http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118019263.html?categoryid=19&cs=1&ref=vertintl&ref=ssp
"Big" Prequel on the way
Tom Hanks smash gets a follow-up
By Fuller Veidt
Looks like Twentieth Century Fox and Gracie Films have "Big" plans. Producer James L. Brooks has tapped "Ladies' Night" scribe Cal Romi to write the prequel to the Tom Hanks comedy hit "Big".
Romi got the job after reportedly "wowing" Brooks and Fox with his pitch.
"Big", directed by Penny Marshall and written by Anne Spielberg, told the story of a teenage boy who transforms overnight into an adult (memorably played by Tom Hanks) after wishing upon a fortune-telling machine called "Zoltar". The film was wildly successful, grossing over $114 million domestically.
Story details are vague but sources told us that the prequel will be set at the turn of the twentieth century and will detail how the "Zoltar" machine came to be built. Historical figures such as Harry Houdini, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were mentioned as characters Romi planned to incorporate into his screenplay.
As of yet there is no word on whether Marshall will return to direct, or if Hanks will make an appearance in the film.
The film is being planned for summer 2012 release. One source told us that "3-D is a very likely possibility".
― (latebloomer) (latebloomer), Friday, 14 May 2010 11:16 (3 years ago) Permalink
Historical figures such as Harry Houdini, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were mentioned as characters Romi planned to incorporate into his screenplay
― May be half naked, but knows a good headline when he sees it (darraghmac), Friday, 14 May 2010 11:24 (3 years ago) Permalink
I want to have faith in Brooks, but this sounds bad. Really bad.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 14 May 2010 14:35 (3 years ago) Permalink
Really Really bad.
― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 14 May 2010 14:36 (3 years ago) Permalink
This news makes me want to hit people.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 14 May 2010 14:36 (3 years ago) Permalink
And I don't have any feelings for the original whatsoever -- it still makes me want to hit people.
you lot are very quick to judge... i have a soft spot for Big.
― village idiot (dog latin), Friday, 14 May 2010 14:45 (3 years ago) Permalink
I like movies set at that time and all those historical characters. On the other hand, why 3d?
― akm, Friday, 14 May 2010 14:46 (3 years ago) Permalink
Thomas Edison to create the sounds broadcast from within the "Zoltar" machine,Nikola Tesla to create the machinery and motors that generate the flux environment, and Harry Houdini to ESCAPE!
― Mark G, Friday, 14 May 2010 14:52 (3 years ago) Permalink
On the other hand, why 3d?
this line can probably be attached to the end of any piece of film criticism in the next 10 years
― iatee, Friday, 14 May 2010 14:52 (3 years ago) Permalink
Me No Laika, on the other hand, why 3d?
― Mark G, Friday, 14 May 2010 14:57 (3 years ago) Permalink
We just have to pretty face the fact that every single major studio release will be 3D for the foreseeable future.
― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 14 May 2010 14:59 (3 years ago) Permalink
schindler's list 2: a 3d adventure
― iatee, Friday, 14 May 2010 15:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
I don't care about the proliferation of 3D tech as long as I'm still given a 2D option. Eventually, theaters will run out of screens, though, and that's when I'll see far fewer movies.
(Actually, I still haven't been to a 3D screening of anything...I'm waiting for Jackass.)
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 14 May 2010 15:05 (3 years ago) Permalink
From the blurb here the Big connection is pretty tenuous. Is "wacky turn-of-century hijinks with historical figures and a fortune-telling machine" really that much less of a sell than "wacky turn-of-century hijinks with historical figures and the fortune-telling machine from a 25-year-old Tom Hanks film"?
― xylyl syzygy (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 14 May 2010 15:23 (3 years ago) Permalink
more details
― (latebloomer) (latebloomer), Friday, 14 May 2010 16:49 (3 years ago) Permalink
― (latebloomer) (latebloomer), Saturday, 15 May 2010 09:53 (3 years ago) Permalink
every single major studio release will be 3D for the foreseeable future.
no
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 15 May 2010 15:52 (3 years ago) Permalink
ugh they're devoting an entire movie to a machine that got 10 minutes of screentime in the original? WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE MACHINE.
