Ridley Scott protégé Involved in Bidding War?

You may have heard the name Carl Erik Rinsch before, He's one of the directors at RSA, Ridley and Tony Scott's company.

Five of RSA's directors (Jake Scott, Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Carl Erik Rinsch, and Hi-Sim) are currently partnering with Phillips for a group of shorts called "Parallel Lines" which you can read about Here.

"Parallel Lines" has lead to a nifty-looking sci-fi short about a mystery box and an android chase through the streets of Russia. The short is called "The Gift". You can watch the video below:

The short ends somewhat ambiguously after featuring some fantastic integrated CG for a budget that is rumored to be in the tens of thousands of dollars (previous rumors had it budgeted slightly over $1 mil, but there's now some debate).

Rinsch was originally the director tapped for the "Alien" prequel before Ridley Scott decided to pick up that project himself. Now Rinsch is on the brink of his break in the public sphere and /Film might have just learned what's going to push him into the big leagues:

Yesterday word dropped that a bidding war had begun between several big Hollywood movie studios, including Warner Bros and Fox, to turn the short film into a feature. “It’s all happening.”
I have found out some more information. Apparently the movie studios aren’t interested in Rinsch developing a feature length adaptation of his short film The Gift…
They aren’t interested in developing a feature out of the short because, well, the feature film has already been developed.

That's right, there's an entire package ready to be made into a film with a "big budget look" for a low actual budget. It's working title is "Small." /Film even has some hi-rez concept art photos that Rinsch has paid for out of his own pocket. as Latino Review points out, a Self-financed development, budget-but-pretty CGI? Anyone else getting a Neil Blomkamp/D9 feeling out of this one?

I couldn't agree more, I'll be very interested to see what happens.

Teaser Trailer for Thriller 'Unthinkable'

The trailer for director Gregor Jordan's suspense thriller Unthinkable has come online and can be watched using the player below. The film, which does not have a release date yet, stars Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Michael Sheen, Brandon Routh, Martin Donovan, Gil Bellows and Lora Kojovic.

The movie is described as follows:

Somewhere in the United States, three nuclear weapons are about to detonate. Younger (Sheen) has hidden the devices and the authorities lead by FBI agent Brody (Moss) with the help of "H" (Jackson), an interrogation specialist, must find them before time runs out. How far will they go to get the information they need and will they do the unthinkable?

If this is the first your hearing about this movie, you're not alone, I knew nothing about it until this morning when comingsoon released the first trailer. From the synopsis provided and the very short trailer its still hard to tell if this is headed for instant classic or predictable garbage. One things for sure, Sam Jackson looks awesome as per usual, so I'm sure it'll gain a fair amount of interest just based on his involvement alone.

Hopefully we'll have an official release date and a full length trailer soon, so check back here at TMT for that.

Cloudy With a Chance of Pickles?

"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs', what a great movie,  and not just as an animated feature but in its own right, you were able to take the kids to it and enjoy it for yourself as well. Sadly it had the misfortune to be released in what was easily one of the best years for animation ever. But I’d call it every bit as good as the other great animated films of 2009.

Pajiba is running a rumor in which they claim Sony Animation is putting Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 into development. The sequel would be based in part on the original book’s sequel, Pickles to Pittsburgh. Does that mean they’ll call the sequel Cloudy with a Chance of Pickles? Somehow it doesn’t have the same ring to it.

If the rumor turns out to be true (and for now it’s totally unconfirmed gossip) then Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller will return for the follow-up. If they follow the story of Pickles to Pittsburgh, the sequel will involve a return to Chewandswallow where Flint Lockwood’s food rain is now being used to feed hungry people around the world.

I'm personally up for it, we've definitely seen much worse and less deserving sequels in the past. No official word yet on when production might start, but I'm thinking before this year ends, to have it out for 2011. We'll see what happens, hopefully an official announcement is coming soon.

New Clip From 'Kick-Ass'

IGN has posted this new clip from Kick-Ass, which has opened in six countries and hits North American theaters at 10pm on April 15th. The clip features Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy and Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl. You can check it out below!

This movie looks great! All the reviews I've read have been positive, and from what I've heard they're already in talks for developing the sequel.

Two New Scenes From 'Death At A Funeral'

Taking place in an urban American setting, the upcoming movie centers on a funeral ceremony that leads to the digging up of shocking family secrets, as well as misplaced cadavers and indecent exposure.

