Humpday Trade(ing?) Post

The ever spinning wheel-o-film spins on this week with films that are still a long way off getting announced and deals inching closer to being made. Here are three stories buried in the trades this week, collected for simplicity. Jolie On Gucci Pic Angelina Jolie is in discussions with Ridley Scott to star in his Gucci film, based on the true story of the fashion family's infighting during the 70s and 80s when the label was bringing in $500 million annually. There was scrapes and tiffs amongst the Gucci family until Maurizio Gucci seized the company throne. Things went well for Maurizio until 1995 when he was gunned down in Milan.Maurizio's ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiano, was sentenced to 29 years in jail for the killing and she represents the part Angelina Jolie is considering in the new film. Fox 2000 is trying to get this project shooting by 2010, so Ridley Scott is working on the script and talking to Leonardo DiCaprio about taking on the role of Maurizio (DiCaprio is not officially or unofficially attached at this point). Jolie will next got in front of the lens for The Tourist with Sam Worthington and Ridley Scott is in post-production for his Russel Crowe version of Robin Hood. Airman Takes Flight Ann Peacock, who wrote the adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe as well as penning the epic Odysseus and selling it to Warner Bros in a bidding war, has been assigned to adapt the novel Airman by Eoin Colfer.Airman follows Connor, the son of the King's bodyguard who lives on a small island off Ireland. When the King is murdered, Conner is accused and thrown into prison where he spends months designing a flying machine he will use to rescue his family.Airman will be produced for Disney by Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers. You know what that means? Yup: motion capture lives. Let's hope A Christmas Carol is worth it, and maybe we'll get Airman 3D. Sin Nombre Director Mounts Eyre Ellen Page is out of the gestating Jane Eyre adaptation for Ruby Films. The Charlotte Bronte novel was last brought to screen in 1996 with Charlotte Gainsbourg, and it's about time we did it again. Or so thinks Ruby Films.They're doing a pretty good job of making this one interesting, because they've just attached Cary Fukunaga, who one the Best Director prize at this year's Sundance with Sin Nombre. There's also a script by Moira Buffini, one of the UK's leading adaptation screenwriters with a screenplay bought based on Posy Simmonds' graphic novel "Tamara Drewe" as well has her own chic vampire project Byzantium.The hope is that Fukunaga will speed the project's pre-production so the film can start lensing next year and start casting within months. Rumor is this adaptation of Jane Eyre will focus more on the Gothic themes of the novel, though if they make Bertha an actual vampire, I will moan myself right out of the theater. Source: Trades

Narnia Scripter Flies

Ann Peacock, who co-wrote the script for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, will pen the motion-capture fantasy adventure Airman for Disney and Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers.

First Look: The Chronicles of Narnia Ship the Dawn Treader

Hopefully you didn't forget, but The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is actually in-production at 20th Century Fox. Disney dumped the Chronicles of Narnia franchise last year after Prince Caspian performed poorly, mainly due to marketing problems since that movie and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were disconnected in setting and tone, among other things. Fox stepped up and now they're shelling out millions to get it made. From the looks of it, though, they might have a "replacement" movie for Pirates of the Caribbean, as Disney is behind on getting the fourth movie ready. An endless amount of photos of the Dawn Treader have been leaking out, but ComingSoon landed the first batch of photos of the entire thing completed and ready to go, which I thought was finally worth featuring. C.S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader follows the two youngest Pevensies siblings, ...

Third Narnia Begins Production This Month

With a 2010 release still in mind, 20th Century Fox has announced that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will enter production this month.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third in the epic series of films based on the bestselling books by C.S. Lewis, will begin principal photography on location in Queensland, Australia, today - July 27, 2009. The production, a joint venture between Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Walden Media, continues the franchise which commenced with the spectacular, Oscar®-winning 2005 release, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and its 2008 follow-up, Prince Caspian, whose combined global boxoffice gross tops $1.2 billion.

