Shawn Levy and the 'Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day'« FirstShowing.net

In the line of cinematic adaptations of some of my favorite childhood books, I am sad to say that I've never been completely satisfied with one.How the Grinch Stole Christmas(the live-action one) completely missed the mark,Jumanjihas its moments and despite all the hipster hype,Where the Wild Things Arejust didn't move me as much as I'd hoped. Consequently, I'm a little apprehensive asVarietyreports 20th Century Fox andShawn Levy(Night at the Museum,Date Night) are developing an adaptation ofthe children's bookAlexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Dayas a high-concept family comedy.

Judith Viorst'sbookfollows on hell of a terrible day for youngster Alexander as he wakes up with gum in his hair, doesn't get a prize in his cereal, finds out he has a cavity, has lima beans for dinner and gets demoted to third best friend by his buddy Paul. There are plenty more terrible things that happen throughout his day, but we won't list them all here. Apparently The Jim Henson Co. held the rights to the film and has assigned them to Fox for the adaptation. I'm not exactly sure what will make the film so high-concept, but apparently it involves Alexander's entire family collectively enduring the worst day of their lives (wait, what?). Though The Jim Henson Co. brought the project to Levy's 21 Laps production banner for their success with family films, the project isn't necessarily being set up as a directing gig for Levy (but it'snotfully ruled out either).

I've been a Shawn Levy apologist for awhile, and I maintain that he has a great eye for family entertainment. In addition, without saying too much, I have confidence that plenty of you will be surprised with what Levy can do with material outside of the fluffy family fare wheelhouse when more ofReal Steelis revealed in the coming year or so. Levy is a guy who doesn't have a problem delivering softer material to an age appropriate audience, but can also deliver something grittier with more substance. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about Levy's future endeavors including this adaptation and more, so stay tuned!Anyone else excited for this?

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Will Smith Attached to Biblically-Inspired 'The Legend of Cain'« FirstShowing.net

After reporting that international superstarWill Smithhad addedyet another projectto his production company's future slate, we mentioned there wereno less than 30 projectshe was somehow involved in as either an actor or a producer. NowDeadlinethrows another one into they mix as they report that Smith is attached to star and produceThe Legend of Cain, a new retelling of the sibling rivalry between Biblical brothers Cain and Abel. However, rather than just picking up the Bible and adapting it, this apparently has some sort of twist involvingvampires. Oh no… Could Cain or Abel be from a long line of bloodsuckers?

It's unclear if Smith would become a vampire himself in this Biblically-inspired movie, or if maybe he'll be battling one. It wouldn't be too far off from his previous role as the lone surviving hero inI Am Legend. As much as I'd like to see an interesting twist on a familiar story as the conflict between Cain and Abel, does it really have to be vampires? Someone needs to bury a stake in the heart of this trend soon, because I don't think Will Smith can even make me interested in them again. This is still in the early stages of development though since no studio or director is attached, but we'll keep you posted as this one develops.Interested?

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Crank Directors Neveldine/Taylor Confirmed for Ghost Rider« FirstShowing.net

In Juneone big storythat caused quite a ruckus was aboutCrank 1& 2, GamerdirectorsMark NeveldineandBrain Taylor, collectively known as Neveldine/Taylor, directing theGhost Ridersequel titledGhost Rider: Spirit of Vengeanceat Sony. Obviously they're putting this one together more as a reboot than a direct sequel, and hiring Neveldine/Taylor for hopefully an R-ratedGhost Rideris a major step in the right direction. ApparentlyNicolas Cageappeared on Craig Ferguson'sLate, Late Showlast night (watchvideo here, viaComingSoon) and talked briefly about the sequel, confirming that Neveldine/Taylor are directing.

"There is going to be a new one,"Cage said."I justmade the dealtoday."A few sentences later, in a funky conversation, Ferguson asked"who's the director?"and Cage replied:"Well, they're the wonderful directors, the team fromCrank-NeveldineandTaylor- they're fantastic."That's some high praise. Unfortunately, Cage did not confirm if this means we'll actually get an R-ratedGhost Ridermovie, because I think that is one of the few ways they might be able to salvage this franchise. I'm hoping these two amp up the intensity, darkness, and violence, but I'm worried they're going to force them to make this PG-13. We'll find out soon.

