Screen Rant » Scott Miller

NBC Reenlists Ricky Gervais to Host Next Golden Globes

Scott Miller — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:51:42 +0000

NBC has announced that Ricky Gervais will host the Golden Globe Awards for the second straight year in early 2011.

For those keeping track at home, this will be the 68th Annual Golden Globes. It’s generally the third most-watched awards show of the year, behind the Oscars and Grammys. No doubt NBC is trying to claw its way closer to the top by once again employing the services of internationally-known jokester, Gervais.

Here’s what Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President of Alternative Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios (how ’bout that for a job title?) had to say about Gervais returning to host the next Golden Globes:

“As viewers discovered with our last awards telecast, Ricky’s surprising and unpredictable humor is a great fit for the Globes which will continue as a live event across the nation… He’s a true force of nature ...

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Bruce Lee’s ‘Silent Flute’ Once Again Calls to Hollywood

Scott Miller — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:12:58 +0000

Bruce Lee wrote a treatment for The Silent Flute before passing in 1973, and Variety tells us that Paul Malansky (the Police Academy franchise) is now developing the film. Between this and the upcoming RZA kung-fu flick, Hollywood may be commencing a martial arts movie revival.

Malansky, whose taken on the role of executive producer for The Silent Flute, had this to say about the film:

“‘The Silent Flute’ will be an epic martial arts adventure film that promises to honor Bruce Lee’s original artistic and philosophical conception… It also promises to reach new levels of action and adventure never before seen in martial arts filmmaking.”

Plenty of folks would raise an eyebrow at that last part, especially because he gave no details as to exactly how he’s gonna pull off this feat. For a better sense of ...

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Jamie Foxx Gets Animated For ‘Welcome to the Jungle’

Scott Miller — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:48:00 +0000

According to Variety, Jamie Foxx is venturing into the world of cartoons. The star is teaming up with with Twentieth Century Fox Animation for Welcome to the Jungle.

The film will feature Foxx’s voice, and he’ll compose the soundtrack as well (he’s a Grammy-winning recording artist, btw), but we’ve gotten very little word on what the flick will actually be about.

All we know so far is the tagline we’ve gotten from writer Malcom Spellman’s team: “Life is a jungle and welcome to it.” Probably the least helpful hint ever. I will say that if the film was influenced at all by the Guns N’ Roses single, I’ll be thrilled. The intro to that song still gives me an adrenaline rush. But I digress.

Spellman’s previous work includes the video game The Sopranos: Road to Respect, which I ...

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Fey and Carell to Star in ‘Mail Order Groom’?

Scott Miller — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:50:39 +0000

Riding the Date Night wave of popularity (and ticket sales), NBC stars Tina Fey and Steve Carell may reunite on the big screen in Mail Order Groom, according to the LA Times.

Groom follows a sad and lonely lady (Fey) who orders an Eastern European soldier (Carell) as a husband. Fey’s been honing that character on TV for years, but Carell’s never struck me as the military type. Of course, the fact that his character leaves wherever he’s from to be someone’s mail order husband, may reflect on his skill as a soldier. Only time will tell for sure (if the film gets made).

The script was reportedly co-written by Fey’s real-life husband (and 30 Rock co-executive producer), Jeff Richmond. Since then, it’s been tinkered with by John ...

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New ‘True Blood’ Season 3 Promo Clips, Images & Other News

Scott Miller — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:45:13 +0000

HBO has released two new behind-the-scenes clips from season three of True Blood, the first featuring neighborhood nice guy Sam Merlotte (played by Sam Trammell), and the second focusing on the always-fiesty Tara Thorton (Rutina Wesley).

We’ve also gotten our grabby little hands on a new image featuring Alcide the werewolf (played by Joe Manganiello of One Tree Hill fame) together with Sookie and an interview with Carrie Preston, the actress who plays Arlene, talking about her future with the show amid rumors she’s leaving to join the cast of The Good Wife. We even scooped up some information on a True Blood comic book spinoff.

BEHIND THE SCENES CLIPS

Sam seems to have become more of a wry tough guy during the break, handling a shotgun in his face with quite ...

