Premiere Daily

02.29.08: 'Indy 4' Will Premiere at Cannes, New 'Iron Man' Trailer Unveiled

The fourth instalment of Lucas and Spielberg’s action-adventure franchise, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, looks set to debut at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, four days before it hits cinemas around the world. Although Cannes has yet to confirm its official line-up, Paramount is confident the festival will be gagging to get Harrison Ford and co. waltzing down their red carpet after they see the film. More at Variety

02.28.08: 'Da Vinci' Sequel Delayed, New Images of 'Hulk' & 'Wolverine'

Just because the writer’s strike is over doesn’t mean all is fine and dandy in Hollywood. Studios are still treading warily, refusing to greenlight films that won’t be wrapped by the end of June – which is when the Screen Actors Guild contract expires. Steven Spielberg’s already pushed back the start date for The Trial Of The Chicago 7 to late summer, and sequels to Transformers and The Da Vinci Code (Angels & Demons) may both be delayed. No one’s expecting the actors to get the picket signs out – a smoother negotiation process is anticipated – but Hollywood still isn't going to get caught with its pants down. Or something. More at Variety

02.27.08: Paul Dano Gets 'Gigantic', Wahlberg and DiCaprio Do 'Cocaine'

Following his breakout double-role in There Will Be Blood, Paul Dano has signed on for Gigantic, a quirky romantic comedy directed by first-timer Matt Aselton. Zooey Deschanel will co-star in the loved-up tale of a mattress salesman and a female shopper. No word yet on whether she’ll be drinking his milkshake. Dano is also set to reunite with his L.I.E. co-star Brian Cox for the indie feature The Good Heart, which he’ll segue into straight from Gigantic. More at The Hollywood Reporter

02.26.08: Statham Cranks Up 'Transporter 3', Oscar Riles With In Memoriam Snubs

Transporter nuts rest easy: Jason Statham has committed to a third outing of the ballistic action franchise, reprising his role as the bone-crunching mercenary driver Frank. No Louis Leterrier this time, the helmer of the first two instalments now off Incredible Hulk-ing with Edward Norton. More at Variety

'Vantage Point' Takes The Top Spot

Vantage Point raced to the top of the weekend charts, its Rashomon-style thrills lifting it to $24 million. Holdovers Jumper and The Spiderwick Chronicles duked it out for the second and third spots, the former looking likely to pip Spiderwick with $12.7 million to bring its box-office haul up to $56.2 million. Spiderwick adds $12.6 million to its $43.6 million stash. Meanwhile, the freshly Oscar-blessed Juno and There Will Be Blood, both lingering in the Top 10, are primed for big boosts this week as is Best Picture winner No Country For Old Men. More at IMDB

02.25.08: Oscar 2008 Round-up

It’s No Country For Old Men’s NIGHT…

Reactions from the WINNERS…

A foreign sweep for the ACTORS…

Montage-heavy show branded a TURKEY…

…apart from Jon Stewart's acidic QUIPS

Off-stage REACTIONS...

…the BEST DRESSED on the red carpet…

…and the MOMENT Gary Busey accosted Jennifer Garner

Academy Awards 2008

Winners in bold (Click to read Premiere's review)

Best motion picture of the year
Atonement - Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, producers
Juno - Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, producers
Michael Clayton - Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, producers
No Country For Old Men - Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, producers
There Will Be Blood - JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, producers

02.22.08: Weaving Joins 'Wolfman', 'Where The Wild Things Are' In Danger

Hugo Weaving will track Benicio Del Toro’s titular beast in The Wolfman. The onetime Agent Smith will play the detective assigned to solve the hirsute monster mystery in Joe Johnston's update of the Universal horror classic. More at Variety

02.21.08: Bloom and Molina Get 'An Education', Fincher Falls Into 'Black Hole'

Orlando Bloom, Alfred Molina and Sally Hawkins, who just won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for Happy-Go-Lucky, have joined the cast of Lone Scherfig’s An Education. Set in Swinging ’60s London, the coming-of-age tale revolves around a witty, attractive teen (newcomer Carey Mulligan) who falls for an unsuitable American (Peter Sarsgard). Bloom will play Sarsgard’s charismatic best friend while Molina will play Mulligan’s father. Rounding out the impressive cast are Emma Thompson, Rosamund Pike and Olivia Williams, while About A Boy author Nick Hornby penned the adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoirs. More at Variety

