Bruce Willis And Bill Murray Will Visit "Magic City"

Bruce Willis and Bill Murray are set to make an appearance in "Magic City," a film continuation of the cable channel Starz TV series says Variety.

Set in 1959 just after the Cuban revolution, the story follows a Miami hotel owner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) forced to make a deal with a mobster (Danny Huston).

Mitch Glazer created the series, which got axed last year, and will direct the movie. The film version will pick up in 1962 with Morgan Huston Olga Kurylenko and Kelly Lynch are expected back as the wife and former sister-in-law respectively of Morgan's character.

Glazer has big screen experience writing the scripts for "Scrooged" and "The Recruit" among others as well as helming "Passion Play".

 Len Blavatnik, Brett Ratner Gerry Schwartz  Steve Bing Alan J. Helene and Glazer are producing.

QED will introduce the project to buyers at the American Film Market next week.

David Twohy Charts "Replay"

Deadline reports that "Riddick" and "A Perfect Getaway" helmer David Twohy has signed on to direct the time travel thriller "Replay".

The story follows Tyler Vaughn, a test subject in a quantum experiment who is sent four days into the future. There he learns that his son has been killed and he is the prime suspect in the murder. As each day ends, he's pulled back to the previous day, so he tries to solve his son's murder before he gets back to the present.

Joe Gazzam wrote the script.

Ahmet Zappa, Alan Gasmer, Peter Jaysen and Ryan Kavanaugh are producing the film

Production hopes to begin in early 2015.

"Leatherface" Gets A Set Of Directors

French filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo will direct "Leatherface," the next film in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series in development at Millennium Films says The Wrap. The pair are said to have beaten out "Starry Eyes" filmmakers Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer
for the job

The movie will be the eighth overall entry in the franchise and is sharing the same title as the 3rd film in the series. This one will serve as a prequel to Tobe Hooper's original 1974 classic and explore the origins of the character--focusing on his teenage years.

Genre screenwriter Seth M. Sherwood has signed on to write the script.

Carl Mazzocone, Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman are producing the pic.

I know I'm in the minority here but I really enjoyed the 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning from '06; Both films were improvements over The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in 1986 1990's Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 and the more recent Texas Chainsaw 3D

More Plot Details & Pics From "Terminator: Genisys" Via EW

We are getting more information about the sequel reboot Terminator: Genisys from the cover story in EW.

Australian actor Jason Clarke ("Zero Dark Thirty," "White House Down") is set to play the role of John Connor in the upcoming reboot. Hedlund Tom Hardy and ironically Holbrook ("The Host") were said to be up for John as well. Emilia Clarke is set to play a young Sarah Connor in the film. She beat out Brie Larson for the role. Former "Spider-Man" scene stealer J.K. Simmons will play a weary and alcoholic detective who has followed a bizarre case involving Sarah Connor and robots for more than three decades starting in 1984 and the events depicted in The Terminator. Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games) has signed on to play the part of  Danny Dyson--the son of Miles Dyson, played by Joe Morton in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" who designed the neural-net processor that would lead to the creation of Skynet.

The final major piece of casting--Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith's role is said to have a strong connection to John Connor, and will grow in the second and third films.

Arnold Schwarzenegger will return while cohorts Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn have been rumored to be involved as well.

 Byung-hun Lee, Michael Gladis and Sandrine Holt co-star. Lee's role, "promises to be a doozy." Bodybuilder and actor Aaron V. Williamson has reportedly signed on to play a younger T-800 

The publication confirms the new movie recreates Schwarzenegger's memorable arrival depicted in the original 1984 film. Shot at L.A.'s Griffith Observatory, the effect is created thanks to a combination of a body double and digital scans of Arnold's face from James Cameron's first film.

Producer David Ellison says: "It's the holy grail of visual effects. You create a walking, breathing human that doesn't exist."

Ellison also confirms that the film's bad guy is part-man/part-machine hybrid: "Part of the challenge is to ­dazzle people with something they haven't seen before. There are elements in our main villain that are straining the capacities of our brilliant visual-effects people. So that's a good sign."

The latest installment is the first of a proposed new trilogy that will diverge from the established timeline of the previous films. Yet, certain key moments from the franchise will be featured but in a very different way.

Drew McWeeney at Hitfix discusses the time travel component of the new film and revealed that this new Terminator overlaps with events in the original 1984 classic ala "Back to the Future". In one scene we see Arnie's older "Terminator" walking into one of the iconic early scenes from the first film after his younger counterpart has left.

Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier wrote the script from which "Thor: The Dark World" director Alan Taylor called action. Clarke has experience working with Taylor on the cable drama "Game of Thrones". She also has a six degrees connection to the franchise: Clarke's Thrones co-star Lena Headey played Sarah Connor in the TV series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles".

Ellison's going to produce the film that is set to hit theaters on July 1, 2015.

"Tales Of Halloween" Terror On The Way

Deadline reports that Epic Pictures Group is putting together a horror anthology film project ala  V/H/S The ABCs of Death and Trick 'r Treat.

"Tales Of Halloween" will consist of ten segments from eleven directors as one interconnected series of stories set in an American suburb whose residents are terrorised on Halloween night.

The genre directors involved are: Neil Marshall ("The Descent") Darren Bousman ("Saw II,") Joe Begos ("Almost Human"), Axelle Carolyn ("Soulmate"), Adam Gierasch ("Night Of The Demons"), Andrew Kasch ("Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy") and John Skipp ("Stay At Home Dad"), Mike Mendez ("Big Ass Spider!"), Dave Parker ("The Hills Run Red"), Ryan Schifrin ("Abominable"), and Paul Solet ("Grace").

Axelle Carolyn conceived the project and will produce alongside Mendez, Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson.

 The segments are set to begin production in November.

Channing Tatum Is Officially Playing Gambit In A Solo Flick

Channing Tatum is officially signed to star in and produce the solo film featuring  X-Men's mutant Gambit says Deadline.

Marvel writer Chris Claremont co-created the character back in 1990 and has penned a treatment upon which Robocop remake Joshua Zetumer will write the screenplay. Story details are hushed and being kept confidential.

In the comics, Gambit is also known as Remy LeBeau and is able to charge matter with an explosive kinetic energy - causing objects to explode on impact.

Friday Night Lights and  "John Carter" star Taylor Kitsch played the character in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"

The news comes after the "Magic Mike" actor had expressed his desire to play the role and that producer Lauren Shuler Donner was open to the idea. Reid Carolin and Simon Kinberg will also produce.

No word on a release date yet.

It's likely that Tatum is going to play LeBeau in the next chapter in the film series "X-Men: Apocalypse" which opens May 27th 2016.... but that has not been confirmed yet

Ricky Gervais Charts "Special Correspondents" Redux

Ricky Gervais and Eric Bana are set to star in a remake of the 2009 French comedy "Special Correspondents" says Variety.

Bana plays a struggling New York-based radio journalist who fakes front line war reports from the comfort of his hideout above a Manhattan restaurant.

In the original film, France mobilizes to gain the release of two kidnapped journalists in Iraq. The trouble is the victims know the crime has been faked.

Gervais will write, direct and produce the update.

Chris Coen, Aaron L. Gilbert, and Manuel Munz will also produce..

Charlie Hunnam Says "A Prayer Before Dawn"

Sons of Anarchy and Pacific Rim star Charlie Hunnam is attached to star in rhe Thai boxing prison thriller "A Prayer Before Dawn" says Screen.

Described as a mix between "Drive" and "The Raid", the pic is based on the true-life story of Liverpool raised amateur boxer and drug dealer Billy Moore's incarceration in Klong Prem Central Prison, better known as the infamous 'Bangkok Hilton' located in Thailand. His two year incarceration in that brutal place changed his outlook on life.

 Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire is calling action using a script by Nick Saltrese adapted from Moore's book.

Rita Dagher; Sol Papadopoulos and Roy Boulter will produce the film.

Hunnam is currently training for the Muay Thai sequences in the film which will shoot mid-2015.

Real-life former prisoners and Muay Thai champions are being sought for supporting roles.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" Redux Gets Writer

"Wrath of the Titans" writer David Leslie Johnson will draft the new film adaptation of author Ray Bradbury's novel "Something Wicked This Way Comes" for Disney says Heat Vision.

The story follows Mr. Dark, the proprietor of a traveling carnival who preys on a small town by making deals for the townsfolk's souls in exchange for the dreams that each one desires. Two teen boys discover the threat.

"Dark Shadows" and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" scribe Seth Grahame-Smith is set to make his feature directorial debut here after writing a treatment for the script as he continues his wok on a "Beetlejuice 2" script.

David Katzenberg will produce the film.

Disney previously adapted the book for the big screen back in 1983 where Bradbury penned the adapted script, but later expressed disappointment that much of it got muddled.

