Tough Talk

ItsJustSomeRandomGuy is back...Just in time for the release of X-Men Origins Wolverine:



The Watchmen are back...



And now an important PSA:



We can't let "shirtless one" Matthew McConaughey win... Can we?

Writing History

Former "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gilmore Girls" guest star turned script writer Danny Strong will pen "The Butler" says Variety.

The story follows the true story of Eugene Allen, a black man who served as a White House butler for 34 years starting in 1952. He ended up serving eight presidents and had a unique front row seat as political and racial history was being made.

Laura Ziskin is producing and the script which will be based on a Washington Post article by Wil Haygood

Allen’s wife died the day before the election and was buried on the same day that the article was published.

Strong's script for the TV movie "Recount" got high marks-- and he's also written the upcoming The Crusaders".

del Toro Ellis

Benicio Del Toro is being tipped to play "American Psycho" Less Than Zero and "The Rules of Attraction" author Bret Easton Ellis in an adaptation of his novel "Lunar Park".

"Lunar Park is in some state of pre-production. This is a very funny town. Oddly enough, Benicio Del Toro I think is going to do it" Easton Ellis told MTV News.

Park' is a semi-autobiographical book examining the early fame Ellis received when his literary career took off in the Eighties, then blurs it with such fictional details as terrorist attacks, ghost haunting, and a marriage to an actress.

"I think he’s interested just because he’s rarely offered Anglo parts. I think that’s one of the reasons it was very exciting [to him]" says Ellis.

del Toro has the chops and the quirky side to handle the far out material of the project.

Still A Man Of Action

Bruce Willis is a wanted man...

...for three new projects - "Red," "Scarpa" and "Inventory" posts Risky Biz Blog.



Based on the WildStorm/DC Universe comic,"RED" would have Willis as an ex-black-ops agent who comes back into action when a high-tech assassin comes after him and the woman he loves.

Erich and Jon Hoeber (Whiteout) wrote the script while Richard Donner could potentially direct.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian produce.

Willis and Donner's '06 effort 16 Blocks was better than most folks gave it credit for being...

"Scarpa" looks at the life of Greg Scarpa, an FBI informant who went undercover in New York's Columbo crime family. "Training Day" helmer Antoine Fuqua is set to helm.

"Inventory" has Willis' character as a detective going after a killer.

It's nice to see that even at his age Willis has no intention on giving up on the genre that made him a star...

Too Gets Four

Peter Dinklage and Aussies - Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski, Brendan Cowell and model Megan Gale in the romantic comedy I Love You Too according to Moviehole.

Two men - a postal worker and a "gifted" dwarf (Dinklage, Cowell) are out to win their dream women (Gale, Strahovski).

Comedian Peter Helliar wrote the script

Steve Bisley Travis McMahon also star.

Sounds fun and with Gale (pictured) and Strahovski around the film will be easy on the eyes...

Daina Reid calls action when filming kicks off in Australia next week.

Remake Pair Believe In Unicorns

Reuters reports that Kyle Gallner--soon to be filming the new A Nightmare on Elm Street--and Johanna E. Braddy of the Fame remake have already lined up their next flick Unicorn.

The story centers on an awkward teenage girl who escapes to a fantasy world when her first romantic relationship turns increasingly abusive.

Leah Meyerhoff wrote and directs the film. Filming is due to kick off this Summer.

All Is Lost

Producer Martin Poll is getting a $30-35 million indie feature film adaptation of John Milton's classic 17th century poem "Paradise Lost" off the ground says The Hollywood Reporter.

The project will go head to head with plans to adapt 'Lost' as a big-budget actioner.

The classic poem deals with Satan's fall from grace, his temptation of Adam and Eve and the first couple's subsequent banishment from the Garden of Eden.



Poll has been planning a film version of 'Lost' since the late 60's and developed a script with the late John Collier. That script was published in 1973 and Poll has maintained the option to it over the years. The acclaimed Arthur Penn wrote the most recent version.

This version could enter production as early as this Summer--with casting underway. A director search is being conducted as well

Scott Derrickson is attached to direct the rival "more commercial" project.

Promoting The Final Frontier

With 8 days or so left to go-- ads for Star Trek are beaming all over the place... Here are the latest 2...





Also: Director J.J. Abrams goes on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight talking Trek and the 100thh episode of Lost...

