ZNAK SAGITE — više od fantastike — edicija, časopis, knjižara...

Ambush Entertainment's Matthew Leutwyler and Miranda Bailey have formed a partnership with Woo-ping Yuen's Hong Kong-based FilmCan Production on "Garnet on the Golden Sand," a martial-arts film that the action master will direct.

Jun Tan penned the original script. Story follows a 17th century European merchant and two Chinese swordsmen who are recruited by the leader of a prosperous trade town on the Silk Road to fight off a notorious desert raider.

Pic will shoot in China next summer.

"Miranda and I have been looking for the right project to take our first step into the Asian market, and after meeting with Master Yuen to discuss Jun's script, we knew we had found the perfect match," Leutwyler said.

Yuen has directed films dating back to "Drunken Master" and "Iron Monkey" and done the fight choreography on pics including "Kung Fu Hustle," "Kill Bill" and "The Matrix" series.

L.A.-based Ambush, which previously produced "The Squid and the Whale," has teamed with its financing arm, Cold Iron Pictures, on several recently completed projects. They include the Richard Levine-directed "Every Day," with Helen Hunt and Liev Schreiber; the Matthew Broderick-Sanaa Lathan starrer "Wonderful World," which will be released by Magnolia; and "Against the Current," which stars Joseph Fiennes, Mary Tyler Moore and Justin Kirk and will be released via IFC Festival Direct, the movies-on-demand platform from IFC Films.

"Mad Men" star January Jones has signed on for her second bigscreen role in a week.

The actress will star opposite Nicolas Cage in the dramatic thriller "Hungry Rabbit Jumps" for Endgame Entertainment. Roger Donaldson ("The Bank Job") is directing.

Story centers on a man (Cage) who becomes entangled with an underground vigilante organization after his wife (Jones) is the victim of a brutal crime.

Endgame picked up Robert Tannen's spec in 2008 for Tobey Maguire to topline. Maguire is producing the $30 million-budgeted film alongside Endgame's James Stern, Maguire Entertainment's Jenno Topping and indie producer Ram Bergman.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in January in New Orleans.

Last week, Jones pacted to star opposite Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger in Dark Castle's "Unknown White Male."

She is repped by ICM and Mosaic.

Tony Scott has become attached to direct a film about the rise and fall of Steve Banerjee, the man responsible for creating Chippendales, who was consumed by excess and competition when the male strip clubs became a phenomenon in the 1980s.

Scott and his Scott Free banner will produce with David Permut's Permut Presentations and Firoz Nadiadwala.

Script will be written by Lisa Schrager, who penned the Heidi Fleiss story "Pay the Girl" for Nicole Kidman at Paramount and "Gangsta Bitches" at Universal. She will adapt a manuscript written by Rodney Sheldon.

Pic is being financed from a private equity fund raised out of India by Permut.

With a tone similar to the Scott-directed "True Romance," pic will follow the improbable rise and fall of Banerjee, who went from pumping gas in Culver City to running a high-end nightclub that evolved into Chippendales. After hiring a New York choreographer to polish the all-male dance troupe, Banerjee became wildly rich, as well as unreasonably competitive and paranoid. Banerjee hired a hitman to murder the choreographer when negotiations went sour. After being arrested, Banerjee died in jail awaiting trial.

Scott is currently directing the Denzel Washington-Chris Pine starrer "Unstoppable" for 20th Century Fox.

Permut produced "Youth in Revolt," the Michael Cera-Zach Galifianakis comedy that Dimension opens early next year.

Peter Saphier will be executive producer and Steve Longi will be co-producer.

Morgan Freeman is attached to star in an untitled comedy for Warner Bros. Pictures says The Hollywood Reporter.

Josh Cagan and Greg Coolidge's script revolves around an aging playboy who finally meets the love of his life and his best friend and wingman for the past 40 years (Freeman) who does everything to break up the new couple.

The aim is for a "Wedding Crashers" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" style tone and the producers hope to re-team with Jack Nicholson on the project.

Peter Segal ("Get Smart") is being eyed as a potential director. The film previously had the working title "Dirty Old Men."

Abel Ferrara has departed the action feature "Game of Death" for Sony Pictures reports Moviehole.

Wesley Snipes stars as a diplomat's bodyguard who is injured in a botched assassination attempt. The bodyguard and his company all taken to the same hospital, where the former teams up with a nurse (Zoe Bell) to protect the diplomat from a team of ruthless assassins led by Zander (Gary Daniels).

Snipes and Ferrara previously worked together on 1990's "King of New York". Reasons for Ferrara's departure are unspecified, but Georgio Serafini is set to replace him.

Filming is currently underway in New York.

Patrick Dempsey has joined the cast of an untitled bank-heist comedy for Foresight Unlimited says The Hollywood Reporter.

Jon Lucas and Scott Moore ("The Hangover") are penning the script about a man caught in the middle of two different robberies at the same bank who tries to protect a bank teller with whom he's secretly in love.

Paul McGuigan ("Lucky Number Slevin") is set to direct while Dempsey, Peter Safran and Mark Damon are producing. Filming kicks off in April.

Pierre Morel ("Taken," "From Paris With Love") has signed to direct the paranoia thriller "Signals" for Media Rights Capital says The Hollywood Reporter.

Richard Potter and Matthew Stravitz penned the script and while the storyline is being kept underwraps, the tone is similar to classic 70's Robert Redford conspiracy thriller "Three Days of the Condor".

The film is being fast tracked which means it'll likely head into production before Morel's other commitments to "Pursuit" at Universal and a Tokyo-set thriller at Paramount.

Joel Schumacher's new film Twelve is proving a hot seller for Gaumont based on a promo reel being screened in Santa Monica.


In the first two days of the market, Tobis has taken Germany, Svensk has taken Scandinavia, Dutch Filmworks has taken Benelux and Keowon has taken Korea on the drama.

These acquisitions follow deals negotiated in the run-up to AFM - IPA took Thailand,  Monopole-Pathe took the film for Switzerland, Odeon took Greece, Four Star took Middle East, Europa took Brazil and Telexcel bought the rest of Latin America.

Twelve, which is expected to be ready for Sundance/Berlin next year, is based on the novel by seventeen year-old Nick McDonnell. The cast is led by Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Ellen Barkin and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.

Set on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the film follows White Mike, a dropout drug dealer to the privileged. As he grieves over his mother's recent death and struggles with his inability to express his love, his cousin is brutally murdered and his best friend is arrested for the crime. Everything comes to a violent end at an 18th birthday party.

"The Hangover" star Bradley Cooper has signed on to star in Relativity Media suspense thriller "Dark Fields."

