Phantom Planet Break Up?

From There MySpace Page:
This could be the most difficult piece of news we have ever had to post. Sadly, Phantom Planet will be playing our last show, December 12, at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, the same venue that we played our very first live all ages gig, back in 1994. We have had an amazing time playing together for 15 years, but we have officially decided to go on hiatus, and will not be playing any more live shows or making any new records, indefinitely. There is so much more to write, but at this time, we just want to say thank you, to everyone, for their support, friendship, inspiration, attendance, and love.


-alex, darren, jeff and sam.




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Lionsgate Scores LeBron James Documentary

Lionsgate Scores LeBron James Documentary

Source: Variety

November 25, 2008

Variety reports that More Than a Game, a documentary about NBA star LeBron James' high school days in Akron, Ohio, has been sold to Lionsgate in an unusual deal.

The studio, teaming with music notables Harvey Mason Jr. and Interscope Records, plans a fall 2009 release. Lionsgate has world rights.

After a well-received world premiere in Toronto, where James received a five-minute standing ovation and presided over a spirited latenight party and a street dunk contest, the film had been chased by several buyers.

"Game" is being positioned not merely as a record of James' achievements but as a feel-good story of overcoming adversity. It follows the five starters on the varsity team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, who travel a winding road from a rundown gymnasium to national glory and NBA riches, seeking to remain a tight-knit quintet even as James becomes a megamillionaire.

The film mixes newly unearthed archival footage and family memorabilia with fresh interviews.

Director Kristopher Belman, an Akron native, began the film nine years ago as a thesis project at Loyola Marymount U. He co-wrote (with Brad Hogan) and produced the film along with Mason (producer of the Dreamgirls soundtrack), Matthew Perniciaro and Kevin Mann.

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Summit Greenlights Twilight Sequel - New Moon

Summit Greenlights Twilight Sequel - New Moon

Source: Summit Entertainment

November 23, 2008

Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio is officially moving forward with the production of New Moon, the second installment of its filmed franchise "Twilight," the action-packed, modern day vampire love story. The movie will be based on the second novel in author Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series titled, "New Moon." The first movie in the "Twilight" franchise, the self-titled Twilight, arrived in theaters this weekend to sold-out showings.

Stephenie Meyer stated, "I don't think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment. I'm thrilled to have the chance to work with them again on 'New Moon.'"

Starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, Twilight tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together... even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires. Their unorthodox romance puts her in physical danger when Edward's nemesis comes to town and sets his sights on Bella.

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SAG and AMPTP Talks Break Down Again

SAG and AMPTP Talks Break Down Again

Source: SAG, AMPTP

November 22, 2008

After 27 hours of round-the-clock meetings, talks between the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) have again broken down, and SAG will now seek a strike authorization from its members. First up is a statement from the AMPTP:

The AMPTP accepted the federal mediator's invitation to meet with SAG in hopes of concluding our seventh major agreement of 2008. The Producers met for two days with SAG at the request of federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez. The parties were unable to reach an agreement and the mediator has adjourned the mediation process.

SAG said:

Our leadership was optimistic that federal mediation would help to move our negotiations forward, but despite the Guild's extraordinary efforts to reach agreement, the mediation was adjourned shortly before 1:00 AM today.

Management continues to insist on terms we cannot responsibly accept on behalf of our members. As previously authorized by the National Board of Directors, we will now launch a full-scale education campaign in support of a strike authorization referendum. We will further inform our members about the core, critical issues unique to actors that remain in dispute.

We have already made difficult decisions and sacrifices in an attempt to reach agreement. Now it's time for SAG members to stand united and empower the national negotiating committee to bargain with the strength of a possible work stoppage behind them.

We remain committed to avoiding a strike but now more than ever we cannot allow our employers to experiment with our careers. The WGA has already learned that the new media terms they agreed to with the AMPTP are not being honored. We cannot allow our employers to undermine the futures of our members and their families.

No timeline has been set for the mailing or return of the strike authorization ballots.

SAG will need 75% of its voting members to approve the measure in order to go forward with a strike.

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Twilight Pulls in $7 Million From Midnights

Twilight Pulls in $7 Million From Midnights

Source: Variety

November 21, 2008

Summit Entertainment's Twilight grossed more than $7 million in Thursday midnight shows, reports Variety.

