from the director of Twilight comes - Hamlet?!?

[Chewy]

Overture Films is developing a modern-day adaptation of the William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" with Emile Hirsch starring, "Twilight" helmer Catherine Hardwicke directing and Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen producing.

Ron Nyswaner ("Philadelphia," "the Painted Veil") is adapting the story, in which a young man burdened with deciding whether to take revenge on his father's killer would take place in contemporary America.

"With its universal themes of death, revenge, love and even teen angst - the story of 'Hamlet' is perhaps as timely and influential today as it was when it was written over 400 years ago," said Overture CEO Chris McGurk and chief operating officer Danny Rosett.

Hirsch previously worked with Jinks and Cohen on "Milk" and with Hardwicke on "Lords of Dogtown."

Jinks and Cohen, in an announcement Tuesday, credited Hirsch with the modernized version and said there hasn't been a movie version with an appropriately-aged actor playing the role. Overture said it hopes to have a finished script in the coming months with principal photography commencing soon thereafter.

"Hamlet" has been adapted numerous times for th screen, including Laurence Olivier's 1948 version, which won the best picture Oscar.
Other notable "Hamlet" pics include a 1969 version directed by Tony Richardson and starring Nicol Williamson, Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 film starring Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version.

SOURCE

 

[Wesley Dodds]

Soon as i saw this thread, the first thing i thought was "modern-day adaptation"... Didnt we already have one of these with Ethan Hawke a few years ago?

 

[Rac]

Well, Lords of Dogtown was excellent.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

Lords of Dogtown was mediocre, the one good movie Hardwicke has done is Thirteen.

And Kenneth Branagh already did the definitive screen version of Hamlet. We don't need a mediocre director to do another one.

 

[Gilpesh]

And Kenneth Branagh already did the definitive screen version of Hamlet. We don't need a mediocre director to do another one.

And Steven Coogan already did the definitive sequel to Hamlet. So we don't need one of those ever again.

 

[The Dude]

Well on the plus side it can't be worse than "Romeo + Juliet"

 

[Sarge 2.0]

Well on the plus side it can't be worse than "Romeo + Juliet"

That movie was pretty awesome.

 

[The Chris]

I hope the dialogue is still in Shakespeare, I really liked the juxtaposition with Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet, having be set in the present day but the dialogue still being in Shalespeare's language.

 

[Schlosser85]

I heard way back when there was going to be a MacBeth movie, but I never heard anything else about it. I was bummed too, as it was supposed to star Sean Bean and Tilda Swinton.

 

[Sawyer]

Do people still actually give a crap about Shakespeare adaptations anymore? I mean, pretty much all of his plays have had at least, like, ten film adaptations each... unless you've got a new twist on things, who cares?

 

[xwolverine2]

this woman is becoming the uwe boll of literature.... lol

 

[Sawyer]

this woman is becoming the uwe boll of literature.... lol

No no no.... she has quite a bit of failing to do before she earns that honor.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

Do people still actually give a crap about Shakespeare adaptations anymore? I mean, pretty much all of his plays have had at least, like, ten film adaptations each... unless you've got a new twist on things, who cares?

Not all of them have been done well.

 

[Sawyer]

Not all of them have been done well.

I never said they were. What I'm saying is... isnt there a point where theres the twentieth Romeo and Juliet hitting the big screen and the audience just goes "Eh" and moves on with their day as if nothing had happened?

It's starting to feel like the adaptations are just a big cycle of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Macbeth over and over again.

 

[deathshead2]

Well its by Overture films its not like anyones going to see it anyway.

 

[bullets]

Overture who?


I'll like it if they keep the dialogue the same.

 

[deathshead2]

Overture who?


I'll like it if they keep the dialogue the same.

My point has been made.

 

[Spider-Who?]

I looooove Hamlet. Greatly enjoyed Gibson's version...as well as...aw, whats his face...he had blonde hair in the movie...the "to be or not to be" monologue was shot in a room filled with mirrors....damn, cant remember who it was...

but yeah, i liked that version too.

but this...just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[Episode29]

Why Hamlet? It's the most over-done of Shakespeare adaptations. We already, in the recent past, have Branagh's period-era version and the 2000 modern-day Ethan Hawke version. Why not something different, like a contemporary Macbeth or Henry IV... Or go really obscure and do The Winter`s Tale or something.

 

[Spider-Vader]

Since no one's done it yet...
:facepalm

 

[Sarge 2.0]

Well its by Overture films its not like anyones going to see it anyway.

I've seen several movies from Overture in the past year or so.

All of varying quality, of course.

 

[Jager X]

almost every shakespeare film that has been done in modern times have sucked. i hate romeo+juliet, what a crock or crap that was. hamlet 2000 and "o" were not much better. and reading the description of this film, i'm getting that whole "o" vibe from it.

 

[That-Guy]

I never thought I'd see a worse version of Hamlet than that awful Ethan Hawke crap.

Then I heard about this movie.