Grahame-Smith says he plans to ignore the film and return to the book, and will include some of the classic scenes missing from the previous film.

"Skull Island" Gets New Writer

"Flight" and "Real Steel" screenwriter John Gatins has been hired to rewrite the script for the King Kong reboot "Skull Island" for Legendary Pictures says Deadline.

The origin story will deal with the giant gorilla and his life on an island of prehistoric monsters before he was taken into captivity.

"Thor" star Tom Hiddleston will reportedly play the lead role in the project, though no further details about his character were given.

Gatins takes over from"Godzilla" scribe Max Borenstein who penned the initial script.for the film which was announced at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. "The Kings of Summer" director Jordan Vogt-Roberts will call action here.

At one point "Attack the Block" director Joe Cornish was reportedly offered the gig that Vogt-Roberts now has. JVR is tipped to direct Metal Gear Solid for Sony Pictures, though that pic will likely get pushed now.

Skull Island is targeting a November 2016 release.

Box Office Preview: Not All That Scary

The film Nightcrawler (reviews) follows a young man (Jake Gyllenhaal) drawn into the world of Los Angeles freelance crime reporting. Screenwriter Dan Gilroy (Real Steel) made his film directorial debut on the noir film using his own script.

Based on S J Watson's debut bestselling novel, Before I Go to Sleep (reviews) sees Nicole Kidman as a north London woman who wakes up every morning with amnesia. Her husband (Colin Firth) tells her she suffered a trauma and she dare not leave home. One day she ignores this and sees a doctor (Mark Strong) who gives her a small digital recorder and urges her to play back her thoughts day after day. The process begins to reintegrate her mind, and in doing so she comes to realize that the man sleeping next to her isn't her husband.

Already released via On Demand the film adaptation of Joe Hill's 2010 novel Horns (reviews) arrives in theaters.

 
Daniel Radcliffe plays Ig Perrish, the lead suspect in the violent rape and killing of his girlfriend. Hung over from a night of hard drinking, Ig awakens one morning to find horns starting to grow from his head. Their power drives people to confess sins and give in to selfish impulses - becoming an effective tool in his quest to discover the circumstances of his girlfriend Merrin's (Juno Temple) death. The Social Network's Max Minghella plays Lee Tourneau, a supposedly “compassionate public defender” who has a “hidden dark side”. Joe Anderson James Remar and Kelli Garner also star.

10 years after its theatrical debut the original Saw returns to theaters in time for Halloween...Plans are afoot to restart the franchise by 2016

Pamela McClintock of THR:

If moviegoers are looking to celebrate Halloween at the multiplex, they'll have to take a trip down memory lane. The holiday's only new horror offering is a 10-year old film: Saw.

Traffic at the box office is expected to fall off dramatically on Friday because of Halloween, and that's why no Hollywood studio is launching a new film. Instead, the marquee will belong to a cluster of indie titles.

Among them is Jake Gyllenhaal's indie crime-thriller Nightcrawler, which hopes to scare off horror holdover Ouija and win the sleepy Halloween box office race with a debut in the $9 million to $10 million range.

Produced and financed by Bold films, the critically acclaimed film marks the feature directorial debut of Dan Gilroy and stars Gyllenhaal as a hungry freelance journalist who looks to further his career by exposing L.A.'s underground crime scene.

The film made its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last month and cost $8.5 million to make, and also stars Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed and Bill Paxton. Open Road Films goes out with Nightcrawler in roughly 2,800 theaters.

Universal's microbudgeted Ouija topped the box office chart last weekend with a $19.8 million debut, but since horror titles tend to see steep declines, it may hover around $8 million in its second weekend. With Halloween falling on a Friday this year, Ouija decided to debut a week earlier, since moviegoing will tumble on the holiday itself.

British sci-fi thriller Before I Go to Sleep, starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth, also opens nationwide, but may only open in the same range as Saw, a dismal start considering the film's star power. Scott Free, Millennium and StudioCanal partnered on Before I Go to Sleep, directed by Rowan Joffe and distributed by Clarius Entertainment in the U.S.

After Ouija, other holdovers sure to stay high up on the chart include Keanu Reeves' John Wick, Brad Pitt's World War II pic Fury and David Fincher's Gone Girl.

