'Prisoners' Officially Delayed, Are Hugh Jackman & Antoine Fuqua Still Involved?

A few days ago we reported that Antoine Fuqua signed on to direct the spy thriller, "Consent To Kill," for CBS Films. At the time, we wondered what that meant for "Prisoners," the Hugh Jackman led film that even had a release date of October 22, 2010 penciled in.

Well according to a Connecticut area news story (via a heads up tweet by Production Weekly), "Prisoners," which was supposed to start filming this month, has officially pushed back its production start date to March. The news comes as a bit of surprise to local residents of Derby, as last month, a casting call for 750 extras was put out.

Many speculate that the reason for the delay is that picture is still without a star name in the lead role. While Hugh Jackman has long been attached, producers have been telling local officials they've been "trying" to land the actor which probably means there is no ink yet on any contracts. The other question this raises is if Fuqua will still be in the director's chair. With his signing on to another picture, it may mean that he's done waiting around for producers to cast the picture and he wants to get back to work.

That said, even if filming starts in March, Jackman's calendar is technically still open to take on the role before his schedule fills up entirely with "Real Steel" shooting this summer and the "Wolverine" sequel going in front of cameras in late fall/early 2011.

Here's the official synopsis:

After his 6-year-old daughter and her friend are kidnapped, a small-town carpenter butts heads with a young, brash detective in charge of the investigation. The father is a Bible-reading, deer-hunting survivalist. The cop, meanwhile, can't wait to get to the city. Feeling failed by the law, the father captures the man he believes responsible and begins to torture him in a desperate attempt to find out what he did with the girls, whom he's convinced are still alive.

Steven Spielberg To Visit 'Ground Zero'

Steven Spielberg is set to executive produce the forthcoming documentary television series, "Rebuilding Ground Zero."

Produced by The Science Channel, the series will use "3D, time-lapse cameras, computer modeling techniques and other methods" to chart the building progress of One World Trade Center. Work began in 2006 on the building and once completed in 2013, it will be the tallest building in the United States at 1776 feet (541 meters).

The show, which will be released to coincidence with the 10th anniversary of 9/11, will also pay tribute to those who died in the attacks.

On the film front, Spielberg recently wrapped "The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn" (Peter Jackson will be busy over the next year adding special effects to the film) and though his remake of "Harvey" has fallen apart (thank God), the director has quite a few options available to him for what to tackle next.

George Miller's 'Fury Road' Gains Teresa Palmer And Nicholas Hoult, Is A Prequel To Original?

Last we heard, George Miller's 'Mad Max' sequel, tentatively titled "Fury Road," was all set to go in front cameras this August in Australia with Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in key but unnamed roles.

However, whilst doing press for his upcoming animated feature "How To Train Your Dragon," actor Jay Baruchel has thrown a spanner in the works by letting slip that Teresa Palmer was going to be "doing 'Mad Max' with Miller" as "the main chick in 'Fury Road.'" The main chick? Surely Palmer isn't topping Theron in the line up? Palmer, along with Baruchel, was cast in Miller's much maligned attempt to bring DC-Comics "Justice League" to the big screen so Miller definitely likes her. Is there enough room for both Palmer and Theron? For now, we'll assume so.

More 'Mad Max' scoops come from Baz Bamigboye, one of a few tabloid writers who typically come up trumps. Bamigboye reports that Nicholas Hoult, who broke out in Tom Ford's "A Single Man," will also be heading down under to join Miller and company. Interestingly, he adds that the shoot will last until the end of the year and that the film will be a prequel to Miller's original 1979 "Mad Max." Now, that would probably rule out an appearance from the aging Mel Gibson.

Finally, French website Tout Le Cine (via /Film) is reporting that 'Fury Road' will be shot in 3-D and consist of a blend of live-action and CG. This would ultimately combine Miller's idea for a 3-D animated sequel with the seemingly live-action version being cast at the moment. But would the secrets of an Australian film probably made with American money really be unveiled at a French film site?

'The Runaways' Not A Biopic But Rather An Ode To Youth And Rock 'N Roll Featuring Coke-Snorting, Lesbian Leads

On the eve of her film's Sundance Film Festival premiere, director Floria Sigismondi has taken to the L.A. Times to discuss her upcoming film, 'The Runaways" starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie.

"It's young girls getting swept up into a world they couldn't handle," Sigismondi explains. "Feeding on those confusing feelings that develop from moving from girl to woman, I could reach deep into myself to find those things."

"I wanted to focus on Joan and Cherie. How different they are, how they were drawn together for this crazy experience. Joan is so focused, she really wanted to have this band. And Cherie wanted the rage of rock 'n' roll, the rebellion."

While a focus on Jett and Currie has always seemed a go as the script is based on Currie's 1989 memoir "Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story," the film's producer John Linson reveals that any attempts to detail the band were thwarted by the inability to secure life rights for both Lita Ford and Jackie Fox. Ford still features in the film though, played by Scout Taylor-Compton, while Fox is totally absent - original bassist Micki Steele is fictionalized as Robin (Alia Shawkat).

Subsequently, rather than a musical biopic of the band, the film aimed to faithfully capture the "youth ethic in film" centering on "15-year-old rock stars" and "the rise and fall of kids."

Of course, a film about rock 'n roll has to feature sex and drugs, right? Not really but "The Runaways" ticks both boxes anyway. In potentially controversial scenes, Stewart and Fanning reportedly snort cocaine in an airplane bathroom and then get up close and personal about two-thirds of the way through (perverts, take note) in a revealing make-out scene at a roller rink.

The sight of 16 year old Fanning doing drugs is surely going to have conservatives in rapture. The make-out scene meanwhile, which will likely cause just as big a stir, is inspired by Victory Tischler-Blue's rockumentary, "Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways." In the doc, Currie "mentions that Joan is really good in bed" to which Sigismondi decided to "pry into this a bit. It will cause an explosion in the film. Why not go there?"

If anything, the film should flourish in the performance department; the quintet of Stewart, Fanning, Taylor-Compton, Shawkat and Stella Maeve, who plays drummer Sandy West, reportedly rehearsed together for over a month before shooting began. Much though will rely on the musical talents of Stewart and Fanning who laid down vocals for The Runaways' tracks to be used in the film. Stewart was under the constant guise of Joan Jett herself and, according to Sigismondi, "completely embodied the character of Joan... her body language, her face, her walk. It's amazing how she has just become her."

“We rehearsed for a long time, which was a great advantage," the director adds. "We got the girls in the recording studio, got the recordings right. Then by the time we filmed it, it wasn’t lip-syncing. Because they were the ones who had done it. I put Dakota in with my husband’s band so she could feel what it’s like to have big drums and amps behind her – so she could feel what it’s like to be a singer having to fight for the sounds. You have to use your body for that. I wanted to give her that experience.”

The L.A. Times, who sounds like they've already seen the film, further detail the film's plot, which should already be gospel to Runaways fans.

The film follows Currie at age 15 as she chafes against the San Fernando Valley's suburban torpor and her family's psychological abandonment en route to becoming the most forward female face in rock. On a parallel track, Jett is shown raging against the proverbial machine, defying all cultural expectation to stake out her place as a young woman in the boys' club of hard rock while still in her mid-teens.

One night in Hollywood, Jett approaches record impresario Kim Fowley (a scene-chewing Michael Shannon in campy glam drag) who introduces her to drummer Sandy West (Maeve) and becomes the band's Svengali. Fowley "discovers" Currie at a nightclub, installs her as frontwoman and even concocts the lyrics to one of the group's biggest hits, "Cherry Bomb," on the spot during Currie's audition. Scant character development is devoted to West and bandmate-guitarist Lita Ford (Taylor-Compton).

"The Runaways" premieres on January 24th at Sundance before hitting theaters March 19th.

'The Hurt Locker' Wins Big At The Broadcast Film Critics Choice Awards

If you recall from when we posted the nominees for the Broadcast Film Critic Awards (BFCA) a month ago, we mentioned how they can often serve as a surprisingly effective preview of what the Oscars might bring. For instance, last year they were able to predict nine eventual Oscar winners, including all of the major categories, after “Slumdog Millionaire” connected with both the critics and the Oscar voters alike. The year before “No Country For Old Men” was the film that was able to align itself with both audiences, and the BFCA used it to predict seven Oscars. And so a recent trend has seemed to arise where the favorite film amongst the critics is also that with the Academy. Will this year be the same? Let's hope so, as these already look like many of the favored Academy winners.

BFCA Winners:
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Best Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air
Best Acting Ensemble: Inglourious Basterds
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges
Best Actress: tie! Meryl Streep & Sandra Bullock
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, Precious
Best Young Actress: Saoirse Ronan
Best Documentary: The Cove
Best Foreign Language Film: Broken Embraces
Best Animated Movie: Up
Best Comedy Movie: The Hangover
Best Action Movie: Avatar
Best Score: Up
Best Song: The Weary Kind

*newly added tech categories not previously done by the BFCA
Best Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Best Make-Up: District 9
Best Cinematography: Avatar
Best Visual Effects: Avatar
Best Art Direction: Avatar
Best Editing: Avatar
Best Sound: Avatar

We must admit the winners couldn’t have gotten any better in our opinion, and we are happy with every category (save for the lame tie with the Actresses). If the Oscars go down like this we'll be pretty much pleased as punch. “The Hurt Locker” has been chosen as the critics’ favorite film this year, so now let’s see if the Academy has the balls to follow suit. The same goes for its director, Kathryn Bigelow, who will be the first female to win the Directing Oscar if she does (and lord she and that film do deserve to win those top two awards). Most of us were fans of “Inglourious Basterds,” so we’re content with the three awards it received (even if it did prevent Marc Boal, the writer of “The Hurt Locker,” from winning). We’re also glad to see Jeff Bridges finally get his due for “Crazy Heart” and Ryan Bingham (ironically the name of George Clooney’s character in “Up in the Air”) awarded for its theme song. “Up” of course proved not even a witty, inventively animated movie with a hip soundtrack like “Fantastic Mr. Fox” can crack Pixar’s winning strategy, while “Up in the Air” was pretty much left down and out. Also worth noting, is how “Nine,” the film that had the most nominations to its credit with ten, was left completely in the cold. Finally, the BFCA added the technical categories for the first time this year, but we can’t tell if it was a good idea. They basically gave most of them to “Avatar,” so we don’t know if the critics actually know what they’re looking for or were just giving in to the hype. Either way, we’re just glad they kept the film isolated to tech awards honestly. It is a technical achievement for sure, but it belongs in those categories and nowhere else.

VH1 has a pretty good recap of the night if you're looking for video and photos. Though no, as much as they'd like to frame it that way, Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock did not really make out. — Jonathan Helm

Mark Strong In Talks To Play Sinestro, 'Green Lantern' Director Says Rumors Of Jackie Earle Haley Are "Completely Wrong"

Earlier this week Hitflix ran a report about the "Green Lantern" film that said, despite word to the contrary — it was denied by the actor at one point — "Jackie Earle Haley is the only choice for Sinestro by the studio."

But whoops, that appears to be erroneous information. "Green Lantern" director Martin Campbell told MTV today, "No, that's completely wrong," of the Jackie Earle Haley misinformation that refuses to die. "In fact, we're in negotiations with Mark Strong to play Sinestro."

So, if you had any doubt Sinestro would actually appear in the film, you can now put them aside (though he's rumored to not be the villain in the film and will be around to set up the inevitable sequel).

"He's not only a wonderful actor, but he looks like Sinestro," Campbell said. "If you look up old pictures of Sinestro, he's very like him. The Jackie Earle Haley thing, somebody told me about it this morning; I had never heard it before in my life."

Strong you'll remember was the villain in Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" and is becoming the villain of choice for studios these days (he's also a villain — or traitor stirring up civil war if you want to be precise — in Ridley Scott's upcoming "Robin Hood"). That role will eventually get old for him, but frankly, it's not a bad choice as he is a great actor and the idea of Jackie Earle Haley felt a little cartoonish.

"Green Lantern" is quickly racking up a great cast. Ryan Reynolds, while no Robert Downey Jr. is charismatic and knows his way around comedy, so if the rumors of an "Iron Man"-like film are true with light, comedic moments, he should be very comfortable in this role (also, see his understated performance in Greg Mottola's "Adventureland" to witness, yes, he can act).

Eyebrows might have been raised about "Gossip Girl" Blake Lively being hired as the love interest (and out-auditioning people like Jennifer Garner and more established Hollywood actresses), but mark our words: she's going to be a huge star. And not just for her looks. The few percentage of people that saw "The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee," can attest that Lively held her own against folks like Alan Arkin and Julianne Moore (really, she blew us away, and we were taken aback by how good she was). She's also going to be appearing in Ben Affleck's "The Town" this fall, and Affleck has raved about her performance in the most recent issue of Esquire. Again, she apparently blew the doors off her audition and frankly, just based off 'Pippa Lee,' we're not surprised. Affleck said she, "crushed it."

Strong is a true actor too, so despite being skeptical about comic-book films often. This one is shaping up to be great (let's not forget Peter Sarsgaard is in talks to play Dr. Hector Hammond, the main villain of the picture).

Now Campbell just needs to be able to brave what might be poor reviews for his long-delayed Mel Gibson film, "The Edge Of Darkness" which was dumped into a not-so-good-looking late January (20th) release.

Update: In another interview with the L.A. Times, "Green Lantern" director Martin Campbell, the filmmaker calls the Jackie Earle Haley rumors total, "rubbish." But more importantly he says they are trying to get Mark Strong on board, but his schedule is hectic because he's in demand. That sounds like Strong wants to do it, but it might not happen because of conflics. Hmm, we'll have to keep an eye on this development.

English-Language-Friendly 'Serge Gainsbourg' Trailer; New Soundtrack, Photos & Reviews

Joann Sfar's biopic, "Gainsbourg: Vie Heroic" (or "Serge Gainsbourg: A Life Heroic" hits theaters in France next week (January 20) which means a pay dirt of new content has surfaced including new photos, a trailer that finally has English subtitles (we showed you the French version a few months ago) and reviews are also trickling in from all over (also the film premiered in Paris this week). The trailer is also a bit NSFW, btw.

Sfar, is primarily a comic-book/graphic novelist and animated sequences — made by the same folks who did the CGI in "Pan's Labyrinth" — were once promised, but the trailers never illustrated any evidence of those moments. Were these sequences ditched? It's hard to say, there were behind-the-scenes clips available on the official site that did demonstrate some animation, but a review over at ScreenDaily (that is highly favorable), doesn't mention any animated scenes at all.

Screen Daily is enthusiastic about the picture though:

A wildly creative take on the life of notorious French composer, lyricist and provocateur Serge Gainsbourg, Gainsbourg (vie heroique) is splendidly cast and consistently engaging. Prolific cartoonist Sfar’s first feature as writer/director skillfully melds Gainsbourg’s uppity inner child, self-destructive behavior and prodigious talent with a rousing approach to the societal weight of being — and looking — Jewish.

However, the film still sounds pretty unconventional. Another review in the ChinaPost of all places says the film does away much, typical narrative explanation and shows the hero, "constantly arguing with a giant alter ego invisible to all but himself" (but no mention of animation either).

The cast of is pretty much an all-star French one. Eric Elmosnino plays Gainsbourg (though he's relatively unknown), Lucy Gordon (who committed suicide earlier this year, RIP) plays his famous chanteuse wife, Jane Birkin (the mother of Charlotte Gainsbourg), former French Supermodel Laetitia Casta stars as Brigitte Bardot, Anna Mouglalis ("Coco Chanel & Stravinsky") is playing elegant chanson singer Juliette Gréco, actress Sara Forestier ("Perfume: The Story of a Murderer") will play mousy, French yé-yé singer France Gall and French/Chinese actress Mylène Jampanoï will portray singer actress, Bambou, who was Gainsbourg's muse and girlfriend near the end of his life. Celebrated French actress Yolande Moreau is also in the film (more casting information here).

Apparently Sfar already has an animated feature based on his multi-volume hard-backed comic, "The Rabbi's Cat," due this summer, but presumably that date is in France only so far. There's also an interesting article with Sfar in the French publication, Les Inrockuptibles about the film, but the Google translation is very rough so we won't excerpt it here (btw, how gorgeous does Mouglalis look here in this press conference).

There's also a 2-disc soundtrack that's already been released in France. It actually features many of the actors actually singing (Elmosnino, Mouglalis, Forestier), original versions of classic Gainsbourg songs and Canadian Francophile Gonzales (producer and co-writer of many Feist songs) delivering some short score cues as well. The film evidently has a running time of 130 minutes. Still no U.S. date yet, but the film is set to bow in Quebec in March though we're still waiting to hear from the distributor if a subtitled version will be available.

"Gainsbourg: Vie Heroic" soundtrack tracklist
1. Taxi 69 Albin De La Simone 1:15
2. Nazi Rock Eric Elmosnino 2:47
3. I Wood Versus Intoxicated Man Eric Elmosnino 2:50
4. The Javanese (Chez Greco) 2:13 Anna Mouglalis
5. Elaeudanla Teiteia Eric Elmosnino 1:31
6. Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus Serge Gainsbourg 4:22
7. In Dali Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra 1:13
8. Because that (for Elizabeth) Eric Elmosnino 1:23
9. Who Is "In" Qui Est "Out" Emily Loizeau 2:24
10. Baby Pop Sara Forestier 3:44
11. The Poinçonneur Des Lilas (Version Frères Jacques) Jean-Yves Lacombe 2:43
12. Le Canari Est Sur Le Balcon Eric Elmosnino 1:48
13. L'Hotel Particulier Eric Elmosnino 4:19
14. The Hairdressing Salon Olivier Daviaud 2:49
15. Initials BB Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra 0:50
16. Bonnie And Clyde Laetitia Casta 1:32
17. Comic Strip Laetitia Casta 1:52
18. Seeking Gainsbourg "Je T'Aime, Moi Non Plus" Gonzales 0:53
19. Aux Armes Et Cetera Eric Elmosnino 3:11
20. Love On The Beat 2:59 Eric Elmosnino
21. La Valse De Von Paulus Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra 2:05

CD2
1. Valse De Melody Serge Gainsbourg 1:35
2. Mom, Buy Me A Revolver Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra 1:02
3. The Flip Book Olivier Daviaud 1:27
4. The child prodigy Gonzales 1:12
5. The Coco Yolande Moreau 1:15
6. Drawings Pigs Olivier Daviaud 1:32
7. I Draw You All The Days Kacey Mottet Klein 1:32
8. Baudelaire (Le Serpent Qui Danse) Kacey Mottet Klein 1:08
9. The Javanese Gonzo Gonzales 1:53
10. The Workshop In Flames Jason Meyer 0:47
11. The Poinçonneur Des Lilas (Serge And His Dad) 1:10 Razvan Vasilescu
12. Guitar Lesson Angelo Debarre 0:58
13. Orphans Martine Abdessemed 1:40
14. The hippopodame Serge Gainsbourg 1:43
15. Envol The Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra 0:51
16. The breaker Philippe Antoine Duquesne 1:33
17. The Wooden Leg Eric Friedland Elmosnino 1:04
18. Out The Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra 2:04
19. Sergio Fool Paul Jothy 1:42
20. I have an appointment with you Joann Sfar 2:02
21. Strasbourg 1980 Eric Elmosnino 0:55
22. Valse De Melody (Album Version) 1:32 Serge Gainsbourg

Just note, you might have to turn the subtitles on yourself manually. We had to click on the bottom right corner and turn the Closed Captioning on (the right arrow pointing up).

Sam Raimi Wanted 'Spider-Man 4' To Be Like 'Avatar'?

The bloggers at Vulture feel like they have a scoop on their hands, and good folks that we are, we feel compelled to give them the clicks necessary to appease their advertisers because they is good peeps, yo.

However, we will also go on record as saying that this entire story sounds not only like bullshit, but bullshit filtered through the doors of Sony as damage control in the wake of their questionable decision to deep-six the Sam Raimi continuity of "Spider-Man" in favor of a more youthful take. It's a strange piece with solid posits (of course everyone wants 3D), but the reporting feels... off (who is that byline).

According to the site, Raimi, who was cryptic for a long time about the intended plot for "Spider-Man 4" (likely because for the longest time it didn't exist), found a new angle on the film based on the success of the immersive special effects of "Avatar." An "insider" drops this priceless quote: “But the tipping point was that Sam wanted to do certain things that would push the envelope in terms of [special effects] ‘toys’ and other visual stimulation, and Sony didn’t feel that was essential to the franchise.” Yeah, a studio saying adding fancier special effects to a tentpole blockbuster wasn't essential for the franchise. Let us be clear that this would be the first time a major studio would have said, "Hey filmmaker! Stop polluting our precious story with your special effects!" Especially considering the press release announcing the new Spider-Man films went out of their way to mention the new approach would necessitate using 3D, which is nothing if not an old approach necessitating new "toys" in this day and age.

Moreover, this "scoop" further contradicts itself by revealing the plot that Raimi wanted would have "torpedoed" the franchise. Apparently, Raimi intended to reveal the father of a new love interest to Peter Parker as the villainous Adrian Toombs, aka the Vulture, to be played by John Malkovich. When his actions result in the death of the Vulture, the new fianceé (Spidey acts quick to nail down his post-MJ poon, no?) ditches him and he responds by abandoning the Spider-Man identity, leaving everyone to wonder if he'll ever assume the mantle again. Being that this would place Spider-Man against the feathered wings of a fifty/sixty year old man in a flying contraption amidst New York City skyscrapers doesn't really scream for the type of technology that brought us to Pandora, no?

There's probably truth in the idea that, as speculated, Sony was extremely uncomfortable with the Vulture as a villain, since toys of John Malkovich covered in green feathers probably wouldn't be as lucrative as Venom or Doc Ock figurines. Knowing Sony's interest in a separate "Venom" movie, the influence of the darker, less motivation ally-inclined villain probably mattered to the studio more than another antagonist from Spidey's more classical and openly silly eras, and we'll bet their eyes were on supplanting the Vulture with a more modern, violent enemy (Spidey fans can probably think of more than a few names...).

And we have to believe that Raimi was probably feeling too crunched by the film's hypothetical shooting schedule, which was not set yet and dependent on a script that hadn't been finished. The concrete details of this situation seem to point to the idea that Raimi and company know movies with a pricetag that big and a schedule that small don't turn out well. The article claims Sony is still trying to fill that slot in next summer's schedule, though a 2012 release has already been planned for another Spider-Man adventure, though they may be referring to Sony simply finding more 2011 product to release.

And what of Raimi's apparent appreciation and respect for Mary Jane Watson and Kirsten Dunst? If suggested by Raimi, as the article intimates, this storyline would have very quickly scuttled the relationship between MJ and Peter Parker in favor of another coupling so strong it convinces Peter to again abandon the mask, which is a story Raimi already covered in the second film. Why would Raimi, who took great pains to show that Peter chooses MJ over his all-time comic book love Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) in the third film suddenly dump that film's (admittedly sweet and low key) ending for a cheap, quick writing-out of Dunst for the sake of manufactured drama?

Raimi's smart enough to know that not even the ill-fated Superman franchise would shake Margot Kidder, even when it seemed most prudent. And then there's the sudden dark tone of the third film, which Raimi showed visible unease with, that seems entirely inconsistent with the previous films. Raimi's a fan of the more optimistic, outlandish adventures of the character, so why would he turn to cheap, "dark" plot devices like breaking up ("Spider-Man 3"), death (ditto) and retirement ("Spidey 2") to spice up the franchise?

While the hook of this story (bringing "Avatar" into all this is a reach) seems dubious, the truth can't be denied that Raimi's vision so drastically clashed with the studio's that both sides got sick of fighting each other over the course of a decade-long multi-billion dollar franchise. The promise is the next film will be much, much cheaper, though that probably comes from no longer having to pay Raimi or the nearly-40 Tobey Maguire. The studio hopes to find a similarly small-ish director to fill Raimi's shoes, with Marc Webb and Nimrod Antal leading the charge (though the Antal rumors are likely just that), though we'll put our money on the next Spider-Man again costing somewhere in the ballpark of $250 million.

Kathryn Bigelow To Be 'Held By The Taliban' Update: Terrence Malick May Produce

Update: Following yesterday's not-quite-accurate tweet from Production Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Kathryn Bigelow is not officially attached to direct (yet) but that the offer has been made (the project has been shipped out to handful of studios/agents for consideration). The more intriguing development is that Terrence Malick wants to jump aboard as producer and "pitch his take on the material to potential buyers." Um, a Bigelow film produced by Terrence Malick? Sign us up. THR says final decisions should be made by the end of the weekend.

Production Weekly has twittered that Kathryn Bigelow is attached to direct her next project, and it's a return to the rugged terrain of the war on terror, called "Held By The Taliban."

The film will be based on a five-part series of articles by David Rhode for the NY Times about his account of being held by the Taliban in Pakistan. Rhode and two associates were doing research for a book when they were kidnapped and spent seven months and ten days in captivity before escaping. His abduction is also notable as his colleagues at the NY Times begged other media outlets not to report the kidnapping, resulting in a media blackout about the story. Rhode's story is pretty extraordinary and you can read it all here.

But wait, what about "Triple Frontier" that was set up with her "The Hurt Locker" scribe Mark Boal (and was one of our most anticipated films of 2010)? That film, a "Traffic"-like drug saga set in the "notorious border zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil" was announced back in August as Bigelow's next likely project. However, at the time, she was only attached as an executive producer (and everyone sort of assumed she'd direct) but we're guessing she'll retain her producing role while putting herself behind the camera for this film.

There is no word yet on the other talent involved, but considering Boal was a freelance journalist who used his own experiences to draw on for "Hurt Locker," he can definitely relate to the kinds of situations Rhode may have found himself in, and we wouldn't be surprised if he's brought on board to help draft the script.

We loved Bigelow's work in "The Hurt Locker" and it's exciting to see her jumping back into similar gritty territory, albeit from a completely different perspective. You can bet we're eager to hear more news about this.

In Theaters: 'The Book of Eli,' 'Fish Tank,' 'The Last Station'

Another light week at the box office, but one not completely devoid of star power. Denzel Washington, Peter Jackson, and Jackie Chan headline the wide releases this week, yet we suspect "Avatar" will reign supreme once again. James Cameron's mega-blockbuster will shortly take over 3rd place in all-time domestic grosses from 1977's similar space saga "Star Wars." January and February may be rough at the multiplex, but it is a great time to patronize your local art-house cinema. There are loads of good films playing across the country, so support the folks who work hard to bring them to you.

In Wide Release: The Hughes Brothers release their first film since 2001's disappointing "From Hell" this week. "The Book of Eli" stars Denzel Washington as a loner in post-apocalyptic American to protect a book with the answer for saving humankind. Despite the welcome presence of a very hammy Gary Oldman, the film plays like an unthinking man's "The Road." After the mediocre box office of that film, we're skeptical that people will want to see another allegorical apocalyptic flick, even if this one features Denzel and his big-ass knife. Cast the man in a "Blind Side" type feel-good feature right about now and watch the dollars stack up. "The Book of Eli" has a 45% rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a 54 score from Metacritic.

Jackie Chan has a new movie out this week. Yeah we know, he's getting a little stiff to really pull off the stunts of his golden days. And yeah, he doesn't really speak English well enough to make a convincing dramatic lead. So what then? Let him make funny faces for the PG crowd in a film who's cast is rounded out by Billy Ray Cyrus and George Lopez. We really doubt you're going to see latest from "Snow Dogs" and "Are We There Yet?" auteur Brian Levant, so we might as well just move on here. "The Spy Next Door" was actually screened for critics, for some reason we can't really figure out. We left our passes in our other pants, which our dog ate. RT gives it a shameful 4% rating, with a 33 score from Metacritic.

Also, "The Lovely Bones" goes wide this week, after over a month in very limited release. We reviewed a while back, finding it to be an out and out misfire for Peter Jackson. The film has picked up very little steam during awards season, indicating the poor buzz will turn it into a serious box-office dud as well. A shame for certain, but we're sure Jackson will bounce back with something interesting one of these days. RT gives it a 36% rating, while Metacritic calculates a 43 score.

In Limited Release: Gritty British drama "Fish Tank," centers on aspiring dancer Mia (newcomer Katie Jarvis) and her uncomfortable relationship with her mother's boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender, "Hunger," "Inglourious Basterds"). Although opening on just a couple screens nationwide, the film will be available On Demand and it is really worth checking out. Director Andrea Arnold was awarded the British Independent Film Awards for Best Director last month, as well as being listed as one of The Playlist's seven directors to break through in 2009. We reviewed the film earlier in the week, finding it smart, surprising and even sweet. Rotten Tomatoes an 86% fresh rating with a Metacritic score of 79.

Michael Hoffman's "The Last Station" is also out today. The story of Tolstoy's marriage during its final turbulent years has picked up some award season recognition for the lead performances. Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer headline a fantastic cast that also includes Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy. We've seen the film and can certainly recommend it, especially over most of what's coming out today and in the near future. RT has it at 69%, which it gets a score of 74 from Metacritic.

Also out, "44 Inch Chest" from "Sexy Beast" screenwriters Louis Mellis and David Scinto. The film looked promising, with a cast including Ray Winstone, Tom Wilkinson, Ian McShane, and John Hurt, but we got a look at the London Film Festival last year and were fairly disappointed. Director Malcolm Venville shows potential though, and we'll definitely keep him on the radar. The film has a 58% rating from RT and a 48 score from Metacritic.

Criterion Announces April Slate: 'Summer Hours,' 'Vivre Sa Vie,' 'Ride With The Devil' & Sidney Lumet's 'The Fugitive Kind'

Criterion has announced their April release slate of releases and it's pretty good mix of classic and contemporary titles that should please both crowds.

First up, arriving on both DVD and BluRay, and featuring a great cover, Jean-Luc Godard's "Vivre Sa Vie" makes a bow on the label in a single disc edition. Featuring the lovely Anna Karina, Godard's greatest muse, the story revolves around would-be actress who winds up a prostitute instead. The film, one of Godard's landmark New Wave masterpieces, features some of his most iconic sequences set among a tableux of daydreams and dances. The extras are extensive and include an audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin; a 1962 television interview with Karina; a 1961 French television expose on prostitution; an illustrated essay on "Le Prostitution," the book that inspired the film and a booklet further essays and interviews.

Olivier Assayas' "Summer Hours" was on our favorite films from last year, and it arrives here in a 2-disc DVD and single disc BluRay set courtesy of Criterion's recent deal with IFC. The film, an evocative look at the shifting cultural tides of a French family, has been given the deluxe treatment here. The set will feature a short, behind-the-scenes look on the making on the film as well as, "Inventory," an hour long documentary, shot partly in the Musée d’Orsay that will look at the film's approach to art (indeed, French art history is a key thematic element to the flim). A trailer, essay by Kent Jones and an interview with the director round out the features.

Ang Lee's Civil War epic, "Ride With The Devil," may seem like an odd choice, and it's certainly already available on DVD, but it arrives on Criterion for the first time in a full director's cut. Featuring thirteen minutes of additional footage, Lee's film can now be seen as it was fully intended. Arriving in single disc DVD and BluRay editions, there isn't much in the way of extras, but with separate commentary tracks - one featuring Lee and producer/screenwriter James Schamus and the other with DOP Frederick Elmes, sound designer Drew Kunin, and production designer Mark Friedberg - over a nearly two a half hour film, there will be plenty to chew on.

Last fall, Criterion dropped some hints about legendary director Sidney Lumet stopping by their offices and now we know why. Lumet's 1959 adaptation of Tennessee Williams' tale about a drifter trying to go straight, "The Fugitive Kind," arrives in a 2-disc DVD set that will make MGM's still available bare bones edition a nice coaster. Starring Marlon Brando in the prime of his career, Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward, and Maureen Stapleton the film is just one of five productions of Williams' work that Lumet would put to celluloid. You can find three more of them in the set in "Three Plays By Tennessee Williams," an hour long television presentation of three one-act plays directed by Lumet. The set also features an interview with Lumet, an essay by scholar and critic David Thomson and a new documentary on Williams' work in Hollywood, including "The Fugitive Kind."

Finally, another box-set of Criterion's scaled down, bargain version of their releases, Essential Art House, arrives in its fifth volume. This set features bare bones editions of previous releases including David Lean's "Brief Encounter," Frederico Fellini's "8 1/2," Milos Forman's "Loves Of A Blonde," Francois Truffaut's "Jules And Jim" and Yasujiro Ozu's "Floating Weeds." The only new title in the bunch is Gillo Pontecorvo's "Kapo," his little seen 1959 film about a young woman in "a Nazi concentration camp who saves herself from death by assuming another’s identity and becoming a ruthless warden."

Jonah Hill Says '21 Jump Street' Remake Will Shoot This Year

Jonah Hill talked to Coming Soon about his upcoming reboot of cops-go-undercover-in-high-school TV show "21 Jump Street," which recently added directors in the shape of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who were behind the excellent "Cloudy With Chance of Meatballs."

Despite Hill's presence as writer/producer/star, the project will apparently play it fairly straight.

"It's a comedy with really cool action. We're not doing something serious like "Miami Vice." But it's not a parody. It's a funny movie with a lot of great action and a real story. I've been saying that it's like a John Hughes movie with "Bad Boys" style action."

We're clearly wary of this, but with a script from "Scott Pilgrim" writer Michael Bacall, and two very talented directors, it could turn out to be a nice surprise.

As to when it will go in front of the cameras. Sometime in 2010, Hill says. "We're going to shoot it this year I think."

New 'A-Team' Pictures Released; 'Piranha 3-D' Pushed To August, Is Weinstein Finally Tapped Dry?

— After the trailer debuted earlier in the week, we've more or less written off "The A-Team" movie (and, frankly, the once-promising Joe Carnahan). Nevertheless, some new stills have been released, showing the cast holding guns, Bradley Cooper wearing Denzel Washington's hipster scarf on his head, and to the left, Liam Neeson and Rampage Jackson playing a game of Clue. Is it just us, or is Carnahan cribbing from "Three Kings" in a big way here?

— Lionsgate have tapped "Freaky Friday" writer Heather Hach to turn the eternally popular pregnancy guide "What To Expect When You're Expecting" into a movie. The project, like last year's "He's Just Not That Into You," will take a popular self-help guide and turn it into an ensemble rom-com, following seven couples as they prepare for parenthood. The film will also presumably contain more scenes of vomiting than any other in history.

— Has "Nine" finally put the nail in the coffin of the Weinstein Company? The LA Times reports that "Piranha 3-D" has been moved back to August by the company, allegedly to avoid the release of "Kick-Ass." However, with the likes of "Shanghai," "Hurricane Season," "All Good Things" and "Hoodwinked Too!" all sitting on the shelf, it seems pretty certain that there's a financial motivation for this one. Furthermore, Shock Til You Drop says that the film won't be in 3-D when it is released, which seems like a very bizarre decision.

— ESPN and New Line are teaming up for a biopic of South Carolina firefighter Louis Mulkey, who was a high school basketball coach in his spare time. Mulkey died in a fire in 2007, and a memorial fire helmet was placed on the bench during the team's games the following season, only for them to go on to win their first ever championship. The guy sounds like a real hero, but we have no idea how you make this work dramatically. Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen Rivela, who wrote Michael Mann's underrated "Ali," are behind the script, and Mike Tollin, the producer of "Varsity Blues" and "Coach Carter," will direct.

Jenna Fischer Joins Owen Wilson In The Farrelly Brothers' 'Hall Pass'

It's an opinion that borders on cultural treachery, but this writer, who is British, actually prefers the U.S. remake of "The Office" to the Ricky Gervais original. The latter is obviously a pretty extraordinary piece of work, but the NBC series somehow seems richer. Clearly, it's partly because, at almost ten times the length of the BBC version, they've had more time to develop and expand the characters, but it's also because of the depth and range of the comic ensemble, many of whom (Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Ed Helms) have gone on to big screen success.

Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam on the show, has yet to have an unqualified triumph on film - she's been appealing and funny in the likes of "Blades of Glory" and "Walk Hard," but the films weren't much cop. Nevertheless, she's taking another stab, joining the cast of the Farrelly Brothers comedy "Hall Pass." As previously reported, Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis will pay two best friends whose wives give them 'hall passes,' which entitles them to have extramarital affairs. Fischer will play Wilson's wife, and filming will start in Atlanta on February 23rd.

It sounds enjoyably mean-spirited, and not a million miles away from season four of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Having said that, it also sounds a little close, in tone at least, to the disappointing "Extract," and that's without taking into consideration the presence of the less-than-consistent Farrelly Brothers, who are helming this before finally taking on their long-promised "Three Stooges" movie. Still, it's a good cast, and, as ever, we live in hope...

Marc Forster Taking on Di Caprio Vehicle "The Chancellor Manuscript"

How to be Robert Ludlum: Take a vaguely WASP-y surname (Bourne, Osterman, Holcroft). Combine with a noun, randomly picked from the dictionary (Identity, Protocol, Agenda, Countdown). Precede with the definite article. Add generic thriller plotline. Die. Sell to major movie studio. The success of the Bourne trilogy (despite none of the three films bearing much resemblance to Ludlum's novels) has made the late writer, who died in 2001, a hot property in Hollywood, with the likes of "The Matarese Circle," which at one point was set to star Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise, continuing to be developed, in the hopes of replicating the success of the Matt Damon franchise.

Paramount paid a whopping $4 million for the novelist's 1977 work "The Chancellor Manuscript," a Washington-set thriller about a successful thriller writer who comes up with a plotline involving a shady group of D.C. power brokers, which turns out to be too close to the truth. It's been developed with the intention of becoming a vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio, and the project now has a director, in the shape of Swiss helmer Marc Forster.

Did they see "Quantum of Solace?" Forster's a competent director, and clearly works well with actors, but he's firmly middle-of-the-road, and his Bond entry showed that he has no idea how to direct action. Despite the presence of "Bourne" second unit director Dan Bradley, the sequences in "Solace" had no sense of geography, and were near incoherent for the most part. Maybe he's learned from that experience, but he doesn't seem like the best choice for this one. Still we're happy to be surprised. The script's being rewritten by Peter O'Brien, whose thriller "Unlocked" made the 2008 Black List, and we imagine this'll move forward fairly quickly, assuming DiCaprio's schedule lines up.

Bill Murray Replaces Toby Kebbell, And Joins Megan Fox And Mickey Rourke For 'Passion Play'

Production Weekly has twittered that Mitch Glazer's "Passion Play," currently filming in New Mexico, has received a boost of star power, as Bill Murray has replaced Toby Kebbell in the role of Happy Shannon, a "murderous mobster."

While there are no details why Kebbell left the production (too bad they couldn't put him in another role, he's generally great), Murray is familiar with Glazer's work and starred in the underrated "Scrooged," which he wrote. As we previously reported, the wacky sounding "Passion Play" is a thriller that follows a down-and-out trumpet player (Mickey Rourke) who finds redemption in the form of an angel/caged circus freak (Megan Fox). And we're guessing that Happy Shannon is an obstacle they'll have to overcome.

Our interest in this was fairly minimal, but with Murray joining the cast in what sounds like a decidedly quirky, and different role for the actor, we're curious to see how it turns out.

As far as we know, the film doesn't have a distributor attached at this point, but we're sure that given the cast, that will change soon.

Spike Lee To Start Filming Tomorrow On Follow-Up To "When the Levees Broke"

Spike Lee's 2006 post-Hurricane Katrina documentary, "When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts," was one of the most arresting documentaries of the last decade (and ranked in our top five). The film was an elegiac and surprisingly hopeful look at the lives and loss suffered by the people of New Orleans, and celebrated the city's importance as a national cultural center. In addition to earning nearly universal acclaim, the film earned three Emmys as well.

Spike Lee and his crew are headed back to New Orleans to start filming tomorrow on a follow-up documentary for HBO that will revisit some of the subjects of the first film and expand the scope of the project to other cities affected along the Gulf Coast. While its yet to be confirmed, we imagine Terence Blanchard will be back to score the project as well.

We're excited at the prospect of Lee returning to continue documenting the efforts to rebuild New Orleans, and of late, he really seems to have found his voice in documentaries rather than feature films.

'Green Zone' Featurette

A new featurette for Paul Greengrass' "Green Zone" starring Matt Damon has arrived. It comes via Apple, but folks like FirstShowing have pulled it down for embed.

It's fairly intriguing stuff and yes, while, as some have said (including us), "Green Zone" does look a little like "Bourne 4" its motivations and characters seem to be in a totally different world.

While the idea of a U.S. Army officer (Damon) who goes rogue as he hunts for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq seems a little far-fetched (dude's ass would be tarred and feathered and locked up for good), it's still a fascinating concept. Here's the official synopsis.

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission. Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.

Greengrass seems to be pretty confident that audiences will connect with this picture and hopefully they will, but it could have more politics than many of them would like (the script sure suggests this), despite being positioned as a thriller. The picture also stars Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, and Jason Isaacs and is due in theaters March 12.

While it's seems like a dark horse, "The Hurt Locker" does have a decent chance of winning Best Picture this year at the 82nd annual Academy Awards. That ceremony takes place on March 7. Should it win, could that help out a similar action-Iraq war thriller like, "Green Zone" which comes out a week later? Probably not, but we can hope, no? "Green Zone" was shot in early 2008, let's hope it hasn't been marinating for too long.

U.S. Poster For Bong Joon-Ho's Thriller 'Mother'

Ok, arguably this U.S. poster (Movieline got first dibs) is not any different from the international posters we've already seen and in perhaps a way completely not special, but it give us a chance once more to discuss perhaps our favorite film from the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and perhaps more importantly, to encourage you to see the movie when it hits theaters in limited release on March 12.

It's likely to have a small release with small expansion, so you'll probably have to go out of your way to seek it out (or potentially drive rather far if it's only in major markets), but let us attest it's worth it.

"Mother" is the fourth film by South-Korean auteur Bong Joon-Ho, a director we including in our Breakthrough Director of 2009 piece -- though arguably he broke through a long time ago with 2007's "The Host," a spine-tinglingly good monster movie that we included in our Best Films of 2007 piece (we also included his film, "Memories Of Murder" in our Best Films of 2005 feature). Suffice to say we sort of adore this vibrant filmmaker.

"Mother" is a high grade entertaining thriller that like many of the auteur's films are hilarious, dark, disturbing, dramatic, absurdist and... he somehow manages to blend myriad tones together without delivering films that are a jumbled mess (in fact they are largely transcendent and sublime).

The picture centers on a creepy oedipal relationship between a lonely, smothering mother and her near-retarded 20-something son that is set into disarray when the young boy is accused of a murder and the matriarch is compelled to do everything in her power to prove his innocence and solve the crime if necessary.

Here's the English-language trailer if you missed it when we posted it last year. Again, mark March 12 on your calendar and try and track this one down. When it hits via Magnolia Pictures.

So What Happened To 2009?

So you might be asking. Where's all the 2009 film coverage? Or at least, we've been asking ourselves this internally. Well, if you care, you'll probably have noticed that in December we were pretty much up to our eyeballs in our fairly comprehensive Best of Decade coverage, and of course, anyone who posts important features in the last weeks of December is just begging for them to be overlooked. Then of course in early January we were inundated with our Most Anticipated, Least Anticipated and Escapist-Entertainment Anticipated Films of 2010 pieces.

So for the zero few people that have been asking. We'll be rolling out our Best of/Worst of, etc. 2009 content starting next week. Hey, we like to sit on it a while and marinate on it, sue us.

Teaser Trailer Arrives For 'Boardwalk Empire,' Pilot Directed By Martin Scorsese

The teaser for the forthcoming HBO series "Boardwalk Empire" has landed online and it gives us a sneak peek at what's in store. So why do we care about an HBO show? Somebody named Martin Scorsese is directing the pilot episode.

The series, written by "The Sopranos" scribe Terence Winter, uses the book by Nelson Johnson "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City" as a jumping off point to explore Atlantic City in the roaring '20s. The series will detail the life and exploits of Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) who is based on the real life person Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, the "boss" of the Republican political machine that controlled Atlantic City from 1911 to 1941. The cast is rounded out by Gretchen Mol, who plays a showgirl involved with Nucky; Dabney Coleman who plays his mentor and Omar Little from "The Wire" (Michael K. Williams) playing somebody named Chalky White. And as some readers have pointed out, Michael Pitt and Michael Shannon appear in the teaser as well.

The pilot episode kicks off the series on January 16, 1920, the day Prohibition took effect. The show looks like it's going to have a blast taking the viewer in and out of the speakeasies and high life the era afforded and given the talent involved on both sides of the camera, we're pretty excited for this.

"Boardwalk Empire" starts this fall on HBO.

Joe Johnston Says 'Captain America' Will Have An Emotional Center & Character Psychology; Who Knew?

Joe Johnston, the auteur behind Academy-Award-celebrated touchstones like "Jumanji" and "Jurassic Park III" is obviously the man directing Marvel's "Captain America."

There's been a lot of internal fan talk about how you pull-off a Captain America movie in this day and age. A jingoistic approach is obviously not going to fly, and the character in several ways feels very dated, especially in an age of semi-sophisticated movies ("Avatar" aside) where the protagonist (especially a comic-book hero one) is generally struggling with some kind of personal crisis. By and large, Captain America doesn't have that psychological problem, but in speaking with Boxoffice.com, the director says the film will be far from what most people are expecting. And yes, it will be set in WWII in the 1940s.

It's something different. It is influenced by the comic book, but it goes off in a completely different direction. It's the origin story of Captain America. It's mostly period — there are modern, present-day bookends on it — but it's basically the story of how Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. The great thing about Captain America is he's a super hero without any super powers. Which is why this story, among the hundreds of super hero stories, appealed to me the most. He can't fly, he can't see through walls, he can't do any of that stuff. He's an every man who's been given this amazing gift of transformation into the perfect specimen — the pinnacle of human perfection. How does that affect him? What does that mean for him emotionally and psychologically? He was this 98-pound weakling, he was this wimp, and he's transformed instantly into this Adonis. You'd think he got everything he wanted. Well, he didn't get everything he wanted. The rules change at that point and his life gets even more complicated and dire. For me, that's the interesting part of the story. It's got some great action sequences in it and some incredible stuff that we've never seen before. But at the heart of it, it's a story about this kid who all he wants to do is fit in. This thing happens and he still doesn't fit in. And he has to prove himself a hero — essentially go AWOL to save a friend. Eventually at the very end, I don't want to give away to much, but he does fit in. But it's the journey of getting him there that's interesting. And it's a lot of fun.

We gotta give Johnston credit. He's looking into the psychology of the character far deeper than we would have imagined. Then again, he probably thought there was emotional depth behind, "The Rocketeer" as well. Look, we'd like to see an interesting Captain America movie. We're not sure he's the guy for the job, but well, he at least sounds like he's on the right track (though how they cast an actor who's supposed to be a 98-lb weakling and then becomes the buff and tough Capn' is a bit beyond us unless they're going to go big — presumably a Sam Worthington type or older — and then make him puny with CGI effects).

Johnston also talked "Jurassic Park IV" which apparently some people actually care about and evidently will spawn an entire new triptych.

Well, there is going to be a Jurassic Park IV. And it's going to be unlike anything you've seen. It breaks away from the first three—it's essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It's going to be done in a completely different way. That's pretty much all I can tell you.

Last we heard, "Captain America" is supposed to start shooting in June and yes, Sam Worthington has been rumored for the part, but he's pretty much rumored for everything these days ("The Flash" is another one that came up recently). This probably means an actor should be named in the next few weeks, but we've got a feeling some people are going to wait and see what happens with Johnston's troubled and production-maligned "The Wolf Man," which hits February 12, before any major announcements are made.