The Playlist

Showrunner Steven Moffat Says Any 'Doctor Who' Movie Won't Be 'A Hollywood Reboot,' Will Tie Into TV Series

By Oliver Lyttelton
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December 2, 2011 10:47 AM
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4 Comments

News

One of the most surprising news stories of the year came a few weeks back, when it was announced that BBC Worldwide were teaming up with David Yates, director of the last four 'Harry Potter' films, to bring classic science-fiction character "Doctor Who" to the big-screen, in a version starting from scratch, and existing outside the continuity of the TV series, with a new actor in the lead role. More surprised than anyone? Steven Moffat, the head writer and executive producer of the current incarnation of the show.

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Warner Bros. Seeks Out David Yates For Alan Turing Project 'The Imitation Game'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 15, 2011 2:37 PM
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0 Comments

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'Harry Potter' Director David Yates To Helm Big Screen Reboot Of 'Doctor Who'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 14, 2011 2:45 PM
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41 Comments

News

You might only be barely aware of his existence, but mathematically speaking, David Yates is the most successful film director in history. Sure, James Cameron might have made more successful films, but Yates has consistency on his side; his last four films have grossed a grand total of $1.032 billion. Of course, those four films are the final four in the gigantic "Harry Potter" franchise, but still, that's not a bad way to start your career (and to be fair, Yates has a string of tiny-grossing Britflicks in his past that bring the total average down).

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With David Yates Out, Warner Eyes Ben Affleck For Stephen King's 'The Stand'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 21, 2011 11:22 AM
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7 Comments

There is no doubt that Warner Bros. loves Ben Affleck. The actor/director has brought the studio critical acclaim with "The Town," and he's already behind the camera on his next effort for the studio "Argo." But before that film got underway, WB had already passed movies like "Man Of Steel" and "Gangster Squad" his way as potential projects, and while he turned those down, it looks like they've nabbed him for what will be his first bonafide tentpole picture.

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David Yates Takes 'The Stand' With 'Harry Potter' Writer Steve Kloves Penning The Screenplay

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 11, 2011 2:32 AM
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1 Comment

What happens when you're behind some of the most beloved and successful 'Harry Potter' films in the massively successful franchise? When it's over, you get your pick of the litter. With "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" now the highest grossing film of 2011 -- $1.1 billion in ticket sales worldwide and counting -- Warner Bros. is anxious to stay in the David Yates business. A couple of weeks ago it was reported that Yates was having a sit down with the studio and would be presented with four projects to consider: "Cicero," a mooted trilogy that would potentially star Tom Hardy as Al Capone; another potential trilogy in an adaptation of Stephen King's "The Stand" which has the WB teaming with CBS Films produce; "Fables," an adaptation of the Vertigo graphic novel centered around revamped fairy tale characters; and a big screen version of “This Is Where I Leave You” by Jonathan Tropper. Well, it looks like Yates has no problem returning to a sprawling franchise, only this time with a slightly older audience in mind.

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Tom Hardy May Play Al Capone In David Yates' 'Cicero' (That May Turn Into A Trilogy)

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 15, 2011 3:25 AM
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6 Comments

Yates Also Considering Directing Stephen King's 'The Stand'Having spent the last four or five years deep in the world of "Harry Potter," making mad bank for Warner Bros. while delivering movies that have more than satisfied the legion of fans around the world, director David Yates and the studio are at an interesting crossroads. With lucrative franchise finished (for now), and with the Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy set to finish in 2012 with "The Dark Knight Rises," Warner Bros. is suddenly seeing two of their biggest moneymakers waving goodbye (though yes, they do have two "The Hobbit" films in their back pocket). Hoping that Yates can weave his magic on another property to get the money machine rolling, Yates is headed to Tinseltown this weekend to meet with honchos where he'll have his pick of the litter, and Vulture has the details on what he'll be considering.

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Jeff Bridges To Produce & Star In Young Adult Novel Adaptation 'The Giver'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 28, 2011 12:58 PM
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2 Comments

'House of Sand and Fog' Writer-Director Vadim Perelman Writing ScriptThis year marks 40 years since Jeff Bridges broke through in "The Last Picture Show," and what's truly remarkable is that the actor is probably now a bigger star than ever before. His long-awaited Oscar win came with "Crazy Heart" in 2009, and last year he headlined the tentpole "Tron: Legacy" and took the western "True Grit" to a massive box office, picking up another Oscar nomination for his trouble. And at 61, there's no sign of stopping any time soon: he's about to shoot two blockbusters back-to-back, with potential Harry Potter successor "The Seventh Son" swiftly following the effects-heavy cop flick "R.I.P.D" with Ryan Reynolds.

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Paul Greengrass & David Yates Sought By Fox For Yet Another 'Frankenstein' Project

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 23, 2011 1:19 AM
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1 Comment

Rising Writer Max Landis Will Pen The Script Once again, the 'Creature of the Moment' wheel has spun in Hollywood. We've seen spates of vampire, alien and zombie movies in recent years, so it was anyone's guess as to what monster would become in vogue next, but we've got bad news to any writers with hip reboots of yetis or gill-men sitting on their hard drives: Frankenstein is in. Danny Boyle tackled Mary Shelley's myth on stage earlier in the year, and there's four different projects in the works focusing on a creature made from reanimated body parts: Guillermo Del Toro has a take, one of his 3,649 dream projects; "Limitless" helmer Neil Burger has a remake of "Bride of Frankenstein" at Universal; "Tomorrow, When The War Began" director Stuart Beattie is attached to comic book adaptation "I, Frankenstein"; and Summit have "This Dark Endeavor," a collaboration between "Mean Creek" writer Jacob Estes and "Let Me In" director Matt Reeves.

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Tim Burton Won't Direct Disney's 'Maleficent' Starring Angelina Jolie, David Yates Could Replace

By Edward Davis
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May 17, 2011 3:20 AM
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3 Comments

"Maleficent," the revisionist and live/action take on the "Sleeping Beauty" tale has lost its director.

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Gangster Flicks Are The New Fairy Tale Movies, Apparently: Duelling Capone Films In Development

By Oliver Lyttelton
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April 28, 2011 3:18 AM
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1 Comment

Once every six months or so, the Hollywood Elders, the shadowy collection of media moguls, Freemasons, Jewish lizardmen and Warren Beatty that control the film industry, don their robes, gather in their secret chamber under the Hollywood sign and plot out their agenda. Sometimes, it's elevating a particular actor or actress for no apparent reason -- Alex Pettyfer was a homeless 37-year-old drifter until they surgically re-sculpted him into the hottest young actor in Hollywood (though he's on his way to torpedoing that all by himself). Sometimes it's pushing technological breakthroughs -- 48 FPS cameras? Developed in their lair. And sometimes it's just deciding what sub-genre of films will suddenly be everywhere.

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