To the right is a conceptual map of Universal Orlando Resort’s ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ which is set to open spring 2010 courtesy of Wired.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has acquired most international distribution rights for Robert Rodriguez’s Machete.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting a story about the upcoming thriller Paranormal Activity, which apparently scared Steven Spielberg to the point he no longer wanted the film near his home. John Horn’s report goes as follows:
It was early 2008, and the director’s DreamWorks studio was trying to decide whether it wanted to be a part of the micro-budgeted supernatural thriller. As the story goes, Spielberg had taken a “Paranormal Activity” DVD to his Pacific Palisades estate, and not long after he watched it, the door to his empty bedroom inexplicably locked from the inside, forcing him to summon a locksmith.
While Spielberg didn’t want the “Paranormal Activity” disc anywhere near his home — he brought the movie back to DreamWorks in a garbage bag, colleagues say — he very much shared his studio’s enthusiasm for director Oren Peli’s haunting story about the demonic invasion of a couple’s suburban tract house.
Horn goes deep into the Paranormal Activity‘s history, get the rest here.
RUMOR: A report at Ireland Online has a source saying Sean Connery may return for Indiana Jones 5. The quote says, “Steven Spielberg has been working on a script with George Lucas and there is an element of the story that could see Sean returning.”
CASTING: Christopher Plummer, Brad Dourif and Madchen Amick have joined the cast of Scott Stewart’s Priest.
CASTING: BlackFilm.com has learned Ali Larter will be returning as Claire Redfield in Resident Evil: Afterlife and “Prison Break’s” Wentworth Miller is also on board.
CASTING: Also, John Malkovich, Scott Glenn and Diane Lane is set to star in Secretariat, the Randall Wallace-directed drama for Disney.
Next, a story at io9 carries a quote from Dennis Quaid saying if Paramount decides to move forward with another G.I. Joe movie he’s in. “Yeah, if they do one, I’m there,” he said and we all love him for it. I just wonder if he said it with a scowl.
SplashNews has the first look at the new van from The A-Team, which you can see above and get the rest of the images right here.
SpoilerTV has the first looks at Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith on the Karate Kid remake The Kung-Fu Kid which is teased above and you can get the rest right here. But wait! Is it The Kung-Fu Kid or is it The Karate Kid? Yup, the official site has launched and it is back to being The Karate Kid, which hits theaters on June 11, 2010.
Some X-Men related news has popped up related to 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: First Class and beyond as Tim Pocock, who played the young Scott Summers/Cyclops in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, posted the following message on Twitter: “Currently shooting Australian TV series till February 2010…then X-men first class.”
Meanwhile, SlashFilm spoke with franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner about the films she would like to see beyond X-Men: First Class and she said:
As well as the eventual New Class, then – whenever that might be – Shuler Donner revealed that she has been cooking up plans for several other mutant films. The two she named? An X4, reuniting the X-Men and a big screen outing for The New Mutants. X4, she said, had yet to be pitched to the studio, however.
POSTERS: There are a bunch of new posters online, just click on any of the following titles to check them out. The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Princess and the Frog, The Tooth Fairy, The Descent: Part 2 and Precious.
A press release was sent out letting us all know fans worldwide will celebrate the global launch of Michael Jackson’s This is It when Sony hosts over 25 global premieres, with more than 15 of those coordinated simultaneously around the world, on Tuesday, October 27th. The film’s world gala will be in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre L.A. live on Tuesday, October 27. That event, which begins at 6pm PDT, kicks off a series of more than 25 premieres around the globe. More than 15 cities, including New York, Rio De Janeiro, London, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Seoul will host events simultaneously, with red carpet arrivals and activities from the Los Angeles event broadcast by satellite to those cities. Other cities, including Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney, Paris, and many others will host their own, non-simultaneous premiere activities.
Three hours after the worldwide celebration of the motion picture, the first public screenings of the film will begin. For example, the first audiences in Los Angeles will see the film at 9pm; in New York, audiences will have the opportunity to see the film at midnight; and in London, the advance screenings will be at 4am UK time. Tickets go on sale Sunday, September 27.
Another press release arrived saying XYZ Films & Time Inc. Studios have partnered with Protozoa Pictures to produce a gritty heist thriller based on the daring robbery of the Securitas Depot in Tonbridge, a £53 Million Sterling score thought to be masterminded by former mixed martial arts fighter and UFC star ‘Lighting’ Lee Murray. Belfast-born writer Kerry Williamson is adapting the script, which Darren Aronofsky is eyeing as a directing vehicle, from an underlying rights package that includes the “Sports Illustrated” magazine article “Breaking the Bank” by Jon Wertheim, and the non-fiction book “Heist: The Inside Story of the World’s Biggest Robbery” by Howard Sounes.
I know there are a lot of people anticipating Where the Wild Things Are, but how many of you are looking forward to the game? Check out the trailer below and see if you are going to go completely batshit crazy for this movie.
