Josh Hartnett Signs Up for Tomorrow

Always more successful with the Ladies than at the Box Office, Josh Hartnett is set to return to the screen in his third collaboration with director Paul McGuigan according to Worldview Entertainment via that Twitter thingamejig and Comingsoon.net.

I've always though Hartnett was a solid actor that just hasn't gotten that one big role that leads to better scripts, maybe this will be the one to change things, but I doubt it.

Worldview Entertainment has revealed that Josh Hartnett will reunite with Wicker Park and Lucky Number Slevin director Paul McGuigan for the sci-fi thriller Tomorrow.

In the film, Hartnett will play a man who travels back and forth through time and space, trying to prevent the murder of his family.

The movie was written by Michael Gould.

Hiro to Hawaii

He's the one on your left in case you're wondering. I thought Heroes pretty much blew after season one but Masa Oki was always a likable fella in the role of Hiro, and along with Miss Panettiere was probably the shows most popular star, now news comes from TV Guide that he's set to join the new Hawaii Five-0.

After squinting his eyes and time-hopping around the globe to save the world as Heroes' Hiro Nakamura, Masi Oka has signed on to help Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) and his team investigate murders on CBS's Hawaii Five-0 reboot.

He'll debut in the fourth episode as the coroner and be billed as a guest star. But with the body count expected to spike considerably in Oahu, this coroner could potentially be busy for several seasons.

I loved the original Hawaii Five-0 and the new version is looking very sharp, Oki will no doubt be providing some quirky light relief, the shows version of Abby from NCIS perhaps. Hawaii Five-0 starts on September 20th and I've plonked the trailer below.

Bugs Bunny headed to the big screen

What's up Doc!?...Now that's out of the way apparently what is up is legendary toon icon Bugs Bunny is headed to the big screen in one of those awful CGI/Live action hybrid deals like the dreadful looking Yogi Bear movie, Toldya! got the details.

Warner Bros has hired Elf scribe David Berenbaum to write Bugs Bunny, a live action/CG feature film designed to revive one of the studio’s most iconic intellectual properties. I’m told that Berenbaum, who also adapted The Spiderwick Chronicles and is writing an animated project with George Lucas--just closed his deal.  No producer has yet been assigned. While Warner Bros has struggled to pick winners out of its DC Comics catalog beyond Batman, the studio has done little with its Looney Tunes catalog lately. Warner Bros scored with the 1996 film Space Jam, mingling Looney Tunes characters with NBA superstars led by Michael Jordan, but its feature momentum ground to a halt with the 2003 Brendan Fraser-starrer Looney Tunes: Back In Action.

While the rabbit was toned down in later Looney Tunes incarnations, the 1940 Tex Avery creation was the centerpiece for smart, topical, sophisticated and sometimes subversive cartoon shorts, marked by the vocal versatility of Mel Blanc, who also voiced Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and others. Berenbaum's repped by WME.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Is The Courier

I like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, I mean I've only seen him in "The Losers" but I thought he showed charisma in the lead role, now granted he's not famous enough yet to be nicked JDM so typing out his full moniker is a chore but a must, but he has signed on to star in a new action flick that sounds like "The Transporter" according to Toldja!

Watchmen’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan has committed to star in the title of The Courier, an action film directed by Paradise Now helmer Hany Abu-Assad. Production is set to start next month in New Orleans. Arclight Films is financing.

Script’s by 3:10 to Yuma team Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, and Morgan plays a courier who has taken on improbable missions and never missed a drop. He’s hired to deliver a briefcase to a notorious underworld figure that can’t be found. The courier finds himself pursued by corrupt cops, double-crossing feds and rival crime bosses. Cary Brokaw is producing. Morgan will also be executive producer.

The Changing Face of the Summer Action Blockbuster

Air Force One, The Rock, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Bad Boys, Mission Impossible, Con Air, Face/Off and Speed....Just a sample of the main summer blockbusters between 1995 and 1997 when I was a teenager, my how times have changed........Now you may look at the list and think the change I am referring to is that those movies were all written for the screen directly where as today's are all adapted from something, but that isn't it.

The biggest change in the blockbuster scene is in the heroes and the types of action movie being made, back then the hero was a cop or an agent, whatever his job description was he was a guy without powers or a destiny, he was doing what he did because it was the right thing or because he was caught up in a situation beyond his control.

