Starz, The Weinstein Co. & Electus Announce Marco Polo Series

"Marco Polo," the legendary pioneer and explorer from the 13th century, will have his tale told in an epic new scripted original series, as announced jointly by Starz, LLC, President and CEO Chris Albrecht, The Weinstein Company's Co-Chairman, Harvey Weinstein, and Electus Chairman and Founder, Ben Silverman.

"Marco Polo" is written and created by John Fusco (Hidalgo, Young Guns, Thunderheart, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron). It will be executive produced by Harvey and Bob Weinstein (The Weinstein Company); Ben Silverman (Electus), as well as Fusco.

"Marco Polo" is Fusco's fantastical martial arts epic, chronicling the famous adventurer's early years in the court of Kublai Khan. Acting as the ruler's spy, ambassador and explorer, Marco treks across the Far East and returns with tales of his journeys. In a court filled with political betrayal and forbidden relationships, Marco must use his martial arts training to survive, but it is his ability to enchant Khan with imaginative tales of his kingdom that is often his best tool to stay alive.

Starz Entertainment will own the exclusive license to the domestic premium pay TV rights and certain digital rights to the series for its flagship STARZ network, while Starz's Anchor Bay arm will distribute the property in the United States in home video. The Weinstein Company and Electus' global distribution arm Electus International control all remaining rights.

Albrecht commented on the latest addition to the Starz Original series lineup that "Marco Polo has captivated imaginations for centuries, and John's script brings this fantastical story to life. In addition to a remarkable story, we share a joint creative vision with our partners at The Weinstein Company and Electus to deliver a larger than life cinematic adventure for audiences in the United States and around the world."

"The stories and adventures of Marco Polo are timeless and we couldn't be more excited to work with Starz and Electus on this project," said Weinstein. "We look forward to beginning production next year on what is sure to be a fascinating, martial-arts filled telling of one of history's greatest explorers."

"We are thrilled to be able to work with an exceptional creative team to tell this amazing story in an updated and unique way," said Ben Silverman, Chairman and Founder of Electus. "Starz has been a tremendous partner in allowing us maximum creative freedom to bring audiences a fresh perspective on history and John Fusco, who lives and breathes this material, is uniquely qualified to bring this story to life."

Weinstein originally developed the idea and brought John Fusco on to write the script. It was then brought to Electus and together they delivered the project to Starz. John Fusco is represented by UTA and Anonymous Content.

French "Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance" Poster

In the successor to the worldwide hit Ghost Rider, Johnny (Nicolas Cage) - still struggling with his curse as the devil's bounty hunter - is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy (Fergus Riordan) from the devil Ciaran Hinds). At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy - and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

Lyricis & IMP Awards

Depp and Pfeiffer Featured In "Dark Shadows" Still

In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Depp) has the world at his feet--or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy...until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth's ne'er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger's precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David's new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

EW & Johnny Depp Italia

"Expendables 2" Stills

In the sequel, opening August 17, Barney Ross (Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) -- with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Nan) aboard -- are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time - six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that's nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother.

EX2

New "Mirror Mirror" Stills

In the March 16 release, wicked enchantress (Julia Roberts) schemes and scrambles for control of a spirited orphan's (Lily Collins) throne and the attention of a charming prince (Armie Hammer). When Snow White's beauty wins the heart of the prince that she desperately pursues, the Queen banishes her to the forest, where a ravening man-eating beast hungrily awaits.

Rescued by a band of diminutive highway robbers, Snow White grows into an indomitable young woman determined to take back her realm from the treacherous Queen.

The Hollywood Reporter

New "Chronicle" TV Spot

Opening in theaters on February 3rd, the movie stars Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell and Michael Kelly. In Chronicle, three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to them developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities, and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.

Just Jared

Limited Edition Transformers Blu-Ray Set

 I can sleep soundly tonight knowing that whatever the price tag is on this seven disc monstrosity, won't be a burden on my wallet. These movies have been bashed enough already without me adding on so I'll leave it alone and let the fans of this franchise enjoy what is soon to come for them. Specs listed beow.

Two-disc Special Edition Blu-ray of Transformers presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Two-disc Special Edition Blu-ray of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

 SuperHeroHype.Com

Spider-Man Joins DX

It looks like Spider-Man is feeling a bit nostalgic for late 90's wrestling programming. The image above of Andrew Garfield showing us an extreme crotch chop is scanned from the upcoming Entertainment Weekly magazine with Batman featured on the cover. Superherohype scored the image from a user on their message boards and a hi-res version should find it's way online over the weekend.

It's really hard to tell how this new installment of Spidey will play out for non-fans. I thought Andrew Garfield was the stand out performance of The Social Network so this Peter Parker definitely has the acting chops. The teaser trailer was a mixed bag of reactions, but the sci-fi horror them they chose really intrigued me. Images of the Lizard from the toy merchandise haven't looked too swell so far. I'll wait before fully judging that because they were images of plastic figures after all.

The Amazing Spider-Man is in theatres July 30th.

Studios Wouldn't Distribute "Red Tails" Because Of All Black Cast

Based on the marketing I've seen so far from "Red Tails", I'm really interested in checking the film out. Anything with history as a backdrop quenches my film thirst. According to George Lucas in an interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, Hollywood studios don't share my enthusiasm for the history.

That sounds like something Hollyweird would do. Fuck taking chances on a project featuring actual history that in itself could have some historical context. Just pass on that and remake "Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot" featuring Betty White and Dwayne Johnson.

George Lucas:"This has been held up for release since 1942 since it was shot, I've been trying to get released ever since, It's because it's an all-black movie. There's no major white roles in it at all...I showed it to all of them and they said no. We don't know how to market a movie like this."

Huffington Post

TDKR Pics In Entertainment Weekly!

Batman is on the cover of this month's Entertainment Weekly and today pics have hit the net from the inside.

Nothing startling exciting here and one of the pics kind of makes it look like Batman and Bane are gonna make out, but I'd say this is the kick-off for a big promotional push as we head towards the July release of the final movie in Nolan's Batman trilogy.