Justice League is officially postponed indefinitely. The reasons given are not getting a response on Australian tax breaks and "[Kieran and Michele Mulroney's script] would benefit from a little more work, something that isn't possible because of the writers' strike." Also, Warner Brothers has let the cast (most of whom were already in Australia preparing to film in February) options lapse .
Speaking of back and forth DC Comics movies news, sequel Superman: Man of Steel (its maybe, sorta working title) has been pushed back from 2009 to 2010. With Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris definitely out and the ongoing strike, there's no drafts, not even any ideas pitched. And it's still iffy whether or not Brian Singer is coming back to direct.
Ominous news concerning Kyle Newman's Fanboys. The movie's original plot has a group of friends breaking into Skywalker Ranch in the '90s to get a copy of Star Wars: Episode I for a friend dying of cancer. Well it's been decided that cancer is too touchy a topic for a comedy (*cough*BucketList*cough*), and so they're taking it out. And since there's no writers, they're going to do it with reshooting and improv.
Peter Kwong will be adapting his eco horror comic, Hybrid, into a movie for Myriad Pictures. Filming should start about the middle of 2008 in Thailand.
T.A. Pratt's Marla Mason books (about a wisecracking sorceress that fights supernatural threats) has had their film and television rights optioned by Phoenix Pictures.
Dario Argento's next movie is slasher/thriller/cop movie Giallo (Italian for "yellow"). Ray Liotta is a policeman investigating serial killings of women by psycho Vincent Gallo. Argento's daughter Asia is also cast.
In an interview with Sci Fi Wire, Teeth's Mitchell Lichtenstein talked about his next project, Happy Tears. It's a comedy/drama about a parent with dementia and the effects on the family. Production should start in April.
Willem Dafoe (...Dafoe... Sorry couldn't resist), Scott Speedman, Peter Stormare, and Clea DuVall in Anamorp. The story: "Dafoe and Speedman as detectives tracking a killer who re-creates the perspective-distorting painting technique 'anamorphosis' in a bizarre series of murders." Should be out in November.
How to Rob a Bank, a heist drama about a bank teller and a customer who get caught in the middle of the robbery, will have Nick Stahl, Erika Christensen, David Carradine, Leo Fitzpatrick, and Gavin Rossdale. Also November.
Christopher Judge, Erica Cerra and Ed Wasser cast in small band of human survivors vs. CGI aliens film, Dark Swarm.
Charlize Theron has been cast in a small part (only appearing in flashbacks) in The Road.
Ellen Page will star in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It! It's about how Texas beauty pageant contestant Bliss comes into her own after joining a female roller derby team.
Hayden Panettiere has been cast as the titlist character in I Love You, Beth Cooper, a movie based on Larry Doyle's novel. Chris Columbus is producing and may direct.
Forest Whitaker will play basketball coach Al Collins in director Tim Story's Patriots. It's about the Marrero, LA, highschool basketball team that won the state championship a year after Katrina.
Mark Wahlberg to star in Peter Berg's movie about drug dealer Jon Roberts.
Cobie Smulders, Morgan Fairchild, Lance Henriksen, and Vivica A. Fox now cast in The Slammin’ Salmon.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Movie News
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Movie News
The Justice League movie - with the Writers’ strike, the still unknown cast that was supposed to be announced a couple months ago, skyrocketing costs, and the fact it’s not starting filming as planned – is still a go. Sort of? Maybe? Well, the production department heads have told their crews that there will be a decision the middle of this week as to Justice League’s future. This comes right after WETA Workshop officially announced that they are working on the costumes. Buh?
Jennifer's Body, a comedy/thriller about a cheerleader who becomes possessed and starts killing young men in her town, should start filming in March. Written by Diablo Cody, Megan Fox will play the cheerleader, and Karyn Kusama is in talks to direct.
The Edgar Allan Poe movie Sylvestor Stallone has been trying to get made for about ten years is finally moving forward, with Stallone writing and directing.
Doomsday now has a March 14 release date.
Mark Nippe to direct Van Damme vs. Seagal. The story: Spoof comedy about how Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal try to make each others’ lives miserable – until a real nuclear threat forces them to combine their action hero powers. Unknown if they’ll get the actual actors to star. It would seem someone has been taking requests, if they somehow work in Dolph Lungren and Christopher Lambert my action movie wish shall be granted. Oh, and Bolo Yeung. Because it ain’t a party without The Bolo... And I wanted to use that picture.
Fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken has sent a letter to the makers of Kentucky Fried Horror Show threatening a lawsuit. C.L. Gregory plans to continue as scheduled.
Cast and crew news
G.I. Joe has now cast Marlon Wayans.... *sigh* (Submitted by Sitting Duck)
Christen Bale to play FBI agent Melvin Purvis, and Johnny Depp as John Dillinger in the Michael Mann directed Public Enemies. Begins production in March.
Kate Winslet replaced Nicole Kidman in The Reader.
Philip Noyce to direct Scarlett Johansson movie Mary, Queen of Scots.
The live action Tekken movie (based off the game series of the same name) will start shooting in Louisiana in February. Dwight Little will direct and it’ll have Jon Fo, Sienna Guillory, Susie Amy, Andy Serkis, Chiaki Kuriyama, Nathan Jones, and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Can’t be any worse than the anime… right?
Alan Arkin in Marley & Me, a David Frankel directed comedy with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson.
Will Forte has been cast in Kevin Heffernan’s The Slammin’ Salmon. He’ll play a diner at a Miami restaurant who’s owner is in debt to the mob and holds a contest to see which waiter can bring in the most money.
Starting production in New Zealand at the end of January, They Came From Upstairs is about a group of teens who defend their vacation home from aliens. The cast is: Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Carter Jenkins, Austin Butler, Ashley Boettcher, and Henri and Regan Young, with John Schultz directing.
Book to movie
Solomon Kane, based on Robert E. Howard’s pulp novels, has rounded out it’s cast: Pete Postlethwaite, Max Von Sydow, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Alice Krige, and Mackenzie Crook. Michael J. Bassett is directing.
Hayden Christensen to star in, and Joseph Kahn to direct, movie version of William Gibson's Neuromancer.
Salma Hayek has been cast as bearded lady, Madame Truska, in Cirque du Freak, which is based off the children’s book series by Darren Shan. It also has John C. Reilly (who plays a vampire) and will be directed by Paul Weitz.
Matt Damon, Amy Green, Greg Kinnear, and director Paul Greengrass will be working on Green Zone, a movie based off of the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.
Imagine Entertainment and Universal are in negotiations with E.E. Smith’s estate for the film rights to the Lensman novels.
Director Kimberly Peirce is trying to sell a draft of Childhood's End, based off of Arthur C. Clarke's SF novel, to Universal.
United Artists has optioned the film rights to The Ranger's Apprentice, John Flanagan's fantasy series (so far seven books) about an orphan boy who becomes an apprentice ranger in the kingdom of Araluen.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
As long as Indy doesn't say "Yippee!"
Vanity Fair has an interview with George Lucas. He has this to say on Indiana Jones 4, “The fans are all upset. They’re always going to be upset. ‘Why did he do it like this? And why didn’t he do it like this?’ They write their own movie, and then, if you don’t do their movie, they get upset about it. So you just have to stand by for the bricks and the custard pies, because they’re going to come flying your way.” Read more here.
Movie news
Trouble Is My Business will be written by Frank Miller and made by Strike Entertainment. Clive Owen will play Philip Marlowe, who is hired to protect a rich old man.
Comics to movie The Exec (directed by Christopher Nolan) is finally moving forward.
Mischa Barton no longer in Homecoming. The female leads are now Jessica Stroup and Mary Griffin.
Inkheart has been pushed back from March 19, with no new date given.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Close Encounters of the Future Library
The Library of Congress has added Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Back to the Future to the National Film Registry.
Every year since 1992, with advice from the National Film Preservation Board, they choose 25 movies because they are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant.
"Half the films produced in this country before 1950 -- and as much as 90 percent of those made before 1920 -- are lost forever," Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said. "The National Film Registry seeks not only to honor these films, but to ensure that they are preserved for future generations to enjoy."
This year brings the number of movies up to 475.
2007’s additions:
Back to the Future
Bullitt
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Dance, Girl, Dance
Dances with Wolves
Days of Heaven
Glimpse of the Garden
Grand Hotel
The House I Live In
In a Lonely Place
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Mighty Like a Moose
The Naked City
Now, Voyager
Oklahoma!
