Disney has picked up momentum in developing its version of The Jungle Book, which is set to be a live-action film with extensive CG embellishment. The project has just cast Idris Elba as Shere Khan, the tiger whose name literally means “king.” Elba has a regal bearing no matter what he’s doing, and even his voice alone should be able to command respect, and instill fear.

Now that’s some awesome casting right there.

This, by the way, is the Jon Favreau directed installment. You might recall there are two Jungle Books upcoming and this is Disney’s version.

Box Office Mojo reports that after this weekend, Padilha’s reboot has crossed the $51 million mark, domestically. Here’s a number, though, that will really turn your head. RoboCop has banked $136 million overseas. Which means, globally, the reboot is fast approaching the $200 million mark. 

That’s sequel money.

Need a comparison? Liam Neeson’s Taken, widely considered a massive hit (and a movie that inspired at least one sequel), ended up with $226.8 million worldwide. Sony’s own reboot of the 21 Jump Street series also banked $201.6 million internationally. 22 Jump Street opens in…

It was revealed yesterday that the 29-year-old is expecting her first child with fiancé Romain Dauriac. And while we wish her and her family all the best, we can’t help wondering how this might affect Black Widow’s future with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now it looks like we have our answer.

According to E! News, Johansson is due in August, meaning she’s about four months along already. Johansson’s baby bump hasn’t been obvious, but it will be soon. As it gets bigger, it’s only going to get more difficult to keep that hidden under the Black Widow’s signature leather catsuits.

So the…

I really enjoyed Frozen. I’m talking “I-saw-it-three-times-in-theaters” enjoyed it. I’m talking “I-can-sing-most-of-the-songs-word-for-word” enjoyed it. I’M TALKI-

I think I’ve made my point.

Anyway, all of that goes to say that I’m not the only one who really enjoyed this film. For starters, our old friend Joe Darnell and I talked about it on Episode #72 of The MovieByte Podcast. It also won two awards at Sunday’s 86th Academy Awards - Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song for “Let It Go,” sung by Idina Menzel (or, as John Travolta would have us believe, “Adele Dazim”) and…

The Wachowski siblings have a very long history over at Warner Bros. but with the exception of the Matrix Trilogy, none of their movies have had great financial success.

Speed Racer/Cloud Atlas tanked and let’s not kid ourselves, by the looks of it, Jupiter Ascending will not be much better.

We’ve been told that the Wachowski’s have already started the writing process with early treatments and outlines already turned into the studio. No word if they will want to direct but my money says “Claro que Si!”.

I have really mixed feelings about this if it’s true. The Matrix is one of the best…

Sorry I’m getting started on posts so late today. We had an ice storm last night that has covered the roads with ice, and somehow took out my home internet. The roads have finally been cleared enough for me to make it to a McDonald’s (I know, I know) with free Internet and get some posts going.

So, anyway, enough of the boring stuff, here are the Oscar winners as reported by ABC news.

Best Picture: “12 Years a Slave.”

Actor: Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine.”

Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Supporting Actress: Lupita…

I discovered Minecraft sometime last year and went through quite a long period of time of being addicted to what appears on the surface to be a rather simple game. For those of you out there who have given the survival/creation game a try know exactly what I’m talking about. 

Now what if I told you that the game was being adapted into a film? 

That’s right! Collider reports that Warner Bros. has acquired the film rights to this popular video game, hot off the success of the very successful The LEGO Movie.

Indeed, Deadline reports that Warner Bros. has tapped LEGO Movie co-producer Roy Lee…

With a new script, a new release date, and a new plan for working around Paul Walker‘s passing, Fast & Furious 7 is finally getting ready to resume production.

Universal is gearing up to start filming again in Atlanta, where the high-speed actioner had been shooting before Walker’s death.

THR reports that cast and crew are preparing to shoot in Atlanta “on or near” April 1. That gives director James Wan and the studio about one year to complete the movie, which is scheduled to open April 10, 2015. About six to eight weeks of filming remain.

It will be interesting to see how they’ve…

Sony Pictures is making big plans for its Spider-Man franchise and beyond.  When the studio announced plans to move forward with a Venom spinoff and a Sinister Six film in addition to further adventures in the proper Spider-Man series, it became clear that the studio was keen on building its own mini-universe not unlike Marvel’s interconnected franchises.  Now it appears that the plan involves releasing a new Spider-Man film every year for the foreseeable future.  That begins with 2016’s The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which the studio has now confirmed that Marc Webb will indeed be returning to…