Not a long list for films that I have seen in 1983 so I will have to work on that.
My Top Films of 1983
1. Terms Of Endearment
2. The Scarlet And The Black
3. Silkwood
4. Flashdance
5. Octopussy
6. Return Of The Jedi
7. War Games
8. Yentl
9. A Christmas Story
10. Curse Of The Pink Panther
11. Risky Business
12. Superman III
13. Jaw 3
New Movie Dates!
The Signal - A sci-fi family-adventure film over the course of a family’s weekend getaway. June 13, 2014.
Wish I Was Here - The story of Aidan Bloom (Zach Braff), a struggling actor, father and
husband who at 35, is still trying to find his identity; a purpose for
his life. He and his wife are barely getting by financially and Aidan
passes his time by fantasizing about being the great futuristic
Space-Knight he’d always dreamed he’d be as a little kid. When
his ailing father can no longer afford to pay for private school for his
two kids (5 and 12) and the only available public school is on its last
legs, Aidan reluctantly agrees to attempt to home-school them. The
result is some funny chaos, until Aidan decides to scrap the traditional
academic curriculum and come up with his own. Through teaching them
about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of
himself he couldn’t find. July 18, 2014.
Untitled New Line Horror Film - Warner Bros. has not disclosed any details of the project. The
Hollywood Reporter said it may be Conjuring spinoff Annabelle or the James Wan-produced Crawlspace. Oct. 3, 2014.
Kill The Messenger - Jeremy Renner stars as Gary Webb, the real-life dedicated reporter for
The San Jose Mercury-News. In the 1990s, Webb uncovered the Central
Intelligence Agency’s role in importing cocaine into California that was
sold to raise money for the Nicaraguan Contras rebel army. Supported by
his wife and children, Webb pursued the story and went public with his
evidence. When targeted for a vicious smear campaign by the CIA and
rival journalists, Webb found himself fighting for his reputation and
his family. Based on two books, "Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack
Cocaine Explosion," by Gary Webb, and Nick Schou's "Kill the Messenger:
How the CIA's Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb." Oct. 10, 2014.
Inherent Vice - Larry "Doc" Sportello, a pothead private eye wanders through the Summer (and winter) of Love in 1969 Los Angeles. Based on Thomas Pynchon's novel. Dec. 12, 2014.
Cameron Crowe Untitled Film - Set in Hawaii, the story follows a celebrated military contractor
(Bradley Cooper) who returns to the site of his greatest career
triumphs and re-connects with a long-ago love while unexpectedly falling
for the hard-charging Air Force watchdog (Emma Stone) assigned to
him. Dec. 25, 2014.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The espionage adventures of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, agents of
United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) who fight the
forces of T.H.R.U.S.H. (Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of
Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity). An adaptation of the classic 1960s TV series. Jan. 16, 2015.
Run All Night - A retired hitman must face his best friend, a big crime boss, in order to save the life of his estranged son and his family. Feb. 6, 2015.
Focus - A veteran conman gets involved with a newcomer to the grifter business.
They get involved romantically but that becomes perilous in a business
where they lie and cheat for a living. The complications of the
encounter haunt them when they meet up again in the future. Feb. 27, 2015.
Get Hard - A rich, soft-handed investment bank manager is sentenced to a maximum
security prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He hires the streetwise
guy who normally washes his car to get him ready to do hard time in the
30 days before he has to report to prison. Mar. 27, 2015.
Mean Moms - A happily married mother of two moves from small town America to the
high class suburbs and is faced with confronting the cut throat world of
competitive parenting. Adapted from Rosalind Wiseman's book,"Queen Bee Moms and King Pin Dads:
Dealing with the Parents, Teachers, Coaches, and Counselors Who Can Make
-- or Break -- Your Child's Future." Will bear some resemblance to
Paramount's 2004 comedy Mean Girls, since both are adapted from advice
books for parents penned by Wiseman. May 8, 2015.
Entourage - Movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), together with his boys, Eric
(Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny (Kevin Dillon), are
back…and back in business with super agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold
(Jeremy Piven). Some of their ambitions have changed, but the bond
between them remains strong as they navigate the capricious and often
cutthroat world of Hollywood. June 12, 2015.
Grimsby - A James Bond-like spy is forced to go on the run with his long-lost brother, a moronic soccer hooligan. July 31, 2015.
The Intern - As her business begins to thrive, the founder of an e-business is told
that her company is importing seniors to be interns as a community
outreach effort, and she’s getting one. While her first question is
whether they are seniors in high school or college, she learns to her
horror that she’s getting a real senior, as in senior citizen. The
over-70 widower is bored with retirement from a middle management career
and initially seems like a fossil to his working mother boss, but grows
more indispensable. Sep. 25, 2015.
