Review: 1940 "Pride and Prejudice" is Bubbly (Remembering Jane Austen)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 243 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pride and Prejudice (1940) – B&W
Running time:  118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
DIRECTOR:  Robert Z. Leonard
WRITERS:  Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin (based upon Helen Jerome’s dramatization of Jane Austen’s novel)
PRODUCER:  Hunt Stromberg
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Karl Freund
EDITOR:  Robert Kern
COMPOSER:  Herbert Stothart
Academy Award winner

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring:  Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver, Maureen O’Sullivan, Ann Rutherford, Frieda Inescort, Edmund Gwenn, Karen Morely, Heather Angel, Marsha Hunt, Bruce Lester, Edward Ashley, and Melville Cooper

The subject of this movie review is Pride and Prejudice, a 1940 comedy, drama, and romance from director Robert Z. Leonard (The Great Ziegfeld).  The film is based on Pride and Prejudice, the novel by Jane Austen that was first published in 1813.

However, the screenplay is adapted from Pride and Prejudice: A Sentimental Comedy Written in Three Acts.  This was a stage adaptation of Austen’s novel that was written by Helen Jerome and was played on Broadway in 1935.  Aldous Huxley, the English writer who is best known for his novel, Brave New World (1932), is one of this film’s two screenwriters.  The 1940 film also deviates from the novel, including a change in the time period in which the story takes place.

Status-conscious Mrs. Bennet (Mary Boland) is eager to marry her five daughters, while Mr. Bennet (Edmund Gwenn) would just love a peaceful home.  The Bennets however are middle class and “penniless,” so when two upper class men become interested in her eldest daughters, Elizabeth (Greer Garson) and Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan), a furious class war begins.

The strong-willed Elizabeth or Lizzy runs up against the proud and arrogant Mr. Darcy (Laurence Olivier), a man with a large fortune.  Jane falls for Charles Bingley (Bruce Lester), whose sister, Caroline (Frieda Inescort), holds the Bennets in disdain.  Although she continuously rebuffs her suitor, Lizzy can’t help but be attracted to the smoldering Darcy, even if she is prejudiced against his prideful ways.

Warner Bros.’s DVD box set of MGM literary adaptation, Motion Picture Masterpieces, offers many delights, and I’ve been waiting a long time for one in particular: Pride and Prejudice, MGM’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s much-loved (and much filmed) novel.  This version is largely unfaithful to Austen’s book (being as the movie is adapted from an adaptation of the original novel), but this is still highly entertaining.  The film is a comic romance and light drama, with Austen’s biting insults turned into witty banter fit for a comedy and romance.  Mannered melodrama also passes as dramatic turmoil and conflict.  Still, this lively movie almost makes one forget literary accuracies.  I found myself thrilling to the amusing twists, childish feuds, and slight class warfare, as I waited for the inevitable happy ending.

Greer Garson plays Lizzy Bennet as a strong and independent woman who can give both severe and playful rebukes.  Initially, Laurence Olivier’s Mr. Darcy comes across as supremely aloof.  That is before he turns the character more benign than petty, and Darcy’s off-putting aloofness becomes delightfully aloof.  Until the 1990’s, Olivier can be considered the supreme cinematic interpreter of an Austen male character.

Surprisingly, MGM, in a bid to keep Pride and Prejudice’s budget modest, reused many of the costumes Walter Plunkett designed for Gone with the Wind, so some of women of Pride and Prejudice look like Southern belles.  However, famed MGM designer Adrian created gowns for the film’s principals, and Gile Steele designed handsome and lavish suits for the men.  Pride and Prejudice won an Oscar for its art direction (for a black and white film), and the movie’s setting and backdrops represent the best of what MGM’s 1930’s-40’s dream factory could do when it came to production values.

So when such gorgeous production values are added to witty repartee, lovable characters, and bubbly comic romance, the viewer usually gets a winner and that is what Pride and Prejudice is – a winner and a personal favorite of mine.

7 of 10
A-

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Updated:  Friday, July 18, 2014

NOTES:
1941 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Art Direction, Black-and-White” (Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse)

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

REJECTED! Time Warner's Offical Statement Concerning 21st Century Fox

Time Warner Inc. Rejects Unsolicited Proposal from Twenty-First Century Fox

Board Confident in Time Warner Strategy to Continue Delivering Stockholder Value

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) today confirmed that it rejected a proposal from Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company for a combination of 1.531 of Twenty-First Century Fox Class A non-voting common shares and $32.42 in cash per share (the " Proposal").