Neil Burger ("The Illusionist") is onboard to direct.

Project is described as a what-if story about a designer drug that can make you rich and powerful. Eddie (Cooper) is a down-and-out New York writer until he possesses a pill that gives him the ability to access the full capacity of his brain. He soon realizes that his newfound intelligence and success come at a hefty price as mysterious forces begin to pursue him.

Film, which will begin lensing in late spring 2010, is based on a novel by Alan Glynn. Leslie Dixon ("Hairspray") adapted the screenplay.

Dixon and Scott Kroopf ("Breach") are producing alongside Relativity's Ryan Kavanaugh. Relativity's Tucker Tooley is exec producing.

Universal will distribute through Relativity's Rogue Pictures.

Cooper can be seen onscreen in "New York, I Love You."  His upcoming credits include the Garry Marshall-helmed "Valentine's Day" and 20th Century Fox's "The A-Team.

Justin Timberlake, Anna Faris and Dan Aykroyd are in talks to star in the "Yogi Bear" feature film for Warner Bros. Pictures says The Hollywood Reporter.

Based on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Faris will play a nature documentarian who follows the antics of a bear in fictional Jellystone Park.

Aykroyd will voice Yogi, and Timberlake is in talks to play either Ranger Smith or the voice of Yogi's companion, Boo Boo. The project will fuse live-action and CG animation ala "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "Garfield".

Eric Brevig directs from a script polished by Brad Copeland, while Donald De Line and Karen Rosenfelt are producing. Filming kicks off in New Zealand in December.

Director Ken Loach ("Looking for Eric," "The Wind That Shakes the Barley") and cinematographer Chris Menges ("Poor Cow," "Kes") are re-teaming on "Route Irish" for Sixteen Films Why Not Prods. and Wild Bunch says The Hollywood Reporter.

Paul Laverty penned the script which follows two men who make their living as private security contractors in Iraq who risk their lives in a city awash with violence and greed.

When Frankie gets killed on "Route Irish" -- the road that links Baghdad airport to the Green Zone -- Fergus, unable to overcome his grief and guilt, doesn't accept the official explanation and sets about investigating the truth of his friend's death.

Mark Womack, Andrea Lowe, John Bishop, Trevor Williams and Talib Hamafraj star.

Universal Pictures is lining up the comedy "Desperados" as a potential starring vehicle for Isla Fisher says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story is set in motion when a woman sends an indignant e-mail to her new beau, who's gone silent after they have sex.

When she discovers he's comatose in a Mexican hospital, she races south of the border with her friends in tow to intercept the e-mail before he recovers.

Ellen Rapoport penned the script. Mark Gordon and Jason Blum are producing.

J.J. Abrams ("Star Trek," TV's "Lost") is in talks to produce "Micronauts", a film version of the Japanese Microman toy line reports The Wall Street Journal.

The toys, first released in 1974 and later in 1976 in the US under the 'Micronauts' name, were a mix of 3.75-inch tall action figures, vehicles, robots, play sets, and accessories. All used a universal, five millimeter inter-connective design allowing people to swap around various parts.

Palisades Toys bought the rights to reproduce Micronauts in 2002. Marvel Comics published a tie-in comic book line starting in 1979.

Gwyneth Paltrow has joined the cast of transsexual artist drama "The Danish Girl" for Pretty Pictures, Harrison Productions and Blossom Films reports Variety.

Based on the non-fiction novel by David Ebershoff, Paltrow plays Greta Wegener, a portrait painter in 1920s Copenhagen who asked her husband Einar to stand in for an absent female model.

Slipping on a dress, stockings and woman's shoes began a metamorphosis into Lili. When the photos became wildly popular, Greta encouraged her husband to do more.

The harmless game evolved into something deeper - the landmark 1931 first sex-change operation that shocked the world and threatened their marriage. Greta finally let go when she realized the man she married no lnger exists.

Nicole Kidman had already been attached to play Einar. Thomas Alfredson ("Let the Right One In") is directing from a script by Lucinda Coxon.

Kidman, Gail Mutrux, Per Saari, Anne Harrison and Linda Reisman are producing.

Kathy Morgan International has picked up Liberace, Steven Soderbergh's upcoming project.


The film stars Michael Douglas as the flamboyant late entertainer and Matt Damon as his bodyguard, driver and alleged live-in lover Scott Thorson.

Richard LaGravenese, who earned an Oscar nomination for The Fisher King and wrote The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, is writing the screenplay chronicling Liberace's life and times.

Producer Jerry Weintraub said he was forecasting a June 2010 start once Soderbergh had completed duties on the spy thriller Knockout for Relativity and Lionsgate.

In 1982, five years before Liberace's death due to complications from AIDS, Thorson sued the jewel-encrusted entertainer for $113m for palimony following a nasty break-up. Liberace continued to publicly deny his homosexuality and the parties settled out of court.

Cinema Management Group has signed with Liddell Entertainment to represent international sales rights to Chris Rock's docu "Good Hair." Icon Entertainment Intl. has picked up domestic and most foreign rights to "The Way," directed by Emilio Estevez and toplining Martin Sheen. IEI Deal excludes Spain and Portugal, where Filmax has all rights.

Arclight Films has made multiple pre-sales in major territories for shark thriller "Bait 3D." Pic shoots in Queensland in April.

Helmer Russell Mulcahy said the film "will be the first Australia horror-genre thriller to be shot in 3D."

Territories sold include Australia (Paramount), Spain (Arena), Italy (Medusa), Brazil (Paris), Benelux (Dutch Film Works), Portugal (Lusomundo), South Africa (Videovision), Mexico (Gussi), Turkey (Aqua Pinema), Indonesia (Amero Mitra), Philippines (Pioneer), Thailand, India, Vietnam (Soundspace), Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay (Alfa), Colombia (Cine Colombia), Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador (Delta), Middle East (Ballistic), Eastern Europe (Modus Vivendi), and ex-Yugoslavia (Arena).

Visit Films closed deals on several titles. U.S. and Canadian rights to South African drama "Shirley Adams" sold to the Global Film Initiative. Fashion docu "Picture Me" sold to France (Eurozoom) and Australia/New Zealand (Vendetta). U.S. and Canadian rights to North Korean human rights docu "Kimjongilia" sold to Lorber HT Digital; docu also made deals in South Korea (Peter Pen) and a TV pact in Poland with TVP. Cannes' Directors' Fortnight title "Here" closed in France (Floris). The Duplass brothers' "Baghead" sold to Accent for Australia/New Zealand.

