Weinstein Co. Options Vampire Academy’s “Blood Sisters” For Feature Film

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Even though The Twilight Saga is finally finished, the vampire media trend is not quote ready to die. The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced that they have  acquired the U.S. distribution rights to “Blood Sisters.” The adaptation will be the first installment of feature film adaptations based on the “Vampire Academy” series of young adult books.

The feature film adaptation of of Blood Sisters is set to be directed by Mark Waters, who is most known for his work on Mean Girls and The Spiderwick Chronicles. Dan Waters will write the screenplay. The project is being produced by Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films, Michael Preger and Deepak Nayar of Kintop/Reliance. IM Global CEO Stuart Ford will executive produce.‪

It is based on the first book in the highly popular “Vampire Academy” series written by Richelle Mead. The book series has sold over 8 million copies in print across 35 countries. To date there are 6 books in the series, with the last 4 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

The official plot description for Blood Sisters is as follows:

Rose Hathaway develops a mental and spiritual bond with her BVFF (best vampire friend forever) Princess Lissa. The two girls attend a strict school for vampires designed to retain their humanity where it is Rose’s task to protect the Princess. Among the everyday issues faced by teenage vampires Rose falls for Dimitri, their dreamy guardian, and together the three battle the mysterious forces of the evil Moroi who are set on destroying the Princess’s bloodline.‬

“I am thrilled to be working on the first feature for ‘Vampire Academy.’ This series is fantastic and I am excited to bring it to the screen for diehard fans and introduce the stories to a whole new audience,” said TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein.

The projected release date is set for February 14, 2014.

Legendary Plans The Esperanza Fire Adaptation

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John Mclean’s nonfiction novel, “The Esperanza Fire” has been acquired by Legendary Pictures to be adapted into a feature film. The novel is the true story of Raymond Oyler, the man charged with a devastating act of arson that caused a wildfire near Cabazon, California, west of Palm Springs, California.

The wildfire burned over 61 square miles (160 km²). Five firefighters were killed defending a vacant house locally known as the “Octagon” that was ultimately destroyed by the fire: Jason McKay, Jess McLean, Daniel Najera, Mark Loutzenhiser, and Pablo Cerda. In June 2009, Raymond Lee Oyler was sentenced to death for starting the fire.

The official plot description is as follows:

With a keen eye and ear for detail and raw emotion, Maclean dissects the tragic circumstances surrounding the deaths of five firefighters in 2006 after a wind-driven fire burned over their position on a ridge amidst a sea of chaparral and a few trees. Whether or not you’ve ever been on the front line of a wildfire, this book is a gut-wrenching, compelling narrative. It reads like a taut murder mystery, a whodunit novel you can’t put down, with a cast of fascinating characters that includes shady suspects, a dogged detective, DNA evidence, a divided jury, and the victims’ grieving family, friends, and colleagues.

The fire, started by an arsonist on October 26, 2006, burned about 42,000 acres and destroyed 34 houses. The arsonist was caught, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Maclean, a seasoned journalist with storytelling in his blood, spent six years piecing together the story of the crime. As for the deaths, he also answers the question, “Why?” as well it can be answered — Why did the crew of Engine 57 hold its position on that hilltop, with a fire driven by Santa Ana winds below them? And was anyone, other than Raymond Lee Oyler, the arsonist, ultimately responsible for the deaths?

Alex Hedlund is attached to oversee development on the film version. There is no word on who will be directing or starring in the project.

Jason Statham Is The Only Good Thing About Parker (And Maybe Daniel Bernhardt) – Review

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Directed by: Taylor Hackford

Adapted from: Flashfire by Donald E. Westlake

Why are you interested in this adaptation?

Elena-

Jason Statham.

Also because my choices were this or John Dies at the End, which I really want to read as a book first. And also because JDATE looks like it might be, you know, GOOD, and it’s been since Twilight Part Lee Pace Is Awesome that we had something to mock. So, you know, entirely too long.

And…Jason Statham.

Rachel-

So let me take you back to teenage me. She was a plucky sort. She spent long hours riding around in her friends’ cars (because she didn’t have her own) listening to movie soundtracks and eating Cheetoh’s and cookie dough while watching said movies. One of her favorite movies was Snatch. Which she could recite line by line. Much of that love was for the character Turkish. Which (1) led to eager consumption of all Guy Ritichie films and (2) also led Teen Rachel and her friends to watch every single Jason Statham movie that was ever released ever. (Transporter FOREVER!)  Also (3) to scour the internet for pictures from Statham’s Olympic diving days. (srsly)

Elena-

Wait.  He was making movies when we were in high school? HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?