― Sherman Helmsley Teabag (Cattle Grind), Saturday, 15 May 2010 16:10 (3 years ago) Permalink
Why do you people hate magic?
― Pazuzu's petals (kenan), Saturday, 15 May 2010 16:17 (3 years ago) Permalink
Actually, despite how funny this thread has become, it also makes me kinda sad, because, all things considered, I've realised that I give a fuck about the origins of the machine. And would totally go to see the movie. When it comes out and all of course.
― Remember me, but o! forget my feet (GamalielRatsey), Saturday, 15 May 2010 16:21 (3 years ago) Permalink
I love Big but definitely not watching this bullshit.
― no turkey unless it's a club sandwich (polyphonic), Saturday, 15 May 2010 16:35 (3 years ago) Permalink
this should be called SMALL
LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
― NUDE. MAYNE. (s1ocki), Saturday, 15 May 2010 16:36 (3 years ago) Permalink
Calling this a prequel to Big is just a way to cop some extra publicity and to connect the film in the audience's minds to a surefire winner. It's purely a money-seeking gimmick, because any connection between the two plots could only be 1) grossly contrived or 2) purely random.
But, granting that, the premise of the movie does seem like it could turn out OK. Magic + adventure. What's so wrong and bad about that?
― Aimless, Saturday, 15 May 2010 17:10 (3 years ago) Permalink
this is a recession, most families have had to cut magic and adventure from their budget
― heartbreakin' 2: electric boohoohoo ;_; (m bison), Saturday, 15 May 2010 17:57 (3 years ago) Permalink
tom hanks shd cameo as the ghost of zoltar
― heartbreakin' 2: electric boohoohoo ;_; (m bison), Saturday, 15 May 2010 17:59 (3 years ago) Permalink
he should breakdance during the end credits once his soul is free
― May be half naked, but knows a good headline when he sees it (darraghmac), Friday, May 14, 2010 6:24 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark
someone rented 'the prestige' this past weekend.
― by another name (amateurist), Sunday, 16 May 2010 02:17 (3 years ago) Permalink
haha
― NUDE. MAYNE. (s1ocki), Sunday, 16 May 2010 02:21 (3 years ago) Permalink
or found a cheap bargain copy at the bookstore...so i hear
― (latebloomer) (latebloomer), Sunday, 16 May 2010 03:26 (3 years ago) Permalink
This'll be great if it's the Drunk Prequel to Big.
― Chris L, Sunday, 16 May 2010 03:32 (3 years ago) Permalink
omg that is amazing
john c reilly! crispin glover! wth, literally howling lolz over here
― rapping about space and shit, floatin’ around in an orgy of screen savers (gbx), Sunday, 16 May 2010 03:41 (3 years ago) Permalink
Next up will be Bill And Ted's Excellent adventure 2012 3D
― Jacob Sanders, Sunday, 16 May 2010 08:00 (3 years ago) Permalink
u know it, daddy-o
― (latebloomer) (latebloomer), Sunday, 16 May 2010 08:29 (3 years ago) Permalink
Dude, Where's My Car? 2 ...in 3D
― he speak the frenche as the Frenches himselves (snoball), Sunday, 16 May 2010 08:34 (3 years ago) Permalink
it would be like if they made a bill & ted's prequel about the guy who built the phone booth
― NUDE. MAYNE. (s1ocki), Sunday, 16 May 2010 16:17 (3 years ago) Permalink
It would be like if they made a Rocky prequel about Betsy Ross.
― Well, because whatever happened changed him. (Dr. Superman), Sunday, 16 May 2010 18:39 (3 years ago) Permalink
i'm getting my pitch together for "Be Excellent", telling the story of the cultural revolution that brought humanity back from the brink of self-destruction via the tune of Wild Stallyns. quirky old inventor of phone booth time machine=Eddie Murphy in makeup
― hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Sunday, 16 May 2010 18:52 (3 years ago) Permalink
That actually seems like a plausible sequel, fwiw.
