News

The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand Tuesday unveiled a slate of nine new Australian original films and series. These represent the company’s biggest wave of local content commissions and acquisitions for Disney+ and will launch on the platform in 2022-23.

The slate includes three scripted drama series: “The Clearing,” “The Artful Dodger,” “Last Days of the Space Age”; four documentary series, “Matildas: The World at Our Feet,” “Shipwreck Hunters Australia,” “Chasing Waves,” “Fearless: The Inside Story of the Aflw”; and two lifestyle and factual general entertainment series “Donna Hay Christmas” and competition format series “What’s Your Toy Story?”

“It was important to us to have that scale to share so we could demonstrate to the marketplace that we are truly serious in this space,” Kylie Watson-Wheeler, senior VP and MD of The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand told Variety.

She confirmed that...

Miranda Otto, Jesse Spence and Guy Pearce are among the high-profile stars featuring on Disney+’s debut slate in Australia and New Zealand.

Announced at an event at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the 2022/23 slate comprises three dramas, four documentaries and two lifestyle/general factual entertainment series. Several are for Disney+’s adult vertical Star.

On the scripted drama front, The Clearing is adapted from Jp Pomare’s novel ‘In the Clearing’ and is inspired by Australian cult The Family and its founder Anne Hamilton-Byrne, one of the few female cult leaders in history.

Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches), Miranda Otto (The Usual Suspects) and Guy Pearce (Jack Irish) lead the cast, alongside the lies of Hazem Shammas (Safe Harbour), Mark Coles-Smith (Mystery Road), Tom Budge (Bloom).

Written and created by Matt Cameron (Jack Irish) and Elise McCredie (Stateless) alongside co-writer Osamah Sami (Ali’s Wedding), it comes from...

Exclusive: Will Peltz (Unfriended), Sarah Dumont (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse) and Sydelle Noel (Glow) have signed on to star alongside Frank Grillo, Jaime King, Katherine Hughes and Josh Plasse in the horror-thriller Man’s Son, with Voltage Pictures coming aboard to launch international sales ahead of the upcoming Marché du Film.

The XYZ Films title from director Remy Grillo centers on a young couple (Hughes and Plasse) hoping to create an aesthetically pleasing audition tape for an up-and-coming Charles Manson film. When they choose an eclectic desert Airbnb as the perfect backdrop, the dark events of the audition material slowly slip into their reality, until they find themselves intertwined in an occult, sinister plot led by King and Grillo’s characters.

Plasse and Brev Moss wrote the script, which is inspired by modern occult activity in the California desert, with production to kick off in Yucca Valley, California this month.

Exclusive: Dan Taberski, the man behind the breakout podcast series Missing Richard Simmons, is looking at how 9/11 changed the world in his latest audio series.

Taberski, who is also behind The Line, the first original podcast from Apple, is making 9/12, a seven-episode, narrative, non-fiction podcast with Pineapple Street Studios, Wondery and Amazon Music.

Audacy-backed Pineapple Street Studios, which produced Missing Richard Simmons, is also behind shows such as 70 Over 70 and The Clearing, while Amazon-owned Wondery is responsible for the likes of Dr. Death and Joe Exotic.

The series marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks by shifting the focus to what happened the day after – examining how people reacted and how the idea of 9/11 evolved over the next 20 years, changing every aspect of life and culture in America.

Each episode of 9/12 zooms in on a series of characters who woke up on the day after 9/11, forced to...

In 1972, sixteen-year-old Jeannette DePalma was murdered, rumored to be the victim of an occult sacrifice by a local coven of witches. Inspired by the speculation surrounding DePalma’s death, Tom Deady incorporates that “what-if” into his new Young Adult novel, The Clearing. Though set in present day, Deady’s latest novel …

The post Bram Stoker Award-winning Author Pens Novel Inspired By True Events And The Satanic Panic appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

The zombie thriller joins the free streaming platform’s growing original and exclusive content library Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: Csse) company and one of the largest operators of streaming advertising-supported video-on-demand (Avod) networks, announced today the premiere of original action horror film The Clearing on June 4th. As one of …

The post Crackle Announces the Premiere of Original Horror Film, The Clearing – June 4 appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

Crackle will debut a zombie feature, titled The Clearing, this May and June. This is David Matalon's first feature. And, The Clearing hopes to capitalize on zombie tropes, while bringing something fresh and a bit dead to the screen, according to the director. The story takes place in a zombie apocalypse, in which Tom (Liam McIntyre) is bonding with Mira (Aundrea Smith). Out in the woods, they have picked the worst time to go fishing as a living dead disaster unfolds. As well, The Clearing stars: Sydelle Noel ("G.L.O.W.") and Steven Swadling ("Kickboxer"). The film's trailer and poster have come out this week and are found below. Matalon pays homage to zombie films of the past, in The Clearing. Matalon says of the action and conflict in the film: "I’m thrilled to take viewers on this action-packed ride." The Clearing joins other films which have been exclusive to Crackle,...

