In what has become a grim reality of the next phase of the streaming era, 60 movies and television shows have left Disney+ and Hulu. That includes Sundance crowdpleasers like “Timmy Failure,” initially-intended for theatrical releases like “Artemis Fowl” and “The Once and Future Ivan,” big-budget IP adaptations like “Willow” and “Y: The Last Man,” and high-concept YA dramedies like “Stargirl” and “Rosaline.” Once such casualty is “The Princess.”
Released in August of 2022, the original high-concept hybrid of “Die Hard” and “The Raid” features Joey King (star of “The Kissing Booth” trilogy) as a princess trapped in a tower having to fight and kill her way floor-by-floor to save herself and her family from a violent coup attempt. It’s the kind of clever genre exercise that might have been a theatrical release a generation ago. Had it been given a theatrical release, however token, it would also have been available on DVD,...
Released in August of 2022, the original high-concept hybrid of “Die Hard” and “The Raid” features Joey King (star of “The Kissing Booth” trilogy) as a princess trapped in a tower having to fight and kill her way floor-by-floor to save herself and her family from a violent coup attempt. It’s the kind of clever genre exercise that might have been a theatrical release a generation ago. Had it been given a theatrical release, however token, it would also have been available on DVD,...
- 5/25/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Stars: Joey King, Ed Stoppard, Alex Reid, Dominic Cooper, Veronica Ngo, Olga Kurylenko, Kristofer Kamiyasu, Fergus O’Donnell, Antoni Davidov | Written by Ben Lustig, Jake Thornton | Directed by Le-Van Kiet
The Princess opens with the title character waking up groggy to find herself locked in a tower with only vague memories of how she got there. Within minutes she has to deal with a pair of soldiers with ill intent, both of whom she quite violently dispatches with moves that include a lethal kick and a hairpin through the eye.
As that probably told you, The Princess tosses all notions of historical accuracy, or any kind of accuracy really right out the window. Director Le-Van Kiet takes Ben Lustig (The Thirst) and Jake Thornton’s script and runs with it. After his last two films, he knew he needed to repeat the success of his last hit, the female-fronted action film Furie.
The Princess opens with the title character waking up groggy to find herself locked in a tower with only vague memories of how she got there. Within minutes she has to deal with a pair of soldiers with ill intent, both of whom she quite violently dispatches with moves that include a lethal kick and a hairpin through the eye.
As that probably told you, The Princess tosses all notions of historical accuracy, or any kind of accuracy really right out the window. Director Le-Van Kiet takes Ben Lustig (The Thirst) and Jake Thornton’s script and runs with it. After his last two films, he knew he needed to repeat the success of his last hit, the female-fronted action film Furie.
- 7/4/2022
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
In most stories, a princess trapped in tower will need a man to save her. Joey King’s unnamed Princess isn’t like that. Furie director Le-Van Kiet’s actioner attempts to take a female lead and invert The Raid, with her facing off against a seemingly unending phalanx of enemies as she descends the tower where she’s being held captive, prior to her wedding to the evil and ambitious Julius (Dominic Cooper).
Initially, the presence of Joey King and the fact that this film (in the UK) would be launching on Disney+ made me think it would essentially be Enchanted with swords; a stereotypical Disney princess finally fighting back violently. Kiet and writers Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton lean into this a little in the film’s opening, which springs The Princess’ fighting skills on us when guards come to her room. Even here though, there’s an immediate retreat from anything cartoony,...
Initially, the presence of Joey King and the fact that this film (in the UK) would be launching on Disney+ made me think it would essentially be Enchanted with swords; a stereotypical Disney princess finally fighting back violently. Kiet and writers Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton lean into this a little in the film’s opening, which springs The Princess’ fighting skills on us when guards come to her room. Even here though, there’s an immediate retreat from anything cartoony,...
- 7/4/2022
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Click here to read the full article.
In a recent interview about The Princess, Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, the film’s screenwriters, explain how they came up with the idea for their project. The duo wanted to turn convention on its head, to dream up a story in which a princess defies society’s expectations of her. Lustig, a father, comes off especially keen to insist on this film’s novelty in the brief conversation: “I was like, ‘Okay, here’s all these princess movies. But what if one was a badass?’”
It seems Mulan, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Tiana and most recently Merida don’t count. Maybe they’re not tough and outspoken enough. Maybe their adventures don’t have enough action sequences. Perhaps these young women needed to be more uncompromising, intimidating. Or maybe the lessons their stories teach needed to be more obvious, repeatedly telegraphed and so blunt...
