Posted June 16th 2010

A young “Jackie Brown” will be hit­ting the big screen soon. Screen­writer Dan Schechter and pro­ducer Michael Siegel are devel­op­ing “The Switch,” the pre­quel to Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 hit “Jackie Brown.”

“Switch” focuses on Ordell, orig­i­nally played by Samuel Jackson, and Louis, played Robert De Niro, as prison bud­dies doing time for grand theft auto until they join forces on the out­side for one big score.  They kid­nap a wealthy Detroit developer’s wife for the ran­som, only to find out he doesn’t want her back.  So they seize “the oppor­tu­nity to make a killing” with the help of his angry spouse.

The movie will be based on Elmore Leonard’s novel “The Switch,” which is the pre­quel to his novel “Rum Punch.” Taran­tino, who is not attached to the project but sends his bless­ings, adapted “Rum Punch” as “Jackie Brown” for the big screen.

Leonard will serve as a producer.

Posted February 18th 2010

Zoe Kravitz has signed on to co-star with Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy and Nicholas Hoult in the Warner Bros’ “Fury Road,” the remake of “Mad Max”.

According to EURweb, details are being kept under wraps, but it is known that Hoult’s character is named Nux, and Kravitz — whose character name is Five Wives — Palmer and Clemens are part of a convoy being chased by bad guys.

“Fury Road,” which is written and directed by George Miller, will being shooting this summer in Australia.

Posted February 18th 2010

When Bill Murray says it, it is so. He’s dead.

In the upcoming ‘Ghostbusters’ sequel, we mean.

In a recent interview with the Daily Mail — in which the star defended his difficult reputation, said ‘Groundhog Day’ was robbed at the Oscars and claimed the few scenes that featured him in 1989’s ‘Ghostbusters 2′ were “the only funny ones in the movie” — Murray confirmed months (years?) of Internet speculation by stating for the record that yes, he’ll be in ‘Ghostbusters 3′ and yes, he’ll play a ghost.

“I said to them, ‘I’ll do it if you kill me off in the first reel’,” he told Martyn Palmer. “So now they’re going to have me as a ghost in the film.”

While there have been some misdirections in recent months, this revelation isn’t a complete surprise. During her press tour for ‘Avatar’ in December, Sigourney Weaver let slip that she’d caught a glimpse of the ‘GB3′ script, and that Murray had a ghostly presence in it.

But Weaver’s comments were since been debunked online, and even Ivan Reitman attempted to do some damage control when he confirmed last month he’d be directing the third installment in the now twenty-six year old franchise.

“I’m not going to comment on what’s in the script and on what Sigourney may or may not have said,” Reitman said at the National Board of Review Awards. “She’s been so busy on ‘Avatar,’ I’ve not been able to find her. There’s some very cool things in the new draft [of the script], let’s just put it that way.”

But now, thanks to Murray, we know its all been smoke and mirrors. Or has it? Murray’s been known to have a little fun with his image, and even poke fun at his old roles. So is this a case where Murray’s candor can be trusted, or is he pulling our chain?

By: John Gholson

Posted February 18th 2010

Could the sequel to 2009’s Star Trek be Spockless? “I’m stepping away from Star Trek for at least two years — no movies, no conventions, no anything for a while,” actor Zachary Quinto told Wired, while promoting the upcoming PC game Star Trek Online. In it, he plays holographic Vulcan medic Mark VI, not Spock, as the game is set in the original “Prime” universe. (Leonard Nimoy will provide the voice of Spock in the game.)

The interesting news here is that Star Trek 2 (or whatever it’ll be called) laid claim to a June 2012 release date last week. That would put Quinto back in the Spock ears sometime next year. If Quinto wants a two-year break from Spock, he’s simply going to have to find a new job. Paramount needs to get on the phone with him quick and work this out.

I’m certain he’s contractually bound for another Star Trek film, whether he wants a vacation from Trek or not. Surely, he, of all people, would understand that a Star Trek film without Spock, this early in the renewed franchise, would be highly illogical.

By Monique D. Love

Posted February 18th 2010

Academy Award Nominee Will Smith is set to star in and produce the remake of Daniel Keyes’ novel “Flowers for Algernon” through his Overbrook Entertainment.

The story chronicles a mentally disabled man who undergoes an experimental surgery that raises his intelligence. Due to the surgery, he has side effects that cause him to eventually return to his previous intelligence level.

The novel has been adapted to film several times, but most notably with 1968’s “Charly”, which Cliff Robertson won an Oscar for.

A writer and director has yet to be announced.

Recently Smith, along with Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks, walked away from Chan-wook Park’s thriller “Oldboy” because the studio couldn’t come to an agreement on the rights of the story.

by John Gholson

Posted February 18th 2010

The reliable folks at Latino Review are reporting that Universal is looking to make a new Dracula film as a Summer 2011 event movie (and as part of their efforts to rebuild the Universal Monsters brand name). Who will wear the fangs after such iconic actors as Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, and Gary Oldman? Avatar star Sam Worthington.