Today's installment of Horror Highlights is jam-packed with the latest indie horror news, including: the trailer for Hallowed Be Thy Name, a Q&a with Jim Towns, trailers for The Clearing and Dinner Party, and details on the book Sequelland: A Story of Dreams and Screams:

Hallowed Be Thy Name Trailer: "Superstition, magic, and bad decisions drive us down a road into a small town in rural Louisiana with Devin, a 17-year-old boy, being dragged to his mother's hometown after his parents' ugly divorce. After arriving at his grandmother and settling into his unwanted new life, Devin meets two locals who sweep him out of his comfort zone. Like most teens they are curious and ignoring all warnings they venture deep into a forsaken Cave, thought to be haunted by local town people. Together they meet, Cauchemar, a legendary demon that wreaks havoc on all those it encounters. They learn...

"Run!!" Crackle has unveiled the official trailer for an indie zombie horror film titled The Clearing, which will be premiering exclusively on the Crackle Channel streaming early next month. The zombie thriller stars Liam McIntyre as a father who takes his young daughter, played by Aundrea Smith (seen on "Diary of a Future President"), on a weekend camping trip during a mysterious disease outbreak. They end up trapped in his camper in a clearing near the woods, fighting vicious zombies in hopes of making it out alive. Also starring Sydelle Noel and Steven Swadling. Writer/director David Matalon's goal with this was "to pay homage to beloved zombie tropes while blazing his own way with imaginative screenwriting and innovative filmmaking techniques." The tagline in the trailer is pretty ballsy: "You think your quarantine is rough?" Ha. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for David Matalon's The Clearing, direct from...

Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: Csse) company and one of the largest operators of streaming advertising-supported video-on-demand (Avod) networks, announced today the premiere of original action horror film The Clearing on June 4th. Check out the trailer and read more about The Clearing below. As one of the only AVODs continually adding original and exclusive […] More...

A group of leading long-form journalists have launched a podcast studio backed by Sister, the production group run by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone and behind hit HBO/Sky drama Chernobyl.

Josh Dean, Vanessa Grigoriadis and Matthew Shaer as well as screenwriter and producer Adam Hoff have formed Campside, which will focus on premium narrative non-fiction storytelling.

Campside has formed with a “significant” start-up investment from Sister. The company has a slate of around 11 non-fiction podcasts in production or development spanning the true crime, scandal, and adventure genres.

Stacey Snider, Global Chief Executive of Sister, and the Campside quartet told Deadline how the deal came about and what they hope to achieve.

Campside’s first podcast will be a 10-part series on the Hollywood Con Queen scam, which has seen hundreds of people in town taken in by a person impersonating the likes of Amy Pascal and Kathleen Kennedy.

Carl Weber’s “The Family Business” has been picked up for a second season by Bet+, the Viacom streaming service announced Thursday.

The series, based on the bestselling series of crime drama novels, aired its first season on the Bet linear network last fall. The series centers on the Duncans, an upstanding tight-knit family that owns and operates an exotic car dealership by day and conducts more illicit business activities by night.

The 12-episode second season recently began production in Los Angeles and is slated to launch on Bet+ in 2020.

Also Read: Why Netflix Is Betting You'll Want 'The Witcher' Season 2 - Before You've Seen Season 1

Series stars Ernie Hudson, Valarie Pettiford, Darrin DeWitt Henson, Javicia Leslie, Sean Ringgold, Tami Roman, Miguel A. Nunez, Arrington Foster, Kj Smith, Dylan Weber, Yadi Valerio and Emilio Rivera are all slated to return for the second season. Guest stars for Season 2 include Michael Jai White,...

True crime podcast “The Clearing” is set to be adapted as a TV series by Chernin Entertainment and Weimaraner Republic Pictures.

The scripted series will revolve around the life of April Balascio, whose story is the focus of the “The Clearing” podcast. Balascio was 40 in 2009 when she reached out to detectives to Ohio to discuss her suspicion that her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, had committed a double murder when she was 11 years old. Balascio’s revelation set off an investigation that led to her father’s confession to several murders.

The series will examine the impact of Edwards’ crimes on his family and how Balascio’s life changed after she turned him in to law enforcement. The story took another unusual turn when a retired detective began to try to connect Edwards to other notorious unsolved murders including the 1996 death of JonBenet Ramsey.

