Meg Fans are Killin' it!

Warner Bros. has released new hi-res stills from The Meg, teasing the terrifying giant shark.

It may seem like the Megalodon might just be too much for the film’s protagonist team to take on. But with Jason Statham playing the lead, fans are looking forward to seeing The Transporter actor battle the gigantic apex predator.
In Empire’s recent issue, Statham shared his excitement in being part of The Meg movie. Moreover, he also seems to be confident about the movie’s ability to pull in the audience.

“I mean, who doesn’t want to watch a movie about the biggest shark that’s ever existed? And I get to be in it? This is as good as it gets,” said Statham. The stills below were first shared by Empire magazine.

The MEG Poster is here!

The first official trailer for director Jon Turteltaub’s hotly anticipated mega shark flick The Meg will be dropping TONIGHT at 9pm EST! Warner Bros. Pictures will release The Meg on August 10, 2018.

Check out this exclusive image from The MEG!

The Meg star Jason Statham revealed that he went swimming with real sharks to prepare for his starring role in the monster shark thriller. Due out on August 10, the latest from director Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) stars Statham as a deep sea rescue diver who’s tasked with saving people from the Megalodon, the massive prehistoric shark that has been the subject of both intensive scientific study and plenty of B-movies.

In 2018, the Megalodon makes its way to the big screen with The Meg, which also stars Li Bingbing, Ruby Rose, and Rainn Wilson. Statham can be relied upon to deliver both thrills and a sense of humor as he typically does with his over-the-top action vehicles. But you may be surprised to learn that he went the extra mile for The Meg; he got ready for his role by interacting with actual sharks.

As he explained in an interview with EW, Statham took a trip to Fiji where he swam with 20-30 live bull sharks. Though they paled in comparison to the actual Megalodon in terms of size, Statham said they were each about three meters long. He said that he felt more scared about the excursion on the ride over than when he actually did it, which would presumably help him get in the right mindset for when he encounters a giant shark in the movie. Here’s how he described the experience:

    “You know, it’s funny, because you get anxiety when you’re on the boat. But once you get in the ocean, things take a very different turn. You get very relaxed, and when you’re in their environment, it’s quite a tranquil sort of thing, the anxiety goes away completely. It’s remarkable to experience. All of the fear — or the perceived fear — is done in your own head before you get down there with them. Once you’re swimming down there with all the other divers, it’s phenomenal. It’s one of the greatest experiences you could have, for me anyway. I’m a big SCUBA diver fanatic. Wherever I am in the world, if I get a chance to get in the ocean, I do.”

In The Meg, Statham plays deep-sea diving expert Jonas Taylor, who got himself a dishonorable discharged early in his naval career when his crew had a tragic incident with what he claimed to be an attack from a 70-foot Megalodon – which ultimately cost him more than just his career. But Taylor gets a shot at redemption when he’s called upon to rescue the crew of a submersible stuck at the bottom of the ocean – and likely under attack from the same mammoth creature.

Clearly, Turteltaub and his crew weren’t satisfied with sticking Statham and the cast in front of green screens. With the movie centered around a giant extinct shark species, pre-production was ultimately the only way to give real live sharks an impact on it – unlike 2003’s Open Water, which actually filmed with real sharks. The hope is that Statham’s experience helps him get in character as Jonas Taylor, who appears to be on a trajectory from incredulous conspiracy theorist to discoverer of the massive beast – and ultimately the one to stop it. Even for Statham, who could be a kickass antihero with or without shark training, it’s important to look convincing as a man with no fear of sharks.

It’s a nice step for Turteltaub to take with prep for The Meg to get some real sharks involved with the cast before filming. The director has a lot to prove, since he hasn’t directed a big-budget action movie since 2010’s adaptation of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. That movie grossed just $215 million worldwide off a budget of $150 million on production alone. With The Meg, he gets another $150 million budget and another shot at box office success. And with Statham aboard, the movie at least has a chance to be a fun time and a worthy adaptation of Steve Alten’s novels.

