Mar 1, 2013
Silver Linings Trio Re-Team for Abscam drama - Actors Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are joining Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Amy Adams in director David O. Russell's
(Silver Linings
Playbook, The
Fighter) currently untitled Abscam drama. The story explores the FBI's Abscam sting operation in the 1970's that took down numerous United States politicians in a public corruption scandal.
Feb 8, 2013
J.J. Abrams feels the Force - It's now official - geek-loved filmmaker J.J. Abrams
(Star Trek, MI:3) is taking on the reigns of the next
Star Wars installment, Episode VII, from George Lucas. Disney's purchase of Lucasfilms has put new chapters of the franchise into high gear. Putting more emphasis on characters, Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt
(Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) will write the screenplay, with a
2015 release date expected..
Jan 25, 2013
Howard Longing for Heart of the Sea - Director Ron Howard
(Apollo 13, A Beautiful
Mind) is considering the 19th century drama In The Heart of the Sea as his next project, with Chris Hemsworth attached to star - both are in post-production on the film
Rush. Based on Nathaniel Philbrick's non-fiction book, it follows the Nantucket whaling ship the Essex, which was stalked and ultimately destroyed by a sperm whale in 1820. The incident was the inspiration for Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick.
Jan 11, 2013
Affleck Set to Live By Night - Following his success on Argo, actor, writer and director Ben Affleck has confirmed that his next project will be an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's recent novel
Live By Night. The story follows the son of a Boston police captain in Prohibition-era Boston who
turns his back on his family to enjoy the life of an outlaw. Affleck also helmed the adaptation of Lehane's
Gone Baby Gone.
Dec 21, 2012
Washington Takes On The Equalizer - Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn is set to helm the big screen reboot of the '80s TV show
The Equalizer as a franchise starring Denzel Washington. The film will keep the basic premise of the original series about a former covert operative who seeks redemption for his past deeds by offering his services to those in need of help, but expect some divergence. Shooting kicks off in spring 2013.
Dec 7, 2012
Clooney and Damon Go After Monuments - Writer / director / star George Clooney
(Good Night, and Good
Luck, The Ides of
March) is set to helm the period drama The Monuments Men, which already boasts an all-star cast including Matt Damon, Daniel Craig, Bill Murray, Cate
Blanchett, Jean Dujardin and John Goodman, among others. The story follows a crew of art historians in the final days of World War II who attempt to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis before the pieces are destroyed. Production kicks off in January.
Nov 16, 2012
Disney Buys LucasFilm - Yup, George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars has sold his company to Disney, who didn't waste any time in setting a date for the release of
Star Wars: Episode VII in summer 2015. Stranger yet, seems Disney is planning on releasing two or three movies based on the Star Wars universe every year! Will we be able to stand so much
Star Wars?
Nov 2, 2012
Singer Back for X-Men Sequel - Director Bryan Singer, who launched the successful franchise with original
X-Men and X2, and produced last year's inventive prequel/reboot
X-Men: First
Class, is now officially taking the helm of X-Men: Days Of Future
Past. Shooting is expected to start early next year for a July 2014 release.
October 19, 2012
Fincher and Pitt Could Go For 20,000 Leagues - Director David Fincher
(The Social
Network, Seven) is looking to get Brad Pitt to lead a potential
adaptation of Jules Verne's classic adventure tale 20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea. Disney's original 1954 adaptation starred Kirk Douglas as a 19th-century sailor who gets rescued by the reclusive Captain Nemo and his crew, coming aboard a fantastic submarine only to discover the captain's nefarious plot.
September 28, 2012
Tom Hanks Enters A Garden of Beasts - Director Michel Hazanavicius
(The Artist, OSS
117) is in talks to direct an adaptation of Erik Larson's non-fiction book In
The Garden Of Beasts with Tom Hanks set to headline. The story involves a Chicago professor in the early 1930's who becomes America’s ambassador to Hitler’s Germany before the Nazis began to assert an iron grip across Europe. Natalie Portman is being courted to play Hanks' daughter.
September 14, 2012
Godzilla Roars Back in 3D - After a decade hiatus, following
Godzilla: Final
Wars, director Gareth Edwards (Monsters) is set to return the iconic man-in-a-suit movie monster back to "its epic roots with a gritty, realistic actioner". This is only the second time a non-Japanese team is making a
Godzilla movie, the first having been the much-maligned take on
Godzilla by director Dean Devlin in 1998. The new film is set for release in May 2014.