The Poseidon Adventure

Danny Huston has joined the remake of "Clash of the Titans," says The Hollywood Reporter.

Huston will play the sea god Poseidon and will interact with the other deities of Greek myth such as Zeus (Liam Neeson) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes).

Sam Worthington, Mads Mikkelsen, Gemma Arterton, Jason Flemyng and Alexa Davalos also star.

Louis Leterrier calls action on the update of the Greek mythology tale. Ptoduction kicked off on Monday just outside London.

Huston makes a fine addition here--Just as helps kick off the Summer '09 season in Friday's Wolverine flick...

The Da Vinci Stash

Roger Donaldson, who most recently directed the Jason Statham film The Bank Job, is set to helm another fact-based heist flick says Variety.

He will adapt Seymour Reit's novel The Day They Stole the Mona Lisa.

The book centers on the theft of the world's most famous painting from the Louvre Museum in 1911.

It was missing for more than two years before an Italian carpenter named Vincent Perugia showed up with the painting in Florence. showed up with the painting in Florence.

The film will center on the man who masterminded the theft.

Donaldson's filmography is loaded with thrillers like this--He can do this one with his eyes closed....

Back Up Performer

Noureen DeWulf, (seen in this weekend's Ghost of Girlfriends Past) has been cast opposite Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy "The Back-Up Plan," according to the The Hollywood Reporter.

The plot sees a fed-up wannabe mother (Lopez) meeting a promising romantic prospect on the same day she undergoes artificial insemination,

DeWulf will play Daphne, a hip downtown co-worker at Lopez's pet store.

Michaela Watkins and Alex O'Loughlin also star.

Kate Angelo. wrote the screenplay--from which Alan Poul is directing.

Filming starts next month in Los Angeles.

Big Bucks

Chris Noth has agreed to reprise his role as Mr. Big for Sex And The City 2, says Variety.



Michael Patrick King writes and directs the film which sees Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) moving to London with Big and finding out he's cheating on her.

Noth will score a seven-figure payday to reprise his role.

Sevrn figures--wow!--Iguess holding out was the right call indeed for Noth...

If he 7 numbers-the gals get....?

Evan Handler and David Eigenberg will return to their respective roles says Marc Malkin of E! Online.

The other ladies-Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon --are already on board

The sequel starts shooting in September and should release May 28 2010.

Market Wrap

The long gestating sequel to 1987's Wall Street has picked up major steam

Director Oliver Stone and star Michael Douglas as corporate raider Gordon Gekko will be back for Money Never Sleeps, reports Variety .

The story will find Gekko's larger-than-life presence looming over a younger upstart looking to navigate the murky waters of the current financial woes on Wall Street.

Shia Labeouf is in talks to take on the younger role.

Allan Loeb was hired to rewrite the script last Fall and obviously it was strong enough to nab Stone who, up until that point, wasn't keen on the idea of a sequel.

The original 1987 feature explored the finance sector and put the line "greed is good' into the classic movie quote lexicon for all time.

Studio spokesman Gregg Brilliant: "We need to keep the story line under wraps, but it's literally ripped from today's headlines. It's going to be very big and very cool."

The Bud Fox character, played by Charlie Sheen in the original, will not appear in the follow-up...

I'm quite stoked by the fact fact that Stone and Douglas will give us a look at how Gekko's been fairing since going to prison...If LaBeouf signs on--he''ll have to really push himself as an actor--But I think he has the potential to do well.

Production aims to begin this Summer.

Commanding Officer

Gerald McRaney has been cast in Red Tails says The Hollywood Reporter.

McRaney will play General Luntz, the officer who assigns the Red Tails as bomber escorts during missions over Nazi held territory.

Terrence Howard Cuba Gooding Jr. and Bryan Cranston co-star.

Anthony Hemingway helms the film off of John Ridley's script from a premise by George Lucas .

Filming kicks off shortly in Europe.

Pick Up Artist

Here's the "official" synopsis of the Star Trek reboot put out by the studio as well as an extended first meeting clip between 2 legends in the making....A villian chat..A hero chat...

The greatest adventure of all time begins with “Star Trek,” the incredible story of a young crew’s maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. In the midst of an incredible journey full of optimism, intrigue, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind.