The “Clearing” series adaptation will be produced...

Calling all true-crime fans — “The Clearing” podcast is being adapted into a television show.

The project is a result of a new first-look deal between Chernin Entertainment and Weimaraner Republic Pictures.

No word on a premiere date or which network the show will air on yet.

Also Read: Podcasts Boomed in 2019, But 2020 Will Be Even Bigger

The podcast follows the life April Balascio lived since learning about evidence that connected the haunting memories of her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, to an unsolved double homicide in a town they lived in when she was 11 years old.

The show “examines the process of making the decision to turn her dad in, the horror of watching as he confessed to additional murders, the questions that linger about the choices she’s made, and murders that remain unsolved. While April struggles to piece together the jagged, awful memories of her past, she is also...

Chernin Entertainment and Lynn Harris and Matti Leshem’s Weimaraner Republic Pictures (The Shallows) are teaming to produce a television adaptation of the hit true crime podcast The Clearing, based on the life of April Balascio. The Clearing marks the first project under a new first-look television deal between Chernin Entertainment and Wrpco announced today by the two companies. Chernin Entertainment and Endeavor Content will serve as the studio on the project via their previously existing partnership.

Hosted by Josh Dean, The Clearing podcast is produced by Pineapple Street Studios in association with Gimlet Media. One of the biggest hits last summer, the podcast was No. 1 on the Apple charts for over a month.

The Clearing is about the life April has lived since learning about evidence that connected the haunting memories of her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, to an unsolved double homicide in a town they lived in when she was 11 years old.

The Guild of Music Supervisors has partnered with Mondo.NYC for the second year. An incubator confab for the music and tech industries that includes a multi-venue festival showcasing emerging artists from around the world, Mondo.NYC is scheduled for Oct. 15 – 18 at the Williamsburg Hotel in Brooklyn.

The final day, Oct. 18, billed as the Second Annual NYC Guild of Music Supervisors Education Event & Film Festival, will feature panels with music supervisors Trevor Gureckis and Sue Jacobs, composer and music supervisor, respectively, of “The Goldfinch;” publishing professionals Andrea Minze, Senior Director, Music for Advertising, Umpg, and James Armstrong, VP Creative Marketing, Sony/Atv; and business development executives Jennifer Freed, CEO, Trevanna Tracks and Cestjon McFarland, general counsel/head of business affairs, SyncFloor.

Topics planned include how technology is improving the work of music supervisors; how composers and music supervisors can work better together and a case study on the campaign roll-out for Weedmaps’ Museum of Weed.

If there’s anything true crime fans love more than stories about unsolved murders and serial killers, it’s speculating wildly about serial killers and unsolved murders. Playing armchair sleuth has become something of a sport in itself, and entire podcasts are devoted to little more than gossamer theories about who may have been behind which crimes. It’s gotten to the point that there are even true crime parody podcasts that mock the genre, featuring hosts with wildly irrational or unfounded conspiracy theories sandwiched between inappropriately timed commercials for smart toothbrushes and boxed mattresses.

Kids from the "swinging ’60s" beware, "you're in for a scare!" British classic The Haunted House of Horror (1969) has been restored and will be released on Blu-ray for the first time on April 15th. Also in today's Horror Highlights: Orlando Jones will star in Dark Forces, Guess I'm a Ghost premiere and episode details, info on the Travel Channel's newly announced Ghost Nation series, and a Q&A with Happy! composer Guillaume Roussel.

The Haunted House of Horror (1969) 2K Restoration Blu-ray Release Details: "A Tigon British classic. Once, in a now-deserted

mansion, a man went mad and sliced up his entire family. Now, a group of jaded boys and girls from Swinging Sixties London decide to go out to the house on a dare.

Cast

Frankie Avalon... Chris

Jill Haworth... Sheila

Dennis Price... Inspector Bill Bradley

Mark Wynter... Gary Scott

George Sewell... Bob Kellett

Gina Warwick... Sylvia Fuller

Crew

Director:...

Hulu’s list of comings and goings for the month of April is out, and the roster for new content on the streaming service includes two Hulu Originals — the first season premiere of “Ramy,” and the seventh episode of “Into The Dark: I’m Just F*cking With You,” with other highlights including Season 3 of Freeform’s “The Bold Type” and John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place.”

“Ramy,” debuting April 19, tells the story of first generation Egyptian-American Ramy Hassan as he finds himself in his New Jersey neighborhood, stuck at a crossroads between the morals of his Muslim community and the moral ambiguity of his millennial generation. “Into The Dark: I’m Just F*cking With You,” coming April 1, finds two siblings in a secluded motel, where they become subject to practical jokes of an increasingly frightening nature.

