Ridley Scott doing Alien prequel!

Here's some sweet news from B-D...

Remake, reboot? Think none of it. 20th Century Fox is proving that they're producing an honest-to-God prequel to Alien by tapping Ridley Scott to direct. Scott directed the groundbreaking 1979 sci-fi horror movie that proclaimed "In space no one can hear you scream." It spawned three sequels and two spin-offs. If there's one way to win over the fans, it's to bring the original helmer back onboard with his blessings. Read on for the amazing news. Could this be the start of something new at Fox? Can we start praying now?

Twentieth Century Fox is resuscitating its "Alien" franchise. The studio has hired Jon Spaihts to write a prequel that has Ridley Scott attached to return as director.

Spaihts got the job after pitching the studio and Scott Free, which will produce the film.

The film is set up to be a prequel to the groundbreaking 1979 film that Scott directed. It will precede that film, in which the crew of a commercial towing ship returning to Earth is awakened and sent to respond to a distress signal from a nearby planetoid. The crew discovers too late that the signal generated by an empty ship was meant to warn them.

The deal gives Fox another chance to keep the "Alien" franchise alive. There were three sequels to Scott's original, but it is the first time the director has set his mind on directing one.

Spaihts has become a go-to-guy for space thrillers. After Keanu Reeves became attached to his Warner Bros. sci-fi script "Shadow 19," Reeves hired Spaihts to write the space journey epic "Passengers," which is berthed at Morgan Creek. That script got Spaihts the meeting with Fox and Scott Free, and he won the job with an "Alien" reboot take that the studio and Scott loved.

Fox has separately hired him to rewrite "The Darkest Hour," which Timur Bekmambetov to produce with Tom Jacobson. Spaihts is writing "Children of Mars" for Disney and Scott Rudin, and he will follow by rewriting "St. George and the Dragon" for Sony and Red Wagon.

Craig Perry talks FD4...and 5?

Here's an interesting article courtesy of MrDisgusting of the famed Bloody-Disgusting...producer Craig Perry had a bit to say about his upcoming The Final Destination -- and a possible fifth film.

Last week the San Diego Comic Con hosted a special 3-D event where they premiered footage from all of the 3-D films arriving in theaters this year and next, one such film was New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures' The Final Destination. After the event, B-D caught up with Producer Craig Perry who talked exclusively about the difficulties in keeping the franchise fresh, while also hinting that he has a special idea for a fifth film, assuming there is ever real talk of one. Read on for thre skinny and don't forget that YOU can talk directly to Mr. Perry yourself over at the official Final Destination Group page right here on Bloody-Disgusting. Go get involved and check out The Final Destination in theaters August 28th.

One of the many highlights of the San Diego Comic Con was catching up with FINAL DESTINATION franchise producer Craig Perry, who talked a bit about the challenges of keeping the franchise rolling.

“The challenges of making FINAL DESTINATION 4 now, THE FINAL DESTINATION, there are actually a lot of them. A ways of making sure things simply themselves, the more you throw new things in the more complicated the rules become and suddenly you have endless kinds of character yammering away about rules…then you start wondering how the heck they’d find this stuff out,” he continues, “at the end of the day, the simple schematic, what’s happening married to great set pieces, it’s what people want to see and have fun with, and if you add one little twist, it keeps the thing fresh.”

The franchise is set up around one major set piece, and coming up with something fresh is only the first of many tough tasks. Sometimes even the kills don’t work as well as they originally thought…

“After every movie, coming up with new set pieces that you can have your characters be in that would be something that you and I could find ourselves in and we could get killed in [is tough]. As we mentioned in there [during the panel in Hall H], there was a supermarket sequence - a full sequence that was totally written - at the end of it, we read it again and thought, ‘this kind of sucks, he slips on a Mayonnaise jar that broke?’ It was kind of stupid, so we killed it and replaced it with something that was even better.” He continues, “Those are the real challenges as we get deeper and deeper in is keeping the formula clear – and adding a bit more to it so it doesn’t feel like an imitation, and ultimately coming up with set pieces [that are] fresh and original despite [being] part of the formula. If anyone would accuse us of being repetitive, well that’s true, but every set piece is different in the last three movies. That’s why I don’t feel like were repetitive, we have to be even more creative because we do have a formula we are following that is distinct and different to the locations that we choose.”

When we asked about the title change, Perry revealed a shocker… this could be the actual final destination for the FINAL DESTINATION franchise.

“It was really born out of - FD3 we were exploring shooting in 3-D, but there weren’t enough 3-D screens to make it economically viable to do. Now we get to FD4 and were like, ‘ehhhhh FD4 3-D, WTF does that even mean? It doesn’t make any sense.’ ” adding that the franchise started to look cheesy in name alone. “The more we looked at the “4” it looked like LEPRECHAUN 4, it became one of those movies. I think they took the queue from THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS; we rented the “THE” from them. I feel like it also speaks to the fact that this very well be the last one,” he reveals explaining that it’s tough to come up with a fresh spin. “These things are hard to figure out, they’re getting more and more expensive to do. This is kind of the intersection that makes everything come to bear. It has a healthy budget, the special FX is great, a great marketing department and it has a really nice franchise loyalty to build from and to deliver to, why push it any further than this?”

But don’t fret; Perry had an idea, just in case…

“Of course, Freddy had a FINAL NIGHTMARE too, and that didn’t last very long,” he jokes, “I do have an idea which would make it less expensive, but make it more interesting, [assuming] we’re fortunate enough to even have the conversation about what a fifth one would even be. I think that the fans in particular will appreciate the spin it pouts on the notions.”

