The Random - Primeval, Aronofsky/Portman, The Karate Kid, DiCaprio's Online Poker film, Honey Pot, Friday 13th, The Birds, Akira,

- British dinosaur-themed sci-fi series Primeval will not be returning for a fourth season reports Total Sci-Fi Online. The still popular show has fallen victim to substantial budget cuts at the fledgling ITV network in the UK which has seen other popular shows like crime procedural "Wire in the Blood" similarly get the axe before their time.

- Natalie Portman is attached to play the lead in Darren Aronofsky's supernatural thriller Black Swan says The Hollywood Reporter. Black Swan centers on a veteran ballerina (Portman) who finds herself locked in a competitive situation with a rival dancer, with the stakes and twists increasing as the dancers approach a big performance. But it's unclear whether the rival is a supernatural apparition or if the protagonist is simply having delusions. Mark Heyman has done a rewrite of John McLaughlin's original script for the film.

- Paramount Pictures has picked up an untitled film pitch about the world of Costa Rica-based online casinos for Leonardo DiCaprio to star in says the trades. Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Rounders, Ocean's Thirteen) came up with the idea which DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran will produce for his Appian Way production company.

- Paramount Pictures and Montecito Co. have picked up Liz Meriwether's action-comedy script Honey Pot says Variety. While the storyline is being kept top secret, the film will feature two female leads and be set in the world of international espionage.

- Steven Conrad ("The Pursuit of Happyness") has been hired to rewrite the remake of The Karate Kid for Sony Pictures says Risky Biz Blog. Conrad takes over for Chris Murphy who was originally hired to write the script of the reboot starring Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith and Taraji P. Henson.

- Talking with Movieweb producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form spilled on the progress of various Platinum Dunes projects.
First up, the sequel to this year's hit Friday the 13th remake. "We want to have fun. We want to present something that audiences haven't seen before. One of the things they haven't seen before is Jason in the snow" said Fuller.
The pair also admits that their planned remake of The Birds is still very much stuck in development - "We keep trying. I don't know. That is so hard to get the script right. We struggle with it. I won't have anything to say until the script is finished. We lay ourselves out there and get annihilated out there online all day long,and [The Birds] just opens us up to a whole different level of annihilation…it doesn’t feel like that’s up next for us.”

- The Leonardo DiCaprio-produced live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's classic 1988 anime feature Akira has been ditched according to Bloody Disgusting. The project was a two-part film that Warners and DiCaprio's Appian Way had been developing with Gary Whitta ("The Book of Eli") scripting and Ruairi Robinson directing. Now according to BD, who first broke the news of the project 18 months ago, not only has Robinson left the project but the overall project is "dead as a doornail" according to two sources.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

HOME

The Random - Predators, Christopher Lee, Nazi Zombies vs Jesus, Burlesque, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Iron Man 2, Primeval, Tron 2, Dazed & Confused

- According to Bloody Disgusting the Robert Rodriguez produced Predators reboot/sequel is being written by Alex Litvak (co-author of the recently sold Medieval). It is also due out on 9th July 2010.

- Christopher Lee is returning to Hammer Horror, according to Filmstalker, with a film called The Resident a.k.a. Invasion of Privacy. He's set to star alongside Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and it is written and directed by Antti Jokinen. A doctor suspects that she may not actually be alone in her new apartment, a converted loft in Brooklyn, and it seems that her landlord has a wholly unhealthy obsession with her.

- Pop singer Christina Aguilera has been cast in her first feature film titled Burlesque in development at Screen Gems. The film is a contemporary musical where Aguilera will play an ambitious smalltown girl with a big voice who finds love, family and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club. Burlesque is being pitched as Moulin Rouge meets Cabaret, using established songs that will be updated and worked into dance numbers. Former actor Steve Antin will also be making this his feature directorial debut.

- SciFi Wire talked with McG today and got confirmation that Dwayne Johnson is not involved in 20000 Leagues Under the Sea. "I've never spoken to Dwayne Johnson. You can be the first to report that I have no idea where that came from. I wish him every success, but I never spoke to Dwayne about this," McG said. He still claims he's going after Will Smith for the lead role.

- The Daily Mail, Paltrow has been getting in shape for a “risque scene” alongside leading man Robert Downey Jr. “Iron Man imagines Pepper in a dominatrix outfit,” a source tells the news outlet. “Gwyneth had to be filmed in a very revealing black leather corset complete with a bullwhip.”

- Despite rumors of its cancellation, ITV dinosaur-themed action series Primeval will return for a fourth season "provided ratings remain strong" says producer Adrian Hodges. "As of this moment no final decision has been taken - as we knew it wouldn't be - but we are very confident about the future of the show. ITV always said they would look at the recommission at some point towards the end of the run or later and that remains absolutely the position" said Hodges to Total Sci-Fi Online. The show is also being developed as a major feature film says Digital Spy. No word on who is involved just yet.

- Comments from British actor Michael Sheen on Twitter have revealed that he's playing a non-human villain in a secret project currently shooting in Vancouver and that he's 'Personally very happy to see so many Tron fans' indicating he's likely starring in the currently filming sequel ... full details.

- Stephen Fry let slip last week that filmmakers are coming up with ideas to use a fully constructed set of Jerusalem currently sitting dormant in New Zealand and Peter Jackson has come up with an idea in which Nazi zombies go back in time to stop Jesus from being born. Jackson’s manager denies the report saying he's committed to 'The Hobbit' films for now... (full details.

- Matthew McConaughey says that he'd be up for doing a Dazed and Confused sequel but director Richard Linklater has to "pick the right way to do it"... full details

Leave a comment on this post below.

HOME