The Conjuring 2 - Revolves around a paranormal haunting. Sequel to the 2013 film.Oct. 23, 2015.
How To Be Single - Explores the dating lives of five single New York women, one of whom,
Julie, is writing a book about how bachelorettes across the world
manage. Julie embarks on a trip around the world for the book and gets
involved in an international affair, while her four friends duke it out
on the New York dating scene. Based on the novel by Liz Tuccillo, which was published in 2008. Feb. 12, 2016.
Goosebumps - Story is loosely based on the series and follows Dylan Minnette’s
character who moves from New York City to the small town of Greendale,
Maryland, where his secretive new neighbor turns out to be veteran young
adult horror author R.L. Stine (Jack Black). When all the many demons
of Stine’s mind are set free by Slappy, a demonic ventriloquist’s dummy,
it’s up to Minnette’s character and Stine’s niece Hannah to put all the
evil genies back in the bottle. The project has seen several writers on it, as the studio tries to crack
the code for the story. Columbia Pictures is starting from page one
with Darren Lemke (THR, 1/13/2012). Mar. 23, 2016.
Tarzan - Follows John Clayton III, known as the famous "ape man" Tarzan. Years
after he's reassimilated into society, he's asked by Queen Victoria to
investigate the goings-on in the Congo. Tarzan teams with an
ex-mercenary named George Washington Williams to save the Congo from a
fierce warlord who controls a massive diamond mine. Based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs characther.. July 1, 2016.
Untitled LEGO Movie 2 -No plot details have been announced - it's unknown whether the film will be a proper sequel, or a Lego Ninjago spinoff. May 26, 2017.
Movies Being Planed!
Screen Gems has taken the rights to Mike Le's zombie thriller, Patient Z. Vincent Newman is attached to produce the project for the studio through his Vincent Newman Entertainment.
Patient Z takes place in a post-outbreak zombie apocalypse and
follows the adventures of one man who has the unique ability to speak
with the undead and who hopes to use his gift to discover a cure for the
plague and his infected wife.
Le is best known for scripting the upcoming Dark Summer,
which is tentatively planned for release sometime in 2014. Peter
Stormare stars in the Paul Solet thriller, which centers on a teenager
placed under house arrest while his mother is traveling.
--------------------------
Embankment Films has announced that Daniel Radcliffe ("Harry Potter"
films) is attached to play British politician and former track and field
athlete Sebastian Coe in Gold, to be directed by James Watkins
from a script by Simon Beaufoy and Will Davies. The film, which will be
sold at AFM, is described as follows:
Sebastian Coe (Daniel Radcliffe), obsessive and nurtured, is a
quiet loner driven to the limit of endeavour by his ambitious father.
Steve Ovett, effortless and natural, is a confident joker and outsider, fighting to prove himself in an elitist world.
Both are fuelled by rivalry but burdened by the weight of expectation and fear of failure.
Lovers, family loyalties and the human spirit are tested to breaking point in a relentless race for glory.
Inspired by a crescendo of real-life events – a movie about winning, losing and the pursuit of immortality.
Joanna Anderson, Vicky Licorish and Kevin Loader will produce. Filming will start in 2014.
24-year-old British actor Daniel Radcliffe continues to make interesting
and somewhat eclectic choices following his ten-year run as Harry
Potter in the blockbuster Warner Bros. franchise, and the latest news
has Radcliffe teaming with filmmaker Douglas McGrath (Emma, Infamous) for his new movie Brooklyn Bridge with plans to begin shooting in August.
In the movie, Radcliffe will play an engineer who takes on the job of
overseeing the building of the Brooklyn Bridge after his father passes
away and the press release adds: "Besieged by calamity, danger and
doubt, his obsession to get the job done threatens his health and his
family until he discovers an improbable ally in his charming and shrewd
wife."
Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie has signed on to write and direct the live-action adaptation of the anime Star Blazers.
McQuarrie, Josh Klein, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg will produce the
film under Skydance Entertainment. Originally based on the '70s
Japanese anime Space Battleship Yamato, Star Blazers is described as follows:
Planet Earth is counting down its final days, suffering from
the deadly radiation of Gamilon Planet Bombs. From the depths of space,
a message of hope arrives from Queen Starsha of Iscandar, who offers
the Cosmo DNA that can cleanse Earth of its radioactive pollution and
save humanity. But Iscandar is 148,000 light years away, farther than
any human has ever traveled.