In the 90's the flms that were made as summer blockbusters with big budgets were high concept original pitches, now some may say that several were merely retooled Die Hard clones but never the less, they were not of the adapted ilk of today and they played in a more grounded version of our reality.

Nowadays the audience the summer blockbusters are aimed at is skewed significantly lower in age, and this is reflected in the success of things like Harry Potter and Twilight featuring  wizards and Vampires with the lead characters barely past puberty.

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in Speed, one of the ultimate high concept actioners of the mid 90'This summer saw three attempts at the regular action blockbuster, firstly the fairly unsuccessful Knight & Day which admittedly was horribly marketed and fused in a large comedy aspect, secondly The A Term which met with fans approval but meagre box office, and then there was Salt, a hit for Angelina Jolie but still with a modest take in comparison to hits from the aforementioned fantasy genres.

Of course there are exceptions, the Bourne Trilogy proved a strong draw in the summer, well at least the 2nd and 3rd parts did, and there was Live Free or Die Hard in summer 2007, and you could point to the success of the two Daniel Craig Bond films in November as proof that the action genre is still alive.

My issue is that in those cases they are established properties, the days of studios backing an original high concept action pitch for the summer seems long gone, and I for one miss those days, it's not to say I don't like some of the comic book movies and sci fi films, but when I look at the release schedule each summer I wish for some new high concept action films like those of yesteryear to be added into the mix. These days you are more likely to find them languishing in September and October with meagre budgets. Nicholas Cage and John Travolta Face off in John Woo's 1997 action classic

What brought about this change? maybe it's cyclical, the 80's saw the ultra violent one man army action films take centre stage, then the 90's saw the slicker high concept action films, now we are in the era of the comic book and fantasy film with a dollop of sci fi thrown in.

Another theory is 9/11 led to the mass success of Spider-Man and studios decided what people wanted was escapism to the ninth degree and thus proceeded to adapt comic after comic, however the success of a show like 24 and the continued popularity of a show like NCIS and it's sister show NCIS: Los Angeles show there is still an audience for original grounded heroes and action concepts.

This summer has seen several under-performers across the action range but at least for next summer the diet of of comic book movies filling the summer action quota will remain the same as Green Lantern, Thor and X Men: First Class take their bow. Beyond that who knows? but I recently read a couple of great high concept action scripts, maybe if they come to pass in summers to come we'll see the new school and the old school rubbing shoulders.

Scarlett vs Blake for Gravity

OK avert your eyes from the lovelies, this is serious business and not a boob gag! Two of Hollywood's hottest young ladies are competing for a part opposite RDJ in the Alfonso Cuaron directed sci fi thriller "Gravity."

Now Scarlett has a lot more experience and status than Blake but apparently Blake is WB's boo so that may help her out, both are competing for a role vacated by the Queen of their world Angelina Jolie.

Heat Vision has to scoop.

Lisbeth Salander, the title character in Columbia's adaptation of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," isn't the only juicy part that has actresses jumping through hoops: At Warner Bros., Blake Lively and Scarlett Johansson are vying for the chance to star in "Gravity."

Alfonso Cuaron, who is directing and co-wrote the script with his brother Jonas, is readying the outer space thriller, to which Robert Downey Jr. is attached.

During the past two weeks, Johansson and Lively tested for the lead role of a female astronaut lost in space. A decision is expected within the next week or two.

The movie's plot revolves around astronauts repairing the Hubble telescope who are hit with an avalanche of satellite junk. In a plot akin to "Cast Away," the surviving astronaut must fight her way back to Earth, where she hopes to reunite with her daughter.

The project originally was set up at Universal as a vehicle for Angelina Jolie, but it moved to Warners, where it hit debris of its own: Jolie left the project, partially because of the studio's balking at paying her $20 million fee. Although Downey brings star power to the project, his role is overshadowed by the female lead, whose struggle to survive becomes the movie's focus.

As the project underwent further developments this summer, Marion Cotillard, who stars in Warners' "Inception," tested for the lead role.

But now Lively and Johansson look like the likeliest candidates, even though they are younger than Jolie. It's unclear whether the character is still written as a mother in the latest draft, though both actresses have played older than their ages in recent movies.

Filming probably would begin early next year, depending on the availability of the female lead.

Lively is fast becoming a Warners favorite. The studio is high on the actress because of her work in Ben Affleck's upcoming crime drama "The Town," and it has cast her in "Green Lantern."