Uniting two top-notch comedians, Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, “Death at a Funeral (2010)” also has “Star Trek” beauty Zoe Saldana among the ensemble cast, joining them as the film’s stars are Tracy Morgan, James Marsden, Kevin Hart, Danny Glover, Luke Wilson, and many others. Directed by Neil LaBute, the movie will be released April 16, 2010.

4 Time Oscar Nominee Ed Harris in 'Touching Home'

In making Touching Home, identical twins Logan and Noah Miller have accomplished the impossible. When their homeless father died in jail, they vowed that their autobiographical film would be made as a dedication to him. With no money and no contacts, they "ambushed" four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris in a San Francisco alley, and assembled a cast and crew with 11 Academy Awards and 28 nominations. It's an inspirational story told in their #1 bestselling memoir Either You're In or You're in the Way (now available in paperback from HarperCollins).
     
Ed Harris gives an extraordinary performance in this emotionally charged drama of love and redemption, a tale about family and the bonds that matter, featuring Oscar nominees Robert Forster and Brad Dourif, Evan Jones, Lee Meriwether, Ishiah Benben, Brandon Hanson, and introducing Logan and Noah Miller. 

You can check out the officail website at touchinghomemovie.com  or the Miller Brothers official Twitter page.

Sam Mendes Chose 007 Over Preacher

Sam Mendes has dropped out in thanks to his directing the next James Bond production. Something tells me Mendes saw a big payday and better career opportunities helming a 007 installment than Preacher. Can't say anyone could blame the guy.

Head over to IESB for the full story.

Teaser Trailer for "The Other Guys"

Yahoo!Movies and Columbia Pictures have released the teaser trailer for the buddy cop comedy "The Other Guys", starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson.

Opening on August 6, The Other Guys follows Detective Allen Gamble (Ferrell), a forensic accountant who's more interested in paperwork than hitting the streets, and Detective Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg), who has been stuck with Allen as his partner ever since an embarrassing public incident with his quick trigger finger. Allen and Terry idolize the city's top cops, Danson and Manzetti (Johnson and Jackson), but when an opportunity arises for the Other Guys to step up, things don't quite go as planned.

Coming out 6 months after Kevin Smiths attempt at the buddy cop comedy genre with 'cop out', this looks hilarious, I could almost guaruntee its boxoffice run  will no doubt destroy that of its most recent genre competition, not that Smith set the bar all that high to begin with.

Emily Blunt Catwoman UPDATE

In an interview Blunt did with NEWSWEEK.COM back in April 2009 she had a few things to say about Catwoman, here is an excerpt:

Your name's been floated around as the next Catwoman in "Batman ."

That's cool. But it's a bit scary to follow Michelle. I don't know if I can do that.

I feel like you probably can.

It's very flattering that people are blogging about it. It would be so funny if I heard all these things, and there's not even a whiff of an offer that comes my way.

We should call up Christopher Nolan.

Why don't you call up Chris and try to make it happen? Show me the Catwoman!

I think its safe to say as well as obvious that she would be interested in the role, but as Jett from batman-on-film points out, On the other hand, when has Chris ever cast a person that was a fan favorite, rumored for a role, or showed public interest in nabbing a part in BATMAN? Other than Christain Bale, I can't think of anyone.

We'll know soon enough, I expect to hear some kind of casting news from Batman 3 by the end of the year the every least.

Hugh Jackman Will Soon Have Testicles Under His Chin

Yes, it's true testicles! Your read it right, Latino Review reports :

Hugh Jackman will be taking on his most challenging role yet, playing a man with genitalia attached to his face in a very risqué comedy opposite Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet.

Jackman and Winslet film just one segment of the film, which has been created by Peter Farrelly of There's Something About Mary fame. There are 17 shorts making up the project.

Jackman plays a man whose testicles are located under his chin and Winslet plays a woman who goes out on a date with his character. Other stars taking part in the film project are Gerard Butler, Naomi Watts, Justin Long and Sam Rockwell.

There is no word yet on what the rest of the movie will be about or who's directing it, but Latino Review believe it to be a compilation film or a series of comedic shorts. It does sound like a great cast, it'll be funny to see what else goes where, with wolverine getting balls on his face, yeah I said it, the possibilities seem endless for other body parts to show up on other stars in questionable places.

Balls on Wolverines chin! What great idea hahaha...