Cult classic animated film FANTASTIC PLANET will be getting a live-action rendition via production companies Circle Of Confusion and newly formed Five Windows Prods., reports VARIETY. The original French animated film won the Grand Prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. The story takes place on an alien planet where giants rule, and humanoids must fight for their lives and equality.
Platinum Studios is teaming with producer Gale Anne Hurd to bring the graphic novel ATLANTIS RISING to the big screen. Platinum will also develop a massively multiplayer online game about on the property with Icarus Studios. Comic creator Scott Mitchell Rosenberg will be producing along with Hurd. Stephen Tao is the exec for Valhalla with the company's Stephen Emery serving as a co-producer. Aaron Severson and Jay Burns are co-producing for Platinum. The story chronicles the ramifications of a land bound civil war on the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.
Paramount Pictures has reached an agreement to acquire the worldwide film rights to Midway Games' FEAR & RESPECT, a videogame based in the urban environment of South Central Los Angeles. Currently being developed in collaboration with writer/director John Singleton (BOYZ N THE HOOD), the urban/action adventure game is scheduled to be available in the fourth quarter of 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Christine Peters (HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS) will be collaborating with the game developer to produce the film.
TERMINATOR 4 is set to begin production in 2005, reports VARIETY. However, it is unknown whether California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will return as his most famous characters. In addition, it is unknown whether T3 stars Nick Stahl and Claire Danes would be asked to return. A script for the fourth installment has been written by RISE OF THE MACHINES scribes John Brancato and Michael Ferris. T3 director Jonathan Mostow helped develop the new idea and is top choice to direct T4.
While promoting the 10th anniversary of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, director/writer Frank Darabont has said that he will direct screen adaptations of Stephen Kings MIST and Ray Bradburys FAHRENHEIT 451, reports SCI FI WIRE.
Vinton Studios has obtained the rights to Neil Gaiman's Hugo Award-winning children's book CORALINE and has named Henry Selick as the director, reports VARIETY. Co-producing the film with Vinton will be Bill Mechanic's Pandemonium Films. Selick will also adapt the book, which tells the tale of a young girl who views an alternate version of her life after walking through a secret door. HarperCollins published the novel in 2002.
Venice, California-based Exodus Film Group has tapped three-time Oscar-winning visual effects wizard Jim Rygiel to direct the feature film, BUNYAN AND BABE, reports HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Based on the Paul Bunyan legend, the family film follows Paul Bunyan and a group of kids as they attempt to save Bunyans pet ox Babe from an evil circus owner. Eddie Griffin will provide the voice of Babe the Blue Ox. The script was written by Michael A. Nickles (THIS IS NOT A FILM) and Julia A. Wall. Exodus' animation team, ElectroAge, will be handling the CG work.
Paramounts groundbreaking CGI adventure, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, managed to capture the box office for the weekend ended Sept. 19, 2004, ringing in $15.5M in its debut, but well below expectations.
Bandai Ent. has announced a limited theatrical engagement for Yoshiyuki Tominos MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM F91. The film will begin its run in theaters on Oct. 1, 2004 in New York with a screening at the Festival of Anime to follow soon after on Oct. 10.
Independence Day 2005 is shaping up at a toe-to-toe battle between Foxs tentpole FANTASTIC FOUR and Paramount and DreamWorks event movie of the decade WAR OF THE WORLDS. The Marvel Comics adaptation from 20th Century Fox was first to stake a claim on the lucrative holiday weekend by taking a release date of July 1. However, the Steven Spielberg-directed, Tom Cruise-starring alien invasion flick has now set its sights on June 29. With Spielberg stating that his H.G.
With Universal recently hiring CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE director Andrzej Bartkowiak, the studio has now secured one lead with a second in negotiations to star in its DOOM adaptation. BOURNE SUPREMECY baddie Karl Urban is set to star with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in talks to join the cast. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and John Wells are producing from a script by Dave Callahan. The film will follow the zombie blasting plotline of the recently released DOOM 3 videogame. The film is set to go before cameras in mid October.
DreamWorks Animation credits mental ray for helping it achieve the extremely high visual target for its new 3D-animated feature, SHARK TALE, which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival and opens Oct. 1, 2004.
