Does QT Know What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?

Offering that it's far from a done deal and in fact could ultimately be nothing, Pajiba has heard that a long-in-development update of The Shadow may have captured the attention of one Quentin Tarantino (or perhaps the other way 'round).

Sam Raimi called dibs on The Shadow quite a long time ago, and when it moved from Sony to Fox recently, Raimi left the director's chair and David Slade assumed the position. I had not heard the Slade news, which Pajiba does report as being not independently confirmed. But it was still in a state of flux, not a five-alarm blaze at its new home, and this is where it gets interesting.

Click to read more ...

Tarantino Making a Dracula Film in Austria?

Take this one with a grain of salt, but since it's Quentin Tarantino, I wouldn't dismiss it completely; you just never know with that guy. The Austrian Independent (through Tarantino Archives and Worst Previews) says that the writer-director will be in Austria doing some location scouting for an upcoming movie. Nothing shocking there.

The paper asserts that the movie in question will be a Dracula flick. Wait...what? Sorry, there's no information other than that about the nature of the project. But the report goes on to say that QT will spend four nights in Vienna visiting castles, including Kreuzenstein Castle, which is a location used in Season of the Witch, the Nic Cage movie that Lionsgate magically disappeared from the spring schedule without a new release date. So, could he be prepping for a movie? I guess. Could it be a Dracula film? The last we heard he was doing some old-time gangster picture next, but again, it is Tarantino, and Inglourious Basterds was supposed to be made in, like, 2006 or something. I know - it's hard to believe he can't stay on a linear train of thought, isn't it?

Click to read more ...

Writer, Producer Working on 'Jackie Brown' Prequel

Elmore Leonard is one of the best crime writers ever. Period. He's also written some damn good westerns in his 60-year career. His dialogue is probably the best single aspect about anything he does, and even at 84, he's still crankin' 'em out at about a novel a year. Not bad for a guy who handwrites everything.

His movies have been hit or miss. Get Shorty, Out of Sight and 3:10 to Yuma are among the good; Be Cool, Stick, and The Big Bounce are among the bad. Then there's Jackie Brown, which comes from his novel Rum Punch. There's a prequel to that book, The Switch, which is now being tranformed into a movie. Worst Previews reports that Daniel Schecter is writing it and that Michael Siegel, who previously produced Be Cool, back in that role. Quentin Tarantino? Not yet, and probably not at all, though the producer apparently would like QT's input. Well, why wouldn't he?

Click to read more ...

Is Quentin Tarantino Voicing a Smurf?

Quentin Tarantino's consolation prize for not winning the Best Original Screenplay Oscar? It may be voicing Brainy Smurf in the new live-action/animation hybrid due out in 2011. That date has changed, too, by the way, but only a little. It's now going to open August 3rd instead of July 29th.

MTV spoke to Alan Cumming, who is part of the voice cast for Smurfs, and he says QT will be portraying the irritating Brainy Smurf. That's a good fit, but Tarantino's reps have already denied it. Sometimes those denials happen because there's just nothing to the story, but other times it's merely an instance where the paperwork's not done. It's actually a hell of an idea, so if nothing else, Tarantino was probably mentioned as a possibility.

Click to read more ...

Video: Tarantino On Oscar Chances for 'Basterds'

Recently, Quentin Tarantino sat down to talk with Larry King, which, as you might suspect, means a lot of Tarantino. Sometimes his interviews can really stray off course, but that's not the case here. He's mostly on point and they're good points.

He discusses the good fortune of finding Christoph Waltz, without whom I can't say if Inglourious Basterds really would have worked as a film. There are people who believe that QT was extremely familiar with Waltz' work before this and that it was genius casting, but that's not what he tells King. Now, there's still the directorial sense of knowing if he's the right guy, but Waltz auditioned just like everybody else. Tarantino also talks about his Oscar chances and who's getting his vote for Best Director. Take a peek:

Click to read more ...