Man, when one door closes for Chris Hemsworth, another one just opens right up. With production on Steven Spielberg's "Robopocalypse" delayed until there's more work done on the script, what does the actor do? Oh, just sign up for a new film by Michael Mann, his first in four years. Damn.
After circling/developing a number of projects including a South China Sea set film called "The Tam," the cop thriller "The Big Stone Grid," the racing flick "Go Like Hell," the historical epic "Agincourt," the "Treasure Of The Sierrra Madre"-esque "Gold" and the forever brewing biopic "Capa," Mann will now take helm of an untitled movie "set in the world of cyber threats and attacks." With movies like "Live Free Or Die Hard" and "Firewall," we know how dated and just plain bad these kinds of movies can be, so here's hoping there's an interesting take on the story.
We'll have to rely on Morgan Davis Foehl (currently penning the videogame adaptation "Mass Effect") to deliver the goods, as he's co-written script with Mann. The project, developed by Mann, is set up at Legendary (home of stuff like "The Dark Knight Rises," "Man Of Steel" and "Pacific Rim") so we presume this has blockbuster potential. That company doesn't do small. So we're definitely curious.
Production is aiming to start this summer now that Hemsworth's calendar is clear, and afterward, he may jump over to the whaling/cannabalism adventure "In The Heart Of The Sea" with Ron Howard. [Variety]
If it's true he's finally sealing the deal to direct this film I wouldn't be surprised! I mean Public Enemies was kind of green lit of nowhere from other contestants (Death of a Dissident and the Noir Dicaprio project). However I'm personally looking forward to his producing effort for the HBO Sci Fi production Budda Bridge. I dunno, maybe this techno thriller will be a practice run for his first futuristic sci fi debut one day.
Mann is one of my favorite directors but this sounds awful. I mean, everything about it says "garbage." First, there's Hemsworth, who isn't a bad actor, but he has zero dimension. Then there's the studio that's financing it…. and then there's the screenwriter… shit, after 4 years of nothing, we get this? Fuck.
On the face of it, it sounds like something Mann picked up on the fly because the others couldn't get funded. Still very excited to hear he's finally back in the saddle – he'll probably rework the script somewhat to meet his specifications. And the fact that its a modern-set thriller will mean There Will be Neon. Which is good enough for me.
wait…didn't Michael Mann used to write his own films? Forgive me for being dubious about a dude who adapts video games.
What a disappointment. Chris Hensworth can't act.
He's one of the worst actors working today.