Webb Of Love

500 Days of Summer helmer Marc Webb is in negotiations to direct a Danish thriller remake "Just Another Love Story" says The Hollywood Reporter.



The story sees a crime photographer pretend to be the boyfriend of an amnesiac, only to face the wrath of her real boyfriend when he finds out about the deception.

Ole Bornedal helmed the original 2008 pic.

Webb has also been in talks to direct that remake of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Personally I would rather see Webb pick "Love" over "Superstar"

Mike Falls For Uma

Uma Thurman will star in the romantic comedy Ceremony says Variety.

The story sees a young man (played by Sky High's Michael Angarano) falls for an older woman (Thurman) who is about to tie the knot.

Max Winkler (son of Henry Winkler) will direct from a screenplay that he wrote.

Shooting kicks off October 21st on Long Island.

Rapid Hire

John C. Reilly has signed on to star in Miguel Arteta's ensemble comedy "Cedar Rapids, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The film centers on a wholesome and naive small-town Wisconsin man (Ed Helms) who, when his role model dies, must represent his company at a regional insurance conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where his mind is blown by the big-town experience.

Reilly's character also is attending the conference and is a family man who sees the event as a vacation and time to let loose.

Miguel Arteta is directing the pic off of a Phil Johnson screenplay.

No production date has been set.

Rock Rolls Faster

Tough guy Dwayne Johnson has signed on to star in the action drama Faster. says Variety.

Johnson will play an ex-con who is avenging the death of his brother, after he was murdered 10 years earlier when the two were double-crossed during a heist.

Joe and Tony Gayton penned the script.

When Johnson began negotiating, his Gridiron Gang pal Phil Joanou was expected to direct, but Joanou dropped out several months ago. George Tillman Jr. is negotiating to take over.

Filming kicks off January 2010.

A New Warden

Antoine Fuqua of “Training Day” and “Tears of the Sun fame is in negotiations to direct Prisoners says Risky Biz Blog.

Aaron Guzikowski's spec script centers on a small-town carpenter whose young daughter and best friend are kidnapped. After the cops fail to find them, the man turns vigilante and starts an investigation of his own.

Director Bryan Singer, leading men Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale had previously been attached to the project, but their involvement is now uncertain after the project was reconfigured for a lower $40 million budget--and all three have seemingly moved on to other films.

The film is being fast-tracked with shooting to kick off early next year.

Mars Men

THR reports of Thomas Haden Church, James Purefoy and Mark Strong have joined the cast of "John Carter of Mars"



An adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' book series., the story centers on a Civil War veteran (Taylor Kitsch) who finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars, where he becomes embroiled with the planet's warring people.

Church plays Tal Hajus, an ambitious and vicious Thark warrior who is biding his time to be a ruler. Purefoy plays Kantos Kan, the captain of the Xavarian, the kingdom of Helium’s grand warship. Strong is Matai Shang, the ruler of the Thems with godlike status.

Lynn Collins Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Polly Walker also star.

Andrew Stanton is directing the film which is already in pre production for a scheduled for release Summer 2012.

Apocalypse Rising

I didn't even know that Lauren Conrad the-celebutante-starlet who is famous thanks to faux reality shows Laguna Beach and The Hills, is a best-selling author....



Conrad''s novel L.A. Candy--is now being made into a film says Variety

Candy tells the story of a "19-year-old who moves to Hollywood, quickly finds fame as a reality series star and then has to deal with the ramifications of living a fishbowl life."

The producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey say they"loved her take," adding: "Her book is an honest portrayal of what it must be like to set out to be normal, then sign on to become famous and eventually realize, wow, this isn't at all what I'd planned for myself."

Conrad apparently plans to write two more book about the main characters....

Get ready folks The end is nigh! Help Us All...

The Fright Move

Prep on Michael Myers next killing spree Halloween 3-D has come to a halt says Deadline Hollywood Daily



Todd Farmer turned in his script on Friday, but Dimension Films head Bob Weinstein feels the production is being rushed and has decided to wait until director director Patrick Lussier is free so they can take their time with the project.

Lussier signed on to the film but had to begin shooting by November so he could start work on Drive Angry, with Nicolas Cage, early next year.

