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Writers hired for 'Ninja Turtles' reboot

Paramount has reportedly hired a pair of writers to reboot the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie franchise.

Art Marcum and Matt Holloway have been tapped to script a new live-action Turtles film for Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, reports Deadline.

"The studio is looking at this as its next huge franchise, like Transformers," said a source.

The studio is eyeing a 2012 release for the picture.

Marcum and Holloway previously collaborated on the script for Marvel's Iron Man.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise began as a comic book in the 1980s and spawned several TV series, three live-action films, one CGI animated feature and various toys and other products.

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Wolverine 2' targets 'Twilight' director

Fox has targeted the director of Twilight: Eclipse for Wolverine 2.

Vulture reports that David Slade is competing with Flightplan and The Time Traveler's Wife helmer Robert Schwentke for the movie.

An insider has indicated that Slade is the favourite to direct the sequel.

Wolverine 2 will reportedly be set in Japan, following on from the conclusion of the first film.

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McGregor, Blunt begin filming on 'Yemen'

Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt have begun filming for Salmon Fishing In The Yemen.

Kristen Scott Thomas also stars in the adaptation of Paul Torday's novel, now in its second week of shooting.

The stars and crew were on location near Downing Street in London on Thursday.

They relocated to the Millennium Bridge on Friday.

Directed by Lasse Hallström and due for release in 2012, the romantic comedy concerns a government scientist who is forced to introduce salmon into the Yemen.

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O'Connell: 'It's fun playing a jerk'

Jerry O'Connell has admitted that he enjoyed playing a jerk in Piranha 3D.

The actor said that audiences will not feel sympathy for the character.

Speaking to About, the 36-year-old said: "It's a lot of fun getting to play just a total jerk. I mean a total jerk. Believe me, this is a horror film so people are going to die - so audiences may be quite pleased. It's just too much fun and I'm never going to be able to play someone like that. You just can't play good guys your whole life."

As for what was his favourite scene in the horror-thriller, he added: "I have to say I am attacked - I'm not going to say whether I die or not - but I am attacked by the prehistoric piranha. They attack a private organ of mine. In 3D."

Piranha 3D is currently playing in cinemas.

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Stallone: 'Expendables stars were difficult'

Sylvester Stallone has confessed to having difficulty keeping the stars of his new movie The Expendables under control.

The 64-year-old revealed to Virgin Media that directing the action hero ensemble, which included Hollywood hard men Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke, was not an easy task, as many of the performers were reluctant to break out of their comfort zones.

Stallone said: "Was it tough? Yes. You get these strong men who have a certain way of doing things on a film, and you have to get them to give that up.

"Like Jason [Statham] in this film is totally different than in anything he's ever done. Dolph Lundgren is totally different."

Directing difficulties aside, the Rambo actor added that he was immensely proud of the all-star cast that he had managed to assemble.

"The thing was to find certain personalities and put them all together like a dream team," he explained.

"I wanted to do a film a bit like The Magnificent Seven or The Dirty Dozen. One of those that only comes along once in a while."

Stallone previously revealed that he is planning to expand the lineup for a proposed sequel to the big-budget blockbuster, which topped the US box office upon its release last week.

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McDonough: 'Evans great in Captain role'

Neal McDonough has claimed that Chris Evans is a "great" Captain America.

McDonough, who co-stars with Evans in the Marvel comic adaptation, has insisted that it was a pleasure working with the young actor and that he admired Evans's dedication to the role.

He told Bang Showbiz: "He's great in the role, a great guy, he's one of the people I'd love to work with every day. He's going to be someone you're going to be watching for a very long time. He's so dedicated to his craft, he works really hard."

McDonough also revealed that he had enjoyed being part of the cast of the film, adding: "I'm happy as I could possibly be to be a part of Captain America. For an actor it's fantastic - for me as a kid, Captain America was one of my favourites - so to be Dum Dum it's just been a blast. I'm having a great old time killing the bad guys."

Captain America: The First Avenger arrives in cinemas in July 2011.

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Michelle Rodriguez 'tired of butch roles'

Michelle Rodriguez has admitted that she was happy to leave her "butch" film image behind and embrace a sexier role in Machete.

The 32-year-old actress, who co-stars in the new action-thriller, claimed that she was typecast for several years, playing women in uniform, and revealed she was relieved to have finally broken the "annoying" streak.

In an interview with Movie Hole, she said: "You know what was amazing to me? Finally not having a frickin' cop outfit. I'm so tired of these butchy polyester outfits. It seems every time I do something I'm wearing some government outfit - it's so annoying. With the exception of Fast And The Furious, I'm always in uniform. I'm always like, 'Can I just get rid of this butch outfit and be hot for once?'"

