Bryan Singer's Next Project Is...

Bryan Singer's name has been thrown around the vast expanse of the internet the past couple weeks but not for what he has done, but for what he might do. Two projects were reportedly on the radar for Bryan, one of them being "The Prisoners", the other "Freedom Formula". According to Production Weekly Bryan's next project will indeed be "The Prisoners" which has Mark Wahlberg attached.

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In an article last week our very own Jamie Williams thought that moving on to " The Prisoners" was the right move for Bryan Singer:

Even though I'm a fan of Singer's X-Men films and Superman Returns and would love to see him "go all Wrath of Khan" on the Unleashed sequel, it's a smart move. The man knows how to make a solid thriller - you could hear a pin drop when I saw Valkyrie with a packed audience, and we already knew the damned ending going into it!

TMT: Bryan Singer Might Stick With The Thriller Genre

Rob Hunter, another "Mcflyer", agreed with Jamie in a subsequent article and was pulling for Bryan Singer to to take on "The Prisoners":

The premise sounds ok but it is at Fox so I am even more certain Singer should pass on this and take Prisoners, which is in the thriller genre, a genre I think suits Singer best.

TMT: Singer Finds A Formula

For the small but dwindling group of fans who were holding out hope that Bryan Singer would be directing a Superman sequel, looks like Bryan will tip his cap to The Man of Steel and move on. I was discussing Bryan's future with the Co-Owner Jamie Williams the other night, and he brought up a great point. Once Bryan has success with a film he pretty much stays in that genre until he dries himself out. I think this is a good move by Bryan, he is getting back to his roots and this is definately where he should plant himself for a long time.

'Where The Wild Things Are' Trailer Has Arrived

"I didn't want to wake you up, but I really want to show you something."

The teaser poster for "Where the Wild Things Are" was released last week and now the trailer has made its way online as well.

The movie has spent a long time in development, but it looks like director Spike Jonze has really nailed it. The trailer is light on dialogue, but the sounds of Arcade Fire almost make up for it.

"Where The Wild Things Are," an adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's story, is scheduled to be released Oct. 16.

Farrelly Brothers Have Their Stooges

When the Farrelly Brothers were announced to write and direct a 3 Stooges film, it made sense given their brand of comedy. That, and they badly need a hit after their last number of films have been box-office misfires.

What sounded like total Internet bullshit was the story making the rounds a few months back that Sean Penn had been cast as Larry and was already hard at work to "perfect" the character.

Well, I have to eat my words. Variety reports that not only is Penn set to play Larry, but Jim Carrey is hammering out a deal to play Curly (apparently he's already getting ready to put on the required 40 pounds to look the part - Yeah, like that will be hard to accomplish!) and Benicio Del Toro is about this close to being cast as their "leader" Moe.

Don't get me wrong, they're all great actors and their involvement does make me want to see how they'll do pocking and slapping one another around. But honestly if this wasn't coming from Variety, I'd have thought it was a hoax.

And I can already imagine this will end up being a huge money-maker next year.

Tom Hanks is a Toy...Again

It's a high-time for 80s nostalgia with stuff like Transformers and G.I. Joe now turned into $100+ million film franchises. Not to mention, pre-existing ones like Die Hard, Rambo and possibly Ghostbusters being revived with new films. Hell, I'm waiting for the inevitable Huey Lewis & the New comeback.

Now it sounds like Tom Hanks & Co. want their own childhood memories revisited on the silver screen. Universal is developing a film adaptation of Major Matt Mason based on a now-defunct toy-line dating back to the 1960s. I'll have to ask my ol man if he remembers those toys.

Hanks will play the title character - an astronaut living on the Moon and presumably getting into adventures in space while Speed screenwriter Graham Yost performs writing duties.

Where usually I'd shrug the prospects of reviving yet another toy-line, I have to admit I'm intrigued by the aspect of Hanks' involvement.

Len Wiseman goes 'Nonstop'

No this is not some sordid article about Len Wiseman's sex life with the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale, it is a piece of movie news as Variety report that he is set to produce a new sci fi action film for Dreamworks called 'Nonstop'.

DreamWorks has nabbed Michael Gilvary's spec "Nonstop" and has attached Len Wiseman to produce.

Patrick Tatopoulos will direct.

Based on an original idea, the sci-fi action thriller follows the passengers of a plane after it is mysteriously abducted by an alien ship.

"Nonstop" marks the third Wiseman-DreamWorks collaboration. Wiseman is attached to direct a pair of high-profile pics for the new DreamWorks incarnation: "Motorcade" and "Atlantis Rising."

So it's a reateaming of the producer and director of 'Underworld: Rise of Lycans' which I found thoroughly average. The premise here sounds cool enough and it may turn out to be a good little sci fi flick, but I'd much rather hear some news on Wiseman's directing project 'Motorcade'.

Villain, Leading Lady Cast in 'Dead of Night'

With filming getting set to resume on "Dead of Night," ShockTillYouDrop.com has learned the names of two more actors who will be joining the film's cast.

As previously announced, the movie will star Brandon Routh as Dylan Dog, a detective drawn into the world of the supernatural.

Directed by Kevin Munroe, the film began shooting in New Orleans in late February before taking a planned hiatus.

During the break from shooting (which is scheduled to resume in April), it was announced that Dylan’s sidekick, Marcus, would be played by Sam Huntington.

Routh and Huntington previously worked together on "Superman Returns" (as Superman and Jimmy Olsen, respectively).

Few other cast members had been announced for "Dead of Night," but today, ShockTillYouDrop.com reported a couple of major roles have been filled.

Taye Diggs reportedly will play Dylan Dog's nemesis, the leader of the vampires. Diggs currently stars in the TV show "Private Practice," but has starred in many movies and TV shows.

