Movie News Thread

[ThePspfanatic]

Originally Posted by Tan

awsome! i wanna see Gears of war can't wait XD

Me too!
I wonder how long it will take

[LiCkAbLe]

omg wanted 2 i cant waiT ^^

[ThePspfanatic]

Badass Blue Screen Photo from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

We haven't seen much from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World or even talked about it much recently. That's because its been shooting for a while and Universal decided not to fly us up to the set. But no biggie, I'm still very excited for it, anxiously awaiting a trailer. Edgar Wright has been keeping up with the daily photo blog and just posted another new photo today that you just have to see. It doesn't show anything that we haven't seen before, per se, but it is an awesome shot of a floating bass player rigged up to some contraption in a blue screen room. Is there going to be some weird psychadelic floating rock moments in this? I hope so!



That definitely looks like Michael Cera, who plays Scott Pilgrim himself, rigged up to that rotating unit. In the comics, Ramona V. Flowers uses some supernatural subspace portals to travel between locations (and stuff Scott into her purse). It's only referenced a few times but I have a feeling its actually quite important, which is where this might come into play. Either that or Edgar is just trying to shoot some totally awesome scenes where Scott Pilgrim floats around every which way while his band Sex Bob-omb is playing. We're not really sure, but we'll keep you updated. In the meantime, head to edgarwrighthere.com for more photos!

[ThePspfanatic]

Sherlock Holmes Goes Viral - Do Not Under-Estimate It!

I definitely didn't see this coming, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Warner Brothers has kicked off their viral for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes with a nifty little website and sign-up form. I'm not sure if this came from other sources, but I first noticed on Twitter this URL: http://94.236.57.221.(Psp's note: I tried it and it just played a short video and that was it) The mysterious IP points to a page with five boxes containing question marks. Find out the secret password (answer is Irene referring to Rachel McAdams' character Irene Adler) and you'll be shown a short video of a weird hooded man. From there it shows you a sign-up page - and Sherlock Holmes needs your help, so sign right up!

That's all that there really is for this viral so far. Not the most impressive start, but I feel like it could lead somewhere pretty damn cool. I was thinking about Sherlock Holmes and I realized that the movie and character is essentially all about solving mysteries (and puzzles) using clues he finds. That's why I'm excited for this viral - if we get to solve puzzles all day and maybe even solve a mystery, it'll kick some ass. Now with the District 9 viral wrapped up and the Tron Legacy viral lying dormant, I'm glad we have another new viral game to keep us occupied at least until December. And let us know if you find out anything else about this!

Another New Screenwriter Hired for Universal's Bourne 4

What is it with Hollywood these days? Why are they cycling through so many different writers on fourth movies? Spider-Man 4 has gone through three writers, now the new Bourne movie is up to at least two (not including others we don't know about). THR has announced that Josh Zetumer, an up-and-coming writer also assigned to Peter Berg's Dune remake, was hired to write a Bourne 4 script for Universal. Originally, Bourne Ultimatum writer George Nolfi had been brought back on to write the next screenplay, apparently he didn't finish enough of the script in time. Zetumer's version is being described as a "parallel script."
Since Nolfi had to ditch the project in order to start directing The Adjustment Bureau, Universal got desperate and hired Zetumer, as they're pushing for Bourne 4 to hit theaters in 2011. "Our hope is that Nolfi, a key member of the Bourne team, will return after he is done with The Adjustment Bureau," a Universal spokesperson said. It is unclear what will occur after Zetumer submits his draft or whether his script will be integrated with Nolfi's. It's an interesting development that might mean good news in the end, or so I hope. Maybe if Zetumer turns in a great script, they'll borrow the best elements of each for the final draft.

Back in April, producer Frank Marshall said that "Bourne 4 is in the works for Summer 2011." However, since then, we've heard conflicting reports about the status. Jason Bourne himself, Matt Damon, told EW earlier this week: "We're hoping to make a fourth, but we don't have a story and we don't have a script. I assume it can happen, but we have to come up with a storyline that's deserving." He doesn't sound too optimistic, but I'm sure Universal is doing everything they can to make this happen, as it's a franchise they can guarantee will still be successful, which is what they need coming off of a terrible summer like this.