We don't really know how soon thisGhost Rider: Spirit of Vengeancesequel will get underway, but I should remind you that last year,David S. Goyer talked a bit abouthis oldGhost Riderscreenplay that they're using for this sequel (at least as as starting point):"It was definitely written as a hard R… It was aBlade-type film. And now they want it to be PG-13."Let's hope now that Neveldine/Taylor are confirmed to direct, they can convince Sony otherwise, or else this might be another mistake in the making.What do you guys think?

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Aaron Sorkin's Directing Debut is a Biopic About John Edwards« FirstShowing.net

After writing many masterful screenplays with fully memorable and quotable lines of dialogue, screenwriterAaron Sorkinis now poised to make his directorial debut.Deadlinereports Sorkin has optioned rights toThe Politician: An Insider's Account of John Edwards's Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That Brought Him Down,a non-fiction bookwritten by the former presidential candidate's one-time aide. Sorkin will be directing from a script which he will be writing himself. Though no studio is attached yet, with all the buzz his scripts forThe Social NetworkandMoneyballgathered, you know someone will bite on this soon.

The story of his fall from the climb for the US Presidency swept headlines across the nation as a promising Democratic frontrunner found himself amidst a huge scandal after a tabloid revealed the married senator had fathered an illegitimate child with another woman. Despite lots of denial, Edwards eventually admitted to the affair which birthed a child and his career went all Humpty Dumpty. Sorkin will pick up the pieces and I'm sure he'll put together another stellar drama which he calls,"anextraordinary storyfilled with motivations, decisions and consequences that would have lit Shakespeare up."That's some hyperbole, but I wouldn't expect anything less.

However, we know the man is talented on the page, but can he bring those pages to life through the camera? We'll have to wait and see, but I'm hoping for the best. In addition to his stellar work on those forthcoming films (Sorkin's dialogue drives thefirsttwotrailers forThe Social Network, which are almost entirely audio only), Sorkin has also scripted two of my favorite dramas(Charlie Wilson's WarandA Few Good Men) and two of my favorite TV series ("The West Wing"and"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"). I'll be looking forward to anything with Sorkin's involvement, and we'll keep you posted as this political project project develops.

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First Official Look Revealed: Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern« FirstShowing.net

It was only discovered yesterday that the official reveal of the costume fromGreen Lanternwould be on the cover of"next week's"issue ofEntertainment Weekly. Before it could even hit stands,EW has decidedto unveil the photo early, although it's not very high resolution. So below you will seeRyan Reynoldsas Hal Jordan in his CGI costume fromGreen Lantern."Will and imagination are his superpowers,"Reynolds says.“We need a circus of Timothy Learys to think of things Hal would invent with his ring."I'm sure many, many of you are going to have something to say about this, so let's get it all over with and let the discussion begin!

"Fanboys of the world, get ready to go green. As all of Hollywood (and many a costumed nerd) gears up for next week'sComic-Con conventionin San Diego, EW provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of next summer's highly anticipated superhero movieGreen Lantern."It was alsodiscovered back in Aprilthat the costume would be fully CG, which means it's easier for them to shoot in privacy on set as Reynolds wears a motion capture suit, and it allows them to do more with his costume in the movie, as is evident now look at this costume reveal. This is only just a tease of what is to come at Comic-Con, so stick around.Thoughts?

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Mark Ruffalo in Discussions to Play the Hulk in The Avengers« FirstShowing.net

After the debacle that tookEdward Nortonaway from his role asHulkfor the superhero ensembleThe Avengers, aside from the back and forth between Marvel, Norton's agent, andfinally Norton himself, there were rumors swirling about potential replacements.Hero Complexmentions names like Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, David Tennant and Joss Whedon favorite Nathan Fillion, butDeadlinehas a report out of left field that pegsMark Ruffaloas being in"late-stage discussions"between Marvel and his agency to become the new Incredible Hulk. As crappy as Norton's situation was, Ruffalo is one hell of an amazing replacement.

