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Category: Films

Film Headline News

Chabon Doing Rewrites on John Carter of Mars

Michael Chabon is working on the script for Disney's JOHN CARTER OF MARS, according to Chabon fansite, The Amazing Website of Kavalier and Clay (via Slash Film).

"I've been hired to do some revisions to an already strong script by Andrew Stanton and Mark Andrews," Chabon said. "I wrote my original screenplay THE MARTIAN AGENT back in 1995 because I wished I could do [Edgar Rice] Burroughs's BARSOOM. So this is pretty much a dream come true for me."

The film, based on the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs is set for a 2012 release and will be directed by Stanton.

Weekend Headline News

Hannah Montana Wins the Best of Both Worlds, and the Box Office

HANNAH MONTANA THE MOVIE placed first in its debut weekend, earning $32.3 million for Disney (vfx from CIS Hollywood).

Universal's FAST & FURIOUS fell more than 61 percent in its second weekend, but still came in second with $27.2M (vfx by Double Negative and Rhythm & Hues). Audiences have paid $116.5M so far to watch the reunited cast and hot cars.

DreamWorks Animation/Paramount's MONSTERS VS. ALIENS came in third in its third weekend in release with $21.8M and still playing at more than 4,100 theaters. It has a three week gross of $140.2M.

World Headline News

Viz Pictures Teams With Trans World To Promote Death Note: L, change the WorLd

Press Release from VIZ Pictures

San Francisco, CA, APRIL 10, 2009 -- VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has partnered with Trans World Entertainment (TWE) to sponsor a special retail ticket giveaway campaign at participating F.Y.E. and SUNCOAST stores nationwide in support of the U.S. theatrical premiere of DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd. VIZ Pictures and NCM Fathom will present this live-action film, in a two-night, multi-city event taking place on April 29th and 30th.

Headline News

William Hurt Acts Historical in Robin Hood

William Hurt will portray the historical William Marshall, the Earl of Pembroke, in Ridley Scott's upcoming ROBIN HOOD pic, per THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

Russell Crowe is starring along with Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian and Scott Grimes, Kevin Durand and Alan Doyle as the Merry Men. Brian Helgeland wrote the script, a re-telling of the origins of the key characters.

Marshall was one of the most powerful men in Europe, a servant to the Plantagenet kings and a famous jouster. Filming has already begun in the U.K.

Headline News

From Watchmen to Battling Boy

WATCHMEN co-writer Alex Tse has been hired by Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt's Plan B Productions to pen graphic novel adaptation BATTLING BOY, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

The yet-unpublished graphic novel is written and illustrated by Paul Pope, and was picked up by Plan B last November. About the son of a god who comes down to earth to rid the giant city of Monstropolis of a beast plague, the comic is set to be published sometime this spring.

Films Headline News

Frantic Films VFX Takes on Dragonball: Evolution

Press Release from Frantic Films VFX

Hollywood, CA (April 13, 2009) -- Award-winning VFX studio Frantic Films VFX, a division of Prime Focus Group, has contributed 334 shots to the forthcoming feature film DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION from Twentieth Century Fox. Directed by James Wong, the movie releases in the U.S. nationwide on April 10, 2009 and stars Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, and Chow Yun-Fat in the live-action film adaptation of the popular Japanese manga comic book series.

Blogs

Cartoons on the Bay: A Different Bay, A Different Festival

By Dan Sarto | Friday, April 10, 2009 at 10:15am

Cartoons on the Bay debuted in their new, more post-MIPTV friendly location. Now held in the three towns of Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino, the festival is just one jaw-droppingly stunning ride away from Cannes. What a place!

Headline News

Is Jonny Quest a Hit By Any Other Name?

LA TIMES blogger Geoff Boucher reports that Warner Bros. is close to a deal with Zac Effron to star in their adaptation of JONNY QUEST, but that they might go forward without the title.

The script by Dan Mazeau is said to be well thought out and written, but the studio is wary, having bombed with last summer's adaptation of SPEED RACER.

They're concerned that the animation roots will remind people of SPEED RACER, which did very poorly at the box office and got some scathing critical reviews.

Headline News

Spidey Spinoff Venom a Go for Sony

Sony has hired a writing team to pen SPIDER-MAN spinoff focused on Venom, according to SCI FI WIRE.

Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (ZOMBIELAND) are at work on the script, they told reporters in a group interview. Rabid fan scrutiny is already on their minds, even though they are under strict orders not to divulge secrets: "Absolutely. I'm terrified," Reese said with a nervous laugh. "It's source material that everybody knows and everybody's familiar with and everybody loves. There's a burden on you to meet the expectations of people. A lot of people are curious about Venom."

Headline News

Gallner Joins Elm Street Nightmare

Kyle Gallner (THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT, SMALLVILLE) has joined the cast of New Line's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET remake, per VARIETY.

Gallner joins as a teen lead, opposite Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger. Samuel Bayer will direct and Wesley Strick wrote the script.

Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form at Platinum Dunes and John Rickard will co-produce.

Gallner will appear in Fox Atomic's upcoming thriller JENNIFER'S BODY and plays the Flash on CW's SMALLVILLE.

Ralph Headline News

Ralph Fiennes Chatting up Hades

Ralph Fiennes is in advanced negotiations to star as Hades in CLASH OF THE TITANS at Warner Bros., per VARIETY.

He would join Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos and Sam Worthington in Louis Leterrier's film. Liam Neeson was set to play Zeus, but the death of his wife Natasha Richardson last month has made his involvement uncertain.

Fiennes will return to the role of Voldemort in the final HARRY POTTER installment, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART II, set to begin production in the fall.

