20th Century Fox Eyes Mark Millar’s Starlight

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“Starlight” the newest title announced by Image Comics is heading to the big screen. The comic was created by Mark Millar and Goran Parlov. Currently, it is rumored that Simon Kinberg is attached to write the screenplay. There is  no other talented attached to the project at the moment.

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.

Kinberg previously worked on scripts for other popular comic adaptations such as X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: First Class and his upcoming credits include X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Fantastic Four.

Millar is also familiar with the world of comic book adaptations. Several of his original comic book properties are in various stages of stop-and-start development as well, including The Secret Service, Nemesis, and Superior.

Luke Evans Talks About The Crow Remake

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While fans of the original series await news, Luke Evans recently spoke about the upcoming reboot of The Crow from Relativity Media and Dimension Films. So far the little that we know is that the film is supposedly a “re-imagining” and that it is “gritty.”

Evans, who joined the film in the lead role, spoke about the tragedy around the original film (lead actor Brandon Lee was killed accidentally on set) as well the reboot being very close to the source material. Evans will star in the lead role of Eric, who will become The Crow after meeting an untimely demise.

“It is incredibly sad that Brandon died making the movie. He was a very talented actor. It is a very beautiful story, The Crow. It is a very tragic story with huge emotional themes. We plan to tell the story differently and with a lot of integrity to the original comic book.”

Bradley Cooper was originally eyed for the lead role but then backed out due to conflicting schedules.

Set to be directed by F. Javier Gutierrez, the film features a script by Cliff Dorfman. The comic series creator James O’Barr will also work as a creative consultant on the film, which is said to begin production in 2014.

No release date is currently set.

The Children of Disney’s Animated Characters Assemble for Descendants

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The Disney Channel is always looking for news ways to monetize their brand with as little effort as possible as evident by their upcoming new live-action telefilm, The Descendants. The project takes the descendants of popular animated and storybook characters for a look at the “next generation.”

The official description of the project is as follows:

In a present day idyllic kingdom, the benevolent teenaged son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Disney’s iconic Beauty and the Beast) is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making offspring of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, the Evil Queen and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters. These villainous descendants (Carlos, Mal, Evvie and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan. However, the evil teens face a dilemma. Should they follow in their nefarious parents’ footsteps and help all the villains regain power or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?

Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide, admits the easy project saying,

“We mined Disney’s treasure trove of stories and developed a new, comedic approach to the fabled characters everyone knows and loves. The result is a modern and unexpected re-interpretation of classic heritage characters utilizing contemporary, relatable settings and themes.”

The Descendants is written by “The Starter Wife” creators Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott with High School Musical’s Mark Hofeling tackling the production design and Karen Saun (“Project Runway”) providing the wardrobe design. Casting is now underway for  the project with production slated to begin next spring for a 2015 premiere on Disney Channel.

20th Century Fox Plans Murder on the Orient Express Adaptation

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Agatha Christie’s iconic mystery novel, “Murder on the Orient Express” has been picked up by 20th Century Fox for a new big screen adaptation. The novel was previously famously adapted for film by Sidney Lumet in 1974 with Albert Finney in the Poirot role.

“Murder on the Orient Express” was originally published in 1934 and is the tenth Christie story to follow her iconic French detective Hercule Poirot. On her official site, the book is described as follows:

A group of passengers trapped on the Orient Express in a snow storm with a murdered body and a Belgian detective to keep them company: Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s most famous stories. It’s an intricate mystery revolving around a group of characters cut off from the world and Poirot exhibits not only the power of his little grey cells but his concern and compassion for humanity.

A modernized take on the story was developed for television in 2001 with Alfred Molina playing the part. Most recently (in 2010), a second small screen version saw David Suchet reprising his ongoing performance as Poirot.

The project is moving forward with Simon Kinberg, Mark Gordon and Ridley Scott producing. No writer or director is currently attached and it is noted by the trade that Scott is looking to serve only as producer.

Rob Reiner to Direct Basket Case Adaptation for Spike TV

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Carl Hiaasen’s best selling novel, “Basket Case” is getting a small screen adaptation by way of an upcoming television series courtesy of Spike TV and FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) in association with Random House Television Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment. Rob Reiner is set to both direct and develop the script for the series.

The plot of “Basket Case” focuses on a great investigative reporter who has trouble dealing with authority, change, women, success, and most of all, corruption. The family-run newspaper he works for is sold to a giant, international conglomerate and after he savages the new and very powerful owner in a video on the paper’s website, he is demoted to the lowest position on the paper, the obituary desk. Obits, however, provide a new perspective into crime-ridden Miami and he soon learns that they are a unique window into suspicious deaths and weird goings on. Using an unusual team of friends, relatives, an ex-wife, newspaper misfits, and his beautiful new boss, he strives to regain his investigative credibility and a saner life.

Reiner commented,

“Corruption, murder, and laughs. I can’t think of a more satisfying combination. Carl Hiaasen strikes the perfect balance. I’m so looking forward to entering his twisted world.”

Peter Gethers (“The Cat Who Went To Paris,” “Old Jews Telling Jokes”) and Jeffrey Levine (“Too Big to Fail”) will serve as executive producers and Alex Taub (“Hart of Dixie,” “Drop Dead Diva”) will write the series. Thom Beers, Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk serve as executive producers for FremantleMedia North America. Reiner and Liz Glotzer are executive producers for Castle Rock Entertainment.

“We are thrilled to have sold our first scripted series to Spike,” said Gethers. “What makes it particularly gratifying is that, not only is the show based on the work of one of Alfred A. Knopf’s most beloved authors, we get to partner with Rob Reiner and Castle Rock. It’s a dream combination for us.”

Author, Hiaasen, added,

“It’s very cool to have Rob Reiner involved with ‘Basket Case.’ Among writers of satire, ‘Spinal Tap’ stands as a work of genius. I’m excited to see what Rob will do with my twisted little novel.”

Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg to Headline The End of the Tour

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According to a recent report from The Wrap, Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg have been added to headline the film,  The End of the Tour. Segel will star as the late David Foster Wallace with Eisenberg playing Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky. Lipsky is both the author and central character of the film’s source material, “Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace.”

The memoir was published about a year and a half after the author’s death. In the book, Lipsky puts together a travelogue composed of interviews he conducted with DFW in 1996 during the final week of the book tour for the novelist’s epic tome.

The project will reportedly be more of a biopic, making this one of Segel’s more dramatic roles to date. This will be in stark contrast to the only other film adaptation of  a DFW book to date: John Krasinski’s stylish approach to the 1999 short story anthology, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.

Jason Ponsoldt is directing the project. The screenplay was adapted for film by Donald Margulies. Production is said to begin in February or March of 2014 with Anonymous Content’s Matt DeRoss and David Kanter and Modern Man Films’ James Dahl producing.

Paramount Hires Director for “World War Z” Sequel

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Paramount Pictures and Skydance Pictures are moving forward with the sequel to “World War Z” and have recently hired Juan Antonio Bayona to direct the feature. Brad Pitt is expected to return to star and produce with David Ellison also producing for Skydance.

In the original, Pitt played a former United Nations employee who travels the world trying to stop a zombie plague. The film is very loosely based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks.

“World War Z” made $540 million at the worldwide box office despite the film’s production overshadowed in controversy and backwards movement that included a rewrite of the third act. As of October 18, 2013, World War Z has a 67% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.2/10 based on an aggregation of 241 reviews. The site summary states “It’s uneven and diverges from the source book, but World War Z still brings smart, fast-moving thrills and a solid performance from Brad Pitt to the zombie genre.” Metacritic, which uses a weighted mean, assigned a score of 63 out of 100, based on reviews from 46 film critics.

At the moment there are no writers are attached to the project. It is also not known what the exact plot of the sequel will follow.

NBC Greenlights Miniseries Rosemary’s Baby

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NBC has officially green lit the upcoming four-hour miniseries remake, “Rosemary’s Baby.” The series is an adaptation of the 1967 best-selling suspense novel by Ira Levin. “Rosemary’s Baby” centers on a young married couple who move into a Paris apartment that has a haunted past. After getting pregnant, the wife becomes increasingly suspicious that both her husband and their neighbors will have ulterior motives when her child is born. The novel was famous adapted into a feature film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Mia Farrow (who about half way through the movie gets a hideous haircut, sorry Mia.)

Quinn Taylor, Executive Vice President, Movies, Miniseries and International Co-Productions, NBC Entertainment, said,

“Ira Levin’s mesmerizing book was a groundbreaking reflection on how effective and influential a psychological thriller could be. We’re looking forward to adapting his incredible work and bringing those indelible characters to a new generation of viewers.”

Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment added,

“As we move into the event movie and miniseries space, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ represents the kind of attention-getting, surprising project that will make noise for us. The story has been updated and moved to Paris, but it’s faithful to the spirit of Ira Levin’s classic novel. This is a compelling tale wonderfully told.”

The project will be produced by Lionsgate Television, with Joshua Maurer, Alix Witlin and David Stern serving as executive producers. Scott Abbott (“Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,” “Winchell”) and James Wong (“American Horror Story”) will write the screenplay. Agnieszka Holland, who has been nominated for both an Oscar (“Europa, Europa”) and an Emmy Award (“Treme”), will direct.

Production on “Rosemary’s Baby” is set to begin in January on location in Paris. Casting will begin immediately.

Paramount Developing Jack Reacher Sequel Based on Lee Child’s Never Go Back

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Last year’s Jack Reacher film adaptation did decently in the box office despite many fans of the novel panning lead actor, Tom Cruise’s portrayal. Now it is confirmed that the film is getting a sequel based on author Lee Child’s most recent Jack Reacher novel “Never Go Back,” published this fall.

In “Never Go Back,” Reacher goes back to his old Virginia military base to have dinner with a female colleague who he learns has been arrested, and soon, Reacher finds himself being charged with crimes himself. Once again, he needs to learn the truth the way that only Jack Reacher knows how, which often means violence.

The film ended up grossing roughly $80 million domestic and another $138 million overseas, so it is no surprise that Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions are moving ahead with the sequel.

However, Christopher McQuarrie will not return to write the sequel though Paramount hopes he may return to direct. It is assumed that Cruise will reprise his role as the titular character once production on Mission impossible 5 (MI:5) concludes.

Fans of the novel series became vocal over the casting of Cruise due to actor’s stature not matching the description of Reacher in the novels most notably Cruise being rather short compared to the beast of a man that the Reacher character is described. Explaining the casting decision, author Lee Child said that it would be impossible to find a suitable actor to play the giant Reacher and to recreate the feel of the book onscreen, and that Cruise had the talent to make an effective Reacher. Child also said, “Reacher’s size in the books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force, which Cruise portrays in his own way.” Of Cruise’s relatively small stature, Child said, “With another actor you might get 100% of the height but only 90% of Reacher. With Tom, you’ll get 100% of Reacher with 90% of the height.”

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Telltale’s Game of Thrones Confirmed With Teaser Trailer

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A few weeks ago it was rumored that TellTale Games was working on a “Game of Thrones” video game similar to their extremely popular “The Walking Dead” series. At the time, the developer remained quiet about the rumors but at this weekend’s VGX Awards event, Telltale announced it had two new projects on the way one of which is an untitled GoT project.

TellTales Games went a step further and released a teaser trailer for their two new projects which you can see below.

Currently, it is still not known whether the game would be based on the HBO series or the source material, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin. The HBO series is based on the novels from “A Song of Ice and Fire” written by Martin. He began the first volume of the series, A Game of Thrones, in 1991. He published it in 1996. Martin gradually extended his originally intended trilogy to seven volumes, the fifth of which, A Dance with Dragons, took him five years to write before its publication in 2011. Martin’s work on his sixth, The Winds of Winter, is still underway.

I am pretty sure we can count on TellTale to give us something amazing.