A smart move in my opinion....Giving all involved time to hone the story to maybe restore the faltering franchise....

As a result, the film will move from an October 2010 to a release sometime in 2011.

Duke And His Dawgs

A huge vocal cast has been assembled for the planned Marmaduke movie says Coming Soon goes:

Amanda Seyfried voices "Mazie," Jeremy Piven is "Bosco," Ron Perlman plays "Chupadogra," Christopher Mintz-Plasse is "Guiseppe," while Black Eyed Peas singer Stacy Ferguson is "Jezebel." Steve Coogan voices "Raisin," George Lopez is "Carlos" and Damon Wayans Jr. provides the voice for "Thunder.".

Judy Greer and Lee Pace are playing the big dog's human owners

Director Tom Dey shot the film this summer in Vancouver and it is set to hit theaters on June 4th, 2010.

Little Girl

Variety is reporting Jessica Alba is negotiating to join the cast of the Meet the Parents sequel 'Little Fockers',

Alba would play an attractive pharmaceutical rep whose looks wreak havoc on male characters in the film.

Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner and Owen Wilson will be back in their franchise roles.

The film is in pre-production right now with director Paul Weitz calling action on John Hamburg and Larry Stuckey's script for a release on July 30, 2010.

Alba has enough comedy on her resume--Too bad those films were not all that funny...Hopefully this high profile comedy will be different.

Not Easy To Go Green

On the heels of a recent car accident on the set, The Green Hornet film had a bomb scare yesterday...




TMZ reports that while filming in a Los Angeles parking lot, the crew found an unidentified device on set. The bomb squad was called in and blew the thing using a robot..

It was later determined that rhe suspicious object was a smoke detector

It is not yet known whether any of the cast, including Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz, were on the set during the incident.

The film arrives in theaters on December 17th 2010

T-Bagged Again

The Halcyon Company filed for bankruptcy recently, Variety reports that one option being heavily considered right now is to either partially or outright sell the rights to the Terminator franchise to bring the company out of insolvency. This is the 2nd time T -rights are up for sale...



Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek's company bought the rights to the "Terminator" franchise for $25 million two years ago in order to put the killing machines back to theaters with "Terminator Salvation".

It's weak box-office results have lead to no real plans to pursue Terminator 5 or a new trilogy as originally intended.

Along with the recent cancellation of the TV spin-off Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and that's a recipe for disaster.

Halycon have now hired the financial advisory firm FTI Capital Advisors to look into their options as the company's only real asset.

The company is in debt of several million to Pacificor, LLC a Santa Barbara hedge fund. FTI's managing director Kevin Shultz says "We're going to be contacting a variety of studios and independent companies."

Someone else will scoop up T-rights eventually--it's just a question of what they do with 'em and how long the process takes...

Leo Is A Beach Bum Again

Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to star in the action/mystery thriller “The Deep Blue Goodbye" says Variety.



An adaptation of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novel series, DiCaprio would play McGee, a self-described beach bum who lives aboard 52-foot houseboat the Busted Flush and alleviates his cash-flow problems by hiring on as a "salvage consultant." He recovers property for clients, taking a hefty percentage and getting into a lot of danger and romance in sun-drenched Florida.

Dana Stevens will adapt the script.

DiCaprio, Peter Chernin, and Jennifer Davisson Killoran will produce.

It's been almost a decade since Leo spent time on The Beach--And I guess he's ready to play in the sand again....

Days Gone Wilde

House hottie Olivia Wilde and Jonathan Tucker have been added to the cast of "The Next Three Days," says The Hollywood Reporter



Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks star in the movie which revolves around a woman imprisoned for a murder she claims she didn't commit and her husband who tries to vindicate her.

Wilde will play a young mother who befriends the husband; Tucker will play a street tough running a meth lab.

Shooting begins this week in Pittsburgh with Paul Haggis' calling the shots...

Banks and Wilde woooo--hoooo!

Posers

Summit Entertainment continues its publicity push for The Twilight Saga: New Moon with the release of three brand new character group posters...

These come out behind the individual character posters from a few weeks ago.. If you are so inclined--get ready to squeal....

Friends For Roman

Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland has put his latest film “The Ghost,” on indefinite hold says The Hollywood Reporter.



