Jones & Stoll Decode Parker

Rashida Jones and Corey Stoll have joined the cast of the indie dramedy Decoding Annie Parker says THR

The true life film follows Anne Parker (Samantha Morton), a breast-cancer patient who is trying everything to solve the mystery behind her illness, despite the beliefs of the medical establishment.

Helen Hunt co-stars as Dr King who breaks the genetic code of the illness

Jones will play a friend who helps Morton’s character with her research, while Stoll will play a doctor who befriends Parker. 

The film also stars Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Maggie Grace (Lost).

Steven Bernstein is directing the pic, and along with Adam Bernstein wrote the script.

Clark Peterson is producing the pic.

Productio is currently underway in Los Angeles.

Spencer Will Help Cody

Octavia Spencer has officially been cast in the now untitled Diablo Cody directorial debut aka Lamb of God says THR

The story centers on a sheltered young woman (Julianne Hough) who loses her faith after a plane crash and goes to Las Vegas, where she meets an unlikely companion (Russell Brand).

Spencer who had been in talks for weeks will play card dealer at a casino on the strip where Brand works.

Cody also wrote the script.

Mason Novick will produce the pic.

Wilde Wonderstone

Olivia Wilde and Steve Buscemi are in official talks to join the comedy Burt Wonderstone says THR,

Set in the world of rival Las Vegas magicians, Steve Carell stars as a more traditional magic man who is dethroned by a hip younger illusionist (Jim Carrey) and must then find a way to rediscover his love for magic.

Wilde would be playing the love interest of Carell's title character--seemingly beating out, Michelle Monaghan, Judy Greer, Sarah Silverman and Jessica Biel  for the part--while Buscemi wiould play the role of his longtime friend and former partner. James Gandolfini co-stars

Don Scardino directs from a script that has seen its share of writers taking a crack at it including Jason Reitman, Chad Kultgen, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.

Carell, Chris Bender, J.C. Spink and Tyler Mitchell are producing the pic.

Shooting kicks off in January.

300 Prequel Gonna Be "Epic"

300: Battle of Artemisia producers Mark Canton and Gianni Nunnari have given Coming Soon a brief update on how it's going.

The duo had nothing but good things to say about Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad's script, saying "They've done a tremendous job making a highly intelligent, epic story that will stand on its own. But it's not a conventional sequel and, for what we do, that's what you hope and pray for. That you can be original and authentic at the same time."

The pic is based on the Frank Miller graphic novel which is told from the point of view of Xerxes, the tyrannical ruler who was portrayed by Rodrigo Santoro in 300. The tale spans hundreds of years, but mainly focuses on the Battle of Artemisia in 480 BC.

Asked if 300 star Gerard Butler will be making a cameo, Nunnari says "It's too early to say. but we know the answer."

Smart People director Noam Murro will call action

No production schedule is yet set.

Lapaglia Is "Unchained" And So Is JGL!

Anthony Lapaglia has joined Quentin Tarantino’s "Django Unchained" reports Deadline.

The spaghetti western style film follows a a German dentist-turned bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) and freed slave Django (Jamie Foxx) seek to free Django's wife from her powerful owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio)

Lapaglia will play the leader of a group of greedy Australians who encounter slave-turned-bounty hunter Django as they are escorting a group of slaves recently purchased as fighters

"It’s wildly ambitious and imaginative, deals with that subject matter in a way it hasn’t been dealt with before. The way the cast has shaped up, it’s exciting to be involved" says Lapaglia.

The actor also confirmed Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was hoping to take a role in the pic, will be playing his mean brother!

Kurt Russell replacing Kevin Costner will play Ace Woody, the sadistic trainer of the male fighting slaves who entertain the white patrons of Candyland club and ranch, as well as the female slaves who are forced to be prostitutes. Ace pits the fighters against one another, and has little qualms about mistreating and even killing the slaves who don't measure up Samuel L. Jackson will play Stephen, an expert manipulator and house slave of the plantation owner.Dennis Christopher will play Leo Moguy, who serves as lawyer to Candie. Laura Cayouette will play the widowed sister of Candie M.C. Gainey will play the villainous role of Big John Brittle. His character does some not very nice things to Django’s wife, Broomhilda who remains uncast Don Johnson will play a wealthy southern plantation owner who Django and Schultz meet in their pursuit of a bounty Industry make up guru Tom Savini.Gerald McRaney also star. Michael K. Williams, Kerry Washington, and Zoë Bell are all circling roles in the pic.

