Posts

Kevin Smith Announces Nicholas Braun As The Lead Of ‘Hit Somebody’ By Russ Fischer/Nov. 29, 2010 6:01 pm EST When Peter recently corresponded with Kevin Smith about recent quotes concerning the future of the filmmaker’s career, Mr. Smith said that he was about to announce the lead of his hockey comedy Hit Somebody. Indeed, today he posted the fourteenth episode of his Hollywood Babble-On podcast, during which he announced that Nicholas Braun, who was in Sky High and the 10 Things I Hate About You series, and also appears in Red State, has the lead in the hockey film....

MGM Has New CEOs As Spyglass Entertainment Finalizes Deal To Control The Studio By Russ Fischer/Oct. 7, 2010 10:52 pm EST One more step forward towards new life for MGM. Spyglass Entertainment partners Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum have been named the new joint chairmen/CEOS, which pushes the ailing studio along the path to bankruptcy and restructuring. Deadline says that Barber and Birnbaum won’t officially be CEOS until after MGM goes through Chapter 11 bankruptcy....

Microsoft Kinect Hacked To Create Real-Time Lightsaber By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 23, 2010 11:00 am EST The most interesting thing about the Microsoft Kinect video game add-on is definitely not the games or anything officially released thus far — it is the hacks that the hacking community has been able to turn out thus far (and this is just the beginning). One of the hacks allows you to wield a lightsaber in real time, a task which usually takes hours of rotoscoping in a post production software program....

Orlando Bloom And James Corden Join Three Musketeers By Peter Sciretta/May 23, 2010 2:58 pm EST Paul W.S. Anderson’s 3D adaptation of The Three Musketeers is racing to the big screen. Variety is reporting that Orlando Bloom has signed on to play the Duke of Buckingham and British comedian James Corden has been cast as the servant Planchet. Orlando Bloom in yet another period film adaptation? How obvious… The previously announced cast includes Christoph Waltz as Cardinal Richelieu; Logan Lerman as D’Artagnan; Matthew MacFadyen as Athos; Ray Stevenson as Porthos; Luke Evans as Aramis; Milla Jovovich as M’lady De Winter; and Mads Mikkelsen as Rochefort....

Ouija Board Movie Update: Not A Horror Movie, More Action-Adventure By Russ Fischer/April 26, 2010 2:03 pm EST In 2008, we heard that Platinum Dunes had the option to make a film based on the classic slumber party and devil-summoning game Ouija Board, with few details beyond the assertion that it wouldn’t be like Jumanji. Now, as the release date approaches for the latest Dunes movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street, producer Brad Fuller is talking about some of the company’s future projects....

Ridley Scott Goes Head To Head With Werner Herzog In Heated Gertrude Bell Biopic Race By Russ Fischer/March 31, 2011 7:00 am EST It’s like the space race all over again, only with a lot less tension, and sand instead of stars. Is there really enough interest in writer/political officer/archaeologist Gertrude Bell that development on parallel film projects is warranted? Not to diminish her accomplishments — she was quite a woman — but it seems strange nonetheless....

Robin Williams Cast As Dwight D. Eisenhower In ‘The Butler’ By Russ Fischer/July 19, 2012 12:30 pm EST Precious director Lee Daniels is putting together The Butler, and he’s handing Robin Williams a razor before signing him on to the film. Williams is now set to play former President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the movie, which traces the true story of Eugene Allen, who served in the White House for three decades, through eight presidencies....

Rumors: Superman Auditions Underway With Jonathan Nolan Directing? Elena Satine For Mary Jane Watson In Spider-Man? By Russ Fischer/July 13, 2010 1:45 pm EST Seems like there have been far more superhero movie rumors than normal in the run-up to this year’s Comic Con. Hopefully many of these will be addressed in some manner within the next couple weeks, but in the meantime take anything boldly marked ‘rumor’ as merely a way to kickstart conversation....

Sharlto Copley And Michael Nyquist Set To Star In Sci-Fi Tale ‘Europa’ By Russ Fischer/Sept. 8, 2011 12:00 pm EST Be prepared to hear about quite a few new projects over the next week as producers shop films at TIFF, which begins today. One of the first we’ve heard about was Rust and Bone, with Marion Cotillard under the direction of A Prophet helmer Jacques Audiard. The second big possible TIFF sale is a sci-fi project called Europa, which will star District 9’s Sharlto Copely and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’s Michael Nyquist in a story about a mission to Jupiter’s fourth moon....

Steven Soderbergh’s Next-To-Last Film Will Be Thriller ‘Bitter Pill’ By Russ Fischer/Nov. 29, 2011 1:30 pm EST When Steven Soderbergh decided that he wouldn’t do The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in the wake of casting dithering and Warner Bros. wanting to make the film for less money than he was willing to spend, we assumed the director would fill that slot with another film. After all, Soderbergh plans to make only a couple more movies before going into some form of retirement....

