Movie and TV News

[Captain Barbossa]

Rachel McAdams Attracts Sherlock Holmes

Rachel McAdams has signed on to star opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes, the Guy Ritchie-directed reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuthy detective for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie takes its cue from a forthcoming comic book that producer Lionel Wigram wrote as a selling tool for a new take on the classic character. The concept sees Holmes as more adventurous and less stuffy than previous screen incarnations and mines more obscure character traits.

Downey will play Holmes while Mark Strong (RocknRolla) plays the main villain, Blackwood. Jude Law is portraying Holmes' colleague Watson.

McAdams plays Holmes' enigmatic love interest, Irene Adler, a character who appeared in Doyle's 1891 "A Scandal in Bohemia." While the character only appeared in that one story, McAdams' personage would return for any possible sequel.

The film will begin shooting next month.

Josh Olson Takes One Shot

Paramount Pictures has set A History of Violence writer Josh Olson to adapt the Lee Child's mystery novel One Shot.

According to Variety, the story centers on a Dirty Harry-like homicide investigator who seeks the truth behind what seems an open-and-shut murder case after a trained military sniper is arrested for shooting five random victims.

The book was set up at the studio in 2005 as a co-production between C/W Prods. and Mutual, with Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, Don Granger, Gary Levinsohn and Kevin Messick aboard to produce. With Cruise and Wagner long gone from the studio, it's currently unclear who will get producing credit.

No production date has been set

Michael Turner’s Fathom May Still Reach the Big Screen with Megan Fox as Aspen


With the passing of Michael Turner in June of 2008, it seemed likely that his comic series Fathom would never end up being adapted into film, especially after it had languished in development hell for several years. Well, just recently a source at Fox told IESB that the development of the film had been handed over to their genre arm, Fox Atomic, and that the film is still in progress. Furthermore, if rumors are to be believed, Megan Fox has signed on to play the lead character, Aspen.

Talks about a Fathom film began back in 2003, with James Cameron’s production company involved. Back in 2007, Turner said that the film was now not happening, due to differences of opinion about the direction of the script – namely that most of the elements from the comic had been removed.

Turner passed away in June 2008 after a long battle with bone cancer, however work has continued on the Fathom comic, with Volume 3, Issue 1 being printed in August, 2008. A tribute was held for Turner at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con.

Fathom is about a woman named Aspen, who was brought to dry land on a boat that was thought to have sunk years before her birth. Aspen has no memories of who she is or where she comes from, but her affinity for water is immediately apparent. Aspen goes on to become an Olympic swimmer and marine biologist before becoming involved in research at a high-tech underwater lab. While working at the lab, Aspen becomes aware of her true nature and the water-based superpowers that are her birthright

Sarah Michelle Gellar Eyeing The Wonderful Maladys

Sarah Michelle Gellar is returning to television with a half-hour HBO project, The Wonderful Maladys, from screenwriter Charles Randolph.

According to Variety, the Gotham-set ensemble series revolves around the dysfunctional lives of three adult siblings who lost their parents at a young age.

Randolph described Gellar's character as having "a kind of zealous immaturity -- like a drug addict with a to-do list."

Randolph wrote the script on spec last year with Gellar and HBO in mind. HBO recently bought the script and is aiming to shoot the single-camera pilot early next year. Gellar and Randolph will serve as exec producers should the project go forward, along with Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

[ssiscool]

Not really a lot of information as yet, but it was announced yesterday that Johnny Depp has signed on the line to return to his role as Jack Spa... Captain Jack Sparrow in a fourth instalment of the wildly successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Who else might return is as yet unknown - director Gore Verbinski seems like a likely candidate as he's repeatedly said that he would like to return to the series. Keira Knightley has stated previously that she feels that she's done her stint as a pirate; whether the lure of much cash will cause her to rethink is yet to be seen. Assuming that they want her, of course, as the story of Elizabeth and Will has reached a distinct endpoint anyway. Certainly hope that they talk Geoffrey Rush into returning for another masterclass in ham acting as Barbossa.

Slightly in two minds about this one. I've enjoyed all the films in the series so far, but I would say that there's been a definite downward trend as the series has progressed as attempts to make each film in the series more epic than the last has generally only served to make them feel somewhat more bloated and unwieldy. That being said, there's still a lot of potential in the franchise and taking things back to a film with a simpler feel to it could still produce something really good.

[3.1415926]

I suppose thats more rumour than news.

[rockpit]

Poor Sherlock Holmes... I wonder how much it will bomb

[Captain Barbossa]

Originally Posted by ssiscool

Not really a lot of information as yet, but it was announced yesterday that Johnny Depp has signed on the line to return to his role as Jack Spa... Captain Jack Sparrow in a fourth instalment of the wildly successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Who else might return is as yet unknown - director Gore Verbinski seems like a likely candidate as he's repeatedly said that he would like to return to the series. Keira Knightley has stated previously that she feels that she's done her stint as a pirate; whether the lure of much cash will cause her to rethink is yet to be seen. Assuming that they want her, of course, as the story of Elizabeth and Will has reached a distinct endpoint anyway. Certainly hope that they talk Geoffrey Rush into returning for another masterclass in ham acting as Barbossa.