Just yesterday I was in the middle of a discussion about Norton's potential replacement, andMark Ruffalowas at the top of my list. He's a great actor that a lot of people probably know by his looks the most, but not necessarily his name. Not only is he currently getting great reviews for his role inThe Kids Are All Right, but he's had great turns in films likeShutter Island,Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,We Don't Live Here Anymoreand of course,The Brothers Bloom. I've sung his praises plenty before, and I'm really glad to see a big role like this coming his way. But I'll tell you who is not going to be happy with this revelation:Marvel.

No doubt, this casting announcement was going to be their big opportunity for a bit of damage control and hopefully the start of a new hype machine atComic-Connext week, but this kind of leaves them out in the wind (even though it's not official). That's what they get for doingpost-production 3-D conversionforThorandCaptain America.So what do you think of Mark Ruffalo as the new Hulk inThe Avengers?

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Amanda Seyfried Joins Andrew Niccol's New Sci-Fi I'm.mortal« FirstShowing.net

I'm not entirely sure why, butAndrew Niccol(ofGattaca,Lord of WarandS1m0ne) has been laying low for the last few years. He tried to get a sci-fi project calledThe Crossinto production with Orlando Bloom, but it fell apart. Thankfully he's set to direct a"high priority"film for 20th Century Fox calledI'm.mortal. The sci-fi thriller is set in the"not-too-distant"future where the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities, and aging stops at the age of 25.Varietysays that 24-year-old actressAmanda Seyfriedhas been cast in the lead.

Variety adds to the plot: InI'm.mortal, time has become the currency. The rich are immortal, while the rest struggle to stay alive. When a"rebel"from the ghetto is falsely accused of murdering a wealthy man for his time, he is forced to go on the run with beautiful hostage (Seyfried). Together, they rage against the system, living minute to minute. They discover that love is more powerful than all the time in the world. Man, what a cheesy logline, but coming from Niccol, it'll be much better on screen. I loveGattaca, one of my all-time fave sci-fi flicks, and I've been waiting for him to return to the genre with something similar - this may be it.

Amanda Seyfried has been starring in lots of chic flicks recently, fromMamma MiatoDear JohntoLetters to Juliet, but she's very talented, quite beautiful, I'm looking forward to seeing her lead this. No other roles have been cast yet, but I'm sure we'll hear more on it soon. Hopefully production stays on track this time!

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Casting Tidbits: Walken, Laurence Fishburne, Gillian Anderson« FirstShowing.net

Peter - I swear to you wherever you go, wherever you are, Ivowthere will always be Casting Tidbits buried in notes signed James Hook. They will be flung into doors of your children's, children's, children, do you hear me? First up,Deadlineis reporting that the lovelyGillian Andersonis heading back into action as a field agent. No, she's not suiting up as Agent Scully, but rather as MI7 secret agent Pamela Head in the silly sequelJohnny English Reborn. Rowan Atkinson is returning as the clumsy British spy as he embarks on a search for traitors within Her Majesty's Secret Service. Here's to hoping she shoots English in the head.

Next up,VarietyreportsLaurence Fishburneis being tossed into an already impressive cast for Steven Soderbergh's new thrillerContagion. Fishburne joins Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet in a story following the threat posed by a deadly disease, with multiple plotlines running through the film like Soderbergh'sTraffic. Soderbergh took an indie break for awhile focusing on films likeThe Girlfriend ExperienceandBubble, but I'm glad to see in back in the thick of big budget flicks with A-List ensemble casts.

Finally,Le Parisienreports (viaThe Playlist) reports thatChristopher WalkenandJohnny Hallydayare joining the cast of Tony Scott's crime dramaPotsdamer Platz. In addition, they also confirm thatJavier BardemandMickey Rourkeare officially along for the ride as well. No word on whether Jason Statham will end up being involved since he was mentioned around the time Bardem and Rourke were in talks to join the project. In addition, Scott was looking to bring in Al Pacino or maybe even bringing Gene Hackman out of retirement for a role, but we haven't heard any progress on either of them.Potsdamer Platztells the story of two soldiers in a New Jersey-based crime family who try to expand internationally.

Well, that's all for this edition ofCasting Tidbits. Be sure to stay tuned for more casting updates on the way.

