Note: I fell behind a bit the past few days, so here’s a massive roundup to get reasonably caught up.
Boo-U
Dreamworks Animation is pushing forward with their “super secret ghost project“, competing for a fourth-quarter 2012 release slot. Referred to internally as Boo U., the story centers on a ghost who is bad at his job and must return to ghost school. The film recently picked up writer Jon Vitti (The Simpsons Movie). It’s kinda sad, because this is a project that would inspire all sorts of possibilities if it were being made at Pixar. Another ghost-centric film, referred to as Freakers, is being written by Joe Syracuse & Lisa Addario (Surf’s Up) centers on a ghost story told from the ghosts’ point of view, in their world. [Source: THR]
Bounty Hunter
Jason Sudeikis (SNL, 30 Rock) has been cast in the Columbia comedy opposite Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. The movie centers on Milo (Butler), a bounty hunter hired to track down his ex-wife, Casidy (Aniston), who has skipped out on bail. Sudeikis will play Stewart, a work friend of Casidy’s who falsely believes he is her boyfriend and takes off after her when she goes on the run. Andy Tennant (Fool’s Gold) directs from a script by Sarah Thorp (Twisted). [Source: THR]
Bride Of Frankenstein
Neil Burger (The Illusionist) is in talks to resurrect the Bride Of Frankenstein for Universal. Burger would pen the script with writing partner Dirk Wittenborn. The sequel continued the story of Frankenstein’s monster who persuades Dr. Frankenstein to create a mate. The doctor is successful, but the Bride (who is not a central character) winds up rejecting the monster at the end of the movie. About five years ago, American Splendor scribes Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini were attached to write, setting the picture in contemporary New York, with a young woman dying and then unnaturally brought back to life. Burger’s version is expected to differ significantly from that concept. [Source: Risky Biz Blog]
The Experiment
Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Elijah Wood and Cam Gigandet will star in a remake of the German psychological thriller Das Experiment. The original centered centered on a group of ordinary men recruited to take on the roles of guards and prisoners as part of a research study and examined how the effects of assigned roles, power and control affected the participants. Brody will portray the de facto leader of the prisoners while Whitaker will play a guard who’s corrupted by the power he’s given. Prison Break creator Paul Scheuring writing and directing with filming set to begin in Iowa next month. [Source: Variety]
Footloose
Dancing With the Stars‘ Julianne Hough will be make the transition to acting in the upcoming remake of Paramount’s 1984 classic. The dancer, singer and choreographer will join Chace Crawford (who recently replaced Zac Efron), assuming her scheduling works for the March shoot. The original told the story of a rebellious outsider who moves to a new town where music and dancing are banned and proceeds to shake everything up. Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) directs, while the latest draft was written by Susannah Grant (The Soloist). [Source: THR]
Inception
Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi feature has officially begun shooting in Tokyo. The film which stars Leonard DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt among others has a rumored budget of $150+ million. The story, which is being extremely quiet, is “a sci-fi thriller set within the architecture of the mind.” [Source: /Film]
The Invisible Man
David Goyer updated ShockTilYouDrop on the status of his version of the HG Wells classic. “I’ve since finished a draft and I’m in the midst of revisions for it right now,” he says. “Universal seems pretty high on it. So, they’re just breathing down my neck to get the revisions done. It’s a movie they’d like to make.” Universal also has The Wolfman coming to theaters this November, so the success of these two movies will most likely influence whether other classic monster franchies are revived. [Source: ShockTilYouDrop]
Just Wright
Rapper-turned-actor Common (Smokin Aces, Terminator: Salvation) has been cast opposite Queen Latifah in a romantic sports comedy directed by Sanaa Hamri. Scripted by Michael Elliott, film concerns a sports trainer who finds herself falling in love with a professional basketball player while rehabilitating him from a career-threatening injury. Paula Patton (Deja Vu, Precious) was also recently cast. [Source: Variety]
The Last Song
Greg Kinnear and Kelly Preston have been cast as Miley Cyrus’ parents in Disney’s adaptation of the upcoming Nicholas Sparks novel. The story centers on a rebellious teenager (Cyrus) who is forced to spend the summer with her estranged father (Kinnear), a former Juilliard professor and concert pianist. [Source: THR]
Money Never Sleeps