Billy Bob Thornton Joins the Boxing Drama Pound for Pound

If there's one genre that has consistently reeled in audiences, but remained mostly unchanged for decades, it's the sports drama. Athletes facing adversity and overcoming obstacles to an inspirational soundtrack never fails to warm our hearts. While the most common of these sports tales is that of the struggling football team, perhaps the second most popular sports arena lies within the boxing ring. THR reports that Billy Bob Thornton will be the next actor going the rounds in Pound for Pound, an indie boxing drama from F.X. Toole, the same author responsible for the book that was adapted into Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby.
The story focuses on the intersection of two character's lives: a widowed former boxer (Thornton), recently depressed from the loss of his grandson in a fatal car accident and a young up-and-coming Latino boxer who comes from a very rough background. With regards to the similarities this story may share with the wholly depressing Million Dollar Baby, producer Leslie Greif says, "this is a dark story but with a life-affirming, hopeful ending." So even though this movie won't make me want to kill myself, I'm not entirely sure that we need another boxing film at this point. Plus with The Fighter going into production, do we need another?

Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump, and Play It to the Bone director Ron Shelton, who is also directing a golf comedy called Q School, will write and direct Pound for Pound. The project is aiming to start shooting in the first quarter of 2010. So stay tuned for more updates and additional casting details as they arrive.

[ThePspfanatic]

Paramount Bumps Scorsese's Shutter Island to February 2010!

Whoa, I did not see this coming! Nikki Finke is reporting that Paramount has bumped Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island from its original October 2nd release all the way to February of 2010 next year! The reason? Money, of course. "I hear that Paramount told the filmmakers it doesn't have the financing in 2009 to spend the $50M to $60M necessary to market a big awards pic like this." And yet somehow they think that they'll get Oscar consideration in February? "That's when Silence Of The Lambs came out back in 1991 and it won the Oscar." I just can't believe they think it'll do well in February, but I guess we'll find out.
Unlike Warner Brothers' decision to shift Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November to July this year, this is pretty much an assurance that it's being dumped during in one of the worst slots of the year. Sure, Taken did well earlier this year (off of a January release), but a Martin Scorsese drama/thriller? No way! Plus, does anyone really think it can get an Oscar nom in February? "Now that the Academy has Best Picture to 10 films," an insider tells Finke, "it will be easier for a movie that came out in the beginning of the year to get nominated for Best Picture." That's wishful thinking and I bet it really won't make a difference.

Either this is an early warning sign that Shutter Island is really not that great and is being dumped to cover that up quickly and quietly (a lot like Paramount's decision to move The Soloist to April, since that movie was awful). Or just a sign that Paramount is out of their minds and somehow thinks that they can get more out of it running it in February. Either way, this is a very shocking decision. The official trailer has been playing since June. We currently have some calls out to sources to get official confirmation, so stay tuned!

[ThePspfanatic]

M. Night Shyamalan Moves the Dowdle's Devil Up To Canada

An interesting story uncovered today by our friends at SlashFilm as found in the Philadelphia Inquirer. M. Night Shyamalan has been a hometown filmmaker ever since he started with The Sixth Sense and Wide Awake back in the late 90s. He's shot eight out of nine of his films in the Philadelphia region and is even staying there for post-production on The Last Airbender. Which is why the local newspaper made a big deal out of Shyamalan taking his film Devil up to Canada. But what is Devil? First off, it's not a new Shyamalan film, as he's only producing (and writing the story), but it sounds like a very interesting project anyway.
There are no actual story details available yet, but we do know that Devil is being directed by the Dowdle Brothers - Drew and John Erick - who last brought us two creepy thrillers, The Poughkeepsie Tapes and Quarantine (the [Rec] remake). Doing a quick search I discovered that Devil is actually the first film in the Night Chronicles, a trio of thrillers in which Shyamalan will create the central premise, and then pass the idea off to suitable writers and directors to develop into a feature. This is the first one. And it looks like the Dowdle's are directing a script written by Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night screenwriter Brian Nelson.