02.20.08: 'Wolverine' Snares Superhero Trio, Owen Wilson Back To Work

Wolverine Snares Superhero Trio
X-Men Origins: Wolverine has rounded out its superhero cast, with Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights), Ryan Reynolds and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am signing up as Gambit, Deadpool and John Wraith respectively. They join Live Schreiber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth, Danny Huston as William Stryker and Lynn Collins as the Silver Fox, not to mention Hugh Jackman in the title role. Rendition director Gavin Hood is shooting the comic-book prequel spin-off in New Zealand, Australia and New Orleans, with the release pencilled in for May 2009. Marvel is also eyeing up Reynolds’ Deadpool, an assassin with self-healing powers, as another franchise starter if the characters proves popular in Wolverine. More at Variety

02.19.08: Depp, Law and Farrell step in for Heath Ledger

Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus has been saved from the cinematic dustbin by the combined star wattage of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, who have all signed on to play Heath Ledger’s character, Tony, in the film. According to Ain’t It Cool News, the three actors will each feature in one of three separate dimensions that Ledger accesses via a paranormal mirror in Gilliam’s fantasy pic. Sounds like an honorable solution that not only pays tribute to Ledger but will also allow the work he was able to complete on Parnassus to be seen. More at Ain’t It Cool News

02.18.08: 'Jumper' Leaps to Number One, 'The Elite Squad' Wins Berlin’s Golden Bear

Doug Liman’s sci-fi adventure Jumper landed at the top of the pile over President’s Day weekend with an estimated $31.7 million, trumping second-place Step Up 2 The Streets which took $28.1 million and The Spiderwick Chronicles, which landed in third place with $26.7 million. Last week’s topper, the Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson romantic adventure Fool’s Gold, held strong in fourth place, adding another $15 million to bring its total up to $44 million. More at Variety

2.15.08: Del Toro indefinitely, maybe for 'Hobbit'

Del Toro still not official for Hobbit, Great Debaters win four Image Awards, Oscar presenters are announced, and more

Del Toro’s Hobbit deal still needs his signature

Guillermo del Toro has told Empire Magazine that his deal to direct The Hobbit isn’t definite, saying, “there are still a lot of Ts to cross and I’s to dot.” He adds that he has not heard anything regarding the recent lawsuit that was brought against New Line by the estate of The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien. More at Empire.

2.14.08: Trailer Made: 'Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull'

2.14.08: Trekkies won't be celebrating Christmas this year

Abrams' Trek moves back to May '09, is Pacino the next great Bond villain?, the Wachowskis kick Ninja into gear, and more

Star Trek apparently is still under construction until May

Apparently, they weren’t kidding with that teaser in front of Cloverfield – J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot is moving from Christmas ’08 to May 8, 2009, one of a few release dates that were shuffled by Paramount on Wednesday. Tropic Thunder, the Ben Stiller satire about the movie business, also got pushed back from July 11 to August 15 of this year. One bright spot is that Martin Scorsese’s upcoming thriller Shutter Island with Leonardo DiCaprio moved up to October 2. More at Hollywood Elsewhere.

2.13.08: Kidman is game for Plame

Kidman spies CIA agent biopic, the writers strike is over, Worthington suits up for Terminator, and more

The secret is out: Kidman is in Plame biopic

Doug Liman will direct Nicole Kidman in an adaptation of outed CIA spy Valerie Plame’s memoir, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. Kidman and Liman were originally supposed to work together on Mr. And Mrs. Smith before scheduling conflicts interfered. More at MTV Movies Blog.

