Finally the wait is over… Check out the book on Amazon, so far the reviews are very positive. Enjoy!
Walt Disney Pictures, DreamWorks, and the IMAX Corporation have just announced their plans for another conjunctive release. The upcoming sci-fi film I Am Number Four (a new trailer was released today), and the Hugh Jackman robot flick Real Steel will both open day-and-date in conventional and IMAX theaters all over the world. Are you excited?
According to the press release:
“DreamWorks is pleased to have the incredible team at IMAX on board for these two exciting films,” said Jeff Small, President and COO of DreamWorks Studios. “Having I Am Number Four and Real Steel exhibited in IMAX theatres gives us a wonderful opportunity to showcase the fantastic work of the filmmakers and the people involved in creating these visual tales. Audiences get the benefit of a fully immersive movie-going experience on two films that are ideally suited for the visual and sensory IMAX experience.”
I Am Number Four is slated to hit theaters on February 18, 2011, while Real Steel opens on October 7, 2011.
Both of these films have action elements but we’re not sure that they have enough to warrant an IMAX release. If anything the huge robots in Real Steel might be cool to see on the giant screen but that’s about it. I Am Number Four looks pretty standard in the action movie department.
Prior to the movie release of I Am Number Four in February, Harper Collins is releasing a movie tie-in edition of the book. You can see the cover above, which features Alex Pettyfer aka Number Four aka John Smith. The movie also stars Glee‘s head Cheerio Dianna Agron as Sarah Hart.
I Am Number Four was written by James Frey and Jobie Hughes under the pseudonym Pittacus Lore, and has been receiving a lot of attention lately as the most high profile product of Frey’s so called “fiction factory.” The story behind the story is fascinating, so read NY Magazine’s article about Frey if you have the time.
Since I Am Number Four only debuted a few months ago, the movie tie-in edition is in hardcover. The title will be released on January 4, 2011.
The trailer for the awesome-looking I Am Number Four (Feb. 18, 2011), based on a sci-fi book co-written by expert maker-upper James Frey and directed by Disturbia’s D.J. Caruso, just dropped so we thought we’d share it with y’all.
It’s a story about a handsome young human-looking alien (Alex Pettyfer, who was born in 1990! We’re old) who’s being hunted down by some evil dudes from his home planet, so he hides in the Midwest and falls in love with Quinn from Glee (Dianna Argon, born in a more reasonable 1986). We’re not sure what Timothy Olyphant has to do with anything, but he’s in it, too.
NYDailyNews.com reports the release of a trailer for a new book-turned-movie, James Frey’s “I Am Number Four,” scheduled to hit theaters February 18, 2011.
The movie follows a teenager, played by Alex Pettyfer, who looks human but is actually an alien from outer space. As it turns out, he is just one of several young teenage aliens stranded on the planet, and is hunted by an evil, rival race of aliens who tracked them down to Earth.
Pettyfer’s character is referred to as “Number Four” because this particular group of aliens can only be killed in sequence… and, of course, Numbers One, Two and Three have already bit the dust.
Timothy Olyphant (“The Crazies”) plays Four’s guardian and mentor, who informs him that he has to hide and blend in with society in order to survive.
Like the good-looking young kid he appears to be, Four goes to high school. Once there, he is smitten with a classmate named Sarah Hart (“Glee’s” Dianna Agron).
Four wouldn’t be an alien if he didn’t at some point discover that he has awesome superpowers as well, and meets another of his brood, Number Six (Teresa Palmer). His enemies pursue him relentlessly, however, complicating his relationship with Sarah, and he teams up with Six.
As the trailer ends, we can see the two young aliens cause much chaos and mayhem as they combine their superpowers, as Olyphant’s voice-over narrates, that they are much stronger together than they are apart.
Critics at NYDailyNews.com and The Washington Post say the preview looks reminiscent of other teen sci-fi franchises, including the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” sagas, both of which are filming the last films in the series. The plot, they say, is essentially the same, with a slightly different twist: teens are forced out of their humdrum existence to witness and engage in a cosmic battle… except this time around, they’re aliens, not wizards or vampires and werewolves.
One might also say it also may be similar to the “Roswell” series, which ran on the WB/CW between 1999 and 2002, and featured a group of teenage aliens fighting government and extraterrestrial forces while trying to live amongst humans.
According to NYDailyNews.com, Frey is planning to release a second book, “The Power of Six,” to make it into another teen sci-fi series.
Is “I Am Number Four” really just as cookie-cutter as some of its critics say it is? Or does it have epic potential?