Shyamalan and company decided to leave Philadelphia to shoot Devil in Canada because of financing issues. "Last week, at the 11th hour, Devil withdrew its application for credits because of uncertainty with respect to whether film tax credits would be in the state budget," Jane Saul, director of the Pennsylvania Film Office, said. "This is an obvious sign that without the film tax credit in place, we lose film business, and in turn, jobs." As we all know, getting good tax incentives is an important part of the filmmaking process. But if this means we get to see it sooner than later, then I'm all for it, because Devil sounds like it could be awesome.

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage Gets Replacement Director

Just in case you were worried that this project would never come to fruition (especially after director Rob Cohen dropped back in June) THR reports today that Ericson Core (Invincible) has been tapped to sit in the director's chair for the third installment of the action series xXx. We've known that Vin Diesel is coming back to reprise his role as Xander Cage for almost a year now, but since then the only news about the project was the uninspired hiring of John Brancato and Michael Ferris (Catwoman and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) to pen the script. But with this dream team of talent can't you already smell the success?
Columbia is moving fast on this unnecessary sequel to capitalize on the recent trend of green-lighting nearly all familiar intellectual property-based pictures as well as the surprise that Vin Diesel is apparently still a box office draw (that $70 million opening weekend for Fast & Furious certainly got the studio's attention in a big way). The search for a director has been on for awhile which also included approval from Diesel himself. Though Core has only directed one previous feature, he's worked with Diesel before while he was director of photography on the first Fast and the Furious. But he might have some particular continuity questions to answer.

You might remember that the 2005 sequel xXx: State of the Union handed the super spy reigns over to Ice Cube. Before the film was released, however, the studio wanted Cohen to shoot something that would answer the question of what happened to Xander Cage. At the time, an apparently bitter Cohen simply decided to kill off the character in a short film that appeared as a DVD extra. Obviously logic and realism aren't at the core of the xXx franchise, so I'm sure there will be some sort of explanation for his survival. We'll keep you posted on the development of this sequel, but that doesn't mean we'll be excited about it.

'Soul Train' TV Show to Make a Stop on the Big Screen

(Psp's Note: Picture for this in attachment)

That's right ladies and gentlemen it's time for the Souuuuul Train! If you thought Step Up 3D was going to provide all the hip-hop dance cinema you would need for the next decade, you were dead wrong. Variety reports the longest, continuously-running first-run syndicated program "Soul Train" will be the focus of a forthcoming film to be scripted by screenwriter Malcolm Spellman. Porter/Geller Productions will produce along with the show's producer and host Don Cornelius, who Spellman refers to as "the godfather of cool" and has been at the helm of the program for all of its 35 seasons from 1971 to its conclusion in 2006.
No word on if this will be a sort of historical, biographical picture, but we are told that Spellman is looking to set the film in the 1980's. One thing that's for sure - this film will have one hellacious soundtrack. Spellman also comments on the heavy dance element that Soul Train will bring to the silver screen, "All of the hip-hop street dances you see today were born during that time period and were first seen on that show, and I remember doing all of them when I was a kid." One also wonders that with the recent passing of Michael Jackson, if there might be some sort of homage to the King of Pop who had such a dominant reign on the music charts throughout the 1980's.

Though at first my interest in this project was almost non-existent, I realized this could be a fun musical romp through television history. As of now I'm imagining this film coming together with the flare of rhythm and blues meeting something like the Corny Collins Show from Hairspray but without all the cheese. And with 35 seasons of material to draw from, I'm sure that there's plenty of storylines they can blend together. But with the third installment of the Step Up franchise coming to theaters next year, and the forthcoming hip-hop heavy musical Fame, I wonder if audiences will still clamor for a ride on the Soul Train?

[ThePspfanatic]

Kevin Tancharoen Going from Musicals to Sci-Fi With Arcana

A very interesting change of pace today for Kevin Tancharoen, the choreographer-turned-director who reboot and remade the dance movie Fame (out later this year), as he's now attached to direct a sci-fi action movie at Universal. Variety reports that Tancharoen will direct a project called Arcana that Brett Ratner will produce. The script was written by John Ridley, who wrote George Lucas' Red Tails and brought us Undercover Brother. Exact details are being kept a secret, but Arcana is described as a live-action graphic novel influenced by Blade Runner that includes martial arts and uses production methods similar to 300.