Johansson, meanwhile, has a strong working relationship with Downey, with whom she co-starred in "Iron Man 2," where she stole scenes as the Black Widow.

Both actresses are repped by CAA. Lively also is repped by Untitled Entertainment.

New Monsters Poster

A few weeks ago a trailer dropped for this interesting looking little monster/horror flick, comparisons were immediately drawn to District 9 and Cloverfield. Now below you can view the new poster for the upcoming "Monsters".

Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and grow. In an effort to stem the destruction that resulted, half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain the massive creatures... Our story begins when a jaded US journalist (McNairy) begrudgingly agrees to find his boss’ daughter, a shaken American tourist (Able) and escort her through the infected zone to the safety of the US border.

Fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/monstersfilm

Official Website: http://monstersfilm.com/

MONSTERS premieres in theaters on October 29th.

Paramount acquires screen rights to Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

Turning books into movies is Hollywood's favourite go to these days more so than ever and the studios all want the new Potter, well TOLDYA are reporting Paramount have snapped up a new young adult novel by Joe Schreiber entitled "Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick" with the Gossip Girl creators possibly coming on board as producers, here is the synopsis.

The protagonist is a high school kid whose parents take in an Eastern European exchange student. Though she seems homely and ordinary at first, he realizes he misjudged her. After they leave the prom at her suggestion to go clubbing in New York City, she reveals herself to be a beautiful assassin after 5 targets.  He is pressed to help and has to figure out if her motives are righteous. 

So Michael Cera in the male lead role I imagine, not sure about this one, more underage assassins, maybe this is to combat George Clooney's old man assassin in "The American"or  perhaps we are due an early 30's assassin film soon.

Tooled up as a back comedy with an R rating it might work I guess, although given it's a young adult novel I am guessing the content is not geared in that direction.

Skyline trailer

The brothers Strause came to the fore in the of special effects field and made their co-directing debut with "Aliens vs Predator: Requiem." Now they are back with a new movie called "Skyline" and the first trailer has just dropped.

The trailer feels like a low rent "Independence Day" rip off and doesn't excite me at all, but check it out below and see what you think.

"Skyline" opens on November 12th, 2010.

Tony SCOTT TAKES ON MILLARS NEMESIS

It had to happen sooner or later, one of the Scott brothers gets on the comic book movie bandwagon. Interestingly Tony Scott is rumoured to be in the running to direct the Wolverine sequel, whether this puts pay to that possibility is unknown. TOLDJA! got the lowdown.

20^th Century Fox has acquired screen rights to the Mark Millar/Steven McNiven  graphic novel Nemesis. Tony Scott is attached to direct and Scott Free will produce.

The graphic novel was written by Millar, whose Wanted and Kick-Ass creations were turned into films, and whose Marvel Comics titles include the revamped X-Men, the Avengers series The Ultimates, and Civil War, the latter of which is DC Comics Superman: Red Son. Nemesis was published in March by Marvel’s Icon Comics imprint. McNiven is the artist behind Civil War and other collaborations with Millar.

Nemesis focuses on Matt Anderson, a billionaire genius who’s the world’s greatest fighter. bent on avenging the death of his beloved parents. The twist is, they were villains and he is also a bad guy, a costumed vigilante who travels the world, picking off top cops. He returns to D.C. to launch a campaign of terror against Blake Morrow, the police chief who captured the caped vigilante’s parents.

Scott Free will set a writer and work on the adaptation. Deal comes as Scott preps the release of the Denzel Washington-Chris Pine drama Unstoppable. He is deciding on his next project, between Potzdamer Platz, Hell’s Angels and The Associate. Mickey Rourke is attached to both Potzdamer Platz and Hell’s Angels, while Shia LaBeouf is attached to The Associate and is the choice to join Rourke in Hell’s Angels. The property was repped by CAA and  Harris Miller.

Basically the premise is "What if Batman was evil" and it sounds/looks awesome in my view, however I have mixed feelings over Millars mature work, I found "Wanted" a soulless and repugnant book but enjoyed the movie, and while I never read "Kick Ass" I thought the movie was excellent.

I am a fan of Tony Scott and the project seems right up his alley, however looking at the synopsis I think it will be important that the Blake Morrow character is equally as strong as the Nemesis. My interest is certainly piqued and I'll be following the progress of this and picking up the Nemesis trade in September.