Warner Bros. Drops 'Dumber and Dumber' Sequel; Farrelly Bros. To Shop Project Elsewhere

"So you're saying there's a chance!"

For whatever reason (I'm betting Jim Carrey's long hold-up to be paid which has taken years away from the project), Warner Bros. has declined to move forward on the sequel to 1994's Dumb and Dumber.

The film - which has been in the works for years at New Line Cinema (now owned by WB) - is being given the opportunity to be shopped to other studios who might what to distribute and finance the sequel to one of the biggest comedies of the 1990s.

Both original stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are attached to the project with Bobby and Peter Farrelly back in the directors' chairs to helm the sequel, appropriately titled, Dumb and Dumber To.

The follow-up would see Harry and Lloyd hit the road once again to find Harry's illegitimate daughter for a kidney transplant (sounds stupid, by didn't two guys heading to Aspen to return a briefcase sound pretty lame too?).

Apparently, Warners' lost interest in the project recently and see limited upside to the flick, which would cost around $30 million, the same as their recent flop, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, co-starring Carrey.

Not for nothing, but I think WB is out of their minds for letting this go.  Do they not realize how many people love Dumb and Dumber, and how many fans it's made over the past 20 years?  People will line up to see this film, an almost guaranteed box office smash.  With a budget of $30 million - on top of probably another $20 million in marketing - this thing will do huge business, probably making up that figure in its opening weekend alone.

Regardless of that, expect news fairly soon on which studio is going to pick this thing up because I doubt it will be on the market for long.

By the way, remember when 20th Century Fox decided not to make Ted?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter 

Mel Gibson to Play the Villain in 'Expendables 3'?

After a while, people in Hollywood need to start giving Mel Gibson a break.

Yes, we all know Hollywood is run by Jewish individuals and Mel Gibson in more recent times has been - and probably is - portrayed as an Anti-Semitic.  That in itself, pisses off big wigs all around Tinseltown.

What they seem to forget though is that the guy throughout the 80s, 90s, and even the early 2000s, was one of the biggest movie stars in the world.  There are absolutely people out there who would still pay to see his films as the guy is a great actor and even better director.

With that said, it looks like Sylvester Stallone is going to be one the guys who brings Mel Gibson back to the silver screen.

Earlier this year, Stallone had tweeted about how Gibson could possibly direct The Expendables 3, only for the job to eventually go to Red Hill director, Patrick Hughes.

Well it looks like Gibson will be involved in the project after all, with word coming that he will play the villain in the 3rd entry of the action-star franchise.  Martin Riggs himself will be joined by fellow-newcomers Nicolas Cage, Wesley Snipes, Jackie Chan, and Milla Jovovich, along with returning members from the previous films (well, those who still haven't been killed off).

I think this can be great for Gibson's career in going head-to-head with Stallone and other action legends as well as getting him back into the good graces of moviegoers.  

Now if he can only get Lethal Weapon 5 made too, I'd say the man is back.

Source: Showbiz 411 

Vintage 90s Poster for Stallone/Schwarzenegger Actioner 'Escape Plan'

We finally have our first look at the long-awaited team up film for Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Escape Plan (formely titled, The Tomb).

In the flick due out October 18th, Stallone plays Ray Breslin, the world's foremost authority on structural security, whose framed and incarcerated in a prison of his own master design.  Needing to break out, he joins forces with Schwarzenegger's character, Emil Rottmayer (WTF?), a fellow inmate who helps devise a plan to escape the most secure prison in the world.

What's great about this poster is it's almost something that could have come out in the early 90s when action films were all about 'ordinary guy, extraordinary circumstances.'  Smart move maybe to evoke that good old 80-90s nostalgia when audiences yearned to see the world's two biggest action stars together on screen.  I mean common, isn't there just something awesome about the names STALLONE & SCHWARZENEGGER side-by-side on a movie poster?

The film also stars Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, and Sam Neill.

Take a look at the poster below: 

A Look Inside Heath Ledger's Joker Diary

 

Since 2008's The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger's iconic performance as The Joker has become synonymous with the truly masterpiece of a film.  Yet, going on five years later, there has never been much released regarding Ledger's process for the film (behind-the-scenes footage, interviews on set, etc.).

