Zhang Yimou Targets Robert Ludlum’s The Parsifal Mosaic

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Universal Pictures recently announced their plans to develop “The Parsifal Mosaic” into a feature film. The novel was written by Robert Ludlum. Now, the rumor is that the studio is setting Zhang Yimou (Hero, Raise the Red Lantern) to direct, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“The Parsifal Mosaic” was originally published in 1982. It is officially described as follows:

Michael Havelock’s world died on a moonlit beach on the Costa Brava as he watched his partner and lover, double agent Jenna Karas, efficiently gunned down by his own agency. There’s nothing left for him but to quit the game, get out. Then, in one frantic moment on a crowded railroad platform in Rome, Havelock sees Jenna. Racing around the globe in search of his beautiful betrayer, Havelock is now marked for death by both U.S. and Russian assassins, trapped in a massive mosaic of treachery created by a top-level mole with the world in his fist: Parsifal.

Zhang most recently directed The Flowers of War, starring Christian Bale.

Ron Howard To Direct The Jungle Book

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It seems that Warner Bros. have finally hired a new director for the upcoming project, The Jungle Book. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ron Howard will direct the adaptation of the iconic novel from Rudyard Kipling.

In case you live under a rock, the original book was published in 1894 and includes, among a number of other animal-themed stories, the classic tales of an Indian boy named Mowgli who is raised by wolves and lives among the other animals in the jungle.

This project should not be confused with a competing film that is also in the works. Howard and his film will have to compete with Jon Favreau who is currently helming the Walt Disney Pictures planned for release on October 9, 2015.

Dylan Minnette and Odeya Rush Join Goosebumps

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Columbia Pictures have officially casted the lead roles in the upcoming film, Goosebumps. According to Deadline and The Wrap, Dylan Minnette and Odeya Rush are set to star opposite of Jack black in the film based on the book series written by R.L. Stine.

Goosebumps will be directed by Rob Letterman. Black stars as a fictionalized version of Stine, who winds up being the suburban neighbor of Minnette’s Zach Cooper. When Slappy, a ventriloquist dummy, sets loose all the terrifying ideas in Stine’s head, it’s up to Zach and Stine’s niece, Hannah (Rush) to save the day.

The “Goosebumps” series have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, second only to the “Harry Potter” series in total sales. Neal Moritz is producing the film through his Original Film banner with Deborah Forte of Scholastic Entertainment.

3D Version of the Sly Cooper Movie Teaser Trailer Released

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If you are one of those people who have a pair of 3D glasses at home (you rebels!) then you will be able to enjoy the 3D Sly Cooper movie trailer from Blockade Entertainment.

The CG-animated Sly Cooper is a kinetic and comedic heist film that tells the story of Sly Cooper, an orphaned raccoon thief, and the adventures of his childhood friends and partners in crime, Bentley Turtle and Murray Hippo. In the film, Sly learns that he comes from a long line of talented, international thieves, and is catapulted into a global adventure. Sly races to reassemble pieces of an ancient book holding the Cooper clan’s family secrets before it can fall into the hands of Clockwerk — an evil metallic owl bent on ending the Cooper family line.

Sly Cooper is based on the PlayStation and Sucker Punch character. The film is directed by Kevin Munroe.

Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Preacher Officially Heading to AMC

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After months of back and forth, the comic book series “Preacher” is coming to AMC. Sony TV and AMC have confirmed that This is the End co-writers and directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will be executive producing the series. They will also provide the screenplay for the pilot.

“Preacher” was written by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillion under the Vertigo label. The series follows Reverend Jesse Custer, a tough Texas preacher who has lost his faith, has learned that God has left Heaven and abandoned His responsibilities. He finds himself the only person capable of tracking God down, demanding answers, and making Him answer for His dereliction of duty. Accompanying Jesse on his journey is his former girlfriend and a friendly vampire who seems to prefer a pint in the pub to the blood of the innocent. On his tail is one of the most iconic bad guys in print – an immortal, unstoppable killing machine named the Saint of Killers – a western lone gunman archetype whose sole purpose is to hunt and kill Jesse.

“This is a great piece of material for AMC, and we’re thrilled to begin working with the creative team behind it to make another iconic AMC series,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming, production and digital content.

Rogen and Goldberg also commented,

“This is amazing! We’ve tried for seven years to work on ‘Preacher’ and we’re so psyched AMC is finally letting us. It is our favorite comic of all time, and we’re going to do everything we can to do it right. Humperdoo!”

Garth Ennis said,

“Steve Dillon and I are very happy to see ‘Preacher’ being developed for TV, which seems a much more natural home for the story than a 2-hour movie. Between them, Sony TV and AMC have brought viewers two of my favorite shows with ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Mad Men,’ and it’s exactly that kind of creative commitment and courage that ‘Preacher’ needs. Obviously it’s taken a while, but Ken Levin along with Neal Moritz and his team refused to give up, long after the point when I myself grew skeptical, and their unrelenting enthusiasm for the project has gotten us where we need to be. I’m particularly impressed that Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin understand ‘Preacher’ fully — meaning they get it for what it is, not some vague approximation. All in all, it looks like ‘Preacher’ can now be brought to TV in a way that I’d previously not have thought possible, and I very much appreciate that Steve and I have been included in the conversation in the way that we have.”

“Breaking Bad” producer Sam Catlin will be the series’ showrunner and will also executive produce alongside Rogen, Goldberg, Vivian Cannon, Ken Levin, Ori Marmur, Neal Moritz and Jason Netter.

