Immortal Ecstasy: "Lions Gate Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Dream Entertainment's vampire thriller "Immortal Ecstasy". Pic centers on a suburban American family preparing for their slumlord father's birthday party. As the party approaches and the father attempts to evict squatters from one of his buildings, he realizes there is nothing ordinary about the intruders, who send the landlord home to infect the rest of the family..." (more info). Step in the Name of Love: "MGM has bought the spec script "Step in the Name of Love" as a vehicle for R&B singer Usher to star in and exec produce. Carl Seaton and Kenny Young wrote the script. Pic is described as an urban "Saturday Night Fever," set in the world of steppin', a Chicago-bred derivative of swing dancing..." (more info). Whole New You: "Horror specialist Wes Craven and producing partner Marianne Maddalena have taken a turn toward romantic comedy, buying Jeremy Drysdale's original pitch "Whole New You" for low six figures. Story centers on the world's most famous actress, who wants to escape the fishbowl of her own life. When she runs away to a small Midwestern town, where she is unrecognized for the first time in her life, she enters her own look-alike contest..." (more info). Books of Magic: "Swedish directors Simon Sandquist and Joel Bergvall have signed on to helm Warner Bros. Pictures' big-screen adaptation of DC Comics' "Books of Magic." The comic, about a bespectacled teenager learning magic in contemporary London, is seen as a precursor to Harry Potter..." (more info). Breakfast on Pluto: "Liam Neeson is in talks to star alongside Cillian Murphy in Neil Jordan's upcoming "Breakfast on Pluto," the director said Thursday. Jordan said he hopes Neeson will take the vital role of the father in his upcoming movie adaptation of the Patrick McCabe novel of the same name. The movie details the story of Patrick Braden, an endearing, witty, clever and deceptively tough young transvestite..." (more info). Downloading Nancy: "Holly Hunter and William Hurt have agreed to star opposite Stellan Skarsgard in fresh media's thriller "Downloading Nancy". Commercial and music video helmer Johan Renck is making his directorial debut on the project, with production scheduled for August in Germany, followed by the United Kingdom. The film centers on Nancy, an unhappy wife who, instead of committing suicide, meets a man over the Internet and hires him to kill her. Problems arise when they form a relationship..." (more info). Rocky VI: "Actor Sylvester Stallone sued MGM Inc. and a production company, claiming they stymied his efforts to make a sequel and Broadway musical based on the "Rocky" film franchise. The suit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the studio and the production company. It also seeks an order allowing Stallone to proceed with a "Rocky VI" film..." (more info). Rope Burns: "Jay Baruchel has been cast in "Rope Burns" (aka "Million Dollar Baby"), Clint Eastwood's follow-up to "Mystic River." Eastwood is directing, producing and will star in the feature alongside Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank. The film centers on Maggie Fitzgerald (Swank), a woman determined to succeed as a boxer. A farm boy, Danger Barch (Baruchel), shares the same dream of becoming a prizefighter..." (more info). Under: "20th Century Fox has plunked down high-six against low-seven figures for "Under," a pitch by writers Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson. "Under" is described as being in the vein of the supernatural thriller "What Lies Beneath" but set against a backdrop of a hospital. It follows a female first-year resident who starts hearing and seeing odd occurrences at the hospital and comes to believe that the place is haunted..." (more info). A License to Steal: The Boston Herald reports the action flick starts filming in June. Steve Buscemi, Frank Vincent, and Val Kilmer are all onboard. Alien vs. Predator: The final one-sheet for the team-up is at Empire Movies. Cutie Honey: A featurette for this limited release is up at Cinema Cafe. Diamond Dead: Controversy continues of the Marilyn Manson as Jesus casting, see the official site for details.
DVD News: Details & artwork is out for Hayao Miyazaki Collection Wave II, The Whole Ten Yards, Elf & Kill Bill, Vol. II.
Elektra: IGN Filmforce reports that Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat), Hiro Kanagawa (Extreme Ops), Colin Cunningham (The 6th Day), and athlete-fighter Bob "The Beast" Sapp have all joined the film. Garfield: More pics from the comedy, which scored a PG rating, are at MySan.
Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban: HPANA reports that AOL has published a "listening party" for the complete soundtrack to "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." You can listen online in your choice of dial-up or broadband quality, but must install an AOL music player and have cookies enabled. Maria, Full of Grace: The poster for the Fine Line flick is up at LatinoReview. Spider-Man 2: A pic of Doc Ock's arm from Spiderman 2, on display at E3 Gaming Expo this week in Los Angeles is now online.
Terminator 3.5: Some of the actors have weighed in on the extended cut rumours, see The Arnold Fans for more. The 24th Day: Some stills, poster art and a review from the Scott Speedman/James Marsden starrer are up at The Cinema Source.
The Baghdad Blog: The BBC reports that The Baghdad Blog, a book based on an online diary written by an Iraqi man about life during the conflict there, is to be made into a film. Media group Intermedia is searching for a scriptwriter to adapt the book by the man, who calls himself Salam Pax. The Mighty Celt: IFTN reports that the Gillian Anderson/Robert Carlyle flick, written by Pearse Elliot will begin filming in Belfast, Ireland starting this Monday.
Troy: Pics from the Cannes premiere of the Greek epic are up at IC Liverpool. Valentin: An interview with the director of the indie flick is up at Eclipse Magazine. Thanks to 'Jeff', 'Ulf', 'Liz', 'Patrick', 'Dust Bunny', 'thebatsignal', 'Julez', 'Michelle', 'Justin', '-Scarecrow-', 'Jakob', 'Brad', 'Stax', 'Liam', 'Dan' & 'Antoine'