In a recent interview about The Princess, Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, the film’s screenwriters, explain how they came up with the idea for their project. The duo wanted to turn convention on its head, to dream up a story in which a princess defies society’s expectations of her. Lustig, a father, comes off especially keen to insist on this film’s novelty in the brief conversation: “I was like, ‘Okay, here’s all these princess movies. But what if one was a badass?’”
It seems Mulan, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Tiana and most recently Merida don’t count. Maybe they’re not tough and outspoken enough. Maybe their adventures don’t have enough action sequences. Perhaps these young women needed to be more uncompromising, intimidating. Or maybe the lessons their stories teach needed to be more obvious, repeatedly telegraphed and so blunt...
- 7/1/2022
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There’s something kind of remarkable about watching a 90-minute film that only has a single idea spread across its entire running time — “what if ‘The Raid,’ but about a fairy tale princess trying to fight her way down from the castle tower where she’s been imprisoned by an evil suitor?” — but my awe at what passes for a movie these days was no match for my disappointment in this one. so undercooked that it feels like an AMC psy-op designed to make you run to the nearest multiplex and beg for a ticket to whatever’s showing next. Even Gru feels good in a place like this.
While survivors of Netflix’s “The Kissing Booth” trilogy may be conditioned to expect as much from the latest Joey King vehicle (though she hardly feels responsible for this mess), anyone familiar with Le-Van Kiet’s bone-crunching “Furie” is liable to...
While survivors of Netflix’s “The Kissing Booth” trilogy may be conditioned to expect as much from the latest Joey King vehicle (though she hardly feels responsible for this mess), anyone familiar with Le-Van Kiet’s bone-crunching “Furie” is liable to...
- 7/1/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Practically everybody in “The Princess” has a name, except the princess. Played by “The Kissing Booth” cutie Joey King as an anything-but-passive heroine, the movie’s anonymous eponymous protagonist isn’t a proper character so much as a one-dimensional empowerment symbol: “The Princess” represents the antithesis of every fairy-tale damsel who sat around waiting to be whisked away or married off. She begins the movie locked in the top floor of the castle, wearing a wedding dress and iron shackles, and ends it drenched in more blood than Stephen King’s Carrie, some of it hers, but most belonging to all the men who’ve underestimated her.
Over the course of the next hour and a half, “The Princess” hardly stops to catch its breath. Whatever Disney movies may have led you to believe about royals named Ariel (she sings!) and Belle (she reads!), this one learned Krav Maga behind her father’s back,...
Over the course of the next hour and a half, “The Princess” hardly stops to catch its breath. Whatever Disney movies may have led you to believe about royals named Ariel (she sings!) and Belle (she reads!), this one learned Krav Maga behind her father’s back,...
- 7/1/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
“The Princess” opens on a muddle of well-known fairy tales. The titular royal lies unconscious in an ornate dress, her wavy locks strewn across the pillow. Flowers surround her bed. But unlike Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, she awakens on her own and proceeds to beat the ever-loving hell out of two brutish guards. Though that opening promises some kind of meaningful subversion, this film has just one brave question to ask: “What if a princess could also kick your ass?”
The shrug-worthy answer – “Then she would probably kick some ass, I guess” – makes for the bulk of this facile, plotless movie.
Also Read:
Joey King Bests All Her Opponents in ‘The Princess’ Trailer (Video)
The sparse narrative, from first-time screenwriters Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, goes like this: The princess wakes up in a tower. The princess has been kidnapped by the evil nobleman Julius. The princess must...
The shrug-worthy answer – “Then she would probably kick some ass, I guess” – makes for the bulk of this facile, plotless movie.
Also Read:
Joey King Bests All Her Opponents in ‘The Princess’ Trailer (Video)
The sparse narrative, from first-time screenwriters Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, goes like this: The princess wakes up in a tower. The princess has been kidnapped by the evil nobleman Julius. The princess must...
- 7/1/2022
- by Lena Wilson
- The Wrap
The Princess Trailer — Le-Van Kiet‘s The Princess (2022) movie trailer has been released by Hulu. The Princess trailer stars Joey King, Dominic Cooper, Olga Kurylenko, and Veronica Ngo. Crew Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton wrote the screenplay for The Princess. Jack Halama created the music for the film. Lorenzo Senatore crafted the cinematography for [...]
