First poster for Tony Scott's 'Unstoppable' hits

The first poster for Tony Scott's upcoming action thriller "Unstoppable" has hit the Web, and you can check it out in full after the jump. Let me warn you though: there's nothing exciting about it at all.

"Unstoppable" follows an engineer (Washington) who boards a locomotive with a young conductor (Pine) and attempts to chase a large runaway freight train loaded with a bunch of toxic chemicals.

The film will arrive in theaters Nov. 12, 2010. If they want to keep us intereted in this project, they better start improving its marketing campaign. This is about as boring as a poster for an action flick can get.

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Movie Review: “The Book of Eli”

Seen on: January 16, 2010

The players: Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes, Writer: Gary Whitta, Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Beals

Facts of interest: First Hughes bros. film since "From Hell."

The plot: In a post-apocalyptic world, one man (Washington) travels cross-country to protect a book that apparently holds the hope for mankind.

Our thoughts: Albert and Allen Hughes’ post-apocalyptic action flick “The Book of Eli” boasts strong technical aspects but falls a bit short in the story department. It’s a movie with straightforward messages and lots of brainless action, and chances are many folks out there will enjoy watching Denzel Washington beat the heck out of bad guys.

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'The Book of Eli' feature trailer hits the web

Here's the brand-new feature trailer for Allen and Albert Hughes' upcoming post-apocalyptic action flick "The Book of Eli," and it's quite an action-packed, intriguing preview, so check it out after the jump. The first teaser already boasted a solid look, and this one certainly delivers as well.

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Sunday film news web roundup: Jerry Bruckheimer goes to 'War;' 'Up in the Air' lands in Toronto

Here's a brief entry with short descriptions and links to film news we either missed or quite honestly didn't have time to add. Here's what you need to know on August 2, 2009:

• Star producer Jerry Bruckheimer has acquired the big-screen rights to the graphic novel "World War Robot," chronicling the battle between humans and robots on Earth, Mars and the moon. More on this @ Variety.

• Jason Reitman ("Juno") will show his next film "Up in the Air" as a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. The flick follows George Clooney as a frequent-flyer counselor who helps large companies fire their executives. (Variety)

• According to the Risky Biz Blog, Universal is chasing after Jesus, prepping what will be a remake of "Jesus Christ Superstar." Apparently, Uni has also been talking to "(500) Days of Summer" director Marc Webb, who could end up helming "Jesus." More here.

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Stunning 'The Book of Eli' trailer debuts online

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to think about Allen and Albert Hughes' upcoming drama "The Book of Eli," a sort of post-apocalyptic western starring Denzel Washington in the lead. Now that I saw the film's teaser trailer, however, I admit I'm quite excited about this project.

The story follows Washington as Eli, a badass hero who travels across America to pass on the knowledge of what could be society’s only way to redemption. Protecting this knowledge, however, seems to be quite a challenge, but Eli will stop at nothing to complete his mission.

The trailer below looks quite stunning, and even though it only shows Washington strolling across plenty of wasteland and showing viewers he's not someone to be messed with, the footage managed to grab my attention. I am indeed intrigued by "The Book of Eli," which opens Jan. 15, 2010.

Also part of the cast are Gary Oldman, who's a small-town despot willing to do anything to get a hold of Eli’s book; Mila Kunis, who plays a woman who first tries to betray but later joins Eli on his quest; and Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals and Michael Gambon.

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Denzel Washington is 'Unstoppable' again

Wow, some movies really have to overcome several hurdles before even launching into pre-production. One such project is Tony Scott's action thriller "Unstoppable," which was set to start, then suddenly derailed, and is now apparently back on track.

To recap, the film was set to head toward principal photography with Denzel Washington in the lead role when all of a sudden 20th Century Fox halted production because of budget concerns. Yes, this baby simply cost too much.

Well, the studio asked Washington to take a pay cut, but the actor declined and dropped out. According to Variety, however, he's now back in. Apparently he sealed a deal with Fox, and "Unstoppable" is gearing up for a fall shoot.

Wow, what a painful process. "Unstoppable" follows an engineer who boards a locomotive with a young conductor and attempts to chase a runaway train loaded with a bunch of toxic chemicals. Let's wait and see if this one ever makes it to its final destination.

Denzel Washington drops 'Unstoppable'

Denzel Washington is no longer part of Tony Scott's action thriller "Unstoppable," which was recently put on hold because of budget concerns.

The actor formally exited the project after waiting around for 20th Century Fox to work out the financial problems. A solution has not been found at this stage.

"Unstoppable" follows an engineer who boards a locomotive with a young conductor and attempts to chase a runaway train loaded with a bunch of toxic chemicals.

With money being used more sparingly by some studios, Fox decided the film's budget was simply to high. The studio apparently asked Washington to take a smaller salary for the job, but he refused.

At this stage, nobody really knows what will eventually happen with the film. Scott still seems to be attached, but who knows how long it will take to figure things out. Scott's recent flick, "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," didn't do that well at the box office.

Source: Variety

Budget problem may stop Scott's 'Unstoppable'

The title may suggest otherwise, but it looks like Fox may slow down Tony Scott's upcoming action thriller "Unstoppable." The reason? A budget problem.

The Hollywood Reporter says Fox is taking a closer look at the flick, which obviously needs a rather heavy budget. Scott's most recent flick, "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," delivered a disappointing performance at the box office.

"Unstoppable" follows an engineer who boards a locomotive with a young conductor and attempts to chase a runaway train loaded with a bunch of toxic chemicals. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine were in talks to star in the project.

At this stage, it's not sure what Fox will decide to do, but the trades say the studio may not go as far as stopping the film completely.

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'The Hangover' wins Friday box office again

Todd Phillips' comedy "The Hangover" topped the North American box office Friday for the second consecutive week with an estimated $10.4 million in ticket sales.

Playing at 3,355 locations, the R-rated film lifted its domestic total to $82.4 million after just one week in release. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helm and Zach Galifianakis star as three guys who lose their best friend on a night out in Vegas.

At No. 2, Pixar's "Up" collected another $8.8 million, bringing its total haul to $165.5 million. New entry "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" debuted with $8.2 million in third place, playing currently at 3,074 locations.

Things didn't go so well for Eddie Murphy's new comedy "Imagine That," which finished sixth with a daily gross of $1.8 million from 3,008 locations. In the film, Murphy plays a financial executive who finds the key to success in his daughter's imaginary world.

Meanwhile, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" picked up $2.9 million at No. 4, lifting its cumulative gross to $136.8 million. At No. 5, "Land of the Lost" pulled in $2.9 million also, reaching a total gross of $28.7 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

Movie Review: “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3”

Seen on: June 12, 2009

The players: Director: Tony Scott, Writer: Brian Helgeland, Cast: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Brian Haley

Facts of interest: Remake of Joseph Sargent's 1974 flick of the same title.

The plot: A New York City subway dispatcher is thrust into the middle of a hostage situation on-board a subway train.

Our thoughts: I didn’t exactly love Tony Scott’s “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” remake, but much to the film’s credit, it sure did entertain me for most of its running time. “Pelham” has its flaws, and the central plot could have been a tad more intriguing, but all in all, it qualifies as a decent summer thriller that mostly works.

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