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Past News Flash Items

December 29, 2006
Kentis Takes on Indianapolis - Chris Kentis (Open Water) is set to adapt and direct the film Indianapolis based on Douglas Stanton's book In Harm's Way. The true WW2 tale surrounds the survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis who, after being sunk by the Japanese, floated for five days in shark-infested waters leaving only a third of them alive.

December 22, 2006
Anderson Rides the Trans-Siberian - Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton and Ben Kingsley are set to star in the crime-thriller Trans-Siberian for director Brad Anderson (The Machinist). The film revolves around the deceptions and murder that happen when two American couples meet during a train trip from China to Russia.

December 15, 2006
Scorsese Enters The Last Duel - Director Martin Scorsese (The Aviator, Taxi Driver) is eyeing adapting Eric Jager's book The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal and Trial by Combat in Medieval France, about the last government-sanctioned duel that occurred in 14th century France under a young Charles IV.

December 8, 2006
McAdams & Frears Travel In Time - Rachel McAdams is attached to star for director Stephen Frears (The Queen) in the adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's book The Time Traveler's Wife. Loosely based on The Odyssey, the story centers on a man with the ability to time-travel that allows him to appear to his true love at different points in her life.

December 1, 2006
Weir Splashes with Shadow Divers - Director Peter Weir (The Truman Show, Master and Commander) and scripter Bill Broyes (Apollo 13) are attached to the true-life story Shadow Divers. The film is based on the non-fiction book of the same title about two deep sea divers who found a sunken U-boat 60 miles off the New Jersey coast.

November 24, 2006
Carpenter's The Thing Remade - Director John Carpenter's 1981 masterpiece The Thing is being revamped by writer Ronald D. Moore (of the new Battlestar Galactica TV series fame) for a new generation of movie-goers. The original story (itself a remake of a 1950's film) told the tale of an Antarctic research team that stumbles upon the remains of a shape-shifting alien.

November 17, 2006
Actor Jack Palance Dies at 87 - Jack Palance, the character actor who rose to popularity for his villainous roles in dozens of films like Sudden Fear and Shane, and won a supporting actor Oscar for his comedy role in City Slickers, has passed away at the age of 87.

November 10, 2006
Del Toro's Madness For Mountains - Director Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) is considering adapting HP Lovecraft's classic horror tale At the Mountains of Madness, a story that follows an expedition to the Antarctic that comes upon evidence that a strange alien race created life on Earth and were destroyed by their own slaves.

November 3, 2006
Zombie Prepares Halloween Remake - Writer / director Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects) has been chosen to revamp the long-running Halloween franchise. Zombie aims to return to the roots of John Carpenter's 1978 cult classic, focusing on a remake of the story and origin of killer Myers who massacred his parents and relentlessly pursues his sister.

October 27, 2006
Fincher Takes on a Curious Case - Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Julia Ormond have agreed to star in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button for director David Fincher (Seven, Panic Room). The story revolves around a woman's tale of her love affair with Button, a man who ages backwards.

October 20, 2006
Jolie and Wallace Tackle Atlas - Writer-director Randall Wallace (We Were Soldiers) will adapt Ayn Rand's classic novel Atlas Shrugged as a starring vehicle for Angelina Jolie. The story follows a railroad executive's attempt to keep her company alive despite the disappearance of some of the great minds of the world and the ensuing decline of civilization.

October 13, 2006
Zombie Prepares Halloween Remake - Writer / director Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects) has been chosen to revamp the long-running Halloween franchise. Zombie aims to return to the roots of John Carpenter's 1978 cult classic, focusing on a remake of the story and origin of killer Myers who massacred his parents and relentlessly pursues his sister.

October 6, 2006
28 Days Turns to 28 Weeks - 28 Weeks Later, a sequel to director Danny Boyle's zombie flick 28 Days Later, returns to the future England plagued by a deadly virus. This time around, a carrier threatens to reignite the spread of the infection after order has returned to London. Jeremy Renner will star, and director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto) is set to direct.

September 29, 2006
Anderson Brews Darjeeling Limited - Qirky writer / director Anderson (The Life Aquatic, The Royal Tanenbaums) is set for The Darjeeling Limited. The film stars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman as three brothers on a spiritual journey through India after the death of their father.

September 22, 2006
Ratner Adopts Boys From Brazil - Director Brett Ratner (Red Dragon, Rush Hour) will direct a modern-day remake of the 1978 thriller The Boys From Brazil, based on the novel by Ira Levin. The original story saw a Nazi hunter uncovering a plot in South America to revive the Third Reich by cloning copies of Adolf Hitler.

September 15, 2006
McGregor and Jackman are Tourists - Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman are set to star in Swiss director Marcel Langenegger's The Tourist. The story revolves around an accountant who befriends a charismatic lawyer who introduces him to a mysterious sex club and soon becomes the suspect in a possible murder and a massive theft.

September 8, 2006
Carrey and Cameron Join Without Consequence - After The Mask, Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz will team up again in the dramedy A Little Game Without Consequence for director Gabriele Muccino. Based on a play, the story revolves around a happily married couple who, as a joke on family and friends, pretend to separate but soon get feedback they didn't expect.

September 1, 2006
Nolan Releases The Prisoner - Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, Memento) is in talks to direct a contemporary feature version of the cult classic 60's TV series The Prisoner. The original story followed a government agent who is kidnapped and placed on an isolated island known as the Village in the hopes he will crack and reveal his motives for resigning his post.

August 25, 2006
Hartnett Set for 30 Days of Night - Josh Hartnett is set to star in the film adaptation of the horror comic-book 30 Days of Night for director David Slade (Hard Candy). Set in Alaska where the sun can stay hidden up to 30 days, it follows the sheriff of a small town who must help his constituents survive an evil force until daylight.

August 18, 2006
Nicholson and Freeman Kick The Bucket - Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are committed to star in The Bucket List for director Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men). Story revolves around a wish list that two terminally ill men try to fulfill before each kicks the bucket, ending up in an adventure when they decide to break out of a cancer ward.

August 11, 2006
Ang Lee Feels Lust, Caution - Actors Tony Leung and Tang Wei will be in director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) WW2 espionnage thriller Lust, Caution based on a short story by the late Chinese author Eileen Chang. The tale follows a protagonist who tries to seduce and assassinate a Chinese spy working for the Japanese government.

August 4, 2006
Jolie Joins Kung Fu Panda - Angelina Jolie has signed on to voice a role in the computer-animated comedy Kung Fu Panda, joining Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu. The tale revolves around a lowly waiter who, prophesied to stop powerful enemies, is trained by five martial-arts masters to become the title character.

July 28, 2006
Parker & Charlize On the Bottom - Charlize Theron has persuaded director Alan Parker (The Commitments, Evita) to helm The Ice at the Bottom of the World. Theron will star in and produce the ensemble family drama about a grizzled Navy captain who retires to his home in Chesapeake Bay only to find his daughter has become a heroin addict and a single mother.

July 21, 2006
Depp Tackles Legend - Johnny Depp will join headliner Will Smith on the latest adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic post-apocalyptic tale I Am Legend for director Francis Lawrence (Constantine). Set in LA after a biological war, story revolves around a lone survivor who must battle against nocturnal mutants.

July 14, 2006
Ledger and Weisz Get in the Dirt - Director Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger, The Quiet American) is set to adapt Tim Winton's best-selling Australian novel Dirt Music with Heath Ledger and Rachel Weisz attached to star. The story follows an illegal fisherman who, after losing his family in a freak accident, meets a woman who inspires him to grass-roots music.

July 7, 2006
Crowe Looks for Tenderness - Russell Crowe and Laura Dern are set to star in the adaptation of Robert Cormier's novel Tenderness for Aussie director John Polson (Swimfan, Hide and Seek). The story revolves around a cop who tries to unravel the past of a violent teen who may have killed his own family.

June 30, 2006
Star Cast in a Vantage Point - Sigourney Weaver is joining Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, William Hurt and Forest Whitaker for the thriller Vantage Point for TV-director Pete Travis. The film will chronicle an assassination attempt on the U.S. president as seen from five different points of view, each unfolding in 15-minute increments. 

June 23, 2006
Sean Bean Is The Hitcher - Actor Sean Bean is set to play the title role in the remake of the 1986 horror film The Hitcher for music video director Dave Meyers. The story follows a young couple driving across the country who become prey for a serial killer who blames all of his murders on the young man.

June 16, 2006
Wiseman Set For Die Hard 4.0 - Director Len Wiseman (Underworld) is tentatively set to take on the fourth Die Hard, which will once again feature star Bruce Willis. This time around, reluctant cop John McClane is forced out of retirement to battle an Internet terrorist organization bent on bringing America to its knees.

June 9, 2006
Ridley Takes to The Killing Sea - Director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Blade Runner) is looking to adapt The Killing Sea, based on Richard Lewis' upcoming novel. The story revolves around an Indonesian boy and an American girl brought together in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.

June 2, 2006
Wong Kar Wai Goes for Blueberry - Director Wong Kar-Wai (In the Mood For Love, 2046) has chosen the romantic comedy My Blueberry Nights as his first English-language film. The impressive cast includes Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz, with singer Norah Jones as a young woman traveling across America searching for the true meaning of Love.

May 26, 2006
Pixar Brews Ratatouille - Director Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) will next take on the computer-animated mouse tale Ratatouille for Pixar's Studios for a Summer 2007 release. The story involves a skinny rodent who fancies himself a gourmand and lives in a Parisian restaurant.

May 19, 2006
Haggis Tackles All Enemies - Director Paul Haggis (Crash) is set to direct and produce the political drama Against All Enemies, based on Richard A. Clarke's best-selling inside account into how the Bush administration handled the al-Qaeda threat before and after 9/11.