Christopher McQuarrie, the screenwriter-turned-director has lined up a new project in the form of
Three to Kill, an adaptation of Jean-Patrick Machette's French novel.Published in the United States by City Lights Noir with a translation by Donald Nicholson Smith,
Three to Kill is officially described as follows:
Businessman Georges Gerfaut witnesses a murder-and is pursued by
the killers. His conventional life knocked off the rails, Gerfaut turns
the tables and sets out to track down his pursuers. Along the way, he
learns a thing or two about himself.... Manchette-masterful stylist,
ironist, and social critic-limns the cramped lives of professionals in a
neo-conservative world.
--------------------------------------------------
Following his triumphant return to live-action directing with last year's Flight, Robert Zemeckis has been lining up new projects left and right. The latest, is New Line's upcoming adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's 2006 novel The Remarkable Journey of Edward Tulane, described on the author's official site as follows:
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named
Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good
reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the
utmost care and adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost.
Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of
the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to
the fireside of a hobos camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the
bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true
miracle: even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to
lose, and to love again.
There's no specific word as of yet whether the adaptation will itself be live-action or done with motion capture like Zemeckis' Beowulf, The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol,
but the project is moving forward with a script by Jeff Stockwell with
Wendy Finerman, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey attached to produce. News of the project arrives on the heels of word that Zemeckis will also direct a narrative adaptation of the 2010 documentary Marwencol, which features a similar blend of toy-themed fantasy and reality.
Mark Wahlberg is among the producers on a new project that aims to tell
the story of a young Julius Caesar and his rise to power.
Likened in tone to
Batman Begins by
Deadline, the script
hails from Travis Baker and Richard Tanne
and charts the would-be
Emperor through his early days in the Roman army and his capture and
subsequent escape from Cilician pirates.
Stephen Levinson is also attached to produce The Roman and the plan is to attach a director to the project prior to finding the film a studio home.
Reclaim, a new suspense-thriller inspired by real-life events,
has announced a cast that includes John Cusack, Ryan Phillippe, Rachelle
Lefevre, Jacki Weaver and Luis Guzman.
Reclaim follows Steven (Phillippe) and Shannon (LeFevre), a
young, happy-go-lucky American couple, who travel to Puerto Rico to
finalize the adoption of their new seven-year-old daughter, a Haitian
orphan named Nina. Charmed by the picturesque island and eager to bond
with their new daughter, Steven and Shannon take advantage of their time
in Puerto Rico to explore the idyllic coast and see the sights as a
family, confident they are just days from returning home to begin their
new lives together.
Events take an alarming turn, however, when Steven clashes with an
intimidating local (Cusack) and things go from strange to absolutely
terrifying when Nina disappears from her bed one night. Despite frantic
efforts to recover their daughter, the young couple hit roadblock after
roadblock and become increasingly desperate once their trusted
connection from the adoption agency (Weaver) also goes missing. Their
only ally seems to be Commandante Diaz (Guzman). As the couple find
themselves further entwined in a perplexing web of lies and confusion,
their own relationship begins to unravel and things take an even more
startling turn toward the unexpected.
The cast for director Brian A. Miller's
The Prince has been announced today with Deadline
reporting that
John Cusack, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Gia Mantegna,
Jason Patric, Johnathon Schaech and pop-star-turned-actor Rain are set
to star opposite Bruce Willis in upcoming thriller.
The film centers on a family man (Patric) whose secret past is that of a
high-level Las Vegas mob enforcer. When his daughter goes missing, he's
forced to return to Sin City to find her.
Cusack will play the protagonist's best friend with Schaech playing a
drug dealer who goes by the nickname "The Pharmacist." The
previously-announced Willis is taking a rare turn as a villain named
Omar.
Kathy Bates, Dustin Hoffman and Alfred Molina are set to star in The Red Violin director Francois Girard's new film, Boychoir.
The original screenplay arrives from Source Code scribe Ben
Ripley and follows a choirmaster and his relationship with a troubled
11-year old who is sent to the school that he runs alongside Bates and
Molina's characters, the headmistress and a teacher, respectively.
The role of the boy, a central character to the production, has not yet been cast.
Michael Fassbender is in negotiations to star in gangster film Trespass Against Us. In the movie, scheduled to start filming in the UK in 2014, Fassbender
would play Chad Cutler. According to Protagonist Pictures, "the
movie is set across three generations of the rowdy Cutler family, who
live as outlaws — hunting hares, ram-raiding stately homes and taunting
the police. The family have always lived this way but, defying the
expectations of his father, Chad Cutler is looking for a way out of the
criminal life."