At that amount, Twilight could exceed initial forecasts for a $50 million to $60 million opening weekend.

Females, specifically tween girls and teenage girls, are driving the film, based on the best-selling books series by Stephenie Meyer. But it's not just younger females turning out, but older women and teen boys, too.

Meyer's series have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide.

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Universal Nabs Exclusive Rights to Bourne Novels

Universal Nabs Exclusive Rights to Bourne Novels

Source: Universal Pictures

November 20, 2008

Executives from Universal Pictures and Ludlum Entertainment announced today that they have entered into a long-term deal that gives Universal the exclusive rights to continue making films based on the Jason Bourne character. The "Bourne" franchise has been one of Universal's most popular and profitable franchises with The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum grossing a total of almost $1 billion worldwide at the box office, while 30 million copies have been sold in North America alone since the series debut in home entertainment.

"The 'Bourne' films have redefined the action genre with their smart and fast-paced approach," said President of Production for Universal Pictures Donna Langley. "We look forward to bringing more Bourne stories to fans all over the globe."

Added Co-President of Production and Executive Vice President of Universal Pictures Jimmy Horowitz, "The 'Bourne' franchise is one of our crown jewels at Universal. We are thrilled to be in business with our partners from Ludlum Entertainment for the foreseeable future."

In the fourth film, which is currently in development, Matt Damon will return as trained assassin Jason Bourne for the latest showdown. The espionage thriller will reunite Damon with Academy Award®-nominated director Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, upcoming Green Zone). George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum, Ocean's Twelve) will pen the script, and Frank Marshall (The "Bourne" series, "Indiana Jones" series) and Jeffrey Weiner from Ludlum Entertainment will produce.

"We're glad that an agreement was reached that keeps the 'Bourne' franchise with Universal Pictures for many years to come and creates the opportunity to jointly develop new projects in the future," said Jeffrey Weiner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ludlum Entertainment.

The agreement includes a first-look producing deal for Ludlum Entertainment to develop other properties in its library with Universal. The studio currently has in development The Sigma Protocol, based on the popular book owned by Ludlum Entertainment.

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WB Signs Segal and Ewing to Three-Year Deal

WB Signs Segal and Ewing to Three-Year Deal

Source: Variety

November 20, 2008

Warner Bros. has signed Get Smart director Peter Segal and his Callahan Filmworks partner Michael Ewing to a three-year first-look deal, reports Variety.

Segal and Ewing kick off the deal with Liam McBain: International Tennis Star and Proper English Geezer, a Chip Hall-scripted spec script. Segal will develop to direct a film that follows the rise, fall and ultimate redemption of a fictional British tennis star of the '80s.

As part of the deal, WB has also acquired the John August-scripted Captain Marvel; Segal will direct the DC Comics adaptation. He and Ewing began working on the film two years ago at New Line, but the property has moved over to WB. The film tells the story of teenaged Billy Batson, who transforms into the superhero when he says the word "Shazam!"

Deal comes as Segal prepares to direct a sequel to Get Smart for WB and Village Roadshow Pictures. Ewing was a producer of the original film, along with Chuck Roven, Alex Gartner and Andrew Lazar. Segal was an executive producer. The Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember-scripted sequel is expected to shoot next year.

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Josh Schwartz to Write X-Men: First Class

Josh Schwartz to Write X-Men: First Class

Source: Variety

November 18, 2008

20th Century Fox has hired "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz to write X-Men: First Class. He'd also been offered a chance to direct the film, but declined.

Schwartz, the creator and executive producer of The CW's hit as well as Fox's "The O.C." and NBC's "Chuck," is expected to inject a next-gen sensibility into the superhero series.

The studio has been leaning toward using the younger characters introduced in the previous films in future installments --teenagers with powers taught at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

Resulting film would likely draw from elements of the Marvel Comic of the same name, launched in 2006, and enlist such characters as Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat, who have appeared prominently or made cameos in prior pics.

Lauren Shuler Donner, who produced all three "X-Men" pics, as well as next summer's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is producing "First Class" alongside Mr. & Mrs. Smith scribe Simon Kinberg.

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Markus and McFeely Penning Captain America

Markus and McFeely Penning Captain America

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

November 18, 2008

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are in negotiations to write Marvel Studios' First Avenger: Captain America, to be directed by Joe Johnston and produced by Marvel's Kevin Feige.