May 12, 2006
Dallas Casting Heats Up - Director Robert Luketic adaptation of the popular '80s prime-time soap Dallas, a series centered on a Texas oil millionaire's dysfunctional family, is seeing lots of attention in the casting department, with Jennifer Lopez, Luke Wilson, and Shirley MacLaine set for roles as members of the Ewings clan, while the role of J.R. has been offered to John Travolta.

May 5, 2006
Ludlum's Protocol is Next - Venezuelan director Jonathan Jakubowicz (Secuestro Express) has been hired to write and helm an adaptation one of Robert Ludlum's last thrillers, The Sigma Protocol. Story centers on an economist, on the run from assassins, who joins an intelligence agent to uncover a conspiracy manipulating the global economy and world events.

April 28, 2006
Starbucks Saves Tom Hanks' Life - Director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) is in talks to direct Tom Hanks in a film entitled How Starbucks Saved My Life. The story revolves around an aging ad executive who, after being laid off, learns about life and love from a young manager while serving coffee at Starbucks to help pay his bills.

April 14, 2006
Jordan Tackles The Brave One - Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard are set to star in director Neil Jordan's (The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire) revenge thriller The Brave One. Foster will play a woman out for justice and revenge after recovering from a brutal attack.

April 7, 2006
Roth Thrown Into Cell - Young horror director Eli Roth (Hostel) is set to adapt best-selling horror writer Stephen King's novel Cell to the screen. The story revolves around a pulse sent out through cell phones around the world that turns every phone user into a crazed, murderous zombie.

March 31, 2006
Diesel to take on Babylon A.D. - Vin Diesel is set to star in the futuristic thriller Babylon A.D. for French director Mathieu Kassovitz (Crimson Rivers, Gothika). Based on the French SF novel Babylon Babies, an ex- Special Forces veteran and his team hired by the Siberian mafia to transport a genetically altered woman from Kazakhstan to Montreal.

March 24, 2006
Blanchett in Golden Age - Actress Cate Blanchett and director Shekar Kapur are set to reteam for The Golden Age, a follow-up to their successful period piece Elizabeth. The new film will focus on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh.

March 17, 2006
Cronenberg Makes Promises - Director David Cronenberg (Scanners, A History of Violence) is now attached to direct Eastern Promises a thriller that digs into the seamy underside of London life. Story focuses on a young midwife drawn into investigating the identity of a mysterious Russian girl who dies in childbirth on Christmas Eve.

March 10, 2006
Oscars 2005 - In a surprising upset, the ensemble movie Crash beat up favorite Brokeback Mountain to win Best Picture, though Ang Lee did win for Best Director. Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for Capote, and Reese Whiterspoon won Best Actress for Walk the Line. Best Supporting winners were George Clooney (Syriana) and Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener).

March 3, 2006
Bardem Gets Cholera - Oscar-nominated actor Javier Bardem will star in an adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez' novel Love in the Time of Cholera, to be directed by Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). The story revolves around a love triangle in South America in the early 1900's that spans over five decades.

February 24, 2006
The Dark Crystal Shines Again - Acclaimed TV cartoon director Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars) is directing The Power of the Dark Crystal, a sequel to the puppet cult classic The Dark Crystal. The story revolves around a girl who wants to use the Crystal's power to re-ignite the dying sun. This time around, new and improved puppets will interact with computer- generated backgrounds.

February 17, 2006
Coen's to Take on Old Men - The Coen Brothers (Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou) are set to adapt Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country for Old Men starring Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones. The story is set in 1980's Texas, following a Vietnam vet who wanders into the aftermath of a drug deal and ends up with a pair of killers on his tail.

February 10, 2006
Statham and Li Go Rogue - Action stars Jason Statham and Jet Li will co-star in Rogue, a film being helmed by first-timer Pilip Atwell with Hong Kong expert Corey Yuen directing the action sequences. The story revolves a cop who becomes obsessed in tracking down the vicious killer who murdered his partner and his family.

February 3, 2006
Anderson Drowns in Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) will direct the epic period piece There Will Be Blood based on his own script on the underbelly of the oil business in the American West of the early 20th-century. Daniel Day-Lewis is set to play the oil baron who hits it big, realizes the American dream, and ends up being consumed by greed.

January 27, 2006
Hanks and Roberts Enter Wilson's War - Mike Nichols (Closer, Primary Colors ) is in talks to direct Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in Charlie Wilson's War, from a book adaptation by "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin. The story revolves around two covert operatives who manipulated the government to assist in arming the Afghanistan rebels against the Soviets in the 1980s.

January 20, 2006
Li is Fearless in Last Martial Flick - Going back to their Hong Kong roots, director Ronny Yu (Bride with White Hair and Freddy vs Jason) has teamed with martial star Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh for the film Fearless which recounts the story of the founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix) is set to do the extensive tournament fight choreography. Li is saying this is his last martial arts flick.

January 13, 2006
Raimi to Go Wee Free - Director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead 2, Spider-Man) is set to adaptat Terry Pratchett's book The Wee Free Men, about a 9 year old girl who embarks - with the help of a race of rowdy 6-inch tall, blue-faced people - on a rescue mission to find her brother kidnapped into the land of faerie. The studio is hoping to develop further Disc World novels into live-action films.

January 6, 2006
Moore Prescribing Sicko - Following his boffo documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, documentary guerilla-filmmaker Michael Moore now has his sights on the pharmaceutical industry with Sicko, a critical look at the American healthcare industry. Rumor has it that the film uses footage gathered using hidden cameras in doctors' offices and clinics to expose corruption within the industry.

December 30, 2005
Believe It or Not!, Burton and Carrey Team up - Director Tim Burton (Batman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Jim Carrey are in early negotiations to team for Believe It or Not! The story will be loosely based on the exploits of Robert Ripley, a larger-than-life personality in the '30s and '40s, well-known for going around the world looking for oddities and getting into adventures while doing so.

December 23, 2005
Jackson Gets Halo - Director Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (the Oscar-winning team behind The Lord of the Rings) have been named executive producers of the big-screen adaptation of the popular sci-fi video game Halo. Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy) is in talks to direct. The story is set in a far future where well-armed human soldiers battle an alien race.

December 16, 2005
Soderbergh Takes On Che's Guerilla - Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean's Eleven) is set to shoot Guerilla, a biopic about Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara starring Benjamin Bratt. Guevara, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's chief lieutenant, was executed in Bolivia in 1967 but became a world-wide symbol of revolution.

December 9, 2005
Depp and Weir take on Shantaram - Director Peter Weir (Master and Commander, Witness) has tagged Johnny Depp to star in an adaptation of Gregory David Roberts' novel Shantaram, from a script by Eric Roth (The Insider). The story revolves around a heroin addict who flees to India to becomes a doctor in the slums of Bombay, leading him into a world of smuggling and gunrunning.

December 2, 2005
Return to the Black Lagoon - Breck Eisner (Sahara) is on board to direct the remake of the classic Universal monster movie The Creature from the Black Lagoon from a script by Gary Ross, the son of the original 1954 version's writer. The tale follows a yacht-full of people who are terrified by an underwater humanoid creature.

November 25, 2005
Kidman a Headhunter - Nicole Kidman has signed up for the comedy Headhunters, an adaptation of the Jules Bass book by Jez Butterworth who also wrote Birthday Girl for Kidman. The story revolves around four Jersey women pretending to be rich heiresses in order to find wealthy suitors who run into a four guys in Monte Carlo pulling a similar scam.

November 11, 2005
Branagh Plays The Flute - Kenneth Branagh (Dead Again, Hamlet) is ready to direct an adaptation of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, to be shot in English instead of the original's German. Updating the setting to World War I, the story surrounds a young soldier who is transported to a world of dreams to rescue the daughter of the Queen of the Night.

November 4, 2005
Jeunet Tackles the Life of Pi - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, Alien Resurrection) is set to take over directorial duties from M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) to adapt the award-winning Yann Martel novel Life of Pi. The story revolves around a young teen who finds himself the sole human survivor of a shipwreck, drifting at sea, sharing a lifeboat with a hungry Bengal tiger. 

October 28, 2005
Renee and Ewan Do Potter - Chris Noonan (Babe) is set to direct Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor in the biopic Miss Potter. The film explores the life of author Beatrix Potter, the creator of the classic The Tale of Peter Rabbit series, and her struggle for independence in Victorian England. The film is said to mix live-action with some animated sequences.

October 21, 2005
New James Bond Actor Chosen - After months of speculation, British actor Daniel Craig has been officially unveiled as the next 007 incarnation. The actor of such films as Road to Perdition and Layer Cake will take on the role for the adaptation of Ian Fleming's first Bond adventure Casino Royale to be directed by Martin Campbell (Goldeneye).

October 14, 2005
Jackman and Bale Are After The Prestige - Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are in negotiations to star in director Christopher Nolan's (Memento, Batman Begins) thriller The Prestige. Set in 1878, the film follows the rivalry between two stage magicians whose battle against each other for trade secrets leads them to murder.

October 7, 2005
Norton and Farrell Fall to Pride - Ed Norton, Colin Farrell and Noah Emmerich are all in negotiations to star in the police drama Pride and Glory for director Gavin O'Connor (Miracle). The story revolves around a detective assigned to investigate the precinct run by his brother, which might include a dirty cop. The script was written by O'Connor and Joe Carnahan (Narc).

September 30, 2005
Coppola Takes on Youth - Acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) is set to return to the chair with the low-budget adaptation of Youth Without Youth, based on a Romanian novella. The story revolves around a fugitive professor pursued through many countries during the dark years before WW2. Tim Roth and Bruno Ganz are set to star.

September 23, 2005
Director Robert Wise, R.I.P. - Legendary director Robert Wise passed away last week, leaving behind one of the most popular and well-loved films from Hollywood from the SF classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, to the musicals The Sound of Music and the Oscar winner West Side Story.

