Posts

Kristen Bell Joins Whales By Peter Sciretta/June 22, 2010 8:00 am EST Kristen Bell is in talks to join Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski in Ken Kwapis’ (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, He’s Just Not That Into You) big screen adaptation of Whales. Based on Tom Rose’s nonfiction book “Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World’s Greatest Non-Event” about three California Gray whales who were discovered imprisoned in the Arctic ice in 1988, and media madness that spawned around the rescue which “captured the imaginations of hundreds of millions of people....

Mark Ruffalo May Be Marvel’s New Hulk By Russ Fischer/July 14, 2010 9:58 am EST Briefly: OK, this is news I can really get behind. If you’ve got to replace Edward Norton in a role, you can just get anyone off the street. But it looks like Marvel has sights set high, and not on Joaquin Phoenix.Deadline reports is that Mark Ruffalo is in ’late stage talks’ to be the new Bruce Banner and Incredible Hulk in The Avengers....

Matt Reeves Off ‘The Twilight Zone;’ Now Leads Studio Short List For ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’ With Guillermo Del Toro, Jeff Nichols, Rian Johnson And Others By Germain Lussier/Sept. 25, 2012 6:46 pm EST Instead, he’s now become the frontrunner to replace Rupert Wyatt as the director of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Also on the short list behind Reeves: J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed), Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later), Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter), Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy), Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible) and Rian Johnson (Looper)....

Morgan Freeman In Talks To Play Controversial Ex-Magician In ‘Now You See Me’ By Russ Fischer/Aug. 10, 2011 2:30 pm EST Now You See Me, a thriller that takes place in the world of stage magic, is a film that might be flying under your radar at this point. So let’s change that, because it sounds like it could turn out to be something worth watching. Screenwriters Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt have come up with a story about The Four Horsemen, a team of master illusionists who pull bank heists during their stage performances and then distributes the takings to each audience, as an FBI team attempts to take them down....

Movie Trailer #4: The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 8, 2010 8:30 pm EST Official Plot Synopsis: This time around – Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb – find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world. Joining forces once again with their royal friend Prince Caspian and the warrior mouse Reepicheep, they are whisked away on a mysterious mission to the Lone Islands, and beyond....

Nathan Fillion Twitter-Campaigning To Star In ‘Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune’ By Germain Lussier/Oct. 15, 2010 11:00 am EST If there ever was a pitch perfect piece of has-to-happen casting, it would be Nathan Fillion as Nathan Drake. Fillion is the dashing, charismatic star of the current television show Castle who is best known for his role as the cocky, confident Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds in Joss Whedon’s Firefly universe. Drake is the star of the Uncharted video game series (seen above), which is about a cocky, confident relic hunter in the mold of Indiana Jones, armed with a quicker tongue and a bigger penchant for violence....

By Russ Fischer/Aug. 17, 2011 4:00 pm EST At $1 per night, Redbox DVD rentals have been one of the cheapest ways to check out a DVD release. And at $1.15 to $1.20 per night, the company’s prices would remain low. Indeed, that price increase is starting to roll out in some markets — Redbox customers in Austin, TX and Portland, OR will face 15-20% price increases on regular DVDs as the company takes recent Netflix price hikes as an indication that the market can bear higher fees....

Rental Trouble: Movie Gallery (Hollywood Video/Game Crazy) Shuts Down; Youtube Streaming Store Tanks By Russ Fischer/May 4, 2010 9:14 am EST I was told about Movie Gallery closing the other night by a friend who manages a store, but The Wrap has all the necessary details. The chain, which owns Game Crazy and Hollywood Video, will close 2,415 stores in the US. Another 180 stores are operated by the chain in Canada, but we don’t yet know if those are also closing....

Roland Emmerich Set To Direct “Die Hard On Pennsylvania Ave” Movie ‘White House Down’ By Russ Fischer/April 3, 2012 6:00 am EST Roland Emmerich has already blown up the White House, in Independence Day, and now he’s going to oversee a hostile takeover of the joint. The director is in talks to make White House Down, the script that The Amazing Spider-Man and Zodiac writer James Vanderbilt recently sold to Sony for a cool three million dollars....

Saul Bass-Inspired Movie Poster For Buried By Peter Sciretta/June 4, 2010 12:00 pm EST Lionsgate has released a new poster for the Ryan Reynolds one-man thriller Buried. You might remember that the independent film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical and audience acclaim, sparking a multi-studio bidding war. The story follows a private contractor who is kidnapped in Iraq and buried alive. He has 90 minutes of air left until he dies, and has access to only a phone and a lighter....