The Time Warner Board, after consultation with its financial and legal advisors, determined that it was not in the best interests of Time Warner or its stockholders to accept the Proposal or to pursue any discussions with Twenty-First Century Fox. The Board is confident that continuing to execute its strategic plan will create significantly more value for the Company and its stockholders and is superior to any proposal that Twenty-First Century Fox is in a position to offer.

In making its determination, the Time Warner Board considered, among other things, that:

1.     The execution of Time Warner’s strategic plan will continue to drive significant and sustainable value for Time Warner stockholders;
2.     The unique value of Time Warner’s industry-leading businesses including its portfolio of networks and its film studio and television production business is only going to increase;
3.     There is significant risk and uncertainty as to the valuation of Twenty-First Century Fox’s non-voting stock and Twenty-First Century Fox’s ability to govern and manage a combination of the size and scale of Twenty-First Century Fox and Time Warner; and
4.     There are considerable strategic, operational, and regulatory risks to executing a combination with Twenty-First Century Fox.

Time Warner’s Board also noted the consistent track record of Time Warner’s proven management team in achieving superior returns as well as completing a series of transactions to unlock value in related businesses, including the separation of AOL, Time Warner Cable, and Time Inc. Under its strategic plan, Time Warner has delivered a total shareholder return of more than 150% since 2008, almost tripling the return of the S&P 500 over the same period, as management has pursued a disciplined approach to position the Company as a global leader in media and entertainment while managing its operations and capital structure to maximize shareholder returns.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Time Warner. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is acting as legal advisor to Time Warner.

ABOUT TIME WARNER INC.
Time Warner Inc., a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in television networks and film and TV entertainment, uses its industry-leading operating scale and brands to create, package and deliver high-quality content worldwide on a multi-platform basis.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological, strategic and/or regulatory factors and other factors affecting the operation of Time Warner businesses. More detailed information about these factors may be found in filings by Time Warner with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Time Warner is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any such obligation, to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

FOX's Official Statement About its Attempted Merger with Time Warner

21st Century Fox Confirms Proposal to Combine with Time Warner Inc.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--21st Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA, FOX) today issued the following statement confirming press reports that it made a proposal to combine with Time Warner Inc.:

“21st Century Fox can confirm that we made a formal proposal to Time Warner last month to combine the two companies. The Time Warner Board of Directors declined to pursue our proposal. We are not currently in any discussions with Time Warner."

About 21st Century Fox
21st Century Fox is the world's premier portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets spanning six continents across the globe. Reaching more than 1.5 billion subscribers in approximately 50 local languages every day, 21st Century Fox is home to a global portfolio of cable and broadcasting networks and properties, including FOX, FX, FXX, FXM, FS1, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FOX Sports, Fox Sports Network, National Geographic Channels, MundoFox, STAR India, 28 local television stations in the U.S. and more than 300 channels that comprise Fox International Channels; film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film; and television production studios Twentieth Century Fox Television and Shine Group. The Company also provides premium content to millions of subscribers through its pay-television services in Europe and Asia, including Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and its equity interests in BSkyB and Tata Sky. For more information about 21st Century Fox, please visit www.21CF.com.

Review: "RoboCop" Remake Has Lots of Ideas, but Lacks Focus

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

RoboCop (2014)
Running time:  118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action including frenetic gun violence throughout, brief strong language, sensuality and some drug material
DIRECTOR:  José Padilha
WRITERS:  Joshua Zetumer and Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner (based upon the 1987 screenplay by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner)
PRODUCERS:  Marc Abraham and Eric Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Lula Carvalho (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Peter McNulty and Daniel Rezende
COMPOSER:  Pedro Bromfman

SCI-FI/ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring:  Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Marrianne Jean-Baptiste, Samuel L. Jackson, Aimee Garcia, Patrick Garrow, and John Paul Ruttan

RoboCop is a 2014 science fiction film from director José Padilha.  The film is a remake of the Oscar-winning, 1987 film, Robocop.  The 2014 RoboCop follows a police detective who is transformed into a part-man/part-robot police officer by a powerful corporation that wants to place robot police officers all over America.

