Follow, FilmJuice Editor, Alex Moss @AlexanderJMoss

Wednesday, 22^nd February 2012

Guillermo del Toro, the man behind Pan’s Labyrinth, still beavering away on monster movie Pacific Rim has now added another project to his endless to-do list.  The project in question is an animated film called Day Of The Dead which he will produce for writer/director Jorge R Gutierrez.  Day of The Dead, nothing to do with Romero’s zombies, instead focuses on the Mexican holiday that honours the deceased with all manner of festivities.  The film is said to include a lot of musical numbers so del Toro and Gutierrez are looking to international stars to help write and perform the songs.  Source – Heat Vision  

Josh Duhamel, best known for being married to Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas and starring in the Transformers movies, has signed on to star in Scenic Route.  He’ll star alongside Dan Fogler, last seen in 80s throw-back Take Me Home Tonight, in the film about two college students who go on a road trip and get stranded in the desert.  When they begin to realise they’re not going to be rescued they begin to bicker.  Kevin and Michael Goetz are directing with The Beaver writer Kyle Killen on pen duties.  The biggest problem is surely going to do something about convincing any sane audience that Duhamel could possibly still be in college!  Source – Deadline Hollywood

American Assassin, the film based on the book by Vince Flynn, was all geared up to be directed by The Last Samurai’s Ed Zwick but that has all changed.  Zwick is too busy prepping and shooting The Great Wall and so step forward Jeffery Nachmanoff to replace him.  The film will tell the story of Mitch Rapp who was destined to be a high-flying college student and athlete until an accident meant a change of career path and become one of the CIA’s most dedicated terrorist hunters. At one point the likes of Colin Farrell, Matthew Fox and Gerard Butler were talked about for the role but it is now looking to cast someone younger.  Nachmanoff meanwhile is the man behind Traitor and wrote the latest Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Last Stand.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Antje Traue, having finished trying to kill Henry Cavill in The Man Of Steel, is joining the cast of The Seventh Son.  The film will see Ben Barnes as a teenager who is the seventh son of a seventh son and therefore allowed to train as a wizard (makes sense).  Jeff Bridges is the man to train him and teach him how to defend himself against ‘The Dark’ which includes some witches.  Sergey Bodrov is the man behind the camera with Julian Moore also set to star.  Source – Variety

The Night Circus, the book by Erin Morgenstern, is getting the cinematic treatment thanks to Jane Eyre and Tamara Drew writer Moira Buffini.  The book is about a circus which only opens at night as it travels the country.  But this is merely a back-drop for a battle between two illusionists which only one can survive.  The problem is the magicians in question have fallen in love making their powers do strange things but the battle must go ahead nonetheless.  Summit Entertainment have bought the rights to the book are will now be looking to find a director.  Source – Deadline Hollywood    

 

Tuesday, 21^st February 2012

Orlando Bloom, last seen swash-buckling in The Three Musketeers, is looking to join the cast of Zulu.  Fear not Michael Cain fans, and fans of the original film about Rorke’s Drift, this is not a remake or re-imagining but simply a film with the same title.  Bloom will team with Blood Diamond’s Djimon Hounsou to play a pair of post-Apartheid South African cops who investigate the murder of a Springbok rugby player’s daughter. Jerome Salle, who directed The Burma Conspiracy, will call the shots with regular writing partner Julien Rappeneau writing the script.  Source – Screen Daily

Mark Miller, the comic book creator behind such films as Wanted and Kick-Ass, has been speaking about the status of some of his material’s latest film installations.  It seems that Kick-Ass 2 will shoot as soon as this summer, although it seems that original director Matthew Vaughn will only produce as he’s committed to making X-Men; First Class 2.  Meanwhile, Vaughn is also working with Miller on American Jesus which will see Jesus return in a modern day US during the financial crisis, although Miller is anxious to point out the film is intended to be beautiful rather than irreverent like much of his work.  And finally Miller is working with Vaughn on the script for Secret Services which sees a nerd being taught how to be a sophisticated spy.  None of the studios involved in any of these projects have made any sounds so this all could be wishful thinking from Miller with the rumour being that producers are struggling to re-assemble the original cast for Kick-Ass 2.  Only time will tell if we get to see more of Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl. Source – Daily Report via Heat Vision

Jim Caviezel, better known as Jesus from The Passion Of The Christ, has joined the cast of The Tomb.  For those who don’t remember The Tomb will star Sly Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger as two men trying to break out of an in-escapable prison.  Well every movie prison needs a villainous Warden so step forward Jesus, sorry Jim Caviezel.  The film will start production later this year, for a 2013, with Mikael Hafstrom calling the shots.  Source – Ain’t It Cool News

 

Monday, 20^th February 2012

Michael Fassbender, hot off the heals of Shame, Haywire and the expected return of Magneto in the X-Men First Class sequel, is looking to take the lead role in the film adaptation of Cu Chulainn.  Chulainn was a skilled warrior of the Ulaid tribe in 8^th Century Ireland who was said to be of divine ancestry.  Fassbender has teamed with Public Enemies writer Ronan Bennett to help him craft the script but at this point in time there is no director attached and Fassbender is one of the busiest actors in cinema right now so who knows how far away this project could be.  Source – Variety

I Am Legend, the film based on the book by Richard Matheson which starred Will Smith, has long since been looking to gear up for a sequel to the successful first film.  For a while a prequel was touted but it now seems that studio Warner Brothers are anxious to get a sequel up and running having hired writer Arash Amel, producer Akiva Goldsman and most importantly star Will Smith.  Of course there is a slight problem of where to take the next film giving Smith’s character’s final moment at the end of the first film.  Still death should never stand in the way of a vampire making cash-cow.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

RED, Retired Extremely Dangerous, the film, based on the comic, which starred Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren as retired special agents taking revenge on their former employers looks to be getting ready to come out of retirement for sequel.  Jon and Erich Hoeber, who wrote the first film, have been hired to pen the sequel with original director Robert Schwentke opting not to return.  However, Summit Entertainment has now hired Dean Parisot, who last directed Fun With Dick And Jane but is more famous for Galaxy Quest, to call the shots.  Apparently stars of the first film Willis, Mirren, John Malkovich and even the killed in the first film Morgan Freeman could all return.  With the inclusion of Freeman it’s possible this could be a sequel but these guys are spies so who knows if bullets can in fact kill them.  Source – Heat Vision

Michael Winterbottom, having recently dabbled in TV with The Trip, is returning to big screen affairs but bringing with him his Trip and 24 Hour Party People star Steve Coogan.  The film in question is The King Of Soho and will see Coogan playing real life porn publisher Paul Raymond who was the man behind such publications as Razzle and Mayfair.  Also along for the ride are Anna Friel as his wife, Chalet Girl’s Tamsin Egerton as his mistress and Imogen Poots as his daughter.  Control writer Matt Greenhalgh is on writing duties.  Source – Variety

Kyle Chandler, the star of TV’s Friday Night Lights and recently seen in Super 8, has bagged a role in The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow’s latest film based on the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.  The film is still to be given an firm title but already boasts a cast including Joel Edgerton, Jessica Chastain, Chris Pratt, Edgar Ramirez and Mark Strong.  Having said all those names though none of them have been ‘officially’ confirmed with a whole host of names still rumoured to be circling the project.  Locker writer Mark Boal is once again teaming with Bigelow to crank out the script.  Chandler meanwhile will next be seen in Ben Affleck’s Agro.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Perry Mason, the classic character based on Eric Stanley Gardner’s books is looking to get a cinematic outing.  Formerly a long running TV show starring Raymond Burr the new incarnation is being put together, in order for him to star, by none other than Robert Downey Jnr.  Marc Guggenheim, who last wrote Green Lantern, has been hired to pen the script about the master attorney who takes on difficult criminal cases.  Downey Jnr’s wife Susan is on producing duties which could see Iron Man taking on another role in the vein of Sherlock Holmes.  Source – The Hollywood

 

Friday, 17^th February 2012

Gael Garcia Bernal, the star of Y Tu Mama Tambien and The Science Of Sleep, is being lined up to play the infamous swashbuckling sword fighter Zorro.  But this will not be your normal run of the mill Zorro.  Studio 20^th Century Fox has decided to take the character and place him in an apocalyptic future where he will still be a masked vigilante.  A clever twist on a classic character or a re-invention too far?  Only time will tell but Sony, who made The Mask Of Zorro and The Legend Of Zorro, are also prepping another film based on the character’s origins.  Two Zorro’s for the price of one or are we looking at another Deep Impact Vs. Armageddon?  Source – Variety

Sienna Miller, not seen on screen since 2009’s GI Joe: Rise Of Cobra, as joined the cast of A Case of You.  The film stars and was co-written by Justin Long and tells the story of a writer who meets a girl through online dating by telling some pretty tall stories about himself.  The problem is he has to keep these lies up when they start getting serious for fear she won’t like him otherwise.  Evan Rachel Woods, Busy Philips and Peter Dinklage are also all onboard with Long in the lead role and Kat Coiro on directing duty.  Source – Variety

Simon Kinberg, the writer behind Mr. & Mrs. Smith and producer behind X-Men: First Class, has been speaking about his writing duties on the currently in development X-Men First Class sequel.  Kinberg said as a huge X-Men fan it was a happy day when Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy agreed to play Magneto and Professor X.  Of the sequel plot details remain locked firmly in the producers heads with only Cerebro levels of psychic powers being able to unlock them but Kinberg has said that the film will feature a lot more Magneto as he grows ever more into the villain role he is destined to fill.  Source – MTV

John Carter, the movie adaption to Edgar Rice Burrough’s classic series rather than the Doctor from ER, is already gearing up for a sequel despite the first film still being three weeks from release.  Director/writer Andrew Stanton and co-writer Michael Chabon are apparently beavering away on a script which would be, for the moment, called John Carter: The Gods Of Mars.  Although Stanton and Chabon are obviously keen to follow up their first film, and early rumblings are it could be a big hit, studio Disney has by no means greenlit the project and indeed won’t until they are satisfied with the box office takings of the fist outing in cinemas next month.  Source – Coming Soon

Scott Waugh, the former stuntman turned director who managed to shoot upcoming SEAL movie Act Of Valor without anyone really knowing, is lining up his next project in the shape of Real Speed.  Not dissimilar to The Fast & The Furious Speed will see a team of elite pursuit cop drivers take on an illegal street racing ring which holds races through major cities.  Greg Russo, who wrote action thriller Autobahn, is working on the script which Waugh hopes to shoot independently of studios to sell to distributors once it’s finished.  Before that though he’ll re-team with his Valor co-director Mike ‘Mouse” McCoy to shoot Arnold Schwarzenegger in Black Sands.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Thursday, 16^th February 2012

Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, two of Hollywood’s biggest hitting and most successful actresses are both on the verge of signing to star in August: Osage County.  The film follows the troubled lives of the Weston Clan with matriarch Violet, to be played by Streep, soothing her pains with drugs and alcohol.  Meanwhile eldest daughter Barbara Fordham, Robert’s character, discovers her husband is having an affair with one of his students.  Based on the Pulitzer and Tony award winning play buy Tracey Letts the Weinstein company are producing and unsurprisingly see this as a major Oscar contender and have hired John Wells to direct the film.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Forrest Whitaker, the Oscar winning actor of The Last King Of Scotland, is set to play another historical figure in the shape of Desmond Tutu for the film The Archbishop And The Antichrist.  Roland Joffe has adapted Michael Ashton’s play which sees the real Tutu in a fictional story about meeting mass serial killer Piet Blomfeld who is seeking redemption.  Joffe is of course the director behind The Killing Fields and The Mission so if this goes according to plan there’s every chance both he and Whitaker could be looking at further Oscar nominations.  Source – Screen Daily

Jennifer Aniston and Dennis Quaid are in talks to star in the adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s The Switch.  The book is a pseudo prequel to Rum Punch, which was adapted into Jackie Brown by Quentin Tarantino, and tells the story of younger versions of Louis Gara and Ordell Robbie, played by Robert De Niro and Samuel L Jackson in Brown but her to be played by Winter’s Bones’ John Hawkes and Yasiin Bay.  The two goons are hired Mickey Dawson (Aniniston) to get revenge on her tycoon husband (Quaid) after her refuses to pay a kidnap ransom for his wife.  Dan Schechter is calling the shots on the film but the producers have made it clear the film is not intended to act as a prequel to Jackie Brown but a stand-alone story.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

The Butler, a project that has languished in development hell for quite some time, seems to be getting new life in the form of Precious director Lee Daniels.  The film will track the live of Eugene Allen a black man who rose in the White House to become a butler and ended up serving eight Presidents between 1952 and 1986.  His life took in all the civil rights of Martin Luther King and the two Kennedy brothers before finally watching in awe as Barrack Obama took to the White House only to loose his wife 65 hours after election day.  Daniels is looking to pack the characters with a plethora of stars including Hugh Jackman, Mila Kunis, John Cusack, Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Tony Scott, director of hit films like Top Gun, True Romance and most recently Unstoppable, looks to his set his sights on his next project in the shape of Lucky Strike.  The film is an action thriller, well this is Tony Scott after all, and will see a DEA agent team with  a drug runner in order to take down a drug cartel.  At present it looks like Vince Vaughn will take one of the two lead roles but nothing is set in stone on that front.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Wednesday, 15^th February

Gina Carano, the break-out star of Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire and Mix Martial Arts expert, has found her next project to star in.  John Stockwell will direct In The Blood which is said to be in the vein of Liam Neeson starring Taken and will see Carano as a wife on holiday with her husband in the Caribbean when he is kidnapped and killed.  This being Carano she doesn’t sit at home and mop, nope she goes out and tracks down the villains to exact bloody, high-kicking revenge.  Well you would if you could.  Stockwell is best known for directing Into The Blue and Blue Crush so based on that we can expect to see Carano kicking-ass in a bikini?  Count us in. Source – Heat Vision

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, better known as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello, are getting another live action outing.  The franchise had three movies in the 90s before getting an animated film in 2007.  This current project has been in the works for a while but has now signed Battle Los Angeles director Jonathan Liebesman to direct.  For those not in the know the TMNTs are a group of turtles, obviously, who are mutated, keep up, into human sized and speaking characters who are learn ninja from their rodent master Splinter.  Along the way they must fight the evil Shredder and make friends with intrepid reporter April O’Neil.  Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes is producing the movie but before all the Liesbesman will release his Clash Of The Titans sequel Wrath Of The Titans.  Source – Variety

Brian Taylor, part of the manic Neveldine/Taylor co-writer and co-director of films like Crank, Gamer and the upcoming Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, has reportedly signed a seven figure deal to direct a the movie based on the hugely popular video game Twisted Metal.  The game is in the vein of a Death Race style genre where players take part in underground street races with cars kitted out with all manner of nasty weapons to kill their opponents.  This will be Taylor’s first time directing without his normal partner in crime Neveldine.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Oren Peli, the man behind the first Paranormal Activity, has now announced the name of his latest project which will be called The Chernobyl Diaries. Peli won’t direct this one, instead that role will fall to FX hot shot, who did wonderful things on Fight Club and Let Me In, Bradely Parker with Peli on writing duty with Cary and Shane Van Dyke, grandsons of Dick Van Dyke.  Don’t expect any Diagnosis Murder here though as the film will see a group of friends stranded in a town that has long since been abandoned due to a nuclear incident.  The problem is that the radiation seems to have created something unpleasant that is now after our gang of heroes. Source – Shock Till You Drop via Empire

 

Tuesday, 14^th February

Emma Watson, last seen in My Week With Marylyn and soon to be seen in The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, is rumoured to be attached as Beauty for Guillermo del Toro’s Beauty And The Beast movie.  The film is something of a pet project for del Toro who has just wrapped on his monster movie Pacific Rim.  Watson of course is also a good fit after her dealings with a certain boy wizard she is no stranger to fantasy worlds and monsters trying to get the better of her.  No word yet on whether there will be talking crockery in this version but we remain hopeful.  Source – Variety

Michael Bay, the popcorn master to some and the devil of cinema to others, has now signed on the dotted line to direct at least one more Transformers movie.  It is not surprising given the success of the franchise so far, especially the last film which grossed $1.24 Billion at the global box-office, that studio Paramount would want to make another film and want to get Bay back to direct it.  It’s unclear at this point what the plot will be but it seems that Shia LeBeouf is not interested in returning to the franchise.  With that in mind there have been rumblings, of the huge robot kind, that Jason Statham could take over the lead human role of the saga.  That remains a firm rumour though.  Before all the Bay will direct Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson in Pain And Gain.  So Filmjuicers, what do you think?  More Transformers with Bay back in the chair a good thing or bad thing?  Let us know via Facebook and Twitter.  Source - MTV

Dominic Cooper, last seen in My Week With Marilyn and soon to be seen in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter which you can see the trailer for HERE, is looking to sign on to Roger Donaldson’s Cities.  It seems Clive Owen is dropping out of the project and Cooper is stepping in to fill his boots.  The film tells the stories of various people just before the stock market hit a high.  One story will see a young English couple trying to get on the property ladder, another sees a policeman in India dealing with corruption and in New York a Hedge Fund manager doing his thing.  The only problem for Cooper is scheduling might mean he has to drop out of Albert Hughes crime thriller Motor City which he was supposed to be taking the lead in opposite Amber Heard and the villainous Gary Oldman.  Time will tell on whether he can fit in both.  Source – Variety

Michael Mann, acclaimed director of Heat and Collateral who is currently working on TV’s Luck, will apparently make The Big Stone Grid as a future project.  The film, which was written on spec by S. Craig Zahler, is said to be in the vein of Se7en or Marathon Man about two decorated New York cops who uncover a terrifying extortion ring.  Before that though Mann has the small matter of Go Like Hell which sees the war between Ford and Ferrari for motoring supremacy in the 1960s.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Alfred Hitchcock seems to be flavour of the month in terms of Hollywood ideas.  Last week saw the announced remake of Rebecca and now comes news that Veena Sud, the executive producer behind the US The Killing, has been hired to write a script for Suspicion.  Like Rebecca the original was based on a book by Francis Illes so the term remake will rapidly be rejected.  The story follows a woman, played by an Oscar winning performance from Joan Fontaine, who marries a man against her rich father’s wishes only to realise that he is plotting to kill her for her money.  It’s a solid female lead role which will no doubt have the cream of actresses trying to get the part. Source – Variety

Dan Aykroyd, he of The Great Outdoors fame and Blues Brothers and a few other major comedy hits if you’re getting pernickety about it, has been talking about the possibility of Ghostbusters 3.  It seems that none of the Ghostbusters want to make a film unless it is absolutely right but at the same time, while they hope Rick Moranis will return, it seems that Bill Murray is unlikely to.  Indeed it seems so unlikely that Murray will return that Aykroyd is condisdering finding another actor to play the sarcastic Peter Venkman.  Only time will tell what will actually come to fruition.  Source – Empire

 

Monday, 13^th February

Russell Crowe, currently singing away in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables adaptation, is being linked to the title role for Harker.  The film tells the story of Dracula from the position of Jonathan Harker and places him as a detective in Scotland Yard hunting the blood sucking vampire as he commits a series of murders.  At one point Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra was attached to direct but he left for the now doomed Akira adaptation so it is possible he could return to this project instead.  Between this and the news that Dracula: Year Zero is now back in development it seems vampires and their dark master are hot again right now.  Source – Vulture.

Jennifer Aniston, last seen firmly strutting her stuff in Horrible Bosses, has signed onto star in Miss You Already.  The film will follow two life-long best friends who find themselves torn apart when one of them becomes pregnant and the other falls ill.  It is said to be a classic tearjerker in the vein of Beaches.  Paul Andrew Williams is directing the film and the production are currently looking to cast the other best friend opposite Aniston.  The film will be set and shot in London this summer. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Paddy Considine, having scooped a BAFTA last night for Tyrannosaur, has said that he is now looking to adapt The Years Of The Locust.  The true story, written by Jon Hotten, is about Rick ‘Elvis’ Parker, a door-to-door salesman turned boxing promoter and the naïve fighter he took under his wing Tim Anderson.  The film is said to be about paranoia, murder, money and intrigue which after Tyrannosaur seems right up Considine’s street.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Saoirse Ronan, seen last year kicking-ass in Hanna, has signed on to take the lead in Order Of The Seven.  Formally titled Snow White & The Seven the film sees an Englishwoman in 19^th Century leading a group of warriors.  It was previously going to be closely linked with the story of Snow White but with Mirror Mirror and Snow White & The Huntsman coming out this year those references have been dropped.  Source – Variety

Will Ferrell, soon the be seen in Casa de mi Padre, has signed on to star in Flamingo Thief.  Based on the book by Susan Trott, Ferrell will play Tim Forrester who becomes obsessed with stealing figurines of Pink Flamingos after his wife leaves him.  Ben Stiller’s Red Hour films will produce the film with Michael LeSieur, who directed You, Me And Dupree, will call the shots.  It’s not the first time Ferrell has focued on more down-beat comedy having made Everything Must Go last year and Stranger Than Fiction in 2006.  Source – Variety

The BAFTAs, The British Academy Film Awards 2012, happened at a glittering affair in The Royal Opera House in London last night.  Stephen Fry was on hosting duties with The Artist dancing its way to biggest winner of the evening. You can see a full list of the winners below:

Best Film

The Artist

Outstanding British Film

Tinker Tailor Solider Spy

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director or Producer

Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

Best Film Not In The English Language

The Skin I Live In

Best Documentary

Senna

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

Best Original Screenplay

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

Best Adapted Screenplay

Tinker Tailor Solider Spy – Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn

Best Leading Actress 

Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady 

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Best Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer – The Help

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin – The Artist

Best Original Music

The Artist – Ludovic Bource

Best Cinematography

Guillaume Schiffman – The Artist

Best Editing

Senna – Gregers Sall, Chris King

Best Production Design

Hugo - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

Best Costume Design

The Artist – Mark Bridges

Best Make Up & Hair

The Iron Lady

Best Sound

Hugo

Best Special Visual Effects

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery

Best Short Animation

A Morning Stroll

Best Short Film

Pitch Black Heist

The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award (Voted for by the public)

Adam Deacon

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema

John Hurt

BAFTA Fellowship Award

Martin Scorsese

 

Friday, 10^th February

Naomi Watts, recently seen opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in J Edgar, has now signed on to play Prince Diana in the film Caught In Flight.  It had been rumoured that Oscar Nominated Jessica Chastain would be playing the role but it seems that the English born Watts will instead fill the role.  The film depicts the final two years of the Princess’ life and many believe will cause no end of controversy surrounding the famously private and much loved Diana.  Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel will direct the film.  Source – Ecosse Films

Ridley Scott, the director behind such classics as Alien and Blade Runner and currently putting the finishing touches to the cut of Prometheus, a prequel to Alien, and the script for a Blade Runner sequel/prequel, has nabbed his next project after Prometheus in the shape of Cormac McCarthy’s first script The Counsellor.  McCarthy, best known for his novels No Country For Old Men and Blood Meridian (a book Scott was anxious to adapt) submitted the script to his publishers when there were in fact expecting a new book.  Given how highly McCarthy is regarded all manner of directors were trying to get their chance to direct the story about a lawyer who thinks he understands the legal system well enough to beat it by going in to the drug business, things naturally don’t go smoothly.  What this means for Scott’s proposed adaptation of Child 44 is anyone’s guess but with his visuals and McCarthy’s words this could be an impressive project.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Paradise Lost, the film adaptation of John Milton famous poem, is indeed to go the way of Paradise.  It turns out that budgetary concerns have well and truly put an end to this incarnation of the project that was set to be directed by I Robot’s Alex Proyas and star Bradley Cooper as Lucifer.  The poem depicts the war between heaven and hell but it seems the technology to create such an epic skirmish was simply too much for the studio to agree to.  Source -Variety

Henry Cavill, soon to be seen wearing his pants outside his trousers in The Man Of Steel as Superman, is close to signing on to star in The Great Wall.  The film will tell the mysterious story of how China’s Great Wall came into existence.  Ed Zwick, whose last film was a bit of a break from his normal epic scale Love And Other Drugs, will call the shots.  Source – Variety

Rebecca, the classic novel by Daphne DuMaurier which was then made into a classic movie by Alfred Hitchcock, is getting a reboot thanks to Dreamworks.  Most people will know that Hitchcock remakes don’t normally fair very well, ask Gus Van Sant about Psycho, as you simply can’t best the Master of Suspense.  This of course is slightly different as it is based on a successful novel which sees a young girl marrying a rich man but finding that his staff are eternally loyal to his former wife.  Before long a mystery begins to unravel as to what happened to the former wife as Rebecca is forced to try and keep her sanity through all the madness.  Steve Knights, who wrote Eastern Promises and Dirty Pretty Things, is taking a shot at the new script.  Source – Variety

Brendan Gleeson, soon to be seen opposite Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds in Safe House, obviously had such a great time working on The Guard with John Michael McDonagh that he’s joined the cast of the writer/director’s next film.  Calvary will see a good-hearted priest trying to make the world a better place but let down by the people who live in his small town.  Then things take a turn for the worse when his life is threatened during confession.  Gleeson will take the lead role with Kelly Reilly, Chris O’Dowd and Aiden Gillen in supporting roles.  Based on Gleeson and McDonagh’s last film together The Guard we’re very excited about this one.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Thursday, 9th February

Arnold Schwarzenegger, soon to be seen in The Expendables 2 with The Stath, has now officially signed on to star opposite his other Expendables 2 co-star Sylvester Stallone in The Tomb. The film will see Stallone as a designer of unbreakable prisons who finds himself thrown into, and having to escape of course, one of his own jails.  There he recruits Schwarzenegger, who will play another inmate called Church, to help him break out.  The Rite director Mikael Hafstrom will call the shots on the action thriller.  Source – Summit Entertainment.

Jason Statham, soon to be seen in Safe and The Expendables 2, has signed on to star in Brian De Palma’s remake of Heat.  Calm down Michael Mann fans, it’s not that Heat but the 1987 film about a recovering gambling addict who acts as a body-guard in the rough gambling world.  Refusing to use guns he resorts to only hands and rough edged weapons.  The original film was written by legendary screen-writer William Goldman, which in turn was based on his book of the same name, and would you believe your luck he’s also writing this updated version.  Frankly after the likes of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid and Misery Mr. Goldman can do no wrong in our eyes.  Source – Sierra/Affinity via Coming Soon.

Natalie Portman, having taken some time off since Thor to have her baby, is looking to jump back in to movies with both feet.  In fact she is now signed on to star in not one but two Terrence Malick movies.  She will join the impressive cast of Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Isabel Lucas for Knight Of Cups before heading to Malick’s other film which stars Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Hayley Bennett and Blanchett (again) for Lawless.  The rumour is the two films are not connected but with both sharing Portman and Blanchett could there be some character cross-over.  Plot details are being kept under wraps but it’s nice to see the normal decade between films Mr. Malick straight back at it after Tree of Life.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Blade Runner, the remake/reboot/sequel call it what you like has been chewing up column inches this week like Deckard would a good chow Mein, and now director Ridley Scott has weighed in with his take on all things Harrison Ford.  Indeed Scott has come out saying that there is still debate as to whether the new film will be a prequel or a sequel.  So the project is still clearly up in the air but Scott has said that if the story is right he would love to work with Ford again.  So that clear that up like the smog over Neo Los Angeles.  Any thoughts Filmjuicers? Let us know through Facebook and Twitter. Source – Entertainment Weekly

Hammer Films, hot off the success of The Woman In Black, have announced two upcoming films which will be next up on their slate of productions.  The first is The Quiet Ones which is based on a true story about an unorthodox professor who experiments on his students in the belief that negative human energy creates poltergeists, the problem is a wayward experiment creates something much worse.  That film will be directed by Quarantine 2 helmer John Pogue.  Hammer will then follow it up with Jack The Ripper thriller Gaslight by new writer Ian Fried.  The script, which made it on to the Black List of best unproduced scripts, sees Jack helping Scotland Yard, from his insane asylum, solve a series of grizzly murders.  It is said to be From Hell meets Silence of The Lambs which is fine by us.  It’s too early for a director on that one but one thing is for sure Hammer Horrors are back with a big old Harry Potter sized bang.  Source – Hammer Films    

Philip Seymour Hoffman, recently seen going toe-to-toe with Ryan Gosling in The Ides Of March, is in talks to star in Anton Corbijn’s next film A Most Wanted Man.  Based on the novel by John Le Carre, who is all the rage again after Tinker Tailor Solider Spy’s success, the story follows a Chechen-Russian Muslim who finds himself playing a part in the war on terror.  Hoffman will play the rogue head of a German spy unit who is trying to track the mysterious man down.  The script has been written by Edge Of Darkness writer Andrew Bovell and Le Carre’s book is loosely based on the real life of Murat Kurnaz, a Turkish citizen living in Germany who was sent to Guantanamo Bay before being released in 2006.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Wednesday, 8^th February

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, the hit pairing that made Wedding Crashers such a hit, are looking to re-unite for a new film called Interns.  The film sees two cooperate men living the high life in easy jobs.  However, when both are laid off due to downsizing they take intern jobs at a Google-style tech company in the belief the experience will do them well.  The only problem is they find themselves pitted against internet intelligent high-flying 22-year-olds who seem to have the edge on them.  Vaughn wrote the script which is now looking to be produced at Fox, having previously been at Universal, with his Neighbourhood Watch producer Shawn Levy looking to produce the film.  Source - Vulture

Amy Adams, soon to be seen in The Muppets, has signed on to take the lead role in the adaptation of Steve Martin’s book An Object Of Beauty.  Although best known for his comedy and acting Martin is also a novelist and has seen one of his books Shopgirl already turned into a movie in which is starred.  In An Object Of Beauty Adams will play Lacey Yeager a girl who climes the arts social ladder thanks to her power of seduction and keen eye for works of art.  Before that though Adams has the small part of Louis Lane to play in The Man Of Steel before playing Clint Eastwood’s daughter in Trouble With The Curve.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, recently seen in 50/50, will make his directorial debut, and also star opposite Scarlett Johansson, on an untitled comedy film.  The film is about a modern day Don Juan and his determination to settle down.  Gordon-Levitt will play that role with Johansson and an as yet un-cast other female character playing the love interests of the film.  Before that though Gordon-Levitt will be seen in The Dark Knight Rises as well as taking a small part in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Denzel Washington, soon to be seen in Safe House opposite Ryan Reynolds, is looking to join the Mark Wahlberg starring 2 Guns.  Based on the comic by Steven Grant the film tells of two thieves who plan to rob a bank which is a mob front for money laundering.  However, one of them is a DEA agent while the other has his own secret agenda.  Wahlberg’s The Fighter director David O Russell was originally set to direct the film but it seems that he and Wahlberg have fallen out.  With that in mind Wahlberg has turned to his new Contraband director Baltasar Kormakur to helm the project.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

The Karate Kid, the Jaden Smith starring hit, looks set to get a sequel.  Hardly surprising considering the first film cost in the region of $40 Million and went onto make $300 Million at the box-office.  It seems the second film will take the action from Japan to The United States.  Jaden’s dad Will Smith will once again produce with Zak Penn, who wrote X-Men The Last Stand, doing a second draft of the script originally written by Kung-Fu Panda teams of Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff.  No word yet if Jackie Chan will return for the sequel.  Source – Variety

The Vampire Lestat, first portrayed by Tom Cruise in Interview With The Vampire and then Stuart Townsend in Queen Of The Damned, could be heading back to the big screen.  Based on Anne Rice’s book The Tale of The Body Thief, which is the fourth instalment in the Vampire Chronicles, sees Lestat trade bodies with a human psychic for a day only to discover the human has no intention of returning the body to its owner.  Lestat must then recruit some vampire friends to get his immortal body back.  Fringe producers and Transformers writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman are producing the film.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Tuesday, 7^th February

Jessica Chastain, fresh off her Oscar Nomination for The Help, will star along side Joel Edgerton in two separate but closely associated films.  The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her will tell the story of a strained marriage from Chastain’s character’s side while The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby: him will tell the story from Edgerton’s character’s side.  The project is being written and directed by Ned Benson and will see Edgerton as a restaurateur whose wife Chastain returns to college.  Source – Twitch

Alcon Entertainment, the powers that be behind the new Blade Runner film, have shot down yesterday’s rumours of Harrison Ford being involved in the film.  In fact producer Andrew Kosove went so far as to call the rumour ‘patently false’.  Oh well it was a nice idea while it lasted and it seems the movie is at a much earlier stage than first thought with story ideas still being thrashed out and a similar approach to the material as director Ridley Scott’s other re-boot/spin-off from the Alien franchise Prometheus.  Can we expect to see any original cast members from Blade Runner in the new incarnation?  Stay tuned for more rumour control as it happens.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Robert Rodriguez, still jumping from kids movies to adult films, is going ahead with his planned sequel to his 2010 film Machete.  The next instalment in the film which he and star Danny Trejo came up with on the set of Desperado, which later became a fake trailer for Grindhouse, will be called Machete Kills.  The first film starred Trejo alongside Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba and Robert De Niro.  There is no firm word on who, if any other than Trejo, will return for the sequel but Robert Rodriguez confirmed in typical Grindhouse style the second film would include a fake trailer for the third film called Machete Kills Again…In Space.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Monday, 6^th February

Blade Runner, the iconic classic Sci-fi from Ridley Scott, is gathering pace in the sequel stakes and to make it even more intriguing it now seems that Harrison Ford, star of the original film, is in early negotiations to play a key role in the new film.  At this point, as with Ridley Scott’s current film Prometheus’ relationship to Alien, it is unclear whether this is a sequel or a reboot.  Either way Ford’s involvement would imply it is closely related to the 1982 classic.  Of course it is unclear if Ford will return as Deckard or perhaps a different role, a replicant who looks like Deckard would be an intriguing twist.  Either way with Scott and Ford’s potential involvement this is one film that could prove to be worth the re-visit to the classic neo-Los Angeles of the stunning original.  Source – Twitch

Insidious, the hit horror film from last year, is looking likely to get a sequel.  The first film starred Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson who believed their house was haunted only to realise it was in fact their son.  The film cost almost nothing in Hollywood terms with a budget of $1.5 Million which then went onto gross $100 Million at the box-office.  The sequel was almost a forgone conclusion with that success and a cliff-hanger ending.  It is unclear if Byrne and Wilson will return but the first film’s writer and director James Wan and Leigh Whannell are in early negotiations to come aboard the sequel.  Source – Heat Vision

Catherine Hardwicke, director of the first Twilight movie, is set to re-team with her Thirteen star Evan Rachel Wood for the erotic thriller Plush.  It is unclear who Wood will play as plot details are being kept under wraps but it seems it will likely see Hardwicke return to gritty teenage lives involving drugs, sex and with any luck no sparkly vampires.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

The Avenger’s stars Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson are set to reteam for a new film called Can A Song Save Your Life?  John Carney, who directed the hit sleeper film Once, will call the shots in a story which will see Johansson play a girl who dreams of making in the New York music scene.   Only problem is her boyfriend dumps her when he is offered a lucrative solo career.  Thankfully she runs into down-on-his-luck record producer Ruffalo who sees some talent and the two start the road to fame and fortune.  Source – Exclusive Media via Coming Soon  

Gary Oldman, fresh off the back of his Oscar Nomination for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, has signed on to star in Motor City.  Oldman will play a villain responsible for sending Dominic West’s character to prison while he tries to get back the love of his life in the shapely form of Amber Heard.   Albert Hughes, who directed Oldman in The Book Of Eli, will call the shots.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Friday, 27^th January 26

Captain America, while he might be getting ready to throw his shield with the other Avengers, looks like he might be getting a sequel to Captain America First Avenger sooner than expected.  Neal McDonough, who played Old Cappy’s comrade Dum Dum Dungan has made it clear he will be repeating the role for Captain America 2 which will shoot later this year.  That’s not all he let loose though as he also told IMDb that he would be playing the same role in the spin-off movie Nick Fury about Samuel L Jackson’s character in the Marvel movies.  In the comics Dugan is Fury’s right hand man.  Of course at this stage this is all just rumour coming from an actor who might just have a case of wishful thinking, so till we hear it from Marvel treat with care but the prospect look good for not one but two new Marvel movies.  Source – IMDb.com

Jane Lynch, daughter of David Lynch and director of Surveillance, will next direct  A Fall From Grace.  The dark thriller (it’s Lynch what do you expect?) will see a homicide detective tracking a serial killer along the Mississippi River who burns his victims.  Lynch also wrote the screenplay with Eric Wilkinson. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Romeo & Juliet, those star-crossed Shakespearean lovers, is finally rounding out the cast of the latest adaptation by adding Paul Giamatti to the roster to play Friar Lawrence the man who helps the young lovers.  The BBC’s Great Expectations star Douglas Booth is on as Romeo while True Grit, and Oscar nominated star, Hailee Steinfeld is on as Juliet.  Add to that Ed Westwick as Tybalt and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Benvolio and it’s shaping up nicely in Old Verona.  Carlo Carlei is directing from a script by Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellows.  Source – Variety

Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly have both signed on to star in the indie film Writers.  Kinnear will play a successful novelist who is dealing with his complicated relationship with his ex-wife Connelly and his two teenage children.  Josh Boone will make his feature film debut making the film.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Chronicle, the found footage super hero movie soon to be in cinemas, has made quite a name for writer Max Landis as his latest script has just been bought by Disney.  Story details are being kept tight lipped but it is said to be a sci-fi in space which focuses on a brother and sister.  Landis comes from a high pedigree of Hollywood being the son of American Werewolf In London director John Landis.  Max has also written the upcoming Untitled Frankenstein Film as well as the Pied Piper movie.  Source – Variety

And Finally….With the Super Bowl around the corner there are all manner of teaser trailers and potential commercials that are about to air but here at Filmjuice this one got us particularly excited. It sees an all grown-up Ferris Bueller, aka Matthew Broderick, wondering how he can work today followed by that famous theme from John Hughes’ 80s classic.  Don’t expect a Ferris Sequel any time soon but it’s nice to see Ferris is some guise or other none the less.  

