The Chosen Choice

Michael Rymer is set to direct and co-produce the feature film adaptation of the popular Top Cow comic "Witchblade" Variety.

The fantasy involves a jewel-encrusted gauntlet that bestows extraordinary powers upon the possessor, one chosen female from each generation.

Rymer, no stranger to genre work. is filming the "Battlestar Galactica" series finale and recently wrapped production on an NBC two-hour series pilot called "Revolution".

No Way Out

Shawn Levy is srepping back from his latest gig and will now only produce, not direct, the coming-of-age dramedy "The Way Back " according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The character-driven film, centers on a teenage boy from a broken home who strikes up an improbable friendship one summer with the operator of a water park.

The script is by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (TV's Adopted)

Levy has left the helmer's chair for reasons unclear at the moment.

No new director has officially been named as a replacement, but Thomas Bezucha was considered at one point.

Future Progress

McG has posted an update on the official production blog for "Terminator Salvation":

"We are half way through filming. Our teaser is in theaters and playing before The Dark Knight. You will see that this is a movie inspired by the first films, but is a true new beginning in that it takes place in the future.

All three Terminator films took place present day, with Terminators traveling back in time to attack. This picture takes place after Judgment Day. It happened. Everything is gone. The story of the movie is the "brink moment" Reese always talked about.

From a technical perspective, we have set out to achieve a completely new visual style that hasn't been seen before. We're shooting the film on color stock but are using a method inspired by the Oz process which was developed at Technicolor by Mike Zacharia and Bob Olson.

Basically we are adding three times as much silver. It creates a surreal texture that is in keeping with the notion of the entire picture - feeling detached from the world we know today. Every morning and every night Christian and I work on the story. Sam's contribution has been excellent. We are committed to putting the story and character first and then supplementing that with action and visual effects.

It is our intention to make a film on a large scale with the nuance and subtext of a high quality independent picture. The richness of the story is really coming out now. It's a Prometheus tale really, how creating life creates real responsibility - and if left unchecked, can be our undoing.

The entire crew takes the making of this film very seriously. I made a point of hiring key personnel that are passionate about getting this right. Everyone is well versed in the mythology.

Comic-Con is this weekend. I look forward to sharing the film with the passionate.

T4 arrives in theaters May 22, 2009...

Accident Prone

Fox Atomic accquires Peter Baynham's comedy spec "Accidentes" as a potential vehicle for Sacha Baron Cohen says Variety.

Cohen would produce and possibly appear as an ambulance-chasing personal injury lawyer of Latin descent who transforms from contingency attorney to hero of the working class when he helps an immigrant win a judgment against his wealthy employer after a landscaping mishap.

Baynham and Cohen shared an Oscar nomination for scripting last year's "Borat" movie....

Cohen's really trying to shake Borat and that's a good thing...

Motion Carried

Former Alias stud Michael Vartan and funny man David Cross have joined Parallel Zide's new comedy Demoted" according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Vartan will play Rodney McAdams, a hotshot Treadline Tires sales associate who delights in tormenting his less-than-cool colleague, Ken (Cross).

But when their boss suddenly dies, Ken is promoted and assigns Rodney to a secretarial job as payback, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

James B. Rogers directs from a screenplay by Dan Callahan.

Cross is very funny and the part seems tailor made. As for Vartan He's not really known as playing smarmy but I think he can pull it off.

Shooting begins September 2nd in Michigan

2 Thumbs Down

At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper is coming to an end as film critics exit the balcony

Film critic Roger Ebert says he's cutting ties with the television show that he and the late Gene Siskel made famous.

In an e-mail on Monday, Ebert said Disney-ABC Domestic Television had decided to take the show "in a new direction" and he won't be associated with it.

His announcement came a day after his fellow Chicago Sun-Times writer Richard Roeper said he was leaving the nationally syndicated "At the Movies With Ebert & Roeper."

Roeper said Sunday that he had failed to agree on a contract extension with Disney-ABC Domestic Television, so his last appearance on the show will air the weekend of Aug. 16-17.

Roeper joined Ebert on the show in 2000, after Ebert's original co-host, Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel, died of a brain tumor in 1999

This is truly the end of an era--even though both men will continue to work as critics it won't be the same...It will be interesting to see whether the "new direction for the show" will be any good...

