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Projects Announced
Happy Madison Have Set Their Sights On Remaking “Summer School” Happy Madison, the production banner run by Adam Sandler and Jack Giaraputo, is in negotiations to come aboard to produce Paramount’s planned remake of “Summer School.” “School” was a light 1987 comedy directed by Carl Reiner that starred Mark Harmon as a gym teacher forced to cancel his summer plans and teach an English class filled with oddballs and rebels. The film also featured a young Courtney Thorne-Smith. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/adam-sandler-summer-school-remake-happy-madison-306445 And, In More Good News, Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes Are Looking Long And Hard At “Halloween” Bloody Disgusting reported over the weekend that according to their sources, Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes is in talks to produce the next “Halloween” movie. Of course, the production is well versed in cranking out cheap, grimy looking reboots of famed horror franchises having delivered the forgettable likes of “The Amityville Horror,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Friday The 13th” and “A Nightmare On Elm Street.” We presume the franchise will get the same careless treatment here. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/be-afraid-michael-bays-platinum-dunes-taking-over-the-halloween-franchise Ready To Buckle Some Swash, Quartermain Style? You’re In Luck! A development deal unveiled today at MIPTV will see Allan Quartermain, the swash-buckling character from the 1880s who inspired Indiana Jones become the subject of a new 10-part, $30 million series. The project is a joint venture between Sonar Entertainment and Ecosse Films (“Camelot,” “Monarch of the Glen”). Writers Richard Kurti and Bez Doyle (“Going Postal”) are already signed up. No talent is yet on board but Till says he has some in mind. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miptv-indiana-jones-tv-series-306887 William Brent Bell Is Taking Another Stab At Horror With “WER” Though he didn’t win over most critics, “The Devil Inside” director William Brent Bell certainly made enough profit on his latest stab at horror to convince companies to keep funding his work. His next project is docu-style werewolf horror “WER,” and Bell has locked in four leads, with Devil veteran Simon Quarterman joining AJ Cook, Brian J O’Connor and Vik Sahay. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=33552 Chris Columbus Is Sticking With Making Movies From Bestsellers Given his success producing “The Help” and before that directing the first two entries of an obscure franchise about a boy wizard or some such thing, you can’t blame Chris Columbus for looking to bestselling books to fuel his future movie projects. He’s already got more than one on the go, but has now thrown Kristin Hannah’s “Home Front” into his personal development boiling pot. Hannah’s novel, which has sat high on the US book charts for 16 weeks now, takes a look at how war affects an ordinary American family. But unlike many combat stress stories, this is told from the point of view of a woman who combines her life as a wife and mother with that of a Blackhawk helicopter pilot in the National Guard. The story charts what happens when she’s called up to serve in Iraq. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=33553 Yup, There's A Sequel In The Works For “The Woman In Black” The team behind British horror hit “The Woman In Black,” starring Daniel Radcliffe, are re-uniting to produce a follow-up. The revamped legendary British production label Hammer, Alliance Films and Cross Creek Pictures are to team up with novelist Susan Hill on the proposed story that will pick the tale up 40 years on. ”The Woman in Black,” directed by James Watkins has become the highest grossing British horror film of the past 20 years, grossing over $33 million in the U.K. and recently crossing the $120 million box office mark worldwide. Screenwriter Jon Croker (“Desert Dancer”) is now developing the screenplay for the sequel, “The Woman in Black: Angels Of Death,” based on an original story by Hill, under development for the past few years and now complete. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/woman-black-daniel-radcliffe-follow-up-306778 Project Updates