Something many people don’t know is that FINAL DESTINATION 3 was New Line Cinema’s highest grossing film of the year. I think Michael Myers might be in some serious trouble, so does Perry.

“…and biggest opening and most profitable,” he injects into our conversation about the success of FINAL DESTINATION 3. “It paid for the LAST MIMZY. I do know that Warners has been engaged initially with The Weinstein Company, saying, ‘look, both of us will lose, you will lose more than we will, just move off the date.’ We can’t move because of the 3-D, were stuck with this date. The WB team is putting on a full court assault; I heard a rumor that we’re going to have 1800 3-D screens, every 3-D screen in the country is going to have this. It’s going to prove a point. Regardless, we’ll lose money from the presence [of HALOWEEN II], but I still feel confident that we will deliver.”

Some B_D insiders tipped us off that there were some reshoots, Perry isn’t hiding anything, in fact, it’s quite common practice for this franchise.

“The ending that we had just didn’t work, and you know what, we’ve reshot the ending since the first 3 [FINAL DESTINATION films] too.” He continues, “We went down to Orlando and reshot the ending and it was challenging. What we ended up having to do, we had narrative action on this side that had to stay the same, and had to cut out everything on the other side and replace it with something. It was a bit trickier than we thought. Ultimately, all of the reshoots that we did really helped all of the set pieces. There’s a lot of strategic fixing [for] the little things, the one thing about this franchise is that they’re so complicated…”

To see how Death’s tactics unfold this time, check out THE FINAL DESTINATION in theaters August 28th.

Thoughts?

Leaked New Moon pic

If you head on over to the Latino Review, you can catch a glimpse of a leaked photo of Volturi...oh, you little Twihards...

The Final Destination French one sheet

Below is a look at the extremely cool looking French one sheet for The Final Destination.

Michael Myers to talk in Halloween II?!

Rob Zombie updated his Twitter page with an interesting tweet. Is it possible that Myers will talk in Halloween II. Oh, and for those who don't know, ADR stands for Additional Dialogue Recording.

RWZombie

"Off to meet Tyler for some Michael Myers ADR. Sleeping some day would be great."

Hmm -- I'm intrigued.

Bryce Dallas Howard cast in Twilight: Eclipse

This interesting bit of news comes from Bloody-Disgusting. It appears that the always lovely Bryce Dallas Howard has been cast in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Read the block quote for all the info...

The beautiful Bryce Dallas Howard (Lady in the Water, Terminator Salvation) - daughter of Ron Howard - has joined the cast of the David Slade directed The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third installment in Summit Entertainment's vampire franchise. She replaces Rachelle Lefevre as the character of Victoria.

Lefevre originated the role in "Twilight" and appears in the upcoming sequel "New Moon," but Summit says scheduling conflicts forced her to leave the picture.

Pic starts shooting in Vancouver in August under the direction of David Slade. "Eclipse" has a release date of June 30, 2010.

"We are incredibly happy that Bryce has agreed to come into the franchise," said Erik Feig, Summit's president of worldwide production and acquisitions. "Rachelle brought Victoria to great screen life and Bryce will bring a new dimension to the character. The franchise is lucky to have such a talented actress as Bryce coming in to fill the role."

Howard most recently appeared in "Terminator Salvation." Her credits include "Spider-Man 3," "Lady in the Water" and "The Village."

Exclusive new Halloween II pic!

This exclusive new photo comes from the one and only Ryan Rotten of Shock Till You Drop...

And no...this is NOT a spoiler.

Could it be -- Goonies 2?

This AWESOME news comes courtesy of Moviehole...

I’ve known Corey Feldman for years. I’d even consider him a friend. We talk regularly. I know him well enough to say that of the entire cast of “The Goonies”, he’s the one that’s convinced there will never be a sequel to Dick Donner’s 1985 hit. It’s not that he doesn’t wish there was some truth to those incessant rumours – in fact, he loves the original film and he adores his co-stars – he’s just certain it'll never happen. And that’s fair enough – after all, they’ve been talking ‘Goonies 2’ longer than I’ve been out of little league cricket, and it’s never got any further than a post on… well, this site.

I know for a fact that, about five years ago, Warner commissioned a bunch of writers (Among them, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who went on to pen such cash-cows as the “Transformers” flicks, and “Star Trek”) to take a stab at writing a potential “Goonies” sequel. Alas, nothing ever happened there. Nor did anything ever happen with Warner’s proposal to follow-up the beloved original with a cheap animated film released direct-to-DVD (and that could’ve had something to do with Donner – who publicly slammed the idea). And a recent 'cast and crew reunion' organized by Empire magazine didn't give Warner any ideas either..... or did it?

Feldman, talking to The Los Angeles Times this weekend, says – perhaps for the first time – that a sequel is not “entirely out of the picture”.

I know. It isn’t much… but, ya see, it is; Feldman’s sworn black-and-blue that Warrner would never do a sequel, yet, he now thinks there ‘’might’’ be a chance. I don’t know how big a chance – we haven’t talked for a week or two – but still, if he says a possibility now lies there, I’m betting he’s heard something…something to potentially put a smile on Sloth fans the world over.

If a sequel does happen, I’d attribute its existence to… well, a lot of things… but also Feldman. Feldman helped give Warner Premiere one of their highest-grossing DVDs of the year with “Lost Boys : The Tribe”. He’s already been enlisted to star in, and produce, a third “Lost Boys” flick – which, last I heard, is moving rather speedily towards the start line. In other words, Feldman is on the road to a comeback. (I also recently worked on a film with the lovely Kerri Green - who, and I know it sounds like a wank because I produced her film, is also primed for a comeback; she's still 'got it'!).