Production is slated to kick off in November to meet a December 25, 2012. release date.

Logan's Run Redux Gets New Writer

Andrew Baldwin will write a new draft of the script for Producer Joel Silver 's Logan's Run remake says THR

William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson wrote the original 1967 novel (and its two subsequent sequels Logan's World and Logan's Search, ) set in a utopian future where anyone over the age of 30 is mandatorily euthanized in order to maintain a balance over the consumption of resources. The story follows Logan 5, a 'Sandman' who serves as an enforcer who pursues those who try escaping as they approach their 30th birthday, and ultimately ends up on the run himself.

The remake has attracted potential directors such as Bryan Singer, Robert Schwentke, James McTeigue Joseph Kosinski and Carl Rinsch during its long stall in development--before stablizing with Nicolas Winding Refn and his frequent leading man, Ryan Gosling ready to guide the remake.

Screenwriters including Alex Garland and Will Beall (Gangster Squad) have worked on the script at different points of time.

The premise was made into a 1976 cult film classic starring Michael York ("The Three Musketeers"), Jenny Agutter ("Walkabout") and Farrah Fawcett ("Charlie's Angels").

Cameron On Voyage Redux

As James Cameron showed off 18 minutes of footage from his 3-D conversion of "Titanic" late last week he was also asked via Deadline about the progress of the Fantastic Voyage remake which he will produce.

Cameron says it’s about two thirds of the way there in the development process and this version will have an emotional center- “I gave him [writer/director Shawn Levy] my idea about how this should be turned into a love story and he’s really run with it”.

The remake story will center on a doctor going through troubled times in his marriage who finds himself miniaturised and injected into his gravely ill wife in order to save her life.

Regular producer partner Jon Landau is on board as well.

Mickey Not Locked For Sin City 2 Yet...

As Sin City 2 inches closer to its 2012 date, the question of whether Marv (Mickey Rourke) would be returning has not beem answered in full...

He told Coming Soon "It depends. It depends on how bad they want me. You feel me?…I did  [like the character].  but I'm claustrophobic, so the the hours of makeup -- You have to keep it on for about 13 or 14 hours a day. It's latex and glue and that stuff that gets my eyes all red" .

Frank Miller recently indicated that work is still being done on the script and the start date would be spring next year rather than the end of this year as previously reported.

Miller also confirmed that the characters of Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) and Marv are in the script , Nancy's mini-story will act as a bridge for both the other stories in this film as well as those in the first "Sin City" film

There will be three other stories in the pic--one short called "The Long Bad Night", the Marv-centered "Just Another Saturday Night", and the big one that will dominate the film - "A Dame to Kill For " which features several other characters seen in the original.

Charlie's Mind Gets More Crowded

Bill Murray, Patricia Arquette, Mary Elizabeth Winstead will co-star in the indie drama "A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III"  says The International Business Times.

The story follows a successful graphic designer (Charlie Sheen) whose fame, money and charm have made him irresistible to women. When his girlfriend breaks up with him, his life heads into a downward spiral.

Katheryn Winnick Aubrey Plaza and Jason Schwartzman co star

Roman Coppola wrote and directs the pic

Youree Henley will produce the film

Production is currently underway

Outrun Wraps

Bradley Cooper, Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell and Tom Arnold all star in the recently wrapped romantic action comedy "Outrun" says THR.

Bell And Shepard Play A Couple Onscreen & Off

The story follows ex-getaway driver in hiding "Charlie Bronson" (Shepard) who agrees to break the rules of Witsec and drive his sexy girlfriend (Bell) to Los Angeles so that she can land her dream job. When the authorities and his former gang (led by Cooper) learn he is back behind the wheel, they hit the road to chase him down. Desperate to stay one step ahead, Charlie upgrades to an even faster car...

