'Toy Story' Short Featuring Barbie and Ken is Attached to 'Cars 2'?« FirstShowing.net

Shortly after the charming yet tear-jerkingToy Story 3hit theaters, director Lee Unkrich revealed that the farewell to Andy's toys didn't mean the characters wouldn't be returning. WhileToy Story 4seemed to be unlikely, the director said the traditionalPixar shortplaying beforeCars 2would featuresome of theToy Storycharacters. Well, nowDigital Spyhas noticed a recentTwitter updatefrom Disney animator Floyd Norman saying,“Saw the Pixar 'Hawaii' short. Cute.Ken and Barbiewant to go toHawaii. I don’t know what it’s gonna be attached to. Fun stuff, however.” So it sounds like there will be a Hawaiian adventure beforeCars 2!

This isn't exactly official yet, but putting two and two together, this definitely seems like a safe bet. So whenCars 2hits theaters onJune 24th, 2011, it looks like we'll have the return of a couple franchise in the same sitting. Personally, the original shorts that don't feature Pixar's staple characters are the ones I prefer, but by no means should my stance imply that I don't enjoy seeing my favorite characters returning in their shorts. After all, Ken and Barbie had quite the hilarious relationship (even if Ken did betray her at first), so this should be a blast.Sound good?

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Christian Bale Joins the Ranks of Zhang Yimou's 'Nanjing Heroes'« FirstShowing.net

Though audiences are looking forward to his final turn as Batman in Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated sequelThe Dark Knight Rises, it looks likeChristian Baleis already looking to his future beyond the Caped Crusader. Today a press conference in Beijing (viaTHR) announced Christian Bale will star in the tentatively titledNanjing Heroes, the next film from directorZhang Yimou(Hero). The story, based on Yan Geling's novelThe 13 Women of Nanjing, will see Bale as a priest who shelters a group of prostitutes and female students in his church during the 1937 wartime atrocity known as"The Rape of Nanking"by Japanese troops.

Throughout the violent invasion, hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and surrendered soldiers were murdered along with anywhere from 20,000-80,000 women being raped by the Imperial Japanese Army. As for Bale's casting in the story, Zhang says,"I met Christian in America and was impressed with his serious book research for the role."The film is yet another cinematic approach to the tragic historical events which has been seen before in Chinese films likeCity of Life and Death. Bale has always chosen roles completely different from his previous work whether it'sThe MachinistorTerminator Salvation, and this project is no different.Interested?

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Toy Story 3, The King's Speech& More Ineligible for WGA Awards« FirstShowing.net

The 2010 nominees for the WGA Awards, or the annualWriters Guild Awards, haven't been announced yet - not until January 4th. When they do arrive, there will be some key films of 2010 missing, because they were disqualified. The WGA likes to cut out scripts that don't follow"the guild's Minimum Basic Agreement, or the agreements of several affiliated international guilds,"whatever that means. As reported by Steve Pond ofThe Wrap(viaAwards Daily), the scripts disqualified this year include:The King's Speech,Winter's Bone,Toy Story 3,Blue ValentineandAnother Year. Quite a batch of films withdamngood writing!

To be honest, I don't think this is as shocking as it all sounds, as this happens pretty much every year with the WGA. Last year they disqualifiedInglourious Basterds,An EducationandDistrict 9, which opened up space for500 Days of Summertoget a nomination. Maybe excluding those 5 strong scripts will allow other worthy scripts a chance, likeMonstersorThe American. It's not good to hear that some of the best writing won't be recognized by its own guild, but there's always theOscars, where I'm also expecting/hoping to seeThe King's Speech,Toy Story 3andBlue Valentineto get featured anyway. Stay tuned for the nominations!

