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20 articles
Cooper heads to Dark Fields
6 November 2009 7:41 AM, PST
Bradley Cooper is busy starring in 20th Century Fox's movie version of The A-Team and he's also booked to star in The Hangover 2, but in-between those two jobs his schedule was open. So, in the interest of keeping Cooper's agent happy the star is now set to play a writer that tries out a new drug in Dark Fields, a thriller that Neil Burger (The Illusionist) will direct.
In the film Cooper plays Eddie, a New York scribe that starts to take a new drug that unlocks the full potential of his brain, granting him huge intellectual ability. While at first Eddie thinks that this is the ultimate high, when word spreads about the drug and what it can do dangerous people chase after him for control of the chemical.
The movie's script (written by Leslie Dixon) is based on a book written by Alan Glynn. Relativity Pictures will start filming next spring. »
- Patrick Sauriol
J.J. Abrams producing Micronauts movie
6 November 2009 7:22 AM, PST
In an article that was published yesterday in The Wall Street Journal about the newest Hollywood fad to make movies based on children's toy lines like Transformers, Barbie and Masters of the Universe, a new toyfilm project and who is attached to produce it was mentioned for the first time. It hardly takes up any room in the piece but right there in the middle of the copy the Journal states that Star Trek director J.J. Abrams is in talks right now to make a film based on Micronauts, the sci-fi action figure toy line that was popular in the late 1970s with kids.
Micronauts was designed by the Japanese toy manufacturer Takara and released in the land of the eastern sun in 1974 as Microman. The Mego Corporation brought the line to North American audiences in 1976 and rebranded it Micronauts. The 3-3/4-inch figures had imaginative names like Acroyear, Baron Karza and Time Traveler, »
- Patrick Sauriol
Yogi Bear movie attracts three actors like bears to sandwiches
6 November 2009 7:02 AM, PST
The Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake and Anna Faris are in contract discussions to headline the live-action/CG animated Yogi Bear movie for Warner Bros. If this is the first that you're hearing of a Yogi Bear movie, I'm sorry. These things happen.
Aykroyd would provide the voice for Yogi, who would be one of the film's CG creations. Timberlake would offer up the pipes for Boo Boo, which is pretty decent casting I suppose. Faris, best known for her roles as Cindy Campbell in four Scary Movie films, gets to play a real person in the movie, a documentary filmmaker.
Journey to the Center of the Earth's Eric Brevig will director from a screenplay by Brad Copeland (Wild Hogs). Donald De Line (Green Lantern) and Karen Rosenfelt (Twilight) are producing and filming gets underway in December somewhere in New Zealand. They must have better looking trees than we do. »
- Patrick Sauriol
V premiere bows big for ABC
5 November 2009 10:55 PM, PST
This past Tuesday saw the premiere of ABC's reimagined V series. Same nasty lizard space aliens, same concept but with a different cast of characters and an undercoating of domestic terrorism for its early 21st century audience. Considering that the original NBC mini-series was viewed by 40 million people when it first aired in 1983, could the new V ever hope to achieve ratings gold?
For the short-term the answer is yes. The new V propelled ABC to its highest ratings since the debut of the pilot episode of Lost back in 2004. 2009's V pilot attracted 14.3 million viewers and achieved big wins for the highly coveted 18-49 year-old demographic. While the network hasn't hinted whether it would pick up the show past its initial commitment of 13 episodes, ABC is likely holding back on making any sort of decision until it sees how the show performs next week. V is scheduled to show »
- Patrick Sauriol
Machine Man being manufactured by Mandalay
5 November 2009 7:52 AM, PST
Max Barry is publishing his sci-fi thriller one page at a time on the internet. The writer is posting one full page each day from a novel he's working on called Machine Man, slowly revealing his book to those that drop by maxbarry.com. If you don't have an internet connection, then first why are you reading this story? Next, don't worry about having to read Berry's book only online; Vantage Books will publish the dead trees version in 2011.
Since there's some novelty and thus some hype now associated with Barry's work, Hollywood has stepped in. Mandalay Pictures grabbed the movie rights to the book.