Continue reading: The Princess (2022) Movie Trailer: Princess Joey King Refuses to Marry a Sociopath and is Locked in a Tower...
Continue reading: The Princess (2022) Movie Trailer: Princess Joey King Refuses to Marry a Sociopath and is Locked in a Tower...
- 6/3/2022
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Joey King isn’t messing around in the first trailer for the new 20th Century Studios film “The Princess.”
In the trailer, which you can watch above, King plays a strong-willed princess whose father tries to force her to marry a cruel sociopath. When she refuses, she’s kidnapped and locked in a remote tower of her father’s castle.
That doesn’t stop her for long though, as she fights her way out of the tower, taking down every knight in her path. Set to the tune of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation,” King begins her takedown.
“I’m not a piece of property to be traded,” she says in the clip, adding: “But these guys f—ed with the wrong princess.”
Also Read:
Victor Chooses Benji in ‘Love, Victor’ Season 3 Trailer (Video)
And, with her scorned, vindictive suitor intent on taking her father’s throne, the princess must...
In the trailer, which you can watch above, King plays a strong-willed princess whose father tries to force her to marry a cruel sociopath. When she refuses, she’s kidnapped and locked in a remote tower of her father’s castle.
That doesn’t stop her for long though, as she fights her way out of the tower, taking down every knight in her path. Set to the tune of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation,” King begins her takedown.
“I’m not a piece of property to be traded,” she says in the clip, adding: “But these guys f—ed with the wrong princess.”
Also Read:
Victor Chooses Benji in ‘Love, Victor’ Season 3 Trailer (Video)
And, with her scorned, vindictive suitor intent on taking her father’s throne, the princess must...
- 6/2/2022
- by Katie Campione
- The Wrap
Joey King’s upcoming film “The Princess” has a premiere date on Hulu.
The 20th Century Studios film will drop July 1.
No ordinary story about a princess, King’s film is described as an “action-packed fight to the death set in a fairy tale world.”
Here’s the official logline: When a beautiful, strong-willed princess refuses to wed the cruel sociopath to whom she is betrothed, she is kidnapped and locked in a remote tower of her father’s castle. With her scorned, vindictive suitor intent on taking her father’s throne, the princess must protect her family and save the kingdom.
Le-Van Kiet directs from a screenplay by Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton. King and Guy Riedel are executive producers. Neal H. Moritz (the “Fast and Furious” franchise), Toby Jaffe (“Total Recall”) and Derek Kolstad (“John Wick”) produced the film.
In addition to King, the film also stars Dominic Cooper...
The 20th Century Studios film will drop July 1.
No ordinary story about a princess, King’s film is described as an “action-packed fight to the death set in a fairy tale world.”
Here’s the official logline: When a beautiful, strong-willed princess refuses to wed the cruel sociopath to whom she is betrothed, she is kidnapped and locked in a remote tower of her father’s castle. With her scorned, vindictive suitor intent on taking her father’s throne, the princess must protect her family and save the kingdom.
Le-Van Kiet directs from a screenplay by Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton. King and Guy Riedel are executive producers. Neal H. Moritz (the “Fast and Furious” franchise), Toby Jaffe (“Total Recall”) and Derek Kolstad (“John Wick”) produced the film.
In addition to King, the film also stars Dominic Cooper...
- 4/12/2022
- by Jolie Lash
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Circle Of Confusion is almost doubling its number of partners with the promotion of Josh Adler, Charles Mastropietro and Susan Solomon-Shapiro. This is the first time in more than five years that the management/production company is expanding its partner ranks following the elevation of Brad Mendelsohn in 2015.
Adler, Mastropietro and Solomon-Shapiro’s client list span both the lit and talent side of the business. It includes such actors, writers/showrunners and filmmakers as Natalie Chaidez (Queen Of The South), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse), Neil Goldman, Derek Kolstad (Creator of the John Wick franchise), Ben Lustig & Jake Thornton, Mike Makowsky (Bad Education), Ashley Miller, Rachel Morrison, Richard Naing, Molly Parker (Lost in Space), Noah Reid (Schitt’s Creek), David Schwimmer (Friends), Kit Steinkellner (Sorry for Your Loss...
