Get ready for round two of your favorite flyboy movie loaded with homoerotic undertones.
Vulture reports that things are definitely moving forward on a proposed "Top Gun 2" following a hint earlier this summerby producer Jerry Bruckheimer that a film was in the works. Paramount has made offers to both Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott to return to producer and direct the film and even more, Tom Cruise is said to be interested in reprising his role as Lt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.
So, what has got Paramount all hot and bothered? Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie has come aboard to update the script, with Cruise agreeing to return in a smaller role but only if Maverick's place in the plot isn't too obvious. So remember those rumors a couple of years ago that he would be a flight instructor? Don't count on it. Also helping things along with the project is the enthusiasm of Larry Ellison. Wait, who? Oh, he's only the sixth richest person in the world, an avid aviation nerd and film buff (he financed and starred in "Flyboys") and more importantly, the guy recently helped put together $350 million in production bucks for Paramount. He's apparently swinging whatever weight he's got on the studio lot to get this made and oh yeah, the first film being made with his influx of cash? The next "Mission: Impossible." Obviously, this might never happen. Bruckheimer and Scott could pass and Cruise could easily lose interest. The project has been kicking around for years now and really, it will be up to McQuarrie to make a compelling case for Cruise to return otherwise we don't really see this one getting off the ground.
Is this any way to pay back a director you worked with before? Despite John Woogearing up for production next spring on the WWII epic "Flying Tigers," Tom Cruise who has longed to play a pilot in a war film, has hired a writer to tackle the exact same subject matter in a project for 20th Century Fox and New Regency. Kirk Ellis ("John Adams") has been tasked to rewrite a script by Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects," "Valkyrie") and Mason Alley. The McQuarrie script has been banging around for a couple of years now, but Cruise seems eager to see if it can take shape into something he could sign on to. However, a couple of things should be noted. Firstly, Cruise usually has a number of projects in development for him at any given time and likes to have a few different options before settling on a decision. Second, in these kind of situations with two similar projects in development at the same, whichever one gets made first usually wins. Look no further than the abandoned Doug Liman helmed "The Three Musketeers" earlier this year (instead we'll get Paul W.S. Anderson's version, sigh). So why so much heat around the material? Well, it tells the courageous story of General Claire Chennaultwho assembled a volunteer fighter squadron to help the Chinese fight the Japanese before the U.S.'s involvement in WWII. And Deadline clears up one thing we were wondering about Woo's film which is being co-produced by IMAX; it won't be shot in IMAX, but he footage will be "remastered" for those ginormous screens.
And as a final side note. Remember the story about the comedy film "El Presidente" that would have had Cruise and Jack Nicholson reteaming? Looks like Cruise was never officially atttached. Bummer. [Deadline]
It was a scene that became an instantly quotable pop culture moment, and it looks like Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, who provided us with the now timeless "You can't handle the truth!" scene in the otherwise forgettable "A Few Good Men," might be reteaming once again.
The LA Times reports that both actors are circling the Warner Bros. comedy "El Presidente." Cruise has long been attached and an offer is out to Nicholson in the action comedy about "a dedicated Secret Service agent assigned to protect a bumbling and degenerate ex-president." The two go on the run together when a threat is made against the ex-president's life. The film has a script from Dan Goor, a late night writer who has worked on "Last Call With Carson Daly" and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."
Yeah, it sounds like a million other films we've seen before but it could be an interesting pairing and one that would probably be an instant box office smash. But we're not expecting too much and of course, this is all a probability at this point. It might not happen at all. No directors are attached yet, but you can see the Cruise/Nicholson magic from their previous pairing below.
Given that the Martin Scorsese produced "Boardwalk Empire" was renewed for a second season HBO after just one episode (you can see the preview for episode two after the jump), it's no surprise that Warner Bros. TV is eying a series based on the stone cold classic, "Goodfellas."
Obviously, where it will pick up in the "Goodfellas" timeline remains unclear, but Nicholas Pileggi is said to be writing at least the series pilot and Irwin Winkler is on board to produce. Martin Scorsese's participation is unclear at this point, but we would imagine he will want to be involved on some level. While this is potentially exciting, TV series' based on movies have had a spotty history at best and given the film it will be tough shoes to fill the roles adequately that the likes of Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino made so iconic.
At any rate, while we wait for more news about this project to surface, do yourself a huge favor and spend a few minutes reading GQ's excellent oral history of the film by pretty much everyone involved in the film. There are way too many juicy anecdotes to recount here but our favorite? The story that the famous "Copacabana" steadicam shot started initially as Martin Scorsese wanting to top Brian De Palma's lengthy shot in "The Untouchables." As Illeana Douglas recalls, "Brian De Palma had just done this incredibly long Steadicam shot in The Untouchables, and Marty said it would be funny to try to do it one minute longer than De Palma's. The world perceives this as 'Oh, the Copacabana scene!' But what it really is, is directors behind the scenes having fun fucking with each other." But perhaps even more hilariously, steadicam operator Larry McConkey thought that Scorsese had no idea what he doing and the shot was ridiculous saying, "The impression I had when Marty walked us through the Copacabana shot was that this is going to be the most boring, worst thing I've ever done. We're walking across the street, down the stairs, down a hallway, in the kitchen.... What is this shot about?"
Seriously, the piece is great which lots of interesting nuggets including that at one point Tom Cruise, Madonna and John Malkovich were being considered for the roles of Henry, Karen and Jimmy Conway respectively. Uh....what?
Get ready for round two of your favorite flyboy movie loaded with homoerotic undertones.
