29/07/11 - True Blood gets a fifth season

Fans of True Blood will be pleased to hear that their show, which has just started broadcasting its fourth season, has already been guaranteed a fifth.

In addition the show's creator, Alan Ball, is committed to be a full-time executive producer/showrunner and is expected to reevaluate his future on the show at the end of Season 5 when he may take a backseat on True Blood while focusing on developing new projects for HBO.

 

28/07/11 - Not the ruling Lucas was looking for

British prop designer Andrew Ainsworth has won his battle with Star Wars creator George Lucas over the right to sell replica stormtrooper outfits in the UK following a supreme court ruling.

Ainsworth was the prop designer who made the original stormtrooper helmets for Star Wars (for which he was paid £20 per helmet and £385 per suit of armour), and has been manufacturing replicas for the past eight years.

Simon Bennett, intellectual property lawyer at Fox Williams LLP, said: "The judges concluded that the helmet could not be regarded as an artistic work because it was a mass produced item - remember how many stormtroopers there were? - and has an utilitarian role."

Talking to the BBC, Ainsworth said: "This is a massive victory, a total victory, we've already got the champagne out." He added that he had gone to court on a principle and was not going to allow the director to "buy his soul".

However, the supreme court also ruled that Lucas's copyright had been violated in the US, meaning Ainsworth will no longer be able to sell his costumes there.

 

27/07/11 - Creator walks from The Walking Dead

The Deadline website is reporting that Frank Darabont [pictured], the creator and executive producer of The Walking Dead TV series, is leaving his position as showrunner.

There's no official confirmation of this yet and, if true, it's not clear whether he will be leaving the series completely, or will stay on board in some capacity.

Speculating on the rumour, Deadline believes that Darabont never got used to the schedule of making a weekly TV series after working in the film industry for years.

Season two of The Walking Dead is currently in production.

 

26/07/11 - Judge will appear in new Batman film

Stargate SG-1's Christopher Judge [pictured] has confirmed that he will make an appearance in the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.

Tweeting on Twitter, Judge confirmed: "I can finally confirm: I have been cast in The Dark Knight Rises."

There's no word yet on what role he will play.

The Dark Knight Rises will open in cinemas on 20 July 2012.

 

25/07/11 - New Ghost Rider film will be different

Nicolas Cage [pictured] is set to reprise his role as the flaming-skulled Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze in a new Ghost Rider movie. However, the actor is eager to point out that this won't be a sequel to the poorly received 2007 film.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor claim that they will produce the adaptation of the dark and violent character that comic book fans really want to see.

"The first movie was kind of a Walt Disney kind of take on the comic book," said Taylor. "This version we made is darker, it's more intense, and [Blaze] is a nightmare. He will scare the hell out of you. He's not a superhero that wears tights and does his thing. He's more villain than he is a hero. He's a dark entity. He sucks out your soul; that's his superpower.

"When you see what [Cage] looks like, I think right away you'll know you are in a whole different world, literally, because he has a black skull. His clothes and bike don't look like they were designed by fashion designers. He looks like he crawled up from hell."

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance will be released in cinemas on 17 February 2012.

 

22/07/11 - Man of Steel release date is put back

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that it is moving the release date of Zack Snyder's [pictured] Superman reboot, Man of Steel, from the proposed December 2012 to 14 June 2013.

In the movie, a young reporter named Clark Kent roams the world covering various news stories. When he is compelled to use his secret powers to intervene in a crisis in West Africa, he returns to Smallville to learn more about his origins and the hero he was born to be.

Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Julia Ormond and Harry Lennix.

 

21/07/11 - Blade Runner sequel may star Ford

Harrison Ford [pictured] has hinted that he may know more about that Blade Runner sequel than he's letting on.

In a recent press call to promote Cowboys & Indians, in which Ford stars, he was asked if he was aware of the recent acquisition of the rights to the Blade Runner franchise by Alcon Entertainment. He was also asked whether he had heard if the character he played in the original movie, Rick Deckard would appear, to which Ford replied: "You know, I have no idea at this point. It's very early on, and yeah, sure, I know some of the people involved, but it's a long way from fruition."

 

20/07/11 - Is a Boba Fett movie on the cards?

Director Joe Johnston has revealed that he wants to make a stand-alone movie about the Star Wars character Boba Fett.

Johnston, who worked for and was mentored by George Lucas, said. " I'm trying to get George to make a feature based on Boba Fett."

It isn't known if there is an actual script being written for a Boba Fett movie at this time.

 

19/07/11 - Judge Dredd costume revealed

A new official photo of Karl Urban as Judge Dredd has been released by the producers of Dredd.

Fans of 2000 AD will be pleased to see that the costume seems to stay true to the comic book origins.

Dredd, which is currently in production, also stars Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson and Lena Headey as Madeline 'Ma-Ma' Madrigal.

The movie is due for release in 2012 and is being directed by Pete Travis.

 

18/07/11 - Director talks Jurassic Park IV

Director Joe Johnston has confirmed that he's onboard for Jurassic Park IV if and when it goes into full production.

