American Rain: "After collaborating on "Edison," Emmett/Furla Films will produce writer-director David J. Burke's next feature, "American Rain." A drama set in a South Florida fishing town, "American Rain" follows a young waitress as she overcomes the memory of her mother's murder to find love with a pilot with a troubled past..." (more info). A Scanner Darkly: "Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochran will join Keanu Reeves in "A Scanner Darkly," the Warner Independent Pictures drama that Richard Linklater will direct from his scripted adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel. Thesps will film the scenes as if this were a traditional live action undertaking, but then Linklater will turn the footage into animation, much as he did with "Waking Life"..." (more info). Casanova: "Sienna Miller has been cast as Heath Ledger's lady love in Lasse Hallstrom's "Casanova." Miller, who will make her bigscreen debut in Par's forthcoming "Alfie" remake, joins Ledger in the Touchstone romance about the famed seducer who learns the meaning of true love when he meets a woman immune to his charms..." (more info). Fearless: "Rob Schneider will star in and produce "Fearless," a comedy based on an original pitch by Travis Mann and Bob Kosberg, for Revolution Studios. "Fearless" is the story of a meek soldier who is transformed into a fearless fighting machine when he becomes the subject of a top-secret experiment..." (more info). Iraqi-Themed Flick: "United Artists has made a deal to tell the story of two entrepreneurs who went to post-war Iraq to make their fortune. The duo, Brent Balloch and Jack Roe, have become millionaires in a few months and just got a contract to help run the country's first elections since the invasion. The duo's life rights have been secured by producer/writer Stephen Chin, who was so bent on making the deal that he sneaked into the war-torn country to find them..." (more info). Mission: Impossible 3: "Tom Cruise will not be allowed to film scenes for "Mission: Impossible 3" in the Reichstag, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. The parliament spokeswoman confirmed a report in the Bild daily that a location manager from Babelsberg Studios near Berlin had asked permission to shoot scenes for the movie in the Reichstag, known for its giant glass dome that attracts thousands of tourists..." (more info). Moneyball: "Sony Pictures has acquired the Michael Lewis bestseller "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game." Book is based on the life of Billy Beane, the Oakland A's general manager who has assembled a contending ballclub despite having a payroll much lower than other teams. Stan Chervin has been hired to write the script..." (more info). State of Play: "Producer Scott Rudin and BBC Films are finalizing a seven-figure deal to give feature treatment to "State of Play," the British miniseries about the intersection of politics and journalism. Deal is being finalized after a bidding battle between Rudin and several other parties..." (more info). The Harder They Come: "Stephen Williams will direct a hip-hop remake of 1973 pic "The Harder They Come" for New Line Cinema, with production set for this fall. Sara Risher will produce the film, in which a small-town singer sets out to make it big in New York's rap scene and, in the process, becomes a legendary outlaw. Bryan Goluboff ("The Basketball Diaries") wrote the script..." (more info). Amityville: "British commercial helmer Andrew Douglas is making his feature debut for MGM/Dimension Films. Set to shoot in July, "Amityville" is an update of the 1979 hit feature that centered on a newlywed couple who move into a mysterious house where all sorts of strange things happen. Scott Kosar penned the remake script..." (more info). Art School Confidential: "Steve Buscemi will appear in an uncredited cameo in Terry Zwigoff's upcoming feature "Art School Confidential," set to star John Malkovich. In addition, Anjelica Huston is being sought for a leading role. The story follows an undercover cop who poses as an artist until he realizes that being a pretend felon or, better still, a supposed killer, will get him even more acclaim..." (more info). Exorcism for Dummies: "Revolution Studios has optioned the rights to the comedy script written by Brian Stampnitsky, Charlie Stickney and Susanna Hoffs Roach, lead singer of 1980s band the Bangles. The comedy follows a guy