Thursday, 26^th January

Steven Spielberg, currently wowing audiences with War Horse while he put the finishing touches to Abraham Lincoln biopic, is close to agreeing to direct Gods And Kings.  The film is about a certain man called Moses who was apparently a big deal in the Bible.  It would follow his story from being sent down the Nile as a baby, adopted, leading the Jews out of slavery, receiving the Ten Commandments before fleeing Egypt and parting the Red Sea, as you do.  Warner Brothers are excited at the prospects of Spielberg brining a gritty Saving Private Ryan aesthetic to the project.  Before though The Beard has to shoot his next film Robopocalypse.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

The Hangover stars Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zack Galifiankis are rumoured to be teaming up to demand $15 Million each to reprise their roles in the third instalment in the franchise.  The rumour is that they are likely to get their wish as well.  Supposedly the actors only got paid $1 Million each for the first film which then made $467 Million at the box-office, then got paid $5 Million for the second which made a whopping $581 Millions at the box-office.  It seems only right then that the main attractions should get a slice of the pie.  While the Hollywood gods are granting wishes though can we wish that, after the last film, there are no more Hangover films?  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

The Saint, the popular 60s TV show starring Roger Moore, is set to get another stab at a movie.  The last film, starring then Batman Val Kilmer, did OK at the box-office but didn’t launch the franchise that many were hoping for.  The show sees Simon Templar using methods outside of the law to bring to justice corrupt politicians and the like.  Eagle Eye writer Travis Wright has been hired to bang out a new script for what the big-wigs hope will be the start of a trilogy.  Of course there are a few spies like him out there these days with Bond, Bourne and Hunt all fighting to be top dog maybe The Saint’s suave ways can rival the now moody Bond for a bit of charm.  Source – Variety

Russell Brand, the comedian turned actor who starred in last year’s Arthur, is set to star in The Hauntrepreneur.  The film is said to be a kids supernatural story similar to Charlie And The Chocolate factory about a family who hire Brand’s character to build them a haunted house.  The spec script was written by Con Air and High Fidelity writer Scott Rosenberg and will be produced by Paramount Pictures.  Source – Variety

 

Wednesday, 25^th January

Catherine Zeta-Jones, last seen in The Rebound and soon to be seen in Rock Of Ages, has joined the cast of Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects, formerly known as The Bitter Pill.  The film will see doctors Zeta-Jones and Jude Law trying experimental drugs to which Blake Lively becomes addicted.  She in turn starts and affair with Law’s character while her husband Channing Tatum is about to be released from prison.  It’s not the first time Zeta-Jones has worked with Soderbergh having also had a key role in his 2000 film Traffic.  First thing on a Wednesday morning and we’ve covered sex, drugs and rock and roll.  Today’s looking up already.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Emma Roberts and Craig Roberts, the stars of Scream 4 and Submarine respectively (no relation to each other), have signed on to star in Lymelife director Derick Martini’s next film I Am My Family Secret.  The film will see two brothers who couldn’t be any more different learning a shocking family secret which involves them after 20 years.   No word on what that secret might be.  Emma is of course the daughter of Eric and niece of Julia Roberts, while it’s good to see Craig getting some solid recognition for his part in one of last year’s best films.  Source – Deadline Hollywood  

Liam Hemsworth, brother to Thor’s Chris and soon to be star of The Hunger Games, has signed onto star in director Philip Noyce’s sci-film film Timeless.  The film sees a young man plagued by unresolved issues between himself and his late wife.  Using the money she left after her death he builds a time machine, as you do, so travel back and see her one last time.  Enchanted writer Billy Kelly wrote the script.  Source – Moviehole

The Crow, having sorted out the legal dispute between Relativity Media and The Weinstein Company, is now going full steam ahead and looking to hire writer Jesse Wigutow and director F Javier Gutierrez to direct.  The Crow is based on J. O’Barr’s 1989 comic book and was famously adapted into a cult film which lead to the tragic death of Brandon Lee while on set.  At one point this new incarnation of the story was set to star Bradley Cooper in the lead role but he has since moved on to pastures new.   Source – Deadline Hollywood

Ron Livingstone and Lili Taylor are in talks to join Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in the project formerly called The Conjuring but now going under the working title of Untitled Warren Files Project.  Livingstone and Taylor would play a couple who move to a farmhouse and are terrorised by a nasty ghost.  Based on a true story Farmiga and Wilson will play the demonologists who are called in to deal with the pesky spectre.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Tuesday, 24^th January

The Oscar Nominations are in!  See the full list of nominees below.  The winners will be announced on 26^th February and based on these nominations The Artist and The Descendants should fair.

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
War Horse
Moneyball
Tree Of Life
Midnight In Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris
Terrence Malick – Tree Of Life

Best Lead Actor
George Clooney – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Demian Bichir – A Better Life

Best Lead Actress
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis – The Help
Rooney Mara – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Max Von Sydow – Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help

Best Animated Feature Film
A Cat In Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss In Boots
Rango

Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo – Bridesmaids
JC Chandor – Margin Call
Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris
Asghar Farhadi – A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash – The Descendants
John Logan – Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon – The Ides Of March
Steve Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball
Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Cinematography
Jeff Cronenweth – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson – Hugo
Janusz Kaminski – War Horse
Emmanuel Lubezki – Tree Of Life
Guillaume Schiffman – The Artist

Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead – Belgium
Monsieur Lazhar – Canada
A Separation – Iran
Footnote – Israel
In Darkness - Poland

Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen two of the hottest young talents working at the moment are set to star together in Nomi Foner’s Very Good Girls.  The film will see Fanning and Olsen as two life long friends who have just graduated high school.  They make it their summer mission to lose their virginity but things take a turn when they both fall for the same guy in the shape of Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin.  Fanning will next be seen in Twilight Break Dawn Part 2 while Olsen is to be seen in the acclaimed Martha Marcy May Marlene.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Ben Stiller, having just wrapped on action comedy Neighbourhood Watch, is looking to turn his attention to TV in the shape of HBO’s All Talk.  He will star, direct and executive produce the show that tells the story of a Jewish family in Washington DC.  The concept is from Safran Foer whose book Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close is currently wowing audiences with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.   Stiller has also hooked in his Tower Heist star Alan Alda to co-star in the show.  However, the show will not shoot until later this year giving Stiller time to focus on The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty and While We’re Young before he heads to TV.  With Stiller still being very much an in demand movie star it remains to be seen how often his character will be seen in the TV show.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Paul Feig, the director behind Bridesmaids, is also heading to the google box for HBO for The Viagra Diaries.  The show is being run by Sex And The City producer Darren Star and will see a 65 year old woman, to be played by Goldie Hawn, left by her husband of 35 years and finding her way in the world without him.  Like Sex And The City the show will be based on a book by Barbara Rose Brooker but at this stage will have to go through a pilot episode to see if it gets a full series.  Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Selena Gomez, speaking of young actresses who was last seen in the film Monte Carlo, has signed on to star in the adaption of Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere.  Gomez will play Lennie Walker a talented young musician who lives in the shadow of her even more talented older sister.  But when her sister suddenly dies Lennie finds herself thrust into the limelight and being comforted by her sister’s boyfriend on the one hand and being seduced by a young French musician on the other.  Gomez is one of those annoyingly talented young things that Hollywood seems to sign in the womb and with her long running TV show The Wizards Of Waverly Place coming to an end we can expect to see her a lot more on the big screen.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Monday, 23^rd January

Julia Roberts, Alec Baldwin and Marc Ruffalo have all signed on to star in Ryan Murphy’s next film The Normal Heart.  The film, based on the semi-autobiographical play by Larry Kramer, tells the story of a group of people caught up in the AIDS outbreak in New York.  Ruffalo will play Ned Weeks a homosexual suffering from the disease while Baldwin will play his brother struggling with his brother’s sexuality.  Roberts meanwhile will play a wheelchair-bound doctor who is one of the only doctors taking the disease seriously.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Ryan Reynolds and Reece Witherspoon have agreed to star in Tim Burton produced film Big Eyes.  The film, being written and directed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, will tell the true story of Margaret and Walter Keane who became famous for their pop-eyed paintings in the 1960s.  It was Margaret, to be played by Witherspoon, who painted the paintings but they were sold under Walter’s, Reynolds’ part, name.  Burton will produce the indie film via his productions company.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, two of Hollywood’s most reliable supporting actors, are in final negotiations to star in The Conjuring.  Re-teaming Wilson with his Insidious director James Wan, the film will see Wilson and Farmiga as a husband and wife teams of demonologists taking on their biggest case in a Rhode Island farmhouse.  The film is based on the true life story of the Perron family and the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.  Wilson can soon be seen in Jason Reitman’s Young Adult while Famriga will face off against Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington in Safe House.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Jan De Bont, the director behind Speed who hasn’t directed since the forgettable Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life, is gearing up to remake Johnny Cash starring thriller Five Minutes To Live.  The plot sees a pair of robbers hold a bank manager’s wife hostage and unless one calls the other every five minutes she will die.  The only problem for the robbers is the manager was planning on leaving her anyway.  No word on casting yet but let’s hope De Bont can find his groove from Speed back rather than Speed 2.   Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Friday, 20^th January

Deadpool, aka The Merc With The Mouth, Marvel’s X-Men spin-off character who was last seen in Wolverine still looks like he’s going to get his own movie with none other than Ryan Reynolds, who played him in Wolverine, taking up the role.  The character is said to be very dear to Reynolds who has been keen to reprise his role for some time.  It now seems that the film could go into production in 2012 with former X-Men visual effects guru Tim Miller at the helm.  Now we just have to hope that Deadpool fairs better than Reynolds’ other superhero The Green Lantern.  Source – Coventry Telegraph’s The Geek Files

Kristen Wiig, having distanced herself from the recent rumours of a Bridesmaids sequel, looks to be playing the female lead opposite Ben Stiller in remake of The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty.  Stiller will also direct the film and play Mitty who is so hen-pecked by his wife he lives much of his time in a fantasy world he creates in his mind.  Wiig will play one of his co-workers who plays an alternative version of herself in Mitty’s fantasies.  It will be Stiller’s first time behind the camera since Tropic Thunder.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Bill Bob Thorton, last seen as a cop in The Rock starring Faster, is switching wrestlers for bears in the upcoming film Red Machine.  Thornton will play a bear-hunting expert who has to help Thomas Jane and James Marsden as two brothers being stalked by a man-eating bear.  The film is being directed by Saw V director David Hacki.  Source – Variety

Olga Kurlenko, the former Bond girl of Quantum Of Solace, is set to join Tom Cruise in Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi opus.  She’ll play Vika a woman who works alongside Cruise on what remains of a scorched Earth fixing drone robots that fight of aliens.  When they pair find a crashed ship containing Julia, to be played by newly cast Andrea Riseborough, Cruise finds himself drawn to her and realising she may hold secrets to humanity’s fate.  At one point Jessica Chastain was attached to one of the roles but she has since left the project.  Source – Variety

Dan Lin, the producer behind Sherlock Holmes, clearly has a thing for literary adaptations as he’s now turning his attention to Tad Williams’ sci-fi novels Otherland.  Set 100 years in the future it sees a group of people having to evade an assassin as they travel through a digital world.  There are five books in total in the series so no doubt studio Warner Brothers are looking at this as a big old franchise to make a profit from.  2011 Black List topping writer John Scott III, who wrote Zombie, has been charged with finding a way of putting the story in script form.  Source – Variety

 

Thursday, 19^th January

Kurt Russel and Matt Dillon are set to play brothers in The Black Marks who try to pull of one final heist.  They rope in Jay Baruchel to help them along the way and Katheryn Winnick will play Russell’s Ukranainian stripper girlfriend both along for the ride.  Of course when the job goes well Dillon wants to pull off another one and the brother’s soon realise they have very separate motivations in life.  Jonathan Sobol is directing the film. Source – Variety

Liv Tyler, last seen in Super and more recently a Pantene advert (less said about that the better), has signed onto to star in Ti West’s latest film The Side Effect.  Tyler will play Catherine Rigby a test subject of a pharmaceutical company in outer space.  Having been subjected to a new drug Rigby falls pregnant and must try and understand what has happened to her.  West is famed for his horror movie The House Of The Devil so this could be a kind of Rosemary’s Baby set in space, so The Astronaut’s Wife?  Source – Deadline Hollywood

George Lucas, the mega-bucks making filmmaker behind Star Wars and Indiana Jones, says he’s retiring from making big movies.  His latest Red Tails has been a struggle having been turned down by every major studio Lucas has had to finance it himself.  With this in mind he says that, barring any more Indiana Jones films he may produce, he will be focusing his time on smaller, experimental films.  Of course Red Tails was actually directed by Anthony Hemingway but Lucas’ friend Francis Ford Coppola is pleased that Lucas has moved on to a new brand of filmmaking.  Source – The New York Times

Richard Curtis, the hit writer of Notting Hill and writer director of Love Actually and The Boat That Rocked, is ready to step behind the camera once again for a time travelling dramedy called About Time.  There is no word on the actual plot but having recently written an episode of Dr. Who Curtis knows a little bit about time travel.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Stephen King’s The Stand has already been adapted for TV once in its history but it seems getting a big screen version going has proved a little stop start.  At one point Harry Potter director David Yates was sniffing around the project as a multiple picture story.  Then Ben Affleck was confirmed to direct the film but little has been heard since.  Until now as Warner Brothers have hired screenwriter David Kajganich to adapt King’s behemoth novel.  For those unfamiliar The Stand tells the story of a global virus that wipes out most of humanity.  The survivors then form two groups and battle it out as to who will rule this earth, the good and Godly side or the bad Satanic side.  Kajganich was hired off the back of his yet unproduced adaptation of another King novel It. Source – The Vulture

 

Wednesday, 18^th January

Joel Edgerton, rising star of films like Warrior and The Thing, is now proving he is not just an actor but also a writer having sold a spec script to New Regency.  One Night Stand tells a comedic story of the aftermath between a man and a woman after a one night stand, obviously.  Edgerton will only look to executive produce the film rather than star in it which is not surprising given his slate is currently busy with films like Wish You Were Here, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green and the upcoming Baz Luhrmann’ The Great Gatsby and that’s all before he is set to star in Kathryn Bigelow’s film about the killing of Bin Laden.  Like we said, he’s a busy man there’s no time for a One Night Stand in Edgerton’s life.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Tommy Lee Jones, last seen barking orders at Captain America, has signed on to star in Emperor in the key role of General Douglas MacArthur.  Turns out barking orders are his strong suit.  Directed by Peter Webber the film will tell the true story of MacArthur’s relationship with Emperor Hirohito and whether or not the former ruler of Japan should be tried as a war criminal.  The film will also see Lost star Matthew Fox as MacArthur’s right hand man General Bonner Fellers as MacArthur found himself temporary ruler of the country.  Source – Coming Soon

Cormac McCarthy, the best selling author of books that would become hit films like No Country For Old Men and The Road, has turned his hand to screenwriting.  His publishers were slightly surprised when they opened a package expecting people to find a new book only to discover it was in fact a script.  It didn’t take long for The Road producers Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz to snap up to the rights to the script called The Counsellor.  The script sees a successful lawyer who believes he’s smart enough to become a drug dealer without getting caught of succumbing to the trappings of the lifestyle.  He’s wrong of course, this is Cormac McCarthy, cheaters never prosper.  No director is yet attached but with McCarthy’s words behind them it is expected that many will come flocking.  Source – Deadline

Jamie Bell and Tilda Swinton are in talks to join Captain America’s Chris Evans on Bong Joo-ho’s Snow Piercer.  Joo-ho is best known for The Host and co-wrote the script with Oldboy director Park Chan-wook.  The film sees a group of mismatched people on a train travelling through a frozen waste-land.  Evans is apparently close to signing with Tintin and Kevin’s mum also said to be keen on roles.  Source – Variety

Matthew Lillard, best known as Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo movies and about to be seen in The Descendants, is close to signing on for Clint Eastwood starring Trouble With The Curve.  The film is being directed by Eastwood’s long term producing partner and already boasts Eastwood and Amy Adams as his daughter in the cast.  The film sees Eastwood as an aging, well he’s hardly young, Baseball scout whose vision is failing.  Determined to make one last scouting mission he takes his daughter along for the ride in an attempt to re-bond with her.  Lillard, if he signs, will play a rival scout.  Source – The Wrap

Seth Gordon, the director behind last year’s hit comedy Horrible Bosses, has signed onto helm Jason Bateman and Bridesmaid’s Melissa McCarthy in The ID Theft.  The film will see McCarthy, who the script was re-written after her star performance in Bridesmaids, steal Batman’s identity.  The script was originally written by The Pursuit Of Happiness writer Steve Conrad before The Hangover Part II’s Craig Mazin did a re-write to change the McCarthy character from a male to a female.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Ti West, the director of the brilliant The House Of The Devil, is busy getting his next project together in the shape of The Side Effects.  After pulling out of making Cabin Fever 2, due to budget issues, West is looking to make a slightly bigger film than his normal independent fair.  The Side Effect is about pharmaceutical testing and the paranoia surrounding it but is crucially a sci-fi movie set in space.  Of course with space comes space ships which need to be built so in this instance it’s no surprise that West needs a little more cash to make the money than usual.  His latest film The Inkeepers has just become available in the US on video on demand and it is unclear what kind of release it will get globally so West will be hoping The Side Effect can put him back on top.  Source – The Playlist

 

Tuesday, 17^th January

Idris Elba, better known as The Wire’s Stringer Bell, has confirmed that he will be returning to his character of Heimdall for Thor 2.  Talking to MTV Elba stated that he’s back for the film but is yet to meet with newly hired director Alan Taylor.  Elba isn’t the only returning cast member of the Thor franchise with Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston and the recently announced Jaimie Alexander all on board for the Norse God’s return.  Source – MTV via Coming Soon

Diablo Cody, currently getting rave reviews for her script for Young Adult and writing the new Evil Dead film, has hinted for her in development Sweet Valley High film might be going the High School Musical route by featuring original songs.  The film, based on the hit series of books, features the perky lives of twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield as they clash in the titular school.  The film is still some way off and even more so now the songs have to be written so in the meantime Cody will be working on the script for her directorial debut Lamb Of God starring Russell Brand.  Source – MTV via Empire

Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar winning writer behind Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, has been hired to pen the sequel to this year’s upcoming Twilight/Harry Potter young adult adaptation of The Hunger Games.  The second in the franchise will be based on the second book, surprisingly, by Suzanne Collins.  Gary Ross, who wrote the first film and co-wrote the script will return to direct the second film which will be called Catching Fire. 

BAFTA, The British Academy Film Awards, announced their nominations last night and, perhaps as a surprise given the Golden Globe nominations, it includes such films as the brilliant Drive and Tinker Tailor Solider Spy.  Shame and Senna also get nods for in the Outstanding British Film category so overall it seems that BAFTA have got it right where other awards seem to be overlooking some of the better films of the last year.  See the full list of nominations below.

BEST FILM
THE ARTIST 
THE DESCENDANTS 
DRIVE 
THE HELP 
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN 
SENNA 
SHAME 
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY 
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN 

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
ATTACK THE BLOCK Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
BLACK POND Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
CORIOLANUS Ralph Fiennes (Director) 
SUBMARINE Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer) 
TYRANNOSAUR Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 
INCENDIES 
PINA 
POTICHE 
A SEPARATION 
THE SKIN I LIVE IN

DIRECTOR
THE ARTIST Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Nicolas Winding Refn
HUGO Martin Scorsese
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Tomas Alfredson
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Lynne Ramsay

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE ARTIST Michel Hazanavicius
BRIDESMAIDS Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
THE GUARD John Michael McDonagh
THE IRON LADY Abi Morgan
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Woody Allen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE DESCENDANTS Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
THE HELP Tate Taylor
THE IDES OF MARCH George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
MONEYBALL Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

LEADING ACTOR
BRAD PITT Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Shame

LEADING ACTRESS
BÉRÉNICE BEJO The Artist
MERYL STREEP The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER Beginners
JIM BROADBENT The Iron Lady
JONAH HILL Moneyball
KENNETH BRANAGH My Week with Marilyn
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CAREY MULLIGAN Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN The Help
JUDI DENCH My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY Bridesmaids 
OCTAVIA SPENCER The Help

DOCUMENTARY
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA Asif Kapadia

ANIMATED FILM
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS Sarah Smith
RANGO Gore Verbinski

ORIGINAL MUSIC 
THE ARTIST Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO Howard Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE John Williams

CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE Janusz Kaminski

EDITING 
THE ARTIST Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Mat Newman
HUGO Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY Dino Jonsater

PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE ARTIST Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN
THE ARTIST Mark Bridges
HUGO Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE Michael O'Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Jacqueline Durran

MAKE UP & HAIR
THE ARTIST Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jenny Shircore

SOUND
THE ARTIST Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE Ben Morris, Neil Corbould

SHORT ANIMATION 
ABUELAS 
BOBBY YEAH 
A MORNING STROLL

SHORT FILM
CHALK 
MWANSA THE GREAT 
ONLY SOUND REMAINS 
PITCH BLACK HEIST 
TWO AND TWO

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public) 
ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
CHRIS O’DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE
TOM HIDDLESTON

 

Monday, 16^th January

Chris Evans, Captain America himself, is rumoured to be in talks to star in Bong Joo-ho’s Snow Piercer.  The film, written by Joo-ho with the help of Oldboy’s Park Chan-wook, sees a world covered in snow and ice and follows a group of mismatched people on a train who struggle to co-exist together.  All other story details are being kept under wraps but it is clear evidence that Evans is firmly jumping between big studio films to smaller independent projects.  Source – Variety

Josh Trank, the director behind the incoming found-footage superhero film Chronicle, has apparently jumped to head of the queue as potential directors for the reboot of The Fantastic Four.  From one superhero film to another seems to make sense but it’s all the more impressive given Chronicle hasn’t been released yet and it is Trank’s first feature film.  However, Fox need to make another Fantastic Four film soon or the rights revert to Marvel.  With this in mind it is assumed that the likes of Chris Evans and Jessica Alba will not be returning but instead Fox will try and bring a more adult feel to the feuding family vibe of The Fantastic Four.  Source – Variety

Twilight, the hit movie franchise based on Stephanie Meyer’s best selling novels, might not end with the final instalment Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2.  How? Why? We hear you ask.  Well it seems Lionsgate, the people behind the franchise, feel that Breaking Dawn Part 2 will generate them roughly $700 Million at the box-office.  If this turns out to be true it would be hard for the producers not to at least attempt another instalment.  Even though all the books would have been adapted there is nothing to say that an original sequel, prequel or spin-off couldn’t be created by some Hollywood magic.  Whether of course the likes of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson would be willing to return is another matter but there is nothing to suggest that at re-boot with a new cast or even new characters couldn’t be implemented.  So what do you think Filmjuicers?  More Twilight or time to let the franchise turn to nighttime? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook. Source – The Los Angeles Times.

The Golden Globes, often considered the dress rehearsal for the Osacars, happened last night and may or may not be a betting guide as to where the other big awards will go as the season unfolds.  The full list of winners is below but it is fair to say that there were one or two surprise winners in the mix.

Best Picture, Drama: The Descendants

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy: The Artist

Best Actor, Drama: George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress, Drama: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Foreign Language: A Separation

Best Animated Film: The Adventures of Tintin

Best Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, The Artist

Best Original Song: Masterpiece (music and lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry), W.E.

 

Friday, 13^th January

Arnold Schwarzenegger, fresh off The Expendables 2, is looking to reunite with old mucker Sly Stallone on his next starring vehicle The Tomb.  It’s all very what goes around comes around on the project as Schwarzenegger was at one point attached as the lead in the film, as was other Planet Hollywood Alumni Bruce Willis, but it will now see Sly in the lead.  The Rite director Mikael Hafstrom will call the shots on the film which sees a prison designer framed for murder and thrown into his ‘inescapable prison’.  Of course this means he has to beat his own design to escape.  Sly will play the designer and it’s unclear who Schwarzenegger will play but we’re just happy to see the former Governor or LA back in the saddle.  Source – Ain’t It Cool

James Franco, busy with his degree, soap operas and any number of other projects, looks set to star as famed photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.   Mapplethorpe became famous thanks to his huge black and white photos of men and women as well as his photos of other stars like Andy Warhol and Debbie Harry.  He died in 1989 after complications from AIDS but spent much of his life championing funding for the arts.  The film in its self has been championed by former Buffy star Eliza Dushku and her brother who was intended to take the Mapplethorpe role.  However, with Franco on board funding will no doubt be easier to find.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Daniel Radcliffe, soon to be seen in The Woman In Black and hot off the end of Harry Potter, is now locked into to star alongside Elizabeth Olsen in Kill Your Darlings.  The film is the true story of a murder that affected the lives of famous poet Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe), William S Burroughs, Edie Parker (Olsen) and Kerouac to be played by Jack Huston.  Of course James Franco recently played Ginsberg in Howl so Radcliffe seems a similar fit to the beat poet.  Meanwhile Elizabeth Olsen, younger sister to Mar-Kate and Ashley, has been earning rave reviews for her starring role in Martha Marcy May Marlene.  John Krokidas is directing the film.  Source – Variety

Ethan Hawke, soon to be seen in a small role in Total Recall, is set to star in another sci-fi in the shape of Vigilandia.  Next to nothing is known about the plot of the film as writer director James DeMonaco is keeping it all under his hat.  Hawke and DeMonaco have worked together before on Little New York as well as DeMonaco writing the script for Assault On Precinct 13.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Thursday, 12^th January

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, David Fincher’s adaptation of Stieg Larrson’s novel, didn’t do sterling business at the box-office but it seems studio Sony are looking to go ahead and complete the Millennium Trilogy nonetheless.  Screenwriter, and writer of Dragon Tattoo, Steve Zaillian has already finished a draft of The Girl Who Played With Fire and is said to be close to completing a draft for The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest.  Fincher is not confirmed to return for either of the films but both Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig are rumoured to be signed on for the full trilogy if Sony do go ahead.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Billy Crudup, better known as Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen and star of Almost Famous, has signed onto to star in At These Speeds for first time director, and one two Time Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Leif Tildan.  Also starring is Douglas Booth, seen in BBC’s Great Expectations, as a young boy who is grief stricken when his best friend dies.  He turns to running as a form of therapy and before long is determined to become a talented long-distance runner.  Crudup will play his coach and mentor.  The film has been written by Marc Novak and based on Jeremy Jackson’s novel.  Source – Variety

Hover Car Racer, the book for young adults by Matthew Riley, is set to get the movie treatment thanks to Disney.  Dan Harris is adapting the script that follows Jason Chaser as he joins a school that trains youngsters to compete in futuristic hover car races.  So basically Speed Racer without the technicolour vomit on the screen?  Harris also adapted I Am Number Four so certainly has form in bringing these ever popular ‘young adult’ novels to the big screen.  No word yet on a director.  Source – Heat Vision

After Earth, the epic sci-fi extravaganza starring Will Smith and really life sprog Jaden, looks to have added another cast member in the form of Orphan’s Isabelle Fuhrman.  The film sees Will and Jaden as father and son, talk about type-casting, crash landing on a now uninhabitable Earth.  When Will is hurt it is up to Jaden to save the day.  Fuhrman joins the already cast Zoe Kravtiz and Sophie Okonedo.  M. Night Shyamalan, hot on the heels of The Last Airbender, is directing this one so we all wait with baited breath.  Source – Heat Vision

 

Wednesday, 11^th January 2012

Jim Carrey, old rubber face himself and the former Ace Ventura Pet Detective, could be tempted back for a sequel to his 2003 smash hit Bruce Almighty.  The film got a spin-off, with Steve Carell in the form of Evan Almighty, which did less than stellar business but studio Universal is still willing to take a punt.  Carrey is by no means signed onto star, and is normally reluctant to commit to sequels, but Hot Tub Time Machine writers Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel have been hired to hopefully pen a script that could tempt Carrey back.  Meanwhile he’ll next be seen alongside Steve Carell in magician movie Burt Wonderstone.  Source – Variety

Thor 2, after much trouble in Asgard with switching directors, looks set to get a re-write.  After initial director Patty Jenkins dropped out and was replaced by Andrew Taylor is seems the script will need a bit of a tweak to keep the new helmer happy.  The man drafted in to do just that is Saving Private Ryan scribe Robert Rodant.  The film will see the return of Chris Hemsworth as Thor with Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman also reprieving their roles.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Jersey Boys, the hit stage musical, will follow in the footsteps of other Broadway to screen adaptations like Mama Mia, Chicago and the upcoming Rock Of Ages.  John Logan, the writer behind last year’s Hugo and films like Gladiator, not to mention the upcoming James Bond script for Skyfall, will write the film.  The stage musical follows the rise of The Four Seasons and Frankie Valli who had hits such as  Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like A Man.  Over it’s running time the production has grossed more than $1 Billion in tickets sales so it seems a logic step to turn it into a film.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Garrett Hedlund, the star of Tron Legacy, has signed on to star in the Coen Brothers latest film Inside Llewellyn Davis.  He had been attached to the live action film of Akira but with the film being put on hold for budget reasons he’s free to take on other projects in the meantime.  He joins the a cast that already includes Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Oscar Isaac and John Goodman.  The film tells the story of the rise of folk music in 1960s New York.  Source – Twitch

 

Tuesday, 10^th January 2012 

Jude Law, who is currently doing the Watson to Downey Jnr’s Holmes, has signed onto to star in Steven Soderbergh’s latest The Side Effects.  Law will play also cast Blake Lively’s psychologist as she worries about the impending release of her husband, to be played by Channing Tatum, from prison.  Soderbergh has never worked with Gossip Girl star Lively before but Law appeared in Contagion while Tatum is in upcoming Haywire and Magic Mike, both of which Soderbergh directed.  After his on again off again issues with The Man From Uncle the ever busy Soderbergh will no doubt be itching to get started on another project.  Source – The Playlist

Police Academy, the franchise that launched careers of such ‘stars’ as Steve Guttenberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, Bubba Smith, Sharon Stone and Sex And The City Star Kim Cattrall looks set to get a remake.  Of course whether we need another incarnation of the badly run, full of misfits school for want to be cops is another matter, but New Line is moving ahead with director Scott Zabielski calling the shots.  Part of the reason he got the gig is because in his spare time Zabielski is a West Hollywood Reserve Officer so knows a little bit about the law.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Katee Sackhoff the break-out star of TV’s Battlestar Galactica, has been cast as a bounty hunter in the latest in the Riddick franchise.  She’ll lead a team of mercenaries on the hunt for Vin Diesel’s Riddick no doubt star hopping across the galaxy.  The film is again being written and directed by David Twohy and will also see Karl Urban reprise his role from The Chronicles Of Riddick as Necromonger Vaako.  Before that Sackhoff has Sexy Evil Genius and another sci-fi romp in Lockout both of which are released this year.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Superman, aka The Man Of Steel, looks to be getting a little political injection thanks to The West Wing star Richard Schiff, aka Toby Ziegler, taking on the role of Dr. Hamilton.  The film will see Henry Cavill done the pants as Superman with Amy Adams as Louise Lane, Russell Crowe as Superman’s Kryptonian father, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent while Michael Shannon will play the villainous General Zod.  Dr. Hamilton was a henchmen of Lex Luthor in the comic books so could this suggest that the bald Luthor could make a surprise appearance in the film?  Watchman’s Zack Synder is calling the shots on the film while none other than Christopher ‘The Dark Knight’ Nolan produces. Source – Variety

 

Monday, 9^th January 2012

George Clooney, hotly tipped for Oscar Nominations for upcoming The Descendants, is already looking to his next project called The Monuments Men.  Clooney wrote the script with producing partner Grant Heslov from the book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and The Greatest Treasure Hunt History.  As the book’s title suggests the film is about a group of art experts assembled by the US government to track down stolen artworks stolen by the Nazis during World War II.  Clooney will direct the movie and almost certainly star in but has said it will be a much more commercial film than his past directing efforts with a bigger budget which will include a landing on the beaches of Normandy.  Source – The Wrap via Empire Online.   

Robert Downey Jnr and Tim Burton, the first doing the round in Sherlock Holmes the latter putting the finishes touches to Dark Shadows, are in talks with Warner Brothers to star and direct on a live-action film of Pinocchio.  Burton would call the shots while Downey Jnr is in talks to star as Geppetto, Pinocchio’s father.  This is not the only Pinocchio project in development though with the Jim Henson Company also working on bringing the real boy to life thanks to a script co-written by Pan’s Labyrinth writer-director Guillermo del Toro.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Martin Campbell, the director behind Green Lantern and Casino Royale, has taken over the reins on paranoid thriller Umbra.  Both Roger Donaldson and Joe Carnahan had both been attached to direct the film at one point but Campbell now looks set to bring some of his James Bond thriller experience to proceedings.  He’s also brought his Casino Royale writer, and Oscar nominated director for Crash, Paul Haggis to do a re-write on the film.  The film follows a businessman who received a mysterious package that opens him and his family up to a dark government plot.  No word on casting but with a solid script and Campbell working in the real world, rather than Technicolor superhero land this could be a good yarn to spin.  Source – Deadline

Michael Hazanavicius, the French director behind one of the most hotly tipped movies of the year The Artist, has announced his next film.  Inspired by Fred Zimmeman’s 1948 film the new film will transfer the location from post Holocaust World War II to Chechnya and sees a young woman trying to find her son who she knows survived the horrors that occurred there.  Considerably darker than his current film then but he has already cast The Artist’s leading lady and his wife Berenice Bejo as a NGO worker involved in the story.  Source – Variety

 

Friday, 6^th January 2012

Natalie Portman, the Oscar winning actress of Black Swan, has been taking some much earned rest after a host of films and a baby but now looks like she might be ready to jump back into work.  The Wachowskis are looking to cast her in their latest Jupiter Ascending.  The directors behind The Matrix are keeping plot details close to their chest but it is known to be a sci-fi, well with that title it was either that or a film about Mystic Meg, and they are hoping to convince their V For Vendetta star Portman to take the lead.  Portman will also get back into work for Thor 2 now that has a director locked in.  Source – The Los Angeles Times

Emma Stone, one of 2011’s break-out stars with The Help and Crazy, Stupid Love to her name, has signed on to star in Little White Corvette.  The film sees Stone travelling to Miami with her younger brother in their late father’s corvette which they have found a huge stash of cocaine in, their mission is to sell it.  Stone will be seen this year in The Amazing Spider-Man and is generating Oscar buzz for her turn in The Help.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Akira, the live-action adaptation of the popular Manga comic and anime, has been put on hold due to budget concerns.  The film is still going ahead but the studio, Warner Brothers, wants to cut the budget from the current $90 Million to a more realistic $70 Million.  Apparently the project will spend the next two weeks trying to re-jig the budget and word is if it can’t be cut the film may be shelved for good.  It’s not the first time a live-action Akira film has had problems in development indeed this is the third incarnation of the film.  Slated director Jaume Collet-Serra will hope he can sort things out before this project bites the dust.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Liam Hemsworth, brother to Thor’s Chris Hemsworth and soon to be seen in The Hunger Games, has signed on to star in Empire State alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.  The film tells the true story of the 1982 NYC armoured car company robbery which at the time was believed to be the biggest cash heist in US history.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Thursday, 5^th January 2012

Benedict Cumberbatch, the British star of TV’s Sherlock and Spielberg’s upcoming War Horse, has been cast in a key role in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek sequel.  Although there is no word on who he will play the belief is Cumberbatch has nabbed the coveted part of the film’s villain.  The role was at one part set to be played by Benicio Del Toro before he bowed out and the likes of Edgar Ramierz looked to be in the running.  Those rumours could of course still be true if Cumberbatch’s part is another clever ploy by Abrams and his team to divert attention away from other castings.  However, in other casting news another British star Noel Clarke has also been cast in the sequel with the only details about his character being that he is a family man with a wife and child.  Has JJ Abrams been watching lots of British TV and Movies to find more cast members to back up Simon Pegg’s Scotty? Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Carrie, one of the most iconic horror movies of all time, looks like it’s getting the remake/fresh adaptation.  Based on the Stephen King book the story about Carrie sees the young girl bullied at High School before developing telekinetic powers and reeking bloody revenge on the school on prom night.  The new version is set to be directed by Kimberly Peirce and will look to be more grounded and closer to King’s book than Brian De Palma’s classic.  Love it or hate it the current Hollywood trend of re-using old material shows no sign of going away.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Les Miserables, the new adaptation of the classic story come musical, looks to have added the talents of Amanda Seyfried to it’s already impressive cast.  The film is being directed by The King’s Speech’s Oscar winning director Tom Hooper and will star the likes of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne.  Seyfried will play the part of Cosette and is no stranger to musicals having starred in Mama Mia.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Horrible Bosses, one of last year’s biggest comedies, looks set to get a sequel.  Studio New Line has hired original writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein to pen a follow-up to the story about three guys who group together to off their horrible bosses.  The original trio of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day are all expected to return while director Seth Gordon is also said to be in early talks to helm the project.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Bridesmaids, another monster hit comedy from last year, looks set to potentially get a sequel but could do so without the previous film’s star and writer Kristen Wiig.  Studio Universal are in talks with a number of filmmakers to come up with some interesting ideas and if they like what they conjure then they will move ahead without Wiig.  Wiig, and writing partner Annie Mumolo, are busy on other projects at the moment and producer Judd Apatow has said he will return if he likes the ideas that the new team come up with.  What do you think?  Can Bridesmaids 2 work without the star of the show?  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Wednesday, 4^th January 2012

World War Z, the film adaptation of Max Brooks’ hugely successful book, is rumoured to be set for a trilogy of films.  The first film stars Brad Pitt, who also acts as a producer on the film, and sees him as United Nations delegate Gerry Lane whose job it is to get to the bottom of the zombie apocalypse which is decimating the world.  The film is being directed by Marc Forster but Pitt has now told the LA Times that studio Paramount are planning the project as the first in a franchise.  The film is not out until the end of 2012 so we’ll have to wait and see if it brings the success the studio are clearing banking on.  Source – The Los Angeles Times

Matthew Fox, the star of Lost and appearing in World War Z (see above), has joined the cast of Emperor.  The film, being directed by Peter Webber most famous for directing The Girl With The Pearl Earring, tells the story of Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II.  General MacArthur found himself in charge of the nation and wanted to have the Emperor and his family exonerated rather than tried as war criminals.  Fox will play MacArthur’s second in command General Bonner Fellers and the story will likely be told from his perspective.  Source – Variety

Lovelace, the film about the life of Linda Boreman who became the first pornstar Linda Lovelace, is now in production and as such has added to its cast.  Demi Moore is now onboard as the founder of Ms Magazine Gloria Steinem, Adam Brody has joined as Lovelace’s Deep Throat co-star Harry Reems and Eric Roberts will play Nat Laurendi who conducted a lie detector test on Lovelace to certify that her biography was indeed truthful.  Lovelace will star Amanda Seyfried as the titular star and is being directed by Howl’s Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.  Source – Variety

Rocketman, the film about Elton John’s life that will be a fantasy musical, is aiming high in its talent search for the man who can play Elton himself.  The man himself is acting as one of the film’s producers and when asked by the LA Times who he would like to play him his response was easy.  That man is Justin Timberlake who has indeed played Elton before in the video for This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore (See below).  The current rumours have James McAvoy attached to play the part but after Timberlake’s stunning portrayal in the David LaChapelle video it seems Timberlake could get first refusal.  Source – The Los Angeles Times

Tuesday, 3^rd January 2012

Welcome Back Filmjuicers!