The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals born worlds apart. One, James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine), a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy, a natural-born leader in search of a cause. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), grows up on the planet Vulcan, an outcast due to his half-human background, which makes him susceptible to the volatile emotions that Vulcans have long lived without, and yet an ingenious, determined student, who will become the first of his kind accepted into the Starfleet Academy.

Kirk and Spock could not be more different. Yet, in their quest to figure out who they really are and what they have to give to the world, they soon become competitive cadets-in-training. With their drastically opposite styles, one driven by fiery passion, the other by rigorous logic, they also become defiant, contentious adversaries, each equally unimpressed with the other, each going all out to be among the special few chosen to join the crew of the most advanced starship ever created, the U.S.S. Enterprise.

The crew is headed by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Joining him are the ship’s Medical Officer Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban); the man who will become the ship’s Chief Engineer, Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Simon Pegg); Communications Officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana); experienced Helmsman Sulu (John Cho); and the 17-year-old whiz kid Chekov (Anton Yelchin). All will face a harrowing first test that will set in motion the loyalty, camaraderie, daring and good humor that will bind them forever.

In the midst of it all, Kirk and Spock will come face-to-face with an undeniable destiny: a need to forge an unlikely but powerful partnership, enabling them to lead their crew to boldly go where no one has gone before...

An extended scene between Kirk And Uhura...



Hmmn They still serve beer in the future....

Dead... Again?

Jeebus! Someone out there is busy developing a remake of the 1991 comedy Drop Dead Fred for Russell Brand to headline says The Hollywood Reporter.

Dennis McNicholas will write the remake.

The original version starred Phoebe Cates as a wallflower who loses her job and husband during the course of a lunch hour. Forced to live back home, she's reunited with her childhood imaginary friend (Rik Mayall), who promises to help but only turns her life upside down.

The trade says the take for the update is to make a film in the tone of Beetle Juice, building a universe around the concept of imaginary friends. Brand would play the trouble-making pal.

If I have this right...They are taking one worst films of the last 20 years remaking in the vein of another 20 plus year old movie--sticking Brand in there and hoping for the best? Sheesh!

I guess the only way Brand can have success headlining a film is to do someone else's work--a t least when he steps in as Dudley Moore's Arthur--that makes a bit of sense.

This remaking Fred is just lunacy.

Egghead

David R. Ellis is negotiating to direct the 3-D sci-fi horror film "Humpty Dumpty" reports Variety.



Derived from the nursery rhyme--the film follows a half-human, half-alien creature who embarks on a murderous rampage after his alien mother is abused by two rednecks in the Deep South.

Newcomer Billy Majestic wrote the script.

Let's see we have had killer Leprechauns, dolls named Chucky, the Tooth fairy in Darkness Falls--Why not a homicidal Humpty...?

Filming kicks off in September.

From An Orgy To Porn

Is 80's Miami Vice star Don Johnson ready for a big screen comeback?

He is set to play a mustached porn director in the star packed comedy "Born to Be a Star" says The Hollywood Reporter.

A small-town nerd ( Nick Swardson) learns that his quiet and unassuming parents were famous porn stars in the 1970s. This motivates him to leave northern Iowa for Hollywood, hoping to follow in their footsteps and fulfill his destiny as the biggest adult-film star in the world.

Johnson plays a down-on-his-luck director who discovers Swardson and gives him a shot.

The cast also includes Christina Ricci as Swardson's innocent girlfriend Stephen Dorff as adult film star Dick Shadow, as well as Edward Herrmann and Tyler Spindel.

He's also got the wonderfully titled A Good Old Fashioned Orgy and the ron-con "When in Rome" as Kristen Bell's pops

Tom Brady (The Hot Chick) is helming Born--from a script co-written by Adam Sandler and Swardson. Sandler is co-producing.

Safe Travels

The lovely Amanda Peet has joined the cast of the adventure/comedy pic "Gulliver's Travels" according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film takes Jonathan Swift's classic story and updates it to follow travel writer Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black), who heads to an assignment in the Bermuda Triangle only to end up on the secret island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious tiny people.

Peet will play Black's editor and potential romantic interest.

Jason Segel and Emily Blunt are set to co-star.

Black and Peet shared the screen in 2001's Saving Silverman comedy with mixed results--This should turn out better than that one did...

Rob Letterman is helming the pic, which was written by Nicholas Stoller and Joe Stillman that began filming last month.