I’d imagine a “Goonies” sequel would be something the studio would want to do as a large-scale theatrical release, as opposed to one of their low-budget DTV offerings, but I guess anything is possible. Bottom Line : It'd do well.... and it even has the potential to be good.

Stan Helsing trailer

How did I miss this?!

So I watched Messengers 2

I got to watching Messengers 2: The Scarecrow yesterday -- and I have one question: Why is this called Messengers 2? Oh yeah, I know, they're just cashing in on the name.

So, yeah, the sequel had nothing to do with the original (it was a prequel anyway), but really didn't lead to the events of the first film. Hmm...

Oh well, I may or may not post a full review in a day or so. What did you think of the film?

Bousman talks Leprechaun, Repo prequel

Darren Bousman drops some info on a possible Reop prequel -- and is he still interesting in directing the next Leprechaun installment? Bloody-Disgusting has the answers...

At the San Diego Comic Con we caught up with Darren Lynn Bousman, director of Saw II-IV and Repo! The Genetic Opera, who was on hand to announce his new comic-to-screen venture Abattoir (read more about it here). During the chat we asked what other films he has up his sleeve, could there be something new to "testify" in the future?

Darren has always been jokingly interested in directing a new Leprechaun film. While he already has his hands full with all of these major projects, we had to know, does he still have green on his mind.

"Yes, but no one will ever let me. Every time I bring Leprechaun up people laugh at me and don't think I am serious. I AM SERIOUS!!!! I would totally do it!"

While he just announced Abattoir, Bousman tells us Akula is next in line.

"I don't know... Akula for sure... then Abattoir," he tells B-D adding that he's again working with the screenwriter for Mother's Day. "I am working on an original horror film with Scott Miliam which is pretty sick," adding a little tease, "Hopefully Repo2..."

"Terrance [Zdunich] and I are working on something, that if we are able to pull off, would be amazing... let's just say that there is no way Repo is going away anytime soon." He continues, "We have a lot in store, including new content. New music. And the hope is still there for a prequel. I can say that a bunch of new merchandise is now online - as well as Action figures in the works!"

Batman 3, did Oldman spill the beans?

Alas, someone was bound to ask a Batman question at Comic-Con, but when Gary "Commissioner Gordon" Oldman was asked about a third film, was he being honest? Here's what Quint over at AICN had to say (and add)...

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I'm still in the middle of the Warner Bros panel, but this one little bit of news I need to drop here.

Gary Oldman was on the panel for THE BOOK OF ELI (which looks really cool, by the way) and was asked about when the next Batman movie is coming out. Surprisingly, Oldman was open. He said he thinks they shoot next year, so look for the next BATMAN flick to come out the year after 2011 (his words).

"But you didn't hear it from me," with a laugh.

I'm sitting down with Oldman today and will follow-up.

Thought you'd want to know.

UPDATE:

I just interviewed Oldman and he back-peddled a bit on it, going from sure to the movie filming next year on the panel to a more "well, I'm sure they want to do another one... it might 2 or 3 years..." I'll have the exact quote for you in my interview, which I hope to have up tomorrow, but maybe them horses need holdin'. Or maybe he slipped and got an earful from Warners. What do you folks think?

Neve Campbell officially talks Scream 4

The UK Press caught up with Neve Campbell on the red carpet, and of course, Scream 4 was brought up. Could Neve still be in talks to do the flick?

Neve Campbell has revealed that she could be involved in the next Scream film.

The actress, best known for her role as Sidney Prescott in the horror franchise, said Scream 4 is on the cards.

"Well they're gonna make it and they're trying to get me in," she said. "We're in negotiations, we'll see."

Let's hope so!

Dexter - Season 4 trailer

I guess this could be considered a sequel -- even if it doesn't, I don't care -- I LOVE this show...and so should you! Check out the trailer for season 4 below...

Saw VI teaser trailer debuts

And so the Saw VI teaser trailer debuts on Justin.tv courtesy of Lionsgate. If you've seen the clip that was release a couple days ago, then you've seen more than the trailer shows, since it just gives us little pieces of the clip in a clever CG realm. But if your curiosity has been tickled, then by all means, scratch it below...

Watch live video from Saw VI on Justin.tv

Zemeckis comments on Roger Rabbit 2

This news comes from Quint over at Ain't It Cool News. It's something I've been waiting to hear for a few years now!

I'll flesh this out after the panel ends (still continuing) but I wanted to start with this, straight from Robert Zemeckis' mouth:

He couldn't confirm or deny ROGER RABBIT 2... BUT he said if it DID happen that all the 2D toons would REMAIN 2D. That doesn't mean there wouldn't be 3-D animation (Pixar characters maybe?), but he wanted us to know that he's not upgrading the characters.

Possible Scream 4 logo leak

I find this a bit funny -- Platinum Dunes unveils their title logo for the A Nightmare On Elm Street remake, and literally hours later, one for Scream 4 surfaces. Could this possibly be Wes Craven's way of getting back at PD for touching his baby? Who knows, really. Although, I find the S4 logo to be a little more enticing. As for the ANOES one, we've seen that done a hundred times before...



The above image was sent to me via my Scream trilogy fan site, anonymously, no less.

First non-motion Saw VI one sheet

This comes from Bloody-Disgusting...the first non-motion one sheet for Lionsgate's Saw VI, arriving in theaters this October.

