Genre: Science Fiction/Action.
Studio:
Warner Bros.
Production Company:
Warner Bros./Jerry Weintraub Productions.
Project Phase: Greenlighted.
Who's In It: Kurt Russell (Todd); Jason Scott Lee (Caine); Connie Neilson; Gary Busey; Michael Chiklis; James Black; Jason Isaacs; Sean Pertwee; Tom O'Brien; Brenda Wehle.
Who's Making It: Paul Anderson (Director); David Webb Peoples (Screenwriter); Jerry Weintraub (Producer); Jeremy Bolt (Co-Producer).
Premise: A outdated, genetically-engineered soldier stationed on a distant world fights to protect a colony from the next generation of military replacements -- and they're out to kill him.
Release Date: October 23, 1998.
Comments: Director Paul Anderson's first feature after his dissapointing (in terms of both financial and critical) Event Horizon film. We hope he pulls through with this film.
Developments:
November, 1997... Jason Scott Lee is added to the cast.
June 13, 1996... Paul Anderson has attached himself to another science fiction project, Event Horizon. It's currently unknown as to how this will affect the Soldier project.
July 12, 1996... Kurt Russell has signed to star in the film for $15 million. Production will start in September of 1997 with Paul Anderson directing.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
February 27, 1996... Actor Keanu Reeves (Speed, Chain Reaction) has been offered $9 million dollars to star in the lead role for Soldier. [Scoop handed in anonymously.]
June 16, 1996... Kurt Russell is now being considered for the lead part. [Scoop comes from 'Sylvester', 'Majestic' and other sources.]
June 22, 1996... Paul Anderson still wants to do this project, but after he completes Event Horizon. [Scoop sent in by 'Sylvester'.]
July 8, 1996... Kurt Russell has officially joined the show for a cool $15 million dollars. [Scoop reported by Christian, an anonymous source, and 'Tramplyn'.]
June 3, 1997... Russell wants to continue to enjoy some more time with his family. He's agreed to start filming on this project next February. [Sent in by 'widgett'.]
August 19, 1997... According to this scooper, shooting begins on February 2, 1998 in Los Angeles. [Scooped by 'DeMzaLF'.]
September 9, 1997... This scooper claims to have read the script and sends us their
comments on it. Russell's character is a emotionless, genetically bred soldier named Todd, raised to do two things: fight and
obey orders. When the latest version of another soldier comes out, Todd becomes obsolete and finds himself dumped on a
junkyard planet. There, he stumbles across a human colony and ends up fighting (and killing) twenty of the new version soldiers.
This would dismiss the earlier mentions that the soldier fights off invading aliens. [Scooped by 'Antibody'.
November 25, 1997... Jason Scott Lee (who played Bruce Lee in Dragon) has joined the cast. He'll play one
of the new and improved soldiers and will earn a seven-figure salary. [Credit given to the Film Student Boy of USC -- study
hard!]
January 20, 1998... Connie Nielson (who played Christabella in Devil's Advocate most recently) has been cast as the female lead in
Soldier. [Scooped anonymously.]
February 5, 1998... You heard it before Goldie did: Kurt just broke his ankle while filming. Word from our
mole in the first aid department is that the injury won't set back the shoot's schedule. [Field dressing wrapped by anonymous.]
February 14, 1998... Paul Anderson's follow-up to Event Horizon started filming January 20th, and the
picture will be changing its name before its release this fall. We know Kurt's in it as a genetically-engineered older
model soldier who's getting replaced by Jason Scott Lee, but our man 'DeMzaLF' has also passed us on the rest of the
list: Gary Busey, Michael Chiklis, James Black, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee, Tom O'Brien and Brenda Wehle. People who
remember EH will be able to pick out Pertwee and Isaacs' names from the list. [Thanks to 'DeMzaLF'.]
March 4, 1998... "A friend of mine is working on Soldier and I stopped by to see him. The sets are huge. The 'garbage planet' is really cool
with several airplanes and cars sticking out of the ground. Crew was at lunch so I didn't see any actual shooting." [Thanks to 'The Phantom'.]
Also noteworthy is this scooper's friend who got cast in the picture. The production is calling it The Base
at the present moment. We don't want to reveal the scooper's friend's name. [Thanks to 'bmdtn' for the scoop!]
March 17, 1998... "Word is the Kurt Russell is so intimidated by Jason Scott Lee's stature and karate skills (Jason has his two karate trainers
with him on the set at all times -- the trainers were Bruce Lee's teachers) that Russell has refused to do any of his fight scenes thereby forcing a two-month delay in
principal photography because of the shot set-ups for the stunt doubles." [Gossip sent in anonymously.]
April 12, 1998... A quick snippet from a person who's read the shooting draft of Soldier. "A LOT better than the David
Peoples draft. A ton of FX work in it. Should be interesting...although the ending is a bit lame. Interestingly, a movie at Kopelson called
Splicers (which has the ALL TIME best sci-fi groundwar opening) has been put into turnaround because of the marked similarities to Soldier."
[Submitted by 'Mr. Clark'.]
April 16, 1998... Our scooper reports that Soldier will be the finished title of the film. "When someone
heard something about 'The Base', they were referring to a set, not the production," we're told. They also agree with the scooper's assessment from
April 12th: "The script rocks. There's going to be a ton of cool FX." [Submitted by anonymous.]
1995-98 Corona Productions.