Created in 1941 by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon for Timely Comics, Captain America is the heroic alter ego of Steve Rogers, who is rejected by the Army for being too sickly and undergoes an experiment that takes him to the pinnacle of human form. Paired with an indestructible shield, he becomes a symbol of the war effort, fighting Nazis and villainous scientists like the Red Skull.

In modern times, the character starred in his own long-running comic series and also was a charter member of Marvel's superteam, the Avengers.

Marvel's "Captain America" will be a World War II-set movie, and the character will appear in modern day-set The Avengers.

Markus and McFeely worked on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and its sequel, "Prince Caspian." The duo also wrote HBO's "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers."

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Exclusive Interview: Twilight's Kristen Stewart

Exclusive Interview: Twilight's Kristen Stewart

Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com

November 18, 2008

ShockTillYouDrop.com talked exclusively to Kristen Stewart about starring in Twilight, the big screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel hitting theaters this Friday. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke from a script by Melissa Rosenberg, the Summit release co-stars Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Cam Cigandet, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene.

You can click here to read the interview!

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Another Nutty Professor in the Works?

Another Nutty Professor in the Works?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

November 18, 2008

Universal and Imagine Entertainment are in the early stages of developing a new "Nutty Professor" movie, in what would be the third installment of the remake of the 1963 Jerry Lewis vehicle, says The Hollywood Reporter. An open call is out to writers for their take on a potential third entry.

Although it has been eight years since the last "Nutty" came out, executives are interested in a new version that would follow The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps, starring Eddie Murphy.

Murphy is not attached to a new "Nutty"; his involvement would be contingent on the writer, director and other elements.

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A Quantum of Box Office History

A Quantum of Box Office History

Source: erc BoxOffice

November 17, 2008

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

Sony/MGM's Quantum of Solace, directed by Marc Forster and starring Daniel Craig, set a new domestic opening record for a James Bond film, grossing an estimated $70.4 million from 3,451 theaters, averaging $20,400 per location. Casino Royale opened to $40.8 million in November of 2006 and went on to earn $167.4 million. The previous record-holder for the best 007 opening was Die Another Day with $47 million.

Internationally, Quantum of Solace added another $56.1 million from 10,460 theaters in 67 markets and brought its overseas total to an impressive $251.6 million. Sony is expecting the film to become the biggest among all Bond pics in terms of foreign grosses. Casino Royale is the current record holder with $430 million internationally.

Quantum of Solace, also starring Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright, Jesper Christensen and Joaquin Cosio, stands at $322 million worldwide so far.

DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa earned $36.1 million in its second weekend, bringing its total to $118 million. The sequel cost about $150 million to make.

Universal Pictures' Role Models continued to do well in third with $11.7 million. Produced for just $28 million, the Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd comedy has earned $38.1 million in two weeks.

Fourth place belonged to Disney's High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which collected $5.9 million in its fourth weekend for a total of $84.4 million.

Clint Eastwood's Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie, rounded out the top five with $4.2 million. The Universal drama has earned $27.6 million in four weeks.

In limited release, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionare made an impressive $350,434 from just 10 theaters, a per location average of $35,043. It has earned a total of $418,131.

Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.

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Eckhart is Set for Battle: Los Angeles

Eckhart is Set for Battle: Los Angeles

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

November 17, 2008

Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Two-Face in The Dark Knight) is attached to star in Battle: Los Angeles, a sci-fi action film that Jonathan Liebesman is directing for Columbia Pictures, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story, written by Chris Bertolini, revolves around a Marine platoon's encounter in the battle on the streets of Los Angeles against an alien invasion.

Eckhart will play the platoon leader in the film, which has yet to set a start date. Neal Moritz and his Original Film are producing.

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Quantum Looking to be Biggest Bond Ever!

Quantum Looking to be Biggest Bond Ever!

Source: Box Office Mojo, Edward Douglas

November 15, 2008

Things are looking good for the 22nd installment of the James Bond franchise Quantum of Solace, the second with Daniel Craig as Agent 007, to have the biggest opening for a Bond movie ever. Box Office Mojo and other sources, have the action thriller grossing an estimated $27 million in its opening Friday, which is greater than half the opening of the biggest opening Bond movie to date, 2003's Die Another Day. It can be projected that it will gross roughly $70 to 73 million based on that opening, which would also make it the fourth-highest opening for the month of November. The previous Daniel Craig installment Casino Royale opened with $40.8 million on the same weekend two years ago before grossing $167 million domestically and $594 million worldwide. Internationally, Quantum of Solace has already grossed $161 million.

