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Category: Films

Headline News

Ratatouille Opens as the Box Office Main Dish

Pixarâs eighth animated feature, RATATOUILLE, withstood heavy competition from a rejuvenated franchise to lead the box office for the period ended July 1, 2007, with $47M for Buena Vista. Foxâs LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (with primary vfx from Digital Dimension and The Orphanage) grabbed $33.3M for the weekend and $48.3M since its Wednesday opening. Dropping to third was Universalâs EVAN ALMIGHTY (with vfx from ILM and Rhythm & Hues), which collected $15.1M for a two-week cume of $60.6M.

Imax Headline News

Beowulf IMAX 3-D to Get Simultaneous Release

IMAX Corp., Paramount Pictures, Shangri-La Ent. and Warner Bros. Pictures announced that Robert Zemeckis' BEOWULF will be released domestically in IMAX 3-D simultaneously with the motion picture's premiere in conventional theaters on Nov. 16, 2007. The film will be released internationally within three weeks of the domestic launch.

Production Headline News

Donnie Darko Director Puts Diaz in Box

DONNIE DARKO director Richard Kelly's next film will be the horror pic, THE BOX, starring Cameron Diaz, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Darko Ent.'s Sean McKittrick and Kelly will produce with Ted Hamm exec producing.

The film will center on an unhappily married couple that discover a small wooden box gives the holder instant wealth but also instantly kills a stranger. Kelly adapted the screenplay from Richard Matheson's short story, BUTTON, BUTTON, which was previously turned into an episode of the TWILIGHT ZONE in the 1980s by Matheson under a pseudonym.

Headline News

Fox Searchlight Has Near Death Experience

Fox Searchlight has optioned the spec script NEAR DEATH from writer Carter Blanchard (SMOKE), according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Aaron Kaplan and Sean Perrone are set to produce.

Details on the psychological sci-fi thriller are minimal, but it will deal with near-death experiences.

Claudia Lewis and Jeremy Steckler are shepherding for the studio.

Headline News

New Line Next in Line for Conan

With Warner Bros. losing the rights to CONAN THE BARBARIAN, New Line is the frontrunner to be the next studio to try and bring a new version of Robert E. Howard's pulp novel character to the screen, reports VARIETY. Rights holder Paradox Ent., repped by CAA, held an auction for the property and New Line beat out other contenders with a mid-six against seven figure offer for an 18-month option with the rights for one extension.

Headline News

Gosling Fathers Lovely Bones Role

Ryan Gosling will play the father of a murdered girl in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Alice Sebold's bestselling novel THE LOVELY BONES, reports the trades. He will star in the DreamWorks features with Rachel Weisz playing his wife.

The novel centers on a young girl, who after her rape and murder, observes the reaction of her family and killer from heaven.

Production will start in October in Pennsylvania and New Zealand. Paramount is handling worldwide distribution.

Series Headline News

East of Doheny Mad About Franny K. Stein

East of Doheny and the Gotham Group have options the film rights to children's book series FRANNY K. STEIN: MAD SCIENTIST, with plans to turn it into an animated feature, reports VARIETY.

Written by Jim Benton, the series follows a quirky girl scientist. A seventh installment in the series is coming from Simon & Schuster next year.

East of Doheny founder Kelly Gonda will produce alongside Tracey Trench. Gotham president/ceo Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Julie Kane-Ritsch and Benton are the exec producers.

Animation Headline News

Weinsteins, Gotham Seal South Korean Animation Pact

The Weinstein Co., The Gotham Group and the Chungcheongnam-do government of South Korea announced that they have joined forces as part of an extensive strategic relationship to produce and distribute animated feature films. As part of this relationship, The Weinstein Co. has also entered into a multi-year first look deal with The Gotham Group.

Headline News

Prey Alone Team Finds Lost Squad

PREY ALONE team of director Stephen St. Leger and dp James Mather has been tapped to direct Rogue Pictures adaptation of Devil's Due comic's THE LOST SQUAD, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter are the producers along with Devil's Due's Josh Blaylock co-producer.

Based on the comic miniseries written by Chris Kirby and illustrated by Alan Robinson, the story centers on a U.S. squad of soldiers that battle Adolf Hitler's occult agents during WWII.

Andrew Rona, Andrew Deutschman and Alex Heineman are shepherding for the studio.

Headline News

Paramount Preemptively Picks Up Foundation Comic

Paramount has snatched the screen rights to the yet-to-be-published comicbook, THE FOUNDATION, from Boom! Studios, says THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Boom! founders Andrew Cosby and Ross Richie are set to produce.

Written by John Rozum and illustrated by Kody Chamberlain, the five-issue miniseries follows Nostradamus as he uses the riches he made from his prophesies to form a foundation to prevent them from coming true.

The studio is looking for a writer.

Dan Levine and Elizabeth Raposo are shepherding for Paramount.

Chicago Headline News

Chicago 10 Makes L.A. Premiere on June 30

CHICAGO 10 will be making its Los Angeles premiere on June 30, 2007, at 8:30 pm in California Plaza as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival. The screening is free and is outdoors, so attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner. The animated documentary follows the protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention and the trial of the Chicago 7. The film features a soundtrack from Beastie Boys, Black Sabbath, Eminem, Rage Against The Machine and Merle Haggard. The voice cast includes Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Shreiber, Roy Scheider, Jeffrey Wright, Hank Azaria and Dylan Baker.

Digital Headline News

Digital Dimension Gets Explosive for Live Free or Die Hard

Digital Dimension has completed nearly 200 visual effects shots -- including a number of the movie's most action-packed sequences -- for the June 27 release of Twentieth Century Fox's LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD.

