Movies

Dark “Peter Pan” Tale Casts Eckhart, Others

Taking classic fairy tales and making them darker has been the big craze in Hollywood as of late, with countless productions of such a nature quickly entering production. As such, news about Pan, a darker take on Peter Pan, comes as no surprise.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about the project, which initially had Guillermo del Toro sitting in the director’s chair, but we learn from ScreenDaily that the film has snagged three actors for its principle roles.

Woody Harrelson to Star in “The Hunger Games”

That goes double for the most recent news concerning an upcoming role for the former Cheers star. Harrelson’s snagged the role of Haymitch Abernathy in Gary Ross’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Hunger Games. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, he will play the mentor to female protagonist Katniss Everdeen (Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence), as well as Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson).

DVD/Blu-ray DISCussion (New for 5.10.11)

After two disappointing weeks of DVD releases I finally have plenty to report one. The big new release is the independent film Blue Valentine is the most worthy, but other films can not be ignore. On the re-release front there is the Billy Wilder classic Some Like It Hot and the whole Alien series, but this round as individual Blu-rays.

Tarantino’s Next is “Django Unchained,” Will Smith to Star?

Quentin Tarantino has announced his next film: Django Unchained, a spaghetti Western about a slave in the Old South who teams with a German bounty hunter to search for his wife. Aiming for a production date this fall, The Heat Vision blog of The Hollywood Reporter is stating that Will Smith is the frontrunner to star as the central lead.

Spielberg’s “Lincoln” Picks Up Casting Steam

Up to this point, Steven Spielberg’s long standing Lincoln project had been stuck in development hell until the announcement that Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood) would play the 16th U.S. President while Sally Field would play Mary Todd Lincoln. Now, Dreamworks has released the a press release outlining what is shaping up to be an all-star roster for the project.

Ubisoft Opens New Movie/TV Studio

The French publisher Ubisoft is getting into the movie business. Variety is reporting that the company has unveiled Ubisoft Motion Pictures, which is exactly what it sounds like.

The division of the company will be based out of Paris, France and run by Jean-Julien Baronnet, former CEO of Luc Besson’s (The Fifth Element) film company EuropaCorp. The move looks to capitalize on Ubisoft’s catalogue of hit games, including the “Splinter Cell” and “Assassin’s Creed” series. The company also has the “Prince of Persia” series to its name, though there may be some issues with Disney—who already put out a “Prince of Persia” film last year—in regards to film rights.

Thunder Deity is King of Box Office

The God of Thunder made modest rumblings at the weekend box office. The official, rather typical, summer start was not quite as bright as last week. Thor, the first of many superhero movies this year headlined the weekend with $66 million. That is less than the movie it is most often compared to – Iron Man. Adding insult to injury is the majestic opening Fast Five received last week to the tune of more than $80 million. This proves that audiences favor familiarity over new beginnings. Fast Five came back with another $32 million putting its total domestic at $139.8 million.