Chris Carter Pulls A CLOVERFIELD

As those watching for news leaks from the set of the upcoming X-Files: Fight The Future have learned, writer/director Chris Carter is good at keeping secrets. It should come as no surprise then that the Hollywood Reporter has uncovered that Carter is already midway through the production of his next film, Fencewalker.

The Reporter describes the film as "a coming-of-age semiautobiographical character piece with no supernatural elements." The cast reportedly includes Natalie Dormer, Katie Cassidy, Xzibit, Derek Magyar and Meckah Brooks.

The fact that the film is more of a drama than a genre piece may explain why it hasn’t shown up on the geek press radar. Both Carter’s and the cast’s agents would not confirm to the Reporter that the film was in production.

Produced independently on financing raised by Carter, the film has no distributor yet.

Tarantino Confirms INGLORIOUS BASTARDS Script Is Done

In an interview with the Boston Tribune published over the weekend, Quentin Tarantino has confirmed that, at long last, he is definitely done writing the screenplay for his World War II epic Inglorious Bastards.

“I’ve been working on it for a long time,” he said. “And I literally just finished it, so it’s too soon to talk about it. It’s too new.”

Tarantino was being interviewed in conjunction with an appearance at the recently concluded Provincetown Film Festival. Tarantino’s first film Reservoir Dogs which played at the festival in 1992.

Last month, we reported that Tarantino has stated that he was done with the first draft of his script. Is Tarantino talking about a second draft or does "literally just finished it" translate as "about a month or so ago, I finished it"?

According to the article, Tarantino still hopes to have Bastards completed in time to debut at next spring’s Cannes Film Festival. Perhaps he needs to quit the public appearances for a while and get down to shooting this film?

ZACK AND MIRI Have Ratings Problems

If you thought that a film with a title like Zack And Miri Make A Porno would sail through the MPAA's rating process with no troubles, then you probably aren't up on the long list of ridiculous and often contradictory decisions the board has made when it comes to assigning ratings to films.

Porno star Seth Rogen, now there's a phrase I'm sure he's proud to be a part of, has let slip to MTV Movies Blog that writer/director Kevin Smith's latest film may be facing some rough waters in terms of getting an R rating from the board.

The MPAA is gunning for us, I think… It's a really filthy movie. I hear they are having some problems getting an R rating from an NC-17 rating, which is never good.

Smith is no stranger to problems with the MPAA's rating system. His first film Clerks initially received an NC-17 rating based simply on the number of F-bombs dropped in it. The rating was changed on appeal. More recently, Smith's Clerks 2 featured a bachelor party scene with implied bestiality that reportedly passed the board's review with no problems. The ratings board's mindset on these matters is something that Rogen can’t fathom.

A guy f---ing a donkey, they ain't got no problem with. But a man and a woman having sex they seem to have real issues with, for some weird reason. It's insane. It's completely insane… They [fight against] sex stuff. Isn't that weird? It's really crazy to me that Hostel is fine, with people gouging their eyes out and sh-- like that. But you can't show two people having sex — that's too much.

Smith has already had one run-in with the MPAA over Zack And Miri, when he posted an internet-only teaser trailer for the film. Although the teaser contained no actual footage from the movie, he was asked to take it down by the MPAA as they had not approved it for release.

Smith has not commented directly on any further trouble he may be having with the film and the ratings board, though last night in a brief online Q & A he did mention that he has "been too busy dealing with the MPAA on other matters."

As most people who have watched the MPAA's decisions over the years, succinctly summed up in Kirby Dick's documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, know that consistency and common sense are two words that are not often associated with the MPAA or their film ratings process.

Zack And Miri Make A Porno will be released at the end of October.

Poster: VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

Even when he has a string of bad pictures in his recent filmography, I am still always willing to give writer/director/actor Woody Allen the benefit of the doubt whenever he brings out a new film. Why? I'm not sure except for the fact that when he does score a home run, it is one of those powerful drives that land in the upper deck of the park.

While I wouldn't characterize his latest output to be all bad, the Woodster is definitely ready to knock one out of the park. Will his upcoming Vicky Christina Barcelona be that hit? Who knows? The film stars Allen's latest muse, Scarlett Johanson, and Rebecca Hall as two tourists in Spain who meet and start into an unconventional relationship with Javier Bardem. Complications arise in the form of Bardem's ex-wife Penelope Criz, arriving on the scene.