Adler, Mastropietro and Solomon-Shapiro’s client list span both the lit and talent side of the business. It includes such actors, writers/showrunners and filmmakers as Natalie Chaidez (Queen Of The South), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse), Neil Goldman, Derek Kolstad (Creator of the John Wick franchise), Ben Lustig & Jake Thornton, Mike Makowsky (Bad Education), Ashley Miller, Rachel Morrison, Richard Naing, Molly Parker (Lost in Space), Noah Reid (Schitt’s Creek), David Schwimmer (Friends), Kit Steinkellner (Sorry for Your Loss...
- 12/9/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: 20th Century Studios has acquired The Princess, a spec script By Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton that has The Kissing Booth‘s Joey King attached to star. They’ll make it for Hulu and while the logline is being kept under wraps, spec is described as Rapunzel meets The Raid.
Pic will be Produced by Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe and Derek Kolstad (John Wick). King will be exec producer with Lustig and Thornton co-producing.
If the allusion to The Raid throws you, consider that King is moving from star/exec producer of the Netflix phenomenon The Kissing Booth to being cast opposite Brad Pitt in the action-thriller Bullet Train for Sony Pictures. She was Emmy-nominated for playing Gypsy Rose Blanchard in Hulu limited series The Act, and recently became the youngest person to make a first look deal to produce series for the streaming service.
Pic will be Produced by Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe and Derek Kolstad (John Wick). King will be exec producer with Lustig and Thornton co-producing.
If the allusion to The Raid throws you, consider that King is moving from star/exec producer of the Netflix phenomenon The Kissing Booth to being cast opposite Brad Pitt in the action-thriller Bullet Train for Sony Pictures. She was Emmy-nominated for playing Gypsy Rose Blanchard in Hulu limited series The Act, and recently became the youngest person to make a first look deal to produce series for the streaming service.
- 10/30/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The blockbuster Final Fantasy video game series is heading to television. Sony Pictures TV and Hivemind, the production company behind Amazon’s The Expanse and Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of The Witcher, have teamed with global video game powerhouse Square Enix to develop a first-of-its-kind, live-action TV adaptation of a beloved chapter from the blockbuster Final Fantasy video game series.
Written by Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, the TV adaptation will tell an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea, based on Final Fantasy Xiv, the franchise’s blockbuster online role-playing game. Since it first debuted in 2013, the online title has continued to amass millions of players around the world, cementing its legacy as one of the most storied and influential franchises in gaming history.
Inspired directly by the world and characters of the title’s fourteenth installment, the project will explore...
Written by Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, the TV adaptation will tell an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea, based on Final Fantasy Xiv, the franchise’s blockbuster online role-playing game. Since it first debuted in 2013, the online title has continued to amass millions of players around the world, cementing its legacy as one of the most storied and influential franchises in gaming history.
Inspired directly by the world and characters of the title’s fourteenth installment, the project will explore...
- 6/27/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The Final Fantasy video game franchise has been around for 30 years and after all that time it’s finally getting a live-action adaptation! There have been several cool animated movies made, but this will be the first time we see this world brought to life in live-action form. That’s something that has got to excite the fans!
Sony Pictures Television is developing a TV series with Hivemind (The Witcher) and Square Enix, the Japanese developer behind the games, also involved. It’s comforting to know that the developer behind the games is involved with the creation of this series.
There aren’t any story details to talk about yet, but we do know that it will tell “an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea, a continuously growing world first introduced in Final Fantasy Xiv, which incorporates characters from across the franchise’s long history.” So, even...
Sony Pictures Television is developing a TV series with Hivemind (The Witcher) and Square Enix, the Japanese developer behind the games, also involved. It’s comforting to know that the developer behind the games is involved with the creation of this series.
There aren’t any story details to talk about yet, but we do know that it will tell “an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea, a continuously growing world first introduced in Final Fantasy Xiv, which incorporates characters from across the franchise’s long history.” So, even...
- 6/27/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Sony Pictures TV has put a live-action adaptation of the popular video game franchise “Final Fantasy” in development.
The series is based on “Final Fantasy Xiv,” the series’ debut online role-playing game that was released in 2013, telling an original story set in Eorzea.
Inspired directly by the world and characters of the title’s fourteenth installment, the project will embrace the bold and genre-bending sensibilities of the revered and long-running “Final Fantasy” series as it explores the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict. Filled with iconic hallmarks of the title’s revered mythology – magitek and beastmen, airships and chocobos – the forthcoming series will feature a mixture of new and familiar faces. Those will, notably, include the live-action debut of Cid – one of the games’ central and most beloved characters who has appeared in almost every installment of the franchise to date.