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"The Meg" The Trailer is Coming! The Trailer is Coming!

The trailer for The Meg, based on Steve Alten’s book Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, will arrive in the first few weeks of April!!

Jon Turteltaub is the man directing The Meg, and to appease fans, a brand new photo of The Meg‘s cast on the film’s set has now been released. Check it out!



This is totally gonna be a new generation’s Deep Blue Sea and we’re here for it.

One of this year’s most hotly anticipated horror movies is no doubt director Jon Turteltaub’s The Meg, a feature film adaptation of Steve Alten’s killer shark novel. Warner Bros. Pictures will release The Meg on August 10, 2018.

Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, Li Bingbing, Cliff Curtis and Page Kennedy star.
In the film, “A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep-sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.”

Rounding out the international main cast of Meg are Rainn Wilson (TV’s The Office, Super), Winston Chao (Skiptrace, Kabali), Jessica McNamee (The Vow, TV’s Sirens), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The BFG, TV’s The Missing), Robert Taylor (Focus, TV’s Longmire), Sophia Shuya Cai (Somewhere Only We Know), and Masi Oka (TV’s Hawaii Five-0, Heroes).

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DABEL BROTHERS PLANS 'MEG'-A TIE-IN

Dabel Brothers will be releasing a comic book tie-in for the Jason Statham-starring film MEG.  Steve Alten, who wrote the novel on which the film is based, is writing the six-issue series. The first issue will ship in April.

The comic, book, and film center on Jonas Taylor, who finds himself face-to-face with the largest predator in the history of the animal kingdom: Carcharodon megalodon, an immense (not so) extinct species of shark that is closely related to the great white.

Jon Turtletaub (National Treasure) is directing the film, with Statham starring as Taylor. The film also stars Cliff Curtis (Fear the Walking Dead), Masi Oka (Heroes), Ruby Rose (John Wick: Chapter 2), and Bibgbing Li (Transformers: Age of Extinction).

Dabel Brothers announced last week that it would release a comic series based on Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, which the publisher will distribute to comic stores itself (see "Dabel Brothers to Launch 'Iron Druid Chronicles' Comic").

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'The Meg': Jason Statham And Cast Assemble In New Photo

Warner Bros. has released a new look at The Meg, the action-slash-horror that will pit The Fate of the Furious star Jason Statham against a 75-foot-long Carcharodon megalodon.

The photo sees Statham's Jonas Taylor take center alongside cast members Page Kennedy (DJ), Ruby Rose (Jaxx Herd), Li Bingbing (Suyin), and Cliff Curtis (James 'Mac' Mackreides).

Rainn Wilson (The Office), Robert Taylor (Kong: Skull Island), Masi Oka (Death Note), and Jessica McNamee (Battle of the Sexes) co-star.

Based on author Steve Alten's 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, The Meg sees a deep-sea submersible attacked by a massive creature that was previously believed to be extinct.

With its crew trapped inside as the submersible lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific, expert deep-sea rescue diver Taylor is recruited by visionary Chinese ocreanographer Dr. Minway Zhang (Winston Chao) to save the crew — and the ocean itself — from the unstoppable over-sized shark.

Taylor, who encountered the terrifying creature years before, will team with Suyin and must confront his fears to save everyone trapped below — bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.

Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) directs from a script by Erich and Jon Hoeber (Battleship).

The Meg has been in the works since Disney purchased the rights in 1997.

Warner Bros. revived the project in 2015, eyeing Hostel and Knock Knock filmmaker Eli Roth to direct. Turteltaub boarded in 2016, originally prepping The Meg for a March 2018 debut.

The Meg swims into theaters August 10.


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The Meg’ Has Been Rated PG-13

Granted, Jaws was rated PG, but that was a far different time. Those looking for true terror and nasty shark-on-human carnage may be a bit disappointed to learn that Jon Turteltaub’s recently retitled The Meg, based on Steve Alten’s shark attack novel, has been handed a PG-13 rating by the MPAA this week.