We Distribution inked deals on Cinema Popular's $23 million action thriller "Bodyguards and Assassins." Pic sold to U.K. and Canada (E1 Entertainment), South Korea (CJ Entertainment) and Middle East (Gulf Films). Pic, directed by Teddy Chen, will be released across Asia in December: in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan (Applause Entertainment), Singapore (MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and Festive Films), Malaysia (RAM Entertainment), Thailand (United Home Entertainment and UIP), Indonesia (PT Teguh Bakti) and Vietnam (Parkit Films).

SEOUL -- Korean action fantasy "Woochi" has been pre-sold to several territories at AFM.

Set to be released nationwide at Christmas, pic has been picked up by Viscom Suraya for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei and by Splendid for Germany and Benelux.

Deals were jointly handled by United Pictures and M-Line Distribution, with an exclusive five-minute promo, which was unveiled for the first time.

Locally distributed by CJ Entertainment, the film is helmed by Choi Dong-hoon ("Tazza") and produced by Eugene Lee's Zip Cinema. Kim Yoon-suk ("The Chaser") and Lim Soo-jung ("I'm a Cyborg but That's OK") are attached to the fantasy actioner.

SEOUL -- Korean box office hit "Take Off" has been sold to Amuse Soft Entertainment for Japan and to several other Asian territories.

Pic's sales representative, Showbox, announced that the film was picked up by One Dollar Distribution for China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Showbox also sealed deals with Taiwan's Catchplay and Turkey's Horizon Intl.

Starring Ha Jung-woo ("The Chaser"), movie has grossed $60 million on 8.5 million admissions since its local release July 30.

Showbox also sealed deals for its horror title "Possessed," a critically acclaimed debut feature.

It was picked up by Innoform Media for Singapore, Hwa Yea for Malaysia and Catchplay for Taiwan.

Image Entertainment has acquired North American rights to "Accidents Happen," starring Geena Davis.

Director Andrew Lancaster's dark comedy about a mother and son bowed at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

Harrison Gilbertson ("What's Wrong With Virginia") co-stars.

Anthony Anderson ("Somersault") produced via his Red Carpet Prods.

A U.S. theatrical release is slated for the first quarter next year.

The deal was announced at the American Film Market, where CMG will be licensing the film.

Docu about hairstyles in the African-American community has cumed $3.6 million domestically.

CMG is headed by sales and distribution exec Edward Noeltner.

Madmen Entertainment will handle rights in Australia and New Zealand.

Liddell and Roadside Attractions are in charge of U.S. distribution.

Indie distrib Artist View Entertainment will handle worldwide distribution for thriller "31 North 62 East," starring John Rhys-Davies, as well as "Chicago Overcoat" and "The Other Side of the Tracks."

Todd Slater, who launched his Slater Brothers Entertainment shingle this year, serves as exec producer.

Pics will screen during AFM.

Film, which is presently lensing in Spain and across the Pyrenees, follows a Californian ophthalmologist who travels to France to reclaim the body of his estranged son, who died in a storm in the Pyrenees.

Canadian thesp Deborah Kara Unger ("88 Minutes," "Crash") and the U.K.'s James Nesbitt ("Bloody Sunday," "Match Point") also star. Other thesps include Spain's Angela Molina ("Broken Embraces"), Simon Andreu ("The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"), Eusebio Lazaro ("Pan's Labyrinth") and Carlos Leal ("Broken Embraces").

"The Way," Estevez's fourth feature as a writer-director, is produced by Filmax chairman Julio Fernandez, Estevez and Elixir Films' David Alexanian.

Gallic minimajor StudioCanal has taken worldwide rights outside Spain to Daniel Benmayor's "Bruc."

A pioneering historical actioner, a genre rarely explored in Spain, "Bruc," now in post, is one of the most-awaited productions coming out of Barcelona.

Set in the early 19th century and described by producer Edmon Roch as "a Napoleonic 'First Blood,' " "Bruc" begins with Napoleon's hussars chasing a Catalan drummer boy to the high sierra. There the hunted becomes the hunter. And, almost singlehandedly, the drummer boy gives Napoleon's army its first taste of defeat.

A pickup, "Bruc" looks likely to be put through some or all of StudioCanal's direct distribution operations in the U.K. (Optimum Releasing), Germany (Kinowelt) and France (StudioCanal).

Meanwhile, StudioCanal is ramping up its production ops in Europe. boosted by the appointment of former Pathe exec Leonard Glowinski to the newly created position of StudioCanal head of co-productions and acquisitions for France and Europe, reporting to StudioCanal chief operating officer Camille Trumer.

With healthy financials -- an operating profit margin of 14% in 2008 off $594 million in revenues -- StudioCanal has the muscle to produce local films with international potential at $15 million-$30 million, a budgetary range that Hollywood is increasingly forsaking.

At AFM, Harold van Lier, StudioCanal's exec VP of international sales, is introducing buyers to "Attack the Block," the directorial debut of Joe Cornish, co-writer of Steven Spielberg's upcoming "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn." Pic is first fruit of a three-pic co-financing and co-production deal just inked between Optimum and U.K. production house Big Talk Prods., ("Shaun of the Dead").

StudioCanal is also pre-selling helmer Rowan Joffe's $10 million-$12 million adaptation of Graham Greene's novel "Brighton Rock," starring Sam Riley and Helen Mirren and produced by Paul Webster and Will Clarke at Optimum.

In France, StudioCanal and Eric Heumann's Paradis Films are co-producing Bertrand Tavernier's "The Princess of Montpensier," a 17th-century political-come-love story, based on true events.

In advanced production, the $19.5 million costume drama boasts a strong young ensemble cast in Lambert Wilson, Melanie Thierry, Gaspard Ulliel, Louis Garrel and Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet.

The tale of three Algerian brothers who immigrate to France during the Algerian war of independence, Rachid Bouchareb's "Outlaw," is in post.

Budgeted at $30 million, "Outlaw" is co-produced with Jean Brehat's Tessallit and reprises key cast from Bouchareb's hit "Days of Glory" -- Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, and Bernard Blancan.

French mini-major Gaumont has taken domestic distribution and international sales rights to "De Force," an $11.5 million crime thriller helmed by ex-con-turned-filmmaker Frank Henry. Pic stars French thesp and helmer Olivier Marchal ("36 Quai des Ofevres"), Isabelle Adjani ("Skirt Day") and Simon Abkarian ("The Army of Crime"). Pic is produced by Frank Chorot's Marilyn Productions and co-produced by Gaumont. Canal Plus has pre-bought TV rights. esla

The Paris-set film centers on an inmate, played by Marchal, who's forced to collaborate with the French organized crime divisionto dismantle a high-profile gang network. "De Force" will start shooting in Feb. for eight weeks.