Our Day
Peege
The Sex Life of the Polyp
The Strong Man
Three Little Pigs
Tol'able David
Tom, Tom the Piper's Son
12 Angry Men
The Women
Wuthering Heights
Go here for a list of the movies up through 2006.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Random Movie News
…As well as Tom Cruise movie Edwin A. Salt.
The Host II (sequel to the South Korea’s bestselling movie ever) should start filming this summer with a 2009 release. It’s being produced by Choi Yong-bae (who also produced the first) and the screenplay is being worked on by comic artist Kang Full. The Host II will be set in 2003.
Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li will start filming in March with Kristin Kreuk as Chun Li. Speaking of Street Fighter...
Jean Claude Van Damme will star in a film he’s written and directing called Full Love that will start filming in Bangkok at the end of March/beginning of April. And it’s a romance(!). I will make no comment on the title.
Fox's 2008 Releases
Meet the Spartans - January 25
Jumper - February 14
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! - March 4
Shutter - March 21
What Happens in Vegas - May 16
Starship Dave - May 30
The Happening - June 13
Babylon A.D. - August 29
Unknown Date:
Australia
Disney's 2008 Releases
College Road Trip - March 7
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - May 16
WALL*E - June 27
Bolt - November 26
Bedtime Stories - December 25
Unknown date:
Swing Vote
South of the Border
Morning Light
Miracle at St. Anna
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Bolt
Paramount's 2008 Releases
Strange Wilderness - February 1
The Spiderwick Chronicles - February 15
Drillbit Taylor - March 21
Stop-Loss - March 28
Shine a Light - April 4
The Ruins - April 11
Iron Man - May 2
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - May 22
Kung Fu Panda - June 6
The Love Guru - June 20
Tropic Thunder - July 11
Eagle Eye - August 8
Case 39 - August 22
Nowhereland - September 26
Madagascar: The Crate Escape - November 7
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - November 26
Revolutionary Road - December 19
Star Trek XI - December 25
Unknown date:
Ghost Town
A Tale of Two Sisters
Warner Brother’s 2008 Releases
One Missed Call - Jan. 4.
Fool's Gold - February 8
10,000 B.C. - March 7
Speed Racer - May 9
Nights in Rodanthe - June 6
Get Smart - June 20
The Dark Knight - July 18
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 - August 8
The Half-Blood Prince - November 21
Unknown date:
Whiteout
RocknRolla
Where the Wild Things Are
Untitled Ridley Scott Film
Universal's 2008 Releases
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggietales Movie January - 11
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins - February 8
Leatherheads - April 4
Wild Child - April 4
Baby Mama - April 18
Forgetting Sarah Marshal - May 30
Incredible Hulk - June 13
Wanted - June 27
Hellboy II: The Golden Army - July 11
Mamma Mia! - July 18
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - August 1
Death Race - September 26
The Express - October 3
The Tale of Despereaux - December 19
Unknown date:
Frost/Nixon
Changeling
Flash of Genius
Doomsday
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Arise, Hammer Studio! Arise!!!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Hellboy II Ecard and TRAILER!
Feel like sending a slightly threatening E-card to your friends and loved ones for Christmas? Then why not send them a Hellboy II: The Golden Army one?
Hellboy. When you care enough to send the very best!
And since I can’t wait for Trailer Tuesday the Hellboy II Trailer!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Jackass 2.5
The absence of MPAA restrictions means that it may be even more over the top. To keep children from watching the movie Blockbuster will have a multistep registration to discourage anyone under seventeen from watching
Also, February 9th, JackassWorld.com will launch and will be the official online site for the franchise.
You know I was just kidding about theme strikes…
George Takei told the Associated Press, "This is really corporate greed vs. the creative people, the story originates in the minds of the writers."
Alex Kurtzman, co-writer of Star Trek XI said regarding script rewrites, "We haven't touched a line and we won't."
Double Christmas horror
Tonight only, as part of their Grindhouse Film Festival, The New Beverly Theater in Los Angeles will be showing the original 1974 Black Christmas and Silent Night Deadly Night, starting at 7:30 pm.
Hey! If you know of any film events, please submit them. I could use the help.
