Easter Box Office Update: BIG Guns...

The once delayed for 9 months action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation proved a smart decision after all; The film adaptation of Twilight Series author Stephenie Meyer's book The Host was luke warm at best; Tyler Perry's Temptation was quite steamy indeed; The Place Beyond The Pines set the place on fire for its limited dubut bow...

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Jon M. Chu's G.I. Joe: Retaliation opened to a pleasing $132 million at the worldwide box office, one of the best showings ever for the Easter holiday and marking the top international debut of the year so far.

G.I. Joe took in $80.3 million overseas and $51.7 million domestically, including $41.2 million for the weekend proper, the second-best domestic Easter gross behind the 2010 Clash of the Titans ($61.2 million). Internationally, G.I. Joe opened 10 percent ahead of Oz the Great and Powerful, which debuted earlier this month to $69.9 million.

In North America, Paramount opened the action bonanza -- headlining franchise newcomers Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis -- on Thursday to get a jump on the holiday weekend. The sequel, earning an A- CinemaScore and fueled by males, came much closer than expected to matching the $54.7 million bow of G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, which opened in early August 2009.

Overseas, the sequel is doing double the business that Cobra did (that film opened to $92 million globally). It's doing especially well in Russia ($11 million), Latin America and Asia, where 3D remains a popular format.

The successful opening of G.I. Joe vindicates Paramount for deciding to push back the film's release from summer 2012 in order to convert it to 3D and refashion Channing Tatum's role. Originally, his character was killed off, but after the star's box-office status surged thanks to The Vow and 21 Jump Street, Paramount and its partners decided to make the character's fate more ambiguous.

"Clearly this was a movie that felt like it should be in 3D, so Jon Chu went back and did an excellent job in making that happen," said Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore. "Certain parts of the story also needed to be massaged, and Adam Goodman and his team worked with Jon to get it to a great place."

Paramount financed and produced the film with MGM and Skydance Productions in association with Hasbro. Producers are Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner.

The studio says it minimized its risk overall by keeping G.I. Joe's budget to roughly $130 million; Cobra cost at least $175 million. Paramount put up half the money for the sequel, while MGM and David Ellison's Skydance each put up a 25 percent share.

Animated event pic The Croods, from DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox, jumped the $200 million mark in its second weekend. The family pic came in No. 2 domestically, grossing $26.5 million for a 10-day cume of $88.6 million. Overseas, Croods took in $52.5 million for a worldwide total of $229.1 million.

Opening on Good Friday in North America were writer-director Tyler Perry's sultry thriller Temptation -- a marked departure from the filmmaker's comedic fare -- and director Andrew Niccol's sci-fi thriller The Host, adapted from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's novel.

From Lionsgate, Temptation opened to a pleasing $22.3 million to place No. 3. million.

Fueled by female moviegoers and receiving an A- CinemaScore, Temptation stars Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Friday Night Lights) as a restless marriage counselor who begins a dangerous affair with a social media mogul (Robbie Jones). Lance Gross, Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Williams also star.

Lionsgate targeted women and African-Americans in marketing the film. The studio also took advantage of Kardashian's celebrity profile.

It is the fourth Perry film that Lionsgate has released over Easter weekend.

The Host, starring Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons and Jake Abel, opened to a so-so $11 million. Coming in No. 6, the film received an B- CinemaScore.

Open Road Films is distributing the film on behalf of producers Nick Wechsler, Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz and Inferno Entertainment. Meyer also is a producer and has tirelessly promoted the project, which marks her first post-Twilight outing.

Set in a society where parasitic aliens known as "Souls" inhabit humans, The Host is appealing primarily to females (Meyer's fan base). The story follows a "Soul" who finds it impossible to entirely banish the human girl she inhabits.

Among holdovers, Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful jumped the $400 million in its fourth weekend of play at the global box office. The tentpole has now earned $198.3 million domestically and $214 million internationally for a total $412.3 million, by far the best showing of 2013 to date.

Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines, starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes, made headlines at the specialty box office. Opening in four theaters, the Focus Features film grossed $270,184 for a location average of $67,546, easily the best average of Easter weekend and the second best of the year so far after Spring Breakers.

"We're thrilled," said Focus distribution chief Jack Foley, who reported sold out shows in theaters such as the Landmark in West Los Angeles.

The film's strong domestic launch should help its overseas run. Sierra/Affinity handled Place Beyond the Pines internationally.

Below are the top 10 film estimates for the March 29-31 weekend at the domestic box office.