The good news? It’s listed as containing “action/peril, bloody images and some language.” Of particular note, the term “bloody images” makes us smile.

Jason Statham (Furious 7, The Expendables films) and award-winning Chinese actress Li Bingbing (Transformers: Age of Extinction) star in the Warner Bros.
film.

“A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.”

The Meg will swim into theaters on August 10, 2018.

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Kamran Jawaid | The Chinese Connection Insights from Kenneth Atchity, Michael J. Phillps and Patrick Frater

Studio logos that appear in movie titles may feel rudimentary, but they tell a story of their own. Take, for example, The Great Wall – a monster-movie starring Matt Damon set in the past when the world had yet to discover gun-powder.

Before the first frame fades-in we see four logos: Le Vision, Legendary East, Atlas Entertainment and the China Film Group. Three out of these four film companies are Chinese – and their partnership makes The Great Wall one of the most evident, big budget Hollywood-China co-productions in the last few years.

To the average viewer it may not mean much, other than Damon (and about five or six other actors) surrounded by a lot of Chinese talent in dusty locations. However, to the China Film Group – the dominant state-owned film distribution company – this over-emphasis on China is a blunt pre-requisite.

Although The Great Wall, produced at $150 million, was a critical and commercial failure (it tallied $330 million worldwide with a mere $45 million in North America), the movie speaks volumes for the exponentially growing Chinese film market, where it made $170 million.

The film is one of the select international films passed by the Chinese censor board. Privileged others include some “blockbusters” as well as Warcraft and Independence Day: Resurgence – both of which failed in the U.S., but did excellent business in China.

The Chinese film market’s recent success story is similar to Pakistan’s – at least superficially. Both markets opened themselves to international distributors who saw them as a source of revenue (to us it is India; to China, Hollywood). This led to the multiplex boom and sold-out signs at the ticket window.

In 2005 China had 4400 cinema screens. Today, they have over 41,000 (10,000 screens alone were added last year); China’s box-office collections rose from less than 1 billion Yuan in 2003 to 41 billion in 2016.

Talking to Icon in a detailed hour-and-a-half long phone call, Variety’s Asia Bureau Chief Patrick Frater says that the Hollywood-China connection has been in a state of gradual build-up since the last decade.

“The industry has gone from miniscule to the second largest in the world, to overtaking India and Japan”, Frater stresses. “Anyone who is making expensive Hollywood movies would take notice”, he said.

“Hollywood being a studio and an economic system has become much more involved with China (today), and at the same time China has become much richer as a producer”

But why Hollywood, I ask.

“Aside from the glamourous aspect, the Hollywood industry is the only one – with the possible exception of India – where you have global distribution and industrialization of (such huge) scale. And that makes it an attractive investment to corporate investors”, Frater replies.

“(Chinese investors) are not going to make a five million investments here and there, because it will be too small for them”.

Frater also thinks that producers need to understand China first. “China is becoming middle-class, urbanized. (It’s) people bought the house, they’ve bought the car, what would they be spending on next? Leisure (and in effect movies) and healthcare?” he asks.

Most of the current media outlets in China are recent boomers. Almost all of them are subsidiaries of billion-dollar conglomerates that produce a variety of consumers services from pharma to automotive manufacturing.

“Alibaba Pictures (one of key players today) is a multibillion-dollar company” Frater asserts. “They have financial power which allows them to go out, and that’s what they’ve been doing for the last two years”.


The basic idea is quite simple to grasp: Strategically acquire entertainment businesses worldwide; Open doors to promote China in a nationalistic and unpolitical way; And only allow co-financed movies that utilize Chinese talent, and a handful of well-known Hollywood productions, into the country.

“I think that’s the quickest route to getting global insurance (on its productions)”, Frater tells me later.