Kristin Chenoweth, Beau Bridges, David Koechner, Michael Rosenbaum, Joy Bryant and Ryan Hansen also star.

Shepard wrote the screenplay and co-directs with David Palmer

Andrew Panay, Nate Tuck, Kim Waltrip & Jim Casey will produce.

The film, currently in post production, will be released next year.

Mangold Talks Wolverine...

Director James Mangold talked about his decision to take on the superhero pic "The Wolverine" to The Playlist. Mangold signed because this won't be a conventional comic book film.

"It's actually a character piece; I actually think it has more in common with The Outlaw Josey Wales and Chinatown, what we're doing, than the conventional, 'will Wolverine and his compatriots save the world from this thermonuclear device' question. It's an adventure following such a unique character in a really unique environment."

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 hero (Hugh Jackman) going toe to toe with the Silver Samurai

Mangold added "The fact that half of the characters speak Japanese, this is like a foreign-language superhero movie. It's as much a drama and a detective story and a film noir, with high-octane action as it is anything like a conventional tentpole film. This movie is much more an intense psychological and action-packed character piece, that's much more about Logan getting lost in this very unique and insulated world of Japanese culture, gangster culture, and ninja culture "

The film will have action though - "The fighting is going to be unique because it's all influenced by Japanese martial arts"

Arnold Plays In The "Black Sands"

Arnold Schwarzenegger will star in the dramatic action flick "Black Sands" says Deadline.

Arnie will play a loner who wages war against a ruthless weapons manufacturer and his private army in the American Southwest.

Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy ("Act Of Valor") will direct from a script by Sergio Altieri and Kevin Elders which recently saw Skip Woods ("A Good Day To Die Hard") do re-writes .

Albert S. Ruddy and Paul Hanson will produce the pic

Production is slated to kick off April 1st.

Bloom, Dunst, Others Take "Cities"

Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Clive Owen and Anil Kapoor have joined the cast of Roger Donaldson's international thriller "Cities" says Risky Biz Blog.

Set in the months before the Dow Jones stock-market high, the ensemble piece follows characters around the globe including a New York hedge fund manager, a Mumbai policeman and a couple looking to buy a home in London.

Bloom and Dunst will reunite following 2005's Elizabethtown

Donaldson co-wrote the script with Glenn Wilhide from which Roger will call the shots

Matthew Metcalfe and Chris Curling are producing

Production is scheduled to begin in the spring in London, Mumbai and New York.

Gandolfini's Magic In Wonderstone?

James Gandolfini in negotiations to join the comedy Burt Wonderstone says Variety.

Set in the world of rival Las Vegas magicians, Steve Carell stars as a more traditional magic man who is dethroned by a hip younger illusionist (Jim Carrey) and must then find a way to rediscover his love for magic.

Gandolfini would play Doug Munny, a classy billionaire who owns the Aztec Casino where Carell's character and partner perform their show.

Olivia Wilde, Michelle Monaghan, Judy Greer, Sarah Silverman and Jessica Biel are in contention for the female lead.

Don Scardino directs from a script that has seen its share of writers taking a crack at it including Jason Reitman, Chad Kultgen, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.

Carell, Chris Bender, J.C. Spink and Tyler Mitchell are producing the pic.

Shooting kicks off in January.

Gleeson Gets Company

Brendan Gleeson has joined Robert Redford's upcoming political fugitive thriller "The Company You Keep" says Deadline

The story centers on a former Weather Underground militant (Redford) who is forced out of hiding and goes on the run when a young journalist (Shia Labeouf) uncovers his true identity.

Gleeson's role is unspecified.

Brit Marling, Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, Richard Jenkins Stephen Root Julie Christie Stanley Tucci Chris Cooper Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Elliott, and 11-year-old America's Got Talent finalist Jackie Evancho also star.

The script was adapted by Lem Dobbs from the book by Neil Gordon.