Machine Man sounds like a real world version of how Iron Man would happen. In it a tech engineer begins to replace bits of his meatsack body with titanium replacements, removing the flesh and making him more metal as time progresses. However, in that spin »
- Patrick Sauriol
Hangover star cracking his eggshell in Shrek spinoff
5 November 2009 12:49 AM, PST
Zach Galifianakis could crack his own egg if his negotiations are successful to star as the talking and future broken shelled Humpty Dumpty in Puss-in-Boots, the spinoff CG movie based on Antonio Banderas' supporting swashbuckling feline from the last two Shrek films.
Originally planned as a direct-to-dvd movie, DreamWorks has now bumped up the budget and made it a feature film slated for a November 4, 2011 release. In the film we'll see what Puss-in-Boots was up to before he met up with Shrek and Donkey in Shrek 2. Salma Hayek has already been cast in the animated film which is being directed by Chris Miller (co-director of Shrek the Third.)
The Humpty Dumpty character won't be appearing in Shrek Goes Fourth, the green ogre's next film which is slated for a May 21, 2010 opening. »
- Patrick Sauriol
Danny Boyle's next pic announced
5 November 2009 12:40 AM, PST
Director Danny Boyle has picked his next movie to make. After his Slumdog Millionaire took home eight Oscars this year (including statues for Best Picture and Best Director), the 28 Days Later/The Beach/Trainspotting maestro will make 127 Hours for Fox Searchlight, the same studio he pacted on Millionaire with.
The movie is based on the real-life account of mountain climber Aron Ralston and the incredible act of survival he undertook when trapped alone in the wilderness back in 2003. Ralston had been attempting to climb a canyon in Utah by himself when a boulder came free and pinned his right forearm under it. For five days he awaited rescue and sipped the little supply of water he had. Realizing that no one knew where he was, Ralston carved his name, birthdate and presumed date of death into the rock face and then videotaped a final message to his family. With no »
- Patrick Sauriol
Johnny Depp now thinking of Tourist trip
4 November 2009 11:58 PM, PST
After seeing actors Tom Cruise and Avatar's Sam Worthington depart from the developing thriller The Tourist, and then get a second wind when Angelina Jolie got interested in starring in the picture, now the film gets another major boost from an A-lister: Johnny Depp, Mr. Pirates of the Caribbean himself, is now thinking about taking the lead male role in the film.
Depp's interest in the movie comes through one of the movie's producers, Graham King. The actor has worked with King on The Rum Diary and Rango, two films now in post-production. And while having Johnny sniffing around considering to take the paycheck is a good thing for the film's producers, it still needs a director. Just a couple of weeks ago things looked promising for German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck to come on and make the film for its intended February 2010 start of shooting. Now the »
- Patrick Sauriol
Sony takes a Risk
4 November 2009 7:49 PM, PST
If superhero movies were the fad of movie studios in the early part of the decade, and movies based on action figures the new fad, the next fad could be movies based on board games. Universal has a bunch of movies based on Hasbro games in development, with Battleship the one that's most likely to happen first. Now Sony Pictures has made a decision to get its own board-based movie in development: Risk.
Yup, Risk. In the game players try to take over other players' countries on the board. Hasbro has done specialty versions of Risk based on hit movies, TV shows and even Microsoft's Halo video game. Now Sony and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment production company see a potential in bringing the Risk brand to film (game pieces not included.)
"The strategic thinking and the tactical gambles that players must take in the game are what make Risk a classic, »
- Patrick Sauriol
Cast navigating to Cedar Rapids
4 November 2009 7:54 AM, PST
Casting is closing up for Cedar Rapids, a comedy now being directed by Miguel Arteta (Youth in Revolt). Joining the previously cast Ed Helms (The Hangover) and Anne Heche (Hung) are Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), John C. Reilly (Cirque du Freak) and Alia Shawkat (Whip It).
Helms, who also starred on NBC's The Office (and which for director Arteta shot an episode or two for), co-developed the premise of the movie with screenwriter Phil Johnston. The actor plays a depressive insurance agent who heads off to a convention in hopes of stopping layoffs at his company. Weaver plays Helms' seventh grade teacher; the lady that played Ripley is finally getting teacher roles. Apple on the desk for her and all that.
