Seems now Paul Weitz and not Pete Segal will be directing the Fockers flick

From Variety:

Paul Weitz is in talks to direct "Little Fockers," the third installment of the Universal Pictures and Tribeca Prods. franchise.
Jane Rosenthal and Jay Roach are producing, and the studio will begin production in July. John Hamburg is rewriting a script originated by Larry Stuckey.
Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner are so far set to reprise.
Studio has been looking hard for the right director to replace Roach, who helmed "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers," films that turned in a combined worldwide gross just north of $820 million. It briefly appeared that Pete Segal would get the job (Daily Variety, March 20).
Dealmaking is about to begin with Weitz, whose plan is to move directly from "Fockers" into directing "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City," an adaptation of the Nick Flynn book that Weitz scripted. Focus Features has picked up the project, which will star De Niro and Casey Affleck. The pic has been a passion project for Weitz.
Weitz most recently directed for Universal an adaptation of the Darren Shan novel "Cirque du Freak." The film is slated for early 2010.
-I'd consider this a slight upgrade...what about you?

"Bruno" Has A Trailer, Still Not Coming To Theaters Unless It Tones Down The Material

Sacha Baron Cohen's follow up to Borat is now available in abridged, teaser-like form for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy:

-Looks like it has plenty of potential to me. Even if it didn't quite grab me in the same way that the trailer for Borat did, I have faith. What do you guys think?

What do you think of the revamped Main Page?

Let us know what you think! Shoot Clayton an email, leave some feedback here, or just spread the word to your friends!

-P.S. Some new reviews on the Main Page (I Love You, Man and Duplicity by yours truly, and Monsters vs Aliens by Clayton), so check those out too and comment on them as well!

The Golden Globes sets its awards timetable

From Variety:

The Hollywood Foreign Press has announced key dates for the 67th annual Golden Globes.
The kudocast is set for Jan. 17, 2010, and will air on NBC.
The timetable for the Golden Globes:
Oct. 30, 2009: Final date for press conferences for Television entries Nov. 6, 2009 : Deadline for submission of Golden Globe entry forms
Nov. 2009 (exact date TBA): Cecil B. DeMille Award/Miss Golden Globe Announcement
Dec. 3, 2009: Deadline for nomination ballots to be mailed by Ernst & Young to all HFPA members Dec. 9, 2009: Final screening date for Motion Pictures Dec. 10, 2009: Final date for Motion Picture press conferences
Dec. 11, 2009: Deadline for receipt by Ernst & Young of nomination ballots
Dec. 15, 2009: 5:00 a.m. Nomination Announcement of "The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards"
Dec. 18, 2009: Deadline for receipt of media credential applications Dec. 28, 2009: Final ballots mailed by Ernst & Young to all HFPA members Jan. 6, 2010: Deadline for receipt of publicist credential applications Jan. 13, 2010: Deadline for receipt by Ernst & Young of final ballots Jan. 17, 2010: Presentation of "The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards"
-Mark it down...

Trailer for Easy Virtue

-Pretty decent cast, and looked like a lot of fun...at least to me....how about you?

Twitter Film Festival

I'm in a film class at Duke, and we're hosting the Twitter Film Festival this weekend. I don't exactly know what it entails. From what I gathered in class today, we're going to "twitt" something thoughtful and clever about a movie clip. We've organized the movies into genres, and they range from the Lion King to Touch of Evil. I'm going to "twitt" on Memento. Again, I'm not sure what the final product will look like, but it could be interesting. If you're on Twitter, just follow TwitFilmFestival. I'm gonna need your support! Thanks guys.

Article about the festival.