"We are in discussions about Jurassic Park IV," said Johnston. "The most important thing I can tell you is that it starts a new trilogy that will go off in a different direction - a completely different direction that is very exciting, and different from anything we've seen. It starts with the history of the first trilogy, but it spins it off in a completely different direction. That's all I can tell you."

Jurassic Park IV is currently in development.

 

15/07/11 - The Evil Dead remake moves forward

Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell are readying to remake their cult horror hit The Evil Dead. The project will be written and directed by Fede Alvarez and produced by Ghost House Pictures.

In the original 1981 film, that starred Campbell, five friends at a remote cabin in the woods unknowingly summon demons from an ancient civilization, causing all sorts of bloody and gory problems.

 

14/07/11 - Teen Wolf gets a second season

According to Sci-Fi Wire, MTV has renewed its werewolf TV series Teen Wolf for a second season of 12 episodes.

The show, based on the 1985 movie starring Michael J. Fox, is currently half-way through its first season, and is currently MTV's highest-rated new series of 2010 and 2011 drawing around nearly 1.7 million viewers each week.

 

13/07/11 - Chris Pine could be the next Robocop

The latest Internet rumour is that Star Trek's Chris Pine [pictured] is being courted for the lead in MGM's Robocop remake.

Jose Padilha will direct the remake, but he has so far refused to confirm or deny whether Pine will be involved.

The studio hasn't officially offered Pine the part, so at the moment it's all speculation.

 

12/07/11 - Stoopid Monkey comes to YouTube

The creators of Robot Chicken, Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, are to create a live-action/stop-motion series that will broadcast on YouTube.

Two new episodes of Stoopid Monkey will be released each Friday for 10 weeks beginning 15 July. The show follows the misadventures of Stoopid Monkey, Biggie and QT as they interact with real people.

 

11/07/11 - How to Defeat Your Own Clone film

According to the Deadline website, Dimension Films has acquired rights to the comedy guidebook How to Defeat Your Own Clone.

The book, written by Kyle Kurpinski and Terry D. Johnson, takes a humorous look at the possible ramifications of human cloning, and how one can outsmart and defeat your genetically engineered self if the need arises.

The film is to centre on a clone-dominated society and one man's quest to turn the tide back in favour of humans.

 

08/07/11 - Space Invaders movie on the way?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the classic 1980s Space Invaders arcade game is heading to the big screen.

There have been other rumoured attempts to develop a film in the past but none has gone anywhere.

 

07/07/11 - Surprise cameos for old Batmen

SPOILER ALERT!

The latest Internet rumour on the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, is that it will star three Batman actors.

Not only will Christopher Nolan's film star Christian Bale as the Dark Knight, but Michael Keaton and Adam West are set to make cameo appearances.

The Dark Knight Rises will open in cinemas on 20 July 2012.

 

06/07/11 - Stargate movie sequels are underway

In a recent interview Dean Devlin, the writer/producer of 1994's Stargate movie, revealed that he is planning two more films in the franchise.

"The irony is that we wrote it as a trilogy of movies, but we were never able to do parts two and three," said Devlin. "Our hope is that, now that the series is starting to wind down that maybe it'll be time to do parts two and three. So we're hopeful we'll get to come back and tell the rest of that story."

Devlin also revealed that he is planning to bring back the original cast too, and that the story would have to be changed to incorporate all the time that's passed since the original film.

As far as the story is concerned, Devlin said: "We wanted to explore how the Stargates were built originally and where else in the universe they exist, why they exist, and where else they exist on Earth."

 

05/07/11 - Palicki joins the cast of G.I. Joe

Adrianne Palicki [pictured] is to play the female lead in the sequel to G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes.

Palicki will play Lady Jaye and joins the cast which includes Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson, who will play Roadblock.

It's expected that Ray Park will reprise the role of Snake Eyes, and Lee Byung-hun will once again play Storm Shadow.

 

04/07/11 - Branagh won't be directing Thor 2

The Deadline website has revealed that a second Thor movie is currently in the works, but that Kenneth Branagh will not be returning to direct.

No reason has been given for him not coming back to direct, but it is understood that the parting with Marvel Studios was mutual and amicable.

Chris Hemsworth will return to play the God of Thunder, although it is not known whether any of the other cast members from the first film will be back - especially Natalie Portman, now that she's won an Oscar and is enjoying motherhood.

Thor 2 will be released in cinemas on 26 June 2013.

 

01/07/11 - Rod Serling movie is on the cards

According to the Deadline website, production company Bureau of Moving Pictures has acquired the rights to make a film about the life of Rod Serling [pictured], creator of The Twilight Zone.

Serling's widow Carol will be a producer on the project and Stanley Weiser, who co-wrote the film Wall Street, will write the script.

Serling saw action during World War II as a paratrooper and demolition expert. His experiences during wartime become an integral part of his later writing and he often clashed with network execs over the anti-war themes in his stories.

 

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