To date, Chinese mega-corporation Dalian Wanda Group has bought AMC Theatres and Carmike Cinemas (for $2.6 billion and $1.2 billion respectively), making them the biggest cinema chain in the U.S.

The group has also bought Legendary Entertainment – producers of The Great Wall, Jurassic World, Batman V Superman, Pacific Rim, Godzilla amongst other tent-poles – for $3.5 billion, as well as TV giant Dick Clark Productions for $1 billion (the latter produces the Golden Globes).

Other buy-ups include Voltage Pictures (by Anhui Xinke, a metal trading company for $350 million), STX Entertainment (Hony Capital), international distributors IM Global (Tang Media Partners; previously owned by India’s Reliance).

“Any Chinese investor looking for a quick return, will find Hollywood a disappointment”, Frater said.

“A lot of Chinese investors, outside of the film industry, have not committed to the time necessary to learn about screenwriting, animation production, or return on investment. Hollywood films are often in development from two (to) ten years – and that’s a standard turn-around (time). This is when the stories are revised, re-written, re-written and re-written”, he said.

Speaking on the phone about the creative aspects of co-productions, Chicago
Tribune’s Chief Film Critic Michael J. Phillips says “I think there are just so many crummy action movies coming out of America that end up making a lot of money that people don’t even know which movies to take as their guidance”


For example, Phillips continues: “(The Great Wall) didn’t feel like the work of a distinctive, talented director – which (Zhang Yimou) is. I think it speaks to this question of whether or not the film actually lost sight of what it needed to do, because it was so concerned about appealing to a broader set of pre-requirements”.

“There’s a tremendous amount of capital at the ready to finance these types of co-productions, (in The Great Wall’s case) with all those talented writers, the producers needed to ask themselves that have the audience seen this before, and how can they temporarily forget this fact”, Phillips said.

“I think part of the problem has nothing to do with the Chinese-American financial alliances – it’s just that we are inhibited by this sort of digital effects fantasies in all sorts of stories every month now. (The movies) have a very hard time looking distinctive – they just look like the last five you’ve already seen”, he says.

“There is no pre-defined set of requirements that I know of. It’s basically common sense, based on a sense of what’s entertaining for both Chinese and global markets”, Ken Atchity, a veteran literary manager and Hollywood producer of films Life or Something Like It (Angelina Jolie) and Hysteria (Maggie Gyllenhaal), replies in an email conversation.

“(Film) development for China financing needs to be selective”, he writes. “Not everything works. Yes, having at least one Asian (preferably Chinese) talent element is good as we did for MEG which is now in post-production.”

MEG, an adaptation of Steve Alten’s 1997 novel about a monster-shark, is directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure), co-financed by three Chinese companies and distributed by Warner Bros. The movie stars Jason Statham, Ruby Rose and Li Bingbing.

A report by China Film Insider confirms that the adaptation “swapped out (the) California location for a Chinese coastline setting, (and the change helped) bring China’s Gravity Pictures on as a co-producer and co-financier”.

Despite critical and aesthetic compromises already raising bumps in the road, Hollywood-China co-productions still have one more huddle in their way. The American government’s anti-China policy.

“I don’t think there’s enough organization on the government vs Hollywood front to make a dent in Hollywood’s sheer power to attract worldwide audiences. That power is based on audience demand and the worldwide audience is not demanding what the U.S. government is thinking right now, or feeling, or tweeting” replies Atchity in the email.

Compared to Hollywood’s perpetually enthusiastic stance with international financiers – and its eternal outcry against the government – this issue seems like a minor inconvenience. Any organization or industry in the world loves money, especially if its free-flowing your way with slight caveats.

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Ruby Rose: 'I almost drowned' The Australian actress had a near-death experience while shooting her latest role in MEG

She’s one of the most in-demand action stars in Hollywood, but Ruby Rose’s latest role could have cost her career - and her life.