Ellen Page among the big name additions to Nolan's Inception

Variety has the scoop:

Warner Bros. is in talks with Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy and Ellen Page to join the cast of "Inception," which Christopher Nolan wrote and will direct as his next film.
Leonardo DiCaprio has already been set to star.
WB bought the spec preemptively before other studios got a crack at the material, which kept Warner in business with the filmmaker after smash hit "The Dark Knight" (Daily Variety, Feb. 12).
Production begins this summer for 2010 release.
The subject matter has been kept under tight wraps, with the studio describing the film as a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.
Nolan will produce with Emma Thomas.
The film is Nolan's first with Cotillard and Page, but he is reteaming with Murphy, who played the villain Scarecrow in "Batman Begins," with a cameo in "The Dark Knight." Murphy just completed "Peacock" and "Perrier's Bounty."
Cotillard will next be seen in the Michael Mann-directed "Public Enemies" and just completed the Rob Marshall-helmed musical "Nine."
Page just teamed with Murphy in "Peacock" and starred in the Drew Barrymore-directed "Whip It!"
-This is fast becoming quite a tremendous cast....I'm psyched...how about you?

Poster for The Girlfriend Experience

A full trailer for The Hangover

-More funny stuff than not here, so let's hope the final product has a similar humor ratio...

Inglorious Basterds will be at Cannes officially!

From Variety:

Quentin Tarantino's WWII epic "Inglourious Basterds" is headed to the French Riviera.
The Brad Pitt starrer, set in Nazi-occupied France, has been invited to play in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Insiders said Tarantino, a longtime favorite of the French, has accepted the offer and has told the film's backers -- the Weinstein Co. and Universal Pictures -- that the pic will be ready for its world premiere during the May fest.
The movie, which follows a band of Jewish-American soldiers whose mission is to take down a group of Nazis, will bow Aug. 21.
Both the Weinstein Co. and U declined comment. Cannes organizers, who will announce the fest's lineup April 23, could not immediately be reached.
Tarantino is no stranger to the Palais. The helmer became one of Hollywood's most in-demand directors after his "Pulp Fiction" won Cannes' Palme d'Or in 1994.
A decade later, Tarantino returned to serve as president of the festival jury. Tarantino's "Kill Bill" was not in competition that year, but it did unspool on the fest's final night in its original 3-hour-plus version. In addition, "Death Proof" played in competition in 2007, and Tarantino's debut film, "Reservoir Dogs," unspooled out of competition in 1992.
This year's fest runs May 13-24.
-Can't wait till the entire lineup is released

Another trailer for Tony Scott's attempt to take a certain subway train with Denzel Washington and John Travolta

Behold the very cinematical meaning of the word "average":


-I'm sure it could be worse, so at least there's that...

A new take on the novel "Bright Lights, Big City"

From Variety:

MGM has set Josh Schwartz to write and make his feature directorial debut with a fresh take on the 1984 Jay McInerney novel "Bright Lights, Big City."
Schwartz, co-creator-exec producer of NBC's "Chuck" and CW's "Gossip Girl," will produce the film with Stephanie Savage.
The novel revolves around a disillusioned magazine writer who numbs the pain of a failed marriage and writer's block with drugs, alcohol and nightly carousing. It was made into a film in 1988 starring Michael J. Fox and Kiefer Sutherland.
Schwartz, who made his mark as the creator of Fox's teen sudser "The OC," said he wasn't sure if he would leave the McInerney tale in its original period or contemporize the film.
"Jay created a world that is really seductive and then deconstructed it in a way that is both funny and emotional," Schwartz told Daily Variety.
Schwartz courted McInerney directly when they served as jurors together at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. That relationship has led to a guest role for McInerney on "Gossip Girl."
The rights were in the library of United Artists, which distributed the original film, and MGM Worldwide Motion Picture Group chair Mary Parent sparked to the notion of Schwartz putting his spin on the book.
Schwartz begins writing after he completes the script for "X-Men: First Class." He's also working on "Lily," a "Gossip Girl" spinoff series that will star Brittany Snow.
-The book is a minor classic, so it'll be interesting to see how this turns out...thoughts?

Bruno in trouble with the MPAA?

