Franchise Necessities: Live Action ‘The Jungle Book’

Franchise Necessities: Live Action ‘The Jungle Book’
Kevin Jagernauth - The Playlist

So here we go with “The Jungle Book,” as THR reports Disney has hired Justin Marks, who penned an early draft of the studio’s “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” reboot, to write the script. Hooray! Listen, it’s just the bare, franchise necessities which is why this is happening, though since Rudyard Kipling‘s stories are in the public domain it means they have competition from Warner Bros. who have their own Mowgli feature brewing, penned by “Harry Potter” dude Steve Kloves.

Hmm. I’m not sure how much I care about this. Of course the headline caught my eye because I’ve only watched the…

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CBS and Netflix Extend Licensing Deal

CBS and Netflix Extend Licensing Deal
Deadline.com

CBS has extended its multi-year licensing agreement for its library content with Netflix. Under the revised deal, new titles such as L.A. Complex, 4400, and CSI: NYwill be available to Netflix subscribers. The agreement also includes several CBS series already on Netflix including Jericho, Medium, andFlashpoint, along with episodes from all generations of Star Trek as well as Twin Peaks.

Good news! The more content available on Netflix, the happier a camper I will be. I would really like to get all my content via Netflix and Hulu, I’m tired of these companies and providers that draf…

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Orson Scott Card Calls Gay Marriage Issue “Moot”

Orson Scott Card Calls Gay Marriage Issue “Moot”
Grady Smith - Entertainment Weekly

Responding to reports of a nascent boycott against the upcoming movie version of his beloved 1985 sci-fi novel Ender’s Game because of his stated opposition to same-sex marriage, author Orson Scott Card has released a statement exclusively to EW.

...

Ender’s Game is set more than a century in the future and has nothing to do with political issues that did not exist when the book was written in 1984.

With the recent Supreme Court ruling, the gay marriage issue becomes moot. The Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution will, sooner or later, give legal force in every state to…

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Neill Blomkamp Won’t Direct Third ‘Star Trek’ Reboot Installment

Neill Blomkamp Won’t Direct Third ‘Star Trek’ Reboot Installment
Emma Dibdin - Digital Spy

Despite admitting that he is a fan of the Star Trek universe, Blomkamp told Filmz that he is not interested in franchise filmmaking.

“I used to be a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan. Like, big time,” he explained. “But no, I probably wouldn’t do that.

“I don’t know if me getting involved with a franchise is the best thing for me. When studios smell franchises, they smell money. And they’ll try to do what they can to the franchise to make it make the most money it can make, and a lot of those interesting ideas kind of fall by the side of the road. 

“Do I like Star Trek on its own…

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‘Lone Ranger’ Could Be $150 Million Loss

‘Lone Ranger’ Could Be $150 Million Loss
Pamela McClintock - The Hollywood Reporter

Disney’s The Lone Ranger has ended up in the box office stockades, with the studio and even producer Jerry Bruckheimer facing a substantial loss after the meek opening of the Johnny Depp-Armie Hammer Western in North America and in its first overseas markets.

Just as Lone Ranger began rolling out in theaters July 3, Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz predicted a $100 million write-down for Disney. Now, box office experts and rival studio insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter that the loss could approach or even surpass $150 million based on final opening numbers, although they add that…

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Russell Crowe Would Do ‘Man of Steel’ Prequel

Russell Crowe Would Do ‘Man of Steel’ Prequel
ComingSoon.net

Russell Crowe has been receiving a lot of questions from his fans on Twitter asking him if he’d consider reprising his role of Jor-El from Man of Steel in a prequel and the actor says he’s game.

“A lot of you are asking about a KRYPTON prequel, if that’s something you feel strongly about let @Legendary pictures know your thoughts,” he said. He added, in response to someone, “Just getting sick of reading the same question mate, however, if it came up, i’d give the tights another go.”

Huh. Now that’s an interesting thought, although I find prequels to often be very challenging,…

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Neeson Willing to Star in ‘Taken 3’ For A Large Sum

Neeson Willing to Star in ‘Taken 3’ For A Large Sum
Angie Han - /Film

Here’s one from last week I meant to post and never got around to.

Shortly before the release of Taken 2, star Liam Neeson sounded deeply skeptical about the prospect of a Taken 3. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he shrugged. “I can’t see a possible scenario where audiences wouldn’t go, ‘Oh, come on…! She’s taken again?’” But for an eight-figure salary, he’s apparently willing to keep an open mind.

Neeson is in final negotiations to star in the next Taken movie, which is being scripted once again by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.

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For Taken 3Deadline reports that…

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Julianne Moore to Play President Coin in ‘Mockingjay’

Julianne Moore to Play President Coin in ‘Mockingjay’
Kevin Jagernauth - The Playlist

Deadline reports that Julianne Moore is being lined up to star in the two-parter conclusion “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.” She would be taking the role of President Alma Coin, the head of District 13, who leads rebellion against the Capitol and factors very heavily in the lines of Katiness, Prim, Peeta and more. It’s a major role, and while the paycheck is probably nice, we’d have to imagine the fact that the script is being written by “Game Change” scribeDanny Strong (you’ll recall she played Sarah Palin in that film to great acclaim) is likely a nice incentive as well.

I honestly…

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Peter Jackson Talks “Extended” (really?!?) ‘Hobbit’

Peter Jackson Talks “Extended” (really?!?) ‘Hobbit’
Germain Lussier - /Film

Jackson and his team are currently finishing the second film, The Desolation of Smaug, as well as the Extended Edition of An Unexpected Journey.

This is presumably because the film had been cut so short and they left so much on the cutting room floor because of the amount of discipline they exercised in editing this film…

Will it enhance the film or just make it feel longer?

Well…

  • “You are going to get some serious Dwarvish disrespect of the elves at Rivendell.” – Peter Jackson
  • “You are going to get more of Hobbiton. We always wanted to wend our way through Hobbiton,…
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Pixar Promises More Original Stories

Pixar Promises More Original Stories
Andrew Sims - Hypable

One common complaint about Disney Pixar over the past few years concerns their reliance on sequel/prequel ideas.

Today, they’re admitting it’s become an issue and are pledging to change course.

Speaking to BuzzFeed, Pixar President Ed Catmull revealed that the animation studio now plans to release one original story a year.

“For artistic reasons … it’s really important that we do an original film a year,” says Catmull. “Every once in a while, we get a film where we want or people want to see something continuing in that world — which is the rationale behind the sequel. They want…

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