This Week In DVD & Blu-Ray: Inception, Shrek Forever After, And More By Adam Quigley/Dec. 7, 2010 2:30 pm EST We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Inception sets the bar for summer blockbusters. The film is a technical marvel—a thrilling, fun and smart dose of cleverly integrated action and compelling sci-fi gimmicks. Those are aspects I was able to enjoy when I first saw and reviewed the film, but it wasn’t until a second viewing that I was truly able to appreciate the fascinatingly constructed filmmaking metaphor that Nolan had created....

Viola Davis Boards ‘Ender’s Game’ And ‘Beautiful Creatures’ By Angie Han/Feb. 3, 2012 7:30 am EST The Bridesmaids ladies aren’t the only female ensemble cast enjoying a well-deserved career boost this awards season. Hours after we reported that Octavia Spencer had signed on for Bong Joon-ho’s post-apocalyptic thriller Snow Piercer, Spencer’s The Help co-star Viola Davis has booked supporting roles in Gavin Hood’s sci-fi flick Ender’s Game and Richard LaGravenese’s fantasy adaptation Beautiful Creatures....

Wes Anderson Approaches Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Angela Lansbury And His Regulars For Next Film By Germain Lussier/July 9, 2012 12:30 pm EST When Wes Anderson was promoting Moonrise Kingdom, the writer/director told us his next film would “not be family friendly.” The same can’t be said for the cast. Twitchfilm is reporting Anderson has once again approached an impressive ensemble for the next project, including Johnny Depp, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe and Angela Lansbury....

Will Ferrell Attached To ‘Due Date’ Writers’ New Script ‘Swear To God’ By Russ Fischer/June 29, 2011 12:15 pm EST Briefly: Could there be another Will Ferrell comedy directed by Adam McKay? The two previously made Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers and The Other Guys, and have teamed on shorts for Funny or Die. They’re also prepping the ensemble football comedy Three Mississippi. Now Warner Bros. has picked up Swear to God, a pitch by Due Date writers Alan Cohen and Alan Freedland which has Will Ferrell attached to star as “a narcissistic hedge fund manager who thinks he has seen God....

‘Ghostbusters III’ Update: Still Waiting On Bill Murray By Germain Lussier/Feb. 4, 2011 12:30 pm EST When we last left the long and arduous development-hell known as Ghostbusters III, everything hinged on the shoulders of one man: Bill Murray. A script by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky was reportedly sent to Dr. Peter Venkman himself a few months ago and Sony will only move ahead with the movie if Murray signs off on it....

‘My Week With Marilyn’ Review: An Entertaining Love Letter To Movies And Celebrity By Germain Lussier/Nov. 8, 2011 12:30 pm EST It’s difficult to decide which aspect of My Week With Marilyn is its best asset. The film provides an insider look at movie history, gives interesting insight into legendary personalities, has magnificent performances and a wonderful score. Nope, it’s none of those things. The best thing about My Week With Marilyn, Simon Curtis’ delightful snapshot of Hollywood history, is how it gives audience the ultimate wish-fulfillment....

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Adds Brett Cullen And Chris Ellis By Russ Fischer/May 23, 2011 8:00 pm EST Briefly: We just heard that Matthew Modine, Tom Conti and Joey King would join Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway in the cast of Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film, the now-shooting The Dark Knight Rises. Now they’re getting company in the form of Brett Cullen (LOST, Ghost Rider) and Chris Ellis (Catch Me If You Can, Transformers)....

‘Twins’ Sequel Being Developed As ‘Triplets,’ With Schwarzenegger, DeVito And Eddie Murphy By Russ Fischer/March 29, 2012 7:00 pm EST Rumors have flown for the past year of a possible sequel to Twins, the 1988 comedy in which Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger starred as genetically engineered but not quite identical brothers. And now that second film is really happening: Universal and Montecito Picture Co. are developing a film that will follow Twins....

Acquisitions: Sony Classics Takes Sundance Hit ‘Smashed,’ Plus Pickups For ‘Grabbers’ And ‘Neighboring Sounds’ By Germain Lussier/March 6, 2012 5:00 am EST Three festival favorites have just gotten U.S. distribution. The most exciting piece is confirmation that Sony Pictures Classics has, indeed, picked up James Ponsoldt’s Sundance hit Smashed starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul. Also, IFC Midnight acquired the Sundance horror comedy Grabbers (above) and Cinema Guild will release Rotterdam Film Festival winner Neighboring Sounds, by Mendonça Filho....

Animated ‘Tron: Uprising’ Details Revealed By Germain Lussier/Dec. 23, 2010 2:00 pm EST Whether or not you love or hate TRON: Legacy, there’s no denying that Disney is all in with their investment in the franchise. Video games, theme parks, toys and, of course, the upcoming animated series. Tron: Uprising will begin airing on Disney XD (that’s like Disney Channel for Boys) during the Summer of 2012 and it sports an impressive voice cast including Elijah Wood, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Mandy Moore, Paul Reubens, Nate Corddry, Lance Henriksen and Bruce Boxleitner, who will reprise his role as Tron....