Patrick Wilson (Young Adult, Little Children) will star in their upcoming The Man on Carrion Road.
The Man on Carrion Road tells the visceral story of a botched
Mexican cartel deal in the back roads of a border town. The town's new
sheriff (Wilson) must team up with the retired lawman he replaced to
investigate the source of the deal in order to stop a mysterious cartel
butcher and his systematic brutalization of the town's residents.
The film is slated to being production in March of 2014. Made by Relativity's Media.
Dwayne Johnson has today lined up a headlining role in
Relativity's true survivalist drama
Not without Hope. The film will adapt Nick Schuyler's 2010 memoir, officially described as follows:
On February 28, 2009, Nick Schuyler, a twenty-four-year-old
personal trainer, left for a deep-sea fishing trip with three friends:
NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, and Will Bleakley, his best
friend, who once played football for the University of South Florida.
It was supposed to be a day of fun and relaxation aboard Cooper's
twenty-one-foot boat, which anchored seventy miles west of Tampa,
Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. The friends were out to catch some
amberjack and grouper and maybe a few sharks. They planned to drink a
few beers, have some laughs, and get home before an approaching cold
front hit.
As the seas began to swell and the winds picked up in the late
afternoon, they packed their gear and decided to head to shore. One
problem. The anchor was stuck.
Inexperienced boaters, they made what would become a fatal mistake,
tying the anchor rope to the stern of the boat and hitting the throttle.
The anchor did not yank free. Instead, the stern sank and filled with
water, and the boat capsized.
And so the nightmare began. The men had to forage for life jackets
beneath the boat. They had no emergency beacon to alert authorities, and
their cell phones didn't work so far out in the Gulf. With no food or
water, the men clung to the overturned hull through the night as the
seas roughened and the cloudy sky became inky black. They were
continuously tossed from the boat by brutal waves, and sometimes found
each other only by swimming toward their friends' voices.
During the rare lull, they would pray and talk about the ones they
loved, what they would've done differently with their lives, and what
they would do once they returned home. As the hours passed, the four
friends, who had grown up as athletes, worked as a team in their
desperate bid to survive. They battled hypothermia, hallucinations,
hunger, dehydration, and huge waves.
Paramount Pictures has hired 28 Weeks Later helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct their upcoming remake of Stephen King's Pet Sematary.
Pet Sematary, which was released in 1983, tells the story of a
Northeastern pet cemetery built on a Native American burial ground and
home to a monstrous, supernatural Wendigo. The story was previously
adapted for the screen in 1989 with a sequel, Pet Sematary Two, following in 1992.
Jeff Katz has optioned the rights to the cult horror classic Sleepaway Camp and is looking to reboot the franchise on the big screen.
Written and directed by Robert Hiltzik, the 1983 original featured a
surprising twist ending that set it apart from other slasher fare of the
era. The series continued with two direct sequels, which featured a
slightly more comical approach with Pamela Springsteen (Bruce
Springsteen's sister) in the lead. A fourth film, Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor,
started production in 1992 and remained unfinished for two decades
before going direct to DVD. Most recently, Hiltzik returned to the
franchise for Return to Sleepaway Camp, which similarly languished in post-production before finally receiving a DVD release in 2008.
Channing Tatum is set to take lead in Bad Romance.
There are no plot details available for Bad Romance at this time, but it is said that Levine will also be providing the screenplay.
The Adventureland pair of Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg are set to again star opposite one another in the action comedy project American Ultra.
American Ultra, scripted by
Chronicle scribe Max Landis,
follows
Mike, a young stoner who, alongside his girlfriend, Phoebe
(Stewart) becomes targeted by a top secret government operation.
Kristen Stewart will also star in
Anesthesia, an original screenplay by Nelson,
follows a group of
individuals who are brought together after a Columbia University
Professor, Walter Zarrow, (Waterson) becomes the victim of a violent
mugging.
Gerard Butler is in talks to star as Kane in the big screen adaptation of the video game
Kane & Lynch. Should the deal close, it would reunite him with
Law Abiding Citizen
director F. Gary Gray. The site also reports that an offer has been
sent out to Vin Diesel to play Lynch in the film, but it is too early to
determine if he will take it.
The property was previously headed for a feature adaptation directed by
Simon Crane with Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx in the Kane and Lynch
roles, but that version never went ahead.
Based on the Eidos Entertainment video game, the plot follows Adam
"Kane" Marcus, a mercenary who makes an unlikely alliance with a
schizophrenic killer named James Lynch. The duo is forced on a mission
to retrieve a stolen microchip. The original game Kane & Lynch: Dead Men was released in 2007 and sold over 1 million copies. It was followed by a sequel titled Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days.