Just Jared has got a chance to visit the set of “I Am Number Four” and Dianna Agron has shared the filming of her kissing scene with co-star Alex Pettyfer. “Well you’ve seen Alex. He’s not hard to look at but it is interesting because you’re in front of this crew which no matter how close you are to them, it’s still a little awkward,” she claimed. “I always space out and I don’t even know what’s going on.”
The blonde babe also revealed that the smooching scene was the first one filmed for the movie and she has her own thought about that. “That’s what came first. For some reason – Actually I kind of have a theory on why that is – Kissing scenes typically come first or very near the beginning of filming. I think it’s because if things go terribly wrong people might not like each other and it might be really difficult to make that believable,” she explained.
Meanwhile, with Collider Pettyfer was willing to explain how his character will find out that he is an alien. He shared, “I think it slowly reveals itself as the movie goes on. I can’t give away too much, obviously, but there’s a few surprises for him that brings him back to a past life, which is what it is a past life because he’s from another planet. That kinda triggers these little motives in him that begin him to become this warrior.”
Some set pictures of “I Am Number Four” have also been released, with some of them highlighting the relationship between Agron’s Sarah and Pettyfer’s Number Four. In one pic, the two are seen getting close as the male lead wraps his hands around her waist.
Directed by D.J. Caruso, “I Am Number Four” follows Number Four aka John Smith who is one of nine alien teens on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Now that the first three of them have been killed, Number Four must fight to survive. DreamWorks will drop the action sci-fi in theaters nationwide on February 18, 2011.
DreamWorks Pictures has released a featurette for “I Am Number Four”, giving away more scenes from the movie as well as explaining the origins of nine boys sent from another planet to Earth. These boys will reunite to reclaim their planet from ruthless enemies but a deadly enemy has already chased them on Earth.
Each of these boys is given special power without knowing exactly what it is. John Smith aka Number Four, who will be the next target after the demise of Number Three, in particular wants to be normal. He, however, learns his incredible destiny and ends up as a warrior when trying to survive.
Alex Pettyfer leads in “I Am Number Four” with Dianna Agron starring as his love interest. Timothy Olyphant and Teresa Palmer also land roles in the movie, portraying Henri and Number Six respectively.
Michael Bay serves as a producer while Steven Spielberg is executive producing the movie, which is directed by D.J. Caruso. This action sci-fi flick is set to hit theaters across the nation on February 18, 2011.
Sharlto Copley and Timothy Olyphant are both awesome actors but their styles are totally different and they look absolutely nothing alike! The people behind DreamWorks’ upcoming sci-fi feature, I Am Number Four must see something we don’t because Olyphant has just been hired as Copley’s replacement in the film.
According to Variety, Copley has dropped out of I Am Number Four due to a scheduling conflict with his press tour for next month’s The A-Team. The DJ Caruso directed film centers on a group of nine earthbound aliens who escaped their home planet just before it was annihilated by a rival species. Hiding out on Earth, the title character disguises himself as a human high schooler, only to discover he is still being hunted by his planet’s enemy. The screenplay was written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
Olyphant will now play Henri, a mentor to Number Four who’ll be played by Alex Pettyfer. The film also stars Kevin Durand, as the the main villain who’s going after Four, while Number Six will be played by Teresa Palmer and “Glee’s” Dianna Agron will star as Pettyfer’s love interest.
This is just another piece of good news that has come Olyphant’s way. A few weeks ago we learned that his new FX series “Justified” had been picked up for a second season and now he’s landed a role in a Steven Spielberg movie, not bad.
Dianna Agron began her stint on the popular TV series “Glee” by playing the girlfriend of a high school jock. Now with her newest job, she’ll take on that same role but in a completely different genre. According to THR, Agron will play the female lead in Michael Bay and Steve Spielberg’s adaptation of I Am Number Four.
I Am Number Four is based on the upcoming young-adult-science-fiction book by James Frey and Jobie Hughes. The D.J. Caruso helmed film will revolve “around a group of nine aliens who escaped their home planet just before it was annihilated by a rival species. Hiding out on Earth, [Number Four] disguises himself as a human high schooler, only to discover he’s still being hunted by his planet’s enemy.”
Agron’s character will be the love interest and confidant of Number Four, who’ll be played by British actor Alex Pettyfer. This sounds like a romance disaster. Think Little Mermaid, Avatar, Twilight, or any other story line that involves someone leaving their home (or themselves) for someone else.
