Weekly Entertainment News

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Renny Harlin Catches Full Moon Fever
Source: ComingSoon
Director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) has come on-board to develop a feature based on the upcoming graphic novel, Full Moon Fever, for producers Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter. Created by prolific "X-Men" and "Superman" comic book writer Joe Casey for publisher AIT/Planet Lair, the story is set in the not too distant future and revolves around a group of blue-collar workers who shuttle to the moon to repair the first lunar base, only to find it deserted. They soon discover that they're not alone as they become prey to a pack of ravenous werewolves.

The high concept hook of putting werewolves on the moon, where on the lunar surface, it's always full, allowing the creatures to constantly be in the their lycan form appealed to Askarieh when Casey first pitched him the project at this past summer's San Diego Comic Con.

Alter likened the project to another comic book series that was picked up by Sony Pictures and Sam Raimi in a heated bidding war 2 years ago, 30 Days of Night.

That project did the same with regard to turning mythology on it's head via vampire lore, placing the bloodsuckers in an Alaskan town where the sun doesn't shine for as much as a month at a time. Like that other project's creator, Steve Niles, Full Moon Fever writer Casey is scripting his own adaptation, developing it closely with Harlin, Askarieh, and Alter.

Harlin most recently enjoyed success with Exorcist: The Beginning, which topped the box office in August. Askarieh and Alter, both huge fans of his, thought the helmer would be a great fit for the material.

"We both think that 'Deep Blue Sea' is one of the best films in it's genre, said Alter, "and I remembered that Renny was originally developing the third installment in the "Alien" franchise back in the early 90s. So it became a mandate to get him on this project."

Askarieh and Alter are also spear-heading efforts to ensure the development of a Full Moon Fever video-game to coincide with with the eventual film's release. Askarieh is no stranger to the interactive arena. He is producing the video game adaptation of Spy-Hunter at Universal, a summer 2006 tent-pole set to star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and be directed by John Woo, which the studio hopes will kick-start a new franchise.

Harlin is repped by WMA. Askarieh's Prime Universe and Alter's Alter Ego Entertainment are partnered on a number of projects. Howard Sun, who with Alter maintains lit management shingle, Alter/Sun, will be a co-producer on Full Moon Fever.

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DiCaprio Says Alexander is Not in His Future
Source: ComingSoon
While promoting the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, Leonardo DiCaprio told Moviehole that director Baz Luhrmann's Alexander the Great is also no longer in his future. Nicole Kidman had previously said that she would not be playing Olympias in Luhrmann's version.

"Alexander The Great was one of those things where [Martin] Scorsese and I just share the same taste in similar things. We were both fascinated with Alexander The Great as well as Howard Hughes. They're completely different time periods and different men, but similar dynamics, men that keep on reaching for their ultimate goal and stop at nothing until they achieve that. It just happened to be that this script (The Aviator) and project was way further advanced in the development stage than the script that landed in our lap from Alexander and we wanted to go forth - we had an intention at one time of doing them both, but you don't get everything you want all the time."

Luhrmann's Australia-based rep, Maria Farmer, said earlier this year that the filmmaker had not scuttled his big-budget historical biopic on the Macedonian conquerer.

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Harrison Ford on Indiana Jones 4
Source: ComingSoon
IESB.net caught up with Harrison Ford and asked what the latest was on Indiana Jones 4. Frank Darabont had written a draft, but that did not receive the green light. Instead, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg hired Jeff Nathanson to do a rewrite and things are looking good.

Asked whether or not "Indy 4" will still be made, Ford answered, "No doubt about it." And while he says this next film is his, he wouldn't mind a younger actor playing Indy in possible future films.

The site added that George Lucas, who rejected Darabont's script, is happy with the new draft from Nathanson.

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Fantastic Rep for Thru the Moebius Strip
Source: ComingSoon
Fantastic Films International will represent the 3D CGI feature Thru the Moebius Strip, which was produced by Hong Kong animation studio GDC Entertainment.

With a story by French artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud, the sci-fi tale is about a physicist who becomes trapped on a distant planet after crossing a space-time portal.

Glenn Chaika directed the film voiced by Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and Jean Simmons.

Giraud has made design contributions to pics such as Alien, Tron, Masters of the Universe, Willow, The Abyss, and The Fifth Element.