Headline News

DNeg Rocks the Boat

THE BOAT THAT ROCKED, the new film from director Richard Curtis (LOVE ACTUALLY, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) is an ensemble comedy that features several key sequences with VFX from Double Negative. The centers on the lives and adventures of a band of DJs that captivate 1960s Britain, playing the music that defines a generation from their pirate radio station based on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The cast reads like a who's who of British cinema with Billy Nighy, Kenneth Brannagh and Rhys Ifans to name a few.

Headline News

Verbinski Trades Pirates for Bioshock

Director Gore Verbinski has told Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer he will not helm a fourth installment of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise, per VARIETY.

The film is in development for a 2010 projected release, and star Johnny Depp is onboard. Whether this means the pic will not get greenlit as a result is still up in the air.

Dark Headline News

Universal, Dark Horse to Adapt Umbrella Academy

Universal Pictures, starting up their three-year deal with Dark Horse Comics, will make UMBRELLA ACADEMY into a feature film, per VARIETY.

UMBRELLA was created by Gerard Way, the lead singer of rock band My Chemical Romance, and will have a script by RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN's Mark Bomback.

First published in 2007 and spinning of a second series, the property is about a disbanded group of superheroes who reunite after the death of their adoptive father, who was an alien. They carry out his plan to save the world.

Series Headline News

Mandalay Starts a Full Metal Panic

Mandalay Pictures will adapt Japanese manga series FULL METAL PANIC to the big screen, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

The property, from writer Shoji Gatoh's serialized novel series, is about a teenage anti-terrorist commando who protects a high school girl with mystical powers. Zac Efron, also in talks with Warner Bros. on JONNY QUEST, is said to be connected with PANIC.

Disney Headline News

Disney, Bruckheimer Buy Horse Soldiers

Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have purchased the film rights to HORSE SOLDIERS, an upcoming novel by Doug Stanton about special forces invading Afghanistan post-9/11 on horseback, per VARIETY.

Bruckheimer is set to produce. The CIA operatives and special forces help Afghan soldiers capture the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and exterminate the Taliban in the area.

The book is set to come out in May. Stanton's previous novel IN HARM'S WAY, about the sinking of USS INDIANAPOLIS during WWII was set up at Warner Bros. at one point.

Films Headline News

Betsy and the Emperor Gets New Life at Killer Films

Killer Films will produce BETSY AND THE EMPEROR, based on Staton Rabin's children's book about a girl who meets Napoleon after his exile on the island of St. Helena, per VARIETY.

The book was previously set up at Warner Bros.-based Storyopolis. John Curran will direct with Al Pacino to star and Brian Edgar to write. Pacino has been attached to the project since the beginning.

Adi Cohen and Joseph Grinkorn of GC Corp. have the film and stage rights and will finance the project that Killer Films will produce.

Headline News

Shadow of the Colossus Heads to Movie Screens

Sony will adapt SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS, a popular videogame at sister division Sony Computer Entertainment, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Risky Biz Blog.

Justin marks (20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA) is attached to write the script with Kevin Misher to produce.

The game was developed for the PlayStation 2 and released in 2005. It's story follows Wander, who travels with his horse Agro across a Western-style landscape, fighting enemies known as Collosi to save his love, Mono.

Total Headline News

Fast & Furious Races to Record Box Office Opening

With an opening weekend gross of $70.95 million, FAST & FURIOUS had the biggest opening since last summer's mega blockbuster THE DARK KNIGHT, Universal's biggest opening ever and the biggest opening in April ever (per VARIETY).

Worldwide, the Vin Diesel-Paul Walker racing actioner, with vfx by Double Negative and Rhythm & Hues, grossed $30 million for a total of more than $100M.

Film Headline News

Sony Animation Also in Easter Bunny Biz

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER broke news that Sony Pictures Animation is also working on an Easter Bunny film. The studio has reportedly purchased the rights to HIP HOP by Greg Ostrin and Michael Weiss.

On Friday, multiple news outlets reported that Illumination Ent. had purchased I HOP as its first live-action film.

HIP HOP follows the Easter Bunny as he decides to retire and hide out as a pet in the suburbs. The film is said to be a mix of live action and CGI along the lines of ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS meets THE SANTA CLAUSE.

Headline News

Mike Nowell to Open Box of Delights

British director Mike Newell is set to helm Brilliant Films' adaptation of John Masefield's children's novel BOX OF DELIGHTS, per VARIETY.

The 1930s classic book follows a boy who is entrusted with a magic box that he uses to travel through time. Frank Cottrell Boyce is producing.

Brilliant Films' Joe Abrams and Rory Gilmartin will exec produce with Newell with Sarah Radclyffe, Courtney Pledger and Esther Douglass to produce.

Story Headline News

Lucasfilm's Red Tails Completes Casting, to Begin Filming

The Lucasfilm Ltd. production of RED TAILS -- a fictional story inspired by the historic and heroic exploits of America's first all-black aerial combat unit -- has completed casting and will soon begin principal photography in Europe.

Film Headline News

Rising Sun Denies Leaking Wolverine Online

Australian vfx company Rising Sun Pictures say they had nothing to do with X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE leaking online earlier this week. The ASSOCIATED PRESS reported Thursday that the company's name appears in a caption dated March 2 a few minutes into the leaked copy of the Twentieth Century Fox film.

Film Headline News

Illumination Hops to Live Action

Illumination Ent. has put live-action comedy I HOP on the fast-track, ensuring their first non-animated feature will debut in 2010, per VARIETY.

Universal is releasing the film with Illumination head Chris Melendandri to produce with John Cohen.

Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio wrote the script for the project, a THE SANTA CLAUSE-like film about a slacker who accidentally runs over the Easter Bunny and who must take over the job to save Easter.

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