August 24, 2012
Haggis Gets A-list Cast for a Third - Writer / director Paul Haggis
(Crash, In the Valley of
Elah) has captured quite a cast for his drama Third Person, a film featuring three intertwined story lines of love & relationships in three cities - Paris, Rome and New York; Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde and Mila Kunis are on-board, with James Franco and Casey Affleck in negotiations to join.
August 10, 2012
Whedon Assembles The Avengers 2 - Writer / director Joss Whedon is confirmed to be on board the sequel to his blockbuster mega-production
The Avengers, now one of the Top 5 money-making films of all time with nearly $1.5B in worldwide box office. The sequel is targeting a May 2015 release.
July 20, 2012
Branagh Takes on Jack Ryan - Famed British actor / director Kenneth Branagh
(Thor, Hamlet) is set to helm the upcoming Jack Ryan reboot, based on the hero of the Tom Clancy novels such as
The Hunt for Red
October. Chris Pine will be the fourth actor taking on the role in a story revolving around a terrorist attach set to destroy the U.S. economy. Apart from his directing duties, Branagh would also play the Russian villain.
July 6, 2012
Blomkamp & Damon Head for Elysium - Director Neill Blomkamp is following up his spectacular firm film
District 9 with
Elysium, and managed to get Matt Damon and Jodie Foster to headline. Like the latter, the sci-fi story deals with issues of social unrest and inequity, in this case a future where the elite live on a space station while the masses still on Earth try to get in by any means necessary. The movie hits theaters in March 2013.
June 15, 2012
Tatum and Emmerich Go Down To The White House - Director Roland Emmerich
(Independence Day,
The Day After
Tomorrow) is set to helm the action thriller White House Down with Channing Tatum to star. The story revolves around a Secret Service agent who must save the president when the official residence is taken over by paramilitary group. Production is set for this summer to beat out
the rival project Olympus Has Fallen with Antoine Fuqua directing and Gerard Butler starring.
May 18, 2012
Del Toro Brings Pinocchio to Life - Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro
(Hellboy, Pan's
Labyrinth) is teaming up with animation director Mark Gustafson
(The Fantastic Mr. Fox) to co-direct a new version of the classic fairy tale
Pinocchio in 3D stop-motion, no less. In this version, the puppet who wants to be a boy embarks on a series of adventures set in Italy between WWI and WWII, a time when Mussolini came to power.
May 4, 2012
Gary Ross To Helm Houdini Biopic - Straight from his box-office success on
The Hunger Games, director Gary Ross is set to helm Houdini, based on the 2006
biography / novel by William Kalush and Larry Sloman. In the book, the famed illusionist was purported to be a spy for Britain and an adviser to a Russian Czar, as well as a debunker of spiritualist charlatans. The producers are said to be aiming for a period thriller in the vein of Guy Ritchie's
Sherlock Holmes films.
April 13, 2012
Scorcese Tracks Wolf - Director Martin Scorcese (Goodfellas,
The Departed) has chosen
The Wolf of Wall Street as his next feature, teaming up for the sixth time with leading man Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is an adaptation of Jordan Belfort's memoir of his life as a drug-addicted stockbroker who was caught for fraud and money laundering in the late 1990's. Shooting is set for August.
March 30, 2012
A-List Cast Joins Malick's Next Two - Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett have all signed up for director Terrence Malick's
(The Tree of Life, The Thin Red Line) next two films,
Knight Of Cups and Lawless. Though plot details are still secret as is Malick's norm, they will join Ryan Gosling and Rooney Mara already set for
Knight of Cups. Shooting is set for Summer and Fall 2012.
March 16, 2012
Statham Heats up DePalma Remake - Action go-to guy Jason Statham is on board in director Brian De Palma's remake of his own 1986 film
Heat. The original starred Burt Reynolds as an ex-mercenary turned Las Vegas bouncer. In the remake, Statham plays a recovering gambling addict hired to provide protection who gets in deep against the mob. Legendary screenwriter William Goldman penned the original novel as well as both the
film versions.
March 2, 2012
Scott and Fassbender Seek Counselor - Ridley Scott (Alien,
Gladiator) will direct and Michael Fassbender will star in the thriller
The Counselor. Based on best-selling crime novelist Cormac McCarthy's first original screenplay, the story deals with a respected attorney who gets in over his head when he tries his hand at the drug business. Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper and Brad Pitt are all potentials to play the villain of the piece.
February 17, 2012
Arnie and Stallone re-team in Tomb - Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone have signed on to play in the thriller
The Tomb for Swedish filmmaker Mikael Håfström (1408,
The Rite). The story involves a high-security expert (Stallone) who is framed and jailed in one of the prisons he designed, deciding to escape with the help of a wise inmate who helps his despairing fellow convicts
(Arnie). Their latest team-up is Expendables 2, out this summer.