Joining Agron and Pettyfer are Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-Team), Teresa Palmer (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice), and Kevin Durand, who’ll appear as one of the Merry Men in next month’s Robin Hood.
http://screencrave.com/2010-04-30/glees-dianna-agron-joins-i-am-number-four/
Sharlto Copley, the man who came out of no where and showed us all that action films could have quality acting from names that we had never heard of before in a little movie called District 9 is (not surprisingly) now being snatched up by Hollywood. Not only will we be seeing him as part of The A-Team this summer, but according to HeatVision, he’s also the number one pick for a new upcoming sci-fi film.
DreamWorks’ has adapted, I Am Number Four, a young-adult science fiction book by James Frey and Jobie Hughes into a script with the help of “Smallville” creators Al Gough and Miles Millar and they’re looking for Sharlto star in the film next to British actor Alex Pettyfer.
You may have heard of Pettyfer from the upcoming TV show “Beastly,” where he plays a high schooler who is cursed to look on the outside how he is on the inside. He will be leading the way in Four and playing “one of nine aliens who escape their home planet before its annihilation by a rival species and hide out on Earth disguised as human high schoolers” — poor guy can’t seem to get away from feeling like a High School outcast.
They’re looking to cast Copley as another one of the aliens “who hailed from the alien world’s serving class but now is the title character’s adult guardian and mentor.”
I have to say Dreamworks, you’re not too adventurous with your casting. The picks are great, but you seem to have found roles for them (which in the descriptions at least) are extremely similar to their previous works. Oh well! As long as Copley’s on screen, I’ll be there! Although they really making it challenging to try and see any originality or hope for this film….
Directing the film is D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye, Disturbia) and Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg will be producing. So I guess we’re going to see a lot of fast-swirling camera work, explosions, cheesy dialogue, and oh yeah, a story we’ve seen before just slightly altered. While Spielberg could shine some light on the project, I’m afraid, I’m very afraid.
http://screencrave.com/2010-04-14/sharlto-copley-up-for-i-am-number-four/
“I Am Number Four,” the first movie in a DreamWorks franchise starring Alex Pettyfer, will start shooting in the Pittsburgh area May 17.
The studio confirmed Thursday the production will be here for 12 to 13 weeks. That means Mr. Pettyfer will be in Western Pennsylvania at the same time as “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner, headed here for a separate project called “Abduction.”
“I Am Number Four” is about a group of nine Earthbound aliens who escaped their planet just before it was annihilated by a rival species. Hiding out on Earth, disguised as a human teenager, the title character discovers that he is being hunted by the enemy that destroyed his planet.
Mr. Pettyfer will play the lead, and the cast also will include Sharlto Copley from “District 9″ as his guardian. Teresa Palmer, who will be seen this summer in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and appeared in “Bedtime Stories,” also has landed a choice role, with more names expected in the next couple of weeks.
“I Am Number Four” is based on a sci-fi book of the same name by James Frey and Jobie Hughes scheduled for publication in late summer. The rights to the unpublished novel, the first in a planned series aimed at readers 14 years old and up, were bought in June.
D.J. Caruso (“Eagle Eye,” “Disturbia”) will direct, and the producers include Michael Bay, Steven Spielberg and David Valdes.
Steven Molen, president of physical production at DreamWorks Studios, said Thursday by phone, “It’s a great story that’s going to resonate with a wide demographic. It’s a very relatable story for people of all ages, so that really makes the difference. You get a lot of material that comes in the door,” but the keepers are relatable and exciting.
The studio is aiming for a PG-13 rating for the movie, set in the present day.
As for why DreamWorks opted to shoot here, Mr. Molen said, “We chose Pittsburgh because we’ve had a great filmmaking experience in Pennsylvania in the past.” DreamWorks made the raunchy romantic comedy “She’s Out of My League” here in 2008.
“The state is unbelievably supportive of our filmmaking efforts in Pennsylvania, so we looked at a list of candidates early on and set our sights on Pittsburgh … with a determination to make it happen,” the executive said.
“I Am Number Four” is designed to be the first in a series of films, although that decision often hinges on box-office response.
As for whether sequels would return here, he said, “It is possible that future movies could occur in Pennsylvania, but it’s not knowable at this point.
“They still have to release book one, so until they flesh out the rest of the stories, it’s hard to determine exactly where we’ll be in the future, but our hope is that we’d be returning to Pittsburgh or Pennsylvania.”
“I Am Number Four,” which has opened an office here and is in the pre-production phase, is trying to capitalize on local crew, including repeat hires from Pittsburgh.
Although he declined to put a price on the budget, the movie will require multiple Western Pennsylvania locations, some large-scale visual effects, action scenes in keeping with the teens on the run story along with the use of a high school and need for extras (details still to come).