1. G.I. Joe: Retaliation, 1/3,719, Paramount/MGM/Skydance, $41.2 million, $51.7 million

2. The Croods, 2/4,046, Fox/DreamWorks Animation, $26.5 million, $88.6 million

3. Tyler Perry's Temptation, 1/2,047, Lionsgate, $22.3 million

4. Olympus Has Fallen, 2/3,106, Lionsgate/Millennium, $14 million, $54.7 million

5. Oz the Great and Powerful, 4/3,324, Disney, $11.6 million, $198.3 million

6. The Host, 1/3,202, Open Road Films, $11 million

7. The Call, 3/2,439, Sony/TriStar, $4.8 million, $39.5 million

8. Admission, 2/2,161, Focus Features, $3.3 million, $11.8 million

9. Spring Breakers, 3/1,379, A24 Films, $2.8 million, $10.1 million

10. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 3/1,575, Warner Bros./New Line, $1.3 million, $20.6 million

As one of the only people who openly admits to enjoying the first film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra--I'm glad the secomd one is doing so well right out of the gate.

Next Up: Director Fede Alvarez unleashes the buzz-worthy Evil Dead remake to the masses; The dinosaurs of  Jurassic Park return this time in 3-D and IMAX

"Greatest Criminal Mind Of Our Time" Set To Return?

Is evil mastermind Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder's big budget reboot Superman: Man of Steel? For the longest time it's been rumored that Bradley Cooper was going to make a cameo appearance as Luthor as a set-up for sequels--but it's never been confirmed.

The folks at AICN  now claim that Mackenzie Gray who played a Luthor clone during the final season of ‘Smallville’ will play "an ambitious, ego driven and cold version of Luthor."

Gray actually confirmed he is going to be appearing in Man of Steel in a recent interview with the site but added that  he wasn’t able to talk about his role.

Co-screenwriter David S. Goyer recently made the discussion intensify telling I Am Rouge: “I don’t think anyone has ever confirmed that we haven’t included him.”

Stay Tuned...

MOS stars Henry Cavill Amy Adams Michael Shannon Kevin Costner Diane Lane Antje Traue Christopher Meloni Harry Lennix Laurence Fishburne Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer. Emmy-winning actor Richard Schiff will play Dr. Hamilton. Cooper Timberline and Dylan Sprayberry both play young Clark Kent at various ages in the film. Jadin Gould is a young Lana Lang.

Goyer wrote the first screenplay draft based on a story he concocted with Christopher Nolan. His bro Jonah Nolan taking a crack at the task as well Kurt Johnstad did rewrites

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas Deborah Snyder, and Nolan will be producers on the film.

MOS flies into theaters June 14th 2013.

Redford Talks About Captain America 2

The recent news that movie icon Robert Redford was cast in the upcoming comic book film sequel "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" caught many by surprise. He is reportedly playing a senior leadership role in S.H.I.E.L.D.

During a Q&A session the other night in LA, Redford explained why he decided to do the movie:

"I'm doing this film because it's different. It's a new thing for me. I think these films are really powerful. I think they're great. This is the kind of film I would have loved to see as a kid. I like the idea of stepping into new territory. I'm excited by it. I also think it's a good bunch of people who really know what they're doing."

The story is expected to follow the acclaimed comic storyline The Winter Soldier in which Captain America's (Chris Evans) sidekick Bucky (Sebastian Stan) is resurrected as a brainwashed super-assassin known as the Winter Solider. The tale also follows that Peggy's (played by Hayley Atwell in Captain America: The First Avenger) niece Sharon (Revenge star Emily VanCamp) meets Cap.

Anthony Mackie is poised to play Harlem crime fighter Falcon, one of mainstream comics' first black superheroes. Falcon, aka. Sam Wilson, can telepathically talk to birds and has a suit that allows him to fly and enhances his strength. Scarlett Johansson will also show up as Black Widow in the film. How big a role she'll play is also unknown. Cobie Smulders will reprise her role of Maria Hill. She joins her boss in The Avengers co-star Samuel L. Jackson for the film. Frank Grillo ("The Grey," "Warrior") will play the villain Crossbones in the sequel. Toby Jones, has confirmed to Hey U Guys that he will reprise the role of the villain Armin Zola. Maximiliano Hernández said via Twitter that he will reprise his "Avengers" role of Agent Jasper Sitwell in the sequel. UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre will play villain Batroc the Leaper, an infamous mercenary in the Cap mythology.

Joe Russo and Anthony Russo will direct the sequel, using a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Production is starting soon. The sequel will hit theaters April 4, 2014.

Is Clint Eastwood Moving To "Jersey"?

Clint Eastwood has seemingly entered early talks to steer the film version of the Award-winning Broadway musical "Jersey Boys" for GK Films according to THR.

 Warner Bros. set up the project but then put it into turnaround. With Eastwood on the radar, it's thought that might pick it back up.