Stay Tuned...

Final Knight Weekend Tally

Variety:

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight” rocketed the Batman film franchise into the superhero stratosphere as it nabbed the highest weekend opening ever in grossing an official $158.3 million — even more than Sunday’s estimate of $155.3 million.

Storm In The Dorm

Screen Gems has landed Sonny Mallhi spec thriller "Roommate" reports Variety.

The story centers on Sara, a college student randomly assigned to a freshman dorm with a stranger named Rebecca. The pair start off as friends but things turn deadly as Rebecca begins to target people in Sara's life.

Sounds a lot like the 1992 thriller Single White Female...Still it could be fun if it's cast correctly.

Beating The Law Of Averages

Karen Janszen will adapt Ingrid Law's first young-adult book "Savvy reports Variety.

Telling the tale of a mid western family with superpowers, the story focuses on Mibs Beaumont who is turning thirteen and about to acquire her powers.

She has two brothers, one who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity.

Two days before her birthday, her grandfather gets into a terrible accident. As Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital, she sneaks onto a salesman’s bus only to find it heading in the opposite direction and herself on an unforgettable adventure that will force her to make sense of growing up.

The project sounds like a good fit for Janszen to tackle since she has already adapted Nicholas Sparks' A Walk To Remember in 2002.

Law's novel was available for free download last week.

Cru Chief

Tobey Maguire is set to star in 50's racial courtroom drama "The Crusaders" according to Variety.

Maguire would play Jack Greenberg, an idealistic lawyer fresh out of law school, who joined with NAACP Legal Defense Fund head and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to win a landmark 1954 court case that ruled segregation in American schools illegal.

It's based on Greenberg's book Crusaders in the Courts

The film will reunite Maguire with Gary Ross who is in line to direct while Danny Strong (HBO Films' Recount) will adapt the script.

Interestingly enough, Maguire's Spider-Man 3 co-star Topher Grace, was at one time attached to the same role...

Salt And A Sequel

A Tom Cruise 2-fer...

Fox News claimed that Cruise was going to be replaced by Will Smith in the spy thriller "Edwin A. Salt".

Moviehole now says that report is false.

A high-ranking production source tells the site "The studio, producers, director and potential star (Cruise) are all waiting on a rewrite of the script from Kurt Wimmer, which is due in a few weeks. Will Smith has not been approached to star. Cruise is the only actor who has been approached."

The flick involves a CIA officer who is outed by a defector as a Russian sleeper spy. Salt must elude capture by his superiors and sets out to reunite with his family and prove his innocence.

Next up the tabloid The Sun says that Cruise has been asked to reprise his role as cocky fighter-pilot Maverick in a long rumored "Top Gun" sequel.

In the first film he played a Navy pilot trainee and now a sequel script has apparently been written.

The premise?

"The idea is Maverick is at the Top Gun school as an instructor - and this time it is he who has to deal with a cocky new female pilot" according to a source.

If true, the premise sounds kind of lame...Will Maverick take a back seat to the new gal?

P's And Q's

Ferge is in negotiations to join the Rob Marshall film musical version of "Nine according to Variety.

The Black Eyed Peas singer will play Saraghina, a lusty woman who introduces lead role Guido (Daniel Day-Lewis) to the world of sexuality.

Ms. Stacy Ferguson is a talented performer and certainly exudes sexuality...

She has appeared on-screen before in small roles in "Poseidon" and "Planet Terror".

Shooting starts in October in the U.K. for a targeted release of December 13th 2009.

A Record-Setting Knight

Were you there as The Dark Knight made box office history over the weekend...?



Pamela McClintock of Variety;

Warner Bros.’ Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” became box office legend as it opened to an estimated $155.4 million from 4,366 theaters, the highest opening ever for a three-day weekend.

“Dark Knight,” from filmmaker Christopher Nolan and returning Christian Bale as the caped crusader, shot past the previous record-holder, “Spider-Man 3,” which earned $151.1 million in its debut in May 2007. Batman--after multiple stops-and-starts, is now the most successful superhero ever to hit the bigscreen. Legendary Pictures co-financed and co-produced “Dark Knight.”

Universal female-skewing musical “Mamma Mia!” was no wallflower either, grossing an estimated $27.6 million from 2,976 runs in its debut to snatch the best opening for a musical in narrowly beating out the $27.5 million opening of musical “Hairspray” on the same weekend last year.