“We are happy that DreamWorks has returned to Pittsburgh with this project. The project means jobs for local residents,” Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, said Thursday.
“It is one more example of how important the Pennsylvania film tax credit program is to the continuation of a successful and vibrant film industry in Southwestern Pennsylvania.”
On July 30, the 20-year-old Mr. Pettyfer will be seen in “Beastly,” in which a spell turns a hot, popular rich kid into an unrecognizable and unattractive person. In 2006’s “Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker,” Mr. Pettyfer played Ewan McGregor’s nephew and heir to his secret agent gig.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10113/1052609-60.stm
Teresa Palmer is learning to count for “I Am Number Four,” DreamWorks’ adaptation of the upcoming young-adult science fiction book by James Frey and Jobie Hughes. D.J. Caruso is directing.
Palmer will play Number Six, one of nine aliens who escape their home planet before its annihilation by a rival species and hide out on Earth disguised as human high schoolers.
Alex Pettyfer, a British actor making his American debut with “Beastly,” will play the title role of Four. Sharlto Copley, the star of last year’s hit “District 9,” will play Pettyfer’s guardian and mentor.
Michael Bay is producing with Steven Spielberg. Chris Bender and J.C. Spink are executive producing with David Valdes. Al Gough and Miles Millar wrote the screenplay.
The WME-repped Palmer recently appeared in “Bedtime Stories” and next will be seen as the female lead in Disney’s summer tentpole “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel. She also will take part in the Mad Max movie “Fury Road.”
http://www.heatvisionblog.com/2010/04/teresa-palmer-joins-i-am-number-four-film-exclusive.html
I AM NUMBER FOUR focuses on the fate of nine gifted children and their guardians, the sole survivors of a bitter war on their home planet called Lorien, who have settled on Earth under the protection of a charm that means their enemies can only kill them in numeric order. Three of the nine are dead; the novel’s narrator is number Four. The nine children and their guardians evacuate to earth and the protagonist, a Lorien boy named John Smith, hides in Paradise, Ohio, as a human and tries to evade his predators.
Another Presidents’ Day weekend, another book adaptation trying to be the next youth fantasy franchise. Sci-fi fantasy I Am Number Four, based on the unpublished novel of the same name, will arrive in theaters on Feb. 18, 2011, distributor Walt Disney Pictures announced today, opening opposite sci-fi action picture Battle: Los Angeles.
The launch date mirrors the positioning of Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief from this year and The Spiderwick Chronicles from 2008. Both pictures delivered solid but far-from-blockbuster returns: Percy has made $86.3 million to date, while Spiderwick grossed $71.2 million, and both have yet to receive sequel announcements. Percy attempted to be a Greek-mythology version of Harry Potter, but it’s not clear what angle I Am Number Four will take at this time.
I Am Number Four appears to be similar to the 1999-2002 television series Roswell with its tale of alien teenagers coming to Earth following the destruction of their planet, only to be hunted further. Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are the screenwriters, D.J. Caruso (Disturbia) is the director and Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg are producers.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2699
Pittsburgh’s next major budget film production, led by producers Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay, is currently setting up to shoot here, sources familiar with the project say.
On the heels of its Pittsburgh-area 2008 production “She’s Out of My League,” which is currently playing in movie theaters nationwide, Hollywood-based DreamWorks Studios is prepping to shoot a teen-targeted science fiction movie called “I Am Number 4.”
Last week, a handful of industry trade publications reported that a young British actor named Alex Pettyfer is in negotiations for the lead role in “I Am Number Four,” playing an alien hiding out as an American high school student hunted by a rival species that destroyed his home planet. One of nine aliens to escape, the “number four” is next up to be eliminated by an enemy that must kill in sequence.
The story is based on a young adult novel by James Frey, perhaps best known as the author of the self-debunked alcoholic memoir “A Million Little Pieces,” and Jobie Hughes, which is scheduled to be published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in the fall as part of a six-book series. The creators of the TV show “Smallville” were hired to write the screenplay for the movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film production is projected to have a budget between $50 million and $60 million.
A spokesman for DreamWorks wouldn’t comment on where the production might be shot. He said the company has yet to green-light “I Am Number Four” and expected to have a decision on the project within two weeks.
But DreamWorks has opened an office in town and is beginning to hire crew, according to two sources who have been in contact with the production. With DreamWorks partnering with Disney on the project, “I Am Number Four” already has an official Facebook page and is projecting an aggressive release date of Feb. 18, 2011, less than a year away.
