The 'Wrath of the Titans' helmer says that the upcoming epic film is still in the writing stage, while promising that it will be 'a real epic' which is not just highlighting the visual effects.
- Mar 26, 2012
AceShowbiz - Jonathan Liebesman has been sealed to direct several potential big movies post-"Wrath of the Titans". In addition to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", the 35-year-old filmmaker has "Julius Caesar" movie project for his upcoming directorial stint. Offering several updates on the Caesar film, the South Africa-born director explained that the long-gestating project is still in the works and admitted that he would like it to be an R-rated movie.
Speaking to Collider, Liebesman opened up, "I'm not attached to 'Odysseus' but 'Caesar' I'm doing with Basil [Iwanyk], who produced 'Wrath', and that script is coming along exceptionally." He added, "That is a movie I want to have the right tools, the right actor, the right everything for. So we're writing it now, I'm very excited about that one."
As for why he wanted to have an R rating for the epic movie, Liebesman explained, "I'd love to have an R rating. It's gonna come down to, what budget do I need to tell the story and will that studio allow me that money with an R rating? I'm going to have to show them why I still think they will make their money back with an R rating."
During the chat, the "Battle: Los Angeles" helmer also discussed what will differ the untitled Julius Caesar project from his other epic film "Wrath of the Titans". He said, "I think Caesar's something that has to be in the vein of 'Ben-Hur', just a real epic..."
"What's great about 'Wrath' [is], there were a lot of VFX that were so real that I couldn't believe they were VFX," the director elaborated furthermore. "A lot of the environments aren't real and I'm like, 'Wow, I don't remember shooting that - no, no, no that's a computer generated environment.' Technology has come to a certain point, but 'Caesar' has to feel real."
Aside from talking about the "Julius Caesar" project, Liebesman dropped a little hint about a potential sequel to "Wrath of the Titans". He said, "We've just started the script now, so that's where we are. We have just begun the script."
"Just because I don't want the studio to get pissed at me, I'm not sure what I can and can't say about it," he added. "But what's exciting is it sounds like the budget will be as big. They're really going to make it an event."
Liebesman's "Wrath of the Titans" will open wide in the U.S. on March 30. His Michael Bay-produced "TMNT" project, meanwhile, is set to arrive in theaters nationwide on Christmas Day in 2013. As for the "Julius Caesar" one, the project, which has tapped Christopher Stetson Boal as the writer, still hasn't set a U.S. release date.