Also Read: Oscar-Winning Documentary 'Free Solo' Now Available for Streaming on Hulu...

By Rob Hunter

Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe, and Helen Mirren shine in a dark suspense tale.

The article ‘The Clearing’ Finds Guilt, Regret, and Robert Redford on a Walk in the Woods appeared first on Film School Rejects.

20th Century Fox has just pushed out its marketing materials for Gore Verbinski’s psychological horror film A Cure For Wellness which will be released to theaters next year on February 17. The film, which is a U.S.-Germany co-production, was written by Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road, The Clearing) and produced by Arnon Milchan, David Crockett and Verbinski. The film stars Mia Goth, Dane DeHaan and Jason Isaacs in the story about a young executive that must retrieve his…...

Not only has Bosch, Amazon‘s original drama series, performed well for the service, it’s managed high praise from viewers and critics. Amazon has now announced a second season, and even a bit of a plot synopsis for that season.

If you aren’t already on board with the stylish, intense series based on Michael Connelly’s books, you now have even more incentive, as you know there’s more on the way.

This is actually a bigger announcement than it might seem, because new seasons are still a guessing game for streaming services, which don’t have a history for viewers to fall back on when it comes to being able to figure out if a favorite is worth investing in. I know a lot of people weren’t sure about jumping into Alpha House at first, for just that reason.

At any rate, you have more to look forward to,...

In just one month since its record-breaking debut, Amazon today announced it has greenlit a second season of its first original hour-long drama series Bosch. Based on Michael Connelly’s internationally best-selling Harry Bosch book series, which have sold nearly 50 million copies to date, Bosch has become the most-watched title on Prime Instant Video, across movies and TV series, in its first four weeks.

Season two will be drawn from Connelly’s best-selling novels Trunk Music and The Drop. Returning to the series are stars Titus Welliver (Lost, The Good Wife, Sons of Anarchy) as Harry Bosch, Jamie Hector (The Wire) as his partner Jerry Edgar, Amy Aquino (Being Human) as Lt. Grace Billets, Lance Reddick (Fringe, The Wire) as Deputy Chief Irvin Irving, and Sarah Clarke (24) as Eleanor Wish. The series was developed for television by Eric Overmyer (Treme, The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Streets) and is Executive Produced by Overmyer,...

While Dwayne Johnson may be the big draw in Ric Roman Waugh's Snitch, Benjamin Bratt gets to play the big bad behind the scenes. During a recent interview for the film, Bratt talked about his history with Waugh, the authenticity that the director brings to the picture, the thin line separating crops from criminals, starring in an antagonistic role and going up against the physically imposing Johnson. In theaters now, Snitch also stars Susan Sarandon, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jon Bernthal and Barry Pepper. You can check out my review here. Hit the jump to watch the interview. Here’s the synopsis for Snitch: Action superstar Dwayne Johnson headlines this fast-paced thriller as a father whose teenage son is wrongly accused of a crime and is sentenced to 10 years in jail. In order to clear his son’s name, he dangerously goes undercover and risks everything, including his own life,...

Los Angeles — Although it sometimes accompanies fine films such as "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Argo," the phrase "inspired by a true story" tacked onto the front of a movie too often warns you that you're about to see something "inspiring" in the most hackneyed, triumph-of-the-human-spirit sort of way.

What's surprising about "Snitch" is that, rather than taking the reductive path of offering innocuous emotional uplift or one-man-army action, it generates a feeling of real desperation and fear as it shows a man getting in way over his head when he takes on some very bad guys. In other words, this is a pretty good film starring an actor named Dwayne Johnson, not a commodity with The Rock as a hood ornament.

Summit's main commercial hopes still rest with the mainstream action crowd – which likely will be satisfied despite the film's refusal to dish out doses of bodily harm like clockwork – but for Johnson,...

With director Ric Roman Waugh's (Felon) Snitch opening February 22, we've been provided with five clips. The film stars Dwayne Johnson as a father whose son is wrongly accused of a crime and sentenced to 10 years in jail. In order to clear the boy’s name, he must go undercover and risk his own life. Snitch also stars Susan Sarandon, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jon Bernthal, Benjamin Bratt and Barry Pepper. Hit the jump to check out the clips and look for our exclusive video interviews with the cast soon. Here’s the synopsis for Snitch: Action superstar Dwayne Johnson headlines this fast-paced thriller as a father whose teenage son is wrongly accused of a crime and is sentenced to 10 years in jail. In order to clear his son’s name, he dangerously goes undercover and risks everything, including his own life, to reduce his son’s sentence. The ensemble...