This time around - Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb - find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world.

Who Will Play Bilbo Baggins In The Hobbit?

Peter Jackson and Guerillmo Del Toro have been working hard, getting the scripts for the two upcoming prequels to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy ready for a more vigorous pre-production. We suspect certain actors from the previous trilogy will join on for these two films, one based on The Hobbit and the other on additional material bridging The Hobbit and the War Of The Ring trilogy. The question has always been hanging in the air since these projects were announced is who is going to inherit the role of Bilbo Baggins since Ian Holm (Bilbo in the previous films) is too old to return to a prequel part.Now, rumors from Hero Complex suggest that Peter Jackson (attending Comic Con in support of District 9, which he produced) is going to drop the casting bomb on us next week. That means the short list is now important, so who's on it?We've been hearing four names (although one is a stupid rumor-based long shot) and they are: David Tennant - That's right, the UK's Dr. Who might be playing Bilbo. He's kind of a new face for audiences outside England and genre-lovi' Who fans, so he might be the best choice if Del Toro and Jackson want to bring someone new into the epic fantasy fold. Daniel Radcliffe - Obviously not new to the epic fantasy fold as most of you saw him or plan on seeing him as Harry Potter this weekend/ It seems like an odd choice to go from one blockbuster, bar-setting fantasy to the next, but who turns down a Peter Jackson Tolkien movie? Really? James McAvoy - He played a pretty good bad-ass in Wanted, was saccharine sweet in Atonement and flexed his chops in The Last King Of Scotland. McAvoy has some range and he's also done fantasy epic in Narnia as Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Jack Black - Yeah, that's not going to happen. But someone put his name in there. Probably the British and their tabloid press. The conspiracy theory de jour is that David Tennant is going to be the winner. Dr. Who is having it's first showing ever at the San Diego Con and Tennant will be in attendance. I'm okay with every choice except - obviously - the fake one. I think McAvoy would be able to make the less-wise Bilbo believable, but also be able to transition the character closer to Holm's appearance in The Fellowship Of The Ring. Radcliffe is developing at a faster pace than I expected him to, building his chops from years and years as a wizard. It wouldn't be a bad choice, but I could see some folks getting incensed. Tennant has experience selling sci-fi/fantasy plots and with a built in audience for more Tolkien adaptations, casting a big name like McAvoy or Radcliffe might be an unnecessary move if Tennant can do the job and do it well.My money is about evenly split between McAvoy and Tennant.If Jack Black gets the part. Well, there might be riots. Geek riots.Source: Hero Complex

Eagle Eye lands fourth best September opening ever. Fireproof shines.

Paramount Pictures Eagle Eye, coupling Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan, topped this weekends box office charts with an estimated $29.2 million earned. The thriller brings together D.J. Caruso with his Disturbia, churning in an $8,319 average from 3,510 venues.

Offered in 3-D Eagle Eye gave IMAX a big weekend, handing in $1.7 million in just 85 theatres at an average of over $20,000 per screen. This becomes the highest September/October title in IMAX history. For more on Shia LaBeouf filmography comparisons, including "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "Transformers," "Surf's Up" and "Disturbia," see our comparisons page.

Romantic drama Nights in Rodanthe debuted in second spot with $13.57 million from 2,704 theatres at a $5,018 average. Richard Gere and Diane Lane head the cast which includes James Franco, Scott Glenn, Christopher Meloni and Mae Whitman.  Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe writer Ann Peacock adapts the Nicholas Sparks novel alongside John Romano.

Screen Gems Lakeview Terrace dropped 53% in its sophomore weekend with $7 million posted as compared to last weekends debut gross of $15 million. Total earned thus far for the heavy film starring Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington is just over around $25.7 million.

The real star this weekend was a film opening in a mere 839 theatres Fireproof starring Kirk Cameron and Erin Bethea finished in fourth place with a strong  $6.5 million pulled in. This, save for Disneys 3-D Montana concert flick, has now had the years highest grossing opening weekend released on 1000 screens or less.

