Moviefone Editorial

Tag: josh-trank

  • Director: Channing Tatum ‘Gambit’ Movie Isn’t Happening Because ‘Fantastic Four’ Tanked

    Director: Channing Tatum ‘Gambit’ Movie Isn’t Happening Because ‘Fantastic Four’ Tanked

    Columbia Pictures

    If you were holding your breath for that Channing Tatum “Gambit” movie, go ahead and exhale.

    Director Rupert Wyatt, who was set to direct the X-Men spinoff, says that Fox was thisclose to beginning production on a “Gambit” movie. That is, until Josh Trank‘s disastrous “Fantastic Four” remake crashed and burned.

    “We were close, I believe 10 weeks away. It simply came down to budget. There was not enough,” Wyatt told Comics Beat. “‘Fantastic Four’ had been released by Fox a month before and had not gone well for them, so our budget was slashed quite considerably. The inevitable, from my perspective was, ‘Well then we need to rewrite the script to tailor to our budget,’ but we were too close to a start date for Fox to really want to go there, so unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.”

    With Fox being bought by Disney,  do the film’s chances improve or disappear completely?

    “All I know is Channing had a really, really wonderful idea for what that film could and should be,” Wyatt said. “I know he and [his producing partner Reid Carolin] are still plugging away at it, so I hope in the new Disney era, that then they get to make it.”

    Wyatt’s films include 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” His new alien thriller “Captive State” opens Friday.

    [Via The Playlist]

  • ‘Fonzo’ Director Josh Trank Shares First Official Photo of Tom Hardy as Al Capone

    ‘Fonzo’ Director Josh Trank Shares First Official Photo of Tom Hardy as Al Capone

    Tom Hardy, Taboo
    FX

    Al Capone keeps finding himself in modern headlines, even after dying back in 1947 at age 48.

    In this case, it’s because “Fonzo” director Josh Trank just shared a look at star Tom Hardy in full makeup as the notorious gangster.

    “Fonzo” — nickname for Alphonse Capone — focuses on the end of Capone’s life, after almost a decade in prison for tax evasion, when he was suffering with dementia.

    https://twitter.com/joshuatrank/status/1027355493222809601

    A few months ago, Tom Hardy shared some early shots of his Al Capone during filming. It’s pretty clear he’s going to be unrecognizable.

    In Hardy’s early shots, Fonzo looked like Marlon Brando. In Trank’s photo above, as one fan tweeted, “Why does Tom look like Christoph Waltz?”

    At least there may not be anything covering his face this time.

    https://twitter.com/frankpallotta/status/1024488005590036480

    “Fonzo” also stars Linda Cardellini as Capone’s long-suffering wife Mae; Matt Dillon as his closest friend Johnny; Kyle MacLachlan as his doctor Karlock; Katherine Narducci as Rosie, one of his sisters; Jack Lowden as FBI agent Crawford; Noel Fisher as Capone’s son Junior; and Tilda Del Toro as Mona Lisa, a mysterious lover from Capone’s past.

    This will be Josh Trank’s first feature since “Fantastic Four” did not exactly go as planned. The release date for “Fonzo” has yet to be announced.

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  • Tom Hardy Is Now Totally Unrecognizable as Al Capone for ‘Fonzo’ Movie

    Tom Hardy is going deep for director Josh Trank’s Al Capone biopic, “Fonzo.”

    Last month, just before the start of filming in New Orleans, Hardy shared a set photo from wardrobe — but that did not prepare us for the transformation ahead.

    Hardy returned to Instagram with a few new shots from “Fonzo,” and …. wow.

    First of all, here’s what the movie is about:

    “Al ‘Fonzo’ Capone ruled Chicago with an iron fist during the Prohibition Era and was the most infamous and feared gangster of American lore before being famously taken down by Eliot Ness.

    The film centers on his final days. At the age of 47, following nearly a decade of imprisonment, dementia sets in and Capone’s past becomes present as harrowing memories of his violent and brutal origins melt into his waking life.”

    Here are some of Hardy’s new shots:

    Chasing Fonzo ♠️

    A post shared by Tom Hardy (@tomhardy) on

    Mega awkward character misstep ????

    A post shared by Tom Hardy (@tomhardy) on

    A post shared by Tom Hardy (@tomhardy) on

    A post shared by Tom Hardy (@tomhardy) on

    ♠️????chasing Fonzo????????????????????????????????