Paramount, the studio behind last years’ Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Super 8 and their first animated movie Rango, finished 2011 as the No 1 grossing studio.  Managing to topple expected winner Warner Brothers, Paramount took a staggering $5.17 Billion worldwide.  2012 is expected to be another bumper year for the studio with films like Brad Pitt’s World War Z and Sasha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator both expected to do big business.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Thor, Marvel’s Norse god who was pretty nifty with his hammer, seems to have found a director to helm the superheroes second outing.  That director is Game Of Thrones veteran Alan Taylor.  It seems that the show has proved something of a creative scouting breeding ground for Marvel as they also considered some of Thrones other directors like Daniel Minahan.  Taylor also has form in shows like The Sopranos, Lost and The West Wing.  He replaces the departed Patty Jennkins who was either fired or quite due to that age old Hollywood code-name ‘Creative Differences’.  Either way Thor was a lot of fun so we wait to see what Taylor and team can bring for the sequel in 2013.  Source – Heat Vision

The Avengers, Marvel’s superhero mash-up starring Iron Man, Capatain America, The Hulk and Thor, looks like it might have let a cat out of the bag a little early in the villain stakes.  While it is widely known that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Thor’s Brother, will play the main villain it seems that toy company NECA have told the world they will be making a (SPOILER stop reading now if you don’t want to know who the surprise villain is) Red Skull toy for the film’s release.  The Red Skull is of course leader of The Avengers Captain America’s arch-nemesis so it seems to fit in that he may make a sinister return.  Marvel are keeping quiet on the matter so this could of course just be another trick by Loki to keep attention off of him.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Thursday, 22^nd December

Harrison Ford and Abigail Breslin have now officially joined the cast of Wolverine director Gavin Hood’s adaptation of Ender’s Game.  They join Hugo’s Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley in the film which will see children trained as soldiers to defeat the hordes of aliens that are threatening earth.  Ford will play the previously mooted role of Colonel Hyram Graff, the man in charge of the programme to train the youngsters.  Source – Variety

David Yates, having finished the mammoth undertaking of directing the last four Harry Potter films, has signed up to direct Your Voice In My Head based on the memoirs of Emma Forrest.  The film is about a self-harming girl and the psychiatrist who helps her through her issues.  Yates has said there will be elements of escapist trippy moments but on the whole is looking forward to tackling something on a smaller scale than Potter.  It remains to be seen in Yates will then come back to such projects as Stephen King’s The Stand which he had previously been linked to.  Source – Screen Daily.

 

Wednesday, 21^st December

Jessica Biel, currently seen strutting her stuff in New Year’s Eve and in next year’s Total Recall remake, has joined the cast of Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes.  The film, which originally had Rooney Mara attached to then be replaced by Skins star Kaya Scodelario, sees a young girl become obsessed by her new neighbour’s resemblance to her dead mother.  Biel will play the neighbour who has recently lost her own daughter sparking a surrogate relationship.  Francesca Gregorini is calling the shots on the film.  Source – Variety

James Franco, seen earlier this year in The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, could appear in a cameo role in Lovelace as none other than Playboy creator Hugh Hefner.  The film is being directed by Franco’s Howl director Rob Epstein and tells the true story of porn icon turned feminist Linda Lovelace.  Amanda Seyfried is attached to play the star.  Source – Variety

Vin Diesel, the man-mountain star of one of 2011 biggest films Fast Five, has confirmed today that he and the team of The Fast & The Furious films are indeed planning not one but two sequels to the film.  Talking to The Hollywood Reporter he said that there were so many characters re-introduced in the latest film that to do them all justice would take too long in one film so studio Universal are hoping that two films will do it justice.  Presently the team, with returning director Justin Lin, are prepping for Fast Six but there are some suggestions that they could shoot back to back films.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

The Hobbit showed off it’s second official image yesterday and today comes the fist trailer for the film. Click HERE to see it. 

 

Tuesday, 20^th December

Daniel Craig, currently digging up dirt in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, is in high demand according to James Bond Producer Michael G Wilson who says that the Bond producers would love Craig to surpass Roger Moore’s record of eight appearances as 007.  Craig is currently shooting his third outing as Britain’s best agent in Skyfall but Wilson insists that the producers are determined to retain his services for a number of other movies.  It remains to be seen if Craig shares these sentiments and whether the fans will indeed want him for that long with a strong campaign to instate Michael Fassbender gathering steam after his Bond like turn in X-Men; First Class.  Source – The People

The Dark Knight Rises full-length trailer hit the web last night and it more than lives up to expectations. You can see it by clicking HERE.

Martin Freeman, best known as Holmes to Watson or Tim from The Office, can now be seen in one of the fist official pictures from The Hobbit.  The film sees Freeman star as Bilbo Baggins who sets out to look for treasure with the help of some dwarf friends.  The film will be released this time next year.  Source – Coming Soon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, 19^th December

Leonardo DiCaprio, soon to be seen as J Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood’s biopic of the man, is finally looking set to bring his long term pet project The Devil In The White City: Murder, Magic And Madness At The Fair That Changed America to the screen.  He has sold the rights to the book by Erick Larson to Warner Brothers with DiCaprio attached as an actor the lead role.  The non-fiction book tells the story of Dr. HH Holmes a serial killer who preyed on anywhere from 27 to 200 hundred people in Chicago of 1893.  He lured numerous people, mainly young women, to his World’s Fair Hotel which he referred to as the “murder castle”.  There he would murder his guests, skin and dissect their bodies to sell for medical research.  DiCaprio is set to play the role of Holmes with the script being written by recent Black List toping scribe Graham Moore.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Timecrimes, the frankly brilliantly dizzying Spanish time travel thriller, is set to get an American remake possibly with Oscar winning writer Steve Zaillian directing the film.  The original film, which is a truly great little thriller, sees a man being stalked by a masked individual who hides in a device that transports him through time and sets about a series of events that rapidly spirals out of control which in term endangers his wife’s life.  At one point David Cronenberg was attached to direct the film but he has recently denied any involvement.  Zaillain on the other hand has expressed an interest but only if he can make it really low budget believing that the source material is strong enough not to need anymore added to it.  We couldn’t agree more.  Source  - Coming Soon.

Eva Green, the former Vesper Lynd of Casino Royale fame, could be ready to sign on to star in the sequel to 300.  The film, which is being directed by Noam Murro, tells the story of Greek General Themistocles who led his army against the Perian hordes at the same time as the events of the first 300 film.  This film will have the inventive title of 300: Battle Of Artemisia and has been written by 300 director Zack Synder and his writing partner Kurt Johnstad.  Source – Coming Soon

The Lone Ranger, back in the saddle having got his budget problems sorted, has added another Brit to the bad guy roster in the shape of James Frain.  He’ll play villain Tom Wilkinson’s right hand man as they over see the building of a railroad by Chinese and Indian immigrants.  He’ll no doubt get to go fist to fist with Lone Ranger Armie Hammer and Tonto Johnny Depp.  Frain is best known for his roles in TVs The Tudors and True Blood.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Friday, 16^th December

Robert Redford, the Sundance Kid himself, is in talks to star in All Is Lost.  The film’s plot is currently being kept under wraps but is roughly a man vs nature at sea thriller.  The film was written, and will be directed, by J.C. Chandor who is getting rave reviews for his directorial debut Margin Call.  Chandor met Redford at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and was so taken by the man he wrote the role with Redford in mind.  The producers are currently scouting the Baja Film Sutidos in Mexico, which is where James Cameron shot much of Titanic and Michael Bay shot Pearl Harbour.  We’re guessing theirs a storm brewing in Chandor’s script.  Source – Deadling Hollywood

Reese Witherspoon, being fought over by Tom Hardy and Chris Pine in next year’s This Means War, is set to star in The Devi’s Knot about the West Memphis 3.  The trio, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were accused of killing eight boy scouts in an Arkansas wood.  They were released in August this year having served 17 years in prison but were told they would received no compensation for time spent.  The film will be based on reporter Mara Levitt’s book about the events and will see Witherspoon play Pam Hobbs, a mother of one of the victims who is sure the trio committed the crime but as the trial dragged on began to suspect they may be innocent.  Atom Egoyan, who directed The Sweet Hereafter, will call the shots.  Source – Variety

The Golden Globe Nominations, normally a pretty good indication of who can expect nods at the Oscars, were announced yesterday with hotly tipped film The Artist fairing very well.  George Clooney also does well with nominations for acting in The Descendants as well directing for The Ides Of March.  You can see the full list of Nominations below:

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

BEST PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
50/50
The Artist

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, Midnight In Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Kate Winslet, Carnage
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain , The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST SCREENPLAY
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Ides of March, George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Moneyball, Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Flowers of War
In The Land of Blood and Honey
The Kid WIth The Bike
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
W.E., Abel Korzeniowski
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Hugo, Howard Shore
War Horse, John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Lay Your Head Down," Albert Nobbs
"Hello Hello," Gnomeo and Juliet
"The Living Proof," The Help
"The Keeper," Machine Gun Preacher
"Masterpiece," W.E.

 

Thursday, 15^th December

Brian De Palma, who hasn’t directed since 2007’s Redacted, is gearing up for his remake of French film Crime d’Amour re-titled as Passion.   The French original, which starred Ludivine Sagnier and Kristen Scott Thomas, saw a young employer stealing her boss’s idea leading the older woman to resort to murder.  De Palma will invert the story and have the boss steal the young employers idea and is rumoured to have cast Sherlock Holmes: Game Of Shadows stars Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace in the leading roles.  Source – Thompson On Hollywood

Stephen Frears, the Oscar nominated director of The Queen and The Grifters, is planning on remaking his own movie The Hit.  The original film saw Terrence Stamp as a former gangster turned informer who is living a quiet life in sun drenched Spain.  That is until a young Tim Roth and a  menacing John Hurt turn up as two hit men to take him back to Blighty for his execution.  The new film will transfer the action to America and Mexico, presumably to cater for a larger audience but there is no definite word on whether Frears will return to direct of simply over see as a producer.  Source – Variety

The Screen Actors Guild are just a month away from hosting one of the bigger award ceremonies leading up to the Oscars and has revealed the long list of nominations for the event.  The Artist and The Decesdants have both faired well as has sleeper hit of the year The Help.  The full list of nominees can be seen below. Source – SAGAwards.Org

Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture
Bridesmaids
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
Midnight in Paris

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role
George Clooney, The Descendants
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture
The Adjustment Bureau
Cowboys & Aliens
Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows: Part II
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
X-Men: First Class

 

Wednesday, 14^th December

Denzel Washington, to be seen next year in the hotly anticipated Safe House, is apparently on top of Sony’s wish list to play the lead in the film adaptation of hit TV Show The Equalizer.  The original TV show starred Edward Woodward as a former Agent of an orgainsation called The Company.  He spent most of the show trying to atone for his past sins by hiring himself out as a protector and investigator taking out criminal types who picked on the little guys.  Richard Wenk, who has just written The Expendables 2 is slated to write the project.  Source – Columbia Picures via Coming Soon

Arthur & Lancelot, the latest film to look at the Arthurian Legend, seems to be going the same way as Paradise Lost and The Lone Ranger.  The film is set to have Game Of Thrones’ Kit Harrington as Arthur with and The Killing’s Joel Kinnaman as Lancelot but with the original budget set at $90 Million and the latest figures estimating $130 Million  Warner Brother has insisted that the project be put on hold until the budget can be lowered once again.  It seems the studio feels that much money with a film starring two unproven leads is too bigger gamble.  Although it seems the studio is still anxious to see David Dobkins film in the future but under tighter financial constraints.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Saorise Ronan, on stunning form earlier this year in Hanna, has signed on to star in Last King Of Scotland director Kevin Macdonald’s How I Live Now.  The story sees Ronan play Daisy, an argumentative girl from New York who is sent to live in England as an evacuee from World War III.  Although she begins to fit in with English country living the evil forces soon turn up forcing Daisy and her young friends to live in the wild and fend for themselves.  Sounds all very Red Dawn meets Hanna meets Modern Warfare.  Ronan is currently sucking blood as a vampire in Neil Jordan’s Byzantium before moving onto The Host from Twilight writer Stephanie Meyers.  Source – Variety

Chris Pratt, recently hitting the big time with TV’s Parks And Recreation but also in this year’s Moneyball, is looking to go all Jeremy Renner on us by starring in Katherine Bigelow’s latest grunts on a mission movie Kill Bin Laden.  The film has had numerous problems getting to screen and still has no official title with the likes of Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce and Idris Elba all rumoured to be part of the cast.  The only confirmed name to date Jason Clarke.  The film will tell the story of the Navy SEAL Team who tracked down and killed the Al Qaeda leader.  Source – Twitch

Lars Von Trier, the ultimate Marmite director of Melancholia and Antichrist, has announced the title of his new movie will be Nymphomaniac.  Von Trier used to co-own a porn label so it is not surprise to find him make another film which will contain scenes of a graphic sexual nature.  Indeed he plans on them being so graphic in parts that he is going to cut two versions of the film.  One will be a full hardcore cut while the other a softer version for more mainstream audiences.  The film will track erotic life from infancy to middle age.  Source – Twitch

 

Tuesday, 13^th December

Paradise Lost, the adaptation of the poem by John Milton, has been put on hold.  Dark City director Alex Proyas’ project was always going to be an ambitious one with performance capture to represent the war between heaven and hell but it seems the budget was too great and now studio Legendary Pictures were concerened at the $120 Million project so have looked to trim some of that off.  Like Disney’s The Lone Ranger earlier this year which also was put on hold for the same reason the likes of Bradley Cooper might be asked to take wage cuts in order to reduce costs.  It has been made clear that the film will go ahead and that this is simply a cost cutting measure.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Dominic Cooper, recently seen in The Devil’s Double and as Iron Man’s dad in Captain America, has joined the cast of Summer In February.  The film, which also stars No Stings Attached’s Ophelia Lovibond as Florence Carter-Wood, focuses on The Newlyn School Of art and will see Cooper play Alfred Munnings alongside Dan Stevens as Gilbert Evans.  The film will be set against the back-drop of the Cornish country side shortly before the outbreak of World War I.  Christopher Menaul will call the shots. 

Winona Ryder, to be heard in Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie next year, has stepped into the female role for The Iceman opposite Michael Shannon.  Shannon plays a contract killer of the Mafia, who is mentored by Chris Evans, in a true story with his loving wife having no idea he is a killer.  At one point James Franco was attached to the Evans role and Maggie Gyllenhaal was supposed to be playing Ryder’s part.  Ariel Vromen co-wrote and is directing the project.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

The Black List, Hollywood’s annual list of the best unproduced scripts that producers and agents are throwing themselves over to get a piece of, was published yesterday.  Some movies on the list are in pre-production already, like Father Daughter Time: A Tale Of Armed Robbery And Eskimo Kisses, but others like Chewie, which tells the making of Star Wars through Chewie actor Peter Mayhew’s eyes are not.  However, one film on the list has just received creative backing from Drew Barrymore who has signed onto direct When The Street Lights Go On.  The film is about a 17 Year-old in the 1980s who discovers a high school beauty and the English teacher she was having an affair with dead and sets out to investigate who killed them.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

George Lucas has been speaking this week about the next Indiana Jones film.  It seems there will be a fifth instalment in the franchise.  Lucas told Entertainment Weekly that he knows what the film is about but needs to find a MacGuffin to tie it all together.  The MacGuffin, as called by Alfred Hitchcock, is the narrative device that drives the story forward.  The Indiana Jones series has presented some of cinema’s finest in the shape of the Holy Grail and the Ark Of The Covenant.  But also gave us Inter-Dimensional beings in the last film.  So are we ready to forgive poor CGI gofers and monkeys?  Source – Entertainment Weekly

 

Monday, 12^th December

Eddie Murphy, having jumped ship on hosting the Oscars, is looking to cash in on his re-found popularity, after Tower Heist, by attaching himself to star as controversial Washington Mayor Marion Barry.  Barry was mayor of Washington twice between 1979-1991 and then again in 1995-1999.  The gap came as a result of a picture showing Barry smoking crack-cocaine which led to a 6 month jail sentence.  Spike Lee is developing the project with HBO Films.  The story was previously in development with Jamie Foxx in the Barry role.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

George Clooney, fresh off the success of another directorial effort in The Ides Of March and a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination for his role in The Descendants, is looking to develop a project based on 60s comedians Tom & Dicky Smothers.  The Smothers were originally straight up comics but soon diverted into more counter-culture programming which lead them to become high up Richard Nixon’s hit-list.  Clooney has form in bringing period TV concepts to screen with Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind and Good Night And Good Luck.  Although at this point Clooney may only be on producing duties for The Smothers.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Oscars, as the award season is very much upon us, The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts 7 Sciences are gradually drip feeding their long lists of considerations through.  The latest are the potential nominees for Best Visual Effects which includes the likes of Rise Of The Apes, Harry Potter, Transformers 3, Cowboys & Aliens, Sucker Punch, Super 8, Thor, Mission Impossible, Captain America, Hugo, Reel Steel, Sherlock Holmes, X-Men, Pirates and Tree Of Life.  So pretty much any film that had more than a pinch of VFX. Source – Coming Soon

 

Friday, 9^th December

Top Gun 2 could still happen and not only that it seems Tom Cruise could be back in the aviators and ejector seat (too soon after Goose?).  Although Christopher McQuarrie was at one point rumoured to be writing the script Cruise told MTV that he thinks the writer come director will be too busy with his other project One Shot, which also stars Cruise as Jack Reacher.  However, Cruise, currently out promoting Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol has said that if he, Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer can find the right story it could happen quicker than Ice Man’s trigger finger.  Source – MTV via Coming Soon

Guy Ritchie, very much in demand thanks to the success of Sherlock Holmes and the fast approaching sequel, is being lined up to replace the now departed Steven Soderbergh on The Man From UNCLE.  The film is based on the popular TV show and has a script by Contagion writer Scott Z Burns.  Other than that though the project has had issues having lost first lead man George Clooney, due to concerns about the stunts asked of him, and then Bradley Cooper with scheduling issues.  Channing Tatum was rumoured at one point but nothing has been heard since.  So will Ritchie be calling up his old partners in crime like Jason Statham? Robert Downey Jnr perhaps or maybe even Brad Pitt?  We’ll let you know when we do.  Source – Deadline

American Psycho, the film based on the book by Brett Eastern Ellis, could be getting another screen outing.  Although the last film, starring Christian Bale in a star making performance, was only made in 2000 it seems there is a hunger for another version which would look to move the story from it’s 80s setting to present day.  Well Patrick Bateman was a banker after all so given how popular those folks are it could work very well.  Noble Jones, who shot second unit on The Social Network and is something of a David Fincher protégé, has written the script and will look to direct.  Source – Variety

Harrison Ford is in high demand at the moment.  He’s in talks to star in Gavin Hood’s Ender’s Game, which has just added Ben Kingsley to its cast, and now he’s wanted for the role of Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey in 42.  Rickey is the supporting role in the film about Jackie Robinson who was the first black Major League Baseball player.   Although the search to cast Rickey is still on going it looked at one point that director Brian Hegeland was after Robert Redford it now seems Ford is a possibility.  The title of the film comes from Rickey’s famous jersey number.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Sasha Baron Cohen, to be seen in The Dictator next year, is rumoured to be in talks to join The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables.  It is said he has landed the role of innkeeper Monsieur Thenardier.  There are rumours that Geoffrey Rush, who of course starred in the King’s Speech, is also in line for the role so file this firmly under possible casting choices at this point.  Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter are already locked into various other roles.  Source – The Sun via Empire    

Colin Firth a few weeks ago was rumoured to be lined up to play the villain in Spike Lee’s take on the OldBoy remake.  Unfortunately he has now passed on the film meaning that the role of the big bad, opposite Josh Brolin’s vengeance seeking protagonist, is still up for grabs.  Source – Twtich

 

Thursday, 8^th December

Star Trek 2 seems determined to monopolise the casting news as rumour has it JJ Abrams has found his man to replace the now departed Benicio Del Toro.  That man is Carlos and Domino star Edgar Ramirez who is said to be a like for like replacement as the Latino villain Del Toro would have played.  However, Ramirez is not the only option with Jordi Molla also in the running for the role.  They are both rumoured to be in the running for the role of Kahn who was written with Indian ancestry but played by Ricardo Montalban meaning that whoever plays him next will need to have that Spanish vibe going for them.  Source – Variety

Helen Mirren, the always-brilliant star of The Queen and more recently Arthur and The Debt, is in final stage talks to star in Alfred Hitchcock And The Making Of Pyscho.  She would play Hitchcock’s wife as he struggled to find someone willing to bank role his horror when studios were reluctant to fund such projects.  Anthony Hopkins is all set to play Hitch with Sasha Gervasi, who directed Anvil The Story Of Anvil, set to call action.  Source – Heat Vision

Armie Hammer, two-time Winklevoss twin and soon to be Lone Ranger, has signed onto to star opposite Eric Bana in By Virtual Fall.  The film has been written and directed by Up In The Air co-writer Sheldon Turner.  Hammer will play an ATF agent sent to prison.  Once there he sets out a plan to become one really hard mofo and take revenge on the man who put him there, his former partner Bana.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Tom Wilkinson has rejoined the cast of the now resuscitated Lone Ranger.  He was originally cast as the villain before the studio pulled the plug due to spiralling budget costs.  He’s now back on bad-guy duties opposite Armie Hammer, yup him again, and Johnny Depp as Tonto.  Pirates Of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski is calling the shots.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Morten Tyldum, the Norwegian director behind the highly praised Headhunters, is set to make his English language debut with What Happened To Monday?  Set in a future over populated world where families are limited to one child the story will follow identical septuplets as they hide from authorities.  Source – Vendome Pictures via Coming Soon

 

Wednesday, 7^th December

Angelina Jolie, about to release her directorial debut In The Land Of Blood And Honey, is in serious talks to star in a dramatic thriller to be directed by Leon director Luc Besson.  Besson is no stranger to strong female leads with films like Leon, The Fifth Element and latest film The Lady all under his belt so it seems only right that he team up with one the strongest leading ladies to ever grace the screen.  The film is said to be based on true scientific elements but little else is being talked about.  If she signs it looks like Jolie would shoot the Besson picture before moving on to Ridley Scott’s historical epid about Gertrude Bell.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Michael Bay, having recently announced he’s planning on making smaller budget movie Pain And Gain, is close to signing on the dotted line to direct the fourth Transformers movie.  This is all very much whispered and rumour at present but the word is that Bay will do Transformers if he’s allowed to do Pain And Gain first, otherwise no dice, apparently.  The script for the fourth, and potentially fifth, instalment in the robot hitting franchise is currently being written by Ehren Kruger with word being Jason Statham will take over the leading man duties.  Source – Vulture

Thor 2 looks to have lost its director Patty Jenkins.  Fear not she hasn’t been banished to Asgard but simply left the project due to those pesky creative differences.  The director of Monster Jenkins was another out of left field appointment by Marvel who will now scrabble to find a new director.  Thor 2 will see bother Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman return to hammer throwing duties.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Grown Ups 2? Yes it could be that Hollywood has truly jumped the shark on this one.  The Adam Sandler film which was derided by all critics but still managed to some how make $270 Million world wide is apparently in the process of getting a sequel.  The first film saw Sandler, and most of his comedic pals, goofing around and making very few people laugh.  At this stage the project seems to be on paper only as Fred Wolf is penning the script.  Sandler is yet to comment, and has never actually made a sequel, but if the offer is right and he gets to hang out with his friends again this could well happen.  Source – Variety

The Host, the latest film adaptation of the book from Twilight scribe Stephanie Meyers, looks to have added the always-welcome gruff presence of William Hurt.  Hurt was recently seen in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood and looks like he will play the role of Jeb in The Host.  The story sees earth, and humanity, invaded by an unseen enemy that makes humans their host.  One girl manages to fight her host and sets out to find other survivors of the invasion.  Source – Entertainment Weekly

Those Across The River, the novel written by Christopher Buehlman, is making its way to the big screen thanks to Paranormal Activity 2’s Tod ‘Kip’ Williams.  The story sees a man inherit his family’s run down plantation during the Great Depression.  Although no one visits the plantation he begins to realise the locals send to pigs across the river once a month as a form of sacrifice.  When they can no longer afford to send the pigs bad things start happening.  The book is yet to be published here in the UK so we’ll have to wait and see what was dealing with those poor pigs.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Tuesday, 6^th December

Star Trek 2, now officially travelling at warp speed for it’s 2013 release, has added another cast member to its already impressive roster in the shape of Robocop himself Peter Weller.  There is no word on who Weller will play but the part is said to be a primary one with the likes of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto returning for their second outing.  As always with JJ Abrams films the plot is being kept tightly under wraps with only those of Vulcan heritage allowed to view it.  One rumour is that Benicio Del Toro will be playing popular villain Kahn in the film however that rumour now appears to be completely unfounded as word is Del Toro has turned down the production and will not star at all.  Hollywood bods and insiders are still adamant that Kahn, one of Star Trek’s most memorable villains, will still play a part in the sequel.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Jack Bauer, the surge of all LA based terrorists in 24, is about to hit the big screen after a prolonged hiatus.  Kiefer Sutherland will return to the role of Bauer with writer Mark Bomback set to turn in a final draft of the script by the end of the year.  Studio 20^th Century Fox have around five director’s lined up with rumoured Tony Scott not being one of them.  Brian Grazer will produce the film once he has finished producing duties on next year’s Oscar ceremony.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Michael Bay, normally at home blowing things up with smashing giant robots, is set to be shifting into a lower gear with relatively small budget film Pain And Gain.  The film is said to be something of a passion project for Bay and sees a group of body-builders get caught up in a criminal enterprise in Florida.  Bay has likened it to Fargo and has managed to sell the idea to both Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as both are in talks to star in the movie.  Source – Variety

1000 AE, thankfully not the sequel to 10,000 BC, is moving into a higher gear of pre-production.  The film, which is being directed by The Sixth Sense’s M. Night Shyamalan, stars Will Smith who crashes on a now deserted Earth and must look to his son, played by real life sprog Jayden Smith, to save the  day.  It now seems that Zoe Kravitz, last seen buzzing around X-Men: First Class, and Sophie Okonedo are in talks to join the cast, with Kravitz rumoured to be Smith’s other child (no room for Williow Smith then as she’s clearly too busy whipping her hair).  Sony are hoping to have the film in cinemas some time in 2013.  Source – Heat Vision

Chris Columbus, fresh off yesterday’s news he’ll produce How To Live Safely In A Science Fiction Universe, has now attached himself to another producing gig.  This time he’ll be dealing with none other than Jesus.  The film will be based on Anne Rice’s Christ The Lord: Out Of Egypt and sees a seven year old Jesus leave Egypt to return to Nazareth and discover who is father really is.  Of course such a revelation on a young boy makes him realise that his life will take a different tact to his young friends.  No word yet on who will direct the film but between this and Seth Grahame-Smith’s Unholy Night Jesus is proving to be quite the muse lately.  Source – Variety  

 

Monday, 5^th December

The BIFAs, The British Independent Film Awards, took place in London last night with Tyrannosaur picking up Best British Independent film and Best Actress for Olivia Coleman.  Meanwhile Lynne Ramsay won Best Director for We Need To Talk About Kevin and Michael Fassbender taking Best Actor for Shame. 

Starship Troopers, the sci-fi film based on the book by Robert Heinlein, looks to be the latest film that Hollywood is adamant to remake.  Producer Neal Moritz, who is currently re-making another Paul Verhoeven movie in the shape of Total Recall, is behind the new version but it remains to be seen if the new incarnation can capture the same over the top satirical delight of Verhoeven’s 1997 delight.  The film sees a group of grunt space marines sent to a far of galaxy to fight an evil race of bugs known as The Arachnids…come to think of it they may not be bugs but are simply referred to that in the film.  Source – Vulture

Naomi Watts, the Oscar Nominated star of 21 Grams and soon to be seen in J Edgar, has joined the cast of The Grandmothers.  The film, being directed by Coco Before Chanel’s Anne Fontaine, sees two best-friends, Watts and Robin Wirght, causing quite a stir when they fall for each other’s teenage sons.  Written by Christopher Hampton, who won an Oscar for Dangerous Liaisons, the film will see Anonymous’ Xavier Samuel and Animal Kingdom’s James Frecheville as the two lucky boys.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Christopher Columbus, the director behind the first Harry Potter films rather than the discoverer of the New World, is set to bring another book to life in the shape of How To Live Safely In A Science Fiction Universe.  The story, written by Charles Yu, sees a time-machine repair man called Charles Yu (stick with it) living in a world where time travel is common place.  With his mother stuck in a one hour loop and his father missing Charles sets out to find a single hour in time when the two of them can be together.  He is aided along the way by a computer known as TAMMY, a dog that doesn’t exist and a future version of himself who gives him the book of the title.  Columbus will producer the film with hot-shot young director Brendan Bellomo calling the shots.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Friday, 2^nd December

Tom Cruise, about to blow stuff up in Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol before taking on Jack Reacher in One Shot, is now looking to take the leas in All You Need Is Kill.  Based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka the film follows a solider forced into battle an alien invasion.  Each day he dies only to be reborn to fight again before realising that he is rapidly learning from his mistakes and that small changes in the time-frame might offer him a means to escape.  At one point Brad Pitt was linked to the role but it now seems Cruise is numero uno to play the part.  The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith director Doug Liman is calling the shots when they can figure a way round Cruise’s busy schedule.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Haille Steinfeld, the Oscar nominated young star of the Coen Brother’s True Grit, is in talks to join the cast of Ender’s Game.  After news came earlier in the week that the producers and director Gavin Hood were after Harrison Ford it seems they are not resting on their laurel to find fill out the cast.  Hugo’s Asa Butterfield will star as Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggin a young boy being trained as a ruthless solider in order to fight off an invading alien race known as Buggers. Source – Variety

Twilight is coming to and end and Harry Potter as hopped on his broomstick so naturally studios are currently hunting around for the next big thing to adapt into a movie.  Take a bow Laini Taylor whose gothic romance come battle between good and evil The Daughter’s Of Smoke And Bone seems to be that said hot property.  Paramount have bought the rights to the novel which sees a young girl, Karou, raised by demons and sent out on quests to collect teeth for them.  On one said errand she encounters an angel known as Akiva but he us unable to kill her due to her reminding him of his lost love.  All this is of course a sub-plot for the impending war between good and evil which it seems is coming ever popular thanks to Alex Proyas adaptation of Paradise Lost.  No word on writers or directors yet but keep an eye out for this one being a big tent pole release in the future.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Seth Grahame-Smith, the man behind Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, is turning his attention to another classic story, that of Jesus and the nativity.  Specifically the Three Kings who he is imagining as thieves who help Joseph and Mary escape Egypt.  The project, known as Holy Night, will see the Kings/Thieves meet the likes of John The Baptist and Pontius Pilot as well as Biblical creatures and monsters.  Sounds all very entertaining and Monty Python’s Holy Grail but some how we suspect that some more devout viewers might take issue with such a concept.  Recently Smith has written Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows as well as the script for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.  Source – Heat Vision

Nikki Reed, one of the many stars of Twilight and Thirteen, has joined the cast of Pawn.  The Shield stars Michael Chiklis and Forest Whitaker are starring in the film about a hostage situation that goes wrong because the law and the mobsters are using it to play a bigger game of chess.  Also on board is Avatar villain Stephen Lang.  The film is being directed by regular Saw cinematographer David A Armstrong. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Thursday, 1^st December

Christian Bale, having just wrapped on The Dark Knight Rises, is looking to spread his wings beyond the Batman franchise with the latest offering confirmed as his last as the Caped Crusader.  To start with he’s lined up back-to-back projects with none other that Terrence Malick. The normally rare director, who has left decades between projects in the past, seems to have a new hunger as he’s cast Bale to star in both Lawless and Knights Of Cups.  This being Malick plot details are sketchy, and will probably remain that way even upon release, but he has managed to bag two of the finest actors working today in the shape of Bale and Ryan Gosling for Lawless.  One thing is apparent though Bale will not be appearing in Darren Aronofsky’s take on Noah.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Michael Fassbender, fully deserving of all the accolades coming his way for the staggering performance in Shame, will however sit down and discuss the matter of Noah and his Ark for Black Swan director Darren Aronofksy.  Although Christian Bale was the first choice his commitment to Malick’s projects makes the scheduling an issue.  Aronofsky has been trying to get his Noah project off the ground for quite some time having made it something of a passion project.  He wants to give an insight into Noah’s faith and it seems Fassbender could be his man to bring said faith to life.   Source – Variety

Alive Eve, the British actress best known for her roles in She’s Out Of My League, will join the cast of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek sequel.  Her character is said to be one new to the Star Trek universe rather than a reinvention of an old one.  It also seems that as well as the returning cast of the first film, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana that Abrams has his sights firmly set on Benicio Del Toro as his head villain. Source – Variety

Julia Roberts, recently seen opposite Tom Hanks in Larry Crowne, is toying with the idea of starring and producing the film Second Act.  If it goes ahead Roberts will play a woman who has never had to do a days work in her life suddenly facing the prospect of having to get a job.  So kind of the antithesis of her Oscar winning role of Erin Brockovich.  New Regency is interested in finding funding for the project if it all goes ahead once a writer and director have been selected.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Bridget Jones, everyone’s favourite answer to Sex And The City, looks like she is slowly crawling her way, like a hung-over walk of shame, back to the big screen.  At one point, earlier in the year, Bridesmaids director Paul Feig was attached to direct before he left for pastures new.  Now Working Title, who produce the Jones films, are in talks with Full Monty director Peter Cattaneo to take over.  Seems like a solid choice given he’s English and with Monty and TV show Rev under his belt certainly knows how to do quaint British charm. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Wednesday, 30^th November

Harrison Ford, the former Han Solo, Indiana Jones and more recently Cowboy in Cowboys & Aliens, is in talks to join the cast of Ender’s Game.  Last week it was rumoured that Hugo star Asa Butterfield was in talks to take the lead role of Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggin which he has since confirmed via his Twitter feed.  However, the crucial role of Colonel Hyrum Graff, which producers were apparently interested in Viggo Mortensen for, is now in negotiations with Harrison Ford to star.  Graff is the man in charge of the military school where genius young children, like Wiggin, are trained in order to fight the attacking aliens known as Buggers.  Wolverine director Gavin Hood is directing the film based on Orson Scott Card’s novels.  Source – Variety

Steven Soderbergh, fresh from Contagion, Haywire and walking away from the increasingly difficult The Man From UNCLE film adaptation, is re-teaming with his Contagion writer, Scott Z Burns, to direct Bitter Pill.  Originally intended for Burns to direct himself and based on research the writer did for Peter Berg’s cancelled TV show Wonderland, Bitter Pill is about the Pharmaceutical Industry.  Not much plot has been revealed but it is rumoured to base around how society cannot tolerate sadness and by going out of our way to avoid it often welcome it into our lives.  Soderbergh is currently in post-production on his Channing Tatum starring stripper movie Magic Mike. Source – The Playlist

Daniel Radcliffe, having finished wizarding duties in Harry Potter and with The Woman In Black in the can, is in talks to star as Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings.  Ginsberg was recently played by James Franco in Howl but Darlings will potentially see Radcliffe as Ginsberg involved in his relationship with Jack Kerouac and William S Burroughs who were drawn together through Columbia student Lucien Carr the person implicated in the murder of David Kammerer.  The film is being directed by John Krokidas and at one point announced Jesse Eisenberg in the Ginsberg role with Chris Evans as Kerouac.  Nothing is official at this point but the project has been in development now since 2009.  Source – Twitch  

David Ayer, the man who wrote Training Day and Street Kings, is now in the process or writing the latest incarnation of Scarface.  It was reported earlier this year that studio Universal was planning to remake the classic gangster story and Ayer says it is a fantasy come true for him to be involved.  Before Al Pacino’s little friends get too upset it is worth noting that De Palma’s cult classic was in fact a remake of Howard Hawks classic of 1932.  Ayer says he’s been studying both to get ideas for where the latest version should go. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Mad Max Fury Road has long since been in development hell.  Director George Miller has had countless vehicles parked in Australia waiting till he had the funds and cast ready to start production.  It is now coming out that Fury Road could be the first in a trilogy with Miller anxious to do for Australia what Peter Jackson did for New Zealand in the Lord Of The Rings films.  At present it still seems that Tom Hardy is on board to play Max with the likes of Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult and Zoe Kravitz also slated to star.  Source – Australian Financial Review via Empire

 

Tuesday, 29^th November

Gary Oldman, having just been honoured at the Gotham Independent Film Awards for his role as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, has dropped news that production company Working Title are working on John Le Carre’s follow up novel Smiley’s People which would see Oldman reprise his staggering role.  In the novel Smiley sets out to help a friend as The Circus seem more interested in political worries.  He soon discovers that a Russian killer is offing people to protect a deadly secret.  With Tinker Tailor being not only one of the films of this year but also a breath of fresh air in the thriller stakes a follow-up film would be very welcome.  Source – Coming Soon

Tom Hanks, last seen starring and directing in Larry Crowne, has bought the rights to Erik Larson’s nonfiction book In The Garden Of Beasts.  Hanks would play US Ambassador William Dodd who is sent to represent the US in Berlin in 1933.  As Hitler and the Nazis rose to power around him he became more and more aware of the imminent danger the posed to the world.  All the while Dodd was having to deal with his socialite daughter who was happy to have numerous affairs including one with a member of the Gestapo.  It’s the kind of story that Hanks certainly has the clout to pull off.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Tony Scott, the director behind Top Gun, Crimson Tide and more recently Unstoppable, has signed on to direct Narco Sub.  The script, written by David Guggenheim, is about the submersibles that South American drug cartels use to smuggle cocaine into the US.  Not much more is known about the plot but it is said to be similar to Scott’s Crimson Tide and Man On Fire.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Jared Harris, soon to be seen as Professor Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes A Game Of Shadows, has joined the cast of Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.  He’ll play Ulysses S. Grant who served under Lincoln in the Civil War and became President after Lincoln’s own Vice President Andrew Johnson.  Daniel Day Lewis is on board as Lincoln with Sally Field playing his wife Mary Todd.  The film is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team Of Rivals which tells the story of Lincoln’s rise to politics.  Source – Variety

Bad Monday, a script from Richard Taylor, is now gearing up to shoot.  The film follows normal guy O.T. McKee who is kicked out of his home by his wife and finds himself involved in a situation with stolen cars, bags of money and all manner of people after him.  Taylor has said he wrote the script as the first in a series of O.T. adventures.  Source – Mass Hysteria via Coming Soon.  