September 9, 2005
Clooney and Coens Hail, Caesar! - George Clooney has confirmed his re-teaming with the directorial team of the Brothers Coen (Fargo) on the film Hail, Caesar!. Set in the 1920's, this final entry in their "idiots trilogy" started with O Brother, Where Art Thou? sees a group of amateurs trying to stage the titular play.

September 2, 2005
Diesel Becomes Hitman - Trying to regain some of his action star status, Vin Diesel is set to star in (and produce) a film adaptation of the video game series Hitman centering on an international assassin known only as Agent 47 who works for a mysterious organization called the Agency.

August 26, 2005
Greengrass to Pilot Flight 93 - Director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy) is set to helm the true story of Flight 93, the hijacked plane that on 9/11 crashed in an empty field thanks to the heroics of the passengers. The political-minded filmmaker is set to use improv and some experimental techniques to give the film a gritty, realistic feel.

August 19, 2005
Snyder on Miller's 300 - Following the success of Sin City, it's up to Frank Miller's Greek epic 300 to be given the comic-to-screen treatment, with director Zach Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) and actor Gerard Butler already signed on. The story relates the true tale of 300 Spartan soldiers who fought against the massive Persian Army in the 5th century BC.

August 12, 2005
Stiller Looks into the Mirror - Comic Ben Stiller is set to star in a comedy called Mirror, starring as - himself. The script follows Stiller who finds out that his mirror image is passing itself as the real star, and that everyone prefers his alter-ego to him. Angelina Jolie is set to co-star.

August 5, 2005
Kidman Takes on Invasion - Nicole Kidman has signed on to star in the film Invasion for German director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment, Downfall), the third direct remake of the 1950's classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The story centers on Kidman who uncovers a conspiracy in a small town where the inhabitants' personalities seem to be changing.

July 29, 2005
Mel Gibson Goes Apocalypto - Following his directorial successes Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson is taking the reigns of Apocalypto from his own script. Set in an ancient South American civilization and filmed completely in the Mayan dialect, the story is expected to depict abundant action and violence. The film has started production for a release in Summer 2006.

July 22, 2005
Mostow Adopts Swiss Family - Director Jonathan Mostow (U-571, Terminator 3) is set to take a stab at a new adaptation of the classic tale of the Swiss Family Robinson. The story revolves around a 19th-century family's attempts at survival on an uncharted island after being shipwrecked in the South Pacific. The film is set to shoot in Australia in 2006.

July 15, 2005
De Palma Set for The Untouchables Sequel - Director Brian De Palma (Carrie, Scarface) is set to return to the set of his biggest hit, the 1987 film The Untouchables with a prequel entitled The Untouchables: Capone Rising. The new film focuses on a young Al Capone's rise to Chicago crime boss and his clash with a Irish cop Johnny Malone, a character seen in the original film.

July 8, 2005
Return to The Poseidon Adventure - Director Wolfgang Peterson (Das Boot, The Perfect Storm) is set to remake the cult-classic 1972 disaster film The Poseidon Adventure. The original story followed the trapped survivors of a capsized cruise ship trying to make their way out. Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss and Mike Vogel are already on board as part of the ensemble cast.

July 1, 2005
Moore Tackles Cuaron's Children - Julianne Moore is in negotiations to star opposite Clive Owen in adaptation of P.D. James' sci fi adventure novel The Children of Men for director Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban). The story is set in a future where mankind can no longer procreate, and a protector is assigned to the last remaining pregnant woman.

June 24, 2005
Boyle Turns Towards Sunshine - Director Danny Boyle is re-teaming with screenwriter Alex Garland (following The Beach and 28 Days Later) on Sunshine, a sci-fi thriller set to star Michelle Yeoh, Cillian Murphy and Chris Evans. The story revolves around a team of astronauts sent to retrieve a previous space mission that has disappeared close to the Sun.

June 17, 2005
Ratner Takes on X-Men 3 - With the postponement of Rush Hour 3, director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon) has been chosen to replace departing director Matthew Vaughn on X-Men 3, set to start shooting this summer. The original cast is on board for another go, to be joined by Kelsey Grammer, Vinnie Jones and Maggie Grace as new mutant characters.

June 10, 2005
Nicole Kidman in Washington - Nicole Kidman will return in the third and final act of writer / director Lars Von Trier's American trilogy, Washington, following her original turn in the first chapter of the series, Dogville. Kidman will share the role in this third installment with Bryce Dallas Howard who took over the role in the second part, Manderlay.

June 3, 2005
The Italian Job Turns Brazilian - Director Twohy (Pitch Black) is going back to his writing roots with the script for The Brazilian Job, a sequel to the popular 2003 remake The Italian Job. F. Gary Gray, who directed the original, is set to return at the helm, as are most of the cast members.

May 27, 2005
Depp Takes on Rum Diary - Bruce Robinson (Whitnail & I, The Killing Fields) will adapt and direct gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's first novel, The Rum Diary, an account of his journalism, drinking and carousing in Puerto Rico in the late 1950s. Johnny Depp will reprise the role of Thompson which he portrayed in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

May 20, 2005
Lynch Take on Inland Empire - Director David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive) is keeping his latest film, Inland Empire, a secret. All that has come out is that it's "about a woman in trouble, and it's a mystery". Stars Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton and Jeremy Irons have now been filming on and off for the past two years.

May 13, 2005
Damon Takes on Polo - Scribe William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven) is set to write the historical epic Marco Polo as a starring vehicle for Matt Damon. Based on Polo's autobiography Travels, the story revolves around the legendary 13th century explorer who journeyed the Far East for 24 years, venturing farther than any Westerner and creating a bridge between two cultures. 

May 6, 2005
Lee's Next Joint is Inside - Denzel Washington's next film will be Inside Man with Spike Lee, their fourth teaming after Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X and He Got Game. He will be joined by Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. The story centers on a tough cop trying to stop a bank robbery by a cunning thief.

April 29, 2005
Fincher Charts Zodiac - After his masterful serial killer thriller Se7en, director David Fincher (Fight Club, Panic Room) is set to return to the genre with Zodiac. Based on the book by Robert Graysmith, the story centers on the men who hunted an infamous serial killer who terrorized San Francisco for 25 years. Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo are set to star.

April 22, 2005
Strangers Remake - First-time director Noam Murro has signed on to Strangers, a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 classic suspense Strangers on a Train. The new story revolves around a psychiatrist who jokes about having his wife killed to a fellow traveller in exchange for murdering the man's sister, only to find his wife murdered a few days later.

April 15, 2005
Reeves and Bullock Find Il Mare - Speed co-stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock are set to reunite in the peculiar love story Il Mare for director Alejandro Agresti. The story, based on the Korean film of the same name, is the story of two people who fall in love through letters they deposit in a mysterious mailbox.

April 8, 2005
Shyamalan Meets Lady - Director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) is getting set for his next fantasy thriller, Lady in the Water. Another "personal movie with a big idea", it tells the story of an apartment building superintendent who finds a rare type of sea nymph swimming in the apartment pool. Shooting is set for August for release Summer 2006.

April 1, 2005
Willis Walks for 16 Blocks - Bruce Willis is set to star in 16 Blocks for director Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon, Superman). The story revolves around an aging cop who escorts a witness to a nearby courthouse and the adventure that takes place during their walk.

March 25, 2005
Whedon Tackles Wonder Woman - Writer / director Joss Whedon (best known for the hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Killer) has signed on to take the reigns of the long-in-development comic-book adaptation of Wonder Woman. Stars from Sandra Bullock to Hillary Swank have been rumored for years to be attached to the production.

March 18, 2005
Reeves Sails for Sinbad - Keanu Reeves will play the latest incarnation of the classic Arabian Night hero in The 8th Voyage of Sinbad for director Rob Cohen (XXX, The Fast and the Furious). Set in 8th-century China, Sinbad and his shipmates embark on a quest to find the Lamp of Aladdin, battling fantastic creatures and facing a general with supernatural powers.

March 11, 2005
Kiefer Is The Sentinel - Kiefer Sutherland is set to lead The Sentinel, an adaptation of the novel by former Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich being helmed by Clark Johnson (S.W.A.T.). The story revolves around a Secret Service agent enmeshed in an furtive affair with the first lady who becomes a suspect when another agent is murdered.

March 4, 2005
Jolie Joins Good Shepherd - Angelina Jolie will star opposite Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd for director Robert De Niro from a screenplay by Eric Roth. The story follows the CIA's history as seen through the eyes of a career agent whose marriage is destroyed by the stress and difficulties of the job.

February 25, 2005
Zemeckis Tackles Beowulf - Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Contact) is attached to a feature adaptation of the heroic tale Beowulf, perhaps the oldest written English language myth. The screenplay will be written by Roger Avary (The Rules of Attraction) and popular graphic novelist Neil Gaiman ("Sandman").

February 18, 2005
Minghella Set for Breaking & Entering - Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley) is set to helm Breaking and Entering based on his own script. Based in London, with a theme of criminal and emotional theft, the ensemble drama follows denizens from a variety of ethnic and class backgrounds whose lives intersect in King's Cross.

February 11, 2005
Campbell Returns to Bond - Director Martin Campbell (Legend of Zorro) is set to have another go with the James Bond franchise following Goldeneye which introduced Pierce Brosnan as 007. The next entry, entitled Casino Royale, will introduce a new actor in the secret agent role. Though rumors are flying, no one has been officially named yet.

February 4, 2005
Altman Walks in the Prairie - Stars Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline have all agreed to participate in director Robert Altman's (The Player, Gosford Park ) film A Prairie Home Companion, based on the broadcast stories by popular radio personality and novelist Garrison Keillor who also wrote the screenplay.

