Big screen version of original series one of many Bryan Singer projects with 'Excalibur' and 'Jack the Giant Killer' on his plate It might be easier to talk about the movies that Bryan Singer is not attached to direct than those he is working on.
Last week, Singer made some waves -- both positively and negatively -- with the announcement that he was going to take on a big screen version of "Battlestar Galactica" that had nothing to do with the recently completed SciFi Channel/Syfy series. However, "Battlestar Galactica" is not at the top of his list, according to MTV News.
Singer, who made his mark by directing the first two X-Men films and making them blockbuster successes, said he is planning to work on another remake, this time the 1981 film "Excalibur." He also is attached to a big screen version of "Jack the Giant Killer." On top of that, there are some who are throwing Singer's name around to take on one of the X-Men Origins films.
Singer hasn't quite yet committed to directing "Excalibur," so it's not clear how much that could affect the rest of his schedule. Right now, he is negotiating with Warner Bros. to at least produce the film continuing Hollywood's love affair with the remake.
"Why Warner Bros. is looking to a barely classic film for a redo rather than simply adapting the story answer is beyond me," said MTV blogger Adam Rosenberg. "But I guess there is a shortage of possible titles for a movie about Arthur and his Round Table Knights. the practice of planning remakes has become almost second nature to Hollywood at this point. We can't really blame the studio for marching along to the trendiest beat."
Other reports have "Battlestar Galactica" far lower on Singer's priority list than originally thought, which could be a good thing. Some observers, including a few at Airlock Alpha, think it might be a little too soon to try and introduce an entirely different "Battlestar" concept so soon after the conclusion of a critically acclaimed series that carried the same name, but will have absolutely nothing to do with Singer's vision.
What would Singer's "Battlestar" be about? Word is that it could be a pickup from the concept he was developing for Fox before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that put the project in limbo before Singer and Tom DeSanto had to drop out. That later paved the way for Universal to move the project to one of its own channels and bring in "Carnivale's" Ronald D. Moore to create the reboot that lasted four seasons on SciFi Channel.
But talking about other movies such as "Excalibur" and "Jack" might be more than simply shifting around Singer's priority schedule.
"I wonder if it has anything to do with the negative response to his involvement with a new 'Battlestar Galactica' movie potentially having nothing to do with the recently finished SciFi Channel TV series," Rosenberg said. "Perhaps he needed some new project to divert that attention away from him. ['Excalibur'] is certainly a less controversial remake, if nothing else."
Emmys Aren't Everything, 'Battlestar's' Grace Park Says
At the same time, it would still be nice to get recognized Doing A Primal right now.
Another year passed, and another Emmy nomination season came and went without "Battlestar Galactica" getting much more than a writing nomination and some technical nods.
Many fans of the show along with critics were dismayed by the snub, but not Grace Park, who played Boomer, Athena and other Cylons that looked like her in the former SciFi Channel series. But there's a reason for that.
"You know what, when [executive producer Ronald D. Moore] said it was a crime, I didn't even realize the Emmy noms had come out yet," Park told Airlock Alpha on the red carpet of the Entertainment Weekly/Syfy party at San Diego Comic-Con in July. "I found out after [the Comic-Con] panel, and I was a little bit sad."
While getting recognized by the Emmys would be something well-deserved by the "Battlestar Galactica" cast and crew, Park said that she isn't losing a lot of sleep over the snub.
"It would be really, really nice, but the Emmys are not the be all and the end all," she said. "I think every award has its flavor of what they're trying to celebrate. The Emmys, they have their own thing, and I think whoever is being celebrated at the Emmys, awesome for them."
At the same time, just hearing people say that shows like "Battlestar" should've been nominated is a great consolation for Park, as it shows that sometimes fans are a better judge of good programming.
Park's tenure with "Battlestar Galactica" isn't quite over yet. The actress still has a major role in the upcoming telemovie "The Plan," which was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos.
She hasn't seen the whole production yet, but what she did observe, Park liked.
"I can't wait to see 'The Plan,'" she said. "I saw the opening of it, and it looked amazing."
