New Judge Dredd Movie

[Brian Braddock]

It's been rumoured for years (didn't the 'Sci-fi' Channel try to get this off the ground a few years ago, along with 'Rogue Trooper'?) but I just noticed this on Comics2Film before:-

Link - http://www.comics2film.com/FanFrame.php?f_id=6937

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RAISING THE DREDD: SILVIO ASTARITA TALKS NEW JUDGE DREDD FILM

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]by Dave Richards, Staff Writer[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Posted: April 29, 2004 — More From This Author[/FONT]


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The Criminals of Mega-City One have lived in fear for the past 27 years. In 1977 John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra introduced the world to Judge Dredd, the toughest lawman in the futuristic Mega-City One. He patrolled the streets on an advanced motorcycle armed with a high-tech gun and a fanatical dedication to the law. Dredd's adventures have been chronicled in many comics, they have inspired two songs, "I Am the Law" by the heavy metal band Anthrax and "Mutants in Mega-City One" by the Fink Brothers, and they were translated into a disappointing 1995 film starring Sylvester Stallone as Dredd. CBR News recently talked with Silvio Astarita, one of the producers of a new Judge Dredd film currently in pre-production with I Am The Law Productions and Framework in association with Rebellion/2000 AD. [/FONT]
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In May of last year, Shoreline Entertainment in association with Rebellion/2000 AD announced pre-production had begun on two Dredd films, "Judge Dredd: Dredd Reckoning" and "Judge Dredd: Possession." "Dredd Reckoning" was to be the first film in the series and would pit Mega-City's top cop against corruption in the justice department, and "Possession" would feature Judge Dredd against his arch-nemesis Judge Death. These films were supposed to be shot back to back.

Now that the "Judge Dredd" film is being developed by I Am The Law, these scripts have been abandoned. The current plan is to work on one movie at a time. "We have a new writer on board so we will have a new story line," Astarita told CBR. I Am The Law is currently not revealing the identity of the new writer.

The new Judge Dredd film is still in its early stages of development. Some studios have expressed interest in the film, but the screenplay must be completed before any deals begin.

I Am The Law knows who they want to direct the film. "We do have someone in mind right now, but again to soon to reveal the name."

Astarita said now that comic book movies are hip again, Astarita said some actors have expressed a desire to play Mega-City's legendary lawman, but the title role would not be cast till a final screenplay is completed and approved. I Am the Law will consider a variety of actors for Dredd. " I do not believe we need a big name actor for the main role but that doesn't mean we will not get one," Astarita explained.

Unlike the previous "Judge Dredd" film, 2000 A.D., the publishers of the "Judge Dredd" comic, are directly involved with the current production. Astarita said this would help I Am The Law create a film that remains faithful to the comics but still appeal to a broad audience. He also said that many of the supporting characters from the comic book would appear in the film.

The tone of the "Judge Dredd" comics has always been sci-fi action mixed with heavy doses of black humor and satire. I Am the Law hopes to capture this for their film. "The film will be dark, more like 'The Crow' with the look of 'Blade Runner,' but dark comedy must have a role in Dredd's world," Astarita told CBR.
Judge Dredd is not a typical comic book hero. He can be cold, uncaring, and merciless. Dredd's only loyalty is to the laws of Mega-City One, which he enforces with zeal. Astarita believes despite this Judge Dredd and his adventures will still resonate with filmgoers. He explained, "Which ever way you cut it everyone likes a Hero. I don't know too many people who did not like Dirty Harry, this is no different. Dredd is in many ways a hero that we love to hate. A tough father figure that has an even tougher code of behavior."

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As a rabid fan of 2000AD when I was a kid to, I'm ashamed to say, only being a casual reader nowadays, I'd definately like to see Dredd done properly on-screen.

I loved the production design for the '95 film, that was fine, it fell-in with the 'dirty, used tech' look of the comics it's just that as soon as Dredd took off his helmet (years of tradition - flushed down the crapper in a matter of minutes), you knew this would be a watered down Judge Dredd, certainly not the Dredd we've read for years.