Sideways director Alexander Payne is producing which explains the connection to Anne Heche; she's a supporting cast member in HBO's Hung series, of which Payne is a producer on. He also shot the pilot episode. »
- Patrick Sauriol
Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin co-hosting the Oscars
4 November 2009 7:41 AM, PST
While renaissance man Hugh Jackman won't be back to host next year's Academy Awards Steve Martin will be and he'll be joined by 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have made the announcement that for the 82nd Academy Awards it will rely upon two co-hosts and not one.
Both men decided to lay down a quote each expressing their enthusiasm. "I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin," said funny guy Martin.
And the better-known Baldwin brother made this statement about his co-host's musical ability versus his own: "I don't play the banjo but I'm thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it's the opportunity of a lifetime."
"We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars," said Oscar producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman. "Steve will bring the experience of having hosted »
- Patrick Sauriol
Joss Whedon bucks up for Terminator franchise
3 November 2009 9:41 AM, PST
Buffy the Vampire Slayer mastermind Joss Whedon wants the Terminator franchise and he's willing to pay his hard earned cash right now for the franchise. Does $10,000 sound like too much?
Whedon wrote a tongue-in-cheek post on the Whedonesque forum detailing his vision for Terminator. Are you ready?
"I am Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind Titan A.E., Parenthood (not the movie) (or the new series) (or the one where 'hood' was capitalized 'cause it was a pun), and myriad other legendary tales. I have heard through the 'grapevine' that the Terminator franchise is for sale, and I am prepared to make a pre-emptive bid Right Now to wrap this dealio up. This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is not available on TV. I will write a check Today for $10,000, and viola! Terminator off your hands.
"No, you didn't miscount. That's four -- Four! -- zeroes after that one. »
- Patrick Sauriol
Doctor Who's David Tennant takes a job practicing American law
3 November 2009 9:10 AM, PST
David Tennant is America bound. The Scottish-born actor who's played the Tenth Doctor through four seasons of Doctor Who has accepted the lead role in a new hour-long comedy-drama NBC series called Rex is Not Your Lawyer.
In the show Tennant will play Rex Alexander, a Chicago lawyer who's at the top of his game until he begins experiencing panic attacks. Unable to appear in the courtroom now, Rex starts coaching his clients on how to represent themselves in court.
NBC has ordered a pilot for Rex and will wait and see how Tennant and the show plays before committing to any additional episodes.
Tennant has four more hours yet to be broadcast before handing over the Tardis key to Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor. Tennant's second-to-last Doctor Who two-parter, "The Waters of Mars", will be broadcast on BBC on November 15. During the Christmas season the final two-part episode will be aired. »
- Patrick Sauriol
Owen Wilson is in Marmaduke's doghouse
3 November 2009 8:43 AM, PST
Because starring in just one movie about a giant dog wasn't enough for Owen Wilson, the actor has just signed on the dotted line to provide the voice for Marmaduke in 20th Century Fox's live-action/CG movie. I don't berate Wilson for taking a paycheck, and he's got the right kind of personality to make the pooch's pipes interesting, it's Fox that I have disdain for. Really, Fox? It wasn't enough to inflict pain upon us with two Garfield movies? Your investors weren't satisfied with all that money made by the talking rats in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie? Why do you guys have to be the talking animal movie studio?
Sigh.
The logline for Marmaduke has the Winslow family pack up and move from Kansas to California. Their dog Marmaduke is big, produces a lot of dog slobber and creates chaos at every opportunity. Family friendly comedic hijinks ensue! »
- Patrick Sauriol
Who's imagining The Guardians?
3 November 2009 8:16 AM, PST
DreamWorks Animation caught the screen rights to kids book writer William Joyce's upcoming new work The Guardians and is in the early stages of developing it as a film slated for release in November 2012. Now the studio has hired David Lindsay-Abaire to adapt Joyce's work for the screen, giving the project a little bit of oomph because the writer is a Pulitzer Price winner for his lyrics on Shrek the Musical.
The book won't be out until the year before the movie. Joyce, the creator of George Shrinks, Rolie Polie Olie and Meet the Robinsons, will also receive a co-direction credit under director Peter Ramsey, newly promoted after acting as the head of story development on Monsters vs. Aliens.
