Shelton Charts "I'm Down"

Lynn Shelton ("Your Sister's Sister," "Humpday") will direct on an adaptation of  Mishna Wolff's acclaimed memoir "I'm Down " says The Playlist.

 

The book deals with Wolff's experience of being white while growing up in a predominantly African-American neighborhood and having a different financial situation and culture than the other white children than the ones at her upper class, private school filled with mostly white kids. She also fights for acceptance in her neighborhood as she is perceived as "too white".

Wolff had Sundance Lab turn it into a script. Shelton got it a year ago and has been rewriting and rewriting, and it's just about ready to go out to actors.

Anne Carey will produce.

Shelton's next film will be "Laggies" which she starts shooting in June. She was attached to do "Then We Came To The End," but that is no longer the case.

Alfredson Adapts "Brothers Lionhear"

Director Tomas Alfredson will call action on a film adaptation of author Astrid Lindgren's
children book "The Brothers Lionheart" says MovieZine via The Playlist.

Set in a magical land of the afterlife, the story follows two brothers who join the resistance against an evil ruler who enforces control over the land with a dragon.

The tome has been descibed as "unflinchingly" dark and subversive.

"Let the Right One In" writer John Ajvide Lindqvist is writing the adapted script,

The $50 million project, currently targeting a Christmas 2014 release, will be the most expensive Scandinavian production in history.

The project looks to have taken priority over the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy follow-up "Smiley's People" which remains in development.

Kurylenko Will Run "Vampire Academy"

Olga Kurylenko has joined the first film in a planned franchise based on author Richelle Mead's hit book series "Vampire Academy" says Deadline.

Called "Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters" this first film in a potential six-part series follows 17-year-old Rose Hathaway (played by Zoey Deutch). Rose maintains a close bond with her vampire friend Lissa (Lucy Fry) and they both attend a school for vampires who are trying to retain some of their humanity.

Russian star Danila Kozlovskiy will play Dimitri, a Serbian vampire assigned to look after and protect the two girls when they are away school.

Kurylenko will play head mistress Kirova

"Mean Girls" director Mark Waters will call the the shots usibg his brother Daniel Waters' ("Heathers") adapted script.

Susan Montford, Don Murphy, Deepak Nayar and Michael Preger will produce.

Production begins in late May.

4 Want To “Rob The Mob"

Andy Garcia Ray Romano Michael Pitt and Nina Arianda have joined the heist drama “Rob the Mob” says Varirty.

In the true storyinspired film Pitt and Arianda star as “a couple who brazenly steal from mob-run social clubs in New York City until they stumble upon a coveted list of every mafioso in town and become the prey of the feds, the mob and their own families.”

Deets of Garcia or Ramono's roles are not known

The independent filmmaker Raymond De Felitta is calling action from the Jonathan Fernandez script

William Teitler is producing the film.

Production is underway.

Garcia previously starred in De Felitta's film City Island in 2009.

Frankie Valli Lands Role In "And So It Goes"

Legendary crooner Frankie Valli has joined the rom-com "And So It Goes" says The Hollywood Reporter.

Michael Douglas stars as a self-centered realtor with an empathy deficiency, who ends up learning to love again after reconnecting with his granddaughter and forming a friendship with a bubbly neighbor played by Diane Keaton.

Valli will play a club owner in  the pic.

Mark Andrus ("As Good As It Gets") wrote the script from which Rob Reiner will call action.

Alan Greisman will produce the film.

Lily James Will Wear The Glass Slippers As "Cinderella"

Downton Abbey's Lily James has been chosen for the title role in the latest re-telling of the fairy tale "Cinderella" says The Hollywood Reporter.

"The Devil Wears Prada" writer Aline Brosh McKenna sold the pitch to Disney back in 2010 which re-imagines the story as it follows a "prince set for a politically arranged marriage, until the evil plan is threatened when the prince meets Cinderella". Chris Weitz penned the final script.

Emma Watson was linked to the role for less than a week last month While Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement"), Alicia Vikander ("Anna Karenina") Imogen Poots and Gabriella Wilde ("The Three Musketeers") tested for the lead last year. Bella Heathcote ("Dark Shadows"), Margot Robbie ("Pan Am") tested most recently.