Quantum Leaps

Anthony Pascale and the staff of TrekMovie.com have been doing some fine reporting on the new Star Trek film for over a year or so now as things got imto high gear...Of course it helps when you have access to the creative team behind the film--like director J.J. Abrams, or writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman...

With the release of the film now just a week and a half away--and hopes running high that the new big screen adventure will both satisfy longtime fans of Gene Roddenberry's space odyssey-- and bring in new folks along the way... As "TOS" star Leonard Nimoy returns to the franchise after an 18 year hiatus--he is there helping to introduce a new group of actors playing iconic classic characters...I thought it might be a good time to create this post--as a way to celebrate the ginormas event and act a primer for the flick as well...





Last December Pascale talked exclusively to Roberto Orci about "How The New Star Trek Movie Fits With Trek Canon (and Real Science)"

It's a great read...and helped to clarify my concerns over the film changing the very well known lore of what's come before---I must say the filmmakers came up with a wonderful way to stay true to the legacy---while creating the new beginning....

BE WARNED THERE ARE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT--AS USUAL-IF YA DON'T WANNA KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE FILM YOU BETTER STOP READING NOW!!!

From the Orci December interview:

...The film resolves both the paradox of how the movie can appear different, but fit within [Trek] canon, as well as how the film resolves the traditional paradoxes associated with time travel.

...FAQ.

Q: Why do some things appear different in the new Star Trek movie?
A: There is an alternative timeline created by Nero (Eric Bana) traveling back in time.

Q: Is everything different in the alternative timeline?
A: No, some things remain the same.

Q: Does this alternative timeline wipe out the original timeline (from TOS -Star Trek: Nemesis)? A: No, quantum theory says they both co-exist.

Q: Does the original timeline continue?
A: Yes, again as explained by Quantum theory.

Q: Does this quantum theory approach conform to ‘Trek science?’
A: Depends on the episode, but it is explicitly cited by Data (Brent Spiner) [in the 7th season episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Parallels]

Pretty clever eh? Using an actual scientific principle explained in another Trek incarnation episode gives them free reign really while not ticking off the faithful...While neophytes need not concern themselves with the past...er future er whatever unless they are inclined to do so after they see the movie...

If you are a Trek fan I highly recommend you read the movie prequel comic trade paperback Star Trek: Countdown which fleshes out reasons for the elder Sopck's role as well as villian Nero's backstory and motivations...

Finally as a bonus item:



Read Pascale's JJ Abrams Talks Deleted Scenes - Find Out What Didn’t Make Final Cut of ‘Star Trek’

May 7/8th is almost here!!

Monday Morsels

A few noteworthy industry bits...



***Might Robert Downey Jr. be playing author Edgar Allan Poe in the near future?

Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for Poe biopic.

Downey Jr. would make a perfectly troubled Poe

***An anonymous industry tipster told STYD that Bill Murray has filmed a cameo, dressed in full zombie make-up, for Ruben Fleischer's October 9th horror comedy Zombieland...

***Paramount is premiering the new trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen tomorrow April 29th as part of a 20 city, one-time screening of the first pic.

The film will be presented in IMAX in the five top markets of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Toronto...Get full details...As soon as the trailer shows up online I will have it posted...

Company Business

Maria Bello and Craig T. Nelson have joined the cast of John Wells' "The Company Men" says Variety.

The story deals with the impact that a corporate downsizing has on both its casualties and survivors.

Bello will play the vice president of human resources, who is forced to fire Ben Affleck's (pictured on the set) character. Nelson plays the CEO of the global conglomerate.



Kevin Costner plays his brother-in-law, a salt-of-the-earth drywall installer who gives him a construction job.

Tommy Lee Jones plays a senior partner in the firm, a principled man who struggles with the greedy actions of his partners.

The production has been set in motion in Boston and is slated to come out next year

No Place Like 'Drome

Plans are in motion to remake director David Cronenberg's quirky thriller "Videodrome," says Variety,

In the 1983 original James Woods played Max Renn, a TV station manager introduced to a pirate broadcast called Videodrome, a program laden with torture.Later he finds that a side-effect of the Videodrome signal is that it maliciously brings about brain tumours in the viewer causing hallucinations which are able to manifest in his physical flesh-- like growing a vagina-like womb in his belly.

