Universal
10 Years, 10 Questions With David Koepp: On Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Spider-Man, and Stephen King
“I love the idea that you can go into a house and your grip on reality starts to loosen,” says director and screenwriter David Koepp, who confesses, “I feel like I’ve been telling that story for 25 years, but what can you do? You like what you like.” Over Zoom, the Hollywood veteran weighs in on the parallels between his latest film You Should Have Left and his previous directorial efforts, particularly 1999’s Stir of Echoes and 2004’s Secret Window. He’s not wrong: All three films revolve around troubled male protagonists left to their own devices as they dig deeper holes for themselves. But Koepp is also being modest. After all, you don’t become one of the most successful screenwriters of all time by telling the same damn story again and again — and, to be frank, he hasn’t. For 30 years ...
Universal Music Opens First-Ever Offices in Israel and Morocco
The new outposts, in Tel Aviv and Casablanca, continue the arms race among the labels of overseas resources sniffing for new talent. After broadening its footprint in Asia in 2019, Universal Music is continuing its global expansion with new offices in Israel and Morocco, marking the label as the first major music company to open standalone operations in either country. The new outposts in the Middle East and North Africa will add to UMG’s existing network of A&R and marketing in more than 60 countries. UMG Morocco will be based in Casablanca, while the Israel office will operate out of Tel Aviv. The moves come one month after Universal officially opened a new hub for hip-hop label Def Jam Africa based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Lagos, Nigeria. And the push into North Africa and...
Ryan Gosling to Howl as The Wolfman for Universal
Start howling, folks: Ryan Gosling is about to get a whole lot hairier. According to Variety, the Hollywood hunk has signed on to play the Wolfman in what will be the next Universal Monsters reboot to come from Universal. Details are scarce as of press time, but sources tell the publication that Universal has been meeting with directors over the past month. Nothing’s confirmed at the moment, but Bad Education director Cory Finley is said to be in the mix. Orange is the New Black writers Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo penned the screenplay that’s based on an idea by Gosling. In fact, sources are touting Nightcrawler as an influence, which is interesting. It goes without saying that the film follows this year’s incredibly successful reimagining of The Invisible Man, which direct...
Luca Guadagnino Says Hello to Universal’s Scarface Remake
Luca Guadagnino will soon prove the world is his. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Call Me By Your Name filmmaker has signed on to direct Universal’s long-gestating remake of Scarface. It gets better: Joel and Ethan Coen wrote the latest draft of the screenplay, topping a laundry list of contributors that includes Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (Miss Balla), Jonathan Herman (Straight Outta Compton), and Paul Attanasio (Quiz Show), among others. The story will reportedly be set in Los Angeles. Guadagnino is no stranger to the remake game, having helmed the rather superb reimagining of Dario Argento’s Suspiria back in 2018. Editors’ Picks This marks the third take on Scarface, following Howard Hawks’ Chicago-set original in 1932 and Brian De Palma’s Miami-set remake in 1983 starring Al ...
Universal’s Watch Party Series to Kickoff With Halloween Hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is back on her live-watch game. Today, Universal announced it will be taking over weekends with a series of Twitter watch parties, and Laurie Strode herself will kick things off this Saturday, May 16th with 2018’s Halloween. She won’t be alone when she returns to Haddonfield, Illinois. Director David Gordon Green will co-host alongside the Scream Queen and entertain special guests John Carpenter, Jason Blum, Judy Greer, James Jude Courtney, and Nick Castle. Sadly, Dr. Sartain will not be joining them. Editors’ Picks The rest of the month will see watch parties for Apollo 13, hosted by former NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, in addition to The Breakfast Club, hosted by everyone’s favorite site founded by Chris Hardwick: Nerdist. Radical. In order to join, simply follow the...