Sure, there it had its merits (the Angel family, the ABC warrior etc) but at some point it seemed to stop being a Dredd movie and became a movie more akin to 'Demolition Man 2'.

As the article says, the new movie should have the source materials 'sci-fi action mixed with heavy doses of black humor and satire' style and I'm looking forward to a hard, unforgiving Dredd who acts more like his very own inspiration, Dirty Harry.

As for casting, Jason Statham would make a good Dredd imo and he'd have to also play Rico and the other clones, (should they make an appearance) as another failing for me of the 1995 movie - if Rico and Dredd are clones, wouldnt they look exactly the same? As opposed to Stallone and Armand Assante, two guys who sorta look similiar a little bit? Stallone coudlve kept his mask on as Dredd, to satisfy the fans, yet coudlve had his face on view as Rico, to satisfy the studio.

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Anyone any thoughts? Who or what would you hope to see in the new films?

 

[Brian Braddock]

 

[daywalker2007]

sounds good,
but without deuce bigalow, will it be as fun as the 95 stallone epic ? lol

yeah, time for a new series,

blade runner / crow settings looks ideal for this,

although statham can't do a proper yankee accent yet, he needs to train harder,

in transporter 1/2 it was always mixed up,

unless they make dredd with a british accent

still, statham is a decent actor, would suit him to be in this kind of movie in any sort of role,

 

[rogue trooper]

Statham would be fine for the role.

At one point, I wanted Judge Dredd to be done as an animated feature in the style of the Heavy Metal movie, with all the graphic violance and absurd humor. I think it would've been very appropriate. Maybe an anthology animated film of 2000 AD with segments of Dredd, Rogue Trooper(Heh, heh), Slaine, DR & Quinch, and Nemesis.

 

[CAH]

I like JD...so, yeah...I'd say remake it though.

CAH

 

[Dope Nose]

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/JudgeDredd_DR.html

JUDGE DREDD: DREDD RECKONING

In Pre-Production

After the Atomic War, the formation of the three Mega-City metropolises has created the need for a superior form of law enforcement: Judges. Empowered to immediately seize, judge, and execute any sentence, they are the only police force remaining within nine years of their initiation. By the year 2087, advances in cloning technology have made possible the introduction of a new generation of Judges, faster, smarter, meaner. One of the first is known as Judge Dredd . . .
Dredd is trained by the aging but ever-sharp Judge Callahan. The first day Dredd sees action, Callahan naturally accompanies him. Tragically, Dredd fails to save his mentor from falling to his doom as they dangle over the city and are riddled with bullets from a team of hovercrafts led by Max Voltek, head of a group of Mega-City assassins.

Eighteen years pass. Haunting the city's streets is the Phantom, a fearsome beast - half animal half mechanical. Dredd now is the most well-known--and feared--of the Judges, notorious for his merciless interpretation of the law. In another confrontation involving Max Voltek, one of Dredd's partners, the stunning Judge Hershey, is left comatose.

Meanwhile, the Senior Chief Judges of Mega-City debate the repressive nature of the existing law system. With a majority vote, Grand Chancellor Bullock vows to moderate the severity of the Judges' enforcement. Dredd tracks down the Phantom and accuses Bullock of being responsible for the Phantom's presence. Dredd in turn is arrested and stripped of his status as a Judge.

Faced with his demotion and the collusion of a high-ranking Chief Judge and the Phantom, Dredd must take matters into his own hands and even form an unlikely alliance with Max Voltek. Acting within the Law to which he is still faithful, will Dredd's determination for justice from outside the Justice Depermant be enough to nullify corruption of the vilest order from within?