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 16 May 2010 19:00 (3 years ago) Permalink
http://www.cracked.com/article_18793_5-reasons-big-had-most-depressing-happy-ending-ever.html
― the most disgusting of savages (latebloomer), Friday, 15 October 2010 06:40 (2 years ago) Permalink
i feel like even tho cracked runs some good stuff these days its brand is so fuckin horrible in my head it like can't be rehabilitated
― faust LARP (s1ocki), Friday, 15 October 2010 12:37 (2 years ago) Permalink
the wikipedia article on cracked's history is was kind of interesting.
― akm, Friday, 15 October 2010 13:33 (2 years ago) Permalink
From Wiki: CRACKED Mazagine, as its cover always read — deliberately misspelling "magazine."
How many issues of this did I read as a kid and NEVER NOTICE THIS?!?
(Actually, not that many. I can remember writing a letter to my mom from summer camp, asking her to send me a Mad Magazine, but P.S. don't mess up and buy Cracked, it's not worth the money.)
― Taller than the president (Dan Peterson), Friday, 15 October 2010 18:16 (2 years ago) Permalink
Channing Tatum joins "Tales of Zoltar"Actor in talks for "Big" PrequelBy April Kidder
It's official: Channing Tatum is set to star as Harry Houdini in Brett Ratner's "Tales of Zoltar", the 3-D prequel to the 1988 Tom Hanks hit "Big".
Former fashion model-turned-actor Tatum ("GI Joe", "Fighting", "Step Up") reportedly won the role after a "fiercely competitive" audition process that required performing classic escape artist feats and illusions, including escaping from a straightjacket and being submerged in freezing water.
Story details are being kept under wraps, but the Twentieth Century Fox/Gracie Films production has been said to chronicle the results of "a fateful, miraculous meeting of Nikola Tesla, Harry Houdini, and Thomas Edison one magical night a long time ago."
Director Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour", "X-Men: The Last Stand") who became officially attached to the project in November, said during a press conference that not only will the film be in 3-D, but that "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss."
As with the original "Big", James L Brooks is producing the pic, which is scheduled to start production in July, & with Fox set to release the film some time in summer 2012.
Tatum is repped by United Talent Agency.
― das reboot (latebloomer), Thursday, 7 April 2011 05:55 (2 years ago) Permalink
ugh they're devoting an entire movie to a machine that got 10 minutes of screentime in the original? WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE MACHINE.― Sherman Helmsley Teabag (Cattle Grind), Saturday, May 15, 2010 12:10 PM (10 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― Sherman Helmsley Teabag (Cattle Grind), Saturday, May 15, 2010 12:10 PM (10 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
reminds me so much of this
― billy childish gambino (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 7 April 2011 06:01 (2 years ago) Permalink
haha, i have to listen to the whole thing i love it
― billy childish gambino (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 7 April 2011 06:02 (2 years ago) Permalink
They're making a movie about a MacGuffin?
― lol sickmouthy (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 7 April 2011 06:09 (2 years ago) Permalink
Channing Tatum is set to star as Harry Houdini in Brett Ratner's "Tales of Zoltar", the 3-D prequel to the 1988 Tom Hanks hit "Big".
This entire sentence = smdh. Every word or phrase in it is absolutely horrible, including "is" and "Tom Hanks."
― Anti-mist K-Lo (Phil D.), Thursday, 7 April 2011 10:33 (2 years ago) Permalink
"we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss." "we're doing something really special with this one. It's not just 3-D, it's more like 4.5-D. It's gonna be boss."
― Nult AGL (a hoy hoy), Thursday, 7 April 2011 10:40 (2 years ago) Permalink
Whiney OTM, this plot is 100% Jon Voight's nutsack
― da croupier, Thursday, 7 April 2011 10:52 (2 years ago) Permalink
Maybe they could do an action-packed 3D prequel to Stripes, explaining how their Sgt. Hulka valiantly earned his rank in Vietnam
― da croupier, Thursday, 7 April 2011 10:54 (2 years ago) Permalink
cracked has some great online writers now. i always thought cracked was a pretender to the Mad throne as a child (which it kind of was) but i wonder now - why did i think there could be only ONE magazine like that?? what a little fascist i was.