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Still No Green Light for Third Narnia?

Still No Green Light for Third Narnia?

Source: Walden Media

November 14, 2008

On Friday, Walden Media announced that Co-CEO and co-founder Cary Granat was exiting the company. One thing we noticed in the press release, however, was that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has not yet gotten the green light:

Cary Granat, Co-CEO and co-founder of Walden Media, will transition from his Walden position to a consultant for the company effective December 1. Granat will be Walden's creative consultant on the third installment in "The Chronicles of Narnia" franchise – "Voyage of the Dawn Treader"- which the company hopes to greenlight soon. He will also provide consulting services for an initiative with AEG Live, the concert and promotion company owned by Phil Anschutz who also owns Walden.

"This was a mutual decision," said David Weil, CEO of Anschutz Film Group, Walden’s parent company. "Cary and we both felt this was the right way to formalize the change in the company's creative direction that will now be overseen by Michael Bostick who was brought in as Co-CEO of Walden earlier this year. We all owe Cary a great debt of gratitude for co-founding the company and guiding the Walden brand to its preeminent place in family entertainment today."

"I'm extremely proud of what we've accomplished in my seven years at Walden. We have been very fortunate, with the unparalleled support of Phil Anschutz, David Weil and the entire team here to create family entertainment that will last for generations. It's time for me to hit the recharge button and take on a new challenge, but I'll always look back fondly on my time at Walden."

Granat will not be replaced and his responsibilities at Walden will now be handled by Weil and Bostick. Granat expects to announce additional future plans shortly.

Disney was targeting a May 7, 2010 release date for the third installment.

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Craig, Broccoli and Wright on Quantum of Solace

Craig, Broccoli and Wright on Quantum of Solace

Source: Tom Tinneny

November 14, 2008

The James Bond tour made its way into New York City this week with the east coast premiere of Quantum of Solace. Before flying off to Sydney for the Australian premiere, actors Daniel Craig and Jeffrey Wright along with Producer Barbara Broccoli had some time to talk with ComingSoon.net about the past, present and future of the James Bond franchise.

Quantum of Solace immediately picks up where Casino Royale left off. Bond is somewhat tortured after the woman he loved, Vesper, betrayed him. As a result, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. The title "Quantum of Solace" comes from an Ian Fleming novel "For Your Eyes Only." ("Quantum of Solace" is one of five short stories that tells of a socialite couple whose love is gone and now has a relationship that is rocky.) After a botched interagation, a roof top chase and a bad guy body count that continues to grow, Bond slowly uncovers information about a deadly organization known as "Quantum."

One of the things you will notice right away about Quantum of Solace is the look of the film. The look and feel is an element many people attribute to director Marc Forster. Forster is not the obvious directorial choice for a Bond film given his film resume. Although each of his films received a positive amount of critical acclaim, none have the outstanding elements of action that has become the norm for the Bond franchise.

Craig told us, "What Marc is, fundamentally, is not only a great director, but a lover of movies. He knows the process. If you look at his films, how varied they are from 'Monster's Ball' to ['Finding] Neverland' to 'Kite Runner,' each one is so individual. You would think they were different directors if you were to look at them blindly I think, and that is what I think he brought to this. He brought this attitude of here we go, it's a Bond movie, we don't get to have chances like this very often, lets give this a go. I mean the discussions we had before we started shooting were about the classic Bonds we love, the classic movies of the '60s that we loved. And whatever we are going to do, we are going to make a movie that people remember because it is visually stunning, it goes to the best locations in the world, and that it will be remembered as a stunning Bond movie."

Broccoli stated, "I have loved all the films he (Forster) has made. He has taken some great chances. He has gone from genre to genre. He is fearless, I think. I think he gets performances out of characters that are outstanding, and he has an extraordinary visual sense. It just seems so right. All of those elements just seem so right and it's sort of strange, as we have never had a non-Commonwealth director before. He (Forster) is Swiss-German."