The 32-year-old also revealed that she told director Robert Rodriguez that she would not expose her breasts on camera.

She added: "That was one of my first conditions before we even started, 'I'm not taking this off and you're still interested Robert, you can pay me' - I'm joking.

"But I understand why some did. I think it's that some people have that Cleopatra appeal, some people have that warrior appeal, and some people have the mother appeal - whatever your power is as a woman, go for it! Run with it!"

Machete arrives in US cinemas on September 3.

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Carrey signs for 'Mr Popper's Penguins'

Jim Carrey is reported to have signed for the lead role in Mr Popper's Penguins.

According to Hollywood Insider, Carrey will play New York businessman Mr Popper, whose life is thrown into chaos when he receives six penguins in the post.

The film, adapted from the 1938 children's book by Richard and Florance Atwater, will be directed by Mean Girls and Spiderwick Chronicles helmer Mark Waters, and will bring together live-action and CGI elements.

Ben Stiller and Jack Black were both linked to the role prior to Carrey's involvement. Shooting is due to begin this autumn.

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Singer reveals new 'First Class' details

Producer Bryan Singer has revealed a number of details about the upcoming X-Men prequel X-Men: First Class.

The details was reported by Bleeding Cool and are some of the first to be confirmed regarding the film's plot.

Perhaps the biggest revelation is that the film will be set in the 1960s during JFK's presidential reign, and will feature traditional comic book costumes rather than the leather jumpsuits worn in the original X-Men movies.

Professor Xavier, to be played by Shameless alumnus James McAvoy, will appear both before and after he becomes paralyzed and will have hair due to his younger age in the film.

Singer also revealed that X-Men mainstays Cyclops and Jean Grey won't be appearing in First Class, but that Cyclops's brother Havok will appear instead.

Kevin Bacon was previously announced to be appearing as the film's villain, and Singer has now revealed that he will be portraying Hellfire Club Black King Sebastian Shaw, with January Jones playing his White Queen Emma Frost.

Singer confirmed that while the new film takes from the X-Men: First Class comic series in name, it doesn't follow much of the same tone or storyline.

X-Men: First Class is due to be released in cinemas on June 3, 2011.

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Jolie to work on Bosnian War love story

Angelina Jolie has revealed that she will soon begin work on a film set during the Bosnian War, which took place between 1992 and 1995.

The actress made the announcement after a visit to the country's capital Sarajevo on Saturday.

In a statement issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, for whom Jolie is a Goodwill Ambassador, the star said: "The film is a love story, not a political statement."

The movie tells the story of a couple who meet on the eve of the war, with shooting planned to start in the autumn.

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50 Cent 'regrets halting movie career'

50 Cent has revealed that he regrets not pursuing a film career earlier in his life.

The rapper-turned-actor, who stars in the new drama Twelve, has admitted that he never committed to taking a movie career as seriously as he did with rap music.

He told Vibe: "I regret not going into film production faster. I [have] an interest in the storytelling process in filmmaking, but I never really allowed myself to go into it with the same type of focus and excitement that I do with music."

Earlier this month, 50 Cent claimed that his role as a drug dealer in his latest movie was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his youth.

Twelve is currently playing in US cinemas.

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Tim Burton reteams with 'Ed Wood' writers

Tim Burton has signed up to work with the writers of Ed Wood on a forthcoming Addams Family project.

Scott Alexander and Larry Karazewski wrote the screenplay for Burton's 1994 film, which starred Johnny Depp as cross-dressing B-movie legend Ed Wood.

The Alice In Wonderland director will now work with the duo on a forthcoming adaptation of The Addams Family. The 3D stop-motion film will be based on the drawings published in The New Yorker by celebrated cartoonist Charles Addams.

The deal will also see Alexander and Karazewski work together on Big Eyes, a film based on cult artist Margaret Keane.

Karaszewski told Deadline: "Both of these projects are based on artwork that Tim absolutely loves.

"The retrospective in New York of Tim's own artwork showed how much of an influence Charles Addams was to him. We want the tone to be as darkly funny and subversive as the Addams drawings, and we've come up with an approach that nobody has ever done before."

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Worthington confirmed for 'Dracula' role

Sam Worthington has been confirmed to star in Dracula: Year Zero.

The Avatar star, who was previously linked to the Alex Proyas project earlier this year, has also signed on to star in several high-profile films, including Avatar 2, Clash Of The Titans 2 and The Last Days Of American Crime.

Producer Mike de Luca told Encore: "These writers came up with the ingenious - what I think is ingenious - approach combining historical Dracula with Bram Stoker's Dracula.