January 29, 2005
Cameron Takes On Battle Angel - Writer / director James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator 2) is set for the big screen adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's manga Battle Angel Alita. The film, set in the far future about a young female cyborg who has lost her memory, will be a combination of live action and CG. The hitch: the movie needs theatres to convert to full digital projection.

January 22, 2005
Condon Tackles Dreamgirls - Following his script adaptation for Chicago, Bill Condon (Kinsey) is set to write and direct the movie version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Based on the rise of Diana Ross and the Supremes, the story revolves around a trio of young black female singers who strive who strive for success in the early '60s.

January 15, 2005
Stone Goes on Instinct Again - Despite everyone's better judgment, Sharon Stone is set to reprise her role as a seductive sociopath in Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction for director Michael Caton-Jones. The sequel sees a criminal psychiatrist entangled in her web during her stay in London.

January 8, 2005
Portman Set for Vendetta - Natalie Portman is almost set to star in the feature adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel V for Vendetta being produced by the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix trilogy). Set in an alternate history where Britain has become a fascist state, the story follows a mysterious freedom fighter and his young recruit.

January 1, 2005
Besson Gets Animated - Writer / director Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) is adapting his own series of children's books for a big-screen adaptation mixing 3D animation with live actors. The voice cast already tagged includes music thespians Madonna, David Bowie and Snoop Dog.

December 25, 2004
Darabont Finally Captures Mist - Writer / director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) is set to adapt the Stephen King short story The Mist as his next project. The story revolves around a group of strangers trapped inside a supermarket as a monstrous fog envelops the town. Darabont has stated he wants to give the film a "gritty, low-budget indie approach".

December 18, 2004
De Palma Helms The Black Dahlia - Brian De Palma (The Untouchables) is set to direct the film noir adaptation The Black Dahlia based on the best-selling novel by crime novelist James Ellroy about two hard-nosed cops investigating a true crime that shocked 1940's LA. Hilary Swank will play the femme fatale, joining Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson.

December 11, 2004
Philip K. Dick's Next Adaptation - Director Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors, Die Another Day) is on board for Next, a sci-fi thriller starring Julianne Moore and Nicolas Cage. Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, Moore would play a federal agent who's in pursuit of a Cage, a man who has the ability to see his own future.

December 4, 2004
Stars Attached to King's Men Remake - Anthony Hopkins and James Gandolfini are joining the remake of the social drama All the King's Men, based on the life of the late, popular Louisiana Governor Huey Long. Sean Penn is set in the role of the Gov with Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Mark Ruffalo also starring. Steven Zaillian (A Civil Action ) is set to direct from his own adaptation of the original novel.

November 27, 2004
New Harry Potter Director for No. 5 - Award-winning UK TV director David Yates has been chosen to lead the adaptation of the fifth Harry Potter book, The Order of the Phoenix for a Summer 2007 release. Yates follows in the footsteps of Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) who will be directing the next chapter in the franchise, Goblet of Fire.

November 20, 2004
Evil Dead to Rise Again - Following a slew of popular horror movie remakes, news is in that the low-budget cult classic Evil Dead is set for the same territory. Original director Sam Raimi (Darkman, Spider-Man) will be producing with actor Bruce Campbell set to reprise his career-making role as Ash.

November 13, 2004
Egoyan Finds Where The Truth Lies - Director Atom Egoyan (Exotica, Ararat) is set adapt the Rupert Holmes novel Where the Truth Lies about a journalist who tries to uncover the secret behind a murder that broke up a famed comedy duo. Colin Firth, Kevin Bacon and Alison Lohman are set to star.

October 30, 2004
Paltrow Plays Dietrich - Gwyneth Paltrow is set to produce and star in the film about German screen siren Marlene Dietrich, adapted from the memoir by Dietrich's daughter, Maria Riva. Dietrich, who came to Hollywood in the 1930's, made such classic films such as The Blue Angel and became the highest-paid actress in the pre-war era.

October 23, 2004
Kidman and Wong on Lady - Actress Nicole Kidman is set to work on The Lady From Shanghai for writer / director (and auteur) Wong Kar Wai (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love). Rumors have it that fan-favorite Takeshi Kitano might have a role as the villain of the piece. The story details are unknown, but it will be set in 1930's Shanghai.

October 16, 2004
Christopher Reeves R.I.P. - Actor Christopher Reeves died this past weekend at the age of 52. Though he played many roles over his career in movies ranging from Deathtrap to Somewhere in Time, he'll always be remembered for his portrayal of Superman in the 70's and 80's. Reeves also became known as a spokesman for spinal chord injury when he became paralyzed after a horse riding accident in 1995.

October 9, 2004
The Passing of Janet Leigh - Actress Janet Leigh has passed away this weekend at the age of 77. Though she is most remembered for the terrifying shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, she had an impressive career with roles in such films as Touch of Evil and The Manchurian Candidate, among others.

October 2, 2004
Bana and Hanson Set for Lucky You - Eric Bana is joining director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, 8 Mile) for the drama Lucky You about the world of high-stakes poker. Scripter Eric Roth (who won an Oscar for Forrest Gump) is penning the screenplay.

Sep 18, 2004
Singer on New Superman - In a surprising and welcome turn, X-Men and X-Men United director Bryan Singer is teaming up with his writers from X2 to do the long-in-development return of Superman to the big screen. Despite years worth of work on the project, the trio will be starting from scratch and will find a new actor to play the role.

Sep 11, 2004
Scott On Domino - Director Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Spy Game) is set to adapt Richard Kelly's novel Domino about the real-life exploits of a woman who leaves a career as a model to become a bounty hunter. Keira Knightley is set to star.

Sep 4, 2004
Cast Set for Capote Biopic - Writer / director Doug McGrath (Emma, Nicholas Nickelby) has an interesting roster for his biopic of writer Truman Capote, Every Word is True. The cast includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Wahlberg, Sandra Bullock and Sigourney Weaver. The film is set for production in 2005.

Aug 28, 2004
Cast for Geisha Announced - Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) is taking over the reigns from Steven Spielberg on the adaptation the the best-seller Memoirs of a Geisha featuring a who's who of Asian stars: Ken Watanabe, Zhang Ziyi, Koji Yakusho, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh. The story centers on a young Japanese girl's trials and tribulations to attain her dream of becoming a sought-after Geisha.

Aug 21, 2004
Lee Looking for Watchman - Director Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X) is looking to direct the crime thriller The Night Watchman, based on an original screenplay by popular novelist James Ellroy (who scripted L.A. Confidential). The story, set in LA in the 90's, revolves around a cop who must redeem himself after uncovering corruption in the force.

Aug 14, 2004
Reiner Updating The Graduate - Director Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men) has taken the reigns of the re-imagining of the comedy classic The Graduate with Kevin Costner and Shirley MacLaine starring. The story revolves around a young woman who returns home to uncover that her family might have been the inspiration for the original film.

Aug 7, 2004
Del Toro and Washington see Blu - Benicio Del Toro and Denzel Washington are set to star in the Tru Blu for director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). Based on a true story, the film details how a cop brought down the biggest drug kingpin in Harlem in the 1970s. Shooting starts this fall.

July 31, 2004
Foster Has Flight Plan - Peter Sarsgaard is in talks to star opposite Jodie Foster in director Robert Schwentke's film Flight Plan. The story follows the in-air plight of a woman whose daughter mysteriously disappears while on board a passenger jet. Described as a Hitchcockian thriller, production is scheduled for the Fall. 

July 24, 2004
Carter Takes on Investigation - Writer / creator Chris Carter (of the TV show X-Files) is set to direct the thriller A Philosophical Investigation based on the novel by Philip Kerr. The story is set in a future where genetic testing allows the government to tag potentially violent individuals. But when a sociopath gets hold of the secret list and decides to kill those on it, a f emale inspector sets out to stop him.

July 17, 2004
Eastwood and Spielberg Raise Flags - Actor / director Clint Eastwood (Mystic River) is working on a tale of World War II, Flags of Our Fathers with Steven Spielberg producing. The story revolves around the heroism of a Navy corpsman, whose experiences and heroism in the Battle of Iwo Jima were only discovered by his family after his death.

July 10, 2004
R.I.P. Marlon Brando - Marlon Brando, a true legend of Hollywood stars, has passed away at the age of 80. He will be remembered for such classic roles in movies like On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Apocalypse Now as well as his most popular Oscar-winning turn as Don Corleone in The Godfather.

July 3, 2004
Connolly on Brideshead Revisisted - Director David Yates is set to helm an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's romantic novel Brideshead Revisited starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly. The story is set in the 1920s and '30s, and revolves around an aspiring painter who gets mixed up with the brother and sister of a doomed, aristocratic family.

June 26, 2004
Mortensen Plays A History of Violence - Viggo Mortensen is set to star in A History of Violence directed by director David Cronenberg (Dead Ringers, Spider). The story revolves around a small town businessman who thwarts a robbery and comes to the attention of criminals who take him to be a former traitorous colleague.

June 19, 2004
Singer Updates Logan's Run - Writer / director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men) is ready to shoot a modern remake of the novel Logan's Run, a first adaptation which was made into a 1976 cult classic. The story involves a future society where people are killed once they reach the age of 21, but one of these enforcers decides to run for his life as his own day approaches.

June 12, 2004
Malick Takes on The New World - Writer / director Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) is preparing his own version of the historical-romance tale Pocahontas entitled The New World. Actors Colin Farrell and Christopher Plummer already signed on.

June 5, 2004
Wenders Set to Go Knocking - Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas) will next direct Don't Come Knocking based on a script by actor Sam Shepard. Shepard will also star as an aging cowboy star who rides off the set in mid-shoot on a voyage of self-discovery. Co-stars are said to include Jean Reno, Jessica Lange and Gabriel Mann.

May 29, 2004
Cannes 2004 Winners Announced - The Cannes Film Festival has ended, and the Palme d'Or surprise winner is Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. The Grand Prix went to Park Chan-wook's thriller Old Boy, while Maggie Cheung won for Best Actress in Olivier Assayas' Clean.