Back for another round of Bond lore is the ever amazing Jeffrey Wright. Playing fan favorite CIA agent Felix Leiter, Wright did his own take on the Bond ally while maintaining a level of "coolness" associated with the character.

"I do try to bring, particularly to the first one, ('Casino Royale') my own thing to it," Wright said of the influence past Bond movies had on "Quantum's" production. "For me, Jack Lord sprung to mind. I mean the shades. And outside of Miles Davis, he was the coolest cat on the planet. And I was just very excited to bring some fresh life into the character and into the series to the extent that I could."

Wright continued, "I think we are influenced only in that there is a previous history to these films. It's a Bond film. There is an element of style and slickness. But at the same time, there has always been an intelligence to these films that cuts through as well."

Some of the film's lighter moments come from scenes involving the always-lovely Judi Dench. Dench returns to the Bond screen once again as "M," a role she has played five previous times. Dench is the only actor that has crossed over from the past Bond generation to the new.

"She is our anchor," says Broccoli. "She is the anchor of the film in terms of the character. She is the only authoritative figure in Bond's life. I think the moral conflicts between them are very interesting, and I think she is such a phenomenal actress, that as a woman, she has so much authority without having to bang her fist on the table. She had such a great relationship with Pierce (Brosnan) on the screen. And she has such a great relationship with Daniel (Craig). She is our anchor. She is the real Bond girl! The one that keeps it all going, and I don't want her to leave. She keeps threatening to leave but I will not let her!"

As for the future of Bond, nothing is set in stone. There is no director nor is there a script for the next film, but given the positive reaction to Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, producer Broccoli expects one. "In 'Casino Royale,' the book, there was no Moneypenny or Q so that is why they are not in that story. And, in this follow-up, there didn't seem to be a reason or a place for them. That doesn't mean that they won't appear later on. We made a decision to strip everything away. Some things will come back, some things won't. Some things will come back in a different way. We will take some more risks and shake things up a little bit more and hope audiences are with us."

*****Spoilers for "Quantum of Solace" ahead*****

Speaking about Bond's future, Broccoli continues, "Hopefully at the end of 'Quantum of Solace,' we have this "whole" character. And now we can do what we want. I think in some way, he will go after the organization (Quantum). So in that sense, it may become a trilogy, but we haven't really structured it that way. "

As for the "Bond Gadgets" Broccoli guesses, Bond finally will have some to play with in the next film. "The trouble is, everyone has gadgets. We will need to come up with a few that have not been invented by the Sony Corp!" (laughs)

Felix Leiter's promotion at the end of "Quantum of Solace" foreshadows what will hopefully be a much larger role in the next Bond film. Wright continues, "I don't think anything has been written yet, but I hear some interesting things…rumblings."

Quantum of Solace is now playing worldwide. A Blu-ray Collector's Edition is available for Casino Royale from Amazon. Amazon also offers an exclusive bundle that includes two volumes of selected Bond movies on Blu-ray.

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Academy Disqualifies The Dark Knight Score

Academy Disqualifies The Dark Knight Score

Source: Variety

November 13, 2008

Variety reports that the score for The Dark Knight has been disqualified by the executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences music branch from being considered for an Oscar.

Formal letters to that effect are expected to go out this week to composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, who collaborated on the music.

Their previous collaboration, on Batman Begins, was similarly disqualified in 2005.

According to the trade, the big issue was the fact that five names were listed as composers on the music cue sheet, the official studio document that specifies every piece of music (along with its duration and copyright owner) in the film.

Zimmer previously said that listing multiple names on the cue sheet was a way of financially rewarding parts of the music team who helped make the overall work successful.

Zimmer, Howard and the other three individuals -- music editor Alex Gibson, ambient music designer Mel Wesson and composer Lorne Balfe -- reportedly signed an affidavit stating that the score was primarily the work of Zimmer and Howard.

That apparently wasn't enough for the majority of the committee, which was also supplied with documentation indicating that more than 60%, but less than 70%, of the score was credited to Zimmer and Howard.

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Shuler Donner Talks Magneto Spin-Off

Shuler Donner Talks Magneto Spin-Off

Source: Empire Online

November 12, 2008

Empire Online talked to "X-Men" films producer Lauren Shuler Donner, who talked a bit more about the Magneto spin-off. Here's a clip:

Details of the plot have remained vague thus far, but Shuler Donner was happy to tell us shed a little light on things. "We have a script on Magneto which is actually sort of Magneto and Charles Xavier," she said. 'It's Eric and Charles in their early, early years."