Now that Cinderella is cast, the male lead role of Prince Charming is expected to be cast. The early front runner is said to be "Game of Thrones" co-star Richard Madden.

Cate Blanchett was in talks to play the evil stepmother.

Mark Romanek ("Never Let Me Go") vacated the director's chair last year when he and the studio reportedly over "differing views on how to tell the story." Romanek’s version was a darker vision than thnowe studio wanted. The same thing happened with 2010's "The Wolfman," and Romanek ended up looking like the smart one for exiting what ended up being a critical and commercial failure.

Kenneth Branagh is now calling action on the film.

Simon Kinberg will produce.

Production hopes to begin this fall for a potential 2014 release.

Ponsoldt Tells Hillary's Story

"The Spectacular Now" and "Smashed" helmer James Ponsoldt is attached to direct the indie biopic "Rodham" which will explore Hillary Clinton's early years according to The Wrap.

South Korean screenwriter Young Il Kim  Black List script is set during the height of the Watergate scandal.in the 1970s. At the time, Hillary Rodham was the youngest lawyer chosen for the House Judiciary Committee to Impeach President Richard M. Nixon.  She soon finds herself forced to choose between a destined path to The White House, and her unresolved feelings for former boyfriend and Arkansas law teacher Bill Clinton

Richard Arlook, Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen will produce the film.

Costner & Binder See Things In "Black And White"

Kevin Costner is set to reunite with "The Upside of Anger" writer/director Mike Binder for the indie "Black and White" says Deadline.

 In the drama Costner plays a widower who loses his daughter during the birth of his bi-racial granddaughter.  Raising the child, he becomes locked in a custody battle with the child's paternal grandmother and race becomes a major issue.

Todd Lewis will produce the film

Production begins this summer in New Orleans.

Joe Carnahan Gets A "Sugar" High

Joe Carnahan ("The Grey," "Smokin' Aces") is in talks to direct "Sugar Bandits" says Heat Vision

Author Chuck Hogan is adapting his own novel "Devils in Exile" into the film script, which centers on Iraq War vet Neal Maven who is now living in Boston and stuck doing dead-end jobs. Maven and some other soldiers team up in a scheme to rip off local drug dealers, destroying the product and grabbing their money.

Marc Shmuger and Tom McNulty are producing the film.

Gears Of War Film Gets A Producer

Scott Stuber ("Ted," "Battleship") is set to produce the adaptation of the Gears of War movie based upon the Xbox 360 game says Variety.

New Line Cinema began developing the film in 2007 with "Underworld" and "Live Free or Die Hard" director Len Wiseman attached to direct, the project never took off due to the sizeable budget required. Writers Chris Morgan, Billy Ray and Stuart Beattie have all had cracks at the script at different points in time.

Set on the planet Sera, the game thrusts players into a battle for survival between humans and a race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet known as the Locust Horde. Players assume identities of soldiers on Delta Squad as they fight to save Sera's inhabitants.

The three games in the 'Gears' series thus far have sold over 13 million copies and netted $1 billion in sales since the first game droped in 2006.

The folks at Creative Artists Agency began the search for a major producer a few months ago. No distributor is in place, but Stuber has a first look deal with Universal Pictures.

The fourth game, Gears of War: Judgment is out. Epic Games is expected to consult on the film to ensure that fits into the canon established in the games and books.

Worthington Enters The "Keeping Roon"

Sam Worthington will join Daniel Barber's untitled period thriller formerly known as "The Keeping Room" says Deadline.

Julia Hart wrote the script that follows two Southern sisters (Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld) and a slave (Nicole Beharie) left alone in the closing days of the American Civil War. The trio are soon forced to defend their home from the onslaught of a band of soldiers who have broken off from the fast approaching Union Army.

Worthington plays one of the soldiers.

Jordan Horowitz, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne and Dete Meserve will produce.

Production begins in June.

Michael Pitt Discovers "I Origin"

Michael Pitt, Steven Yeun, Archie Panjabi, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey and Brit Marling will all star in the sci-fi pic I Origins says Deadline.