The new version will use the idea of nanotechnology and make the film a larger-scale sci-fi action pic.

Cronenberg is not yet involved in the remake. He is currently working on "The Matarese Circle" as a starring vehicle for Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington.

Cronenberg's early films are filled with way out sequences but Videodrome is probably on the extreme end of the spectrum...It will be interesting to see if any of that original stuff will be reworked and included in the remake....

Ehren Kruger is writing rhe screenplay script and will co-produce the movie with Daniel Bobker.

Feminine Wild

Moviegoers were Obsessed enough at the prospect of seeing Ali Larter and Beyonce come to blows over poor Idris Elba--that they helped it reach the box office top spot...



Pamela McClintock of Variety:

Sony Screen Gems' obsession with genre pics paid off again as stalker thriller "Obsessed" opened to an estimated $28.5 million from 2,514 runs to win the weekend race at the domestic box office.

Also making headlines was Disneynature's "Earth," which grossed an estimated $8.6 million for the weekend to nab the third best opening ever for a documentary, and the best ever for a nature film . Film, opening Wednesday, has cumed $14.2 million in its first five days.

Rogue Pictures and Universal's "Fighting" also opened better than expected, grossing an estimated $11.4 million from 2,309 runs to come in No. 3 after "Obsessed" and Warner Bros. holdover "17 Again."

Paramount's "The Soloist" opened at No. 4, grossing an estimated $9.7 million from 2,024 runs. The drama, produced by DreamWorks, came in on the lower end of expectations.

"Earth," the first release from Disneynature, landed at No. 5.

On the specialty side, Sony Pictures Classics' "Tyson" posted a per screen average of $7,817 as it opened in 11 theaters in New York and Los Angeles to gross an estimated $85,982.

Zac Efron topliner "17 Again" declined 51% in its second sesh to gross an estimated $11.7 million from 3,255 runs for a cume of $40 million in its first 10 days.

"Obsessed," staring Beyonce Knowles, Idris Elba and Ali Larter, scored the second best opening ever for a Screen Gems title after "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," which debuted to $30.1 million in September 2005.

EW offers up the complete chart for the weekend's top 10 flicks...While Adam B. Vary provides analysis...

Hands-off-my-man thriller starring Beyonce exceeds expectations, taking No. 1 spot with $28.5 mil ...

Obsessed reached the top despite horrible reviews...Proving that folks don't always heed their words... And that audiences wanna see beautiful chicks fight over a dude...

Dark Goes DTV

30 Days of Night author Steve Niles told MTV News that the proposed follow up to David Slade's 2007 film adaptation is alive but going to debut on DVD and not in theaters...



"The script is in. I’ve been working on it with a buddy of mine, Ben Ketai, who directed the last round of the on-line webisodes. The script is based on Dark Days"

Niles followed up the hit comic series with a sequel Dark Days.

The story sees Stella Olemaun (Melissa George in the first film) relocate to Los Angeles to purposely attract the attention of the vampire community in order to take revenge on what the Alaskan vampires did to her husband Eben (Josh Hartnett).

"We didn’t hit that magic $100 million, but I had a long talk with [producer Sam Raimi ]," Niles tells MTV. "He called me and just said, 'Don't be too quick to judge this direct-to-dvd market, especially with the sci-fi market'."

I likeed the first film better than most I guess--It was a kick ass vamp flick---without a lot of that gooey gushy romance stuff in the middle.

Good Luck Charm

Michael Caine told the website InContention that he has a small role in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming thriller of the mind Inception.



"I have a little part in it, yes. Just a tiny part. Chris and I are very good friends so I'll do that little part. I think I'll work about three days. It'll be extraordinary, wait until you see this one. I think if I say another word he's going to kill me".

Caine joins Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Caine has starred in Nolan's last 3 pics ---all of which have been really good. With Caine in board even for a little bit that trend is likely to continue.

Greatest American Sequels

**Dan Aykroyd talked to MTV about Ghostbusters III:

"There will be a whole new generation that has to be trained, and that whole new generation will be led by an individual who you’ll all love when you meet him but I’m not going to tell you anything yet"

**Paul Walker said in a radio interview with 104.3 MY-FM, posted via /film

"With the way things opened up, Vin and I will be coming back, we’re making a fifth one, and we’re going to Brazil, that’s it"-referring to another Fast & Furious...

