**Woody Allen to Shoot Next Film in Rome **Shane Black Talks IRON MAN 3; Confirms He’ll Write the Script **Tom Cruise Confirmed to Star in Guillermo del Toro’s AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS; Filming Begins in June [UPDATED] **Marvel Planning to Adapt THE INHUMANS **Sony Pictures Pays Big Bucks for PAN Starring Channing Tatum

Shane Black Talks IRON MAN 3; Confirms He’ll Write the Script
by Matt Goldberg Posted: March 7th, 2011
Last month we learned that Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) had been hired to direct Iron Man 3. However, Marvel “hadn’t figured out” if Black would also write the script. Now it looks like they’ve solved that problem and come to the correct answer: Black will direct and write Iron Man 3. Black, whose previous screenplays include Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout, confirmed he would write Iron Man 3’s screenplay to an audience at the Omaha Film Festival. He also revealed other interesting aspects about the film, which you can find out after the jump.

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http://collider.com/iron-man-3-shane-black-2/79293/



Woody Allen to Shoot Next Film in Rome
by Matt Goldberg Posted: March 7th, 2011
Woody Allen is continuing his European tour by shooting his next film in Rome. Allen tells Variety, “I love these sophisticated and civilized metropolises. Each time it’s been like writing a love letter to these places and projecting my feelings for them on the screen. I hope to be able to do the same with Rome.” The untitled film is currently in the script stage, but Allen plans to shoot this summer.

While Allen will always be celebrated for how he captured New York City, in the last decade he has taken his films to England (Match Point, Scoop, Cassandra’s Dream, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Spain (Vicky Christina Barcelona), and Paris (the upcoming Midnight in Paris). Most of Allen’s movies do well in Europe and several of his movies have premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Midnight in Paris, which stars Rachel McAdams, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Marion Cotillard and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, will open the Cannes Film Festival in May.

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http://collider.com/woody-allen-rome/79318/




Tom Cruise Confirmed to Star in Guillermo del Toro’s AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS; Filming Begins in June [UPDATED]
by Matt Goldberg Posted: March 7th, 2011
In September of last year, we reported that Guillermo del Toro wanted Tom Cruise to star in At the Mountains of Madness. The film—which is based on the horror novella by H.P. Lovecraft and recounts a scientific expedition that uncovers ancient horrors dwelling in the mountains of Antarctica—has long been a passion project of del Toro’s and it looked like he was finally going to get it off the ground as a 3D film and with James Cameron attached as a producer. Cruise had been circling the role as recently as last month and it looks like he’s finally on board. Producer Don Murphy tells io9 that not only is Cruise attached to star, but filming is scheduled to begin in June.

Murphy also added that “the script is very close to the H.P. Lovecraft source material,” which I find puzzling. Hit the jump for my thoughts on Cruise signing on and the difficulty in adapting Lovecraft’s story. [Update: The Playlist just tweeted that reps for Cruise say he's not yet confirmed for the film; Update 2: Hitfix has learned that Murphy was quoted indirectly. The producer directly tells Hitfix, "no start date has been set AT ALL."]

Update 3: Steve here. I’ve been told that Universal killed the project on Friday and del Toro is going to take on Pacific Rim. Read our story here.



............. http://collider.com/at-the-mountains-of-madness-tom-cruise/79321/


Marvel Planning to Adapt THE INHUMANS
by Matt Goldberg Posted: March 7th, 2011
Marvel has The Avengers set for next year, but there’s no rule that a studio can only have one team of superheroes. Since Marvel doesn’t own the screen rights to X-Men (they belong to Fox), the studio is reportedly considering an adaptation of The Inhumans. “The Inhumans” were created by alien experiments on primitive homo-sapiens. The alien race behind the experiments, the Kree, abandoned their work and the Inhuman went on to form a society of their own, which is led by the king Black Bolt and his family Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, Crystal, Maximus the Mad, and the canine Lockjaw. Devin at Badass Digest does a good job of selling the property as “Rome meets Star Wars meets The X-Men.” Here’s the logline he found on the film over at It’s on the Grid:

Aliens who were put on Earth as sleeper cell aliens to eventually call back their race to take over the planet. Ultimately, the group of aliens fully assimilates and don’t want to cause war.

The project is currently out to writers and I’m curious to see how this will play out. It would be neat to see a kind of reverse-engineered Avengers where Inhumans is the starting point and then Marvel simultaneously goes into production on movies for each character.
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http://collider.com/the-inhumans-movie-marvel/79327/


Sony Pictures Pays Big Bucks for PAN Starring Channing Tatum
by Matt Goldberg Posted: March 7th, 2011
Every piece of classic literature is getting a reboot these days and it was foolish to think Peter Pan would buck the trend. Last week, a pitch went out for a package called “Peter Pan Begins” with Channing Tatum attached to star, screenwriter Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) writing the script, and Joe Roth (Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland) producing. Because audiences must know Peter Pan’s origin story, the pitch ignited a bidding war and Heat Vision reports that Sony Pictures came out on top to the tune of about $1 million.

