Fox 2000 to Adapt Robert Crais’ “Suspect”

Leave a reply

 

suspect-3_4

The newest Robert Crais novel, “Suspect,” has been optioned by Fox 2000. According to the Hollywood Reporter, David DiGilio (Eight Below) will provide the screenplay with Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson producing. Crais, the outlet notes, has adamantly prevented feature adaptations of his works in the past. In the case of “Suspect,” 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.

“Suspect” was published earlier this year and is described as follows:

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.

“Divergent” Director Neil Burger Drops Out of Sequel

Leave a reply

divergent

Neil Burger has announced that he will not be directing the second film in Lionsgate’s “Divergent” film franchise. The sequel is scheduled for release on March 20th, 2015. Burger is currently in post-production for “Divergent,” starring Shailene Woodley, for a March 21, 2014, release and Lionsgate has revealed they are currently seeking another director for “Insurgent.” The films are based on the novels of the same name written by Veronica Roth.

The “Divergent” franchise — released via its Summit brand — is viewed as a key to Lionsgate’s strategy to lead in the young-adult genre. Summit’s five “Twilight” films have topped $3.3 billion in worldwide grosses and Lionsgate’s  first two “Hunger Games” have pulled in over $1.4 billion.

The March, 2015, release date of “Insurgent” requires that production start this spring. Lionsgate also announced Monday that the third film, “Allegiant,” will be released a year later on March 18, 2016.

“Divergent” also stars Theo James, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller and Kate Winslet. Set in a dystopian Chicago, the  story centers on a society divided into five factions, each dedicated to a particular virtue — Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity and Erudite — with all 16-year-olds required on a particular day to select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives.

Summit has issued a statement in response to Burger leaving the project, saying that scheduling issues have precluded him from directing “Insurgent”:

“Neil Burger is a rock star and he is doing a fantastic job on Divergent.  We can’t wait for you to see the film.  But as amazing as Neil is he still cannot be in two places at once and thus needs to finish post production on Divergent while we gear up to start production on Insurgent.  So, although Neil will continue on as part of our Divergent family as an executive producer, we sadly have to find another director for the next chapter in Veronica Roth’s fantastic series.”

Christian Ditter in Talks to Direct Drew Barrymore’s How To Be Single

Leave a reply

 

art3507widea

Drew Barrymore, who I heard has never been kissed, is set to co-produce the film adaptation of “How To Be Single.” The novel was written by Liz Tuccillo and was set up at New Line back in 2008. However, according to Variety, the project is finally moving forward as the studio is in talks with director Christian Ditter to helm the movie.

Ditter is no stranger to romantic comedies. He recently directed the unreleased romantic comedy Love, Rosie, starring Sam Claflin and Lily Collins, which will be distributed by Lionsgate in the UK sometime next year. It was this work that attracted New Line to Ditter.

The adaptation of Tuccillo’s novel about a 38-year-old woman searching for love in New York City. The screenplay was written by Marc Silverstein and Abby Kohn with Dana Fox doing the most recent rewrites.

There is no word on whether Barrymore will act in the project or just remain on as a producer. Barrymore previously worked with Tuccillo in the film adaptation of He’s Just Not That Into You, again at New Line. Barrymore starred in the project which was a commercial success in the box office.

Plans are to start casting the film and shoot it next year for a 2015 release.

Two New Teasers for the Second Season of Bates Motel Released

Leave a reply

bates-motel-season-2-poster

The highly anticipated season 2 of A&E’s “Bates Motel” has released two brand new trailers to tease the upcoming season. In the trailers we see both Norman and Norma Bates wand a little bit of what we can expect in the future. Season 2 begins early next year with Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga (whom I utterly love to death) reprising their roles as Norman and Norma Bates respectively. Kathleen Robertson, Paloma Kwiatkowski and Michael Vartan are going to be newcomers to the series.