It’s like Dominic Purcell all over again (he played almost-Dracula “Drake” in Blade Trinity). What qualities does Sam Worthington bring to the table that make him a suitable Dracula? His muscles? His extended green-screen acting experience? This choice just feels wrong, on about every level imaginable.

The project, Dracula: Year Zero, is a period tale that recounts the origin of the Count, and has been in the works for a while now. Word hit in 2006, Alex Proyas signed on to direct in 2007, and he was sharing details about his vision in 2008.

*Editor’s Note: Francis Lawrence is not a part of this production, and as of now, is still in Proyas’ hands. The above has been edited to reflect that.

By Peter Hall

Posted Januay 31st 2010

Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood has gone on record to say that the talks Sam Mendes are currently in concern a consultancy status, not outright directing duties. The likely motive behind this involves the contract between MGM and Bond owners EON; were EON to officially hire a director, the troubled MGM would have to issue first payment or else EON could take their property to another studio, thus the consultant title for now.

I guess MGM wasn’t bluffing when they set out to dispel the rumors that the next James Bond film would be delayed due to the studio’s rather public financial woes. The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog is now indicating that American Beauty and Away We Go director Sam Mendes is in negotiations to bring the legendary spy to the big screen for a 23rd outing. THR’s assertion is that production will move forward on the untitled Bond film regardless of their current For Sale status as a studio.

Writing duties currently lay in the hands of Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, both of whom were behind the word processor for Martin Campbell’s Casino Royale and Marc Forster’s Quantum of Solace, along with British screenwriter Peter Morgan, a man best-known for penning political dramas along the lines of The Queen and Frost/Nixon. Aside from Morgan and the now ‘in talks’ Sam Mendes, the rest of the core production team remains the same, with Daniel Craig of course reprising his role as the titular super spy.

Though no firm dates are mentioned, THR further notes that MGM is fast-tracking the production with a start date as early as June of this year. That last bit is actually the only item in their news break that’s bothersome. Sure, Mendes has never done a big-budget, high-spectacle action movie before (Jarhead comes closest and even that is hardly classifiable as an action movie), but he seems versatile enough to bring something unique to the project; whereas Quantum’s Marc Forster seemed an odd choice to begin with.

But what say you? Is Mendes a good choice to reverse the ills of Quantum of Solace? Or should MGM stick to someone with a proven blockbuster record?

Posted January 31st 2010

Laurence Fishburne has signed on to star in “Predators,” the sequel to the 1987 hit “Predator.”

Adrien Brody, Topher Grace and Danny Trejo are set to co-star in the film that is being directed by Nimrod Antal and produced by Robert Rodriguez.

“Predators” will continue on from the 1987 hit that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and will ignore the storylines of the “Alien vs. Predator” films, reports eurweb.com.

Production has already begun in Austin, Texas.

Naughty But Nice with Rob Shuter

Posted January 31st 2010

What could make ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and all of its bare-chested (and perhaps not-so-straight) detective work even sexier? How about the addition of Brad Pitt in the sequel? Yep, you heard it here first: Papa Pitt is set to reunite with Guy Ritchie once things get underway on the ‘Holmes’ sequel. Details after the jump, along with info on Martin Sheen’s broken heart and Spencer Pratt’s wounded ego.
‘Sherlock’ Sequel Starring Brad Pitt

After ‘Sherlock Holmes’ managed to uncover more than $65 million in its opening weekend, ‘Sherlock Holmes 2′ is being planned with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law already committed. But the big surprise will be the addition of Brad Pitt as Professor Moriarty.

“The director, Guy Ritchie, loves Brad,” an industry source tells me. “He has worked with him before and thinks he is one of the most underrated actors working today. Guy knows that everyone thinks of as a Pitt as a pretty boy and can’t wait to turn him into the world’s greatest supervillain. It will definitely make the sequel a must-see.”

Pitt and Ritchie worked together on 2000’s ‘Snatch,’ in which Pitt played a mumbling, can’t-understand-a-word-he-says Irish gypsy fighter. He definitely wasn’t a ‘pretty boy’ in it, and hopefully that’s exactly what Ritchie can pull out of him again.

As for Brad, an insider tells me he’s “very interested in taking on the role and happy they aren’t considering his kick-ass partner Angelina for the part.”

Posted December 17. 2009

Spike Lee (”The Miracle of St. Anna”) and Antoine Fuqua (”Training Day”) are set to adapt the French comic book “Miss: Better Living Through Crime” through Vigilante Entertainment. Fuqua will direct and Lee will produce. John Ridley, who wrote the script for George Lucas’ “Red Tails,” is writing the screenplay. Written by Philippe Thirault, Marc Riou and Mark Vigouroux, the comic centers on the adventures of a streetwise white girl and a black “pimp” who hook up as assassins for hire in 1920s and 1930s New York.