Comics series
Savage is getting a big screen adaptation, and the main selling point is this:
Bigfoot vs. Werewolves.
La Linea's James Cotten will direct the film, which is
based on the comic created by Jeff Frank. E. Thompson, and John Adams of
Pathbenders will produce. No screenwriter, cast or release date has
been set yet Dan Wickline and
30 Days of Night's Steve Niles and with art by Mike Mayhew, the original comic series is described as follows:
"Peter is a shoe salesman desperate for a life
transformation. Sam is a hunter of things that would scare the hell out
of lesser men. These two collide in the middle of an epic battle between
vicious werewolves and the legendary Bigfoot! And that's just the
beginning..."
Lava Bear and producer David S. Goyer have hired Jason Zada to direct The Forest. Based on an original idea by Goyer, this supernatural horror film will be set in the Aokigahara forest of Japan.
Janet Montgomery (Spies of Warsaw, Our Idiot Brother) and Sara Paxton (The Innkeepers, Aquamarine) are starring in the new comedy-drama If You See Her from writer/director Joan Carr-Wiggin. Carr-Wiggin's follow up to the Marcia Gay Harden/Aidan Quinn comedy If I Were You, If You See Her is a film about secrets and weddings, and best friends forever. It is as follows:
When Heather (Janet Montgomery) and Sarah Ann (Sara Paxton) were kids
they knew they would be best friends forever. But Heather left the small
town on the last day of high school vowing never to return. Forced to
return when her father becomes ill, the cynical young documentary
filmmaker is pressured into filming Sarah Ann’s wedding video. Heather
is convinced that the anarchist filmmaker and bubbly pink-wearing bride
have nothing in common, but as the big day approaches she finds that no
one is quite what they seem – especially the old friend she thought she
knew better than anyone.
Dwayne Johnson is set to headline
MGM's upcoming adaptation of Weston Ochse's tale of the military versus the supernatural,
SEAL Team 666. Published in 2012, the original novel is officially described as follows:
Halfway through SEAL training, Cadet Jack Walker, still green but
showing incredible promise, is whisked away to join four SEALs and their
dog for a special ops mission. Walker soon finds himself in a whirlwind
of otherworldly creatures and events as he discovers the true nature of
SEAL Team 666. Battling demons, possessed humans, mass-murdering cults,
and evil in its darkest and most and ancient form, the members of SEAL
Team 666 have their work cut out for them. And it's not long before they
realize that the threat isn't directed against the US alone -- an
ancient and deadly cult has far bigger plans, and Walker is at the
center of a supernatural conflict in which the entire world is at stake.
Just when you thought we were safely done with all the crazy remakes that nope, there's still more on the way.
The latest from the revived
MGM is that they're remaking the 1989 Patrick Swayze and Kelly Lynch movie
Road House with director Rob Cohen (
XXX,
The Fast and the Furious) at the helm. MGM already has a script in hand from Michael Stokes, who also wrote and developed the action movie
Crash Bandits
with Cohen, and Matt Dines will be producing the remake as MGM
continues to try to revive some of its more well known library titles. (
Carrie was released in October with a
Poltergeist remake in production.)
In the original film, produced by Joel Silver, Swayze played a bouncer
hired to tame a rowdy bar in Missouri called "The Double Deuce." Besides
co-starring Lynch, it also starred Sam Elliott and Ben Gazzara.
Although the original movie only grossed around $30 million at the box
office, it went on to build a fairly large cult following thanks to
cable and home video and it's probably one of the late Patrick Swayze's
best known films after
Dirty Dancing,
Ghost and
Point Break.
-------------------------------------------
Sienna Miller is joining Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn in Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s new feature Mississippi Grind. Production is set to begin January 2014 in New Orleans.
Olga Kurylenko (
Quantum of Solace,
Oblivion) will star in the supernatural horror film,
Mara.
Clive Tonge will direct his feature film debut from an original collaboration with Jonathan Frank (The Tournament),
Based on the mythology and true phenomena of sleep paralysis, commonly
known as Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS), which is
scheduled to shoot in May next year. Synchronicity Entertainment is
financing and selling the project. Ruzanna Kegeyan, President of
International Distribution, will introduce the project to international
buyers at the American Film Market.
Criminal psychologist Kate Fuller (Kurylenko) is assigned to the murder
of a man who has seemingly been strangled in his sleep by his wife and
the only witness is their eight-year-old daughter, Sophie. As Kate digs
into the mystery of an ancient demon which kills people in their sleep,
she experiences the same petrifying symptoms as all previous victims and
spirals through a chilling nightmare to save herself and Sophie before
she dares fall asleep again.