We still don’t know much about the pitch, which is now titled “Pan” (so there goes the title for my Spanish-language drama about satyrs who bake bread), but HV says that the prequel envisions Peter Pan and Captain Hook as brothers. Let me guess: Hook is jealous that Peter got to stay a kid. Wonderful.
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http://collider.com/peter-pan-prequel-sony/79351/

**Bryce Dallas Howard Prepping Directorial Debut with THE ORIGINALS **Jose Padilha in Talks to Direct ROBOCOP Remake **Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures Picks up Untitled Spike Jonze-Charlie Kaufman Project **First Set Photos from THE IDES OF MARCH Starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling **PETER PAN BEGINS Pitch Makes its Way Around Town with Channing Tatum Set to Star

Bryce Dallas Howard Prepping Directorial Debut with THE ORIGINALS
by Bill Graham Posted: March 1st, 2011
Following in the footsteps of your dad is not such a bad idea when your father is Ron Howard. Bryce Dallas Howard, who burst onto the scene in M. Night Shyamalan’s ultra polarizing The Village, will be stepping behind the camera soon for her first feature. Showbiz411 caught up with the actress during the busy Oscar weekend and got the first details of the film. Titled The Originals, Bryce will be looking to cast stars her own age and described it as, “a Breakfast Club for my generation.” Hit the jump for whom she has in mind to star and more details on the film.

http://collider.com/bryce-dallas-howard-the-originals/78627/


Jose Padilha in Talks to Direct ROBOCOP Remake
by Matt Goldberg Posted: March 1st, 2011
Last month, we reported that the newly-restructured MGM was planning to remake Paul Verhoeven’s classic 1987 action film Robocop. For those unfamiliar with Verhoeven’s flick, the story centered on a deceased cop (played by Peter Weller) who is rebuilt into a crime-fighting cyborg. While there was plenty of memorable action, Robocop also included some biting and clever social satire. Darren Aronofsky came on board to direct a remake in 2008, but then MGM fell into bankruptcy and Aronofsky left the project.
Deadline reports that MGM’s new run at a remake may put Jose Padilha (Elite Squad) into the director’s chair. Padilha, you may recall, was one of the directors under consideration to helm Gangster Squad at Warner Bros. In addition to Elite Squad and its sequel, Padilha has done documentary work including the award-winning Bus 174. He recently served on the World Documentary Jury at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. According to Deadline, once Padilha is aboard, MGM will hire a writer to work under his supervision.
http://collider.com/robocop-remake-jose-padilha/78635/




Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures Picks up Untitled Spike Jonze-Charlie Kaufman Project
by Matt Goldberg Posted: March 1st, 2011
Producer Megan Ellison has recently been proving herself to be the patron saint of film nerds. In addition to backing Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Inherent Vice and his untitled Scientology movie, as well as a movie about WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange, it now looks like Ellison and her Annapurna Pictures are acquiring an untitled satire that would re-team director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.
We reported back in December that the Being John Malkovich and Adaptation duo were pitching a new film, so presumably this is it. Deadline reports that the untitled satire is “about how world leaders gather to figure out all the seismic events that will take place in the worlds, from oil prices to wars that will be waged.” I have a feeling that the project will be a tough sell, but I’m glad that Ellison is clearly up to the challenge.
http://collider.com/spike-jonze-charlie-kaufman-movie-megan-ellison/78641/



First Set Photos from THE IDES OF MARCH Starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling
by Adam Chitwood Posted: March 1st, 2011 at 3:34 pm

Filming is currently underway on George Clooney’s The Ides of March and the first set photos have surfaced. Clooney directs and stars in the political drama based on the play Farragut North, which centers on the backdoor politics of a presidential primary campaign. Clooney stars alongside an all-star cast which includes Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright and The Social Network’s Max Minghella.
Sony recently acquired the rights to the film and is planning an award-season limited run this December to be followed by a wide release in January 2012. Hit the jump to check out the set photos of Clooney, Gosling and Minghella filming on Oxford’s campus.
Here’s the set photos courtesy of The Oxford Press (via ComingSoon):

http://collider.com/the-ides-of-march-set-photos/78647/

PETER PAN BEGINS Pitch Makes its Way Around Town with Channing Tatum Set to Star
by Adam Chitwood Posted: March 1st, 2011
In keeping with the current trend of mining classic fairy tales/stories for “fresh take” remakes, a pitch package is making the rounds called Peter Pan Begins. The package includes Channing Tatum attached to star, with Billy Ray (Breach, Shattered Glass) tapped to write the screenplay and Joe Roth producing. Roth has been a staple in the “classics update” trend lately, as he has both Oz, the Great and Powerful and Snow White and the Huntsman currently in development. Details on Peter Pan Begins are scarce, but one can assume that Tatum would be donning the Pan tights.
Heat Vision’s report on the matter doesn’t reveal more than the title and the parties involved, so at this point no one really knows what the movie is about. It’s a bit hard to picture Tatum taking on the role of Peter Pan, given that Pan is a young boy and “Begins” implies this could be a prequel of sorts to the J.M. Barrie tale. Or maybe they’re going for a gritty version of Pan, a la Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (adding “begins” to the title of a movie automatically makes it gritty). Either way, the whole project sounds a bit strange. Maybe the whole thing will make more sense once the plot is revealed. Until then, speculate away.
http://collider.com/peter-pan-begins-channing-tatum/78661/