Eastwood jumped on to "Jersey" because casting has been difficult on his planned remake of A Star is Born". If Eastwood inks a deal, "Jersey Boys" would go first.

Actors like John Magaro, Dominic Cooper, Vincent Piazza Paul Dano and James Badge Dale were all being eyed for lead roles--back when  Jon Favreau was attached as director but he left once WB moved on.

The musical written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice chronicles the pop group Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons and their journey to fame. The group sold 175 million records worldwide before any of the members turned 30.

The show has pulled in over $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide, and this film will use much of the same music from the stage show.

John Logan is writing the film adaptation

Graham King and Tim Headington are producing the pic.

2 More Suits That Will Pop Up In Iron Man 3

The official Facebook page for Shane Black's Iron Man 3 has posted photos of two more armor designs that are part if the upcoming sequel.

The first, Mark XXXV, is a disaster rescue suit called "Red Snapper".

The second is the Mark XXXIX, a sub-orbital suit called "Gemini".

The story is based on the popular six-issue mini series "Extremis" by Warren Ellis--The plot involves the spread of a virus through nanobots. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) will battle Ben Kingsley (as the Mandarin) and Guy Pearce's characters. Drew Pearce adapted the story into a script.

We also know that thanks to the events chronicled in The Avengers Stark suffers from PTSD in the film.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau Rebecca Hall James Badge Dale Ashley Hamilton William Sadler and Chinese star Wang Xueqi co-star.

The film hits May 3rd 2013--also Getting an IMAX Release.

Peter Fonda Will Keep "Milton's Secret"

Peter Fonda will star in the upcoming film adaptation of authors Eckhart Tolle and Robert Friedman's children's book "Milton's Secret" says THR.

Fonda will play the grandfather of the story's main character, Milton, a young boy who is dealing with being bullied in school.

Barnet Bain, a producer on What Dreams May Come and Homeless to Harvard, will direct the family drama, using the adapted script he wrote with Donald Martin

Greer Takes Part In "Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes"

Judy Greer has joined the sequel "Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes" says Vulture.

The film will continue the action from Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Set 15 years later and human society contiues collapsing after a viral outbreak and the highly intelligent simians now free, the story will follow the apes on their path to emerge as society’s new rulers.

"Rise" helmer Rupert Wyatt chose not to return reportedly due to the fact that the director wasn't comfortable with making the May 23rd 2014 release date the studio had announced. "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves takes over.

Greer has nabbed the mo-cap role of the female chimp Cornelia. The character was briefly introduced in the first film and will now have a more expanded role this time out.

Rise star James Franco may not be back--Zero Dark Thirty actor Jason Clarke Keri Russell Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman and Kodi Smit-McPhee also star

Mark Bomback ("Live Free or Die Hard," "Unstoppable") is set to rework Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa's script. Bombeck is expected to turn in something more suited to the new director's style. This is Deja Vu On 'Rise' Silver & Jaffa wrote the initial script and then Bomback did an uncredited script rewrite.

"Contagion" scribe Scott Z. Burns took a crack at the "Dawn" script as well

Peter Chernin Dylan Clark Silver and Jaffa will produce.

It's hoped that production starts this Spring.

"Dredd" Sequel? Don't Think So

Despite the whispers to the contrary--there will NOT be a sequel to last year's "Dredd"

The original British comic created by John Wagner was much darker and grittier than the big-budget 1995 film version starring Sylvester Stallone that was a stinker....The reviews were much much better for the reboot that starred Karl Urban Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey as the villain Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal --and it was more in line with the original vision.

During a recent Reddit online Q&A chat, producer Adi Shankar was surprisingly candid about why the sequel is not happening:

"It’s because the movie totally bombed & R-rated movies are a tough sell to begin with. If Dredd becomes a cult hit it will be awesome. Last September was a terrible month: Dredd bombed and then Looper became a massive hit a week later!"

Shankar adds that he is working on a "Dredd" short film in the vein of "Dirty Laundry," a Punisher-themed short fan film he and Thomas Jane did together last year.

Captain America 2 Wants YOU

Marvel has released a casting call in the Cleveland area for paid extras to appear in the upcoming comic book film sequel "Captain America: The Winter Soldier".

Here are the details:

PAID extras for Cleveland scenes filming April and May 2013. Casting call will take place on Friday April 19th and Saturday April 20th from 10am-3pm.

Ages 18 & over only. If your children 9 & over are interested in being extras parents please bring CURRENT, casual snapshot. NO minors at casting call please!

Please bring a pen for application, photos will be taken at no charge! (Business attire preferred, please be well groomed for picture!)