That Huge, Three Million Dollar Spec That Sold Last Week? Yeah, Roland Emmerich’s Gonna Direct It He already blew up the White House once in “Independence Day” so why not make it the setting for an action film? That’s likely the answer Roland Emmerich is giving to the question no one asked as the director is in talks to direct the hottest script of the year (so far), “White House Down.” Purchased by Sony last week for a staggering $3 million, the plot of the script by James Vanderbilt (“Zodiac,” “The Amazing Spider-Man”) is being kept under wraps but is said to be an action flick about a paramilitary takeover of the White House (probably by terrorists is our guess) in the vein of “Die Hard” meets “Air Force One.” And bearing more than a passing similarity to the other White House action movie “Olympus Has Fallen,” recently announced with Gerard Butler in the leading role, it’s no surprise the studio wants this one knocked out fast. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/roland-emmerich-looks-to-blow-up-the-white-house-again-with-action-pic-white-house-down In What Must Be A Good Career Move, Actor Cast As Young Josh Brolin In Jason Reitman's Next It seems Jason Reitman is a fan of the USA show “Suits,” as he is casting lead actor Tom Lipinski in his upcoming film “Labor Day.” The twist here is that he’ll be playing the younger version of Josh Brolin (who himself plays the younger version of Tommy Lee Jones in “Men In Black III” — this will all make a good movie trivia question some day). Based on Joyce Maynard’s book of the same nane, the film is set on a late summer Labor Day holiday weekend in the 1980s. And it opens with a divorced, depressed single mom (Kate Winslet) who encounters a large, fearsome man named Frank (Brolin) — who also happens to be bleeding badly – while clothes shopping with her 13-year-old Henry. He asks for a ride and against their better judgment, they agree. Meanwhile, they learn that police are searching their town for an escaped convict and put two and two together. Are they his hostage, or his accomplice? As the mother and son gradually learn his true story, everyone’s options begin to shrink. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/suits-star-tom-lipinski-to-play-younger-version-of-josh-brolin-in-jason-reitmans-labor-day Is It Good News That The Farrellys Are Doing “Dumb And Dumber 2″? We’re Not Sure In the works for a while now, and most recently kicking back to life last summer when it was reported that Jim Carrey was eyeballing a sequel to “Dumb & Dumber” as a potential next project, it looks like everything is coalescing for the return of Harry and Lloyd. Co-director Peter Farrelly has revealed that “Dumb & Dumber 2″ will go in front of cameras this fall. “We’re getting set to shoot ‘Dumb and Dumber 2′ in September,” he says. “It’s the first sequel we’ve ever done and we’ve got Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels back.” http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/peter-farrelly-says-dumb-dumber-2-will-shoot-in-september-movie-43-pushed-to-january-25-2013 “Ant-Man” Is Getting Closer According To Marvel Studio President Bleeding Cool recently had a chance to check in via remote videoconference with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, in anticipation of “The Avengers” U.K. release (over there it’s called “Avengers Assemble,” presumably to distance it from the beloved British television series). The subject of “Ant-Man” came up, the long developing project that screenwriters Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish have been toiling on for the past couple of years. Turns out it might be closer to actually getting made than many of us have assumed. ”It’s somewhere,” Feige told the site. “I’ll just say it’s closer than it’s ever been in its long maybe eight year history and I usually email Edgar every two or three days… we are a lot closer than we’ve ever been. So I hope it will come together shortly.” http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/marvel-studios-president-kevin-feige-says-ant-man-is-closest-its-ever-been Acquisitions/Film Festivals
That LCD Soundsystem “Last Waltz” Flick Is Coming Your Way Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that had acquired North American rights to Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace’s LCD Soundsystem doc “Shut Up and Play The Hits.” The film — which has its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year — documents the final days of the band, which played its final show last April at Madison Square Garden. Oscilloscope will release “Hits” in special one-night-only engagements in theaters nationwide this summer. http://www.indiewire.com/article/oscilloscope-to-release-lcd-soundsystem-doc-shut-up-and-play-the-hits UK Premiere For Dagmar Schultz Documentary Previously profiled on S&A, it made its world premiere in the Panorama Documentary section at the Berlin Film Festival in February; and now Dagmar Shultz’s “Audre Lorde – The Berlin Years 1984 to 1992″ is scheduled to make its UK premiere on April 14th at Fringe Film Gay Film Festival which takes place at the Rich Mix (35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA) in East London. It’s being screened as part of the Fringe Film