 

Monday, 28^th November

Ben Whishaw, the star of TV’s The Hour and Perfume, has joined the cast of James Bond Skyfall as none other than gizmo and gadget expert Q.  John Cleese was the last man to briefly fill the boots of the man who gives Bond all his weapons and clever tricks to take on is missions but will always be best remember as Desmond Llewelyn who starred in the role in no less than 17 films.  Whishaw is a younger incarnation of the role but seems to fit director Sam Mendes remit of casting solid actors in all roles.  Source – BBC

Rachel Weisz, currently wowing audiences with The Deep Blue Sea, has joined the cast of The Railway Man.  She will play Pattie Lomax the wife of Eric Lomax, to be played by Colin Firth.  The film is based on Lomax’s book, which tells the story of how he was captured during World War II by the Japanese and sent to work on the infamous Burma-Siam railway.  Brutally tortured Lomax later tracked down one of his tormentors not for revenge but reconciliation.  The film is being directed by Jonathan Teplitzky who has Burning Man waiting to be released.  Source – Variety

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 continues to rule the US box-office over the long Thanksgiving weekend.  It managed to stave off competition from the likes of The Muppets, which too a healthy $29.5 million, by taking in another $42 million.  This is means that Breaking Dawn 1 has now taking a massive $221.3 million at the US Box-office alone.  Source – Box Office Mojo

 

Thursday, 24^th November

Star Trek the on again, off again sequel to 2009’s hit movie has finally been given a release date of May 17^th 2013.  Through its development it has encountered obstacles, mainly alien in the shape of writer/director JJ Abram’s Super 8 which he had to finish before he could start work on the next bold journey of Captain Kirk and Co.  All the main cast members, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Karl Urban are returning for the film as are co-writers Damon Lindelof, Robert Orci and Alexander Kurtzman. One revelation, although fairly predictable in current trends, is that Abrams will shoot the film in 3D.  Set phasers to stun.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Curtis Hanson, the man behind LA Confidential and Wonder Boys, has had to undergo heart surgery while shooting his latest film Of Men And Mavericks.  The surfing film tells the story of Jay Moriarty who became known for surfing treacherous waves known as Mavericks and stars Gerard Butler.  With Hanson’s health not great he’s turning to Gorillas In The Mist director Michael Apted to help him finish off the final 15 days of principle photography.  Here’s to a speedy recovery for Hanson so he can get back up on that board.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

John Lithgow, last seen in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, has joined the cast of comedy Dog Fight.  There is no word on who Lithgow will play but he will star alongside Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell who play two squabbling politicians vying for a congressional seat in North Carolina.  The film is being directed by Jay Roach and also features the likes of Brian Cox, Dylan McDermott and Katherine LaNasa.  Source – Variety

 

Wednesday, 23^rd November

Jeremy Renner, the break-out star of The Hurt Locker, has been breaking that age old spy tradition of spilling secrets by shedding some light on the next Bourne film in which he stars, essentially replacing Matt Damon.  Renner revealed that he will play Aaron Cross an agent involved with the same Treadstone operation as Jason Bourne.  He implied that although it is distinctly a Bourne film the scope is considerably bigger.  Studio Universal clearly have high hopes if only thanks to the hugely impressive cast they have assembled.  Joining Renner is Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz, Oscar Isaac, Albert Finney, Joan Allen and Scott Glenn.  Tony Gilroy, who penned all three Bourne movies to date has written and will also direct The Bourne Legacy.  Source – Empire

Akira, the live action adapation of the hugely popular Manga comic, seems to be throwing up yet more casting ideas and this time they seem to hint at a change in direction.  It was widely rumoured that Gary Oldman had been offered the part of the Colonel by studio Warner Brothers but with him yet to sign on for the role an offer has also gone out to Ken Watanabe for the role.  Of course it could be this rumour is simply to motivate Oldman or that both actors will sign on in different roles.  At present the only cast member who seems to have signed a deal is Tron Legacy’s Garret Hedlund although both Helena Bonham Carter and Kristen Stewart have also been offered roles.  Source – Twitch

Jean Pierre Jeunet, the visionary director behind Amelie and The City Of Lost Children, looks set to dip his toe into the 3D film-pool.  Furthermore he is also looking to make his first English language film since 1997’s Alien Resurrection.  The film in question is an adaptation of Reif Larsen’s The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet.  The story sees 12 year-old genius cartographer T.S. being told he has one the prestigious Baird Award and setting out on a trip across America.  Along the way he learns a little family history, maps mythical wormholes in the Midwest and discovers the pleasures of McDonald’s.  This is the kind of fair kids adventure with visual and plot fantastical devices that Jeunet thrives with, just pray the 3D doesn’t ruin it.  Source - Allocine via Twitch

Xavier Gens, the horror director behind films such as Frontier(s) and the upcoming The Divide, has signed onto direct House Of Horror.  The film is being produced by Insidious director James Wan and sees a group of amateur ghost hunters brutally slaughtered in said house.  The film charts the investigation into how the horrors of the night came to unfold.  Gens certainly has a penchant for violent thrillers so this could thrive under his creative presence, although the less said about his Hitman adaptation the better.  Source – Shock Till You Drop

 

Tuesday, 22^nd November

Chris Evans, last seen throwing his star spangled shield around in Captain America, has replaced James Franco in The Iceman.  The film is being directed by Ariel Vromen and based on the book The Iceman: The True Story of A Cold-Blooded Killer by Anthony Bruno.  The story sees real life Mob assassin Richard Kuklinski, to be played by Take Shelter’s Michael Shannon, who hid his killing ways in order to support his loving family.  Evans will play Robert Pronge who acts as a mentor to Shannon’s character.  There is no word on why Franco left the project but considering the sheer volume of films he’s attached to scheduling conflicts are a safe guess.  Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Amber Heard, seen this month in The Rum Diary, will star opposite Dominic Cooper in the noir thriller Motor City.  The film, which is being directed by Albert Hughes, sees Cooper as a man recently released from prison who sets out on a revenge spree against the people who helped put him there.  The Matrix producer Joel Silver is over-seeing the project.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Kenneth Branagh isn’t letting the grass grow under his feet after the success of this year’s Thor as he turns his attention to more dramatic projects.  Already in the pipeline are The Boys In The Boat and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and now he is looking to adapt Henning Mankell’s novel The Italian Shoes.  The film is about a man who lives on a remote island alone.  So isolated from the world he drops himself into the icy water every morning to remind himself he is still alive.  However, when an unexpected visitor drops by his life begins to change.  Branagh is looking to recruit the cream of English acting talent in the form of Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench to fill the key roles.   Source – Variety

Julie Delpy, the ethereal French actress come director of the Before Sunrise/Sunset films, is a surprise choice to direct The Right Profile, a film about Clash front man Joe Strummer.  There is little word on the plot but Delpy’s attachment would hint at a personal approach to the material as her previous films have certainly spoken from the heart.  She has been slowly building an impressive directors resume with films like The Countess and 2 Days In Paris which she is also working on the follow-up called 2 Days In New York.  And just to prove she can turn a hand to anything she is also helping Richard Linklater co-write the third instalment in the Sunrise/Sunset films that will co-star her and returning actor Ethan Hawke.  Everyone should have one talent Ms Delpy, not countless.  Source – Variety

 

Monday, 21^st November

Steven Soderbergh, with Contagion out now and Haywire round the corner, is a man who likes to test himself but it seems his latest project has pushed him too far and he is departing The Man From UNCLE.  The project has been through numerous leading men including George Clooney and Bradley Cooper and lost both of them.  It seems Mr. Soderbergh was concerned at a budget of $60 Million with multiple locations in a concept that the studio want to make into a trilogy.  The hunt is now on to find two leading actors, a new writer and director for the project.  Source – The Playlist

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, never failing to show how to ‘bring it’ through his twitter feed, has become attached to the live action adaption of comic book movie Monster Hunter’s Survival Guide.  The source material is a comprehensive guide in how to battle, defeat and survive encounters with all manner of undead, mythical and supernatural beasts.  The project is in very early development at present and is looking for a writer and a director but with Johnson’s name attached it shouldn’t be too hard Bringing the film to life.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Asa Butterfield, the young star of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and soon to be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, looks to have nabbed the lead role in the adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.  Gavin Hood, who last gave us X-Men Origins: Wolverine, has written and will direct the film.  Written in 1985 Ender’s Game tells the story of how Earth is under attack from an insect race called the Formics.  The powers that be recruit young children to transform into warriors to battle the Formics and among them is one Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggin who turns out to be a natural.  Card’s book is hard to adapt due to its unflinching approach to violence but Hood seems to have nailed it to satisfying results.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Arthur & Lancelot, the latest big screen outing for the legendary King and his loyal Knight of the round table, looks to have found both its title characters.  Joel Kinnaman, from TVs The Killing, will play Arthur while Kit Harrington, best known as John Snow in TVs Game Of Thrones, will play Lancelot.  The film has been written and directed by David Dobkin who hopes to bring a more light-hearted approach in the vein of the latest Sherlock Holmes.  There is also rumours that Gary Oldman has been offered the part of Merlin in a move by studio Warner Brothers to show their loyalty to the actor after all his sterling work on the Harry Potter films.  Source – Heat Vision

Twilight, love or hate those shiny vampires there really is no escaping them, has smashed its way to a huge $283.5 global box-office take in its opening weekend.  The film opened both on Friday and has shown no signs of waning as Twihards flocked to see the film if only to see some vampire/human sexual shenanigans.  If it all sounds like too much teenage pouting there is still part two of Breaking Dawn to come so best stay away till that’s all brooded out.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

 

Friday, 18^th November

Angelina Jolie, already connected to one powerful woman in Cleopatra, is in talks to star as Gertrude Bell, a pioneering figure in 20^th Century Middle East.  The film is being produced by Ridley Scott who is also mulling over the idea of directing the film.  Bell, described by some as a female Lawrence Of Arabia, worked for the British Intelligence during World War I in helping dismantle the Ottoman Empire and founding Iraq.  Basically along with Cleopatra Jolie is one of the only actresses currently working with the clout to pull off such a part.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Tarsem Singh, the man behind Immortals and upcoming Mirror Mirror, is close to signing onto direct Killing On Carnival Row.  In a script that sounds tailor made for a Tim Burton or Guillermo del Toro Carnival Row is about a Victorian City inhabited by elves, faeries, vampires and humans while a detective hunts down a serial killing dwelling within.  Based on a spec script from Travis Beacham the project has been stuck in development limbo for some time but now looks like it’s getting off the ground.  Source –Deadline Hollywood

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Jules Verne’s classic story of Captain Nemo, has been floundering around for a while now.  Director David Fincher has been anxious to get the project off the ground, or should that be under the water, for a while and it now seems things are go, go ,go. Or dive, dive, dive, depending on your persuasion.  Fincher has turned to his old mucker and Se7en writer Andrew Kevin-Walker to write the screenplay.  It’s unlikely that the film will be as dark as their last collaboration but hopes are high when these two team again.  To quote Ari Gold “Anyone who puts Gwyneth’s head in a box is OK by me”.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Stephen Frears, he of The Queen and Dangerous Liaisons, is set to adapt documentary The Bengali Detective into a narrative feature.  He’s working with his High Fidelity co-writer DV DeVincentis to bring the story of Private Detective Rajesh Ji exploring the underworld of Calcutta to life.  The original documentary was directed by Philip Cox and gave a fascinating insight into modern India.  Source – Vareity

Rampage, the classic arcade game of monsters devouring cities, has been around since the 1980s but now looks like it’s getting a film version.  The original game had a small plot involving three people who are mutated into a giant Lizard, Gorilla and Werewolf.  With monsters being hip right now with Guillermo del Toro making Pacific Rim it seemed only a matter of time before someone picked this one up. Studio New Line are now in the process of finding a writer and director to flesh out the story.  Source – Heat Vision

 

Thursday, 17^th November

Ricky Gervais, after much controversy at this year’s ceremony, has once again signed onto to host next year’s Golden Globe Awards.  So while the Oscars has gone the more safe and conventional route of Billy Crystal the Globes have decided to play an edgier hand after Gervais managed to offend nearly everyone early this year.  Count us in.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

The Hunger Games, determined to rule where Twilight irritated, is looking to hire none other than Oscar winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy to scribe the sequel.  Beaufoy, who won his Oscar for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, is being courted to write Catching Fire the second of three instalments of the Hunger Games books.  The rumour is that Gary Ross, who directed the first Hunger Games film, is returning for the second film.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Amy Adams, the three time Oscar nominated actress soon to be seen in The Muppets, has been offered the role of Clint Eastwood’s daughter in his return to front of the camera film Trouble With The Curve.  At one point Sandra Bullock seemed like the actress to fill the role of the daughter who goes on the road with her estranged father the baseball coach, to be played by Eastwood.  Bullock has since ruled herself out of the running putting Adams front and centre for the film.  Source – Variety

Sharon Stone, famed for her Basic Instincts exploits, is set to join the cast of Lovelace about the famous porn actress Linda Lovelace.  Stone is onboard to play Lovelace’s mother in the film that sees Amanda Seyfried in the title role.  Lovelace will focus on Linda’s relationship with her husband Chuck Traynor who guided her into the porn industry with Peter Sarsgaard in talks to play Chuck.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Woody Woodpecker might not be as well known as a Bugs Bunny or a Mickey Mouse but is still enough of a draw for kids that Universal have snapped up the rights to the loony bird.  They’re in talks with Blades Of Glory writers John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky to come up with a feature length story.  Woody has been around since 1940 through various short films and cartoon series and the hope is that his wacky ways on film may well spawn a franchise.  Hell if it worked for Alvin and The Chipmunks then the skies the limit.  Source – Heat Vision

Bioshock, the hit video game that was destined to be a hit movie, has now been officially shelved for the foreseeable future in terms of any cinematic outing.  At one point Pirates of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski was slated to direct but left the project when budgets problems, rumoured to be around $160 Million, spiralled out of control.  It now seems the project is on permanent hold because the game makers do not want to make a film that does not live up to the games success.  So it seems that quality control has finally entered the film industry, hear that Mr. Bay?  Source – Industry Gamers

 

Wednesday, 16^th November

Angelina Jolie, soon to not be seen behind the camera for her directorial debut In The Land Of Blood And Honey, is set to grace the silver screen again in one of the most iconic female roles, Cleopatra.  Based on the book Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff the film will tell the tale of the final of the Egyptian Pharaohs.  The film has just found itself a writer in the form of Eric Roth who wrote The Curious Cage Of Benjamin Button and more impressive it looks as though Button and Se7en director David Fincher is interested in helming the epic project.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Kristen Stewart, about to send fans crazy with Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1, is rumoured to have been offered the lead female role in the live action adaptation of Akira.  She joins a host of big names linked to the project which includes Tron Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund, Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter and Keira Knightley.  Stewart is up for the role of Kei the romantic interest for the head of the heroic biker gang.  Harry Potter writer Steve Kloves is writing the script with Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra calling the shots.  Source – Twitch

Tim Burton, ever the master of macabre fantasy realms, is looking to take the director’s chair for another of his typically quirky affairs in the shape of Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children.  The book, written by Ransom Riggs, tells the story of Jacob a 16 boy whose grandfather told him stories of an orphanage filled with magical children who could do things like walk without ever touching the ground and hold fire.   When the old man dies he leaves a message for Jacob who travels to the orphanage and discovers more about the peculiar children.  All sounds very much up Burton’s dark street while he puts the finishing touches to Johnny Depp starrer Dark Shadows.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Bill Nighy, always a glorious screen presence, is in talks to take the villain role in I, Frankenstein.  The film sees Frankenstein’s monster, here known as Adam and being played by Aaron Eckhart, trying to stop an evil demon army from using the power within him to reanimate an army of the undead.  If he signs on Nighy would play the demon prince.  Stuart Beattie, director of Tomorrow When The War Began, is calling the shots having also written the screenplay based on the graphic novel.  Source – Variety

 

Tuesday, 15^th November

Channing Tatum, the burning hunk of man love from The Eagle and soon to be seen in Haywire, is rumoured to be in Steven Soderbergh’s sights to play the lead in The Man From UNCLE.  The project, which is a big screen version of the classic TV show, has already had and lost both George Clooney and Bradley Cooper, as it’s leading men.  However, Soderbergh has just directed Tatum in both Magic Mike and the aforementioned Haywire so the odds look good on him being involved.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Doctor Who, the long running and hugely popular TV show looks like it could be making another film outing.  David Yates, fresh from three back-to-back Harry Potter films, is looking to direct the project but is happy to wait a couple of years to make sure the script is right.  But, fans should be aware that Yates and Co are merely using the concept of The Doctor in so far as they will not be linking their story to the currently running show.  The result of that will likely mean no Matt Smith and his current doctor cohorts.  We’ll take cover now and let the fans’ back-lash commence.  Source – Variety

Felicity Jones, the ever-rising star of films like Chalet Girl and the upcoming Like Crazy, is apparently Warren Beatty’s first choice female lead for his upcoming Howard Hughes biopic.  Jones was on a long list of potential actresses but has caught Beatty’s eyes with him looking to cast her as a woman who is romantically involved with Hughes’s driver before falling for the reclusive industrialist.  Beatty will play Hughes with rumours circulating that Justin Timberlake could take the other lead role.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

David Gordon Green, the director behind Pineapple Express and Your Highness, is set to direct Q.  Based on the book, by Evan Mandery, Q sees man visited by his future self and warned from marrying the woman he is with.  Agreeing not to is a decision he regrets and spends the rest of his life trying to track her down.  Gordon Green has a number of potential projects on the go once he has finished putting the final touches to Jonah Hill starring The Sitter.  Source – Variety

 

Monday, 14^th November

Colin Firth, normally playing the put upon nice guy in films, is about to take a turn for the darker as he is in talks to play the villain in Spike Lee’s remake of Oldboy.  If he takes the part he will play the man who imprisons Josh Brolin which leads Brolin to exact some violent revenge on the well spoken Englishman.  At one point Rooney Mara was in talks to play the female lead who helps Brolin in his quest but it now appears she has passed on the role.  Suffice to say though that Lee is assembling an interesting cast for a film many feel does not need a remake.  Source – Twitch

LEGO, the timeless toy that still causes you to shake all presents in either fear or hope depending on your persuasion, is set to get a big screen outing.  Warner Brothers have teamed with animation company Animal Logic, who worked on Happy Feet and Legend of The Guardians to bring the film to life.  At the moment it seems the film will be live-action set in the world animated LEGO.  Casting begins in January with Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord recently recruiting Robot Chicken’s Chris McKay to help them direct the film.  Source – Variety

Sacha Baron Cohen, best known as Ali G or Borat and soon to be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, will take a small, yet key role, in Quentin Tarantino’s western revenge thriller Django Unchained.  He’ll play a gambler who had previously owned Jamie Foxx’s wife Kerry Washington.  Although the role is a small one Tarantino apparently sought Cohen out for the role.  Well, it’s always nice to be wanted even if it is as a slave buying gambler.  The film already has an impressive cast with the likes of Jamie Foxx, Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Christoph Waltz, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Don Johnson all involved.  Source – Variety

Barry Pepper, last seen in the Coen Brother’s True Grit, has signed onto two new projects.  He’ll take roles in Broken City and Snitch.  In City he’ll play a mayoral candidate running against Russell Crowe’s mayor in the nourish thriller starring Mark Wahlberg.  Meanwhile in Snitch he’ll play a DEA agent that Dwayne Johnson must report to in his attempts to break the drug ring that could see his son imprisoned for ten years.  Both films are currently in production in New Orleans and Shreveport respectively which means they are close enough for Pepper to jump between the two.  He’ll next be seen in Terrence Malick’s romantic drama alongside Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem and Rachel McAdams.  Source – Variety

Russell Brand, hot of the heels of the disappointing Arthur remake, is set to star and produce the film The President Stole My Girlfriend.  Brand will play a hippies whose girl is stolen by the president.  Brand will next be seen in Rock Of Ages before moving on to Diablo Cody’s next film.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Friday, 11^th November

The Oscars have moved quickly to replace the now departed Eddie Murphy as next year’s host and despite a Twitter campaign for The Muppets it seems an old favourite has stepped up to the plate.  Ladies and gentlemen your host for the evening will be none other than Billy Crystal. Billy has already hosted the event Eight times so will be more than comfortable reading from the auto-cues and hoping Melissa Leo doesn’t drop the F-bomb.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Kathryn Bigelow, still to follow-up her Oscar winning The Hurt Locker, has been adding cast and in talks with others for her next project about the Navy SEAL Team who killed Osama bin Laden.  Jason Clarke, who will be seen in The Wettest County In The World and The Great Gatsby, has joined the cast with the likes of Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Rooney Mara and Tom Hardy all reportedly in talks.  Joel Edgerton is also rumoured to be cast but there is no official word on that yet.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Steve Carell, currently being cast in just about every movie going right now, is looking to join another in the shape or Lunatic.  The film will see Carell as a pet store owner who referees kids soccer games at weekends.  When he gets into a dispute with one of the dads at a match their argument spirals out of control and has global consequences.  Carell will also produce the film with the search now out for a director.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Max Irons, son of Jeremy and recently seen in Red Riding Hood, has now officially joined the cast of The Host.  The film is based on Twilight writer’s Stephanie Meyer’s best selling novel that sees a girl, to be played by Saoirse Ronan, that is able to fight the ‘Soul’, which has taken over the body.  While other humans succumb to their power she is able to lead a human resistance against the invading entities.  Irons will play Jarred Hower a man who lives in hiding and the man that both the girl and her soul are in love with.  Source – Entertainment Weekly

 

Thursday, 10^th November

Eddie Murphy, back on comedy form in Tower Heist, has followed his Heist director’s lead and walked away from hosting the Oscars next year.  The move comes after director Brett Ratner resigned from producing duties amid homophobic slurs he made while promoting his latest film.  Murphy clearly decided that since it was Ratner that hired him to host he should walk with him as well.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Brian Grazer, the mega-producer of films like Apollo 13, American Gangster and the upcoming J Edgar, is the man replacing Brett Ratner as the new producer of next year’s Academy Award ceremony.  His first job will be to find a new host, with a huge internet campaign demanding the Muppets do it.  Grazer could well find himself with a nomination on the night he is now in charge of for Cilnt Eastwood directed J Edgar.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Woody Harrelson, having recently wrapped on The Hunger Games, has joined the already impressive cast of Seven Psychopaths.  The film, from In Bruge writer director Martin McDonagh, sees Colin Farrell as a struggling screenwriter who becomes involved with the LA underworld when his friends Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken steal a gangster’s, to be played by Harrelson, dog.  Former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and Tom Waits have also joined the cast.  Source – Deadline Hollywood 

Bradley Cooper, on of Hollywood’s most in demand leading men right now, has dropped out of playing the lead in Steven Soderbergh’s adaptation of The Man From UNCLE.  It’s another blow for the film which has also seen George Clooney pass on the lead role.  Joel Edgerton is still being linked with the supporting role but there is no definitive word on that.  Source – The Wrap

David Schwimmer, forever known as Ross from Friends, is about to turn to the dark side by playing a hit-man in The Iceman.  The films sees Michael Shannon as a ruthless assassin for the mob but keeping it secret from his loving wife, to be played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and family.  Ray Liotta will play the mob boss who hires Schwimmer’s character.  Ariel Vromen is set to direct.  Source – Variety 

 

Wednesday, 9^th November

Bret Ratner, currently promoting Tower Heist, has now stepped down as co-producer of next year’s 84^th Academy Awards ceremony.  His resignation comes in the wake of some homophobic slurs the director made while answering questions about his plans for the Oscars.  He also made the blunder of repeatedly talking about his sexual exploits.  Not really the behaviour of someone producing the wholesome awards.  Of course it was Ratner who hired Eddie Murphy to host the event but his Tower Heist star will have to do it without the Ratner.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

The Host, the next book to be adapted for the big screen from Twilight author Stephanie Meyer’s, is gathering pace as it looks to fill out its cast.  Already on board is Hanna and Atonement star Saoirse Ronan as the lead character of Melanie Stryder.  Stryder is a girl who is taken over by one of the ‘souls’, which are slowly occupying humanity’s minds with the intention of ruling the planet.  However, Stryder’s memories and emotions mean the ‘soul’ merges with her rather than dominates and she joins the revolution with the humans.  In Time director Andrew Niccol is directing and has just cast Jake Abel and might also add the likes of Max Irons, Liam Hemsworth and Kit Harrington.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Taken 2 is adding members to its already growing cast.  Today it announced that Scott Grimes, best know for All The Boys Love Mandy Lane and his small role in TV’s Brothers & Sisters, to the cast as Maggie Grace’s boyfriend.  This time out Liam Neeson and his ex-wife Famke Jansen are Taken and it’s up to Grace, the daughter, to save her parents.  Source – Variety

Unforgiven, the ITV1 drama rather than the Clint Eastwood Western, looks set to get a big-screen, American adaptation.  Scott Frank, who wrote Minority Report and Out Of Sight, will write and direct the feature.  Not long ago The Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie was set to write the project as a vehicle for Angelina Jolie before he went onto Tom Cruise film One Shot.  Unforgiven tells the story of a woman released from jail after 15 years having killed two police-officers while trying to protect her family from being evicted.  Wanting to integrate back into society she is targeted by the son’s of one of her victims.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Jennifer Saunders is bringing Absolutely Fabulous to the big screen by writing a feature film of the hit BBC show.  There are currently three special shows in production but Saunders has now signed on to pen the feature film as well.  The film will see Edina and Pattsy waking up, hung-over, on an oligarch’s yacht.  Kind of like the Hangover with two of TV’s most loved characters then.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Snow White & The Huntsmen revealed its first banner poster highlighting the moody, almost gothic, tone of the film which stars Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, Thor’s Chris Hemsworth and Oscar winner Charlize Theron as the wicked witch. You can see the poster below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, 8^th November

Keira Knightley, currently shooting Anna Karina with Joe Wright, is rumoured to be in talks to star as Euphemia ‘Effie’ Gray in the film Untouched.  The film will be directed by House Of Sand And Fog’s Andrucha Waddington and will chart the true story of Effie who married artist John Ruskin who became disgusted by her and never consummate the marriage.  Untouched is not the only film about Effie currently in the works as Emma Thompson is working on a rival project with Dakota Fanning in the lead role.  Source – Thompson on Hollywood

Clive Owen, last seen getting a can of whoop-ass from Jason Statham in Killer Elite, as signed onto to star in Recall.  Nothing to do with Colin Farrell starring Total Recall, this film was written by Taxi Driver’s Paul Schrader.  Owen will play an NSA agent who is trying to understand what happened in a failed attempt to rescue some hostages. The problem is he can’t trust anyone and his memory seems to be playing tricks on him so he can’t trust that either.  Harold Becker, who last gave us Mercury Rising (yes we know, pipe down it was a long time ago), will direct the film. Source – Variety

Stephen King still seems to be firmly flavour of the month in Hollywood.  His Dark Tower series is still being pimped around by Ron Howard while the adaptation of King’s The Stand is rumoured to have Ben Affleck attached.  Add to that an adaptation of his 2009 novel Under The Dome finding a writer to make it into a TV show.  Lost’s Brian K Vaughn will adapt the story of a town who turn on each other after a force-field appears around them, cutting them off from the rest of the world.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Where’s Wally, or as he’s more commonly known in the States Waldo, is set for a big-screen outing with MGM buying the rights to the hugely popular character.  The film is being planned as a live action family film.  No word if audiences will simply spend the film’s running time looking for Wally in the film.  Source – MGM

Rufus Sewell, soon to be seen in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, has joined the cast of Alex Proyas’ Paradise Lost adaptation.  He’ll play Sammael.  The film tells the story, based on John Milton’s epic poem, of the war between Heaven and Hell.  Bradley Cooper is leading the film as fallen angel Lucifer.  Sewell has previously worked with Proyas on the brilliant Dark City.  Source – Coming Soon

Monday, 7^th November

Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn, two of the finest actors working in Hollywood at the moment, are both rumoured to be in talks to star in The Revenant for Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu.  The film, based on the novel be Michael Punke, sees a man in 1820s hell-bent on revenge after he is mauled by a bear and then robbed by the two men left to care for him in the wilderness.  DiCaprio would take the lead with Penn as one of his assailants. With the potential talent involved it could prove to be one to look out for.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Benicio Del Toro, strangely absent from screen since The Wolfman, if you ignore his uncredited and fleeting cameo in Somewhere, is in talks to play the villain in the next Star Trek film.  Eric Bana of course played Nero in the last film and now JJ Abrams has committed to directing the sequel the villain’s casting is paramount with the rest of the crew all returning for the much hyped follow up.  Nothing is known about the project at this point as Abrams has a habit of keeping everyone in the dark to build interest in the project.  Mission accomplished Mr. Abrams.  Source – Variety

Akira, one of the most seminal Manga’s of all time, having now been given the go-ahead for its live-action version is now in the process of throwing all manner of casting rumours around as to who will star.  Tron Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund is still hotly tipped to play the lead role of Kaneda.  Meanwhile We Need To Talk About Kevin’s Ezra Miller and Tetro’s Alden Eherenreich are being talked up for the part of Tetsuo who obtains telekinetic powers and runs amok in the city.  And just in case the Brits wanted a look in Gary Oldman is rumoured to be in talks to play the General while Helena Bonham-Carter and Keira Knightley are also being tipped for unspecific roles.  Source – Coming Soon

Ridley Scott, busy putting the finishing touches to his Alien prequel Prometheus, has also been talking about re-visiting another of his greatest films Blade Runner.  It was announced awhile ago that Scott would be bringing a new Blade Runner to the screen and he has now announced that it will be a sequel to the original.  Having said that, when asked about returning cast members he said that you won’t be seeing any of the old faces.  Source – The Wall Street Journal

Jessica Chastain, having a huge break-out year with films like The Tree Of Life, The Debt and The Help, is set to spark controversy with her casting of Princess Diana.  Many Brits will feel The Peoples Princess must be played by an English actress but director Oliver Hirschbiegel has decided on Chastain for the role.  The film, called Caught In Flight, will tell the story of Diana’s relationship with Hasnat Khan, which was only revealed in 2008.  It is being rumoured that the film won’t portray Diana in a particularly favourable light so don’t expect this to be the last controversy that the film creates.  Source – Thompson On Hollywood

 

Friday, 4^th November

Emma Stone, continuing her meteoric rise in this month’s The Help, is now in early talks to star in Will Ferrell produced comedy He’s F******g Perfect.  If she takes the role Stone will play a girl who uses Facebook to stalk her friends boyfriends to check whether or not they are weirdoes or psychos.  The problem arises when she realises one of them is perfect and decides to break him up from her friend to keep for herself.  It’s the kind of role that Stone is perfect for with roles in Easy A and Crazy Stupid Love proving she’s got more than her fair of comedy timing.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Gary Oldman, currently doing his Commissioner Gordon thing in The Dark Knight Rises, is in talks to play Merlin in the movie Arthur and Lancelot.  The Change-Up’s David Dobkin has written and will direct the new take on the Arthurian Legend and says that he wants to make the characters more grounded.  Oldman has form in playing a wizard, in the Harry Potter films, so would certainly know how to wave Merlin’s wand.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

X-Men First Class, one of the most intentionally entertaining films of the year, looks to be getting a sequel.  Simon Kinberg, who was a producer on the film is writing a sequel with Matthew Vaughn expected to return as director.  There is no official word yet but it would seem that the original cast of McAvoy, Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence would all return for the sequel.  Source – Coming Soon

Andy Serkis, currently wowing audiences with another stunning motion-capture performance as Captain Haddock in Tintin, has now officially signed on to reprise his role as Cesar in the sequel to Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.  Having been so brilliant in the first film it was a surprise that, unike many of the human cast members, Serkis was not signed up to a sequel.  Thankfully his monkeying around has paid off meaning that he will no doubt have negotiated a bigger deal.  It also seems that Studio Fox are putting a lot of weight behind getting Serkis an Oscar nomination for his work as Cesar, although it remains to be seen if the Academy will bow to the pressures of mo-cap.  Source – Deadling Hollywood

Brian Cox, last seen in the aforementioned Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, has signed onto to Dog Fight.  The comedy sees Will Ferrell and Zack Galifianakis fighting it out as two rival politicians in a sleepy suburb district.  Jay Roach will direct the film with Cox on board as Galifianakis’ father and a former Senator who hasn’t always thought highly of his son.  Source – Variety

Thursday, 3^rd November

James Bond, Mr. 007 himself, was part of an all important press conference today where the worst kept secret in MI6’s history was revealed that the new Bond film, i.e. Bond 23, will indeed be called Skyfall. At the press conference, director Sam Mendes, venturing into new territory with an action film, announced that the film will see Bond’s allegiance to M, to be played by the now customary Judi Dench, tested as her past comes back to haunt her.  With MI6 under attack Bond, again played by the returning Daniel Craig, must track down and destroy the threat no matter how personal the cost.  Mendes has recently said he would like to see Bond test the Oscar nominations and with a plot as personal and dark as this Skyfall it certainly feels on the right track.  Furthermore, the producers have lined up one of, if not the most, impressive Bond casts to date.  Joining Craig and Dench are Javier Bardem, as the lead villain, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris as a field agent called Eve and French actress Berenice Marlohe as the latest Bond girl.  Now if we can just convince all involved to let Muse sing the title song we’ll be donning the tuxedo long before the release date hits on 26th October 2012.  Source – Eon Productions

Jason Statham, while potentially in talks to take over from Shia La Beouf in the Transformers franchise, has signed onto star in Hummingbird.  The film will see The Stath as a former Special Forces soldier plying his trade in the London criminal underworld.  However, when he changes his identity he becomes something of an avenging angel.  The film is being directed by Easter Promises writer Steven Knight.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Steve Carell, now clear of his Office duties, seems adamant to fill up his time with countless projects.  This week has already seen him start shooting on Burt Wonderstone and sign onto action-comedy Conviction.  Now comes news he’ll star in The Dogs Of Babel about a linguistics professor who returns to find his wife dead with the family dog the only witness.  He then sets out to teach the dog who to tell him what happened to his wife.  The film is based on the book by Carolyn Parkhurst’s novel and will be directed by Once director John Carney.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Clash Of The Titans 2, not released here till March next year, has obviously impressed studio heads in it’s early edit phase as they’ve gone and hired writers to write a third script in the Greek mythology series.  This means that Steve Knight, yup him again, will start writing alongside Dan Mazeau and David Leslie on the next script.  With Battle Los Angeles director Jonathan Liebesman currently in post-production on the second Titans it’s unclear who will direct the third at this point.  Source – Heat Vision

Joel Edgerton, soon to be seen in The Thing remake and then The Great Gatsby, is in talks to star in 300 spin-off The Battle Of Artemisia. The film, again based on a Frank Miller graphic novel, sees Themistocles lead his soldiers to victory over the Persian army in 480BC.  Smart people director Noam Murro is calling the shots on the film while 300 director Zack Synder, with co-writer Kurt Johnstad, has written the script.  Source – Vulture

Wednesday, 2^nd November

James Franco, last seen worrying about CG monkeys in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, has agreed to take a supporting role in indie movie Spring Breakers.  The film, written by Harmony Korine, sees a group of girls robbing a fast food restaurant to pay for their spring break trip.  However, when drug dealer called Alien, played by Franco, bails them out it turns out they’re in more trouble than they thought.  Emma Roberts is in talks to star as Candy, one of the leaders of the gang of girls.  Source – Variety

Colin Farrell, last seen as a brooding vampire in Fright Night 3D, will star opposite Swedish Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’s Noomi Rapace in Dead Man Down.  The film is being directed by Rapace’s Tattoo helmer Niels Arden Oplev which is a tense revenge thriller not dissimilar to Tattoo.  Farrell will play Victor, the right hand man to a New York crime boss.  However, when he falls for Beatrice (Rapace) he discovers she is the victim of one of his boss’s crimes and together the pair set-out on a spree of violent revenge.  Source – IM Global via Coming Soon

Taylor Lautner, about to pounce into action on Twilight; Breaking Dawn Part 1, has clearly decided that main-stream does not suit him, after the less than enthusiastic response to his last outing in Abduction, so is producing his next project and has snagged himself none other than Indy king Gus Van Sant to direct.  Plot details and titles are sketchy at this point other than it’s based on a New Yorker article that Lautner optioned.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Amanda Seyfried, seen this month in sci-fi thriller In Time, is in talks to play iconic former porn star turned feminist activist Linda Lovelace.  Based on Eric Danville’s book The Complete Linda Lovelace the film will be told through three interviews at key stages of her life.  Peter Sarsgaard is also in talks to play.  Of course this is not the only Lovelace project in the works with Malin Akerman playing the star in Inferno, a film that at one point had Lindsay Lohan and then Anna Farris attached.  Source – Variety

Terrence Malick, normally prone to prolonged periods of absence from directing, has announced not one but two new films to be shot next year.  The first, Lawless, will star none other than Mr. Existential himself Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.  He’ll then move onto King Of Cups which will also star Bale and Blanchett as well as Isabel Lucas.  Of course this being Mr. Malick there are no plot details but the films are not connected despite sharing certain cast members.  All of this is in addition to his romance film starring Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz and Javier Bardem.  What ever happened to the decades between films Mr. Malick?  Either way after another staggering film to his CV with this year’s The Tree Of Life we couldn’t be happier to see more Malick.  Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Steve Carell, about to start work on Burt Wonderstone, has lined up his next project called Conviction.  Not to be confused with the Hilary Swank/Sam Rockwell film, Conviction will see Carell as a bank robber released from prison after five years and forced by an FBI agent to stop his former protégé.  The film was originally written as a Heat style thriller but with Carell on board will undergo a action-comedy remix.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Eddie Redmayne, soon to be seen in My Week With Marilyn, has signed onto the ever growing cast of The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables.  The film already boasts Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.  Redmayne will play Marius in the film based on Victor Hugo’s novel.  Source - Deadline Hollywood

 

Tuesday, 1^st November

Olivia Wilde, last seen slinking around Cowboys and Aliens, has now signed onto star opposite Steve Carell in Burt Wonderstone.  The film sees Carell as a magician who finds all his assistants and friends going to work for his new rival to be played by Jim Carrey.  Steve Buscemi is also on board to play Carell’s former assistant with Don Scardino directing. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Martin Campbell, who directed this summer’s The Green Lantern, is circling the prospect of directing a film adaptation of TV’s The Fall Guy.  The original show saw Lee Majors playing Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who moonlit as a bounty hunter.  So now we just need Ryan Gosling to play the part as he seems to have a habit of playing stuntmen who dabble in crime with Drive and upcoming The Place Beyond The Pines. Probably unlikely then.  The script for The Fall Guy is currently being put together by X-Men First Class writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Arnold Schwarzenegger, currently blazing the comeback trail with The Last Stand followed by The Expendables 2, has now signed onto star in Black Sands.  The Governator will play a loner who wages war on a weapons manufacturer and it’s private army in the Southwest.  Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy are in the director’s chairs with a script by The A-Team writer Skip Woods.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Bill Paxton, who hasn’t directed a film since 2005’s The Greatest Game Ever Played, is currently circling the possibility of directing the film adaptation of Kung Fu.  The original TV show saw David Carradine as a Shaolin Monk travelling across America’s Old West in search of his half brother.  There is no word on casting which will probably follow suit once a director is confirmed.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Joss Whedon, not content with directing superhero mash-up The Avengers and his quick-shoot of Much Ado About Nothing, is now gearing up to executive produce, after writing the script, for supernatural romance In Your Eyes.  Plot details are being kept under wraps but the film is said to be about two polar opposite people who are connected in strange ways.  Brin Hill will take the helm on the film.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Monday, 31^st October

