MUST WATCH: New Trailer For ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

Hey guys - here's trailer #3 for ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL and it looks stunning! I won't spoil it for you, but be sure to watch it on a big screen with the volume up :-)

I'm first in line for this thing! It's been a long time coming and I'm really looking forward to it.

Here's the movie's storyline:
From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Screenplay by: James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis and Robert Rodriguez
Based on the Graphic Novel ("Manga") Series: "Gunnm" By Yukito Kishiro
Produced by: James Cameron and Jon Landau
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keean Johnson

Connect with Alita: Battle Angel Online:
Visit the Official Site Here: AlitaTickets.co.uk
Like Alita: Battle Angel on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/AlitaMovieUK

Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/20centuryfoxuk
Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/20CenturyFoxUK
Like on Facebook: www.facebook.com/20thCenturyFoxUK/

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL launches on February 14, 2019.

MUST WATCH: First Trailer For James Cameron's ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

While it's true James Cameron is sadly not directing ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL due to the AVATAR sequel commitments, he DID write the screenplay along with Laeta Kalogridis and Robert Rodriguez, the latter of which is also directing. Of course the whole thing is based on the graphic novel manga series GUNNM by Yukito Kishiro.

And this project has been percolating in Cameron's head for some time now as he did intend to direct this at one point. Only good things come from that. Hopefully, much of what he had dreamed up for the movie has been adopted by Rodriguez.

They have got an interesting take in the trailer, because you want to create lifelike beings, but at the same time reflect their artificial nature. I think they've succeeded. So far. Got. To. See. More.

The cast includes: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley and Keean Johnson. I think Salazar looks great in this - so far so good with casting, though it's a very small sample size.

If you're interesting in staying on top of movie developments as we wait for release, here are their coordinates:
Official Site: http://AlitaBattleAngel.com
FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/AlitaMovie
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/AlitaMovie
INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/AlitaMovie

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL opens on July 20.

Enjoy the first trailer!

James Cameron Selects Robert Rodriguez To Helm BATTLE ANGEL!

I'm actually happy about this move. Don't get me wrong, there is no one I'd rather see direct BATTLE ANGEL than Cameron, but the Rodriguez choice is a little out of left field and edgy. I LIKE IT. Rodriguez has proven he can work with cutting edge tech and 3D (SIN CITY) and besides that, I just really like his approach to filmmaking. EL MARIACHI and DESPERADO were inspired works of art to me.

Rodriguez will have significant help though without a doubt through Cameron and Jon Landau who will both produce. BATTLE ANGEL is a Lightstorm Entertainment property and Laeta Kalogridis contributed to it's adaptation from the manga graphic novels.

I remember one of the discussions I had with Cameron on BATTLE ANGEL right here. He wasn't sure back in 2009 that he'd do it either.

Today's quotes though finally put an end to the long road for the production:

Says Cameron: "Robert and I have been looking for a film to do together for years, so I was pumped when he said he wanted to do Battle Angel. He's very collaborative and we're already like two kids building a go-kart, just having fun riffing creatively and technically. This project is near and dear to me, and there's nobody I trust more than Robert, with his technical virtuosity and rebel style, to take over the directing reins. We're looking forward to learning a lot from each other while we make a kick-ass epic."

Rodriguez follows: "Battle Angel is an incredibly rich and vibrant epic in the tradition of Jim Cameron's spectacular, character-driven films. Getting to work from Jim’s terrific and visionary script while learning the cutting edge techniques he’s pioneered is a master class in filmmaking. It's an honor to explore the world of Alita along with Jim and Jon, whose films have impacted me for decades."

I can't imagine this project being shot in any other way than native and digital 3D, so I'm am doubly thrilled to finally see some action take place here. As you may know we've been following BATTLE ANGEL developments for years. Looking forward to more news from the Lightstorm camp on this!

Source: THR

James Cameron Taps THE INFORMATIONIST As His First Post-AVATAR Directing Gig

Interesting. James Cameron and Jon Landau have put their money on a novel from last year entitled THE INFORMATIONIST are are teeing it up for #3 on the production runway. The fourth AVATAR along with BATTLE ANGEL may have just been back-burnered with this announcement. My first inclination on this news is posturing. I think Lightstorm may be posturing their next project after the AVATARs and are even dangling the end of AVATAR at 3 to Fox. This type of thing happens ALL the time so it wouldn't surprise me if my first thought was right.