    A post shared by Tom Hardy (@tomhardy) on

    Damn. Intensity — check. Commitment — check. This could be interesting.

    Last year, Hardy talked to The Daily Beast about his upcoming transformation for “Fonzo”:

    Is the Al Capone film Fonzo actually happening, with you playing Capone?

    Yeah. It’s not Cicero, the one I’d initially signed on to do. This is a completely different piece that I’m very excited by with Josh Trank set to direct. He’s written something that’s quite out of left-field and like nothing I’ve read before. I’ve spent quite a lot of time with Josh and he’s passionate and effusive about it, and I’m excited to get on with that. It’s not Al Capone as I expected him, which is what I really loved about it. When taking on an icon, you’re always looking for something inventive and compelling and has a new angle, and I think Josh has found that.

    Are you going to have to pack on the pounds and prosthetics?

    Well, Al Capone was forty-something when he passed away, so he wasn’t that far off my age anyway. And he’d lost a lot of weight before he passed because he was suffering from Syphilis and deteriorating. It’s not the classic Al Capone that you necessarily envision with the silhouette. I don’t want to give too much away about it, but there’s definitely a transformation with that role. I don’t know if it’s as drastic as Bane. I’ve probably damaged my body too much. I’m only little! If I keep putting on weight I’ll collapse like a house of cards under too much pressure

    “Fonzo” also stars Linda Cardellini as Capone’s long-suffering wife Mae; Matt Dillon as his closest friend Johnny; Kyle MacLachlan as his doctor Karlock; Katherine Narducci as Rosie, one of his sisters; Jack Lowden as FBI agent Crawford; Noel Fisher as Capone’s son Junior; and Tilda Del Toro as Mona Lisa, a mysterious lover from Capone’s past.

    “Fonzo” has yet to announce a theatrical release date.

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  • Tom Hardy Shares First Set Photo From Al Capone Biopic ‘Fonzo’

    After playing “Venom” in Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man spinoff, Tom Hardy is transforming into Al Capone.

    Filming for Hardy’s Capone biopic “Fonzo,” written and directed by Josh Trank, will reportedly begin on Monday, April 2.

    Hardy shared a production photo from what looks like the wardrobe department, where they’re “chasing” his character’s look:

    Chasing Fonzo…????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    A post shared by Tom Hardy (@tomhardy) on

    Pray for us, is that his request? Why not. Will do.

    Alphonse Gabriel Capone died at age 48, after suffering syphilitic dementia; this film is meant to focus on the end of the crime boss’ life, as he serves time in Alcatraz for tax evasion.

    Here’s a description from Deadline:

    Al “Fonzo” Capone ruled Chicago with an iron fist during the Prohibition Era and was the most infamous and feared gangster of American lore before being famously taken down by Eliot Ness. The film centers on his final days. At the age of 47, following nearly a decade of imprisonment, dementia sets in and Capone’s past becomes present as harrowing memories of his violent and brutal origins melt into his waking life.

    “Fonzo” is set to star Linda Cardellini as Capone’s long-suffering wife Mae; Matt Dillon as his closest friend Johnny; Kyle MacLachlan as his doctor Karlock; Katherine Narducci as Rosie, one of his sisters; and Jack Lowden as FBI agent Crawford.

    Filming is scheduled to begin April 2 in New Orleans, Variety reports; the theatrical release date has yet to be announced. “Venom” opens in theaters October 5th.

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  • The ‘Fantastic Four’ Shoot Was ‘Chaos,’ and Josh Trank Was Almost Fired: Report

    US -FILM-PREMIERE-FANTASTIC FOURA scathing new report about the filming of “Fantastic Four” has provided some insight into how and why the underwhelming film — which was widely panned and majorly flopped at the box office — turned out the way it did, and it seems that the flick was a disaster from the start.

    The Hollywood Reporter did some digging and spoke to several sources about the allegedly arduous production process, and it turns out that the rumors of director Josh Trank being difficult to work with were just the tip of the iceberg. According to one crew member who spoke to THR, Trank “built a black tent around his monitor” and would hole up in there or in his trailer alone for entire shooting days, emerging only to film a scene.

    The director reportedly insisted on pushing “a gloomy tone” on the cast (Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell), and was “telling [castmembers] when to blink and when to breathe,” an insider told THR.

    “[M]ultiple sources associated with the project say the director did not produce material that would have opened the way to a salvageable film,” THR wrote. “And by several accounts, he resisted help.”