British actress Carey Mulligan (Pride & Prejudice) has been cast as Gordon Gecko’s daughter, Winnie, in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street sequel. Winnie Gecko is the fiancee of Jacob (Shia LaBeouf), and hasn’t spoken to her father Gordon in 11 years while he was away in prison since she blames her father for the suicide of her brother Rudy. Taking place 21 years after the events in Wall Street and set in the world of hedge fund managers around election time, Gordon Gecko agrees to help Jacob get his revenge against a hedge fund manager as long as Jacob helps restore and mend Gordon’s relationship with Winnie. Winnie works for a senator in Washington, DC. [Source: Latino Review]
Once Upon A Time…
Mike Mitchell (Shrek Forever After) is set to direct MGM’s live-action fantasy, based on a script Charlie Vignola, Kevin Marcus and Bradley Marcus. The story has Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty married to their handsome princes, the Charming brothers, and planning to live happily ever after — only to see their spouses go missing. The sisters-in-law set out to save their husbands and the fairy tale kingdom. An MGM rep said the studio does not have to license Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty from the Walt Disney Co. because the characters are in the public domain. [Source: Variety]
Teen Wolf
A remake of Michael J. Fox starrer Teen Wolf is in early development, because apparently Hollywood has given up and we should all get used to this. Warner Bros snagged the rights five or six years ago and are currently out to writers, looking for a fresh reinterpretation of Rod Daniels’ 1985 hit. The studio isn’t sure ”which way they’re going to go.” [Source: Moviehole]
The Secret History Of Tom Trueheart
Framelight Productions and David Uslan set to produce and adapt the children’s book trilogy into a series of feature films. The series follows a young boy and his older brothers in the Land of Stories. Production on a first live-action pic, based on the 2007 book, is aimed for a mid-2010 start on a planned $60 million budget. Framelight’s Jeffrey D. Erb and Robert L. Robinson Jr. will join Uslan in producing the film, with the series’ British author, Ian Beck, on board as exec producer. A screenwriter will be hired shortly. [Source: THR]
Tron 2
A pretty intensive, spoiler-filled early script review for Tron 2 has gone up over at CC2K. [Source: CC2K]
Trophy Boys
Josh Sugarman is setting eye on a group of young writers as a way of examining Generation Y in the narrative film as his feature directorial debut that has begun shooting in New York. Ryan Eggold (90210) plays a self-righteous twentysomething, with David Gallagher (7th Heaven) playing a friend who collaborates with him on a script. Tahyna Tozzi (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) plays a love interest for both. The film’s title describes members of a generation, coddled by their parents, that grow up with an overestimated sense of self-worth. Sugarman co-wrote the screenplay with Brandon Yankowitz. [Source: THR]
Unbreakable 2
M. Night Shyamalan is apparently still keen on doing a sequel to Unbreakable. “I don’t know where all the parties are in the world. Sam [Jackson] is like ‘Mr. Comic Book’ now. And Bruce, I don’t know what he’s up to. I don’t know where Disney’s at in their head and what kind of movies they’re up for making. But yeah, I love that movie.” Would Disney ever want to work with Shyamalan again after that entire Lady In The Water fiasco? [Source: MTV]
Untitled Facebook Status Project
Lisa Hamilton Day, a former exec at Dreamworks and friend of Christy Fletcher’s, wryly posted last week: “Lisa Hamilton Day’s Pomeranian raided Chinese takeout bag overnight, opened and ate a fortune cookie. Her fortune: You have strong spiritual powers, and you should develop them.” Fletcher, who runs a New York lit agency was thoroughly amused by the comment and immediately saw a story in it. Now Fletcher’s teamed up with Howie Sanders on a tween series about Charlotte, the Pomeranian, who uses her newfound superpowers to save her owner’s home after said owner loses her job and is forced to contemplate moving in with her folks, in a deal that would entail selling the Facebook update and optioning the dog’s life rights. Sigh. Seriously, I didn’t even make that up. [Source: Dark Horizons]
Wanted 2
Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Day Watch) is ready to start prep on a sequel to the Mark Millar adaptation. “In July we will start preparation for the film. I think in the late autumn or winter shooting will be performed, in America, India, and Russia,” Mr. Bekmambetov said to RIA Novosti. The film promises to bring back Angelina Jolie’s character, who was victim to the most awesome homicide/suicide ever filmed, aswell as introducing new characters. [Source: RIC]
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Cinemafique 