**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/

***Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze Pitching New Film; Plus New Details on Kaufman’s Script, FRANK OR FRANCIS ***George Clooney Replaces Robert Downey Jr. in GRAVITY ***Duncan Jones’ SOURCE CODE to Open the 2011 SXSW Film Festival

Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze Pitching New Film; Plus New Details on Kaufman’s Script, FRANK OR FRANCIS

by Jake Horowitz    Posted: December 16th, 2010

Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, writer and director, respectively, of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation., are pitching a new movie around Hollywood. While the script hasn’t yet been written, one can be assured that it will incorporate some sort of meta or mind-meltingly incredible premise.

The plot is being kept under wraps, but seems to be separate from Kaufman’s script Frank or Francis, which he has been working on since finishing Synecdoche, New York in 2008. According to the LA Times, two people familiar with the project say that in recent weeks it has been making rounds to independent financiers. Hit the jump for more info on both projects.

Kaufman and Jonze’s latest collaboration was back in 2002 with Adaptation., which received four Oscar nominations, including Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Being John Malkovich, their first outing together, was likewise nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay, as well as best director.

In 2008, Jonze was set to direct Synecdoche, which Kaufman had written, but instead went on to Where the Wild Things Are. Kaufman instead took the directing chair for his first time and created his most elaborate, meta, and unconventional film to date.

As Kaufman’s films seem to get more and more complex, his newest script seems to be no exception. Frank or Francis follows a commercially successful director who resents his success and wants to be considered an auteur. This would be the opposite of Kaufman’s life, who is in fact considered an auteur and has no immensely commercial hits to speak of (although he did some rewrite work for Kung Fu Panda 2).

Kaufman has written himself into at least one of his movies, Adaptation., with great success, and if anyone knows how to pull together a movie about a movie where the character is the writer but is also the character in a movie about his movie, it’s Kaufman…the writer…or maybe the character. As Shirley on Community said, “Come on, Charlie Kaufman. Some of us have work in the morning.”

Frank or Francis had been set up as a Sony project, but according to people close to the script, they do not appear to be moving forward on it at the moment. In the meantime, neither Jonze nor Kaufman have any other upcoming projects they are tied to, so their collaboration together may very well be the next thing they work on.

http://www.collider.com/2010/12/16/charlie-kaufman-spike-jonze-frank-or-francis/

George Clooney Replaces Robert Downey Jr. in GRAVITY

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 16th, 2010

Gravity, the first film from director Alfonso Cuaron since Children of Men, has had its share of struggles in trying to get to the big screen.  The story features a female lead character who is by herself for the majority of film.  The film, which is about an astronaut trying to return to Earth after a disaster in space, was originally set to star Angelina Jolie and Robert Downey Jr., but then Jolie dropped out.  Warner Bros. required a bankable actress for the part and eventually Sandra Bullock signed on to the film…only to have Robert Downey Jr. drop out shortly thereafter due to scheduling conflicts.  Downey was set to play another astronaut who survives the disaster.  Now Heat Vision is reporting that George Clooney has come to the rescue of the project and will play the role, which, while not major, is pivotal in the first act of the film.

Hit the jump for more on Clooney’s schedule and where Gravity will fit in.

According to Heat Vision, Warner Bros. plans to begin shooting on Gravity in the spring after Clooney has wrapped directing on The Ides of March, which is an adaptation of the stage play Farragut North.  Clooney is also circling an adaptation of the 1960s TV spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with Steven Sodebergh directing.

While I’m bummed that Downey left Gravity, you’ll hear no complaints from me regarding Clooney as a replacement.  With two fantastic leads, let’s hope that the film finally launches without any more problems.

http://www.collider.com/2010/12/16/gravity-george-clooney-robert-downey-jr/

Duncan Jones’ SOURCE CODE to Open the 2011 SXSW Film Festival

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 16th, 2010

We have received a press release announcing that the sci-fi thriller Source Code will open the 2011 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival.  Directed by Duncan Jones (Moon), the film follows a soldier (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wakes up in the body of a stranger and keeps reliving the last eight minutes of the man’s life in order to discover who was responsible for bombing a train in an attempt to prevent the bomber’s next attack.    Like just about anyone who saw Moon, I can’t wait to see what Jones has pulled off this time, and the trailer makes the film look smart and intense.

Hit the jump for the full press release.  The 2011 SXSW Film Conference and Festival runs from March 11 – 19th in Austin, Texas.  Source Code opens nationwide April 1, 2011.

Here’s the press release:

Austin, Texas – December 16, 2010 – Earlier today, the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced it will host the world premiere of the Summit Entertainment film Source Code for its 2011 Opening Night. The smart action thriller is the second feature from SXSW Alum Duncan Jones (Moon), and stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs, Brokeback Mountain), Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye, Due Date), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Departed) and Jeffrey Wright (Quantum of Solace, Syriana). The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival runs March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas.

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he’s ever known, he learns he’s part of a government experiment called the “Source Code,” a program that enables him to cross over into another man’s identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack.

Opening in theaters nationwide on April 1, 2011, the film was written by Ben Ripley. A Mark Gordon Company production, and presented by Vendóme Pictures, the film was produced by Mark Gordon, Philippe Rousselet and Jordan Wynn, with Hawk Koch, Jeb Brody, and Fabrice Gianfermi executive producing.

“We are delighted to welcome Duncan Jones back to SXSW. His debut Moon showed an intelligence, skill, and exceptional use of limited resources that’s exactly the kind of filmmaking we love to support,” said Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “Source Code is a terrific follow-up; it’s a smart, suspenseful thriller, and a perfect fit for our 2011 Opening Night!”

http://www.collider.com/2010/12/16/source-code-sxsw-film-festival/