Premiere Daily

03.31.08: '21' Cashes In, New 'Valkyrie' Pics & Martin And Keaton Get 'Happy'

21 stormed to the top of the box-office charts over the weekend, cashing in its chips for a $23.7 million haul. Inspired by the true story of six MIT students who swindled Vegas casinos for millions, Robert Luketic’s drama easily trounced the weekend’s other new entries, spoof-com Superhero Movie, which underperformed with $9.5 million to land at No. 3, and Stop-Loss, the latest Iraq War-themed project to be avoided at all costs by moviegoers. Kimberly Pierce’s drama ended up with an estimated $4.5 million and the No. 8 spot. Meanwhile, Horton Hears A Who continued its competition-trouncing run, vacuuming up another $17.4 million to bring its total to $117.2 million. It’s the first film to break the $100 million barrier in 2008. More at Variety

03.28.08: Quaid Joins 'Legion', Bello Replaces Gyllenhaal & The Lone Ranger Returns

Dennis Quaid is joining Tyrese Gibson, Charles S Dutton, Lucas Black and Paul Bettany in Legion, which will mark the directorial debut of Scott Stewart. The faith-based thriller casts Bettany as the archangel Michael, the only one defending mankind against a forthcoming apocalypse after God loses faith in humanity. Their only hope is a group of strangers who must deliver a baby who may be Christ in his second coming. More at Variety

03.27.08: Meet George 'W's Parents, Clooney Feels The 'Burn' & Maguire Gets 'Afterburn'

Oliver Stone is casting thick and fast on W, his fact-based foray into the formative years of George W. Bush. Having just hired Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush, the tyro director has now set James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn to play George Herbert Walker Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush. Shooting on Stone's drama kicks off at the end of April in Shreveport, Louisiana. More at Variety

03.26.08: Stone Casts Banks As Laura Bush, 'Wolfman' Producer Talks & Ritchie Planning 'RocknRolla' Trilogy?

Oliver Stone has hired Elizabeth Banks (Fred Claus, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) to portray Laura Bush in W, his biopic about the life and presidency of the White House’s current squatter. Josh Brolin will play George Bush and Stone plans to start shooting in late April. More at The Hollywood Reporter

03.25.08: Jackman’s A Real 'Nowhere Man', Marsden & Keener Get 'Nailed'

Hugh Jackman is teaming up with Eli Stone co-creator Marc Guggenheim and Virgin Comics to fashion an original comic-book series called Nowhere Man that will eventually become a big-screen franchise for the X-Men star. The story’s still under wraps but apparently will feature a protagonist in a futuristic world where humanity has swapped privacy for security. “I’ve had so much fun in the graphic novel world with the X-Men franchise,” says Jackman, who’s currently shooting the Wolverine prequel in Australia, “that I wanted to get even more involved.” More at Variety

03.24.08: 'Horton' Stays On Top, Gandolfini’s The Mayor & Spielberg Finds Tintin

Horton Hears A Who refused to budge from its perch atop the box office, adding another $25.1 million to its $86.5 million haul and knocking newcomers Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns, Thai horror rehash Shutter and Owen Wilson comedy Drillbit Taylor into second, third and fourth place with $20 million, $10.7 million and $10.2 million respectively. Drillbit’s debut was particularly disappointing, the second letdown in a row for the Judd Apatow comedy factory after Walk Hard’s Christmas season flop-out. More at Variety

03.21.08: Scott & DiCaprio Go 'Low', Giamatti Joins 'Duplicity'

Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio, who recently worked together on Body Of Lies, may reteam for The Low Dwelling. Brad Ingelsby’s script is set in 1986 Indiana, where a man imprisoned for murder is released only to discover his loser brother has been killed after becoming involved in a seedy gambling racket. Rather than staying straight, he decides to avenge his brother’s death. With its No Country For Old Men-like storyline, Ingelsby’s dark thriller was snapped up for $1.1 million by Relativity Media, who envisage a short shoot that Scott and DiCaprio can squeeze in between bigger projects. More at The Hollywood Reporter