Catfish Helmers Take on Young Adult Novel “Nerve”

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Henry Joost and Ariel Shulman, the duo behind Catfish and two installments in the Paranormal Activity franchise, have announced plans to work on a found footage adaptation of the novel, “Nerve.” The novel was published in 2012 and was written by Jeanne Ryan.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the pair will work from a screenplay written by Jessica Sharzer who is most known for her work on “American Horror Story.”

“Nerve” is officially described as follows:

When Vee is picked to be a player in Nerve, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game knows her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy, sizzling-hot Ian. At first it’s exhilarating–Vee and Ian’s fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn. Suddenly they’re playing all or nothing, and the prize may be their lives.

The film version of Nerve will be produced by Allison Shearmur.

Chris Pratt Teases Jurassic World Plot and Character Details

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Plot details for Jurassic World are finally being slowly revealed. MTV News recently spoke with Chris Pratt who hinted at what fans can expect from the fourth installment of the franchise.

Pratt told MTV News exactly what drew him to the project and why he joined the cast.

“What I liked about it is that it answers the question of, ‘Why would they do that? How do you suspend disbelief to be like, ‘Oh, yes! Let’s make this mistake again! We haven’t learned our lesson about dinosaurs. We should definitely live with them and see how that works out!” After three tries, they answer the question really well through the script. Colin did a great job of writing it and justifying it. Kind of, in his own way, having fun with that so that anybody who goes in with that question will be really amused the way I was.”

Pratt also talked briefly about his character, comparing him to Sam Neill’s Dr. Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm.

“He’s got a little of both [characters],” Pratt explains. “He’s got a little bit of the Goldblum cynicism, but also the Sam Neill excitement at the wonder and the biology of it all.”

Jurassic World will be released on June 12, 2015. The much-anticipated film is also set to star Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, Jake Johnson, Nick Robinson and Irrfan Khan. It will be directed by Trevorrow from a draft of the screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley are producing.

Jay Baruchel Cast in Stephen King’s The Ten O’Clock People

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Since the unfortunate exit of Justin Long in the Stephen King adaptation, The Ten O’Clock People, the studio has been looking for someone to play the lead role. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Jay Baruchel has signed on to the project.

The Ten O’Clock People will be directed by Tom Holland. It is based on Stephen King’s short story publised in 1993 as part of his “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” collection, The Ten O’Clock People follows Brandon Pearson, who in trying to kick his smoking habit uncovers a frightening aspect of reality he plans to extinguish through extreme measures.

Baruchel recently starred in the apocalyptic comedy This is the End, and is the writer on the upcoming project Randoms Acts of Violence, which is based on the comic book of the same name.

The film is being shopped at the EFM in Berlin. Hopefully with Baruchel on board, this long-mooted project will now gain some traction.

Terry Gilliam to Start Filming Don Quixote in September

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Terry Gilliam’s pet project, the long-awaited Miguel de Cervantes adaptation The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, is finally moving forward. Gilliam has announced he plans to begin the project following the completion of The Zero Theorem. Gilliam recently shared this concept art from the film as well on his Facebook page, which you can see above.

The Don Quixote adaptation originally began in 2000 with Jean Rochefort as Quixote and Johnny Depp in the role of Sancho Panza. Unfortunately, the shoot met with dilemma after dilemma and was never finished, although the behind-the-scenes of the troubled production did end up becoming a feature-length documentary, Lost in La Mancha, in 2002.

“I’m going to try to do ‘Don Quixote’ again,” Gilliam said then. “I think this is the seventh time. Lucky seven, maybe. We’ll see if it happens. This is kind of my default position, going back to that. I actually just want to make it and get rid of it. Get it out of my life.”

Gilliam told Empire that he is expecting to begin filming for Don Quixote this September on the Canary Islands.

He has also brought on Spanish producer Adrián Guerra (Buried, Red Lights, Grand Piano). “He’s really smart, loves movies,” said Gilliam. “He’s young enough to still love movies. But we’ve still got to cast it and get the money but other than that, that’s the deal.”

John Travolta and Salma Hayek to Star in A Three Dog Life

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A Three Dog Life has cast John Travolta and Salma Hayek in the principle cast. The film is based on the best-selling memoir written by Abigail Thomas.

In the film, when Abigail Thomas’ (Hayek) husband, Rich (Travolta), gets hit by a car, his brain is shattered and he has no memory of his past life. Subject to hallucinations, rage and terror, he is forced to live in an isolated institution to control the side effects of his near-death accident. In order to be close to her husband, Abigail reinvents her life and moves from New York City to the small country town, with her new family of three dogs.

The big screen adaptation of A Three Dog Life was written by director Nick Gunthe. He will also serve as producer. The Solution Entertainment Group (“The Solution”) will represent international rights at the ongoing European Film Market in Berlin. CAA and WME Global are co-representing US rights.

“Nick has adapted Thomas’ heart-wrenching memoir flawlessly, capturing the intimate details of how her marriage is put to the test following a life-changing accident. John and Salma are the perfect pair to portray this couple’s journey over the course of several years,” said The Solution’s co-founders and partners, Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel.

“A Three Dog Life,” published in 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, was named one of The Los Angeles Times Favorite Nonfiction Books of the Year and A Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year. It received rave reviews in major publications including Vanity Fair, Newsweek and USA Today upon release. The memoir recently resurfaced in popularity and reached #2 on The New York Times Bestseller list in September 2013.