See The Final ‘Prometheus’ Trailer Tease, And A New Photo By Russ Fischer/Dec. 21, 2011 3:00 pm EST As a bonus, we’ve also got a new still image from the movie. If you’ve been hungry to see Michael Fassbender wielding a flashlight, this is the one for you. Apple has the clip in HD. The still image comes via Empire. Click to enlarge. Prometheus is directed by Ridley Scott, written by Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts and stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Rafe Spall, Logan Marshall-Green, Guy Pearce, and Patrick Wilson....

Stephen Sommers Returning To Direct G.I. Joe Sequel By Adam Quigley/Aug. 3, 2010 4:41 pm EST And now for news that nobody else but me will be excited about. Last we heard about the G.I. Joe sequel, Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were hired to pen the screenplay. It was also assumed that the main cast would be returning, seeing as how they’re contractually obligated to do so. Director Stephen Sommers, meanwhile, was not contracted to return, and after rumors that he had been fired off the first film following a disastrous test screening, there was a lingering question of whether the studio would even want him back at the helm....

Steve Carell Attached To Star In ‘Foxcatcher’ From ‘Moneyball’ Director Bennett Miller By Russ Fischer/Sept. 29, 2011 8:00 pm EST Steve Carell has been attached to a good many film projects, but now that he has lined up with the MRC production Foxcatcher, I expect it will end up being one of his next films. Why? Because he’d be playing John du Pont, the schizophrenic heir to the du Pont fortune, and the man who pulled the trigger on Olympic wrestler David Schultz....

TV Bits: Syfy Canceles ‘Stargate Universe;’ Jack Huston Becomes ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Regular; Scott Buck Is New ‘Dexter’ Showrunner; ‘Locke & Key’ Adds Sarah Bolger; ‘24’ Movie Script Rejected By Russ Fischer/Dec. 17, 2010 3:30 pm EST We’ve got a great deal of TV odds and ends to present to you, so let’s kick off with one that is a big deal to those involved: Syfy has decided not to pick up Stargate Universe for a third season, which is a nice way of saying the show is canceled....

Video Blog Reaction: ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ By Peter Sciretta/July 20, 2011 8:00 am EST Last week I got a chance to see Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger. I’m not able to write up a proper review at the moment as I just arrived in San Diego and have much to do prepping for the 2011 Comic Con, but I recorded a quick video blog reaction with Alex from FirstShowing immediately following the screening....

‘A Cat In Paris’ And ‘Chico & Rita’ Trailers: Get A Taste Of Two Lesser-Known Oscar Nominees By Russ Fischer/Jan. 24, 2012 6:47 am EST In the Best Animated Film category two of the nominated films are ones that are probably unfamiliar to a lot of people. A Cat in Paris, by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, and Chico & Rita, by Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando were both nominated....

‘Dear Lemon Lima’ Trailer By Angie Han/Feb. 13, 2011 5:06 pm EST Despite the fact that it’s been picking up festival awards and the occasional glowing review for over a year now, there hasn’t been much hype surrounding Dear Lemon Lima. This is the first feature-length production by writer/director Suzi Yoonessi (producer, Me and You and Everyone We Know), as well as the cinematic debut of star Savanah Wiltfong. The film follows Wiltfong’s Vanessa as she enters something called the Snowstorn Survivor Competition in order to win back the affections of her popular, pretentious ex (Shayne Topp)....

‘Three Stooges’ Shortlist Includes Johnny Knoxville And Andy Samberg By Germain Lussier/Jan. 6, 2011 6:45 pm EST Last month, the feature film version of The Three Stooges moved from the struggling MGM to 20th Century Fox, along with writer/directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly. Once attached stars Jim Carrey, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro were long gone but with the change of studio, the movie once again had a pulse. That pulse is now quickening according to The Wrap who reports that “advances have been made, representatives have been approached and discussions have taken place” for Johnny Knoxville, Andy Samberg and Australian comedian Shane Jacobson to play Moe, Larry and Curly....

‘Toy Story 3’ Writer Michael Arndt To Pen ‘Phineas And Ferb’ Movie By Angie Han/Oct. 28, 2011 10:30 am EST One of the big concerns any time a beloved television series makes it to the big screen is that the film version won’t do justice to the original, but fans of Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb can probably put that worry to rest. It was announced earlier this year that the animated show would be getting a theatrical movie in 2013, and we’ve now learned that Disney has tapped Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine writer Michael Arndt to write a draft of the script....

Billy Connolly Is The Final Addition To The Cast Of ‘The Hobbit’ By Russ Fischer/Feb. 8, 2012 6:00 pm EST The cast of Peter Jackson’s two Hobbit films, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, is huge. Like, really, tremendously huge. They actors are all listed at the bottom of the post, but the point is that, after months of shooting, the cast isn’t quite big enough....