Rumor: Escape From Earth A 'go?'

[bsu legato]

From Bloody Disgusting

Is Snake Plissken Leaving This Planet with Carpenter?

It has been 25 years since Kurt Russell made his first appearance as the bad ass Snake Plissken in John Carpenter's Escape from New York, now it looks like Russell and Carpenter are teaming up once again, this time to leave Earth. Escape From Earth is the title of the third entry to the franchise, according to our anonymous scooper. Inside you can read the unconfirmed scoop, which we'll be looking into this week...

Anonymous writes in:

    "A major meeting was held at Paramount last week with both John Carpenter and Kurt Russell in attendance. The topic -- preparing for a third entry in the Snake Plissken chronicles entitled Escape From Earth.

    Apparently, Carpenter completed a script for the project eight years ago but the studio has now taken an interest in it after Russell demanded doing it before signing on with the studio for a three picture deal.

    Although the screenplay is being kept under tight wraps, I'm told (by another anonymous) who was lucky enough to take a peek at the first thirteen pages that the script takes off immediately where the previous left off and features our planet en-route to Armageddon.

    It looks as though Carpenter will push-off the production of Psychopath with Titan Productions and collaborator Todd Farmer in order to ready this entry for a 2008 release.In the first film, which takes place in 1998, the US President crashes into Manhattan, which is now a giant max. security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in for a rescue.

Now, I had given up hope of ever seeing this film made, oh...about 10 years ago. After the...er...'underwhelming' results of Escape From LA it seemed there was no way this project would ever see the light of day. But here we are in 2006 (God I can't belive EFLA is 10 years old already) and one thing is painfully clear; The fascist police state world of the Escape films is now more relevant than ever. Cinema needs Snake to stick it to The Man just one more time. And frankly, given the milquetoast "action stars" we have to live with in movies today, I'd say any Snake Plissken is good Snake Plissken.

[Hikuro]

First movie I loved, second one I avoided like it was some horrible plague......this one......my stomach feels icky, I think I'm gonna go throw up.

[Keith]

Oh come on, Escape from LA wasn't "that" bad. Now the funny thing would be if this, & the Metal Gear movie hit theaters at the same time

[JB0]

Oh come on, Escape from LA wasn't "that" bad. Now the funny thing would be if this, & the Metal Gear movie hit theaters at the same time

422910[/snapback]

And a Snakes on a Plane sequel...

C'mon, someone was gonna say it eventually.

[thegunny]

It has been 25 years since Kurt Russell made his first appearance as the bad ass Snake Plissken

Will they have wheel chair ramps on the escape craft

[UN Spacy]

I didn't really like Escape from LA....but then again I've never seen Escape from NY.

Am I missing out?

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I'll definately be giving it a chance. I loved the original. I'm a sucker for all the cheesy 80s action movies.

It was because there was a time limit that made it such a tense movie. You never knew if he was going to make it back befre that thing went off. I got that same feeling with movies like mad max 2 truck scene where max is trying to drive away and is being attacked from all sides by the gangs to slow him down, and then drops the ammo so it looks like he is a total goner.

So long as they can really recreate that "tension" that I remember from those kinds of movies where you are not sure how it ends, then I will be happy. The problem with sequels is if they have too much of the formula and don't add anything unpredictable to keep you guessing, then it just doesn't feel exciting to keep paying to watch and it turns stale. All those movies that make you feel paranoid even after you leave the theatre, those are the ones I like. The reason I can watch movies like diehard and stuff again after all these years is because I think they pit all the odds against the hero in the story. (lack of ammo, shortage of time, rely only on themselves so they can't cheat, is double crossed and has to fight more than one thing, is in actual danger of dying, uses only thier skill to get out of situation, takes a very heavy beating, ...and gets nothing in the end because everything either gets blown up/destroyed, everyone killed, so they walk away a lone wolf not better off than when they started etc)

I didn't really like Escape from LA....but then again I've never seen Escape from NY.

Am I missing out?

If you like the tough character type movies with a bit of violence (like pitch black or chronicles of riddick), yeah it's worth seeing.

The main reason is that Snake = a tough mofo. He takes a crossbow shot in the leg and has to fight all these gangs for his freedom and has to do it all before the foxdie..er whatever the hell it was they injected in him kills him. Sort of like metal gear solid games where snake must go through lots of danger and little chance of success for him to win. The second movie is really a nostalgia thing: you were just happy they made a sequel to a classic movie more than because you thought the sequel was any good. The problem with sequels is they must shine in the shadow of the originals. (rather than being good movies in thier own right, breaking new ground because the majority of people go to see it for the name. So if you see a sequel it might be hard to really apreciate them as a standalone thing)

Edited August 6, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Zentrandude]

Hated all the escape movies, I don't know why I watch it but I guess its the same way people slow down to look at a car accident across the highways.

[Roy Focker]

I rather see a sequel to big trouble in Little China.

[Sumdumgai]

Hell yeah! Jack Burton! HA-HAH! I love that movie!

[Effect]

I don't know about this. I really don't. I guess in the end though, I have to agree with the opinion that any Snake Plissken is good Snake Plissken. Just to see Kurt in the role would be cool, at least one more time. I most certainly wouldn't have high expectations for this but just enjoy it for what it is.

[Lightning]

any ideas why he would be escaping from earth?

[Sumdumgai]

Metal Gears get controlled by an advanced AI supercomputer that's been secretly moonlighting as a virtual pop star idol. Skynet, aka Sharon Apple. And an unknown alien fleet is coming for the ASS-1.