Gay film Festival. Courtesy of Third World Newsreel, who acquired the 84-minute film, it made its USA premiere it at The Brecht Forum in New York City last week Monday, and will be out on DVD sometime this spring. http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/audre-lorde-the-berlin-years-1984-to-1992-gets-uk-premiere-date-april-14th Anchor Bay Films Pick Up Some Snoop Today brings word that Anchor Bay Films has picked up US, Australia and New Zealand rights to “Mac and Devin Go to High School,” the same comedy feature starring Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa. The stoner comedy is said to be inspired by Cheech & Chong, with Snoop saying that he and Wiz are essentially modern-day versions of that dynamic duo; the film’s supposed soundtrack of the same name, was released about a 3 months ago (Mac and Devin are the names of the characters that Snoop and Wiz play in the film). http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/anchor-bay-films-acquires-snoop-dogg-wiz-khalifa-stoner-comedy-mac-and-devin-go-to-high-school Business/Legal News
Talk About A King-Size Deal! “Good Wife” Creators Ink Sweet New Deal “The Good Wife” co-creators Robert and Michelle King are staying put at CBS. The husband and wife showrunners behind the network’s critical darling have inked a three-year overall with CBS TV Studios. As part of the pact, the Kings will not only remain with the Julianna Margulies-led series but also develop new projects for the studio. The legal drama, which earned Margulies an Emmy, was renewed for a fourth season last month. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/good-wife-showrunners-ink-three-deal-cbs-306968 So “Jack and Jill” Is The Big Winner At The Razzies “Jack and Jill,” Sony’s comedy starring Adam Sandler, may have one of the lowest Rotten Tomatoes scores of 2011 at three percent, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t win any awards. The comedy about a reunion between a twin brother and sister (both played by Sandler) has broken a record by winning every category at the Razzies, the annual awards show honoring the worst films of the year. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/razzie-awards-adam-sandler-jack-jill-sweep-306842 Fox Has A New Game Show (Well … New-ish) Fox is getting back into the game show business — with a romantic twist. The network has ordered episodes of the dating series “Take Me Out,” based on the successful British program, from “American Idol” and “The X Factor” producers FremantleMedia. The hourlong series kicks off at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 7. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-dating-game-show-take-me-out-american-idol-306838 Film Solutions Begins Operating In Old Blighty L.A.-based digital asset management and publicity work flow company Film Solutions is to open its European headquarters in London. Former Getty Images and United International Pictures photo publicity guru Nick Bull will head up the operations in the British capital. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/film-solutions-european-office-306805 BET Has Itself A New Comedy BET continues its push towards more original scripted series with “Young Man On Campus,” a comedy pilot starring Jacob Latimore as a 15-year-old college prodigy and, as the title states, the youngest man on a college campus, who shares a dorm room with his basketball star cousin Marco. http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/terri-j-vaughn-jacob-latimore-dondre-whitefield-headline-new-bet-series-young-man-on-campus Electus International Has Picked Up A TV Show That Celebrates Being Smart! (Wait, Does That Even Count As TV?) Ben Silverman’s Electus International has picked up the worldwide distribution rights to the CBC reality series “Canada’s Smartest Person.” The Electus distribution arm will shop the international format rights to the Canadian TV competition series, in which four finalists face different challenges such as improvising a speech with random words or deciphering a musical mystery. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ben-silverman-electus-canadas-smartest-person-306815 James Bond Will Be At The Olympics For Queen And Country Notorious ladies’ man James Bond found himself being dominated recently by one of the most powerful in the world: Queen Elizabeth. Following a personal invitation to Buckingham Palace, Daniel Craig agreed to shoot an introduction for the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games directed by Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “Slumdog Millionaire”) in which James Bond receives a mission to launch the opening ceremonies. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/james-bond-2012-olympic-games-007-queen-elizabeth-danny-boyle-306852 Those Lucky Brits Are Getting Some North American Entertainment British TV viewers are to get a taste of Canadian Series “King” Starring Amy Price-Francis and U.S. ensemble “Breakout Kings.” The two shows have been snapped up by NBC Universal’s pay TV branded offering Universal Channel for a U.K. airing later this month. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universal-channel-uk-king-breakout-kings-306776 Industry Moves
