Prepare for a sequel to 'Clash of the Titans'...

...in the near future too, according to The Los Angeles Times:

"Clash of the Titans 2" is seemingly turning into a bigger priority by the day.

Producers, along with executives at Warner Bros. and producer Legendary Pictures, have been busily meeting with directors, with an eye to shooting the sequel as early as January.

A number of filmmakers are in contention for the job, but one name that's risen to the top of the list is Jonathan Liebesman. Originally a horror director -- he made "Darkness Falls" and the 2006 "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" prequel -- Liebesman has re-fashioned himself as an action director. The filmmaker has a movie called "Battle: Los Angeles" -- about an alien invasion in this fair city -- coming next year. He's also onboard for another classic action tale (or an action tale set in a classic period) at Warner Bros: a re-imagining of "Odysseus" with the producers of "300," which Liebesman helped conceive and then sold to the studio.

The new director on "Clash 2" would of course replace Louis Leterrier, who opted not to direct the follow-up to his recent film.

Warners and Legendary have reason to move quickly on "Clash 2." The original (that is, the 2010 remake) pocketed a nice chunk of change -- $162 million domestically and a solid $325 million overseas, on a budget of only about $125 million. And this one will be shot in 3-D -- none of the conversion stuff. That means the movie could be more expensive, but at least it won't get hammered for its look.

Early 2011 is also a priority because the studio needs to make sure star Sam Worthington, who is committed to shoot "Avatar 2" (likely later in the year), is free and clear. Look for this one to continue to come together quickly.

-Well, it won't have to do much to be better than the first one, which was atrocious to me...thoughts?

'Green Lantern' may in fact be a year away, but 'Green Lantern 2' already has a writer!

Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

“Green Lantern” is a year away from release, but Warner Bros. already is starting development on a sequel.

The studio has hired Greg Berlanti, Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim, all of whom worked on the “Lantern” screenplay, to write a treatment for the second installment.

The trio has also been tapped to pen the treatment for the silver-screen incarnation of “The Flash.”

Under the deal, they would then go on to write the screenplay for one of the two projects, though which one has not been determined.

“Lantern” is shooting in New Orleans under the direction of Martin Campbell with Ryan Reynolds starring as the emerald ring-wielding DC Comics superhero who is part of an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps.

Development on a second installment this far out from a movie’s release date is rare, signaling the studio’s confidence in what it sees so far.

It also appears to be the first moves the studio is making under its newly configured relationship with DC.

In September, DC was reorganized to bring it closer to Warners, with Diane Nelson named president of newly created DC Entertainment. In February, artist Jim Lee and executive editor Dan DiDio were named publishers of DC Comics. Star writer Geoff Johns was appointed chief creative officer of DCE, with the aim of bridging the comics and filmed entertainment sides.

With new Batman and Superman films in the writing stages and “Lantern” filming, the team thought “Flash” was the next logical hero to tackle.

Development on a feature version of the scarlet speedster has gone through several false starts over the years, but the character is close to Johns’ heart. The writer recently brought back to prominence one version of the character not seen since the mid-1980s and is working on a relaunch of the series.

The “Flash” film will take inspiration from Johns’ recent work and will feature the Barry Allen incarnation of the character. (In comics lore, several names have wielded the Flash mantle, though Allen, created in 1956, remains by far the most popular.)

Berlanti, creator of “Everwood,” recently directed the feature “Life as We Know it,” starring Katherine Heigl, and is an exec producer on ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters.” He co-created “Eli Stone” with Guggenheim, who is exec producing ABC’s upcoming superhero drama “No Ordinary Family.” Berlanti co-created "Family," which stars Michael Chiklis.

Green worked with Berlanti on “Everwood” and created NBC’s “Kings.”

The trio is repped by WME.

-One would hope this means that there's a kick-ass flick coming our way next year...thoughts?

Another film in the Bourne franchise appears to be on the horizon...

...according to this in Deadline:

Well, I'm excited by this breaking news. Universal is bringing back what it's calling "the key screenwriter" behind the Bourne franchise to write the treatment for the fourquel, whose working title is the The Bourne Legacy. And he's also writing what studio insiders are calling the "Bourne Bible". Tony Gilroy, of course, was the key writer on The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley are back to produce alongside Captivate Entertainment which is the Robert Ludlum estate production company led by Jeffrey Weiner and Ben Smith. (The pic won't be based on the book The Bourne Legacy written by Eric Lustabader in Ludlum’s series.) Bourne 4 will have a 2012 release. No word yet on whether Matt Damon or Paul Greengrass will be back. (Matt has said he won't do Bourne 4 unless Paul does. And Paul has said he's not.) But I bet Gilroy's involvement might lure at least Damon, who'd be an idiot not to continue the best role of his life -- not to mention the best payday.