Henry, a former member of a notorious French gang who spent 21 years behind bars, penned various episodes of Marchal's crime skein "Braquo," which was a hit of Gallic paybox Canal Plus. This film marks his directorial debut.

Gaumont has also nabbed domestic distrib and international sales to "Jo's Son" an $12-million drama set in world of rugby. Starring Gerard Lanvin ("Public Enemy Number One") and Marchal, the film is produced by LGM Productions and directed by first-time helmer and former rugby player Philippe Guillard. TV rights have been pre-bought by Canal Plus, TF1, TPS.

At AFM, Gaumont is unspooling Marion Cotillard-starrer "The Last Flight," a Sahara-set romance. The Gallic company is also showing a promo of Joel Schumacher's "Twelve," which stars Emma Roberts and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.

Brazilian director Heitor Dhalia ("Adrfit," "Nina," "Drained") is set to direct the espionage thriller "April 23" for Lakeshore Entertainment reports Variety.

Based on Erje Ayden's book "Sadness at Leaving" which itself is based on a true account, the story follows a deep-cover KGB assassin sent to Manhattan amid the tumult of the 1960s with the mission of acquiring all the attributes of an American life until the time he is called upon to assassinate a defector.

He's then faced with the choice between family and country after he marries an American woman and becomes a father.

Hanna Weg is adapting the screenplay. Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Jeffrey Silver and Weg will produce.

Dominic Cooper ("Mamma Mia," "The Duchess") will star in the action thriller true story "The Devil's Double" for Paradigm Motion Picture Finance Group says Screen Daily.

Cooper plays Latif Yahia, a dead ringer for Saddam Hussein's sadistic and widely despised son Uday who was forced against his will to stand in for Uday in potentially dangerous situations.

Through his role, Yahia gained access to Hussein's inner sanctum and witnessed corruption, violence and debauchery.

Ludivine Sagnier is also in talks to star in the project which begins shooting in January in Malta.

Lee Tamahori ("Die Another Day," "XXX: State Of The Union") will direct from a script that Michael Thomas adapted.

Russian director Fedor Bondarchuk ("The Inhabited Island") will replace "Total Recall" and "Basic Instinct" helmer Paul Verhoeven at the helm of "Winter Queen" for Seven Arts Pictures says Screen Daily.

Bondarchuk makes his English language debut on the project based on the novel by Boris Akunin. Milla Jovovich remains attached to star as the female lead in the story of murder and high level conspiracy set against the backdrop of 19th century Russia.

Filming takes place in Budapest and St Petersburg in March and April, nearly two years after the project was originally slated to begin filming.

Bondarchuk will immediately follow that up with a $30 million epic about the infamous Battle of Stalingrad during the Second World War for Art Pictures Studio.

That project will be readied for release in 2012, the 70th anniversary of the battle which claimed an estimated two million.

Sons of Cuba
(Documentary -- U.K.)
By BOYD VAN HOEIJ

   
A Windfall Films, Sons of Cuba production, in association with ITVS, WNET.org. (International sales: Roco Films, Sausalito, Calif.) Produced by Andrew Lang, Francine Heywood, Laura Giles, Mandy Chang. Executive producer, David Dugan. Directed by Andrew Lang.

With: Cristian Martinez, Santos Urguelles, Junior Menendez, Yosvani Bonachea.

Pint-sized pugilists dream of a triumphant future for themselves and their fatherland in "Sons of Cuba," a knockout docu about a Cuban boarding school that trains future boxing champs ages 12 and under. Young Brit helmer Andrew Lang's surefire crowd-pleaser is equal parts coming-of-age tale and sports drama, though its real gut punch comes from its matter-of-fact observations of the wider sociopolitical context. Pic bagged the docu prize at the recent Rome fest and should have no problems cornering further fest attention prior to strong niche play, including Stateside.

Each year at the Havana Boxing Academy, some 25 new recruits, ages 9 to 11, are groomed for success in the ring. As noted onscreen, Cuba has dominated boxing at the Olympics for the past 25 years -- in part because it starts putting its potential future stars through a grueling training program before they've even entered puberty.

Pic was shot in 2006 with a largely local crew that had extraordinary access to the institution and country. It focuses on the eight-month run-up to Cuba's national under-12 boxing championships, won the previous year by a rival academy from Matanzas. Cristian "the Old Man" Martinez is the young ("but with an old soul") star athlete of Havana, but lost that crucial final fight against Matanzas last year. He's determined not to let that happen again.

Besides Martinez and stern coach Yosvani Bonachea (frequently his replacement dad), two other hopefuls are spotlighted. Santos "the Singer" Urguelles is a young fighter and foodie who lost his mother at an early age, loves songwriting, and has to fight not only his teammates but also the pounds. His teammate, Junior "the Dalmatian" Menendez, is a former ballet dancer who transferred to the academy at age 9 and fears he may be too "compassionate" for boxing.

On top of regular schoolwork, the boys have an intense physical training program that starts each morning at 4 a.m. Daily routine provides plenty of blood, sweat and tears, but the 2006 setting also provides drama: In July, Fidel Castro was hospitalized and his powers were transferred to his brother, Raul.

One of the film's genuinely shocking moments sees the tiny swaggerers state with utter conviction that they're ready to fight off a rumored U.S. invasion. Though Lang shows admirable restraint throughout and keeps the focus tightly on his protags, it is in these glimpses of the wider world surrounding the kids that the docu will pack a real wallop for Western auds.

Though only in his 20s, helmer Lang juggles the energetic, if occasionally blurry, camerawork --he lensed much of the pic himself -- and punchy sound effects like a well-seasoned pro. The locally flavored score and precision cutting keep things peppy.

Camera (color, HD), Lang, Domingo Triana Machin; editor, Simon Rose; music, Jack Ketch; sound (Dolby), Sergio Munoz Torres; associate producers, Dania Ilisastigui Aviles, Guillermo Drake. Reviewed at Rome Film Festival (Extra -- competing), Oct. 22, 2009. Running time: 90 MIN.

David Koepp, one of Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriters, has set up his next helming project at Sony.

Koepp, who most recently directed the Ricky Gervais starrer "Ghost Town" for DreamWorks, will helm "Premium Rush" for Columbia Pictures from a screenplay he penned with his frequent collaborator John Kamps.

Gavin Polone ("Zombieland") is producing, marking the fifth project on which he has worked with Koepp.

Story centers on a twentysomething New York City

bike messenger who picks up an envelope at Columbia U. A dirty cop is desperate to get his hands on the envelope and chases the bike messenger throughout the city.

Unlike the modestly budgeted "Ghost Town" -- a $20 million pic -- "Premium Rush" is being conceived as a big-budget actioner, much like the films Koepp is known for penning, and will feature the kind of elaborate chases associated with a William Friedkin pic.

Sony is fast-tracking "Premium Rush" and is looking to cast a leading man soon.

As a scribe, Koepp is known for working on some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, including "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Spider-Man."

Emmett/Furla Films and Cheetah Vision Films have partnered with Georgia-based entrepreneur Richard Jackson to produce and co-finance three to five pictures per year.

Jackson has formed Action Jackson Films and kicks off the partnership with a commitment to fully fund "The Gun," a drama scripted by Cheetah Vision partner Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson (no relation to Richard Jackson), who will star with Val Kilmer. Jesse Terro is set to direct the picture, which begins production next month.

Emmett/Furla partners Randall Emmett

and George Furla are producing with Curtis Jackson and Richard Jackson.

Richard Jackson is described as an entrepreneur with investments in companies involved in health care and finance.

Emmett, who is partnered with Furla in Emmett/Furla Films banner and with 50 Cent in Cheetah Vision, said that he met Richard Jackson during a "high stakes card game in Las Vegas." They formed a friendship that led Jackson to ante up for the film venture.
In "The Gun," Curtis Jackson and Kilmer play friends whose loyalties are tested when they get caught up in the world of illegal gun dealing. Pic will shoot in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Hannibal Pictures is handling foreign sales. Chris Lighty, Justin Holochek and Richard Rhionda are executive producers.

The script grew out of the rapper-actor's curiosity about how guns go from being manufactured and shipped for legal use to somehow "falling into the hands of the wrong people," Curtis Jackson said. "It's a socially conscious theme that people aren't paying attention to."

Jackson said his goal in forming Cheetah Vision with Emmett was to create star vehicles -- and get the chance to produce and write. This is the first of three feature scripts Curtis Jackson has written, and he feels he is getting the hang of a form much different than songwriting.

"When you write a song, you need to say it in three minutes or it is overkill, but I like creating stories and going in depth with characters," he said.

Jackson will follow "The Gun" with the Cheetah Vision-produced drama "Jekyll and Hyde," starring with Forest Whitaker in the Abel Ferrara-directed film, which Warner Bros. will distribute domestically.

Emmett said the link to financier Richard Jackson will boost both production companies. EFF maintains its first-look deal with Millennium Films.

"Joining forces with Action Jackson Films will allow EFF and Cheetah Vision to expand our slates enormously," Emmett said. "Our combined passion for films, and the business acumen Rich Jackson offers, should translate into solid success."

Emmett/Furla Films is a producer on the Werner Herzog-directed "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," which stars Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes and Kilmer. Pic opened at Toronto and hits theaters Nov. 20.

Newmarket Films has acquired U.S. rights to Alejandro Amenabar's "Agora" and will release historical epic during the first half of next year.

It's the first acquisition for Newmarket -- best known for handling "The Passion of the Christ" -- since the company was bought earlier this month by Exclusive Media Group.

"Agora," which had its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, has become a hit in Spain with $30 million after a month. It grossed $7.9 million in its first three days and has stayed in first place in the Spanish box office for four weeks.

The pic, directed by Amenabar ("The Sea Inside") from a script he co-wrote with Mateo Gil, stars Rachel Weisz, Oscar Isaac and Max Minghella. "Agora" was produced by MOD Prods., Himenoptero and Telecinco Cinema, with the participation of Canal Plus Spain.

Set in ancient Egypt under Roman rule, English-language "Agora" follows a female astronomer who leads a group of disciples fighting to save the wisdom of the ancient world, as violent religious upheaval spills into the streets of Alexandria.

Newmarket, which also handled "Memento," "Whale Rider," and "Downfall," recently acquired Jon Amiel's "Creation," starring Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany and focuses on Charles Darwin's struggle to reconcile his love for his religious wife with his own growing belief in evolution. Newmarket will release "Creation" in January.

Aussie hunk Sam Worthington ("Avatar," "Terminator Salvation") is set to star in an adaptation of "The Last Days of American Crime" reports Mania.

Set in a near future where, as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts.

To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards.

A not particularly successful career criminal intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life.

The media however has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live...and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the crime of the century into the last crime in American history.

Rick Remender will adapt his own property, no word as yet on a director.

Eddie Murphy is attached to produce and potentially star in the buddy comedy "The Misadventures of Fluffy" at Paramount Pictures says Risky Biz Blog.

The story is a road trip film through New York featuring talking animals, however unlike Murphy's more recent fare this is said to be very much an R-rated feature.

Sam Pitman and Adam Cole-Kelly will pen the script. Paramount is still developing a fourth "Beverly Hills Cop" for Murphy to star in.

Sve je to lepo, ali se ne radujem dok ne chujem ko rezhira...

t's a potent combination: Steven + Stephen.

Steven Spielberg and Stephen King are joining forces to develop a limited series based on King's just-released supernatural thriller "Under the Dome." DreamWorks TV has optioned the book and is looking to set it up as an event series, likely for cable.

DreamWorks principal Stacey Snider was key in bringing the project to the company. Spielberg, King and Snider will exec produce along with DreamWorks TV chiefs Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey.Book, which has earned strong reviews as a return to form for the prolific author, revolves around the drama that unfolds after an invisible force field suddenly descends on a small vacation town in Maine. As the locals fight for their survival, the town descends into warring factions led by enigmatic characters.

DreamWorks is starting to meet with writers for the project. The plan is to set a writer before shopping the skein to prospective buyers.

Spielberg and King have worked together in the past, developing a screen adaptation of King's 1984 novel "The Talisman," on which Spielberg has had the option for more than 20 years. That project has been developed as a feature, and it came close to being done as a mini for TNT a few years ago until it was tabled for budgetary reasons.

The "Dome" deal continues a burst of activity on the smallscreen side for Spielberg and DreamWorks TV. Among the high-profile projects in the works is a series about the development of a fictional Broadway tuner for Showtime. Another Showtime contender is a costume-drama revolving around the Borgia clan, penned by Neil Jordan and with Robert Zemeckis also producing.

DreamWorks TV also produces the pay cabler's dramedy "United States of Tara," for which star Toni Collette won the lead comedy actress Emmy in September. "Tara" bows its sophomore season in March.

Aziz Ansari and Jason Woliner, who previously worked together on sketch comedy series "Human Giant", have sold three comedy pitches to Judd Apatow and Universal Pictures reports Variety.

First up is "Let's Do This", a road movie about two guys who work for a motivational speaking company.

Then comes an untitled project about a disgraced cosmonaut (Ansari) who is forced to return to outer space to clear his name.

The last somehow ties in with Ansari's supporting role in Apatow's "Funny People".