    Eventually, talk turned to firing Trank, but a source told THR that that suggestion came too late in the production process, and would have required essentially scrapping the entire movie and losing the cast — a huge financial blow. Instead, studio Fox enlisted producers Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker to slap together a different ending, and commissioned reshoots without key actors (only Teller was available, and shot scenes on a green screen alongside body doubles). Director Drew Goddard was reportedly brought in to supervise.

    “It was chaos,” according to one crew member.

    But the blame doesn’t stop there. Per THR:

    A crewmember acknowledges that Trank bears much of the fault for the film’s problems but also says the Fox studio should not escape blame. The movie was “ill-conceived, made for the wrong reasons and there was no vision behind the property,” this person says. “Say what you will about Marvel but they have a vision.”

    Yowza. Check out the rest of the blistering report over at THR.

    Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images

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  • Box Office: Is ‘Fantastic Four’ Doomed to Fail on the Big Screen?

    Why can’t Hollywood seem to get the “Fantastic Four” right?

    The reboot endured months of bad press, culminating in director Josh Trank’s disavowal (later hastily retracted) of his own film on the eve of its release on Friday. Even so, the familiarity of Marvel’s First Family — and the new, grounded take on the characters — was expected to carry the feature to a $45 million opening weekend.

    Instead, “Fantastic Four” debuted with an estimated $26.2 million, failing to unseat week-old “Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation” from the top spot. (The Tom Cruise thriller fell 47 percent from last weekend and still came in first with an estimated $29.4 million.) “F4” is the the first comic book movie based on Marvel characters since 2011’s “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” not to open at number one.

    There’s already lots of speculation over whose fault this is, and what it means for the Marvel brand. Are we still going to get a “Fantastic Four” sequel in 2017? Are other studios’ superhero movies going to become more formulaic and risk-averse in order to avoid future “Fantastic Four”-level fiascos?

    There is plenty of blame to go around for the film being a disappointment. Some blame Trank, others 20th Century Fox — with the clashes between the director and the studio only hurting the movie. Judging by what fans and critics have said, the reshot, tacked-on ending that Fox insisted on did the film no favors. Whether or not the film would have been better without it or was simply unfixable, we’ll never know.

    Trank’s infamous, quickly deleted tweet on Thursday hinted that there was a better version of the movie, truer to his vision, that we’ll never see. The remark seems to confirm both that the studio took the film out of Trank’s hands and that both the director and the studio have been trying to cover their behinds in their efforts to salvage, release, and promote the movie they ended up with.
    At the very least, “Fantastic Four” may make studios reconsider the recent practice of hiring relatively untried, low-budget directors to helm massive franchise movies. True, it’s worked before for another Marvel property — James Gunn‘s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Not only did Gunn’s work result in a massive hit, but it also brought idiosyncratic, indie-style storytelling into a genre that’s usually lacking in risk and surprise.

    The approach has even worked outside of comic book movies (think Gareth Edwards directing “Godzilla,” or Colin Trevorrow‘s “Jurassic World“). But not every indie director has the temperament and skill to command a big-budget enterprise. Neither moviegoers nor suits were overly happy with Marc Webb’s “Amazing Spider-Man” movies. Director Edgar Wright, who cowrote “Ant-Man,” ultimately left the film after a very public falling out with Marvel over its creative direction. And Ava DuVernay (“Selma“) passed on “Black Panther,” another filmmaker to join the ranks of those who pass on these types of films perhaps to avoid getting into the same kind of studio scrap that marred Trank’s collaboration with Fox.

    Even before “Fantastic Four’s” release, Disney (Marvel’s parent) had dropped Trank as director of a future “Star Wars” movie. It’s entirely possible, then, that studios will prefer to hire experienced big-budget directors for their superhero movies. That could still lead to artistically daring comic book films if the director is another Christopher Nolan (who, lest we forget, got his start making tiny but incredibly inventive indies like “Memento”); less so if the director is another Michael Bay.

    What does this mean for the future of Marvel’s first family? A lot of pundits think Fox may let the rights fall back to Marvel. Depending on how well the new movie does overseas — which, so far, it has made an estimated $34.1 million abroad — Fox may decide it’s not worth to continue down the road with Reed Richards and his pals. (The future of the 2017 sequel is now very much in doubt, though no one has yet to comment on its fate.)
    One thing Fox will probably not do is collaborate with Marvel, the way Sony is doing with Spider-Man and allowing the Webslinger to appear in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Unlike Sony and Marvel, Fox and Marvel don’t get along. Indeed, Marvel seems to have a history of sacrificing potential publishing and merchandising dollars just to keep from promoting Fox’s Marvel movies.