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Denzel Washington Finds Shelter in New 'Safe House' Thriller« FirstShowing.net

Most people love when their favorite leading man takes on the role of a hero in any given story, whether it's something as fantastical as a superhero or as grounded as anethicalpassionate lawyer. But sometimes, it's even more enjoyable to see that same actor take on the role of a diabolical villain.Denzel Washingtonhas found a couple of his finest performances inTraining DayandAmerican Gangsterby playing the bad guy. NowVulturereports he might go back to crime withSafe House, an original thriller that sees him playing a dangerous criminal who's on the run from a young CIA agent after his"safe house"comes under attack.

WriterDavid Guggenheimpenned the script, which is described as a mix ofCollateralandThree Days of the Condor, and started a bidding war for the project last winter.Deadlinehas a bit more info on it, as they reportSnabba CashdirectorDaniel Espinosawill direct the thriller. The real question now is who they'll get to star opposite the intimidating Washington. Personally, at the risk of making an original script a little less original, I think it would be kind of interesting to see Ethan Hawke take the agent role thus creating a kind of makeshift sequel toTraining Day. Frankly, I'm surprised that studios haven't already thought of that idea with all the brand/name recognition they've been going for. Maybe I shouldn't say anything.Interested?

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Casting Tidbits: Michael Madsen, Marcia Cross& Ralph Fiennes« FirstShowing.net

They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the Casting Tidbits are down, these civilized people, they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve. First up,VarietyreportsMichael Madsen(Reservoir Dogs,Sin City) will lead the indie zombie flickInfected, with a story that focuses on a father and son who have to fight to survive against a deadly, rapidly spreading blood virus. Sounds like typical zombie fare, and something tells me Madsen doesn't exactly carefully select his projects since he hasaround 30 projectsthat are either in pre/post production or currently filming and that'sinsane.

Next,Varietyconfirms what we'dheard earlierregarding casting for spy thrillerTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spywith one exception.Gary Oldman,Colin FirthandMichael Fassbenderare indeed signed on to star in Tomas Alfredson's adaptation ofJohn Le Carre's 1974 novelof the same name, but it seems David Thewlis (who was negotiating at the time) has been replaced withRalph Fiennes. As much as I love Thewlis and his unique choices is roles, Fiennes is a fine replacement in my book. The story takes place in the Cold War following a spy hunt within the highest echelons of the British Secret Intelligence Service. Peter Morgan wrote the screenplay which has been referred to as the"anti-James Bond."

Finally,VarietyreportsMarcia Cross("Desperate Housewives") will star opposite Milla Jovovich in the indie dramaBringing Up Bobby. Actress Fake Janssen (X-Men) is making her feature directorial debut working from a script which she also wrote herself. The film tells the story of a European con artist and her 10-year-old son who find themselves in Oklahoma in an effort to escape her past and build a better future. The two move quite successfully through a myriad of adventures until the mother's criminal past catches up with her. Cross plays a woman who's able to deal with the loss of her own child by becoming the adoptive mother of the son, andBill Pullmanplays her husband.

Well, that's all for this edition ofCasting Tidbits. Be sure to stay tuned for more casting updates on the way.

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Disney May Have Finally Found Someone to Purchase Miramax« FirstShowing.net

Back towards the beginning of the year, we got the sad news thatMiramax, the indie distributor based out of Disney, was officiallyclosing its doorsafter 31 years of working in the motion picture business. Since then there's beenfailed talksabout the company's founding members,Bob& Harvey Weinstein, buying back the company, and most recently heavily disliked executiveDavid Bergsteinwas said to beteaming withconstruction magnateRon Tutorto purchase the studio. Well, word on the street is Tutorisstill involved, but apparently the team he's bringing into the deal has changed a bit, and the deal is"95% just about done."

Tutor has been leading the pack on the deal, but Bergstein seems to be out asColony Capitol, a private international investment firm, has been brought in to provide $300 million in equity (towards what will be around a $700 million purchase). Also joining the deal to provide more financing isJames Robinson, a chairman of Morgan Creek Productions, and Gulf Capital, an investment firm based out of Abu Dhabi (you know, that place Garfield always tried to send Nermal).Richard Nanula, a former CFO at Disney, is acting as Colony's principal to oversee the deal, but there's a chance that it could still fall through because around $200 million still needs to be raised in the form of debt, and some banks have resisted participating because of questions about the valuation, especially without the cooperation of Bob and Harvey Weinstein any more.