If the project comes to fruition here, it would not only mark the second DreamWorks production in Pittsburgh, but also the second production in Pennsylvania by Michael Bay since 2008. Last month’s issue of Vanity Fair named Bay Hollywood’s No. 1 money maker due to his movie, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” which was largely shot in Philadelphia in 2008 with the help of $7.5 million from Pennsylvania’s film tax credit program. “Transformers” went on to achieve worldwide box office gross revenues of $835 million.
Next on the list after Bay, who directed and produced Transformers, was Spielberg, a founder of DreamWorks, who shared an executive producer credit on Bay’s film.
http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2010/04/05/daily34.html
Walt Disney and DreamWorks have set a 2/18/2011 release date for director D.J. Caruso’s (Eagle Eye, Disturbia) Sci-Fi Adventure I Am Number Four. Set to star Alex Pettyfer (Beastly), the film is about nine earthbound aliens who escaped their planet just before it was annihilated by a rival species. Hiding out on Earth, disguised as a human teenager in high school, the title character discovers that he is being hunted by the enemy that destroyed his planet. More after the jump:
When I first heard about the release date, I figured there had to be a mistake, as they haven’t started shooting the movie and it’s scheudled to come out in ten months and on the same day as another sci-fi movie, Battle: Los Angeles! But I spoke to Disney and they’ve confirmed the date. I’m going to take a guess and say one of the films is going to blink.
I Am Number Four is based on the James Frey and Jobie Hughes novel of the same name and it will be published in the fall. The script was written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville) and it’s going to be produced by Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg and Exec. Produced by David Valdes, Chris Bender, J.C. Spink.
Alex Pettyfer has landed the lead in I Am Number Four, a forthcoming adaptation of a sci-fi book by James Frey and Jobie Hughes!
The 19-year-old British actor will play the title character in the story of nine aliens “who have escaped their home planet just before it was annihilated by a rival species,” according to THR.
Alex’s character disguises himself as a normal high-schooler, only to find out that his planet’s enemy is still looking for him!
Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg are producing. This is Alex’s first major studio movie!!
Alex and Vanessa Hudgens will be hitting the big screen this summer in Beastly, a modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker and Beastly star Alex Pettyfer is in talks to play the lead character in Dreamworks’ Michael Bay/Steven Spielberg-produced D.J. Caruso-directed teen sci-fi alien adaptation I Am Number 4.
The screenplay adaptation was written by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, which kind of makes sense if you think about it (teenage aliens that fall from space to earth?). Caruso is of course the director responsible for Taking Lives, The Salton Sea, Two for the Money and more recently, Disturbia and Eagle Eye. Bay has previously been developing the project as a potential directing gig.
DreamWorks has set Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar to write I Am Number Four, the screen adaptation of James Frey and Jobie Hughes’ sci-fi novel, Variety reported.
Michael Bay will produce and possibly direct the movie, the trade paper reported:
HarperCollins Children’s Books is publishing the book, about a group of nine aliens who flee to Earth, disguised as teenagers, when their home planet is destroyed.Gough and Millar created the long-running WB/CW drama series Smallville, and their feature scripting credits include Spider-Man 2 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
The news that Michael Bay is to produce and possibly direct a film based on a six book franchise, should the DreamWorks deal to purchase the rights come through, doesn’t sound all that exciting to me.
That’s not just because Michael Bay directing means the standard formula of shaky camera and big, but because the story sounds like a television series we’ve seen a lot from already.
I Am Number Four is the first in six books that tells the story of nine aliens who happen to be equivalent to our teenagers, heading to Earth as refuges. They escaped their planet just as a hostile alien species invaded. The nine aliens are becoming accepted as typical teenagers when the leader, the fourth alien, discovers that he’s being hunted by the alien race that invaded their home planet.
Now I have to admit that I didn’t watch much of Roswell, but the idea behind that television series sounds a lot like I Am Number Four doesn’t it?
This just reeks of the issue I was writing about earlier where production executives are intent on making every film fit the thirteen year old target audience, what could be better?
Mind you, it does sound like a Michael Bay film, although they’ll probably apply the usual adages of “bigger” and “more” to the story and give the audience the usual Bay performance.
The story comes from Variety through Coming Soon and informs us that there’s a little controversy behind it already as one of the authors of the series is reported to be James Frey writing under a pseudonym.
Why is that controversial? Well Frey wrote his memoirs about addiction called A Million Little Pieces and received a high degree of praise for it, and then he revealed that some of it was made up. At that point some readers raised a law suit against him and the planned film adaptation with Plan B fell through.
Recent Comments