USA Today gives an early boost to the film version of Neil Gaiman’s CORALINE, set for release on February 6: “As seen in Henry Selick’s 3-D stop-motion fantasy Coraline, this blue-haired heroine’s adventures in a strange, unsettling parallel universe rival those experienced by Lewis Carroll’s goldilocked girl explorer…. In this era of digitized animated features, when paper and pencils are as scarce as non-talking animal sidekicks, it’s nice to know one of the genre’s premier purveyors is sticking to his old-fashioned aesthetic principles. Although Coraline has been filmed in 3-D, the surreal fantasy is primarily brought to life through Selick’s […]
Film/TV
Meryl Streep to Play Dewey Author
A film version of Vicki Myron’s bestselling DEWEY: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World will feature Meryl Streep as the author. Producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey at Temple Hill Entertainment partners will make the move with New Line. (The production company is also responsible for the movie adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s Twlight.)Variety
Kidman and Theron In Ebershoff Adaptation
Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron will star in the fi;m adaptation of David Ebershoff 2000 novel THE DANISH GIRL. Kidman will play artist Einar Wegener, “the world’s first postop male transsexual, with Theron playing Wegener’s artist wife, Gerda.E online
Moneyball Movies Takes Shape
Screenwriter Steve Zaillian is taking a new crack at adapting Michael Lewis’s bestselling MONEYBALL for Columbia pictures, with David Frankel directing, as a starring vehicle for Brad Pitt. Michael De Luca and Rachael Horovitz are producing. Sony optioned the book in 2004 and already commission one screenplay from Stan Chervin, Variety reports.
Building Buzz for Twilight Movie
The Hollywood Reporter looks at building anticipation for the November release of the Twilight film:” A year ago, few took notice when Summit said that it was developing a movie based on the first of young-adult writer Stephenie Meyer’s four-book series detailing a tragic high school romance between Bella, who comes to a small town after her parents split, and Edward, her secret crush who as it turns out is a vampire. That Summit had attached Catherine Hardwicke, director of the arty “thirteen,” confirmed for many that the studio saw the film as a niche play. But in the months […]
Trial Date for Tolkien Heirs' Suit
The lawsuit brought by HarperCollins and the Tolkien estate against New Line Cinema seeking unpaid royalties from the Lord of the Rings films, alleging breach of contract and fraud, has been scheduled for trial in Los Angeles in October 2009. LA Superior Court Judge Ann Jones found that there is a legal basis for the fraud claim, though she disallowed any claim of punitive damages. (The suit asks for over $150 in compensatory damages.) The suit also asks the court to terminate New Line’s rights to make movies based on the Hobbit–ironically slated to be directed by just-announced HarperCollins author […]