The buyers have entered a period of due diligence, in which they'll get a more detailed look at the Miramax books, and the deal could close as early asJuly 28th. However, there may be some troubles on the horizon because the buyers not onlydon'tbelieve they need the Weinsteins to sign off on the deal, but they don't need permission from them for remakes of the franchise films in their library of 611 titles. But a source close to the Weinstein camp says that their 2005 exit agreement with Disney gave them consultation and remake rights to more than two dozen of those franchises likeHalloween,Children of the Corn, etc. Obviously, the Weinsteinsaren't happyabout this and are still prepared to bid again for Miramax if this deal falls apart.

There's a lot of business mumbo jumbo to sort through and a lot of it isn't for typical movie fans to absorb. What's important though is that Miramax has the right guidance and team to bring Miramax back from the dead so that certain properties don't fall to the wayside. We've already seen what can happen to some of our beloved franchises with MGM's financial woes delaying production onThe Hobbit,James Bondand who knows what else. It's bad news when a company goes under, but it would be even worse if that company was brought back with the wrong people. As for Miramax's future, I'm not sure if it's better to have a new team in Tutor's assembly of financiers and execs, or if it's better with the Weinsteins again.Only time will tell.

Details on this deal were culminated from various news reports found onTHR,DeadlineandLA Times.

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Barry Levinson Directing Biopic on Rights Activist Jack Healey« FirstShowing.net

Though it seems in the past decade directorBarry Levinsonhas had some trouble grasping the amazing filmmaker's eye he once displayed with films likeLiberty Heights,Rain Man,Good Morning, VietnamandThe Natural, I've heard that he's made quite a film for HBO with the Jack Kevorkian biopicYou Don't Know Jack. Let's hope he can bring that energy and success back to the big screen as Columbia Picts announced, via press release, that Levinson has been attached to directBrother Jack, a biopic aboutJack Healey, a world-renowned human rights activist who left the priesthood for a life on the streets to fight for the people.

The press release describes Mr. Healey as"an effective and innovative leader in the human rights movement for over 25 years"as he"helped move the topic of human rights from closed-door diplomatic negotiations to widespread awareness, public debate, and direct citizen action."Apparently he's credited for making human rights a huge point of focus for governments and advocacy organizations around the world, and he's been referred to as"Mr. Human Rights"byU.S. News& World Report. This is an interesting, dramatic film from Mosaic, the company behind comedies such asStep Brothers,Semi-Proand this summer'sThe Other Guys.

No word on how soon this will go into production since Harley Patton's script is being re-written byKelly Masterson. In addition, Levinson has afewotherprojectsin his future as well, and we're not sure ifBrother Jackwill take precedence or not. Hopefully we'll see some casting news come our way soon to find out who will be stepping into Healey's shoes. Since Will Ferrell is based at Mosaic and they've obviously produced a lot of his projects, is there a chance he could make a move for this more dramatic role? We'll find out soon.

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Plans for Phil Lord& Chris Miller's Big Lego Movie Uncovered« FirstShowing.net

Early last weekit was announcedthatCloudy With a Chance of MeatballsdirectorsPhil LordandChris Millerwould be writing and directing Warner Bros'Legomovie. I'm excited by this news because Lord and Miller are two incredibly creative individuals and I knew they had a unique take on aLegomovie that would be pretty cool to see. Well, that definitely seems to be the case, asColliderspoke withPhil Lordand got the lowdown on what they're planning for it. Essentially, they're making a"super large scale brick film,"like one ofthose YouTube Lego moviesbut on a feature scale using hyper stop-motion. Sounds pretty awesome, no?

It was reported originally that Lord and Miller created a proposal that won over both the Warner Bros execs and the Lego execs. Lord explains:"Basically we came up with a treatment that was about a40-page crazy treatmentwith a lot of images and stuff and that got everybody excited and then we were off to the races trying to make a deal for the last four months."But what made their presentation so unique? What will their Lego movie look like? Well, he doesn't explain the complete concept infull, but this is what Lord reveals:

"We always sparked to the idea that you could make asuper large scale brick film. Have you seen those brick films online? There's a zillion of them. People literally make them in their basements with little Lego mini-figs and they build elaborate sets and they range from being like the most low production value to some of them people have spent years on and they look beautiful and they're really intricately detailed.