First official Freddy pic, logo

Thanks to numerous sites, the official title logo for Platinum Dunes' remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street along with the first official still of Jackie Earl Hayley as Freddy Krueger...

First look at the new Freddy Krueger! (UPDATED)

Thanks to Horrorbid for the heads up...a leaked image from ComiCon...the very first look at Freddy Krueger 2009 from Platinum Dunes' A Nightmare On Elm Street redux...

UPDATED!
After a bit of researching, the pic below seems to be a fake. Someone on the IMDb message boards has admitted to the creation of it, even going through step-by-step how he did it.

The Strangers: Part 2 shooting in September

Intrepid is gearing up to shoot The Strangers: Part 2 in September for Relativity. No word on a release date yet or whether or not the film will have a theatrical release or go straight-to-video. I'm leaning towards a theatrical release given the box office success of the original. The Strangers starred Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, who become victims of a home invasion that has a morbid outcome.

Halloween II almost done, says Zombie

This information and picture comes from Rob Zombie's official blog...

ALMOST DONE!

Well, the editing room is packed up and stored away until next time. Now it on to color timing and sound mixing. Before you know it Michael will be back in your face. I've never been so excited to release a film. This one blows the last one away... big time!

Saw VI motion poster is here (UPDATED)

This comes courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. Not real sure on what to think of it...

UPDATE!
I've given the apparent tagline "His Disease Is Spreading" some thought, and what I've come up with is that maybe it is hinting at the fact that there might be some Jigsaw copycats out there. Just a thought.

...any thoughts?

First ScarJo Iron Man 2 pics

Entertainment Weekly has a few new photos of the upcoming Iron Man 2...as well as the cover for their issue feature the sequel. Their online article follows...

Entertainment Weekly's second annual Comic-Con preview issue features Iron Man 2 on the cover, and inside it’s packed with exclusive first looks at highly anticipated TV shows, comic books, and movies.

The first Iron Man blasted Robert Downey Jr. back to stardom, and the superhero franchise is readying to return to the big screen on May 7, 2010. Iron Man will battle new villain Mickey Rourke, size up Scarlett Johansson (exclusive photo of ScarJo as Black Widow, after the jump!), and, hopefully, prove that the success of the first movie wasn’t a fluke. Downey knows the movie isn't an underdog this time around. "There are a lot more invisible eyes on us now," he says.

When Marvel Studios first announced the sequel, no one was sure what the movie would be about. Downey, director Jon Favreau, screenwriter Justin Theroux, and the rest of the creative team struck upon the idea of introducing two very different foes for Stark. On one side is Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), a fast-talking weapons manufacturer who fancies himself the next Tony Stark; on the other, Vanko, who, while incarcerated in a Russian prison, creates his own battle-suit, which shoots devastating, whip-like beams. Hammer and Whiplash join forces to take down Downey’s character, Tony Stark. Rourke, for his part, wanted to instill some lightness into the role of the heavy. "I told Favreau, 'I don't want to just play him as a one-dimensional p----,'" he says. "He let me have a cockatoo, who I talk to and get drunk with while I’m making my suit."

Just as the deals were being hammered out, Terrence Howard -- who had played Stark’s best friend -- fell out of the sequel in a public salary dispute. The role was re-cast, with Don Cheadle stepping in. "We had to make some tough deals," says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. "When they got public, you go, 'That sucks. Okay, you want a peek behind the curtain? Here you are!'" Says Cheadle, "Terrence and I couldn’t be more different. We address it head-on in the movie in one exchange. We're not trying to fool people." (Cheadle admits he didn’t know much about Marvel’s superhero before the first movie came out: "I always thought Iron Man was a robot.")

Adding more flesh and blood to the new movie, Scarlett Johansson joined the cast as Stark’s mysterious new assistant, Natasha, who has an alter ego of her own, Black Widow. That introduction inevitably sparks romantic tension between Stark and former assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s been promoted to CEO of Stark Industries. "The men want it to be, like, 'Ooh, the girls are fighting over Tony,' but it's not as standard as that," says Paltrow. "There's a weird male catfight fantasy. Downey agrees. He believes what differentiates the franchise from other superhero series can be summarized as follows: "We're horny. Not, like, can't-bring-your-kids horny, but just…horny."

The question remains whether Iron Man 2 will soar like the first film or show signs of rust when it hits theaters. "People are going to be more critical," says Downey. "That’s their prerogative….In a way, there's no way to win, except to win. Big."

For more on Iron Man, as well as a first look at the hottest movies and TV shows heading to Comic-Con, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday July 17.

Aussie joins Twilight Saga Eclipse

For the Twihards out there, this bit of news comes from THR: Risky Business...

Samuel Google might want to brace for a search onslaught: An unknown Australian actor named Xavier Samuel has landed the first new role in "Eclipse," the third "Twilight" pic.

Summit has hired the actor to play the role of a “newborn vampire” named Riley, a good-looking college student who joins the plot of villain Victoria to murder protagonist Bella (Kristen Stewart). Riley is corrupted by Victoria, for whom he has an inexplicable weakness.

The movie's larger plot centers on a choice Bella must make between the werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) and the vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson).

Samuel, repped by Management 360, Gersh and Shanahan in Australia, has been in series of films down under, including "Newcastle," in which he played a Goth teenager amidst a group of surfers (the movie played Tribeca last year -- though you can bet Netflix will see just a small spike now), the Aussie period drama "September" and the upcoming sci-fi thriller "Road Train." This marks his first U.S. role.

"Eclipse," the third book in Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster series, is set to begin shooting next month in Vancouver and be released on June 30. David Slade ("30 Days of Night"") is directing from a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg.

