The Playlist

Marc Forster To Conjure Up 'The War Magician'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 2, 2012 10:07 AM
|
0 Comments

News

"And for my next trick...I'm going to make the Suez Canal disappear!" While he may not have said that exactly, magician Jasper Maskelyne did accomplish that feat to stunned onlookers, one of his many amazing illusions during World War II which included hiding the port of Alexandria Harbor and fooling Rommel with a phantom army that didn't exist. "The War Magician" seems a story ripe for the big screen -- and indeed nearly 10 years ago it was a potential project for Peter Weir, and before that, a starring vehicle for Tom Cruise -- but Variety reports that the film is now in the hands of Marc Forster who plans to direct. Update: oops, maybe not. Variety now says he's not directing.

More:

Review: 'Machine Gun Preacher' Is Essentially A Botched 'Rambo'

By Gabe Toro
|
September 22, 2011 6:03 AM
|
1 Comment

The following is a reprint of our review that ran during the 2011 Toronto Film Festival.

More:

Marc Forster Talks 'World War Z' 'Quantum of Solace' & The Risk Of Failure

By Todd Gilchrist
|
September 13, 2011 11:40 AM
|
3 Comments

We love a chameleon here at The Playlist; few things make us happier than a director who's able to leap between genres and style with aplomb. And Swiss-born director Marc Forster is, if nothing else, a chameleon. In the decade since he broke through in the U.S. with "Monster's Ball," the helmer has tackled grim drama, charming period biopics, supernatural thrillers, quirky comedy and tentpole actioners, to name but a few. Some worked, some didn't, but he's not likely to be predictable any time soon.

More:

TIFF '11 Review: 'Machine Gun Preacher' Is Essentially A Botched 'Rambo'

By Gabe Toro
|
September 12, 2011 5:15 AM
|
15 Comments

In 2008’s blitzkrieg actioner “Rambo,” writer-director Sylvester Stallone recognized the real-life struggles of the people of Myanmar, dramatizing the struggle in a blood-drenched exploitation film that, despite its inelegance, emboldened the people of that region while lionizing a fictional hero of guerilla warfare. The problem with “Machine Gun Preacher,” Marc Forster’s third world drama about a real-life would-be savior who ventured into the Sudan and attempted to build an orphanage with sheer will and a smidgen of gunpower, is that it’s afraid to be “Rambo.”

More:

Marc Forster Talks The Perils Of The "White Man Saves Africa" Story With 'Machine Gun Preacher'

By Todd Gilchrist
|
September 10, 2011 3:00 AM
|
1 Comment

Judging by his filmography since his 2001 breakthrough “Monster’s Ball,” director Marc Forster seems unwilling, if not incapable, of repeating himself. That film’s soul-baring drama offered no hints at the delicate beauty of his follow-up, “Finding Neverland,” and neither film suggested he was capable of the melancholy whimsy of “Stranger Than Fiction,” or later, the visceral intensity of “Quantum of Solace.” In his latest film, “Machine Gun Preacher,” Forster tackles the life of Sam Childers (played by Gerard Butler), a former ne’er-do-well who finds God but who falls back into his violent ways after taking on the responsibility of protecting orphaned children in Sudan.

More:

Relativity Buys 'Machine Gun Preacher' From Lionsgate In Hopes Of Getting Gerard Butler An Oscar Nom

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
June 15, 2011 1:19 AM
|
7 Comments

Considering his run of recent performances... actually, let's strike that and start again. Considering almost every performance he's ever given, ever, perhaps bar a decent vocal turn in "How To Train Your Dragon," the idea of Gerard Butler as a potential Oscar nominee is a bizarre one: this is, after all, the man who, in films like "Law Abiding Citizen," "The Ugly Truth" and "The Bounty Hunter" has give some of the most wretched bits of acting in recent memory, and whose signature role is still King Shouty in "300." But before the just-starting-to-gear-up awards season kicks off, it's something that we could possibly end up seeing.

More:

'Rubicon' Star James Badge Dale Circling Role Alongside Brad Pitt In 'World War Z'

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
June 11, 2011 1:14 AM
|
6 Comments

James Badge Dale might not be a name that's immediately familiar to you, but increasingly, it's a face that you'll recognize: the actor had key roles on "24" (as Jack Bauer's sidekick Chase) and in "The Departed" (as the bent copper who pops Leo in the head at the end), before landing two big leads last year, on HBO's "The Pacific" and AMC's "Rubicon," proving to be an intense, yet likable presence.

More:

David Ellison's Skydance May Help Save Brad Pitt & Marc Forster's 'World War Z'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
March 29, 2011 7:08 AM
|
0 Comments

Film Might Shoot As Early As JuneLast we heard on the long-gestating zombie pic "World War Z" -- set to star Brad Pitt and directed by Marc Forster -- word wasn't good. The $125 million film was said to be in danger of getting folded as Paramount was having difficulty in getting backers for the very expensive genre film. And certainly, after the financial underperformers of films like "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and more recently "Sucker Punch" around Hollywood, studios are getting more wary of footing the bill themselves for roll-of-the-dice fare that has niche appeal. But it looks like the film may have found a saviour in a name that is quickly rising as one of the eminent producers around Hollywood.

More:

Paramount Looking For Co-Financiers To Save Marc Forster's 'World War Z' With Brad Pitt?

By Simon Dang
|
March 22, 2011 1:21 AM
|
4 Comments

Last we heard, the Hollywood adaptation of Max Brooks' acclaimed zombie-horror novel "World War Z" had Marc Forster at the helm with Brad Pitt set to star and produce. but little on that front has been heard for quite some time.

More:

Disney Picks Up 'The Runner' As Potential Multi-Platform Franchise For Marc Forster

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
March 8, 2011 8:57 AM
|
2 Comments

Looks like Disney is going to pull a Universal. As their colleagues across town gear up a three film adaptation of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" that will also include a television series to fill in the gaps, the mouse house is looking to do the same.

More: