Dark Horizons - News

Spielberg, King Go "Under the Dome"

2009-11-20T05:03:00-06:00

Stephen King's new supernatural thriller novel "Under the Dome" is becoming a limited TV series reports Variety.

DreamWorks TV has optioned the book and is looking to set it up as a cable event series. Writers are currently meeting with the studio about the task.

The story revolves around the drama that unfolds after an invisible force field suddenly descends on a small vacation town in Maine.

As the locals fight for their survival, the town descends into warring factions led by enigmatic characters.

King, Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will executive produce.

Dustin Hoffman Out Of "Fockers"

2009-11-20T04:36:00-06:00

Dustin Hoffman is looking unlikely to return in "Little Fockers", the third installment of the "Meet the Parents" popular comedy franchise reports Entertainment Weekly.

Hoffman was said to have a brief cameo as Bernie Focker, father of Ben Stiller's Greg Focker, but Hoffman was reportedly unhappy with the size of his role. That, plus some scheduling difficulties and salary issues which have arisen, means Hoffman may essentially opt out of the film.

Barbara Streisand however will return as his wife Roz with a more prominent role in the film. Universal and Hoffman's reps didn't comment.

Thurman, Scott Thomas Join "Bel Ami"

2009-11-20T04:22:00-06:00

Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas have signed onto the film adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's short story "Bel Ami" for Redwave Films says The Hollywood Reporter.

"Ami" tells of George Duroy ("Twilight" hunk Rob Pattinson), a young journalist who rose from poverty to become one of the most successful men in Paris via the ruthless and calculating bedding of the city's most glamorous and influential women.

Thurman plays the wife of Duroy's friend, a woman who is extremely involved and connected in the goings-on of Parisian society. She helps Duroy in his ascent, later becoming his wife.

Thomas plays a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process. Kidman had been linked to the role Thurman has now taken, but reps later denied the report saying she was offered but didn't accept.

Stage director Declan Donnellan makes his directorial debut on the project which Uberto Pasolini is producing. Filming kicking off next year in Paris.

Wasikowska, Fassbender Join "Jane Eyre"

2009-11-20T04:16:00-06:00

Mia Wasikowska ("Alice in Wonderland") and Michael Fassbender ("Inglourious Basterds") are in talks to join the new film adaptation of "Jane Eyre" for Ruby Films, BBC Films and Focus Features says Variety.

Based on Charlotte Bronte's classic novel, the new adaptation emphasies the gothic elements of the story about Jane (Wasikowska), a demure governess who discovers her surly employer Rochester (Fassbender) is harboring a dark secret.

"Sin Nombre" director Cary Fukunaga is directing from a script by Moira Buffini. Alison Owen and Paul Trijbits are producing.

Idris Elba Joins "Thor" Cast

2009-11-20T04:08:00-06:00

Idris Elba ("Obsessed," "RocknRolla") is set to play Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard, in Kenneth Branagh's superhero epic "Thor" for Marvel Studios reports Heat Vision.

Heimdall stands on the BiFrost Bridge ready to defend the city from intruders. He joins an extensive cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Samuel L. Jackson, Stellan Skarsgard, Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson and Tadanobu Asano

The comic book adaptation will be released through Paramount Pictures on May 20th 2011. Shooting kicks off mid-January in Manhattan Beach.

Universal Releases "Kick-Ass" Globally

2009-11-20T04:02:00-06:00

Universal Pictures International will release Matthew Vaughn's action comedy "Kick-Ass" in the U.K., Germany, Australia, Latin America, Austria, Switzerland and New Zealand says The Hollywood Reporter.

The plan comes from a multi-territory pact struck between Focus Features International and Mandate International. Lionsgate has the scheduled the film for release in April next year, UPI will release the film in all those international territories on the same month.

Vaughn and Jane Goldman co-wrote the story of average teenager who decides to take his obsession with comic books as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. The only problem is he has no superpowers.

Mike White Pens "Santa Wars" Comedy

2009-11-20T04:00:00-06:00

Mike White has been hired to pen the comedy "Santa Wars" for Paramount Pictures reports Variety.

The story follows rival factions that developed within a union of professional Santa Clauses who became arch enemies during a Santa Claus civil war.

The story is based on a segment penned by Joshuah Bearman and aired on Ira Glass' public radio show "This American Life" last year.

Mike White and Scott Rudin will produce.

Fessenden Not Directing "Orphanage" Remake

2009-11-20T03:37:00-06:00

Producer Larry Fessenden has left the director's chair of the upcoming remake of 2007 Spanish supernatural thriller "The Orphanage" over at reports Arrow in the Head.

Fessenden, who has been attached to direct since August, work on the English language remake's script with producer Guillermo del Toro which he calls "a very exciting experience".

So what happened? "I got into a casting miasma and that's where the thing is; I think they're gonna do it another way, actually. So I think I'm out of it. Hopefully they'll still use my script, but I'm not sure I'm directing it anymore."

If he isn't directing, he admits that there are three other projects he'd like to do but "after you get bitten once, you're just a little more wary."

Warners Develops Marine Dog Tale "Nubs"

2009-11-20T03:30:00-06:00

Warner Bros. Pictures are developing "Nubs", a feel-good story of a dog and a U.S. Marine based on a publishing sensation says The Hollywood Reporter.

Justin Zackham ("The Bucket List") will pen and produce the story of a stray dog that Maj. Brian Dennis rescued while on a tour of duty on the front lines in Iraq.

After nursing the dog back to health and caring for it as his own, he arranged to have him shipped back to the U.S. and was reunited with the dog when his tour ended.

In addition to Dennis' life rights, filmmakers have acquired the top-selling children's book "Nubs: A Marine, a Mutt and a Miracle," which Dennis wrote with Mary Nethery and Kirby Larson.

Brad Pitt Fills A "Dark Void"

2009-11-20T03:14:00-06:00

Brad Pitt is developing a feature film adaptation of the upcoming sci-fi video game "Dark Void" for his Plan B Productions reports Variety.

Pitt will produce and possibly star in the property which follows the exploits of a pilot who crash lands in the Bermuda Triangle and finds himself in a mysterious alternate reality where aliens are planning to take over civilization.

The game itself will be released in January, but no production schedule for the film version has yet been set.

"Shield" Scribe Pens Fourth "Underworld"

2009-11-20T02:58:00-06:00

"The Shield" writer John Hlavin will pen the script for a fourth "Underworld" at Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment reports Heat Vision.

While Hlavin won't give away details on the storyline, he does confirm it's not a prequel and it should "introduce fresh elements" as the filmmakers don't want to redo the first three films.

No director or stars like Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen or Rhona Mitra have signed to return. Len Wiseman, Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg and Richard Wright are producing.

TV News: Lost, Bill Maher, Oprah

2009-11-20T02:57:00-06:00

Lost
ABC has announced the sixth and final season will premiere on Tuesday, February 2nd 2010 with a two-hour premiere at 9pm.

Its then expected to air all eighteen of its episodes in the Tuesday 9pm slot uninterrupted through to either a three-hour finale on May 18th or most likely a two-hour one on May 25th.

Real Time with Bill Maher
HBO has picked up "Real Time with Bill Maher" for an eighth season. The show drew 1.2 million viewers in its 10pm time slot last season, up 24% from season six.

The Oprah Winfrey Show
After 25 years on the air, Oprah's day time talk show will end its run on September 9th 2011 reports Variety.

It's undetermined as yet if Winfrey will launch a new talk show on OWN, her burgeoning cable network partnership with Discovery Communications which launches January 2011 and will have the rights to the entire 25-year "Oprah Winfrey Show" catalog beginning in September 2011.

"American Gladiators" Movie Planned

2009-11-20T02:54:00-06:00

Scribe Peter Iliff ("Patriot Games," "Under Suspicion") will pen a live-action big screen film version of game show "American Gladiators" reports Variety.

This film version of the highly popular series, which first aired in 1988 and has been adapted into local editions in at least a dozen other countries, features the Herculean characters as superheroes.

Scott Mednick will produce, show creator Johnny Ferraro will executive produce and a 2011 release is planned.

NBC's "Chuck" Return Date/Time Set

2009-11-19T22:12:00-06:00

Official dates have been set with the nineteen-episode third season of "Chuck" kicking off with a double episode on Sunday January 10th.

The show then settles into its old time slot on Monday 8pm the following day (January 11th), pushing the troubled "Heroes" to 9pm. Seven episodes are expected to air before the show takes a few weeks hiatus for the Winter Olympics. It will then return uninterrupted through till May.

As previously reported, the original plan was for thirteen episodes before the network put in an order for six more last month. Showrunner Chris Fedak tells NJ.Com that the additional episodes haven't caused any real changes of plan.

"We're going to stick with the 13 that we had planned. When we got the order for six more episodes, we restructured the story somewhat, but we're still operating along the lines that the six additional episodes will be "Chuck" season 3.2. We're not going to pad the original story out. We're going to tell more story... But it'll still feel like one season."

Currently the production crew are shooting the eleventh episode.

Garth's Review: "The Twilight Saga: New Moon"

2009-11-19T10:56:00-06:00

Notably more polished but less engaging than its more honest and rough-hewed predecessor, "New Moon" is a morbid and awkward middle child entry in the already highly successful "Twilight" film series. Lighter in look but darker in tone, 'Moon' gives us glimpses of a wide-appealing larger world in play here, but too often ignores it in favour of an ill-conceived love triangle storyline that never delivers any emotional honesty.

While the parallels to "Romeo and Juliet" are laboured on thick, more fitting a comparison is "Moby Dick". What else is Edward if not a pale white force of nature, and Bella the protagonist so utterly consumed by her obsession to him much to the detriment of everyone around her. Of course Melville took Ahab's obsession to its logical conclusion, Meyer's story on the other hand kindly rewards Bella's narcissism and borderline schizophrenic personality disorder.

That makes the character sound far more interesting than she is of course for Bella is an empty shell for the film's target audience to project themselves onto and empathise with. What makes it difficult to do so however is that there is nothing sympathetic or commendable about the character at all short of her rundown truck and Target-bought clothes signifying she's at least not as materialistic as many her age increasingly are.

Irrational, utterly self-centred, awash with feelings of entitlement, deeply disturbed on an emotional level, and profoundly stupid - the character is a sink hole that threatens to capsize the picture, especially during the hour-long segment post-Edward but pre-Italy where the focus is all on her depression and the narrative moves with all the energy of a three-hour art movie about heroin-addicted housewives in East Azerbaijan.

A central character doesn't have to be sympathetic, but they do have to be involving and Bella possesses neither the charm, wit or assertiveness to do that. It's not Kristen Stewart's fault, the generally solid actress actually makes some of the less extreme actions of her emotionally ravaged character seem more grounded and credible even if they're not particularly logical. Nor is it director Chris Weitz who gets slightly more natural performances out of most involved than Hardwicke did in the first film.

The blame for that goes solely on the writers, a fact made painfully visible by not being able to counter balance the elements with either a compelling story or effective romantic foils. Missing for much of the film aside from ineffective hallucinations, Pattinson delivers the same barely serviceable work as last time, once again playing the chaste bad boy full of stifled passion. Even more this time out, Edward is very much a gothic romance archetype more akin to a bodice-ripping paperback hero than anything approaching a fleshed out character.

The surprise here is Taylor Lautner. Very unimpressive in the first film and not much better in the early scenes of this one, the newly muscular teenager suddenly becomes a decent little actor at the halfway point when he dons a new haircut and struts around topless. A scene with him and Bella standing in the rain and him struggling with a secret actually has some effective delivery and pathos. Considering Lautner's acting improved so much sans shirt, I wonder if there might have been Oscar buzz had he taken off his pants. Stewart herself can't seem to take her eyes off his chest throughout their scenes together.

In both cases however the romance rings empty as the situations that cause these bonds to form are thoroughly contrived. The men themselves may be devoted to her, but they treat her with a sense of possessiveness akin to serial wife beaters rather than sharing an emotional bond of mutual love and respect. More successful but never quite properly integrated are questions of the compatibility of mortal/immortal love from the effects of the mortal partner's natural ageing to a graphic example of what can happen when the 'beast' you love loses control even for just a split second.

The biggest improvement from the first film is the visuals. Armed with a much bigger budget, the blue saturation effect and bad wire-fu work of the first film have been ditched in favor of a more normal color palette and better integrated computer effects. While the natural lighting makes the vampire makeup and light brown contact lenses seem more artificial than before, they give the dark story a more tangible feel and grander sense - especially during the Italian scenes. The usually reliable Alexandre Desplat however provides a generally underwhelming score amidst the forgettable pop songs with no real unifying components to give this series a much needed signature tune.

The cinematography is notably better with shots on a much wider scale and carried out with more ambition, even if they don't always work. A single shot circling Bella's window to note the passing of time would've been a nice touch had text notations of each month not spoiled it somewhat. A pan up & down trick shot of Bella and Alice leaving Washington and getting to Italy is a good idea for a 'travel montage' but brings up the question how in hell do vampires get through customs & immigration with glowing skin?

One sequence pulled off well has Victoria appearing and being chased through the woods by wolves. The threat of her return is just one of the several side subplots going on that are often more engaging than the main storyline. While the CG wolves are too animated to be truly credible, their design and size make them a tangible threat while the Native American Abercrombie & Fitch line-up that constitute their human halves are underwritten characters that would've been nice to get some more exploration of.

The narrative's sudden jump to Italy seems rushed and forced, but the 15-20 minute segment provides a welcome bit of life to the picture with the location work, a modestly successful race against the clock bit of suspense, and a visit with the Volturi (vampire royalty). Michael Sheen visibly delights in getting to chew the scenery as the Volturi leader Aro, while Dakota Fanning puts in a nice little cameo as psychically well-endowed young vampiress Jane.

Peter Facinelli, who seemed oddly miscast as the Cullen patriarch the first time around, and Billy Burke prove comforting and rational father figures despite having only a few lines each. Ashley Greene's Alice is a delightfully welcoming optimistic presence amongst all the gloom, but you feel sorry for Anna Kendrick and Michael Welch who're stuck as Bella's long-suffering school friends whom she treats with little more than contempt.

Like any franchise with a devoted fanbase from "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" to the various superhero movies that plague our multiplexes, one's level of enjoyment greatly depends on how much goodwill is in play with you as the viewer. If the books and or earlier film have significant meaning to you, chances are you will likely recognise but have a lot more patience, innate understanding and forgiveness of the film's flaws than the casual viewer like myself. There will also be the haters though, the ones with a pre-determined agenda or aversion to the material who will pounce on every single pockmark of the film (and this one has quite a few).

In the end the film is a better looking, better produced and from what I understand more faithful adaptation than the first film was. Yet I can't help but feel that the first one has more replay value than this often too dull, sullen and drawn out entry which has a much more uneven sense of pacing and structure about it. The ending leaves things open for the already shot and far more exciting sounding next chapter in the series, but 'Moon' makes me wonder how many of the non-devotees will stick around for that.

Interview: Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side"

2009-11-19T10:31:00-06:00

Sandra Bullock has had quite the year, with her return to romantic comedy territory in the form of The Proposal, being her first major commercial hit in quite some time. In a Los Angeles hotel room promoting her latest movie, The Blind Side, the actress laughs when asked why it was that particular romantic comedy that struck such a chord with audiences. “I think nudity had a great deal to do with it,” Bullock says laughingly. “Had I known that, I would have done it a long time ago.”