Perhaps, according to this in Variety:

The Motion Picture Assn. of America has slapped an NC-17 rating on Universal Pictures’ laffer “Bruno.”
The ratings board objected to a number of sexual sequences in the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy, in which he plays a gay Austrian fashionista. Pic is set to unspool July 10.
Studio is hoping to land an R rating for “Bruno.” It’s making the necessary edits before resubmitting the pic to the MPAA. The deleted sequences will likely be saved for the DVD release.
Baron Cohen’s previous docu-comedy, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” also received an NC-17 rating when first submitted to the MPAA but wound up with an R.
-These films almost always appeal or edit down to an R, so don't get your hopes up for a major NC-17 release anytime soon...

Sequel to Eastern Promises Coming Soon?

Here's a snippet from a MTV chat with Cronenberg:

MTV: “We are moving forward with it,” Cronenberg told MTV News in an exclusive chat. “We all are excited about the idea of doing a sequel.”

The “we” includes Mortensen, who was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role as Nikolai; the film’s screenwriter, Steven Knight; original producer Paul Webster; and original studio, Focus Features.

“We are going to have a meeting very soon between me, Steve Knight and Paul Webster to discuss what the script would be,” Cronenberg said. “I have some very strong ideas about what I would like to see, but I would like to hear what they have to say as well. And then after that, if all goes well, Steve goes away and writes a great script. If we all like it, we make it.”

EW.

Kevin Spacey goes the indie route for his next movie

From Variety:

Kevin Spacey will star in and produce the indie comedy "Father of Invention."
Trent Cooper ("Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector") will direct from a script he penned with Jonathan Krane and Nichole Beattie.
Story centers on a humble inventor-turned-egomaniacal billionaire who loses it all when one of his inventions goes horribly awry. After eight years in federal prison, he returns bankrupt, homeless and determined to rebuild his reputation and fortune.
Trigger Street Prods.' Spacey and Dana Brunetti are producing alongside Krane ("Swordfish") and Ken Barbet. Scott Lumpkin exec produces.
Spacey has several films in the can, including "Men Who Stare at Goats," alongside George Clooney; "Telstar"; and "Shrink."
Trigger Street's producing credits include the films "21" and "Fanboys" and the smallscreen pics "Bernard and Doris" and "Recount."
-Not in love with the director, but I'll refrain from criticism...for now.

Jonathan Levine gets a new project

According to this in The Hollywood Reporter:

Jonathan Levine, who wrote and directed Sundance darling "The Wackness," has signed to direct "The Sitter" for Fox Atomic. Michael De Luca is producing. The irreverent comedy will harken back to 1987's "Adventures in Babysitting." It follows a college student, suspended for the semester and living back at home with his single mom, who has a night to remember when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door -- two boys and a wild 8-year-old girl.Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka wrote the screenplay. Jeff Arkuss is overseeing the project for Fox Atomic.Levine's "Wackness" won the audience award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and earned him an Indie Spirit nomination. The film was released by Sony Pictures Classics. His debut, indie slasher "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," is due to be released by Senator this year.Levine, repped by UTA and the Nervik Co., is developing "Positive," a romantic thriller he wrote and will direct for Occupant Films, and recently adapted "Echelon Vendetta," based on a David Stone novel, for Sony.
-Could be pretty cool...thoughts?

Another comedy project for David Gordon Green!

The acclaimed indie filmmaker, who crossed over to the mainstream with Pineapple Express, is planning on staying there for a bit it seems, according to this in Variety:

James Franco is joining Danny McBride in "Your Highness," the Universal Pictures comedy to be directed by David Gordon Green.
Scott Stuber is producing through his U-based Stuber Co. Pic begins production July 20 in Belfast. Stuber, McBride and Green set the project at U last year (Daily Variety, May 30).
Scripted by McBride and Ben Best, the comedy follows two spoiled and arrogant princes in a medieval fantasy setting. When an evil wizard casts a spell on their father and kidnaps the older prince's fiance, they're forced to go on a quest to save their family and the kingdom.
Stuber Co.'s Jon Mone, McBride and Mark Huffam are executive producers.
Franco starred for Green in Columbia Pictures comedy "Pineapple Express," which also starred McBride.
Last seen in "Milk," Franco plays poet Allen Ginsberg in the Rob Epstein/Jeffrey Friedman-directed "Howl."
-At least it's not a remake...