Series Headline News

Alfie Director Takes Eloise to Paris

ALFIE remake helmer Charles Shyer has been hire by HandMade Films to direct ELOISE IN PARIS, based on Kay Thompson-Hilary Knight famed children's book series, reports VARIETY. Shyer will also adapt the book with his 19-year-old daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer and Larry Spencer. HandMade topper Patrick Meehan, Thomas D. Adelman and Ron Rotholz will produce with Shyer exec producing.

Headline News

Fishburne Acquires Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

Laurence Fishburne and A-Mark Ent. have purchased the film rights to Paulo Coelho's bestselling novel THE ALCHEMIST from Warner Bros. Pictures, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

The story follows a wanderer traveling the globe at the time of the Inquisition trying to discover man's purpose while discovering hidden treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. Since first being published in 1988, the book has been printed in 56 languages and sold more than 40 million copies around the world.

Animation Headline News

VCL to Animate 3D Features for Yash Raj Film & Walt Disney

Tata Elxsi has announced that its animation and visual effects arm Visual Computing Labs (VCL), will provide animation for Yash Raj Films' collaboration with the Walt Disney Co. to create a series of original, exclusive 3D-animated feature films. The first in the series is, ROADSIDE ROMEO, directed by Jugal Hansraj, slated for release in 2008. VCL claims this will be India's first original full-length 3D animated film.

Films Headline News

Legendary Pictures Inks $1 Billion + Deal With Warner Bros.

Legendary Pictures, the producers of films such as 300, BATMAN BEGINS and SUPERMAN RETURNS, has re-upped its deal with Warner Bros., which includes an injection of more than $1 billion, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. This new deal comes only halfway into its previous deal signed in 2005, extending the pact between the two companies until 2012.

Movie Headline News

Katzenberg & Seinfeld Extol Fiber Optics at Bee Movie Preview

DreamWorks Animation recently hosted a behind-the-scenes preview of its upcoming fall release, BEE MOVIE at New York's Museum of Modern Art. DreamWorks head Jeffrey Katzenberg, voice stars Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Broderick, Renée Zellweger and Chris Rock were on hand, along with co-director Steve Hickner. (THE PRINCE OF EGYPT).

Headline News

Evan Almighty Leads Box Office

Universal's Noah-influenced comedy, EVAN ALMIGHTY (with vfx from ILM and Rhythm & Hues), lead the box office with $31.1M in its debut for the weekend June 24, 2007. Another newcomer, the chilling 1408 from MGM/Weinstein Co., followed in second place with $20.6M. Last weekâs leader, FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (with vfx by Weta Digital, SOHO VFX, Hydraulx, Giant Killer Robots, Hammerhead, The Orphanage, Frantic Films, Lola Visual Effects, Digiscope and Image Engine), finished third for Fox with $20M and a cume of $97.4M.

Headline News

Rhythm & Hues Creates Massive Animal Shots for Evan Almighty

Massive Software was tapped by Rhythm & Hues to create lifelike CG animals for Universal's EVAN ALMIGHTY. These included large establishing shots of hundreds of animals paired two-by-two as described in the biblical story of Noah's Ark.

Film Headline News

Patrick Henry Animated Feature Premieres in Prosser, Washington

American Animation Studios is set to debut their first film, PATRICK HENRY: QUEST FOR FREEDOM, at a private screening on June 28, 2007, at the Princess Theatre in Prosser, Washington, reports the YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC. A public screening, which includes a making of featurette and barbershop quartet performance, will take place on July 4, at 3:30 pm.

Animation Headline News

Chopra Shelves Animated Lord Krishna for Hum Pannch

Producer/director Ravi Chopra has shelved plans to make the animated film, LORD KRISHNA, and has now embarked on a new animation film, HUM PAANCH, based on the childhood of the Pandavas, reports BUSINESSOFCINEMA.COM.

Budgeted at slightly more than $3 million, animation studio Pix N Prix has been assigned to the animation.

Film Headline News

Mangat Making Animated Toonpur Ka Superhero Feature

Producer Kumar Mangat is making a 3D animated/live-action film titled, TOONPUR KA SUPERHERO, with actor Ajay Devgan for release in India in October 2008, reports BUSINESSOFCINEMA.COM.

Budgeted at nearly $10 million, 2nz Animation started work on the film six months ago with a team of 50 people.

2nz Animation ceo Kireet Khurana, who is directing the film, told BUSINESSOFCINEMA.COM, "Another 15 months of work will go into the film and it should be ready for a Diwali release next year."

Series Headline News

DreamWorks Wishes on Children of the Lamp

DreamWorks has put its wishes behind P.B. Kerr's children book series CHILDREN OF THE LAMP, obtaining the film rights to the fantasy series, reports VARIETY. Nina Jacobson will produce and Lee Hall (BILLY ELLIOT) will adapt.

The British series chronicles the adventures of a djinn, or genie, family as they try to live in human society while possessing the talent to grant wishes.

More than one million copies of the first three books have sold worldwide and the fourth book, THE DAY OF THE DJINN WARRIOR, is set to hit stores in September.

Headline News

Good Night, and Good Luck Star Joins Two Sisters Remake

GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK star David Strathairn has joined the cast of DreamWorks' horror remake, A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Actress Elizabeth Banks has already signed on.

Based on Kim Jee-woon's 2003 Korean thriller, Strathairn will play the father of two girls who return to their country home from a stint in a mental institution, only to have to cope with their mean stepmother (Banks) as well as a ghost.

Universal Headline News

Cowboys & Aliens Play on the Silver Screen

DreamWorks and Universal Pictures are teaming to make a live-action adaptation of the graphic novel COWBOYS & ALIENS.

Imagine partners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and Platinum Studios chairman/ceo Scott Mitchell Rosenberg with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are set to produce. Ervin Rustemagic and Rich Marincic will be co-producers. IRON MAN writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby are penning the screenplay.

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