Remember last year when Joaquin Phoenix claimed he’s quit acting, and then all of a sudden he went rapping. He was on David Letterman and nobody knew what the hell he was talking about. And then he fell off stage during a rap performance. And all the while he seemed all serious about it. And wasn’t Casey Affleck supposed to film the whole thing and come out with a mock-doc. Ha! Good times! Every one of his endeavors was source for a good laugh. Even Ben Stiller made fun of him at the Oscars. Phoenix should do something silly again just for our amusement. But what do we have here. Via The Playlist, Oscar winning sound recordist Resul Pookutty (Slumdog Millionaire) told Mumbai Mirror that he’s developing adaptation of THE BEAUTIFUL CIGAR GIRL and that Phoenix might be attached to star…

“I couldn’t be happier because I am doing a period film. It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854. It’s an adaptation of “The Beautiful Cigar Girl” by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allen Poe which happened just months before his death. Joaquin plays Edgar Allen Poe.”

This is not to be confused with James McTeigue’s project THE RAVEN starring Jeremy Renner because THE BEAUTIFUL CIGAR GIRL is based on a true story

Phoenix playing Edgar Allen Poe. I don’t remember reading anywhere about Poe having a thick rabbi beard and was all into rap. Ha!
If this info gets confirmed that we should welcome back Phoenix with open arms because before he’s supposed act/hoax, he was a damn good actor. No doubt about it. I don’t mind if someone like Wesley Snipes retires acting but Phoenix is just too great of a talent to go to waste like that. And yes, I believe he can play Poe. By the way, THE BEAUTIFUL CIGAR GIRL doesn’t have a director and screenwriter yet so it might still be in the early stages of development…. Either that or we might get THE BEAUTIFUL CIGAR GIRL Rap CD first by Phoenix before the movie comes out.

Here’s the official synopsis of the book…
“On July 28, 1841, the body of Mary Rogers, a twenty-year-old cigar girl, was found floating in the Hudson-and New York’s unregulated police force proved incapable of solving the crime. One year later, a struggling writer named Edgar Allan Poe decided to take on the case-and sent his fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, to solve the baffling murder of Mary Rogers in “The Mystery of Marie Roget.”

Whoa! Look who’s back to join us again. It’s been a while since we heard anything about David Fincher’s long attempt to bring a new HEAVY METAL Movie to the big screen. Last summer we heard names like Zack Snyder, Gore Verbinski, David Fincher, Kevin Eastman, James Cameron all attached to each do a segment for this new anthology and now there’s been a development, probably because this might be what Fincher want to seriously pursuit after he’s done working on that Facebook biopic, THE SOCIAL NETWORK…

So according to DeadlineNewYork, Fincher and Snyder and Cameron so far are certain they’re going to each direct a segment. It’s uncertain at the moment if Eastman is still involved. The anthology is going to be 3D animation. This new take will consist of eight or nine animated segments infused with the spirit of the erotic and violent storylines that defined the magazine which inspired the 1981 film
So hardcore R-rating is what they’re gunning for and they’re targeting the same fans of Sin City.

Right now they’re looking for a financier and distributor. Keep in mind that 2 years ago, Paramount rejected the project because the execs felt the movie was too risque for mainstream audiences.
But after AVATAR and all this 3D frenzy and the fact that Cameron’s definitely on board,.. maybe Paramount should rethink their position on HEAVY METAL

Here’s the old trailer for the 1981 film HEAVY METAL

I’m looking forward to SALT (watch the trailer) starring Angelina Jolie, directed by Phillip Noyce, there’s a bit of Bourne to it and Jolie is just a remarkable actress to watch. Noyce is going to tackle yet another spy thriller for his next project because Variety said he’s signed on to star in WENCESLAS SQUARE for Endgame entertainment which has fast-tracked the project toward production…
Based on the short story by Arthur Phillips, which is part of the anthology The Wild East (2003). The screnplay is written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the writers of the Chronicles Of Narnia movies and the upcoming THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA.
The story is set in Prague during the late Cold War era. It revolves around a young CIA officer and a beautiful Czech spy. Noyce described it as “a gripping story about two young spies intoxicated by the espionage game and their passion for each other.”