Robert De Niro, last week committing to The Comedian opposite Kristen Wiig, has now attached himself to The Killing Season.  The film, based on Evan Daughterty’s 2008 Black Listed script, will see De Niro as a retired military man living in the Appalachian Mountains.  When an unlikely European visitor, to be played by John Travolta, arrives on his doorsteps, the pair become friends.  However, Travolta is in fact a Serbian soldier looking for revenge.  The Killing Season was at one point to be directed by Die Hard’s John McTiernan but is now in Daredevil’s Mark Steven Johnson. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Justin Timberlake, seen this week in sci-fi film In Time, has been offered one of the lead roles in the Coen Brother’s next film Inside Llewyn Davis.  Based on the time Dave Van Ronk’s time in Greenwich Village in the 1960s Folk Music popularity the film already boasts Drive’s Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac.  Timberlake, if he accepts the role would play Mulligan’s husband and Isaac’s mentor figure.  With the given subject matter it is expected that Timberlake will use his natural singing skills to boost the role.  Source – Variety

Albert Finney, having taken something of a movie hiatus since 2007’s Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, is set to make a welcome comeback by starring in Bond 23.  Sam Mendes has put together quite a cast for the lasted 007 film and has hinted that he would like to see the Bond franchise move into Oscar nominated territory.  Finney is set to play a Foreign Office man who no doubt has dealings with England’s super spy.  Daniel Craig is returning with the likes of Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes on board in potentially villainous roles. Source – The Daily Mail

Fraggle Rock, the hit puppet show from 1983, looks as though it might be getting a film reinvention/adaptation.  The original HBO show saw puppets from the underground world of Fraggle Rock interacting with people but the rumour is the update will see more CGI created critters in the vein of Alvin And The Chipmunks. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Bill Murray, still firmly on the fence in regards to Ghostbusters 3, has joined the cast of Roman Coppola’s Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III.  Murray was convinced to join the already impressive cast by Roman’s sister Sofia, who directed Murray in Lost In Translation.  The film will see Charlie Sheen play Swan whose life is thrown into a life of doubt and fantasie when his girlfriend breaks up with him.  Also on board are Jason Schwartzman, Patricia Arquette and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  Source – Variety

Kristen Dunst, recently given a new lease of life with Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, has joined the cast of Cities.  The film, to be directed by Roger Donaldson, sees three intertwining stories about finance.  In New York Clive Owen leads a rich sex-fuelled life but always wants more.  In Mumbai Anil Kapoor is a cop battling crime and property fraud.  And finally in London where Dunst will play the wife of Orlando Bloom as the pair try to find enough cash to put a deposit down on their first house.  The pair have played a couple before in the more than forgettable Elizabethtown.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Puss In Boots took top billing at the US box-office this week out purring the likes of Johnny Depp starring The Rum Diaries and Justin Timberlake’s In Time.  Paranormal Activity 3 took second spot but couldn’t get close to the impressive $34 Million opening of the cat in boots.  Source – Box Office

 

Friday, 28^th October

Gerard Butler, Sam Worthington and Matthew McConaughey, calm down ladies, will all star in new action film Thunder Run.  There is a down side to all those swooning over the abs on offer as this will be an all motion-capture, 3D and CGI film.  Using the same techniques on Avatar the film will be directed by Con Air’s Simon West and sees American armed forces capturing Baghdad in 2003. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Robert De Niro, soon to be seen as part of a ensemble cast in New Year’s Eve (less said about that the better), will star in a new film from Sean Penn.  De Niro will star as The Comedian, about a funny man trying to reclaim his former fame.  However, after he hits an audience member in a fit of rage he is sentenced to community service where he meets a woman who changes his life.  Said woman will be played by toast of the town funny lady Kristen Wiig.  The project has been in the pipeline for a while and has only come together with the inclusion of Penn as director. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Reese Witherspoon and soon to be Muppet star Jason Segal are being courted for the lead roles in Sony’s project Sex Tape.  The script, which was written by Kate Angelo, was sold on spec for a seven figure sum sees a couple take a night off from the kids, get a little naughty, and make a sex tape.  Problem is by the following morning the tape is gone so they must go on a hunt to find said tape.  So kind of like a Hangover for married couples?  Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nick Stoller is being lined up to direct the comedy. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Nicole Kidman, soon to be seen alongside Nic Cage in Trespass, is looking to star and produce the film adaptation of The Family Fang.  She’s re-teaming with her Rabbit Hole producers to bring the book to life.  Based on the Kevin Wilson penned book it sees a married couple who are performance artists who often drag their kids into perform with them.  Years later the kids blame their parents for how their lives have not turned out how they would have wanted.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Sylvester Stallone, currently working on muscle-men action sequel The Expendables 2, has already lined up his next project after that in the shape of The Tomb.  Sly will play a prison architect who finds himself trapped in one of this own structures and having to escape.  Ironically Sly’s Expendables 2 co-stars Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger both circled the part at one point.  Antoine Fuqua as set to direct the film but has since departed to make Eminem boxing movie Southpaw so the film is looking for a leader. Source – Variety

 

Thursday, 27^th October

Tom Cruise is obviously a man the ladies want to work with.  He’s currently filming One Shot, in which he plays the popular character Jack Reacher, which at the time held a much talked about casting process for the lead female role.  Eventually Rosamund Pike won out the battle. Well it now seems that his next movie, sci-fi opus Oblivion, is causing just as much of a stir.  The film already boasts Jessica Chastain as Cruise’s character’s suspicious wife.  However, the likes of Hayley Atwell, Diane Kruger and Kate Beckinsale are all vying for the role of the mysterious girl that Cruise finds on the long abounded Earth.  Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski is calling the shots on the project.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Martin Scorsese, currently putting the finishing touches to his fist family film Hugo, has his sights set on his next project The Snowman.  Fear not, there’ll be no walking in the air here as the film is based on Jo Nesbo’s gritty serial killer novel rather than the Christmas TV favourite.  The title to refers to the snowman that is found with a missing girl’s scarf wrapped around its neck sending detective Harry Hole on his investigation. Michael Carnahan is currently adapting the novel into script format. Source – Variety

Anne Hathaway, currently slinking around Gotham as Catwoman before singing her way through Les Miserables, is set to produce and star in Puzzler.  Not much is known about the project other than it’s in the vein of a paranoid thriller.  Karl Gajdusek, who recently wrote Cage/Kidman movie Trespass, is beavering away on the script. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Kerry Washington has bagged the much converted role in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.  She’ll play Broomhilda, the long-suffering wife of slave Django, to be played by Jamie Foxx.  The film is Tarantino’s first venture into the Western genre and boasts Leonardo DiCaprio in the villain role.  Source – Deadline Hollywood

Brad Bird, currently taking some time off from animation to direct live-action in the shape of the latest Mission Impossible film, has said he would like to tackle the sequel to his popular Pixar film The Incredibles.  Bird has said that he has a number of good ideas but won’t commit to the film until he is absolutely happy with the script. Source – Movies.com

Eddie Murphy, about to be seen in Tower Heist and then onto Oscar hosting duties, has been trying to get another instalment of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise up and running but to no avail.  It now seems that project is dead in the water but Murphy is not giving up, instead turning his attention to a TV show based around his character Axel Foley’s son.  Murphy would appear as Foley, the new chief of police, in the pilot episode and have occasional guest spots on the show.  Source – Rolling Stone

Wednesday 26^th October

Brad Pitt, about to be seen in Moneyball and currently filming World War Z, is in talks to star in Twelve Years A Slave for director Steve McQueen.  Pitt was already involved as a producer but with the success of Shame, also starring Twelve Years Michael Fassbender, Pitt has now jumped onboard to star in the film about a free black man in 1850s New York, to be played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is tricked into slavery on the promise of a job offer.  Source – Screen Daily

Karl Urban, about to be slightly seen under the helmet of Judge Dredd, is set to star in Overdrive with Ben Barnes.  The film, being directed by Antonio Negret, sees two car steeling brothers who get into trouble in the South of France.  Cue fast cars round the streets of Monaco and slinky ladies strutting their stuff no doubt.  Speaking of slinky ladies Game Of Thrones Emilia Clarke is currently in talks to co-star. Source – Heat Vision

Tintin hits cinemas today and the unsurprising word is that if, as expected, it is a box-office hit then Peter Jackson, who produced the first film for Steven Spielberg, will direct the follow-up.  It was always rumoured to be the plan that the two bearded fellows would take turns directing the boy reporter but that now seems official.  The film will likely have the subtitle Prisoners Of The Sun and see Tintin and Captain Haddcock investigating an illness that effects explorers who disturb an ancient Incan tomb. Source - The Hollywood Reporter

The Dark Tower, Stephen King’s epic running series of books, looked doomed when Universal pulled the plug on Ron Howard and teams plans to make three movies and TV shows to bring the material to life.  Now it seems that the TV show is going ahead at HBO and that the budget for the film has been slashed buy $45 Millions, according to producer Brian Grazer.  All this means we should get to see The Gunslinger in some guise in the not to distant future. Source – MTV

David Slade, the man behind the brilliant Hard Candy and currently shooting the next Daredevil film, is planning another comic book adaptation based on the graphic novel Coward.  The story, being adapted by the graphic novelist himself Ed Brubaker, sees a guy named Leo planning heists in a nourish world. Source – Variety

 

Tuesday 25^th October

Ben Affleck And Matt Damon, the Oscar winning writers and stars of Good Will Hunting are looking to team up again after some time apart.  Damon has hinted that the pair are looking to work together on a project based on recently arrested Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger.  To help with the gangster talk and tone Damon and Affleck have recruited Sopranos and Broadwalk Empire producer Terence Winter.  There is also word that Damon and Affleck have another script as a possible option, seeing as theirs is not the only potential Bulgar project in the works, called The Trade about real-life baseball wife swapping. Either way it seems the dynamic duo are together again. Source – GQ via Empire

Joss Whedon, clearly not content with helming of 2012’s biggest film in the shape of The Avengers, has somehow snuck under the radar to direct a film based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.  Filming on the project is already complete and stars such Whedon alumnus as Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion and Alexis Denisof. Source – Bellwether Pictures

John Cusack, soon to be seen as Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven, has joined the cast of The Numbers Station opposite Malin Akerman. He’s replacing the departed Ethan Hawke as a Black Ops who, thanks for past mistakes, is now based in a CIA code station in the Nevada Desert.  Akerman will play a code breaker who is stationed there when the place comes under attack. Source – Variety

Eric Bana is set to play Elivis alongside Danny Huston as Richard Nixon in the film Elvis & Nixon.  The project is being directed by former actor Cary Elwes and is based on a conversation between The King and The President about Elvis wanting to be a Federal Agent at Large in the war on drugs. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Will Ferrell and Zack Galifianakis, two of Hollywood’s funniest men, are teaming up with just cast other funny man, and Horrible Bosses star, Jason Sudeikis for the comedy Dog Fight.  The film is about two rival politicians played by Ferrell and Galifianakis, in a small congressional district in South Carolina. Austin Powers director Jay Roach is calling the shots.  Source – Risky Business

Michelle Monaghan, last seen on the same train over and over again in Source Code, is now signed on to star in Fort Bliss. The film will see Monaghan as a solider on leave home from Afghanistan trying to reconnect with her five-year-old son who she barely knows.  Claudia Meyers is directing. Source – Variety

Monday 24^th October

Ben Affleck, currently editing his latest film Argo, is top of Warner Brother’s wish list to take the helm for the film adaptation of The Stand.  Based on Stephen King’s stunning novel, which has been previously made into a TV min-series, sees the last remnants of humanity, after a virus has wiped out most of us, in the ultimate battle between good and evil.  Affleck is not a guaranteed at this point but after The Town and Gone Baby Gone is fast becoming a hugely reliable director. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Joseph Gordon Levitt, not content with being cool in Inception and currently filming on The Dark Knight Rises, is now in talks to star in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.  Tarantino’s first foray into the Western genre already boasts the likes of Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel Jackson, Christoph Waltz and Kurt Russell. Source – Variety

The Fast & The Furious franchise, hot off the heels of the hit fifth instalment this year, is looking to shoot parts 6 and 7 back to back.  Justin Lin, who is currently in high demand thanks to his work in the latest Fast film, is already onboard to direct the sixth film but will now put some of his other plans on hold to make room for shooting two films at once.  Studio Universal are anxious to bring all the cast back for both films. Source – LA Times

Sherlock Holmes is about to hit screens again with the Game Of Shadows but it seems the powers that be are so happy with the Robert Downey Jnr/Guy Ritchie follow up that they are already planning a third film in the series. Drew Pearce, who is currently writing other Downey Jnr flick Iron Man 3, has been hired to pen the script for the next film. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Harry Potter alumni Gary Oldman and Helena Bohnam Carter are rumoured to be in talks for another big Warner Brothers movie this time in the shape of manga adaptation Akira.  The film has recently got the green-light with Unknown director Jame Collet-Serra calling the shots. Source – Twitch

Paranormal Activity 3 scared it’s way to the top of the US Box-Office over the weekend taking an impressive $54 Million dollars.  Considering the film only had an initial budget of $5 Million dollars the film is already well into profit which is a huge coup for the franchise.  Real Steel held onto second place while Footloose took third meaning The Three Musketeers could only place fourth with a low $8.8 Million opening weekend. Source – Box-Office Mojo

 

Friday 21^st October

Bradley Cooper, currently filming Paradise Lost, is first choice to play Napoleon Solo in Steven Soderbergh’s film adaptation of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Robert Vaughn played the part in the original TV show about as an agent of United Network Command for Law Enforcement battling the forces of T.H.R.U.S.H (Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity). It’s a big mouthful for writer Scott Z Burns who is busy putting the film together. Source – Variety  

Catherine Zeta-Jones has joined the cast of Albert Hughes thriller Broken City. The film sees Mark Wahlberg hired by the city’s mayor, being played by Russell Crowe, to find out how his wife, Zeta-Jones, is sleeping with. As the detective begins to unravel the affair he finds a much darker secret involving corruption in the mayor’s office. Zeta-Jones will soon be seen in Soccer Mums and musical Rock Of Ages. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Will Ferrell, currently in more serious mode in Everything Must Go, is looking to produce new spec comedy He’s F*****G Perfect. Lauren Kahn who has worked as Ferrell producer Adam McKay’s assistant for a number of years wrote the script that sees a girl using Facebook status updates to warn men off her friends they are dating writes the script. That is until she finds one that would be perfect for her and tries to break up the relationship for her own good. No director is yet attached to the project. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Carey Mulligan, about to wow audiences with her turn in Shame, is in talks to star in the next Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis. The film is based on the life of Folk Singer Dave van Ronk and his rise to fame in Greenwich Village in the late 60s. Mulligan’s role is not specified other than being the female lead. She is also in talks to star in Spike Jonze’s next film that will reunite him with Charlie Kaufman. Source - Variety

Battlestar Galatica took a fracking huge leap to becoming a movie as Universal has now hired a writer to accompany director Bryan Singer on a voyage across the galaxy looking for the mythical Earth. John Orloff, who was a writer on Band of Brothers, will pen the screenplay based on the 1978 and 2004 TV shows. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Assassin’s Creed, the hugely successful franchise of video games, is being brought to the big screen thanks to Sony. Creators Ubisoft recently announced they would be starting a production company to bring some of their bigger titles to the screen including Creed, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon. It now seems they’ve jumped into bed with Sony on the former of these potential projects. The games see a man kidnapped and attached to a device that allows him to re-live the life of his assassin ancestor to collect artefacts that can control mankind. As yet there is no word on writers of directors for the project. Source – Variety

The Wachowskis, now known as Andy and Lana, are planning on dipping their toes in the Sci-fi pool for the first time since The Matrix franchise finished. The film is being kept tightly under wraps other than the title which is Jupiter Ascending. The pair are currently shooting Cloud Atlas with director Tom Tykwer and have failed to get their other project Cobalt Neautral 9, about a US Solidier’s homosexual affar with an Iraqi, off the ground so it looks like Jupiter could be up next. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Thursday 20^th October

Akira, the hugely popular manga series that then became a hugely successful anime, looks to be finally dragging itself towards its live action feature. It’s been on again off again for many years but now Warner Brothers have attached Jaume Collet-Serra, who directed Unknown, to direct with potentially Tron Legacy Star Garrett Hedlund in the lead role. The film will be set in a dystopian future moving the action from New-Tokyo to New York. Source – Variety

The Lost Symbol, the third book in the franchise about Professor Robert Langdon by Dan Brown, looks to have found a new director. Having helmed the first two films Ron Howard is only on producing duty for this instalment and instead it looks like Mark Romanek is set to take the reigns. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Matt Damon, this week seen in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, is set to make his directorial debut.  Following in the footsteps of his old mucker Ben Affleck, Damon will co-write, star and direct in the yet untitled film.  He’s working closely with co-star and co-writer John Krasinski on the story of a salesman who finds a new lease of life in a small town. Damon would play the salesman with Warner Brothers stumping up the money for the film. Source – Variety

 

Wednesday 19^th October

Anne Hathaway, currently slinking her way round Gotham City as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, has joined the cast of The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Les Miserables. She’ll play Fantine opposite Russell Crowe’s inspector Javert while Hugh Jackman will play the role of Jean Valjean. Source – Universal Pictures via Coming Soon

Mickey Rourke is having a good news/bad news day for his fans. The good news is he’s in talks to star in Seven Psychopaths alongside Sam Rockwell, Collin Farrell and Christopher Walken. The film is from In Bruges writer director Martin McDonagh and will see Farrell as a screenwriter in LA who finds inspiration from a dognapping involving his friends Rockwell and Walken from a gangster, to presumably be played by Rourke, although there is no word if he’ll get to you one of his beloved Chihuahuas. All this means the bad news is Rourke won’t be able to return to The Expendables 2. The rumour is he was never going to having failed to agree a fee for the action extravaganza. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Charlize Theron, is currently battling Xenomorphs in Ridley Scott’s Alien Prequel Prometheus but has now signed on to star in the English language remake of Zwart Water aka Two Eyes Starring. The film sees a young girl realise that her friend is in fact her mother’s dead twin very dangerous to boot. Theron will play the mother who happens to be a little on the nuts side herself. She’ll also produce the film with The Exorcism Of Emily Rose writer director Scott Derrickson calling the shots. Source – Heat Vision

Nicolas Cage, soon to be seen in Justice and Trespass, has joined the thriller Black Butterfly. Based on the French TV show of the same name Cage will play Paul, an author who befriends a drifter with deadly consequences. Brian Goodman will call the shots before Cage moves onto Frozen Ground with John Cusack and then, rumoured only, to be featuring in The Expendables 2. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

James Cameron is a busy man but he recently told Nightline about the sequel to the most financially successful movie of all time Avatar. It seems Cameron is writing parts 2 and 3 in the series of films and revealed that we will see other planets around Pandora as well as the oceans that make up most of the blue planet. He’s particularly excited to create the eco-system of the oceans stating that they will be “unsurvivable for a lot of species”. Paint us blue and excited for this one. Source – Nightline via Coming Soon

Channing Tatum, currently running, jumping and generally muscling his way around GI Joe 2, is in talks to star in Foxcatcher. The film is being directed by Moneyball’s Bennett Miller and tells the true story of John du Pont, to be played by Steve Carell. Du Pont was the heir to a chemical dynasty but suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and in one particular episode shot and killed Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz, the part Tatum will play if he signs. Source – The LA Times

Tuesday 18^th October

Attack The Block, one of the sleeper hits of the year, is currently wowing American audiences and, despite talk of an American remake, it is now being rumoured that it might get a sequel. Director Joe Cornish has been telling people that lead actor John Boyega has a number of great ideas for a larger London invasion. Source – IFC

Transformers apparently didn’t die a death at this summer’s box-office as creators Hasrbo are in talks with producer Steven Spieldberg and director Michael Bay about a fourth instalment in the franchise. There is no word on any plot but it seems that Shia LaBeouf is unlikely to return to the franchise. Instead the producers want Jason Statham to take over the reigns with Michael Bay keen to return the plan is to shoot films four and five back to back. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Shia LaBeouf meanwhile is in talks to star in a modern day fairy tale presently titled A Giant. The film will see LaBeouf play a twenty foot giant who falls in love with the rebellious girl next door. Gil Kenan wrote the script with the title regarded as a ‘working’ one rather than locked in. Source – Variety

Arnold Schwarzenegger has officially jumped back in the saddle of acting as his latest film The Last Stand started shooting yesterday. The film sees Schwarzenegger play a disgraced LAPD cop who is now a small town sheriff in Summerton. However, when a drug cartel leader plans to flee through the town to Mexico only the sheriff and his inexperienced team can stop him and the heavily armed gang helping him. Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzman, Harry Dean Stanton and Jamie Alexander are also starring with Kim Jee-Woon directing. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

James Mangold, the man behind Walk The Line and currently prepping The Wolverine, has attached himself to Icelandic thriller remake City State. The film examines various lives as they are effected by a crime syndicates drug dealings in Iceland. No other talent is attached but a writer will shortly start work on putting an American spin on the film. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Aaron Eckhart, recently attached to I, Frankenstein, is now taking up music to play The Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson in, drum role, The Drummer. Ironically Wilson was the only Beach Boy who actually surfed and drowned in 1983 shortly after finishing his solo album Pacific Blue Ocean. Eckhart is currently in training to learn the drums and piano as well as brushing up on his vocal talents for the film. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Melissa McCarthy, the break-out star of Bridesmaids, has just sold her script Tammy. Although it’s not clear if McCarthy will also star in the film it seems like something which she would be good for. The film sees Tammy lose her job and return to find her husband having an affair. To escape it all she goes on a road trip with her foul-mouthed grandmother. Before that can happen though McCarthy must finish working alongside Jason Bateman in The Identity Thief. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

 

Monday 17^th October

The Twilight Zone, the classic sci-fi tv show and later popular film, is getting another shot at the big screen thanks to Warner Brothers and director Matt Reeves. Warner’s have selected Reeves among a host of other big names to take the helm. The director certainly has form in the supernatural with Let Me In and Cloverfield already under his belt. He’s currently working on his Frankenstein story This Dark Endeavour before moving onto vampire book adaptation by Justin Cronin The Passage. Source- Warner Brothers  

Shawn Levy, currently pummelling the box-office into submission with Real Steel, is set to direct The Three Misfortunes Of Geppeto. The film will be a pseudo prequel to the classic fairy tale Pinnochio although Levy is playing coy on the project stating that he is attached to many projects he is not involved with. Source – Deadline Hollywood

The Crow seems to be struggling to take flight as yet another director jumps ship from the project. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has now left the project, supposedly to focus on his remake of Highlander, which leaves The Crow in more turmoil. Various actors and director including Bradley Cooper and Steven Norrington not mention writers like Nick Cave have come and gone in the story of rock star Eric Draven’s reincarnation as an avenging angle. Source – Twitch

Top Gun remake continues to kick the tyres and light the fires as it heads towards its inevitable remake. X-Men First Class writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz are writing the script from a story by The Usual Suspect’s scribe Christopher McQuarrie. Tony Scott is also in place as a potential director having launched his feature career with the original. Source - Variety

Real Steel remained the reigning champion at the US Box Office over the weekend. The robot boxing movie beat out two remakes in the form of Footloose and The Thing taking an estimated $16m to take it to roughly $575 Million to date. Source – Deadline Hollywood 

 

Friday 14^th October

Robert Downey Jnr, never one to let the grass grow under his feet with The Avengers and Sherlock Holmes 2 in the pipeline, has now joined The Accidental Genius for Warner Brothers. The film will see Downey Jnr as a man who awakes from a coma only to see his intelligence increasingly exponentially before setting out with another man to solve a global mystery. In other news it is rumoured that Downey Jnr is also considering the role of Perry Mason in a new film adaptation. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Tupac Shakur, the legendary rap star, looks to be getting the biopic treatment with Boyz n The Hood director John Singleton looking to take the reigns. The project has moved fast since Antoine Fuqua vacated the directing chair apparently less than happy with the mooted casting of Anthony Mackie as Tupac. In many ways Singleton is a better fit having worked with Tupac, on film Poetic Justice, before the rappers shooting and death in 1996. The film will focus on Tupac’s time with Suge Knight’s Death Row Records. Source – Vulture.

Gerard Butler, soon to be seen in Machine Gun Preacher, has signed on to star in Antoine Fuqua’s Hunter Killer. The film sees a rogue Russian general who kidnaps his country’s President and looks to start World War III. The only thing standing in his way is a submarine captain and a Navy SEAL Unit. Butler will play the sub captain while Fuqua wants Sam Worthington to play the SEAL team leader. Source- Variety

Taken 2, the sequel to the much loved Liam Neeson actioner, is going ahead and can now boast a villain to add to it’s ranks of clichéd bad guy stereotypes. Rade Sherbedgia, last seen in X-Men First Class, will play the father of the first film’s villain looking to tae revenge on the pesky special forces father played by Neeson. This time it will be Neeson and ex-wife Famke Jansen who are taken leaving Maggie Grace’s daughter to find them. We’re hoping Neeson’s unique set of skills still play a key role. Source – Heat Vision

Oscar Isaac, recently seen in the stunning Drive, has been cast as the lead role in The Coen Brother’s next film Inside Llewyn Davis. The film is based on the life of musician David van Ronk and the folk music scene that hit Greenwich Village in the late 1960s. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

 

Thursday 13^th October

Die Hard fans rejoice as the next instalment in the franchise not only has a name but also a release date. A Good Day To Die Hard will be released February 14^th 2013 and will see John McClane teaming with his estranged son Jack and fighting a rogue Russian leader who has just escaped from prison. John Moore, who directed Max Payne, is calling the shots while currently only Bruce Willis is confirmed cast wise. Source – 20^th Century Fox

Ben Stiller, soon to be seen in Tower Heist and currently filming Neighbourhood Watch, is set to star and produce a film version of hit BBC kids show Rentaghost. The show saw an agency that provided ghosts for special hauntings. The film will se the company floundering and Stiller playing an American who comes in to help the business. Stiller is re-teaming with his Night At The Museum writers Tom Lennon and Robert Ben Garant for the project. Source – Deadline Hollywood  

The Beatles are no strangers to film in various forms and now look to be getting another outing. Michael Winterbottom is looking to direct the story of how John, Paul, George and Ringo set up their record label Apple Records and the eventual collapse of the band. With the help of usual producing partner, Andrew Eaton, and Oasis front man Liam Gallagher, Winterbottom is planning on adapting Richard DiLello’s book The Longest Cocktail Party. Getting rights to the band’s songs is another hurdle altogether. Source – The Playlist

The Lone Ranger looks like he is finally set to ride again. After much stop starting on the Gore Verbinski directed film, mainly due to budgetary concerns, the film has now had a re-write to make it more financially viable. Johnny Depp is still onboard as Tonto as is Armie Hammer as the Ranger himself. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Wednesday 12^th October

James Bond might be good at keeping secrets but it seems his producer friends aren’t as the long rumoured inclusion of Javier Bardem as the next Bond villain has now been confirmed. Bardem was rumoured to be on board as long as six months ago but finally the man himself confirmed that he is raring to go. Daniel Craig will return as 007 while Sam Mendes will call the shots. Source – Coming Soon

Michael Fassbender, soon to be seen having his way with Keira Knightley in A Dangerous Method, is never one to turn down a role and has now signed on to star alongside Chiwetel Ejiorfor in 12 Years A Slave. This project seems appropriate for Fassbender as it is being directed by his Hunger, and soon to be Shame, helmer Steve McQueen. Source – Coming Soon

Clint Eastwood, currently putting his remake of A Star Is Born due to Beyonce’s pregnancy, is looking to step in front of the camera for the first time in years in a film he won’t be directing. Instead he’ll star for regular producing partner Robert Lorenz in Curve. The film will see Clint play a near to retiring Baseball scout who discovers he is going blind. On one of his final scouting trips to Atlanta he decides to take his daughter along for the ride. Presently Lorenz and Eastwood are trying to snare Oscar winner Sandra Bullock for the role. Source – Twitch

Jim Carrey, aka old Rubber Face himself, is set to star in Wonderstone. The film will see Steve Carrel as the titular character who is a Vegas illusionist. However, he finds himself being upstaged by a street performer, to be played by Carrey, who is stealing crowds from him. Carrey and Carrel have gone up against each other before, albeit briefly, in Bruce Almighty. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Leonardo DiCaprio is in line to play famous mathematician Alan Turing. One of the men responsible for breaking the Enigma Code, Turing has been the subject of a script by first time screenwriter Graham Moore. The script is said to be so good it sparked a bidding war with the major studios with Warner Brothers winning out. No word yet on directors for the film but DiCaprio is apparently ear-marked to play the prominent English genius. Source – Deadling Hollywood

The Avengers, Marvel’s mammoth superhero movie, had its first trailer land yesterday to hugely positive internet response. The film, directed by Buffy’s Joss Whedon, will see the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Incredible Hulk face off against an planet threatening evil. You can see the trailer HERE.

Tuesday 11^th October

Robert Zemeckis continues his recent move away from motion-capture animation by attaching himself as a producer on Charles Fort. The film tells the story of real-life paranormal expert Fort who wrote the first books regarding teleportation, alien abduction and levitation. The hope is this will end up being something of a period Ghostbusters. Zemeckis also produced this month’s Real Steel and is about to direct Flight with Denzel Washington. Source – Heat Vision

Robert Redford is certainly pulling in some star quality for his next film The Company You Keep by hiring Brendan Gleeson, Terrence Howard and Anna Kendrick to join his already impressive cast. Redford will direct and take the lead about a former protestor/terrorist who is unearthed by journalist Shia LaBeouf and finds the FBI hot on his trail again.  With the film also boasting the likes of Susan Sarandon, Richard Jenkins, Stanly Tucci and Chris Cooper it is safe to say this is shaping up to be one of the most character driven films since Robert Altman passed away. Source – Variety

Mickey Rourke, about to be seen in Immortals, has signed onto to star in Java Heat. The film will see an American, played by Twilight’s Kellan Lutz, put aside he anti-Islamic beliefs to team up with a Muslim cop to bring down a team of jewel thieves in Southeast Asia. Rourke will play the man who thinks up the team’s heists. Connor Allyn will call the shots as director. Source – Variety

Summit Entertainment have bought the English language rights to Jo Nesbo’s Headunters. The book follows a high-flying cooperate headhunter who steals artwork from his clients to fund his extravagant life-style. However, when one of his heists goes wrong he realises he is embroiled in a murderous game. Nesbo has written eight books to date featuring detective Harry Hole so this could be the first in a franchise. Cue the scramble to cast a leading man to carry potential franchise. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Lost In Austen, the popular ITV series is about to get a movie make-over thanks to her behind Sleepless In Seattle Nora Ephron. The show saw a girl called Amanda Price, played by the always brilliant Jemima Rooper, trading place with Elizabeth Bennet, played by a young Gemma Arterton, in the world of Pride And Prejudice via a magic door in her flat. Ephron will transfer the story from London to New York with Sam Mendes producing. Source – Variety

Monday 10^th October

Johnny Depp, always one to play his literary idols with the likes of JM Barry and Hunter S Thompson, is set to play Dr. Seuss. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Geisel, is no stranger to the film with his stories Cat In The Hat, Horton Hears A Who and How The Grinch Stole Christmas all having been made into successful movies. This film will follow Seuss as he gets his starts drawing comic strips and adverts before moving into political cartoons during World War II and finally starting out on his famous children’s books. Source – Risky Business

Tom Cruise, currently playing Jack Reacher in One Shot, is rumoured to be in talks to star in Doug Liman’s adaptation of Manga All You Need Is Kill. Brad Pitt had been touted to star in the film, which is now being called We Are Mortals, but it seems that Cruise may have jumped ahead of his Interview With The Vampire Co-star. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Steve Jobs, the legendary technology pioneer who sadly passed away last week, is all set to get a movie of his life. The film was actually being looked at before his untimely death and will be adapted from the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. The book was written with the help of over 100 interviews with Jobs and 40 interviews with friends and family. Jobs had given his full cooperation to the book but had not read it as of August. But Jobs specifically chose Isaacson for the job who has also written about Henry Kissinger, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin so Jobs is in good company. The film is being produced by Sony who have form in this area with The Social Network and recently Money Ball. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Dominic Purcell, still best known as the hulking brother from TV’s Prison Break, is set to join Alex Proyas adaptation of Paradise Lost. The film sees the epic war between heaven and hell with Bradley Cooper playing Lucifer. Purcelll will play Moloch who sides with Lucifer in the war. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Aaron Eckhart clearly likes a bit of CGI monster trickery after his turn as Two Face in The Dark Knight as he is now set to join I, Frankenstein. The film sees Adam (Eckhart), Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, who escapes the angry mob of the story and survives to live in present day and become embroiled in a war between two immortal clans. The film is being written and directed by Stuart Beattie and is one of FIVE Frankenstein movies currently in development.

Tim Roth, normally seen in US hit TV show Lie To Me, has joined the cast of Broken. The film sees a young North London girl witness a violent attack and sends her life into a spiral. Based on the book by Daniel Clay the film is being adapted by Rufus Norris and already boasts the likes of Cillian Murphy, Robert Emms and Bill Milner in its cast as well as newcomer Eloise Laurence in the lead role. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Blake Lively recently rumoured to be attached to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has turned down the lead role in the film. Having lost the likes of Natalie Portman the film continues to look for its heroin. Source - Twitch

Friday 30^th September

Ronney Mara, last seen as the ex-girlfriend in The Social Network, is in line to star opposite Josh Brolin in Spike Lee’s re-make of Old Boy. Clearly Mara is a glutton for punishment as she is about to go stellar with her turn as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in David Fincher’s remake. In other words Mara is fast becoming the go to girl for American remakes of foreign films. Old Boy will see Brolin imprisoned, without reason, for two decades before being released and told he has four days to find out why he was held for so long. At this point only a rumour it is expected that Mara would play the young girl who finds herself helping Brolin and becomes more ingrained into the story than she would otherwise hope. Source- Twitch

Mortal Kombat, the 90s video game which still sells strong today, is getting punched back in for another film adaptation. The film is being written by Oren Uziel and directed by Kevin Tacharoen. Neither, based on the resume, seem like the ideal fit with films like Fame and Glee: The Documentary, but for anyone who has seen their eight minute short of Mortal Kombat: Rebirth online will know that they have the ability to breath new life into a franchise always erring on the side of camp. Indeed Rebirth implies an altogether more adult take on the genre. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 Red Station, the first book of a spy franchise by Adrian Magson, is being made into a film. The story sees MI5 agent Harry Tate take the fall for a drugs bust gone wrong and sent to the titular Red Station in Georgia, a place for washed up operatives. However, when two agents go missing Tate finds himself embroiled in a plot that sees a planned invasion of England by the Russians and conspiracy at the highest levels of government. No stars or director are yet attached but given the success of Tinker Tailor Solider Spy this could fit in nicely with the new wave of tension filled thrillers. Source – Heat Vision

Ellen Page, who was recently seen going all Hit Girl like in Super, is set to join the cast of The East. The film sees an agent, Another Earth’s Brit Marling, infiltrate the eco-terrorist group known as The East. Alexander Skarsgard leads the group and Page would play the part of his former girl-friend who is high up within the group. Since Juno Page has been more at home in comedies but her routes in Hard Candy prove that he is able to go very very dark when the part requires it. Source - Variety

Woody Harrelson is in talks to join the already impressive cast of Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me. The films follows a group of magicians who rob banks using their skills and find Mark Ruffalo’s cop hot on their heels. Jesse Eisenberg leads the group with Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman and Isla Fisher also starring. Harrelson would play a mentalist who joins the team. Source – Variety

 

Thursday 29^th September

The Bible, something of a source of endless movie adaptations, is getting another outing this time in the form of Gods and Kings which will tell the story of Moses. The film is not a remake of Cecil B DeMille’s 1956 film but a new take on the Book Of Exodus and other Old Testament stories. Warner Brothers are currently trying to convince Steven Spielberg to take the reigns on this one having sent him the script by Michael Green and Stuart Hazeldine. The film will see Moses’ struggle with the Pharaoh of Egypt, the burning bush, the Ten Plagues and of course receiving the Ten Commandments. Epic doesn’t quite cover it. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Damon Lindelof, one of the creators of Lost and now screenwriter of Prometheus, has been dropping some hints as to what will see in the Alien prequel from Ridley Scott. He told MTV that Charlize Theron plays a cooperate entity but not in the way you would expect, he also confirmed that, as expected, Michael Fassbender will play a robot. The film is released in June 2012 which can’t come soon enough for us. Source – MTV

Dominic Cooper, recently seen in the dual role of The Devil’s Double, will next head to Motor City. The film is being directed by Albert Hughes, one half of The Hughes Brothers, and is a revenge thriller about a man tracking down the men that framed him and saw him in prison. Source – Variety

Antoine Fuqua, the man behind Training Day and King Arthur, is in talks to take over from Philip Noyce on the film Hunter Killer. The film is an adaptation of the yet to be published book Firing Point by Don Keith and George Wallace which sees a team of Navy Seals on a submarine heading to Russia to prevent an admiral starting war with America. All sounds very Hunt For Red October without the Scottish accent. Source – Variety

Phantom, while we’re talking about Russians and submarines, has just added David Duchovny to its cast list. The film sees Ed Harris as the captain of a Russian submarine trying to stave off a KGB unit and a supernatural force from taking over his boat. William Fichtner is also on board while Duchovny is replacing the previously cast Andy Garcia. Source - Variety

Stephen King has announced that his next book will be a follow-up to his seminal work The Shinning. Although this is not technically movie related Stanley Kubrick’s film of the original novel is so seeped in movie history that it is surely only a matter of time before someone buys up the rights to the follow up for a film adaptation. Source – Stephenking.com

Wednesday 28^th September

BFG fans rejoice as it seems a new version of Roald Dahl’s classic giant story is making its way to the big screen. There has been a much loved 1989 animated version of the tale about a giant who befriends a young girl but it seems that Dreamworks, the people behind the new film, are looking to make this version live-action. No word yet on a director but ET writer Melisa Matheson is on writing duties. Source – The Wrap

Wanted 2 the much-touted sequel to 2008’s action romp starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy looks to finally be in the pipe line. Original writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas are both on board to pen the follow-up saying that the story will pick up after events of the last film and continue Wesley Gibson’s story. The implication being that McAvoy could return to play Wesley again, although there are no reports to confirm this. There were rumours at one point that Jolie’s character would also make a return although that is less likely given her character’s untimely demise in the first film. Indeed Jolie has distanced herself from a return saying that when a character dies they should stay dead. Source – The Wrap

Dead Island, the hit video-game of this year, is getting the movie treatment thanks to Lionsgate. The game became an overnight hit thanks to a clever trailer depicting a family fighting off zombies all in slow-motion and in reverse. Producer Sean Daniel, who was one of the producers on The Mummy, is behind the project. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Area 52, the comic book series, is getting the film treatment thanks to Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The story sees a military based in the middle of Antarctica that is used as a dumping ground for all manner of alien technology. Manned by a group of misfits who have essentially been exiled they must band together when a nasty alien hatches in the base. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Susan Sarandon, last seen playing Shia La Beouf’s mum in Wall Street 2, is set to take a role in Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s new film Snitch. The film sees a father devastated by his son’s 30-year sentence for drug smuggling. In an attempt to lower the sentence he goes undercover in the hope of serving up the head drug dealer. Sarandon will play an ambitious US Attorney who believes the bust could help her political career. Out Of Time director Carl Franklin will call the shots. Source – Heat Vision

 

Tuesday 27^th September

Justin Timberlake, fresh off the hit of Friends With Benefits and soon to be seen all sci-fi with In Time, is now looking to join Spinning Gold. The film tells the true life rise of Casablanca Records by co-founder Neil Bogart. A rags-to-riches story Bogart would discover the some of the sound which defined the 70s like Kiss and The Village People. Timberlake will look to play Bogart and is also producing the film. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Eric Bana, recently seen training young killers in Hanna, is set to star in Brilliant. The film sees a small time crook get mixed up in a heist with big time gangsters, putting him firmly out of his depth. There are rumours that Cameron Diaz will also look to join the cast although it is unclear what part either thesp will take. What is perhaps apparent is that in director Robert Luketic’s, the man behind Monster In Law and 21, hands there might be a slight hint of comedy on offer. Source - Variety

Jessica Chastain, currently riding a high with Tree Of Life, The Debt and The Help, has been cast as Tom Cruise’s wife in upcoming sci-fi extravaganza formally known as Oblivion and Horizons. The film, which now has no title, will be directed by Tron Legacy’s Joseph Kosinski and will see a world in which humans live above the clouds as Earth is no longer inhabitable. When Cruise’s earthbound repairman stumbles across a woman on Earth it begins to shake the status-quo. Chastain will play Cruise’s wife who is none to happy about him falling for another woman. Source – Heat Vision

Jeff Nichols, soon to see his hotly anticipated film Take Shelter released, has added more cast members to his next project Mud. Take Shelter star Michael Shannon as well as Sam Shepard and Sarah Paulson will join the cast that already boasts Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Tye Sheridan. The film is a coming of age drama that sees two boys discover a fugitive hiding on an island in the Mississippi. They decide to help him find the love of his life. Source – Coming Soon

 

Monday 26^th September

Blake Lively, normally seen gallivanting round New York in Gossip Girl, is rumoured to have been offered the part of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. At one point Natalie Portman was set to star with David O Russell at the helm but he departed the project and Portman turned her attention to child rearing, although is still producing. The film is based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s expansion of Jane Austen’s novel that sees a young girl trying to find love while a Zombie virus sweeps across the nation. Fright Night 3D director Craig Gillespie is now calling the shots. Source- Twitch

Michael Fassbender, recently seen in X-Men: First Class and Jane Eyre, is no slouch when it comes to taking parts. He is one of those never stops working kind of actors. Well it now seems that he is wanted for another role namely that of Robocop. Director Jose Padilha, who was talking over the weekend on Brazilian TV about his latest films Elite Squad 2, said that he would love to work with Fassbender in the lead role of his upcoming remake of Robocop. He is yet to actually talk to the Hunger star but with Fassbender’s never ending list of films to do it might be hard to squeeze this one in. Source – Bleeding Cool

Shawn Levy, about to hit cinemas in a big way with Reel Steel, talked of his upcoming projects at a recent press junket. It seems that shooting Max Landis’ script of Frankenstein is still very much at the front of the cue followed by his remake of Fantastic Voyage. He has been working on the later with James Cameron for seven months and is excited by the world they have created which will utilise the same 3D of Avatar. There were recent rumours that Levy would walk from the film if he could not get Will Smith to star but with the actor unlikely to do the film it seems Levy is still on board. Source – Coming Soon.

