'Tar Still Has "Edge"

Avatar wins again! Putting the kibosh on the return of Mel Gibson to theaters in Edge of Darkness...





Andrew Stewart of Variety:

Entering its seventh frame at the domestic box office, 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" again proved its staying power, taking in an estimated $30 million. James Cameron's pic easily surpassed the No. 2 film, Warner Bros.' Mel Gibson starrer "Edge of Darkness," which opened with $17.1 million.

"Avatar's" domestic intake has reached $594.5 million, combined with $1.45 billion internationally, for a worldwide cume that has passed the $2 billion mark.

Last weekend, the film passed "Titanic" in foreign revenues. "Avatar" became the all-time highest grosser worldwide as of Jan. 25, leaving only the domestic figure to beat. Cameron's 3D phenom still remains just a few strokes behind the $600.8 million domestic benchmark set by "Titanic" in 1998, but given last week's daily average of $3.18 million, Fox said the pic should beat "Titanic" some time midweek.

Disney saw a solid opening for its first release of the year, romantic comedy "When in Rome," which took an estimated $12 million at 2,456 locations for a per-screen average of $4,912. Launch saw a 20% uptick from Friday to Saturday with an aud heavily populated by couples, totaling 61%, with only a slight variation among different age groups; auds 18-25 ranked highest with 24%.

CBS Films' "Extraordinary Measures" failed to gain traction after a disappointing bow last weekend. Pic earned a meager $2.6 million at 2,549 screens in its soph sesh, dropping 57% from a $6 million launch.

"The Lovely Bones" continues to perform solidly for Paramount after opening in a lukewarm limited release, grossing an estimated $4.7 million at 2,638 locations behind Sony's "Legion," which earned $6.8 million at 2,476. "Legion," starring Paul Bettnay, fell 61% in its soph sesh after launching in the No. 2 spot last weekend with $17.5 million.

Both Fox and Warner were repped with three films in the top 10, including "Avatar" and "Darkness," respectively.

In its soph sesh, Fox's Dwayne Johnson starrer "Tooth Fairy" dropped 29%, earning $10 million at 3,345 to claim the No. 4 spot, followed by Warner's "Book of Eli" with $8.8 million from 3,075 in its third frame.

"Sherlock Holmes," "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" and "It's Complicated" rounded out the top 10. Holdover "Holmes" performed well for Warner with an estimated weekend gross of $4.5 million and a cume just shy of the $200 million mark, while Fox's "Squeakquel" earned $4 million for an overall $209.3 million.

"Darkness," about a Boston police officer who discovers a corporate cover-up after investigating the death of his daughter, drew a surprising 47% female viewership. The R-rated Mel Gibson starrer scored a B+ CinemaScore rating in exit polls.

"You would assume that Mel would now have an older audience," said Warner Bros. prexy of domestic distribution Dan Fellman. "But I think the audience was not only older, but broader."

Despite widespread appeal for "Darkness," moviegoers still flocked to "Avatar," which slipped a mere 14% from last weekend.

Pic screened at 3,074 locations for a per-screen average of $9,759. Imax totals accounted for 21% of its overall domestic intake on 179 screens with $6 million.

Fox senior VP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said of the pic's reign at the top of the charts, "Like everything else about this movie, it defies all speculation. I do believe there are still a lot of people who haven't seen the film yet." [like me.]

"Avatar" is expected to dominate the technical categories at the Oscar noms Tuesday and is likely to see noms for picture and director as well.

The big question this year is to what degree the 10 noms for best picture will affect the box office, especially with so many potential nominees already released on DVD, including "The Hurt Locker" and "Inglourious Basterds."

Fox Searchlight continues to position Jeff Bridges starrer "Crazy Heart" with kudos publicity in mind. Bridges has already been tapped for lead actor trophies at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Pic earned $2.5 million in its seventh frame at 239 theaters for a per-screen average of $9,414.

Searchlight plans to expand "Crazy Heart" to some 800 theaters next weekend.

Sony Pictures Classics' "The Last Station," which has Oscar hopes for stars Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, continues to perform well in limited release. Pic scored the highest screen average of $10,099, after being bested by "Crazy Heart" last weekend. "Station" earned $90,892 at nine locations....

Nicole Sperling of EW:

Blockbuster adds $30M to tally, will soon top $600M in U.S. earnings; ''Edge of Darkness'' at No. 2 ($17.1M)

Next Up:

John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers send their best From Paris With Love; Read the Dear John letters...

Winning Winter

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival closed out with book turned flick "Winter's Bone" taking home both the Grand Jury Prize and top screenwriting awards.



The film tells the story of a Missouri mountain girl who searches for her meth-dealing father in the Ozarks while caring for her family

Actor Mark Ruffalo stepped behind the camera to direct and star in Sympathy for Delicious, the story of a paralysed DJ with the power to heal others but not himself - earning Ruffalo a special jury prize for his efforts.

Another big winner was Happythankyoumoreplease, written and directed actor Josh Radnor, who also takes a lead role in the film. The movie garnered the audience award for favorite U.S. drama.

The Complete Winners List...

Scream 4 Joy

Writer Kevin Williamson updates the status of Scream 4--also saying that the horror sequel won't film in 3-D.! Amen Brother!

“I don't think Scream lends itself to a 3-D film”, Williamson tells IESB. “3-D films are all about things being thrown at you. One of the things that Scream does is that it talks about those movies and sends them up, so actually putting in that device probably wouldn't work. I don't think it's an option. We're the movie that makes fun of it. I can imagine Stab being done in 3-D, but not Scream”.

Finally someone with some sense in the industry...

On star Neve Campbell's critical franchise return:

“I was always holding out hope because the pitch was about those three characters. I didn't want to have to re-route the whole story. We don't have to do that. I can do it exactly the way I want wanted. The story is going to be told the way I originally conceived it.’’



Williamson believes what works about the “Scream” films as opposed to the Saw films is you care about the characters:

‘’The fun of the film is that it's Sydney Prescott. That's the difference and you care about her. I want to write a story where you actually care about our characters and it's a plot that you watch them walk through. It's not all about the next kill. It's not all about slice and dice. I was watching Saw VI on Pay Per View the other night and I was like, "This is really just going from one kill to the next, to the next." It's fun, but I want to tell a story.’’

When asked if Wes Craven is going to indeed return to direct he replied, "Oh, Wes is going to do it."

The sequel reuniting Kevin with Craven Campbell Courteney Cox and David Arquette begins production in April just as Williamson's TV show The Vampire Diaries wraps on its first season.

New Dance Moves

Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams are set to star in the romantic drama "Take This Waltz" says Deadline Hollywood.



The story follows a young woman (Williams) who struggles with her infidelities and the budding realization that she may be addicted to the honeymoon period of her relationships.

Actress/filmaker Sarah Polley (Oscar nominated for 2006's Away From Her) wrote the Black Listed screenplay and is set to direct the film.

Usual funny man Rogen in a more serious role...? Will his fans follow?

Filming kicks off this July in Toronto.

Well Wishers

Guy Pearce and Mary-Louise Parker will star in the psychological thriller "The Well" reports Variety.



The story revolves around a well-to-do Manhattan couple whose obsessive pursuit of salvation ultimately leads to destruction.

Tim Guinee's penned the script and makes his feature directorial debut on the project.

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and Emily Ziff will ptoduce rhe pic.

Hoffman was instrumental in the production when he received the script from Guinee, which prompted the actor bring the project to his own production company.

“For us, the relationship with the artist is key; we strive to be a company with whom filmmakers feel inspired and supported while working,” Ziff said.

Scary Stay

The House of the Devil director Ti West will helm "The Inkeepers" says Variety.

The scary tale will revolve around two hotel employees trying to keep their haunted establishment afloat.

Larry Fessenden wrote the screenplay.

West also did Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. Meaning that this new pic could go either way in terms if quality.

Shooting kicks off in Connecticut later this spring

Birthday Suits In 3-D...!!??

Are you ready for pornography in 3-D?



76-year-old Italian erotic film director Tinto Brass is planning what he calls the world's first pornographic production shot in the now popular format says The Hollywood Reporter.

Brass thinks the time is right for 3-D technologies to be used to create an erotic film which will also be the first 3-D film of any type made in Italy.Right now a few select adult websites offer 3-D porn, but using the old fashioned red/blue glyph technology rather than the modern 3D stereoscopic version.

He plans to "revisit an abandoned project about a Roman emperor that was ruined by Americans, and go from there."

Casting and writing of the script is already underway with filming to kick off in May or June.