The series is based on “Final Fantasy Xiv,” the series’ debut online role-playing game that was released in 2013, telling an original story set in Eorzea.
Inspired directly by the world and characters of the title’s fourteenth installment, the project will embrace the bold and genre-bending sensibilities of the revered and long-running “Final Fantasy” series as it explores the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict. Filled with iconic hallmarks of the title’s revered mythology – magitek and beastmen, airships and chocobos – the forthcoming series will feature a mixture of new and familiar faces. Those will, notably, include the live-action debut of Cid – one of the games’ central and most beloved characters who has appeared in almost every installment of the franchise to date.
- 6/27/2019
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
The 30-year-old “Final Fantasy” saga is the latest iconic video game brand to be getting the live-action treatment.
Sony Pictures Television is working on a first ever live-action adaptation of the series, with Hivemind and Square Enix, the Japanese developer behind the games, also involved.
Exact plot details on the prospective series, beyond the source material, are being kept under wraps, however, word is it will tell “an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea,” a continuously growing world first introduced in “Final Fantasy Xiv,” which incorporates characters from across the franchise’s long history.
The series will “explore the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict,” and feature a blend of new and familiar faces like fan-favorite anti-hero Cid. Features and creatures from the game series, such as magitek, beastmen, airships and chocobos, will all also play a part in the TV adaptation.
Sony Pictures Television is working on a first ever live-action adaptation of the series, with Hivemind and Square Enix, the Japanese developer behind the games, also involved.
Exact plot details on the prospective series, beyond the source material, are being kept under wraps, however, word is it will tell “an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea,” a continuously growing world first introduced in “Final Fantasy Xiv,” which incorporates characters from across the franchise’s long history.
The series will “explore the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict,” and feature a blend of new and familiar faces like fan-favorite anti-hero Cid. Features and creatures from the game series, such as magitek, beastmen, airships and chocobos, will all also play a part in the TV adaptation.
- 6/27/2019
- by Will Thorne
- Variety Film + TV
Calm your Chocobos!
The iconic long-running, role-playing video game franchise Final Fantasy is coming to television. Sony Pictures Television, Square Enix and production company Hivemind (which produces The Expanse for Amazon and is currently working on Netflix's upcoming The Witcher series) will produce the live-action TV series, which will center on an original story set in the world of Eorzea, first introduced in the online game Final Fantasy Xiv.
Jason F. Brown (The Expanse), Sean Daniel (The Mummy franchise) and Dinesh Shamdasani (Sony Pictures upcoming Bloodshot) will produce for Hivemind. Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton will write for the series and also serve as ...
The iconic long-running, role-playing video game franchise Final Fantasy is coming to television. Sony Pictures Television, Square Enix and production company Hivemind (which produces The Expanse for Amazon and is currently working on Netflix's upcoming The Witcher series) will produce the live-action TV series, which will center on an original story set in the world of Eorzea, first introduced in the online game Final Fantasy Xiv.
Jason F. Brown (The Expanse), Sean Daniel (The Mummy franchise) and Dinesh Shamdasani (Sony Pictures upcoming Bloodshot) will produce for Hivemind. Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton will write for the series and also serve as ...
- 6/27/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Exclusive: Sony has acquired the Gideon Sterer children’s book The Night Knights, with Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton writing the script. The scribes pitched the project, and Sony won it in a competitive situation. Ian Bryce is producing through his Ian Bryce Productions banner alongside Escape Artists partners Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch.
Illustrated by Cory Godbey, The Night Knights was published this week by Abrams Books for Young Readers. The logline: Nighttime can be scary. Every bump, thump or scratch could be a monster lurking under the bed or in a closet. But if that’s the case, then why haven’t we ever seen a monster? You might think that’s because monsters don’t exist. But maybe monsters do exist . . . but so do something else: The Night Knights. And when night falls, they take their place, protecting us all from the terrors lurking in the dark.
Illustrated by Cory Godbey, The Night Knights was published this week by Abrams Books for Young Readers. The logline: Nighttime can be scary. Every bump, thump or scratch could be a monster lurking under the bed or in a closet. But if that’s the case, then why haven’t we ever seen a monster? You might think that’s because monsters don’t exist. But maybe monsters do exist . . . but so do something else: The Night Knights. And when night falls, they take their place, protecting us all from the terrors lurking in the dark.