She did also concede, more seriously, that her criteria for picking roles these days “are vastly different now than it was a long time ago, but I can only be that way now because of what I learned from the past. So, I’m choosing now not to choose any work, because when you’ve had such a nice ride, unexpected rides and fulfilling rides, you really don’t want to take a step backwards. So it’s really made me satisfied in a way that I wasn’t looking for, but I was blessed with it, and now I feel really full in a good way, where I don’t need to rush out and go find something.”

That change in attitude, she says, came when she “realized that I’m staring at a stack of scripts, and I can't bear to open them. I don’t want to step into that world right now. I want to enjoy where I am. So I think it was over time, just having good life experiences that I was actually cognizant of in my work, and could remember, and was very satisfied with. I just want to enjoy the ride, instead of blasting forward and trying to fill a void that doesn't exist, in the workplace.”

That also includes her other role as a producer. “To me, the producing falls into the same as acting, because it requires so much time out of your life and I realize that I take it very personally. So, if I do something it just has to be something I love, and I don’t want anyone else to do, so when I open projects, maybe something will appeal to me. I think I’m not opening them because I don’t want anything to appeal to me right now and I don’t want to be tempted to move from this place that I am.”

Builock initially turned down the part of real-life Southerner Leigh Anne Touhy in The Blind Side, the true story of a poor, oversized and under-educated teenager adopted by a family and eventually recruited by a major college football program. “I think I felt a great sense of fear in trying to tackle that person she is,” explains Bullock. “But I also felt a great sense of obligation to be true to this wonderful, dynamic person and when I met Leigh Anne, I knew she was original. But there’s such a dynamic that exists between those people and their children that you wanted to pay homage to them and I wanted to as closely as I could.”

Bullock eventually said yes to doing the film after she read the book upon which the film was based. “It was a beautifully-executed book, especially for someone who has been around football players her whole life, and still knew nothing or cared anything about the game. By the end of the game, I was in such awe of what it takes to be an athlete, and what the coaches contribute to these children’s lives, and how they support and push and inspire. I had a real sense of jealousy that they got to experience that and I never did as an athlete, or as someone who could be brought to that point. But even though I didn't think I could make this movie, the inspiring part of is that here’s this family that does this and didn't do it because someone was writing an article or a book, or making a movie, but because that’s where the instinct said, ‘This is what we’re going to do: we’re going to give love and reach out a hand.’ And everyone came and questioned them, of course. We don’t trust anyone who does anything nice. That’s just the sad world we live in, but they didn't care, and they kept going, so it makes you feel like you need to step up your game. So whatever wonderful actress was going to play Leigh Anne Touhy, it was going to be an inspirational story, because we don’t really live in a world that supports the good that we can do. They all want us to do something bad, so it sells some papers, or some news report,” the actress says passionately.

Bullock has been part of the Hollywood scene for over two decades now, and finally admits she is slowing down. Asked if she a next project in the works, she smiles sweetly and says, “I’m going to work on my restoration buildings. I’m not looking at scripts, or doing anything.”

Oscars Select Doco Feature Short List

2009-11-19T07:30:00-06:00

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced that fifteen films out of eighty-nine submitted will advance in the voting process for the Documentary Feature category of the 82nd Academy Awards®.

Alphabetically, the films that made the shortlist are: "The Beaches of Agnes", "Burma VJ", "The Cove", "Every Little Step", "Facing Ali", "Food Inc.", "Garbage Dreams", "Living in Emergency", "The Most Dangerous Man in America", "Mugabe and the White African", "Sergio", "Soundtrack for a Revolution", "Under Our Skin", "Valentino The Last Emperor" and "Which Way Home".

That list is missing some big titles, most significantly Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" and acclaimed fan favourite "Anvil! The Story of Anvil". Also not showing up are popular docs like "Tyson", "It Might Get Loud", "Good Hair", "The September Issue" and Michael Jackson tribute piece "This Is It".