May 22, 2004
Gilliam Takes on Tideland - Director Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys, Brazil) will start shooting Tideland in Canada later this year. Adapted from a novel by Mitch Cullin, it's about a girl in rural Texas who escapes from the grim reality of her life into a world of fantasy accompanied by four disembodied dolls' heads. Said heads are said to be voiced by well-known actors.

May 15, 2004
Linklater Animates Darkly - Writer / director Richard Linklater (Tape) is adapting Philip K. Dick's dark comedy A Scanner Darkly about a future world where drugs are rampant and an addicted cop with a split personality must arrest himself. Much as he did in Waking Life, the live footage shot with Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson will be turned into animation.

May 8, 2004
Hanks Enters The Risk Pool - Tom Hanks joins writer / director Lawrence Kasdan's (Silverado, Grand Canyon) adaptation of the Richard Russo novel The Risk Pool. Hanks will play a charming petty thief and gambler who one day is suddenly charged with raising his son after his estranged wife collapses from a nervous breakdown, and introduces the boy to his shady world.

May 1, 2004
Kingsley Joins Polanski's Oliver Twist - Ben Kingsley has joined Roman Polanski's (The Pianist, Chinatown) adaptation of Oliver Twist based on the classic 1838 novel by Charles Dickens. Kingsley is set to play the role of Fagin, the old leader of a London pick-pocket ring of children who takes in the orphaned young Oliver. The elaborate production is being shot in Prague for a Christmas 2005 release.

April 24, 2004
Rodriguez Eyes A Princess of Mars - Now that computer effects have come of age, director and jack-of-all-trades Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Desperado) is planning to realize the fantasy / SF story A Princess of Mars, based on the classic Edgard Rice Burroughs (Tarzan) series about the adventures of an Earthman who wakes up one day on a strange planet filled with exotic locales and creatures.

April 17, 2004
Stars Galore on Sin City - The noir comic thriller adaptation Sin City's cast seems to be a main attraction on its own: stars already attached include Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Josh Hartnett, Benecio Del Toro, Kate Bosworth, Michael Douglas, Steve Buscemi, Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken and Elijah Wood. Wow!

April 10, 2004
Rodriguez Takes on Sin City - Jack-of-all-trades Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Desperado) is set to direct an adaptation of Frank Miller's gritty comic series universe Sin City, a noir graphic novel about a tough-as-nails enforcer who gets in over his head in a city where crime is a way of life. Miller is said to co-direct as well.

April 3, 2004
Spielberg Aims for War of the Worlds - Director Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise are set to reprise SF together with an adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells' 1898 alien-invasion novel The War of the Worlds. David Koepp (Jurassic Park) will do the script involving giant war machines from Mars devastating Earth's armed forces. The novel had already been brought to the screen in 1953.

March 27, 2004
Bowman To Take On Elektra - Director Rob Bowman (X-Files: Fight the Future, Reign of Fire) is in negotiation to bring the Daredevil spin-off Elektra starring Jennifer Garner to the screen. The story will follow some of the venerable comic stories, as the female ninja battles the evil cult of assassins that trained her. Though a script is done, casting is still in progress.

March 20, 2004
Scorsese Eyeing Infernal Affairs - Famed director Martin Scorsese is looking to do an American remake of the Hong Kong blockbuster Infernal Affairs. The original story focused on an undercover cop who climbs up the criminal ladder while a member of the Triad infiltrates the police with equal success as a battle for the city comes to full force. Co-producer Brad Pitt is considering a starring role.

March 13, 2004
Cameron Looks for Ghost of Vesuvius - Among his many comeback projects, director James Cameron (Terminator 2, Titanic) is optioning the book Ghosts of Vesuvius, a look at the volcanic eruption that destroyed the city of Pompeii almost 2,000 years ago. Cameron will likely fictionalize the account and tie in a story of politics in the declining Roman Empire.

March 6, 2004
Smith to Revamp The Green Hornet - Writer / director Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy, Clerks) is set to give a modern take on the 1930's millionaire / masked hero The Green Hornet, to start production this summer. The character was made popular in a 1960's TV series which introduced Bruce Lee in the role of sidekick Kato. In a previous incarnation, George Clooney and Jet Li had been set to star.

February 28, 2004
Malick and Del Toro on Che - Writer / director Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) is set to do the biopic Che next, with Benicio Del Toro starring as the Cuban revolutionary hero "Che" Guevara and Javier Bardem in a supporting role. The film will focus on the last part of Che's life, before he was murdered by the Bolivian army at the age of 39 in 1967.

February 21, 2004
Cage is Lord of War - Writer-director Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show, Gattaca) is set to film Lord of War. Nicholas Cage will star as a ruthless weapon's dealer being pursued by a relentless Interpol agent across the globe. Monica Bellucci is in talks to play Cage's conflicted wife.

February 14, 2004
Strong Cast on Anymore - Director John Curran made a splash at Sundance with We Don't Live Here Anymore, based on two short stories by Andre Dubus II (In the Bedroom). Made up of a strong cast including Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Watts, and Laura Dern the film examines the conflicts in the relationship between two married couples arising due to infedility.

February 7, 2004
Lee on Brokeback - Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility, Hulk) is set to direct Bokeback Mountain, a sweeping period epic with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal leading the cast. The story is about the tragic romance between a Wyoming rodeo cowboy and a ranch hand who meet in the 60's and forge a lifelong connection.

January 31, 2004
Burton Doing The Corpse Bride - Director Tim Burton (Batman, Sleepy Hollow) is working on The Corpse Bride, another film using the stop motion animation made popular in his The Nightmare Before Christmas. Based on an Eastern European folk tale about a man who mistakenly weds a dead body, expect to see much of Burton's trademark dark humor.

January 24, 2004
Crowe on Elizabethtown - Director Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) has chosen Orlando Bloom to play opposite Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown. The film centers around a suicidal man that must return to his hometown following the death of his father. Jane Fonda is also rumoured to be part of the casting.

January 17, 2004
Maguire Eyes Electroboy - With an eye on the staring role, Tobey Maguire is trying to bring Andy Behrman's memoir Electroboy to the bigscreen. Behrman's book is a turbulent spin through the life of a 28-year-old manic-depressive art forger and con man, chronicling his sexual escapades, drug binges and treatment with electroshock therapy.

January 10, 2004
Connery Seeks Revenge - Sean Connery is attached to star in The Picaresque Revenge, a con movie said to be in the spirit of The Sting. The story centers on a former FBI agent who, released after spending time in prison for a crime he didn't commit, targets those he believes put him behind bars by pulling off a series of audacious crimes.

January 3, 2004
Superman Star Biopic - A biopic of the late B&W Superman TV-star George Reeves, starring either Keanu Reeves and Viggo Mortensen, is aiming to begin filming this Spring. Benicio Del Toro is in talks to play a private eye hired to investigate the actor's strange death. Sharon Stone, Annette Benning and Naomi Watts are up for parts in the film.

December 27, 2003
Jackman in Wolverine Spin-Off - X-Men 2 just came off great success and already there's talk of two new sequels. Though X-3 may have some trouble getting all the original cast members back together (especially new star Halle Berry), Fox is opting for a tasty deal with Hugh Jackman to reprise his role as Wolverine in a spin-off film which would bring back some of the characters from X2.

December 13, 2003
Clooney Eyes Syriana - George Clooney is gearing up to star in the thriller Syriana, written and directed by Stephen Gaghan (who scripted Traffic). Based on the book "See No Evil" by Robert Baer, the movie will intersect different storylines, à la Traffic, following various agents in the CIA.

December 6, 2003
Jonze Set for Wild Things - Spike Jonze (director of such quirky films as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation) is set to direct an adaptation of the classic children's book Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. The story revolves around a young boy who, locked in his room, imagines he's the ruler of a forest populated by strange creatures and other wild things.

November 29, 2003
Steve Martin In the Pink - Steve Martin has agreed to take on the classic character Inspector Clouseau most famously played by the late Peter Sellers, for a new series of Pink Panther films. Jackie Chan in talks to play his assistant Cato. Shawn Levy is set to direct, taking over the series which had previously been helmed by Blake Edwards.

November 22, 2003
Scott and Bloom do Heaven - Director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator) has set Orlando Bloom to star in Kingdom of Heaven to be shot in Morocco early 2004. Taking place during the time of the Crusades, the film is to be an epic love story about a peasant who becomes a knight, saves a kingdom and falls in love with the princess of Jerusalem.

November 15, 2003
Cameron and Hayek Go Deep - Rumor has it that Salma Hayek is in talks to play the French diver Audrey Mestre in a movie to be produced and directed by none other than director James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator 2), for a release sometime in 2005. The film will be based on the true story - and tragedy - of champion freedivers Mestre and husband Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras.

November 8, 2003
Shyamalan Adapts Life of Pi - Writer / director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) has signed on to do an adaptation of the award-winning novel The Life of Pi, a story revolving around an Indian boy stranded in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger when a cargo ship trasnporting his family's zoo animals sinks in the middle of the ocean. This project will be next on his slate after The Village.

October 25, 2003
Kapur to Adapt Asimov's Foundation - It seems that director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) is set to direct a movie two-parter based on the classic science-fiction trilogy by Isaac Asimov, namely Foundation and Second Foundation. The films are intended as a faithful adaptation about the coming of a super-being which puts a new, predicted galactic human empire in jeopardy.

October 18, 2003
Cast and Crew Back for More Zorro - Director Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Vertical Limit) is returning to the Zorro franchise which he helped re-invent in 1998 with The Mask of Zorro 2, set to start production in 2004. Antonia Banderas is set to reprise his role as the legendary swordsman, and Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta Jones are in talks to also re-appear.