According to Wiki, the actual place “Wenceslas Square is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings. The square is named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. It is part of the historic centre of Prague, a World Heritage Site.”
Phillips’ story takes place in Czechoslovakia at the end of the Cold War.

The goodies just keep on comin’ and comin’, don’t they?! Special thanks to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and my friend Patrick. In celebration of BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY that already hit DVD & Blu-Ray this last Tuesday, I have a BOONDOCK SAINTS 2 DVD Prize Pack for ONE lucky winner.. so here’s what you’re playing for

Prize Pack includes:
(1) BOONDOCK SAINTS 2 DVD
(1) BOONDOCK SAINTS 2 Beanie
(1) BOONDOCK SAINTS 2 Poster

Here’s the catch.. and this only helps if you’ve actually seen the movie…

• What’s the name of the Mexican Restaurant where the shootout takes place?

* Winner must be in the US and have a non PO box shipping address

Submit your answers to rama@ramasscreen.com along with your complete mailing address

I’ll draw all the names that have answered the question correctly and randomly pick ONE Winner only, so it’ll be fair and square.
Deadline is March 19th, 2010 at the stroke of midnight!…

Well, he left HARVEY remake, OLDBOY remake is not happening either.. that MATT HELM project may or may not be a candidate, so far he’s only producing the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic.. we are waiting for TINTIN, but what will the great Steven Spielberg direct next? Deadline might have a clue…

Back in November DreamWorks Studios and Doubleday bought, in a pre-emptive deal, the rights to Daniel H. Wilson’s unpublished manuscript titled ROBOPOCALYPSE, a man vs. machine cautionary tale that explores the fate of the human race following a robot uprising.
Keep in mind that this is still on its way to being published and yet Mark Sourian and Holly Bario, Dreamworks Co-Presidents of Production are already loving the potential and prospect that ROBOPOCALYPSE has for the big screen.
DreamWorks is putting the project into accelerated development.
Meanwhile, the book itself will be published in 2011.

And so the studio now has hired Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) to write the script for the adaptation even though Wilson isn’t finished with the book yet.  The project is a serious candidate for Spielberg’s next directing job.

The two highest grossing movies of all time are Avatar and Titanic. James Cameron is the king of the box office worldwide, he’s richer than Zeus. Talking to USA TODAY recently, once again he’s trying to again emphasize 3D and how it needs to be a part of cinematic life even television in your homes. But here’s a couple of interesting things that he mentioned…

He wants to re-release AVATAR again in theaters this fall but it will come with extra footage

The wildcard is that we might be re-releasing the movie this fall. It’s kind of gotten stomped out (in theaters) because of Alice in Wonderland. The word we’re getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple of hundred million dollars on the table as a result. The question is the appetite still going to be there after the summer glut of movies. We’re going to assess that. We’re talking about maybe adding in additional footage and doing something creative.

According to Hollywood Reporter, there’s about 10-12 minutes of extra scenes that Cameron “cut and could quickly put through postproduction and have ready to add to a director’s cut for a theatrical reissue or as an extra on the DVD release. One scene has to do with Jake Sully’s avatar proving himself to the Na’vi people; the other involves a native festival during which tribe member Tsu’tey gets drunk.”

But here’s the thing… “The maximum length a movie can be released in analog IMAX theaters is 170 minutes”. Avatar is about 160 minute long so Cameron could only add about 10 minutes to the movie and still be in all IMAX theaters, which is a more possible approach than trying to add 40 minute footage.

We’ve been hearing for a while that Titanic would get a 3D conversion but now Cameron has set a season of when exactly that will arrive.