who thinks he's a slacker, poses as an exorcist and then discovers he actually has "the gift." He is then sent out to recapture all the nasty spirits he let loose in the world...." (more info). House of D: "David Duchovny's directorial debut has landed at Lions Gate Films, sources said. The indie outfit is working on a deal to acquire all North American distribution rights to the coming-of-age tale "House of D," which recently had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival..." (more info). Intoxicating: "Mark Lester's Los Angeles-based indie film banner American World Pictures has plucked helmer Mark David's sophomore film, "Intoxicating," from this month's Method Fest Film Festival in Burbank. AWP will offer the film in Cannes. The film stars Kirk Harris as a charismatic young surgeon with an insatiable appetite for booze, drugs and one-night stands. The cast also includes John Savage and Eric Roberts..." (more info). Oliver: "Sony Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to Roman Polanski's upcoming adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist." As part of its deal, Sony also has taken South American distribution rights to the film, which will begin a 16-week shoot in July in Prague..." (more info). The New World: "Christopher Plummer has signed for passage to "The New World," director Terrence Malick's take on the Pocahontas tale for New Line Cinema. Billed as equal parts historical epic and timeless love story, Colin Farrell already has been cast as Smith. Plummer will play Capt. Christopher Newport, an English officer among the initial settlers in the New World who serves as the first president of the Jamestown Colony..." (more info). 30 Days of Night: Steve Niles, creator of 30 Days of Night, told Comics Continuum that Stuart Beattie, a writer of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, has been brought aboard to do a rewrite on his screenplay for a film. Andromeda (TV): The sci-fi series has been renewed for a fifth season, see Andromeda TV for details. Catwoman: Some trailer screencaps are now up at The Trades. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory: Child Star Freddie Highmore has been cast as Charlie Bucket in the Tim Burton directed feature. DVD News: Details available for Star Trek: Season 1, Lost Boys: SE, Black Hawk Down: Superbit, ST: Voyager - Seasons 5 & 7 & Wonder Woman: Season 1. Diamond Dead: Have you got a casting suggestion for the new Romero flick? Have your say at Bloody Disgusting.
Hellboy: SHH reports that Superhero Hype! has received word that Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment will release a two-disc Special Edition Hellboy DVD on July 27. No features have been announced yet. The three-disc special edition hits towards year's end.
Hulk 2: Zap2It reports that Eric Bana says they haven't talked to him to reprise his Hulk role for a possible sequel, even though he is under contract to play Bruce Banner again if Universal does move forward with the project. Ju-On: The Grudge: Lions Gate's plans for the original Japanese film's US release can be found at Creature Corner. Law & Order (TV): With Jerry Orbach moving over to the new spin-off series "Law & Order: Trial by Jury", Dennis Farina is in talks to join the original. Manderlay: Movies.com reports that John C. Reilly has left the production in protest after refusing to appear in a scene in which a live donkey was to be killed. Queer as Folk: The American QAF drama series whose fourth season has just premiered, has been given a fifth season renewal of 13 episodes. Resident Evil: Apocalypse: New pics of leaping motorbike riders and dogs are up at link. The Day After Tomorrow: A cool 'tidal wave' clip is now up at Substance. The Fountain: Hugh Jackman apparently indicated the Darren Aronofsky film will be shot at least partially in Montreal according to CTV. Trailers: Access Hollywood will air trailers for "Collateral" & "The Bourne Supremacy" on Thursday's editions. A glimpse at the former can be found now at The Trades. The preview of the new Van Damme flick is up at G7000.Com Van Helsing: Hugh Jackman talks about his role to IC Network. X3: Sci-Fi talked with Patrick Stewart who indicates Fox is moving forward relatively quickly now on a third film. Thanks to 'JHBlade', 'Bronson', 'Edmond', 'KarlChilders', 'Alex', 'Brandon', 'Gustavo', 'Alex', 'Julez', 'JHBlade', 'Nic', 'Artur', 'Chris B' & 'Captain hirni'