Metro Campus Cuyahoga Community College Bldg. UTC/Room 229 - 2415 Woodland Ave. Cleveland 44115

**NO phone calls please!**

The story is expected to follow the acclaimed comic storyline The Winter Soldier in which Captain America's (Chris Evans) sidekick Bucky (Sebastian Stan) is resurrected as a brainwashed super-assassin known as the Winter Solider. The tale also follows that Peggy's (played by Hayley Atwell in Captain America: The First Avenger) niece Sharon (Revenge star Emily VanCamp) meets Cap.

Anthony Mackie is poised to play Harlem crime fighter Falcon, one of mainstream comics' first black superheroes. Falcon, aka. Sam Wilson, can telepathically talk to birds and has a suit that allows him to fly and enhances his strength. Scarlett Johansson will also show up as Black Widow in the film. How big a role she'll play is also unknown. Cobie Smulders will reprise her role of Maria Hill. She joins her boss in The Avengers co-star Samuel L. Jackson for the film. Frank Grillo ("The Grey," "Warrior") will play the villain Crossbones in the sequel. Toby Jones, has confirmed to Hey U Guys that he will reprise the role of the villain Armin Zola. Maximiliano Hernández said via Twitter that he will reprise his "Avengers" role of Agent Jasper Sitwell in the sequel. Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) has entered talks for a senior leadership role in S.H.I.E.L.D. UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre will play villain Batroc the Leaper, an infamous mercenary in the Cap mythology.

Joe Russo and Anthony Russo will direct the sequel, using a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Production is starting soon. The sequel will hit theaters April 4, 2014.

Spader, Others Join "The Homesman"

Three-time Emmy winner James Spader will reunite with his Lincoln co-star Tommy Lee Jones for another movie set in mid-19th century America, The Homesman. says THR

Set in Nebraska, the story centers on a tough woman (Meryl Streep) tasked with transporting three mentally ill women to an asylum in Iowa. She employs the help of a reluctant claim jumper (Jones) who takes on the responsibility to bring the women to safety when Streep's character commits suicide.

Spader will play a swindler

Hilary Swank plays a spinster school teacher. Danish actor David Dencik will play »the sexually brutish husband of one of the women. Miranda Otto will play one of the mentally ill women who left her newborn baby in the cold to die. John Lithgow and Tim Blake Nelson also star.

Jones, who is also directing--co-wrote the script with Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley A. Oliver.

Peter Brant, Michael Fitzgerald and Jones will produce the film

Cibrian Joins Best Man Sequel

Eddie Cibrian has joined the cast of the comedy sequel The Best Man Holiday says The Hollywood Reporter.

The original 1999 movie was an ensemble that followed a commitment-shy man who is asked to be the best man at his friend's wedding.

Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Monica Calhoun, Melissa De Sousa and Regina Hall are reprising their roles in a story that is set 15 years later.

The story sees the college friends reunite over the Christmas holiday and discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to heat up once again.

Cibrian’s role is being kept quiet for now.

Writer/director Malcolm D. Lee returns to chart the next chapter and will also produce with Sean Daniel.

Production starts in April in Toronto.

R.I.P. Richard Griffiths (1947-2013)

Richard Griffiths, the actor best known for his role as the Muggle uncle Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter film series series, has died. He was 65.

Griffiths' agent, Simon Beresford, said today that Griffiths died of complications following heart surgery at University Hospital Coventry, central England. Beresford calls Griffiths "a remarkable man and one of our greatest and best-loved actors."

"Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe tells the AP: "I was proud to say I knew him. Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career. In August 2000, before official production had even begun on Potter, we filmed a shot outside the Dursleys', which was my first ever shot as Harry" Radcliffe continues. "I was nervous and he made me feel at ease. Seven years later, we embarked on Equus together. It was my first time doing a play but, terrified as I was, his encouragement, tutelage and humor made it a joy. In fact, any room he walked into was made twice as funny and twice as clever just by his presence."

Griffiths' also won acclaim in his role as the schoolmaster in the play and film version of Alan Bennett's The History Boys His other films include "Withnail and I," "Gorky Park," "Sleepy Hollow," "Stage Beauty," "Venus," and "Hugo".

McConaughey Orbits Nolan's "Interstellar"

Deadline is reporting that Matthew McConaughey has been offered the lead of Cooper in Christopher Nolan’s next film, Interstellar.

 

The film has been around since 2006, when Steven Spielberg was attached to direct--the younger Nolan came on board to write the screenplay in 2007. As late as 2010, the idea was still in play for those two to collaborate.

The premise springs from "a scientific theory by Kip S. Thorne, a Caltech physicist and expert on relativity. His theory that says wormholes exist and can be used for time travel intrigued Spielberg, who attended a Caltech workshop on the subject with Thorne and other scientists."