The poster for the film below (click to enlarge) gives some hints as to the relationships between Bardem, Cruz and Johanson's characters.

Vicki Cristina Barcelon hits theaters August 15.

Via Cinematical.

MacDonald's BIG BLUE GOOD-BY Gets Director

Gary Fleder, who has directed the crime thrillers Runaway Jury and Kiss The Girls, is in talks to direct an adaptation of John MacDonald's mystery novel The Big Blue Good-By, the first in his long running series featuring the womanizing detective Travis McGee.

As we reported earlier this week, a Travis McGee franchise opportunity is one of a number of projects that Robert Downey Jr. is considering in the wake of his success with Iron Man. MacDonald wrote 21 Travis McGee novels, each with a color in the title.

Via Hollywood Reporter.

CAPRICORN ONE Remake Gets A Director

John Moore has been given the assignment of bringing a new version of the 1978 thriller Capricorn One to the big screen. Moore will be working from a script by Peter Buchman, who recently penned Steven Soderbergh's two-part, four-hour Che.

The original film centered on a manned mission to Mars which is faked by NASA in order to keep its governmental funding and starred James Brolin, Hal Holbrook, Elliot Gould, Telly Savalis and a pre-murdering O. J. Simpson. Despite some heavy duty acting power, not including Simpson, the film fell flat for many audiences. Hopefully, this new version will take the original's premise and improve on the execution.

Via Variety.

SHERLOCK HOLMES To Be Reimagined By Guy Ritchie

When you think of Sherlock Holmes, you think of Basil Rathbone interrogating the cultured aristocracy of Victorian England in a drawing room somewhere.

When you think of Guy Ritchie, you think of the rough and gritty crimeland of lower class, modern day England as portrayed in Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and the upcoming RocknRolla. And, yes, to be honest, that awful Swept Away remake he made with his wife Madonna.

But the character and director who appear to be on the opposite sides of the social spectrum will soon meet. Variety is reporting that Ritchie has signed on to direct a new Sherlock Holmes movie based on an upcoming comic book by Lionel Wigram.

The movie is tentatively scheduled for a 2010 release.

Ratner: BEVERLY HILLS COP 4 Will Be "For Kids"

If there was anyone out there who thought that the news that Brett Ratner was going to direct a new Beverly Hills Cop movie would mean a move of Eddie Murphy's career away from the rather tepid family fare he's been appearing in over the past several years can just put those notions to rest.

It seems that Ratner has different ideas about Murphy's foul-mouthed action/comedy series than the rest of us have, as he has told MTV Movies Blog that the proposed new film will be "for kids."

10-year-old kids, 12-year-old kids don't really know the old Beverly Hills Cop. So it's an opportunity to make it new for kids. The same way it felt for me watching Beverly Hills Cop when I was a kid, that's what I want to do for kids today.

First of all, Brett, some quick math will show that you were 15 when the first Beverly Hills Cop came out, not 10 or 12. Oh sorry, did we just ruin some lie about your age you were trying to pull off? Sorry. (Not really.)

Secondly, recent cinematic history is littered with examples of R-rated franchises that tried to water themselves down in order to get a wider audience at the box office only to alienate their core fanbase in the process. If you have any questions about how this will blow up in your face, Mr. Ratner, feel free to ask the folks behind such films as Conan The Destroyer and Alien Vs. Predator.

TCM Schedules Pollack Retrospective For June 2

Turner Classic Movies will honor the recent passing of director Sydney Pollack on June 2, by preempting its evening schedule to present four of his films.

At 8pm, TCM will present Pollack's first film, The Slender Thread (1965), with Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft. Following that will be two of Pollack's seven collaborations with Robert Redford- Three Days Of The Condor (1975) at 10 pm and Jeremiah Johnson (1972) at 2 am. Nestled between the two at midnight is Pollack's comedy Tootsie (1982), in which he also appeared as Dustin Hoffman's agent.

Stuff like this is one of the reasons why I think movie fans should treasure Turner Classic Movies. Granted, they can't preempt their programming to do retrospectives every time a Hollywood figure passes. But when they are able to, they make sure that they do it right.

Tarantino Vows Next Film For Next Year?