03.19.08: Sci-Fi Legend Arthur C. Clark RIP, Jack Ryan Back in Business, Michael Cera Gets Graphic

Sci-Fi Legend Arthur C. Clark Dies at 90
Science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke died early Wednesday, after reportedly suffering from breathing problems and post-polio syndrome.  During his career, Clarke wrote roughly 100 sci-fi books, most notably 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he and Stanley Kubrick adapted into a screenplay for the classic 1968 film of the same name.  In addition to his prolific career as a writer, he also was an inventor, scuba diver, visionary and all-around futurist. More at NPR.

03.18.08: Director Minghella Dies, 'Dark Knight' Stars Celebrate Ledger

Director Anthony Minghella, Dead at 54
Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella, renowned for his lavish literary adaptations including the The English Patient, Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr. Ripley is dead, his agent has confirmed.  According to a spokesman, he was undergoing surgery for a routine neck operation when he suffered a brain hemorrhage.  His most recent project, telepic No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, will air on BBC One this Sunday. More at BBC News.

03.17.08: Seuss Rules at the Box Office, Universal's Dark Horse

Seuss Rules at the Box Office
Horton Hears a Who! won big at the box office this weekend, raking in $45.1 million — that'll buy a lot of Truffula seeds! Meanwhile, 10,000 BC roared in at #2 with $16.4M. Read Premiere's review of 10,000 BC here. Djimon Hounsou's butt-kicking flick Never Back Down picked up $8.6M, and College Road Trip came in at #4 with $7.89 million. Vantage Point rounds out the top five with $5.4 million in the bank. Check out Premiere's review of Vantange Point here.

03.14.08: Fincher Plays 'Heavy Metal', Charlize Mouths Off

David Fincher will spearhead and direct one of the segments of an animated film inspired by the 70s sci-fi fantasy magazine Heavy Metal, which was rife with erotic, violent storylines and imagery and introduced the world to the works of Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison and H.R. Giger. The film will be made up of eight or nine segments, each with a different director. Besides Fincher, they'll include Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and current owner-publisher of Heavy Metal, and Tim Miller, whose Blur Studios will handle the animation. The other directors are still to be announced. More at Variety

03.13.08: Final 'Potter' Split In Half, New 'Hulk' Trailer & Singer Returns For 'Superman' Sequel

Confirming what web speculators have been chattering about for months, Warner Bros has announced that it is splitting the final Potter book, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, into a two-part film that will be shot simultaneously and released six months apart in November 2010 and May 2011. The studio also confirmed that David Yates, who directed Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix and this November’s Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, will direct both instalments while Steve Kloves will undertake scripting duties. No word on how they plan to divide J.K. Rowling’s hefty tome, which at 784 pages in hardback makes an outstanding doorstop. “I think it’s the only way you can do it,” says franchise star Daniel Radcliffe. “The seventh book doesn’t really have any sub-plots [to cut]. It’s one driving, pounding story from word go.” More at LA Times

03.12.08: Witherspoon To Play 50-Foot Woman, 'Rosemary's Baby' Set For Remake

DreamWorks Animation's first film produced with 3-D technology, Monsters Vs Aliens, has lined up an impressive voice cast, with Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Hugh Laurie, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Rudd all on board. The computer-animated epic will center on a modern-day California girl (Witherspoon) who grows to 50-feet tall after being slimed by an outer-space meteor. Captured by the government, she discovers the US military has been quietly snaring monsters for years, including insect-head Dr Cockroach (Laurie) and half-ape, half-fish the Missing Link (Arnett). If you want to pencil opening day in your diary now, it's March 27, 2009. More at Variety

03.11.08: Ledger's Last Film Resumes Shoot, Ratner Eyes Up 'Harbinger'

