Jennifer Garner and Nick Nolte to join the cast of the 'Arthur' remake?

Well, The Hollywood Reporter says that they're in talks:

Jennifer Garner and Nick Nolte are in talks to join the cast of "Arthur," Warner Bros.' remake of the 1981 comedy.

Russell Brand and Helen Mirren are starring in the pic, which Jason Winer is directing.

Closely hewing to the original, the new "Arthur" follows a very rich, happy drunk who is told by his mother that he must marry the wealthy girl of her choosing or else lose his inheritance, just as he meets a poor girl (Greta Gerwig) and falls in love.

Garner is playing an heiress who carries her own secrets and whom Brand must marry. Nolte is her deeply religious father.

Larry Brezner is producing with Kevin McCormick and Chris Bender.

Garner, repped by WME and Management 360, took part in New Line's ensemble rom-com "Valentine's Day" and recently wrapped "Butter," an indie dramedy set in the small-town world of competitive butter-sculpting. "Butter" is serving as her debut as a film producer.

CAA-repped Nolte last appeared in "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" and has "Warrior," an action movie directed by Gavin O'Connor and starring Tom Hardy, in the can. Lionsgate opens "Warrior" on Sept. 17.

-This project is shaping up nicely, in terms of cast...thoughts?

Brett Ratner gets his hands on Snow White...

...and you can blame the success of Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' for it, according to Deadline:

The billion dollar worldwide gross of Alice in Wonderland has turned public domain fairy tales into the hottest segment of an otherwise sluggish script marketplace. In the latest deal, Relativity Media has made a preemptive acquisition of The Brothers Grimm: Snow White, an edgy 3D re-imagining of the German folk tale written by Melisa Wallack. Wallack's script work includes The Dallas Buyer's Club, and she wrote and directed the 2007 Aaron Eckhart-starrer Bill.

The deal has aggressive progress to production stipulations in the preemptive deal and I'm told the writer will make low seven-figures if the project gets made. ICM repped the writer. The Brothers Grimm: Snow White will be produced by Bernie Goldmann (who produced Meet Bill), Ryan Kavanaugh and Brett Ratner, with Tucker Tooley exec producing and Rat Entertainment exec John Cheng also involved in a producing capacity. Ratner previously got Kavanaugh to acquire the Sundance Film Festival documentary Catfish, and most recently Skyline, the scifi alien invasion thriller directed by Greg and Colin Strause which sold at Cannes.

Deal follows an upfront seven-figure Disney pitch deal for Devil Wears Prada scribe Aline Brosh McKenna to script a re-imagining of Cinderella. Disney also is moving quickly on The Great and Powerful Oz, with Adam Shankman and Timur Bekmambetov circling. Sam Mendes just dropped out of consideration, but there is rumor that Guillermo del Toro might meet on the project now that he's free of The Hobbit. Warner Bros and New Line each have version of Oz that are based on the public domain books by L. Frank Baum.

All of the incarnations of Snow White are based on the German folk tale, but this one hews closely to the distillation by the Grimm Brothers.

"This is not your grandfather's Snow White," Ratner said. "Melisa went back to the 500 year old folk tale and put in some of the things that were missing from Walt Disney's film. His dwarves were miners, and here they are robbers. There is also a dragon that was in the original folk tale. Walt made one of the great movies of all time, but ours is edgy and there is more comedy. The original, made for its time, was soft compared to what we're going to do."

Said Kavanaugh: "This is a project we've aggressively pursued and believe in. We love Melisa Wallack's script and her fresh take on the classic story we all grew up on. This film will bring together fans of the original fair tale and draw new audiences who enjoy adventure films."

-Thoughts?

Today's Posters: Gulliver's Travels, Resident Evil: Afterlife, and Joan Rivers

Thoughts?

Predators gets 2 new Posters!

Thoughts?

Is David Fincher going to be helming the remake of '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'?

Well, The Hollywood Reporter seems to think so:

Captain Nemo and his Nautilus are surfacing again.

Months after deep-sixing a McG-helmed version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Disney is in negotiations with David Fincher to direct, and hot "Bourne Ultimatum" scribe Scott Z. Burns to write, a new take on the classic Jules Verne story.

The project came together after Fincher approached Disney's new production head Sean Bailey a few weeks into his job this winter. The Oscar-nominated helmer wanted to tackle a four-quadrant tentpole movie, somewhat of a departure from the dark, R-rated dramas such as "Fight Club" and "Zodiac" (or even "Curious Case of Benjamin Button") that he's done in the past.

The project was being developed under the radar as Bailey settled into his position under new studio topper Rich Ross, then gained steam in the past few days with Fincher and Burns entering talks for deals.