Gone Girl has continued 20th Century Fox's winning streak at the North American box office this year. Total domestic revenue for the studio has just crossed a record $1.52 billion, besting the previous record of $1.48 billion that was set in 2010. And by the weekend, Gone Girl will have become Fincher's top-grossing film in North America, not accounting for inflation, eclipsing the $127.5 million earned by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

New entires at the specialty box office include Daniel Radcliffe's quirky horror film Horns and documentary Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show.

Gal Gadot Nixes "Ben-Hur" Gig & Wonder Woman Rumor

The Wrap reports that Gal Gadot's stint as Wonder Woman in the various Warner Bros/DC Entertainment flicks on the way--including a solo movie for 2017 has forced her to exit talks for the female lead in the new "Ben-Hur" film adaptation.

Gadot was eyed to play Esther in a slave and Ben-Hur’s love interest. The part was played in the older classic by Israeli actress Haya Harareet.

Keith Clarke ("The Way Back") wrote the initial adapted script before John Ridley took over.

The story is based on the bestselling 1880 book by Civil War General Lew Wallace. The property was adapted for big screen once before as William Wyler's 1959 film starring Charlton Heston.Wallace's novel is in the public domain.

"Boardwalk Empire" and "American Hustle" cohort Jack Huston is playing the lead. The epic drama follows a falsely accused nobleman who survives years of slavery to take vengeance on his best friend who betrayed him.Toby Kebbell will play that best friend, turned villainous Messala--who was portrayed by Stephen Boyd in the cinema classic.

Morgan Freeman will play Ildarin, the man who teaches the slave Ben-Hur to become a champion-caliber chariot racer.

Game of Thrones actor Pedro Pascal is in talks to play Pontius Pilate in the film who is an important part in the story which includes a parallel storyline involving Jesus Christ.

MGM is said to be keen on Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted," "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter") vision which explores the original story's themes of revenge and redemption. Paramount will co-distribute the remake

Sean Daniel and Joni Levin will produce the film.

Production begins in Europe early next year for a February 2016 release.

Speaking of the "Wonder Woman" solo movie a rumor from Bleeding Cool suggests that pic will be set in the 1920s, making it a prequel to Zack Snyder's upcoming superhero team-up film called "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice":

"I have been informed by those who have seen the greenlit treatment that the film will spends the first half on Paradise Island with warring Amazon factions vying for control. An arrival of a man on the island changes that status quo, as he asks the Amazons for help. Not necessarily Steve Trevor either…Because when Wonder Woman joins him on his return to the world of Man, we all discover that it is the 1920s. And the film will then show Diana exploring that world – a world where women have only just got the vote – from her… unique perspective."

They add that the sequel to this film would be set during World War II and that she wouldn’t reunite with the Justice League until a third movie.

Are they really gonna do all that time jumping with the Amazon warrior?

Forbes reports the studio has drawn up a list of possible directors including established filmmakers like Kathryn Bigelow ("Zero Dark Thirty"), Catherine Hardwicke ("Twilight"), Mimi Leder ("Deep Impact"), Karyn Kusama ("Aeon Flux") and Julie Taymor ("Across the Universe")

Episodic TV directors such as Michelle MacLaren ("Game of Thrones") and  Tricia Brock ("The Walking Dead") are also in the mix.

It seems that Bigelow, Leder, Hardwicke and MacLaren are the top contenders for the gig, but  Bigelow is the least likely to take this on. She seems content doing her own projects working with her own people.

Evil Dead Team Tackles "A Man In The Dark"

"Evil Dead" remake director/writer Fede Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues are set to reunite on the upcoming thriller "A Man In The Dark" says ScreenDaily.

The story follows three teens who regular pull off perfectly planned home robberies. They plan one last job, to rob a reclusive blind man with millions of dollars in hiding. As soon as they break in though, the tables are turned and they find themselves and fighting for survival against a psychopath with secrets of his own.

  Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert are producing the movie.

J.R. Young, Nathan Kahane and Joe Drake will executive produce.

Seth Rogen Eyed For Steve Jobs Biopic

The Wrap reports that Seth Rogen is in talks to join the authorized biopic about late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs playing Steve Wozniak. This would be a rare dramatic role for Rogen, who is best known for starring in comedies like This Is the End, Neighbors and Pineapple Express. The role could do for Rogen what Moneyball did for Jonah Hill.

Christian Bale stars as Jobs.