A few hours later, ShockTillYouDrop.com wrote that actress Anita Briem will play Dylan Dog's love interest. Briem recently starred alongside Brendan Fraser in "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

"Dead of Night" is based on Tiziano Sclavi’s popular Italian comic book "Dylan Dog."

In an interview with About.com at the "Watchmen" premiere, Routh described the movie as follows: "There's a lot of humor, action, horror, thriller ... It's like no film you've ever seen before, I'll be that bold as to say. And we've got the effects guys who just won the Academy Award for "Benjamin Button," Drac Studios, working on the picture. Gilbert Adler, who produced Superman Returns. is producing the film, so we've got a good team."

Singer finds a Formula

Ever since Bryan Singer finished Valkyrie the discussion has been what would he do next, most wondering if he would indeed get to make his Superman sequel. Just last week it was revealed that he was circling a project called 'Prisoners' which is set to star Mark Wahlberg, however Variety are reporting that he may be returning to the comic book movie genre.......just not with the Man of Steel.

New Regency has acquired "Freedom Formula: Ghost of the Wasteland," an adaptation of the Radical Publishing comicbook series that will be developed as a potential directing vehicle for Bryan Singer.

Pic will be distributed by Fox, which last worked with Singer on "X-Men 2."

Michael Finch has been hired to write the script.

The comicbook has a futuristic premise in which fighter jets have been replaced by pilots who battle in racing exo-suits. The protag is a genetically engineered racer who learns his bloodline has the power to change society.

Pic is a co-production of Bad Hat Harry Prods. and Radical Pictures, with Singer producing with Radical principal Barry Levine. Jesse Berger and Michael Zoumas are exec producers.

Singer and Levine teamed on the project when the four-issue comicbook series debuted at last summer's Comic-Con (Daily Variety, July 25). The comicbook was created by Edmund Shern, who runs Storm Lion, the Radical-owned imprint that published it. Shern will be associate producer.
More than one option

"Mike Finch came up with an incredible take that goes deeper into the mythology of the source material," said Radical's Levine, who is also working with Universal and Spyglass on the Radical comicbook title "Hercules: The Thracian Wars," with director Peter Berg attached and Ryan Condal writing the script, based on Steve Moore's five-issue comicbook series.

Regency's Navid McIlhargey is steering the project.

Finch just made a sizable spec deal with Regency for "Medieval," an action script set in the Middle Ages that he wrote with Alex Litvak.

The premise sounds ok but it is at Fox so I am even more certain Singer should pass on this and take Prisoners, which is in the thriller genre, a genre I think suits Singer best. 

Diagnosis Not Good For Another Season Of 'Scrubs'

Those who had any hope of a ninth season of "Scrubs" were dealt another blow today.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, John C. McGinley (who plays Dr. Perry Cox) has signed on for a co-starring role in the CBS drama pilot "Back."

Previously, Donald Faison (who plays Turk) booked a slot on the ABC comedy "The Law" for this fall.

Those two departures, coupled with the fact that Judy Reyes (Carla) and Zach Braff (J.D.) already said they wanted to move on, should effectively end any chances of the show coming back.

There were rumblings that the show, which moved to ABC this year after nine seasons on NBC, would transition to focus on a group of new interns who made their debut this season (think "Saved By the Bell: The New Class"). However, the new actors have failed to catch on with the public.

Personally, I found the show's seventh season to be incredibly weak, but the show has been much better this season. Part of me would like to see the show continue to ride this new wave, but, ultimately, I would like to see "Scrubs" go out on a high note.

Anne Hathaway To Play Judy Garland

Anne Hathaway has certainly come a long way from "The Princess Diaries". We've had the pleasure to see her grow up on screen, going from a teenager to a woman. At the same time she has grown as an actress, the evidence being her "Best Actress" Oscar nomination for her performance in "Rachel Getting Married".  Apparently the Weinsteins feel the same way we do and have tapped her to play Judy Garland in their upcoming biopic "Get Happy", which doesn't even have a writer or director attached as of yet.

Could There Really Be a 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' Sequel?

Some movies are ahead of their time. Others are a few years too late. Fittingly, for a movie that managed to blend so many things together, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" somehow managed to be both.

The 2005 comedy, directed by Shane Black, was well-received by critics but ignored by movie audiences.

Black was a few years removed from his screenwriting glory days (the "Lethal Weapon" movies, for example) and the movie was not well-marketed.

In addition, the movie starred a pair of actors -- Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer -- whose best days at the box office were in the rearview mirror.

Had the movie been made a few years earlier, then Black, Downey Jr. and Kilmer likely would have carried the movie to a nice payday at the box office.

Flash forward a few years and Downey Jr. is back on the Hollywood A-List and the movie's female lead, Michelle Monaghan, is a rising star.

If the movie was released this year, with the same cast, again it very well may have been a hit.

As it was, the movie, with an estimated budget of $15 million, pulled in only $4.2 million domestically. Surprisingly, it did better worldwide, where it gathered an additional $11.5 in box office outside the U.S.

Normally, a movie with those kinds of numbers would have no chance of a sequel, right? Well, there is at least one person who apparently wants to see the sequel made -- Val Kilmer.

Last night, via his Twitter page, Kilmer said, "RDJ, Jr and I talked AGAIN about a Kiss Kiss Bang Bang sequel... Now that he is king of all time and space it will happen."

Now, will it happen? I would have to put it down as unlikely at best. The numbers work against it and it's possible Downey Jr. was just being nice.

But should it happen? I would be on board. I enjoyed the first one and I would love to see what would have to be one of the most unlikely sequels ever to get made.

And I will add that if this whole idea seems implausibly strange, you really need to get to know Val Kilmer better.