What was known however - in one of the few interviews Ledger gave regarding the film before his death - was his intense preparation to become one of Hollywood's most iconic villains.

Speaking with Empire Magazine, the late actor had this to say:

“I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary.”

We finally have the first look at this diary thanks to the German documentary show, Too Young to Die, which interviews Ledger's father, Kim, as he goes through the scrapbook/journal (if you notice, Ledger's Oscar is sitting right next to the book).  Within the diary, there are clippings from Batman comics, pictures of clowns, cutouts from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, and a written description of his hospital room monologue scene.  Finally, in a chilling final note, the words "BYE BYE" are scribbled across the last page.

You can view the video below which is narrated in French, however; thanks to You Tube, a narration is provided:

This is the Joker’s diary. In order to inhabit his character, he locked himself up in a hotel room for weeks. He would do that. He liked to dive into his characters, but this time he really took it up a notch.

The hospital scene is interesting because when he was a kid, his sister Kate liked to dress him up as a nurse. He was really funny like that. He also was in the movie. This is a make-up test which was done eight months before. Before the end of the shooting he wrote “bye bye” on the back of the page. It was hard to see this.

Source: The Film Stage

Sam Mendes Locked for 'Bond 24', Likely for 'Bond 25'

This is what happens when you deliver - far and away- the most successful James Bond film of all-time.

Skyfall and Academy Award winning director Sam Mendes has signed-on to helm Bond 24, and is likely for Bond 25 as well.

It's regular with James Bond films that even though the same actor stay on for a number of pics, different directors are brought in each time to bring their own flavor or style to the franchise.  That is obviously not the case with Sam Mendes, as Sony, MGM, and EON Productions  all saw how both commercially and critically great Skyfall was and did everything in their power to keep him around for as long as possible.

Mendes is said to be getting a huge payday for a Bond 24/Bond 25 deal as well as the creative freedom to develop the next two installments at his own pace while finishing up his stage and theater commitments.

Word is Bond 24 won't hit until 2016(!) because of this, but Sony and the other powers-that-be felt it was worth the wait to deliver a film that can equal or top Skyfall.

My only question is, how much longer can Daniel Craig keep going after this?  Will Bond 25 be his swan song and a new actor brought in to kick start the next 25 films of Bond?  He'll be past 50 when this is all said and done so maybe this will be it for the actor.

Whatever the case, it's a great move for the franchise, and a great move for Sam Mendes bank account.

Source: Showbiz 411

Francis Ford Coppola to Direct New Italian-American Saga

It's about damn time.

For anyone who thought Francis Ford Coppola - arguably one of the top five greatest director's in the past half century - was finished, you obviously thought wrong.

News comes today that the legendary director of The Godfather is going back to his Italian-American heritage for his next, still untitled film.  The story will chronicle an Italian-American family spanning from the 1930 to the 1960s, specifically, a boy and a girl in their late teens.

Coppola his currently at work on the screenplay and has set up shop at, where else, Paramount, who distributed and financed all the Godfather films.  There is no confirmation, however; that this will be the case with the new project.

Since the 1990 release of The Godfather: Part III, Coppola has steered clear of making any mainstream, studio films, instead choosing to do more independent, artsy flicks such as Tetro, Youth Without Youth, and Twixt; all self-financed by the director himself.

I remember reading an article a while back that Coppola always hated working for studios because he felt they diminished the creative freedom a director should always have; case in-point, The Godfather: Part II.  He basically told Paramount to go screw themselves unless they give him total control of the project...and that's why even though The Godfather is a masterpiece, Part II is the better film.

Definitely, more on this project as it becomes available.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

McG to Direct 'Hunter Killer'

It's funny how people think McG is a bad director.

Yeah, the dude's first two films were those awful Charlie's Angels flicks, but when you're young and hungry in Hollywood, you take whatever opportunity you can get to make your big break.  I mean hey, James Cameron did Piranha II: The Spawning, right?

And yes, was Terminator Salvation a dissapointment?  Absolutely.  But I don't think it had anything to do with McG's lack of effort.  I genuinely think he tried to make the film work but when you have a bad script, there's only so much you can do.

Which leads to today's news that the filmmaker is set to helm Hunter Killer, Relativity's long in-development action thriller that up until recently, had Antoine Fuqua attached with Gerard Butler set to star (this duo obviously went on to make Olympus Has Fallen instead).