First published in 1869, the classic science fiction novel is in the public domain. But ever since Disney's Kirk Douglas-starring version was released in 1954, the studio and the Verne story -- about a group of men who encounter a vengeful scientific genius and his warlike submarine -- have been linked in the public's mind. Last year, Disney was fast-tracking a $150 million "Leagues" that would have served as an origin story for Nemo. But the project was the first of several to be sunk by Ross when he took over the studio from Dick Cook in the fall (ironically, given Fincher's involvement, the dark tone of the McG version was a concern for the new regime).

It's not surprising that Disney would revisit "Leagues." Ross has said his mandate is to make wide-appeal, pre-branded entertainment. And while plotlines are being kept submerged, the Fincher/Burns take on the material is described as being in the vein of "Star Wars" or "The Empire Strikes Back." It will aim to be visually dazzling.

Burns, who penned Steven Soderbergh's latest "Contagion" as well as "The Informant!," will begin writing immediately. That should give Fincher, who is in post on "The Social Network" for Sony, time to direct another movie (possibly "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," also for Sony, but his name has surfaced in connection with a host of projects) before jumping into "Leagues."

-Not the first project I'd associate Fincher with, but I think he could make it very interesting...thoughts?

Greta Gerwig gets cast in the 'Arthur' remake...

...according to Deadline:

More and more, I believe that, with only a few exceptions, a studio's choice of actress often makes little difference in what a film will do at the box office. That is giving opportunities for unknown actresses to get great parts as the majors and minors look beyond the usual suspects to discover new talent. Latest evidence comes in the answer to this question about the Warner Bros remake of Arthur starring Russell Brand. Guess who's getting caught between the moon and New York City, playing the lead role that once gave Liza Minnelli's career such a big boost? I hear that after a lengthy search, Warners is in discussions with Greta Gerwig. After a slow build in indie films, she just starred with Ben Stiller in the Noah Baumbach-directed Greenberg. Gerwig is in talks to play the charismatic shoplifter who tempts a lovable drunk -- and risking his trust fund--to take a chance on a woman who makes him feel alive. The remake is being directed by Jason Winer (best known for ABC's Modern Family) and produced by Larry Brezner, Kevin McCormick and Benderspink's Chris Bender. UTA reps Gerwig.

-I like the cast this flick has so far...thoughts?

Today's Trailers: Holy Rollers, Machete, Countdown to Zero, and I Spit On Your Grave

First up today we have the crime-dramedy based on a true story called 'Holy Rollers':

Next we have the insane looking trailer for the film based on a fake trailer...'Machete':

We also have the documentary on nuclear weapons that goes by the name 'Countdown to Zero':

Finally, we have a look at the horror remake 'I Spit On Your Grave':

-Thoughts?

Today's Posters: Splice, I Spit On Your Grave, and Killers

Thoughts?

What does a strong opening weekend mean for the future of Freddy?

Well, a sequel of course...in 3D, no less. Here's the story, according to Worst Previews:

Now that "A Nightmare on Elm Street" earned almost $33 million (on a $27 million budget) during its opening weekend, Warner Bros has decided to move forward with a sequel. According to Platinum Dunes producer Brad Fuller, the 3D sequel is "already in the works."

This doesn't mean that the second installment has received the greenlight, and there is a good chance that the new movie may never get made. "Friday the 13th" remake performed even better. It took in $40 million (on a $19 million budget) during its opening weekend, but then dropped by 80% the following weekend.

"Nightmare" is being trashed by the critics, which could play a part in the film's quick decline. Plus "Iron Man 2" is coming out, and that's not going to help. But if it is able to maintain decent numbers, then a sequel could be ready by as soon as next year. Stay tuned.

-I hated the film with a passion, but there's nowhere to go for them but up...thoughts?

Is the narrative remake of 'The King of Kong' still happening?

Apparently it still is, according to Collider (go here for the full story and interview):

Critics who think a narrative adaption of The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters hit a kill screen should check with Seth Gordon first. The 2007 documentary tells the David vs. Goliath quest for the world record score on the arcade obsession Donkey Kong. Talk of a feature adaptation began almost immediately. Getting it out of development became another matter. Gordon says Kong is definitely on.

We caught up with the director after a screening of his new documentary Freakonomics (made with some of the highest-profile documentary directors in the business). Gordon responded, “You want to see my calendar, the roundtable set up for next week?” He continued, “there’s been a lot of interest from the agencies” and “it’s a “passion project for a handful of people at New Line.” He cautioned, however, “The odds are stacked against it … Just because it’s a movie and hardly any get made.”

-I loved the documentary and can see some potential in this version, but that's just me...thoughts?

Did the Coen Brothers write a remake of the film 'Gambit' for Doug Limon to direct?