"I think vampires are endlessly appropriate candidates for reinvention because there's something in the DNA in that mythology that appeals to every generation. Every generation owns their own version of the vampire myth."

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Brody, Rhys Meyers for 'Fantastic Four'?

Adrien Brody and Jonathan Rhys Meyers are in the running to star in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, it has been reported.

The two actors are top of Twentieth Century Fox's wishlist to play Reed Richards, also known as Mr Fantastic, according to Screen Rant.

The report also denied previous rumours that the film will be called Fantastic Four: Reborn.

The reboot of the comic book franchise follows 2005's Fantastic Four and 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which were largely panned by critics despite making more than $600 million (£384.4 million) in global box office takings.

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Carey Mulligan in talks for 'Drive'

Carey Mulligan is in talks to star opposite Ryan Gosling in action-thriller Drive.

The Oscar-nominated An Education actress will play a woman who ends up on the run with a Hollywood stuntman-turned-getaway driver after a bank heist goes wrong.

Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston is also closing in on a role in the Universal project.

Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson) will direct Drive based on James Sallis's novel.

Mulligan can next be seen playing Gordon Gekko's daughter in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Her drama Never Let Me Go will open the BFI London Film Festival on October 13.

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Christopher Nolan 'a fan of Michael Bay'

Inception filmmaker Christopher Nolan is allegedly a big fan of much-maligned Transformers director Michael Bay.

Director of photography Wally Pfister, who has worked on each of Nolan's movies since Memento, revealed to Cinematical that he doesn't often see eye-to-eye with Nolan's taste in films.

Discussing his working relationship with Nolan, Pfister said: "There are the movies out there that he loves and I hate. I'm not a big Michael Bay fan. Chris loves Michael Bay's movies. And so I'm always like, 'Come on, dude!' But he sees something in it, and I don't see it."

Pfister also commented on Nolan's humour, adding: "A lot of people don't realise what a great sense of humour Chris has because he seems so dry, and he seems so serious, and people are intimidated by him. But I get him. Not a week goes by on the movie set where I don't get him to laugh so hard he spits his tea out of his nose."

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Bullock, Hanks to star in 'Extremely Loud'

Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks will star in The Reader director Stephen Daldry's adaptation of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Paramount has announced.

Jonathan Safran Foer's 2005 novel centres on 9-year-old Oskar Schell, who is looking for a lock that matches the key left behind by his father after he died on 9/11. The book is Foer's follow-up to his debut Everything Is Illuminated, which Liev Schrieber made into a feature film with Elijah Wood in the lead role.

Forrest Gump screenwriter Eric Roth will work on the script for Extremely Loud. Scott Rudin is on board as a producer.

The movie will be Bullock's first since her Oscar-winning turn in The Blind Side. Hanks last appeared on screen in Angels & Demons last summer.

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Latifah, Parton team for 'Joyful Noise'

Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton have reportedly agreed to star in upcoming feature Joyful Noise.

The pair will play against each other in the Warner Bros gospel choir movie, reports Variety.

Bandslam and Camp writer/director Todd Graff is helming the movie. Graff also wrote the script.

The film centres on two strong women who butt heads when they are forced to partner to save a small town gospel choir from folding due to budget cuts.

Latifah will play the mother of two teens who struggles to run the choir after the director dies.

Parton will portray the director's widow, who assumed that she would run the choir after his passing.

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'Ice Age' director for 'Monster Dogs'

Ice Age director Chris Wedge has signed to direct an adaptation of fantasy novel Lives of the Monster Dogs.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, screenwriter Adam Kline is adapting the book by Kirsten Bakis.

The novel centres on a pack of genetically engineered intelligent dogs that walk on their hind legs and communicate with people using voice boxes. The dogs also have a penchant for dressing in 19th century formal wear.

The story follows the dogs as they travel to modern-day New York City, meet a film student and begin reverting to their natural states.

The novel was published in 1989.

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'Avatar' sequel 'planned for 2014 release'

James Cameron has reportedly admitted that the sequel to Avatar will not be released until 2014.

According to the New York Post, it could be up to four years before audiences see the next instalment in the sci-fi trilogy.

The Titanic director recently revealed that he plans to film the second and third films together.

Cameron said: "Right now, the thinking is that [films] two and three are going to be done together. They'll be released separately, probably a year apart or maybe even two, but they'll be done in a bunch."

He added: "I'm mapping out the storyline right now, so there's a proper arc that plays out over two films, but [it] buttons nicely at the end of two, so you don't get this horrible second act Matrix feeling – you know, 'I've just sat through a three-hour movie and f**k all happened at the end!'"

Cameron began writing Avatar in 1994.

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