That said, the official PR says quite clearly that "The Informationist will be a project for Cameron after he completes work on the second and third AVATAR films..." so do with that as you will. I'll jingle some bells and talk to some of my "people close to the situation".

Here's the official press release:

LOS ANGELES, (October 23, 2012) – Lightstorm Entertainment has acquired motion picture rights to the acclaimed 2011 novel The Informationist by Taylor Stevens, as vehicle for James Cameron to direct for 20th Century Fox Film. The Informationist will be a project for Cameron after he completes work on the second and third “Avatar” films, which are currently in pre-production.

Published in October 2011, Stevens’ tale centers on Vanessa “Michael” Munroe, an information specialist, whose work is in-demand by corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. When a Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood. Betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget.

Cameron will produce with Lightstorm partner, Jon Landau. The producers expect to hire a writer to adapt the novel shortly.

Jim Cameron stated: “Taylor Stevens’ Vanessa Michael Munroe is an intriguing and compelling heroine with an agile mind and a thirst for adventure. Equally fascinating for me is her emotional life and her unexpected love story. I’m looking forwarding to bringing Vanessa and her world to the big screen.”

Added Landau: “This was an opportunity to continue our relationship with Fox and Jim Gianopulos beyond the ‘Avatar’ films. We were drawn to this book because of the terrific, compelling narrative and the character, who typifies the strong female protagonists that have inhabited Jim’s work – in this case Vanessa Munroe is essentially a mix of Lisbeth Salander and Jason Bourne.”

A second “Vanessa Michael Munroe” novel, The Innocent, was published earlier this year.

Author Taylor Stevens has a background every bit as intriguing as her heroine’s. Born in New York State, and into the Children of God, an apocalyptic religious cult spun from the Jesus Movement of the ’60s, Stevens was raised in communes across the globe. Separated from her family at age twelve and denied an education beyond sixth grade, she lived on three continents and in a dozen countries before reaching fourteen. In place of schooling, the majority of her adolescence was spent begging on city streets at the behest of cult leaders, or as a worker bee child, caring for the many younger commune children, washing laundry and cooking meals for hundreds at a time. In her twenties, Stevens broke free in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She now lives in Texas, and juggles full-time writing with full-time motherhood.

Sounds extremely inviting to me. I'll have to read the book as I hadn't heard of it until just now. It certainly sounds like something in Cameron's wheelhouse and I love that it has franchise potential written all over it. AND, of course, that it's going to be shot in native 3D on Cameron | Pace equipment!!

And if you didn't read the last paragraph of the press release - please do so. The author's own life sounds like a movie in the making!

FANTASTIC VOYAGE To The Other Side: Where There Is Greengrass!!

Jim here. I have to admit I did not see this one coming. Why? Because Paul Greengrass loves handheld shots (think the BOURNE movies, GREEN ZONE and UNITED 93). But let me say this - he is an elite director and to have him in tandem with producer James Cameron is a momentous occasion! I have been dying to get this man to 3D for YEARS.

Variety reports that Greengrass is in early negotiations to become the director for FANTASTIC VOYAGE, which is currently held by Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment and Fox.

You want a heckuva good 3D movie? Anything that floats and has movement in relation to other objects will look stunning. FV will have all of that and more. If you have seen an underwater 3D movie you know what I am talking about. Cameron is someone who knows a thing or million about diving films.

The original film was released in 1966 and featured a Soviet scientist who discovers the key to miniaturizing things without danger of them reverting to their original size after a period of time. But an assassination attempt leaves him in a coma with a blood clot endangering his brain. A US team is miniaturized and sent into his bloodstream to destroy the clot and save his life. But they’re relying upon outmoded technology, and only have an hour to work before they begin to revert to original size, and are targeted by his immune system.

THR's Heat Vision says very little will change from the original other than the fact there will be no cold war occurring.

A little prediction: This project will propel Greengrass into the stratosphere. Combine his action sequences into a Cameron produced, quality 3D movie, and you have mega box office. I can't help but be reminded of Spielberg's INNERSPACE with this project, but I quickly shove that aside as I know this thing will look mesmerizing in modern 3D! Bring it on...