The NeverEnding Story
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Written by Wolfgang Petersen and Herman Weigel
Starring Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Alan Oppenheimer
Warner Bros. Entertainment
Rated PG | 102 minutes
Release Date: July 20, 1984

Fathom Events and Warner Brothers Entertainment have brought the 1984 classic The NeverEnding Story back to theaters for a special two-day engagement. The first day was Sunday, and my wife and I took our son to watch a movie we both grew up watching with such fond memories. The film is introduced by film critic Ben Lyons, and features a wonderful behind the scenes documentary “Reimagine the NeverEnding Story,” containing interviews with writer/director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Troy), and members of the cast and crew. The film, made in Germany was auspicious to say the least. This was 1984 and CGI was not around. All the sets, creatures, and characters were done the old school way; puppets, models, miniatures, and blue screen. The movie is based on the novel by Michael Ende, though his name doesn’t make the credits. Ende and Petersen got into a disagreement over the creative process and the author stormed away threatening to halt production, alas to no effect.

More below.

A new Spotify ad has been released that reunites two of the characters from 1984’s The NeverEnding Story, a childhood favorite of many. The fantasy epic was directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Troy), based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ende.

The ad reunites Atreyu with the flying luckdragon Falkor, but even better than that, they actually got the original actors who portrayed the characters, Noah Hathaway and Alan Oppenheimer, to reprise their roles.

You can see the ad, along with a behind the scenes making of video that might be even more entertaining than the ad itself, below.

Greetings, true believers. BAADASSSSS! has returned with the second long-awaited edition of The 10 Best Unproduced Comic Book Movie Scripts.

If you haven’t checked out my bloated, unwieldy nerdgasm of an introduction to the series as well as a complete week-by-week breakdown of clues to each entry on this list you may do so here.

For this sophomore entry in my little venture through territory well-traveled and much more elegantly chronicled I have chosen a script that is bound to elicit its fair share of dissenting opinions. I am prepared for this. I have also read this particular script and highly believe that, while it may not have not been close to perfection – a trait it shares with every entry on this list – it certainly held great potential.

Asylum: Batman Vs. Superman by Andrew Kevin Walker

The Neverending Story
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Starring Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Moses Gunn, Thomas Hill
Warner Bros Home Entertainment
Release date: March 2, 2010

The Neverending Story was one of the movies that was constantly playing in the background of my childhood. I was 2-years-old when it was released in 1984 and I had no idea I would be referencing it way off into the year 2000 and beyond. Something about the film has always been magical to me and appealed to my inner child ever since my initial viewing.

Based on the German novel of the same name by Michael Ende, the film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and centers around a boy named Bastian (Barret Oliver) from our world and a boy named Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) from the fantasy world of Fantasia. Bastian is a troubled young boy who is reeling from the recent loss of his mother. He’s not like the other kids who are more likely to frequent the local video arcade than the library. Bastian is a bookworm who often uses literature to escape his real life sorrows. One day while being accosted by bullies on his way to school, he hides in a bookstore, where he finds Mr. Koreander (Thomas Hill), a grumpy bookseller. Bastian is curious about one of the books he sees, but Mr. Koreander warns him it’s “not safe.” Unafraid, Bastian steals the book and races towards school where he proceeds to hide in the school’s attic and begins his journey into “The Neverending Story.”