Be was lucky enough to visit the Australian actress on the Auckland set of her new movie, MEG, only to hear that she had a scary moment during filming of the shark flick.

With her hair slicked back in a wet look from filming a scene in a water tank, Ruby, 30, got real about her terrifying on-set incident.

"I did almost drown the other day," she tells Be during a break from filming. "That was fun."

"It was a very full on scene where I end up in the water and then there's this little bit where Rainn [Wilson] has one thing to do. 'Just one thing, Rainn! I know you were funny in The Office, but you had one job.'

Ruby almost drowned filming scenes for her latest role in MEG, a film about an extinct species of shark that lived 23 to 2.6 million years ago.

Rainn Wilson was acting out a scene with Ruby when she feared she would drown.

"And that one job helps me get out of that whole situation. [The director] John [Turteltaub] thought I was acting, and I was acting for a little bit, but then I really needed them to throw me something to get out of the water.

"[John] was like, 'Just hold, this is great, this is amazing'. And I was thinking, 'This is not fantastic, I'm sinking'."

Ruby went onto explain that Rainn eventually began to cotton on, but then she let it go on for longer to get the shot right.

She recalls: "I then screamed, 'Help!' I did it in my American accent because I thought, 'If this looks amazing, I still want it'."

When the crew finally realized Ruby's struggle, they got her out quickly. But being the legend that she is, Ruby says she got right back in the water to do another take. Jeez!

After Ruby's incident, the crew brought in a safe word for any future mishaps.

"It's Ruby!" the actress tells Be. "Because you can't say anything longer than that when you're choking water up." 

The role, which sees the star going up against a giant Jurassic shark called a Megalodon, is bound to be taxing. So we asked her how she prepares mentally and physically for that kind of role.

"Compared to the other three [film] roles I've done, physically it hasn't been as taxing," she explains. "There are a few bits where I have to go on a stroll - a very fast stroll and I get to swim, and it's cold. But that's fun."



Time out! Ruby found a nap spot on-set. Source: @rubyrose/Instagram

But while the role doesn't sound too demanding, after all, she does have a body double, Ruby says she's still wrapping her head around how to act out some of the physical stuff - like pretending to be on a boat.

"I haven't really got that part down part yet," she confesses. "The good thing about this film - I've been lucky on all of my films actually - is that we do use some sets but we also go on location.

"So being on an actual boat in the ocean and being able to shoot scenes there [means] we're not having to think, 'What's it like being on a boat?'


"We know what it's like, having spent three or four weeks on sea. And it's a good mix because I love being on location, especially in New Zealand."

Speaking about her role in the film, Ruby says she’s basically the biggest nerd in the movie.

“Her name is Jax [and] she has really cool hair,” she explains. “She’s the engineer on the vessel and she basically designed all of the equipment and technology that everyone is using. She’s a very smart, scientific gal.”

To transition for the character, Ruby says she didn’t have to cover her tattoos at all – in fact, she had to enhance them.

“I have fake tattoos covering my real tattoos,” she tells us. “I wanted them to be more themed to the film.”

“This one here is an octopus,” she tells while pointing at her arm etchings"          
               
Speaking of her slick hairstyle in the role, Ruby adds that she took inspo from two of Angelina Jolie's past film roles. Ruby took her hair inspiration from Angelina Jolie in noughties flick Gone in Sixty Seconds and 1995's Hackers 
“I got this [style] from Angelina Jolie in Gone in Sixty Seconds and her in Hackers. My character reminds me of her in Hackers. She's kind of got that, not manic thing, but she's very focused [like Jax]."

Wow. Now that she's pointed it out, Ruby really does have a Jolie vibe!

The Melbourne-born star, who rekindled her relationship with The Veronicas Jess Origliasso while shooting the film, went on to say how great it was being closer to home. Ruby and Jess, who originally dated in 2008, rekindled their relationship in New Zealand after shooting a new music video for The Veronicas.