The site also mentions a synopsis that has been posted by Production Weekly, but that is an unconfirmed plot.

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The Dark Knight: For Your Consideration

The Dark Knight: For Your Consideration

Source: ComingSoon.net

November 11, 2008

Warner Bros. Pictures has launched a "For Your Consideration" website for The Dark Knight which includes the full script for the film!

In related news, Variety says the major of an oil-producing city in southeastern Turkey named "Batman" is suing director Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. for royalties from The Dark Knight.

Huseyin Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of Batman, has accused the film's producers of using the city's name without permission.

"There is only one Batman in the world," Kalkan said. "The American producers used the name of our city without informing us."

We wish him the best of luck. More details here.

Also, The Dark Knight has reached a worldwide total of $997.6 million ($528.6 million domestically, $469 million internationally) and should be able to cross the $1 billion mark with the re-release in January.

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Weinsteins Partner with Cheech and Chong on Concert Movie

Weinsteins Partner with Cheech and Chong on Concert Movie

Source: The Weinstein Company

November 11, 2008

The Weinstein Company (TWC) have partnered with Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, and their managers Ben Feigin and Josh Klein to produce a concert movie to memorialize the comic duo's reunion and first tour together in 25 years. The announcement was made today by Barry Gordon, executive vice president of home entertainment at TWC.

As part of the arrangement, TWC has worldwide theatrical, home video, digital and television rights. The feature-length program, which will portray a live concert experience of the "Cheech & Chong: Light Up America" tour, is expected to make a major TV premiere, followed by the DVD release. TWC International will handle foreign sales beginning at AFM this week.

"'The Cheech and Chong Concert Movie' will be an historic, must-experience event for the many fans that grew up listening to their recordings and watching their movies," said Barry Gordon, EVP of Home Entertainment at TWC. "For the millions of new fans who have discovered Cheech and Chong over the years as cultural icons, this will be the first time many of them will be able to enjoy the artistry and one-of-kind magic that is Cheech and Chong live on stage. This is the comedy event of the decade."

"It's great to get a chance to cap a long career with a show of where we are now," said Marin.

Chong stated, "I really like Harvey because he picked up my dinner tab."

Start of production and official release dates are to be announced.

Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong's phenomenal success began on the stand-up comedy circuit and led to eight hit films and nine comedy albums, which garnered multiple Grammy nominations. The "Cheech & Chong: Light Up America" reunion tour officially kicked off on September 26, 2008 and has been selling out across the country. Many of the dates have needed to add multiple shows each night to meet demand. The tour will continue through 2009, and will bring the duo overseas to multiple continents.

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Jaden Smith is the Next Karate Kid

Jaden Smith is the Next Karate Kid

Source: Variety

November 11, 2008

Columbia Pictures has refashioned its new version of the 1984 hit The Karate Kid as a star vehicle for Jaden Smith, reports Variety.

The film will be produced by Jerry Weintraub (who launched the original franchise) and Overbrook Entertainment's James Lassiter, Jaden's father Will Smith and Ken Stovitz.

The script is being written by Chris Murphy, and the film will shoot next year in Beijing and other cities. While the new film will be set in that exotic locale, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.

The younger Smith, who next stars in The Day the Earth Stood Still, is a martial arts practitioner.

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MGM Acquires Comedic Satire 2012-ish

MGM Acquires Comedic Satire 2012-ish

Source: Screen Daily

November 10, 2008

Screen Daily reports that MGM is in negotiations to acquire end-of-the-world comedy 2012-ish: The Day the Earth Bent Over, formerly known as "Armageddagain."

Produced by Hadeel Reda, the $25 million film will be directed by Robert Moniot from the screenplay he co-wrote with Travis Oates; it is set to shoot in Louisiana for a March 9 start date.

The plot follows a young scientist who fights to save the planet from a number of catastrophes that threaten mankind not to mention a bumbling president and a manic depressive NASA commander.

"The film is a comedic satire in the vein of 'Airplane!' and 'Young Frankenstein,'" said Reda, "The film has an engaging story and the actors play the comedy straight with sharp dialogue and visual humor like the original classics of the genre."

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