Brad Pitt, soon to be seen in baseball movie Moneyball, is being courted for the lead in Doug Liman’s next film All You Need Is Kill. The film is an adaptation of the Manga comic by Hiroshi Sakurazaka which sees a solider fighting alien invaders who is killed everyday, only to wake up alive the previous day and have to go through the ordeal again. That is until one day he sees something new and out of place in the form of female solider The Bitch Of War who could be is salvation. Pitt is not signed on yet and is mulling over this or potential David O Russell project The Mission that sees a US Navy Seal’s six-year effort to rescue US Hostages. Both films are at Warner Brothers so there is a chance Pitt could make both. Source – The Vulture

Karl Urban, soon to be partially seen beneath the helmet of Judge Dread, is returning to the Riddick films. Reprising his role of Vaako from The Chronicles of Riddick it is unclear just how big a role Urban will play but suffice to say he was something of a highlight in the previous film. Source- Bloody Disgusting

Christopher Columbus, whose last film Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief is gearing up for a sequel but with Columbus as a producer only, is set to be in talks for The Secret Lives of Road Crews. The Sci-Fi action comedy sees a group of road workers battling an underground alien invasion. The film has been written Kevin Lund and TJ Scott and was at one point at DreamWorks but now finds its home with Paramount. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Friday 23^rd September

Casey Affleck, soon to be seen alongside Ben Stiller in Tower Heist, is in talks to star as the Angel Gabriel in Alex Proyas’ film version of Paradise Lost. The film sees Bradley Cooper as Lucifer who falls out of favour with God leading to an war between angels and demons. Furthermore Camilla Belle, of 10,000 BC fame, is in talks to star as Eve, the human in the Garden of Eden who sparks the disagreement between Lucifer and God. Proyas has form in dealing with avenging angles having directed the original The Crow movie. Source – Deadline Hollywood and Heat Vision

Thor, having done impressive business this summer and soon to be seen as part of The Avengers, looks to be moving ahead with a sequel. Although Kenneth Brannagh will not return to the directing chair but looks set to be replaced by Monster director Patty Jenkins. Furthermore recent plot revelations about the film suggest that Thor will travel to some of the other Nine Relms with Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, while dealing with the new relationship with his father Odin, played by Anthony Hopkins. This plot suggests that both Portman and Hopkins will return to the franchise although at present only Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, is confirmed for the film. Source – EW via Coming Soon

Captain America, in other superhero/The Avengers news, looks set to take a bit of a breather after his appearance in The Avengers film. Chris Evans, Captain America in the flesh, is currently promoting What’s Your Number and spoke of how he suspects Old Cap will not be seen till 2014 due to the amount of films that Marvel is currently dealing with. He is contracted to appear as Captain America for six films so thinks that will be split between three Captain movies and three Avenger films meaning that unlike Robert Downey Jnr he is unlikely to have cameos in Thor 2 or other Marvel movies. Source – The Playlist

Richard Jenkins, something of a Filmjuice favourite, has joined the cast of Tom Cruise starring One Shot. The film, based on the Jack Reacher novel by Lee Childs, sees Cruise, as Reacher, travel to a town to solve a snipping of five people. Jenkins will play a District Attorney who is prosecuting the accused sniper. The Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie has written and will direct the film. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

The Caves Of Steel, the 1954 book by Isaac Asmiov, is set to be adapted for screen. The book sees a cop and a robot team up 3,000 years on the future to investigate the murder of a ‘Spacer’ someone who has chosen to live off world causing friction with Earth dwellers. The book was believed to have inspired I, Robot with its cop and robot investigation team. Henry Hobson will direct from a script by John Scott III. The writing directing duo are currently working on their first theatrical release Maggie, about a girl who gradually turns into a zombie. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

 

Thursday 22^nd September

Scarface looks to be set for the remake machine after Universal started looking for writers to make tell the story in a contemporary setting. Before people cry “But Al Pacino is Iconic” remember that so was Paul Muni before the concept was remade by Brian De Palma. The new film will not be a remake but a reimagining of the same idea of an immigrant coming to American and finding a warped ideal of the American Dream. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Charlize Theron, having just wrapped on Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus, is looking to star and produce Cities Of Refuge. The film will see a female detective, potentially played by Theron, brought into a murder and kidnap investigation where things are not quite what they seem. Before that though she has to wrap on Snow White And The Huntsman, which sees her as the Evil Queen. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Elton John, never one to shy from the limelight and having dabbled in movies before, is set to produce Rocketman a film about his career in music. He and producing partner David Furnish have recruited Billy Elliot scribe and playwright Lee Hall to pen the script which is being touted as a biography musical fantasy. Naturally Elton’s iconic songs will feature in music numbers but there is no word yet on who will play the man himself, although it is possible that there will be multiple Johns being played at different stages of his life. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Don Cheadle, the man that Steven Soderbergh says you should always cast in a film, is joining the cast of Robert Zemeckis’ Flight. The film sees Denzel Washington as a pilot who saves a plane from crashing and is hailed a hero. But when an investigation into the event takes place it seems he may have been under the influence of drugs. Kelly Reilly and Bruce Greenwood are also onboard. Source – Moviehole

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the team and stars behind Superbad, are gearing up for their next project and bringing a rather tasty cast with them. The film, originally called Seth And Jay Vs The Apocalypse but now shortened to The Apocalypse, will see Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel playing themselves as the end of the world occurs. Joining them are James Franco, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson who will also all play themselves. However, it looks likely that the once touted Daniel Radcliffe will not be involved. Source - MTV

Wednesday 21^st September

Jeremy Renner, currently swooping and shooting arrows as Hawkeye in The Avengers, will turn his attention to a more dapper character in King Of Heists. The film is about true-life bank robber George Leslie who in 1860s New York pulled of a robbery so well that he was never suspected until after his death. Renner will take the lead and produce with Call Of Duty scribe Will Staples penning the script. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Jason Bateman continues to be the busiest working man in comedy as he signs on to two new projects, both of the indie rather than studio variety. In The Longest Weekend Bateman will play a man who lives in his parents’ prestigious Manhattan Hotel only to be evicted and falling in love at the same time. The film will co-star his Change Up companion Olivia Wilde and be directed by Peter Glanz. Meanwhile, Disconnect will see him is an ensemble film which already stars Alexander Skarsgard, Frank Grillo, Michael Nyqvist and Colin Ford about a group of people whose lives are all effected by the internet. He’ll shoot both of these before moving onto other projects such as The ID Thief and The Insane Laws, not to mention the potential Arrested Development film. Busy Bateman. Source – Variety

Gerard Butler, normally at home with his shirt off after 300, is set to star in Curtis ‘LA Confidential’ Hanson’s surfing movie Mavericks. Butler will play true-life surfer instructor Rick ‘Frosty’ Hesson who tutored Jay Moriarty, to be played by Johnny Weston, as he rose to the top of the big wave surfing ranks. The Hunger Games Leven Rambin is also on board to play Moriarty’s love interest. Source - Variety

Robert Knepper, best known for his role as T-Bag in TV’s Prison Break, has joined the cast of Ryan Reynold’s movie RIPD. He’ll play a spirit, known as a ‘Deado’ who is part of the world that killed cop Reynolds must police with the help of veteran Jeff Bridges. Robert Schwentke is directing. Source – Heat Vision

John Turteltaub, the man behind the Nation Treasure films, is direct Last Vegas. The film will follow a group of estranged friends travelling to Vegas to marry off the last remaining bachelor of the group. However, once there he and the widower begin to vie for the attentions of the same lounge singer. At present there is no word on casting. Source – Coming Soon

The UK Centre For Tobacco Control is weighing in on the whole film certificates march by claiming that all films featuring a smoking character should be rated 18 certificate. The theory is that if youths see characters smoke on screen it inevitably leads them to want to smoke as well. Unsurprisingly UK Film Censor David Cooke has pointed out there is no public support for such a move. For example Avatar would have been given the 18 certificate thanks to Signourney Weaver’s character smoking, something that could have severely dented the film’s UK box-office takings. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Tuesday 20^th September

The Expendables 2, already boasting some of the greatest action names in the business including Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris and Jason Statham, is now adding some youth to its ranks. The latest addition is none other than Thor’s real life brother Liam Hemsworth who is a star in the making himself having just wrapped on The Hunger Games. Simon ‘Con Air’ West is directing the opus. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Bonnie & Clyde are always running into trouble but it seems the latest film adaptation of the story is finding obstacles of its own. It now seems that the biggest name in the cast, Hilary Duff, has left the film due to being, well, up the duff. It’s not all doom and gloom though as other cast member Lindsay Pulsipher has now been cast as Bonnie Parker replacing the departed Duff. Pulsipher was already set to play cousin Mary in the film seems a good fit for the role but the question is can they now find someone to fill Mary’s boots? Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Navy SEAL Team 6 might have scuppered other attempts to have their name in a movie but it now seems that one way or another it’s going to happen. Ryan Craig is currently adapting Brad Thor’s novel Takedown for the screen which sees a former member of said team becoming a counterterrorist agent. This story will see the hero, Scot Harvath having to track down a terrorist who has unleashed chaos in New York over the Fourth Of July weekend. The producers are hoping that this could spark another Jason Bourne like franchise. Source – Heat Vision

Monday 19^th September 

Signourney Weaver, soon to be seen opposite Taylor Lautner in Abduction, has been speaking about Avatar 2 & 3 as well as Ghostbusters 3. The actresses says that she will return to James Cameron’s sci-fi opus, despite her death in the first film, as ‘no-one ever dies in sci-fi’ apparently. The Avatar sequels will shoot back to back and Weaver insists the stories are amazing. Meanwhile despite Dan Aykroyd’s talk recently Weaver says it has been a long time since she heard any news or read a recent draft of the third film in the Ghostbusters franchise. Of course it could be that her character simply does not feature in the new incarnation of the film. Source – Coming Soon 

Postman Pat, black and white cat and all, is set to be made into a film. The film will be a 3D adventure, which will see Pat enter a national talent competition similar to The X Factor. The question is will Pat turn his back on his reliable postman job and all that need and love him for fame and money? If this was the real world then yes, but it’s for kids so probably not. The project has already attracted the likes of Rupert Grint, Jim Broadbent and David Tennant to lend their vocal talents. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

James Franco, still hot to trot after this summer’s Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, is looking to another project to direct after his adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian unravelled. Never one to be deterred, unless its by the Oscar script-writers, Franco has turned his attention to Child Of God which was also written by McCarthy. If Blood Meridian was a hard sale, with its gruesome portrail of the Wild West, then Child Of God is near impossible. The book sees a man choosing to live outside of society in a cave in the Tennessee Hills. While there is partakes in a bit of necrophilia as well as other worrying activities. Source – We Got This Covered via Empire

Silk, the Taiwanese supernatural thriller, is getting an American Remake. Gold Circle Films have hired writers Marko King, Mary King and Jonathan Watters, who previously wrote Frankie & Alice, to pen the new incarnation. The original film saw a scientist create a machine that allowed him to capture the essence of a vengeful child spirit. Through communicating with the spirit he begins to learn what happened to him in life. Source – Heat Vision 

It’s 1994 Again, as it’s the only thing to explain why The Lion King is riding high atop the US Box Office. Alas our time machine still doesn’t work but the 3D release of The Lion King clearly has as it’s beaten out the likes of Drive and Contagion to take a healthy $29.3 Million. Expect Aladdin and The Little Mermaid to almost certainly follow suit if these kind of figures become a trend in re-issuing Disney classics. Source – Box Office Mojo

Friday 16^th September

The Secrets In Their Eyes, the Oscar-winning Argentine thriller, is set for an American remake and is currently courting none-other than Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington to play the lead. Washington would play the part of a former lawyer, no retired, who is writing a novel on a murder case that was never solved. In the process he must talk to old witnesses as well as re-connecting with his former female boss who he has never fallen out of love with. Breach writer Billy Ray is drafting the script while no director is attached as yet. Source- Twitch

Stephen Moyer, usually found sucking necks in True Blood, is set to star in creature feature The Barrens. The film will see a man take his family on a camping trip to a New Jersey forest called Pine Barrens. However, once there they will encounter the legendary Jersey Devil, a creature not dissimilar to Bigfoot. The film is being written and directed by Mother’s Day director Lynn Bousman. Source – Variety

Kevin Costner, soon to be seen as Superman’s Earthly father Jonathan Kent in The Man Of Steel, has had to drop out of Quentin Tarantino’s western thriller Django Unchained due to scheduling conflicts. It’s a sad departure as the part Costner would have played, Ace Woody, would have seen him return to a genre that has served him well but also allow us to see him as an out an out villain as Leonardo DiCaprio’s right hand man. As yet there is no word on who will fill his stirrups but Christopher Waltz, Samuel L Jackson, Jamie Foxx and DiCaprio are still on board. Source – Coming Soon  

In Time, the Justin Timberlake starring sci-fi thriller, may have to delay its release date due to a potential copyright infringement. Famed author Harlan Ellison claims the story of the film is remarkably close to his 1965 short story ‘Repent, Harlequin! Said The Ticktockman’. The book, and the film, see a society where time, on a person’s life line, is traded as currency. The producers of the film will not have been aided by some critics making the comparison and even sighting the film as an adaptation of Ellison’s story. The plot thickens further when it is known that Ellison had recently tried to have the story optioned for a film adaptation. It’s not the first time Ellison has had such a cause for concern as he gained an acknowledgment credit on James Cameron’s The Terminator due to its similarity to a Outer Limits episode he had written. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Now You See Me, the magician heist thriller from director Louis Leterrier, has lost one leading lady, in the form of Amanda Seyfried, but gained another in the shape of Isla Fisher. The film will see Mark Ruffalo as an FBI agent tracking down a gang known as The Four Horsemen who happen to be some of the world’s best magicians. The gang is lead by Jesse Eisenberg and Fisher will now come one board as an illusionist who helps the gang. Source – Variety

Thursday 15^th September

JJ Abrams, hot of the heels of summer sleeper hit Super 8, has finally confirmed he will direct Star Trek 2. Having re-launched the franchise to such high accolades Abrams had been coy about revealing his position on the next film. Many assumed that, like with the Mission Impossible films, he would revert to a producer only role. He has now assured people he is directing due to the quality of the script being written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. All the original cast are expected to return and shooting could also start this year. Source – Vulture

David Oyelowo, having played a crucial role in this summer’s Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, is in talks to star alongside Tom Cruise in One Shot. The film, based on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels, is being written and directed by Way Of The Gun’s Christopher McQuarrie. The film will see Reacher hired to investigate a shooting in a small Indiana town. Rosumund Pike will play a defence lawyer while Oyelowo will play a homicide cop also investigating the shooting. Fans of the books are still up in arms about the casting of Cruise as Reacher, who is described as something of a giant man. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

The Inbetweeners creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, with the huge success of the film at the UK box-office, are gearing up for their next project. They are working on a script about two brothers and their friends who travel to Scotland to scatter their father’s ashes. It sounds like a departure from the foul-mouthed shenanigans of the Inbetweeners but the group of lads here will surely get up to some misbehaviour. Their Inbetweeners producer Christopher Young is also on board. Source - Variety

Nathan Lane, the perennial funny man of films like The Birdcage and The Producers remake, has joined the impressive cast of indie comedy The English Teacher. The film will see Julian Moore as the titular teacher whose ex-star pupil returns to the town having failed to make it as a playwright in New York. Determined to help him succeed Moore helps him with the writing and enlists the school drama teacher to add the, well, drama. Lane will play the thespian while Gregg Kinnear is also on board. Source – Variety

Marisa Tomei, star of The Wrestler and Cyrus, has joined the cast of Billy Crystal family comedy Us And Them. She’ll play Crystal’s estranged daughter in the film as Crystal and separated wife Better Milder come to stay and help look after their grandchildren. Obvious hi-jinx will ensue while trying to bond the fractured relationships. Source – Variety

Arrested Development, one of the greatest TV comedies of all time, has been crying out for a big screen adaptation ever since the show ended. Talking to Empire this month, about his film The Change-Up, star Jason Batman said that the script was coming along well and that there is hope to shoot it in the middle of next year. Here’s keeping our prosthetic fingers crossed. Source – Empire

 

Wednesday 14^th September

The Expendables 2 continues to add more iconic action names to its roster. With Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger both signed up to join Sly Stallone the news now comes that both Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris have both signed onto to appear in the film. What’s even more pant-wettingly exciting is that Stallone has confirmed that he and Van Damme will have a smack down against each other. And as if that news wasn’t smile inducing enough the Face/Off pair of Nic Cage and John Travolta are also in talks to appear in the movie. Action Nirvana be praised. Source – EW

Hugh Grant, not seen on screen since 2009’s Did You Hear About The Morgans, has joined the cast of Tom Tywker’s adaptation of Cloud Atlas. Based on David Mitchell’s book the film sees a number of characters scattered throughout history all on an individual, and group, voyage of discovery. The book is structured in a way that at film adaptation will be interesting but the cast includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Susan Sarandon, Hugo Weaving and Jim Broadbent amongst others. If the film is half as good as the cast roster we’re in for a treat. Source – Screen Daily 

Ashley Greene, one of the many break-out stars of The Twilight Saga, is set to star in Olivia Twist. In case you hadn’t guessed the film will be a re-imagining of the classic Charles Dickens story which will find Greene as a girl running a group of street urchins who become embroiled in a turf war between two rival gangs when a kidnapping goes wrong. The idea is to ‘combine classic Dickens elements with a unique gothic back-drop’. No director is attached yet but the script has been written by Michael Roberts. Source – Variety 

Richard Ayoade, the star of The IT Crowd and director of Submarine, has joined the cast of Ben Stiller vehicle Neighbourhood Watch. Last week it was reported that Chris Tucker had landed the role but it now seems that Ayoade is set to star in his place. The film sees Stiller playing a man who joins the Neighbourhood Watch to have time away from his wife only to unearth an alien plot to take over the world. Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Rosemarie DeWitt are also starring. Source – Variety

Stanley Tucci, one of the most dependable actors in the business, has joined the cast of Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep. Redford will direct and star in the film about a former terrorist who is tracked down by a reporter, to be played by Shia LaBeouf. Tucci will play his boss while also joining the cast will be another great actor in the shape of Chris Cooper who will play Redford’s brother. The script was adapted from Neil Gordon’s novel by The Limey writer Len Dobbs. Source – Screen Daily

Julian Gilbey, director of this month’s A Lonely Place To Die is already gearing up for his next project which will be sci-fi movie Offworld. The film will be safari movie on an alien planet according to producer Lloyd Levin. Source – Empire

Tuesday 13^th September

Point Break, the iconic action movie starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, is gearing up for a re-make. No director is attached as yet but it has been revealed that the film will follow an FBI agent infiltrating a crime ring in the world of International extreme sports. Frankly after The Fast & The Furious lifted the plot of Point Break do we really need another version? Source – Variety

Highlander, the cult classic 80s fantasy movie, is, yes, you guessed it, gearing up for a remake. It’s been in and out of development for some time but is now back on the slate with The Intruders director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo calling the shots. The film will once again follow Scottish immortal Connor MacLeod as he fights to be the only immortal left with his head on his shoulders. Christopher Lambert is sitting by the phone right now, if only for a cameo appearance. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Jessica Chastain, something of a break-out star this year with Tree of Life, is set to star in Guillermo Del Toro produced horror Mama. She’ll be joined by Game Of Thrones’ Nicolaj Coster-Waldau as her husband. The couple take in a pair of twins that have lived in the forest for five years, the problem is they seem to have brought something out of the woods with them. Andres Muschietti will make this his feature film debut but adapting the feature from a short film he previously made.

Vanessa Hudgens, still best known for High School Musical, has joined the cast of The Frozen Ground. The film is based on the true story of killer Robert Hansen, to be played by John Cusack, who is tracked down by cop Nicholas Cage with the help of one of Hansen’s escaped victims, Hudgens’ role. Hansen was a well regarded member of the community, it is always the quiet ones though. It is believed that Hansen would catch women only to release them into the wilds of Alaska and hunt them for sport. Shooting begins in October. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Whitney Houston, best known cinematically for The Bodyguard, has joined the cast of the remake of 1976 musical Sparkle. Jordan Sparks and Mike Epps have already signed on to the project which was inspired by the true story of The Supremes. Salim Akil will call the shots as director. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Kelly Reilly, soon to return as Watson’s long suffering fiancé in Sherlock Holmes, has signed on to star in Denzel Washington thriller Flight. Reilly will play Nicole, a young woman battling drug addiction who meets Washington’s pilot. He’s being proclaimed a hero for averting a plane crash but no one knows that he was under the influence of drugs at the time. Reilly beet out the likes of Olivia Wilde to land the part and the film will be directed by Robert Zemeckis. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Monday 12^th September

Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to blaze the come-back trail by looking to sign on for action film Captive. The film will see a wealthy man, Schwarzenegger if he signs, taken hostage in Brazil and held to ransom. The film will follow him and the story of the detective trying to find him. This is the third film that the former Governator is looking to sign onto with a bigger role in The Expendables 2 and western The Last Stand also in the pipeline. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin have both signed to star in Jason ‘Juno’ Reitman’s next film Labor Day. Based on the book by Joyce Maynard the film will see Brolin as an escaped convict who takes shelter with Winslet and her son over the Labor Day weekend. Reitman is in the final stages of his latest film Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron, before he moves onto this project. Source – Coming Soon

Colin Firth, soon to be seen in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, has signed onto to star in War Drama The Railway Man. The film is a true account of former POW Eric Lomax who was one of the soldiers captured and forced to build the ‘death railway’ between Thailand and Burma. After the war he set out to exact revenge on his former tormentors. The film will be directed by Jonathan Teplitzky. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Jeffrey Wright, Felix Leiter of the past two Bond films, has said that he is unlikely to return for Sam Mendes Bond 23. Wright, at the Toronto International Film Festival said that he had not heard from the production. With shooting set to start in November it seems as if Leiter will either not appear at all or that the producers and Mendes have found someone new to fill his boots. Source – Coming Soon

Jay Baruchel, better known as star of such films as She’s Out Of My League and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, is busily moonlighting as a successful writer. His latest effort Goon is getting solid reviews at the Toronto Film Festival and it now emerges that he will pen new script Baseballismo with regular writing partner Jesse Chabot. The film is based on David Bidini’s book which saw him travel to Nettuno, known as the baseball capital of America. It seems that the game was introduced there by American GIs in 1944 and has become an obsession ever since. Source – Variety

Contagion, Steven Soderbergh’s film about a global virus outbreak, infected the US Box Office this weekend taking in a healthy $23.1 Million to go Number One, knocking The Help off the top spot for the first time, although it stayed in second and took $8 Million. All this means that Tom Hardy starring Warrior opened in third place to a disappointing $5.6 Million. Source – Box Office Mojo.  

 

Friday 9^th September

Steven Spielberg, currently putting the finishing touches to Tin Tin and War Horse, has announced the release date of his next blockbuster Robopocalypse for July 3^rd 2013. Although it’s some way off the thought of The Beard himself tackling a story about robots rising up against their human counterparts is exciting enough to have us do a jig. Spielberg is teaming up with Fox for the project, which makes sense as it was there that he had such success with Minority Report. Source - Empire

Anna Karenina, the story based on Tolstoy’s novel, is set to come to the big screen thanks to the visionary maestro of Atonement and this year’s Hanna Joe Wright. He’ll once again team up with Pride & Prejudice star Keira Knightley as Anna as well as other cast members Jude Law, Kick Ass’s Aaron Johnson and Kelly McDonald. The story follows Anna making her way in 19^th century Russian society which makes it ripe for Wright who has made a name for himself in period dramas, with the exception of Hanna. The script will be written by Shakespeare In Love’s Oscar winning scribe Tom Stoppard. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Ness/Capone, the iconic feud that featured so heavily in The Untouchables, is being brought to the big screen once again. V For Vendetta director James McTeigue is calling the shots which will see a young arrogant Ness taking great glee in confiscating moonshine and then parading it past Capone’s hotel to rub his face in it. Things could get medieval, or in this case early 20^th Century. Baseball bats and Robert De Niro are welcome. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Russell Crow, currently fathering Superman in The Man Of Steel, has signed onto join the cast of Les Miserables. He will play Inspector Javert opposite Hugh Jackman’s Jean Valjean. It’s quite a coup director Tom Hooper has pulled off landing the Oscar winning actor but considering his own Oscar winning exploits on The King’s Speech perhaps it’s to be expected. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Ron Howard, currently filming Formula One movie Rush, is set to direct 364 by Safe House writer David Guggenheim. The film sees a man who is given super powers for one day of the year so must spend the rest of said year figuring out how best to use them. Safe House is the action film that stars Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds and has proved something of a name maker for the previously unheard of Guggenheim. Source – Deadline Hollywood

David Twohy, busy at work with the next Chronicles of Riddick film, will also write and direct The Leonardo Job. Not about a certain Mr. DiCaprio the film instead sees two rival thieves looking for a Da Vinci painting in Florence. Twohy has a reputation for making solid thrill rides having written The Fugitive and directed films like Pitch Black and A Perfect Getaway. Source – Heat Vision

Mel Gibson, still blazing the come-back trail after the success of The Beaver, is looking to produce and potentially direct a film about Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee. There’s no irony lost here considering Gibson’s comments and exploits of a few years ago but maybe this is his shot at redemption. The story tells of Maccabee who teamed with his father and four brothers to rise up against the Greek-Syrian that had conquered Judea. Of course this subject matter of people rising up against their oppressors is not new to Gibson, what with Braveheart and all, so it might be the perfect way for Gibson to get back on track. He’ll team with Basic Instinct writer Joe Eszterhas who is penning the project. Source – Deadline Hollywood

James Mangold, the man behind films such as Walk The Line and 3:10 To Yuma, is set to direct and produce a screen version of Anne Fortier’s novel Juliet. The story sees a girl travel to Italy and discover she is a descendant of the feuding families of Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet. Before that though Mangold has the small task of bringing The Wolverine to the screen. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

 

Thursday 8^th September 7

Gwyneth Paltrow, recently seen prancing around in Glee and soon to be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, is said to be joining the cast of Thanks For Sharing. The film is about a 12-step programme for sex addicts in New York and already boasts the impressive talents of Tim Robbins, Mark Ruffalo and Joely Richardson. The Kids Are All Right writer Stuart Blumberg will make this is directorial debut having written the script with Matt Winston. Source – Variety

Brendan Fraser, star of The Mummy franchise, is teaming with his Journey To The Centre Of The Earth helemer, Eric Brevig, to bring the legendary story of William Tell to life. The film, which was originally to be directed by Nick Hurran, is geared towards a family audience and will be shot in 3D. Fraser will now have to practice shooting apples of heads with a cross-bow. Source – Deadline Hollywood 

John Malkovich, last seen as a superfluous character in Transformers Dark Of The Moon, is set to play a villain in upcoming zombie movie Warm Bodies. The film sees a zombie, R, who falls in love with a human girl and begins to spark his human emotions again which will affect all zombies. Jonathan Levine, who has dramadey 50/50 coming out soon, will call the shots for the film, which is said to be a cross of Twilight meets Sean Of The Dead. Source – Heat Vision

Marion Cottilard, the Oscar winning actress of La Vie en Rose, is set to star in French drama Rust And Bone. The film will see a mixture of characters from the seedy worlds of dog fighting, prizefighters, gamblers and sex addicts (again, it’s contagious) based on the short stories of Craig Davidson. The film will be directed by A Prophet’s Thomas Bidegain. Cottilard meanwhile will be seen in Contagion and then next summer in The Dark Knight Rises. Source – Variety

Sharlto Copley, the break-out star of District 9, is set to star in sci-fi Europa. The film, which is hoping to find funding at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, will see a team of six international astronauts travel to the titular moon of Jupiter. Plot details are hazy but it’s fair to assume that when they arrive on the moon it won’t be all smelling of pretty flowers and merriment. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’s Michael Nyqvist is also set to star in the film which will be directed by Sebastian Cordero. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Wednesday 7^th September

Action Junkies Rejoice, after the success of The Expendables news now arrives that The Expendables 2 has locked in Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis for ‘substantial’ roles. Sly Stallone is obviously returning to the franchise that he directed, although he won’t call the shots on this one, instead Con Air helmer Simon West will take over. In the first film Schwarzenegger and Willis gave fleeting cameo appearances but 80s action fans will be delighted to hear that the word is they will both be prominent in the sequel. The cast of the original, including Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke will also return with rumours that Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris may also appear. All we need now is a Rubik’s cube and leg-warmers are we’re set. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Eddie Murphy, who only last week was said to be in talks to host the Oscars, has now agreed to the gig and the producers of the show have told The Academy it’s official. Murphy will work with the show’s director, his Tower Heist helmer Bret Ratner, on setting the tone of the show which, traditionally, was always hosted by a stand-up comedian, something Murphy is more than an expert in. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Beetlejuice, the hit film that Tim Burton made with Michael Keaton while prepping their Batman movie, is set to get a sequel. David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith have just signed a two year production deal with Warner Bros and will look to make Beetlejuice one of their first projects. Smith is the man behind the books Pride & Prejudice & Zombies as well as Abraham Lincoln; Vampire Hunter so knows a thing or two about funny. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Monopoly, the board game that you rarely finished as a child, has been in development with Ridley Scott set to direct for some time now. However, the latest news is that writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the writers behind The People Vs Larry Flynt and Ed Wood, have been hired to bring the game to life. The project was one of the films recently dropped by Universal, which was among a host of other board games including Clue. However Hasbro and Scott are still enthusiastic about the idea. Source – Heat Vision

Anthony Hopkins, Hannibal Lecter himself, is in final talks to star in Solace. The film will see Hopkins as a clairvoyant doctor who is hired to help police catch a serial killer. The script has recently gone through a re-write by Frost/Nixon writer Peter Morgan. Source – Variety

Chris Tucker, star of the Rush Hour franchise, has bagged a role in David O Russell’s The Silver Linings Play Book. The film stars Bradley Cooper as a former high school teacher who, having recovered from depression, tries to put his life back on track. Tucker will play Danny a friend to Cooper who tries to offer him guidance. The fast talking high-pitched Tucker is also in talks to take a part in Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn comedy Neighbourhood Watch. Source – Variety

Abigail Breslin, the break-out star of Little Miss Sunshine, is clearly looking to break into more teen roles than kids and is now set to star in A Virgin Mary. The film will see Breslin as a teenager who swears a pack with her best friend that if they are both virgins by their 18^th birthday they will have sex. The film is written and directed by Beth Schacter. Source – Variety  

 

Tuesday 6^th September

Ed Speleers, in this weeks A Lonely Place To Die and most famous for his role in box-office flop Eragon, will star in Love Bite. The comedy horror will see a small town suddenly terrorised by a werewolf. However, it seems the wolf is targeting the town’s virgins so four friends agree to lose their virginity. Andy de Emmony, who last directed West Is West, will call the shots as production kicks off in Scotland next month. Here’s hoping it’s more American Werewolf than Cursed. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

The Help, the film starring Emma Stone, once again topped the US box-office over the Labour Day Weekend. It managed to once again see off strong competition from the likes of Shark Night 3D and Apollo 18. Source – Box Office Mojo

Jennifer Lynch, daughter of legendary David Lynch and director of Boxing Helena, is currently filming her next project. After the disappointment that was her last film Hiss Lynch is sticking with the horror thriller angle and making Chained. The film tells the story of Tim, a young boy who witnesses a deranged taxi driver kill his mother. Taken captive by the killer when Tim grows up he is told he will have some freedom if he too becomes a killer. Vincent D’Onofrio and Julia Ormond will star in the film. Source – Twitch

Studio Ghibli, the iconic animation studio, has announced that it has two projects in the works from two of its most revered directors. Co-founder and animation legend Hayao Miyazaki is working on an autobiography, although it is not clear if the film will be his autobiography or someone else’s. Meanwhile his colleague and co-founder Isao Takahata will make a film about the Japanese legend of a princess who was found in a bamboo plant as a baby. Suffice to say that animation fans should be dancing around with delight. Source – Twitch

Steven Soderbergh, the Oscar winning director of Traffic, had implied that he was on the verge of retiring from films after upcoming projects Contagion, Haywire and Magic Mike. However, it now seems that Soderbergh is simply taking a sabbatical from the business in order to focus on his passion for painting. The implication being that, like The Terminator, he will be back. Source – The Observer

 

Monday 5^th September

Eddie Murphy, soon to be seen in Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist, is in early talks to host the 84^th Annual Academy Awards. Murphy, whose career has been slow recently but about to pick up again, is director of the awards, yes that’s right Brett Ratner again, only choice to host the ceremony. Murphy is said to worship the Oscars and is, apparently, a bigger cinephile than the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Ratner himself. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Shark Night 3D director David R. Ellis, is in talks to helm the live-action version of Japanese anime Kite. Set in a near future where the economy has collapsed and crime rules the streets (so London a couple of weeks ago basically) the film sees a young girl set out to track down her cop father’s killer. Recruiting his ex-partner they set out to solve the crime. Meanwhile a corrupt security force is trafficking girls into the city.  Ellis is not the first person to try to bring the world to life with Mexican directors Jorge and Javier Aguilera attached at one point. Source – Variety

Riddick, the sci-fi franchise that faltered after the bigger second film The Chronicles of Riddick, is set to return to our screens. Universal is backing the film, which star Vin Diesel has confirmed will be an R rating in the States. For this reason Diesel will work for scale up front, meaning he will earn the minimum wage for actors, that is until the film turns a profit. It’s a brave move for the action star but clearly Riddick is close to his heart having helped establish him as a star in Pitch Black. This outing will see Riddick left for dead by his kind on an alien planet as he must fight off monsters and use bounty hunters to exact his revenge. Here at Filmjuice we always liked the Riddick films to date and look forward to where they can take the character, David Twohy will once again write and direct. Source – Vin Diesel via Facebook

Bette Midler and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark star Bailee Madison have joined the cast of Billy Crystal starrer Us & Them. The film will see Crystal, and his recently separated wife Midler, babysit his three grandchildren for a week. Madison will play one of the sprogs in the comedy directed by The Game Plan helmer Andy Fickman. Source – Variety

 

Friday 2^nd September

The Wolverine, the latest instalment in the Hugh Jackman starring X-Men spin-off, has been in and out of development hell for some time. Now it seems that once again production is on the back burner thanks to the problems in Japan, where the film is set, and Jackman’s commitment to Les Miserables. With this in mind director James Mangold is taking the opportunity to perfect the script by handing it over to Unstoppable writer Mark Bomback. He’ll give the once over to Christopher McQuarrie’s script, as he is busy writing One Shot for Tom Cruise. The film will see Wolverine travel to Japan in the hope of answering his amnesiac problem and facing off against Silver Samurai and Viper in the criminal underworld. Source – Variety

Anna Kendrick, the fast talking break-out star of Up In The Air, is set to star in Pitch Perfect. The film will see Kendrick as a rebellious goth attending a college where her father is a professor. However, when the college a cappella group hear her sing they recruit her and start to change her dark out-look on life. Avenue Q’s Jason Moore is set to direct the film which will see a change of type for the normally perky Kendrick. Source- The Hollywood Reporter

Stoker, the first English language film from Korean maestro Park Chan-wook, has started shooting in Nashville. Starring Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Jacki Weever and Mia Wasikowska the film will see Wasikowska as a young girl whose father dies in an accident. Goode will play her mysterious uncle that comes to live with her and her mother, Kidman, and begins to display unusual habits. The film was written by Prison Break star Wentworth Miller. Source – Fox Searchlight Pictures

Ed Helms, normally messing about in Vegas and Thailand with his Hangover buddies, is set to star in a remake of French comedy Le Mac. The film will see Helms playing a banker who has to impersonate a gangster and a pimp. He’s got a number of projects on the go with the likes of Jeff Who Lives At Home and True North in the pipeline. Source – Variety

Evidence, the latest film in the long lines of ‘Found Footage’ mocumentaries has found its cast. Starring the likes of Dale Dickey, Torrey DeVitto, Albert Kuo and Harry Lennix the film is about a massacre just outside LA. The only evidence at the crime scene are the people involved electric devices consisting of phones and lip cams. It’s up to the detectives investigating to piece the footage back together to discover the identity of the killer. Sourece – Shock Till You Drop.  