We’re targeting spring of 2012 for the release (of a 3D version of Titanic), which is the 100 year anniversary of the sailing of the ship

I know some people who thought Avatar was the greatest movie of 2009, who have watched it more than a couple of times and way back in the 90s I also knew people who’d watch Titanic in theaters more than once.
My big questions is WHY? I’d do that for The Dark Knight, hell possibly even for Travolta’s From Paris With Love if that was the case but both Avatar and Titanic have some of the most boring moments in the history of cinema.. 3D or no 3D
I got a feeling that this is not so much about Cameron being a pioneer trying to incorporate 3D as the way of life and the way of the future,…as it is about him pushing everybody to go 3D so that he could find an excuse to re-release Avatar and Titanic and bank some more money.

You know what’s just as cool as watching a Pixar movie? Watching the Pixar short film right before the movie starts. This year we’ll get to watch TOY STORY 3 and attached to it is DAY & NIGHT. Comingsoon.net has the first look image above (click on it to enlarge). This marks 2 things.. the directorial debut of Teddy Newton, who is a… character designer for The Incredibles and Presto,.. and it’s 2D animation which isn’t something completely new to Pixar. The score for the short is provided by none other than the great Oscar winning composer Michael Giacchino (The Incredibles, Up). TOY STORY 3 arrives June 18th, 2010.

Here’s the synopsis for DAY & NIGHT..
When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other’s unique qualities–and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world–the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective.

Some pairings are just so awesome, it’s epic. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Christian Bale… Neve Campbell and Denise Richards, well, that last one was for the obvious reasons of course. The man who would’ve been the perfect James Bond, and the man once rumored to someday play Daredevil are going to team up to kick some serious arse. The Playlist said Clive Owen and Jason Statham are going to collaborate for THE KILLER ELITE…

Statham was actually already attached to this project since last summer, shooting was supposed to start last fall.
It’s not a remake of the 1979 Sam Peckinpah-directed film, starring James Caan and Robert Duvall, also another example of awesome pairing.
Owen and Statham’s THE KILLER ELITE is based on a book titled THE FEATHER MEN by author Ranulph Fiennes
Production is expected to take place in Australia. In the movie, a group of former British special forces members are being hunted by assassins. Statham is set to play a former Navy Seal who is forced out of retirement to save his closest friend, which Owen might play.

Here’s the official synopsis of the book..
“Founded in England in the late 1960s, the so-called Committee, otherwise known as the Feather Men, was a vigilante group dedicated to solving crimes that the police could not. This absorbing book details their 14-year struggle to capture the Clinic, a band of contract killers who murdered four former British soldiers. The background was this: Amr bin Issa, sheikh of a tribe in Oman, had lost four sons in his country’s civil wars. Although tradition demanded that he avenge their deaths, he did nothing and was deposed as sheikh. Then he arranged with the Clinic to kill the servicemen believed responsible for the deaths of his sons. How the hired killers went about their task (making each murder look like an accident), how they were finally apprehended and how this case in 1990 also put an end to the Committee–or so Fiennes ( Hell on Ice ) contends its members have assured him–makes for a highly suspenseful tale. Readers will be given pause, however, by Fiennes’s wont to romanticize vigilante justice and his assertion that for 20 years the British “have had good reason to be grateful for the Feather Men’s protective presence.”

Back in January, the world learned that Fox still insisted on a new PLANET OF THE APES Movie. the project is now in the hands of producer Peter Chernin. Screenwriting team Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver who originally worked on the draft have been invited back to polish the script. And now Deadlinehollywood said Rupert Wyatt who helmed the 2008 prison break movie The Escapist is going to helm the prequel…

That’s all there is to the info. Nothing else for now. I enjoyed The Escapist, it had a great emotional twist at the end that I didn’t see coming a mile away. I don’t know why Wyatt could bring to the table as far as PLANET OF THE APES goes but obviously Fox doesn’t wanna spend too much money on a famous director, the studio wants to play it safe.
but here’s a quick recap to get you up to date.. you don’t have to read the entire thing if you don’t give a sh*t about PLANET OF THE APES anymore… I don’t blame ya…