The film--Pierce Brosnan stars as fictional former British leader--Ewan McGregor is a ghostwriter hired to help complete his memoirs.

Shot earlier this year in Germany and France pic still requires several months of post-production work before being ready for theatres.

Polanski's agent said editing was mostly complete but music scoring and sound mixing among other work has yet to be done.

The project marks the first Polanski movie with a U.S. setting since 1974's Chinatown Germany stood in for the story's New England settings.

US distribution has yet to be lined up, Polanski usually finishes his films before that's been established.

With Woody Allen, Alejandro Gonzalez, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Wong Kar Wai, Harmony Korine, Stephen Frears, Alexander Payne, Michael Mann, Wim Wenders, Tilda Swinton Peter Fonda, Pedro Almodovar Whoopi Goldberg Monica Bellucci and a lot of Hollywood embracing Polanski‎ A Cinema Blend Rant reminds us rightly so...Polanski's Great Movies Don't Excuse Child Rape .... The fact that lots of industry types defend Polanski is not a shock__I say let the judicial system play out now and see where it leads us.

Defender II Plans

Director Peter Stebbings's super hero mock up flick Defendor has no release date but that has not stopped him from already talking sequels.



According to The Nightly Gamer, the film screened as part of Cinéfest over the weekend.

The sequel Defendors, wouldn.t star Woody Harrelson but a group of other guys who idolize his character.

The first pic sees Arthur Poppington (Harrelson), a construction worker who.s responsible for holding up traffic signs by day and fighting crime as Defendor by night. He gets in trouble when he beats up an undercover cop when he catches him abusing a prostitute named Kat (Kat Dennings) Kat and Defendor then oin forces to track down his arch rival Captain Industry.

As reported by Variety, Defendor was picked up at the Toronto International Film Festival by Sony Pictures

Jeez get a U.S. theatrical release date and see how it does...Stop getting ahead of yourself will ya?

Long Arm Of The Law

An update on director Roman Polanski's arrest...

He will fight extradition attempts...

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said they discovered last week that Polanski had plans to travel to Zurich this weekend to receive an award at the film festival and prepared paperwork for his arrest as Switzerland which has extradition treaties with the US.

A spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police says that if Polanski agrees with an extradition, he could be sent to the U.S. in the next few days but if not, a lengthy court process could stretch out for months or years.

Hours ago, French and Polish officials urged Switzerland to free Polanski on bail and pressed U.S. officials all the way up to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to intervene.

Stay Tuned...

Stuff Of Nightmares

The first theatrical trailer for the April 30th 2009 Nightmare on Elm Street remake has hit the Net...Based on the original Wes Craven classic from 1984...it has me...curious...But as usual with remakes not jazzed...



Jackie Earle Haley's Freddy Krueger looks a bit different from the Robert Englund incarnation. Rooney Mara plays Nancy The film also stars Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker and Kellan Lutz.

Samuel Bayer called the shots from a script by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer.

Babs Is Cast

According to “Halloween” actress Danielle Harris herself (via Twitter) and STYD she’s landed the lead female role in Zebediah DeSoto's recently announced reboot of “Night of the Living Dead: Origins.

"All you're good luck wishes worked! Guess who's gonna be Barbara?!"

She will play Barbara, who finds herself locked in a country house whose character has roots in George Romero’s original “Night of the Living Dead"

Zebediah de Soto and David R. Schwartz co-wrote the script described as an origin story without the involvement of Romero. The intent is to update the tale by diving into the characters' back stories.

When a Stranger Calls remake director ' Simon West and Jib Polhemus are producing

Harris has more than enough genre cred to pull this off. While I'm not jumping out of my skin over the backstory notion--Halloween-2007 and its sequel proved that that's not always a smart move...I'm very happy for Harris just the same...

Getting Chatty

A few film bits for the start of the week...

*Hugh Hefner revealed via Twitter that Diablo Cody is involved in the upcoming biopic about the Playboy. founder that produce rBrian Grazer is working on. John Hoffman,was previously attached to pen the script...

"Danny Trejo, hinted that he'll be a part of "Predators." for pal director Robert Rodriguez

*Edward Norton told MTV he'd be up for playing The Incredible Hulk again, especially if the Green Meanie serves as a foil or potential villain in the upcoming ""The Avengers."