Uhm, for a serious guess, maybe Earth has become a giant prison planet and he's being sent down for another impossible mission?

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Maybe it's going to be like that stallone movie "first blood".

The cops are giving him a hard time and use extreme measures (think the ED209 robot in robocop - the world is overpopulated and prisons are full so cops of the future can kill anyone for any reason they make up, just for looking suspicious ) to take him down, so he has to run from them with only crappy weapons and his wits and skills.

Because of all the cameras (it will be a surveilance society)he can't go underground because there are robots searching all over earth for him to catch him. He doesn't want to die, so decides to escape from earth. Maybe he hijack some futurstic spaceplane and avoid all kinds of traps set for him? I think it would be funny. Maybe there are some space-based weapons up there and these end up going out of control and destroying earth in the meantime. (including the people trying to kill him)

I rather see a sequel to big trouble in Little China.

Ahah I remember that. I watched that about 5 times when I was a kid. I liked the guy with the chinese hat who had those force powers - he was fkin scary. (he could shoot lightning and stuff like the guy from mortal kombat) But that was more like an action comedy. I want something dark and violent and serious. Yeah it can have humor too but you should be scared and feel like what's happening is genuinely dangerous and risky.

Edited August 7, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Vermillion21]

The first Escape movie was good ... the sequel was lame ... not sure how I feel about another sequel. EFLA left a bad taste in my mouth.

Metal Gear movie? Is that for real?

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Yeah live action one. No details though. I think Eric Bana (hulk, chopper movie, black hawk down, munich etc) should be snake if they do it.

Edited August 7, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Vermillion21]

Wow ... cool. Assuming they execute it right ... and NO Uwe Boll .....

[Hoptimus]

Interesting. I love EFNY and I liked EFLA but it wasnt as good as the first by a pretty substancial margin. I hope this one is written and executed at least as well as the first. After that can we please get a sequel to Big Trouble in Little China.

[SuperDimensionalDave]

I rather see a sequel to big trouble in Little China.

423035[/snapback]

Ah the Pork Chop Express. That was one of my faves! Aside from this sequel that so deserves to be made. A sequel to The Thing (one of the scariest movies of all time) so NEEDS to be made.

[Lightning]

I accidently wound up seeing them in the wrong order. I liked both though...

[Jolly Rogers]

As much as I love Carpenter's earlier work, he hasn't really put out anything good lately. Ghost of Mars was a horrible mess and I for one am glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater.

[bsu legato]

I think EFLA is decidedly overhated. It's certainly not a great movie, and doesn't really compare to the original, but it does have some good parts to it. It starts off very strong, IMO. In fact, I'd say the first third of the movie right up until after the "Bangkok Rules" scene is some of my favorite Carpenter material ever. But the middle of the movie just saaaags under its own weight, with jokes that just aren't funny. EFNY had Snake chased by sewer dwelling cannibals, EFLA has him encounter plastic surgery loving LA socialites. But the finale is back up to snuff, and is a classic example of a "John Carpenter" ending. But throughout the movie, no matter how silly or groan-inducing it gets, there's one bright spot; Kurt Russel as Snake. The man just exudes badassness the likes of which we haven't seen since the late 1980's when Clint Eastwood got too old to beat the piss out of people.

[Macross73]

EFLA wasnt anywhere near as good EFNY the special effects

were horrible (the hangliders) and your right about it sagging there. It

could have gone in any direction and didnt really move the series forward

it actually felt like it took two steps back. Kurt Russel is a good actor

but you cant have Russel carry the weight on his shoulders. I hope this

movie does well

[Zentrandude]

I accidently wound up seeing them in the wrong order. I liked both though...

423239[/snapback]

It wouldnt matter too much. watching the 3rd one first may get odd but the first two are interchangable in order. I think it would be better to watch the 2nd one (LA) first then the first one (NY) considering the NY one he has a better and bigger mission than the LA one.

[Sumdumgai]

EFLA was out when I went on a road trip vacation with a friend. Man, it was weird because we kept seeing all this stuff non-related to the movie about hating LA, get away from LA, LA sucks, and stuff like that. Then when we finally get to the place we were going to, we run into a bunch of posters of EFLA. Weird.

And for a surprise twist, Carpenter works with Konami, and Snake meets Snake. lol I'm not serious about that!

[JsARCLIGHT]

The first movie is a classic (Donald Plesance as the president, Ernest Borgnine as a crazy cabbie, Adrieane Barbeau, Harry Dean Stanton, Isaac Hayes, Lee Van Cleef... the list goes on), the second movie is a travesty (Steve Beuchemi, ugh... Pam Grier playing a tranny, double ugh... hang-gliding and surfing a tidal wave, triple ugh)...

I'm not sure how I feel about this movie. If it continues the trend it will be so bad it will give people cancer.

[Duke Togo]

Not happening. Carpenter has said this is not happening/never happened.

[Seven]

Going back to what someone said earlier - I would be more interested if Carpenter made a sequel to the Thing, which IMO was THE best Carpenter movie. To this day, that scene with the head walking around like a fiddler crab gives me goosebumps. And the blood testing scene is pure tension. The music is great in that it is not bombastic and just adds to the feeling of paranoia. The images of the the other exploration team at the start with their blood frozen in icicles off of their bodies was also a great piece of imagery along with the twisted mass with multiple faces they found at the site.

Hell, they still have Keith David around too! Although you have to admit that a double billing of Kurt Russell and Keith David isn't likely to excite any of the douchey producers today who would rather cast "fresh" talent like Usher and that Drumline fool.