Antoine Fuqua, Gerard Butler In 'Afterburn' Glow

http://www.deadline.com/2010/11/antoine-fuqua-gerard-butler-in-afterburn-glow/

Antoine Fuqua, Gerard Butler In 'Afterburn' Glow
By MIKE FLEMING | Monday November 15, 2010 @ 8:44pm EST


EXCLUSIVE: Relavity Media is in talks with director Antoine Fuqua and Gerard Butler to come aboard Afterburn, an adaptation of the Red 5 Comic title by Paul Ens and Scott Chitwood. The scifi saga takes place a year after a solar flare burns half the surface of a planet, and treasure hunters return to retrieve what's left of value.

The script was written by Into the Blue scribe Matt Johnson, and I heard that they will bring aboard A Man Apart scribe Christian Gudegast to do a rewrite. The film is being produced by Neal Moritz, Tobey Maguire, Toby Jaffe and Jenno Topping. Fuqua is coming off Brooklyn's Finest, while Butler just wrapped the title role in the Marc Forster-directed Machine

http://www.thewrap.com/deal-central/column-post/gerard-butler-star-tobey-maguire-produced-afterburn-22546

Gerard Butler to Star in Tobey Maguire-Produced 'Afterburn'
By Jeff Sneider

Gerard Butler is in negotiations to star in Relativity Media's adaptation of Paul Ens and Scott Chitwood's Red 5 comic "Afterburn," which Antoine Fuqua is in talks to direct, the company has confirmed to TheWrap.

The sci-fi saga is set one year after a solar flare burns half of the Earth's surface and follows a group of treasure hunters who return to retrieve what's left.

Matt Johnson ("Into the Blue") wrote the script, and Christian Gudegast ("A Man Apart") is expected to perform a rewrite.

Maguire Entertainment's Tobey Maguire and Jenno Topping are producing the project with Neal Moritz and Toby Jaffe of Original Film.

Fuqua has managed to carve out quite a career for himself despite directing one great movie ("Training Day") that came out nearly 10 years ago. After a string of disappointments, including last year's melodramatic crime film "Brooklyn's Finest," I find it hard to have much faith in him as a filmmaker, but having said that, I do think "Afterburn" is an intriguing piece of material that represents a much-needed change-of-pace for Fuqua. I like the idea of him directing Butler in a post-apocalyptic setting, so here's hoping the film is a return to form for Fuqua.

Butler recently wrapped Marc Forster's "Machine Gun Preacher," and he's set to star in Ralph Fiennes' "Coriolanus," a modern-day adaptation of the Shakespeare tragedy that will be set during the Iraq War. He also appears as a foul-mouthed leprechaun in the omnibus film "Untitled Comedy."

Butler and Fuqua are represented by CAA and their involvement with "Afterburn" was first reported by Deadline.

Isn't Antoine Fuqua going to be the director for "Consent To Kill"?

I know that they were hanging out together at ELEW's release party (March 2nd, and I think that they have been spotted together other times) which made me wonder if Gerry was in talks on the Mitch Rapp role. Now I wonder if it was for this movie instead.

Another article which is stating the same info, but gives this description of the Afterburn Comic:

Quote :

Here's a description of the comic:

Afterburn, is a sci-fi adventure based on books published by Red 5 Comics, is set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of treasure hunters who extract such objects as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and the Crown Jewels while facing rival hunters, mutants and pirates.

Full article can be read here:
http://geektyrant.com/news/2010/11/15/gerard-butler-and-antoine-fuqua-to-develop-afterburn.html

The story sounds kind of interesting (but then again, I said that about Gamer too. So who knows.). But I'm starting to wonder if Hollywood is just going to concentrate on Comics and Graphic novels now. It seems like there have been a lot lately. Those and stupid rom-coms. Or maybe it just seems that way to me....

From Empire Magazine:


http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=29486

Gerard Butler Feels The Afterburn
He'll scour a scorched Earth...

He’s most recently been seen paired with Jennifer Aniston in The Bounty Hunter and heard fighting giant reptiles in How to Train Your Dragon, but now Gerard Butler is getting back into full-on action mode, entering talks to join director Antoine Fuqua on comic book adaptation Afterburn.

The title has been floating around Movie-Land for a couple of years now, with Tobey Maguire originally attached back when he was still King Comic Book with the Spider-Man films. Fast-forward a couple of years and Relativity Media is looking to hook Fuqua to make the film with Butler starring.

Originally created by Paul Ens and Scott Chitwood for Red 5 Comics, Afterburn sees half of the Earth’s surface devastated by a solar flare. The remaining chunk is rendered extremely dangerous thanks to radiation, which has mutated much of the animal life and any remaining humans.