"It's purely a function of time," said Norton. "It's always about just working things out on the schedule.I get very busy. You have to deal with the demands of your moment," he continued. "I tend to keep my head in the thing I'm doing and I don't speculate or worry too much about what two or three blocks down the thing is going to be. "



*IMAX and Sony Pictures announced that the highly-anticipated Michael Jackson's This Is Itdocu will be released for a special run in select digital IMAX theaters worldwide during the film's limited two-week engagement in thousands of theaters globally starting on October 28th 2009.

The Film's Preview Tickets Already Sold Out!

Took 2 hours...

LA Law Finds Polanski

Director Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland on '78 charges....



Kate Ward of EW has the background:

Back in 1978, Polanski was accused of giving a 13-year-old model champagne and subsequently having sexual intercourse with her at Jack Nicholson's home (the actor was not home at the time). After pleading guilty and fleeing the country, there had been several attempts to settle the case, but Polanski had refused to attend hearings in the states. Just last year, Polanski’s lawyer attempted to get the case thrown out — citing a documentary--Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired that depicts backroom deals between prosecutors and the original judge assigned to the case — but a Los Angeles Superior Court refused to do so, thus opening the case back up should Polanski return to the U.S. and appear in court. The victim in the case, Samantha Geimer, now 45 years old, has requested that the case be thrown out....

Stay Tuned...

Meatball Still On A Roll

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs rolled over the week's 3 new wide releases easily to stay in the top spot...



Dave McNary of Variety:

Meatballs equaled the most moolah again as Sony’s second weekend of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” dominated the nation’s box office with $24.6 million at 3,119, easily topping the debuts of Disney’s “Surrogates,” MGM’s “Fame” and Overture’s “Pandorum.”

“Meatballs” showed strong holding power with a decline of only 19%, lifting its 10-day cume to $60 million. The 3D toon took in $5.6 million on Friday, then doubled that figure on Saturday to $11.2 million and $7.8 million on Sunday.

Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” generated impressive heat in its launch with $240,000 at four for the weekend, achieving the top per screen average this year with $60,000. “Capitalism” has cumed $306,586 in its first five days and will expand to about 1,000 next weekend.

“Surrogates,” starring Bruce Willis, finished a distant second with $15 million at 2,951 as the sci-fier came in under forecasts. With an $80 million budget, the modest launch represents a disappointment for the Mouse House.

“Fame” followed in third with $10 million at 3,096 as the reboot - a co-production between Lakeshore and MGM/United Artists - finished at the low end of expectations. The audience for “Fame” was 78% female and 55% under 25 as “Cloudy” appeared to cut into the potential audience.

Warner’s second frame of Matt Damon’s “The Informant” held respectably in fourth with a 34% decline to $6.9 million at 2,505 for a 10-day cume of $21 million.

Lionsgate’s third frame of “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” followed with $4.8 million at 2,241 for a 17-day total of $44.5 million. That edged Overture’s tepid launch of outer-space horror entry “Pandorum” with $4.4 million at 1,759 as horror titles continue to underpeform....

Adam Markovitz of EW:

Seconds, anyone? Eating up $24.6 million worth of tickets, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs defied box office gravity by falling a minuscule 19 percent to win the top spot yet again. The CG family film capitalized on good buzz...

I'm a bit surprised that Surrogates with Bruce Willis could not win based on his star power alone...Reviews for the sci-fi action pic are pretty bad though...

Franchise Factors

Lots of folks are talking about their movie projects this week....A new website launched to tease ya till an eagerly awaited film opens in Dec..And a director ha a new top grossing film in his filmography.

*X-Men films franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner told Slashfilm that there was no truth to a claim (later rescinded) by actor Tim Pocock via his Twitter feed that the "X-Men: First Class" film was moving forward shortly.

Donner said 'First Class' has no scheduled start date and no actors have signed contracts to appear in the film however the various cast members who played the young mutants in X-Men Origins: Wolverine were 'under option'.

Donner also revealed that early plans have been considered for a fourth X-Men film but the idea has yet to be pitched to the studio...

