After nearly a decade of on-again, off-again development, the film adaptation of Y: The Last Man is finally moving forward with a new director Dan Trachtenberg and two new screenwriters whose collective work ought to make fans of the classic comic series gasp with pleasure or, at least, relief.
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The most interesting part of Bryan Singer's return to the X-Men franchise he helped launch is that in directing X-Men: Days Of Future Past," the sequel to Matthew Vaughn's 1962-set prequel X-Men: First Class, he'll have helmed films in different sub-series timelines within the same franchise.
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By all indications at the LA press day the principals involved in Alex Cross are happy as plums with the pic director Rob Cohen delivered, which sees Tyler Perry (of Madea fame) making his action hero debut on Friday. So is it any wonder that a deal is underway already with novelist James Patterson to start work on Double Cross, the next in what Summit and QED International hope is another fruitful Perry franchise?
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The good news: Jay Chandrasekhar, founding member of Broken Lizard and frequent helmer of the comedy troupe's major motion picture outings, including Super Troopers, Beerfest, and the not-technically-Broken Lizard The Babymakers, has landed his biggest studio gig to date! The less exciting news: It's Yogi Bear 2.
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Things have been a tad quiet on the Planet of the Apes front of late, but Deadline reports that the sequel to Rupert Wyatt's hit reboot — saddled with the unwieldy title Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which instantly makes me think zombies are going to join in with our primate frenemies on the assault on mankind — has landed a new director in Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In).
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Ryan Gosling is graduating from actor/coloring book muse to writer-director with his directorial debut, How To Catch A Monster, from his own script - and he's recruited Drive co-star Christina Hendricks to play the lead. So what's the Baby Goose's first foray behind the camera about?
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This is for real! Get excited, per THR: "Beached centers on a chubby 4-year-old child who falls overboard during a family outing, is raised by whales and goes on to become an Olympic swimmer." Jon Turteltaub has just signed on to direct; Betty Thomas was previously attached, according to the trade report, though I can see one clear advantage to having Turteltaub behind the camera off the bat. Two words: Three Ninjas. Yeah sure, and National Treasure or whatever. The guy knows kids and extra-curricular athletic activities. Do I smell a franchise or what? [THR]
I know none of you David Cronenberg fans out there are super juiced about the Videodrome remake at Universal first time feature director Adam Berg is in talks to helm. Many of you may even be straight up livid. But there's a silver lining to this latest move on Hollywood's part to unnecessarily remake our best-loved film classics...
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After months of ambiguity, Joss Whedon has signed on to write and direct the sequel to his biggest film to date, Marvel's superhero extravaganza The Avengers. According to The Wrap, Disney chairman Bob Iger confirmed Whedon's return to the billion-and-a-half-dollar franchise during a call with analysts today, adding that in addition to Avengers 2 the Buffy/Firefly veteran will also bring a "Marvel-based" television series to ABC.
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The story of a man named Brady and his irritatingly chipper blended family is as much a part of '70s pop culture as shag rugs and free love, maybe more; neither of those dated phenomena lived on in the popular consciousness as tenaciously, and exhaustively, as The Brady Bunch. The series already enjoyed five seasons, an afterlife in syndication, many lesser spin-offs, and — the true marker of any Hollywood institution — an E! True Hollywood Story. So who really thinks we need another Brady Bunch reboot?
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By the power of Grayskull, get ready for this: The Masters of the Universe reboot is back on the docket, with news that Jon M. Chu (Step Up 2 The Streets, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) is in talks to helm the He-Man flick. Per Deadline, "the film revolves around He-Man, a prince who transforms into a warrior and becomes the last hope for a magical world that has been ravaged by the sinister Skeletor." Well, duh.
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Big moves for Brit filmmaker Joe Cornish: The writer-director of Attack the Block (who also co-wrote Steven Spielberg's Tintin and Marvel's Ant-Man script with Edgar Wright) has landed the gig of writing and directing an adaptation of Neal Stephenson's 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash for Paramount, Deadline reports. The alternate-reality sci-fi tale follows one Hiro Protagonist, a hacker/swordsman who discovers a new drug/computer virus called Snow Crash is spreading through the postmodern future... and you know what that means: Time for a round of Cast That Movie! Which actors out there could fill Hiro's shoes? [Deadline]
Wrap your brain around this: Stephen King's It, the 1986 horror novel that spawned a 1990 miniseries and established Pennywise the clown as one of our most enduring collective nightmares (I still can't pass a rain gutter in the street without wondering) is being adapted into a movie in two parts. By the guy who made Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre! Wait, what?
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Weinstein Co. has announced acquisition of the in-production Compulsion, a two-hander starring Heather Graham and Carrie-Anne Moss that is a remake of the South Korean thriller 301, 302. The story surrounds two obsessive-compulsive female neighbors in the same apartment complex who develop a bond, with dark results. The best part? It's about food! Hit the jump for more about this rare entry in the annals of foodie horror!
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That's right, Mantivities. Star Trek's Chris Pine, along with five of his buddies, wrote the comedy script; he'll produce and star under director Michael Patrick Jann (The State, Reno 911!). Writes Deadline: "The comedy focuses on a group of friends in their early 30s, all in various stages of permanent adolescence. They get together with the aim of helping one of them grow up... 'I couldn’t be happier to begin the adventure of making Mantivities knowing how much fun we all had writing it,' Pine said. ‘Somehow I get to laugh with my friends and call it work.'” [Deadline]
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