'Race to Witch Mountain'

[ALIASd]

'Witch Mountain' remake lands Hinds, Ludwig


By Borys Kit
The Hollywood Reporter
March 5, 2008

Ciaran Hinds (Getty Images photo)

Ciaran Hinds and Alexander Ludwig have joined the cast of "Race to Witch Mountain," Disney's reimagining of its 1975 adventure movie "Escape to Witch Mountain."

Andy Fickman is on board to direct what is described as an action thriller, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and AnnaSophia Robb.

Disney-based Andrew Gunn, whose "College Road Trip" opens Friday, is producing via his Gunn Films banner.

The adaptation revolves around a pair of paranormal-powered siblings (Ludwig, Robb) who, with the help of a Las Vegas cab driver (Johnson), go on the run from a diabolical group of men who wish to exploit their abilities. Hinds will play the nefarious leader of the pack.

Matt Lopez wrote the current "Witch" draft.

Gunn Films' Ann Marie Sanderlin is executive producing. Brigham Taylor and Casey Wolfe are overseeing for Disney.

The studio is eyeing a late March start in Los Angeles.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...8a5e8189621c2d

"The Rock" set for Disney's 'Witch Mountain' - 8/28/07
http://micechat.com/forums/showthrea...witch+mountain

[Retrocool]

Yeesh, what's next, a remaking of The Cat from Outer Space?

[mikeland]

Originally Posted by Retrocool

Yeesh, what's next, a remaking of The Cat from Outer Space?

No, "Hannah Montana goes to Medfield College."

[aimster]

They already made one crappy made-for-TV remake of Witch Mountain. Why ruin a good thing? What I always wanted to see was a movie showing what Witch Mountain looked like and how the people from Doublestar settled in.

[ALIASd]

Gugino joins 'Witch' cast

By Gregg Goldstein
The Hollywood Reporter
March 14, 2008

NEW YORK -- Carla Gugino will play the lead opposite Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in "Race to Witch Mountain," Disney's reimagining of its 1975 tween thriller "Escape to Witch Mountain."

Actor-director Garry Marshall also will star.

In Andy Fickman's feature, Gugino will play a discredited astrophysicist and UFO expert who meets up with a Las Vegas cab driver (Johnson). He asks for her extraterrestrial expertise to help a pair of psychic siblings escape the clutches of evil men and save the human race from impending doom.

Marshall plays a government and UFO conspiracy theorist/fringe scientist who helps them in their quest. Alexander Ludwig and AnnaSophia Robb play the siblings.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...e2e5d8c3e0d5f5

[Angie_Duke]

Originally Posted by mikeland

No, "Hannah Montana goes to Medfield College."

Good, maybe Kurt Russel can find a way to make her disappear.

[MysticalSkye]

This kinda makes me sad. I really liked the original.

[Bornieo Goes Bananas]

Disney's reimagining of its ...

This is a scary seeing how "reimagining" now means "lack of originality."

[ALIASd]

Two 'Witch Mountain' vets return

Actors who played the kids in the original are back for the remake

By Borys Kit
The Hollywood Reporter
April 29, 2008, 01:00 AM

Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, the original kid stars of Disney's 1970s "Witch Mountain" movies, are coming back for "Race to Witch Mountain," the studio's re-imagining of the adventure tales that will star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Tom Everett Scott, Chris Marquette, Billy Brown and Cheech Marin also are joining the production, which is filming under director Andy Fickman. Andrew Gunn is producing.

In a nod to the original movies, Eisenmann plays a sheriff and Richards plays a waitress at a roadhouse called Ray's in a town called Stony Creek. They help a cabbie (Johnson) and his two paranormal-powered passengers (AnnaSophiacq Robb and Alexander Ludwig).

Scott is playing a medical specialist, Marquette is a computer specialist, and Brown is a military specialist working for the bad guy (Ciaran Hinds). Marin plays a helpful mechanic.

Richards appeared in "Black Snake Moan," and Eisenmann did voice work for "Howl's Moving Castle."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ia9aa6fd4930eb095ad9908df15dbc07d

[launchpad]

Does anyone think this will actually be good?
This sounds like a straight to dvd movie to me.
Bad move.

[ALIASd]

Dwayne Johnson Gets 'Smart'

Anything can happen in Hollywood — just ask the artist formerly known as The Rock. Building on success in ''The Game Plan'' with an upcoming role in ''Get Smart,'' Dwayne Johnson is making a serious run at the A-list as a family-friendly leading man

He's in Las Vegas, outside a casino, filming his next kid-friendly movie, Race to Witch Mountain, in which he'll play a cabdriver being taken for a ride by two paranormal teens.

Johnson decided it was time to deploy a new strategy. He got in touch with his inner mensch and took the lead in the kid-targeted comedy The Game Plan, portraying a playboy quarterback who suddenly finds himself Mr. Mom to an adorable little moppet. ''I put so much into The Game Plan thinking, This has to work,'' he says. ''I thought, not only does this formula speak to me, I also loved the idea of becoming partners with the brand and culture of Disney.'' Disney reciprocated the feelings. ''He's one of the hardest-working people on behalf of a movie I've worked with,'' says Oren Aviv, president of production for Walt Disney Studios. ''He's the guy who's constantly saying, 'What else can I do?' That puts him in a unique category of less than a handful of actors working today.'' By the time The Game Plan had grossed $91 million, The Rock was already well into his own brand overhaul, slimming down with a targeted workout routine and a low-sugar diet. ''For years I carried all that weight for football and wrestling, and I finally realized there's no need for it anymore,'' he says. ''Now I just want to look the part.''

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,2019...204672,00.html

[ALIASd]

Race to Witch Mountain Set Visit: Part I


Director Andy Fickman:

"We are a darker movie; Disney has given us the chance to make this kind of movie – it really shouldn't have the Disney name on it. They've been really supportive with everything. I looked at what they did in '75 and loved it and respected it, and here we wanted to make it more intense. Oren Aviv and the guys kept saying, 'how far can you take it' and make it darker."

What also sets Race to Witch Mountain apart from a lot of the other films out there is how the story will be told. Andrew Gunn was quick to say it's not going to be like the TV show, "Roswell." "We're going to tell this story from a different point of view; the tone completely shifted from a Disney comedy to a "Die Hard" or a "Bourne" version of the movie."

As for the cast, Dwayne and Andy are reuniting for "Witch Mountain." "I had such a good time working with Rock; he's truly one of the great guys. He and his fans have been wanting him to do that action movie – even before 'Game Plan' came out. He's so good at comedy, and he said he didn't want to do another action movie until he found a movie that gave him a little bit of everything. And as we started developing this material, it's The Rock kicking ***. And all of a sudden, The Rock is back in action movies."

The rest of the cast includes Carla Gugino, Garry Marshall (who has his own book), Ciaran Hinds (as the bad guy), Cheech Marin, and Chris Marquette. Sci-fi guy Whitley Strieber has a small cameo and has his own 'booth' at the convention. Also, host of "UFO Hunters," Bill Burns, makes his presence felt as what else, a UFO expert.

full interview at:
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46483