Ansari and Woliner will write at least one of the projects together with Woliner attached to direct and Ansari to appear in all three.

Anthony Peckham ("Sherlock Holmes," "Invictus") will rewrite the thriller "Deep Sea Cowboys" for DreamWorks Pictures says The Hollywood Reporter.

An adaptation of a Wired article, the real-time actioneer follows a tightknit salvage crew racing against the clock trying to save a capsized Japanese cargo ship and claiming its reward.

David Ayer ("Training Day") penned the previous draft. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will produce.

TOKYO -- Secretive Japanese helmer Takeshi Kitano has finally unveiled details of his latest gangster pic -- his first in nine years.

"Outrage" depicts power struggles among Tokyo gangsters. Kitano not only helms and scripts, but also plays the lead -- a low-ranking gang boss charged with doing the dirty work of his superiors.

The cast also includes Tomokazu Miura, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, Jun Kunimura, Tetta Sugimoto, Renji Ishibashi, Fumiyo Kohinata and Takashi Tsukamoto.

Shooting started in August, with Warner Japan and Office Kitano skedded to release next year.

Kitano made his international breakthrough in 1993 playing a gang boss in "Sonatine," and became known for his extreme depictions of on-screen violence in such pics as "Boiling Point" (1990), "Hana-Bi" (1997) and "Brother" (2000), but has adopted a more peaceful on-screen persona in recent years.

"Tron Legacy" director Joseph Kosinski and producer Sean Bailey are planning a remake/reboot of Disney 1979 sci-fi epic "The Black Hole" for Disney and Idealogy says Heat Vision Blog.

The original followed a group of space explorers aboard the USS Palomino who come across a lost ship, the USS Cygnus, hovering outside a black hole.

Inside the Cygnus, the explorers meet a scientist, commanding an army of faceless robots, who explains his crew deserted him as he planned to go through the black hole.

The explorers soon discover that the robots are the remnants of the former crew and that the scientist has no intention of letting them leave.

'Hole' was famous at the time for being both the company's first PG-rated production and what was then the most expensive film the studio ever produced at $26 million.

Travis Beacham ("Killing on Carnival Row," "Clash of the Titans") will pen the script for the new film which will include the red robot Maximilian and be much more grounded in real science about black holes. Other details are being kept secret.

Mabrouk el Mechri ("JCVD") is attached to direct "The Insiders", a film adaptation of the Belgian spy thriller comic book reports Pajiba.

Director/producer Robert Rodriguez and actress Jessica Alba optioned the film rights to the series a few months ago. Rodriguez will produce and Alba will star in the film which follows Columbian spy/assassin Najah Cruz who has infiltrated a criminal organization composed of businessmen and politicians where she has become the bodyguard of the organization's leader.

Alba next appears in Michael Winterbottom's "The Killer Inside Me" as an abused prostitute, and a film adaptation of Aimee Bender's "An Invisible Sign of My Own".

Summit Entertainment has picked up Ben Magid's "Cloverfield"-esque sci-fi spec script "Invasion" reports STYD.

The story follows the survivors of a subway accident under Los Angeles. Climbing out the tunnels, they emerge into a ruined city littered in some kind of snow, bodies, panic-fueled mobs and a strange goo with acidic properties.

Eli Roth and Eric Newman will produce. Magid was one of several writers who adapted the comic "Hack/Slash" into a film script for Rogue Pictures.

Those underwhelmed by the "Alien vs. Predator" films should be in for a "very pleasant surprise" says director Nimród Antal about the upcoming franchise reboot "Predators".

Talking with Coming Soon, Antal says that despite Robert Rodriguez's penchant for computer animation they both recognised that the practical 'guy in a suit' works much better for the subject.

A month of shooting took place in jungles on the Hawaiian Islands and Antal says "we are trying to stay with the original as far as the monster and the atmosphere and the tone of the film, but we are trying to do something new and contemporary and feels fresh".

Just as importantly is that the film is being shot as an R-rated feature.

Out doing promotion for his latest film "Brothers", Irish director Jim Sheridan sat down with us and updated us on the status of the many projects he's been linked to in recent months - some correctly, others not so much. The full interview with Sheridan about "Brothers" can be found in the interviews section.

Dreamhouse
The Daniel Craig-led psychological thriller about a family who move to a house with a dark past in a small New England town.

Sheridan says: "That's a definite. That's happening right now, with Daniel Craig". Anyone else cast? "Not yet, but we're looking at a few people, but I'll know it in a week" he says, and hopes to begin shooting in February.

Asked if he is comfortable taking on such an American genre film, he replied "I think a lot of the time when I was in the past, kind of thinking, "Will I do that kind of movie?" I didn't because of fear. Fear of failure and whatever, but now I'm a little bit less concerned about that, and just go – okay, let's just do it"

I, Claudius
A film remake of Robert Graves' classic 1934 novel set in Ancient Rome about the stuttering Claudius who played up his disability to survive his murderous, imperial family. The BBC's ten part mini-series based on the book and its sequel in 1976 remains the signature adaptation.

Sheridan confirms he's on the project "I've adapted the script, I just need to fix it, and then find Claudius". Casting wise he said if Claudius is played by a British actor, "you'd have to go all British, I think" and he later joked "It could be Daniel [Craig] and you could cast Colin Farrell as Caligula (laughter)... but there could be a lot of different things".

The project's expense isn't an issue either - "There are some scenes that are outside, but a lot of it is like, a palace revolution with the Senate and the palace , so you can almost do 90 percent of it in there."

What concerns him is the nature of the lead character - "Claudius is at home on TV, he's a non-proactive character, so you can stick with him over weeks and get to know him, But in a movie, it's hard to get to know somebody like that, so, I kind of need to make him a bit more proactive"

Black Mass
The story of the Boston gangster Whitey Bulger who built up the Winter Hill Gang into a mob that did everything from sell drugs to procure guns for the Irish Republican Army out of Boston. Sheridan says "That's something we're working on... It's kind of an Irish movie, about Irish gangsters".

Sheriff Street
Sheridan's "dream project" that he wrote years ago about growing up in Ireland. He hopes to get it off the ground soon, but "it's difficult, because a movie is a movie, and it cost money and I found it very difficult to raise enough to make it, Or I have to re-conceive how I make it."

Emerald City
Deals with Irish organized crime in New York's Hell's Kitchen. Sheridan says "That's something I kind of have chilled out on, so that's not hot right now"

Ikiru
"No, not happening" says Sheridan about the remake of the Kurosawa classic.

Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez has signed a million dollar deal to make his directing debut on an alien invasion film for Ghost House Pictures reports Variety.

