, I’m hearing. This is the previously untitled sci-fi script that the studio snapped up in July from screenwriter Joe Gazzam, who sold action-thriller Shadow Run to Sony and is scripting the Cliffhanger remake for Neal Moritz and StudioCanal. Story tracks Tyler Vaughn, a test subject in a quantum experiment who’s sent four days into the future, only to discover his son has been killed and he’s been fingered for the murder. When the day ends, he’s pulled back one day prior and realizes he must solve the mystery of his son’s death as he jumps backward, one day at a time, to stop it from happening on the day of the initial experiment.

Twohy’s at home playing in the sci-fi sandbox and is coming off of 2013’s Riddick, the...

Relativity Media has acquired an untitled spec screenplay from writer Joe Gazzam, who signed on to write the Cliffhanger reboot for StudioCanal in May.

Details are being kept under wraps, but the plot is described as a Man on Fire type of story that centers on a father and son, with a sci-fi element in place. Relativity emerged victorious in a competitive bidding war for the script, which was sold in a six-figure deal that closed earlier this week.

Alan Gasmer, Peter Jaysen, and Ahmet Zappa and Devon Schiff are producing, although no production schedule was released at this time.

Joe Gazzam also sold his script Shadow Run to Sony Pictures back in February. He was hired back in 2009 to write the Barbarella reboot, which still hasn't gotten off the ground yet.

Exclusive: Relativity has optioned an untitled sci-fi-tinged spec for development from screenwriter Joe Gazzam. It’s the latest score for Gazzam, who sold action-thriller Shadow Run to Sony in February and won the coveted gig writing Cliffhanger for Neal Moritz and StudioCanal in May. I’m hearing the sale came out of a competitive situation and closed this week. The log line is being kept under wraps but project is described as a Man On Fire-type story of a father and son, with a science fiction element. Producers are Alan Gasmer, Peter Jaysen, and Ahmet Zappa along with Devon Schiff. Gazzam is […]...

Big day for reboots. First it was Cliffhanger, and now MGM and Warner Bros. announced they are teaming with Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin to create a re-imagined trilogy based on the sci-fi hit Stargate, one of the biggest titles in the MGM library. Emmerich, who directed and co-wrote the original 1994 film with Devlin, is on board to direct this one, with Devlin producing. Those two are already hard at work on a new version of Independence Day at Fox. Related: Climb Toward ‘Cliffhanger’ Reboot Moving Forward; Joe Gazzam Set To Write MGM’s Gary Barber called Emmerich and Devlin “world-class creators of the original Stargate,” and said they will “bring their reinvigorated vision of this wildly popular property to audiences of multiple generations.” Said Emmerich and Devlin: “The Stargate universe is one that we missed terribly, and we cannot wait to get going on imagining new adventures and situations for the trilogy.

Cologne, Germany -- German network Rtl Television has signed a output deal with French major StudioCanal, giving Rtl German broadcast rights to projects including 3-D animated feature "Sammy's Adventure: The Secret Passage" and Paul Haggis' thriller "The Next Three Days" starring Russell Crowe.

The agreement, which kicks off in January 2011, also secures Rtl rights to the upcoming remakes of "Cliffhanger" and "Escape from New York," which StudioCanal is producing together with Neil Moritz's Original Films.

Rtl international acquisitions head Dirk Schweitzer and StudioCanal CEO Oliver Courson negotiated the deal. Both sides declined to comment on financial details of the agreement.

Rtl has been stocking up on feature films from independent suppliers to make up for the drop in the number of titles being produced by the Hollywood majors.

We like to blame stars and directors, more times than not, for the direction that Hollywood has taken in recent years, toward the proliferation of sequels, remakes, and movies based on toys, gum, rocks, and board games. But the reality is, stars don't often have the power alone to push a project through the production mill. Two of the biggest stars in Hollywood, Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell, proved that just this week in their unsuccessful attempts to get sequels to Zoolander and Anchorman made.

It's not the celebrities who wield the most power. It's the producers. And some of those producers are evil assholes. Here are the five most loathsome among them. They're the people behind the crap, and most people don't even know what they look like. I want to put a picture to their assholery. Hang their images on your dart boards while basking in the collective...

Another day, another remake, right? Neal H. Moritz (seen above) is one of those producers who attaches himself to about 20 or 30 upcoming projects, everything from Fast & Furious to Goosebumps to Cliffhanger to Doc Savage to Highlander. He's currently in post-production on Battle: Los Angeles and Green Hornet and is also preparing both Fast Five to start in July along with Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Killer - he's a very busy man. Our good friend Steve of Collider recently interviewed Moritz and has been posting huge updates on all of his projects. This time he gives us a full rundown on what his next 11 projects are in order. We'll just let Moritz himself give his rundown on what's coming up for him. Here's his upcoming line-up: "The next things for me, the next three... well I'm making Fast and Furious 5 in June/July. We're doing Jack the Giant ...

Earlier tonight I attended a screening of the cult classic 1987 creature feature Monster Squad at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica featuring a live commentary with director Fred Dekker and screenwriter Shane Black. It was a great experience, one of the best I've had being in La, and of course it ended with a Q&A. When Dekker was asked about what he's currently working on, the first thing he said was "I'm currently writing Cliffhanger 2." At first I thought he was joking, but the tone of his voice didn't make it sound like a joke and he didn't pause for a laugh, he just continued on about the Night of the Creeps DVD release. When I got back home, I read through all the details again on that Cliffhanger reboot that StudioCanal announced back in May. The press release talks a lot about producer Neal Moritz and his early...