Rachel-

Lockstock was 1998 and Snatch was 2000 and Transporter was 2002. (Waits while readers attempt to figure out how old I am.)

Elena-

Oh, that’s right. High school was before I started going to movies all the time. My Great Awakening with film came in college.  This makes more sense now.  Sorry for derailing.  Ahem.  Go on.

Rachel-

So yea. Because Jason Statham. Also because in the trailer he wears a giant cowboy hat and attempts a terrible southern accent, and that’s just something I have to see. Also punching people economically, strategically, and brilliantly. Also also hopefully shirtless and covered in grease or something. (TRANSPORTER FOREVER AND EVER!)

What will make it suck?

Rachel-

Probably JLo. I KNOW. But from what I can tell from the trailer, she’s going to be the hard-working damsel in distress type, and that’s BORING from a plot perspective. I don’t care if JStath saves anyone. I JUST WANT HIM TO PUNCH PEOPLE. JLo should play a villain. I think she’d be tremendous as a villain.

Elena-

If it isn’t funny.

What will make it awesome?

Elena-

If it’s as funny and awesome-death-ful as the live-action Looney Tune Shoot Em Up.

Rachel-

Other than Statham in a cowboy hat, for which I am already eternally grateful, this movie will be awesome if it has lots of slick suit-wearing, and terse dialogue, and the punching of people, and maybe some high-speed precision driving. As close as this movie can get to the Transporter. That would make it awesome.

Additional thoughts on casting or production?

Elena-

No. I know nothing about this film except it’s got Jason Statham being Jason Statham-y. I feel like I got the impression of inept hitman, but honestly? I didn’t really pay attention to the trailer. I am zombie-consumering my way into this one. So, no, I have no additional thoughts.

Rachel-
So this is an adaptation of yet another of author Donald Westlake’s novels (others include Point Blank and Payback which were adaptations of The Hunter), titled Flashfire. Standard crimey/thriller/vengeance fare that your dad probably reads on the toilet. Fine. At least it’s not another Expendables movie. Michael Chiklis is in it, and he’s not a bad actor. JLo seems like some stunt casting to get ladies interested in seeing this film with their husbands instead of the latest romcom. Statham is always a solid choice when it comes to anti-hero crime films. He does it well. He’s been typecast, I’d love to see him try something different. But no one can hit a man with more gymnastic thrust than Jason Statham.

Reaction to Film?

Rachel-

Oh, wow, where to start. The opening was hilarious. Did you come to watch a film with slick moves and jet -setting locations? You’re in the wrong place. Welcome to the great caper at the Ohio State Fair! Statham in a salt and pepper wig with the 60s glasses…what? If I had to identify a cult leader or a serial killer at the Ohio Fair, I would have picked him. The introduction of the anti-hero by creepiness! Hopefully not a new trend! Or maybe he was creepysexy? Especially when he snake-charmed that panicking guard. It almost got kind of sexy? No? Maybe I was already writing the fic in my theater seat. YOLO.

And I didn’t even know it was Chiklis in that clown makeup until he wiped it off in one swipe with that dry towel in their getaway vehicle. Then I noticed poor Statham, returned to his muscle tshirt and buzzed head, smashed up against the passenger door and that is actually a sight  I’ve never seen because THAT DUDE SHOULD BE DRIVING IS WHAT I AM SAYING. *shifts into Party Mode*

Then the movie got all boring because a bunch of creeps beat up Statham and he does not look as good laying halfway in a bog waiting for hill folk as he does when he’s driving nice cars and punching assholes IN THE FACE! Although, I am still very worried about that old man at the hospital. He needed to get to his radiation treatment! So after probably killing a poor old man by making him miss his radiation treatment, Statham attempts to drive cross-country via GTA-style auto thievery. Only he steals a bunch of minivans, and that isn’t fun to watch for 45 minutes. But I did. I watched it for 45 soul-killing minutes.