The film opens in year 2028.  Omnicorp, a division of the multinational conglomerate, OCP, specializes in “robot soldier” technology.  Omnicorp supplies the robots and drones that the United States military uses to pacify populations around the world.  Omnicorp wants to sell their product in the U.S. for civilian law enforcement, but is prohibited both by the federal Dreyfus Act and by public opinion.

Omnicorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) concocts the idea of creating a new law enforcement product that blends the human police officer with the robot.  Sellars believes that this kind of police officer could really help Detroit, the crime-ravaged home city of Omnicorp.  Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman), a scientist under contract to Omnicorp, believes that he can take a permanently injured police officer or solider and use him as the core of a robot policeman prototype.  He wonders, however, if he will find the kind of police officer that is perfect for his experiment.

At the Detroit Police Department, Detective Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) and his partner, Sergeant Jack Lewis (Michael K. Williams), are pursuing drug lord, Antoine Vallon (Patrick Garrow).  However, Vallon has an unknown number of crooked cops on his payroll, and they keep him apprised of Murphy and Lewis’ investigations.  Vallon orders Murphy killed, but Murphy survives the attempt, just barely.  Suddenly, Murphy is the perfect subject for Dr. Norton’s bid to create a part man/part machine cop, and RoboCop is born.  But how much of Alex Murphy is left inside of RoboCop, and how much of him does Omnicorp want to control?

The 1987 Robocop featured a number of thematic elements, and it contained black humor and satire, especially early in the film.  It was also a quasi-Western with RoboCop/Alex Murphy as a kind of frontier lawman facing off against heavily-armed criminals and a corrupt government all on his own.  RoboCop 2014 also includes themes about corporate manipulation of governments, the militarization of law enforcement, and the man-machine interface, among others.  There is a gallows humor about the remake, and it also has elements of the Western film.  That is where the comparisons end, for the most part.

RoboCop 2014 has a big problem in that it lacks focus.  The screenplay for the 2014 film takes almost every subplot, setting, and character from the 1987 film and makes them so important – even the elements the original film largely passed over.  For instance, Alex Murphy’s family was largely unseen, except for in flashbacks, in the 1987 film.  In the 2014 film, however, Murphy’s wife and son are important to the point of being in the way of the story.

It is almost Shakespearean the way the screenplay for the new film wants to make every supporting character and two-bit character a major player in the plot and story.  I could not help but think that more could have been done with Samuel Jackson’s Pat Novak, a Bill O’Reilly-like host of the pro-corporate, law and order television show, “The Novak Element.”  But where would he fit in an already overstuffed story?

With so many ideas and characters, RoboCop 2014 ends up without an identity.  In the original film, the title, Robocop, really meant that the movie was about Alex Murphy/RoboCop.  In the remake, the title RoboCop is practically about the idea of the “robot cop” or RoboCop.  The film is about weighing the good and the bad of having corporately-controlled robot cops patrolling the streets of America.  RoboCop/Alex Murphy just happens to be the robot cop of the moment.  Without an identity, what is RoboCop 2014?  Is it about Alex Murphy?  Is it about Omnicorp’s plans?  Is it about military technology as law enforcement?  Is this movie about corporate product as a means to uphold law and order?  Is it about Dr. Dennett Norton’s questionably experimentation on humans?

There is so much stuff in the new RoboCop that it would work better as a television series than it works as a two-hour feature film.  It is not a bad movie; it is simply packed with too many good ideas, characters, and plotlines.  That is a shame, because RoboCop 2014 is a cautionary tale.  It is a Frankenstein scenario that is relevant to our current times.  RoboCop warns us to beware of profit-driven, multi-national corporations that want to sell us permanent war and also a police state because those are the means by which they make piles of corporate cash.

For that reason, RoboCop 2014 is worth seeing.  It is a science fiction movie with a horror movie twist.  It has the thrills of an action movie, but also the chill of a scary movie that has a ring of truth to it.

6 of 10
B

Monday, July 14, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: Original "Robocop" Still an Amazing Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 32 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Robocop (1987)
Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR:  Paul Verhoeven
WRITERS:  Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner
PRODUCER:  Arne Schmidt
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jost Vacano (D.o.P.) with Sol Negrin
EDITOR:  Frank J. Urioste
COMPOSER:  Basil Poledouris
Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/CRIME/ACTION

Starring:  Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane, Jesse Goins, Del Zamora, Steve Minh, Ken Page, and Laird Stuart

Some believe that “standing the test of time” is a mark that a work of fiction, entertainment, art, etc. is of the highest-quality, most important, or just plain good.  Of course, for some people, the best stories get better with age.