-This doesn't seem especially necessary, but there are worse projects these people could be involved in...thoughts?

Gus Van Sant actually chased the 'Breaking Dawn' gig...

...according to The Playlist:

An interview with writer Bret Easton Ellis touching on his collaboration with Gus Van Sant on "The Golden Suicides" has seemingly revealed that Van Sant was not only targeted by 'Twilight' producers for the concluding installment of the franchise but that he was in fact actively chasing the gig.

"Van Sant, meanwhile, was trying to get the gig to direct 'Twilight,'" NY Mag reports with Ellis adding that "you can make a lot of money doing that."

We originally noted out of producers original dream trio — Sofia Coppola, Bill Condon and Van Sant — that the "Milk" helmer's sensibilities was probably the most qualified for the job. That was, of course, before Condon sidelined his work on the adaptation of "Salmon Fishing In Yemen" and the Richard Pryor biopic "Is It Something I Said?" for the uber-popular series. While we joked about the producers' targets at the time, it seems like the position was eventually fought over by at least two of the aforementioned three.

Ellis' comment about money suggests the paycheck might have been an enticing prospect for Van Sant with the director also a personal favorite for the franchise's breakout star, Robert Pattinson. It all seems perfectly lined up but why then didn't it happen then? Was Van Sant's vision far too "out there" for Summit to risk their golden calf? We guess it'll remain to be seen what transpired leading up to Condon's recruitment.

Van Sant is a busy man nevertheless but currently finishing of his own tale of young love in "Restless" due for release this fall. He also his long-gestating adaptation of the Dustin Lance Black-scribed "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" and, as we mentioned, the Ellis-scribed "The Golden Suicides" about the two artists Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan who mysteriously committed suicide, which is reportedly traveling well despite being an understandably tough sell.

“You can imagine what trying to sell a movie about two people killing themselves was like," Ellis explained. "It was a highly comic movie in its own right. And everyone said, ‘Oh, we’d love to see this movie, we just don’t want to pay any money to see it through."

Condon, on the other hand, he is preparing to direct the two-part conclusion to the 'Twilight' franchise with all key talent now on board.

-Thoughts?

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' gets a Trailer!

Proving the MTV Movie Awards aren't completely useless:

-Thoughts?

Want to know what Christopher Nolan has to say about Batman AND Superman?

Well, look no further than this article from Coming Soon:

Empire magazine talked to Christopher Nolan, whose new film Inception opens July 16, and got some great quotes from the helmer on the next Batman movie, coming July 20, 2012, and next Superman movie, targeted for a holiday 2012 release.

It was recently revealed that he would take on a mentor (or "godfather") role for the Superman movie, but he's not that comfortable with that title. "It's much more specific than that," he explained, "What it is, while David Goyer and myself were putting together the story for another Batman film a few years ago - you know, thrashing out where we might move on from 'The Dark Knight' - we got stuck. We were just sitting there idly chatting and he said, ' By the way, I think I know how you approach Superman,' and he told me his take on it. I thought it was really tremendous. It was the first time I had been able to conceive of how you would address Superman in a modern context. I thought it was a very exciting idea."

Nolan said he took that idea and pitched it to Warner Bros., and the studio got excited, too. "But it's not something for me to direct," he added. "It's something we were just trying to put together a vision for, and then find the right person to take it forward."

What's important to Nolan is finding the core of what makes the character so indelible; he favors the back-to-basics approach. "What you have to remember with both Batman and Superman," he told the magazine, "is that what makes those the best superhero characters there are, the most beloved after all this time, is the essence of who those characters were when they were created and when they were first developed. And you can't ever move too far from that."

He still hasn't officially signed on to direct new Batman movie. "No I haven't. There is a point where you're just being precious about it and people get annoyed, but the God's honest truth is I work on one movie at a time. I'm only capable of doing that, so my head will continue to be firmly in ['Inception'] for another few months."
There are some things, though, that Nolan can confirm. "My brother is working on the screenplay. We came up with a story that we are very excited about. We particularly like where we are taking the characters and what the ending is... There are things for me to be very excited about in addressing the characters again. But ultimately it always comes down to the script, and can we make a great film from this? That's something I will firmly be turning my attention to figuring out fairly soon." It will be, he said, "the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story."

Empire asked whether the villain could be a returning (and recast) Joker. "No," said Nolan resisting to elaborate, "I just don't feel comfortable about it."