Fortunately after all the minivan driving you get to the best part of this flick. Statham in a cowboy hat and linen suit driving a nice car around Florida. There’s even a zoom shot of his sweaty ass crack? And he has an absolutely horrible, uterus-shriveling approx of a Texan accent (it’s … not.). And JLo should get an Oscar for successfully pretending to believe his bullshit accent for five minutes.

I’m not selling this at all. HE’S IN A LINEN SUIT AND A TEN GALLON HAT, YOU GUYS. IT’S HILARIOUS. BECAUSE HE’S TERRIBLE.

After what seemed an eternity of fake Texan-touring of mansions with Realtor JLo (during which she figures out everything about the plan because she reads the gossip column in the paper. Whatever.) there’s a toilet fight. A. TOILET. FIGHT. And some assassin guy stabs Statham’s hand, and there are far too many close-ups of the stabbed hand and the skin splitting and all manner of horrors and really this is something Iwould expect from The Following (<3) and not a Statham punch-em-up movie. After the knife and the hanging of a hotel building there’s the lying bloody on JLo’s back porch (where she lives with her mother), and her mom is totally OK with a bloody dude on the back porch and compliments his manhood while offering him soup.

I’m not even going to talk about the jewel heist climax of Parker (it wasn’t the Toilet Fight?), but I have never been more bored about a jewel heist. Seriously, watching Statham gummy guns to the undersides of tables was more interesting than the jewel heist.
Back to Statham eating chicken soup in JLo’s Mom’s kitchen. It was an interesting scene because it encompassed a lot of what worked for the film. The well-behaved bull in the china shop. Blood and gore covered killer eating chicken soup in an immaculate kitchen while being stitched up by his (kind of useless from a plot perspective, but I’m sure she’s a character in all the novels so that’s why they kept her) girlfriend. The dog likes him. Mom likes him (“he’s a real man!), and JLo can’t have him, so why all this sexual tension, it’s weiiiird that he lets her make such a fool of herself! COME ON, PARKER. You have rules!

But it’s also why this movie was so mediocre. Lame jokes, unsatisfying conflicts, a female lead we aren’t rooting for (in fact, I’m worried that her potential b/f copdudebro will get all suspicious about all that cash and get Parker in trouble!), and not so impressive capers are all a snooooooze. Statham carries the genre well, and when he’s allowed to do what he does so well (be terse; hit dudes in the face) then the movie approaches Sunday afternoon Netflix fare. Perhaps if I were a fan of the existing novels it would have been so much more satisfying than an enduring image of Statham in a Cowboy hat. (Though, I will take a gif of the ass sweat shot. I’m not picky.)

Elena-

So…I forgot something at home, and I have to drive back for it.

(Reverses hard.)

Right. Let me tell you a little story about High School Elena.  She was still feeling her way out of the cave she grew up in, the cave of No Pop Culture After 1975 that her parents decided was where they wanted to live for the rest of their lives. And it took her many years to come fully into the sunlight.  She was very pale.  She couldn’t stay out in the bright light of modern culture all day without burning for many years.  Not until college.  So high school was a very delicate time for our intrepid heroine.  She was learning many things. Rom-coms, teenage movies, funny movies—anything anyone could teach her. She learned about MST3K.  One fateful night she watched the MST3K rip on Future War.  It was the best terrible movie of all time, and even in her ignorance of the broader genre of Great Terrible Movies she could recognize that.  It…also contained a very studly kick-boxer who had an amazing round-house kick to the face, the tightest ass she had ever seen on a man, and gems of dialogue like “I am a tool.”  So she sought out via the mystic interwebs a list of all the movies this man had ever made.  They were few in number and low in quality, but she watched them all.  This man had a name, a name you have never heard.  That name, my friends, is Daniel Bernhardt.

Flash forward a good…thirteen years.  Moff Elena is sitting in a theatre, amused and somewhat detached by the spectacle unfolding before her, when who should appear but the greatest tool of all time.  Yes, my friends, that assassin?  The crime-boss’s best man, the real professional, the one he sent to make sure his yokel jewel heisters didn’t fuck anything up again when it came to making people dead?  That was none other than DANIEL BERNHARDT OMFG THAT’S DANIEL! IT’S DANIEL, RACHEL!  DANIEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I…don’t remember the next five minutes of the film.  Really I don’t think I remember much of anything about any scene he was in except that Daniel randomly showed up in a movie I had noooooo idea he was going to be in (he stopped making movies regularly a long time ago, alas), and I spent every second he was on screen blushing and tittering like a school girl.  Probably what Rachel did when Statham’s sweaty crack came on screen (I don’t know; I wasn’t there with her. Alas.)