In the film Pitt plays a molecular biologist who, together with his brilliant lab partner (Marling) uncovers startling evidence that may fundamentally change society as we know it.

Another Earth director Mike Cahill is calling action using his own screenplay.

Marling co-wrote Another Earth with Cahill,

Hunter Gray, Alex Orlovsky, Tyler Brodie, Bonnie Timmermann, Adam S. Bersin and Pitt are producing.

No production schedule has been released.

Bell Winds Up For "Million Dollar Arm"

Lake Bell ("Boston Legal," "No Strings Attached") has signed on to join the baseball drama biopic "Million Dollar Arm" says The Playlist.

The film is based on the true story of how sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm) and his partner Aash Shah ("The Daily Show" regular Aasif Mandvi) discovered professional pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel through a reality show he staged in India using cricket players.

Alan Arkin will play a retired baseball scout. "Life of Pi" star Suraj Sharma co stars. Bell's role is not yet known.

Tom McCarthy ("Win Win") wrote the script from which Craig Gillespie's going to call action.

Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray, Joe Roth and Palak Patel will produce the film.

Shooting begins next month in Mumbai and Atlanta.

Geek Out To "Pacific Rim" Footage

The spectacular footage that screened at WonderCon and CinemaCon for Guillermo del Toro's upcoming robots vs. monsters epic "Pacific Rim" is now online. 

The story follows is set in 2025, twelve years into a war against alien creatures who reside in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A defense force consisting of mechas, giant robots and their human pilots, are fighting to save humanity from gigantic monsters invading from an other-worldly dimension.

Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi Max Martini. Robert Kazinsky Clifton Collins Jr Diego Klattenhoff Ron Perlman and Willem Dafoe star in the July 12, 2013 release.

Travis Beacham penned the screenplay.

Thomas Tull Jon Jashni, del Toro. Mary Parent and Callum Greene will produce.



Legendary Pictures is already moving forward with plans for a Pacific Rim 2 which Beacham will write.

Tope Tracks A Killer In "Sundown"

Relative unknown Travis Tope has landed the male lead in the remake of the 1976 horror thriler The Town That Dreaded Sundown says THR.

Addison Timlin who was cast a few weeks ago stars as Jami,”a young high schooler being raised by her grandmother who’s targeted by the mysterious killer,

Tope will play a classmate who befriends Timlin’s character and decides to make a documentary about the search for the killer.

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon will direct the remake using a script by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa,

Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum  are producing the film

The film begins shooting in May in Louisiana.

Foxx May Adopt "Annie"

Heat Vision reports that Jamie Foxx is in talks to play a new incarnation of Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks in the upcoming remake of "Annie". The character would be named Benjamin Stacks,

 Justin Timberlake was rumored for the part last momth

Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild") will star as the iconic big-hearted orphan adopted by Warbucks in this contemporary update of the classic Musical and Comic Strip.

Will Gluck will direct the project and is currently revising the screenplay by Emma Thompson and Aline Brosh McKenna.

James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Jay Z, Jay Brown and Tyran 'Ty-Ty' Smith
will produce the film.

At one time Will and Jada's daughter Willow was considered for the lead.

A Christmas 2014 release is planned.

Does This Trek 2 Clip Contain A Bad Guy Clue/SPOILER?

Another clip from the J.J. Abrams’ sequel "Star Trek Into Darkness" has been released by Paramount Pictures.

In the new film the Enterprise crew will face off with Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch's baddie "John Harrison" who might just be a version of Khan Noonien Singh in the film. Or is it perhaps Gary Mitchell instead? Someone else. All involved are still saying Harrison is the name of Cumby's character. I say hogwash--If that's the truth why the secrecy?...And why tell us early on that the big bad was someone we know from Trek lore?

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin John Cho and Bruce Greenwood have all returned to the Final Frontier in their respective roles as Kirk Spock Uhura Dr. McCoy Scotty Chekov Sulu and Admiral Pike.

The Supporting Cast Includes Alice Eve as Carol Marcus. Nazneen Contractor who will play the wife of Noel Clarke’s family man character And former "Robocop" star Peter Weller playing Admirial Marcus, actor/stuntman Joseph Gatt. Original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" star Heather Langenkamp has a small part in the film as well.