*Deadpool creator, comic artist Rob Liefeld says via Twitter that the Deadpool film is gonna happen Ryan Reynolds is still gonna play Wade! Liefeld also promises the movie will include "breaking the fourth wall! Loads of killing!"

*Asked by MTV about helming X-Men Origins: Magneto X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood told 'em "Absolutely, if I was asked I’d take an interest. But the truth is I haven’t been asked and I think that the studio right now is waiting to see how we do with the DVDs, and who knows where we’ll all be if and when a Wolverine 2 script is ready"...

*Michael Sheen told the IRSB gang that he's heard the rumors but hasn't been approached to appear in Underworld 4- "...nobody has actually spoken to me about it, so I don't know. Maybe it is going to take place without me. I'm not sure"...

*Coca-Cola Zero launched a brand new viral website for James Cameron's Avatar...

*Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" is now the film-maker's highest grossing film ever.

The film has grossed over $108 million in North American box office receipts since its initial release on August 21st...Get full details...

*Howard Berger from KNB Effects tells Moviehole that Predators will follow the 1987 film's creature design:

"We wanted to have the Predator look as it did in the original film. We went back and looked at the original. I actually worked in the shop with Stan Winston on the first film. It was great to be able to go back to the series having not been involved in any of the sequels, and it was also great to be able to make sure we built them as Stan Winston did".

*Sir Ian McKellen talked with Rotten Tomatoes he's looking forward to getting to play Gandalf's earlier pre-death incarnation again in "The Hobbit".

"Grey Gandalf is my favorite. Peter Jackson's too, we always preferred Gandalf the Grey. Peter liked him because he got down and dirty. He slept in the hedgerows; he was closer to the earth and not quite so spiritual. He's also funnier -- he's got more variety to him. We thought there was more scope in that Gandalf."

*"Zombieland (due in theaters this Friday October 2nd) co-writer Rhett Reese told STYD that the late Patrick Swayze was going to have a cameo role in the horror-comedy before he was diagnosed with cancer. Swayze unfortunately had to bow out...

Reese and writing partner Paul Wernick have turned in drafts of a Venom script. Wernick told SCI FI Wire in an exclusive interview “We’ve written two drafts of Venom, and the studio has it, and they’re pushing forward in whatever ways they push forward"

Bebop Hopes

While out doing promotion for the November 27th film "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" actor Keanu Reeves talked to MTV about that live action film adaptation of 90's anime Cowboy Bebop



"There's a draft of the script, but the writer did such a great job [that] in order to make the movie, you would need half a billion dollars. So the studio went, 'This movie is fantastic and it would cost half a billion dollars so he's doing a rewrite" said Reeves.

Adding: "The only challenge was to make a satisfying western narrative out of the kind of storytelling that happens. There's a great draft, so we're just trying to pull it back a little bit now" .

The original story is set during a time when "astral gates" make interstellar travel possible.

Humanity has been decimated by a lunar explosion resulting from a gate accident, spreading us out across the solar system.

A crime wave spreads , giving rise to the use of bounty hunters.

Reeves will play Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter and former member of a crime syndicate.

A No Show/Still A Go?

While on the promotion trail for the October 9th Couples Retreat Jason Bateman told the site Coming Soon that despite reports, he may may not be involved in Hancock 2.

"No one has contacted me or anybody that represents me to ask if we were interested. I don't know anything about it... The whole thing about me being on board could not be farther from the truth. I would love to be a part of the film, but I haven't heard anything about it"

A few weeks ago director Peter Berg never mentioned Bateman by name while discussing the sequel--saying essentially"Everyone's back"...A Variety article listed Bateman as a returnee...

What say you Mr.Berg?

Meantime the film version of "Arrested Development" is "still being written and my guess is that is will be shot some time next year. I have a feeling that Mitch [Hurwitz] is halfway done writing it. We'll probably shoot it middle of next year and then for however long things take to get cut and marketed, so maybe the first part of 2011 I would imagine. That's just a guess."

Back In The Boat

The recent departure of Disney exec Richard Cook may have left star Johnny Depp not as excited about Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides but another cast member is ready to return to the high seas.



Geoffrey Rush tells MTV that he's ready to get back to work as Captain Barbosa in the 4th film which kicks off shooting in Spring.

