It’s been a while since we discussed the Tom Cruise/ Ben Stiller team-up for  The Hardy Men, a big screen comedy about the infamous fictional teenage detectives The Hardy Boys.

However, director Shawn Levy is stating that the film is very much in active development and it looks like it is moving closer (albeit slowly) to the big screen.

The last news that we heard about the film, which is  based on the series of Hard Boys novels penned by various  authors under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon was that Men In Black scribe Ed Soloman was writing the script – but that was almost a year ago!

Levy has spoke to Starpulse about the film, and the issues which have slowed down its journey to cinema screens.

When Levy spoke to Starpulse about the film’s genesis he said:

“Yes, I saw how well Ben and Tom got along and that’s what gave me the idea of wait a second, I’ve got to do a movie with them together. Wait a second, let’s do The Hardy Men with them together. That brainchild came about because I saw their chemistry as friends.”

The director then went on to discuss the challenges of making a film with two big movie stars:

“Developing a movie for a movie star is hard. Developing a movie for two movie stars is a very, very challenging enterprise. The bull’s eye is small and the tone has to be exactly right. So we are still working on it.”

However, he also added that the script for the film is far from complete and that they still don’t have a satisfactory central mystery:

“We have tried several. No, we have not locked in on one.”

I loved the Hardy Boys novels as a kid, and always thought that they’d be ripe for a big screen adaptation (although, in my mind’s eye, I always saw Matt Damon and Ben Affleck starring). Having said that, I feel that Stiller and Cruise are inspired casting choices – as anyone who has seen Tropic Thunder and the Mission: Impossible skit Mission: Improbable can attest to.

More on The Hardy Men when we get it!

Source: Starpulse

Friday the 13^th was lucky for some at the box office; The Hardy Men keeps moving; Russell joins Ford and Fraser; in Crowley; Kevin James goes to the Zoo; Ayer pens Deep Sea Cowboys and are you ready to Escape to Donegal?

Box Office

Friday the 13^th is unlucky for some, but very lucky for people with profit participation in the movie. The horror remake slashed its way through $42 million over the weekend. Not bad for a movie with a $19 million budget. Expect the sequel soon.

He’s Just Not That Into You held up well and banked another $19 million from Friday to Sunday. A $100 million final total seems likely.

Liam Neeson’s Taken continues to hold well grossing another $19 million. The century mark is coming up fast. Taken is now officially the sleeper hit of the year.

The terrible looking Confessions of a Shopaholic rang up $15 million at tills around the US. Not a bad performance, but I’m guessing that Jerry Bruckheimer wanted more.

Coraline grossed another $15 million this weekend showing impressive legs.

Speaking of legs – Paul Blart: Mall Cop managed another $11 million bringing the total to $110 million. It’s a crazy world folks.

Clive Owen’s The International had a modest opening of $10 million. Expect this one to make it’s money at the worldwide box office.

The Pink Panther 2 laughed up another $9 million. It should finish with around $50 million – about $30 million less than the original. A sequel will depend on DVD and international grosses.

Slumdog Millionaire grossed another $7 million bringing the total to $86 million. $100 million is just an inch away.

Movie News

1. It looks like the Tom Cruise/ Ben Stiller comedy The Hardy Men is one inch closer to fruition. Ed Soloman, the wordsmith behind Men In Black has been brought on board to pen the comedy that follows the adventures of Frank and Joe Hardy, two former teen detectives who are now estranged.

The film is based on the series of Hard Boys novels that were penned by a variety of authors under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. Keri Russell will join Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser in The Untitled Crowley Project. According to Variety:

“In this emotional drama, Russell plays Aileen Crowley, a wife and mother who relentlessly builds a normal, loving home life for her children while her husband, John Crowley (Fraser), and an unconventional scientist (Ford) race against time to build a company that could rescue them. The film is inspired by a true story.”

Source: Variety

3. Did you love Paul Blart: Mall Cop? If you did you should look forward to Kevin James’ forthcoming The Zookeeper.

According to Variety:

“Zookeeper centers on a lonely zookeeper who decides to leave his job because he can’t meet a girl, leading to intervention by the zoo’s animals.”

If you went to see Mall Cop – you asked for this!

Source: Variety

3. Training Day’s David Ayer will write Deep Sea Cowboys for Dreamworks. According to Darkhorizons:

“The story chronicles a salvage crew that tries to save a capsized Japanese cargo ship transporting cars into the US. The real-time action scenario will explore how a tightknit crew races to beat the clock and potential drowning to save the ship’s dangerous cargo and claim its reward.”

Apparently the film is a thriller- but will it be any good?

Source: Dark Horizons

4. Coming Soon has had an anonymous tip about a film called Escape to Donegal. The site says:

“Let Them Chirp  Awhile writer/director/producer/editor Jonathan Blitstein is attached to direct a new sci-fi psychological thriller titled Escape to Donegal. While the plot is under wraps, the script is described as a classic Philip K. Dick story.

Filming is expected to take place in New York City this summer.”

For those who don’t know, Donegal is situated in Ireland (and the county is mere minutes from where I grew up which makes me very curious to know more.) Somehow I have a feeling that this is going to be anti-climactic when we learn more details.

Source: Coming Soon

That’s it for now. See you at the movies