Leonardo DiCaprio took himself out of the running for the role a few weeks ago. DiCaprio has stated that he wanted a break for a while, having shot Django Unchained, The Great Gatsby and The Wolf of Wall Street in succession . Having taken this break he is starting work on The Revenant, it would appear that DiCaprio does not want to shoot films back to back again.

Danny Boyle is due to replace David Fincher in the big chair.  DiCaprio and Boyle made The Beach together that released in 2000. Fincher and Sony Pictures were at odds over his aggressive demands for compensation and control of the biopic. Ironically  Fincher wanted to have Bale to play Jobs in the film. The studio looked at Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper for the title role after Leo's exit.

 "The West Wing" creator and "The Social Network" writer Aaron Sorkin's adapted script of author  Walter Isaacson's authorized biography will give the film a unique narrative.

Talking at the Hero Summit  he says "this entire movie is going to be three scenes, and three scenes only, that all take place in real time."

All three thirty-minute scenes will be "set right before three major product launches." Those three products? The original Macintosh computer in 1984, the NeXT Cube in 1990, and the first generation iPod in 2001. Sorkin finished the script earlier this year.

Mark Gordon, Scott Rudin and Guymon Casady will be producing the film being called Steve Jobs for now.

Trio Lead Chiller “Abattoir”

Joe Anderson, Dayton Callie and Jessica Lowndes have joined the thriller “Abattoir” says Variety.

The story centers on a real estate reporter (Lowndes) who unearths an urban legend about a house being built from rooms where horrific tragedies have occurred. The investigation ultimately leads to the enigmatic Jebediah Crone.

 Lin Shaye also stars 

Darren Lynn Bousman’s directing from a script by David Schow, Teddy Tenenbaum and Christopher Monfette.

Jesse Berger is producing the film.

Production is underway in New Orleans.

Bousman previously worked with Lowndes and Callie on The Devil's Carnival.

FIRST PHOTO: "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies"

EW (via /Film) offers up a first look promo photo from the long in the works adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

The film's story is taken from Seth Grahame-Smith's book using Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice that 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.

Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith will play Mr. Collins, a man on the lookout for a wife  and proposes to heroine Liz Bennett (Lily James). Liz pressured by her family to marry into a wealthy upper-class brood, instead she wants to help defend the countryside against a zombie plague.

Douglas Booth, Sam Riley, Jack Huston Bella Heathcote and Game of Thrones actors Charles Dance and Lena Headey also star in the film.

Burr Steers is directing the film using a script he wrote with David O. Russell.

Brian Oliver, Allison Shearmur, Sean McKittrick, Natalie Portman, Annette Savitch, Tyler Thompson and Marc Butan will produce

The magazine says that Steers came got the gig he reportedly re-wrote some of the script to "add more realism, beef up the male roles, and reinsert all the Pride and Prejudice beats."

The Bennet's are still concerned about their marriage prospects, but at the same time are undergoing martial arts training to combat the zombie plague that has been ravaging the countryside for 70 years.

Portman was to play the lead as well as produce the film but left back in 2010. Then Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson Mia Wasikowska Mila Kunis, Emma Stone, Rooney Mara, Lily Collins and Olivia Wilde were all being considered for the role at one point. And then Blake Lively and Dominic Cooper were attached to play the leads before it crumbled.
.
Craig Gillespie was the director on the film before he left in the Fall of 2011--Russell and Mike White were previously attached to helm too but soon left the pic; Russell, Gillespie Grahame-Smith and Marti Noxon have all drafted the script at points along the way.

The film opens on July 1st of 2015.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron Is A Global Adventure

Prior to Marvel's global film release strategy comic book based films didn't necessarily do well outside the United States before, now their  films make three-fifths of their haul overseas.

It's gonna be no different with Joss Whedon's superhero team up sequel "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" since the action in the new film shifts away from New York and is a much more global adventure.

Making an appearance on The Watcher web series, Whedon explained why that is and how it will impact the story:

"This is a very global film. We wanted the world perspective on the Avengers, what they're doing, what they've been doing and who they are. They're being the Avengers, and that's a global thing, and it's also... it doesn't make everybody love them. So we wanted to see both sides of that."

The movie shot in South Korea, South Africa, Bangladesh, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The sequel DOES NOT follow the Age of Ultron comics storyline--in which the big bad Ultron was created by Hank Pym who becomes Ant-Man. James Spader will both voice Ultron, and he'll have to do some kind of motion-capture as well--This news puts to rest the most popular theory suggesting that Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr,) robot butler J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Bettany) operating system from the Iron Man Films would turn into the villain.