If he does sign, Butler would play one of a group of mercenaries who make their living jetting back to the planet to retrieve priceless artefacts such as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone, the Crown Jewels and Simon Cowell’s missing soul. Okay, maybe not the last one. The job is made more difficult by the mutant beasts and rival treasure seekers. Word of Butler's likely casting was first shoved into Twitter-land by Pajiba's reliable sources last month.

Torque/Into the Blue writer Matt Johnson was the first person attached to bash out a draft, but now Deadline reports that A Man Apart’s Christian Gudegast is being tapped to rewrite. Glad to see they’re keeping with the tradition of people who’ve written dodgy thrillers, then. With luck, Afterburn could be something better – but first it has to achieve escape velocity from development’s gravitational grasp.

James White

This one talks about Consent to Kill too....

http://www.movierewind.com/antoine-fuqua-direct-gerard-butler

Antoine Fuqua to Direct Gerard Butler

Not in Consent to Kill…yet.
Well, there’s still no word on the cast for the Vince Flynn novel/movie Consent to Kill, but the named director for the film, Antoine Fuqua, will be working with Gerard Butler, a fan favorite for the lead role, in another movie.

Fans of both Butler and Flynn have been hoping that the the handsome Scot would be cast as Mitch Rapp, Flynn’s hard-boiled detective. It looks like they’ll be getting a preview of how the actor/director pair hits it off in the film adaptation of the comic series Afterburn, a sci-fi/apocalypse/treasure hunt actioner.

According to Deadline.com, the film has a script, someone on board to edit said script and producers in line. Now with a director and announced star, we’ll see how long it takes to come together.

If Butler and Fuqua hit it off, maybe the pair will indeed decide to repeat in Consent to Kill. Flynn and Butler fans await!

Interesting that Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity acquired the film rights last year (another one of Gerry's friends).

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118027545?

Gerard Butler in talks for 'Afterburn'
Relativity Media pic based on Red 5 graphic novel
By Dave McNary
We Recommend...
NBC announces midseason schedule
Sports host has most for CBS comedy
Jeff Gaspin out at NBC Universal
Keaton signs deal with HBO
NBC Universal restructure only preliminary
ILM's very special effect

RELATED ARTICLES:
Pierre Morel in talks to direct 'Defense'

Legend3D nabs Hummel as prexy

Mike White to helm 'Pride, Prejudice and Zombies'

Bob Pittman joins Clear Channel

CBS ups PR pair to senior VP

Firth, Portman to receive kudos in Palm Springs
Gerard Butler is in talks to topline Relativity Media's sci-fi adventure "Afterburn," set up with Neal Moritz's Original Films and Tobey Maguire's Maguire Entertainment.
Antoine Fuqua is in negotiations to direct. Producers are Moritz, Maguire, Toby Jaffe and Jenno Topping.

Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity acquired the film rights early last year, based on the graphic novels published by Red 5 Comics and set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare. Story centers on treasure hunters aiming to extract such items as the Mona Lisa amid competition from rival hunters, mutants and pirates.

Project's based on Matt Johnson's adaptation of the Red 5 title, penned by Paul Ens and Scott Chitwood.

Saw this posted on Scott Chitwood's Facebook:

Quote :

Scott Chitwood So news is out about Gerard Butler possibly starring in our Afterburn movie. Note the 'possibly' part. Same with Antoine Fuqua directing. We're keeping our fingers crossed! You'll probably hear it here last.

https://www.facebook.com/scott.chitwood#!/scott.chitwood?v=wall

BTW - this guy is a Texan!!!

My worst fears may be realized......the lead character of this comic is a TEXAN named Jake!!!!
OMG - Butler doing a Texan accent may be the death of me. Hollywood always butchers the Texas accent. And the thought of Butler doing one is just frightening. I don't think his mouth can take it. It will be like he is constantly chewing when he speaks.

Here's more on the story/comic by Geeks of Doom:

http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/01/23/comic-review-afterburn-1/

Comic Review: Afterburn #1

Afterburn #1
Created by Scott Chitwood
Script by Scott Chitwood, Paul Ens
Pencils by Wayne Nichols
Inks by Nick Schley
Colors by Marc Hampson, Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by Troy Peteri
Red 5 Comics
Cover price: $2.95; On sale Jan 23, 2008

Mmmmm… I do love me a bit of fine post-apocalyptic fiction.

