Cinematical

• "Oi, an' You Too, Brett?" Mandalay Options 'Julius'
  

  Filed under: Action, Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Deals, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek

  That's no typo -- in Antony Johnson's graphic novel Julius, the classic William Shakespeare play gets rewritten into modern, Guy Ritchie London where Julius is shot down by Brett, Cassidy, Dennis, Steve, Lee, and Kostas. And according to The Hollywood Reporter, it's just been optioned by Mandalay Pictures.
  
  Julius is the story of a London crime king named Julius, who is worshipped by the public as if he's royalty. His closest fellow gangsters conspire against him and eventually shoot him up. Oops, too late to add a spoiler alert. I imagine...
  



• Fanboy Bites: 'Dark Knight' Script, 'Poltergeist' Remake and 'The Hobbit'
  

  Filed under: Action, Deals, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Peter Jackson, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

  
  
  Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of kick ass!
  
  The Hobbit: Not long ago Guillermo Del Toro told fans that his next move was to begin work on The Hobbit script very soon. Well guess what? To our complete shock and surprise, the dude actually followed through on all this "writing script nonsense" and -- wait for it -- started working on the script (along with LOTR partners Frank Walsh and Philippa Boyens). YES! And this is, like, the BIGGEST news...
  



• Tom Cruise Wants to be a 'Sleeper' With Sam Raimi
  

  Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Casting, Deals, Warner Brothers, Newsstand, Tom Cruise, Comic/Superhero/Geek

  Tom Cruise has decided it's his turn to get in on the comic book action -- and he's teaming up with Sam Raimi to do it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the duo is setting up the DC/Wildstorm comic series Sleeper at Warner Bros. At this point, Raimi is only producing, but Cruise is hoping to star.
  
  Penned by Ed Brubaker, Sleeper was a 12-issue series set in the Wildstorm universe, which means it steers clear of all those...
  



• 'Watchmen' in Lots of Legal Trouble
  

  Filed under: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, Warner Brothers, Celebrities and Controversy, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Politics, Comic/Superhero/Geek

  Things rarely go smoothly for costumed adventurers -- and the courtroom, it seems, is no exception. Nikke Finke reports that a federal judge has denied to dismiss 20th Century Fox's legal claim on Watchmen. You may remember that they filed a lawsuit back in February claiming that their rights to the DC property still held. They seek an injunction to prevent Warner Bros' adaptation of Watchmen from being released at all.



• Alcon Entertainment Joining 'Cryptozoo Crew'
  

  Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Warner Brothers, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek

  I am starting to see a new pattern emerging in the latest graphic novel grabs -- monsters and the teams who hunt or protect them. That's a trend I can get behind (as opposed to the superhero deconstruction -- leave that to the masters). The latest according to Variety is Jerry Carr and Allan Gross' graphic novels Cryptozoo Crew, which has been purchased by Alcon Entertainment. No director has been named yet, but Joe Gazzam has already penned the script.
  
  The Cryptozoo Crew is...
  



• News Bites: A Freaky Geek Gets Writing & The Tale of Moulin Rouge
  

  Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Deals, Scripts

  Here's a few Vegas-themed Monday nibblets:
  
  • All the way back in 2006, there was news that New Line had grabbed Burt Dickenson: The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth. Set in Vegas, the comedy was said to focus on rival magicians and how one of the magic men's partners dies, leaving his ex to "find a way to rediscover his love for magic." Well, it's not quite ready for the camera yet, and The Hollywood Reporter posts that Freaks and Geeks and Bones actor John Francis Daley is going to whip up a rewrite with Jonathan Goldstein. Now the...
    
  
  
  
  • Columbia is Getting 'Goosebumps'
    

    Filed under: Horror, Thrillers, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, Scripts, Newsstand

    If you were a young whippersnapper in 1992, chances are the Goosebumps books were a lurid staple on your bedside table. My sister was an enormous fan, whereas I preferred, shockingly, Star Wars novelizations and sword-and-sorcery. I was just a little too old for their goofy twist endings -- although the single one I read gave me nightmares, I think because a dog was killed or something. (Let's ascribe it to a fragment of underdone potato, shall we?) In retrospect, you really are what you read as a kid -- my sister went on...
    
  
  
  
  • News Bites: 'In My Pocket' and 'Fathers Day'
    

    Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Casting, Deals, Cinematical Indie

    A few news bites for the end of the week:
    
    • Gregory Smith, who played one of the Stantons in The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, has picked up a starring gig, according to Variety. He will lead the indie drama In My Pocket, which will be the directorial debut of David Lisle Johnson III from a script he co-wrote with Joseph Ferrugio. The film will follow the travails of addiction and focus on two young men -- one is the good guy set for med school who fails out because of his addiction,...
      
    
    
    
    • What Gabriele Muccino Knows About 'Love'
      

      Filed under: Drama, Deals, Scripts

      Over the last few years, Italian director Gabriele Muccino has been busy with superstar Will Smith. He helmed ThePursuit of Happyness, and just wrapped up Seven Pounds. Now The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's cooking up a Kramer vs. Kramer style film that may or may not involve Smith's production company, Overbrook.
      
      The project, titled What I Know About Love, is being written by Muccino along with the writer of Sex and the City, Liz Tuccillo. The director says: "It's the story of a family's collapse, but with the complexity that relationships have today. It's a different world now, one that I...
      
    
    
    
    • Joel Silver Screens 'RocknRolla' For Competing Studios
      

      Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Awards, Casting, Deals, New Releases, Lionsgate Films, Sony, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Distribution, Movie Marketing

      As far as hustling movie producer archetypes go, I tend to prefer Joel Silver over Harvey Weinstein. Sure, Weinstein played a role in some of the great American independent films from the last decade of the twentieth century, but Silver's production credits have more spice to them -- The Matrix, Predator,48 Hrs. -- hinting at the zany force behind...