October 11, 2003
Owen is New Bond? - It seems Clive Owen (who starred in Croupier and Gosford Park) is the front-runner for the role of James Bond which will be announced sometime in early 2004. Sources say Pierce Brosnan has recommended Owen replace him in the role after Brosnan's last outing as 007 in the next installment coming in 2005.

October 4, 2003
Scott Readying Gladiator 2 - Director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Blade Runner) has completed the draft for Gladiator 2, with an aim for 2005. It will take up where the last one left off and tell the story of Lucilla's son Lucius. While showing off more of Rome's rich history, it will focus more on the political aspects and stay away from the gladiatorial side of things.

September 27, 2003
Bale is New Batman - Years after the dreaded Batman & Robin, Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) is set to direct the latest Batman movie revival suing a plot by Blade writer David S.Goyer. Actor Christian Bale has been chosen as the latest incarnation of the Dark Crusader. Shooting begins Spring 2004.

September 13, 2003
Apted to Make Scheherazade - Michael Apted is set to direct Juliette Binoche, Laurence Fishburne, Gary Sinise and Samuel Ball in the film Scheherazade, about an unfaithful wife who must talk her way to freedom after being kidnapped by her husband's gangster partners. The narrative style is supposed to be based on the tale of the 1001 Arabian Nights.

August 30, 2003
Smith Wins Fletch Won - Writer-director Kevin Smith has finally committed to direct Fletch Won which follows the adventures of a mystery solving journalist, and is looking to cast either Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, or Adam Sandler in the role. Smith promises to adhere to the wit and dialogue of the novels by John McDonald, something the Chevy Chase installments didn't do.

August 23, 2003
Weisz and Reeves Spook Constantine - Rachel Weisz is in negotiations to star opposite Keanu Reeves in the adaptation to the "Hellblazer" comic-book Constantine to be directed by newcomer Francis Lawrence. The story revolves around a man involved in the world of the occult who joins forces with a police officer to stop evil.

August 16, 2003
Turner is The Goddess - Director James Ivory (Howards End, The Remains of the Day) is set to do a Bollywood-style musical titled The Goddess with singer Tina Turner signed to play the multi-armed Hindu goddess Kali. In the traditional Bollywood manner, Turner will sing & dance in the film, set to shoot early 2004 in India.

August 9, 2003
Kidman To Play The Interpreter - Director Sydney Pollack is trying to get Nicole Kidman to play the title role in his latest film The Interpreter. The story revolves around a U.N. interpreter who overhears an assassination plot involving an African leader, and teams up with a federal agent try to stop the murder.

August 2, 2003
Jude Law in Alfie Remake - Susan Sarandon and Marisa Tomei are in negotiations to join Jude Law in the remake of the 1966 romantic comedy Alfie for director Charles Shyer. The story revolves around a womanizer, caught between a bored suburban housewife and a single mom, who is forced to rethink his shallow life.

July 19, 2003
R.I.P. Gregory Peck - Gregory Peck, an actor who's screen presence always displayed a definite charm and stalwart decency, died last June at the age of 87. He is best known for such roles in films like Spellbound, The Guns of Navarone, and The Omen, and won an Oscar for his performance in the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. He will be missed.

July 12, 2003
Update to the King Arthur Legend - The medieval epic King Arthur, which will be partly based on Sir Thomas Malory's 15th-century book Le Morte d'Arthur is currently shooting. The film will be aiming for a more realistic slant than past incarnations of the Arthurian legend, with some large (and bloody) battles.

June 20, 2003
Hanks in A Cold Case - Director Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) and Eric Roth are set to adapt A Cold Case, the fact-based drama revolving around a District Attorney's chief investigator (played by Tom Hanks) who vows to solve the 27-year-old murder of his best friend before he retires.

June 7, 2003
LaBute on Wicker Man Remake - Director Neil LaBute (Passion, Nurse Betty) is preparing to shoot a remake of the classic 1973 gothic horror flick The Wicker Man, about a detective who makes his way to an island run by pagans. The new version promises more sex and death, and features Nicholas Cage, Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder.

May 31, 2003
Shyamalan Goes to The Woods - Writer / director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) is ready for his next supernatural thriller, The Woods. The film is set in 1897 and tells the story of a small community surrounded by a forest that happens to inhabit by mythical creatures. The film, which stars Ashton Kutcher, Joaquin Phoenix and Kirsten Dunst, has an expected release in 2004.

May 24, 2003
Hannibal Prequel In the Works - Novelist Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs) has teamed up with producer Dino De Laurentiis (Red Dragon) once again to produce The Lecter Variation, a prequel of sorts to the famous Hannibal trilogy. The upcoming film and book will recount the early, formative years of the cannibal serial killer.

May 10, 2003
Starsky and Hutch Remake - Comedy vets Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are starring in a big-screen remake of the popular 1970's buddy cop show Starsky and Hutch. Juliette Lewis and Vince Vaughn are co-starring in the film being directed by Todd Philips (Road Trip) which has started production.

May 3, 2003
Burton Finds The Corpse Bride - Tim Burton is preparing another stop-motion animated film like The Nightmare Before Christmas with The Corpse Bride which starts shooting in November in London. The story, based on a 19th century Eastern European folk tale, is about a young man who inadvertently becomes betrothed to a corpse.

April 12, 2003
Egoyan on Foolproof - Independent director Atom Egoyan (Exotica, Arararat) is turning his hand toward more commercial filmmaking for his next project with the mainstream studio comedy Foolproof. The film, starring Ryan Reynolds, follows a group of friends who are blackmailed into pulling off a heist instead of just talking about them.

April 5, 2003
Jackson on King Kong - After years of rumor, it's finally been officially confirmed: director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) will indeed be helming a remake of the classic King Kong immediately after finishing work on the LOTR trilogy. Jackson will help write and will produce the flick to be shot in New Zealand with a 2005 release being targeted.

March 29, 2003
Oscars Awarded 2003 - Well, another Academy Awards ceremony has come and gone, with the big winner this year being Chicago (Best Picture) with the major awards going to Roman Polanski (Best Director for The Pianist), Nicole Kidman (Best Actress for The Hours) and Adrien Lyne (Best Actor for The Pianist).

March 15, 2003
Kilmer in Mamet's Spartan - Val Kilmer is set to star alongside Derek Luke and William H. Macy in David Mamet's (Heist, The Spanish Prisoner) political thriller Spartan. The story revolves around Kilmer' character who is asked to investigate the kidnapping of the president's daughter. Production is set for April.

March 8, 2003
Kidman as Catwoman - Nicole Kidman has been offered the title role in the upcoming Batman movie spin-off Catwoman with French director Pitoff (Vidocq) rumored to direct. Ashley Judd had previously been attached to star in the project. Kidman is said to be waiting for script changes before deciding.

March 1, 2003
Spielberg and Hanks in Terminal - Steven Spielberg is almost set to direct Tom Hanks in the airport comedy Terminal from a script from Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption). The story involves an Eastern European immigrant who becomes a resident of a New York airport terminal when a war breaks out and erases his country from the map.

February 22, 2003
Mann in Storage - Director Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider) will direct the drama Worcester Cold Storage. Based on a book by Sean Flynn, the story follows the events at a devastating warehouse blaze that killed six firefighters in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1999. The families of the victims, however, are not very supportive of the idea.

February 15, 2003
Star Cast on Big Fish - Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter and Steve Buscemi will join Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup and Jessica Lange on the Tim Burton flick Big Fish. The story involves a man's son who tries to decipher the truth behind his dying father and his tall tales. Production started last month.

February 8, 2003
Fincher on Dogtown - Foregoing Mission Impossible 3 (for now) director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) has decided to jump on the coming-of-age drama The Lords of Dogtown about the surf and skateboard culture in the 1970s. Production is set for later this year.

February 1, 2003
Demme Prepares Candidate - Director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) is said to be set to remake the 1962 John Frankenheimer thriller The Manchurian Candidate with Denzel Washington in the lead. The story revolves around a group of soldiers who are brainwashed by Communists to assassinate an American head of state.

January 24, 2003
Golden Globe 2002 - The 2002 Golden Globe awards have been handed out: Chicago won best Musical / Comedy with Gere and Zellweger winning for performances, while The Hours, along with star Kidman, won for best Drama. Nicholson won best actor for About Schmidt, and Scorsese best director for The Gangs of New York.

January 17, 2003
Barrymore in Oz sequel - Surrender Dorothy is the name of The Wizard of Oz sequel now in development which would see the Wicked Witch return to get her hands on the ruby slippers from Dorothy. Drew Barrymore would take the role of Dorothy, who would find herself with her loyal dog Toto in a strange place indeed: New York City.

January 10, 2003
Woo gets Paycheck - John Woo (Face/Off, Hard Boiled) will direct the thriller Paycheck based on the Philip K. Dick story about a man trying to find out why a two-year span of his life has been erased from his memory. Woo got the opportunity after director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon) decided to pass for a shot at Superman. Ben Affleck is in talks for the lead.

December 31, 2002
Gibson Rolls On with Mad Max 4 - Mel Gibson will be re-teaming with George Miller, who has directed and co-written the first three Mad Max films to breathe new life into the cult franchise with the fourth installment, Mad Max: Fury Road. The $100 million-budgeted flick is set begin production in the Australian outback in late Spring. 

December 17, 2002
Smith in I, Robot - Will Smith is set to star in I, Robot, an adaptation of the 1940's Isaac Asimov stories that set the groundwork for many modern-day robot films, as a detective investigating a crime that might have been perpetrated by a robot. Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow) is at the helm with a script from Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind).

December 6, 2002
Reese and Wolfgang on Whiteout - Reese Witherspoon has signed on to star in and produce the crime thriller Whiteout, adapted from a series of graphic novels and directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Air Force One, The Perfect Storm). The story is about a female US Marshal living in exile in Antarctica, who's called upon to solve the continent's first murder.