Scott Frank wrote a script code-named Caesar, showed how genetic experiments on apes led to their evolutionary eclipse of humans. “Caesar” refers to the genetically altered leader of the simian rebellion, so dubbed because the ape was capable of grand strategic thinking on par with Julius Caesar (whose own surname means “hairy” in Latin). The “Caesar” code name also foreshadowed the script’s plot: Just as the actual Julius Caesar set Rome on the path to the Roman Empire, the experimental ape’s escape sets in motion his fellow hirsute hominids’ (wait for it … ) guerrilla war and subsequent dominance.*
The studio, however, wanted to pursue a different tack than Frank, and the writer-director was unwilling to change direction, according to a production source. As Rudin was only on board because Frank had asked him to serve as producer (the two had enjoyed working together on Jodie Foster’s Little Man Tate twenty years ago), he left as well. But now that it’s been handed to Chernin, the presumed-dead project is red hot again.

CHUD has got its hands on some SPOILER! the story of this prequel is currently titled CAESAR: RISE OF THE APES which, master blogger Devin says, surprisingly ties directly into the original 1968 Planet of the Apes. You can read the rest OVER THERE but here are some bulletpoints..

- The script opens with poachers capturing apes in the wild. The scene is structured to recall the apes capturing humans at the beginning of Planet of the Apes.

- Caesar’s mother is named Bright Eyes, which is what Dr. Zira called Colonel Taylor in the original film.

- There are other name homages. A female scientist is named Stewart, which was the name of the female Icarus crewmember. Dodge and Landon, also Icarus crewmembers in the original film, appear as names, but in very different roles than in Planet of the Apes. Dodge is a bad guy, in fact. There’s a chimp named Cornelia, a play on Cornelius from the original film, a chimp named Franklin, a play on Apes director Franklin Schaffner, and an orangutan named Maurice, homaging Maurice Evans, who played Dr. Zaius.

- At one point Caesar is sent to a wild animal park and lives in a monkey house. There we see that the original film’s social structure, where chimps, orangutans and gorillas have their own strata, is in place. Caesar manages to unite them all, though.

- Caesar’s slow mutation explains why the apes in Planet of the Apes are bigger than and look nothing like modern chimps, orangutans or gorillas.

- The ending is suitably bleak in a traditional Planet of the Apes way, while leaving a big opening for the next chapter.

When director Thomas McCarthy (The Visitor, Up) was scouting actors for his next movie WIN WIN, a project that would take him back to his high school passion, wrestling, Paul Giamatti was said to star as a coach and now Variety has confirmed Giamatti’s involvement and that fellow Oscar nominee Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) has also signed on to co-star…

It’s a light hearted comedy about “how a rough-and-tumble runaway changes the lives of a suburban New Jersey family and turns around the luck of a high school wrestling team.”
Production starts March 15th. Based on a story by McCarthy and his old wrestling teammate Joe Tiboni
Also joining the cast are Melanie Lynskey (Up in the Air), Bobby Cannavale (The Station Agent) and Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development).

Giamatti is set to play “a struggling attorney who moonlights as a high-school wrestling coach. All aspects of his complicated life are thrown up in the air when he becomes the legal guardian of a client whose grandson shows up on the doorstep.”
McCarthy at a public high school a while ago to watch a wrestling match and scout for any New Jersey boy between ages 14 and 17 who is under 5-foot-7-inches and weighing less than 135 pounds to play the lead character Kyle, which he describes as a person with a kind nature, “but also a simmering anger from having been in an unstable and abusive home.”
No word yet on who’ll get to play Kyle.

Marvel may still be looking for its Steve Rogers, the choices were clear, and now the studio would just have to pick one lucky actor soon enough but when it comes to the villain, Red Skull, according to Heat Vision, one man is closer to landing the role. Hugo Weaving, a familiar name to geeks and fanboys everywhere, thanks to The Matrix and LOTR…

If the deal’s locked in, this will reunite Weaving with The Wolfman director Joe Johnston.
The casting process is probably intense because, as you know, THE INVADERS will also make an appearance in the second half of the movie.