The Twilight franchise will become the center of the fan universe at Comic-Con next week when the stars of the second pic -- the Chris Weitz-directed "New Moon" -- appear, new material is unveiled and the crowd goes wild. The Samuel family is probably about to see a little frenzy itself.

Seventh Saw underway

Saw VI hasn't even been released yet and work has already begun on Saw VII -- well, according to Variety and Bloody-Disgusting...

From B-D...

I guess I better add this to our database because according to Variety, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are already hard at work on Saw VII. After breaking onto the scene with Project Greenlight's Feast, the duo have co-written Saw IV-VI, the entire Feast trilogy, and will see their The Collector - directed by Dunstan - arrive in theaters July 31. Lionsgate's Saw VI, which was directed by long time editor Kevin Greutert, arrives in theaters October 23rd.

Third Bridget Jones coming

This bit of news comes from The Hollywood Reporter. I, personally, have never been a fan of the Bridget Jones films (because I haven't seen them), but for those who care...

LONDON -- It is rumored that Working Title is developing a third installment of the "Bridget Jones" series starring Renee Zellweger. The British producer has also attached Cate Blanchett to star in helmer Joe Wright's "Indian Summer."

News comes as the company's previously stellar track record for boffo films has hit a bumpy patch, causing the shingle to pinkslip six of its 45 staffers in recent days.

The untitled third "Bridget Jones" pic, which is still in its early stages and probably won't go into production until the end of next year, will see Zellweger reprise her role as a British publishing exec struggling to find love.

It will likely be based on the weekly columns author Helen Fielding wrote in 2005 for British newspaper the Independent in which Bridget, now in her 40s, attempts to have a baby before it's too late.

Working Title co-toppers Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan have yet to set a writer or director.

Meanwhile, Blanchett will star as Lady Edwina Mountbatten in "Indian Summer," based on the book of the same name by Alex von Tunzelmann, about the last days of Britain's colonial rule of India in 1947.

As previously announced, Fellner and Bevan will produce alongside Hilary Bevan Jones. William Nicholson ("Gladiator") is penning the screenplay. Lensing is set to begin next year.

As with all Working Title projects, Universal will handle worldwide distribution.

The staff cuts come as Working Title adjusts to the realities of the global economic downturn.

Helmer-scribe Richard Curtis' "The Boat That Rocked," which cost upward of $50 million, came in below expectations in the U.K., where it cumed $9.1 million, and elsewhere.

Focus Features is taking over domestic distribution from U and is working with Curtis to create a leaner version of the ensemble comedy for Stateside release. It was due to unspool Aug. 28, but that date has been pushed back to November.

Although Fellner and Bevan would not comment, it is understood that the cuts at Working Title won't affect its core production, development, finance and legal departments, and the company will still make its average of four features a year.

Working Title's inhouse development fund, believed to be the largest by some margin in the British film industry and funded by Universal, is also unaffected.

"Tim and Eric are absolutely fine," said one British producer. "They've got this incredible deal with Universal, which still has a few years to run. I find it laughable that some people in the industry here are trying to put them down. They are the British film industry."

2001 Maniacs sequel news

This news comes verbatim from Bloody-Disgusting...

Bloody-Disgusting just received quite a healthy tip that Tim Sullivan's long-delayed sequel to his remake of 2001 Maniacs, currently titled 2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys, is set to finally go behind camera as early as NEXT WEEK. We are working feverishly to confirm, but companies like IM GLOBAL are being tight-lipped. Rumor has it that Christa Campbell is set to reprise her role as the sexy Milk Maiden, along with Robert Englund as Mayor Buckman, with word that Bill Moseley (TCM 2, The Devil's Rejects, The Tortured) has joined the cast of crazies. We'll do some digging to see what we can find out, remember to keep this filed under rumor until we can confirm. Bevery Hellbillys is the second film in a planned trilogy that would end with The Hillbillys Have Eyes. For the synopsis, read below.

2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys synopsis: After the sheriff refuses to cover up any further for the maniacs causing all the missing persons in the area, they're forced to hit the road in what's dubbed the "Pleasant Valley Traveling Road Show," where the maniacs head across country in hopes of gathering more victims. We'll follow a young TV crew called the "Road Rascals" as they find themselves mixed up with another one of the maniacs' deadly festivals.

Gale and Dewey to SCRE4M again

It has been rumored for quite some time now, but E! has the exclusive: David Arquette and his wife, Courteney Cox, are returning for Scream 4.

It's official! David Arquette and Courteney Cox have signed on to reunite with the Ghostface killer.

"We are going to be doing Scream 4," Arquette just told me from New York City, where he's hanging out in plastic box over Madison Square Garden for Feeding America (more on that later). "Kevin Williamson is writing the script at this moment, and hopefully Wes Craven is going to direct."

In the original horror trilogy, Arquette played Deputy Dewey Riley with Cox as a tabloid television reporter Gale Weathers...

Rumors began several months ago that the two were in talks for the fourth installment.

"I fell in love with my wife on Scream, so the opportunity to bring [Dewey] back to life and for my wife to play that really bitchy character again, it's just going to be really fun," Arquette said. "It's just great."

While Williamson recently revealed that Neve Campbell has turned down the chance to reprise her role as Sidney Prescott, Arquette said, "I hope Neve does it. I really hope so."

As for a new storyline, Arquette laughed: "Kevin has sort of put out the broad strokes, but I don't think I'm at liberty to share any of that."

Collector was almost Saw prequel

This interesting bit of news comes from the good folks over at Bloody-Disgusting. Read and find out how The Collector was almost a Saw prequel!

