Tintin

Thomas Sangster, above, will be playing Tintin in the forthcoming motion capture trilogy. Sangster was previously best nown as Liam Neeson's annoying son in Love Actually.

Steven Spielberg will be directing the first of the films, which begin shooting in October.

Source: Aint it Cool News

The Wolfman

First shots of Benicio Del Toro in full werewolf get up.

Source: Aint it Cool News

The Muppets

Following last weeks news that 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' Jason Segal will be tackling the Muppets, he has given an interview with MTV.com in which he gives his initial indications as to what we can expect :-

"I’ve just grown a little disappointed with ‘Muppets in the Old West,’ ‘Muppets Under Water,’ and all these weird concept movies. I just want to go take it back to the early 80’s, when it was about the Muppets trying to put on a show. That’s what I’m trying to bring back”.

Segel also intends to bring bak the tradition of the star cameos, stating “All of our friends that I’ve brought it up to are pretty excited by the prospect of it. Everyone loves the Muppets; they’ve got a warm place in most people’s hearts. We want a lot of cameos. You look back at Charles Grodin, Charles Durning, there were just such great performances in those movies.” “We’ve got a great plot. I think if we can execute it right, it will be terrific. But I can’t tell you more - it’s top secret.”

Source: MTV.com

Justice League Mortal

The above is the official title for the new Justice League movie. Unfortunately, the seemingly cursed production has hit a further snag. The film had hired an Australian director, George Miller, and was set to shoot in the country. The reasoning behind this was to obtain the 40% tax rebate the Australian Government grants to Antipodean productions, which would go some way to taking the bite out of the rumoured $200 million dollar budget. Apparently, given the 'American' nature of the film the Goverment have now decided that the rebate will not apply.

What effect this will have on the production is as yet unclear, but it looks like the film may now be seeking a new location, and possible director. Of course the majority of comic book fans feel the film is a bad idea to begin with, but it seems that Warner Brothers are intent on pressing ahead.




Source: Cinematical

RIP Arthur C Clarke

Arthur C Clarke, the prolific science fiction author who came to film goers attention when he co-wrote the script to 2001 : A Space Odyssey has died aged 90. Sir Arthur was famous for his ability to predict scientific innovations, including satellite technology, and 2001 remains to this day one of the most intelligent and thoughtful science fiction films ever made.

This Side Of The Truth

Ricky Gervais' has started an online blog documenting the making of his new comedy, 'This Side of the Truth'. Gervais stars in the comedy and also co-writes and co-directs with Matt Robinson.

The film is set in a universe where everyone tells the truth, when a teacher discovers the concept of lying, he uses his new found skills to attempt to land Jennifer Garner.

Other cast members include Tina Fey, Christopher Guest, Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Lowe and Jonah Hill

Source: Rickygervais.com

Anthony Minghella

Anthony Minghella, the award winning director of The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley and Cold Mountain has died suddenly at the age of 54. Minghella, who was also until recently chairman of the British Film Institute, suffered a hemorrhage following a routine operation.

Minghella most recently worked on the pilot for 'The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency' which is set to air on the BBC on March 23rd

Source : BBC News

Dune

Director Peter Berg is to helm a new version of Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic Dune. The big budget film, which will be produced by Paramount pictures, is the third attempt to adapt Herbert's novel, following David Lynch's ill fated 1984 film and the well received Sci-Fi Channel miniseries. No word on a writer or release date as of yet

Source: Variety

Tropic Thunder

Yahoo movies has the full trailer for forthcoming Ben Stiller comedy 'Tropic Thunder'. A higher quality version is online here.

Stiller also directs the film which tells of a group of actors stranded in the jungle during 'boot camp' training for a forthcoming war epic. Things go awry when they unwittingly find themselves caught up in a real conflict. Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr also star, with Nick Nolte and Steve Coogan in supporting roles.

Drillbit Taylor

New clip from forthcoming coedy Drillbit Taylor, which opens in the US this weekend



Source: Chud.com

Universal and Dark Horse Comics

Following the success of recent adaptations of DC and Marvel characters, Universal have jumped on the comic book ship and announced a a three-year production and distribution agreement with Dark Horse Comics.

The deal gives Universal access to all Dark Horse characters and properties as well as any material that Dark Horse might acquire and wish to develop as a motion picture.

Dark Horse comics have already provided source material for films as diverse as "The Mask", "Timecop", Mystery Men" and "Hellboy".

The first film under the deal is likely to be an adaptation of Peter Lenkov's "R.I.P.D." which tells the tale of a spook hunting police force itself composed of ghosts. The film has been in development at Universal for a whie, with David Dobkin set to direct.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Zack and Miri make a Porno

A few new shots from Kevin Smith's forthcoming comedy, although they don't appear to add a great deal to the previous stills.

Kevin Smith has also let loose a few new details about the flick, including that he intends to start test screening the film as early as next month and that this is his first film since Mallrats in which Jason Lee and Ben Affleck will not feature.


Source: Slashfilm / News Askew

Metal Gear Solid

Kurt Wimmer, director of Equilibrium and Ultraviolent, is in line to write and possibly direct a film version of Playstation stealth actioner Metal Gear Solid. The film has been on the cards for a while but now appears to be moving forward under ex- New Line executive Michael De Luca.

Happy St Patrick's Day