I might normally say that's a cool pitch for a first-time director or a director with a background in horror, sci-fi, or action, but a choreographer? Apparently Tancharoen developed the original idea with "Glee" actor Harry Shum Jr. before selling it to the studio. The other good news is that screenwriter John Ridley has also written comics for DC like "The Authority" and "The American Way", so he has a little bit of experience in that medium. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, because that pitch got me, too, but I'm hesitant, just because the backgrounds of all those involved seem so disconnected from sci-fi. But I'll give it a chance!

[Hitsugaya`]

Revival let's go, woo woo. I will post more (if I find them interesting enough) every now and then.

Academy Shakes Up Best Picture Category: Now It's 5 to 10 Nominees | The Wrap Awards

Two years after expanding the field of Best Picture nominees from five to 10, the Academy's Board of Governors threw the category into deliberate disarray on Tuesday night, instituting new rules that could lead to a different number of nominees each year.

The change, which according to AMPAS was recommended by retiring executive director Bruce Davis, will require that a film receive at least five percent of the first-place votes during the first round of balloting to receive a Best Picture nomination.

Full article below or in the link.

Spoiler

Two years after expanding the field of Best Picture nominees from five to 10, the Academy's Board of Governors threw the category into deliberate disarray on Tuesday night, instituting new rules that could lead to a different number of nominees each year.

The change, which according to AMPAS was recommended by retiring executive director Bruce Davis, will require that a film receive at least five percent of the first-place votes during the first round of balloting to receive a Best Picture nomination. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers determined that if the rule had been in effect between 2001 and 2008 (before the move to 10 nominations) it would have resulted in years of five, six, seven, eight and nine nominees.

The Academy, however, did not say how many nominees it would have produced in 2009 and 2010.

While the change may not persuade critics who think that the move to expand the slate of nominees waters down the value of a Best Picture nomination, it does take the crucial step of eliminating a case where the slate of 10 has to be filled out with films that did not receive significant support from the voters.

The preferential system of counting final Best Picture ballots will remain the same as it has been for the past two years.

At Tuesday night's meeting, the Board of Governors also made a few other changes to Oscar rules. Among them:

The Best Animated Feature category, which formerly contained five nominees if more than 16 qualifying films were released, and only three if the field was smaller than that, will now include a provision for four nominees in a year in which 13 to 15 films qualify. If the rule had been in effect last year, four rather than three films would have been nominated.

The "bakeoff" used to produce nominees in the Visual Effects category has been expanded from seven to 10 participants, following last year's expansion of the category from three to five nominees.

The qualifying period for Documentary Feature and Documentary Short categories has been adjusted to the calendar year, which is used in almost all other categories. To make the adjustment, those categories will cover a full 15 months of eligible films at the next Oscars.

One change the governors did not make was to add an Oscar for stunt work, which has been proposed repeatedly over the years, and always voted down.

The AMPAS press release:

Beverly Hills, CA — The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted on Tuesday (6/14) to add a new twist to the 2011 Best Picture competition, and a new element of surprise to its annual nominations announcement. The Board voted to institute a system that will now produce anywhere between five and 10 nominees in the category. That number won’t be announced until the Best Picture nominees themselves are revealed at the January nominations announcement.
“With the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we’ve been looking not just at what happened over the past two years, but at what would have happened if we had been selecting 10 nominees for the past 10 years,” explained Academy President Tom Sherak, who noted that it was retiring Academy executive director Bruce Davis who recommended the change first to Sherak and incoming CEO Dawn Hudson and then to the governors.

During the period studied, the average percentage of first place votes received by the top vote-getting movie was 20.5. After much analysis by Academy officials, it was determined that 5% of first place votes should be the minimum in order to receive a nomination, resulting in a slate of anywhere from five to 10 movies.

“In studying the data, what stood out was that Academy members had regularly shown a strong admiration for more than five movies,” said Davis. “A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit. If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn’t feel an obligation to round out the number.”

If this system had been in effect from 2001 to 2008 (before the expansion to a slate of 10), there would have been years that yielded 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 nominees.

The final round of voting for Best Picture will continue to employ the preferential system, regardless of the number of nominees, to ensure that the winning picture has the endorsement of more than half of the voters.