And we kept thinking, gosh there's got to be a way to take… if somebody wants to make a Lego movie they should make one of those on an enormous scale where you could actually buildenormous, beautiful Lego setsand put a camera on the deck at mini-fig eye level and bring the kind of bravado that like the contemporary action-adventure film does, but do it on like this micro-scale. So we always sparked to that idea and it was just about trying to crack the character story to carry that."

Nowthatsounds pretty damn cool, but it doesn't top there. Lord explains that Lego wants"to make asuper high qualityproduct. They want to make something that not only appeals to young kids but also appeals to families and grown-ups and people like you and me who just like to go see movies."If you've seenCloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, you certainly know these two are capable of developing a great film like that, plus this Lego concept just sounds totally awesome anyway. Lord continues:

"I don't know we're exactly are going to execute it but I would say the vast majority of the film takes place in animmersive all-Lego environment. So it's going to star mini-figs and we've created these really cool characters and a really nice character story between these mini-figs. And it's going to take place in a universe that's made entirely out of Lego to the point where if there's water or clouds or like a big explosion, that will be made out ofanimated Legos. And our goal was to make it look like a super charged stop-motion. Something like ifMichael Bay kidnapped Henry Selickto make a movie for him."

Okay, I want to see this rightnow, that sounds incredible! It kind of reminds me of a mix of thatPixels viral videoand theYouTube Lego movies, but on a massive scale. There can never be enough stop-motion movies anyway and I'd love to see them just go all-out creatively with this in every sense. Unfortunately, from the interview, it sounds like Lord and Miller are still gearing up to start shooting their R-rated21 Jump Streetfor Sony first before they get to thisLegomovie. So it will probably be a few years until we see this, but I'm really liking the concept so far and I can't wait to see what this looks like finished. Bring it on!Thoughts?

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MGM Cancels Sam Mendes' Bond 23, No More Daniel Craig?« FirstShowing.net

With every new James Bond, it reaches a point where audiences lose interest and the franchise restarts. I didn't think we'd reach that point withDaniel Craigfor a long, long time, because audiences seem to love him and there's a different storyline (starting with his origin inCasino Royale). The latest movie,Bond 23, was set to be directed by Oscar winnerSam Mendes(ofAmerican Beauty, Away We Go) from a script by Oscar nominated writerPeter Morgan(The Queen, Frost/Nixon). We already knew it wasdelayedbecause of MGM's ongoing financial troubles, but we're now receiving word that the entire thing has been canceled.

This news comes mainly fromHarry at AICNand theUK'sMirror(both viaThe Playlist). Harry Knowles says that"apparently all development on the next James Bond flick isdead. They've actually fucked MGM up so much that right now, they've canned development of a newJames Bondfilm."Oh I know, it's very sad.Mirrorconfirms:"Members of the production crew have been told the Bond film has been canned. There is a lot of bad feeling as a lot of time, money and hard work has already gone into this."Apparently this is not just another delay, it sounds like MGM is canceling all projects in development until they figure out how to get back into the moviemaking business, which may be never (if things keep going the same way they are).

The big question now is if this also means the end of Daniel Craig as James Bond. No onereallyknows how long Craig's contract runs or how many films he was signed to be in, but I'm sure MGM is pulling some crazy tricks in order to cancel any and everything, and that could include Craig's contract. But, of course, there's always the optimistic folks who think it's just a matter of time until we see Craig return as James Bond, and I think I'll side with them until further notice."This doesn't mean the end of the Bond films. The question ishow longit will take to make another one."Let's just hope we don't have to waittoolong for it.Thoughts?

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Casting Bits: Abigail Spencer, Cobie Smulders& Bradley Cooper« FirstShowing.net

Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no Casting Tidbits, and may God have mercy on your soul. Although Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell have already made the cast ofCowboys& Aliensvery impressive, one more name couldn't hurt asVarietyreportsAbigail Spencer("Mad Men") has joined the sci-fi/western as a former lover of Craig's character.