"'Mara' promises huge potential with the star power of Olga Kurylenko
and up-and-coming horror director Clive Tonge at the helm. We're
thrilled to continue our partnership with Schneider in the launch of
this new 'Insidious'-type film franchise," said Nestel.
Says Schneider, "Synchronicity and Mann Made Films are the perfect
combination for 'Mara' – innovative, vigorous and exciting companies in
the independent sector. Clive is a phenomenal talent and horror fans
will embrace him as widely as they did James Wan and, with Olga
starring, we're onto another hit franchise."
Said Mann and Barker, "When we started developing 'Mara' with Clive and
Jonathan, we aimed to partner with a visionary like Steven Schneider.
Now teamed up with him, alongside Synchronicity, and Olga's exceptional
talent on board as well, we have the best possible platform to make an
incredibly entertaining and chillingly crafted piece of horror.
"
Kate Bosworth and Thomas Jane are set to star in Mike Flanagan's Somina.
Somnia is described as being a haunting, emotionally absorbing
horror film about an orphaned child whose dreams—and nightmares—manifest
physically as he sleeps. The film explores the enduring bonds between
parent and child and is punctuated by sequences of intense, visceral
terror that only a child’s imagination could conjure. In addition to
Bosworth and Jane, the film will introduce Jacob Tremblay as the child.
Millennium Films has secured the rights to an original action thriller,
The Civilian and is likened to
The Bourne Identity both in tone and in its aspirations to spawn a franchise.
The Civilian follows an American doctor who has his identity
stolen by a top-level spy. To save himself, the man is forced to, in
turns, take the identity of the spy and, with it, the man's dangerous
assignment.
Mark Gill will produce with Christine Crow, Boaz Davidson, Avi Lerner and Trevor Short executive producing.
The Civilian is being fast-tracked into production. While there's
currently no one attached to direct or star, expect that to change in
the very near future.
Ridley Scott has lined up another directing project with a
currently-untitled tale that examines the long-term effects of
concussions among professional football players. The film will be based largely in fact, taking a big screen look at a major issue currently affecting the NFL.
The next step for Scott is to name a screenwriter, although the process
should move forward with some haste. The outlet notes that Scott is
potentially planning to make the football injury film his next project
after completing
Exodus.
Jim Parsons, Isla Fisher and Ellen Barkin are set to star in
Visions, the latest production from Blumhouse.
The film is scripted by Lucas Sussman and shooting is expected to begin this fall.
Visions
centers on a pregnant woman moving to the wine country to be with her
husband at their vineyard — a move which triggers terrifying visions.
Blumhouse Productions will do
Incarnate, the micro-budget thriller from Blumhouse directed by Brad Peyton (
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island), scripted by Ronnie Christensen (
Dark Tide) and starring Aaron Eckhart. Wrestler Mark Henry has also been cast in a cameo role.
Incarnate
stars Aaron Eckhart as an unconventional exorcist who taps into the
subconscious of a nine-year old boy played by David Mazouz who is
possessed by a powerful, ancient demon. The film is currently shooting.
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Idris Elba is set to headline Vendome Pictures and Anonymous Content's upcoming action thriller
Bastille Day. The film, which features an original screenplay by Andrew Baldwin,
follows a young American artist living in Paris and a washed up CIA
agent (Elba) who together are tasked with diverting an imminent attack
on the city.
Don Cheadle,
Ewan McGregor, and
Zoe Saldana are set to star in BiFrost Pictures’
Kill the Trumpet Player,
the story of a few dangerous days in the life of Miles Davis (Cheadle),
the virtuoso, fighter and genius, as he bursts out of his silent period
and conspires with a Rolling Stone writer (McGregor) to steal back his
music.
Written, directed and produced by Metcalf,
Living Among Us is a
found footage film about a documentary crew sent in to interview a
family of vampires whose existence has been made known to the world. But
soon, the crew realizes their very lives are in danger as they uncover a
deadly secret and must fight for survival.
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Asa Butterfield, the star of Martin Scorsese's
Hugo and Gavin Hood's
Ender's Game, is eyeing a new role in Benaroya Pictures' upcoming
King of the Kastle.that Butterfield would join Clive Owen and Jacki Weaver in the comedy,
written and to be directed by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka.
Owen will play womanizer who becomes the target of a teen's blackmail plot. Butterfield would play that antagonistic teen.Gatewood and Tanaka are making their directorial debut with
King of the Kastle.