Um, so, yeah, this movie was amazing. It was totally great! Everyone should see it!  See it and learn the glory that is Danieeeel—

Oh, wait, what’s that?  He wasn’t actually all that awesome in the fight scenes?  Because they were lame fight scenes that were built on smashing heads into toilets instead of roundhouse kicks to the face?  DANIEL WAS CRIMINALLY UNDERUSED! I’m sure it was in Statham’s contract that no villain gets to use a move he can’t do better, and since no one—not even you, Statham—can equal Daniel’s roundhouse I guess that’s why we didn’t get to see it.  Hmph.  Ass.

Anyway, I think we’ve about sped back up to where we should be by now in the reviewing process so let’s get to what I thought about this movie.

It…wasn’t awful?

In the typical scheme of my reviews, that reaction means THIS MOVIE FAILED!  It wasn’t awesome.  It also wasn’t awesome to make fun of.  Humph.  I feel sorely ill-used by this caper.

Rachel called it, this really wasn’t a very exciting heist.  In fact not much of anything about this movie was very exciting.  I will admit, during the prologue at the Ohio State Fair I had a huge grin. That shit was hilar.  State Fair! Best place to make a score of all time, wut.

And then we got into the serious part about they try and kill him, and do a piss-poor job of it, he has to get revenge. And his money. Bam!

Can we talk about the women?  I love Statham’s girlfriend. I am so glad she was there, even if she had no purpose to the plot except to fulfill JLo’s contractual demand of not doing a sex scene (or maybe that was Statham’s!).  But she was a brilliant contrast to JLo’s character.  See, The Girlfriend knew what was up.  She knew how to tell when her house had been infiltrated by a mob boss’s best tool (yessssss! I love you, Daniel!) and how to get herself out alive, keep him from following, and then get the hell out of the way.  She was not going to wind up getting held hostage or get herself killed; she was not a “too stupid to live” crime-girlfriend.  She was the real deal.  So put her in direct contrast to dumbass JLo running around like this wasn’t really happening, like it was a sorority prank or something, and nearly getting everybody killed.  I did appreciate that, once in the hostage situation, she kept her shit together, found the gun, had no compunctions about emptying the chamber and was actually a good shot.  So she wasn’t irredeemable…but she was kind of annoying.  I would not be stupid enough to go to the house.  I’d write it off as a lost cause and then be happily surprised a year later, you know?  So I couldn’t really relate to her.  But I could totally relate to world’s best enabler Girlfriend—“I can’t control him” pretty much sums up how I deal with relationships in real life, friends or SO.  Therefore, pointless or not, I nonetheless appreciated the girlfriend!

And I sort of wondered, at the end…what is JLo going to do with the money?  She can’t use it, except to buy coffee every morning (which, I don’t know, maybe Starbucks’ every day for a lifetime would add up to a decent chunk of that bounty).  Especially not if she got romantically involved with the cop who seemed to think she was still Jenny from the Block.

So, um, yeah, Parker was…well, Parker…was.  Yes.  This movie was.  It happened. I watched it. It wasn’t terrible.  It was an entertaining enough way to spend 118 minutes.  But really I’d have spent that time better either watching Dredd again (which is actually TOTALLY fucking awesome on a re-watch, if we didn’t convince you to see it the first time, let me convince you now) or watching Lee Pace kick ass all over Twilight Part Killmenow again, so in the end I have to downgrade this viewing experience to a waste of my time.  I could have just waited for the .gif of Statham’s sweat-drenched linen-covered bum.

Except then I’d have missed Daniel, and what a shame that would have been. So, upgraded again to “worth it for Daniel and Statham’s bountiful manly good looks”?  Yes. I think that’s where I’m going to leave it.

Need For Speed Adaptation Adds Michael Keaton

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The popular racing game is now getting its own full length movie and DreamWorks has announced that Michael Keaton will be joining the project. The film adaptation has already cast Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper, Ramon Rodriguez, Rami Malek, Harrison Gilbertson and Scott ‘Kid Cudi’ Mescudi. Continue reading →

Under The Dome, Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, Showtime

Roundup of the Super Bowl Spots For This Year’s Upcoming Adaptations

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The Super Bowl each year is a huge event in the world of sports as well as the world of advertising. This year’s Super Bowl ad spots showed some new teaser trailers for several highly anticipated big and small screen adaptations that are set to hit theaters and televisions throughout the year. We have rounded them up for you below.