November 29, 2002
A Confederacy of Dunces - After lingering for 20 years, the adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Confederacy of Dunces is finally set to start next spring with David Gordon Green (George Washington) to direct from a script co-written by Steven Soderbergh. Drew Barrymore is set to star in the story of "a colorful would-be academic who suffers through a series of lousy jobs, stilted romances and misadventures while living at home with his mother in 1960s-era New Orleans."

November 22, 2002
R.I.P. James Coburn - Actor James Coburn died this week at the age of 74. The perennial tough guy in such films as The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, he also enjoyed comedy in Our Man Flint and The President's Analyst, finally winning on Oscar in 1998 for his dramatic portrayal as an abusive father in Affliction.

November 15, 2002
Soderbergh on Eros - Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) has agreed to direct one segment of a three-part film titled Eros comprising tales of love and sexuality by Italian maestro Michelangelo Antonioni and Hong Kong-based auteur Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express). He would replace Spain's Pedro Almodovar (All About My Mother) who will now contribute by creating the narrative framework between the stories.

November 8, 2002
Gilliam Takes on the Brothers Grimm - Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys, Brazil) has found his next project, a fantasy / adventure tale about the real life folklore collectors Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. In the story, the brothers travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures only to encounter a real sorceress with terrifying powers. A spring start of production date has been set.

November 1, 2002
Richard Harris Dies at 72 - Classically trained actor and notorious hellraiser Richard Harris died from Hodgkin's disease this past weekend. The Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated actor, whose most recent role was that of Headmaster Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies, leaves a legacy of memorable roles from such films as This Sporting Life, A Man Called Horse and Gladiator.

October 25, 2002
Kidman Joins The Stepford Wives - Nicole Kidman is set to star in a remake of the 1975 suspense / thriller The Stepford Wives about a suburban housewife who gets suspicious about her neighbors' strange behavior. The new version, however, is going to be produced as a special-effects laden black comedy with Frank Oz (The Score) directing.

October 18, 2002
Willis Set For Die Hard 4 - Bruce Willis has finally agreed to come back to the action series that first made him a star with Die Hard 4. Fox managed the deal simply by giving his next film permission to use the title Man of War, a name Fox owns. No date has been set for production, however.

October 11, 2002
FCMM 2002 - The 31st Edition of the Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media is now on, featuring some impressive features such as Polanski's Cannes winner The Pianist, Almodovar's Talk to Her, Moore's controversial doc Bowling for Columbine, Kaurismaki's Man Without a Past and the Mexican revelation Japon.

October 4, 2002
Scott and Cage are Matchstick Men - Production has begun on the new Ridley Scott-directed film (Blade Runner, Gladiator), Matchstick Men starring Nicholas Cage and Sam Rockwell. The story follows a phobia-addled con artist and his protégé who are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the unexpected arrival his teenage daughter disrupts his carefully-ordered plans.

September 27, 2002
Carrey and Winslet Spotless - Kate Winslet is to star with Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind from a script by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich). The story is set partly within the human mind, about a man trying to kick the memories he has of his ex-wife and their sometimes steamy relationship. Shooting is set to start in January.

September 20, 2002
Alexander the Great Times Two - Director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) has lined up Leonardo DiCaprio for the starring role in an epic production about Alexander the Great. The two had already worked together on Romeo & Juliet. A competing film about Alexander, with Colin Farrell in the lead, has been in the works for some time by Oliver Stone.

September 3, 2002
Montreal World Film Festival 2002 Winners - The latest edition of the WFF has ended, and the Grand Prize of the Americas was awarded to the Italian film The Best Day of My Life. Other prizes included, the Jury Prize to the Turkish film Nowhereland, best director to Sophie Marceau for Parlez-Moi d'Amour, and best screenplay to The Last Train.

August 23, 2002
08/23/02 - Montreal World Film Festival 2002 - The 26th edition of the Montreal International Film Festival (or WFF) is now in full swing. Playing from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2, 2002 in downtown Montreal, Quebec, the festival is showing over 300 films from around the world, many of which are North American or World premieres.

August 16, 2002
Burton Leads Big Fish - Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow, Batman) is set to direct the drama Big Fish from a novel by Daniel Wallace, a film that had originally interested Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a son trying to sort out his dying father's past, and who the man he is now, from the tales he heard as a child. Albert Finney will star as the father with Ewan McGregor playing a younger version of him in flashbacks.

August 9, 2002
Scott on Matchstick Men - Production has begun on the new film from director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator), Matchstick Men starring Nicholas Cage and Sam Rockwell. The story follows a phobia-addled con artist and his protégé who are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the unexpected arrival of his teenage daughter disrupts his carefully-ordered plans.

August 2, 2002
Petersen on Batman vs. Superman - Director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Air Force One) is going full steam ahead on the ultimate superhero face-off flick, pitting the bright, stalwart Superman against the dark, brooding Batman, with a script by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en). Set for a Summer 2004 release, casting rumors include Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

July 26, 2002
Thunderbirds Are Go! - Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: First Contact) is set to direct the live-action adaptation of Thunderbirds, a British TV series from the 60s about a secret hi-tech rescue team made up of a retired astronaut and his five sons. The show used string puppets and scaled models to present its big-budget ideas. Harrison Ford is in talks to play Jeff Tracy, the patriarch of the family.

July 19, 2002
R.I.P. Rod Steiger - Acclaimed actor Rod Steiger passed away at the age of 77. Steiger made his mark in the classic On the Waterfront where he was nominated for an Academy Award. He won an Oscar for his portrayal of a Southern police chief in In the Heat of the Night. Steiger also played in diverse roles in films such as Doctor Zhivago, Oklahoma!, and The Player.

July 12, 2002
R.I.P. John Frankenheimer - Famed director John Frankenheimer has passed away this week leaving behind a body of work encompassing more than 40 years from his most controversial thriller The Manchurian Candidate, to his intense other films like The Train, Seven Days in May, Seconds, and his recent spy flick Ronin. He will be missed.

July 5, 2002
Coen Bros. to Redo The Ladykillers - Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou?) are in talks to direct Disney's remake of the British comedy The Ladykillers from their script, this time basing the story in the South. The original 1955 film starred Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers as crooks who try, but repeatedly fail, to kill their landlady.

June 28, 2002
Woo on Men of Destiny - John Woo (Face/Off, Hard Boiled) is set to direct Men of Destiny (or The Divide) with long-time associates Chow Yun-Fat and Nicholas Cage. The film tells the story of how the Chinese and Irish immigrants were instrumental in building the railroad in the US. Production is to start in Colorado later this year.

June 21, 2002
Italian Job Remake - The Yards co-stars Charlize Theron and Mark Wahlberg will reunite in a remake of the 1969 film The Italian Job alongside Edward Norton. The story revolves around a man who uses a traffic jam to steal back a safe full of gold taken from him by a double-crossing associate. Production is set to start late summer with F. Gary Gray (The Negotiator) directing.

June 14, 2002
Dunst on Craven's Pulse Remake - Kirsten Dunst is set to star in director Wes Craven's (Scream) upcoming remake, Pulse. The script, by Craven and Vince Gilligan (of X-Files fame), is based on the Japanese film of the same name by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Another popular Japanese ghost story, Ring, has also been remade recently.

June 7, 2002
Petersen to do Ender's Game - Wolfgang Peterson (Das Boot, Air Force One) will develop and may also direct the big-screen adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Hugo-Award winning sci-fi novel Ender's Game. Set in a future where Earth is in a desperate war with an alien race, a young boy is trained in a highly competitive game to make him command-ready. No cast has yet been announced.

May 31, 2002
Cannes 2002 Awards - Director Roman Polanski's The Pianist, about a Jewish musician surviving the Holocaust, won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Festival. The Finnish film The Man Without a Past won the Jury Prize. Michael Moore's documentary about guns in America, Bowling for Columbine, won a special Jury prize.

May 24, 2002
Fleder on The Runaway Jury - The film adaptation of John Grisham's The Runaway Jury is revving up with new director Gary Fleder directing while Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman are currently discussing roles in the film. John Cusack is already set to star as the jury foreman in a landmark case against a gun manufacturer. Originally, Joel Schumacher was set to direct Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Norton, and Sean Connery in the film.

May 17, 2002
Schwarzenegger in Westworld - Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed on to star in and produce a remake of Westworld. The 1973 version, directed by Michael Crichton, was about an amusement park recreating the Wild West made up of androids designed to fulfill any fantasy until a malfunction drives a gun-slinging robot to hunt down and kill the human participants. Arnie would be up to the robot role originally played by Yul Brynner.

May 10, 2002
Fincher on for M:I 3? - David Fincher (The Panic Room, Se7en) is in final negotiations with Paramount Pictures to direct the third installment of the action-adventure Mission: Impossible franchise with Tom Cruise reprising his role as the agent Ethan Hunt. Robert Towne, who was involved with writing both of the previous M:I films, will likely have a hand in developing a story for the third.

May 3, 2002
Del Toro to Do Hellboy - It's been confirmed that the comic-book Hellboy is going forward with a big screen adaptation from Revolution Studios with Guillermo Del Toro (Blade 2, Cronos) directing. Character actor Ron Perlman is under discussion to star as the title character. Hellboy tells the story of a creature that was created by Nazis during Wolrd War II as a weapon of destruction but ends up siding with the Americans and investigating cases of the paranormal.

Apr. 26, 2002
Duchovny to Explore Dark Places - Actor David Duchovny (The X-Files) is set to play acclaimed author James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential) in the film adaptation of the crime novelist's memoirs My Dark Places. The story follows Ellroy's investigation into the unsolved murder of his mother back in 1958. Robert Greenwald (Steal This Movie) will be directing and producing.