From The “Should’ve Seen It Coming” File, GK Has An Exec Shake Up GK Films COO Bahman Naraghi and SVP Grey Rembert have left the company. Naraghi stepped down to pursue producing interests outside of the Graham King-run company while Rembert, whose focus was developing books, was laid off. Development execs Kahli Small and recently hired Abby Ex will continue in their roles. Films going into production in 2012 include the musical “Jersey Boys,” an untitled Freddie Mercury biopic starring Sacha Baron Cohen and the comedy “Little White Corvette,” which King will oversee directly. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/gk-films-layoffs-bahman-naraghi-grey-rembert-306966 Joe Matza and Robert Solomon Are Getting Comfortable At Panavision Joe Matza and Robert Solomon—two vets of Hollywood’s postproduction industry—have joined Panavision’s board of directors. The announcement comes less than a week after the resignation of Panavision president and CEO John Suh. Bob Del Genio is now acting CEO of the camera maker, which has begun the search for a new CEO. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/joe-matza-robert-solomon-panavision-306942 Shed Media Group's Latest Buy? That Would Be Renegade Pictures U.K. TV production banner Renegade Pictures, whose output includes “Don’t Tell The Bride” and “The World’s Most Dangerous Roads,” has been bought by Shed Media Group, controlled by Warner Bros International Television Production. Renegade specializes in factual entertainment formats and documentaries and was founded in 2006 by Alan Hayling, Alex Cooke and Jon Rowlands. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/warner-bros-intl-tvs-shed-306775 Meanwhile, Robert L. Johnson Nabs Himself An Image Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson, chairman of RLJ Companies, has agreed to acquire 25-year-old home video distributor Image Entertainment and 28-year-old Brit DVD/streaming company Acorn Media Group. The new Los Angeles-based public company will be called RLJ Entertainment, Inc; Johnson will serve as its Executive Chairman. http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/bets-robert-johnson-buys-image-entertainment-and-acorn-media-to-form-rlj-entertainment Miramax And Sky Italia Have A Deal News Corp. subsidiary Sky Italia on Monday announced a major new distribution deal for content from the Miramax stable of films in what will be a significant blow to both state broadcaster RAI and Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset. The deal, jointly announced by Sky Italia and Miramax’s European offices, could leave RAI and Mediaset scrambling to replace Miramax content at a time when both companies are already struggling. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miramax-sky-italia-deal-306814 Around The Web
It's Not A Fourth Season, But Here's At Least A Little Something For All You "Veronica Mars" Fans Out There — TV Squad
On The Eve Of The 3D Re-Release, A Cool Making-Of Story About "Titanic" — EmpireOnline
Even Better, How About This Totally Fantastic Oral History Of "Diner"? — Baltimore Magazine
Yet Another Reason To Love Charlize Theron — Indiewire
Because We Seem To Be Done For A While With "The Hunger Games," It's Time To Turn Towards "The Avengers" — Moviefone
Website to Watch
http://www.mydamnchannel.com/ Digital entertainment studio My Damn Channel has unveiled the details around My Damn Channel LIVE, a new daily, live, comedy series that will air every weekday at 4pm ET beginning on March 28, and is part of the ongoing YouTube original channels initiative. The new show will be structured similar to late night TV in the sense that it will feature interviews between host Beth Hoyt and celebrity guests. Hoyt will also interact with viewers in real-time during the program, and will regularly premiere videos from over 30 new My Damn Channel original comedy series that are rolling out over the course of 2012. My Damn Channel Founder and CEO Rob Barnett will produce the show, while Melissa Schneider will serve as showrunner. The series will be accessible via its own page on MyDamnChannel.com, as well as the studio’s official YouTube page. As part of the announcement, the company has also re-launched this site, its main video distribution arm alongside YouTube. Additional Source:
www.cynopsis.com | 
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