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/JudgeDredd_P.html#

JUDGE DREDD: POSSESSION

In Pre-Production

Flashback: 2107, Mega-City One: A vast, futuristic metropolis in the first stages of mass decay, its crime-riddled streets patrolled by Judges, law enforcement authorized not only to arrest but to act as on-the-spot jury and, if necessary, executioner. To combat the depletion of healthy air, water, and food, a brilliant Mega-City professor has developed the Ripper, a device designed to rip a hole in time and space via a mysterious orb, making accessible uncontaminated natural resources from the past. Disastrously, a self-fashioned prophet, Phobia, interferes with the Ripper's first audition. Judge Dredd and his psychic partner Judge Anderson unsuccessfully attempt to subdue Phobia, instead accidentally killing the professor (in front of the professor's young son, Jackman), and loosing the orb into Phobia's possession.

The present, 17 Years Later: The city's environmental deterioration has accelerated. A comet can be seen in the night's sky, descending directly toward the planet. Worse, an alarming number of psychics have been mysteriously kidnapped. An otherwise routine seizure by Dredd and Anderson leads them again to Phobia, only this time she, with the help of the abducted psychics, has summoned the seemingly-invincible Judge DEATH, who considers life itself inherently criminal and is hell-bent on genocide of the human race.
Elsewhere, a bitter Jackman, now twenty-five, busies himself with hacking bank accounts until he discovers that the lost orb has again been activated. His curiosity results in him being pursued by Dredd out into the Cursed Earth, an irradiated desert zone outside Mega City One, occupied by lawless social outcasts, mutants, and worse. Dredd and Jackman are forced to co-operate when they attacked by Cursed Earth denizens, Phobia, and finally an army of the undead, led by two evil Dark Judges: Judge Fire and Judge Mortis.

Back in the heart of the city, Death's spirit has cunningly taken over the drugged body of Anderson, her superior psychic abilities uniting with his, rendering him ever more powerful. Dredd and Jackman return in a battle-scarred humvee, scarcely intact after warding off Fire and Mortis. With hordes of zombies at Death's command threatening to invade the city, Dredd manages to trap Death's spirit within a plastic seal, concomitantly leaving Anderson to suffocate. Suddenly Phobia appears, slashing the encasement to release Death from his synthetic prison.

Dredd and Jackman must now face a terrifying prospect: the only way to permanently annihilate Judge Death and his minions is to follow him into the Dead World through a vortex opened up by the orb. Will Dredd find a way to out-duel Death in his very element? And will Mega-City One survive even another night? Judge Dredd's resilience in the face of the ultimate supernatural evil is the world's last hope.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

to hell with the clones, its been done, give us the dark judges

 

[SKSpawn]

I always thgouht Bruce Willis had/has the right jaw-line to play Judge Dredd. Though (and this is no knock on his abilities as an actor) I can't really be 100% sure he'd be able to pull it off.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Judge Dredd is like V, it's a guy in a mask and a voice.

 

[SonOfTheDark]

I would like to see a new Judge Dredd film more faithful to the comics! Clancy Brown would be cool as Dredd

 

[The Shredder]

Hmmm... thats cool.

About time Judge Dredd got a reboot.

 

[RJMC1481]

Judge Death please

 

[Seth71]

although statham can't do a proper yankee accent yet, he needs to train harder,

Isn't Dredd British? It's an English comic book. What's wrong with him having a British accent?

 

[Superman]

Isn't Dredd British? It's an English comic book. What's wrong with him having a British accent?

The comic is made in the UK but it's set in the US. Mega-City 1 is on the east coast of America.

 

[Cyrusbales]

I would love to see a decent Dredd film, however with the suggested lead it looks unlikely.

 

[nocomics]

I wouldn't care if he had an accent,but I don't know if I could by statham as JD or Bruce Willis..

 

[Gatchamanjp]

Clive Owen would be a good Judge Dredd. Judge Anderson could be Rachel McAdams. Judge Death would be CGI voice acted by Ving Rhames. Dredd does not take off his helmet, and he does not get hamstrung with a sidekick like in the 1995 film.