McG is currently working on Relativity's 3 Days to Kill starring Kevin Costner and the studio felt he was a good fit make this his next project.

Hunter Killer is based on the novel Firing Point by Don Keith and George Wallace and tells the story of an untested submarine captain who must work with a Navy SEAL team to rescue Russia’s president, taken prisoner during a military coup. The two sides team to stop a rogue Russian general from igniting World War III.

I think a film like this can really go a long in way in helping McG's reputation as a solid filmmaker IF he can deliver a good film (and from early word, he's done a bang up job on 3 Days to Kill).

We shall see.

Source: Variety

Tom Welling Joins 'Draft Day'

Tom Welling seems to be taking the road less traveled in life after Smallville.

Instead of going the route so many TV stars have tried and failed in by wanting to become movie stars but eventually end up doing made-for-TV & straight-to-DVD movies, the former Clark Kent is going for the 'smaller is better' approach.

Welling reportedly has landed a role in the currently filming, Ivan Reitman directed football movie, Draft Day.

Starring Kevin Costner, Draft Day is set around the Cleveland Browns GM (Costner) who attempts to trade up in the NFL Draft to save football in his team's city.  Welling will play the role of Brian Drew, a veteran quarterback who finds himself at a crossroads in his career.

The film also stars Jennifer Garner, Frank Lagella, and Denis Leary.

Welling took a long break post-Smallville (after 10 seasons and over 200 episodes, who would blame him?), but recently wrapped a supporting role in the JFK drama, Parkland, an ensemble film set hours after the infamous assassination in Parkland Hospital in Dallas, TX.  Billy Bob Thornton, Zac Efron, and Paul Giamatti also star in the film which is being produced by Tom Hanks and is set for release later this year.

Draft Day is due out sometime next year and just started filming last month during the real NFL Draft.

Source: Deadline

'21 Jump Street' Sequel Moves to June 13th, 2014

With news coming out earlier today that Universal has put an indefinite hold on Jurassic Park 4 (didn't anyone else find it odd that not a single cast member had been announced yet?), Sony has wasted no time in filling the vacancy, moving their 21 Jump Street sequel to June 13th of next year.

Not that it made much of a difference for the film as it had been originally scheduled to open only a week earlier, but I think this just shows how much confidence the studio has in the follow-up to last year's surprise hit (honestly, I don't think there's a single person I've talked to who didn't love the first movie and found it to be absolutely hilarious).

I think with the rising star power of both Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum - not to mention the return of the same crew including Korean Jesus - this movie can do well over $200 million domestically, IF it keeps the same style and tone as the first flick (which I don't see why they wouldn't).

Filming on the sequel is set to begin this Fall with Officers Schmidt and Jenko heading off to college (I'm telling you, this is gonna be great!).

Source: Sony Pictures

Tom Cruise Signs On for 'Mission: Impossible 5'

In what should come as no surprise considering the last film made near $700 million worldwide, Tom Cruise has agreed to both star in and produce Mission: Impossible 5.  Both Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions confirmed today that the still most-bankable actor in Hollywood has agreed for a 5th go-around as Ethan Hunt.

The real question though is who will write and direct.

Word is Jack Reacher writer & director Christopher McQuarrie is the favorite to land the gig; however, news just came out today as well that he has signed on to handle the remake of the 1968 film, Ice Station Zebra, which might affect his candidacy for M:I 5.

Cruise - on the other hand - is coming off the very underrated Oblivion (which has made well over $200 million now globally) and just finished up next year's sci-fi actioner, All You Need is Kill (do you know if that film hits $200 million worldwide as well, it will be Cruise's 20th straight starring film to reach that mark?  Greatest movie star of all-time, period.)

As far as the Mission: Impossible franchise, the most recent entry - Ghost Protocol, directed by Brad Bird - was both a commercial and critical success so it will be a huge challenge to top for whomever sign on to helm the next one.

It should also be noted that JJ Abrams - who directed the 3rd Mission: Impossible as well as produce the 4th with his production company, Bad Robot - will take on the same executive duties this time too which can also be seen as nothing but good news.

Expect more on this project shortly as the announcement for the writer/director of M:I 5 is seemingly imminent.

Source: Deadline