“I’ve visited [mum] a couple of times so that’s been great,” she says. “And I keep forgetting I have friends here and they’ve come and visited me.”

But while filming at New Zealand was the reason why she and Jess rekindled their on-again-off-again relationship, Ruby says there was one thing she didn’t like about working there.

Because of the strict quarantine laws of Australia and New Zealand, the actress wasn’t able to bring her pet dogs Down Under.

Well, we wouldn’t want another Johnny Depp and Amber Heard incident, would we?!

She says: “The one bummer about being in Australia or New Zealand - which I am totally onboard with and I totally agree with it – is that you can’t bring your dogs.

“I totally understand why, but the one thing I miss most when I’m traveling or doing films, is my dogs.

MEG is in cinemas in 2018.

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Jason Statham vs. MEG!

Jason Statham at Piha beach (Jason Statham / Instagram)

Recent filming for MEG involved days of shooting in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf and in water tanks at the studio.

Did you know Jason Statham is not only known for performing his own stunts, he is an experienced scuba diver?

ersin.yavuz

He even represented England in springboard diving at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, although he downplayed how much the sport helps him under water.

"Everything that I did was above water," he joked at Auckland Film Studios.

Statham is best known to audiences for his hard-nosed scowl, which is sure to be present when Meg hits screens on March 2, 2018.

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Ruby Rose and Jessica McNamee Wrap MEG!

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday evening, Ruby shared a snap of herself alongside Jessica as the pair prepared to leave New Zealand.

Captioning the shot, she wrote: 'Last day of #megmovie with the greatest most hilarious yet talented fellow Aussie @jessica_mcnamee.'

Ruby Rose on the set of MEG @rubyrosezone

Ruby Rose and Li Bing Bing

Meg First Look Image: Jason Statham to Battle Giant Killer Shark

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The first production photo from MEG!

(Daniel Smith)

Jason Statham is gonna need a bigger boat.

The giant shark movie Meg began production in New Zealand this week, and Warner Bros. has released the first photo from the project.

Meg sees Statham as a rescue diver named Jonas Taylor. He’s enlisted to save a deep-sea crew left stranded at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean by a 75-foot-long shark called the Megalodon, a prehistoric creature he encountered before. Li Bingbing (Transformers: Age of Extinction) plays Suyin, the daughter of the oceanographer who recruits Jonas, and the two must work together to confront the beast. 

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Ruby Rose and Rainn Wilson on the set of MEG

‘Meg’: Filming Begins

It’s been a long road through development hell for Meg, a monster movie about a giant shark, but cameras have finally started rolling on the Warner Bros. picture. The project finally gained serious steam last year when filmmaker Eli Roth signed on to make his studio debut, but he dropped out over creative differences this spring. Warner Bros. subsequently set National Treasure and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice director Jon Turteltaub to take the helm, and now cameras have begun rolling in New Zealand on the science-fiction action thriller.

Jason Statham leads the film alongside Chinese actress Li Bingbing (Forbidden Kingdom)

Turteltaub is working from a script by Dean Georgaris (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life) and Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (Red), and the film is certainly being produced with an eye towards worldwide appeal. In addition to New Zealand, filming is also poised to take place in China, with Beijing Digital Impression serving as a producing partner on the film which already has secured distribution in China via Gravity Pictures.

The cast is decidedly international as well. Alongside Statham and Bingbing, the ensemble includes Cliff Curtis (Fear the Walking Dead), Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Page Kennedy, Jessica McNamee, Ólafur Darris Ólafsson, Sophia Shuya Cai, and Heroes alum Masi Oka.

Turteltaub has Clint Eastwood’s frequent cinematographer Tom Stern (American Sniper, The Hunger Games) handling the photography, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of tone Meg strikes as Turteltaub’s previous output leans heavily towards the family/kid-friendly oriented.

Meg will be released in theaters on March 2, 2018.

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