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BREAKING: Tom Cruise is ready to roll on All You Need Is Kill. He’s committing to the film, and Warner Bros is speeding it toward production as fast as it can with Doug Liman directing the Dante Harper script that has been rewritten by Joby Harold. Cruise will have to square that with a commitment to star in the Joseph Kosinski-directed Oblivion, which has Jessica Chastain playing one of the two female leads, and Universal testing a small list of actresses for the other role in the futuristic apocalyptic tale. I believe Oblivion will be his next film and that All You Need Is Kill will follow.
Kill is a project Cruise has been mulling for months and now they are sorting out the schedule for an actor who certainly has regained his leading-man mojo. He’ll next be seen in Rock Of Ages, and is shooting the Christopher McQuarrie-directed One Shot, though he’s right now on an international tour for Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.
Back in April 2010, the studio paid low-seven figures against a purchase price near $3 million for All You Need Is Kill, Harper’s adaptation of the Japanese novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The book was published originally in Japan by Shueisha and its English-language translation was published by VIZ Media. Jason Hoffs, the former DreamWorks exec who is head of production at VIZ Media, got the project to 3 Arts’ Erwin Stoff and Tom Lassally. They optioned the book and involved the writer.
The storyline puts a Groundhog Day plot device into a futuristic alien-invasion storyline. A raw recruit, pressed into battle against an alien species, gets killed in action. But he is reborn each day to suffer the same fate. Eventually, he notices that he is becoming a better warrior and that other circumstances are changing, which might be the key to altering the outcome. The film will be produced by Stoff, Lassally and Hoffs, with Hidemi Fukuhara executive producing with Harold.
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This isn’t even close to as cool as “The Man Who Killed Hitler a Million Times.” That one has a guy invent a time machine, go back and kill Hitler to make sure he really died in the bunker. But he gets hooked on the sensation and keeps going back a little bit later each time to kill Hitler sooner.
Were you unable to attach the “sensational” coverage your script got?
So, I’m assuming you’ve read the source novel, yes? Because I have, and it was pretty damned good.
Come on already. Tom, make a normal movie. You know, with real characters a good dramatic story. Wtf?
I like Cruise, but the synopsis really sounds like it calls for a younger lead. “A raw recruit” over 40?
Yeah, this is my complaint, too. The whole idea is this is a kid who is a crappy recruit. I don’t understand this direction.
Exactly. This is plain and simple horrible casting. Cruise is almost 50! I’ve read it, he makes no sense as an inexperienced soldier. It should be someone like Charlie Hunnam.
The article doesn’t specify who Tom would be playing, but if we are to assume it’s the lead, the script reads: “PVT. BILLY CAGE is maybe 20″.
Course, CGI IS getting better and better…?
There are two truths at work here. The first is that Tom Cruise is box office gold. M:I-GP will open big and perform well. The second is that someone, probably a guy like Steven Zalian, will be brought in to rewrite the lead to fit Cruise’s age. I understand it’s already been rewritten by a guy named Joby Harald.
Maybe Cruise’ll be a hardened veteran who goes on the proverbial one last mission or another of those tried and true movie cliches. The point is, Cruise is still hot even as he pushes fifty, and Warners desperately wants to be in business with him.
You just keep telling yourself that Tom. But it is sad to watch you descend into complete megalomania and insanity.
There is a character like that in the novel–a battle-hardened older veteran named Sgt. Ferrell. Could Cruise be playing that character?
Maybe.
That sounds awesome.
I just saw this film– it’s called SOURCE CODE. But I guess it has aliens.
The groundhog day concept is similar between the two but they are very different stories in more ways than just aliens.
We know.
And you left AVATAR claiming “I liked it better when it was DANCES WITH WOLVES.”
We know.
Yep, we know. And you would be right, except the novel came out years before THE SOURCE CODE.
So you’re wrong–big time.
the first draft of this was good, but not a studio movie. the rewrite was unbelievable though, and i’m not surprised it attracted a huge star.
I’m really hoping Tom gets to work on Oblivion. He keeps getting new projects almost every month and he hasn’t even started Oblivion yet. It’s the only film that I’m actually looking forward to coming from him.
What is the status of the Reacher film? Thought that was his next big franchise.
The Reacher film, One Shot, wherein Tom stars as a 36 year old, 6’5″, 250 pound army MP, is currently shooting.
Yet another case of serious miss-casting. Ben Affleck or Ryan Reynolds would have been so much better and more believeable as Reacher. Tom Cruise just doesn’t measure up, in more ways than one!
It’s actually a pretty great script – the lead develops in a nice fashion, and the action is insane. It’s also going to be expensive as all get-out, and Cruise seems weirdly bankable right now. But yeah – he’s way too old for the role, as written. With a few tweaks, it can work. I’m just hoping this gets made, with or without TC.
If they manage to get most of what was in the novel onscreen, I would be very happy. That book was one of the best novels I had read in recent years.