The Documentary Branch Screening Committee viewed all the eligible documentaries for the preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the fifteen titles on the shortlist which will be announced on Tuesday, February 2nd 2010. The most certain bets right now are "The Cove," "Food Inc." and "The Beaches of Agnes"

The award itself will be presented Sunday, March 7th 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.

Sam Worthington Commits A "Crime"

2009-11-19T07:29:00-06:00

Aussie hunk Sam Worthington ("Avatar," "Terminator Salvation") is set to star in an adaptation of "The Last Days of American Crime" reports Mania.

Set in a near future where, as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts.

To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards.

A not particularly successful career criminal intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life.

The media however has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live...and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the crime of the century into the last crime in American history.

Rick Remender will adapt his own property, no word as yet on a director.

Murphy Terrorized By A "Caller"

2009-11-19T06:26:00-06:00

Brittany Murphy is set to star in the Matthew Parkhill-directed thriller "The Caller" for Alcove Entertainment says The Hollywood Reporter.

Murphy plays troubled divorcee, Mary Kee, who begins to receive mysterious phone calls from an unknown caller and she quickly begins to feel haunted in her own home.

When she discovers that the person is calling from the past, Mary realizes that she will have to kill her in order to survive but how do you kill someone living in the past and what will happen if she fails.

Stephen Moyer and Luis Guzman also star in the film which begins shooting in Puerto Rico this Friday.

Lynch Develops Meditation Founder Doco

2009-11-19T06:16:00-06:00

Legendary filmmaker David Lynch is developing a documentary partly shot in India which deals with Transcendental Meditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi says NYMag's Vulture

Lynch says "I'm going to make a film on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It won't be a so-called David Lynch film, really; it will be about Maharishi and the knowledge he brought out. It'll hold a lot of abstractions. We're on our way to India in December to start the India part of it."

Lynch pegs this as a documentary but "I don't think it'll be a talking heads kind of thing, but we're going to do a lot of interviews with people. We'll interview - I hope - in India, a 97-year-old man who was with Maharishi from the beginning and get stories of times that weren't so well recorded."

Voice Cast Announced For "Guardians"

2009-11-19T06:09:00-06:00

The full voice cast for "300" and "Watchmen" director Zack Snyder's animated feature "Guardians of Ga'hoole" at Warner Bros. Pictures have emerged with a couple of new names floated.

Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Helen Mirren, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Jim Sturgess, Ryan Kwanten, Emilie de Ravin, Miriam Margolyes, Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish and Jay Laga’aia will all lend their voices to the film based on the novels by Kathryn Lasky.

The story follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favour from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences—causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones.

Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga’Hoole—Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

The film is scheduled to open September 2010.

Tait, Todd, Kirkland Die "One By One"

2009-11-19T06:03:00-06:00

Douglas Tait, Tony Todd and Sally Kirkland have all joined the horror film "One by One" for Kilo Entertainment says The Hollywood Reporter.

Kimberly Seilhamer penned and directs the story of a bus filled with teens crashing on a deserted highway and being terrorised by a villain named Railroad Jack the Reaper and his carnival of destruction.

Alexandra Holder, Amber Zion, Hope James, Grace Jiyoung Park, Jay Gillespie, Richardson Chery, Andrew Olson, Tyler Wolfe, Jemal David and Christopher Raff also star.

Filming kicks off this weekend in the Mojave Desert.

Eddie Murphy Gets Naughty In "Fluffy"

2009-11-19T05:42:00-06:00

Eddie Murphy is attached to produce and potentially star in the buddy comedy "The Misadventures of Fluffy" at Paramount Pictures says Risky Biz Blog.

The story is a road trip film through New York featuring talking animals, however unlike Murphy's more recent fare this is said to be very much an R-rated feature.

Sam Pitman and Adam Cole-Kelly will pen the script. Paramount is still developing a fourth "Beverly Hills Cop" for Murphy to star in.

Simon Baker Takes A Surfing "Breath"

2009-11-19T05:32:00-06:00

Simon Baker ("The Mentalist") and producer Mark Johnson have picked up the film rights to Tim Winton's novel "Breath" reports Variety.