Nolan reiterated that you won't be seeing a Batman/Superman crossover in his movies. "Marvel are doing what they do and people will respond to that really well, or they won't," said Nolan. "It's not something I ever really applied a blanket rule to, but Marvel characters are very different to DC characters, and the key DC characters are very different to the minor DC characters. You've got to go back to that element of, 'What do I see when I close my eyes and think of Batman? What do I see when I close my eyes and think of Superman?' And for me a big part of that is their individuality. They are extraordinary beings in an ordinary world. And the reason I think the two are fascinating is because Superman is very specifically superpowered and obviously otherworldly; Batman is very human and flawed. They're two very different characters, but there's an elemental feeling of power in the iconography of those characters. To me that's originally because they stood alone. I need to hang on to that in my imagining of them."

-Very interesting quotes there...thoughts?

Here are two character Posters for 'Predators'!

Thoughts?

Will the summer movie season be a wasteland for sequels?

It's a possibility, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Hollywood still hopes to shake off early symptoms, but there is spreading concern that the summer boxoffice will be plagued by a nasty case of sequelitis.

Conditions are ripe: Studios have planted 11 sequels or franchise reboots in the fertile May-August span, up from nine last summer and seven from the 2008 season. But those opened so far have underwhelmed, with seasonal boxoffice off by a double-digit margin and studio executives beginning to feel woozy.

Most recently, Warner Bros.' "Sex and the City 2" was expected to outpace its 2008 predecessor and top the Memorial Day weekend. Instead, it lagged the original's bow dramatically and debuted with a tarnished bronze medal, trailing even Disney's disappointing "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time." (A would-be franchise starter, "Persia" will need outsized international contributions to reach profitability.)

DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek Forever After" finished first in the frame. But that was of limited relief, as the Paramount-distributed four-quel missed consensus forecasts for its opening by a nauseating $30 million.

Reaction to the latest disappointments came swiftly.

"There very well could be some burnout with moviegoers, who are looking for something new and fresh," a top studio exec lamented Tuesday.

Not everything has been doom and gloom.

Summer's first tentpole release, Paramount's "Iron Man 2," soon should top $300 million after initially disappointing those hoping the Robert Downey Jr. starrer would kick-start the all-important season with a record bow.

But the desultory outings of "Shrek Forever" and "Sex 2" have many seeing signs of franchise fatigue.

"Watching the decline of 'Sex and the City 2' every day has really surprised us," another top industyite said.

The New Line-produced dramedy fetched $14.2 million in its first day of release Thursday but at least $2 million less each day since.

Still, it's possible to explain each pic's disappointment individually.

Expectations of a summer-launching record opening by the "Iron Man" sequel probably were unrealistic, and the second-week traction by "Shrek Forever" suggests a run as leggy as most family pics. As for "Sex 2," the TV series leading to the big-screen franchise ended a distant six years ago.

Film-specific explanations for boxoffice wobbles have some predicting smoother sailing through the balance of the sequel-filled summer. But it's too soon to tell if Hollywood can quell its boxoffice maladies before contagion spreads.

The next sequel set to hit multi¬plexes is Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 3," which nobody expects to have any difficulty generating impressive boxoffice when it opens June 18.

"The interest is immense," Disney distribution topper Chuck Viane said.

Remakes such as Sony's June 11 opener "The Karate Kid" also will be watched carefully. But pre¬release interest in the reimagined "Kid" appears high, and its comparisons with decades-old boxoffice figures won't be difficult.

So it's possible the best test of moviegoers' attitudes won't come until June 30, when Summit Entertainment sends out the "Twilight" threequel "Eclipse."

All signs point to enormous interest among the fanged franchise's young fan base. But perception is often reality with boxoffice success, so could the vampire romance open well but still be deemed a failure?

Not bloody likely, said a distribution topper at a rival studio citing tracking data.

"Expectations can get out of hand, but I would put the 'Twlight' picture down for a $125 million opening right now," the industryite said. "That's huge."

Just not as huge as the opening posted by the franchise's first sequel: "New Moon" bowed with $142.8 million in November.

Rentrak data show summer boxoffice is off 21% so far at $813 million. The season starts on the first Friday of May and got a one-weekend head start May 1 last year.

Adding in one weekend from the end of spring cuts industry underperformance to 12%. But ticket-price inflation since last summer means admissions are off more significantly.

-How do you think these sequels will end up doing?

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

Thoughts?

'Scream 4' begins casting up...

...with three young stars being announced to go along with some franchise staples. Here's the story from Coming Soon:

Dimension Films has confirmed that Hayden Panettiere ("Heroes") and Rory Culkin will star in Scream 4 as well.