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Timberlake and Diaz Reunite For ‘Bad Teacher’

Scott Miller — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:22:09 +0000

Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake are cast mates in Bad Teacher, which started shooting recently. Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard) is directing and the script was penned by collaborators Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (who helped write the upcoming Ghosbusters III).

However, the hype will surely focus on the reunion of former off-screen couple Timberlake and Diaz - even if it that reunion is strictly professional.

The film follows a seventh-grade teacher (Diaz) who’s apparently terrible at her job and looking for a wealthy man (played by a nerdy-looking Timberlake) to take her away from it all. For more about the film, here’s what Kasdan had to say:

“[Diaz's character is] usually hungover when she gets to school… She’s kind of foul mouthed. And she’s completely fixated on trying to afford breast augmentation surgery, and very open about it. ...

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New ‘Kick-Ass’ Clips, Interview & TV Spot

Scott Miller — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:19:42 +0000

Today we have two new clips from Kick-Ass, an interview with the director and writer and a new TV spot! Kick-Ass was directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake), adapted from the Mark Millar (Wanted) comic series by Vaughn and Jane Goldman (who previously collaborated with Vaughn on the scripts for The Debt and Stardust).

It stars Aaron Johnson (The Illusionist), Lyndsy Fonseca (Hot Tub Time Machine), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), Chloe Moretz (Let Me In) and Nicolas Cage. You can read our full review of Kick-Ass here!

Coming Soon hooked us up with the new clips, /Film sent along the interviews and Super Hero Hype provided the TV spot.

The first movie clip features Nic Cage as Big Daddy beating, stabbing and shooting some guys in a warehouse that must ...

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‘Look Who’s Talking’ Remake AND E-Trade Baby Movie?

Scott Miller — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:00:41 +0000

With rumors swirling of an E-Trade Baby movie, I guess it’s not all that surprising that Neil Moritz (The Bounty Hunter, Fast & Furious, I Am Legend) is reportedly producing a Look Who’s Talking remake.

Pajiba seems to be the source of all baby-related movie news in the universe. I’ll say it. I remember the original Look Who’s Talking fondly. I was eight when I saw it, but there was something about Bruce Willis’ scratchy voice and wry sense of humor that made the movie work, despite the cheesy moments. Not to mention, how could this film not get remade? Hollywood will literally remake anything that they believe will bring in money, and the original grossed almost $300MM worldwide (and it came out in ...

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Bekmambetov Attached to ‘Casebook of Victor Frankenstein’

Scott Miller — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:52:24 +0000

Timur Bekmambetov has been busy. We recently reported that the Wanted director was in talks to produce and direct The Last Witch Hunter, and now /Film tells us that he’s attached to The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein. He’s already committed to producing the film, and the unconfirmed word on the street is that he’ll be directing as well. The story has been adapted by David Auburn (Proof, The Lake House) from Peter Ackroyd’s 2009 eponymous novel. Vespa Pictures (Nosebleed) optioned the book and partnered with Bekmambetov to adapt it for the screen. For more on the story, here’s a portion of the book’s official synopsis:

“When two nineteenth-century Oxford students–Victor Frankenstein, a serious researcher, and the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley–form an unlikely friendship…Shelley challenges the conventionally religious Frankenstein to consider his atheistic notions ...

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‘Friday Night Lights’ Returns to NBC on May 7th

Scott Miller — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:39:02 +0000

NBC has announced that its Emmy-winning Friday Night Lights will return on May 7th. For those of you who’ve been paying close attention, the series was originally set to return April 30.

Thanks to Deadline for calling this one in from the booth. NBC will be airing the show on, you guessed it, Friday nights from 8-9pm. I’m looking forward to the return of the Taylors (played by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton), one of the most honest, interesting couples on TV. No official word on why the start date was pushed back a week.

Scene Source tells us that the fourth season of FNL has already aired on DirectTV, so you serious fans out there might want to think long and hard about that after the NBC fumble.

For those that need a recap, here’s the original ...