Redford will also produce the pic with Bill Holderman and Nicolas Chartier.

Filming is underway in Vancouver,

Ortiz Is A Playbook's Best Pal

John Ortiz has joined the cast of David O. Russell's “The Silver Linings Playbook” says Variety

The pic adapts author Matthew Quick's 2008 book of the same name

The story follows a delusional former high school history teacher (Bradley Cooper) who's just been released into the custody of his mom (Jacki Weaver). Believing that he’s only been away for a few months instead of the four years he just spent in a mental institution, the teacher sets about wooing back his ex-wife. but becomes involved with an eccentric neighbor (Jennifer Lawrence) with problems of her own

Ortiz will play Cooper's childhood best friend, who still lives near his parents' home

Robert De Niro also stars as Cooper's dad.

Productiom is underway.

JT Might Take On Llewyn

Justin Timberlake has been offered a lead role in Joel and Ethan Coen's new film "Inside Llewyn Davis, says Variety

The story focuses on the folk music scene in Greenwich Village in the 1960s and its title character (Oscar Isaac).

Timberlake would play Jim, a folk musician married to Jean (Carey Mulligan).

The Coens wrote the script, will direct as well as produce the pic with Scott Rudin.

Shooting will start early next year in New York.

Puss N Loot

CG animated Puss N-Boots scared up a Halloween weekend record to take the top spot away from  holdover Paranormal Activity 3 in the states while While The Adventures of Tintin is making strides over the rest of the world...In Time takes 3rd place

Gregg Kilday of THR:

Competing against Halloween parties and contending with an unseasonal blizzard in the Northeast, DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots, distributed by Paramount, purred its way to the top spot at the North American boxoffice with an estimated $34 million. That amounted to a new Halloween weekend record, leaping over the $33.6 million that Saw III registered in 2006.

But the weekend’s two other new wide releases displayed far less derring-do. Fox’s sci-fi tale In Time, starring Justin Timberlake, debuted in third place with $12 million, while the Johnny Depp starrer, The Rum Diary, released by FilmDistrict had to settle for a sobering $5 million and a fifth place showing.

Meanwhile, another animated movie, Steven Spielberg's Tintin got off to a strong start in 19 foreign markets where it collected an estimated $55.8 million. In 17 of those markets, it opened at number one, including the United Kingdom, where it took in $10.7 million and France, where it amassed $21.5 million. While Paramount handled the film in the U.K., Sony rolled it out in the other territories. The movie opens stateside via Paramount on Dec. 21.

While Puss challenged the holiday – Halloween weekend is usually reserved for scary movies rather than family fare – a ghost story did hold down the second slot as Paramount’s Paranormal Activity 3 slid 65 percent as it entered its second weekend. The second prequel to 2009’s original Paranormal Activity, the new movie took in an additional $18.5 million to bring its domestic gross to $81.3 million.

In addition to Puss and Paranormal, Paramount also had a third entry in the top five as the toe-tapping Footloose, in its third weekend, took in $5.4 million for fourth-place standing, bringing its domestic total to $38.4 million.

Overall, business in North America totalled $96.3 million, up 8 percent from the comperable weekend last year, but it would have been higher if it were not for the freak snowstorm that affected the Northeast. While Saturday grosses in Los Angeles were up 36 percent over Friday's numbers, the Saturday returns in New York were up only 7 percent. DWA estimated that Puss would probably have grossed a few million dollars more if it hadn't encountered the bad weather.

A spin-off from DWA's popular Shrek franchise, the PG-rated Puss, directed by Chris Miller, opened below the norm for most of DWA's movies. The company, though, made a calculated move by shifting the film's release, originally scheduled for Nov. 4 up a week to a weekend not traditionally used to launch family films because of the competing holiday activities. Now, Puss, which earned an A- CinemaScore, has two more open weekends ahead of it before an onslaught of family movies that begin to hit theaters on Nov. 18 when Warners' Happy Feet Two opens.

"The movie came in close to where we expected, given the holiday weekend," said DWA chief marketing officer Anne Globe. "We think we're well positioned to take advantage of the next two weekends."