Leonard Nimoy's return as Spock Prime following his larger cameo from "Star Trek" '09 had been walked back yet not fully denied...Klingons will be making an appearance in the Star Trek sequel as will their home world. The adversaries were left on the cutting room of the last pic.

Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof wrote the script for director Abrams.

The sequel will be produced by Abrams, Kurtzman, Orci, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, and David Ellison.

The film will be released May 17, 2013 in 3D and IMAX in the US. May 10th in UK , Germany, Australia & other countries.

Question: Does this intense conversation between Kirk and Harrison finally reveal the bad guy's true identity?



I kept thinking about the number 72....That's the same number of Kahn's (Ricardo Montalban) followers that Kirk (William Shatner) sent to the planet Ceti Alpha V at the end of the 1967 episode called Space Seed and then referred to in  the big screen sequel Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. By then though the number dropped to 70.

Hmmmmm

Red 2 Trailer: "Ain't Dead Yet"

This Red 2 trailer gives the impression that the sequel is even more action packed and fun than the first one....

Robert Schwentke helmed the original Red starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Karl Urban Mary-Louise Parker and Morgan Freeman--following over-the-hill special ops agents forced out of retirement.

The story has Willis and his retired spy friends searching for a weapon of mass destruction. First though, they must break into an insane asylum to retrieve the man (Anthony Hopkins) who created the weapon.

Catherine Zeta-Jones Neal McDonough amd Byung-Hun Lee also star.

Jon and Erich Hoeber are writng the screenplay to the follow-up for new director Dean Parisot. The franchise is based on Warren Ellis' three-issue comic book series.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian will produce the pic.

Red 2 hits theaters on July 19th 2013

"Woman In Black" Sequel Finds Its Leads

Jeremy Irvine and Phoebe Fox have signed on to star in horror sequel The Woman in Black: Angels of Death says Heat Vision.

Based upon the book by Susan Hill the gothic tale The Woman in Black follows a young solicitor (Daniel Radcliffe) who takes up a short residence at Eel Marsh House, a desolate and secluded coastal mansion cut off at high tide from the nearby market town in rural England. Alone and sorting out the affairs of the elderly widow owner who recently died, the lawyer is spooked by unexplained noises and visions of a mysterious woman in black. The book has been adapted into a memorable stage play that has been done around the world for over two decades.

The first film received solid reviews and became the highest grossing British horror film of the past twenty years.

Story editor Jon Croker is writing the script which will pick up the story forty years later. His work will be based on an original story by Hill that she has been developing over the past few years and recently completed. Tom Harper ("Misfits," "The Scouting Book for Boys") will direct.

Seized by the British government during World War II, the sudden arrival of a group of evacuated children at Eel Marsh House awakens its ghostly inhabitant.

Many of the production team from the first film will be back for the second film.

Simon Oakes, Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, Brian Oliver, President of Cross Creek Pictures and Xavier Marchand will produce the film.

Perlman Wants A Hellboy 3

A few weeks ago there came word that the chances for Hellboy 3 were nill

Now though star Ron Perlman tells IGN that he's trying to convince director Guillermo del Toro to do one more.

"[Del Toro and I] both walked away from Hellboy II agreeing that there would never be another one. But, with the passage of time, it became clear to me that he really always designed it as a trilogy. [Guillermo] has a very well-articulated idea of what the resolve would look like and it's amazingly theatrical and is epic in scope and would make for amazing cinema, with or without the first two movies. I said [to Guillermo], 'You owe it to the world to finish this trilogy'. I've been giving him Jewish guilt."

Bay Talks TMNT & Transformers Sequel

Talking with Moviefone, producer Michael Bay says that the upcoming live-action "Ninja Turtles" reboot at Paramount will NOT feature alien turtles as previously rumored.

"There was that quote saying that we’re making [the Ninja Turtles as] aliens. We're not. It’s the ooze! It’s from the original source material.These are from the original writers, and I never went out to correct myself in the press. I do listen to the fans and I do want this to be authentic. I think they’re going to be really happy with this movie. When I see the digital stuff, the turtles look great."