The series is described as a “contemporary prequel” to the 1960 film Psycho (based on Robert Bloch’s novel of the same name). It depicts the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma prior to the events portrayed in Hitchcock’s film, albeit in a different fictional town (“White Pine Bay, Oregon,” as opposed to the film’s “Fairvale, California”) and in a modern setting. The series begins after the death of Norma’s husband, when she purchases a motel located in a coastal Oregon town so she and Norman can start a new life.

No debut date has been set for the second season except for a 2014 tag. You can watch both of the extended teaser trailer for “Bates Motel” below:

Sofia Coppola and Andrew Durham to Co-Write Fairyland

Leave a reply

 

16241141

Alysia Abbott’s critically acclaimed memoir, “Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father” has been officially optioned for film by American Zoetrope. The company has added Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, The Bling Ring) and Roman Coppola (The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom) as producers of the film.

“Fairyland” is described as coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s vibrant cultural scene in the 1970s and ’80s, both before and after the AIDS epidemic, a crisis that would later claim the life of Abbott’s father, Steve Abbott, a widowed poet and gay activist.

Sofia Coppola said,

“I love the book Fairyland; it’s a sweet and unique love story of a girl and her dad, both growing up together in 1970’s San Francisco. I think it will make an engaging and touching movie on a subject I’ve never seen before.”

The book’s author, Abbott, said,

“I’m delighted that Sofia Coppola and Zoetrope are going to create the film version of Fairyland. Sofia’s understanding of the feminine perspective and the artistic vision that she shares with Andrew Durham make them ideal partners to make this movie. I could not be happier.”

Paul Rudd Cast In Lead Role In Ant-Man

Leave a reply

Paul Rudd-Photos

Paul Rudd, my secret BFF, has officially been cast in the leading role for the upcoming Marvel Studios project, Ant-Man. Rudd has been rumored to be the top choice for the titular role since earlier this year but last night, The Wrap reported that Rudd will be playing Hank Pym in the July 31, 2015 release.

Ant-Man will be begin production early next year and is set to be directed by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote the script with Joe Cornish.

It is also rumored that Wright’s original plans for the film called for both Pym and the later Ant-Man of the comics, Scott Lang, to appear in the feature.

“The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both… Henry Pym and Scott Lang,” Wright told SuperHeroHype some years ago. “So you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60’s, in sort of ‘Tales to Astonish’ mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang’s story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him.”

Ant-Man will be the first film in the “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will follow Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s May 1, 2015 release.

MTV and Sonar Developing TV Series Based on Shannara

Leave a reply

340x_custom_1267552605344_the-sword-of-shannara-by-terry-brooks

The international best-selling fantasy series, “Shannara,” is getting a small screen adaptation. The long-loved series written by Terry Brooks, has been optioned by MTV and Sonar Entertainment to create a television series. Jon Favreau will direct and executive produce and Al Gough and Miles Millar (“Smallville,” Spider-Man 2) will write and executive produce if the project goes to series. Terry Brooks and Dan Farah will also serve as executive producers.

The “Shannara” series is set in our world, thousands of years after the destruction of our civilization. The story is centered on the Shannara family, whose descendants are empowered with ancient magic and whose adventures continuously reshape the future of the world. Should the show go to series, producers plan to base the show’s first season on “The Elfstones of Shannara,” the second title in the series, a fan favorite which spent 16 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list and is accredited with cementing the series place in the fantasy world.

The books continue to be esteemed by fans and critics alike. They are estimated to be the highest-selling un-adapted fantasy book series in the world. Terry Brooks is considered to be the second highest-selling living fantasy author, after “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling. More than thirty years after the release of the first “Shannara” novel, Terry Brooks’ latest additions to the series continue to be international best sellers. Another three books are set to be published in 2014.

President of MTV Programming Susanne Daniels said

“I am thrilled to be working with the ‘Smallville’ creators Al and Miles again along with the amazingly talented Jon Favreau. We feel that the Shannara novels are a perfect fit for MTV as this type of fantasy genre has continuously proved to resonate with our audience.”