**The Age report that the upcoming Sex and the City 2 will incorporate the global financial crisis into its storyline.

Hmm... Who knew recessions could be both sexy and funny...

**Empire reports that Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and John Ratzenberger recently watched a "complete story reel" with animatics, temp voices and music for Toy Story 3 . Hanks has already had three complete recording sessions for the film, and will probably have one more...

**Variety confirmed that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has given the OK to include his likeness in the upcoming "Terminator Salvation".

A body-cast mold of Schwarzenegger made during the filming of T-1 provided the basis for a digital-effects version of his famous character...

**Moviehole spoke with Eric Christian Olsen who was attached to play Ralph Hinkley--made famous by William Katt-- in the film adaptation of classic 80's comedy superhero series The Greatest American Hero bur now will not blaming financial issues for the project's end...

"I booked that movie, but they didn't have financing in place. Because the budget was so huge They couldn't get the money. It was a really funny script - about a reluctant hero who gets in way over his head - and it had a lot of really cool stunts... Then we get a phone call just as we were starting the deal to say they hadn't got the financing. Never got to that place - only got to reading the original contracts; no super-suit."

That's a shame Olsen was a perfect choice...

**Finally our first real look at Rob Zombie's H2: Halloween 2 opening August 28th 2009.




"...completes his vision"? God I hope so....

Bio-Delay

Universal Pictures has decided to halt the development on the BioShock film due to budgetary concerns says Variety.



The Gore Verbinski-directed John Logan ("Gladiator"), scripted live action adaptation of the popular video game was due to begin filming in Los Angeles, but budget estimates rose to $160 million which has stalled the project until a more reasonable number can be reached.

Verbinski: "We were asked by Universal to move the film outside the U.S. to take advantage of a tax credit. We are evaluating whether this is something we want to do. In the meantime, the film is in a holding pattern."

The "we", Verbinski refers to is his production company.

Like the game itself the film's action centers on the underwater city Rapture, where a pilot crash-lands near a secret entrance and becomes involved in a power struggle.

They are now looking at alternatives shooting sites in London as a way to trim the costs.

Despite the stoppage, the studio remains determined to make the film.

I have said this before I will say it again video game inspired flicks are a tough proposition. Given the associated with making them--let alone writing a full narrative means you had better get it right or it's a wash--Bringing in non-gamers into the cineplex is difficult.

Short Cuts

The "final cut" of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" began to screen for press this week...and big shocker...

The suits at Fox told us that the leaked version was an "early and unfinished" work print...

A few days ago the final film's running time clocked in at 107 minutes- the exact same as the leaked version.

When the leak story first broke the studio made a point to say that the final cut ran around 10-15 minutes longer and incorporated reshoot footage not seen in the work print.

Allowing for the possibility for other edits to have occured after the leak (The leak happened some 3 weeks ago and the film was not rated until last week)...That could account for both cuts having the same run time....



A source who has seen both the leaked workprint and the final version tells AICN though:

"The workprint version IS in fact identical to the release print, sans effect and some audio work"

Hmmm...

The source says those scenes in the trailer, such as Wolverine carrying his girlfriend to the beach, are not in either version.

What about the visual effects?

"[There's] some really bad CGI work made me groan numerous times... the scene with Stewart looks so much better in the workprint - trying to digitally de-age him did NOT work this time around."

Why did the studio lie about the changes made--or not made? -"FOX is trying their darndest to keep this news from getting out, because it will eliminate most of the motivation for people who have seen the workprint to pay for a ticket."

How could they think that this would not get out?

Now studio suit Tim Rothman claims Wolverine To Have Multiple Secret Endings--trying to blunt any damage days before May 1st...

Conspiracy...Maybe not. But something sure stinks--I say give Roger Friedman his job back--at least he gave the film some positive buzz--amidst chaos...

Solving For X

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner talked extensively with Sci-Fi Wire this week about the fate of the "X-Men" franchise and a sequel to another comic book flick....

First up it sounds like, X-Men Origins: Magneto moving ahead is somewhat dependent on the success of X-Men Origins: Wolverine"...

"We will do that. We all want to. Magneto is a fantastic script, and hopefully we'll make it." She continues, "Honestly, we have all been just so focused on getting Wolverine out that we didn't take the time to sit down and explore

Still sounds like "X-Men: First Class" is the first priority despite that a first draft script is not yet complete.