Brass is most famous for 1979's "Caligula", the controversial Gore Vidal-written all-star film version of the life of the insane Roman emperor.

The project caused an uproar when adult content producer and magazine publisher Bob Guccione took the project out of Brass' hands and inserted scenes of hardcore pornography into the action without Brass' consent.

Greed Makes A Comeback

The first trailer for Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps has been deposited on the Net...

The April 23rd sequel picks up with the release of a seemingly reformed Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). Now looking to repair his damaged relationship with his daughter (Carey Mulligan), Gekko forms an alliance with her fiance Jacob (Shia Labeouf) only for the younger man to discover that Gekko - still a master manipulator and player.

Josh Brolin, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella co-star...



Douglas seems to have had no problem slipping back into Gekko mode...

Shift & Shuffle

The suits over at Universal Pictures have augmented its 2010 film release schedule says The Hollywood Reporter.

Little Fockers, the 3rd "Meet the Parents" film has been pushed back from a July 30th release to a December 22nd bow to cash in as the only big studio comedy scheduled for the holiday break.



The previous sequel, "Meet the Fockers", opened the same December weekend in 2004 and made $279.3 million in the US alone

The Matt Damon thriller "The Adjustment Bureau has been set to take the old Focker slot.


The studio also announced that Edgar Wright s adventure fantasy "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" will hit theaters on August 13th.. The film will go head to head with Sylvester Stallone's testosterone fueled-action flick The Expendables and Julia Roberts' pic Eat, Pray, Love

'Tar Edged Out?

This weekend 2 new wide releases try to take on new all time box office champ Avatar...

Kristen Bell looks for love When In Rome (reviews)... Is Josh Duhamel the One?; Mel Gibson peers over the Edge of Darkness (reviews) as he returns to the action genre...





Andrew Stewart of Variety:

Mel Gibson returns to the domestic B.O. this weekend after an eight-year hiatus in front of the camera to topline Warner Bros.' action/thriller "Edge of Darkness," opening wide at 3,066 screens, while Disney rolls out its first release of the year, "When in Rome."

Both films will have to compete with 20th Century Fox's 3D juggernaut "Avatar" as it enters its seventh frame with an overall domestic haul of $561.3 million as of Wednesday.

"Avatar" already made history last weekend on the international front, sailing past "Titanic" to become the highest grossing film ever overseas with $1.29 billion and only needs $39.5 million more to overtake "Titanic's" $600.8 million domestic intake.

At the specialty B.O., Fox Searchlight continues its steady rollout of "Crazy Heart," adding 146 screens in its seventh frame. Pic scored the highest per-screen average last weekend with $14,551 at 93 locations.

Sony's holdover "Legion" enters its soph sesh at 2,476 after launching in the No. 2 spot with $17.5 million, while CBS Films will look to improve on a disappointing launch of $6 million for inaugural pic "Extraordinary Measures," starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser.

Other notable holdovers include Warner's "Book of Eli" and "Sherlock Holmes." "Eli" enters its third frame with a cume of $64.5 million, while "Sherlock" is in its sixth frame with $192.6 million.

"Darkness," produced and financed by GK Films, rounds out a busy frame for Warner.

In the film, Gibson plays a Boston homicide detective who, after the death of his activist daughter, discovers a corporate cover up.

Gibson's most recent star turns were in 2002 for M. Night Shyamalan's thriller/horror "Signs," which bowed to an impressive $60.1 million, and the contemporary war drama, "We Were Soldiers," with $20.2 million.

During his absence from acting, Gibson directed "The Passion of the Christ," which earned $370.3 million to become the third-highest grossing film in 2004.

Still, to what degree auds will still turn out to see him onscreen is hard to predict. Warners said tracking for R-rated "Darkness" is strongest among older males.

Disney's romantic comedy "When in Rome," starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel, reps the frame's other wide release, opening at 2,456 screens.

Mouse House last released traditional hand-drawn toon "The Princess and the Frog," which has earned $99.2 million.

Searchlight hopes that Oscar noms Tuesday can help keep "Crazy Heart" in the public eye, and will expand to 739 locations that week....

Reviews for Rome and Darkness are mixed at best...Tar could just hold on to #1 yet again...

Road Players

British actor Nicholas Hoult (About A Boy A Single Man) has joined the cast of “Mad Max 4: Fury Road" says The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie is set a short while after the events seen in 1985’s “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” which keeps Mad Max, the character originated by Mel Gibson, relatively young.

Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy (Bronson, Star Trek: Nemesis, RocknRolla) star in the film..

Singer/actress Zoë Kravitz Australian actress Adelaide Clemens and the previously-leaked (by actor Jay Baruchel) Teresa Palmer are also in talks to join the sequel.

Hoult will play Nux, Kravitz plays Five Wives, and Palmer and Clemens are folks in a convoy being chased by bad guys.

Hoult is certainly a rising star--Hard to think of him as the same kid from About A Boy...

George Miller (Mad Max, Happy Feet) will direct the actioner.

Filming kicks off in Australia later this year..

Poop Scooper

The parenting guide Eat Sleep Poop, is being turned into a film says The Hollywood Reporter.



Matt Allen & Caleb Wilson will pen the script as a comedy.

Beverly Hills Pediatrics Dr. Scott W Cohen wrote the common sense guide for parents with newborns, and follows his experiences raising his own child which defied much of what he learned in medical school.

Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald will produce the pic.

In From The Cold

Mel Gibson is in negotiations to star in the spy thriller Cold Warrior reports THR.



The story follows a Cold War spy (Gibson) who comes out of retirement to confront a domestic terrorism threat from Russia by joining with a younger agent.

Chuck Mondry wrote the script.

This would reunite Gibson with "Lethal Weapon" writer Shane Black, who is set to call action

Michelle Manning, David Greenblatt and Anthony Bagarozzi are producing the pic.

Gibson on the comeback trail--back in theaters this weekend in Edge of Darkness-- begins shooting the independent action drama "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," based on a screenplay he wrote in March

Miramax 1979-2010

After thirty-one years of operation, the New York and Los Angeles offices of arthouse movie distributor Miramax Films closes their doors today - reports The Wrap.

This has been inevitable since Disney took over from founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein and given the pair's departure years ago.

In recent years the Mouse House has shrunk the company more and more. With Rich Ross taking over at Disney late last year, the last remnants of the once powerhouse mini-major have been swept away in the name of strengthening the Disney brand in the coming digital future.

Recently the Weinstein boys have tried to buy the name of their former company back, but Disney has not responded.

Disney chief suit Robert A. Iger has generally made it known he'd be willing to sell Miramax outright for around $1.5 billion - a price tag quite steep given the economy.

The release fate of the six completed projects the studio has sitting on a shelf is unknown...

Cyrus & Moore OMG!

Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore are in talks to team on the English-language remake of the French comedy hit LOL (Laughing Out Loud) ® reports Variety.



The story follows a 15-year-old girl when dumped by her more sexually experienced boyfriend, sets her sights on his best friend. At the same time, her 40-year-old divorcee mother is struggling to move on with her life.

Sophie Marceau and Christa Theret starred as the Mom/Daughter in the original.

The original film's writer/director Lisa Azuelos-Alessandrin is on board in the same capacity on the remake.

Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher will produce the pic.

Uncle George Believes In Fairies

George Lucas is set to produce an untitled top-secret CGI-animated musical currently in pre production at Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch says the Heat Vision blog.

Dead of Night and TMNT director Kevin Munroe calls the action on the film which is expected to feature music from a variety of sources.

David Berenbaum wrote the screenplay, which is being kept tightly under wraps but is rumoured to feature.... Fairies....!!??

A Lucasfilm spokesperson said it was too early to comment on the details of the project.

First aliens invade Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull--now this?

Meanwhile, Lucas is executive producing Red Tails, that's currently in post

Fire Brand

Zac Efron is attached to star in an adaptation of the Brian Michael Bendis graphic novel Fire according to Deadline Hollywood.

Efron will play a college student who is recruited by the CIA, only to find that he has been trained for a program that creates expendable agents.

Bendis will write the script for the movie.

Neil Moritz and David Engel will produce while Efron and Jason Barrett will serve as executive producers.

Efron has been circling action pics in the past but this one is on the most solid ground...

No director has been chosen for this flick yet which eyes a 2012 release.

Efron has also signed to star in the"Back to the Future"-esque pic that takes it's premise from a pitch by Assassination of a High School President duo Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski as well as Nicholas Stoller' Algorithm.

Space Cadet

Star Trek reboot actor Zachary Quinto told Wired while promoting Star Trek Online...