The script was penned by Chris and his younger brother Jonathan Nolan

The film will follow a group of scientists who travel through a wormhole into another dimension.

Christopher Nolan Emma Thomas and Lynda Obst will produce the pic. Jordan Goldberg is executive producing.

The pic already has a set release date of November 7, 2014

Dimension Scoops Up "Ink And Bone"

Dimension Films has pre-emptively picked up horror thriller spec script "Ink and Bone" says Bloody Disgusting,

The story from Zak Olkewicz follows a female book editor who is assigned to help a reclusive horror writer finish his latest book only to discover the writer is being held prisoner in his home by everything he’s ever written.

The premise actually sounds pretty cool...

Chase & D'Angelo Take Another "Vacation" Together

Both Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo are in early talks to play the Griswolds again for cameos in the upcoming Vacation reboot says Variety.

The original series of 4 films from 1983-1997 followed the Griswold family as they took a summer road trip across America, a European Vacation, stayed home for a Christmas Vacation, (the best of the sequels in my opinion) and a Vegas Vacation with mishaps happening all along the way.

The new version is said to focus on a now adult Rusty Griswold ("The Hangover" and "Cedar Rapids" star Ed Helms)--The character has been played by multiple actors over the years by Anthony Michael Hall, Jason Lively Johnny Galecki Ethan Embry.

Rusty plans to take his family on a road trip similar to the one he and his parents and sister took when he was young. Christina Applegate will play Helm’s strong-willed wife who might be losing interest in him.

The film will be written and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstien

Former "Office" Worker Lands @ Oscorp In Spidey 2

Former Office star B.J. Novak has joined The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in an unspecified role, according to a tweet from director Marc Webb.

Day 38. A supposed rumor about a Dunder-Mifflin takeover of Oscorp? @bjnovak

Webb has been sharing photos from the set via Twitter ever since production began Feb. 6th

Andrew Garfield is already set to return as Peter Parker and Emma Stone is in talks to reprise her role as Gwen Stacy.

Shailene Woodley has won the role of Mary Jane Watson, the perennial red-headed love interest of Pater Parker in the Spidey comics. The role was previously played by Kirsten Dunst in director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy. Dane DeHaan ("Chronicle") has won the role of Harry Osborn Osborn of course is Peter Parker's best friend and eventual enemy who was played by James Franco previously.Jamie Foxx will be playing bad guy Electro. Paul Giamatti plays the villain, the Rhino Chris Cooper has been cast as Norman Osborn--who eventually becomes Spidey's number one foe--The Green Goblin--The character was played previously by Willem Dafoe Felicity Jones (Like Crazy), has an undisclosed role in the film.

Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner are writing the script based on a previous draft by James Vanderbilt.

Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach will produce.

The new film is now in production to meet its May 2nd 2014 release date.

Murray & Marshall-Green Lead "Other People’s Children"

Chad Michael Murray and Diane Marshall-Green will star in the indie drama Other People’s Children says THR.

The story follows a homeless, charismatic drifter named P.K. (Murray) who becomes the subject of a documentary film being shot by a young woman named Sam (Marshall-Green). Sam is the daughter of a famous artist who has recently passed away and she is at loose ends until P.K. gives her renewed purpose. Their affair, however, threatens to tear apart the fabric of both of their lives.

Michael Mosley Breanne Racano, Harrison Thomas and Sofia Vassilieva also star.

Commercial and documentary director Liz Hinlein makes her feature film debut using an original script written by Adrienne Harris.

William Clevingeri Marshall-Green, Harris and Hinlein are set to produce the film

Production is set to begin June 15, 2013 in Los Angeles.

Vaughn's "Secret Service" Gets A Late Summer Start

Fox is set release the film adaptation "The Secret Service" on November 14th 2014 says THR.

Created by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons--the comic book follows a seasoned Secret Service agent who takes a younger agent under his wing as they investigate the murder of every resident of a small town and a mysterious secret involving Mount Everest.

Matthew Vaughn will call action from an adapted script he wrote with Jane Goldman.

Production is due to start in August.

The "Disgusting" Flap Over "Prometheus 2"

Is director Ridley Scott worried about the story and script for "Prometheus 2" since writer Damon Lindelof who wrote the first Prometheus is not involved?...

Lindelof is not coming back to pen the script for the follow-up due to scheduling issues with Brad Bird's "Tomorrowland" and a TV series for HBO.

Yesterday, Bloody Disgusting posted an item claiming that Fox and Scott are "literally freaking out" trying to figure out the story following Lindelof's departure from the project. They add that the studio is "taking pitches from basically anyone who can crack the story. While a sequel is nearly inevitable, it definitely puts it in flux, and in a state of jeopardy."