In terms of its audience, the animated flick, which opened in 3,952 theaters, skewed female (59 percent) and 55 percent of moviegoers were 25 or over. Kids under 12 made up 32 percent of the audience, while parents represented 36 percent of the total.

The film did particularly well with Latinos, who made up 35 percent of its audience. DWA had made a particular bid for that demographic, given that the movie features Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, voicing the feline characters. The studio had a major tie-in with Univision, and four of the top-ten theaters showing the movie turned out to be in the Miami area.

The film, which got a number of good reviews for its use of 3D, also saw an uptick in the percentage of its gross which came from 3D theaters, with 51 percent of the total coming from 3D houses and 7 percent of its total coming from Imax screens.

In Time's $12 million debut won't boost Timberlake's standing as a box office draw, "But even though we were up against game 7 of the World Series on Friday and a pretty severe storm on Saturday, we still came in right around pre-release expectations," Fox distribution exec Chris Aronson said.

The PG-13 movie, directed by Andrew Niccol and also starring Amanda Seyfried, opened in 3,122 theaters. While its overall CinemaScore rating was B-, younger audiences were more positive about the movie, set in a world where no one ages over 25. Younger males gave it an A- and younger females gave it a B+, "So we think there's a lot of playability in the picture,"Aronson said.

Next Up:  Brett Ratner's comedy Tower Heist hopes to steal a first place win; You can start celebrating the holidays with A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas

Bob & John Make A Killing

Robert De Niro and John Travolta will team up for the action thriller "Killing Season" says Deadline.

Set in the Appalachian Mountains, De Niro plays an American military veteran now living in a remote cabin in the woods. When a European tourist (Travolta) appears, the two men strike up an unlikely friendship. It soon turns out that the visitor is a former Serbian soldier bent on revenge with the two battling across some of America’s most forbidding landscape.

Mark Steven Johnson (“Ghost Rider,” “Daredevil”) directs from a script by Evan Daugherty (“Snow White and the Huntsman”).

Production kicks off January 16th.

Movie Tricks & Treats

The Halloween Edition of Cinema Stew...

-20th Century Fox and producer John Davis have acquired feature rights to Myra McEntire’s debut novel "Hourglass" reports Deadline.

-Sean Penn is set to direct "The Comedian" for FilmNation reports Variety.

-Blossom Films and Olympus Films have optioned the screen rights to the Kevin Wilson novel "The Family Fang" says Deadline.

-Martin Scorsese is in early talks to direct an adaptation of Jo Nesbo's Norwegian mystery novel "The Snowman" for Working Title reports Variety.

-Universal Pictures, Captivate Entertainment and Ludlum Entertainment are moving forward with an adaptation of "The Janson Directive", one of 'Bourne Identity' author Robert Ludlum's final works says Deadline.

-Producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam and his Stone Angel production banner has acquired Arash Amel's spec script "Grace of Monaco", a film about actress Grace Kelly says The Hollywood Reporter.

-Ed Brubaker will adapt his own 2007 crime noir graphic novel "Coward" for Hunting Lane Films says Variety.

-Disney wants "Whale Rider" director Niki Caro to helm their long-in-development sports film "McFarland" reports The Film Stage.

-Lionsgate has acquired "Black Swan" writer Mark Heyman's spec screenplay "XOXO" reports Variety.

-Commercials helmer David Alcalde is slated to direct the English language remake of "Them" for Studiocanal and Nostromo Pictures says Variety.

-Peter Jackson told the Playlist that he'll direct the the Tin Tin sequel once he's finished "The Hobbit" films.

-"Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich and producer/writer Dean Devlin are finishing up back-to-back sequel scripts to the 1996 alien invasion pic reports Vulture.

-Bobby and Peter Farrelly want ro start work on a sequel to 1994's "Dumb and Dumber" as soon as they are done work on The Three Stooges film says Deadline.

-John Stockwell will direct the Osama Bin Laden-themed thriller "Code Name Geronimo" says Variety.