2.12.08: Lawsuits threaten 'Hobbit' and 'Watchmen' from going forward

Lawsuits could halt production on The Hobbit and Watchmen, Star Wars gets an animated theatrical run, Coens join the Union, and more

Tolkien Trust Lords lawsuit over New Line

The Tolkien Trust, a charitable organization which handles the estate of the late Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien, has sued New Line for missing profits from the films made by New Line. The trust argues that they are owed at least $150 million from the studio, thanks to a 1969 contract that gave them 7.5% of the gross receipts from any films made from the property. If the case isn’t resolved soon, Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit could be in jeopardy. More at the Los Angeles Times.

2.11.08: Scheider dead at 75

Page is Hell-bound, Atonement takes top honors at BAFTAs, Fool's Gold earns real booty at the box office, writers reach tentative deal to go back to work, and more

Scheider goes to the bigger boat in the sky

Roy Scheider, the Oscar nominated actor best known for his roles in Jaws and The French Connection, passed away on Sunday in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was 75. More at the New York Times. And read Glenn Kenny's tribute to the actor here.

2.8.08: Swank airs it out as Earhart

Swank flies to Amelia Earhart bio, Scorsese is jammin’ with Bob Marley doc, Timberlake calls the big Lebowski dad, and more

Swank joins the mile high club with Earhart bio

Though it’s been in the air for months, Hilary Swank has officially signed on to star in Amelia, an biography of Amelia Earhart penned by My Best Friend’s Wedding scribe Ron Bass. The Namesake helmer Mira Nair will direct the story of the female aviator in the independently produced feature. More at Latino Review.

02.06.08: Ledger: Accidental Overdose Confirmed & Vanity Fair Party Cancelled

Heath Ledger: Accidental Overdose Confirmed
After two weeks of speculation (including that the Brokeback star had been suffering from pneumonia and insomnia), the New York City medical examiner today announced that the cause of Heath Ledger's death was a result of an accidental overdose.  Spokeswoman Ellen Borakove announced in a statement to the media that Ledger's death was the result of "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine."  For those not in the know, the drugs listed are more commonly known by their brand names: the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, as well as the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. More at CNN.

02.05.08: WGA Nears Deal, ‘Ballast’ Finds Home, ‘Star Wars’ Returns

The End Is Near?
All signs seem to be pointing to an end to the Writer’s Strike that has crippled production in Hollywood since late last year. With word of side deals being made — including one that kept all of Marvel Entertainment’s super hero movie projects in active development — all over town for the past few weeks, the cracks in the stand-off had begun to show. Now, there seems to be a growing sense that a final deal is imminent, and that networks and studios will soon be back to business as usual, with a full complement of writers.  More at Hollywood Reporter

02.04.08: 'Hannah Montana' hits No. 1. Plus! The Super Bowl trailer round-up & 'Wolf Man' director named

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best Of Both Worlds Concert Tour rode the tween wave over the weekend, landing at the weekend’s top spot with $29 million courtesy of teenage girls thumbing their nose at the Giants-Patriots clash. Disney are so delirious, they’re extending the 3-D tweenfest’s run for another week. Trailing in Hannah’s wake were the Jessica Alba horror remake The Eye with $13 million, Katherine Heigl’s durable rom-com 27 Dresses, which squeezed in another $8.4 million, and the little pregnant girl who could, Juno, now up to $110.3 million and counting. More at Variety

PR Firms Band Together for Ledger

It seems the reason behind Entertainment Tonight's last-minute refusal to air a home video allegedly showing late actor Heath Ledger engaging in drug use--which the show had been teasing for several days--was that several powerful Hollywood public relations firms threatened a boycott.

And the impetus, at least according to rumor, may have been a certain Sex and the City star...

02.01.08: Brett Ratner Leads 'Wolf Man' Pack & Clooney a UN Peace Messenger

Currently, the list of directors who might land The Wolf Man gig following Mark Romanek’s exit are Brett Ratner, Frank Darabont, James Mangold, Joe Johnston and Bill Condon. Whoever gets the job has to work from a locked script, which would make Ratner – who previously lead a cavalry charge to rescue X-Men: The Last Stand after Bryan Singer bolted – the strongest contender. Fanboys who loathed the third X-Men may be weeping onto their keyboards, but we'd say he's as safe a pair of hands as any to guide the $100 million horror reboot. More at The Hollywood Reporter