Pete Ploszek will play Leonardo, Jeremy Howard will play Donatello Noel Fisher will play Michelangelo and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire co-star Alan Ritchson plays Raphael These 4 young men will provide the motion capture essence and vocals for the heroes in the half shell. Danny Woodburn will play the mo-cap role of wise rat Master Splinter.

Will Arnett might be tapped to play Casey Jones opposite fellow live action actor Megan Fox as April O'Neil

The film was set to be all live-action but then it was decided that the turtles would be brought to life using motion capture/CGI like 2011's "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes".

Jonathan Liebesman is directing from a script by Kevin Eastman, Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec.

Brad Fuller Andrew Form, Galen Walker and Scott Mednick would co-produce with Michael Bay.

Production takes place in April in New York City.

The pic was delayed over script issues--originally slated for release in December 2013 it is now set to be released on June 6th, 2014.

Bay will soon be turning his attention to directing "Transformers 4" and promises that the bots will have a new look:

"We’ve redesigned them in 'Transformers 4,' and there’s some really cool s **t in it. I’m literally redesigning every character, top to bottom. There’s a reason why they’re redesigned, but it’s also to keep it new and fresh to me. I think the fans will appreciate some of this new stuff we have in the movie and some of the new characters."

The new film folows a high school student, and daughter (Nicola Peltz) of Mark Wahlberg's character, and her racecar driver boyfriend--Jack Reynor--who is expected to be signed for three-picture deal. Josh Duhamel recently said that Bay is trying to ensure an appearance for his military hero character, Major Lennox in the film.Stanley Tucci has joined the cast alomg with a mysterious young actor who hasn't been identified yet.

Bay has confirmed that the next film is set four years after the events in Chicago as seen in the third film.

Ehren Kruger ("Transformers: Dark of the Moon") is writing the script for the fourth film which starts production in May and hits theaters on June 27th, 2014

Jimmy Franco Pulls Double Duty In "The Garden"

James Franco will both direct and play a key role in the contemporary thriller "The Garden of Last Days" says Deadline.

Based upon author Andre Dubus III's book--The story involves three interwoven story lines - a stripper forced to bring her three-year-old daughter to work; an angry, loner who gets thrown out of the club; and a foreigner with an endless supply of cash about to commit a terrifying act.

The film will be set in present day New York rather than around the September 11th attacks time frame of the book. Hanna Weg is writing the adapted screenplay

Weg, Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel, Danielle Robinson, Vince Jolivette and Miles Levy will produce.

Production starts om July 8th in NYC once Franco wraps on "Good People" and stops by the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in May.

Firth Leads "The Secret Service"; Gives "Jones" Update

Colin Firth is in talks to star in "The Secret Service" for Fox says Heat Vision.

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

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

Production is due to start in August.

The film is currently scheduled for a November 14th 2014.

Meantime--Firth told The Chicago Sun-Times that the comedy sequel Bridget Jones's Baby is delayed

"Unfortunately, it might be a bit of a long wait. I wouldn't say that it's completely dead in the water, but the way it's going you might be seeing Bridget Jones' granddaughter's story being told by the time we get there. There is a joy of doing those movies that keeps hope alive. And the story is going in an interesting direction. I just wouldn't say that the movie is imminent."

Author Helen Fielding wrote the third book and film script simultaneously with David Nicholls and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig that will see Bridget (Renee Zellweger) having a mid-thirties baby crisis

Hugh Grant is set to return as well and Peter Cattaneo ("The Full Monty") will direct the film.

Jonathan Cavendish, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are producing the pic.

Box Office Update: No Pain, Just Gains

Director Michael Bay's true story inspired Pain & Gain bench-pressed its way to the top spot at the cineplex this weekend. Meantime despite its star studded cast The Big Wedding was left waiting at the alter. The Tom Cruise/Joseph Kosinski sci-fi film Oblivion slid to #2....

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Michael Bay's Pain & Gain -- headlining Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson -- topped the North American box office with $20 million on the final weekend before summer tentpoles begin rolling out.