"They're waiting for the screenplay writers to put together something that's beyond the trilogy, take it off into a new direction so that it's fresh and hopefully really interesting for an audience, that they're not going to just sausage-machine out something else, which wouldn't be so good"

He then jokingly admits that neither the studio or prodder Jerry Bruckheimer have been in touch with him about it.

Rush should talk to Jason Bateman about that....

Diary Dump

The Wrap. is reporting that David Mamet's new film version of The Diary of Anne Frank has been put into turnaround for being "too dark"

The article says the script he turned in was not a retelling of the famous Holocaust drama taken from the diaries of Anne Frank,

Mamet delivered the story of a contemporary Jewish girl who goes to Israel and learns about the traumas of suicide bombing. The script apparently delivers a pro-Israeli exploration of modern Antisemitism.

"It's very intense, and dark and scary. It's not a film version of 'The Diary of Anne Frank.' The story evolved into something more intense" says one insider-the subject matter is too difficult for Disney to produce or distribute.

If the script doesn't focus on Frank then why use her name? Mamet will most likely find a home for his script.

In the wake of former chief Dick Cook's sudden departure, the studio is unlikely to give the go-ahead on any projects in development until new management has been named.

Lion's Last Roar?

Tom Cruise can save the day on screen for sure...But as the owner of a faltering movie studio...maybe not so much...

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that suits at MGM/United Artists have met with their shareholders to admit they're basically out of money, and the shareholders are considering letting the company go bankrupt, collecting their shares and calling it a day.



MGM currently holds 2 very important properties, The Hobbit and the James Bond film series, both of which have films in the pipeline that need to go into production soon.

If the studio goes belly up again they'd probably lose the rights to Bond, and production on The Hobbit plans get delayed .

No telling when or what the shareholders may decide, but you can bet that there are a few folks holding their collective breaths waiting for word... Stay Tuned...

Area Of Expertise

Paranormal Activity helmer Oren Peli is set to work on a sci-fi flick called Area 51 as his next project.

The story involves 'found footage' of a group who attempt to locate and break into the legendary secret military base rumored to house a crashed UFO.

Pre-production is already underway in Utah

The reviews for the low budget Activity are outstanding... Can Peli go 2 for 2?

I say "Yep".

Specs Sold

CBS Films bought Anthony Jaswinski's thriller spec script "Sleeper Spy" reports Variety.

The story centers around the plot to assassinate a political figure.

Jeff Wadlow ("Never Back Down") is set to direct.

Arnold Kopelson and his partner Anne Kopelson will produce the pic.

And...

Gold Circle Films has picked up actor/writer/former personal trainer Chris Sparling of Buried fame's latest spec called Mercy says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story centres on a family intent on protecting their dying mother, and their individual financial interests, from the violent wrath of a religious sect.

Peter Safran and Paul Brooks will produce the film

Filming kicks off in early 2010.

Charmer

Paul Dano will join Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in action comedy, formerly titled “Wichita.” according to Variety,

The story follows secret agent Milner (Cruise) who finds himself teaming up with a Midwestern single woman June (Diaz) who has had terrible luck with men.

Dano will play a charming but mysterious scientist whose invention is at the center of Cruise and Diaz’s chase.

The movie also stars Maggie Grace and Marc Blucas.

Directed by James Mangold from a script by Scott Frank and Dana Fox that he rewrote with Laeta Kalogridis (”Shutter Island“).

Shooting starts next month in Boston.

Born Is Born Again

A contemporary remake of the classic "A Star is Born" is on the way says The Hollywood Reporter. --marking the 4th time the story has been put on film.





"Star" centers on a showbiz ingenue who falls for an established male star, only to see their careers move in opposite directions.

Will Fetters will write the latest draft of the long-gestating remake.

The team of Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson--Reggie Rock Bythewood wrote previous drafts.

The previous film versions of Born happened in 1937, 1954--with Judy Garland and 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Like that, pic this version will be set in the music industry rather than movies like the first two films.

Solvency Through Fear

In a Variety article outlining their upcoming slate Dimension Films is clearly trying to boost its bottom line--helping out parent The Weinstein Company's finances and future--which has been on shaky ground for awhile.

Chief Bob Weinstein: "I’m going back to doing what I do best...I’m heading back to my franchise films".