    If nothing else, the failure of “Fantastic Four” proves that not even movies based on Marvel characters are immune to the ill effects of bad buzz, bad reviews, and bad word-of-mouth (indicated by the movie’s C- grade at CinemaScore). “Fantastic Four” shows that plenty can go wrong, at any step in the process.

    It would be wise for Marvel, Disney, and other studios making superhero movies to remember screenwriter William Goldman’s adage about what it takes to make a successful Hollywood movie: “Nobody knows anything.”
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  • ‘Fantastic Four’ Director Reacts to Bad Reviews in Deleted Tweet

    Fantastic Four poster

    The new “Fantastic Four” movie, which currently has only a 10% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, reportedly had set tensions between director Josh Trank and Fox executives, and The Hollywood Reporter said producers Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker stepped in to finish the movie with reshoots just a few months before opening.

    Perhaps that’s what Josh was referencing in a tweet he sent out August 6, the day before his movie’s official opening; the message was promptly deleted — but not before the Internet saved it for posterity.

    Josh Trank has yet to respond, tweet anything new, or go for the classic “I was hacked.”

    This is just the latest unfortunate bit of news for the movie. F4 was attacked by some fans for casting Michael B. Jordan as a black Johnny Storm, Kate Mara faced stupid questions about her short hair and sexy toes, Miles Teller just got bashed by Esquire (the cast all tweeted in his defense), and Jamie Bell was finally dragged into the silliness when asked about The Thing’s penis on “Watch What Happens Live.”

    It’s possible all the insane chatter will just make viewers curious to see “Fantastic Four” and perhaps fans will be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t turn out to be the new “Ishtar.” But it sounds like the franchise may be cursed … unless Marvel can save it?

    59820

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  • The New ‘Fantastic Four’ Trailer Is Pretty Fantastic

    The first teaser for Fox’s expensive reboot of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four,” was all about mystery and atmosphere. It was intriguing and atmospheric, and certainly hooked those of us who appreciate a less-is-more approach, but we’re about to enter the summer movie murder-dome; it’s time to show off the goods or get out of the race. And the goods are certainly on display in this new trailer for “Fantastic Four,” which beams into cinemas in August.

    This new trailer sets up the basic premise more clearly: a group of daring scientist adventurers travels to an alternate dimension, get doused with radiation, and return home with superpowers. Reed Richards (Miles Teller) can stretch, Sue Storm (Kate Mara) can turn invisible and has force fields, Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) can light on fire and fly and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) turns into a rocky monster known as The Thing. (Also, Victor Domashev (Toby Kebbell) gets zapped and turns bad. (Honestly plot specifics are still a little fuzzy.) The main threat seems to be that their doorway to another dimension has been left open, which will undoubtedly cause certain problems for those us on earth. So they’ve got to team up and get super-heroic!

    “Fantastic Four” was directed by Josh Trank, who helmed the low-budget, found-footage superhero romp “Chronicle,” and you can tell that he accomplishes a kind of tactile earthiness to something that could have gotten very silly very quickly. It’s also nice that it’s punctuated with moments of humor, since the first trailer was almost uncomfortably solemn. Other thoughts: The Thing looks great, as does Kate Mara’s hair, and hey, it’s Reg E. Cathey as Dr. Franklin Storm! That is so, so awesome!

    “Fantastic Four” lights up on August 7th.

  • ‘The Fantastic Four’ Trailer: Be Ready for What’s Coming (VIDEO)

    the fantastic four trailer 2015The long-awaited first teaser trailer for the reboot of “The Fantastic Four” is here, and it suggests a darker tone for the Marvel property than the previous film incarnations.

    The teaser was very much in the style of Christopher Nolan — highly reminiscent of teasers for “Interstellar” — with an ominous voice warning, “Human beings have an immeasurable desire to discover … [But] with every new discovery there is risk,” as images flash of Reed Richards (Miles Teller) in a high-tech lab, Sue Storm (Kate Mara) working in front of a bank of computer terminals, and some kind of ship preparing to take off.

    Along with Teller and Mara, there are brief glimpses of Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell displaying the superpowers they gain after some kind of experiment/space flight seems to go wrong.

    From the teaser, it looks like Josh Trank’s “Fantastic Four” will sit seamlessly beside other Marvel films — at least aesthetically. The movie opens in theaters on Aug. 7.

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