Fox 2000 Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Bagdasarian Productions have announced a live-action/CGI adaptation of ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS. Fox is searching for a comedy writer and director for the film as well as a top comedian to pay the CG Chipmunks dad Dave Seville. Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., and Janice Karman will produce.
IMAX Corp. and Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. will jointly produce their second original IMAX 3D film, DENIZENS OF THE DEEP (working title). This is Warner Bros. Pictures' sixth film commitment to IMAX theaters in the past 18 months, and follows on the successful release of NASCAR 3D: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE, which set opening weekend box office records for an original IMAX film, and has already grossed more than $18 million.
Paramount Pictures has teamed with Archie Comics Ent. to co-produce a live-action film adaptation of comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The comic was previously the basis for the ABC live-action sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart as well as several animated series produced by DIC Ent.
RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALPSE won the box office derby in its debut for the weekend ended Sept. 12, 2004. The horror flick (with vfx by C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, Mr. X Inc., Animated Extras International Ltd., Fantasy II Film Effects and Soho VFX) took in $23M for Screen Gems.
Side Effects Software, developer of the award-winning Houdini family of 3D software, announced that DNA Prods. (THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS) will use Houdini extensively for its all-CG pipeline to create a new animated feature for Warner Bros and Playtone, THE ANT BULLY. Based on John Nickles best-selling childrens book, Playtones Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman and DNA founders John A.
Universal Pictures has secured the services of director Andrzej Bartkowiak (CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE) for the feature adaptation of legendary videogame DOOM, reports VARIETY. Bartkowiak will be replacing Enda McCallion, who was to make his directorial debut on the film. McCallion had to leave for personal reasons. Filming is set to start in mid-October. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and John Wells are producing the film from a screenplay by Dave Callaham. The zombie hacking videogame was produced by id Software and Activision.
A group of journalists from around the world were treated Thursday afternoon to the first sneak peek of THE POLAR EXPRESS (opening Nov. 10) in the Steven Ross Theater on the Warner Bros. lot. They screened several work-in-progress clips, including the opening scene, which looked far smoother and more polished than the trailer. They also screened a demo performance capture session with star Tom Hanks, who portrays five characters from the Christmas fantasy about a train bound for the North Pole on Christmas Eve.
Warner Bros. Pictures has tapped scribes Robert and Michelle King (ANGELS IN THE INFIELD) to adapt the screenplay for the sci-fi thriller COSMONAUT, reports VARIETY. Mace Neufeld (LOST IN SPACE) and Teddy Tenenbaum (writer on TVs DEAD ZONE) have been developing the project for the studio and will serve as producers along with Basil Iwanyk (K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER). Warner Bros. Pictures vp of production Aditya Sood is overseeing the project.
Veteran animation exec Max Howard is set to exec produce Exodus Film Groups upcoming CGI-animated film, IGOR, an irreverent comedy with a new twist on the classic mad scientist/monster genre.
Chris McKenna penned the screenplay about a mad scientist's hunchbacked lab assistant who dreams of becoming a mad scientist in his own right and win the coveted first place award at the annual Evil Science Fair.
Miramaxs Asian import, HERO, remained atop the box office chart for the Labor Day weekend period ended Sept. 6, 2004, adding another $11.5M to its two-week total of $35.2M, with vfx supplied by Animal Logic, The Orphanage and Tweak Films.
In reproducing the famed spider walk from THE EXORCIST for the prequel, EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING, Pixel Magic of Toluca Lake, California (www.pixelmagicfx.com), called on the 3D scanning expertise of Eyetronics.
Principal photography is set to begin in September on Peter Jacksons KING KONG. Jackson will shoot the epic action flick on location in his native New Zealand. Set to star in the Universal Pictures release is Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts (21 GRAMS), Golden Globe nominee Jack Black (SCHOOL OF ROCK) and Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (THE PIANIST).
Brent Forrester (TVs THE SIMPSONS, KING OF THE HILL) has netted himself a writing gig on Nickelodeon Movies, Atmosphere Ent. MM and the Gotham Groups THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, reports HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Atmosphere's Mark Canton, Nickelodeon's Julia Pistor and Gotham ceo Ellen Goldsmith-Vein will produce. The film will be based on the five-part series written by Holly Black and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi, who will be serving as exec producers on the project.