February 3, 2012
Spielberg Sets Sights on Moses - Director Steven Spielberg is in final discussions to helm the biblical epic
Gods and Kings. The story will follow Moses' life story, from birth to death, including the freeing of the Hebrew slaves, the
plagues on Egypt and his decades wandering the desert. Sources say it will closer in tone to Spielberg's gritty Saving Private Ryan than to Cecil B. DeMille's
The Ten Commandments.
January 20, 2012
2012 Golden Globe Winners - The Descendant and The Artist come up the big winners of the evening, both winning Best Picture in their categories (Drama and
Musical/Comedy, respectively) and Best Actor for George Clooney and Jean
DuJardin. Best Actress winners were Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) and Michelle Williams
(My Week With Marilyn). A Separation won for Best Foreign film and
The Adventures of Tintin for Best Animated feature, while Martin Scorcese walked away with Best Director for
Hugo.
December 30, 2011
Tykwer and Wachowski Up in the Cloud - Co-directors Tom Tykwer
(Run, Lola, Run) and Andy Wachowski
(The Matrix, Speed
Racer) have wrapped up filming on their ambitious time-jumping ensemble drama
Cloud Atlas. Based on David Mitchell's novel, the film is made up of six intertwining stories that span the ages, from past to future, with an impressive cast including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess and Jim Broadbent.
December 16, 2011
Ritchie Spies Man from U.N.C.L.E. - Director Guy Ritchie
(Snatch, Sherlock
Holmes) is ready to jump into the shoes of the departing Steven Soderbergh on the modern, big-screen adaptation of
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The 1960's US television series was a rather comedic take on the James Bond phenomena of the time, including spies, gadgets and a villainous organization.
December 2, 2011
Ford Eying Ender's Game - The long-in-gestation adaptation of the Hugo-award-winning science-fiction novel
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is finally picking up
steam, with Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Wolverine)
at the helm. Asa Butterfield (fresh from Hugo) is confirmed as the titular character, Ender, a young boy who turns out to be a master military strategist, trained to fight against an alien menace. Harrison Ford is in talks to play the officer in charge of the academy.
November 11, 2011
Washington Takes Zemeckis' Flight - Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle and Bruce Greenwood have all joined for Flight, director Robert Zemeckis'
(Forrest Gump,
Beowulf) first live-action film in years. The story revolves around Washington, a pilot who heroically rescues his passengers from a dangerous situation but whose
addiction is actually partly responsible for the incident in the first place.
October 28, 2011
Proyas Set for Paradise - Director Alex Proyas (Dark
City, I, Robot) has cast a net over some interesting talent for his adaptation of Milton's classic poem
Paradise Lost, including Casey Affleck as the angel Gabriel, Djimon Hounsou as the angel of death and Bradley Cooper as Lucifer. The poem tells the tale of Lucifer's falls from grace and the war with his brother
Michael.
October 7, 2011
Depp is Dr. Seuss? - Eying to star in the role of another classic children's author, Johnny Depp is set to produce the live-action biopic of illustrator Dr. Seuss. Theodor
Geisel, who went by the pen-name of Dr. Seuss was a little-known cartoonist until his meteoric rise in the 1950's with beloved books such as Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat
in the Hat. Expect some "animated bells and whistles" to be added to liven things up.
September 16, 2011
J. J. Abrams to Helm Star Trek 2 - Fan-favorite director
J. J. Abrams (Mission:
Impossible III, TV's Lost) is back behind the camera
for the sequel to his successful reboot of the Star
Trek franchise. The young cast is all set to return, as are
the scribes who wrote the 2009 film. A release is expected for
summer 2013.
September 2, 2011
Boyle Puts a Trance on McAvoy and Cassel - James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson are on board the thriller
Trance for Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle (Slumdog
Millionaire, 127
Hours). The story revolves around an elaborate art heist that goes wrong. Film is set for a 2013 release.
August 12, 2011
Russell and Pitt Prep Mission - Director David O.Russell
(Three Kings, The
Fighter) is in talks to helm the real-life thriller The
Mission, with Brad Pitt being courted to star. The film dramatizes the events around Operacion
Jaque, the methodical six-year covert mission planned by American and Colombian operatives to free fifteen hostages from the Colombian jungle.
July 29, 2011
Jackman and Crowe Sing Les Misérables - Star Hugh Jackman is set to play Jean Valjean in the all-singing film version of the hit musical
Les Misérables, itself based on the classic novel by Victor
Hugo. Tom Hooper (who just won an Oscar for The King's
Speech) is at the helm. Russell Crowe rumored to be very interested in the part of the determined Inspector
Javert, though current indications are that Paul Bettany is set for the role.