According to Wiki, The Red Skull a.k.a Johann Schmidt was a “former Nazi general officer and confidant of Adolf Hitler, he has been closely affiliated with HYDRA and is an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Avengers, and the interests of the United States and the free world in general. He was physically augmented by having his mind placed into the body of a clone of Captain America, the pinnacle of human perfection. He has been seemingly killed in the past, only to return time and time again to plague the world with schemes of world domination and genocide.”
Actor Scott Paulin played Red Skull in a 1990 low budget Captain America movie.

Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected. Overhearing the boy’s earnest plea, General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment… Operation: Rebirth. After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the Super-Solider Serum and bombarded by “vita-rays.” Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later, he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and as leader of the Avengers.

Filming begins June 28, 2010 and the movie opens July 22, 2011.

To me, actor Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers) is like Giovani Ribisi. Both consistently give great performances for their roles, but after all these years, they can’t seem to be more than just supporting actors, sometimes not even that, they’d be the 4th or 5th leading men in the cast of a project, behind all the other names that may not carry the same talent they possess….

Variety said Pepper has joined the cast of TRUE GRIT, an adaptation that not too long ago finally found its leading girl in newcomer Hailee Steinfeld playing 14 year old Mattie Ross.
Pepper will play…”Lucky” Ned Pepper, the notorious outlaw played by Robert Duvall in the 1969 classic movie.

Coen Bros.‘ version of TRUE GRIT will be more faithful to the Charles Portis book than the 1969 movie that gave the Duke John Wayne an Oscar. Already joining the cast of this new take are Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon

Jeff Bridges to play the character Marshall Rooster Cogburn. Damon will play the lawman who teams up with Cogburn. Brolin is in talks to play the killer.

Here’s the official synopsis of Charles Portis book, TRUE GRIT…
“It tells the story of Mattie Ross, a fourteen-year-old girl from Dardanelle, Arkansas, who sets out in the winter of eighteen seventy-something to avenge the murder of her father. Since not even Mattie (who is no self-doubter) would ride into Indian Territory alone, she “convinces” one-eyed “Rooster” Cogburn, the meanest available U.S. Marshall, to tag along with her. As Mattie outdickers and outmaneuvers the hard-bitten types in her path, as her performance under fire makes them eat their words, her indestructible vitality and harsh innocence by turns amuse, horrify, and touch the reader. What happens-to Mattie, to the gang of outlaws unfortunate enough to tangle with her-rings with the dramatic rightness of legend and the marvelous overtones, the continual surprises, of personality. “True Grit” is eccentric, cool, straight, and unflinching, like Mattie herself, who tells the story a half-century later in a voice that sounds strong and sure enough to outlast us all.”

I’m not too familiar with this particular classic character that apparently is described as British equivalent of Buck Rogers. But Pajiba reported that an adaptation of DAN DARE: PILOT OF THE FUTURE is happening and that one of Hollywood’s most-wanted commodity, Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation) is attached to star…

I had to look up Wiki to learn about this character, DAN DARE was created by the late illustrator Frank Hampson. Dare first appeared in the Eagle comic story DAN DARE PILOT OF THE FUTURE in 1950. Full name Colonel Daniel McGregor. He’s not a super hero but he could do exceptional piloting, excelled at jiu jitsu, and was bound by a sense of honor.
“The stories were set in the late 1990s but the dialogue and manner of the characters is reminiscent of British war films of the 1950s”

Fast forward to 2008, this British sci-fi comic property was acquired by Virgin Comics owner/billionaire Richard Branson who’s a big fan.
Branson hired Garth Ennis to relaunch and create a darker version of DAN DARE for the comics first, probably adding gratuitous violence and graphic sex. As you know two of Ennis’ properties are already being developed into movies, THE BOYS by director Sam Bayer and PREACHER by director Sam Mendes.
WB has picked up Ennis’ new DAN DARE comics and signed Worthington.
I was told that not too long ago, Worthington was just a struggling actor practically living in his car, you gotta admire how life has changed drastically for the Aussie star who’s now about to be in THE FIELDS, possibly AVATAR 2 in the near future, and now for sure, a British Buck Rogers badass.Congrats, mate!