- 5/3/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Sony is having a love affair with writers Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton. After closing a $1M deal with the studio last year for a spec and a previous big pitch deal, the writing duo is sealing yet another agreement for a new pitch. And yes, it’s another mid-six-against-seven-figure deal on an idea described as “a heist with elements of fantasy.” The story is being kept under seal like its some kind of ancient Chinese secret. It must have been a helluva pitch as B…...
- 9/30/2015
- Deadline
Exclusive: In a mid-six against seven-figure deal, Sony Pictures has acquired The Wells Initative, a pitch for a sci-fi/action adventure where a young H.G. Wells, the godfather of science fiction, actually experiences the events that will one day inspire his famous novels. The pitch is by Ben Lustig & Jake Thornton, who shook up the town earlier this year when Sony paid $1 million to win their spec script Winter's Knight, the Viking-mythology-tinged origin story of St…...
- 4/2/2015
- Deadline
Things are getting festive for Star Trek 3 scribes Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne, as Deadline reports that the duo has been earmarked for another high-profile project. Currently on the fast track, Winter’s Knight is being rushed into development, hence the need for a sparkly new rewrite on the script. If McKay and Payne commit, then the studio plans to entice Joachin Ronning and Espen Sandberg into the director’s chair(s) once they complete work on Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Dubbed a “Viking-mythology-tinged origin story of St. Nick and Christmas,” Winter’s Knight is based on Wizard Of Oz author L. Frank Baum’s 1902 book, The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus. The original script – penned by Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton – was sold in after heated bidding frenzy for a gigantic $1 million dollars.
The steep price of the auction was thought to...
Dubbed a “Viking-mythology-tinged origin story of St. Nick and Christmas,” Winter’s Knight is based on Wizard Of Oz author L. Frank Baum’s 1902 book, The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus. The original script – penned by Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton – was sold in after heated bidding frenzy for a gigantic $1 million dollars.
The steep price of the auction was thought to...
- 2/25/2015
- by Gem Seddon
- We Got This Covered
The SyFy Channel has announced that director Wolfgang Peterson (Das Boot, The Neverending Story, Troy, Air Force One) and Scott Stuber (Safe House, Ted) are set to develop a series based on the John Scalzi book The Ghost Brigades, which is part of the Hugo Award nominated Old Man's War universe book series.
The story follows John Perry, "who at 75, enlists into the Colonial Defense Force to fight a centuries-long war for man's expansion into the cosmos. Technology allows experiences and consciousness to be transplanted into younger bodies that are outfitted to endure the harsher rigors of war in space. However, soon after John arrives, he finds himself involved with a mysterious woman, and at the same time, at the center of an unraveling conspiracy involving an elite fighting force known as The Ghost Brigades."
The pilot episode will be written by Jake Thornton and Ben Lustig, who are both...
The story follows John Perry, "who at 75, enlists into the Colonial Defense Force to fight a centuries-long war for man's expansion into the cosmos. Technology allows experiences and consciousness to be transplanted into younger bodies that are outfitted to endure the harsher rigors of war in space. However, soon after John arrives, he finds himself involved with a mysterious woman, and at the same time, at the center of an unraveling conspiracy involving an elite fighting force known as The Ghost Brigades."
The pilot episode will be written by Jake Thornton and Ben Lustig, who are both...
- 8/7/2014
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Syfy is launching another science-fiction series with its adaption of John Scalzi's "Ghost Brigades," which is based on his "Old Man's War" books. Wolfgang Petersen, who helmed such films as "Das Boot" and "Troy," is spearheading the project along with "Safe House" producer Scott Stuber; Jake Thornton and Ben Lustig ("The Thirst") will script. "Ghost Brigades" centers on John Perry, a 75-year-old soldier serving in a long-running war as mankind -- who can now transfer consciousness into younger bodies -- expands its influence into deep space. Perry quickly finds himself attracted to a mysterious woman while a conspiracy unfolds involving the Ghost Brigades, an elite military force. Universal Cable Productions, Radiant Productions and Bluegrass Films will produce the project. "Old ...
- 8/6/2014
- GeekNation.com
Syfy has begun development of "Ghost Brigades," a TV drama series based on John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" universe book series which will be produced by Universal Cable Productions, Radiant Productions and Bluegrass Films.
Filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen ("Troy," "The Perfect Storm") will oversee the project's development. Jake Thornton and Ben Lustig will pen the first script, while Scott Stuber ("Safe House") will produce.
The story follows 75-yer-old John Perry who enlists in the Colonial Defense Force to fight a centuries-long war for man's expansion into the cosmos. Technology allows his mind to be transplanted into a younger body built to withstand the harshness of fighting a war in space.
"Old Man's War" was first published in 2005 and scored a Hugo Award nomination in 2006. Four further books followed, the second going by the name "Ghost Brigades". An attempt was made to turn the series into a film at Paramount Pictures...
Filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen ("Troy," "The Perfect Storm") will oversee the project's development. Jake Thornton and Ben Lustig will pen the first script, while Scott Stuber ("Safe House") will produce.
The story follows 75-yer-old John Perry who enlists in the Colonial Defense Force to fight a centuries-long war for man's expansion into the cosmos. Technology allows his mind to be transplanted into a younger body built to withstand the harshness of fighting a war in space.
"Old Man's War" was first published in 2005 and scored a Hugo Award nomination in 2006. Four further books followed, the second going by the name "Ghost Brigades". An attempt was made to turn the series into a film at Paramount Pictures...
- 8/5/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Syfy has snatched up another acclaimed sci-fi novel. John Scalzi’s Hugo Award-nominated Old Man’s War series is being developed into a TV show at the network. Bonus: Syf has brought on a respected heavy-hitter producer for the project—two-time Oscar nominee Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Air Force One), along with fellow producer Scott Stuber (Safe House, Ted). Jake Thornton and Ben Lustig (both developing a Winter’s Knight film) have signed to write the pilot.
The project will be titled Ghost Brigades. (You had to figure a title like Old Man’s War would be the first thing...
The project will be titled Ghost Brigades. (You had to figure a title like Old Man’s War would be the first thing...
- 8/5/2014
- by James Hibberd
- EW - Inside TV
Syfy is continuing to ramp up its sci-fi fare. The NBCUniversal-owned cable network has put into development Ghost Brigades, a drama based on John Scalzi's Hugo-nominated Old Man's War universe book series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The NeverEnding Story's Wolfgang Petersen will oversee development on the project alongside Scott Stuber (Safe House), with Jake Thornton and Ben Lustig (Winter's Knight) on board to pen the first script. The drama hails from Universal Cable Productions, Petersen's Radiant Productions and Stuber's Bluegrass Films. Story Syfy's Plan: More Space Operas, Less 'Sharknado' Ghost Brigades follows John Perry, who at
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- 8/5/2014
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Literary manager Josh Adler, formerly of New Wave Entertainment, has joined management and production firm Circle of Confusion. Adler brings with him such clients as writers Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, whose hot spec Winter’s Knight was acquired by Sony in February; Vlas and Charley Parlapanides, who wrote the Henry Cavill Greek gods fantasy Immortals; Stephanie Koff (Warner Bros.’ Marco Polo); and Josh Stolberg, who wrote Dimension’s Piranha 3D. Other clients joining him include Richard Naing (Goldcrest’s Autopsy of Jane Doe), Derek Kolstad (Thunder Road’s John Wick), Kenny Smith (Bet’s The Game), Andy Black (NBC’s Hannibal), Chris Baldi (Fox’s
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- 7/31/2014
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A gritty origin story about… Santa Claus? And he’s a Viking? That’s what studio Sony is betting on after picking up a spec script called Winter’s Knight. Norwegian helmers Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki, Pirates of the Caribbean 5) will direct the “Viking-mythology-tinged” tale, based on the 1902 book The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by Frank L. Baum. Santa has roots in pre-Christian Norse mythology and ties to the god Odin, so the revisionist story by newbies Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton isn’t that outrageous of a prospect. From the sound of things, we shouldn’t expect something akin to the deranged Rare Exports (too bad). Think Snow White and the Huntsman or Oz the Great and Powerful instead...
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- 3/4/2014
- by Alison Nastasi
- Movies.com
Let me be clear... we do not care if this flick is Dread worthy just yet. That being said, if there's a story floating around about a friggin' viking Santa Claus, then goddamn it, we're gonna do it!
According to Deadline, after much back and forth Saturday involving Sony, Universal, and a last-ditch overture from Warner Bros., Sony finally closed its deal for Winter’s Knight, the Viking-mythology-tinged origin story of St. Nick and Christmas.