Robocop is a 1987 science fiction, crime, and action film from director Paul Verhoeven.  Twenty-seven years later, Robocop is still a fantastic film, and maybe even better now than it was when it was first released.  The film is set in a dystopia, a near-future version of Detroit, Michigan and focuses on a policeman who returns from the dead as a powerful cyborg cop that might be the future of law enforcement.

Robocop opens in the future and finds Detroit beset by crime and on the verge of collapse because of rampant crime and a severe financial crisis.  To keep the city alive, the mayor signs a deal with Omni Consumer Products (OCP).  The deal allows OCP to take over the Detroit Metropolitan Police Department and to also build a high-end real estate development called “Delta City,” by demolishing rundown sections of Detroit.

Meanwhile, Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller) arrives at Police Precinct Metro West as a transfer from a precinct that is much nicer than the busy and troubled Metro West.  Not long after his arrival, Murphy and his partner, Officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen), confront a vicious criminal gang.  Murphy is killed in the line of duty, but OCP revives him as a cyborg – part man and mostly machine.  Murphy is now “RoboCop,” the future of law enforcement, but this future is haunted by submerged memories of his past life.

With Robocop, writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner wrote one of the smartest and best screenplays in the history of science fiction films.  Robocop includes themes regarding corporate greed and corruption, identity, mass media, urban decay and gentrification, among many.  The film is clever in the way it satirizes a news media that trivializes even the most serious and tragic events (murder, natural disasters, civil unrest), turning them into junk news for “entertainment consumers.”  At the time of Robocop’s release, television news was already coming under heavy criticism for being “infotainment.”  Robocop was dead-on in predicting where television news was headed, as current real-world TV news is, in many ways, like what Robocop depicts.

Watching Robocop for the first time in ages, I noticed that the film is stylistically like a Western.  Thematically, Robocop bears a resemblance to Westerns that focus on the lone lawman, fighting against a corrupt system and the vilest bad guys.  This film is also similar to Westerns that focus on a good guy returning from near-death or grave injury to deliver payback to the evil-doers that hurt him.  Basil Poledouris driving and colorful score for this film is the perfect musical accompaniment for scenes featuring RoboCop when he is man on a mission.

And Robocop is simply a damn good movie.  Compared to his other films, director Paul Verhoeven delivers a film that is clean and straightforward.  He relies on the screenplay to be clever and complicated, while his direction is sparse and matter-of-fact.  The result is a science fiction movie that looks more like a crime film and cop action movie than it does a film about the future.  In fact, Robocop seems less a prediction of the future and more like a message from the actual future.

This film has a number of good performances, but Peter Weller stands out.  He plays Murphy as being barely noticeable as a person, but Weller employs mechanical affectations to turn RoboCop into a magnetic personality.  I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and Weller left me wanting more of Robocop, the movie and, indeed, the man.

9 of 10
A+

Saturday, July 12, 2014


NOTES:
1988 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win “Special Achievement Award” (Stephen Hunter Flick and John Pospisil for sound effects editing); 2 nominations: “Best Sound” (Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios, Aaron Rochin, and Robert Wald), and “Best Film Editing” (Frank J. Urioste)

1989 BAFTA Awards:  2 nominations: “Best Make Up Artist” (Carla Palmer) and “Best Special Effects” (Rob Bottin, Phil Tippett, Peter Kuran, and Rocco Gioffre)

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Naruto Movie, "Road to Ninja" Hits Theatres in August 214

VIZ MEDIA AND ELEVEN ARTS PRESENT THE THEATRICAL PREMIERE OF ROAD TO NINJA – NARUTO THE MOVIE FEATURE FILM IN OVER 45 MAJOR U.S. CITIES IN AUGUST

The World’s Most Popular Ninja Returns In His Newest Action-Packed Feature Film Adventure

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, partners with Los Angeles-based film distribution company ELEVEN ARTS to invite anime fans across the U.S. to attend a special theatrical premiere of ROAD TO NINJA – NARUTO THE MOVIE (dubbed) in a host of major cites starting on Friday, August 29TH.

The new film, which is the sixth in the massively popular NARURTO SHIPPUDEN feature film series, will premiere in more than 45 cities throughout the U.S. including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle and other major locations. Tickets will go on sale starting Friday, July 11th. Additional ticket information and a complete list of theatre locations are available at:

http://www.elevenarts.net/th_gallery/naruto-roadtoninja.