Marvel vets RDJ, Chris Evans Chris Hemsworth Scarlett Johansson Samuel L. Jackson Jeremy Renner Mark Ruffalo, Clark Gregg and Cobie Smulders are all back Two time Iron Man co-star Don Cheadle is involved this time out according to USA Today. Bettany will appear on screen as The Vision an android created by Ultron as a weapon to be used against the Avengers. Vision can fire beams of radiation and turn invisible--the character ultimately turned the tables on Ultron and became an Avengers member himself.

TV's Hulk Lou Ferrigno has confirmed that he'll return to do the voice of the big guy in the sequel. Ferrigno has said four words as the character so far - "Hulk Smash" in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" and "Puny God" in "The Avengers".

Thomas Kretschmann has landed the role of 2nd bad guy Baron von Strucker. In the comics, the seemingly immortal Strucker is one of the leaders of Hydra, and an enemy of both S.H.I.E.L.D and The Avengers He seemingly beat out rumored candidates Marton Csokas and Dougray Scott who were being considered for the BvS role. The character will have Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and her twin brother Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) apparently working for him in the sequel (American Horror Story favorite Evan Peters plays a different incarnation of the speedy superhero in Bryan Singer's "X-Men: Days of Future Past"--in a very cool sequence in the film). Korean actress  Soo-hyun Kim will play a bad gal role.

Radar Online has an unidentified source that claims that RDJ was campaigning to get his pals Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster a role in the movie.

 Latino Review has posted what appears to be details about the film's opening 15-20 minutes (SPOILERS).

 Post-production  on the 'Avengers 2' continues to meet a release date of May 1, 2015.

EW Has BIG Plot Details For "Terminator: Genisys"

The latest issue of EW magazine boasts a cover story about the sequel reboot Terminator: Genisys. The publication offers two collectible magazine covers featuring the principal human characters in the film.

Jai Courtney has won the role of Kyle Reese. The Good Day to Die Hard star beat out Boyd Holbrook his nearest competitor who is to have tested twice--while Sam Reid, Wilson Bethel, and newcomer, Thomas Cocquerel were also contenders for the role of Reese. All 5 actors tested for the role last month. Seemingly, both Nicholas Hoult and Garrett Hedlund were studio favorites but have declined to enter negotiations for the role.

Australian actor Jason Clarke ("Zero Dark Thirty," "White House Down") is set to play the role of John Connor in the upcoming reboot. Hedlund Tom Hardy and ironically Holbrook ("The Host") were said to be up for John as well. Emilia Clarke is set to play a young Sarah Connor in the film. She beat out Brie Larson for the role. Former "Spider-Man" scene stealer J.K. Simmons will play a weary and alcoholic detective who has followed a bizarre case involving Sarah Connor and robots for more than three decades starting in 1984 and the events depicted in The Terminator. Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games) has signed on to play the part of  Danny Dyson--the son of Miles Dyson, played by Joe Morton in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" who designed the neural-net processor that would lead to the creation of Skynet.

The final major piece of casting--Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith's role is said to have a strong connection to John Connor, and will grow in the second and third films.

Arnold Schwarzenegger will return while cohorts Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn have been rumored to be involved as well.

 Byung-hun Lee, Michael Gladis and Sandrine Holt co-star. Lee's role, "promises to be a doozy." Bodybuilder and actor Aaron V. Williamson has reportedly signed on to play a younger T-800 

The EW article confirms the various reports about how the film intends to turn established mythology on its ear.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD:

"Sarah Connor isn't the innocent she was when Linda Hamilton first sported feathered hair and acid-washed jeans in the role. Nor is she Hamilton's steely zero body-fat warrior in 1991's T2. Rather, the mother of humanity's messiah was orphaned by a Terminator at age 9. Since then, she's been raised by (brace yourself) Schwarzenegger's Terminator—an older T-800 she calls "Pops"—who is programmed to guard rather than to kill. As a result, Sarah is a highly trained antisocial recluse who's great with a sniper rifle but not so skilled at the nuances of human emotion."

Producer Megan Ellison adds: "Since she was 9 years old, she has been told everything that was supposed to happen. But Sarah fundamentally rejects that destiny. She says, 'That's not what I want to do.' It's her decision that drives the story in a very different direction."

The result is the first of a proposed new trilogy that will diverge from the established timeline of the previous films. Yet, certain key moments from the franchise will be featured but in a very different way.