Arriving in theaters on July 31 is Freestyle Releasing's The Collector, which is already receiving a massive push from the studio. Why? Maybe because it's from the duo behind the Feast films and Saw IV-VI! We caught up with co-writer Patrick Melton who talked with us a bit about the film and revealed some really, really interesting tidbits including how The Collector was almost the Saw prequel! Read on for the exclusive story behind one of the summer's big slasher films.

Patrick Melton tells B-D how The Collector was nearly a prequel to the SAW movies!

"Well, the story is that Leigh [Whanell] didn't want to do any more after 3. So, they were looking for writers. They didn't have much of a story for 4, and an executive over at Twisted read The Midnight Man and thought it could be a good prequel, explaining a traumatic incident that happened to John Kramer when young. Mark and Oren didn't want to do a prequel like that, so the idea got squashed, but the script as a sample is what got us the deal to write Saw 4, 5, & 6."

After Twisted passed on making a prequel, Melton explains how the Weinstein Company ended up making it.

"Well, it all sort of happened at the same time. Fortress Features paid us to write the script with the agreement that Marcus directs," he explains. "They were going to fund it, but ended up needing more money and pursued other investors. However, Marcus didn't have a good reel, so Fortress funded a shoot to make a five minute concept teaser (like a fake trailer). Based upon that, we met with a bunch of investors hoping to make it independently (Twisted being one of those companies). Bob Weinstein ended up getting his hands on the concept teaser, and when he saw it, he stomped to his office door, slammed it shut and said, 'You're not leaving this office until I have this movie.' When Dimension showed interest, two other studios also started bidding for it, but Dimension ended up winning out in the end because they agreed to make the film with Marcus at the helm and with a big penalty if we didn't go into production within a year."

With Dimension and the Weinstein Company producing the film, Melton explains how Freestyle ended up with the finished pic.

"Once it was made, Bob found himself in a tough spot. He liked the film and we have a very good relationship, but all his money was tied up in bigger movies (Inglorious Basterds, Halloween 2, Pirahna 3-D, etc.) and he couldn't put it out into theaters. He graciously allowed us to show it to other people and Mickey Liddell ended up buying it, setting it up at Freestyle to distribute theatrically."

Being that this was conceived as a Saw prequel, it shouldn't be all that shocking that the film is quite bloody and violent.

"It's pretty hardcore. We didn't necessarily set out to make an overly violent or bloody movie, but when our lead character finds himself in the deadly situations of the film, it gets pretty violent and bloody," Melton reveals to B-D adding that it's not violent for the sake of violence. "The violence, though, is organic. There is no gore for gore sake. When someone is being hurt, there is a purpose. Information is either being elicited or our hero is hurting himself in order to save others. That being said, by fade out, this might end up being the hardest R in theaters this year.

"Probably the craziest scene is this sex scene in a room filled with potentially deadly traps," he continues talking about one of the most suspsenseful moments in the film. "The people having sex don't know what is going on around them, and the scene is shown from the perspective of the killer and our hero. It's an erotic, titillating moment, but at the same time it's very intense and suspenseful because our hero is trying to save the people before they set off the traps.

It sounds pretty crazy, which is why it took so long to get an R-rating.

"We got an NC-17 for "Pervasive, sadistic bloody violence." I believe we were the first film to get that. It took four times at the MPAA to get that down to an R. But as I said, it's pretty hard. Sorority Row this ain't."

The Collector arrives in theaters July 31.

Halloween II downloads

The official website for Dimension Films' Halloween II has been updated with downloads for the wallpapers, AIM icons, and few other goodies including trailers and TV spots. Visit the site here.

Gary Ross co-writing Spider-Man 4

A writer has finally been tapped to rewrite the Spider-Man 4 screenplay. With all these rewrites going on, I wonder how much the final draft will differ from that of the first. It's my personal opinion that Venom should probably be left out of this one...but will they try to introduce Carnage into the franchise?

Gary Ross has been brought on board to do a rewrite on Columbia's "Spider-Man 4."

Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are back as director and star, respectively, as are series producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad.

Ross now joins James Vanderbilt ("Zodiac") and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire on the list of high-profile writers who have been working on the project.

The move also puts Ross back to work with Maguire, with whom he worked on his directorial vehicles "Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit." The two were also working on "Tokyo Suckerpunch," a drama set up at Columbia; that project is now on hold as Ross tackles another writing project, Columbia's Lance Armstrong biopic.

Ross is repped by CAA.

Lance Armstrong in Dodgeball 2

Lance Armstrong met with Ben Stiller about appearing in the upcoming Dodgeball 2. Remember, Lance also had a small cameo in the original with Vince Vaughn.

Twenty-four hours after the star of Zoolander was responsible for making Astana check in late at the start of stage four, Stiller was back again with his new best friend Lance Armstrong, warming up on his rollers and reprising his role as Team Lance-Stana mascot.

On the roads, the riders looked as if they were auditioning for a part in one of Stiller's trademark slapstick capers.

Denis Menchov reminded the world of his reliability by surprising no one with a frantic tumble into the barriers. World champion Alessandro Ballan then proved he could stand in as the Russian's double by repeating his exact fall.

Four of the Bbox Bougyues squad showcased the true genius of French humour by falling into the same ditch on the same bend - but in entirely separate incidents.

Milram pair Peter Wrolich and Niki Terpstra got in on the act too before Silence-Lotto's Jurgen Ven den Broeck showed off his stuntman abilities by getting up after a painful high-speed road-rash crash.