Second,The Wrapreports a whole group of actors have joined therecently announcedcast ofGrassroots, an indie political comedy starring Jason Biggs& Joel David Moore. New cast members areD.C. Pierson(fromDerrick Comedy'sMystery Team),Cobie Smulders("How I Met Your Mother"),Lauren Ambrose("Six Feet Under"),Cedric the Entertainer, Christopher McDonald(Happy Gilmore), Emily Bergl("Grey's Anatomy"), andTom Arnold. The story follows a recently fired journalist (Biggs) who reluctantly agrees to spearhead the Seattle City Council campaign of his eccentric friend (Moore), a former pedicab driver with a burning passion for the Monorail.

Next,Deadlinereports two young actresses are moving from two drastically different bloodsucking roles in the indie thrillerCatch .44asNikki Reed(The Twilight Saga) andDeborah Ann Woll("True Blood") have signed on in the thriller about three gorgeous female assassins thrust into an extraordinary situation involving a psychopathic hitman, a grizzled trucker and a delusional line cook.Aaron Harveywrote and is directing the flick which already boasts a cast including Bruce Willis, Malin Ackerman and Forest Whitaker.

Finally, a bit of un-casting as it seemsBradley Cooperwill be unable to joinM. Night Shyamalan'snext project, which he's currentlyshopping around Hollywood. When the project was discovered, Cooper, Bruce Willis and Gwyneth Paltrow were said to be attached to the mostly secret story. NowShyamalan himselfsays Cooper will likely not be involved anymore. Shyamalan explains why:"Hangover 2. I don't think Bradley can do it because of that."So now we're unsure who will take his place in the role which is said to be the main character in the story of a father searching for his missing child and utilizing some sort of supernatural powers to aid in his search. Stay tuned for any further developments.

Well, that's all for this edition ofCasting Tidbits. Be sure to stay tuned for more casting updates on the way.

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Verbinski Says a 'Hard R' BioShock Movie is Still in the Works« FirstShowing.net

Wait, wait, wait - theBioShockmovie will be hard R?! Yep, that's what they're hoping for. We didn't catch this when it first hit, but I thought it was good news anyway.IGNtalked with filmmakerGore Verbinskilast week (at thesame event forRangowe attended) and got a quick update on the status of theBioShockmovie, but more importantly he spoke about how it"has to be R, a hard R."A video game movie that's hard R? I don't think Universal willevermake this movie (they already canceled Verbinski's original version due to budget constraints) especially after the mediocre performance of the video game moviePrince of Persia.

It wasannounced last AugustthatPirateshelmerGore Verbinskiwould no longer be directingBioShock, only producing. Instead,28 Weeks LaterdirectorJuan Carlos Fresnadillolanded the job, but then put the project on the backburner to directIntrudersinstead. As for whetherPrince of Persiawill have any impact on it, Verbinski thinks it won't."No, I think BioShock's a rare one because it's actually a great story."I agree, but I don't think Universal will recognize that, they'll be more concerned about whyPrince of Persiafailed than how this could be a big success, if don't correctly. As for its status, here's what Verbinski said:

"We're working trying to make it. The problem with BioShock was:R-rated movie, underwater, horror. It's a really expensive R-rated movie,"he explained."So we're trying to figure out a way working with {director} Juan Carlos {Fresnadillo} to get the budget down and still keep so it's true to thecore audience, you know? The thing is it has to be R, a hard R."

The more I hear from Verbinski, the more I've grown to like him, he knows what to do with this video game adaptation and I'mat leastglad he's still producing, because maybe that means we'll eventually get the hard RBioShockmovie I know we all wewantto see."We don't want to dumb it down,we don't want to make it PG-13. We want to keep itreally edgy, and it's a huge bill,"Verbinski insisted. Hearing that is music to my ears. Let's hope the project doesn't get even more cut down like that by Universal. And you know what, I'm fine with waiting a few more years if that's what it will take to get this made the way Verbinski wants it.

Since it might be delayed for a while, is there a chance they could eventually lose Fresnadillo as the director? Probably not."We're really down the road with Juan Carlos and right now it's really a budget thing and how to keep theintegrityand keep it a Hollywood movie because it could balloon. It's a lot. Our first budget was extraordinarily high and we're working on it."So there you go. Stay tuned for more updates onBioShock. For now it sounds like there's not much we'll hear about it until after Fresnadillo finishes shootingIntruders.

