Paramount's big-budget live-action, Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot has run into some budgetary obstacles, reports Nikki Finke, with production delayed in order to shave down the film's budget to the reported target of $125 million. This means the heroes on a half shell won't hit screens until five months beyond their initial Christmas 2013 date, moving to May 2014 — if a satisfactory budget is reached, that is. Are the Turtles in trouble?
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Harold Ramis and John Belushi. Scott Rudin, Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green and Will Ferrell. John Waters and Divine. John Candy. Chris Farley. Stephen Fry. Buck Henry. John Goodman. Throughout three decades, these men and others of various power and influence have applied (or at least attached) themselves to what was proven the most unadaptable literary property of the last half-century: John Kennedy Toole's searing comic masterpiece A Confederacy of Dunces. And now, Zach Galifianakis, director James Bobin and screenwriter Phil Johnston reportedly have formed the triumvirate that will help make Dunces the most unadaptable literary property of the next half-century.
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Besides Paramount, I guess: "The new project will reunite producers Jason Blum and Oren Peli with Christopher Landon, the writer of the second and third installments in the Paranormal franchise. Landon will write and direct the project, described by sources as a 'cousin' to the Paranormal movies but not a sequel, reboot or spinoff. The real kicker is that the movie will be Latino-themed. It will star a Latino cast and will tackle Catholic-based paranormal mythology. It will not, however, be in Spanish. The aim is to make the micro-budgeted movie in the next several months." [THR]
The people behind the Katy Perry phenomenon would really, really, really appreciate it if you took her more seriously... in 3-D, of course.
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This is real: Paramount is in talks with Magical Elves to direct their Katy Perry 3-D concert documentary -- as in Magical Elves, the producing duo comprised of Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, who previously produced the Paramount smash Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in addition to creating reality TV "classics" like Project Runway and Top Chef. The film will follow the singer on and off-stage, with Footloose director Craig Brewer also onboard to executive produce. The question is, can Perry bring the star power and fan adulation that drove predecessors Never Say Never and Michael Jackson's This Is It to huge box office returns -- or will it take some fairy-esque magic to translate Perry's candy-colored pop persona into movie gold? [THR]
Or, as it's known around the ML office, BS vs. Zzzz: "Etan Cohen, one of the town's hottest comedy scribes, is in negotiations to make his directorial debut on Paramount's horror-comedy Boy Scouts vs. Zombies. With an 'it's all in the title' moniker, Boy Scouts centers on a troop that must save a group of girl scouts from a pack of zombies with designs on spoiling a camping trip." [THR]
Good news! In honor of The Godfather's 40th anniversary, Paramount is re-releasing Francis Ford Coppola's classic in theaters for one day only. Bad news: That day is... today. Thanks for the notice, guys! Hope you didn't make plans? It might not matter anyway, because even worse news awaits residents of the two biggest, most populous media markets in the country.
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Yes, I just wrote the words "Transformers Oscar campaign." Sigh. It's time we come to terms with the fact that each installment in Michael Bay's robot action series has technically been nominated for one or more Academy Awards -- deservedly so, really, given the technical achievements these CG metal-on-metal bashfests have under their belt, even if everything else in these films are aggressively, brain-numbingly mediocre. But Paramount aims to take home one of them statuettes this year, by god, and so they've created an awards campaign to break through to Oscar voters in the most effective way possible: Through their TV sets.
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Sorry, though -- you're screwed: "Pop sensation Katy Perry could be headed to the big-screen—and in 3-D, to boot. Paramount has initiated talks with Perry's camp, as well as Imagine Entertainment, to create a documentary-style 3D film centered on the powerhouse singer-songwriter." In seemingly related news, Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius committed suicide this morning. [THR]
This just in from Nikki Finke: Paramount's cheap wannabe found footage hit The Devil Inside -- which drew reports of audible grumbles and boos as the credits rolled at sneak screenings in Los Angeles and New York last night -- has already made back double its acquisition costs. "The Devil Inside acquired for $1M opened with $2M midnights from 1,400 theaters. It goes wide into 2,300 theaters today," Finke writes at Deadline, adding that "the genre film plays very young and very ethnic so it will probably be frontloaded." Nice. Very young and very ethnic. If the pic turns into a Paranormal Activity-esque hit, you know who to blame. [Deadline, @STYDnews, Moviefone]
Seems the folks at Paramount and New Regency are itching to help Darren Aronofsky build his ark; as Deadline reports, the two have finally sealed the deal to partner on the $100+ million Biblical epic Noah. Also: It's being fast-tracked to begin production as early as next spring, which means it's about time Aronofsky gets to casting this sucker. Can we just take a vote for Christian Bale as Noah and call it a day? [Deadline]
Since the only thing J.J. Abrams loves more than lens flares are secrets, this should come as no big surprise: The Super 8/Star Trek director is planning a new Paramount joint with screenwriter Billy Ray (Flightplan, Shattered Glass, and the upcoming Channing Tatum Peter Pan reimagining), which the duo devised together. The details are under wraps, natch, but it's described as a "mystery adventure." Thanks for that clue, fellas! While we wait for more info to hit the wires, see what potential Abrams-Ray fantasy pitches you can come up with in the comments below. (Anyone still holding out for Slusho: The Movie?) [Deadline]
With J.J. Abrams not quite yet confirmed (but expected) to return to helm Star Trek 2, which Paramount has already set for a June 29, 2012 release, Deadline does the math: That leaves 13 months to go from what Paramount currently has in hand -- a 70 page outline, according to Roberto Orci -- to fully delivered film. But is that truly enough time to finish scripting, prep, shoot, and edit a massive, effects-heavy summer action tent pole?
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Director Jon M. Chu is one of the few working filmmakers with an intuitive grasp on filming in 3-D, as evidenced by his dynamic visuals in Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, so the idea of a G.I. Joe sequel released in 3-D actually sounded promising. But Chu always said he'd rather go 2-D than rush a post-conversion on the action sequel, and a report today suggests that's just what will happen.
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When Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon barrels into theaters this summer in 3-D -- the first 3-D outing for the film series and for Bay himself -- you'll have one man to thank for it: James Cameron. Fittingly, Bay took the stage at a Transformers 3 footage screening Wednesday night on the Paramount Studios lot to compare notes on the format, its future, and its frustrating limitations with none other than Cameron himself.
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