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Paul Rae Joins Cast of ‘True Grit’

Scott Miller — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:24:54 +0000

Paul Rae joins the high-powered cast of the Coen Brother’s remake of the classic John Wayne film, True Grit. Thanks to Variety for pointing this out.

Rae (W., Fringe) will be joining Oscar-caliber actors Matt Damon (Invictus), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) and Josh Brolin (Milk), in addition to Barry Pepper (Flags of Our Fathers), Hailee Steinfeld (Back to You) and Ed Corbin (Blue Sky).

While we all know Oscars aren’t the end-all, be-all, for determining talent, I’m excited by the prospect of what this ensemble could pull off. Damon, Bridges and Brolin have each played a wide variety of parts and have shown polished senses of humor on screen, which will no doubt be a welcome counterbalance in a film like True Grit.

The Coen Brothers, who are about ...

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Dalton and Berkoff Join ‘The Tourist’

Scott Miller — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:38:02 +0000

To add to the slew of casting announcements for Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Tourist, it’s just been announced that Timothy Dalton (License To Kill) and Steven Berkoff (Rambo) have joined Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and the rest of the cast. Coming Soon tipped us off.

Who are these people and what is this movie? Read on, adventurers.

The film follows an American tourist (Depp) who goes to Italy to mend a broken heart, meets a beautiful and mysterious woman (Jolie, obviously) and gets caught up in espionage. Depp and Jolie need no parenthetical work references, however Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck might.

Donnersmarck wrote and directed the excellent Das Leben der Anderen (aka The Lives of Others), which will be remade in the U.S. and produced by Harvey Weinstein, Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella. With the type of cast ...

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Eli Roth Talks RZA Kung Fu Movie, ‘Man With The Iron Fist’

Scott Miller — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:54:07 +0000

The film in question is RZA’s (aka Robert Diggs – Wu-Tang Clan superstar) upcoming Kung Fu project, The Man with the Iron Fist. The cocksure commentary comes from the multi-faceted Eli Roth (writer/director of the Hostel series and star of Inglourious Basterds).

AceShowBiz got the details from WENN (although it’s not linked), who spoke to Roth about RZA and the flick.

Roth helped RZA with Man with the Iron Fist; the film also has Quentin Tarantino and Eric Newman (Children of Men) attached as producers. RZA (who performed in Repo Men and has worked on lots of movie soundtracks, including 8 mile and Belly) both penned the script and will direct. Here’s what Roth had to say about the film:

“We worked together on the script all summer, and we have watched and discussed many, many ...

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‘Bleach’ Manga Attracts Warner Bros.

Scott Miller — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:47:02 +0000

Warner Brothers seems to be on an anime kick. We reported earlier that the studio is working on an adaptation of Akira and Heat Vision just pointed out that the WB is in the process of securing the rights to Bleach, the popular manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo.

The story follows teenager Ichigo Kurosaki, who has the ability to see spirits and mistakenly absorbs the power of a Soul Reaper (an entity like the Grim Reaper). The Soul Reaper is then stranded on Earth in human form until she recovers her strength, and our little Ichigo must substitute for her, escorting souls to the afterlife and protecting humans from evil spirits.

The Bleach series, which has been continually published in Japan since August of 2001, includes plenty of action, dirty political maneuvering in the Soul Reaper Society ...

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‘Blank Slate’ Acquired by Producers of ‘Legion’

Scott Miller — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:09:52 +0000

Bold Films, the folks that helped put a winged Paul Bettany on every other billboard in New York City have acquired the action-thriller spec script, Blank Slate. THR gets the cookie for tipping us off.

The script comes from Douglas Cook and David Weisberg, who wrote The Rock (who could forget Connery saying, “Welcome to The Rock!”) and Double Jeopardy (ok, so not every script can be fantastic).

[SIDE NOTE: the image above is in no way related to the film or the production company. I figured it's gotta be pretty close to what we'll be seeing, in Blank Slate. Read on for details about the script and the production company.]

The script for Blank Slate, which is reportedly a female-oriented take on The Bourne Identity, finds the ever-troublesome CIA investigating the murder of one of its agents by implanting her memories “into ...

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Rumor Patrol: Tim Burton’s Addams Family 3D?