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Nimrod Antal Working on a Dystopian Thriller Titled Paraffin« FirstShowing.net

I metPredatorsdirectorNimród Antalyesterday and he's a pretty cool guy (I'm working on an interview). His filmography prior toPredatorsincludes a movie calledKontrollas well asVacancyandArmored.The Playlistrecently talked with Antal and learned that he's got another one-word title project in the works that may be next for him, dependent on how wellPredatorsdoes. It's titledParaffinand is a dystopian thriller."I have a passion project that I've been writing for a few years calledParaffin. I'm going to try to get that going… It's actually the one I wanted to write and direct right afterKontroll. So that's what I'm doing next."

Antal wouldn't reveal much, but did give this hint."I can give you a teaser: men and women will build a boat out of plastic bottles in Cuba to escape oppression, right? So imagine if our world has become that {kind of} oppression. You aren't building plastic bottle boats anymore, you have to build something else toget out of here."The irst thought that comes to mind - some people are going to try and build a homemade rocket and escape from Earth (but I don't know if this is sci-fi). Thinking a bit further about it,paraffinis a kind ofwaxmade of alkane hydrocarbons, which is in line with what he said aboutsomethingbeing built (out of wax?) in the film. However, I don't think they can make a spaceship out of wax, and that was just pure speculation.

Nothing else is known about the project and it's not even listed on IMDb, so we'll have to keep our eyes open for anything we hear about it. For now, I'm anxious forPredatorsto hit theaters to see what everyone thinks of it and what happens to Antal's career after. I didn't likeArmored, but Antal is a damn good director with great visuals and I'm looking forward to seeing his career continue on, potentially with this dystopian movie.

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George Miller is Shooting Two Mad Max Films Back-to-Back?« FirstShowing.net

Are you ready for moreMad Maxthan you could ever dream of? Or wasThunderdomemore than enough?Twitchsays that they've learned that George Miller is"working on not one butTWOnewMad Maxfilms"and they'll most likely be shot back-to-back. Way back when rumors first started hitting about a newMad Max, I remember hearing something like this, that there would be two films, so it's not surprising to hear it again (although it's not officially confirmed). The first one is titledMad Max: Fury Roadand Twitch says the second one will be calledMad Max: Furiosa. No clue what that Furiosa pertains to, but I'm intrigued.

Two back-to-back movies are a huge spectacle, which is why I'm always excited to hear about any being shot that way. There were the twoMatrixmovies and thePirates of the Caribbeanmovies as well as the final twoHarry Pottermovies, but nothing else has shot back-to-back in a while. We posted abig exclusive updatefrom actorTom Hardylast week aboutMad Max, as he's starring as Max and will start shooting sometime later this year. Now I'm wondering ifthose early rumors about thisalso being in 3D and containing a"blend live-action and animation"are actually true, too. I'm actually starting to get excited to see this. Stay tuned!

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Cinemark Pulls Paranormal Activity 2 Trailer Over Complaints« FirstShowing.net

This is either a big surprise or a brilliant marketing tactic.Varietysays that movie theater chainCinemark, based out of Plano, Texas, has pulled theParanormal Activity 2trailer from"several theaters"in Texas after receiving numerous complaints from moviegoers that the trailer was"too frightening."Did any of our readers thinkthis trailerwas too scary to see in theaters, or without a red band label in front of it? The trailer has been playing in front of Summit'sThe Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which opened today, and probably explains why there were even any complaints to begin with. But will this maybe help them build more buzz?

Paranormal Activityis obviously marketed entirely on scares and hearing that a trailer was so frightening that it had to be pulled is a great accidental way of building some extra word-of-mouth buzz for this sequel to Oren Peli's low budget horror flick. Cinemark is already prepared to pull the trailer from more theaters if they keep receiving more complaints. It's sad to see a company so easily pushed around by their customers, but I guess that's because they put the audience first. But the trailerwasMPAA approved and I'm sorry if a couple people can't handle a few minor jump scares. That doesn't mean everyone can't handle it, come on!

I'd almost like to say this is okay because it could help the buzz, but I can't stand when movie theaters make drastic changes because a few customers complained. It's the same with the sound being too loud or posters being too offensive. Sometimes marketingdoescross the line, but this time I just think someTwilightteens were too scared and Cinemark caved way too easily. What do you guys think?Too scary or just wussies?

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