As the Cannes Film Festival wound down this past weekend, director Quentin Tarantino made an announcement that has us already looking towards next year's fest, just to see if his pronouncement comes true.

When asked by a French television crew what will be his next film, Tarantino replied-

The next movie I'm doing is my World War II movie. I just finished up the first draft and if all goes well, I will be here, in Cannes, in 2009 with Inglorious Bastards!

I think we can safely file this under "I'll believe it when I see it."

As much as I enjoy Tarantino's films, he tends to talk more about projects he wants to make than actually getting around to making them. For years, we heard about his proposed The Vega Brothers film, which would unite John Travolta’s Pulp Fiction character with his cinematic sibling played by Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs. Sadly, Tarantino talked so much about the film that too much time has passed by, making the actors too old to play the characters now.

Supposedly, Tarantino was to have launched into production on Inglorious Bastards right after he finsihed with Grindhouse, but Grindhouse has now been out for over a year and there still has been no active news on Bastards.

Given that Tarantino has stated that this film is his big epic, "men on a mission" World War Two film, I have serious doubts the even if started shooting this afternoon he would have a picture ready to screen at the Cannes festival next spring. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want him to get started on production as soon as possible anyway.

Via JoBlo.

Academy Award winner Sydney Pollack dies.

CNN is reporting that Academy Award winning director Sydney Pollack has succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was 73.

Look for a full obituary to come in the next several days.

Moore To Make FAHRENHEIT 9/11 Sequel

Never one to shy away from stirring up people's emotions, Michael Moore is planning a sequel to his biggest and most controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

Paramount Vantage and Overture Films have announced today that they are going to co-finance and co-distribute the as-yet-untitled film. This marks a change for Moore, whose last two films were produced with the Weinstein Company.

Anyone who is even vaguely aware of Moore's political leanings can probably guess what direction the film will take. But with the film not going to debut until sometime next year, long after President Bush has handed over the Oval Office to whomever wins this November’s election, will people still be interested?

Vantage’s head honcho Nick Meyer, seems to think so, being quoted in today’s Variety as saying, "Clearly, we have a movie of global appeal here. Michael Moore is a very talented filmmaker, and this is a branded property."

Moore has directed three of the five top grossing documentaries of all time, so it is safe to say that he definitely carries a certain amount of cache, and baggage, when it comes to getting butts into theater seats. But part of me sort of stiffens at the idea of a "branded property." It sounds as if it is being reduced down to the level of a franchise film like the Batman or James Bond series. (And yes, I’m not forgetting Michael Apted’s Up series of documentaries, but that’s something completely different.)

Look for Moore's film to debut sometime next spring or summer. Look for the Right Wing's repudiation of it to start long before any public screenings of it are ever held.

SGT. ROCK Close To Getting Director

If the box office returns on Iron Man aren't enough to convince you, you'll just have to take our word for it that comic book films are a hot ticket right now. (Just look at the number of stories we've run over the past several months.)

But not every comic book adaptation will feature a hero armed with fantastic powers or gadgets or clad in spandex or armor. One upcoming film will feature a group of heroes dressed in camouflage greens- Sgt. Rock.

Based on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock And Easy Company, who appeared in various DC war comics since their creation in 1959, producer Joel Silver is hoping to bring the World War Two-era characters to the big screen. It is a project that Silver has been developing for almost two decades, with both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis having been attached to it at various points. Now it appears as if he may have a director lined up for the film.

In an interview with AintItCool’s Moriarty that published this morning, Silver stated that he is close to getting British director Guy Ritchie to helm the film.

So, you know, this ROCKNROLLA movie I just did with Guy Ritchie is fantastic. It is raw, it is funny, it is dark, it is great. It is great. And I liked his first movie, LOCK STOCK, and I liked SNATCH, and I think it’s the best movie he’s ever made. I’ve always wanted to do a movie with him.

Silver didn’t elaborate further on the specifics of the film, presumably as they would be up to the vision that Ritchie, or whomever else who may eventually be brought onboard, may have for it. With the exception of a few stories, DC kept Sgt Rock and his crew isolated from their superhero line, even though there were superheroes active during World War Two in their universe’s fictional history. It should be interesting to see if Ritchie brings the highly stylized look of his British crime thrillers to this project or if opts to good with the look of a more traditional war film.