Pain & Gain, from Paramount and based on a true story, is a marked departure for Bay in both storyline and scope. The dark action comedy cost a modest $26 million to produce (at CinemaCon, Bay called the film his "small" movie) and overperformed in Bay's hometown of Miami, as well as in Los Angeles.

The movie played more evenly among the genders than expected, with females making up 49 percent of the audience. However, it only received a C+ CinemaScore, which could hurt word of mouth.

Pain & Gain also stars Anthony Mackie, Ed Harris, Tony Shalhoub, Rob Corddry, Rebel Wilson and Bar Paly. The screenplay was written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the Miami New Times article of the same name by Pete Collins. The film is produced by Donald De Line, Bay and Ian Bryce.

The story follows a trio of bodybuilders (Wahlberg, Johnson and Mackie) who get caught up in an extortion ring and kidnapping scheme that goes horribly awry.

The weekend's other new wide entry, The Big Wedding, opened to a dismal $7.5 million to come in No. 4, despite a star-studded cast that includes Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Ben Barnes, Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams.

Big Wedding, from Millennium and Lionsgate, appealed heavily to females (77 percent) but only drew a C+ CinemaScore. The R-rated comedy cost just north of $30 million to produce and was directed by Justin Zackham.

Universal's Oblivion came in No. 2 in its second outing, falling a respectable 53 percent to $17.4 million. The Tom Cruise took in another $12.8 million overseas for an international cume of $134.1 million and worldwide total of $198.8 million (the pic's domestic total is $64.7 million).

Jackie Robinson baseball biopic 42 continued to hold nicely in its third weekend, coming in No. 3 with $10.7 million and pushing its domestic total to $69.1 million for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.

DreamWorks Animation and Fox's The Croods continued to make gains in its sixth weekend, upping its domestic total to $163 million and placing No. 5. The 3D animated film jumped the $300 million mark internationally for a worldwide total of $453 million.

Matthew McConnaughey and Reese Witherspoon thriller Mud, from director Jeff Nichols, made news at the specialty box office, opening to $2.2 million from 363 theaters. The critically acclaimed film, from FilmNation and Roadside Attractions, came in No. 11 overall.

Mud debuted just one week after Witherspoon was arrested disorderly conduct in Atlanta, and did well in both traditional arthouse markets, as well as in commercial theaters Arkansas, where the film is set, and other locales in the South, Midwest and Southwest.

Mud was among a slew of new offerings at the specialty box office. The Weinstein Co.'s action-adventure Kon-Tiki opened to $22,334 from two theaters for a location average of $11,167.

Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, distributed by IFC Films, opened to $32,700 from three theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a location average of $10,900.

Below are the top 10 film estimates for the April 12-14 weekend at the North American box office.

1. Pain & Gain, 1/3,277, Paramount, $38.2 million

2. Oblivion, 2/3,792, Universal, $17.4 million, $64.7 million

3. 42, 3/3,405, Warners/Legendary, $10.7 million, $69.1 million

4. The Big Wedding, 1/2,633, Lionsgate/Millennium, $7.5 million

5. The Croods, 6/3,283, Fox/DreamWorks Animation, $6.6, $163 million

6. G.I. Joe: Retaliation, 5/2,707, Paramount, $3.6 million, $116.4 million

7. Scary Movie 5, 3/2,733, The Weinstein Co., $3.5 million, $27.5 million

8. Olympus Has Fallen, 6/2,334, FilmDistrict, $2.8 million, $93.1 million

9. The Place Beyond the Pines, 5/1,584, Focus/Sidney Kimmel, $2.7 million, $16.2 million

10. Jurassic Park 3D, 4/1,848, Universal, $2.3 million, $42 million

Summer begins at the movies--with the return of Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark in "Iron Man 3" which is already doing MASSIVE business overseas--already outpacing The Avengers....

When I Was Assimilated By The Borg

The folks at Fathom Events held a special one night only screening of the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation two parter The Best of Both Worlds at movie theaters across the country on Thursday night. I was lucky enough to attend

The entire series is undergoing a major HD restoration and then each of the show's seven seasons are being released on Blu-ray at approximately 6 month intervals with the third season hitting the street Tuesday April 30th.