Other rules changes approved by the Board include:

In the animated feature film category, the need for the Board to vote to “activate” the category each year was eliminated, though a minimum number of eligible releases – eight – is still required for a competitive category. Additionally, the short films and feature animation branch recommended, and the Board approved refinements to the number of possible nominees in the Animated Feature category. In any year in which eight to 12 animated features are released, either two or three of them may be nominated. When 13 to 15 films are released, a maximum of four may be nominated, and when 16 or more animated features are released, a maximum of five may be nominated.

In the visual effects category, the “bakeoff” at which the nominees are determined will expand from seven to 10 contenders. The increase in the number of participants is related to a change made last year in which the number of films nominated in the visual effects category was increased from three to five.

Previously, the Board approved changes to the documentary feature and documentary short category rules that now put those categories’ eligibility periods in line with the calendar year and thus with most other awards categories. The change means that for the 84th Awards cycle only, the eligibility period is more than 12 months; it is from September 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011.
Other modifications of the 84th Academy Awards rules include normal date changes and minor “housekeeping” changes.

Rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees. The Awards Rules Committee then reviews all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Governors for approval.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

[Chicken993]

I love scrolling through all the old news and seeing what made it and what flopped. Looking back into the past is just grande.

[Hitsugaya`]

^Agreed.

Steven Spielberg Brainstorming 'Jurassic Park 4' with Writer Mark Protosevich (Exclusive) - Hollywood Reporter

Steven Spielberg has dinosaurs back on the brain lately. In addition to the impending launch of the television series Terra Nova on Fox in the fall, Spielberg has been meeting with screenwriter Mark Protosevich to kick around ideas for how to re-boot the Jurassic Park franchise.

Full article below.

Spoiler

Steven Spielberg has dinosaurs back on the brain lately. In addition to the impending launch of the television series Terra Nova on Fox in the fall, Spielberg has been meeting with screenwriter Mark Protosevich to kick around ideas for how to re-boot the Jurassic Park franchise.

Several years ago, the Oscar-winning director worked with Protosevich on a potential remake of Chan-wook Park's Oldboy that was to star Will Smith. That film ran into rights problems and didn't come to fruition, but Spielberg, who directed the first two Jurassic Park films and was an executive producer on the third, has since met twice with Protosevich to fashion a story for a potential fourth film in the franchise.

Both Universal, which released the trilogy, and Spielberg's camp stress that no one has been engaged to write a script and that the discussions have been purely exploratory. But the idea is kind of a no-brainer.

The franchise, born of the late Michael Crichton's 1990 novel, has been in stuck in amber since 2001, when Joe Johnston directed Jurassic Park III from a script by Peter Buchman, Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne. That last entry signaled the series' fading fortunes, as it grossed just $369 million worldwide -- Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park grossed $915 million and $619 million, respectively.

Spielberg's original 1993 film adaptation, which came on the heels of James Cameron's groundbreaking Terminator 2: Judgment Day, greatly advanced CGI technology (courtesy of ILM) in its depiction of colossal dinosaurs re-animated in the modern day. With the recent rebirth of 3D and soaring improvements in digital design marshaled by everyone from Cameron to Pixar, Jurassic Park is ripe for evolution into a 21st century phenomenon.

And Universal could use the revived sci-fi tentpole.The Fast and the Furious franchise remains healthy, but The Mummy has lost momentum, the Bourne series lost star Matt Damon (a reboot with Jeremy Renner is in the works) and Van Helsing, The Wolfman and Land of the Lost never caught fire. Battleship remains a gamble for summer 2012 but could spark a new alien-related franchise.

Stampeding dinosaurs endangering humans, fighting each other and smashing things never gets old, and Cameron showed how far an ambitious filmmaker can push an integrated, immersive 3D world with Avatar. A new Spielberg-produced Jurassic Park that takes full advantage of those tools could be (pre)historic.

The CAA-repped Protosevich recently had a story credit on Marvel Studios' Thor, and he is working on an adaptation of the Ape Entertainment comic Freakshow that he would also direct. He co-wrote the screenplay for I Am Legend and wrote both The Cell and Poseidon.

The CAA-repped Spielberg is finishing up The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn for Paramount and War Horse for DreamWorks/Disney, both scheduled for holiday releases. He next plans to direct Lincoln for DreamWorks/Touchstone.