The film starts out in 2029 with the war against Skynet raging. Like the James Cameron's first film, John sends Kyle Reese back to 1984 to save his mother Sarah from the Terminator before she gives birth to John. That's when he finds this new Sarah.

Drew McWeeney at Hitfix discusses the time travel component of the new film and revealed that this new Terminator overlaps with events in the original 1984 classic ala "Back to the Future". In one scene we see Arnie's older "Terminator" walking into one of the iconic early scenes from the first film after his younger counterpart has left.

Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier wrote the script from which "Thor: The Dark World" director Alan Taylor called action. Clarke has experience working with Taylor on the cable drama "Game of Thrones". She also has a six degrees connection to the franchise: Clarke's Thrones co-star Lena Headey played Sarah Connor in the TV series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles".

David Ellison's going to produce the film that is set to hit theaters on July 1, 2015.

Author Gives Sit Rep On "Robopocalypse" Film

Early last year director Steven Spielberg postponed work on the technothriller "Robopocalypse".

Based on Daniel H. Wilson's novel, the cautionary tale explores the fate of the human race after a robot uprising. Wilson has a Ph.D. in robotics and grounded his tale in a heavy degree of authenticity derived from real robot technology.

At last report Spielberg is still developing it. But like many busy filmmakers--it is one of at least a half dozen projects the director is attached to and it's unclear if or when he will zero in on it again.

 Wilson recently offered an update on the project to the folks at Den of Geek:

"It's basically in the queue as far as I know. You know, Spielberg has other movies that he's directing right now. But Robopocalypse has certainly been worked on. I'm sure that DreamWorks is still very excited about it. That's what all indications are. It's just about being patient, you know? I think one of the films on Spielberg's slate is The Bfg, and that's been floating around for about ten years. I don't really know what a timeline is, but that's certainly normal. So I'm just being patient and working on all my projects. It would be some wonderful bonus points if that ever comes together."

"Cloverfield's" Drew Goddard wrote the adapted script.

"Thor" star Chris Hemsworth was being eyed to star as were Anne Hathaway and Ben Whishaw

Ex Fox chief Tom Rothman was slated to produce the film.

Michael Bay May Chart Benghazi Account "13 Hours"

THR reports that Michael Bay is in talks to chart "13 Hours," a film adaptation of author Mitchell Zuckoff's book for Paramount.

The story charts events surrounding the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack when terrorists seized the U.S. Special Mission Compound and a nearby CIA Annex in the Libyan city of on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11 Four Americans were killed in the attack, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens 

The focus of the film will be on six members of a security team that fought to defend the many Americans stationed there.
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"The Strain" and "Prince of Thieves" author Chuck Hogan is writing the adapted script.

Erwin Stoff will produce the film.

Isla Is "Keeping Up With The Joneses"

Isla Fisher is set to join the spy comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses says The Wrap.

The story follows a type-A couple (Fisher, Zach Galifianakis) who move into a peaceful suburban neighborhood. They soon discover that their new, seemingly-perfect neighbors are actually covert agents.

 Jon Hamm plays one of the neighbors.
 
Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) is going to direct the film using a script by Mike Lesieur.

Walter F. Parkes and Laurie McDonald are producing the project, after developing the it for the past two years. 

Marc Resteghini and Greg Mooradian will exec produce the film

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Catches Role As Dave Duerson

Former Lost star Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has signed on to join the sports drama "Game Brain" says Deadline.

Based upon the article in GQ the story revolves around pro football players who suffer concussions and the serious long term effects that have been revealed over the past few years. The topic has been making news of late with ex-NFL players coming forward to talk about how they have damaged their health due to concussions.

Think Michael Mann's "The Insider" but for professional sports rather than the tobacco industry.

Will Smith would play a neuropathologist who discovers the devastating side effects after repeated concussions.

Agbaje plays real-life NFL safety Dave Duerson who died in 2011 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Duerson’s brain was sent to researchers, who determined that the athlete had suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy caused by his football injuries.

Bitsie Tulloch also recently joined the pic as  Keana Strzelczyk, the wife of late NFL player Justin Strzelczyk.

Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks Paul Reiser and Gugu Mbatha-Raw also star.

Peter Landesman will write and direct the film.

Giannina Facio and Ridley Scott will produce the project.

Jason Bateman Is "IPO Man"

Deadline reports that Jason Bateman is being sought to both star in and direct "Ipo Man".