In my opinion the 89-90 season was the show's GREATEST year--Thanks in large measure to the arrival of the late great Michael Piller--Who helped to stabilize the writing staff and brought in greats like Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr who in turn helped guide the TV wing of the franchise for nearly a decade.

Written by Piller, the action sees Captain Jean-luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) kidnapped by the most lethal Borg leaving Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in command of the Enterprise-D as the crew fights to retrieve him.

The first part ranks # 36 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time list and boasts a great star in  Elizabeth Dennehy as the ambitious Commander Shellby, a great score by composer Ron Jones and cool feature film quality effects (made even better by the restoration) The Borg would return to the series and spin-offs but none of those storylines matched the monumental "Best"--save for the film sequel Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

The event also featured a retrospective doc behind the scenes and a truly hilarious season 3 blooper reel--all of which will be included on the single disc movie edit.

I consider "Best" better than the last 2 films with the TNG crew--Insurrection (1998) and Nemesis (2002) and it looked great--The level of detail you notice now is quite spectacular...

Now...Bring on "Star Trek Into Darkness"...

Abrams On Trek & Wars Future

With mere weeks to go until the release of the sequel "Star Trek Into Darkness" director J.J. Abrams will soon turn his attention to Star Wars: Episode VII. The question is, will he/would he return for the next installment in the final frontier saga?

 

 He tells Playboy: "I would say [directing Star Trek 3] it's a possibility. We're trying to figure out the next step. But it's like anything: It all begins with the story."

He adds that his approach to 'Wars' will be quite different from 'Trek' for one important reason:

"The advantage here [with 'Star Wars'] is that we still have George Lucas with us to go to and ask questions and get his feedback on things, which I certainly will do. With 'Star Trek' it was harder because I wasn't a Star Trek fan; I didn't have the same emotional feeling, and I didn't have Gene Roddenberry to go to. But I came to understand the world of Star Trek, and I appreciated what fans felt and believed about this universe and this franchise."

Meanwhile, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Screen Slam that the approach taken to the upcoming seventh "Star Wars" film will be somewhat different  over the highly secretive  approach Abrams operates in while his films are in production:

"I think the whole issue of confidentiality is gonna be fascinating as we move into making the movie. If we're shooting anything outside, it's almost impossible to not have things end up on the Internet. So my feeling is, you need to embrace that, especially with the fans around something like Star Wars. You need to recognize they're important to the process and acknowledge there are things you're gonna want to make sure they get to know. So I think that's something we're going to monitor, pay attention to and think differently about."

Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled to hit theaters in 2015. Trek 2 hits May 17th 2013

Snyder On Man Of Steel Flying & Krypton

Director Zack Snyder tells SFX that the flying sequences in his big budget reboot "Man Of Steel" will feature our hero being less graceful in the air.

"It's a more violent experience. It's raw. It takes effort to do it, and that's what we were really going for. It's almost like there's this kind of Right Stuff quality to it. He's constantly booming around, accelerating. You think he's going as fast as he can and then it's like 'Yeeaahh!' He's always got an extra gear he can use."

He also talked about his take on Krypton in the film, which trades the ice crystals from the previous incarnations:

"I really wanted my Krypton to be this kind of special place that's immersive and totally different from Earth, but not unbelievable. And ancient. I really wanted to give this ancient feeling to Krypton. I love technology that's rusty because it's so old. It's so advanced, but it's so old. That was the kind of world that I tried to create. A dying world that's ancient and torn apart."

 

MOS stars Henry Cavill Amy Adams Michael Shannon Kevin Costner Diane Lane Antje Traue Christopher Meloni Harry Lennix Laurence Fishburne Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer. Bradley Cooper was said to be in talks to make a cameo appearance as Lex Luthor as a set-up for sequels. But that's not been confirmed. In fact, the folks at AICN now claim that Mackenzie Gray who played a Luthor clone during the final season of ‘Smallville’ will play "an ambitious, ego driven and cold version of Luthor." Emmy-winning actor Richard Schiff will play Dr. Hamilton. Cooper Timberline and Dylan Sprayberry both play young Clark Kent at various ages in the film. Jadin Gould is a young Lana Lang.