“I’m stepping away from Star Trek for at least two years — no movies, no conventions, no anything for a while," said Quinto.

He lends g his voice to the new interactive game site, “I did this game to make an investment in the fan base."

Forgetting I suppose a June 29th, 2012 release date for the as yet Untitled Star Trek Sequel.

I get the whole Typecasting concerns I do--But he seemed up for all things that come with Trek involvement before he got the part as Spock Beta.

Sure he did a lot to promote the film--conventions and all but jeeez no one made him do that extra curricular Trek--and he was already on a once popular genre series Heroes-prior to going into space.

“I’m stepping away from that genre and exploring a lot of other territory. I want to invite them along with me on my journey, which is going to take them out of their comfort zone and into other areas and other styles of storytelling."

As a Trek fan I'm a little peeved by his “which is going to take them out of their comfort zone” comment….Implying fans only sit around watching Trek or other sci fi Trust Me I enjoy and respect its positive message immensely But I have no established “comfort zone” Outside interests and a life are mine aplenty...

Doesn't make sense...Dopey

Marvels Heroic Movie Plan

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige tells SFX Magazine (via Superhero Hype) that he hopes that their upcoming " Avengers" (due in theaters in 2012.) is more than just a "team superhero movie with a bunch of characters with powers".



In the process he let slip that the Hulk, a character whose involvement has not been as firmly linked with the film as Iron Man or Thor is now a sure thing.

He also hasn't ruled out a potential sequel to the Incredible Hulk" film with Edward Norton, saying "That would be post-'Avengers,' if it happened... I think there's a chance. It's certainly our intention to use the same actors from film to film where we can."

On cencern over "The Avengers" is the mixing heightened reality-based heroes like Iron Man, Nick Fury', Hulk and Captain America with the mythological fantasy hero Thor.

Feige says not to worry:"We're not doing the blow-the-dust-off-of-the-old-Norse-book-in-your-library 'Thor.' In the 'Thor' of the Marvel Universe, there's a race called the Asgardians and we're linked through this Tree of Life that we're unaware of. It's real science, but we don't know about it yet. The 'Thor' movie is about teaching people that."

Thor arrives in theaters on May 6, 2011. Production kicked off earlier this month....

Amongst the other characters in the Marvel library he see get on the big screen:

"I love Doctor Strange," he said. "Ant-Man is like Whiplash— one of those characters where you're like, 'Really?' that we've got a fun story with. I've always wanted to do something with Black Panther. I think what Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction have done with Iron Fist lately is great, and the Iron Fist mythology opens up a whole other part to us."

Family Man

"I Love You Phillip Morris" and "Bad Santa" duo John Requa and Glenn Ficarra are in negotiations to direct Steve Carell's as yet untitled flick says THR.

Written by Dan Fogelman, the film revolves around a father who is going through a marital crises while managing the relationships with his children.

Denise Di Novi Charlie Hartsock and Vance DeGeneres will produce the pic.

Carell has no less than 3 films set to hit screens in 2010 including "Date Night" with Tina Fey, the animated "Despicable Me" and later in the year he reunites with Paul Rudd for "Dinner For Schmucks".

It's odd that Requa and Ficarra who like material with an edge will do such a straight forward sounding film.

Holmes Beacon

Producer Joel Silver. tells The Los Angeles Times that due to a Sherlock Holmes Sequel being fast-tracked, Guy Ritchie is no longer attached to direct the comic adaptation "Lobo".

Silver, who is also producing Lobo alongside Akiva Goldsman and Andrew Rona,, says "I don't think he's going to do it now. The studio wants us and Guy to focus on making another Sherlock Holmes... So we're trying to see if we can do something quickly with another 'Sherlock Holmes' movie. We have some ideas and some good story points."


Rather than delay the comic book pic, Silver says that they'll likely choose another director for "Lobo".

What about all that stuff about Brad Pitt playing Professor Moriarty in the next pic in the series?

"Well, I mean, we talked about that at one point, but you know as of right now we're not sure what we're going to do. We'll see what happens".

Inner Heart Outer Space

Director Gabriele Muccino is in advanced negotiations to helm the sci-fi romance pic Passengers, says Variety.



The film will center on a a spacecraft making a centuries-long interstellar voyage to a new planet. Due to a computer glitch, a single passenger (Keanu Reeves) awakens from cryogenic sleep 90 years before anyone else. Faced with the prospect of growing old and dying alone, he, in turn, awakens a beautiful woman.