Joyce's Guardians include imaginary figures like Santa Clause and the Man in the Moon, and they act as heroes sworn to protect the world's children from bad guys. It sounds »
- Patrick Sauriol
Clooney will likely have Descendants
3 November 2009 7:58 AM, PST
Georhe Clooney is in talks to frontline The Descendants for director Alexander Payne. If he takes the job Clooney will play a father/husband who goes on a search to locate the man who was his wife's secret boyfriend for years. As the director of Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt and Sideways, it sounds like the kind of off kilter dramatic material that Payne is known for.
Variety notes that the film, which is in the chute at Fox Searchlight, would begin filming next February in Hawaii. The movie's screenplay is based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. »
- Patrick Sauriol
Julia Roberts moves Into the Neighborhood
2 November 2009 1:16 PM, PST
A lot of people think that when you've made it as an actor in Hollywood you never need to worry about making money again. That couldn't be farther from the truth.
A-list stars might command $15-20 million dollars per movie that they're in but their shelf life could be fleeting, especially if you're an actress working in show business. Once they've made it the smarter stars set up their own production companies which serve two purposes: they can start developing projects that they can shape and have some control over and it also serves as a back-up revenue generator, potentially creating movie projects that other movie studios might want to partner with.
Take for example Julia Roberts' Red Om Productions. She set up the company about a decade ago and its first movie was Maid in Manhattan. Roberts was nowhere in that film but she starred in Mona Lisa Smile »
- Patrick Sauriol
Terminator franchise up for sale
2 November 2009 8:01 AM, PST
The rights to the Terminator movie and television franchise are being auctioned off this month by Fti Captial Advisors. According to an article by the Financial Times, several movie studios are sniffing around and expressing interest in picking up Skynet at its fire sale, those being Sony Pictures and Summit Entertainment, the studio fliush with cash thanks to its Twilight film series.
The Halcyon Company bought the rights three years ago for $25 million dollars from Terminator 2 producer Mario Kassar. Halcyon then got tens of millions of more dollars for development and production by borrowing from a hedge fund/investment company called Pacificor, which Halcyon used to start development on Terminator Salvation. Unfortunately for Halcyon, Terminator Salvation cost $200 million to make and they had to cut deals with Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. to get the movie into theaters this past summer, leaving Halcyon with a lesser percentage of monies derived from the picture's box office. »
- Patrick Sauriol
Black Summer superheroes cleaning up the streets
2 November 2009 7:47 AM, PST
The screen rights to Warren Ellis' comic book Black Summer, published by Avatar Press two years ago, have been picked up by Vigilante Entertainment.
The British comic book writer is on a roll lately, having several of his creations either optioned (like Gravel) or about to start filming (like Red). This latest one is set in the superhero genre and follows a team of heroes called the Seven Guns. After using science to juice up their bodies so that they can fight crime, the team discovers that their city's police and government is riddled with corruption and its own criminal element. The supes them have to take down the bad guys masquerading as good guys.
Vigilante is a new company created by Hicham Benkirane, the guy that used to work for French comic book publisher Les Humanoides Associes. When he left Humanoids Benkirane also took with him a small »
- Patrick Sauriol
Gunplay gets the Fox TV treatment
2 November 2009 7:37 AM, PST
The graphic novel Gunplay is in development at Fox21, the TV arm of Fox Broadcasting, as a possible television series. Based on the comic published by Platinum Studios, Gunplay is about a buffalo soldier of the 19th century U.S. army who is cursed to carry a pistol that he must use to kill a person once every day or else his body feels tremendous pain.
Developing the project is Glen Morgan, the writing partner of X-Files/Millennium/Space: Above & Beyond writer/producer James Wong. After Wong and Morgan carved out their names writing Fox sci-fi and supernatural dramas in the 1990s, they made the transition to feature films with the first Final Destination movie in 2000. They've also made The One, the third Final Destination, the remake of Willard and Black Christmas. Morgan was also an executive producer on NBC's recent failed reboot of Bionic Woman.
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the president of Platinum, »
- Patrick Sauriol
20 articles