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First Word on the Sin City Trailer!
Source: SuperheroHype
Scooper 'Ross' sent us this first word on the trailer for Robert Rodriguez's Sin City:

I was just dropping a juicey morsel for all the Sin City fans out there. I work for this company in New York that tests movie trailers on the general public to get reaction before the preview is released. When I came into work today I was pleasantly surprised to see that one trailer we were testing was Sin City. I watched it and I have to say that is awesome. I felt as though I was watching exact pages taken from the comic. Much like the comic the movie is in black and white with the random burst of vibrant color thrown in. Mickey Rourke looks great as Marv. Some of the CGI effects were not completed but overall I think that it looked great. Based on customer feedback this could very well be the truest comic to movie that we have ever seen. No word on when it will be released but normally when we get the trailers they are released to the public about two months after.

Here's a description of the trailer. There may be possible spoilers so reader beware.

It opens with Marv in a bedroom mourning the lose of a woman in a heart shaped bed. The bed is colored in bright red while everyhthing else remains black and white. Next shot is of a bunch of cops at his apartment door telling him to come out. Marv somehow blows the door of the hinges allowing him to escape.

The next scene opens with Bruce Willis walking into a bar and talking to a waitress (Brittany Murphy) who points him to the stage where Jessica Alba is dancing seductively.

The rest plays out in a series of quick shots of Benicio Del Torro in a car, Rosario Dawson walking with a gun, Clive Owen (Dwight) sneaking around a corner, Marv jumping feet first into a police car window, Bruce Willis jumping from a car that has just sped off a cliff, the girl from 2Fast 2Furious (not sure of her name but her character was named Suki) jumping onto the roof of a car armed with two swords,and one final very cool shot of Elijah Wood. You would not know it was him unless they said so because his face is totally blacked out and the glasses that he has on or all white so that none of his physical features other than the shape of his head can be seen.

It ends with Marv saying that you can find anything in the alleys of Sin City.

Stay tuned for when the trailer is released.

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Cage's "Treasure" Chest Filling Up
Source: E!Online

Facing no new wide releases, Nicolas Cage's action-adventure earned an estimated $17.1 million Friday through Sunday, according to preliminary estimates, bringing its three-week haul to $110.2 million and becoming the 18th movie this year to gross more than $100 million.

The only new entry in the top 10 was the limited circulation Closer. The spouse-swapping drama, featuring the star quartet of Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Julie Roberts and Clive Owen under the direction of Mike Nichols, bedded down in sixth place with $7.7 million at just 476 theaters. That brought the R-rated Sony release a titillating $16,176 per screen.

Although critics tried in vain to bury National Treasure, the PG-rated Disney flick remained at 3,243 sites, where it averaged $5,286, only dropping 47 percent from the previous weekend.

Also remaining shy of the 50 percent drop--a key indicator of whether a film has legs--were Sony's PG-rated Yule comedy Christmas with the Kranks (down 46 percent in its second week) with $11.7 million in second place, and Warners' G-rated The Polar Express (down 43 percent in its fourth week) with $11 million in third place. The latter film has shown staying power despite its less than auspicious debut.

In fourth place was one of the year's genuine hits, both critically and commercially: The Incredibles. The PG-rated Disney-Pixar release did slip 61 percent, but that comes after five big weeks and the loss of 275 theaters. Playing at 3,178 locations, the high-powered 'toon, starring the voices of Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter as the middle-aged superheroic couple, averaged $2,882 for another $9.1 million, bringing its gross to $226 million.

In fifth place, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie lost 56 percent, but still managed to average $2,359 at 3,307 sites for $7.8 million to give the Paramount's PG 'toon a three-week tally of $68.3 million.

Meanwhile, Oliver Stone far from great Alexander continued its disastrous run. The expensive R-rated Warners epic, starring Colin Farrell as the great blond marauder, dropped 65 percent in week two, earning just $4.7 million from a $1,933 average at 2,445 sites for a total of just $29.6 million.

In very limited release, House of Flying Daggers, starring Zhang Ziyi as a blind martial arts master, hit the target. At just 15 sites the PG-13 Sony Pictures Classic import averaged $27,801 for $417,000.