They join original "Scream" cast members Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox Arquette, as well as newcomer to the franchise, Emma Roberts.

To be directed by Wes Craven from a Kevin Williamson script, the anticipated follow-up starts shooting in June for a release in theaters on April 15, 2011.

Iya Labunka is producing along with Craven.

-Thoughts?

Today's Posters: New looks at Splice and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Thoughts?

Did Megan Fox get the boot from 'Transformers 3'?

Yes she did, according to Variety:

Paramount is parting ways with Megan Fox on "Transformers 3."

A studio spokeswoman disclosed Wednesday that Par has decided against picking up Fox's option to star as Mikaela Banes in the third installment, but declined to elaborate.

Sources close to the production indicated that Par and director Michael Bay want to take the storyline in another direction and plans to cast another actress as the love interest for star Shia LaBeouf, who plays Sam Witwicky. Those sources indicated that Fox's ouster was un- related to a September interview with a British magazine in which Fox compared Bay with Adolf Hitler.
Bay's directing from a script by Ehren Krueger with the storyline kept under wraps. Working title is "Transformers 3."

Pic, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce, is set to open July 1, 2011. Steven Spielberg is exec producing.

Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and Ken Jeong have signed on to the project. Thesps Kevin Dunn and Julie White will return in the roles of Ron Witwicky and Judy Witwicky.

"Transformers" is Paramount's most valuable franchise, particularly since the studio is the sole financier. The first "Transformers" grossed $709.7 million worldwide, followed by $836.4 million for last year's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

Initially, Bay had wanted to take a longer break before lensing the threequel, but ultimately decided to meet the studio's summer 2011 release date.

Fox will be seen next in Warner's supernatural Western "Jonah Hex" opposite Josh Brolin. "Hex" opens June 18.

-I don't especially hate her, but I've hated the Transformers flicks, so it's a wash for me...thoughts?

Predators gets 2 new Posters!

Thoughts?

Will the next 'Pirates of the Caribbean' flick be in 3D?

Yup, and not a 2D conversion either. Here's the story from Coming Soon:

A lot of the 2011 summer tentpole releases have already been announced as being either filmed in 3D or converted afterwards, but so far, May 2011 has been somewhat devoid of 3D release announcements... until now!

Walt Disney Pictures has announced that the fourth installment of Jerry Bruckheimer's popular action franchise Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, directed by Rob Marshall, will be filmed in Disney Digital 3D. Bruckheimer's only previous 3D movie before that was last year's G-Force.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is still slated for release on May 20, 2011.

-Least it's not a conversion, though I'm not a fan of the franchise...thoughts?

Did Charlie Kaufman just do a script polish for the 'Kung Fu Panda' sequel?

He sure did, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Charlie Kaufman, the Oscar-winning writer behind “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and films such as “Adaptation” and “Being John Malkovich,” has headed off into an unexpected direction: animation.

The scribe is coming off of less than two weeks worth of work on DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom,” the sequel to the fun 2008 movie that had the voice talent of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Dustin Hoffman.

His work on “Kaboom” falls under the polish category, and animated movies tend to be worked on by multiple writers, so it’s not fair to say this will be a Kaufman cartoon. But it will be interesting to see, when the movie is released in 2011, how much of the Kaufman stamp it will bear.

And it’s also interesting to think about the potentially other secret assignments the UTA-repped Kaufman may have taken over the years in order to be keep working on his unique projects. (There was a four-year gap in between “Spotless Mind” and “Synecdoche, New York,” which he also directed.”)

-I'd love to know what other projects he may have had a hand in...thoughts?

Today's Posters: The Chronicles of Narnia 3, Charlie St. Cloud, and The Last Exorcism

Thoughts?

What does Jon Favreau have in mind for Iron Man 3 if he ends up directing it?

Well, Collider has some details:

Director Jon Favreau is already looking ahead to Iron Man 3 even though he admits he has no idea what it will look like until after the events of Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers. However, he told MTV that he would still like to have Iron Man's arch-nemesis The Mandarin be the film’s villain. For those unfamiliar with the character, he’s a Fu-Manchu-looking Asian caricature who possesses ten magical rings. Favreau admits that the character from the comics will require some alterations, but he’s been setting up Mandarin’s presence in the last two films. The terrorist organization in the first Iron Man is part of the “Ten Rings” and if you look through the credits of Iron Man 2, you’ll see Ali Khan credited as “10 Rings Gangster” (he’s the one who hands Vanko the forged ID and travel documents).