Being a Rama’s SCREEN reader has its perks huh? Gotta love it though! LOL.. Ok, here we go again ladies and gents, my fellow movie freaks everywhere. Come gather round! Because thanks to Apparition and my friend Lara and in anticipation of the upcoming theatrical release of THE RUNAWAYS, starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, and Michael Shannon next weekend,… I have THE RUNAWAYS Prize Pack to give away to ONE Lucky Winner… so here’s what you’re playing for

Prize Pack includes:
(1) Official Branded “Cherry Bomb” T-Shirt
(1) Official “The Runaways” Button Pin
(1) Official “The Runaways” Guitar Pick
(1) Official Full-Size Cherry Bomb Poster
(1) Official “The Runaways” Movie Soundtrack

Here’s the catch..

• In THE RUNAWAYS, both Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning play real life female rockers.. what are their names?

* Winner must be in the US and have a non PO box shipping address

Submit your answers to rama@ramasscreen.com along with your complete mailing address

I’ll draw all the names that have answered the question correctly and randomly pick ONE Winner only, so it’ll be fair and square.
Deadline is March 18th, 2010 at the stroke of midnight!…

Dreamworks has released the full trailer for SHREK FOREVER AFTER , via Yahoo, that’s just as unfunny as its previous teaser trailer. I’m just not feelin’ this alternate reality, man! And after so many times, seeing Donkey panic just doesn’t make me laugh anymore. It’s as if they’re trying too hard to reintroduce the all too familiar characters in a different manner but it fails on so many levels. Not to mention Rumpelstiltskin that becomes just like another version of Lord Farquaad all over again. Fatass Puss in Boots is probably my only entertainment here. Watch the trailer after this jump…

In the fourth film, Shrek is feeling over-domesticated. He has lost his roar. It used to send villagers running away in terror. Now they run to him and ask him to sign their pitchforks and torches. To regain his ogre mojo, he strikes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. The pact goes awry and Shrek must confront what life would be like in Far Far Away if he had never existed. That translates into Donkey being forced into cart-pulling duty, fat and lazy Puss in Boots trading his sword for a pink bow and the underhanded Rumpelstiltskin ruling the kingdom.

SHREK FOREVER AFTER opens May 21st, 2010

Last summer, a very weird announcement hit the web along with the release dates of other projects like GREEN LANTERN and SUCKER PUNCH, the title and release dates for the third Harold & Kumar movie was also announced. I said weird because… if you’d recall, Kumar a.k.a Kal Penn decided to work for the President and leave his acting hat at home. But talking to Harold a.k.a John Cho today, Collider found out that A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR CHRISTMAS is still going to hit the big screen. But Cho didn’t confirm the date November 5th, 2010.
He did however say that the plan is for shooting to start this June and that NPH is expected to return. The story will be set a few years after the second film and it will hit theaters during Holiday season. The website says Cho sounded optimistic even though Penn is still working in Washington and the duo genius behind the iconic characters, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, are said to be busy writing AMERICAN PIE 4.
I’m a die hard fan of HAROLD & KUMAR movies, they are our generation’s Cheech and Chong. I hope Penn accepts the calling to smoke pot again, I can already imagine his merry ganja Christmas tree with ornaments all over it.

In a recent chat with Shortlist, via The Playlist, the great Martin Scorsese talked about the biopic of Frank Sinatra that he’s been attached to direct ever since the announcement hit the web last summer. Phil Alden Robinson is writing the screenplay. You wanna know who Marty has in mind to play blue-eyed frankie?..

“Johnny Depp is one. I like him. He’s unique. I don’t know how he does it. George Clooney. Brad Pitt is interesting. And Tobey Maguire. There’s a lot of good people.”

