If you were
Timur Bekmambetov, prepping to direct
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a revisionist live-action horror that re-imagines the great U.S. President as an
ax-throwing, highly trained vampire assassin, which
we now know is shooting in December - would you give
Liam Neeson a call to lead after his departure from the
far more serious Steven Spielberg biopic? Worth a call, right? And if you were Neeson, would you seriously consider it? You've read countless novels, visited dozen museums, have prepared your body and soul to play Abe for half a decade - would you not have an urge to do this, no matter how silly the end result is likely to be? Bekmambetov told
Empire;
"That one Im prepping to direct myself. It is not a comedy at all it is a very entertaining, epic history lesson for millions and millions of teenagers. If you remember Nightwatch, it is maybe in the vein of that kind of movie. We are keeping the traditional look of Lincoln the big hat and the beard. He has to be historically correct, but with a few special weapons. There is only one book, but there will be many opportunities to develop and explore this world if we get to do sequels. I hope we will start this winter. We are shooting in America."
Briefly: He tells Empire he still wants to do
Wanted 2 but once
Angelina Jolie pulled out and
James McAvoy got the call to make
X-Men: First Class, it had to be put on hold. And second briefly; The similar themed
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which I actually think is a better concept than vamp Lincoln) is
set to film next year according to star
Natalie Portman. The reason for the hold-up? They wanted another draft, and Portman's been a busy lady lately. Director
David O'Russell (
Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees) will helm the dramedy
Old St Louis in the interim with
Vince Vaughn and potentially
Scarlett Johansson.
Vulutre say it's;
a Paper Moonesque road movie about a divorced traveling toy salesman who reconnects with his teen daughter after years on the road. Johansson would play Vaughns paramour, a secretary who accompanies them on their cross-country sales jaunt.
Universal will distribute the $20 million flick.