― 40% chill and 100% negative (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 7 April 2011 11:03 (2 years ago) Permalink
it's because when you're a kid you only ever have enough money to buy one, so you want to get the best one
― fat fat fat fat Usher (DJP), Thursday, 7 April 2011 13:34 (2 years ago) Permalink
oooh true.
― 40% chill and 100% negative (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 7 April 2011 13:37 (2 years ago) Permalink
Weird thing was that while I was picking up all sorts of cheap/used Mad paperbacks when I was 9, 10 or so, I was mostly buying current Cracked issues. Go figure.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 7 April 2011 13:39 (2 years ago) Permalink
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/05/07/brendan-fraser-to-star-in-william-tell-3d/
― zingstreet (latebloomer), Monday, 9 May 2011 01:42 (2 years ago) Permalink
OK, I'm throwing in the towel. Reality keeps outstripping my feeble attempts at satire.
― zingstreet (latebloomer), Monday, 9 May 2011 01:43 (2 years ago) Permalink
what do you mean 'we' white man?
― David Allah Coal (sexyDancer), Monday, 9 May 2011 01:54 (2 years ago) Permalink
"Tales of Zoltar" looks for new star, director
By Chelsea Cromwell
Actor Channing Tatum is the latest major player to abandon Tales of Zoltar, a prequel to the 1988 Tom Hanks comedy hit, Big. Sources tell us that negotiations between Tatum and the film's producers broke down after the actor's price soared, thanks to the box office success of 21 Jump Street. Tatum was to portray a young Harry Houdini and had reportedly undergone extensive training in magic and escape artistry to play the role.
This is only the latest in a series of setbacks for the Fox film, which was originally slated for release this summer in 3-D. Brett Ratner, who had signed on as director, officially left the project in January after controversy over homophobic remarks forced him to quit as producer of this year's Academy Awards. Ratner's expensive plans for Zoltar, which reportedly had ballooned in budget to over $300 million, are also said to have played a part in his departure. Calling the film "not just a 3-D prequel, but a 4-D pre-imagining" in an interview last summer, Ratner said he had been researching D-Box technology to simulate the effects of time travel.
Whether anyone has
― bark ruffalo (latebloomer), Monday, 21 May 2012 23:01 (11 months ago) Permalink
been approached to replace Tatum or Ratner remains unknown, as calls to Twentieth Century Fox and James L. Brook, the film's producer, were not returned.
― bark ruffalo (latebloomer), Monday, 21 May 2012 23:03 (11 months ago) Permalink
"not just a 3-D prequel, but a 4-D pre-imagining"
"Actually, now I think about it, it's more of a 5-D pre-hash, or a 6-D pre-tread!"
― Quiet Desperation, LLC (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 21 May 2012 23:28 (11 months ago) Permalink
― NUDE. MAYNE. (s1ocki), Saturday, May 15, 2010 12:36 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― horseshoe, Monday, 21 May 2012 23:29 (11 months ago) Permalink
"It's totally 4-D, brah. When you leave the theater, it's gonna be a whole different time than when you went in. Wrap your head around that, broham!"
― Quiet Desperation, LLC (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 21 May 2012 23:30 (11 months ago) Permalink
"Tatum was to portray a young Harry Houdini and had reportedly undergone extensive training in magic and escape artistry to play the role."
what other profession would have you do this? actors must amass the weirdest skill sets.
― Philip Nunez, Monday, 21 May 2012 23:36 (11 months ago) Permalink
Considering it was Ratner, I read that as D-Bag technology.
― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 21 May 2012 23:41 (11 months ago) Permalink
(from upthread)
You still had faith after
Spanglish
How Do You Know
― Vini Reilly Invasion (Elvis Telecom), Tuesday, 22 May 2012 00:49 (11 months ago) Permalink
crap... bolluxed up tags in copy/pasting
― Vini Reilly Invasion (Elvis Telecom), Tuesday, 22 May 2012 00:50 (11 months ago) Permalink