Lindelof has since released a lengthy statement on the matter to SlashFilm:

"While I'm happy to maintain my ongoing role as internets whipping boy (well, not happy, but at least resigned) this is a weird attack piece, even for someone who should be used to it by now. The unglamorous truth is this: 

During the creative process of Prometheus, all involved (that includes Fox and Ridley) had a strong desire for this film to launch off in its own way so that by the end, it would not connect directly to the original Alien, but instead run parallel to it. This is something that I talked about many, many times in the press burst around the release of the movie. As you probably remember, there was a lot of interest as to whether Prometheus was a "prequel" - the answer was, 'Yes. Sort of. But if there was a sequel to Prometheus, it would not be Alien.'

Taking the strong foundation that Jon Spaihts had already written, I worked on the script to this end - and yes, during that process, Ridley did occasionally riff on what he felt might happen next as Shaw and David's Head ventured off of LV-223 in search of wherever The Engineers had come from.

After the movie came out and discussions began about a possible sequel, I was already neck deep in writing and producing Tomorrowland with Brad Bird. I have found, unfortunately, that if I take on too many projects at one time, there is a higher probability of those projects sucking. And contrary to popular belief, I do not want anything I work on to suck. I really don't. I care about these stories deeply - not just as a writer, but as a fan. It might not always feel that way to the audience, but I swear to God it is true.

It also so happens that Ridley was about to embark on directing his next movie, 2013 The Counselor, and had another one, Child 44 lined up right behind it. The conclusion was obvious - In the best interest of the franchise, it was best to take myself out of the running before I had to suffer the embarrassment of potentially not even being offered it. And that it is the complete (if not somewhat boring) truth.

As to whether Ridley and Fox are "freaking out" about me not working on a sequel, well that's news to me. I retain awesome relationships with both. More importantly, the idea that there aren't many, MANY writers out there capable of taking the reins is sort of ridiculous. I did not map out a trilogy and then walk when the going got tough. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know me and doesn't know the truth.

The process of working on Prometheus with Ridley was one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. Love or hate the result of that work, I don't regret having done it for a second. Bloody Disgusting was very clever in tagging their story with the sentiment that denials were going to come. This would seem to throw shade on me denying the veracity of the story simply by anticipating that I would.

But denying the story I am. As I said, I will take all the abuse in the world for the things I have done, but I refuse to take it for the things I have not. That's my story and I'm sticking to it

Hathaway, Moretz, & Rockwell Are "Laggies"

Anne Hathaway, Chloe Moretz and Sam Rockwell are all in talks to join director the dark comedy "Laggies" says Deadline.

The story chronicles perpetual adolescent and late-twentysomething Megan (Hathaway) who, freaked out by her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, pretends to go on a career retreat. Instead, she hides out for a week with 16-year-old Annika (Moretz), her new best friend.

Mark Webber is also in talks to play Megan’s boyfriend. Rockwell will play an older character named Craig.

Andrea Seigel wrote the script from which Lynn Shelton's going to call action.

Steve Golin, Alix Madigan and Rosalie Swedlin are producing.

Scott Watches The "Fog" Roll in

No, it's not another remake of director John Carpenter's 1980 classic--once was enough...

Instead, Screen Daily reports that Stephen Fingleton is set to write the sci-fi horror script "Fog" which Ridley Scott will executive produce.

"Fog charts a family’s battle against a supernatural higher intelligence during a trip to London.”

Fingleton is close to delivering a first draft. The film is being budgeted in the $2m range and is tentatively scheduled to film in Northern Ireland by early 2014.

This project is the first one of a genre slate of six low budget films that Scott will oversee.

Kate Mara Gets "Transcendence" Role

Rooney Mara may have lost out on playing the role of Johnny Depp’s wife to Rebecca Hall but the older Mara sister, Kate Mara has landed a role in "The Dark Knight" cinematographer Wally Pfister's directorial debut "Transcendence" says Deadline.

 

In the Jack Paglen penned script Johnny Depp plays a scientist trying create the first self-aware computer. Somewhere along the way, he dies and his consciousness is uploaded into this supercomputer by his wife. Then that computer is connected to the internet.

Paul Bettany will play a fellow scientist

Christian Bale, James McAvoy, Tobey Maguire, Noomi Rapace and Christoph Waltz are all circling the film.

Marisa Polvino, Kate Cohen, Annie Marter, David Valdes, Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will produce.

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas are serving as executive producers.

Shooting kicks off in the spring for release in theaters by April 2014

Takarada Faces "Godzilla" Again

This is pretty cool Akira Takarada, who made his acting debut in the 1954 original film as diver Hideto Ogata has shot a cameo for the upcoming Godzilla reboot.