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Spike Jonze& Charlie Kaufman Reuniting for New Secret Project« FirstShowing.net

Since the two have collaborated so well on mind-bending films likeAdaptationandBeing John Malkovich, it's pretty damn good to hear from24 Framesthat writerCharlie Kaufmanand directorSpike Jonzeare looking to work together again. The duo are currently shopping around a new pitch (there isnoscript yet), but the plot is being kept under tight wraps. As of now, the project is being taken to independent financiers in hopes of getting the production off the ground first. Since Kaufman and Jonze don't really have anything officially lined up as their next projects, a reunion of these two brilliant cinematic minds is quite exciting.

As far as we know, Kaufman has otherwise been working on a script calledFrank or Francisthat had been set up at Sony, but it doesn't sound like this new project is the same. Still, that project sounds just as meta as his previous projects as it follows a director embraced for broadly commercial hits resents his success and wants to be considered an auteur and artiste. Apparently the project acts as a Hollywood satire in the form of a musical. That sounds pretty damn great, so hopefully we'll see that at some point. As for this unknown new team-up goes, we'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.Anyone else excited?

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Kathryn Bigelow May Direct Another Film Before 'Triple Frontier'« FirstShowing.net

We've just recently confirmed that Tom Hankswill indeed starin the next film from Academy Award winning directorKathryn Bigelowwhether it's calledSleeping Dogs,Triple Frontieror something completely different. However, that project isn't slated to start production until fall of 2011, andVarietysays Bigelow andThe Hurt LockerwriterMark Boalare looking to get another international thriller off the ground before then. Though details are sparse, it will apparently be timely and revolve around certainblack ops. However,Call of Dutyfans shouldn't get excited as the film is said to be based on atrue storythat has"appeared in printed form."

The project is currently being shopped around to studios and if the Oscar winning team of Boal and Bigelow is behind it, you can bet plenty of studios will be taking the bait. It will be a low budget, indie project not unlikeThe Hurt Locker. Though it might seem like this will get in the way ofTriple Frontier/Sleeping Dogs, apparently this project will actually give Boal and Bigelow more time to figure out scheduling of potential cast members. Since most of the names mentioned as potential involvement have full future slates (Johnny Depp, Will Smithand more), this may make their participation slightly more likely. We'll do our best to keep you posted.Interested?

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Casting Tidbits: Teresa Palmer, Ricky Gervais and Giovanni Ribisi« FirstShowing.net

It's just like Santa's workshop! Except it smells like Casting Tidbits and everyone looks like they wanna hurt me. First up,THRreportsJoel Edgerton(The Thingremake) and the lovelyTeresa Palmer(The Sorcerer's Apprentice) will star in an Australian psychological drama calledSay Nothing. ActorKieran Darcy Smithwill make his feature directorial debut with this story of four friends who lose themselves in the fun of a carefree Southeast Asian holiday. However, a mystery unfolds after a fateful night when they were dancing under a full moon in Cambodia and one disappears. Darcy also wrote the film himself.

Second, after we heardEmily Bluntmayco-star with Jason Segelagain inFive-Year Engagement, it looks like they may co-star for the second time even sooner.Heat Visionreports Blunt has joined the growing list of celebrity cameos inThe Muppets. In addition,Ricky Gervaishas also signed up to join in the puppet fun. The two British talents join other names like Jack Black, Zach Galifianakis, and maybe even Lady Gaga for a film that promises to be an epic return to the big screen for all your favorite Muppets.

Finally,VarietyreportsBen Foster(The Messenger) andGiovanni Ribisi(Avatar) will join Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale inContraband. A remake of the Icelandic thrillerReykjavik-Rotterdam, the story follows a security guard and former alcohol smuggler on the Iceland-Netherlands route who is tempted back into illicit business by a dubious friend after encountering financial problems. Foster is playing Wahblerg's brother-in-law, but it's not clear what role Ribisi has signed up for in the film. Universal is looking to release the film on March 16, 2012.

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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Robert Downey Jr Sets Up New Musical Comedy at Warner Bros« FirstShowing.net

Looks likeRobert Downey Jr.might start singing for his next project.Deadlinereports that Warner Bros has closed a deal for a currently untitledmusical comedythat is being developed for Downey Jr to star in. The script& lyrics will be written byBrian Yorkeyand the music will be composed byTom Kitt, the duo behind the Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musicalNext to Normal, which was already in the news today whenRob Reiner talked abouthow he really wanted to adapt it into a movie. This new project is being developed with Yorkey, Kitt and Anonymous Content's Joy Gorman as well as with Susan Downey producing.Read on!