In the latest NARUTO SHIPPUDEN feature film, long ago, a mysterious masked shinobi unleashed the Nine-Tailed Fox onto the Village Hidden in the Leaves to spread chaos and destruction. But the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife Kushina Uzumaki sealed the Tailed Beast into their newborn son, Naruto, to save the village, foiling the shinobi’s plan.

Years later, Naruto and his friends succeed in driving away the infamous Akatsuki, who have mysteriously returned from the dead. Upon returning to the village, the young shinobi are praised by their families for completing a dangerous mission. Reminded of how alone he is, Naruto begins to wonder what it’s like to have parents, when a strange masked figure appears before him – the same masked shinobi responsible for the death of his parents!

“ROAD TO NINJA – NARUTO THE MOVIE dives into the past and takes viewers on a fateful adventure depicting how Naruto and Sakura prevent one of their mortal enemies from stealing the Nine-tailed Fox Demon sealed inside the young ninja and fans will not want to miss this special opportunity to catch all the action in this special multi-city theatrical premiere,” says Charlene Ingram, VIZ Media Senior Marketing Manager, Animation.

In the NARUTO manga and animated series, Naruto Uzumaki wants to be the best ninja in the land. He's done well so far, but Naruto knows he must train harder than ever and leaves his village for intense exercises that will push him to his limits. NARUTO SHIPPUDEN begins two and a half years later, when Naruto returns to find that everyone has been promoted up the ninja ranks – except him. Sakura’s a medic ninja, Gaara’s advanced to Kazekage, and Kakashi…well he remains the same. But pride isn’t necessarily becoming of a ninja, especially when Naruto realizes that Sasuke never returned from his search for Orochimaru. Plus, the mysterious Akatsuki organization is still an ever-present danger. As Naruto finds out more about the Akatsuki’s goals, he realizes that nothing in his universe is as it seems. Naruto is finding that he’s older, but will he also prove wiser and stronger?

Additional information on NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN is available at www.Naruto.com.

For more information on manga titles available from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About ELEVEN ARTS:
ELEVEN ARTS is the Los Angeles based film distribution company that has brought many acclaimed Japanese films, live-action and animated features, to North American audiences. ELEVEN ARTS’s major live-action titles include Japan Academy Awards winner Memories of Tomorrow (starring Ken Watanabe) and Oscar nominated director (with The Twilight Samurai in 2004) Yoji Yamada’s samurai film Love and Honor. ELEVEN ARTS is also a respected distributor of popular animation titles such as the Evangelion franchise, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 1: Beginnings/ Part 2: Eternal/ Part 3: Rebellion, TIGER & BUNNY THE MOVIE: The Rising, and Short Peace. For additional information, go to www.elevenarts.net.

About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

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Shooting Begins on 3D Tarzan Film Due in 2016

Tarzan Swings into Action as Filming Begins on the New 3D Action Adventure

Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie, and Christoph Waltz are starring in the Jerry Weintraub production under the direction of David Yates

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal photography is underway on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ new Tarzan 3D action adventure, starring Alexander Skarsgård (HBO’s “True Blood”) as the legendary character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

David Yates, who helmed the last four “Harry Potter” blockbusters, including “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 & 2,” is directing. Jerry Weintraub (“Behind the Candelabra,” the “Ocean’s” trilogy) is producing the film, together with David Barron (the “Harry Potter” films, upcoming “Cinderella”). Susan Ekins, Nikolas Korda, David Yates, Mike Richardson and Bruce Berman are serving as executive producers.

The feature also stars Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction,” the “Captain America” films), Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond,” “Gladiator”), Oscar nominee John Hurt (“The Elephant Man,” the “Harry Potter” films), and two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds,” “Django Unchained”).

It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Captain Leon Rom (Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.

The adventure is being shot at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, as well as on location around the UK.

Collaborating with Yates behind the scenes, the creative team includes director of photography Henry Braham (“The Golden Compass”), Oscar-winning production designer Stuart Craig (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “The English Patient,” the “Harry Potter” films), editor Mark Day (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 & 2”), and Oscar-nominated costume designer Ruth Myers (“Emma,” “Unknown”).

A Jerry Weintraub production, the Tarzan action adventure is slated for release on July 1, 2016, and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.