Focus Burn after Reading ended the top five films with a 44% change in its third weekend, dropping from second place. The Coen bros film has earned over $45 million.

This years top 12 films grossed around $87.8 million when compared to 2007s $76.2 million, showing  a rise of 15.22%. More in when actual figures are added.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" - 3-Disc Blu-ray Digital Copy review.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Blu-ray 3-Disc Digital Copy Review
By Peter Dimako, Editor

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An incredible amount of features are awaiting the keen buyer of Disneys The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian in a 3-Disc Blu-ray Digital Copy.

When comparing this with the first film? The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe pushed past the amateur acting skills of its leading cast thanks to a dedicated screenplay by South African screenwriter Ann Peacock.  The second film is a darker offering and one unsuited to children. There is just too much violence to recommend that a parent allow their younger children access to this.

 The Harry Potter films seem to be in the same rhythm of late; this was started by Christopher Nolans interpretation of Batman Begins and the recent follow-up The Dark Knight which is a gargantuan leap to the dark side since the earlier films.

 Additionally, the screenplay by helmer Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely fails to capture the magic of the C.S. Lewis written Caspian that Peacock did so well before.

As I said before, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell, the leading cast from of the first film, have not improved their acting talents and could turn in a few hours with a coach.

An amusing but overall lackluster adventure which misses the mark compared to the first film.

Blu-ray Features:

Feature fans rejoice. Theres a lot to enjoy here.

There are 3 discs included with of course the one being a Digital Copy which a buyer can drop into their computer and watch via ITunes or Windows Media Player.

Disc one contains Circle Vision Interactive: Creating the Castle Raid and BD-Live; both exclusive to Disney and Blu-ray.

Theres also audio commentary with Andrew Adamson as well as the actors.

Disc Two:

Although there may be just a single item available on the menu labeled as Behind-the-Magic, youll find plenty of interesting features. Here are the features broken down:

-          Bloopers of Narnia

-          Secrets of the Duel

-          Becoming Trumpkin

-          Warwick Davis: The Man Behind Nikabrik

-          Inside Narnia

Warner Bros. to make "Odysseus." Liebesman to direct.

Warner Bros. has set Jonathan Liebesman to direct "Odysseus" which is based on Ann Peacocks ("The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" spec script.

The story tells of the Greek hero king of Ithaca who, after fighting 20 years of Trojan Wars, returns home to find his kingdom being occupied by by an invading enemy. 

Odysseus gets direction from Warner Bros

Warner Brothers will develop a legendary tale into a feature film based on a spec script from Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) called ‘Odysseus’. Gianni Nunnari (300) ...

Jonathan Liebesman to Direct Odysseus

Warner Brothers have added another Greek mythology-based sword-and-sandals epic to their upcoming slate after winning a bidding war this week for Odysseus. Inspired loosely by Homer's Odyssey, the movie finds Odysseus returning to Ithaca after 20 years of fighting in the Trojan War where his his home is occupied by hostile forces. He single-handedly fights back and reclaims his kingdom. The movie is being billed as a bloody revenge flick akin to "300 meets Taken". Jonathan Liebesman (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Darkness Falls) is attached to direct the film, from a script written by Ann Peacock (Nights in Rodanthe, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). Although Peacock's past work may not include a lot of violent, testosterone-driven flicks, she did write the script for Liebesman's recent indie thriller The Killing Room. Warner Brothers is no doubt hoping that this will be a nice complement to their Clash of the Titans remake. Personally I'm just hoping this doesn't turn out to be another Troy, although Sean Bean did make a great Odysseus in that film. No word on if they will be going all green screen for this, but producer Gianni Nunnari and his production company Hollywood Gang did work on 300. Liebesman will still be directing his alien invasion movie Battle: Los Angeles before he turns his attention to Odysseus.