Deadline says the story is about two Broadway songwriters, one of whom is played by Downey Jr, who find themselves creatively and financially bankrupt when their big-break musical is a huge flop. While searching for inspiration for a comeback, they take jobs as counselors, teaching singing and dancing at a theater camp they attended as kids. This obviously seems a bitGleeinspired, along with just being a creative concept from the guys behindNext to Normal, but it sounds like it'll be fun. I'm not sure why, but when I think of Downey Jr singing, I think ofGene Wilder, and if that comparison is true at all, we're in for a hell of a good time.

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More Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon Sequels Coming?« FirstShowing.net

We're already aware the DreamWorks Animation has sequels on the way forKung Fu Panda(check out theteaser trailer here) andHow to Train Your Dragon, but apparently there's plans beyond the next installments for even more adventures.Empirerecently sat down with DWA'sJeffrey Katzenbergwho talked about plans for several sequels for each franchise and even a fourth installment ofMadagascar(the third willhit in 2012). In short, Katzenberg mentioned plans for six chapters ofKung Fu Panda, three chapters forHow to Train Your Dragon, and four total films forMadagascar. Find out what he had to say about each of the franchises below.

As for the next installment ofMadagascar(the franchise that doesn't really have any of my interest), Katzenberg says that the third film will see,"{the animals} come back to New York, and they will come to terms with that, which they will do in this next chapter. Because of the way that movie concludes there's probably one more for them."Not exactly a solid guarantee, but it sounds like he knows exactly there the story is going. As forKung Fu PandaandHow to Train Your Dragon, here's what Katzenberg had to say:

"'Kung Fu Panda'actually hassix chapters to it, and we’ve mapped that out over the years. 'How to Train Your Dragon' isat least three, maybe more, but we know there are a least three chapters to that story. There are actually 8 books. {They're different form the film} but there are elements of them that actually… as you know, there aremany islands in the world of Berk, and different things there, so we’ll see. But right now, today, we know that there are three for sure that we want to tell and there may be more. We haven’t thought, you know, how do we continue beyond that."

With so much source material forHow to Train Your DragoninCressida Cowell's booksit's not surprising that even more sequels are planned, but the fact that there are six more stories forKung Fu Pandaenvisioned seems a bit over-the-top. This could always change since I'm pretty sure I recall DWA saying they had a story planned for fiveShrekfilms, but ultimately decided to call it quits after the fourth (which is good, because they started losing their flare afterShrek the Third). SinceKung Fu Pandais an original property it's a little harder to crack, but I can definitely imagine at least one trilogy coming together. However, having asecondtrilogy seems a bit excessive. Of course, Disney doesn't have a problem taking on the challenge with theirnew trilogy forPirates of the Caribbean, so we'll see what happens.What do you guys think?

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'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance' Has Nicolas Cage Very Excited« FirstShowing.net

Not too many people walked away from the big screen adaptation of Marvel's flaming pile that isGhost Riderwith a smile on their face, but with Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (the duo behindCrank) at the helm of the sequel, some of us still have hope for the flaming biker. But we aren't the only ones excited aboutGhost Rider: Spirit of Vengeanceasi09recently caught up withNicolas Cagewhilst he's been out promoting his January release ofSeason of the Witch, and he's absolutely thrilled with the plans.  Below he talks about the differences between the first film and this sequel and how Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider has changed over the years.

Here's what Nicolas Cage had to say about the sequel, which seems to be going in a vastly different direction than the first:

"It is acompletely different film. The first one, which I won't denigrate— I liked the first one, but it was almost like a fairy tale. Almost like a Disney fairy tale interpretation of Faust. This one is completely re-conceived, it'snot even connected to the first one, it's a different origin sequence. But I think it will be a brand new experience. It hasmore adrenalineinvolved in the film making process itself, and in the movie when you see it. Again, I think the stuff we're able to get into with Ghost Rider is going to be a lot more abstract and not like anything you've seen before. So I'm very excited by it."

