News

• email to a friend

Bewitched: "Joan Plowright and Jason Schwartzman are joining Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman in Columbia Pictures' "Bewitched". Plowright will play Samantha's absent-minded magical aunt Clara, Schwartzman takes on the role of Darrin's agent..." (more info). Dark Matter: "Meryl Streep and Chinese actor Liu Ye will star in the drama "Dark Matter," with production slated to begin this fall in Utah. Chinese opera director Chen Shi-zheng will make his feature-directing bow with the film, which draws from the true story of a disgruntled physics student from China who shot and killed six people on the U. of Iowa campus in 1991..." (more info). National Lampoon's Pledge This: "Paris Hilton will star in the indie feature "National Lampoon's Pledge This!" for producer Juan Carlos Zapata of Street Alien Pictures. Hilton will play the president of an elitist sorority at South Beach U. who presides over a group of unlikely freshman girls who are trying to gain entrance and acceptance into the sorority. Production begins in Miami this August..." (more info). Senor Dracula: "Glenn Williamson's Back Lot Pictures has set up "Senor Dracula" at Focus Features, with Cheech Marin to helm, and has optioned J. Robert Lennon's novel "The Funnies." Marin's concept for "Senor Dracula" centers on the Spanish-language version of the 1931 horror classic "Dracula," which was filmed at Universal Studios concurrent with the original English-lingo version -- at night, on the same sets. "Senor Dracula" will focus on a romance between an American actor and a Hispanic actress. Focus is seeking a writer for the project..." (more info). Speed Racer: ""DodgeBall" star Vince Vaughn has gotten Warner Bros. revved up again about "Speed Racer," the live- action adaptation of the Japanese cartoon series. Project, which is being produced by Joel Silver and Richard and Lauren Shuler Donner, has emerged from a long pit stop after Vaughn pitched his take on the tale, one that casts him in the role of Racer X. He's the long-lost but protective brother of the title character, the young driver who travels from race to race with his family..." (more info). The In-Between: "Morgan Creek Prods. has tapped Jon Glascoe to pen horror thriller "The In-Between." Story follows a high school girl haunted by the ghost of her recently deceased boyfriend, who wants her to join him in the afterlife..." (more info). The Interrogators: Inside the Secret War Against Al Qaeda: "Warner Bros. has bought screen rights to "The Interrogators: Inside the Secret War Against Al Qaeda," an upcoming memoir from Little, Brown penned by the man who supervised military interrogations at Bagram Air Base in Kandahar after the Taliban government was routed in Afghanistan..." (more info). Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: "Fox 2000 is remaking the Irwin Allen-created "Voyage". Justin Haythe, who wrote upcoming Robert Redford-Helen Mirren starrer "The Clearing," has been set to pen the script. Haythe is scripting a story in which the world's most advanced submarine is sent on a deep-sea salvage hunt, inadvertently bringing aboard a predatory organism from the ocean floor..." (more info). We're The Millers: "New Line has acquired "We're the Millers," a spec script comedy by Steve Faber and Bob Fisher. That's the team behind "The Wedding Crashers," a comedy New Line will release next year with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn playing losers who invade weddings to pick up women. "We're the Millers" has an equally edgy premise. Protag is a smuggler who swears off his illegal career as he turns 30. He's enticed into a final smuggling mission worth $1 million if he can sneak 1,400 pounds of pot across the Mexican border..." (more info). Wormwood: "Fortitude Films has paid $1.8 million against $6.5 million for film rights to "Wormwood," the upcoming novel by "Shadowmancer" author G.P. Taylor. The book's title refers to a mythical comet that, according to an ancient text, will smash into the Earth. A young housemaid in 18th-century London swipes the volume and must decipher the text and stop the comet..." (more info). 55 Holly Star: "Exodus Film Group has signed producer-director Chris Weitz to executive produce "55 Holly Star," a Capra-esque tale of a down-on-his-luck salesman whose life changes overnight after a near-death experience. Written and directed by Michael A. Nickles ("This Is Not a Film"), "Star" follows one man's desperate attempts to find a forgotten childhood memory that contains clues to a buried treasure..." (more info). Cherrys: "Harry Knapp will direct Greenpoint Media's family drama "Cherrys" with Eartha Kitt, Lynn Whitfield and Jurnee Smollett set to star. Louis Gossett Jr., Anne Deavere Smith, Earle Hyman and Tracie Thoms are expected to join them, the company said. "Cherrys," which is in preproduction for a late-August start, is described as a multigenerational story revolving around the coming of age and coming out of a black teenager (Smollett) and the family secrets she discovers in the process..." (more info). Fahrenheit 9/11: "A conservative advocacy group asked a government agency Thursday to bar ads for Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" on the grounds that they are "electioneering communications" restricted by federal campaign laws. Citizens United said it filed a formal complaint to the Federal Election Commission against the planned advertising campaign by the distributors of the film, which is critical of President Bush's prosecution of the war in Iraq..." (more info). Honeymoon With Harry: "Television writer-producer Paul Haggis, who wrote "Million Dollar Baby," the film that Clint Eastwood is currently shooting, is diving back into the feature film world. Haggis will adapt "Honeymoon With Harry," Bart Baker's unpublished novel that New Line Cinema picked up in April. Haggis also might direct. "Honeymoon" centers on a self-destructive recovering womanizer who loses his fiancee in a car crash two days before their wedding and ends up going on his honeymoon with the fiancee's father, who detests him, so they can scatter her ashes..." (more info). King Kong: "Thomas Kretschmann is in negotiations to join the cast of Peter Jackson's update of the 1933 classic "King Kong" for Universal Pictures, sources said, as well as another classic movie redo, "Dean Koontz's Frankenstein" for cable unit USA Network. Kretschmann ("The Pianist") would join a "Kong" cast that already includes Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody to play the boat captain who transports the king-sized gorilla of the film's title to America..." (more info). Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: "Fox 2000 has acquired the film rights to Rick Riordan's children's book "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" for studio-based Maverick Films to produce. The project centers on Greek god Poseidon's 12-year-old half-human son, who sets out on a quest across modern-day America with the huge tasks of saving his mother, returning Zeus' stolen lightning bolt and preventing a war between the gods..." (more info). Raising the Dead: "Alison Eastwood ("Poolhall Junkies") has come on board to star in and produce the indie feature "Raising the Dead." The project, written by Julie Koehnen, centers on a restaurant manager (Eastwood) whose reunion with her siblings at their father's funeral brings out a dark secret. Isaac Eaton ("Shadow Hours") is directing..." (more info). Shadow Divers: "Fox 2000 has jumped deep for Robert Kurson's "Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II," acquiring the nonfiction book in a deal that could go north of $1 million. Kurson's work, which is described as a blend of history and deep sea adventure, centers on the story of two divers who became historical detectives when they discovered a German WWII U-boat off the New Jersey coast..." (more info). The Princess & the Pauper: "Walt Disney Pictures has optioned the movie rights to this young adult novel, the tale is a modern, female-oriented take on the classic story: The lives of rebellious 16-year-old twins living poles apart, one a "pauper," the other a princess, become intertwined when they swap places for what is supposed to be one night but turns into a more long-term arrangement..." (more info).A Home at the End of the World: 50 pics from the Colin Farrell drama are up at Rope of Silicon. Action: Jay Mohr revealed to The IMDb that Sony has finallly decided to release his defunct comedy series "Action" to DVD. Aimee Semple McPherson: The trailer for the new Rance Howard flick is up at IESB. Alien vs. Predator: Gareth hears that the new look of the Predator masks "were designed to help prevent Alien Face Huggers from implanting Predators", whilst their longer blades "allow their warriors to lessen the acid splash from Aliens". Anna's Eve: A trailer just came out on the web for a horror movie called Anna's Eve, it's directed by Kantz who did "Love and a Bullet". Ask the Dust: Some exclusive set pics from the Colin Farrell/Salma Hayek flick are up at Coming Soon. Be Cool: WZLX 100.7 FM reports that last night's Aerosmith concert at Mansfield, Massachusetts' Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts was filmed for use in the "Get Shorty" sequel. DVD News: Details and/or art is up for Will & Grace: Season 3, Rounders: CE, The Punisher, Angel: Season 4, Star Trek: Series 1-3 & New York Minute. Intelligencer: Novelist Leslie Silbert revealed a desire to see Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom play popular playwright turned spy, Christopher Marlowe, in a movie adaptation of her book in a recent interview with The Trades. I, Robot: Some pics from the Alex Proyas film featuring the robots are up at Rope of Silicon. Phantom of the Opera: A trailer should air on ET tonight (parts of it at least). River Queen: Stuff reports that Silverscreen Films is looking for accommodation in Taumarunui, New Zealand for up to 150 cast and crew members including Kiefer Sutherland, Samantha Morton and Temuera Morrison. Serenity: The official site for the Joss Whedon sci-fi movie remake of "Firefly" is now online. Sam Raimi's Next: Sam Raimi told IESB at the "Spider-Man 2" premiere that he'd be interested in doing both an "Evil Dead 4" and a "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash" - someday. Says Raimi on the former, "I'd like to make another Evil Dead movie. Right now I don't have any plans to, but it would be a lot of fun". On the latter he remarks "That sounds interesting. I'd love to read a script...if one exists". Raimi's concentrating on getting a "Spider-Man 3" off the ground at the moment. Star Trek XI: Rick Berman is still very much attached to the idea of doing a prequel film according to Trekweb. The Grudge: Sarah Michelle Gellar talks exclusively in a video clip about her upcoming horror remake to IFilm. Woman Thou Art Loosed: The first pics from the new Kimberly Elise flick are up at Black Film. Thanks to 'Brad', 'sumtexanguy', 'Lucas', 'Last Decepticon', 'Wilson', 'KarlChilders', 'Paul', 'Robert', 'Jeff', 'Brad', 'Carolina', 'Scott', 'Alex' & 'Caligari'

SHARE:

• Previous Article
• Submit a Scoop
• Next Article