Less successful on the art-house circuit wasI Am David, Lions Gate's PG-rated drama starring Ben Tibber as a boy escaping a Bulgarian labor camp in the 1950s. The film opened at 226 locations, where it averaged just $748 for $169,000.

As holiday shopping gained momentum and football crowded the television channels, audiences thinned at the megaplex turnstiles. The top 12 films grossed a total $80.2 million, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, down a whopping 47 percent from the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and, more significantly, a decline of 10 percent than this time last year, when the wide opening of The Last Samurai stirred up more coin.

Here's a rundown of the top 10, based on Sunday estimates; final figures are due Monday:

1. National Treasure, $17.1 million
2. Christmas with the Kranks, $11.7 million
3. The Polar Express, $11 million
4. The Incredibles, $9.1 million
5. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, $7.8 million
6. Closer, $7.7 million
7. Alexander, $4.7 million
8. Finding Neverland, $2.85 million
9. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, $2.8 million
10. Ray, $1.9 million

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Justin Timberlake up for Iron Man?
Source: Moviehole


I can't stand to hear JT comin' outta my speakers - let alone see his mug up on the movie screen, but 2005 looks like being the former N'Sync poppet's big entrance into film, so stiff biccies for the loathers hey?

Granted, there is a bit of buzz about the performance he gives in his first major movie, yet I'm still not sold on 'Justin Timberlake - movie star'.

We shall see.

In addition to a leading role in the new drama "Edison" (the one he's getting the aforementioned buzz for), and a part in the all-star pic "Alpha Dog", Britney Spears' former housemate is rumoured to be putting on Tony Stark's trousers. Ladies and Gents, one "Iron Man" casting rumour that'll have you on hands and knee, begging to the big man above that it doesn't come off.

The Teen Hollywood website reports that Timberlake has already scored the role of the superhero in the forthcoming film adaptation of the Marvel comic.

Anything to the rumour? Hard to say. It is possible though, considering "Iron Man" is being helmed by Nick Cassavetes, the same chap directing JT in "Alpha Dog". If the kid can act, then maybe, just maybe, Cassavetes has locked him in for his follow-up pic.

Tom Cruise expressed interest in playing "Iron Man" a couple of years back but he's too busy to even consider plonking on the metal outfit.

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Is Weaver too old to headline Alien 5?
Source: Moviehole

Sigourney Weaver - who they're tipping for an Oscar next year for "Imaginary Heroes" - tells Latino Review that although she'd love to do a fifth "Alien" movie, she doubts Twentieth Century Fox would go for it.

"...it would be probably unlikely that a major studio would go for it only because one of the lead characters would be a 55-year-old woman," Weaver says, adding that Ridley Scott, helmer of the first pic, is keen to direct.

"I think Ridley would have to stamp his foot a few times, but would they do it? I don't know. Maybe they would give us a pretty low budget to do it. The first one, we made for $14 million. Of course, that was the dark ages in 1978, but I don't think it takes a lot of money. You just have to think. I don't know, I'm never out here long enough to call Ridley and say, 'So, what's happening.' But we do feel there's no rush really. The planet will still be there. I just have to be unemployed long enough to come up with a good idea. It's fun. I miss those clothes."

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Evil Dead 4 rises from the Ashes!
Source: Moviehole

When news hailed from the trades last month that Sam Raimi had given the go-ahead to an “Evil Dead” remake, we assumed it put a stake, once and for all, through any hopes of an “Evil Dead 4”. Predominatly, one that bought back Bruce Campbell as Ash.

Guess again. Raimi tells Zap2it.com, “Evil Dead 4” is still on the cards, despite the looming redo.

"I definitely want to do it and I think after -- whenever the Spider-Man jobs end -- I would love to dig in on that," Raimi says. "That's something I'm really looking forward to."

According to the website, Raimi won’t be directing the remake of “Evil Dead” (that'll be helmed by, and probably star, someone else other than Campbell), he’s saving his vision for an “Evil Dead 4”, which he'll do after putting Peter Parker to bed.

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Bond Orders the Salmon
Series regular gets promoted?
Source:IGN

December 03, 2004 - The British press is causing quite a stir in the rumor mill with reports that actor Colin Salmon – who has thus far appeared in the James Bond films as M's chief of staff Charles Robinson – has quite possibly been named the new 007. And how did all this come about? Salmon signed an autograph for a fan as "Colin Salmon 007."