 

Thursday 1^st September

Die Hard 5 looks to have whittled down all of the contenders to fill the directors chair to leave just one man standing. That man is John Moore who directed such action films as Behind Enemy Lines and Max Payne all for studio Fox. With his relationship solid with them it was Willis who needed convincing and apparently Moore’s love of the Die Hard franchise shone through. The film will shoot and be set in Russia before Willis moves onto the sequel to last year’s hit RED. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

The Coen Brothers have announced what their next project will be and it looks like they’re going back to some of the musical fair that served them so well on O Brother, Where Art Thou. Inside Llewyn Davis will be loosely based on the life of actual folk musician David Van Ronk. The real man was a friend and huge influence on the likes of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell and was once described as “a walking museum of Blues”. No word yet on casting but knowing the Coens like to work with their regulars keep an eye out for any names that might crop up. Source – Variety

Magic Mike, the film based on Channing Tatum’s time as a male stripper, has finally acquired some much needed oestrogen in the form of Olivia Munn. She’s in talks to play Tatum’s love interest Amber. The film will follow Tatum as an experienced male stripper who mentors young up and coming Alex Pettyfer. Steven Soderbergh is directing the film which also stars Matthew McConaughey. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Attack The Block’s John Boyega, tipped for big things after his star making performance in Joe Cornish’s monster movie, has been cast in Spike Lee’s upcoming HBO drama Da Brick. Boyega will play the lead, Donnie, who after his release from juvenile detention on his 18^th Birthday begins to explore what it is to be a man in contemporary society. The film will draw large inspiration from Executive Producer Mike Tyson’s early life. Although it’s not film news we hear at Filmjuice are huge fans of Boyega and can’t wait to see his next project. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Romancing The Stone, the hit 80s adventure film looks to be getting a TV show version of itself. It is a project that spawned a sequel and was always looking to be re-made for the past few years. At one point Katherine Heigel was attached to the Kathleen Turner role. Now it seems that it could be heading to TV, like other such original movies The Blues Brothers and The Firm. No word yet on castings but do we really need to re-hash some of these classic films to the smaller screen? Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Wednesday 31^st August

Johnny Depp, suddenly with some spare time on his hands while Gore Verbinski tries to lower the budget on their planned The Lone Ranger film, is looking to attach himself to The Thin Man remake. Based on Dashiell Hammett’s novels, that would spawn sex sequels originally, The Thin Man sees Nick a former detective who marries a young socialite and starts to drink too much while occasionally solving a case. Depp would take the lead and also produce while David Koepp will write the script with Depp’s latest Pirates 4 director Rob Marshall calling the shots and looking to throw a few musical numbers for good measure. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, currently taking names and kicking ass in GI Joe 2, is top of the list to play Goliath in the new version of the legendary story of David & Goliath. At present Johnson is only in talks to play the part whereas as Twlight’s Taylor Lautner is very much top of the wish list to play his smaller adversary David. It seems that with this and Darren Aronofsky’s take on Noah in the works that Biblical films could be forming a resurgence. Source – Twitch

James Bond, who recently found his licence to kill after the financial troubles at MGM, looks like he is heading to India. The production, directed by American Beauty’s Sam Mendes, has been given permission to shoot in Delhi and Goa and the rumour is that this will involve a substantial set-piece on board a train. Plot details on the film are being kept secret, no doubt in a MI5 vault, but it is known that Daniel Craig will return to pouting duties as Bond with Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem and Naomi Harris, as Moneypenny, all involved. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Paul Dano, the There Will Be Blood and Little Miss Sunshine star, is all set to play the filmic version of loved/hated political figure Karl Rove. The man that worked closely with Richard Nixon, George HW Bush and helped get elected George W Bush was always going to ripe for film adaptation. Now, thanks to director Richard Linklater, we will get to see the college years of Rove when he first encountered Lee Atwater. Dano was up against Shia LaBeouf for the role but was deemed a better fit for the part that was on 2010 Hollywood Blacklist of best unproduced scripts.

Scott Burns, one of Steven Soderbergh’s regular writers, has been shedding some light on The Man From UNCLE. At the time George Clooney was still attached to the project but it seems that Burs is adamant that the comedy of the TV show remains in the script. He also shed some light on his next film which will see him team with Se7en director David Fincher for 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea which the pair are working on for Disney. He wants Leagues to be as big as possible believing that Fincher is the kind of director who can make anything on the page come to life on the screen. Source – Coming Soon.

Alan Dale, famous for roles in 24 and Lost but still out favourite as Jim Robinson in Neighbours, has joined the cast of David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The film is close to wrapping principle photography but Dale has come on board at the last minute to play a career policeman. He joins the cast which already boasts Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgard and Joely Richardson. Source – Variety

 

Tuesday, 30th August

George Clooney is set to be pulling out of his business partner and Ocean’s Eleven’s director Steven Soderbergh’s cinematic outing of The Man From UNCLE. At present no reason has been given for Clooney leaving the project but it is expected to be due to scheduling conflicts. Warner Brothers and Soderbergh are still hoping to start shooting in February 2012. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Josh Brolin, the former Goonie and star of No Country For Old Men, has now officially signed onto star in Spike Lee’s remake of Korean revenge thriller Oldboy. At one point Steven Spielberg was slated to direct Will Smith in the film but times they are a changing and Brolin is now all set to eat live octopus and stop at nothing to find out why he was imprisoned for fifteen years without any reason. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Nick Nolte is joining the cast of Gangster Squad as new chief of police Bill Parker. The film will see the likes of Josh Brolin (told you these film types never do things by halves), Anthony Mackie, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. The film sees a group of cops assembled in LA to bring down organised crime. Source – Coming Soon.

Anne Hathaway, currently donning a much-disputed cat suit as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, is in talks to star in the new adaptation of Les Miserables. The film is being directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper, for The King’s Speech, already boasts Hugh Jackman in the lead role. Jackman has been anxious to get Hathaway on board having sung with her at the 2009 Oscars. Hathaway would likely take on the role of Fantine, the mother of heroine character Cosette. Source – Broadway World via The Playlist.

Ben Affleck’s next directorial film Agro has added a few names to its ever growing cast list. Tate Donovan, Nelson Franklin and Taylor Schilling have all signed onto the film that sees a true life group of CIA agents in 1979 rescue American hostages by setting up a fake film production. Affleck and John Goodman are also set to star. Source – Variety.

Monday 29^th August

Clint Eastwoods remake of A Star Is Born is being pushed back due to Beyonce’s pregnancy. The singer announced at the MTV VMAs that she was expecting which will effect the projects schedule. On the plus side it gives Eastwood time to find his male lead. Both Will Smith and Christian Bale have been mentioned. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Leonardo DiCaprio, soon to be seen as J. Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood’s (He’s popular today) biopic, is considering taking the lead in Martin Scorsese’s planned remake of The Gambler. The 1974 original starred James Caan as an academic who had a destructive gambling addiction. The Departed’s William Monahan is working on the new script. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Flatliners, the 1994 Joel Schumacher directed supernatural thriller, is in line for a re-make / re-imagining. Ben Ripley who recently penned the brilliant Source Code has been tasked with writing the script about a group of young doctors who kill themselves to then be resuscitated. The problem is that while briefly dead they glimpse the afterlife and all is not quite what they would expect. The original starred Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon. No word yet on who may appear in this new version. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Sin City 2, the sequel to Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s uber-slick comic book adaptation, has been in development hell since the success of the first film. In order to change that the producers have hired none other that The Departed writer William Monahan (he’s popular as well today) to have a pass at the script. There is no word on which characters will return from the first film at this point. Source – Heat Vision

The MTV Music Video Awards happened over the weekend in the US and with it came a glimpse of the future. Well to be more accurate a glimpse of the hotly anticipated film adaption of The Hunger Games. It’s fleeting but will certainly excite fans of the book and hopefully whet the appetite of none believers. You can see the clip HERE.

The US Box-Office was slightly hit but the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene but it didn’t stop The Help toping the list for another week. It means the film is closing in on the $100 Million mark at the US box-office alone.

Friday 26^th August

Dan Aykroyd, the legendary actor writer, hopes to have Ghostbusters 3 up and running by early next year. The film has been in development hell for years. The biggest problem seems to be getting Bill Murray to commit, or even read the latest script, to the film. However, Aykroyd has made it clear that the franchise is bigger than any one person involved and made it clear that the film will see the old team training a new team. Anna Faris and Eilza Dushku are rumoured to be part of that new team but it is still unclear whether Murray, and indeed studio Sony, will back the project. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Olivia Wilde, the star of Tron Legacy and Cowboys & Aliens, is eyeing the lead role in Better Living Through Chemistry. The film previously had Jennifer Garner attached to the role who has departed because she’s got a bun in the oven. Jeremy Renner was originally playing the lead but that has now gone to Sam Rockwell. Michelle Monaghan will play his wife. The film will see Rockwell as a pharmacist in a loveless marriage who starts an affair with Wilde. Together they start taking drugs and plotting murder. Judi Dench is all set to narrate the film that made the Black List of best unproduced scripts in Hollywood. Source – Variety

Tom Cruise, currently filming One Shot, seems to have a pretty good life. Having spent all manner of time helping decide who his leading lady in One Shot would be, it eventually went to Rosamund Pike, is now doing the same with next project Horizons. The film was previously called Oblivion and is being directed by Tron Legacy (it’s popular today apparently) director Joseph Konsinski. The luckily ladies currently being considered are: Tree Of Life’s Jessica Chastain, Quantum Of Solace’s Olga Kurylenko, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’s Noomi Rapace, Another Earth’s Brit Marling and Olivia Wilde (again she’s popular today). The good news is that there are two female roles to fill. One will be Cruise’s characters assistant the other his former fiancé. The film will see Cruise play a man who descends to a destroyed Earth to repair droids that keep aliens away from the cloud city’s humans now live in. That is until he makes a worrying discovery. Source – Variety.

Paul Greengrass, the man behind the second two Bourne films and The Green Zone, is now officially on board to direct Fear Index. Based on a Robert Harris novel, to be published next month, the story sees a man come up with an algorithm that predicts the world’s financial markets based on conflicts around the globe. All is going well until he is taken hostage in his own home. Harris’ films have a good hit rate on screen as the man behind the Hannibal Lecter stories. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Robert Zemeckis, Mr. Back To The Future, is turning his back on not only his Mo-Cap film’s, after the failure of Mars Needs Mums, but also the film Replay. The reason being that he has now signed onto Denzel Washington thriller Flight. The film will see Washington as a pilot whose plane is about to crash but thanks to some clever piloting he manages to save it and the passengers. The problem is while labelled as a hero it becomes clear he was under the influence of drugs on the flight. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Universal seem to be dropping projects faster than they can green light them. Yesterday saw them drop Ouija and today they are backing out of ‘teen’ novel Wicked Lovely. It was hoped that Lovely would spawn a new Twilight franchise based on the books by Melissa Marr. The book sees a girl become involved in the world of Faeries. American Psycho director Mary Harron was slated to direct the film which will now be offered around to other studios. Source – Heat Vision

 

Thursday 25^th August

Christian Bale, currently swooping around Gotham City as Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, is in talks to play the villain in the remake of Korean revenge thriller Oldboy. Spike Lee is set to direct the film about a man who is imprisoned for 15 years for no reason only to discover upon his release that it was all in the name of spiteful revenge. Will Smith was at one point set to play the lead in the film but a glance at the IMDb indicates that Josh Brolin is now attached. Bale is also being courted by Clint Eastwood for his remake of A Star Is Born as well as Darren Aronofsky’s Biblical film about Noah. Source – Variety

Taken, the break-out action thriller starring Liam Neeson as a father, with special forces background, who sets out to avenge the people who kidnapped his daughter, is all set for a sequel. Olivier Megaton, who directed this month’s Colombiana, has been scouting locations in LA with producer Luc Besson. Besson said, while doing publicity work for Colombiana, that all the cast from the first film would return for the sequel. Source – Coming Soon

Shawn Levy, the man behind this month’s Real Steal, is on the verge of walking away from his planned Fantastic Voyage remake, possibly due to not being able to land lead actor Will Smith, and turn his attentions to Frankenstein. There are a number of Frankenstein projects in development right now but Levy and studio Fox will hope to beat the likes of The Case Book Of Victor Frankenstein and I, Frankenstein out of the gate first. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Warm Bodies, the film adaptation of Isaac Marion’s novel, has found another cast member to join leads Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer in the form of Cedar Rapids star Rob Corddry. He’ll play a zombie opposite Hoult’s zombie R who falls in love with Palmer’s character and sets off a chain reaction that will change his kind forever. Jonathan Levine who previously directed All The Boys Love Mandy Lane and upcoming comedy 50/50 will direct the film. Source – Variety

Lucy Punch, the wacky British actress and star of films like Bad Teacher and Dinner For Schmucks, will join the cast of Wedding Video. The film, from Calendar Girls creators Nigel Cole and Tim Firth, will see a traditional English wedding filmed mocumentary style. Also on board for the film are Rufus Hound and Robert Webb. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Ouija, the horror film based on the board game, looks to be haunting its way out of Universal. The film was being produced by Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes company and was supposed to have McG on as director. However a spiralling budget has caused Universal to pull the plug on the project. Platinum will now take it to Paramount, where they already have a their production deal, to see if they can raise the film from the grave. Source – Heat Vision

Alexander Skarsgard, still famous for his roles in True Blood and Generation Kill, has signed onto Disconnected. The film, from Murderball director Henry-Alex Rubin, will see various characters using the perilous internet for varying different reasons. Skarsgard will play a Marine who is having marital problems and starts looking on the internet for someone to have an affair with. Also on board is Michael Nyqvist of Swedish Girl With The Dragoon Tattoo fame. Source – Variety

Wednesday 24^th August

Ben Affleck, having risen phoenix like thanks to his directing turns in Gone Baby Gone and The Town, is sniffing around a new project at Warner Bros. He’s currently shooting his next project Argo but is now in talks to jump straight onto Line Of Sight once that it wrapped. Written by F. Scott Frazer, Sight will see a team of elite soldiers transporting something during a global crisis. The real kicker is that the film is told mostly from a first person perspective meaning the action will seem, shall we say, computer game orientated. If Affleck signs he will star and direct the film. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Jonah Hill, currently putting the finishing touches to his re-imagining of 21 Jump Street, has now signed onto to star with Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn in Neighbourhood Watch. These days Hill is almost unrecognisable from his Superbad days having lost a lot of weight. He will be seen in upcoming Brad Pitt film Moneyball and then later this year The Sitter. At one point it seemed like Hill was going to be too expensive for Neighbourhood Watch but all financial issues have now been resolved. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Action Men are clearly still high on Hollywood’s to do list and in particular with Nu Image and Millennium productions companies. The folks behind The Expendables and Conan are close to agreeing a deal with Paul Sloan for his spec script. Although the script has no title the film will follow a group of mercenaries into the Cambodian jungle looking for a missing person. However, once there they will have to make a stand against a vampire. So Predator basically, but with a bloodsucker rather than an “Ugly Mother…” you get the idea. Source – Heat Vision

Ed Zwick, the man who recently gave us Love and Other Drugs, is normally known for his sprawling epics like The Last Samurai and Legends of The Fall. It seems like he is returning to that ideal with The Great Wall. Teaming with newly created company Legendary East, a branch of Legendary Entertainment, Zwick will co-write with Marshall Herskovitz while also directing. The film will tell the story of how and why The Great Wall of China came to be. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Alex Winter, formerly known as Bill S Preston from Bill & Ted, is set to make a documentary about the rise of Napster. He originally intended to make it as a drama but saw much of his storyline used in a similar vein in The Social Network, which included Napster inventor Shawn Parker playing a prominent part. Not one to give up, that’s how Bill passed his history exam after all, he’s going back to all the sources that helped him find inspiration for his script and interviewing them for a feature length documentary on the birth of Peer to Peer file sharing. – Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Clifton Collins Jnr, one of those supporting actors in films like Sunshine Cleaning and Babel that always delivers, has joined Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim. The monster movie that sees humans piloting giant robots to prevent monsters from destroying the planet. Source – Coming Soon.

 

Tuesday 23^rd August

Paradise Lost, the epic poem about the war between Heaven and Hell, has added another cast member to its ranks in the form of Gladiator’s Djimon Hounsou. Alex Proyas, the man who gave us Dark City and I Robot, will direct with Bradley Cooper set to play Lucifer with Ben Walker as the Angel Michael. Hounsou is onboard as The Angel Of Death, or Abdiel to his friends. Source – Variety

Alexander Skarsgard, hands down the best thing about True Blood, is in talks to join The East. Written and directed by Brit Marling, who wrote and starred in the upcoming thriller Another Earth, the film will focus on a female agent infiltrating an eco-terrorist group. If he signs Skarsgard would play the leader of the group. Source – Heat Vision

Caleb Landry Jones, last seen screaming bloody murder as Banshee in X-Men: First Class, will join the cast of Neil Jordon’s Byzantium. The film sees Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan as two vampires that go to live in a sleepy seaside town. On her first day in school Ronan’s character announces she is a vampire much to the amusement of her classmates. Before long they soon realise she was telling the truth. Jones will play a teenager that Ronan bonds with. The film is adapted by Moria Buffini from her own play. Source – Variety

The Last Exorcism, the break out hit of 2010, which was a ‘found footage’ documentary about an Evangelistic Priest who allowed a film crew to follow him on his final exorcism to show that he was a fraud is set for a sequel. Damien Chazelle has been hired to pen the script. Given the first film’s $1.6 Million budget that went onto take $62.5 Million at the global box-office a sequel was always on the cards. Source – Heat Vision

Justin Lin, the man behind this year’s hit Fast Five, has signed a two year deal with Universal getting first look at any of his production company Barnstorm Pictures’ films. Lin is all slated to re-unite the cast of Fast Five for, you guessed it, Fast Six and is also attached to Terminator Five although as yet that has no studio attached. Source – Variety

Johnny Knoxville, the star and creator of Jackass, is set to star alongside Patton Oswalt in a new comedy. Currently the film does not have a title but will see two feuding brothers, played by Knoxville and Oswalt, who, to honour their ailing mother, take a group of kids on an ill-advised camping trip. Emerging talent Todd Rohal wrote and will direct the film. Source – Coming Soon. 

Ron Howard, might still be looking for funding for his adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, but he is ploughing ahead with other projects in the meantime. He is currently in pre-production on Rush a film that looks at the rivalry between Formula One Drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauder. Thor’s Chris Hemsworth will play Hunt while Inglorious Basterd’s Daniel Bruhl will be Lauder. Bringing some much-needed oestrogen to proceedings is newly cast German actress Alexandra Maria Lara. Lara is best known for films like Downfall and The Reader. Peter Morgon who wrote Frost/Nixon is the man behind the script. Source – Variety

Monday 22^nd August

Pixar, fresh off Cars 2 and in anticipation of next year’s The Brave, have announced their next two projects for the following two years. The first, set for 2014 is set within the human mind but little more was revealed at this stage. The other will star dinosaurs in the future. Directed by Bob Peterson who was inspired when he visited New York World’s Fair in 1964 and saw the animatronics dinosaurs. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

War Games, the classic 80s teen thriller, is all set to get a reboot. Horrible Bosses Director Seth Gordon is on board for a film that given the advances in computer, and gaming technology, since the 80s will have a lot more scope and hardware to toy with. The original film saw Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy hack into a government computer believing they are playing a ‘game’ with an advanced computer only to discover that the computer thinks they are a real threat and prepares to launch nuclear missiles at Russia. Noah Oppenheim will write the new script. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Michael Morpurgo, who wrote the book upon which the stage play and soon to be Steven Spielberg directed war epic War Horse are based, is now looking to see his follow-up book Private Peaceful adapted for the big screen. Like War Horse it tells the story of Tommo Peaceful during his experiences of World War I. Pat O’Connor, who directed Circle Of Friends, is set to bring this adaptation to life. Source – Empire

Bruce Willis who had been rumoured to be in negotiations to staring GI Joe 2, now looks to have signed if potential co-Star Dwayne Johnson can be trusted. The former ‘Rock’ tweeted a welcome note to Willis over the weekend. No official announcement has been made but we trust The Rock, that and we wouldn’t want to call him a liar, the man’s huge! Source – Twitter

Ray Bradbury, the legendary writer of Something Wicked This Way Comes, is about to see another of his books adapted for the screen on today, his 91^st Birthday. Dandelion Wine is his most personal book about a childhood summer that he claims is based closely on his own experiences. Mike Medavoy, who recently produced Black Swan and Shutter Island, will guide the project while Rodion Nahapetov will write the screenplay. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Vikings are looking to make a return to the big screen thanks to Working Title. The film will see the savage Norseman kidnapping Irish slaves and bringing them to Iceland. The tone is set to be in the vein of Brave Heart and Apocalypto so there should be no shortage of bloodletting and Mel Gibson may be needed for directing duties, all that’s just us speculating at this point. Karl Gajdusek, who recently wrote the Kidman/Cage film Trespass and worked on sci-fi opus Oblivion for Tron Legacy director Joe Kossinski, will write the script for Working Title. Source – Heat Vision

The Help, the sleeper hit of the summer, rose to number 1 in the US box-office over the weekend. Beating out competition from the likes of Spy Kids 4 and Conan The Barbarian it took a healthy $20 Million over the weekend giving it a very respectable $70 Million in sales so far. Meanwhile Rise Of The Planet of the Apes continued its healthy takings by sticking in second place meaning it has now taken $133.7 Million at the US box-office alone. Source – Box Office Mojo

 

Friday 19^th August

Brian de Palma, the man who would be Hitchcock and gave us such classics as Scarface and The Untouchables, is turning his hand to new film The Key Man. The story will follow a family man being chased down by government agents because his body holds key secrets. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Tony Scott, director of Top Gun and True Romance, won’t be out done by his brother Ridley in the re-visiting of classic movies. While Ridley is returning to the world of Blade Runner, Tony is in talks to re-make Sam Peckinpah’s classic Western The Wild Bunch. At the moment Tony has set his heart on Jeff Bridges to play the lead role of Sonny Barger, however so far there has been no direct contact the The Dude himself. Source – Deadeline Hollywood

Michael Fassbender, so brilliant in everything he does from X-Men; First Class to Inglorious Basterds, has been offered the lead role in Prisoners. At one point the film was set to star Leonardo DiCaprio and be directed by Training Day helmer Antoine Fuqua. Now though it seems that Incendies director Dennis Villeneuve will make the film about a man who kidnaps and tortures the only suspect in his daughter’s abduction in order to track her down. There is no word on whether Fassbender will take the role or not. Source – Coming Soon

Will Smith, these days busy producing a re-make of Annie for his daughter Willow and returning to the Men In Black franchise, is in early talks to star in the remake of Fantastic Voyage. The film, based on the original 1966 film, sees a scientist dying of a blood clot. The only way to save him is for his colleagues to shrink themselves down in order to pilot a craft through his blood stream. Shawn Levy is directing the film with James Cameron producing and utilising the same 3D technology used on Avatar. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Warner Brothers have announced that they have now passed the $2 Billion mark at the international box-office. Thanks in no small part to good returns on franchises like Harry Potter and The Hangover Part 2. Warner Bros still has such films as Happy Feet 2, Sherlock Holmes 2 and Garry Marshall’s follow up to Valentine’s Day New Year’s Eve set to be released this year which will almost certainly see that number continue to grow. Source – Warner Bros. Pictures.

Coriolanus, the first film directed by Ralp Fiennes and starring Gerard Butler, has a trailer which you can see HERE, and now has a rather fancy looking poster which you can see below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 18^th August

Ridley Scott, currently re-visiting one of his most success films by directing Prometheus, the prequel to Alien, clearly is looking to go back to the future by signing onto a new Blade Runner movie. With no script yet in place it is unclear if this will be a sequel, prequel or re-imagining of the original script but either way fans of the film will be less than enamored with the idea. Having said that if he convinced Harrison Ford to return as Deckard all might be forgiven. Source - Deadline Hollywood

Robert Downey Jnr, these days normally found either strutting around as Iron Man or sulking around as Sherlock Holmes, is set to produce, with wife Susan Downey a film about the ill-fated United States Ship Indianapolis. The true story, so brilliantly recounted by Robert Shaw in Jaws, saw the ship deliver the atomic bomb before being torpedoed and sinking. With the crew stranded they faced dehydration and certain death, even more so when it became apparent they were in shark-infested waters. Warner Bros has the rights to Hunter Scott’s story, who at 11 years old wrote a history report on the event and in doing so helped the captain of the Indianapolis, Charles McVay, become posthumously exonerated. Source – Heat Vision

Hugh Jackman, currently scheduled to appear once again as Wolverine, will play PT Barnum in The Greatest Show On Earth. The film will see Barnum as the man who created the three ring circus and was able to manipulate gullible audiences. Michael Gracey, a music video and commercials director, will call the shots and is also slated to direct Disney’s Order Of The Seven, another Snow White project. Source – The Wrap

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the man behind Babel and Biutiful, is set to adapt the book The Revenant. Written by Michael Punke, the story sees a fur hunter mauled by a bear. His captain, not able to return him to the ship, due to difficult terrain, hires two men to watch over him and bury him when he dies. However, they instead rob him and leave him for dead. Recovering from his injuries the man sets out to take his revenge.

Abigail Breslin, the normally cute star of Little Miss Sunshine and Definitely Maybe, is set to turn her hand to killing. She’ll star in The Project which sees two sisters sick of their abusive mother and all the drunk boyfriends she brings home so decide to kill her. The film has been written by Fabrizio Filliippo and Adam Till and will be directed by Stan Brooks. Source – Variety

Seth Green, still best known for being Dr. Evil’s son, will star opposite Lou Tayor Pucci in The Story Of Luke. The film will see Pucci as a young autistic man looking for a job and a woman. Green will play his mentor firgure. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Rosamund Pike, having beaten out competition in the form of Hayley Atwell and Alexa Davalos, has landed the plum role of Tom Cruise’s lawyer in the screen adaptation of One Shot. Source - Deadline

 

Wednesday 17^th August

Ryan Phillippe, recently seen on sneering duties in The Lincoln Lawyer, is set to star in Straight A’s. The film will see Phillippe as a man who has been in and out of rehab for many years be convinced to return to his family by his dead mother’s ghost. Once back in the fold he will confront his older brother, to be played by Luke Wilson, and his sister-in-law and ex-girlfriend Anna Paquin. Shooting kicked-off in Louisiana this month with Wonderland director James Cox calling the shots. Source – Variety

Matthew McConaughey, last seen on smug duty in The Lincoln Lawyer (there’s a theme immerging here), has joined the cast of Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike. McConaughey will play a character who owns a strip club where Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer work. The film is based on Tatum’s real experiences working as a stripper when he was 19. Source – Variety

Ben Stiller looks to have found himself a new wife in his upcoming film Neighbourhood Watch. Rosemarie DeWitt, last seen in The Company Men, is in talks to join the comedy/sci-fi which also included Vince Vaughn. The film is about a group of husbands who use the watch as an excuse to have some time away from their home lives but soon uncover an alien plot to destroy the world. The film is being directed by Akiva Schaffer and was written by Superbad writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Source- Heat Vision

Dakota Fanning, no longer the child star but the ever growing up actress, is set to star in Effie. The film, written by Emma Thompson, is set in 1850s London and tells the story of the loveless marriage between John Rushkin and Euphemia Gray. Only a teenager when she married him their love was never consummated as he was disgusted by her body. This is the first original script Thompson has written having previously focused on literary adaptations. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Steve McQueen, no the other one, the director behind the brilliant Hunger, is set to direct 12 Years A Slave. The film will star Chiwetel Ejiofor as a man kidnapped from New York in 1841 and forced to work on a cotton plant for twelve years before being rescued. Mcqueen’s about to premier his Hunger follow-up Shame at The Venice Film Festival but has been secretly developing Slave for a while. Source – Variety

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, the quite frankly brilliant action star, has released a picture of himself on the first day's shoot of GI Joe 2. Tweeting from the set Johnson wrote "First day of shooting, 110 Degrees. Bring It". Mr. Johnson, we salute you sir. Check out the picture below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 16^th August

Brad Pitt, currently filming and producing the Zombie epic World War Z, is in talks to star in The Gray Man. The film will see Pitt as a spy come assassin who has to fight his way across Europe to save the life of his former Hander and his Handler’s family. The script was on last year’s Black List, of best un-produced scripts, and was written by Adam Cozad. The film will be directed by Two Lovers director James Gray (and yes that really is his name). Source – Deadline Hollywood 

Jason Bateman, still doing stellar work in Horrible Bosses, is set to star and produce The ID Theft. The film will see Bateman’s character have his identity stolen by an unknown thief. The thief was originally set to be played by another male actor until Bateman saw Melisa McCarthy’s scene chewing performance in this year’s hit Bridesmaids. Source – Deadline Hollywood 

The Crow, the 90s comic book written by James O’Barr and previously made into the film which saw Brandon Lee’s final performance, has lost Bradley Cooper as its leading man. Cooper had committed to play the rock star who is killed and then resurrected to become an avenging angel but it seems that he has too many other projects on the go. The one that has caused the scheduling conflict is Paradise Lost in which Cooper is set to play a very angry fallen angel in the shape of Lucifer. There is a possibility that Mark Walhberg, who was previously attached to The Crow, might take the part but Channing ‘The Strongest Jaw in The World’ Tatum is also in the running. Source – Heat Vision

GI Joe 2, the action sequel to what we hear like to call Team America; The Live Action Version, has found another recruit in the shape of The Shield star Walter Goggins. Goggins will play an original character, as opposed one taken from the line of toys or cartoons that the film is based on, called Warden Nigel James. The film already boasts Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, RZA and a still in negotiations Bruce Willis. Source – Variety

Chris O’Dowd, having hit the big time in this year’s Bridesmaids, will star in The Sapphires. The film is set in 1968 Australia as a girl group are plucked from obscurity by an Irish talent scout, to be played by O’Dowd. He then flies them to Vietnam to entertain the troops. It is unclear yet if O’Dowd will be singing in the film which is expected to have number of musical moments. Source – Variety

Reeve Carney, last seen in The Tempest, is set to star as legendary singer songwriter Jeff Buckley. The biopic is going head to head with other Buckley project Greetings From Tim Buckley which will see Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley play Jeff. The two films will focus on different parts of his life so there is not a direct competition at hand.  The Reeve version, which has no concrete title at this point, will be directed by Jake Scott (son of Ridley) and has the full backing of the Buckley family. Source - Collider

Mirkwood, the Steve Hillard fictional novel about J R R Tolkien, is set to be made into a movie by EMO Films. The story, which has been disputed by the Tolkien estate and therefore has no connections with it, sees The Lord Of The Rings writer travel to New York with precious documents that could allow forces of evil to help the dark creatures of his fantasy land come through to this world. Source – Heat Vision

Monday 15^th August

The Lone Ranger film which was supposed to star Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as The Ranger has hit a snag in pre-production. Disney has now put a holt to the proceedings with the concern that the film’s budget was spiralling out of control. This comes in the wake of many studios believing many movies are costing too much. It seems Disney will still continue with the film, set to be directed by Pirates Of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, but at a re-tooled and smaller budget. Source – Deadline Hollywood and Variety.

Cheryl Cole, not a name we expected to be reporting in on this feed, is set to appear in the already vast cast of What To Expect When You’re Expecting. The film boasts the likes of Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Chris Rock and Chace Crawford. Cole will reportedly appear in a cameo role as a TV Talent Show Judge. If anyone says type-casting we’ll…. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Tom Cruise, gearing up to play Jack Reacher in One Shot, is close to sniffing out his leading lady for the film. Based on Lee Child’s novel and being adapted and directed by Christopher McQuarrie it seems there are three ladies in competition for the lead female role. Those lucky ladies are Halley Atwell, most recently seen as Captain American’s squeeze, Rosamund Pike, who shone in An Education, and Alexa Davalos who was last seen in Clash Of The Titans. So who do you think is the best fit for the new look Reacher? Source – Heat Vision

Batman and Superman are rumoured to be potentially appearing in a film together. Sources indicate that Warner Brothers wants to unite the two heroes once Superman has been re-established on the big screen with Zck Synder’s The Man Of Steel. The hope is that both Christian Bale and Henry Cavil would appear in their respective roles. Wolfgang Peterson tried to get a similar project running over a decade ago before Warner decided to re-boot both franchises. Although it is unlikely such a project would come off, especially with Bale involved to do be surprised to the The Justice League Of America start to gather steam based on this rumour and the potential success of The Avengers. Source – Think McFly Think.

Seven Psychopaths, the latest film from In Bruges writer/director Martin McDonagh, has now completed its impressive cast. The film will see a screenwriter (played by In Bruge’s Colin Farrell) trying to write a script called Seven Psychopaths. But while writing he is lured into a dog kidnapping scam by his friends, played by Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken. The problem is that the dog in question belongs to angry mob boss Mickey Rourke (and we all know how attached to his canine friends he is). Source – Twitch

Disney have picked up the rights to The Finest Hour. The book, based on real events and written by Michael J Tougias, is set in 1952 and sees the rescues attempt by ill-equipped coast guards to rescue the crew of two oil tankers that were smashed to pieces during a storm. The script will be written by Oscar nominated writing team for The Fighter Paul Tamsay and Eric Johnson. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Patrick Wilson, the star of Watchmen and Insidious, will apparently appear in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus. There is no mention of who he will play but seeing as the film has been shooting for a couple of months it was assumed that the cast was already full. The film will also star Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Guy Pearce and Idris Elba. Source – Coming Soon

US Box Office saw Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes remain at the number one spot for a second week running while break-out hit The Help came second with a respectable $35.5 Million. Source – Deadline Hollywood.  

Friday 12^th August

Eminem, absent from the big-screen since his hit debut 8 Mile, looks like he will have to delay his acting come-back for a while longer. The rapper was set to star in the Antoine Fuqua directed movie Southpaw for DreamWorks. However, the studio has now pulled out of the project. With Eminem and Fuqua still attached it shouldn’t take long for the boxing pic, in which Eminem would play the title role, to find funding from elsewhere. Source – Deadline

John Landis, the man who brought us iconic hits like American Werewolf In Paris and The Blues Brothers, is developing a monster movie set in Parls. Landis is keeping the plot under wraps but did let on that the cast will have to be bilingual in French and English. Source – Coming Soon

The Barefoot Bandit, aka Colton Harris-Moore, the young criminal who went on crime spree until finally being caught fleeing the US in a stolen boat and plane has sold his story rights to 20^th Century Fox. The fee is believed to be in the region of $1.4 Million for the rights. Who says crime doesn’t pay? Source – Coming Soon.

Scott Glen, most recently seen as the mysterious mentor in Sucker Punch, is looking to jump back into the Bourne Franchise by reprising his role of CIA Director Ezra Kramer. Tony Gilroy, who wrote all of the previous instalments in the series is also directing this one that will see Jeremy Renner’s agent as a former colleague of the now absent Jason Bourne, aka Matt Damon. The cast is already looking solid with the likes of Joan Allen and Albert Finney returning as well as being joined by Ed Norton and Rachel Weisz. Source – Coming Soon

Highlander, the 80s cult classic was in store for a remake with Fast Five director Justin Lin making sure there can be only one. However, he is so busy with the next Fast movie, and then looking to take a stab at a Terminator film, that he has had to jump ship. Summit Entertainment are hoping to make Highlander a franchise to replace the soon to be finished Twilight so expect this one to be almost as immortal as the characters of the film.  Source – Heat Vision

Stephen King is seriously hot property right now. With The Stand in the works, The Dark Tower probably still ticking over somewhere in development, news now comes that his soon to be published 11/22/63 is to be adapted into a film. The story, which will hit shelves in November, will see a High School teacher travel back in time to try and prevent JFK’s assassination. Silence of The Lambs director Jonathan Demme is looking to start production later this year. Source – Variety

Robert Redford’s latest project, The Company You Keep, is certainly attracting an impressive cast with news that Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie and Richard Jenkins are all in talks to join. They will support Redford as a former underground militant who is exposed by a plucky reporter, to be played by Shia LaBeouf. Adapted by Lem Dobbs from the Neil Gordon novel, Redford will also direct. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Phasma Ex Machina, or Ghost From The Machine, for non-Latin-speaking scholars, was a 2010 micro-budget movie by Matt Osterman. Universal liked the film so much that they have commissioned a pseudo follow-up called Our House. Moon writer Nathan Parker will write the script with Garey Shore directing. Phasma Ex Machina saw a grieving engineer student build a machine that blurred the lines between this life and the after life. It is unclear which elements of the story will stay in place. Source – Deadline

Bridget Jones is now officially scribbling her way back onto the big screen thanks to Universal and Working Title. Author Helen Fielding has a third book in the works and that will likely form the basis of the third film. Source – Coming Soon.

Trent Reznor, the Oscar winning composer for The Social Network and front man to Nine Inch Nails, has put a seven-minute clip of music for his next project The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Click Here to Listen to his brilliance.