"I like kids. I did produce Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo's Fire . I do like those kind of teenage movies; I really do. Part of it takes me to my roots. It's action. There seems, to me, to be more humor, or more potential for humor. I really like that idea. The relationship ... I don't want to get into what the script is about, but it provides a bit of a lighter touch to the franchise." ...

When the original Constantine flick opened to a worldwide box office of $230 million,in 2005 it seemed like the start of a franchise for the comic book adaptation. In 2006, LSD spoke positively about a sequel, saying she and a "team of writers" were "really going to go for it" on a sequel that would feature a "hard R-rating," Keanu Reeves, and a story "outside of America."

Then nothing...

She says now "Looks very good. Thinking about it. Looking for a writer."

I enjoyed Constantine--and would see a sequel for sure--but it still sounds a while off.

Lockjawz

How cool is this...

Jaws alumni Richard Dreyfuss (pictured at right w/Robert Shaw and/Roy Scheider) will be making a brief appearance in Alexandre Aja's upcoming 3D remake of Piranha! says STYD.

His character will even be drinking Amity brand beer (the setting of "Jaws").--and might he playing fish expert Matt Hooper in the the movie?

He joins Ving Rhames Elisabeth Shue and Adam Scott

Loosely based on the original Piranha directed by Joe Dante, The updated version was penned by Aja and his writing partner Grégory Levasseur and is due out next year.

In this one a tremor causes Arizona's Lake Havasu floor to open, setting free scores of prehistoric piranhas.

The flick starts shooting next month in Arizona for release next March.



This may be the most star packed B movie made in a long while

Shadow Puppets

Stephen Dorff has landed a part in the porn industry comedy "Born To Be A Star" says Variety.

The story centers on a small-town Midwestern nerd (Nick Swardson) who discovers his parents were famous porn stars.

Dorff plays the legendary porn star Dick Shadow (lol)

Christina Ricci has already signed on to play Swardson's girlfriend.

Adam Sandler Allen Covert and Swardson wrote the script.

This is quite a change of pace for Dorff who is best known for playing dramatic roles or heavies--Good for him. Not exactly a big name but no slouch.

Shooting kicks off next week.

Victim #4

Twilight star Kellan Lutz joins Thomas Dekker, Kyle Gallner Jackie Earle Haley and Rooney Mara in the Nightmare On Elm Street update according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Lutz is currently shooting "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," so his part as a jock will be scheduled later into the shoot




Lutz is no stranger to the horror remake, having appeared in 2008's version of Prom Night,--he also appeared in the first rate cable mini-series "Generation Kill." as Cpl. Jason Lilley.

Given Lutz' schedule I suspect Freddy will make mince meat out of him pretty quick.

Samuel Bayer is directing the flick which kicks off May 5th in Chicago.

Tin Tyrants

Now that the directorial duties for the first Tintin film have been set

Peter Jackson spoke with Empire Magazine (via Slashfilm) updating them on how the motion capture project is coming along and just what his involvement is exactly on both the first and second films

Film #1--He's producing and Steven Spielberg's directing, with a week of reshoots to be done in June in his Wellington studios to fix any issues that need to be fixed from Spielberg’s original month-long shoot earlier this year.

"We’re kind of co-directing. I mean, we are co-doing it. Steven’s been on set with the actors for the last six weeks, and I was only there for a week. So he’s definitely directing the first in a way that I’m not" .

Jackson ads that the first film will use "The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn" story to provide most of the plot, other elements from creator Hergé 's two-dozen or so other books in the series - will be incorporated.

Film #2-- The roles will then be reversed with Spielberg directing only via webcam. The second one is not only financed but already in pre-production and the animatics for it should be completed by June..

Both films should be ready in time for a 2011 release.

Lovin' Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has stepped into the role vacated by James Franco in Christopher Nolan’s Inception says The Hollywood Reporter.

The contemporary sci-fi actioner is set within "the architecture of the mind", no further plot details have been released.

Gordon-Levitt is taking on the role, an associate of the leading CEO-type character...

Franco droppred out due to scheduling issues.

Leonardo DiCaprio Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Cillian Murphy also star.

Gordon-Levitt makes a fine alternate...Nolan and his casting folk are tops even if they have to replace someone...

Filming kicks off this Summer for a 2010 release.