DiCaprio and Scorsese Together Again for 'Wolf of Wall Street'

No, this has nothing to do with Oliver Stone's Wall Street, get that out of your head.

Vulture reports that while Ridley Scott was suppose to direct the film adaptation of the 1990 best seller, The Wolf of Wall Street, over at Warner Bros. with Leonardo DiCaprio to star, that is no longer the case.  Turns out the project has left the studio along with Scott leaving the project.  His replacement?  Martin Scorsese.  Yup, looks like Leo and Marty are teaming again for their fifth film together.

This project was initially suppose to be directed by Scorsese as far back as four years ago, but issues between Warner Bros. (who owned the rights) and Paramount (who had a rich deal with Scorsese) prevented it from happening.  Now, it looks like all the pieces have fallen into place as the flick will be independently financed thanks to Rick Yorn, DiCaprio's manager, who secured funds a while back.

Though nothing is set in stone, the early plan is to have this film in front of cameras by June.  DiCaprio just started work on Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, while Scorsese is just finishing up The Life of Hugo Cabret with plans to direct Silence with Benicio del Toro next.

Read full synopsis for The Wolf of Wall Street below [via Amazon]:

Belfort, who founded one of the first and largest chop shop brokerage firms in 1987, was banned from the securities business for life by 1994, and later went to jail for fraud and money-laundering, delivers a memoir that reads like fiction. It covers his decade of success with straightforward accounts of how he worked with managers of obscure companies to acquire large amounts of stock with minimal public disclosure, then pumped up the price and sold it, so he and the insiders made large profits while public investors usually lost. Profits were laundered through purchase of legitimate businesses and cash deposits in Swiss banks. There is only brief mention of Belfort's life before Wall Street or events since 1997. The book's main topic is the vast amount of sex, drugs and risky physical behavior Belfort managed to survive.

Great Scott! New Back to the Future Game Trailer

Well, it's about time.  Telltale Games has just released the newest trailer for Part 2 of Back to the Future: The Game, entitled simply "Get Tannen!"  In the latest chapter of this super-fun game, Doc Brown and Marty McFly continue their mission in 1931 Hill Valley to stop Kid Tannen (Biff's dad) from threatening the future of the McFly family throughout the space-time continuum. 

The official Telltale Games site says the new chapter of the game is now available...but they seem to be having some technical issues at the moment.  It's due out this month, so expect it any time now. 

Wonder Woman Found

From DC's official blog, The Source:

Adrianne Palicki (“Friday Night Lights,” “Red Dawn”) will star in the title role of “Wonder Woman,” a new series pilot from David E. Kelley (“Boston Legal,” “Ally McBeal,” NBC’s “Harry’s Law”).

The series pilot is a reinvention of the iconic DC Comics title in which Wonder Woman – a/k/a Diana Prince – is a vigilante crime fighter in Los Angeles but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life. Kelley and Bill D’Elia (“Boston Legal,” “The Practice”) are the executive producers. The pilot was written by Kelley and will be directed by Jeffrey Reiner (NBC’s “The Event”). “Wonder Woman” is from David E Kelley Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

Palicki, who appeared as Tyra Collete in NBC’s acclaimed “Friday Night Lights,” will star in the upcoming feature-film remake of “Red Dawn.” She also starred in the horror film “Breaking the Girl” and in the recent series “Lone Star.”

All's Not Great on the 'Superman' Front

You know, I heard this back when Zack Snyder was first announced, and I did my best to dismiss it through logic, but after hearing this now, months after Snyder was hired, I'm starting to think it's true.

In Vulture's exclusive report on Guy Ritchie being offered the 300 sequel, Xerxes, they state while the intial plan was to have Snyder direct the follow-up to his 2006 hit, Warner Bros. ultimately had a change of heart.  The possible reason?  Superman.

One theory is that Warner Bros. needs Snyder to bear down on Superman stat: Insiders say the closely-guarded script for Superman suffers from major third-act problems, and the studio faces a ticking clock on that franchise, legally speaking; if a Superman film isn’t in production by 2013, Warner Bros. loses the rights to the entire Superman franchise and would have to re-license it from its original creators — the estates of Detective Comics writers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster — at great if not prohibitive expense.