Apr. 19, 2002
Seven Samurai to be Remade - Miramax Films and MGM are set to co-produce a "contemporary" retelling of Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai, the classic saga of a poor village besieged by bandits that hires a handful of warriors to defend them. The film was first remade in Hollywood as the successful western The Magnificent Seven.

Apr. 12, 2002
Tarantino Ready For Kill Bill - An impressive cast is lined up for Quentin Tarantino's (Pulp Fiction) next film, Kill Bill, including Uma Thurman, Warren Beatty, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, and Michael Madsen. The story follows Thurman as a woman shot down by her husband who, after spending several years in a coma, awakens and seeks revenge on her husband and his criminal associates. Shooting will take place in the U.S., China, Japan, and Mexico starting in June.

Apr. 5, 2002
RIP Billy Wilder - Billy Wilder, one of the greatest writer-directors of Hollywood's Golden Age, died last week at the age of 95. He has won numerous Oscars and international prizes for writing and directing such classic films as Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Some Like It Hot and The Apartment.

Mar. 29, 2002
Oscar 2002 Winners - As expected, the big winner of the night was A Beautiful Mind, earning awards for Best Picture and Best Director for Ron Howard. Halle Berry won for Best Actress (Monster's Ball) and Denzel Washington won for Best Actor (Training Day). The Academy honored Sidney Poitier and Robert Redford with special awards as well.

Mar. 19, 2002
Myers is The Cat in the Hat - Comedian Mike Myers best known for his Austin Powers movies will will undergo major makeup for the live-action adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic The Cat in the Hat. The producers are promising that the feature will be more intense and won't be as kids-oriented as Jim Carrey's How the Grinch Stole Christmas was.

Mar. 8, 2002
McG Takes the Reigns of Superman - Kevin Smith, Tim Burton and Nicholas Cage were all given a chance to bring back DC Comic's most popular super-hero, without success. Now Charlie's Angels director McG has been given the job to revive the lucrative Superman franchise and will start from scratch with TV creator J.J. Abrams set to pen the script. McG will jump onto the project after wrapping up Charlie's Angels 2: Halo. 

Mar. 1, 2002
Berlin Film Fest Results - The Berlin International Film Festival has come and gone with the Golden Bear being awarded to both the Japanese animated film Spirited Away and to Bloody Sunday, a story about the clash between British and Northern Irish troops. Otar Ioseliani won for best director for Lundi Matin while the entire cast of François Ozon's 8 Femmes got a Silver Bear for individual artistic achievement.

Feb 22, 2002
Cruise and Spielberg in Ghost Soldiers - Tom Cruise and director Steven Spielberg, who have just finished shooting the sci-fi thriller Minority Report, will reunite for the World War II film Ghost Soldiers. Based on the Hampton Sides bestseller, the story is about survivors of the Bataan Death March who remained in a Japanese prison camp for three years until freed by Allied forces.

Feb 15, 2002
Oscar Nominations Announced - Nominations for Best Picture of 2001 are A Beautiful Mind, Gosford Park, Lord of the Rings, In the Bedroom and Moulin Rouge, while Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Sissy Spacek, Russell Crowe, Denzel Wahington and Sean Penn, among others, have been pegged for their acting and Ron Howard, David Lynch and Peter Jackson for directing.

Feb 8, 2002
Crowe in Master and Commander - Peter Weir will be directing Russell Crowe for the film adaptation of the first of Patrick O'Brian's twenty novels about seafaring adventurers during the Napoleonic era. Crowe is to play British naval officer Captain Jack Aubrey while Ralph Fiennes is also slated to star in a role that was first proposed to Heath Ledger.

Feb 1, 2002
Indiana Jones 4 Set to Go - Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford have confirmed that they have finally accepted the script for the fourth Indiana Jones film. Spielberg has indicated that Indy 4 is his next priority after his current commitment to Catch Me If You Can. Kate Capshaw, who starred with Ford in Temple of Doom, is also set to return.

Jan. 25, 2002
Golden Globe Awards - Sunday night's Golden Globe awards saw A Beautiful Mind win for Best Drama and Best Actor (Russell Crowe), and Moulin Rouge for Best Musical / Comedy and Best Actress (Nicole Kidman). Other winners included Sissy Spacek for In the Bedroom, Gene Hackman for The Royal Tenenbaums, and director Robert Altman for Gosford Park.

Jan. 18, 2002
R.I.P. Ted Demme - Ted Demme, the acclaimed director of the recent films Blow and Beautiful Girls, died from a heart attack on Sunday night. Demme was playing basketball at a local school function when he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. He was only 38.

Nov. 27, 2001
Pixar To Drive Down Route 66 - Route 66, which will have nothing to do with the 60's TV series, will be the seventh and potentially last computer-animated movie Disney will distribute from Pixar. The company that produced Toy Story and Monsters, Inc., among other hits, has two other tales, Finding Nemo and The Invincibles, scheduled to come out Summer 2003 and 2004 respectively. Route 66 will come out in 2005.

Nov. 16, 2001
More Harry Potter - The first film is barely out and already cast and crew are shooting the following book, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, due out holiday 2002 with Daniel Radcliffe reprising the role of Harry. Director Chris Columbus confirmed the famous flying car scene at the start of the second book is already complete. The four books in the series are set to be released at one year intervals to follow the chronology of the book.

Nov. 9, 2001
Hopkins in Human Stain - Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman will star in the adaptation of Philip Roth's novel about an aging classics professor who is forced to retire when his colleagues label him a racist leading to dramatic revelations, kept hidden for 50 years. Shooting begins in March 2002 under the helm of director Robert Benton (Billy Bathgate).

Nov. 2, 2001
Scorsese May Helm Alexander - After Gangs of New York, it seems director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio may be working together again, this time on the epic Alexander. Based on a script from Oscar-winning writer Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), the film will chronicle Alexander the Great's rise to power.

Oct. 26, 2001
Crowe Up for The Cinderella Man? - Russell Crowe might take the lead role in the biopic of real-life heavyweight boxing champ Jim Braddock who rose from obscurity to win the title and take on the legendary Max Baer in 1935. Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules) is set to direct. The project previously had Ben Affleck and Billy Bob Thornton attached to star and direct.

Oct. 19, 2001
Clooney in Coen's Cruelty - After O Brother, Where Art Thou?, George Clooney and Joel and Ethan Coen are close to reteaming for the Universal black comedy Intolerable Cruelty. Clooney would play one of the world's toughest divorce lawyers, with the story centered on his relationship with a Beverly Hills gold digger. Julia Roberts is tipped to join.

Oct. 12, 2001
Affleck to Swing into Daredevil - Ben Affleck seems very much in demand these days and is now set to tackle the Marvel Comics super- hero Daredevil. The film, directed by Steven Johnson (Simon Birch) and set to film next year, is about a blind lawyer and martial artist who, disillusioned with the legal system, fights crime as a costumed hero thanks to his heightened senses.

Oct. 2, 2001
Pitt and Toro Seared - It seems Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro may star in Seared, a loose adaptation of the memoirs of Les Halles chef Anthony Bourdain from his book "Kitchen Confidential". Rumor is that director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) may helm the project.

Sept. 18, 2001
Hollywood Careful After New York Disaster - Following the terrorist attack on New York, many films whose subject matter related to terrorism or The Big Apple have had their release date pushed back (Collateral Damage, Big Trouble, Spy Game, etc.), are having scenes being re-written or re-shot (Spider-Man), or have had their production put on hold or simply cancelled.

Sept. 11, 2001
Norton and Watson in Dragon - Edward Norton and Emily Watson are almost tagged to join Anthony Hopkins in Red Dragon, the prequel to Silence of the Lambs, based on the novel by Thomas Harris about an FBI agent who is forced to enlist the help of Hannibal to stop a vicious serial killer. Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 2) is set to direct. An adaptation had already been made by Michael Mann in 1986 entitled Manhunter.

Sept. 4, 2001
Zellwegger to Sing in Chicago - Renée Zellweger is up for a film version of the hit Broadway musical Chicago being written by Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters). She will join Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is negotiating to play the other half of a murderous singing and dancing duo. Kevin Spacey and Kathy Bates are also being eyed to play in the film scheduled for an early 2002 production start.

Aug. 28, 2001
Montreal World Film Festival - The 25th edition of the Montreal World Film Festival is in full swing in downtown Montreal, Canada. The festival, with over 250 films on display during its run from August 23, 2001 to September 3, 2001, is offering special awards this year to actress Sophia Loren and international star Jackie Chan.

Aug. 21, 2001
Ruiz Takes Up Rushdie's Ground - While promoting his latest film La Comedia de la Inocencia, Chilean filmmaker Raoul Ruiz (Time Regained) confirmed that his next project is the adaptation of Rushdie's rock novel, The Ground Beneath Her Feet. Filming begins in London on January 2002 on the $15 million-budget flick with rumor of Salma Hayek starring and music by songwriter David Byrne.

Aug. 14, 2001
Jack-of-All-Trades Crowe on Shore - Russell Crowe has finally selected his next film, jumping into the new World War 2 flick The Long Green Shore as writer, director, producer and star. Based on the novel by John Hepworth, the story is set during the final days of World War II, following a group of Australian soldiers with the order to engage the retreating Japanese. Shooting begins early next year in the South Pacific.

Aug. 7, 2001
sex, lies Sequel - Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic), will be returning to his roots by directing a sequel to his debut effort sex, lies and videotape, rumored to be titled How to Survive a Hotel Fire. The original film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1989. Currently, the director is working on a remake of Ocean's Eleven with an all-star cast including George Clooney and Brad Pitt. 

July 10, 2001
Oscar Adds Animation Category - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has decided to add a category for best new animated feature film. The Oscar will be awarded if eight full-length cartoons are considered eligible in any year. Due to the recent success of films such as Shrek and the potential for others coming th