Review: `Beowulf' Sexes Up Epic Poem

Beowulf

The name "Beowulf" alone surely will inspire painful memories of high-school English class and pangs of dread.

Never fear. This 3-D animated "Beowulf" is more like "300," only with more violence, if that's possible. And nudity lots and lots of nudity.

Director Robert Zemeckis, using the same performance-capture technology he introduced with 2004's "The Polar Express," takes on the epic Old English poem by sexing it up. It's the cinematic equivalent of slipping pureed spinach into your kids' brownies.

Adapted by Neil Gaiman (the "Sandman" comics) and Roger Avary (who co-wrote "Pulp Fiction"), the film follows the mythic Viking hero who emerges from the sea to rid a Danish kingdom of the bloody, raging, pus-covered monster Grendel (played with pathos and twisted physicality by Crispin Glover). Only then can there be much merrymaking and mead-drinking and wench-bedding.

Read the entire article at: www.cinema-pedia.com

EverQuest Adaptation Gets a ScreenwriterEverQuest Adaptation Gets a Screenwriter

It's taken the long way through the development process, but Sony's big-screen EverQuest adaptation just got itself a screenwriter.

Variety reports that Michael Gordon (300) has been hired to write the EverQuest script, confirming a story earlier reported by IGN Movies. Avi Arad, the former Marvel executive who recently earned production credits on Spider-Man 3 and Ghost Rider, will be a member of the EverQuest production team. From the article:

In the game, players create a character they use to explore the world of Norrath, where they interact with other players or fight off creatures while going on quests for treasure.

"EverQuest" was the most popular online role-playing game from 2000-04, before similar games such as "World of Warcraft" launched.

It's also long been a major moneymaker for Sony, because in order to play, users must buy the game and pay a monthly fee to participate.

At its peak, title had more than 450,000 subscribers ponying up $10 a month to play.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com