Call me an optimist, but no matter how many times I hear about the poor nature of this script, I can't help but remember who sheparded this whole project: Christopher Nolan.  Yes, he's busy working on The Dark Knight Rises right now as the man has complete tunnel vision when working on a film.  But it doesn't excuse the fact that he oversaw this project until he handed it off to Snyder.  I can't imagine Nolan putting his name on something that's not to the highest quality.

Don't forget too, this thing ain't suppose to start filming until July.  As I stated many times, Snyder and whoever else is working on this film have been given a solid eight months to get this thing into shape.  I think that's more than enough time to work out the kinks.

We shall see.

Update on Thu, February 17, 2011 by John DiNicola

Looks like Guy Ritchie is NOT directing Xerses, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed with a Warner Bros. spokeman.  Doesn't change the fact that I still think there's some weight behind these Superman script issues.

"Breaking Dawn's" Isle Esme Photo

I have to admit, I have never seen any of the "Twilight" films. I probably will one day, but I'm not rushing out to buy it. No offense to the films, I can't really comment in a negative or positive manner, but I'm not really the target audience.

Short story long, here is a shot from "Breaking Dawn". Looks like a postcard, but I guess it is where Bella and Edward bang it out on their honeymoon. Sweet.

Two "Sucker Punch" TV Spots

Sucker Punch” is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality.  Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what’s real and what is imaginary.

She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive.  Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls—the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish)—to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm).

Led by Babydoll, the girls engage in fantastical warfare against everything from samurais to serpents, with a virtual arsenal at their disposal.  Together, they must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stay alive.  But with the help of a Wise Man (Scott Glenn), their unbelievable journey—if they succeed—will set them free.

Courtesy Of Coming Soon

CGI-Animated "Thundercats" Test Footage

The Brothers Warner are in the process of working on a "Thundercats" project as I type this out to my not so strong following of fans. We've seen some of what they are working on and it looks pretty damn good.

Me being a huge fan of the Thundercats because I grew up watching them, it's interesting to know that there is some other footage out there from a failed previous project. You can thank Flixist for the find.

Set Images From Soderbergh's "Contagion"

I've been waiting with a palpitating heart for some news regarding "Contagion". I had the pleasure of reading the script back in my days at Inland Empire Strikes Back and I was immediately hooked on this film making a big impact in the theater.

Below are some shots from the set of Soderbergh's virus outbreak movie courtesy of Just Jared & Laughing Squid courtesy of Coming Soon & Slashfilm. Check out a triple threat of them below and the rest at the sites I linked.

2nd "Rango" Clip

From the director of Pirates of The Caribbean comes Rango, featuring Johnny Depp in an original animated comedy-adventure that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West. The story follows the comical, transformative journey of Rango (Depp), a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet, while facing a major identity crisis. After all, how high can you aim when your whole purpose in life is to blend in? When Rango accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt - a lawless outpost populated by the desert's most wily and whimsical creatures - the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt . . . until, in a blaze of action-packed situations and encounters with outrageous characters, Rango starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be. With a cast that includes Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant as the Spirit of the West, Rango is an exciting new twist on the classic Western legend of the outsider who saves a town - and himself in the process.

Sherlock Holmes Solves the Case of the Missing Title

How important is the title of a movie?

Depends on the movie in question. In the case of something like say Cowboys & Aliens, the filmmakers, and more importantly, the marketing department, will have to make that extra effort to sell the film in spite of an admittedly silly title. Win people over their knee-jerk reaction of, "That sounds stupid!" and, from what I've gathered off conversations with non-nerds (i.e. real people) it's working on director Jon Favreau's front. We'll see how that ultimately pans out this July.

On the other hand if it's a sequel to a big money-making popcorn crowd-pleaser, it's not as big a deal.

In this case, Warner Brothers could call the Sherlock Holmes sequel Sherlock Holmes & the Case of the Divine Secret of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Electric Boogaloo Ecks Vs Sever and it'll still be the top-grossing release this Christmas. If you can still be a blockbuster hit and co-exist alongside Avatar (the biggest movie of all-time) and Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, then something like Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a cake-walk.

E! Online reports WB has settled on the title for the sequel - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

The reactions I've read are mixed-to-negative. But I'm indifferent. No, it's not great. But it's better than just slapping on Sherlock Holmes 2. But like I said, it's irrelevant. Regular folks aren't going to care because they dug the Hell outta the first film, and Robert Downey Jr. continues to be a popular draw at the box-office.