Well, not exactly, but they seem to be potentially collaborating on the project, according to Deadline:

As Summit Entertainment moves closer to a domestic distribution deal on his Valerie Plame drama Fair Game, director Doug Liman is circling Gambit, a Joel and Ethan Coen-scripted remake of the 1966 British caper comedy which originally starred Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine. Producer Mike Lobell has been trying to get the project made for years, and Liman is an intriguing choice. Caine played a cat burglar who tries to rob a billionaire of his priceless statue and enlists the help of a waitress who is a dead ringer for the victim's late wife. While the burglar has carefully planned the job in his head, the execution is complicated by his relationship with his pretty accomplice. Liman is circling several projects, including an untitled moon mission project at Paramount with Jake Gyllenhaal and The Three Musketeers. The director's most pressing engagement is Cannes, where Fair Game will premiere in competition next month. Naomi Watts stars as Plame, whose covert CIA status was leaked by the Bush Administration after her husband Joseph Wilson began writing op-ed pieces charging that intelligence on weapons of mass destruction was manipulated to sell the invasion of Iraq. Sean Penn plays Wilson. River Road, Participant Media and Imagenation stepped in to finance the film when Warner Bros dropped out. Summit, which showed it had the mettle to mount an Oscar campaign with Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker, hasn't completely sewn up a deal yet but is a logical distributor: Summit's Patrick Wachsberger is already selling overseas territories on the film. CAA is finalizing the distribution a deal that should be completed by the time Liman boards a plane to France.

-This would be a rare script-only endeavor by the Coens...thoughts?

Carey Mulligan to star in David Fincher's remake of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'?

Well, according to Cinematical, she's won the role (which was supposedly down to her or Kristen Stewart). Here's the story:

Forget the sweet schoolgirl who gossips with her girlfriends and dreams of great romance in gay "Par-ee." Recent Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan is heading for the body art. The Times Online reports that the An Education star is "set" to headline the English remake of the Swedish film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. (They say she won a thumbs up from director David Fincher, but the final decision/agreement has not been made.)

Mulligan has been itching to grab the role for a while now, saying last month: "I am obsessed with those books. I would love to do them. I am not going to lie about that. I would love to play Lisbeth Salander." The Times notes that she not only won the thumbs up from Fincher, but also the family of the late author who penned the series, Stieg Larsson. Should she sign on the dotted line, she's said to earn approximately £10m for three films, playing a body-modded computer hacker who helps a journalist solve a decades-old disappearance. (The locale might be moved to Canada, seen as a sort of "compromise" for American audiences.) *

While I was intrigued by Peter's idea of a rougher Veronica Mars on the big screen, I'm itching to see how Mulligan balances darker fare with the sweet. If she hits this out of the ballpark like she did An Education, I imagine she'll be unstoppable.

-I think either Mulligan or Stewart would have worked, but I'm a fan of them both...thoughts

Breck Eisner to direct the 'Escape from New York' remake...

...which serves as a reminder that this remake is still happening, for better or worse. Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

Breck Eisner, who directed Overtures' remake of "The Crazies," is in negotiations to helm the remake of "Escape From New York" for New Line.

The remake has been a top priority for the company, which picked up the rights in March 2007, with Gerard Butler attached to star and Ken Nolan writing the script.

The project then veered into development hell, losing Butler but amassing a penal colony of writers, among them Jonathan Mostow and Allan Loeb, and collecting then losing director Len Wiseman. (Neal Moritz has remained producer throughout the process.)

Eisner's boarding should bring "Escape" back on track as New Line, sticking with the Loeb draft, tries to mix an origin story for anti-hero Snake Plissken and merge it with the story of the 1981 original.

hat film was set in a futuristic 1997, when Manhattan had been turned into a giant maximum-security prison. The U.S. president's plane crashed on the island, and Plissken -- incarcerated for robbing a federal reserve bank -- was coerced into a rescue mission.

Walter Hamada and Sam Brown are overseeing for New Line.

While Eisner's version of "Crazies" didn't exactly take the movie world by storm -- it grossed $38.5 million domestically -- it was well-received by horror fans and critics, earning a 71% rating on Rottentomatoes. The high praise caught observers by surprise as horror aficionados are usually quick to toss away remakes of beloved horror titles, while critics tend to dismiss the genre outright.

Eisner, repped by CAA, also directed 2005's "Sahara."

-He's not an untalented director, so this could have potential...thoughts?

Helen Mirren to co-star with Russell Brand in the 'Arthur' remake!

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Two extremes of British classes are about to collide head-on.

Helen Mirren, the grande dame of acting, is in negotiations to star opposite the one-time stand-up duke of debauchery Russell Brand in "Arthur," Warner Bros.' remake of the 1981 comedy. Mirren will play the title character's longtime nanny in a reconstruction of the role that earned John Gielgud a supporting actor Oscar for the original.

