Keanu Reeves to star in Tarsem Singh's "The Panopticon"

Visionary filmmaker Tarsem Singh who has been known to direct such visually wild movies such as "The Cell" and "Immortals" is set to film a sci-fi thriller "The Panopticon" and Keanu Reeves is in talks to star in the film. [hit the jump to continue]

Tarsem Singh to direct action-thriller The Panopticon

Director Tarsem Singh has lined up another project.  The visually-inclined IMMORTALS and MIRROR, MIRROR helmer has signed on to direct the action-thriller THE PANOPTICON.  Written by Craig Rosenberg (After the Sunset), the story centers on “a seemingly ordinary man who receives a mysterious package containing a pre-recorded message from himself, warning that the world is about to end and only he can save it. He must race against the clock to piece together the puzzle before time runs out for mankind.” [continue after the jump]

MIRROR, MIRROR

MIRROR, MIRROR is Immensely Fun!
by Reymundo Salao

MIRROR, MIRROR is a fantasy adventure movie adaptation of the fairy tale SNOW WHITE (AND THE SEVEN DWARVES) It’s directed by Tarsem Singh, who directed “The Cell”, “The Fall” and “Immortals”, and stars Lily Collins as Snow White, the ever-funny Nathan Lane, Armie Hammer, and Julia Roberts as the wickedly amusing Evil Queen.

This movie is something that has a little too many of almost everything you can get from a movie that promises pure fun and entertainment. It’s got funny bandit dwarves, evil magic, a monster that haunts the forest, and swashbuckling action. It is one of those movies where all the elements of the movie work so harmoniously. From the acting, to the lavish and pleasantly bizarre costumes, to the special effects, the concept, the story, and the direction itself. All these factors complement each other to create such an enjoyable masterpiece.

[READ THE FULL REVIEW]

Immortals postpone Philippine Invasion to December 7! And What's Showing this Week

D1PUTA! December 7 na NAMAN???!!!

Looks like the IMMORTALS have once again postponed their Philippine invasion YET AGAIN. December 7, 2011 is the new release date of the Tarsem Singh movie about Theseus, the Minotaur, and the War of the Titans. The Philippines was not included in IMMORTALS' original international release date (November 11, 2011), and was pushed to November 30 (READ THE EARLIER REPORT HERE), which was a bad move to do to a country that is one of the biggest Hollywood-patronizing countries in the world, and also the biggest torrent active countries, at the same time. It's easily a calculated guess to assume that the large numbers of potential box office numbers the movie could have gained, if it was released on the film's original international release date, are already lost to those who have already watched it online.
In its place, the Bonifacio Holiday week was greeted with 2 other great movies. 

One is THE ROAD, which is directed by Yam Laranas, one of the every few excellent directors working in Tagalong mainstream cinema. The ROAD is a horror ghost story about a haunted road and the horrifying killings that occurred there years before. Read the full article about The Road and Yam Laranas here.

The other movie opening this week is THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN which is directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, and written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. This movie is based upon the classic European comic book series set during a largely realistic 20th century (set around the 1940s), the hero of the series is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter. He is aided in his adventures from the beginning by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy. The Adventures of Tintin is like a combination of Hardy Boys and Indiana Jones. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN has had its UK release back in October 2011. It is set to be released in the US on December 21, 2011. And is now showing here in Iloilo and Philippine theaters this week.

Samurai Jack is what (Immortal's director) Tarsem Singh wants to direct

Tarsem Singh's IMMORTALS (no relation to the Angel Locisn, John Lloyd TV series) has been recently released internationally. And during recent interview, he revealed that he is very interested in creating a live-action version of Genndy Tartakovsky's 'Samurai Jack.' The series, which follows a samurai from feudal Japan thrust into the future by a demon and forced to find a way to return to his own time. Singh admitted that while he's not a big fan of what he calls "comic strip films," he loves the pacing and the animation of 'Samurai Jack.' He's gone so far as to publicly request that Cartoon Network execs give him a call.

Tarsem Singh, with his extremely stylized visual style (he also directed "The Cell" which starred Jennifer Lopez, and "The Fall"), is a perfect director which may be more than capable of recapturing the bizarre and utterly cool universe of Samurai Jack. Oh, how I wish the great actor and voice talent Mako was still alive to do his voice of Aku, or at least the narration of the movie, just like he did in the animated TV series.

A live-action version of Samurai Jack was actually set up at New Line in the early 2000s, with Brett Ratner attached to direct and produce, but THANK GOD, that did not materialize (since 'Jack is such a great concept only to be given to a hack like Ratner) and the rights have since reverted back to Cartoon Network.

Tarsem is currently in post-production on his movie "Mirror, Mirror" which is his take on the Snow White story (which is destined to rival "Snow White and the Huntsman"). "Mirror, Mirror" is set to be released in March 2012, while "Immortals" is set to have its Philippine release this November 2011.

source: THR