Twilight fans take a deep breath as some new images have been released from Breaking Dawn and they are certainly erring on the side of sexy. That is if you find chess sexy? See below. Source – Entertainment Weekly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 11^th August

Morgan Freeman, currently shooting The Dark Knight Rises, is in talks to join the cast of Now You See Me. The film follows a group of magicians, led by Jesse Eisenberg, who use their magic for heist purposes. If he signs, Freeman will play Thaddeus a Magician who has made a career exposing the secrets behind magic and therefore despised throughout the magic community. Amanda Seyfried and Melanie Laurent are also on board for the Louis Leterrier directed film. Source – Coming Soon

Keanu Reeves, the star of The Matrix films, is looking to expand his career with the roles of writer and director. Reeves has written an action script called Man Of Tai Chi as a starring vehicle for Tiger Chen, a key stunt player from The Matrix movies. Reeves would look to direct the film as well as play the villain of the piece. Source - Twitch

The Harry Potter Team of director David Yates and writer Steven Kloves look to have set their sites on a new project in the form of another literary adaptation. They will look to make a three picture deal with Warner Brothers with Stephen King’s The Stand being the source material. The Stand is an epic battle between good and evil after most of the human population is wiped out by a deadly virus. Source - HitFix

Eddie Murphy, no stranger to animated voices with the Shrek movies under he belt, will lend his dulcet tones to the cartoon adaptation of Hong Kong Phooey. Based on the Hanna-Barbera 70s cartoon of the same name which saw a dog learn kung-fu and become a crime fighter. Alex Zamm, who directed Tooth Fairy 2, will call the shots. Source – Deadline

Mark Wahlberg is in talks to star in another comic book adaptation. 2 Guns sees a DEA officer and a Naval Investigation Officer cross paths when they realise they are investigating each other both stealing mob money. At one point the project was to be directed by Wahlberg’s The Fighter director David O Russell with Vince Vaughn in one of the lead roles. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Daniel Barber, the director of Harry Brown, is in talks to helm Substitution. The plot is similar to Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train but will see a substitute teacher convince a student in swapping murder targets with him. Source – Coming Soon

Wednesday 10^th August

Bruce Willis, the quintessential action-man, is in talks to play the original Joe in G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation. If he signs Willis will play General Joe Colton who founded the G.I. Joe Strike Team. The film already boasts the likes of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Ray Stevenson, RZA and countless more meat for the grinder. Source – Heat Vision 

The Terrorist Search Engine, is a film being adapted, from a New York Magazine Article by Wesley Yang, by Oren Moverman. The film, which was originally set up as a project for Jesse Eisenberg, will see a man called Evan Francois Kohlmann nicknamed ‘The Doogie Howser Of Terrorism’ for his methods of using internet technology to track down terrorists. Source – Coming Soon.  

John C McGinley, aka Scrubs’ Doctor Cox, has joined the cast of I, Alex Cross. The film will see Tyler Perry as the titular detective with McGinley set to play his boss. Based on James Patterson’s best selling books, and previously seen as Morgan Freeman in Kiss The Girls and Along Came A Spider, I, Alex Cross will also star Matthew Fox, Rachel Nicols, Jean Reno and Giancarlo Esposito. Source - Variety

The Killing’s Mireille Enos has beaten out strong competition in she shape of Amy Adams and Kate Winslett to play Josh Brolin’s wife in The Gangster Squad. The film sees a group of LA cops in the 40s & 50s assigned to prevent corruption entering into Mafia cases. The films cast is already awash with names such as Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Giovanni Ribisi and Robert Patrick. Source Variety.

Vera Famriga, the always brilliant star of Up In The Air and Source Code, is set to star opposite the equally dependable Mark Strong in Closer To The Moon. Set in Communist Romania the film will see Strong as a bank robber being sentenced to death for his crimes because he is a Jew. Farmiga will play his former girlfriend and mother to his child. Nae Caranfil will call the shots on the film. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Matt Dillion, will star alongside Kristen Wiig in her pet-project Imogene. The film will also star Annette Benning who is dating Dillon believing he is a CIA agent. Wiig will take the title role of a playwright whose attempted suicide sees her forced to live with her gambling addict mother, played by Benning. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Robert Schwentke, the man behind last years surprise hit RED, will turn his attention to something a little more serious in the form of true life story The Poison Kitchen. The film is about Muenchener Post, a paper based in Munich during the rise of Hitler. It was the paper that was warning people about the man long before anyone cared to listen. So annoyed was Hitler with the paper that when he took power he had the offices and printing press destroyed by storm troopers. The script will be written by Matthew Sand, who wrote Ninja Assassin (wait, what?! OK, moving on). Source - Variety

R.I.P.D. the comic book adaptation, that sees Ryan Reynolds as a deceased police officer now being a cop in the after life, has acquired a leading lady in the form of Stephanie Szostak. Her last big-screen outing was in Dinner For Schmucks and here she will play Reynolds’ grieving wife. Robert Schwentke, yes him again, will call the shots. Source- Deadline Hollywood

The Hunger Games is still some way off its 23^rd March 2012 release but with Twilight levels of fans out there the promo material is in overdrive. Lucky for us then we have a couple of stills from the film for you to see. Below you will find the always brilliant Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 9^th August

The Hunger Games, the films based on the popular selling novels by Suzanne Collins, is following the trend of The Amazing Spider-Man by announcing its sequel release date before the first instalment hits cinemas. Of course much of the cast of these films are locked in for multi-picture deals so it is of little surprise they expect to make more than one film. The Hunger Games follow up will be called Catching Fire. Source – Variety

Dirty Dancing looks to be spinning and pirouetting its way back to the big screen with a remake by High School Musical director Kenny Ortega. Lionsgate will make the film a priority and will see the same story from the original of an indulged girl who falls for her dancing instructor. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Disney is teaming with Ben Stiller to help them produce an adaptation of the documentary Quantum Hoops. The film will follow a basketball team that went 21 seasons without a win. Desperate for a win they hired an exiled coach to guide them to glory. At present Stiller is only attached as a producer but foes of course have form in this area having directed and stared in Dodgeball. Source – Deadline

Gerard Butler is in talks to star in the screen adaptation of The Bricklayer. The book, by Noah Boyd, sees a disgraced former FBI agent dragged back into the Bureau to help them capture a deadly criminal who is determined to humiliate the FBI. Hanna Weg is set to writer the screenplay. Source – Coming Soon

Russell Crowe, who was rumoured to be taking the role of the corrupt mayor in Broken City has now officially signed onto the project. Mark Wahlberg will take the lead role of a private eye hired by the mayor to track his wife only to discover that the mayor is deep in political intrigue. Allen Hughes will call the shots on the noir thriller which made 2008 Black List of best unproduced scripts. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Tom Cruise appears in the latest promotional material for Mission Impossible; Ghost Protocol. He looks appropriately moody and distinctly disavowed as an MI agent. Rumour has it this will be Cruises’ last outing in the series with co-star Jeremy Renner taking over the leadership duties. See Below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday 8^th August

The Amazing Spider-Man will not be in cinemas for another year but clearly what Sony have seen of the film they like as they have now green-lit and set a release date for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Writer James Vanderbilt is currently working on a script with Andrew Garfield expected to return as your friendly neighbourhood spider. Source – Heat Vision

World War Z, the adaptation of Max Brooks’ brilliant Zombie apocalypse novel, will get some Breaking Bad magic in the form of Bryan Cranston. The film stars Brad Pitt as a journalist gathering stories of various survivors of the zombie wars. The film is currently shooting in England with Monsters Ball director Marc Foster calling the shots. Source – Coming Soon.

David Cronenberg, the director of The Fly and A History Of Violence, will direct an adaptation of As She Climbed Across The Table. The book is written by Jonathan Lethem and sees a love triangle form between an academic, his particle physicist girlfriend and the black hole she creates. She becomes so obsessed with the Black Hole, she calls Lack, that her boyfriend will stop at nothing to win her back. Source – Coming Soon

Jesse Eisenberg, the Oscar nominate star of The Social Network, is in talks to star in Submarine director Richard Ayoade’s second feature film. Submarine was a stunning debut and Ayoade has clearly made a name for himself with it. His follow up with be an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Double, which sees a man discover that his double is working in the same office as him. Source – Vulture.

Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon are in talks to star in Mud. The film is about a prisoner breaking free to return to the love of his life. Jeff Nichols will direct the film hot off the back of his Sundance hit Take Shelter starring Michael Shannon. Source - Vulture

Gareth Edwards, the break out star director of last years brilliant Monsters, was rumoured to be making Godzilla as his next project. However, it turns out he has another sci-fi film in the works before the big lizard film gets under way. There is no title but the film will follow a 5 year old boy and his robot travelling across the galaxy to try and find the origins of the all but wiped out human race. Wanted and Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov will produce the film, which Edwards wants to see as a robot Star Wars. Source – Twitch

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes stormed the US Box-Office over the weekend taking in a very healthy $54 Million. The film received some very postive reviews and clearly the public voted with their feet. Jason Bateman/Ryan Reynolds body-swap comedy did not fair so well only making $13 Million over the weekend. Source – Box Office Mojo.  

Catwoman has decided to make an appearence. Yesterday it was Superman that Warner Brothers decided to show off and today it's Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. We've seen Tom Hardy as Bane and are familiar with Christian Bale as The Caped Crusader, so what do you think of Catwoman, below? The implication from Warners is that this might not be the complete costume as they have labeled it Selena Kyle, Catwoman's real name. Worrying she seems to have got her hands on Batman's Batpod!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunger Games seems to have acquired an interesting new addition in the form of its second unit director. It is rumoured that Steven Soderbergh, Oscar winning director of Traffic, is filling that role. Soderbergh says he plans on retiring from directing soon and maybe this is his first step into a less high pressure job. Source – The Playlist

Thor looks to be close to finding himself a new director in the shape of Brian Kirk. Kirk has form with the more eccentric characters of this world having directed three episodes of the brilliant Game Of Thrones. Source – Coming Soon

Kenneth Branagh, the former Thor director, is lining up his next project called The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Society. The film will follow a letter relationship between a writer in London and a resident on the titular Island. In the letters the story of the society set up by the islanders during World War II to undermine the Germans. Source – Variety

Marvel are having to delve into some of the lesser known heroes of their back catalogue now that the likes of Thor and Captain America are out of the stable. With Doctor Strange in development it now looks like Guardians Of The Galaxy will also get a big screen outing. The story sees a group of aliens, all the last survivors of their race, protecting the galaxy. They are then sent through time to protect Earth. Source – Twitch

Mark Ruffalo, currently getting all green as The Hulk in The Avengers, is in talks to join Now You See Me. The film follows a group of elite magcians pulling of crime capers and the FBI task force sent to track them down. The film already boasts Jesse Eisenberg and Melanie Laurent and will be directed by The Incredible Hulk helmer Louis Lettereir. Amanda Seyfriend is also in talks to join the film. Source – Variety.

Ice Age 4, looks like it is going ahead. The franchise, which as already grossed more than $4 Billion in all its formats, is looking to add the vocal talent of Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lopez, Alan Tudyk and Nick Frost. The original cast from the previous films will all return as well. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Brett Ratner, the man behind films like Money Talks and the Rush Hour Franchise, is set to produce the 84^th Academy Awards, aka The Oscars. It might be a strange choice but Ratner has form in producing big films and TV shows so could be a good fit. We’re just praying he doesn’t ask Chris Tucker to host. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Short Circuit looks to be getting a re-boot and is set to be directed by Hop director Tim Hill. The 1986 film saw a fast talking robot befriend an animal loving woman and going on the run from the military organisation he escaped from. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Johnny Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil has picked up the rights to graphic comic The Vault. The comic follows a team of treasure hunters who find themselves trapped by a storm and must face the horrors that lurk within the Vault. Source – Heat Vision.

 

Thursday 4^th August

Superman is here! Below is the first look at Henry Cavill as Superman in Zack Synder's Man Of Steel. Source - Coming Soon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benjamin Walker, who is currently playing Abraham Lincoln; Vampire Slayer, looks set to play another iconic figure in the form of The Archangel Gabriel in Paradise Lost. Adaped from John Milton’s 17^th Century poem, the film will see the epic battle between Heaven and Hell and in particular Gabriel and Lucifer. Lucifer will be played by Bradley Cooper while Alex Proyas, of The Crow and I Robot fame, will call the shots. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Mark Steven Johnson, who previously made films like Ghost Rider and Daredevil, will direct Autobahn. The thriller is about an ex Formula 1 driver who wakes in a car on the famed German motorway and must deliver the bomb rigged car to its destination or his family will be killed. The film was previously called I-95 but the location has changed to bring in a more international audience. Source – Heat Vision

Cluedo fans may have to start an all new investigation of their own with news that Universal has pulled out of making the film Clue. It means that producer Gore Verbinski and rights holders Hasbro are free to look for funding elsewhere. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Disney’s take on the Snow White story is now underway. Commercials director Michael Gracey will take the reigns on The Order Of The Seven. The twist here, unlike the rival project Snow White & The Huntsman, is that this story will take place in 19^th Century China and see an English woman being protected by seven international warriors. We’re still hoping they’ll make that Seven Samurai. Tarsem Singh is also working on a project of Snow White so be prepared for a lot of apple eating, evil queens and dwarves. Kind of like a twisted Mardi Gras. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

The Darkest Hour Trailer has arrived. Starring the always-brilliant Emile Hirsch it sees a group of teenagers trapped in Russia during an Alien Invasion. You can see the trailer Here

Wednesday 3^rd August

Laurence Fishburne, the former Morpheus of The Matrix, has signed on to play Perry White in Superman; The Man Of Steel. Superman fans may have something to say about the film’s casting going against the origins of the character but the fact remains that Fishburne will certainly know how to bring White’s mentor like wisdom to the role. He joins the cast that already includes, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon and Julia Ormond. Source – Entertainment Weekly

Zack Synder, currently working on the aforementioned Superman, will turn his frantic gaze to The Last Photograph. The film sees two men, potentially played by Christian Bale and Sean Penn, inspired to travel to Afghanistan based on a photo. Swedish Girl With The Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev had been on board to direct but has since walked. Synder will fit in well to the project as he was already on producing duties and shares a co-writing credit on the script. Source – Twitch

Chris Evans, currently beating up Nazis as Captain America, has been offered the lead role in Albert Hughes’ Motor City. Hughes recently walked away from the live action version of Akira and onto Motor City that was on The Black List, of best-unproduced scripts in Hollywood, until now. The story follows a petty crook who is framed and sent to prison, however on his release he hunts down those who put him there. Evans has been offered that role and the rumour is that there is only one line of dialogue in the entire script.  Source - Twitch

Doctor Strange, the Marvel comic hero, could be making his way to the big screen. One of Marvel’s lesser known heroes, Strange is a doctor who survives a car crash only to become Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme whose job it is to protect the earth from other realms. Cowboys And Aliens writers Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer have already submitted a draft for the project. Source - Twitch

Ben Foster, most recently seen trading quips opposite Jason Statham in The Mechanic, will play John Gotti Jnr in the film that already boasts John Travolta as Gotti Snr as well as Al Pacino, Kelly Preston and a currently suing the production Joe Pesci. Barry Levinson is calling the shots. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Stephen King fans rejoice as it looks like Pet Sematary will get another filmic outing. Alexandre Aja, the man behind the insane Piranha 3D and Switchblade Romance, looks to be first in line to call the shots on the story of a family who learn that the sematary they live near brings the dead back to life. Source - Twitch

Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver is teaming up with Brett Easton Ellis, the author of American Psycho. Together they will write Bait about a man seeking revenge on the rich by taking a group of them on a boat trip into shark infested waters. Schrader will also direct the film. Source – Heat Vision

Anthony Mackie, one of the Hurt Locker stars, has joined Vipaka opposite Forest Whitaker. The film will see the pair as enemies squaring off against each other in the voodoo back-drop of New Orleans. Source – Coming Soon

Russell Brand, still seems to be flavour of the month for Hollywood, has been offered the co-lead in Juno writer Diablo Cody’s Lamb Of God. The film will follow a woman who loses her faith after a plane crash and goes to live a life of sin in Las Vegas. It is unclear at this point, with plot details being kept under wraps, who Brand will play. We’re hoping some kind of devilish gambler to tempt her even further. The film will mark Cody’s directorial debut. Source - Twitch

Brad Pitt can currently be found in the Cornwall region as shooting is currently taking place there on World War Z. The film sees the Zombie apocalypse from various different perspectives with Pitt playing a reporter gathering all the tales.  

 

Tuesday 2^nd August

Bradley Cooper, very much Hollywood’s man of the moment, is in talks to replace Mark Wahlberg on The Silver Lining Playbook. The Fighter director David O Russell is set to direct the film based on Matthew Quick’s novel about former high school teacher who is released from a mental institution and tries to get his life back on track. Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro also look set to takes parts. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Mark Wahlberg, speaking of the man leaving The Silver Lining Playbook, it seems likely that he left that project due to scheduling conflicts with Broken City. City is a nourish thriller about a Private Eye who becomes embroiled in a corruption case involving the city’s Mayor. Russell Crowe looks set to play the mayor and Allen Hughes, of The Hughes Brothers, will call the shots. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Bill Murray and Laura Linney have started shooting Hyde Park And Hudson. Murray will play Franklin D Roosevelt hosting the first visit to America by the King And Queen Of England. Olivia Williams will play Eleanor Roosevelt while Linney will play Franklin’s cousin Daisy. Venus director Roger Mitchell will call the shots on production in London and New York. 

Cary Fukunaga, the director behind Sin Nombre and the upcoming Jane Eyre, is set to direct, and re-write, the sci-fi thriller Spacless. The film sees an assassin floating through space in a space suit and must piece together his memory to help him understand how he got there, all before his air runs out. However, nothing is what it seems and he begins to question his own reality. Gore Verbinski will produce the film. Source – Heat Vision

Dark Castle have bought the rites to spec script Non-Stop. The thriller, which sees a US Marshall having to deal with events on a domestic flight, was written by un-signed writers John Richardson and Chris Roach. Joel Silver will produce with Never Back Down director Jeff Wadlow calling the shots. Source – Heat Vision.

Reese Witherspoon, one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading ladies, has joined Disney’s Wish List. The film will see a young girl make ten childhood wishes that don’t come true because her coin never hit the bottom of the wishing well. 25 years later she’s all grown up and that coin finds its way to the bottom only for Miss Witherspoon to have to deal with her younger self’s wishes all coming true at once. Randi Mayem Singer who originally wrote it for a male lead is now re-working it for Witherspoon. Source - Deadline Hollywood.

Cowboys And Aliens, the little green men did manage to beat the little blue men of The Smurfs at the US Box Office after all. The eventual figures shows Cowboys making $36.4 Million to Smurfs $35.6 Million. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Die Hard 5, it seems that yesterday’s news was pre-emptive as the franchise is heading to Russia but has not locked in a director yet. Max Payne director John Moore is in the running but so is Fast Five director Justin Lin and more surprisingly Attack The Block’s Joe Cornish. It is testament to the success of Cornish’s work on Block that can put him in the running for such a jump in potential film budgets. As an obvious movie aficionado we’re routing for Cornish on this one. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, has now passed the $1 Billion mark at the box-office. It is the first film in the franchise to do this. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

 

Monday 1^st August

Leonardo DiCaprio clearly has a thing for all things Western at the moment. Not enough to be in talks to play the villain in Quentin Taratino’s Django Unchained he is now considering a part in The Creed Of Violence. Based on the book by Boston Teran the film will see a gunslinger trying to take weapons to Mexico only to be caught and escorted by a government agent, who may share a past with him. DiCaprio could be tempted by either role with In The Bedroom director Todd Fields calling the shots. Source – The L.A. Times

Pablo Escobar, the famed Columbian drug lord, could be making his way to the big screen thanks to The Lincoln Lawyer Director Brad Furman. Fans of Entourage will know just how hard it is to make a film about Escobar who became so powerful in his native Columbia that the national army as well as the US DEA and CIA were hunting him. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Bruce Willis could be set to once again don the vest of John McClane but this time could see him team with his son and head to Russia. Reports are that John Moore, who directed Max Payne and Behind Enemy Lines, has been offered to direct this one. Source – Twitch

The Leaf Men is a story about a group of insects that need protection from the evil spider queen so summon the legendary Leaf Men to aid them in their battle. It all sounds very Bugs Life with a twist and this will indeed be an animated film from Robots and Ice Age director Chris Wedge. The film is being adapted from William Joyce’s children’s book The Leaf Men & The Brave Good Bugs. Source – Coming Soon

The Mighty graphic novel looks to be swooping its way to the big screen. Drew Pearce is adapting the story of an enforcer who learns that a super hero, Alpha One, is connected to a his own childhood tragedy and must stop the renegade from destroying the earth. Pearce is also working on the upcoming script for Iron Man 3. Source – Variety

Cameron Crowe has set 80s hearts a flutter by saying that he may re-visit the story of Say Anything. The film, which contained the iconic moment of John Cusack holding a boom-box above his head to woo his would-be girlfriend, saw Cusack as a charming yet underachieving high schooler trying to date the smartest girl in school. If he did go back to say anything it would be the first time Crowe has ever made a sequel. Source – The Wrap

US Box Office predictions for the weekend show a strange set of results. It looks like, and final figures will clarify this, Cowboys And Aliens some how tied the opening weekend box-office with none other than Smurfs The Movie. Time will tell if it is the little green men or little blue men that win out. Source - Empire

 

Friday, 29^th July

Olivia Wilde, The Tron Legacy star and soon to be seen in Cowboys And Aliens, is toying with the idea of playing infamous porn star Linda Lovelace in a biopic. She better be quick though as Malin Akerman is already playing the role in a competing film about Lovelace having replaced Lindsey Lohan. Source - Crave

Kevin Bacon, fresh off villain duties in X-Men; First Class, is primed to play another bad-guy in comic book adaptation R.I.P.D. The film sees Ryan Reynold’s recently deceased cop policing the spirit world. Jeff Bridges will play Reynold’s mentor while RED director Robert Schwentke will call the shots. Source – Variety

Willem Dafoe, is poised to join Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim. The film sees huge alien monsters destroying cities until giant, human piloted, robots are built to fight back. Dafoe would play a man who has unique knowledge of the beastly monsters. The cast is filling out nicely with Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi and now, former Eastenders actor Rob Kazinsky also dropping in. Kazinsky had been set to play a dwarf in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit but had to drop out. It now seems that Jackson recommended him to Del Toro for Pacific Rim. Source - Empire

Katherine Bigelow, the Oscar Winning director of The Hurt Locker, has been given the release date of her Seal Team 6 film. The story will follow the team of Navy Seals who were sent to assassinate Osama Bin Laden. Hurt Locker scribe Mark Boal is writing the film, which will be released in October 2012. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Antione Fuqua, the Training Day director, is slated to helm Storming Las Vegas. The true-life story sees a Cuban-born, Soviet- trained commando called Jose Vigoa who set out on a crime spree robbing casinos in the early 90s. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Rob Cohen, the man behind XXX and The Fast And The Furious, is gearing up to make Korean War epic 1950. Based on the New York Herald Tribune article by Marguerite Higgins, which would win her a Pulitzer Prize, the film will follow Higgins crossing Korea and witnessing 200,000 Koreans cross the boarder on Christmas Eve as they fled the Chinese and North Korean Army. Source – Coming Soon

 

Thursday, 28^th July

Danny Boyle, fresh off the back of 127 Hours is already at work on his new project Trance. The film already has James McAvoy starring and has now added Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassel to its ranks. McAvoy will play a man on the inside of an art heist gone wrong while Cassel will play the man looking to make sure he takes the fall. Source – Deadline Hollywood

JJ Abrams, hot off the back of the US success of Super 8, is now looking to the future, specifically the Star Trek 2 future. He is sitting down with Trek writing team of Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to hammer out story details. Currently Abrams has not fully committed to direct the film, like he did the first, but is almost certain to produce with most of the cast expected to return. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Simon Pegg is set to star in A Fantastic Fear Of Everything. Pegg will play a children’s author whose meticulous research into Victorian serial killers has left him terrified of being murdered. Former Kula Shaker front man Crispin Hill is directing the film and will mark the first out-put of the recently formed Pinewood Films.

Jackie Weaver, the Oscar nominated actress for her turn in Animal Kingdom, has signed on to join the cast of Stoker. The film already boasts the likes of Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode and Mia Wasikowska and will follow a young girl mourning the death of her father and having to deal with a mysterious uncle. Written by Prison Break’s Wentworth Miller, the film will mark the English language debut of Old Boy director Chan-wook Park. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

George Clooney’s latest directorial effort The Ides Of March has now got a flashy and smart looking poster featuring Clooney and co-star Ryan Gosling. The film sees Gosling as a Presidential candidate’s, played by Clooney, press spokesman. You can see the Poster and trailer below: Source – Coming Soon 

Click Below To View The Ides Of March Trailer

http://www.filmjuice.com/ides-of-march-the.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 27^th July

Kristen Stewart the star of Twilight, will not appear in her mother's (Jules Stewart), directorial debut K-11. It had been rumoured that Kristen would appear as a transgendered character but that has now been dispelled. The film will however see Kristen’s brother Cameron Stewart make his acting bow. Source – Variety

All Quiet On The Western Front is getting another film adaptation. The story, based on the book by Enrique Remarque, follows a young German solider while fighting in the trenches during World War I. Deep Impact and The Peacemaker director Mimi Leder will call the shots. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Ron Howard, having already overseen two of Dan Brown’s film adaptations in the form of Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, will not be directing the third film. Howard will instead produce The Lost Symbol while Sony now look for a new director. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Nicolas Cage and John Cusack will both star in The Frozen Ground. The film will tell the story of true life family man, played by Cusack, who, over the course of 12 years, flew 24 women out to Alaska to be hunted. Cage will play the State Trooper who helped track him down. The film will see Scott Walker make his directorial debut. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Jason Bateman is rumoured to be joining We’re The Millers. The film sees a drug dealer who decides to give up the game on his 30^th Birthday after one final score. The film is being directed by Dodgeball writer/director Rowan Marshall Thurber. Source – Pajiba

GI Joe 2 has recruited its Mouse, in the form of The Pacific’s Joe Mozzello. Mazzello is most famous for his role as the young Tim in Jurassic Park. He joins Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson and Adrianne Palicki in the Jon M. Chu directed Joe sequel. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Emma Stone, the hotly rising star of Easy A and soon to be Gwen Stacey in The Amazing Spider-Man, could join the already stellar cast of The Gangster Squad. The film follows a team of 1940 LAPD cops known as The Gangster Squad whose job it was keep corruption out of mafia investigations. The likes of Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Giovanni Ribisi and Anthony Mackie are already aboard. Source – Variety

Joan Allen and Albert Finney are both returning to the Bourne Franchise in its new Jeremy Renner starring guise. Allen played the cold-hearted Angela Lansbury in the original films while Finney cropped up at the end of the series as a mysterious doctor. Source – Variety

Jeffery Katzenberg, the head of Dream Works Animation, is standing by the use of 3D but has said that given the current financial climate the studio will release their films in 2D to offer filmgoers a cheaper alternative. Katzenberg had previously been a keen supporter for distributors to up their ticket prices for 3D films. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 

Tuesday, 26^th July

Bonnie & Clyde look to be back on the Hollywood radar with Limitless Director Neil Burger set to call the shots. The film will be based on the book Go Down Together; The True, Untold Story of Bonnie And Clyde by Jeff Guinn. Guinn’s book paints a more gritty picture than the original Bonnie & Clyde. Such matters as Bonnie being a prostitute and Clyde being sexually abused in prison will make this less of a glorified telling of the infamous criminals. At present Burger’s name is only loosely attached as he is currently prepping video-game adaptation Uncharted; Drake’s Fortune. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

The Hangover director Todd Phillips has acquired the rights to a Rolling Stone Magazine article titled Arms & Dudes. Written by Guy Lawson the article tells the story of two men from Miami who found themselves as global arms dealers. Phillips will produce and may direct after his huge success on both Hangover films and Due Date. Source – Coming Soon

The Nutcracker is once again being tipped to shine on the big-screen in the second of two planned live-action versions. Universal is going toe-to-toe with New Line who have their own version in the works. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes writers John Mann and Jon Gunn are scribing this one. The story sees a girl given a magical nutcracker for Christmas only to be thrown into a war with the Mouse King. Source – Heat Vision

Liev Schreiber has joined PJ Hogan’s Mental. He’ll likely play a seedy politician that hires a hitchhiker called Shaz, played by Toni Collette, to babysit his children after his wife is committed due to his numerous affairs. Source – Empire

Rawson Thurber (We can’t express how cool that name is), the writer of Dodgeball, will adapt the graphic novel The Umbrella Academy. The comic, written by Gerard Way (lead singer of My Chemical Romance) sees an alienated family of super heroes come together after the death of the father. Source - Deadline Hollywood.

Wolf Creek, the brilliantly scary Aussie horror film could be set for a sequel. Writer Director Greg McLean is keeping plot details under wraps but insists that it’s bigger badder and scarier than the first film. Source – Screendaily.

Spider-Man's Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone gave a rousing speech at The San Diego Comic-Con to introduce The Amazing Spider-Man Panel. See below. Source - YouTube 

 

Monday, 25^th July

Zac Effron is set to star in a comedy opposite Seth Rogen. Effron, who has been trying to establish himself as a star outside of the High School Musical franchise, will play a Frat boy opposite Rogen’s everyday man. Evan Goldberg, Rogen’s regular producing partner, is helping put the project together. Effron will next be seen in New Year’s Eve, the pseudo follow-up to Valentine’s Day starring Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Hilary Swank. Source – The Hollywood Reporter

Harrison Ford obviously enjoyed playing a cowboy in upcoming Cowboys & Aliens as he is now attached to play the most famous lawmen of the Wild West; Wyatt Earp. While at Comic-Con, promoting Cowboys & Aliens, it was revealed that Ford has signed up to star in Black Hats. The film is being adapted from the novel by Max Allan Collins and will see an aging Wyatt Earp facing an ever changing world. Source – Heat Vision 

Nicolas Cage told the panel at Comic-Con that Ghost Rider; Spirit Of Vengeance will be considerably more scary than the last film. He says he wants to explore the horror of the character rather than the mythology.  Source – Heat Vision

Captain Amercia knocked Harry Potter off his broom at the US Box Office this weekend. The Star Spangled one looks to be the biggest super hero movie opening of the year with estimated $65.8 Million. Harry Potter won’t be too sad as he still managed to conjure up a healthy $48 Million over the weekend. Source – Empire

Last Blood the graphic novel, by The Cosby Siblings, which sees Vampires protecting the last surviving humans after a zombie apocalypse, to maintain their food supply, will be directed by Mutant Chronicles director Simon Hunter. Source – Heat Vision

Francis Ford Coppola, not really one to normally be seen at Comic-Con was there this year and to huge admiration from the on looking crowd. Coppola was there promoting his latest film Twixt which sees Val Kilmer as a horror author on a book tour. He ends up in the mysterious town of Swann Valley only to find all manner of horrors including Vampire executions and a young girl, played by Elle Fanning, called V. Perhaps more importantly though he talked about the current state of cinema and how too many studios are using 3D as a plaster to solve bigger issues with their projects. Source - Empire

 

Friday, 22^nd July

Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, his long awaited follow-up/tie-in/prequel to Alien has shed some light on the project at this years Comic-Con. The film which boasts the impressive cast of; Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Idris Elba is not out for another year but Fox are anxious to start temping audiences now. It seems that there is a definite presence of Alien iconography in the film and that having shot in 3D Scott will never shoot on anything else. We wait with baited chest-burster. Source – Heat Vision

Superman has obviously had a bout of the Kryptonites as he won’t be soaring across our screens now until 2013. It seems that release schedules and the overall summer feel of the film would be better suited to a Summer 2013 release rather than the planned winter 2012. Source - Deadline Hollywood

Warner Brothers have snapped up the rights to Deborah Harkness’ novel A Discovery Of Witches. The book sees an Oxford Historian learn that she is part of a long line of witches and must protect an ancient manuscript from demons and vampires. Source - Heat Vision

Voltron the classic animation from the 1980s could be heading to the big-screen in a live action film thanks to Relativity Media. They’ve bought the rights to the property which sees five young warriors given access to robot lions that can bond to form the all powerful Voltron. With the success of the Transformers and with a distinctly Power Rangers like feel who knows how big Voltron could become. Source - Coming Soon 

Annette Bening will star alongside Bridesmaid’s Kristin Wigg in Imogene. Wigg will play the title role of a struggling playwright who fakes her own death, Bening will play her alcoholic mother. The film is something of a pet project for Wigg who has been trying to get it made for some time. American Splendor directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini will oversee proceedings.  Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Oscar Isaac, last seen grappling with scantily girls in Sucker Punch, will take a role in the Bourne re-boot. He’ll play a brain-washed spy hot on the trail of Jeremy Renner’s hero. The film will also star Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton. – Source Deadline Hollywood.

 

Thursday, 21^st July

Escape From New York fans can either breath a sigh of relief or shed a tear of nostalgia as it looks like the planned re-make/re-boot is a step further away from happening. New Line, who were planning the new film, have allowed the rights to lapse therefore leaving it up for grabs, but also putting it further back down the production pecking order. With Kurt Russell getting on a bit to reprise the role of anti-hero Snake Pliskin names such as Gerard Butler, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hardy had all been touted as possible replacements. Source – Deadline Hollywood

Hilary Swank will star in and produce an adaptation of graphic novel Shrapnel. Swank will play the lead role of a Solar Alliance Marine who leads un uprising against the solar government on the planet Venus. Source – Variety

James McTeigue, who directed V For Vendetta, is lining up to direct Message From The King. The film will see a man called James King go to LA to investigate the disappearance of his sister.  The script has been written by Unknown scribes Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwall. Source – Deadline Hollywood

 Jennifer Lawrence not content with being the best thing in every film she’s been in thus far, not to mention nabbing the lead role in The Hunger Games franchise, is now rumoured to be the hot favourite to be cast in David O’Russell’s The Silver Linings Playbook. The film will centre on a former high school teacher, played by Mark Walhberg, after he is released from a mental institution. Desperate to get his life back on track he tries to win his wife back but becomes involved with his problematic neighbour. Lawrence is likely to fill that role having beaten off strong competition in the form of Blake Lively, Anne Hathaway and Rachel McAdams. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

The Cabin In The Woods has been through a fairly horrific time since it wrapped. Caught up in MGM’s financial worries the film has been gathering dust. It now seems we may finally get to see it with Lionsgate coming to the rescue. They will look to release the film in April of next year quite some time after its initial slated release date of 2009. The film was written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon and Cloverfield writer Drew Goddard, who also directed Cabin. Cabin boasts an impressive cast that includes Thor’s Chris Hemsworth, The West Wing’s Bradley Witford and the always brilliant Richard Jenkins. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

 

Wednesday, 20^th July

The Lone Ranger looks like he has found his villain in the form of Dwight Yoakam. No stranger to playing villains having played a fairly unscrupulous character in Panic Room, Yoakam will play Butch Cavendish opposite Armie Hammer’s Ranger and Johnny Depp’s Tonto. Director Gore Verbinski is also looking to add Helena Bonham Carter and Barry Pepper to the cast. Source – Coming Soon

Warner Bros have picked up the rights to a spec script called Second Son. Little is known about the script other than it is a Sci-Fi written by newcomer Justin Rhodes. Source – Heat Vision.

Ben Stiller is now rumoured to be directing as well as starring in Fox’s The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty remake. Stiller had already been onboard in an acting role but is now slated to direct as well. The film will follow Mitty (Stiller) as he tries to deal with his dominating wife by slipping into various fantasies. Source – Coming Soon

Liam Neeson action adventure The Grey has found distribution in the US by Open Road. The film, directed by Smoking Aces helmer Joe Carnahan, sees a group of oil riggers, lead by Neeson, stranded in Alaska and being hunted by a pack of wolves. Source – Deadline Hollywood 

Shia LaBeouf has signed on to star in Robert Redford’s latest The Company You Keep. Written by The Limey’s Lem Dobbs, the film will see Redford playing a former patriotic terrorist who has gone into hiding. That is until LaBeouf’s reporter tracks him down and forces him to go on the run from the FBI who have been looking for him for 30 years. Source - Empire

Spartacus looks like he’s getting another shot at the big screen thanks to producer Graham King and 300 writer Michael B Gordon. The latest film will stick closer to the history of the slave who lead an army against Rome. Source – Empire

Tuesday, 19^th July

Kevin Costner is set to join Quentin Taratino’s already impressive cast for his Spagehtti Wester homage Django Unchained. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christopher Waltz and Samuel L Jackson already on board Django is shaping up to be one of Taratino’s most impressive casts to date. Costner will play Ace Woody, a slave fighter and pimp to local prostitutes, gone are the days when Costner was all wholesome, although he will also be seen as Superman’s earthbound father in Zack Synder’s Man of Steel. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

The Dark Tower looks like it’s falling down. Universal Studios has pulled out of Ron Howard’s plans to adapt all 7 of Stephen King’s epic novels. Howard and producer Brian Grazer had hoped to make 3 films and 2 TV series of the books and had even gone so far as to cast Javier Bardem as Roland Deschain The Gunslinger. They will now look to shop it round other potential studios and investors. Source – Deadline Hollywood.

Emma Watson is clearly not someone who lets the grass grow under her feet. On the back of Harry Potter ending, finishing her degree and starring in two films later this year (My Week With Marylyn and The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) it now seems she attached to another film in a Beauty & The Beast re-telling. To make matters even more impressive it seems that none other than Guillermo Del Toro will direct the film. Source – Coming Soon

Dennis Quaid is the latest star to join what is fast becoming an ensemble cast to rival Love Actually or Valentines Day for What To Expect When You’re Expecting. Others involved as Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Chace Crawford, Chris Rock and Matthew Morrison. Source – Coming Soon

Uncharted The video game adaptaion may have lost David O Russell as director but it has gained Limitless director Neil Burger who insists that this will be a very cinematic adventure. As the Bourne Franchise updated the story for a modern audience, taking it out of it’s Cold War setting, so Burger hopes Uncharted can re-boot the adventure genre with something new and original. He also denied that, at the moment, there is any truth to Nathan Fillion taking the role of Drake as the film is still some way off casting.  Source – Crave Online.

Monday, 18th July

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 achieves the biggest global weekend opening in cinematic history. The film grossed an estimated $475.5 Million world wide over the weekend. The previous record holder, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, will have a chance to take back the crown when the final instalment of that franchise bows next summer.  Source - Deadline Hollywood. 

Bond 23 is rumoured to have added Rhys Ifans to its ever growing cast. Ifans, who has played a sort of villain opposite Daniel Craig before in Enduring Love, has been cast in an unspecified role. However, with Javier Bardem rumoured to be playing the villian of the film it is unlikely that Ifans would be Bond's nemesis. Having just rapped as The Lizard, in The Amazing Spiderman, could it be that Ifans is continuing the scientist trend and is on board Bond as the new Q? Source - The Telegraph 

Tom Cruise is now confirmed to play Jack Reacher in Paramount's adaptation of Lee Child's One Shot. Fans of the book wil be surprised by Cruise's casting as the book describes Reacher as 6"5 and weighing in at around 250 Pounds. Suffice to say Tom Cruise is neither of those things but has proved over the years is he more than capable of shouldering an action franchise. Furthermore, One Shot will be directed by The Usual Suspects writer and director of the much underrated Way Of The Gun, Christopher McQuarrie. Source - Deadline Hollywood. 

Warner Brothers have been trying to juggle a couple of thier favourite new directors Noam Murro (Smart People) and Jaum Collet-Serra (Unknown) with various projects. It now seems that Serra will helm the much anticipated live-action film of Akira while Murro will look to 300 Spin-off 300; Battle Of Artemisia. Although Murro's CV looks sparse, with only Smart People to his name so far, he is clearly highly regarded and his also attached to Die Hard 5, if it ever goes ahead. Source - Heat Vision

Glee's Matthew Morrison joins the ever growing cast of What to Expect When You're Expecting. The film is an adaptation of the best selling guide book for those expecting a little bundle of joy. The cast already boasts; Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Chace Crawford and Chris Rock.  Source - Deadline Hollywood.