Jon Spaihts, who also wrote Ridley Scott's untitled "Alien" prequel film, wrote this script as well.

Stephen Hamel Reeves, and James G. Robinson will produce the film.

Muccino, who did both The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds--earthbound dramas, this seems as though it's gonna only be a change in setting not really genre

Production is set to kick off in the Summer.

Get Closer To Potter

Is this really a surprise?

Warner Bros. will release both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I and Part II in 3-D reports the Heat Vision blog.



As you may recall the studio has been testing footage from its upcoming Clash Of The Titans converted into 3D.

The tests have gone well enough to warrant 'Potter' 's conversion as well.

The studio refused to confirm the decisions Tuesday, but an announcement on 'Titans' is expected by the end of the week.

Un-officiallly the process retrofit has not only been approved but work is already well underway on them.

Take The Plunge

Now that he's not playing Conan--Twilight's Kellan Lutz will play hubby to Mandy Moore instead in the romantic comedy "First Love, Then Marriage" reports Just Jared.



A relationship counselor (Moore) endangers her own marriage while trying to save that of her parents (Blythe Danner and Christopher Walken).

My Best Friend's Wedding and The Wedding Date star Dermot Mulroney, makes his directorial debut on the project.

Moore's also got wedding-oriented film cred, 2007's dreaded License To Wed--Yikes! Good script please perhaps...

Filming kicks off in New Orleans in early February.

Dark Shadows With Fangs

Sam Worthington is the front runner to star for Alex Proyas in Dracula Year Zero reports Variety.



Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, two unproven writers, will handle script duties for this strange fusion of historical fact and literary fiction that centres around the life of the young Transylvanian Prince Vlad, better known as Vlad the Impaler who inspired Bram Stoker's vampire tale.

This story has the young prince leading the charge to fend off the Ottoman Empire's attempts to use Romania as a foothold to conquer the rest of Europe. In a moment of desperation, he ascends a mountain where a dark magical power resides in the hope of finding something to keep the Turkish hordes at bay. That power helps him defeat the Turks, but comes at the price of him changing into a creature of the night.

Michael De Luca is producing the pic.

Worthington would be following in the footsteps of legends Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi in playing the iconic creature of the night, but will have more in common with Gary Oldman's blood sucker from Bram Stoker's Dracula.

No doubt Worthington leads the list here because of Avatar's explosion and not necessarily right for the role

Proyas brings his Dark City and The Crow skills to another intense tale.

The film is scheduled for a summer 2011 release.

Bloody Mess

Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate have exercised an option for Saw VI director Kevin Greutert to get him to return and direct Saw VII -3-D says Deadline Hollywood.

The studio previously set David Hackl (Saw V) as helmer on the latest sequel but has been removed from the project and will be assigned something else.

The crafty move stems from recent news that Greutert would helm Paranormal Activity 2 follow-up to Oren Peli's surprise smash.

The first Paranormal Activity made $123 million in box-office, more than double the haul of"Saw VI" with $57 million.

Paramount Pictures had lined up the 'Paranormal' sequel for an October 22nd release, directly in competition with "Saw VII 3D". This move essentially stalls PA 2.

Greutert had this to say on Official Site:

"I'm in the middle of something really terrible right now, as anyone who has come to this site probably knows. While I fight for justice in this, the important thing is to avoid giving in to hatred and anger, because these emotions are life killers. Hopefully we will all arrive at an amicable solution. Thank you to everyone who is working with me on this".

Sounds rightfully peeved... Doesn't make it any less skeevy But what else could LG and TP do? They know their cash cow is in trouble When sabotage is the only weapon you have...

A replacement director will be found for PA 2 relatively fast but will it be fast enough foil Jigsaw's plans?

Stay Tuned--This behind the scenes drama would make a good movie...

Mara Not Cabe

Kate Mara talked to MTV while she was making rounds at Sundance 2010 about her role in Iron Man 2:



According to the actress, rumors that she'll play Bethany Cabe, a girlfriend and ally of Tony Stark's in the comic books, are entirely untrue.

All she reveals is that she has just one scene that she shares with Robert Downey Jr. as well as Jon Favreau.

When they ask her to at least confirm if she is playing an FBI agent she says, "Something like that."