The first draft of this was good, but wasn’t a studio movie. The rewrite was phenomenal and not surprised it attracted a huge star.
The Kill script is mind-blowing. With the right director, it will be a visual feast. And with Tom Cruise in the lead,an actor who’s the best at connecting the audience to the character, this is going to be epic. I cannot wait for this movie or MI4. I think auds are finally warming up to Cruise again realizing that he’s one of the last few movie stars around.
I thought Cruise was attached to the remake of TIMESCRIMES — another timeloop project. There’s been a bunch of these timeloop scripts floating around over the last couple of years. One of the better ones I’ve read was called 360.
This script is incredible. Shame they’re going to kill it by attaching this old man. Military infantry are not 45 years old… And there’s a young, hot love story in it too – but now I’m just hoping I don’t have to see Cruise nekked.
Tom Cruise an old man?
What are you? Thirteen years old?
Are you 70 years old?
Most people think Cruise’s 50 years is old man territory. But maybe that’s whippersnapper age to you, grandpa.
Shouldn’t you be in bed? School tomorrow.
American entertainment is aimed directly at 13-year-olds.
You miss the point…he is too old to play this part. So over him anyway.
Read the script. Badass. Nothing like source except for the Groundhod day plot device. As to the age. If it’s a Universal war against invading Aliens I think countries will take a healthy man between 18-50 that was willing to fight. Wasn’t Tom Hanks like forty something in saving private ryan. He was like an English teacher that chose to go to war.
That’s true. But Cruise is still more appropriate for a role like the Sergeant than an inexperienced recruit that is wet behind the ears and terrified.
Like how this painfully obvious agency spin blurb trashing the original script and promoting the new one actually got posted twice! WB didnt spend 3m on the top blacklist action script of the year because it “wasnt a studio movie”. This is the studio that made Inception. The original was great, and then it got refashioned for an older star and for Liman’s new ideas and the new draft works great too. But keep posting man maybe that will make it true!
This could work if it’s done well.
Only: Cruise can’t be a recruit. This would blow up the movie at minute 1.
Why not make him a great soldier with experience against humans – and then (old dog, new tricks) have him adjust to the aliens. The different ways to fight aliens would say something about humans, too, and the movie would get more depth.
Will they CGI Cruise to make him look younger, or just keep pushing the fiction that he’s the right actor for this part? Raw recruits are young, stupid, and used as cannon fodder. There’s a reason armies want young men as soldiers, not 45 year olds. You can mold a teenager.
Sounds like it has a lot of similarities to Steakley’s novel, Armor, at least in the constant battle scenario. A bit of Haldeman’s Forever War (now there’s a book that needs to be made into a movie!)
One word guys: rewrite. Who knows if he’s still a fresh recruit in the new draft?
I read the script. IT IS SOURCE CODE. WB has way better scripts. TWILIGHT ZONE, REPLAY, AKIRA – you guys don’t waste your money on Tommy going after aliens. Invest it it scripts with better stories. Look at Captain America. It’s no longer about movie stars, it’s about GREAT STORIES. This aint one of them. Signed, friendofRobonov
If Twilight Zone is a such a great script why did Warners hire Anthony Peckham to to rewrite it. Is he rewriting it for an older actor too?
“IT IS SOURCE CODE.”
Bull. The script–all versions–are based on a novel published years before THE SOURCE CODE.
There is no excuse–none–for people to pull the kind of nonsense you’re spouting when a simple search would clarify things.
the first draft of the script was really good because it was close to the japanese novel. If they keep tweaking, to cast an older actor, it will end up not making any sense. That’s how they turn a great screenplay into a messy film.
Timeloop thrillers can make for intense stories. The best recent foray into the subgenre is a serial killer timelooper called The Looking Glass. IMO Cruise should scrap the ho-hum Reacher and move on straight to Oblivion then this project.
Why does Tom Cruise have to go from movie to movie? What is he trying to prove? That Hollywood “loves” him again? Very strange for a man with a family who certainly doesn’t need the money to never take some time off
I think it’s pretty presumptuous to say that Cruise has “regained his leading man mojo” He retreated back to safe material by doing another Mission Impossible and has signed on to work on a film with Joseph Kosinski, a commercial director who has no inkling of how to direct feature length movies(Tron: Legacy was a mess. Just awful. Looked Great, but awful) But, what Cruise wants, Cruise gets and none of these crazy fanboy time travel nerd comments are going to affect that.
Welcome to Hollywood 2011:)
James, Tron was amazing. My mind was blown watching it. The story was solid. I can’t believe you didn’t like it. I saw it on blu-ray. How about you?
James said: “What Cruise wants, Cruise gets…”
Until it’s OTT and a major studio exec (say, Joel Silver for example) FIRES him! He’s no different to any other A-list actor. Don’t get me wrong, Cruise is GOOD, but he messes up and he’s gone…just like that. And no Scientology rant is going to make a lick of difference. It’s how Hollywood operates, baby!
Hollywood mantra: “Got ego? Get OUT!”