Actor--turned-director Todd Field has not made a name for himself by
being highly prolific, but the two feature films he has directed, 2001's
In the Bedroom and 2006's
Little Children, both garnered
multiple Oscar nominations. Now comes word that Field is set to make a
return to directing with his adaptation of Jess Walter's bestselling
novel
Beautiful Ruins with British actress
Imogen Poots (
Fright Night) being attached to star in the role of Dee Moray. Field adapted the novel, which has sold over a million copies
"The epic story begins off the Ligurian coast in the spring of 1962 and
centers on four characters whose orbit around one another is set in
motion by an incident involving the international jet-set center, Rome,
in the throes of 'La Dolce Vita' madness during the shooting of
'Cleopatra.' As the sole female lead, Poots will play Dee Moray, a
young actress whose ties to several men, a force-of-one studio
raconteur, a WWII veteran struggling to finish his first novel, a young
Italian hotelier, and the great Richard Burton himself, are the
epicenter of the story."
No word on who will star opposite Poots, but plans are to start filming the movie in Italy in May 2014.
The short film
Burying the Ex is now becoming a feature film under the direction of Joe Dante.
The film "follows Max (Yelchin) and Evelyn (Greene) as their
relationship takes a nose dive once they move in together. Max discovers
how controlling and manipulative Evelyn is but he’s too scared to break
up with her. When fate steps in and Evelyn dies in a freak accident,
newly-single Max prepares to move on with Olivia (Daddario). His
romantic life becomes complicated when Evelyn rises from the grave and
sets out to get her boyfriend back, even if that means turning him into
one of the undead."
Actress Lake Bell, who made a mark this year with the indie In a World..., which she wrote, directed and starred in, has signed on to star opposite Simon Pegg in the indie romantic comedy Man Up with plans to start filming in January 2014.
Bell will portay a single woman who is mistaken for someone's blind
date, leading to her finding the perfect boyfriend... in Simon Pegg,
apparently.
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The true story behind The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien is in the works with a biopic tentatively titled Tolkien. David Gleeson will be providing the screenplay.
Tolkien is said to focus largely on the author's young life,
including his time at Pembroke College and his military service during
the first World War. The film will tie his experiences as a young man to
those depicted in his iconic fantasy novels.
It is unknown whether or not Tolkien's estate will be involved in the
biopic's production in any capacity. Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R.'s son,
is infamously not a fan of Peter Jackson's big screen adaptations.
John Krokidas has lined up a new project in Fox Searchlight's
Standard Happiness Package.
Scripted by Keith Bunin,
Standard Happiness Package is based on
Charles Yu's "Standard Loneliness Package," the opening short story to
his 2012 anthology "Sorry Please Thank You." The tale (which you can
read in its entirety at Lightspeed Magazin, follows a man who is hired by a tech company to experience pain for its clients.
20th Century Fox has acquired film rights to the iconic mystery novel
"Murder on the Orient Express" from Acorn Productions Ltd/Agatha
Christie Ltd, the UK based rights holding production arm of RLJ
Entertainment, Inc. (RLJE). With more than two billion books sold,
Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time, and "Murder on
the Orient Express"is one of her most popular novels. The 1934 novel
features her internationally renowned detective, Hercule Poirot,
investigating a murder on the Orient Express.
Though no decision on writers or casting have been confirmed yet, Ridley
Scott, Mark Gordon and Simon Kinberg will be producing the film. We are excited to be working with Fox as well as Ridley Scott, Mark
Gordon and Simon Kinberg to produce a new, star-studded adaptation of
one of the most well-known mystery novels of all time."
"Murder on the Orient Express" was previously made into a 1974 film
directed by Sidney Lumet. The film received six Oscar nominations,
including best actor for Albert Finney as Poirot, and winning best
supporting actress for Ingrid Bergman. The all-star cast of suspects
also featured Lauren Bacall, Jacqueline Bisset, Colin Blakely, Sean
Connery, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave and Michael
York.
Mark Millar and Goran Parlov's Starlight is heading to the big screen. 20th Century Fox is interested in developing the
property into a feature film with Simon Kinberg attached to provide the
screenplay.
The first issue of Starlight will hit stands in March with the following official description:
So much for retirement! Meet Duke McQueen, a man who has long
since settled down and left his days of saving the Universe and
operating as the space hero everyone depended on—at least that’s what he
thought. His wife long passed and his kids off embarking on their own
adventures, Duke lives a quiet, solitary life until he receives an
unexpected call from a distant world, calling him to action one last
time.
Fox 2000 is bringing Robert Crais' recent crime thriller
Suspect to the big screen.