Aaron Johnson will play the lead. Juliette Binoche Elizabeth Olsen, David Strathairn Ken Watanabe and Bryan Cranston also star Character deets are being kept under wraps.

David Callahan, David Goyer Drew Pearce and Max Borenstein have all worked on previous drafts of the screenplay.-"The Shawshank Redemption" director Frank Darabont wrote the final draft of the script

The film has been in the pipeline for several years, but picked up steam recently - after a proof of concept trailer screened twice during Comic-Con 2012 and got great reaction. The project will "return the character to its epic roots with a gritty, realistic actioner".

The film will be directed by Gareth Edwards ("Monsters") and he revealed the news of the Takarada  cameo via a set photo he tweeted out.

 

In a chat with io9, in January Darabont said that both he and director Edwards' goal is to deliver a much more grounded interpretation, one much like the original 1954 film.

Goyer, Borenstein, Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce.

Roy Lee, Dan Lin Brian Rogers. Alex Garcia Patricia Whitcher Doug Davison, Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira will serve as executive producers.

The film will get a 3-D release, but it's unclear if it is being shot that way or converted in post production. Principal photography on the movie due out May 16, 2014, is underway in Vancouver.

Box Office Preview: An Early Hop

The once delayed for 9 months action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation (reviews) is finally ready to thwart Cobra Command's latest evil plan; For a bit of counter programing the film adaptation of Twilight Series author Stephenie Meyer's book The Host (reviews) hopes to start a whole new franchise with yet another supernatural love triangle at its core; Tyler Perry says anyone of us can give into Temptation (reviews) Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper go toe to toe as they travel to The Place Beyond The Pines (reviews) which starts a limited run.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Getting an early jump on Easter weekend, filmmaker Jon M. Chu's action bonanza G.I. Joe: Retaliation rolls out in North America on Thursday, where it is expected to post a four-day debut in the $40 million to $45 million range.

Paramount also is opening the sequel -- with a cast led by franchise newcomers Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis -- in most international markets (75 percent) and is anticipating a global opening in the $100 million range.

Retaliation originally was set to open last summer, but the studio pushed back the release in order to convert it to 3D and refashion Channing Tatum's role. Originally, his character was killed off, but after the star's box-office status surged thanks to The Vow and 21 Jump Street, Paramount and its partners MGM and Skydance decided to make the character's fate more ambiguous.

Unless it overperforms, Retaliation won't match the $54.7 million domestic opening of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but that film was released during the summer play period in early August 2009. The film ultimately took in $150.2 million domestically and $152.3 million internationally for a total $302.5 million.

Paramount already is anticipating that Retaliation will hit $200 million internationally, notably more than the original.

The studio says it minimized its risk overall by keeping Retaliation's budget to roughly $130 million; Cobra cost at least $175 million. Paramount put up half the money for the sequel, while MGM and David Ellison's Skydance each put up a 25 percent share.

Easter weekend can be a strong frame for moviegoing, particularly on Good Friday and Saturday.

Opening on Good Friday are writer-director Tyler Perry's Temptation -- a marked departure from the filmmaker's comedic fare -- and director Andrew Niccol's sci-fi thriller The Host, adapted from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's novel. Each is expected to open in the $15 million-to-$20 million range.

The Host, starring Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons and Jake Abel, is being distributed by Open Road Films on behalf of producers Nick Wechsler, Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz and Inferno Entertainment. Meyer also is a producer and has tirelessly promoted the project, which marks her first post-Twilight outing.

Host, set in a society where parasitic aliens known as "Souls" inhabit humans, is appealing primarily to females (Meyer's fan base). The story follows a "Soul" who finds it impossible to entirely banish the human girl she inhabits.

Temptation, from Lionsgate, stars Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Friday Night Lights) as a restless marriage counselor who begins a dangerous affair with a mogul. Smollett-Bell stars opposite Lance Gross, Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Williams and Robbie Johns.

Lionsgate targeted women and African-Americans in marketing the film. The studio also took advantage of Kardashian's celebrity profile.

It is the fourth Perry film that Lionsgate has released over Easter weekend.

Simmons & Elliott Tagged For Lawrence Rom-Com

J.K. Simmons and Chris Elliott have joined Marc Lawrence's new and still as yet Untitled romantic comedy says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story centers on an Oscar-winning British screenwriter Ray Michaels (Hugh Grant) now creatively washed up, divorced and broke. He takes a job teaching screenwriting at a small East Coast college, and ends up in a romance with a single mom (Marisa Tomei) who has gone back to school.

Simmons will portray Dr. Lerner, Chairman of the University's English department, a family man who takes Michaels under his wing. Elliott will portray Jim, a Shakespeare professor and next-door neighbor to Michaels, in search of that certain someone.