The project is an adaptation of Joshua Davis,' Wired magazine article about Mike Merrill who offered himself on the stock market. Problems arose when shareholders demanded control over life decisions like whether to have a vasectomy or even whether he should move in with his longtime girlfriend. Majority shareholders began to exert input in his future attempts at a romantic merger.

"Transparent" scribes Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster are penning the adapted script

Batman and Jim Garavente will produce the film.

Wesley Snipes Gets "Five Minutes To Live"

Wesley Snipes is set to star in a remake of the 1961 crime drama "Five Minutes to Live" says Variety.

The original film starred singing legend Johnny Cash and Vic Tayback as two thieves who conspire to rob a bank and hold the bank manager’s wife hostage.

Chuck Russell and Raul Sanchez-Inglis co-write the adapted script for the remake from which Russell will call action.

Joseph Nasser, Michael Mendelsohn and Richard Rionda Del Castro will produce.

In 2012 "Speed" and "Twister" helmer Jan De Bont was set to direct the redux

International rights for the project will go on sale next week at the American Film Market.

Exodus: Gods And Kings--Posters & Controversy

Three new posters from Ridley Scott's upcoming Biblical epic "Exodus: Gods and Kings" have arrived courtesy of  Fox and The IMDb.

 Joel Edgerton plays Ramesses in the film squaring off against Christian Bale as Moses in this famed take on the story of the prophet leading the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.

Aaron Paul will play the Hebrew slave Joshua who goes on to lead the people onto the promised land after Moses.  Sigourney Weaver and John Turturro will portray the parents of the pharoah Ramses.

Bill Collage and Adam Cooper penned the early script that Steve Zaillian reworked.

Peter Chernin Zaillian and Garrett Basch will produce the film.

The film is set for release on Dec 12, 2014.

These one sheets hit as a very minor controversy is brewing on some Christian websites according to THR.

Talking with a group of reporters last month in Los Angeles, Bale spoke about his role as Moses and says: "I think the man was likely schizophrenic and was one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life."

That in conjunction with a comment from Scott that The Parting of the Red Sea sequence will apparently be due to an earthquake in the film has caused a bit of a stir.

With the success of productions like "The Bible" mini-series, studios are pursuing the faith-based dollar more and more. It's a very lucrative market, but highly discerning one which has very strict ideas about how things should be portrayed on screen.

One film critic says the Bale comment is worrying as it "speculates about what was going on inside Moses' head". Faith Driven Consumer  founder Chris Stone says he's disturbed by Bale's remarks. Stone's group raised a fuss prior to the release of Darren Aronofsky's " Noah," with Bale's comments he tells the trade:

"There's nothing in the biblical history that supports that [Moses' schizophrenia and barbarism].It's an indication that there will be a tremendous disconnect between Bale's interpretation and the expectations of the market. It's accurate to portray Moses as an imperfect hero, so Christians won't take issue with that. But to be so extreme as to call him one of the most barbaric people in history, that sounds like he's going out of his way to distance himself from the very people you'd think he wants to appeal to. It tells me that he's worried about Hollywood peer approval while looking down on the public, because he certainly doesn't want to be associated with the religious or the far right.Like we said with Noah, they've got the right to do whatever they want with their movie, but a lot of people just said, 'That's not my story,' and they stayed away. We can see the same thing happening with Exodus."

While the "Noah" box-office was just $101 million in  North American, internationally it did very well with $258 million . "Exodus: Gods and Kings" is expected to do blockbuster business overseas too--will it be a hit here as well?

Jordan Peele Charts Horror Pic "Get Out"

Comedian Jordan Peele will write and direct the horror film "Get Out".

Despite his funny man status on the Comedy Central series "Key and Peele," this will be a straight up horror film.

Talking about the project Peele tells Playboy:

"I've been spending the first half of my career focusing on comedy but my goal, in all honesty, is to write and direct horror movies. I have one that I'm working on with Darko Entertainment called Get Out – I don't want to say too much about it, but it is one of the very, very few horror movies that does jump off of racial fears. That to me is a world that hasn't been explored. Specifically, the fears of being a black man today. The fears of being any person who feels like they're a stranger in any environment that is foreign to them. It deals with a protagonist that I don't see in horror movies"

Though he's keen on getting into horror, Peele is already attached to numerous big screen comedy projects like a reboot of the Police Academy franchise a film version of their popular sketch "Substitute Teacher"and the stolen cat tale "Keanu ".