This led to The Guardian's claim that Salmon was "signed, sealed, delivered."

The Salmon swimming upstream rumors have become so intense that bookies across the pond are no longer accepting wagers on him being named the new Bond, suspecting that certain betters are employing "insider knowledge," according to The BBC. One bookmaker, however, said he'd "received no bets on Salmon, dismissing them as a 'stunt' to boost his profile."

Salmon's rep denied it was all a ploy, but added that "I guess everybody would like to play Bond."

If the rumors are true then Colin Salmon would be the first black actor to portray the British superspy. Salmon, however, is 41 years old and the filmmakers are reportedly seeking a much younger Bond to revitalize the franchise.

Salmon's credits include Alien Vs. Predator, Resident Evil, and the TV series Keen Eddie.

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Dimension Films Enters The Darkness
Source: ComingSoon.net
Dimension Films will develop Platinum Studios' The Darkness as its latest big screen comic book adaptation, says Variety.

The project, published through Platinum's newly acquired Top Cow brand, revolves around a 21-year-old former assassin who inherits a family secret, an unholy power known as "the darkness," which changes his life.

"Darkness," which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide, is also being developed as a video game by Majesco.

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Moore Has Found Her Next Project
Source: ComingSoon.net
Revolution Studios is in talks with Julianne Moore to play the female lead in Next opposite Nicolas Cage, reports Variety. Cage is also attached as a producer, while Lee Tamahori will direct the sci-fi thriller.

Moore would play a federal agent who's looking for people who can help predict terrorist acts. Her search puts her in pursuit of a man (Cage) who has the ability to see his own future and take a different path if he chooses.

Gary Goldman adapted Philip K. Dick's short story "The Golden Man."

Before Next goes into production, Moore will likely first shoot Freedomland for Revolution and director Joe Roth in the Spring. Cage will first be filming Ghost Rider in Australia for writer/director Mark Steven Johnson.

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James Gunn on His New Film Slither
Source: ComingSoon.net
Dread Central talked to "Scooby-Doo" series and Dawn of the Dead screenwriter James Gunn about his new project called Slither, on which he is making his directorial debut.

The film is currently in pre-production in Vancouver and is being produced by Eric Newman (Dawn of the Dead), Strike Entertainment and Gold Circle Films (White Noise). Here's a clip from Gunn on the story, which centers on a small town.

"What I'm really being influenced by here is a combination of '80s horror movies because what happens is this alien disease takes forms and works its way into the populace whatever way it can," explains Gunn. "Some of that change is zombification type stuff and a lot of it is mutation type stuff. It's very Cronenberg-esque and it's very influenced by the tone of Manga artist Junji Ito's Uzamaki."

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Len Wiseman Up for Wolverine?
Source: SuperheroHype.com
Cinescape is reporting the rumor that Underworld director Len Wiseman may be up for Wolverine.

We've heard from a trustworthy source that UNDERWORLD director Len Wiseman has been approached about directing the WOLVERINE movie. How long ago Wiseman was offered the job, whether he's the only director being offered the gig and what his answer was (or even if one has been given by Wiseman) all remain unknown. All we know is that he's been asked.

Wiseman is currently directing Underworld 2. David Benioff is writing the script for the "X-Men" spin-off.

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Weintraub quits Police Academy
Source: Moviehole.net

MTV reports that Producer Jerry Weintraub is no longer interested in reviving the "Police Academy" series, as reported by the trades a few moons back.

What this means for the recently announced "Police Academy 8" is unknown, but you wouldn't think the big gun pulling out would fare well for a project that needs Kong-sized backing.

The project was being developed by Warner Bros. Pictures and its Australian joint-venture partner Village Roadshow. Its been out to writers, with the exact direction of the newest installment yet to be determined.

So what's tickled Weintraub's fancy instead? A redo of George Burns comedy "Oh, God", with Ellen DeGeneres in the lead. "I made the first one in 1976, and I've been trying to figure out how to do another one since then," Weintraub said. "And then Ellen just came to me and said, 'I'd play God if you would take a chance and do that.' I said, 'Take a chance? That's the best idea I've heard! Let's go for it.' ... I'm crazy about her. ... And I don't think you can be a woman and play God unless you're likeable."