I'll say....

Scream 4 has nabbed Neve Campbell--who has been holding out on returning to the franchise...Courteney Cox and David Arquette will also be back. As is original screenwriter Kevin Williamson--While director Wes Craven is appattently negotiating to helm.

If Craven does return....I'm sold that it could work...

The film already has an April/May shooting date targeted.

In addition, the company wants to shoot Halloween III in 3D, aiming to release it in October 2010. (A Halloween movie released to coincide with the holiday? What a novel idea!)

We'll also be seeing yet another remake of Children of the Corn ."Spy Kids IV" with Robert Rodriguez in the driver's seat; "Hellraiser" and "Scanners" sequels in 3-D treatments, "Short Circuit" and "An American Werewolf in London" reboots are also planned

"I'm Gonna Live Forever"

Bruce Willis returns to the cineplex this weekend with the sci-fi actioner Surrogates (reviews); Naturi Naughton, Kay Panabaker, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Asher Book and Collins Pennie want you to remember their names as they seek Fame (reviews); And Dennis Quaid, Cam Gigandet and Ben Foster try to live post- apocalypse in Pandorum (reviews)





Dave McNary of Variety:

Disney is aiming to hunt down the top spot this weekend with the opening of Bruce Willis starrer "Surrogates" at 2,951 playdates. Pic faces MGM's reboot of "Fame" at 3,096 and Overture's outer-space horror pic "Pandorum" at 2,506, along with Sony's second sesh of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" has already generated heat with $36,416 from four sites in Los Angeles and New York on Wednesday. Overture will take the financial bailout docu wide next weekend.

"Surrogates," set in a future where humans interact via androids, should satisfy sci-fi fans and may be able to expand into other demos thanks to the star power of Willis, who portrays an FBI agent investigating a series of murders. It's his first major role since 2007's "Live Free or Die Hard," which grossed $383 million worldwide.

Disney's marketing push for "Surrogates," directed by Jonathan Mostow, highlights the fast-paced action and futuristic aspects of the $80 million project, which carries a PG-13 rating and a relatively brisk 88-minute running time.

With Willis worldwide profile, Disney's also opted to go day and date with "Surrogates" in 11 foreign markets, including Australia, Russia, Spain and the U.K.

Rivals believe "Surrogates" should finish in the low to mid 20s, with "Meatballs" providing the most competition. The 3D toon had taken in $34.2 million in its first six days as of Wednesday and looks likely to decline about 40% for a second frame in the high teens.

The "Meatballs" opening was the third best September launch ever, just ahead of "Eagle Eye," which debuted on the same weekend last year with $29.2 million.

"Fame," MGM's first title this year, is an update of the 1980 musical drama centered on aspiring hoofers, actors and musicians. Thesps in the student roles are unknowns, with Megan Mullally, Debbie Allen, Kelsey Grammer and Charles Dutton in supporting roles.

"Fame" carries a PG rating and an $18 million budget, with support most likely to come from young females and fans of the original. Tracking shows a weekend take in the low to mid-teens.

Prospects are murky for the R-rated "Pandorum," starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster as astronauts on a deserted spacecraft, since its target audience will probably be more likely to attend "Surrogates." "Pandorum" carries a $40 million budget; Overture's exposure is said to be under $10 million.

With recent tepid performances by horror entries such as "Sorority Row" and "Jennifer's Body," "Pandorum" isn't expected to reach double digits...

Nicole Sperling of EW thinks the 3-D animated hit can hold off the Bruce Willis sci-fi thriller, but it'll be close

Next Week: Drew Barrymore directs her first big film Whip It....And Ricky Gervais brings an all star cast with him to The Invention of Lying...

Turning Over A New Leaf

Ice Age co-helmer Chris Wedge will direct the animated feature "The Leaf Men " says Variety.

An adaptation of author William Joyce's "Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs", the story follows a bug troop who do everything they can to save a garden from the wrath of an evil spider queen.
With nowhere left to turn, the bugs ask the Leaf Men for help.

James V. Hart has the kid's novel into a script.

Initially setup at Fox the studio seemed to turn it down until Wedge offered the project to Pixar Animation Studios at which time suits at Fox suddenly wanted Wedge to make it for them.