There have been several intriguing Batman movie concepts that never made it to the big screen over the years, including Darren Aronofsky’s Year One and a third Joel Schumacher Bat-film (dodged a bullet there, to be honest), but one of the lesser-discussed projects belonged to Joe Dante — yes, the director of classics like Gremlins and The ’Burbs almost made a Batman movie, and if he hadn’t ultimately walked away from it, we might have ended up with a memorable performance from John Lithgow as The Joker.
Arrow Season 4 managed to up its directing credentials with guest spots for names like Lexi Alexander and James Bamford, a trend that looks to continue into January’s Legends of Tomorrow as well. Bank on The Atom reaching some Innerspace, as veteran director Joe Dante will helm an episode of the new DC drama.
When you’ve had a career as long and illustrious as Joe Dante’s, you sort of get a lifetime supply of free passes. It doesn’t matter that the man’s most recent feature, last year’s Burying the Ex, got uniformly and deservedly poor notices upon its release. And it doesn’t matter that his feature before that, 2009’s The Hole 3D, was shuffled around, maligned, and forgotten prior to a quiet theatrical run that actually lost money for the presiding studio. It doesn’t even matter that Dante’s been paying the bills in recent years by taking gun-for-hire TV direction work, slumming it with gigs on CSI: NY, Hawaii Five-O, and Witches of East End. None of that matters, because we now have a new Joe Dante movie, and hope springs eternal in the human breast.
Have you ever wondered where all the crazy ideas in sequels come from? Finally, Key & Peele revealed the secret. This is going to ruffle some feathers in Los Angeles. But sometimes the truth hurts and you just have to deal with it. Spoilers for the inner-workings of the movie industry from here on out.
A couple of updates on that Gremlins reboot (or whatever it is) today: Original writer and producer Chris Columbus wants fans to know that the upcoming, long-developing film is not a remake, and confirms that they have indeed hired Goosebumps writer Carl Ellsworth to pen another draft of the script. Meanwhile, original Gremlins director Joe Dante assures fans that he is not involved in this new version at all — and he doesn’t seem very happy about it happening, either.
Burying the Ex comes from the wacky mind of Joe Dante, known for films like Gremlins (and its sequel) and Small Soldiers. His latest effort once again marries horror with comedy in what appears to be a fun examination of the ways our past relationships hang over us as we pursue new ones. The first trailer has landed online, complete with zombie ex-girlfriends, green vomit and Anton Yelchin’s facial hair.
Simon Pegg likes to keep busy. Not only will he be in the upcoming 'Star Trek Into Darkness' and Edgar Wright's 'The World's End,' he's signed up to appear in Joe Dante's next film 'Casting the Runes.'
Joe Dante's long-delayed 'The Hole' received a limited theatrical release this weekend. The film follows two brothers who move with their mom to a new house and discover a bottomless hole in the basement that is filled with their deepest fears. In order to defeat the hole, they must overcome their fears with the help of their next door neighbor. We had a chance to speak with Mr. Dante recently abo