“Dark Knight,” along with “Mamma Mia” and several stalwart holdovers, delivered the film business its best weekend ever for a non-holiday, with total box office receipts of roughly $250 million. Frame’s performance stunned Hollywood.

Previous best weekend was July 7-9 2006, which racked up total B.O. grosses of $218.4million, led by the $135.6 million opening of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

That doesn’t mean there weren’t trouble spots. Starz Media’s toon “Space Chimps,” distributed by 20th Century, only placed No. 7 in its bow, grossing an estimated $7.3 million from 2,511 runs. “Space Chimps” was outgunned by Disney-Pixar’s “Wall-E.” Pixar toon placed No. 6 in its fourth frame, declining just 48% to an estimated $9.8 million.

Like “Wall-E,” Will Smith holdover “Hancock” continued to see good results, even with the mammoth opening of “Dark Knight.” “Hancock” declined 56% in its third week to an estimated $14 million from 3,776 runs for a cume of $191.5 million. Pic placed No. 3 for the weekend.

New Line and Walden Media’s 3-D action-adventure “Journey to the Center of the Earth” came in No. 4, declining a slim 43% to an estimated $11.9 million from 2,830 screens--854 of those being digital 3-D screens--for a cume of $43 million in its first 10 days.

U’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” came in No. 5 in its second weekend. It took more of a dip, declining a steep 71% to an estimated $10 million from 3,212 screens for a cume of $56.4 million in its first 10 days.

In its second weekend, New Regency and Fox’s Eddie Murphy ill-fated laffer “Meet Dave” fell off the top 10 list, placing No. 11. Comedy declined 69% to an estimated $1.6 million for a cume of $9.37 million.

“Dark Knight’s” transformation into the event film of the summer confirms that Warners and Nolan have successfully relaunched a franchise that has seen several stops-and-starts. “Dark Knight’s” added appeal is due at least in part to the late Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker. Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine also star.

Film earned a record-breaking $67.8 on Friday alone. Of that, $18.5 million came from midnight shows, besting the previous midnight record set by Fox’s “Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith,” which grossed $16.9 million from 3,663 venues.

“Dark Knight” easily soared past the $47 million earned by Nolan’s “Batman Begins” when opening in summer 2005. Sequel could gross as much as $220 million in its first week domestic--more than the final domestic gross of “Batman Begins,” which cumed $205 million domestically. “Batman Begins” grossed another $166 million internationally...

Joshua Rich of EW:

Batman and the Joker led a record-breaking box-office weekend, while ''Mamma Mia!'' also made history...

'Knight' mighty in overseas launch...

Bat raises hell at foreign box office...

I just hope director Christopher Nolan can be made to stick around for the next one... He's the one who can top TDK...

A Knight To Remember

I have seen The Dark Knight and everything that's been said about the sequel is true...This is one superhero movie that lives up to its hype...

As the film opens, a mysterious criminal known only as the Joker (Heath Ledger) robs a mob-owned Gotham bank, and double crosses his accomplices so that he can have all the money. That night, multiple Batman impersonators interrupt a meeting between mobsters and the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy). The real Batman (Christian Bale) shows up and puts a quick end to the mallee .

Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) decide to being in newly elected district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) in on their plan to eradicate the mob, with the possibility that Dent will become the hero to the people that Batman cannot be. At the same time, Bruce Wayne and Harvey are both competing for the love of Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

The mob bosses meet to discuss how to handle Batman, Gordon, and Dent, while a Chinese mobster accountant, Lau (Chin Han), lets the gang leaders know he has taken their money to Hong Kong to prevent the police and the district attorney from seizing it in an imminent bank raid.

The Joker arrives at the meeting and proposes to kill Batman for them, convincing them that Lau will give them all up to the police if he is caught...



When fellow filmmaker Kevin Smith called TDK the The Godfather II of the comic book film genre-he wasn't exaggerating...Director Christopher Nolan breaks new ground for the comic book film here.

Creating one of the most sophisticated and intricate films of its kind ever produced. The script lays out the struggle between good and evil in such a way as to make it seem fresh--without being obvious and cliched. The script from Nolan and his brother Jonathan is just top notch reminding me once again why I love their work--they don't try to dumb things down for the sake of the viewer--taking them for granted. Even though we're dealing with a few fantastic characters who do fanciful things. The world of TDK is grounded in reality--Thanks in no small part to the performances...