To be fair to the riders, the route was pretty ropey. If Stiller was hoping for some Hollywood Blockbuster-style motorways he was to be disappointed. Instead we got tracks equivalent to art house Eastern European cinema, with winding plots full of holes.

But Stiller only had eyes for his new best friend Armstrong as he continued his bid to get the Texan onboard for a proposed sequel to Dodgeball.

Ignoring the cynics who claim There's Something About Lance, Stiller is pushing the seven-times Tour champ to come out of movie retirement after four years on the sidelines.

With Dodgeball II now tipped to be infused with cycling influences, George Hincapie is touted to take on Vince Vaughn's role as the good guy, while Chuck Norris, who played himself in the original, is set to be snubbed for a man much harder, Armstrong's friend Jens Voigt.

(Incidentally, fresh evidence came to light on Tuesday that those nasty crosswinds on Monday were in fact caused when Voigt farted. He's that tough.)

Back to the racing, where Astana tore the field to shreds much like the film Dodgeball (except the fact that the only Underdog amongst the Kazakh-funded team is the sole Kazakh representative, Dmitriy Muravyev, who must feel a bit of twerp lying in second-last position in the GC while his other team-mates razz it up in the top 10).

Unlike a feel-good Stiller movie, however, there was to be no happy ending for Team Lance-Stana after pantomime villain Fabian Cancelthefun rather parsimoniously clung on to the yellow jersey by a fraction of a second thought to be equal to a prodigious chin's worth of time.

Talk about messing up the script. Stiller looked as if he had just been told that the Night at the Museum franchise was to become a trilogy as he climbed the podium and huffily handed over the maillot jaune to some Swiss guy who wasn't Roger Federer.

Quite what he was doing there in the first place is anyone's guess, but one thing's for certain: there was no Blue Steel from Stiller, just a sense of Yellow Stolen.

Blade spin-off trilogy?

This comes from The Sunday Mail:

BLADE star Stephen Dorff is set for the comeback of the year for vampire fans.

He is working on a new trilogy featuring his iconic character from the smash-hit movies.

Stephen played evil bloodsucker Deacon Frost in the 1998 movie which starred Wesley Snipes in the title role.

Stephen is thrilled to revive the Frost character with Blade director Stephen Norrington.

The actor told us: "It will be a prequel to the Blade movies, Deacon's story. It's a new trilogy the director has created. It will cool.

"We hope to shoot the first film next year. Frost is a character I have never been able to shake."

Stephen's new movie Felon has gone straight to DVD in the UK this week but is winning rave reviews.

He said: "It is probably the best-received movie I have ever made.

"I would rather be in a good, small film than a hit which wasn't any good."

Not quite sure how reliable this is yet...could be total B.S. -- which I hope it is.

Major League 4 news

According to Moviehole, a Major League 4 may be in the works. Read on for what they had to say.

Ah, "Major League" - David S.Ward's timeless sporting comedy about a group of slacker underdog baseball players, the Cleveland Indians, who go on to win the World Series - much to the surprise of anyone and everyone, including their most stringent fans, but mainly, their new manager (Margaret Whitton) who is not-so-secretly ‘hoping' they'll lose for her own personal gain.

Still remember going to see "Major League" at the cinema. It was 1989 - or going on 1990 - and it was one of three films screening in a Sunday night Triple Feature (I remember it being a Triple because I was annoyed that I was late for the first film); the other two films being ‘'The Abyss'' (the film I missed half-of) and Skin Deep (The John Ritter thing). Much to my surprise - I assumed it to be no more than your middle-of-the-road baseball comedy; at that time, only Kevin Costner could do successful baseball movies - "Major League" was the highlight of the night (Do I need remind you I missed the first half of Jim Cameron's "The Abyss"?). It was such a good time movie. I don't remember laughing, clapping, and yahooing so much through a movie since.

And for anyone that also saw the movie theater - you know exactly what I mean, don't you!? I mean, remember the thunderous applause and synchronized singing that happened throughout the auditorium when Charlie Sheen's character walked out to the sound of ‘Wild Things' near the end of the film? Truly one of the best moments... ever... on film.

It's funny, I was watching "Major League" on Blu-Ray last week and the thought did cross my mind : I wonder whether they'll do another? or... god forbid... reboot it?

Seems I was caught in the middle of a mindmeld with a green-eyed exec.

Various readers - all assumingly attendees of the event - tell us that baseball legend, and the lungs behind "Major League" commentator Harry Doyle, Bob Uecker, sang the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley stadium last week, and later retired to the box where he proceeded to chat up the game, but also his involvement in the "Major League" films. Uecker confirmed that a "Major League 4" is in the works. He's apparently had contact from the creative team behind the first three films. And apparently it's not the first time Uecker has mentioned it in recent weeks.

And that's about all we've got to go on at the moment. If it's happening, which it sounds like it is, I can only assume - based on the stock involved - that it'll be a direct-to-DVD project.. which is just fine because most of the original cast, like Tom Berenger and Corbin Bernsen, spend most of their time on the bottom shelf at Blockbuster anyway. Can only imagine both those guys would've already been contacted. The only cast member I'd say the producers might have a hard time convincing is Charlie Sheen. Maybe Dennis Haysbert too. Be a pisser if they got Wesley Snipes back - whose no longer the big star he was in the early 90s; you'll recall he passed on reprising his role in "Major League II" because of his then megastardom (Omar Epps replaced him).