Bella Heathcote will play one of Grant's students

Martin Shafer and Liz Glotzer are producing.

Production kicks off in New York in the spring,

Lawrence and Grant previously worked together on 3 films "Music and Lyrics," "Two Weeks Notice" and "Did You Hear About the Morgans?".

Barinholtz Will Fraternize With "Townies"

Ike Barinholtz has joind the cast of the comedy "Townies" says The Hollywood Reporter.

The fim has an R-rated script that Brendan O'Brien and Andrew Cohen wrote, that follows a rivalry between a member of an alpha male-filled college fraternity (Zac Efron) and a local family man (Seth Rogen) who lives right nearby.

Dave Franco plays Efron's best friend and frat vice president. No word just yet on the characters that both Christopher Mintz-Plasse or Barinholtz will play

Rose Byrne will play Rogen's wife.

Nicholas Stoller will call action on the pic

Rogen and his pal Evan Goldberg are producing the pic while James Weaver, Cohen and O'Brien are exec producing.

Townies is scheduled to begin filming this Spring.

Hardy & Statham Hover Over "New York" Reboot

Tom Hardy and Jason Statham are reportedly under consideration for the role of Snake Plissken in the upcoming remake of director John Carpenter's 1981 classic Escape from New York says Vulture.

The original saw hard ass anti-hero Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) living in a near future totalitarian United States where Manhattan Island has been turned into a maximum security prison and Plissken has one day to rescue the U.S. President (Donald Pleasance) who is being held hostage there.

New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. were planning a remake for years that saw Len Wiseman and Breck Eisner attached to direct at different points along the way.

Gerard Butler, Jeremy Renner and even Hardy were linked to play Plissken during that time. The studios gave up though, letting their option expire two years ago.

Producers Joel Silver and Andrew Rona have ambitious plans--- a completely new and fresh approach that they hope will turn into a trilogy starting with this 'origin story'.

According to the paper's source,  suits at "Studio Canal wants to make sure they get one of the two men before the summer." 

Osunsanmi Finds "Eden"

Olatunde Osunsanmi ("The Fourth Kind," "Evidence") will helm the sci-fi fllm "Eden" says Heat Vision.

In this story aliens have enslaved humanity, survivors follow an Underground Railroad-type set-up called "The Rail" in an effort to get to a "free city".

Osunsanmi will direct from his own original screenplay.

Paul Brooks will produce the film.

Emmerich Outlines ID4 Sequels

Director Roland Emmerich recently talked to EW about the long proposed sequels Independence Day 2 and Independence Day 3.

Emmerich says the story picks up twenty years after the first "Independence Day", after the distress call sent by the first wave of aliens finally brings reinforcements to Earth.

Bill Pullman will return as now former President Whitmore, but the main focus will be on the stepson of Will Smith's Captain Steven Hiller character and several other young leads.

"The humans knew that one day the aliens would come back, and they know that the only way you can really travel in space is through wormholes. So for the aliens, it could take two or three weeks, but for us that's 20 or 25 years. It's a changed world. It's like parallel history. [Humans] have harnessed all this alien technology. We don't know how to duplicate it because it's organically-grown technology, but we know how to take an anti-gravity device and put it in a human airplane. The first sequel ends on a little success, but only enough to give the humans hope. And then in the second one they free themselves again [from the aliens]."

I say meh...I I think I could wait another 20 years for these...or never,

"The Wolverine": Two Trailers Claw Their Way Online

Both the US teaser trailer and Intenational trailer for the conic book superhero pic "The Wolverine" have dropped. Now one would expect the longer overseas peek to be the better of the two. Nope Not this time. The US version is more fun and is up first. See what you think.





The script initially written by Christopher McQuarrie--then reworked by Mark Bomback--is set mostly in Japan and based on the great mini-series by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont. The sequel will find our steel clawed hero (star Hugh Jackman) going toe to toe with the Silver Samurai.

Will Yun Lee will play Harada, aka. The Silver Samurai - a crime lord's illegitimate son with an electrified suit of armor. Brian Tee ("Grimm") is Noburo Mori, a corrupt justice minister about to marry the crime lord's daughter (who is Logan's love interest).Also cast are Hiroyuki Sanada ("Lost," "The Last Samurai") as Shingen, Hal Yamanouchi ("Push") as Yashida, and Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima as Mariko and Yukio. Svetlana Khodchenkova ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy") plays 'The Viper' Famke Janssen will cameo as Jean Grey-A role she played in the first 3 films in the X-Men film series.

James Mangold directed the pic.

The Wolverine has a July 26th 2013 release date.