Projects Announced
It’s “About Time” For Richard Curtis To Return To Directing It’s been three years since he last directed a film, but it looks like Richard Curtis getting back together with the house that Curtis built, Working Title Films, who are riding high off the success of “Senna,” “Johnny English Reborn,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “Contraband,” for a new project. Richard Curtis will direct “About Time” for the British company, who’ve backed both his directorial efforts to date, from his own script. Described as a low-budget time-travel dramedy, the film will again be produced by Working Title toppers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, and casting is currently underway for a shoot in the summer. Curtis has had a number of other projects on his slate, including penning “Trash” for Stephen Daldry, a reunion with “Blackadder” co-writer Ben Elton, and an untitled script about malaria in Africa, but this seems to have taken precedence. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/four-weddings-and-love-actually-mastermind-richard-curtis-returns-to-directing-with-sci-fi-comedy-drama-about-time Marsden, Jane, And Thornton To Have A Close Encounter With A Bear If you thought “Yogi Bear ” was terrifying, you were right. But “Saw V” director David Hackl is looking to make sure you find bears scary for the old fashioned reason: because they can eat your face off and still have room for a nice limb dessert. He’s been gearing up to make wilderness drama “Red Machine” for ages now and has finally locked in Billy Bob Thornton, James Marsden and Thomas Jane to star. Marsden and Jane will be two estranged brothers who decide that what they really need to patch up their differences is a healthy hiking trip out into some remote woods with their girlfriends. But then things go a little red in tooth and claw when they’re relentlessly stalked and attacked by a grizzly bear. Thornton, meanwhile, will be a legendary bear expert and hunter who must help them survive. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32921 Warner Bros. And Dan Lin Pay A Visit To The “Otherland” “Sherlock Holmes” producer Dan Lin just can’t stay away from fantasy worlds. After the update on his attempt to bring Jeff Smith’s graphic series “Bone” to the screen and now he’s part of the team getting Tad Williams’ sci-fi novel set “Otherland” adapted. The story is set 100 years in the future and finds a group of unlikely heroes trying to evade an assassin while they venture through huge digital worlds. En route, they must uncover a conspiracy that threatens nothing less than the destruction of humanity. With Warners executives hoping to turn them into a Pile Of Green Money, Lin has hired John Scott III – whose zombie script “Maggie” opened plenty of doors after it landed on the top 10 of 2011’s Black List – to get to work unpacking the plot. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32926 Ben Younger Takes On The Elusive Boxing Biopic Boxing biopics usually fall into one of two categories – the young upstart pup who shows the old dogs how it’s done (but struggles along the way) and the guy everyone has counted out (even the ref a few times) who somehow makes his way back. “Boiler Room” director Ben Younger has just signed on to make one from the second list – “Paz.” The film will follow the true-life tale of Vinny Pazienza, a pugilist in his prime who broke his neck in a car accident and was told he’d never walk again. But he refused to give into that prognosis, and ended up winning three more world titles despite his injury. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32923 Project Updates
Riseborough and Kurylenko Join Tom Cruise In Sci-Fi Film Andrea Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko have joined the cast of Universal’s sci-fi film starring Tom Cruise. The movie will be directed by Joseph Kosinski Previously titled “Oblivion” – the illustrated novel upon which the movie is based – the fantasy-adventure stars Cruise as a former solider who is the last person on an Earth devastated by a war with an alien race. http://www.thewrap.com/deal-central/column-post/tom-cruise-be-joined-andrea-riseborough-olga-kurylenko-sci-fi-film-34594 A Bunch Of Of Actors, Including Terrence Stamp, Join “The Black Marks” Terence Stamp as well as Chris Diamantopoulos, Katheryn Winnick and Kenneth Welsh have joined the cast of the heist comedy “The Black Marks.” Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon and Jay Baruchel star in the picture, which is being directed by Jonathan Sobol, who also wrote the script. The story revolves around a third-rate motorcycle daredevil and semi-reformed art thief who gets back into the con game to pull off one more art theft with his untrustworthy brother Nicky and their old gang. Stamp will play an ex-art thief and Diamantopoulos a master forger. Winnick is Russell’s dubiously loyal girlfriend, and Welsh is the elder statesman of the group of thieves. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/terrence-stamp-the-black-marks-283366 Jeez, Kristen Wiig! Leave Some Roles For Someone Else … Or Not Now that she appears to have shoved a Van Helsing-style stake through the idea that she’ll be involved with any “Bridesmaids” sequel, Kristen Wiig is on the lookout for her next big gig. She’s now in talks to co-star with Ben Stiller in “The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty.” The remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye comedy, had been mired in development for years until it finally got some real traction last April when Ben Stiller jumped aboard to both direct and star in the tale of a mundane man whose dreams and fantasies fill his life. Last week Shirley MacLaine entered talks to play his mother and the film got yet another re-write from Steve Conrad, switching the Mitty character to a magazine photo manager who finds adventure when he goes looking for a missing negative. Wiig is circling the role of one of Mitty’s co-workers, a woman who also happens to feature prominently in his daydreams . http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32924 “Atlantis Rising” Adaptation Is … Well, Rising Much like the legends that surround the place itself, the cinematic adaptation of Platinum Studios’ comic series “Atlantis Rising” will not stay sunk. Now “Immortals” co-producer Mark Canton has jumped aboard for the latest effort to get it on screen. Crafted by Scott Michell Rosenberg, “Atlantis Rising” originally saw the light as a five-issue miniseries, which chronicled what happens when the world’s militaries investigate a series of deep-sea earthquakes. They find the lost kingdom of Atlantis, whose inhabitants are none too pleased about the sudden intrusion from above. Events escalate from there and soon it’s all-out war. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32922 Pilot Season
Fox Really, REALLY, Likes Being In The Spy Business Fox is getting into the spy business with former “Bones” producer Karyn Usher. The first-place network has ordered to pilot an untitled spy drama from Usher revolving around the orphaned 17-year-old daughter of a CIA operative who is recruited to become an operative herself. From 20th Television and Marty Adelstein and Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps/Adelstein Productions, Usher will write and exec produce alongside Adelstein, Levy and Becky Clements. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fox-greenlights-teen-spy-drama-283386 CBS Orders Pilot By Jerry Bruckheimer Jerry Bruckheimer’s drama “Trooper” has been given the go-ahead for a pilot by CBS. The project, written by “Heroes” scribe Aron Eli Coleite, will chronicle the adventures of a common-sense mother who turns New York State trooper. Bruckheimer and Coleite are executive-producing, along with Jonathan Littman. KristieAnne Reed will serve as co-executive producer, as she does on Bruckheimer’s ABC reality series “Take the Money and Run.” Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television are producing. http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/jerry-bruckheimer-drama-gets-pilot-order-cbs-34586 Syfy Decides To Time Travel With Justin Marks Syfy has greenlit a two-hour pilot for “Rewind,” a time-travel thriller from “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” screenwriter Justin Marks. Produced by BermanBraun and Universal Cable Productions, the project revolves around a team of military operatives and civilian scientists who use untested technology to travel back through time to alter events, changing the future and avoiding a devastating terrorist attack. http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2012/01/19/syfy-orders-time-travel-pilot/ Acquisitions/Film Festivals
YouTube Presents: Your Film Festival YouTube, Scott Free and Emirates want to find the world’s best storytellers and they’re doing it through Your Film Festival. YouTube users will pick 10 finalists; they will attend and screen their work at the Venice Film Festival. The top winner will also get a $500,000 YouTube original production grant for their next production with Scott Free. People are invited to submit a 15-minute, story-driven video of any format, style and genre here between February 2 and March 31. Fifty semi-finalists will be chosen by Scott Free; those 50 will compete for the YouTube audiences’ vote. http://www.indiewire.com/article/scott-free-youtube-emirates-announce-your-film-festival-2012 Business/Legal News
Codeblack Entertainment And AMC Theaters Strike Up Distribution Deal On the heels of the immense success of “Kevin Hart’s Laugh At My Pain,” Codeblack Entertainment (the company that distributed that concert film) has formed a multiyear partnership exclusively with AMC Theaters, to release CodeBlack films at select AMC locations nationwide. And the first film to be released under this new pact will be the T.D Jakes-produced, Neema Barnette-directed thriller “Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On The 7th Day” (starring Blair Underwood, Sharon Leal, Nicole Beharie, Pam Grier and others), which will be released on April 13. http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/codeblack-entertainment-forms-multiyear-partnership-w-amc-theaters-will-release-on-the-7th-day-first-in-april Guess Who Wants Her Old Gig Back: It’s Katherine Heigl After all that, Katherine Heigl wants to return to “Grey’s Anatomy.” While promoting her new movie, “One For the Money,” Heigl said that she would be up for reprising the role of Dr. Izzie Stevens. Heigl left the series during Season 6 in 2010 to spend more time with her adopted daughter and focus on movie roles. Her potential return to the show, could be just what “Grey’s Anatomy” needs. The contracts for stars Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey expire at the end of this season. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/greys-anatomy-katherine-h_n_1216860.html?ref=tv Entertainment Studios Is Very Enthusiastic About Comedy. Orders 104 (!) Episodes for Two New Series Moving into script situation comedy for the first time, Entertainment Studios will launch two first-run sitcoms to air in primetime beginning this fall, it was announced Thursday by the company’s Chairman and CEO Byron Allen. As with its more than two dozen other shows, the sitcoms will be produced in-house and are guaranteed to go on the air no matter how many stations clear them for September. Following the Tyler Perry model, E.S. has committed to a huge order from the start, with 104 episodes of “The First Family” and 104 episodes of “Mr. Box Office.” http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/entertainment-studios-first-family-mr-box-office-283359 Kodak Files For Bankruptcy, But That Won’t Rain On Its Sundance Parade Very early on January 19 – the opening day of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival – Kodak announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Nonetheless, Kodak still plans to hold its annual Sundance party next week. Kodak’s bankruptcy announcement also came the day after the New York Times ran a Sundance curtain raiser, “Technology Helps Sundance Films Capture the Moment,” extolling the virtues of digital production in its ability to help filmmakers respond quickly to time-senstive issues. http://www.indiewire.com/article/kodak-files-for-chapter-11-but-the-party-goes-on Martin Lawrence Is Considering Not One, But Two Comedy Projects Martin Lawrence and CBS are developing 2 projects for the actor/comedian, with “Bernie Mac ” creator and “The Daily Show” contributor Larry Wilmore behind one of the shows, and the other from “Rules of Engagement” creator Tom Hertz and Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company. In the Wilmore-created series, Marty Mar would play a single man who becomes (along with his sister) a foster parent to several children. And in Hertz’s script, Mr Lawrence would star as “a family man trying to keep his kids grounded while facing off with his wealthy in-laws. Neither of this is a definite “go” yet, but it’s being reported that CBS will pick one of them soon, after everyone involved has had time to “digest the 2 scripts.” http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/martin-lawrence-juggling-two-potential-new-series-for-cbs Industry Moves
It's Promotion Day At The Syfy Channel Syfy has promoted Chris Regina to senior vice president of programming, executive vice president of programming and original movies Thomas Vitale announced. He will oversee acquisitions of studio-distributed theatrical films and television series, as well as retain his past responsibilities, which include managing the cable network’s scheduling and administration department and continuing supervision on original movies. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/syfy-chris-regina-programming-executive-283463 Fox Has A New Executive VP Of Scheduling Dan Harrison has been named executive vp scheduling at Fox, filling a position Preston Beckman announced he would vacate in June. This is a reunion for Harrison and Beckman, who will transition to a senior strategy role across the Fox Networks Groups when the current season wraps. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-scheduling-dan-harrison-preston-beckman-283362 Technology/Multi-Platform Content
Yahoo Brings Sundance’s Short Films To You For FREE! This was strictly a YouTube thing, but it looks like Yahoo has now taken over – for this year anyway, and only for the shorts. It’s still good to know that if you can’t experience Sundance in person, you at least have access to some of the films, and for FREE. http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/watch-select-sundance-film-festival-short-films-for-free-on-yahoo Megaupload Gets Hit With A Lawsuit… Federal authorities have charged the owners and operators of the video locker service Megaupload with operating a criminal enterprise that distributes pirated material, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday. Although the sites they operate advertised that they provide personal storage for users’ content, the indictment claims they actually trafficked in hosting television shows and movies – often offering them to users before their official release. http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/megaupload-charged-piracy-one-largest-copyright-cases-history-34588 … Anonymous Retaliates By Shutting Down The Department of Justice Website, Among Others Hacking collective Anonymous shut down the Department of Justice’s website Thursday, along with those of several other organizations that support anti-piracy efforts. Among the victims: Universal Music Group, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the U.S. Copyright Office. YourAnonNews, a Twitter account affiliated with the group, said this was its biggest attack yet. The immediate impetus for the attack was the Department of Justice’s indictment of seven owners and operators of file sharing site Megaupload. The DOJ also shut down the site. http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/anonymous-hackers-shut-down-doj-mpaa-websites-34595 Around The Web
Is It Okay To Ask For A Movie Tickters Refund? Sometimes — IndieWire
Do Not Question Andy Serkis' Performance! — IFC
Twitter Hashtag Games Inspire Movies — Movieome
15 Hollywood Burning Questions — FSR
Movies, Books and Sundance! — Huffington Post
Website to Watch
http://splitsider.com/
According to this site, it is “a website about comedy and the people who create it.” Started and still run by Adam Frucci, a writer and performer at the UCB Theatre based out of New York, the site provides a robust look at the craft, history, business and, of course, news in comedy. Frucci and Splitsiders network of intelligent (and hilarious) contributors have published great pieces ranging from a look at the entire history of “SNL’s” Celebrity Jeopardy to stand-up comedians’ memorable forays into dealing with hecklers. The site has funny videos, tweets, reviews, interviews, TV show episode recaps and much, much more; all focused towards anything “that exists to make you laugh.” If you care about comedy as much as Splitsider does, it’s going to quickly become daily, and sometimes hourly, reading material.
Additional Source:
www.cynopsis.com | 
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