Scott Miller — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:51:21 +0000

Our friends over at Deadline mentioned that a 3D version of The Addams Family is on the way, spearheaded by the brilliant Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland, Corpse Bride).

MTV got word and reached out to Burton’s people directly about the possible 3D remake – However, Burton’s camp responded that “there is no truth to the story.” Sounds pretty final to me, but read on for more about the rumor and the response from the Burton camp. It was reported that Burton would be directing a 3D stop-motion animation film based on Charles Addams’ original drawings (some of which appeared in the New Yorker) that would not be directly related to the litany of Addams Family films and television series that have come before.

It was further reported that ...

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‘Wanted’ Director Attached to ‘The Last Witch Hunter’

Scott Miller — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:12:57 +0000

The Last Witch Hunter. The title says it all, folks. Timur Bekmambetov. If ever there was a self-explanatory name… just kidding.

Deadline reports that Summit Entertainment (The Hurt Locker, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) purchased a pitch from Priest scribe Cory Goodman about one of the last in an undoubtedly-righteous breed of civil servants who keep witches from overpopulating for the sake of mankind. Bekmambetov is reportedly making a deal to produce and direct.

About the film: remember I mentioned witches? Guess what. Those witches are vying for an uncontrolled explosion in their population, Jurassic Park-style. Now, remember the title? Struggle ensues.

Bekmambetov is probably best-known (state-side) for both co-producing the animated film 9 with the visionary Tim Burton and directing Wanted. Outside of the U.S., he’s known for directing the vampire flicks Nochnoi ...

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A Clip From ‘Priest’ Starring Paul Bettany

Scott Miller — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:48:56 +0000

Behold, non-believers! A clip from another vampire flick! This one, Priest, revolves around the sure-to-be-violent comeback of a retired vampire killer. Played by Paul Bettany (Legion, The Young Victoria), the eponymous lead character is spurred into action when a group of bloodsuckers kidnap his 18-year-old niece. The clip aired on the Canadian version of Entertainment Tonight on Friday.

Without further ado:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhGALP0llQ4

Priest will reunite Bettany with director Scott Stewart (Legion, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love) and will also feature Cam Gigandet (Twilight, Pandorum), Maggie Q (Balls of Fury, Live Free or Die Hard) and Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Bourne Supremacy). The script is brought to you by Cory Goodman (no previous writing credits on IMDB!) based on the graphic novel by Min-Woo Hyung.

/Film‘s official plot synopsis also says the film’s lead ...

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‘Hobbit’ June Start Date Confirmed By McKellan

Scott Miller — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:08:29 +0000

The highly-anticipated return to Middle Earth that is The Hobbit kicks off production this June, as was rumored and is now confirmed, thanks to the website of one Knight of the British Empire, Ian McKellan. Thanks to the gentle people of ComingSoon for sounding the horns on this.

For those who don’t know, The Hobbit is being split into two films, which will be shot where all the cool kids shoot their films (New Zealand) over the next year or so, with Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade II) sitting in the director’s chair. The actor’s website had this to say:

THE HOBBIT’s, two films, start shooting in New Zealand in June. Filming will take over a year. Casting in Los Angeles, New York City and London has started. The script too proceeds. The first draft ...

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‘S.W.A.T.’ Sequel Gets a Director

Scott Miller — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:16:59 +0000

Maybe the driving force behind the decision to go ahead with the S.W.A.T. sequel, S.W.A.T.: Fire-Fight was the chemistry between original cast members Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, LL Cool J and Michelle Rodriguez, but my guess is it was the $120MM profit Sony/Columbia made on the movie (outside chance a powerful executive at Sony is obsessed with punctuation).

Movie Insider radioed over the news between emotional requests for backup.The film is set to be directed by the appropriately-named Benny Boom (Next Day Air, 50 Cent: The Massacre – Special Edition) and the script was penned by Reed Schneider (NCIS, The Shield). /Film also tells us that the movie follows:

“Lieutenant Paul Cutler, who is transferred to a SWAT team in Detroit and ‘finds himself the target of a homicidal genius who is ...

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