Larry Brezner is producing with Kevin McCormick and Chris Bender.

The original movie starred Dudley Moore as Arthur, a boozy playboy who is set to inherit a fortune if he marries an heiress his family thinks will make something out of him. But he falls in love with a working-class woman and turns to his valet (Gielgud) for help when his family makes him choose between money and love.

The movie is eyeing a July start in New York.

Peter Baynham has written the screenplay for the remake, which is being overseen by Sarah Schechter for the studio.

Scott Kroopf, J.C. Spink, Brand and Nik Linnen are exec producing.

Mirren, repped by CAA, has five films in the can, including "Love Ranch," directed by husband Taylor Hackford and being released by E1 in June, and "Red," a comic book action movie also starring Bruce Willis, due in October. She also has wrapped "The Debt" and "The Tempest"; both are from Miramax, whose releases are up in air because of the potential sale of the Disney division.

-Thoughts?

Today's Posters: Nowhere Boy, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Thoughts?

Take a gander at a list of the 25 best movie remakes!

This is courtesy of Moviefone, and the full list can be found here (and I'll also post it in the comments section), but this is the top 10:

10. A Star is Born
9. Ocean's 11
8. A Fistful of Dollars
7. The Fly
6. The Departed
5. The Magnificent Seven
4. Cape Fear
3. The Man Who Knew Too Much
2. Scarface
1. The Thing

-Thoughts on the list?

'Private Benjamin' becomes the latest project to be headed for a remake...

...but with an interesting choice for the lead. Here's the story in The Hollywood Reporter:

“Private Benjamin” is being called up to duty again.

New Line is remaking the seminal 1980 comedy, reconfiguring it for the new century as a starring vehicle for Anna Faris.

Amy Talkington is in discussions to write the new take, to be produced by Mark Gordon.

“Benjamin” starred Goldie Hawn in a star-making turn as a spoiled woman who joins the Army after her husband dies during sex on their wedding night. One of the top-grossing movies of that year, “Benjamin” was hailed for tackling women’s issues and earned three Oscar noms — for Hawn, supporting actress Eileen Brennan and original screenplay (Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer and Harvey Miller).

The title joins “Vacation” and “Police Academy” as the latest titles from the Warner Bros. library that New Line is remaking.

The new take will set the story in contemporary times with modern wars as the backdrop. Insiders say the studio doesn’t want to poke fun at the men and women in the service or take political potshots, but rather focus on the empowerment elements and build on the fish-out-of-water comedy.

Michelle Weiss is overseeing for the studio.

Talkington, repped by UTA and the Arlook Group, penned a remake of 1980s classic “Valley Girl,” which is set up at MGM. The scribe has shown she can pen a female voice with Fox’s “Queen of the Rodeo,” about teenage girls competing for the title of rodeo queen, and “Devil in the Junior League,” a Universal comedy centering on a spurned wife who is forced to transform a vulgar woman into a role model for a women’s organization.

Faris, one of the few comediennes who can open a movie, is set to star in her latest comedy, “What’s Your Number?” which is to begin shooting this spring. She’s repped by Gersh and Raw Talent Management.

-I could see her making this work decently well...thoughts?

'Real Genius' becomes the latest film to get the unnecessary remake treatment...

...and if I sound mildly bitter, it's only because it's one of my all time favorite movies. Here's the applicable part of the story from Pajiba:

We’ll start with the molestation of your childhood memories remake: Columbia Pictures and Imagine Entertainment (oh, Ron Howard, how could you?) are developing a remake of Real Genius. Yes, that one. The Val Kilmer movie that everyone over the age of 30 loves. Except Communists and trash humpers. It’s about the youngest kid to be accepted into a program for geniuses who teams up with his roommates to develop a high-powered laser, which is stolen by the military and used as a weapon. But, of course, it was so much more than about that. In 1985 it was a satire. In 2010, no one knows what the hell a satire is or what it even means. The second take on the script is now out to writers, and soon, the “Mythbusters” guys may have to find a new movie to pattern their lives after.

Jesus. It just won’t be the same without the ’80s soundtrack. Also, the original made $13 million at the box office. Why would they remake this movie? (Note: This is not the sequel that was rumored years ago. This is a remake. Val Kilmer’s participation is unknown.)

-I'll see it, just in the hopes it doesn't suck, but I highly recommend seeking out the original...thoughts?

Today's Trailers: Dinner for Schmucks, Twelve, and Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

First up is the Paul Rudd/Steve Carell comedy 'Dinner for Schmucks':

Next is the "Less than Zero" like trailer for 'Twelve':

Finally, we end on this year's Coco Chanel picture, entitled 'Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky':

-Thoughts?

Be sure to check out our look at the upcoming remake of 'True Grit'!

It's a fascinating article, so check it out here and let us know what you think!