Gov. De Niro?

Robert De Niro is attached to play Alabama George Wallace in "Selma", a civil rights drama from Precious director Lee Daniels Deadline Hollywood Daily.



De Niro would play the Alabama governor who famously refused to allow Desegregation in his state--which lead to the famous Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama.

The film is expected to begin production sometime later this year.

De Niro curent plate also includes Paul Weitz's "Another Night in Suck City " and a possible “Midnight Run" sequel.

Race Then Space

Marshall Curry's documentary "Racing Dreams" is being turned into a dramatic feature reports Variety.

The docu, which won best documentary at The Tribeca Film Festival last year, followed three young racers as they compete in the World Karting Association's Pavement Series.

Speeding up to 70 mph, the trio chase the National Championship title and move closer to achieving their dream of becoming NASCAR racers.

A writer search is underway to adapt the material shortly, with Transformers, Star Trek duo Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci ready to produce.



Even as Orci and Kurtzman talk Star Trek 2 script possibilities...

I Do's And Don't

The folks over at Pajiba report that Will Ferrell's doing a romantic comedy based on a little known French film from 2006 called I Do: How To Get Married And Stay Single, which starred Charlotte Gainsbourg and was conceived by actor/producer/writer Alain Chabat.

Deets are sketchy, and no writer is attached as yet, but the plot is described as the story of a 40-something year old bachelor whose seven sisters and mum try to force him to get married, prompting him to ask a friend's sister to leave him at the altar so that everyone will leave him alone.

Ferrell's next pic The Other Guys, an action comedy from director Adam McKay and also starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson is now in post--hoping everybody forgets the flop that was the big budget comedy Land of the Lost.

Cruel World

Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is in negotiations to helm a film about a historic real-life journey across Alaska says The Hollywood Reporter.

The book by Laney and Gary Salisbury tells the true story of the 1925 serum race to Nome, also called The Great Race to Mercy, in which 20 men and 200 dogs rushed a diphtheria antidote 674 miles across Alaska to save the small city of Nome and surrounding communities from an epidemic.

The group braved gales, blizzards and extreme temperatures - the lowest being minus 52C (minus 62F) at its lowest and a wind-chill of minus 65C (minus 85F) - and completed the journey in a record-breaking five and a half days.

Sean O'Keefe and Will Staples adapted the screenplay.

Mark Johnson will produce with cameras rolling by the Summer

Chemical Cleaner

Kyra Sedgwick and Vincent D'Onofrio will star as husband and wife in Jay Alaimo's dramedy Chlorine says The Hollywood Reporter.



Matt Fiorello and Peter Tannenbaum helped co-write the script which revolves around a family struggling to maintain their well-to-do lifestyle in their overly materialistic New England community.

Sedgwick plays the matriarch, who is more interested in appearances than for caring or showing affection toward her husband (D'Onofrio) and pushes him into a bad real estate deal.

Alaimo Christopher Beatty, and Gary Giudice are producing the pic.

Filming kicks off this month in New Jersey.

'Tar Takes Titanic

6 and half weeks into its release is all it took for James Cameron's Avatar to become the biggest movie of all time.. Sinking Cameron's own Titanic says The Hollywood Reporter.





Avatar 's cume stands at $551.7 million at the domestic box office and $1.292 billion international box office, giving it a total of $1.843 billion, which passes the $1.84 billion that Titanic earned back in 1997.

A mighty feat yes, but 'Tar's ticket sales have benefited from rising ticket prices as well as surcharges bumped up by 3-D and IMAX. The number of people who have gone to the theater to see the blue epic is till far less than the number who saw the big ship sink.

Box Office Mojo has the numbers estimate to prove that...

Cameron, Meanwhile, Talks 'Tar 2...

As for me, I still have not seen the film yet--Sorta got this "When I get around to it" attitude about it all...

Sea Life

The Spiderwick Chronicles team and producers Gregory Little, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lee Stollman have optioned Kat Falls' upcoming underwater adventure novel "Dark Life" for the big screen says Variety.

While it won't land on book shelves until May, the tale is set in the near future, where rising ocean levels and other natural catastrophes have forced some people to relocate to the sea floor. But a teenage boy who lives below and a surface-dwelling girl discover a government conspiracy they must join forces to expose it before it's too late

A director is currently being sought before it goes out to the studios