He didn’t mention Leonardo DiCaprio but let’s face it.. Leo has been Marty’s go-to guy for the past decade, he’s basically Marty’s new De Niro.
Here’s what I think of Marty’s choices.. ‘meh’… don’t get me wrong, those are all brilliant actors.. my question is why does it have to be A-list names? It’s cool to have a familiar face playing Frankie but maybe this would be a chance for Marty to give birth to a new star, cast a stage actor who can sing and has the charm.
That said, Marty wants a peculiar way of approaching SINATRA. He wants to have different people playing different eras in Sinatra’s life.. more or less like Todd Haynes‘ I Am There which was about Bob Dylan…

“We’re still working on the ‘Sinatra’ script,” Scorsese reiterates. “It’s very hard because here is a man who changed the entire image of the Italian-American. And that’s just one thing. Along with his political work, civil rights, the Mob…”

“I was hoping it would be a combination of the two ["The Aviator" and "Goodfellas"]. Yeah, because in structure I’d like it to be more like ‘GoodFellas.’ But like ‘The Aviator,’ it only deals with certain times in his life. We can’t go through the greatest hits of Sinatra’s life. We tried this already. Just can’t do it. So the other way to go is to have three or four different Sinatras. Younger. Older. Middle-aged. Very old. You cut back and forth in time – and you do it through the music. See what I’m saying? So that’s what we’re trying for. It’s very tricky [laughs].”

Frankie’s youngest daughter Tina Sinatra is one of the executive producers overseeing the project. At one point last year, Universal wanted Depp to play Sinatra. But this project will have to wait because Marty’s next is an adaptation of THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET based on the best-selling children’s historical fiction book by author Brian Selznick

Ryan Reynolds is still busy trying to bring the fans a fair GREEN LANTERN portrayal and Jason Bateman.. well, if you ask me, other than acting in movies here and there including whatever project Jason Reitman is producing, Bateman continues on with preaching the soon coming of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT big screen treatment. These two individuals will collide in CHANGE UP…

According to Hollywood Reporter, the story is written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the guys we should thank for scripting The Hangover. It’s described as a male centric take on the body switching genre.. where a responsible family man (Bateman) switches bodies with his best friend, a lazy man-child (Reynolds).
So far, this had me at ‘from the writers of The Hangover‘ but until there’s more detail on the plot, I’m gonna hold my excitement locked away in a storage box.

Producer Nina Jacobson (Diary Of A Wimpy Kid) told comingsoon that she’s producing an adaptation of ONE DAY based on the book by author David Nicholls and that Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are in talks to star. The deal’s not locked in yet but they are attached to the project which will be directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education)

Here’s the official synopsis of the book…
“‘I can imagine you at forty,’ she said, a hint of malice in her voice. ‘I can picture it right now.’ He smiled without opening his eyes. ‘Go on then.’ 15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY. From the author of the massive bestseller STARTER FOR TEN.

MTV got these 2 cool new character posters that will be available at SXSW festival this weekend. KICK-ASS is the opening movie. I love the taglines and the artwork’s like those Uncle Sam wants to recruit you to the U.S. Army type of posters. view them both after this jump…

KICK-ASS Hits Theaters April 16, 2010!

New Official Synopsis:

“How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?” When Dave Lizewski – ordinary New York teenager and rabid comic-book geek dons a green-and-yellow internet-bought wetsuit to become the no-nonsense vigilante, Kick-Ass, he soon finds an answer to his own question: because it hurts. But, overcoming all the odds, the eager yet inexperienced Dave quickly becomes a phenomenon, capturing the imagination of the public. However, he’s not the only superhero out there – the fearless and highly-trained father-daughter crime-fighting duo, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl have been slowly but surely taking down the criminal empire of local Mafioso, Frank D’Amico. And, as Kick-Ass gets drawn into their no-holds-barred world of bullets and bloodletting with Frank’s son, Chris, now reborn as Kick-Ass’s arch-nemesis, Red Mist – the stage is set for a final showdown between the forces of good and evil – in which the DIY hero will have to live up to his name. Or die trying…

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, from a screenplay by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, and based on the comic written by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr.  Lionsgate and MARV present a MARV Films / Plan B production.