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

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

MOS flies into theaters June 14th 2013

Depp Goes " Into The Woods" For Marshall

The Hollywood Reporter says that Johnny Depp will reunite with with his Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides director Rob Marshall on the film adaptation of the classic 1980s Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical" Into the Woods"

The musical tells the story of a baker (James Corden) and his wife’s attempt to have a family, but uses several classic fairy tale characters, such as Cinderella, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood, to enhance the story.

Musical co-creator James Lapine is now adapting the script and the film is expected to feature new songs by Sondheim.

Meryl Streep will play The Witch. a character originated on Broadway by Bernadette Peters.

Depp would play a sexy version of the Big Bad Wolf.

Favreau Cooks Up "Chef"

 Jon Favreau is in talks to write, direct, and star in Chef says Variety.

The scipt is set in a Los Angeles-based restaurant run by a emotional chef that Favreau would play.

This project is not to be confused with the other film called Chef, which has Bradley Cooper and Omar Sy attached to star and Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines) set to

The project would be the smallest film Favreau's helmed since "Made" in 2001.

Morgan & Blum Tackle Low Budget Sci-Fi

 "Fast and Furious" film series writer Chris Morgan is teaming up with "Insidious" producer Jason Blum to produce an untitled low-budget sci-fi film says THR.

"Argo" actor Christopher Denham is set to pen the script, that centers on a group of students who invent a new technology with ramifications that go far beyond their control.

Universal Pictures will most likely release the finished film since both producers have first look deals at the studio.

Marling Gets Wilde Role

Brit Marling ("Sound of My Voice," "Arbitrage") is in final talks to replace Olivia Wilde in Daniel Barber's untitled period thriller formerly known as "The Keeping Room" says The Wrap.

Julia Hart wrote the script that follows two Southern sisters (Marling, Hailee Steinfeld) and a slave (Nicole Beharie) left alone in the closing days of the American Civil War. The trio are soon forced to defend their home from the onslaught of a band of soldiers who have broken off from the fast approaching Union Army.

Jordan Horowitz, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne and Dete Meserve will produce.

Lyne Returns Treading "Deep Water"

Adrian Lyne ("Flashdance," "Fatal Attraction") is set to direct a film adaptation of author Patricia Highsmith's 1957 novel "Deep Water" says Deadline.This film marks Lyne's first gig since his last film "Unfaithful" hit over a decade ago,

The story follows Vic and Melinda, an attractive young married couple whose mind games with each other take a twisted turn when people around them start turning up dead.

It would seem that a major star is already in talks for the project

Zach Helm is writing the adapted script.

Ben Forkner, Guymon Casady, Garrett Basch and Steve Zaillian are producing the film.

Highsmith related films include the likes of "Strangers On A Train" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley"  with new films based on her works "The Blunderer" The Price of Salt and a Strangers on a Train remake in development. The already completed "The Two Faces of January" bows later this year.

McNaughton & Peters Ready To Get "Wild" Again

In a chat with Hollywood.com Wild Things director John McNaughton says that he and screenwriter Stephen Peters are working on another installment.

 

A few direct-to-DVD in name only sequels to the 1998 origibal film--Wild Things 2, Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough and Wild Things: Foursome were released but this one will be quite different:

"It's not one of the sequels, but about their children. Do you know the Amanda Knox case? It's something like that. Something that's like the child of Suzie Toller [Neve Campbell's character], she claimed that Matt Dillon's [character] had raped her a long time ago and maybe there is a child and maybe Bill Murray's character had a child and they're exchange students and things get out of hand. We're calling it Wild Child Things."

The film doesn't have a studio, distributor or cast yet.

Gyllenhaal Investigates "Nightcrawler"

Variety reports that Jake Gyllenhaal will star in the crime thriller Nightcrawler.

The film follows a young man (Gyllenhaal) drawn into the world of Los Angeles freelance crime reporting.

Rene Russo will co-star.

Screenwriter Dan Gilroy (Real Steel) will make his film directorial debut on the noir film based on his own script.

The writer-director's brother, Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy), is producing with Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Fox, Michel Litvak, and David Lancaster.

Production starts in October.