Under The Dome

An upcoming CBS television series based on the novel of the same name by famed writer Stephen King. The first episode was helmed by Niels Arden Oplev, most known for his work on the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The story tells of a small town in Maine which is cut off from the rest of the world by an invisible dome. With air, food and patience dwindling, societal norms within this town begin to break down.

“Under the Dome” will debut on CBS June 24 at 10/9c.

Oz The Great And Powerful

The Walt Disney Pictures psuedo-adaptation of the classic novel by L. Frank Baum is set to his theaters in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D theaters on March 8.

Based on the characters and world created in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the film follows  Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, as he is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot–fame and fortune are his for the taking–that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity–and even a bit of wizardry–Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

The Walking Dead

Time Warner released three new television spots during the Super Bowl for the upcoming second half of season 3. One of the teasers included a cameo from Norman Reedus who plays fan favorite character Daryl. The last two videos are different versions of the same commercial.

“This campaign uniquely and cleverly captures the spirit of ‘The Walking Dead’ as well as featuring one of the series’ most iconic characters, Daryl Dixon,” said Charlie Collier, President and General Manager of AMC. “We are thrilled to be working with Time Warner Cable to bring fans of ‘The Walking Dead,’ one of television’s most passionate and engaged audiences, even better ways to experience and re-experience the zombie apocalypse.”

World War Z

This (not even close) adaptation of the Max Brooks zombie novel features Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox and David Morse. The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.

Iron Man 3

The next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios debuted a 30-second Super Bowl spot for Iron Man 3.

Hitting 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters on May 3, the Shane Black-directed sequel stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley and Wang Xuequi.

Tony Stark is back and when he finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

The X-Files To Get New Life In Comics

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Fans always hoped that the world of “X-Files” would continue on somehow after the television series ended and the 2008 film was released. Bringing joy to many, IDW Publishing has announced that it will partner with Twentieth Century FOX Consumer Products to create a brand-new series of comics that will resume where the 2008 movie “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” left off.

Chris Ryall, IDW’s chief creative officer and editor in chief, commented of the recent announcement saying,

“Few shows have captured the zeitgeist and fans’ imaginations like ‘The X-Files,’ and fewer shows still have left people hungry for more in the way this one did. Our new series will be picking up where the second film left off, which will hopefully be as exciting for fans to read as it is for us to develop.”

“The X-Files” series aired for nine seasons on Fox between 1993 and 2002, and spawned two films. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson starred as two FBI agents investigating a wide variety of paranormal mysteries, while searching for the truth behind government conspiracies to cover up an extraterrestrial plot to colonize the planet.

IDW will be releasing the “X-Files” comic books as well as reprint classic issues that were published between 1995 and 2009. Wildstorm was the last company to hold the license for the beloved property before folding in 2010.

The publishing company is also the one behind much loved comic book series such as “30 Days of Night,” “Doctor Who” and “Star Trek.”

Bryan Singer Talks X-Men: Days of Future Past

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Bryan Singer, the director of the upcoming film X-Men: Days of Future Past, recently discussed the new project and why it is his most ambitious one yet. One of the reasons it is so highly anticipated is that both casts of from the original X-Men films and the most recent X-Men: First Class will appear. Singer talked about X-Men: Days of Future Past in an interview with Empire.

When speaking about the sheer magnitude of the film and those involved, Singer mentioned how it was to work with both casts of the previous films as well as the ideas of time travel!

It’s epic. I don’t think people realize how big this movie’s going to be. We get to bring both casts together. We’ve cracked it in a way that it makes sense. I had a two-hour conversation with James Cameron about time travel, string theory, multiverses and all that. You have to create your rules and stick with them. That’s why Terminator and Back To The Future work so well. And there are certain mechanisms in X-Men, certain powers, perceptions and characters, that make this possible.”

In prospect of the combination cast, Singer addressed fans concerns that film will not adhere to the original source material.

It has a lot of aspects of the comic. The actual comic of Days Of Future Past had a whole ton of stuff going on, so it’s like any of these things; you have to distill it. But I think the fans will be pleased that some of the most exciting parts of Days Of Future Past are going to be connected to this movie.”

