MOVIE ROUNDUP (WOLF ON WALL STREET, KOJAK & TOLKIEN BIOPIC)

MOVIE ROUNDUP

(Scorsese longest film, New Tarantino and Vin wants Ang Lee)

THE WOLF ON WALL STREET

The Wolf of Wall Street opens on December 25^th and now we know just how long the Martin Scorese film will be. France distributor Metropolitan Filmexport tells Allocine [via The Playlist] that the movie runs 179 minutes, which would get it just in under the 3-hour limit usually set by most studios.  Early reports also said the film was NC-17, so even with that material cut, there’s still plenty left for the true story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) raiding Wall Street during the 1990s. This is definitely one film you do not want to miss.

If Allocine is correct, then the movie will be Scorsese’s longest film to date, beating out Casino by one minute.  The film stars. Jonah Hill, Kyle Chandler, Matthew McConaughey, Jean Dujardin, Margot Robbie, Jon Bernthal, and Rob Reiner.  The Wolf of Wall Street opens on December 25th.

NEW TARANTINO WESTERN

We finally know what Tarantino’s next film will be, sort of anyway.

With Django Unchained having earned over $425 million at the worldwide box office, Quentin Tarantino is sticking with the Western genre for his next film.

Appearing on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Tarantino talked about the project.

"I can't talk that much about it, but I will say one thing. I haven't told anyone about this publicly, but I will say the genre. It's a Western," he said. "It's not a 'Django' sequel, but it's another Western, and the thing is I had so much fun doing 'Django' and I love Westerns so much, that after I taught myself how to make one, it's like 'well okay, now let me make another one now I know what I'm doing.'"

KOJAK

Last year Universal Pictures' announced that Kojak would be coming to the big screen and Vin Diesel is set to headline it.  

"Kojak… New York… Ang Lee…" was the message Diesel posted on Facebook when asked what director he'd like to work with in the future.

Although it's entirely possible that Diesel is merely pointing out his top choice, to specifically name Kojak as the project coupled with the fact that the film has not yet announced a director suggests that Diesel's dream is about to come true.

Screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Skyfall) are providing the screenplay to the television series adaptation. The original show, which ran on CBS from 1973 to 1978, starred Telly Savalas as NYPD Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak, known for his penchant for lollipops and his catchphrase, "Who loves ya baby?"

Kojak has never before been brought to the big screen but a short-lived series reboot was attempted in 2005 with Ving Rhames in the Kojak role.

Diesel is also set to produce the feature version alongside Samantha Vincent.

TOKLIEN BIOPIC

The true story behind The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien is in the works with a biopic tentatively titled Tolkien. The LA Times reports that David Gleeson will be providing the screenplay.

Tolkien is said to focus largely on the author's young life, including his time at Pembroke College and his military service during the first World War. The film will tie his experiences as a young man to those depicted in his iconic fantasy novels.

It is unknown whether or not Tolkien's estate will be involved in the biopic's production in any capacity. Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R.'s son, is infamously not a fan of Peter Jackson's big screen adaptations, the latest of which hits theaters December 13 as The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.