Published in January of 2013,
Suspect is described as follows on Crais' official site:
LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well. Eight months ago, a
shocking nighttime assault by unidentified men killed his partner
Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready
to explode. He is unfit for duty—until he meets his new partner.
Maggie is not doing so well, either. A German shepherd who survived
three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan sniffing explosives before losing
her handler to an IED, her PTSD is as bad as Scott’s.
They are each other’s last chance. Shunned and shunted to the side, they
set out to investigate the one case that no one wants them to touch:
the identity of the men who murdered Stephanie. What they begin to find
is nothing like what Scott has been told, and the journey will take them
both through the darkest moments of their own personal hells. Whether
they will make it out again, no one can say.
Crais, the outlet notes, has adamantly prevented feature adaptations of his works in the past. In the case of
Suspects,
his decision to permit the big screen version is said to be largely
based on how impressed he has been with The Color Forces' handling of
The Hunger Games franchise.
20th Century Fox has taken the big screen rights to
Influx,
an upcoming sci-fi thriller novel by Daniel Suarez. Set for release on
February 20, the book is officially described as follows:
Are smart phones really humanity’s most significant innovation
since the moon landings? Or can something else explain why the bold
visions of the 20th century—fusion power, genetic enhancements,
artificial intelligence, cures for common disease, extended human
lifespan, and a host of other world-changing advances—have remained
beyond our grasp? Why has the high-tech future that seemed imminent in
the 1960’s failed to arrive?
Perhaps it did arrive… but only for a select few.
Particle physicist Jon Grady is ecstatic when his team achieves what
they’ve been working toward for years: a device that can reflect
gravity. Their research will revolutionize the field of physics—the
crowning achievement of a career. Grady expects widespread acclaim for
his entire team. The Nobel Prize. Instead, his lab is locked down by a
shadowy organization whose mission is to prevent at all costs the social
upheaval sudden technological advances bring. This Bureau of Technology
Control uses the advanced technologies they have harvested over the
decades to fulfill their mission.
They are living in our future.
Presented with the opportunity to join the BTC and improve his own
technology in secret, Grady resists, and is instead thrown into a
nightmarish high-tech prison built to hold rebellious geniuses like
himself. With so many great intellects confined together, can Grady and
his fellow prisoners conceive of a way to usher humanity out of its
artificial dark age?
And if they do, is it possible to defeat an enemy that wields a technological advantage half a century in the making?
20th Century Fox has today tapped an undisclosed number of lands to gather the collective Mana necessary to summon a
Magic: The Gathering feature film.
That the studio will adapt the popular
Collectible Card Game (CCG) for the big screen. Simon Kinberg (
X-Men: First Class) will provide the screenplay.
Launched in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast (now owned by Hasbro), "Magic:
The Gathering" is set in a realm inhabited by Wizards known as
Planeswalkers. Using five different colors of magic, players do battle
with one another using customized card decks that contain creatures,
spells, artifacts and other fantasy elements. The game was so popular in
the 1990's that it helped launch an immense wave of CCG popularity.
Kevin Hart and LeBron James are set to play brothers in
Ballers, an upcoming sports comedy from
Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment.
Ballers, which Hart is rewriting alongside Harry Ratchford, Chris
Spencer and Joey Wells, was originally drafted by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo
Mandel and Peter Steinfeld.
It will feature James as a fictionalized NBA
star whose younger brother (Hart) has trouble feeling inferior
At one time eyed for Emma Stone to star, the upcoming Universal Pictures comedy He's F-ing Perfect has found a new lead in Amanda Seyfried. Scripted by Lauryn
Kahn, its official logline reads as follows:
A social media savvy girl who is pessimistic about love finds the
perfect guy and decides to use her internet research skills to turn
herself into his perfect match.
TRON 3 writer Jesse Wigutow has been hired by Universal to write the big screen adaptation of the Brian Michael Bendis graphic novel Fire. Originally announced over three years ago, the film will star Zac Efron who is also on board as an executive producer.
In the film, based on the Image Comics title, Efron will play a college
student who is recruited by the CIA, only to find that he has been
trained for a program that creates expendable agents.
One of two Harry Houdini projects in the works, Columbia Pictures' upcoming take is set for a rewrite by
Chronicle scribe Max Landis, First announced in 2011, this version was initially drafted by
Minority Report's Scott Frank and is now said to feature an H.P. Lovecraft influence.
Houdini, the iconic stage magician and escape artist, is also set to be the focus of a Summit Entertainment biopic
based on the book "The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's
First Superhero." Columbia's take appears to be a more fictional
approach and is said to follow the magician as he tries to expose a
spiritualist as a fraud.