One of the major worries about X-Men: Days of Future Past has to do with continuity. Fans wonder whether the film will acknowledge the events of the previous films due to continuity issues, but Singer assures that every film in the series will be taken into account as canon.

“I’m taking into account every movie – I’m not just grabbing my first two movies and First Class and smashing them together. I’m taking into account the entire universe as it’s been laid out so far on the screen, and really respecting it and trying to work with that. People took things in various directions, so there’s some clean-up. But ultimately I’m not just ignoring them either.”

X-Men: Days of Future Past will hit theaters on July 18, 2014. Confirmed cast members for the film include Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore and Hugh Jackman.

Cobie Smulders on Her Future in the Marvel Universe

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Questions are abound regarding the upcoming potential series, “Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.” especially in regards to casting. However, actress Cobie Smulders revealed she may be joining the highly anticipated series. Smulders, who played Agent Maria Hill in Marvel’s The Avengers is currently set to reprise the role in  the soon-to-shoot Captain America: The Winter Soldier though she recently told IAmRogue that she’s in talks to join the cast of the upcoming television project should the pilot go to series.

There was initial worries that Smulders commitments to the hit series, “How I Met Your Mother” would cause her to be unavailable for another series. She says that is frankly not the case.

The commitments to [‘How I Met Your Mother’] don’t affect it,”Smulders told the site. “and I can’t really say but there are definite talks about it… I will do Maria Hill until they fire me and hire someone else to do it.”

“Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.” has already revealed that Clark Gregg has signed on to return as Agent Coulson though the details of how and why his character will return has not been released. The series pilot is about to begin production and so far only has orders for the one episode. However, as highly as the show is anticipated by fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it shouldn’t have any issue signing a full season order.

Oliver Twist To Become “Olivia Twisted” Through CBS Films

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Let’s forgo the obvious pun and just say that CBS Films has decided to take a different approach when deciding to adapt the classic novel “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens. The company has officially optioned Michael Roberts’ screenplay entitled, Olivia Twisted.

Roberts used the classic novel to create a hyper-real, gothic city type tale with its primary focus being a young woman named Olivia. However, she isn’t an ordinary woman. Olivia is part of a highly trained gang of street kids ranging in age from 6 to 19 who work for a criminal named Fagin. When the gang takes on a kidnapping job, it lands in the middle of a turf war between the city’s two major kingpins.

One of the draws of this particular adaptation is the fact that it plans to focus on the beautifully choreographed action scenes and setting as seen from the eyes of the former stuntman. The project is the debut script for Roberts, who broke into the business as a stuntman for TV shows including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Alias” before an injury prompted a career change.

Michael De Luca and Michael De Luca Productions’ Alissa Phillips are attached to produce.

There is no word on a projected date for production or who they want to star in this gritty re-imagining.

New TV Series To Be Made From Novel Based On Real-Life Dramas of Two Police Administrators

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Police procedural dramas always do well on television as they play on viewers neurosis as well as make them feel apart of the crime solving. It is no surprise that Undergo Entertainment, a production company in Los Angeles, California, has attained the film rights and is currently working on the development of a television series based on the lives of Chris DiGiuseppi and Mike Force.

Chris DiGiuseppi and Mike Force are full-time Police Administrators who have successfully published their second book. The Fallen (HCI Books) is the second installment in The Light Bringer trilogy featuring the fantastic adventures of lead protagonist, Police Lieutenant Alan Crane. What most people don’t realize is when Crane is on duty, who he “protects and serves” reaches far beyond the world of the living.

In The Fallen, ex-military man Alan Crane and his supernatural companion Michael Simmons fulfill their duty helping people pass over to the other side. Crane delves even deeper into the mystery of death when good and evil collide once again and he and Michael discover that the darkness is now entering the world of the living. This story takes readers on a quest that leads our heroes to seek the true motives of ‘The Fallen.”

The new series will be based on the entire trilogy written by the Chief of Police and the Deputy Chief of Police of Lake St Louis, Missouri, The Light Bringer trilogy is based on real-life incidents that confront these two heroes on a daily basis. They have tried to find meaning in the tragedies they encounter through writing these books.

This full-length novel should be available in all book stores and online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, both in hardcopy and e-book (Kindle and Nook), on February 5, 2013. You can also watch the book trailer below: