The Screening Log - blogging film

Here is your dose of film news from the Web and trades for Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009:

• Distribution house Apparition has aquired rights to bring "Black Dynamite" to theaters this fall. Scott Sanders' blaxploitation spoof screened at Sundance earlier this year. Apparition also recently acquired distribution rights to "Bright Star," "The Tree of Life" and "The Young Victoria." (More @Variety)

• Jet Li will return to China for the upcoming Xue Xiao-lu-directed Chinese flick "Ocean Paradise." At this stage, details about the project are kept under wraps. Li, who recently starred in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," will soon be seen in Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables."

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Thursday

28May2009

Daily news dose: 'Tintin' gets release date; 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' gets remade

Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 11:39PM | By

Here's your daily dose of film news for May 29, 2009:

• Chevy Chase has joined the cast of Steve Pink's upcoming comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine," about a group of adults who visit a hot tub they once used and realize it can transport them back in time, to their younger selves. Chase is set to play a repairman, says the Hollywood Reporter. John Cusack, Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson co-star.

• Paramount and Sony just announced Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" will open in theaters Dec. 23, 2011. The film will also be released in 3D. Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook star in the motion capture film based on the books by Herge. (Variety)

• Michelle Morgan is set to write 20th Century Fox's remake of the 1985 comedy "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," which starred Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker. The original flick was directed by Alan Metter and follows two girls going nuts over a dance who titled "Dance TV." (Variety)

• Paul Verhoeven ("Black Book") is gearing up to direct "The Surrogate," a thriller based on the book by Kathryn Mackel. The story follows a couple who discovers the surrogate they hired to carry their baby is completely nuts. Roderick Taylor and Bruce Taylor wrote a first draft. This film is not to be confused with the Bruce Willis vehicle "Surrogates." (THR)

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Tuesday

31Mar2009

Kevin Macdonald catches 'Eagle of the Ninth'

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 1:09PM | By

Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, whose crime thriller "State of Play" is set to open April 17, 2009, is set to direct "The Eagle of the Ninth" for Focus Features.

Variety says the story is set in the 2nd century and follows a wounded Roman solider and his Celtic slave who investigate the mysterious disappearance of a brigade of Roman soldiers 15 years earlier.

Jamie Bell is on-board to play the slave, while Channing Tatum is apparently in talks for the lead role. Jeremy Brock, who also penned Macdonald's "The Last King of Scotland," wrote the script.

Macdonald also directed the intriguing documentary "Touching the Void." His "State of Play" featues a top-notch cast including Russell Crow, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren.

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Monday

26Jan2009

Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig board 'Tintin' adaptation

Monday, January 26, 2009 at 4:02PM | By

Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced Jamie Bell will play Tintin in Steven Spielberg's upcoming 3D motion capture film "The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn," which has officially started production.

Also joining the cast is Daniel Craig, who will portray Red Rackham. Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook are already on board.

Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish wrote the script for this first film, which Spielberg is directing and Peter Jackson is co-producing. Jackson is set to direct the second flick in the upcoming series.

Bell's credits include "Billy Elliot," "King Kong" and "Jumper." He is currently onscreen alongside Craig in "Defiance." The guy's got talent, and I'm sure he'll do just fine portraying the famous young reporter created by Herge.

If you have no clue who popular Tintin really is, here is some extra info from the official press release:

"The Adventures of Tintin - a series of 24 books, the final unfinished adventure was published after Herge's death - became Herge's life's work. The first adventure was published in 1929. Over 200 million copies have been sold worldwide. The popular series has been translated into 70 languages and still attracts thousands of new fans each year."

Yep, I always adored "Tintin," and I'm certainly looking forward to this flick, which is currently scheduled to open in 2011.

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Friday

10Oct2008

New 'Defiance' trailer invades web

Friday, October 10, 2008 at 9:48PM | By

Besides keeping the world safe as James Bond in "Quantum of Solace" this November, Daniel Craig is also set to play a Jew who joins the Russian resistance to battle the Nazis in Edward Zwick's "Defiance." The latest full trailer for the war drama just popped up on the Web, and you can check it out below. Looks darn good!

Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell and George MacKay co-star. Zwick also directed "The Last Samurai" and "Blood Diamond." "Defiance" opens Dec. 12, 2008.

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