Sonar Entertainment CEO Stewart Till added,

“This collaboration with MTV, combined with the amazing creative talent attached to this project, including our existing relationship with Terry Brooks and Dan Farah of Farah Films, gives us tremendous confidence that we have a potential hit property with appeal to audiences worldwide. This deal also reflects Sonar’s emerging strategy to become a leading supplier of groundbreaking series programming.”

Author Brooks commented on the upcoming project saying,

“I believe we have formed the perfect team to bring ‘Shannara’ to life on-screen. The adaptation of these books is very important to me, and I believe we are on the right track in our endeavor to create an epic television series that both new and old fans of the books will love.”

Fox Casting a Young Bruce Wayne for Gotham Series

Leave a reply

commissioner-gordon_gary-oldman

With the news that Fox was moving forward with a live-action “Gotham” series, fans have been speculating who would play the lead roles of  young Detective James Gordon and 10-year-old Bruce Wayne. According to TV Show Auditions, the studio has begun casting the role of the young Batman.

The report states that:

“A 10-year-old Bruce Wayne is among the roles that are now being cast as series regulars on the upcoming Fox TV series “Gotham” which explores the origin stories of Commissioner James Gordon and the villains that made Gotham City famous. Under development for over a year, the project has now been given a direct-to-series order by the network, which won an intense bidding war for the Warner Bros. Television rights to the show. Shooting on the pilot episode will get underway in March, 2014 and will center on Gotham City PD rookie homicide detective James Gordon who investigates the double murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne.”

There is no word yet on who the studio is eyeing for the role.

“Gotham” comes from”The Mentalist” creator Bruno Heller. First appearing in “Detective Comics” #27 (the 1939 comic that also debuted Batman), Commissioner James Gordon is the creation of Bill Finger and Bob Kane.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Direct and Star in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman

Leave a reply

jgl-sandman

Um, YES.

The overwhelmingly dapper man, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has reportedly signed on with Warner Bros. to not only to star in a big screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, but direct as well. Levitt’s involvement in the project was rumored last month but yesterday he confirmed the news via his Twitter account.

He posted,

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m incredibly honored to be working with David Goyer, Warner Bros, and @neilhimself on SANDMAN. #Prelude”

Sandman, which launched DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, ran for 75 issues beginning in 1989. Gaiman’s worlds-within-worlds weaved an episodic anthology, focusing on the allegorical character of Dream and his brothers and sisters, known as the Endless (Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny).

The use of the “Prelude” hashtag is of some interest as it suggests that Goyer’s script might focus on the series’ first collection, “Preludes and Nocturnes,” which detail the earthly imprisonment of Dream, his escape and his reclamation of various objects of power.

David Goyer will provide the screenplay.

 

Diary of Anne Frank To Become Animated Film (for some reason?)

Leave a reply

 

519HKX9M69L

Nothing conveys the immense tragedy of the Holocaust like an animated version of characters. Right? According to the Hollywood Reporter, the famous memoir, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” is about to become an animated film by writer/director Ari Folman, the man behind 2008’s Oscar-nominated animated documentary Waltz With Bashir and this year’s live-action/animation hybrid The Congress.

In order to make the film, Folman and his co-producer, Diane Elbaum, have been granted unlimited access to all the archives of the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, Switzerland, and its branches around the world.

Folman defends the project saying,

“Bringing the Anne Frank Diary to all screens is a fantastic opportunity and challenge. There is a real need for new artistic material to keep the memory alive for younger generations.”

We can at least count on one thing. The animated feature will look gorgeous. Based on his previous works such as “The Book Thief” and “Grave of the Fireflies” we know that his work has always been stunning and resonating with emotional responses.

“The Diary of a Young Girl” (also known as “The Diary of Anne Frank”) is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The diary was retrieved by Miep Gies, who gave it to Anne’s father, Otto Frank, the only known survivor of the family. The diary has now been published in more than 60 different languages.