-Warner Bros. Pictures has picked up Aron Eli Coleite's science fiction/drama spec script "The End" says Deadline. The story focuses on three interconnected yet different storylines following a character trying to reconcile the fact that interstellar event will end the world in six hours. The story follows a veteran broadcaster in London, a 16-year old girl and her boyfriend in Michigan, and a devoted family man in Shanghai.

- "The Incredibles" director Brad Bird has partly explained the reason that we have yet to see a sequel in an interview with Movies.com.

-20th Century Fox had acquired Sean O’Keefe's action film pitch "Riders On The Storm" says Deadline.

-New Line Cinema and Broken Road have picked up screenwriter John Swetnam's found footage thriller "Category Six" says Reuters.

Happy All Hallow's Eve Everyone!!

Kinnaman Lands Lance

The Killing star Joel Kinnaman has won the role of Lancelot in the re-imagining of the tale Arthur & Lancelot according to THR

The film was written and will be directed by David Dobkin.

The search is still on for the actor to play the role of Arthur.

Kinnaman beat out Game of Thrones star Kit Harington,  Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), Dominic Cooper (The Devil's Double), Hans Matheson (Sherlock Holmes), Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe), Ben Walker and Liam Hemsworth.

Production on “Arthur & Lancelot” takes place in 2012 with a March 15, 2013 release already set

Bourne Alum Will Meet Bond

The Daily Mail reports that Albert Finney ("Erin Brockovich," "A Good Year") has joined the cast of Bond 23

Finney will play "a Foreign Office mandarin with powers over the Secret Intelligence Service", a role that is"reasonably big and full of class".
 
Simon Russell Beale was previously linked to to the sequel but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, could the role Finney now has been Beale's at one point?

The official press conference announcing the commencement of principal photography (and likely the film's title) has been confirmed to be taking place next Thursday

Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Helen McCrory and Rory Kinnear star

Sam Mendes directs from a script by Patrick Marber John Logan Neal Purvis and Robert Wade

Rehearsals and camera tests continue this week ahead of next week's start of production just in time for the 50th anniversary of the first film "Dr. No" which opened in October 1962.

Bond returns November 9th, 2012 .

Stewart Talks Dawn Sex Scene

The sex scene between Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) for the Nov.18th release of  The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1 has caused a stir in weeks past and now it's back in the news.

The studio wanted the film rated PG-13 to keep the  The Twilight film series loyal teen audience, and the Motion Picture Association of America quite strict about any kind of nudity or sex - for example the recent news that Shame got an NC-17 rating this week--.TLR contributor Julian Stark wrote an excellent piece about this on his blog....

Dawn got its PG-13 rating this time last month for "disturbing images, violence, sexuality/partial nudity and some thematic elements".

Now, Stewart told Glamour Magazine (via Daily Mail) that the the original version of the scene had to be recut.

"It was very surreal. We [originally] got rated R. They re-cut it...It was so weird, it didn't even feel like we were doing a Twilight film. I was like, 'Bella! What are you doing? Wow! What is happening here?!"

Stuntmen Tragedy On The Expendables 2 Set

One stuntman has been killed while another sustained a critical injury following an incendiary accident on the set of the action sequel The Expendables 2. in Bulgaria reports E! News.

The unidentified stuntmen were shooting a second-unit explosion scene on Thursday night at the Lake Ognyanovo reservoir outside Sofia when the accident occurred. One died at the scene, the other was rushed to hospital where he is now in stable condition after undergoing a five-hour surgery.

None of the principal cast were present when the accident occurred--principal photography was taking place a few hours away at the mountain resort village of Bansko.

A statement from the studio  reads "Our hearts go out to the families and those on the production affected by this tragedy. The filmmakers are working closely with the authorities in responding to and investigating this accident".

MOS: "Dude's F-in' Ripped!"

The other day I posted the pics--now here's video of  the same sequence featuring Henry Cavill on the Vancouver set of Zack Snyder's big budget reboot Superman: Man of Steel

The F-bomb is dropped by the one of the onlookers...at the start of the vid...