Bale's Batman/Bruce Wayne continues to impress-giving us reason to see him truly the way he was created...complex and tortured....

Meanwhile, Ledger is superb as the Joker-dialing down the over the top-ness of say Jack Nicholson from Batman of nearly 20 years ago (which fit the tone of that film and the times) and instead as a maniac could send a chill through you without saying a word. With a manipulation of his vocal inflection--Ledger's clown prince is quite creepy...

Is it Oscar-worthy? I say Yes...

Gyllenhaal's Rachel is miles ahead of the way that Katie Holmes played her in Batman Begins. While Eckhart is a perfect fit as Dent...Oldman, Morgan Freeman as Fox and Michael Caine as Alfred offer able support as always.

The film boasts a spectacular cycle/car/truck chase and a nifty aerial stunt...The story indeed may offer some viewers a few unexpected twists and the set-up is there for a third film...

And while Ledger's death earlier this year was tragic, the movie will forever stand as a reminder of what an actor could do in a "comic book movie" to help make it great...



I can't wait to see TDK again...!

The Mother Of (Re)invention

Now that "Wanted" has made LOTS of cash, comic creator Mark Millar goes on a wild rant about his plans to redo"Superman " ???.

Its confirmed that not only is Darren Aronofsky in final talks to make the new RoboCop but the film is going to be a direct sequel and not a remake as previously reported. The plot takes place 20 years after the termination of the RoboCop program and then the city decides to reinstate it.

Michael Bay says the first 12 minutes of the "Friday the 13th" remake is going to re-write the book of horror.

Aussie actor Luke Ford is signed for three "Mummy" films in total, leading many to believe that if August 1st's "The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor is a success then he'll be put front and center as the main star of the film series

J.J. Abrams is still keeping coy about his upcoming re-launch of "Star Trek" Meanwhile new character posters have emerged (EW)

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane revealed during a TCA panel that he would like to do a episode spoofing "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" like they did with the "Star Wars" themed episode "Blue Harvest".

Dark Green

'Dark Knight' sets midnight record...

Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight" grossed the most ever for midnight shows, racking up an estimated $18.5 million



The first of manyy box offocr records to fall this weekend?

Down In The Valley

Yikes.. a musical remake of the 1983 cult comedy "Valley Girl " is in development!

Teeling the tale of the mixed-clique relationship between a punk (Nicolas Cage) and a Valley girl (Deborah Foreman).

THR says the updated version will be a hybrid of the story of the original with a musical score of '80s pop hits.

As long as Cage doesn't come back to sing...Any Way You Want it, by Journey or any other song it's all good!

10.2.0

Plans are afoot s to remake the classic 1979 Blake Edwards romantic comedy "10 says Variety.

Dudley Moore, Bo Derek and Julie Andrews starred, The story sees a man going through a midlife crisis who becomes infatuated with a younger newlywed and follows her on her Mexican honeymoon.

The studio will engage in a global search for a newcomer to play the new "10."

Love the original...If cast correctly the update could be fun though.

Prison Time

José Padilha will write and direct the true life Colombian prison drama "Marching Powder" says Variety.

Don Cheadle will produce the film and will probably star as Thomas McFadden a British drug trafficker who was arrested in Bolivia and jailed in La Paz's San Pedro prison.

During his six-year stretch, McFadden served as a tour guide in a prison that thrived under a capitalist system made possible by bribery of officials.

The project is based on Rusty Young's book of the same name.

Cheadle's had plenty of practice talking like a Brit-Thanks to the Ocean's heist flicks....

Built To A T

Former bodybuilder Roland Kickinger turned sometime actor has some pretty big shoes to fill. He is set to play the T-800 in "Terminator Salvation" according to The Clinton News-Record.

Kickinger takes over for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role this month

SPOILERS AHEAD:

"There's a very strong scene in the film where John Connor for the first time meets the Terminator, and he doesn't know if he's a good guy or a bad guy,"

I suppose Kickinger makes a good T-800...Still it's a bit hard to see anyone else but Arnie playing the part that put him on the cinematic map..

The film opens on May 22nd 2009.