Slightly in two minds about this one. I've enjoyed all the films in the series so far, but I would say that there's been a definite downward trend as the series has progressed as attempts to make each film in the series more epic than the last has generally only served to make them feel somewhat more bloated and unwieldy. That being said, there's still a lot of potential in the franchise and taking things back to a film with a simpler feel to it could still produce something really good.

i post that yesterday with little more info i think
Movie and TV News

[Captain Barbossa]

First Photos from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland

Hot on the heels of this week’s official announcement that Johnny Depp will be playing the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland comes some all new photos from the set of Tim Burton’s live-action animation mix. Thanks to INF Daily, we get our first taste of young actress Mia Wasikowska in her full Alice costume. Check out the photos below for a peek at Tim Burton’s sets and costumes:






Alice in Wonderland is set for a March 5th, 2010 release date.

Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters 3

While being interviewed in front of a packed house at Fantastic Fest in support of City of Ember, Bill Murray spoke out on the recently announced Ghostbusters 3. When asked how he felt about strapping on another proton pack and kicking in some ghost heads, Bill had this to say: “Well, I think the wounds from Ghostbusters 2 have healed. Supposedly they have hired two guys from The Office to write a script. So, that could work. I think that is a good idea. Maybe they will give us a fresh look at it. I’ve always liked our characters. Our characters are funny. We had a lot of fun making the movies. The first one was really a lot of fun to make. But I worry. I think the first forty minutes of Ghostbusters is about as funny as a movie gets. It didn’t have a lot of special effects in it. There were just a couple. It was just about those funny characters in that world. And I liked that movie. I think the first one had sixty plate shots, or something like that. The second one had hundreds. The special (effects) guys got their hands on the script early, and it was just gone. It went away. The script just went away. And it was hard to wrangle, because it was tied all around the effects. It wasn’t about the story coming first, or the characters moving through it. They are hard movies to write, and Dan really caught it with that first one. He really caught it. The characters were fun to do. I did the video game this summer, and it was fun to do it again. I found myself walking down Fifth Avenue, singing that song. And people were like, ‘God, that guy is really full of himself.’ So, there you go.”

Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg are currently at work on the Ghostbusters 3 screenplay. If everything works out, it looks like all 4 original Ghostbusters will be back in business.

Frank Miller’s The Spirit Gets Second Trailer

Frank Miller’s The Spirit Gets Second Trailer

DreamWorks Animation Remains with Paramount Pictures Through 2012

Though DreamWorks has split from Paramount to become its own independent company, DreamWorks Animation will be staying with its original distribution arm through 2012. According to Variety, DreamWorks Animation has absolutely no business relationship with DreamWorks because it was spun into a public company to help investor Paul Allen liquidate his early investments, and it will be staying in the Paramount Pictures stable.

DreamWorks animation department has not been connected to its live-action counterpart for over two years. DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has headed the animation studio since it started four years ago. According to , he has had only positive public words for Paramount and there have been few conflicts between the company and its parent, Paramount.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter stated, "Whether it's distribution, marketing, or home entertainment, Paramount has been treating DreamWorks Animation like it's incredibly important. It's widely perceived as a good relationship."

Paramount has gotten into the animation department itself, scheduling its Gore Verbinski project Rango, which stars the voice of Johnny Depp, for March of 2011. It is rumored that DreamWorks animation may release a sequel to Kung Fu Panda during that same time frame, which could be a conflict of interest.

Michael DeLuca Is Set to Produce Mark Millar’s War Heroes

Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to Mark Millar’s popular comic book War Heroes for Michael DeLuca to produce. According to Variety, Sony’s Columbia Pictures is currently seeking a writer for the project.

The comic book revolves around an experimental military program that grants ordinary soldiers superpowers. A small group of these superpowered soldiers break away from the government to form a criminal enterprise, and a hero rises from their ranks to prevent a catastrophe from happening. The six-part comic book was first published in June of this year from Image Comics.

No start date has been set for War Heroes. In the same story, Universal is confirmed to be moving ahead with a sequel to Wanted, which is also based on a comic book by Mark Millar.

Could George Clooney Be The Lone Ranger?

When word came out that Johnny Depp would be starring in The Lone Ranger, but as Tonto and not as the Ranger himself, the next question on everyone’s lips was “Well, who will play the lead?” Now, according to Ain’t It Cool News, that part might be going to an actor who is no stranger to playing masked heroes – George Clooney!

The scooper for the site says:
Word as of now is that George Clooney has shown a lot of interest in the role of the Lone Ranger, and the studio's been talking to him about it. Previously it was rumored that Nic Cage was up for the role, but that rumor died a long time ago. Clooney's name has come up quite a number of times since.


Now, this is still only in the rumor stage, but the possibility of Clooney taking on the part of the Lone Ranger certainly has potential. Although Clooney is often maligned for his role as Batman in Batman & Robin, it seems unfair to blame the actor for the problems with that film.

The Lone Ranger's origin story begins with a group of Texas Rangers chasing down a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish. The gang ambushes the Rangers, seemingly killing them all. One survivor is found, however, by an American Indian named Tonto, who nurses him back to health. The Ranger, donning a mask and riding a white stallion named Silver, teams up with Tonto to bring the unscrupulous gang and others of that ilk to justice.

The Lone Ranger owned by Classic Media, began life as a 1930s radio show. Its popularity led to movie serials, TV shows, comic strips and comic books, toys, novels and more. The character was most often portrayed by Clayton Moore, who played the character in both films and a long-running television series.

[Hunter]

The wonderful/my favorite actor Anna Faris is hosting Saturday Night Live tonight!
NBC.com > Saturday Night Live