I like that Favreau’s willing to say “I don’t know” at this point and it should now be clear that he’s taking the time to make Cowboys and Aliens (which comes out next summer) so that the Marvel Universe can simmer before jumping into a third Iron Man movie without knowing how Tony Stark is going to fare during and after The Avengers.

-A lot will depend on who the hire to write it, if it even happens...thoughts

Brad Bird's 'Mission: Impossible IV' and a 'Planet of the Apes' prequel get release dates!

Here are both stories, starting with the M:I4 one from Collider:

Paramount Pictures has set December 16, 2011 as the release date for Mission: Impossible IV. No director has been announced, but when we last reported on the film, it appeared that the studio was hammering out the final details with Oscar-winner Brad Bird (The Incredibles). There are no story details on the fourth film, but Tom Cruise will return as Agent Ethan Hunt. J.J. Abrams, who directed the third film, will return as a producer. Screenwriters Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec are attached to write the script, from an original idea by Cruise and Abrams.

There are three films currently slated to open in December 2011 other than Mission Impossible 4: Martin Scorsese’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret on December 9th, Alvin and the Chipmunks 3D on December 16th, and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn on December 23rd. Of these four films, Mission: Impossible IV is the only one that isn’t set to be in 3D. Of course, I wouldn’t be shocked if M:I-4 was infected by the 3D plague somewhere down the line.

Tom Cruise just today confirmed that it's apparently Bird in the director's chair.

-Here's the Apes story from Variety:

Twentieth Century Fox will release prequel "Rise of the Apes" on June 24, 2011, with Rupert Wyatt confirmed to direct.

Title is tentative.

Studio is partnering with Peter Jackson's visual effects company WETA Digital on the film, which relaunches the "Planet of the Apes" franchise.

Chernin Entertainment is producing.

Wyatt will direct from a script by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa, who also are producing with Chernin Entertainment's Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark.

"Rise of the Apes" is an origins story set in present-day San Francisco. The film is a reality-based cautionary tale, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

WETA will render, for the first time ever in the film series, photo-realistic apes rather than costumed actors.

-Thoughts?

What the world apparently needs now is one more 'Die Hard' flick...

...according to Fox, at least. Here's what The Hollywood Reporter had to say:

John McClane’s string of bad luck may not yet be over.

“Hitman” screenwriter Skip Woods is in negotiations with Fox to take a crack at a new “Die Hard” script. The New York cop known for consistently being in the wrong place at the right time has already survived four run-ins with terrorists, traitors and psychotic loose cannons of one stripe or another.

In his last outing, “Live Free or Die Hard,” written by Mark Bomback and directed by Len Wiseman in 2007, McClane battled Web terrorists to $378 million in worldwide grosses — 20 years after first pitching Hans Gruber out a broken window at Fox towers. So the studio justifiably sees another installment as a strong bet.

There’s no word yet on the new project’s story line, but former Fox exec Alex Young (“Unstoppable”) is producing.

The CAA-repped Woods has already co-written several tentpole projects for Fox, including “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and the forthcoming TV adaptation “The A-Team.” He also wrote the original screenplay for “Swordfish.”

McClane himself, the CAA-repped Bruce Willis, has several projects moving toward release — Sylvester’s Stallone’s “The Expendables” and the Summit actioner “Red” — and then a late-summer production start on the Lionsgate video game adaptation “Kane & Lynch.”

After that, he’s free again to dig out the stubble, filthy T-shirt and beleaguered wisecracks.

-I'm not thrilled with their choice of scribe, but I liked the last film in the franchise more than some of the other ones, so I'm not necessarily against this...thoughts?

Is Matthew Vaughn directing 'X-Men: First Class' after all?

Well, yes...according to the latest from The Hollywood Reporter:

Fox has closed a deal with Matthew Vaughn to direct “X-Men: First Class” and has set a date of June 3, 2011, for the film.

Vaughn’s involvement had been on and off, with negotiations resuming yesterday thanks to the involvement of producer Bryan Singer. Another factor had been Fox’s desire of wanting to have a finished film for next summer, making the search for a director who can deliver a quality film a priority.

On top of that, Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, who worked on Marvel's "Thor" movie, did a rewrite on the "First Class" script that convinced execs that making a movie for next year was possible.

Singer, who conceived the story for "First Class" and was to initially direct the movie before choosing to focus on “Jack the Giant Killer” for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, is producing along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg.

According to Fox, “First Class” will “chart the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were the closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.”

The June 3 date sets “First Class” in a boxoffice battle with DreamWorks Animation's “Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom.” Warners’ comic book movie “Green Lantern” opens two weeks later, June 17. And the sequel to “The Hangover” opens June 5.

-I think he's a very good choice, all in all...thoughts?