Sounds a little more like a franchise reboot than a sequel, and that's just fine with me. As far as his character goes, Cage says,"{Johnny Blaze has} becomea lot more sarcastic, now that his head has been ignited. Unlike the first one where he was trying to keep it at bay. Now he's been living with the Ghost Rider for some time, there's a lotmore ironywith the character. His outlook isn't as quite naive as it once was."It sounds like this is going to be the action-packed adaptation that fans deserved the first time around. Neveldine and Taylor certainly have an off-the-wall visual style, and I think they're the right team to finally do justice to Ghost Rider.What do you guys think?

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'Zombieland' Writers Reese and Wernick to Direct 'Doc and Howie'« FirstShowing.net

Now this is an interesting turn of events. Screenwriting duoRhett ReeseandPaul Wernick, who wroteZombielandand are working on the newG.I. Joesequel andDeadpoolscripts as well as theCowboy Ninja Vikingadaptation at Disney, are to make their feature directing debut a script that, oddly, is not their own. THR'sRiskyBizreports that the project is a comedy calledDoc and Howie, which was shortened from its original longer descriptive titleDoc and Howie Whack a Grannywhen it was on theBlack List. TV writer& producerSteve Leffwrote the original screenplay. Interested to see what these guys can do as directors next.

Described as being in the tone ofHarold and Kumar,Doc and Howieis about two guys - Doc and Howie - who accidentally kill an elderly woman when they neglect to help her carry her groceries up the stairs. In a"fortuitous twist,"the incident brings them into contact with the woman's hot granddaughters (of course), and they struggle with the dilemma of whether to tell them the truth. Montecito Picture Co is producing. I'm not really sure what to think about this yet, as it honestly sounds like some wacky Farrelly Brothers kind of comedy, not something I'd expect to see Reese/Wernick interested directing, but I should wait to see or hear more about it. It's a bit too early to criticize this now, as it might still be good!What do you guys think?

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Billy Bob Thornton Talks 'Bad Santa' Sequel& New Directing Gig« FirstShowing.net

Soon we'll see him co-starring with Dwayne Johnson in the action flickFaster, but it's the future career ofBilly Bob Thornton, in both acting and directing, that is a point of interest for us now. Thornton recently sat down with our friends atColliderfor a quick interview, and while the complete Q&A is still forthcoming, they did reveal some buzzworthy info on a couple future projects for the actor/director. First of all, Thornton revealed he recently completed a script titledJane Mansfield's Carwith his old writing partnerTom Epperson. He didn't reveal any details on that project, but he did speak briefly about asequelto the raunchy holiday comedyBad Santa.

While Thornton says they're looking to shootJane Mansfield's Car, which he'll be directing himself, in the spring, you might be a little more interested in his talk about the potential for theBad Santasequel. While it doesn't sound like it's a guarantee, Thornton does say the idea has certainly been thrown around. Here's what he had to say:

"'Bad Santa' {has} become like a classic Christmas movie. People watch 'It’s a Wonderful Life' and 'Miracle on 34th St.' and Bad Santa now is sort of the box set. And there’s been talk of making a sequel to it, which I actually would like to do. I’ve never done a sequel to one of my movies, but that one makes sense to me to do it."

As far as avoiding another debacle that would again result in a more tame, less bold R-rated theatrical cut, Thornton says they should,"Probably get a director who’s got the juice to, with whoever makes it, you know puts up the money to get it in blood. That’s the way you have to do it, and hopefully it’ll work."So it sounds like a sequel to the holiday comedy might be a long ways off, but if the demand is out there and a filmmaker is willing to get down and dirty with Thornton's drunk, dirty Santa Claus, then a decent Christmas gift just might make its way to theaters.Anyone out there want aBad Santasequel?

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