As noted before Cavill was photographed doing chin-ups between takes.



Michael Shannon Amy Adams Kevin Costner Diane Lane Antje Traue Christopher Meloni Harry Lennix Laurence Fishburne Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer co-star.

David S. Goyer wrote the first screenplay draft based on a story he concocted with Christopher Nolan with 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.

Arndt Drafts Phineas And Ferb Flick

Michael Arndt ("Toy Story 3," "Little Miss Sunshine") to write a draft of the script for the Phineas and Ferb film says The Los Angeles Times.

Origiginal toon Phineas & Ferb was created by Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh and Dan Povenmire  and they penned the initial draft. Unlike the show though, the film will mix live action and animation.

The show follows two stepbrothers who find inventive things to do on each day of their summer vacation such as building a roller coaster out of materials you would find in your house. Unbeknownst to them, their pet platypus, Perry, leads a double life as a secret agent

The TV movie Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension drew an impressive 7.6 million viewers in its debut this past summer making it the most-watched cable movie of the year.

The Scorpio Races Heads To Big Screen

Author Maggie Stiefvater's young adult novel The Scorpio Races has been optioned for the big screen says Heat Vision.

The story involves mythological flesh-eating horses from Celtic lore, a scraggy island that hosts an annual race, a young horse trainer and a young woman (the first female to enter the competition) who eventually fall for each other.

David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith will produce the adaptation

Stockard On The Strip

Industry writer Aaron Stockard ("The Town," "Gone Baby Gone") will adapt the crime novel "Strip" according to Deadline.

The book by Thomas Perry follows a strip club owner is robbed by a masked gunman. Enraged, he sends half a dozen thugs out to find anyone who’s spending large and probably doesn’t know they robbed a gangster. The security men come up with Joe Carver, a man who not only evades capture but becomes determined to make the gangster sorry he ever sought revenge.

Rodrigo Teixeira and Basil Iwanyk will produce.

Sly Raids The Tomb

Sylvester Stallone is poised to take on the prison escape drama The Tomb, says Variety.

Written by Miles Chapman and then rewritten by Jason Keller the story follows Ray Breslin, a world-famous structural engineer and security expert who designs escape-proof prisons. He soon finds himself framed and incarcerated in a master prison he designed and must find a way to escape and track down the person responsible.

Both Bruce Willis and then Arnold Schwarzenegger were under consideration for the lead role until both moved on.

Robbie Brenner and Mark Canton are producing.

Antoine Fuqua was once attached to direct. The producers will now look for a director to replace him.

Gillespie Leaves “Pride And Prejudice And Zombies"

Craig Gillespie has dropped out of directing the film adaptation of “Pride And Prejudice And Zombies" according to Deadline. The parting by Gillespie is said to have been both a mutual decision and amicable.

The film's story is taken from Seth Grahame-Smith's book using Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice and puts bloodthirsty flesh-eating zombies into the action. The tome now tells the timeless story of a woman's quest for love and independence amid the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns the undead into vicious killers.

Natalie Portman was to play the role as well as produce the film but left last year. Then Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson Mia Wasikowska Mila Kunis, Emma Stone, Rooney Mara, and Olivia Wilde were all being considered for the role at one point.

At last report both Blake Lively and Dominic Cooper were now attached to play the leads

David O. Russell and Mike White were previously attached to helm but soon left the pic; Russell, Gillespie Grahame-Smith and Marti Noxon have all drafted the script

Annette Savitch Richard Kelly, Sean McKittrick Ted Hamm and Portman would produce.

Jeebus folks! At this point I will direct the film for free!!

Blitz Circles Table 19

Jeffrey Blitz is in talks to direct the ensemble comedy"Table 19" says Variety.

The story centers upon a group of strangers who meet at the "losers" table at a wedding. Told from their point of view, the story explores what marriage means to those on the sidelines.