Jim Henson BioPic Is In The Works

Muppets creator Jim Henson is set to be the subject of a new bio-pic from the indie Empire Film Group. The production company has acquired Robert D. Slane's screenplay Henson, which charts the rise of Henson from his small-town Mississippi roots to the head of one of the most worldwide recognized entertainment empires.

In a press release posted at Coming Soon, Empire Home Entertainment President Eric Parkinson, who will be producing the film along with Xavier Mitchell, stated-

Jim Henson is one of the best known and most beloved entertainers of all time. His story is inspiring, tragic, heartwarming and epic, and will make for an important and entertaining motion picture. This is the sort of movie that Empire will be pursuing as we build the company into a leading independent studio.

The announcement gives no indication if any of Henson’s family is involved with or has approved the project. Indeed, it seems hard to imagine how the film could go ahead without some sort of approval and permission to use the classic Muppet characters, as they are so intertwined with Henson’s story.

Although the press release states that Empire "anticipates hiring a major director, such as Penny Marshall," I think the very first one they should talk to is Frank Oz. Oz began his career as a Muppeteer in 1963. He and Henson formed a fast friendship that was reflected in their character work as Bert (Oz) and Ernie (Henson), Kermit (Henson) and Fozzy Bear (Oz) and Kermit and Miss Piggy (Oz). While Oz’s directorial career hasn’t been much to writer home about in the past few years – last year’s farce Death At A Funeral was poorly marketed while no amount of marketing could have saved 2004’s The Stepford Wives remake – his nearly three decades of working with Henson probably give him the best insight in how to tell this story.

Empire hopes to have the film in production by the late summer, raising its projected $30 million budget through international presales and various production partners.

Englund To Direct Gothic Horror THE VIJ

There's no need to feel too upset that Robert Englund won't be back for Platinum Dunes' revamp of the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise that we reported on last week. The former Freddy Kruger is turning his eye to directing, taking charge of the dark Gothic fantasy The Vij, Variety reported today.

Based on a novel by Russian writer Nikolaj Gogol, the movie will tell the story of a young priest who is led into temptation and sin by an evil genie. The film is being produced by the Rome-based company ReDark, in association with Canada’s Remstar and Spain’s Canonigo Films.

Christopher Lee, another horror film icon, is set to star, with Englund also taking a role in the film.

Filming is set to begin in April in the Lazio region of Italy with the uninhabited medieval village of Civita di Bagnoregio serving as one of the production's prime filming locations.

Joe Johnston Vs. THE WOLF MAN

When he walked off pre-production of Universal Pictures' $100 million dollar production The Wolf Man, speculation as to who would replace Mark Romanek in the director's chair began swirling almost before the door closed behind him. Harry Knowles at AintItCool made an impassioned plea to the Powers That Be to NOT hire Brett Ratner for the project. (I'd go one further and request that Ratner not be hired for any project ever again.) Cinematical reported that American Werewolf In Lodon director John Landis was on the shortlist of possible replacements. Cloverfield director Matt Reeves name was also reportedly in the mix, not doubt due to his current box-office noteriety.

But now Variety is reportinng that the new man behind the camera will be Joe Johnston. An interesting choice, Johnston has a background in visual effects, having won an Academy Award for a little known movie called Raiders Of The Lost Ark. While his most recent directorial effort, the period adventure piece Hidalgo, flopped at the box office, he has also directed the underrated drama October Sky as well as the fan favorites The Rocketeer and Jurassic Park III.

Personally, I'd classify Johnston as a journeyman director, someone who delivers a technically proficient film that can entertain, but one who lacks a clear directorial style, a visual stamp where one can look at just a short moment of his work and be able to identify it. And I say this even with The Rocketeer being a personal favorite film. He’s a safe choice for Universal to go with, just not a particularly interesting or exciting choice.

There also remains the fact that Romanek left the project due to "creative differences." Is there a problem with Andrew Kevin Walker's script that he felt needed addressing before production started, but couldn’t be due to the ongoing Writers Guild strike? Considering that he has been working on developing the project with star Benicio Del Toro for about two years, I’m inclined to think that perhaps he was requesting more money that the studio was reticent to kick out.

Filming on The Wolf Man, which stars Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt, was scheduled to begin on February 18th. There has been no word as to whether that date is still firm or will be pushed back to allow Johnston to come up to full steam.