Terry Gilliam has picked up the reins again on The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus in Vancouver, where Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law are stepping in for the late Heath Ledger to complete the bluescreen portions of the film. Ledger had already wrapped on the live-action parts of Gilliam’s fantasia, with Depp, Farrell and Law playing physically transformed versions of his character when he passes through a magic mirror into parallel worlds of the imagination. “I am grateful to Johnny, Colin and Jude for coming onboard,” said Gilliam, “and to everyone else who has made it possible for us to finish the film. I am delighted that Heath’s brilliant performance can be shared with the world.” More at The Hollywood Reporter

03.10.08: '10,000 BC' Clubs The Competition, Sandler Reteams With Apatow & Coppola Casts Gallo

Roland Emmerich’s prehistoric mish-mash of mammoths and ancient civilisations, 10,000 BC, speared $35.7 million over the weekend to install itself firmly at No. 1. The weekend's other big opener, Martin Lawrence comedy College Road Trip, trailed Emmerich’s loincloth spectacular in second place with $14 million, while Will Ferrell’s basketball comedy Semi-Pro continued its lame run, plummeting 62 percent in week two and adding $5.8 million to its meager $24.7 million total. At this rate, chalk the basketball comedy up as Ferrell’s first bona-fide flop. More at Variety

03.7.08: DiCaprio Downs 'The Chaser'

DiCaprio closes in on The Chaser, Krasinski and Rudolph play house in Mendes' comedy, Rodriguez rounds out the Fast and the Furious reunion, and more

DiCaprio may reteam with Departed screenwriter for WB thriller

Leonardo DiCaprio is said to be “circling” an adaptation of The Chaser, a Korean serial killer thriller that will be penned by The Departed scribe William Monahan. Warner Bros. will distribute the film, which was a huge hit in its home country and DiCaprio would likely play the part of an ex-police officer who follows up on one of his missing persons investigations and becomes a pawn in a serial killer’s game. More at The Hollywood Reporter.

03.6.08: Carrey and Reitman Want a Piece of 'Pierre'

Carrey Stealing Scenes n Reitman's Pierre, Pierre
Jim Carrey will star as a French nihilist who is charged with delivering a stolen painting from France to England in Pierre Pierre, a $13 million comedy directed by Juno helmer Jason Reitman. Fox Atomic won the right to distribute the picture. More at Variety.

03.5.08: Butler Breaks the 'Law,' Hindus Unhappy With 'Guru'

Butler is Law Abiding Citizen

Gerard Butler will play an assistant district attorney who is the target of revenge in Law Abiding Citizen, the first film from Evil Twins, a production company the 300 star is starting with his manager Alan Siegel. The burgeoning indie studio The Film Department is producing and Equilibrium scribe Kurt Wimmer wrote the script. Butler is also developing a film called Hanging Tale with James Cameron’s Lighstorm Entertainment and an adaptation of Frank McCourt’s Teacher Man with My Best Friend’s Wedding screenwriter Ron Bass writing. More at Variety.

03.04.08: Lohman Replaces Page in 'Hell', Jack Endorses Hillary

The day after it was announced that Ellen Page was leaving the project, Sam Raimi has already hired a replacement leading lady for his supernatural thriller Drag Me To Hell. Alison Lohman, whose most recent roles include Beowulf and Things We Lost In The Fire, will star as the unwilling recipient of an evil curse in Raimi’s first directing gig since Spider-Man 3. More at The Hollywood Reporter

03.03.08: 'Semi-Pro' Makes Soft Landing, Ellen Page Dodges 'Hell'

Semi-Pro made a soft landing over the weekend, landing at the top spot with a rather unspectacular $15.3 million. Chalk that up as the worst opening for a major Will Ferrell comedy in nearly a decade – even trumping last year’s ice-skating spoof Blades Of Glory, which garnered more than twice as much. The Other Boleyn Girl raked in $8.3 million to land at No. 4, although the Scarlett Johansson-Natalie Portman historical romp’s screen average was far more impressive as it opened in a third of the number of cinemas. Meanwhile, the Coen brothers’ No Country For Old Men surged back into the Top 10 on the back of its Best Picture Oscar, adding another $4 million to its $70 million stash. More at Variety