The last "Major League" flick was the 1998's "Major League : Back to the Minors" starring Scott Bakula and Corbin Bernsen. The poorly-received sequel, about an ageing minor league pitcher recruited by Roger Dorn to be the manager of the South Carolina buzz, pocketed only a few million dollars in its initial box-office run. By comparison, the original 1989 film walked away with near $50 million. Quite a sum for the 90s.

T.J. Hooker: the movie?

This comes from Variety.

"T.J. Hooker" is headed for the bigscreen as an action comedy with David Foster, Ryan Heppe and series creator Rick Husky producing.

Chuck Russell ("The Scorpion King," "The Mask") is in talks to direct. The writing team of Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson will script the story, which focuses on the relationship between the title character and his father.

No actors have been cast yet for the feature.

The TV series, produced by Aaron Spelling, debuted in 1982 on ABC and ran for five seasons, the last on CBS. William Shatner starred as a no-nonsense patrol sergeant, with Adrian Zmed, Heather Locklear, Richard Herd and James Darren as co-stars.

Husky has long retained the feature rights to the project, according to Heppe.

"The series was the poster child for cop TV shows in the 1980s with great stunts, so we think there's a fun movie to be made from it," Heppe said.

Foster and Heppe are producing a remake of "Short Circuit" with Maddock and Wilson having written the first version of the script. The scribes have also teamed on "Wild Wild West" and several "Tremors" pics.

The Descent 2 teaser poster

Most of you have probably already seen this, but it somehow managed to avoid my eyes until today (go figure). I believe it's the teaser poster and not the theatrical poster, though, I could be wrong. It is what it is...so have a gander at the poster for The Descent 2.

Heathers 2 not happening

According to Moviehole, it seems that the supposed Heathers 2 isn't happening after all.

Seems Winona Ryder is as trustworthy a retail customer as she is a source when it comes to a "Heathers" sequel.

Remember a few weeks back when Ms Ryder told Movieline that there's bubbles boiling in the "Heathers 2" saucepan? According to the actress, whose got a long line of credits, but none that are valid at clothes stores, the long-awaited follow-up to the 80s classic was finally coming to fruition. She'd be back. Christian Slater would be back. You'd be back (ideally).

Thing is, "Heathers" director Michael Lehmann knows nothing about it. As far as he's concerned, it's merely wishful thinking on Ryder's part.

"Winona’s been talking about this for years — she brings it up every once in a while and Dan Waters and I will joke about it, but as far as I know there’s no script and no plans to do the sequel", the filmmaker tells Movieline. ''A couple weeks ago everyone started talking about it and I guess Winona said the movie was gonna get made, and I thought, “I don’t know, maybe they did this without me?” But I got in touch with Dan Waters and he said he didn’t know anything about it. So I don’t think there’s any truth to it."

Routh talks Superman franchise

Moviehole has an interesting article about Brandon Routh and the future of the Superman franchise...

Cinema's most recent Clark Kent says he thinks Warner Bros should give his (or rather Bryan Singer's) ''Superman'' series a second chance - despite the first film underperforming at the box office - just as they did Christopher Nolan's Batman films (and we all know how that turned out!).

Brandon Routh tells Omelete (via ThinkMcFlyThink) that if fellow superhero pic ''The Dark Knight'' proved anything, it's that a sequel can be bigger, better and more successful than the film it follows. Though Bryan Singer's ''Superman Returns'' (2006) was only a moderate hit, and Warner Bros would've liked it to have done better, the actor - and why wouldn't he? - believes there's both room for improvement and a chance at even greater success next time around. And I can't help but agree - if the action can be ramped up, a good villain can be introduced, and the film's less interested in emulating the Dick Donner movies and instead being it's own beast, it could be great. And I love Routh as Superman - he's brilliant.

Unfortunately, says Routh, his contract has expired - so legally, he's no longer wearing the 'Man of Steel' badge. He'd have to be re-approached. But if that day comes, he wouldn't "think twice" about donning the tights again.

So in short, Routh says :

- He knows nothing about the status of the "Superman" film franchise

- He is no longer under contract to play the role

- "Superman Returns" didn't work as well as it could've because it lacked action

- Would definitely return to the role if he's asked back.

Recent rumours suggested Warner Bros might be looking at 'rebooting' the "Superman" series - again. If that ends up happening, I think it's safe to say Routh will be out - which'll be a damn shame.

Predators treatment details

Various news resources have been reporting the details of the upcoming reboot Predators. This particular text comes from Bloody-Disgusting.

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed both Latino Review and AICN's reports that Nimrod Antal, the director of the horror film Vacancy, has been hired to direct Predators for Fox and producer Robert Rodriguez. They add that in this version, a group of humans will find themselves stranded on a planet home to Predators and must survive the horrors they encounter. James Cameron pulled a similar move with his advancement of the Alien franchise in his Aliens. I guess they mean it's similar because they take on more Predators? Alex Litvak & Michael Finch (Medieval) have written the script. The new iteration, which Rodriguez has been hoping to make since 1994, when he was hired to write a screenplay for a second sequel, is scheduled for a July 7, 2010 release.

Rocky Ruined On Demand

Chris Salvador brings us a video via YouTube about how Comcast OnDemand has ruined the first two Rocky films by cutting them together.

An amazing Joker fan film

This comes from the same folks who brought us the Maniac Cop short in the post below. This film follows the events of The Dark Knight and chronicles the Joker's stay at Arkham Asylum...



More films by these fine people can be seen at their website, Blinky-Productions.com.

For you Maniac Cop fans

Thanks to ManiacCop.com for helping me find this little gem. It's an attempt to relaunch the Maniac Cop franchise...

UPDATE:
Here is an HD version of the film: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v16224962F2aNeE2a