July 15, 2011
Depp and Verbinski Ride on Lone Ranger - Johnny Depp is set to reunite with his
Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski for a new take on the classic TV and movie-serial character
The Lone Ranger. The novel idea is that the tale is "sort of Don Quixote told from Sancho Panza's point of view", with Depp playing the gun-slinger's faithful side-kick
Tonto. A December 2012 release is planned.
June 10, 2011
Penn and Bale Take A Last Photograph - Sean Penn and Christian Bale are in talks to join the war zone drama
The Last Photograph for director Niels Arden Oplev (The
Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) . The story revolves around a photograph that becomes the catalyst for a journey two men - one a war correspondentm the other an ex-soldier - undertake through war-torn Afghanistan.
May 27, 2011
Tree of Life Grabs The Palme d'Or - Director Terrence Malick claimed the Palme
d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival this week for his drama The Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt. The second-place Grand Prix award was divided between
The Kid With a Bike and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, while a special Jury Prize went to the French ensemble drama
Polisse.
May 13, 2011
Tarantino Unchains Django - Seems that maverick writer / director Quentin Tarantino's
(Pulp Fiction,
Inglorious
Basterds) next flick is the spaghetti western Django
Unchained. The revenge tale would follow a freed slave (Will
Smith is in talks) who joins a German bounty hunter ( Christoph Waltz) to try to liberate Django's wife from an evil Southern plantation owner.
Possible supporting roles include Keith Carradine and Franco Nero, who starred in the original 1966 film
Django.
April 29, 2011
Cast Locked In Safe House - Swedish director Daniel Espinosa has lined up an impressive cast for his action thriller
Safe House, including Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Shepard. The story revolves around a CIA operative (Reynolds) who must team up with a dangerous prisoner (Washington) to get to safety after an attack on an agency safe house.
April 15, 2011
R.I.P. Sidney Lumet - Legendary director Sidney Lumet has passed away at the age of 86. With a career spanning over five decades, Lumet is deemed to be one of the great filmmakers, starting with his first feature in 1957,
12 Angry Men, and quickly following with many more including
Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Network and The
Verdict.
April 1, 2011
Jackson's Hobbit Kicks Off - Production has finally begun in New Zealand on Peter Jackson's two-film adaptation of
J.R.R. Tolkien's epic "The Hobbit", to be shot consecutively in digital 3D. Set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s
The Lord of the Rings, it tells the tale of Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom long ago conquered by the dragon
Smaug. Martin Freeman ahs the title role, with Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, and Elijah Wood returning. The two films are planned for release in late 2012 and 2013, respectively.
March 18, 2011
West Goes for Medallion - Director Simon West (Con
Air, Tomb
Raider) will direct the kidnapping thriller Medallion, re-teaming with actor Nicolas Cage. Danny Huston is also set to co-star. The story revolves around an ex-thief who only has a few hours to find and rescue his kidnapped daughter, locked in the trunk of a New York tax cab.
March 4, 2011
Levy Set for Fantastic Voyage - Director Shawn Levy (Night at the
Museum, Date Night) is set to direct the 3D remake of the 1966 sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage with James Cameron producing. Levy takes on the reigns of a film that had such names as Paul Greengrass, Jonathan Mostow and Louis Leterrier once attached. The original tale revolved around a team of scientists that are reduced to microscopic size along with a miniature submarine and injected in the
bloodstream of diplomat to save his life.
February 18, 2011
Lee Takes on a Life of Pi - Famed director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon, Brokeback
Mountain) is set to adapt Yann Martel's international bestseller
Life Of Pi. The fantasy adventure revolves around a young boy stranded in a lifeboat with an escaped zoo tiger, the only survivors of a shipwreck. Shooting is expected to start shortly in South East India.
January 21, 2011
Scott Set for Alien Prequel, Kind Of - Director Ridley Scott
(Gladiator, Blade
Runner) is set to return to the science-fiction universe of his classic 1979
Alien with Prometheus, which
promises to open up a new epic mythology, though without the latter's trademark
ETs. Hot commodity Noomi Rapace is set to star, with the second lead role in contention between Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie. The story is being kept under wraps, but the film already has a set date - March 2012.
January 7, 2011
Clooney Set up to March - Following his successful stint helming
Good Night, and Good
Luck, George Clooney is set to write, star and direct the political drama
The Ides of March. Based on Beau Willimon's Broadway play Farragut
North, the story revolves around a young press spokesman working for an inspiring presidential candidate whose career takes a bad turn when faced with more seasoned players. The
impressive cast includes the likes of Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa
Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood.
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