Hello, everyone! It’s One Of Us’ weekly article series, “The Weekly Wrap-Up.” Covering everything from film announcements to comic books, “The Weekly Wrap-Up” ensures that the biggest stories of the week are analyzed and discussed by our team of writers. This week, we take a look at the second trailer for Black Mass, cover some casting news and talk about another horror remake in the works.
Black Mass Trailer #2
Directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart), Black Mass tells the story of Whitey Bulger (Jonny Depp) one of the most violent and infamous criminals in the history of the United States. Failing to eliminate a rival criminal organization, Bulger becomes an FBI informant and uses his new position to gain a greater foothold in South Boston.
Though the last trailer for Black Mass focused solely on Depp’s performance as Whitey Bulger, this trailer finally takes a look at the supporting cast, which features a number of impressive talents, including Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Corey Stoll and Jesse Plemons. Additionally, more of the film’s plot is finally revealed, and it seems that Black Mass will not only follow Bulger’s rise to power in Boston, but also get into the nitty-gritty of how he managed to manipulate the FBI for decades.
Black Mass will make its way to theatres September 18, 2015.
Chris Pine Cast as Steve Trevor
According to The Wrap, Chris Pine (Star Trek) has signed on to star opposite Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman as the Amazonian warrior’s longtime love interest, Steve Trevor. Rumors have suggested that Pine has been in negotiations with Warner Bros. for some time to star in one of the studio’s upcoming DC superhero films. Before his casting as Trevor, it was also circulated that Pine may have been vying for the role of Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern once played by Ryan Reynolds.
For those unfamiliar with the character, Trevor was originally introduced as a U.S. military intelligence officer that often investigated and interacted with the superhero community. While on a mission, Trevor found himself stranded on Wonder Woman’s homeland of Amazon, and eventually formed a romantic relationship with the heroine. Since his debut, the character has often acted as a liaison between the United States government and the Justice League.
Nosferatu Receiving a Remake (Again)
Production company Studio 8 has confirmed that a remake of Nosferatu will be released in 2016. Director Robert Eggers, who has recently received a significant amount of praise for The Witch, a horror period piece set in 17th century New England, will write and direct the film.
A loose adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the original Nosferatu was a silent-film directed by F.W. Murnau and starred Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a horrifying vampire that plagued the inhabitants of a small Transylvanian village. Though the film has gone on to be praised by critics as a German-expressionist and horror masterpiece, Stoker’s heirs sued over the unauthorized adaptation of their ancestor’s work soon after Nosferatu’s release in 1922, and ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed. However, once the copyright to Stoker’s Dracula lapsed in 1937, surviving copies of Nosferatu were conveniently found and were once again distributed in theatres. Decades later, Werner Herzog (Aguirre: Wrath of God) directed a remake of Nosferatu in 1979 called Nosferatu the Vampyre. The film kept the same plot to Murnau’s original 1922 horror classic, but incorporated many of the original characters from Bram Stoker’s novel. Herzog’s remake went on to earn critical acclaim and was praised for its makeup, lighting and German actor Klaus Kinski’s performance as the ghoulish vampire.
There’s not a single doubt that Eggers has a significant uphill battle, even after earning critical acclaim with The Witch. Nosferatu and its first remake are considered classics by many, having played a huge role in developing the horror genre and enriching vampire mythology. If Eggers manages to capture the atmosphere, tension and imagery of the original films, while avoiding the lesser hallmarks that plague most modern horror movies, then it’s possible that this film may turn out to be on of the better horror remakes in a long time.