Brothers Jay and Mark Duplass wrote the script

The prenise sounds pretty cool putting something fresh in the well worn wedding comedy

Shawn Levy will produce the film

Booty Calling

This Halloween weekend holdover Paranormal Activity 3 should do very well despite having to contend with 4 new films--Johnny Depp opens The Run Diary (reviews); Justin Timberlake arrives just In Time (In Time) to be with Amanda Seyfried; Puss N-Boots (reviews) goes solo in 3-D no less; And director Roland Emmerich takes a break from ending the world in Anonymous (reviews) While The Adventures of Tintin is poised to take over the rest of the world...

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Steven Spielberg and longtime compatriot Jeffrey Katzenberg are poised to dominate the worldwide box office this weekend with their two respective family films, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and Puss in Boots.

From Katzenberg’s DreamWorks Animation, Puss in Boots is all but set to the win the domestic box-office race as Paramount opens the 3D toon in 3,952 theaters in North America.

Box office observers expect the Shrek spin-off to gross in the $35-$39 million range, a healthy number for Halloween weekend, which isn’t usually prime territory for a family film. Puss in Boots, which is earning top reviews, has a clear shot at besting the top Halloween opening of all time, the $33.6 million earned by Saw III in 2006.

Paramount originally intended to open Puss in Boots, featuring Antonio Banderas in the voice role he made so popular in Shrek, on Nov. 4, but moved up the release by a week to give the pic more breathing room before a deluge of Thanksgiving family films open.

While Paramount and DreamWorks Animation could forfeit some business this weekend because of Halloween, they believe the movie will have an especially strong second weekend. DWA’s Kung Fu Panda 2 opened to $47.7 million earlier this year, while Megamind debuted to $46 million in early November 2011.

Tintin, directed by Spielberg, is poised to dominate the international marketplace, where it could open north of $30 million from its first key territories, including Tintin’s home country of Belgium.

Tintin is the first of two films that Spielberg and Peter Jackson are collaborating on (Jackson will direct the second title). Paramount and Sony are partners on the project and dividing up distribution duties.

Because the character Tintin is much more beloved overseas, the film is rolling out there first. It debuts in the U.S. over the Christmas holiday.

Tintin began playing in previews earlier this week in Belgium, France and the U.K. before an official opening on Wednesday in the three territories. It has already grossed nearly $9 million, including a record-breaking $4.5 million in France, where it could score the biggest opening of all time after Avatar.

The 3D motion-capture movie opens on Friday in a number of other foreign markets.

At the domestic box office, two other wide players debut: New Regency’s Justin Timberlake-Amanda Seyfried sci-fi thriller In Time and FilmDistrict’s Johnny Depp starrer The Rum Diary, based on the Hunter S. Thompson book.

Distributed by Fox, In Time is looking at a relatively modest opening in the low teens. The movie, directed by Andrew Niccol, was fully financed and produced by New Regency for roughly $35 million.

In Time, set in a society where no one lives beyond the age of 25 unless they can buy time, is understandably tracking best among moviegoers under the age of 25, a demo that has been largely absent at the box office.

While critics have noted the film’s original storyline, the reviews overall haven’t been good.

Rum Diary has been drawing better notices, but they are still mixed. FilmDistrict expects the pic to open in the $9-$12 million range, and says it should appeal to both Depp fans as well as followers of Thompson, who turned up in force at various college screenings of the film, including at Columbia University and the University of California at Berkeley.

There’s a flurry of activity at the specialty box office, including the debut of Roland Emmerich’s period Shakespeare drama Anonymous, which opens in 260 theaters. At the 11th hour, based on soft tracking, Sony decided to scale back the release of the film, which had been set to open nationwide.

Paramount opens Drake Doremus’ Sundance Film Festival favorite Like Crazy in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles.

Kwanten And Smart May Board 7500

Ryan Kwanten and Amy Smart are in talks to star in the claustrophobic thriller 7500 says Bloody Disgusting.

The story follows a transpacific airliner going from Los Angeles to Tokyo when the passengers encounter a supernatural force.

Smart would play a flight attendant.

Takashi Shimizu ("The Grudge," "Marebito") will direct

Taka Ichise and Roy Lee will produce the film