Alvarez helmed "Panic Attack" ("Ataque de panic"), a sub-$500 five-minute short about an apocalyptic robot attack which became an online video hit and was linked on Kanye West's official blog.

He then pitched the alien invasion idea to Sam Raimi who's Ghost House Pictures signed him up for a holding deal. A high-end screenwriter is being hired to turn the idea into a feature that if greenly, Alvarez will direct and Raimi will produce.

Director David Yates tells USA Today the upcoming first part of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be "a road movie" that is much more grounded in reality than the previous "Harry Potter" movies.

"It's going to feel very real. We're going for a vérité approach. Being away from Hogwarts, they're like these three refugees on the run. They're out in the big bad world, facing real danger, unguarded by those wonderful benign wizards at Hogwarts. They don't have a home to go to. We're kind of pulling away from the magic a bit and bringing more reality to it" said Yates.

One thing that may be surprising is nudity. Readers will remember 'The Silver Doe' chapter from the book in which Harry strips down to his undies to retrieve a sword from the bottom of a lake.

If Radcliffe in wet tighty-whities isn't enough to get the girls screaming, Yates indicates he may have no kit on at all as Ron sees nightmarish visions produced by a horcrux trying to defend itself and Yates tells Video Business (via Coming Soon) that one "shows Hermione and Harry embracing and kissing. It's something intriguing and sensual for Rupert to react to, and Dan will be bare for that."

Kurbaan
(India)
By DEREK ELLEY


A UTV Motion Pictures release of a Karan Johar presentation of a Dharma Prods. production. Produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar. Executive producer, Marijke Desouza. Directed by Rensil D'Silva. Screenplay, D'Silva, Anurag Kashyap, Niranjan Iyengar; story, Karan Johar.

(Hindi, English dialogue)

After scripting envelope-pushing nationalist drama "Rang de basanti" (2006), writer Rensil D'Silva goes for an equally ambitious mix of politics and Bollywood formulae with his first helming outing, Muslim terrorist thriller "Kurbaan." Yarn about a bunch of bombers planning nasty things in Gotham is basically mainstream fare, but gussied up with surprisingly objective portraits of Muslims. Solidly entertaining result makes this one of the juicier Bollywood outings of the year, though the Nov. 20 release did only OK biz in its first weekend, despite the lead casting of hot real-life couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

Terrorist dramas are nothing new in Hindi cinema, though in the past they've tended to focus on Indo-Pakistani tensions, especially in the Rajasthan region, and serve as an excuse for star heroics. With more and more Bollywood films now set Stateside, partly to tap the nonresident Indian market, it seemed only a matter of time before a movie like "Kurbaan" (Urdu for "sacrifice") appeared. Kabir Khan's "New York" put a toe in the water this summer with a tale of Muslims harassed post-9/11, to the point where one goes postal; "Kurbaan" goes whole hog with planned terrorist outrages.

The movie starts like a regular Bollywood romance, with college lecturer Ehsaan Khan (Saif Ali Khan) coming on strong to psychology prof Avantika Ahuja (Kareena Kapoor) when she visits Delhi after her father (Akash Khurana) has had a heart attack. When Avantika is asked to return to her New York college for a semester, the two marry and Ehsaan accompanies her, their union having been reluctantly blessed by her dad, who would have preferred she wed a fellow Hindu.

The couple settle in a comfy upstate 'burb largely populated by Indians, and before you can say "fundamentalism," they're invited to dinner by a conservative Muslim family headed by Naseer and his wife, Nasreen (vets Om Puri, Kirron Kher). Thereon, things get very "Arlington Road" as Avantika suspects dark goings-on across the street, especially when young neighbor Salma (Nauheed Cyrusi) claims her life is in danger and asks Avantika to contact an Indian-American reporter, Rehania (Dia Mirza).

The twists -- both obvious and unexpected -- keep coming after the first hour, to the point where Avantika feels herself helpless to prevent the inevitable. Meanwhile, Rehania's colleague/b.f., Riyaaz (Vivek Oberoi), infiltrates Naseer's group and discovers exactly what it's planning for Gotham.

Film's gradually darker tone is pursued in the post-intermission section. This is largely taken up with a gripping half-hour finale set in New York's subway system, but also fits in some passionate defenses of the Islamic fundamentalist perspective, notably by Riyaaz (to establish his credentials) and Nasreen (as a dyed-in-the-wool enemy of the U.S. and its allies). While not exactly excusing terrorism, the pic certainly makes out a case for its existence.

The pic's bilateralist approach is echoed in Avantika's confused emotional situation, and especially in the split role of Ehsaan. Khan, who's become a major star playing romantic-comedy leads, just about manages the difficult task of remaining sympathetic even as his character becomes darker and darker.

Kapoor is strong in the early going, but her performance is the least convincing as the movie becomes grittier, partly due to an underwritten role. Oberoi (in one of his best perfs to date), Puri and Kher are all very good.

Technical package is topnotch, especially the textured widescreen lensing by Hemant Chaturvedi ("Company," "Maqbool") of warm India and wintry New York, and Salim-Sulaiman's propulsive background score. (Though a choreographer is credited on the print, the few songs are soundtrack-only.) Gothamites won't be convinced by Philly's transit system substituting for their own, but D'Silva manages to keep the tension high with clever camerawork that includes New York street-level locations and disguises the film's less-than-adequate budget for its big finale.

Camera (color,widescreen), Hemant Chaturvedi; editor, Asif Ali Shaikh; associate editor, Gaus Kazi; background/song music, Salim-Sulaiman; lyrics, Iyengar, Irfan Siddique; production designer, Indrani Pillai; costume designer, Aki Narula; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS Digital), Nakul Kamte, Ajay Kumar; choreographer, Vaibhavi Merchant; action director, Parvez Khan; visual effects, Redchillies.vfx; associate producer, Apoorva Mehta; assistant director, Rahul Dandavate; casting, Shanoo Sharma. Reviewed at Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue 6, London, Nov. 23, 2009. Running time: 161 MIN. (I: 84 MIN.; II: 77 MIN.)

Director Paul Greengrass has walked away from the fourth film in the Jason Bourne film franchise currently in development at Universal Pictures says The Playlist.

Two separate scripts were being penned concurrently by two different writers - George Nolfi, who co-wrote "The Bourne Ultimatum" and upcoming Matt Damon thriller "The Adjustment Bureau", and Josh Zemuter whose has several scripts in development including "The Infiltrator" and the "Dune" remake.

Part of the problem is that Greengrass wasn't consulted about Zemuter's hiring so is unhappy with that, while Nolfi's script is generally being dismissed.

Another part is "Green Zone", the Iraq-set thriller re-teaming Greengrass and Damon. Originally slated to be a small 'between Bourne' project, the budget has been blown out by numerous reshoots and delays to a rumored $150 million (not good considering the poor performance of Iraq-themed films).

Then of course there's the two 'Bourne' sequels that Greengrass did. 'Ultimatum' cost quite a penny for Universal and saw similar reshoots and budget overspending due to Greengrass' style of starting without a finished screenplay and 'finding the film' in the editing room. Critics swooned and domestically it was a major hit, but globally the films don't do anywhere near as well as the rival James Bond franchise.

In a cash strapped environment, the studio is understandably skittish about proceeding without a locked down script and budgetary limitations, while Greengrass is more than happy with his style of filming and doesn't feel a need to change it - especially considering how successful he's made the Bourne franchise for the studio.

Greengrass and Matt Damon are also tightly connected, thus Damon's involvement is also in question now. The site however freely admits that this 'walk off' could be a negotiating tactic and the man could be back on the project in a few months. In the meantime don't be surprised if several other names pop up as potential replacements.

After yesterday's story break about director Paul Greengrass leaving the franchise, there was quite a bit of speculation as to why. Universal confirmed his departure to Variety and released the following statement from the director:

"I will always be grateful to have been the caretaker to Jason Bourne over the course of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. I'm very proud of those films and feel they express everything I most passionately believe about the possibility of making quality movies in the mainstream.

My decision to not return a third time as director is simply about feeling the call for a different challenge. There's been no disagreement with Universal Pictures. The opportunity to work with the Bourne family again is a difficult thing to pass up, but we have discussed this together and they have been incredibly understanding and supportive.

I've been lucky enough to have made four films for Universal, and our relationship continues. Jason Bourne existed before me and will continue, and I hope to remain involved in some capacity as the series moves on."

The article also cites two 'Bourne' scribes as potential replacements - Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton," "Duplicity") and George Nolfi who is currently directing "The Adjustment Bureau" with 'Bourne' star Matt Damon.

Bennett Miller ("Capote") is set to direct the Brad Pitt-led baseball feature "Moneyball" for Sony Pictures reports Variety.

Based on Michael Lewis' nonfiction bestseller, the story follows Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane who assembled a contending baseball club on a shoestring budget by employing a sophisticated computer-based analysis to draft players.

Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin wrote the script based on an earlier draft by Stan Chervin. Steven Soderbergh had been attached to direct the film but famously exited the project five days before it began shooting due to Sony being unhappy with his script rewrites.

Michael Chait penned the story and will direct the action-adventure film "War Birds" for TMU Pictures says The Hollywood Reporter

The story follows an Air Force veteran-turned-reckless airshow re-enactment pilot as he gets pulled into the underground culture of illegal, real-life aerial combat.

Josh Staman and Bryan Binder wrote the screenplay which Richard Jefferies ("Tron Legacy") is polishing. Chair, Jeffries and J. Todd Harris will produce.

Filming kicks off this summer in Michigan and will use all real airplanes and aerial sequences.

A photo from Arianna Huffington's Twitter feed is causing a small online stir as the feed claims it's from a film shoot she just did in Chicago with "The Matrix" and "Speed Racer" directors the Wachoskis.

The story? "Iraq from the perspective of the future". Is this a whole new project we've never heard of? Not really. CHUD reports that the shoot is part of a few days of camera tests the pair are doing for a new project which is still a while off.

So what is the project? That's unconfirmed though Cinematical speculates that is an adaptation of David Mitchell's 2004 novel "Cloud Atlas" which the pair bought the rights to earlier this year. At last report "The International" and "Run Lola Run" writer/director Tom Tykwer was working on the screenplay.

Slashfilm has reported that Adventureland director Greg Mottola has seen an early cut of the film, and has raved about it over on Twitter.

Be very jealous of me. I've seen an entire cut of SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD. Edgar Wright has made a classic (again)! It's amazing. ... I would say that Scott Pilgrim is the wittiest action movie you'll ever see, but that's just the half of it. ... Needless to say, Michael Cera is perfect. In fact, every single performance is incredible. You've got something special to look forward to. ... The filmmaking is so insanely good, I retired halfway through the movie. (looking forward to the pension checks, tho)

    Ovo ce garantovano interesovati brojne forumase.

    Porno glumica Kayden Kross gostovala je kod Howarda Sterna u cetvrtak i najavila da snima film TIGER'S WOOD, gdje ona glumi Tajgerovu zenu, onu plavu Svedjanku.

   Ako neko zna ima li slicnih vijesti i o Davidu Lettermanu, neka se ne stidi nego neka brze-bolje prijavi i taj projekat.     

Director Todd Phillips says that editing is underway on "Due Date", his first project since the massive success of "The Hangover" reports Coming Soon.

Robert Downey Jr. and 'Hangover' scene-stealer Zach Galifianakis star in the comedy and apparently the crew were "all in awe of Zach... he's totally different (in 'Due Date') than he is in 'The Hangover'".

At present the film runs at lengthy 125 minutes which he plans to cut down to an even 100 - "I always subscribe to: it should be 100 minutes. So, that's always around where it lands... Editing you have to be ruthless on yourself" says Phillips.

The director also says he's currently working on the script for "The Hangover" sequel which plans to start shooting this Summer for a Memorial Day 2011 release. Don't expect a return to Vegas though.

"What's really ultimately appealing about 'The Hangover' is these four guys and their interaction. It's not even Vegas. It's not so much the device as it is the characters... you can take those guys and put them somewhere else and go through a new set of situations and circumstances and hopefully it's just as interesting" said Phillips.

The Film Stage reports that the Warners exhibitor's website has revealed that the likely new name for Kevin Smith's upcoming Bruce Willis/Tracy Morgan comedy "A Couple of Dicks" will be "Cop Out".

Smith has been tweeting for days about how unfortunately "A Couple of Dicks" cannot be used due to lack of marketing approvals but a new title had been selected that would be better than the previously considered "A Couple of Cops". On that front he was right, but 'Dicks' would've been best.

The trailer for the film will premiere with "Sherlock Holmes" alongside a new trailer for Christopher Nolan's "Inception".

"The Office" star Steve Carell and "30 Rock" star/creator Tina Fey are loosely attached to star in the comedy "Mail-Order Groom" for Warner Bros. Pictures says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story follows a naive single woman who can't find love and ends up with a husband from Eastern Europe, bringing him home to the States.

Robert Carlock and Scott Silveri penned the script based on an idea by Fey's husband Jeff Richmond, while "Bad Santa" scribes Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have come onboard to do a polish.

Fey and Carell will be seen starring opposite each other in "Date Night" which opens in the Spring.