The Terminator. The Matrix. Singularity 7. Mad Max. I Am Legend! There’s just something about the post-apocalyptic setting that fascinates me. No chance for a happy ending. The worst has already happened. The good guys lost. The world ended. What happens next? What stories are told in the aftermath? How do we, as a society and as a species, bounce back?

Well, according to Red 5′s latest release, Afterburn, we bounce with a healthy serving of pragmatism.

Afterburn gives us a look at the Earth one year after half the globe has been devastated by a sudden, massive sun-flare. Paris is burning. Hong Kong is flooding. And our protagonist, a Texan drifter by the name of Jake, is out to make a profit off of it. Jake is a member of an elite team of treasure hunters that makes their living by delving into the ravaged half of the world to retrieve lost items of extreme value for the highest bidder. Aside from the unforgiving terrain, Jake and his team are faced with countless dangers, such as the deformed mutant remnants of the ravaged populace, and, of course, zombie sharks.


Reading this book is like watching the most fast-paced post-apocalyptic horror action-adventure movie ever to hit the big screen. It’s like Escape From New York, Waterworld, and Dawn of the Dead all tossed in a blender and cranked up to eleven. Now, the question is: Is this a good thing?

For the most part, yes! The story is intriguing and the characters are distinctive and interesting. Jake has a very clear voice with a sort of devil-may-care drawl to it that instantly calls to mind every role I’ve ever seen Matthew McConaughey play (if the book ever gets optioned for a screen translation, there’s no need to guess who will be the first person offered the lead).

The supporting cast is given enough face time to show us that they’re people, though not really enough to get a solid idea of who they are. These are details that can be covered in future issues, after all, and who has time to dwell on the mundane when there’s high adventure afoot! The story jumps from one tense salvage mission to another, with little room in between for chit-chat. This both serves and detracts from the enjoyment of the issue because the pacing is so fast, it feels like it’s missing a few beats.

Despite this, the writing on the book is fairly solid, with a strong amount of that credit being given due to the characterizations. The script, by creator Scott Chitwood and Paul Ens, is truly written like an adventure movie, which means the dialogue and narration is crisp, informative, and easy to whip through. I enjoy the one-liners being thrown out by the characters, but I wouldn’t mind them reigning back a bit on the rampant pop culture references. It’s obvious that the writers want to connect us to the setting by mentioning things that are a part of our lives, but it happens so frequently that it ends up being distracting more than engaging. There’s also a certain cult appeal to these references that not everybody is gonna get, alienating the part of the audience who hasn’t seen Office Space or doesn’t know what Aint It Cool News is. Pop culture works only when everyone can connect to it. Everybody gets “I am your father.” Not everybody gets “TPS reports.”

Another thing that bugged me, at the very beginning of the story, was the disaster itself. Giant sun flare shoots off of the sun and washes half the Earth in fire? Cool! But, when we’re told that Jake was protected from this just by being deep down in the oil rig he was working on…? And then we see him actually popping his head up and watching people running around in the white light, skin melting off of them…? I found it a little tough to buy. A) The minute he shows his face top side, it should be melted off. B) The sun just spat fire on the Earth! Where are the drastic climate changes that should have been caused when half of the world’s oceans were flash-evaporated? The results are just too clean when you consider how utterly horrific something like that would be.

Still, I was able to push that to the back of my mind and enjoy the rest of the issue. Four pages of improbability does not a bad comic make.

The artwork by Wayne Nichols is simple and realistic and gets the job done. He handles the action well, but seems to get lost when it comes to drawing the mutant survivors. Some of them just look like generic zombie/vampires, while the ones that really do look like irradiated freaks all kind of look the same. Plus, love the design of his mutated shark, but I was a little let down by its arrival on the scene. Again, this comic plays like a movie! I wanted my Jaws moment! Or, perhaps more accurately, my Deep Blue Sea moment. But it was just sort of… there. Nothing special. No dynamic angles or anything.

(Do you hear me, Nichols?! I want my Deep Blue Sea moment!!!)

In the end, I’d say Afterburn is another successful launch by Red 5, and seems to follow in its predecessors’ footsteps by being not-quite-perfect, but holding the potential for greatness. If you’re a fan of ANY of the movies I mentioned above (or the one comic that I mentioned… did you catch the comic? If you did, you’re cooler than the others…), give this one a shot. You may enjoy. I certainly did.

Brief, but entertaining, I give Afterburn #1 a B+.

Wow, lots of articles. Thanks for posting them!

Oh dear, Dallas.

Thanks for posting about the new projects. Was wondering what was in store for the future.

Not sure how I feel about the story, other than it sounds interesting.