Sony emerged as front-runner when it agreed to pay $1 million to newbie scribes Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton for the biggest spec sale of this year so far. That was the easy part. Deals were then made for producers Marc Platt and Lawrence Grey. More challenging was making a deal with the white hot Kon-Tiki helmers Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg to direct, but that effort was led by incoming Sony Pictures Production President Michael De Luca.
According to Deadline, after much back and forth Saturday involving Sony, Universal, and a last-ditch overture from Warner Bros., Sony finally closed its deal for Winter’s Knight, the Viking-mythology-tinged origin story of St. Nick and Christmas.
Sony emerged as front-runner when it agreed to pay $1 million to newbie scribes Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton for the biggest spec sale of this year so far. That was the easy part. Deals were then made for producers Marc Platt and Lawrence Grey. More challenging was making a deal with the white hot Kon-Tiki helmers Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg to direct, but that effort was led by incoming Sony Pictures Production President Michael De Luca.
- 3/3/2014
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
yakonusuke
Sony Pictures has just acquired the rights to an awesome-sounding new movie called Winter's Knight. It's a viking mythology based origin story of St. Nick and Christmas. There was an intense bidding war for the film between Sony, Warner Bros. and Universal, but Sony won it, and they paid $1 million for the spec that will be written by newbie scribes Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton.
The studio also landed Kon-Tiki directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg to bring the project to life. They will start working on this film after they are finished with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Apparently the story is based on L. Frank Baum's 1902 book The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus. Baum is also the author of The Wizard of Oz. This has the potential to actually be a pretty epic movie. Here's a little run down on...
Sony Pictures has just acquired the rights to an awesome-sounding new movie called Winter's Knight. It's a viking mythology based origin story of St. Nick and Christmas. There was an intense bidding war for the film between Sony, Warner Bros. and Universal, but Sony won it, and they paid $1 million for the spec that will be written by newbie scribes Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton.
The studio also landed Kon-Tiki directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg to bring the project to life. They will start working on this film after they are finished with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Apparently the story is based on L. Frank Baum's 1902 book The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus. Baum is also the author of The Wizard of Oz. This has the potential to actually be a pretty epic movie. Here's a little run down on...
- 3/3/2014
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
After a bidding war between Universal, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures, it's the latter studio that has come out on top to pick up a spec script called Winter's Knight. Following in the footsteps of recent revisionist fairytales like Snow White and the Huntsman or developing historical adventures around figures like Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci, the film would tell the origin of Saint Nicholas and Christmas, by way of a Viking-esque tale written by newcomers Ben Lustig & Jake Thornton. The deal at Sony also included Kon-Tiki helmers Joachim Ronning & Espen Sandberg, who will also do Pirates of the Caribbean 5. For those interested in more, the film is based on the 1902 book The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus by Frank L. Baum. Apparently the final deal took some convincing from Michael De Luca, who is eager to bring in the next generation of filmmakers. De Luca did...
- 3/3/2014
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
2Nd Update, 12:01 Pm Pt: After much back and forth Saturday involving Sony, Universal and a last-ditch overture from Warner Bros, Sony finally closed its deal for Winter’s Knight, the Viking-mythology-tinged origin story of St. Nick and Christmas. Sony emerged as front-runner when it agreed to pay $1 million to newbie scribes Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, for the biggest spec sale of this year so far. That was the easy part. Deals were then made for producers Marc Platt and Lawrence Grey. More challenging was making a deal with the white hot Kon-Tiki helmers Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, but that effort was led by incoming Sony Pictures Production President Michael De Luca. His persuasive pitch was that he plans to bring in the next generation of emerging filmmakers, much the way he did at ’90s New Line with the likes of David Fincher and Paul Thomas Anderson. That,...
- 3/2/2014
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Sony has won the bidding war to pick up Winter’s Knight, the Viking-themed reimagining of Santa Claus. The hot package hit the town Thursday evening and caused an immediate bidding war, generating interest from Warner Bros., Disney and Universal, among others. Photos: 35 of 2014's Most Anticipated Movies The script is by relative newcomers in the scribe world, Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton, but has Kon-Tiki helmers Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg attached as directors. Lawrence Grey and Marc Platt are on board as producers. How hot is the project? Sources say Knight is a $1 million
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- 3/1/2014
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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