The story is set in a small town in Western Australia where two 16-year-old boys take up surfing under the tutelage of an enigmatic surfer named Sando (Baker) and his mysterious wife.

Spurred on by their mentor, the boys test the limits of courage and recklessness as they try to escape their mundane lives.

Baker will also produce alongside Johnson.

Angryfilms Picks Up A "Cycler"

2009-11-19T05:30:00-06:00

Angryfilms have optioned Lauren McLaughlin's young-adult book series "Cycler" says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story follows Jill, a suburban teenager who for four days each month turns into Jack, complete with male anatomy and 17-year-old-boy fantasies.

Jill has maintained her life of ordinary teenage worries, such as going to the prom and dealing with crush, but that changes when Jack, tired of being locked in his room, begins to escape, causing damage to her social life.

Don Murphy and Susan Montford will produce.

di Bonaventura Producing "Nicholas Flamel"

2009-11-19T05:27:00-06:00

Lorenzo di Bonaventura ("Transformers") is set to produce films based on Michael Scott's six-part fantasy novel series "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" reports Variety.

The story follows fifteen-year-old twins Sophie and Josh as they adventure across several continents with the immortal alchemyst of the title, Nicholas Flamel. The soon who find themselves caught up in an age-old battle between good and evil as they race across America learning the ancient ways of magic.

"Kyle XY" creator Eric Bress penned the script. The fourth book in the series, "The Necromancer", is due out next year.

Adams, Levy Celebrate "Best Days"?

2009-11-19T05:25:00-06:00

Josh Klausner is set to pen an adaptation go Adena Halpern's novel "The Ten Best Days of My Life" for Fox says Reuters.

The story focuses on a woman who dies and then goes to the top of the afterlife echelon known as Seventh Heaven.

However, she is in danger of being sent to a lower level unless she can prove that she "lived a worthwhile life by recounting her 10 best days."

The property is being developed as both a starring vehicle for Amy Adams and a directing vehicle for Shawn Levy.

Mandalay Picks Up "Unthinkable" Rights

2009-11-19T05:24:00-06:00

Mandalay Pictures has scored the film rights to the comic book "Unthinkable" reports Heat Vision.

Mark Sable's action thriller graphic novel centres on a brilliant man who was recruited just after 9/11 into a government think tank consisting of America's most imaginative minds and tasked with dreaming up wild scenarios for possible attacks on U.S. soil.

Years after the think tank was disbanded, the attacks the man concocted begin to occur, and he becomes the only one who can stop them. But the government has become his pursuer.

Peter Guber, Cathy Schulman, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby will produce.

"Agora" Gets 2010 U.S. Release

2009-11-18T06:32:00-06:00

Alejandro Amenabar's "Agora" has finally been acquired for U.S. distribution through Newmarket Films says Screen Daily.

The English-language ancient epic tells the story of religious conflict in Roman-governed Alexandria as the Christian and pagans battle, often violently, for religious and intellectual supremacy.

The period story centers on he enlightened thinker Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) as well as both her philosophical and romantic conflicts. Max Minghella and Oscar Isaac also star.

A longer cut of the film premiered at Cannes, but reviews proved mixed due to the dense subject matter and buyers were cautious, especially American buyers as historical dramas don't often play anywhere near as well domestically as they do globally.

The film opened in Spain through Fox International in October and scored a major $30 million cume for the country, beating many Hollywood blockbusters. Newmarket plans a North American release in the first half of 2010.

"Precious" Director Takes On "Selma"

2009-11-18T06:31:00-06:00

Lee Daniels ("Precious") is in advanced talks to direct civil rights movement feature "Selma" for Cloud Eight Films, Plan B and Pathe U.K. says Variety.

Paul Webb has penned the talked about script about the historic 1965 march in the Alabama town that marked the political and emotional peak of the civil rights movement.

A cast and budget are currently being sorted out. Christian Colson ("Slumdog Millionaire") will produce with filming kicking off in early Spring.