io9: 28 weeks later

Bioshock Movie Gets A New Big Daddy — Verbinski's Out

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:20:00 PDT

Pirates Of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski won't direct a Bioshock movie. Instead, it may fall to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later). Verbinski bailed after the film's budget was slashed and filming moved overseas for tax reasons. [Variety]

Latest Murder-Plague Movie Has Lush Anime Visuals

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:30:00 PDT

Do we really need another movie about a virus that turns people into psycho berzerkers, forcing riot cops with cool-looking goggles to wield an iron fist to hold the crumbling shreds of society together? I may have just answered my own question... but what if it's a nice-looking animated film, with touches of Akira and Ghost In The Shell? Rashad Redic is adapting his own short movie Ultraviolent into a new feature-length film, and here's the trailer.

Sadly, the synopsis doesn't sound that great, with its references to "spiritual decay" and Jazz singers:

Simeon Rockwell is a man who becomes infected with a spiritual disease. His past and now this disease, forces Simeon to wrestle with his own inner demons and help rid the world of this virus. Simeon is aided by a beautiful female Jazz Singer named Satia Niall, who helps him in understanding his place in the greater struggle of mankind. Simeon realizes that time is running out and he must act fast to stop the spiritual predator who wants to bring about the downfall of society. During the course of this adventure, Simeon and Satia both change, as they bring out the best in each other; and eventually fall in love.

But it does look incredibly cool and sort of noir, so you never know. Plus, goggles! [QuietEarth]

New York City Destroyed. London, You're Next!

Kevin Kelly — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:10:46 PST

New York City has been hammered on by both I Am Legend and Cloverfield, as well as a slew of other films. It's been flooded, frozen, ravaged by viruses, and pummeled by monsters. But London has gotten off rather lightly, having merely been hit by one supervirus in 28 Days Later and the sometimes wonky special effects from multiple episodes of Doctor Who. Recently, however, disgruntled Londoners rejoiced when their city was hit by a massive wall of water in the August miniseries Flood.

While we love Robert Carlyle, especially in Trainspotting and 28 Weeks Later, this movie unfortunately looks like an artifact from the days of Volcano, Twister, and Earthquake. Carlyle plays an engineer who worked on the Thames Barrier, which can't withstand the double whammy of high tide and a series of perfect storms that brew up enough water to bury Big Ben underwater.

Of course, Carlyle fights back against the water with some hokey science and cheesy melodrama, and the movie gets mired in relationshippy chatter as people prepare for the end, instead of buying a boat and getting the hell out of dodge. Still, we in the States are hankering to see it. Flood washed into the UK several months ago, but hasn't made it to our shores yet — except, apparently, on the "family friendly" ION network where it aired in December, got its advert ripped to YouTube, then ripped to our own Flash player. Still, you can really catch the fear on Carlyle's face through the pixelation, can't you?

Flood [Channel 4]

"I Am Legend" Gets "28 Weeks Later" Treatment

charliejane — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:20:00 PST

Warner Bros. has bought the rights to do an unlikely sequel to I Am Legend from original author Richard Matheson. Will Smith probably won't be back, since he just said he mistakenly did Men In Black II and Bad Boys II "out of fear." So it'll have, what? Alice Braga hanging out in New England? [ShockTillYouDrop]