Six New Awesome Posters For Sony's PRIEST!

I am liking these posters! Take a look at a new series of posters from Sony for PRIEST. I feel they are setting pretty cool expectations that we are going to see something not quite like we have ever seen before in a vampire movie. Of course there is the old west vibe, but also the futuristic world is full of decent imagery - sets an interesting tone!

PRIEST will be lighting the screens on May 13, 2011.

FYI on the characters: Paul Bettany is "Priest" (VAMPIRE KILLER), Cam Gigandet is "Hicks" (THE LAW), Maggie Q is "Priestess" (WARRIOR), Lily Collins is "Lucy" (KIDNAPPED) and Karl Urban is "BLACK HAT".

Storyline:
PRIEST is set in a world ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. Paul Bettany is Priest, a legendary warrior priest during the last Vampire War, who now lives in obscurity among the other human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities controlled by the Church. But when his 18-year-old niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires in the desolate wastelands outside, Priest breaks his sacred vows and ventures out to find her and seek vengeance upon those responsible, especially their brutal leader (Karl Urban). Priest is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend, Hicks (Cam Gigandet), a local outpost sheriff, and Priestess (Maggie Q), a member of his former legion of vampire-killers who has otherworldly fighting skills.

I thought Karl Urban's BLACK HAT poster looks more like Hugh Jackman! I had to look twice lol.

What do you think? You anticipating this one or what?

Thanks AvatarFan for the heads up.

Source: IMPAwards

Alexandre Aja Biting Into COBRA THE SPACE PIRATE Next?

I really don't know what to expect with the upcoming release of Alexandre Aja's PIRANHA 3D this weekend. On one hand, I am a big Aja fan (THE HILLS HAVE EYES, MIRRORS) but on the other hand the super advance word on this movie is 'cheese', but that may have changed in the editing room after getting feedback - or it could have just been a vicious attack for no reason. I do know that no movie critics have been allowed to preview the movie. I am an eternal optimist though, so I will be the first in line.

This brings me to Aja's next project: He has been talking (via Collider) about writing and directing an adaptation of the Japanese manga COBRA THE SPACE PIRATE, which he grew up watching on TV in Europe.

Here is a breakdown of the manga:
The series follows the adventures of Cobra who lived an ordinary life until enemies started to hunt him down. Cobra surgically alters his face, and erases his own memory to hide from his enemies. Cobra starts to regain his memories and then unites with his old partner Lady Armaroid and his ship Tortuga. Later in his adventures, Cobra meets the Royal sisters whose map-tattoos lead to treasure. The Cobra manga has also spawned nine sequel series… [and] later served as the basis for a feature-length film adaptation, a 31-episode anime series that retells the film’s story, and two original video animations.

So what does Aja have to say about the project (via Deadline)?
“I grew up dreaming about Cobra. My day was, finish school, run home and switch on the TV and I was hardly the only one. Kids did it in France, Italy, Spain, all over Western Europe. For many people there is Star Wars and nothing else, but for me and my writing partner Gregory, there is Star Wars and Cobra. I am so surprised it never crossed the ocean and made the same impact in the U.S., because it is so big everywhere else. There are 60 books, a lot of TV animation and so many adventures, pirates and bad guys that it is perfect to be reinvented into a really cool space opera adventure franchise for a new generation.”

“It should be in 3D, science fiction and 3D are a good mix. I’ll start work on the script soon, but I have been carrying this inside me for thirty years and we are talking to the creature designers of films like Avatar and Star Trek, building a new world and doing it the right way.”

Looks like Aja and I are going to get along just fine. We'll see how well his PIRANHA 3D conversion works out for him, and he has plenty of time to decide to shoot in native 3D or not for his next project.

I just want to see a Hollywood adaptation of a good Manga. We are still waiting on Cameron's BATTLE ANGEL and Spielberg's GHOST IN THE SHELL to name a couple of other top line projects.

Glad to see Aja has landed on the 3D side of Hollywood's creativity line! Bring it on Alex...

There's A New Epic In Town: Spielberg Buys Rights To Manga "Ghost In The Shell" - Will Be Live Action 3D!!

Steven Spielberg has gotten unnecessarily bitten by John Fithian of NATO lately and here is another HUGE reason to prove Fithian wrong.

Dreamworks has acquired the rights to the Japanese manga "Ghost in the Shell" with Jamie Moss writing the adaptation. Seaside Entertainment's Steven Paul with Ari and Avi Arad brought the project to Spielberg who really connected with it.

Variety says:

"Avi Arad is at the forefront of comicbook-based material, having produced the three "Spider-Man" films, the three "X-Men" movies, the two "Fantastic Four" pics and the upcoming "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk."

Moss' writing credits include "Street Kings," which bowed Friday, and "Last Man Home," in development at Universal."

Here is some background from Wikipedia:

Ghost in the Shell is a futuristic police thriller dealing with the exploits of Motoko Kusanagi, a member of the covert operations section of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission, Section 9, which specializes in fighting technology-related crime. She may be named after one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan and Shirow makes reference to them at the end of the second manga. Although supposedly equal to all other members, Kusanagi fills the leadership role in the team, and is usually referred to as "the Major" due to her past rank in the armed forces. She is capable of superhuman feats, and bionically specialized for her job — her body is almost completely mechanized; only her brain and a segment of her spinal cord are organic.

Ummm yeah - this sounds RED HOT. With the oncoming mega budget for James Cameron's "Battle Angel" and this new Spielberg addition - both manga AND 3D are going to be taking over the box office soon!! Get ready for spectacles never seen before...

Don't be misled into thinking Spielberg is not at the forefront of the Digital 3D movement - he is definitely one of the visionaries!

Added to the ever growing MarketSaw 3D Movie List.

Source: Variety