Dwayne Johnson is one of a handful of action stars who are trying to re-energize the genre and it looks as if his new film Snitch could be a much-needed shot in the arm. From director Ric Roman Waugh (Felon), Johnson stars as a father who volunteers to go undercover for the DEA in order to clear his son's name and get him out of a ten-year prison sentence. This cut is much tighter than the first trailer and delivers the plot conceit quickly before getting to the bread-and-butter action scenes. Also starring Susan Sarandon, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jon Bernthal, Benjamin Bratt and Barry Pepper, Snitch opens February 22nd. Hit the jump to watch the new trailer. Check out the new trailer for Snitch below (via Yahoo!): Here’s the synopsis for Snitch: Action superstar Dwayne Johnson headlines this fast-paced thriller as a father whose teenage son is...

A few new posters for some upcoming releases have landed online. Briefly: Snitch – The first poster for director Ric Roman Waugh’s action-thriller puts Dwayne Johnson’s DEA informant character front and center. The film opens on February 22nd. The Last Exorcism Part II – I’m not exactly sure how a film with “last” in the title can have a sequel, but the first poster for the horror follow-up has some twisty fun with teasing the number 2. The film opens on March 1st. Parker – The final poster for the Jason Statham-led actioner highlight’s Statham’s gun-handling abilities and Jennifer Lopez’s, um, behind. The film opens on January 25th. Monsters University – A playful Spanish poster for Pixar’s upcoming sequel promises “a monstrous summer.” The film opens in 3D on June 21st. [Update: Disney has asked us to remove the Monsters University poster because it was not cleared for online release.] Hit the jump to check out the posters and synopses for the aforementioned films. Here’s...

The first trailer has arrived for Dwayne Johnson‘s new actioner Snitch, which doesn’t feature as much guy-shooting as you might think.

Coming from veteran stunt coordinator Ric Roman Waugh the flick follows Johnson as a father who becomes an undercover DEA informant in order to keep his son from going to jail after being wrongfully convicted on a drug charge.

I mean we know it doesn’t work with the court, so Rock will have to take matters into his own hands once more.

Inspired by true events, the film also stars Susan Sarandon, Benjamin Bratt, Jon Bernthal, Nadine Velasquez and Barry Pepper. Snitch feels a little beneath Johnson’s potential, but hits theaters on February 22nd, 2013.

Check it out below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s the synopsis:

Action superstar Dwayne Johnson headlines this fast-paced thriller as a father whose teenage son is wrongly...

Judging by the trailer for Snitch, mandatory minimums are a great law-enforcement strategy as long as you force Dwayne Johnson to be an untrained undercover informant. Johnson plays a father who, in order to keep his son from going to jail, is forced to work with the feds to take down a drug kingpin (Benjamin Bratt). Snitch could end up being a bunch of goofy, B-movie fun especially with a strong supporting cast that includes Michael Kenneth Williams, Barry Pepper, Harold Perrineau, and Susan Sarandon. Or, it could be Faster. I'm hoping it’s the former. Hit the jump to check out the trailer. Snitch opens February 22, 2013. Click over to Yahoo! Movies to see the trailer in HD. Here's the synopsis: Action superstar Dwayne Johnson headlines this fast-paced thriller as a father whose teenage son is wrongly accused of a crime and is sentenced to 10 years in jail. In order...

She's a stone cold fox. He's The Rock. THR reports Susan Sarandon has joined Dwayne Johnson for the new action-thriller Snitch. The film, which comes from stuntman turned writer and director Ric Roman Waugh (Felon, In The Shadows), is based on a 2004 episode of PBS' Frontline entitled "The Plea." The film will tell the true story of a suburban father (Johnson) who goes undercover to take down a high-level drug dealer in exchange for a reduction on his son's 30-year prison sentence. Sarandon will play an attorney working with Johnson's character who's looking for a big drug bust to further her career. Waugh rewrote a draft by Justin Haythe (the upcoming Lone Ranger, Revolutionary Road, The Clearing), who penned the film when it was set-up back at New Line Cinema with Carl Franklin (Devil in a Blue Dress, High Crimes, Out of Time) attached. In the previous version of the...

"Hi-yo Silver! Away!" Those are the immortal words of the classic Western hero that first rode to justice on the radio and eventually on television in the '1940s and early '50s. Now the famous character is about to ride on to the big screen thanks to Rango director Gore Verbinski and his star, actor Johnny Depp. Depp is scheduled to play the Lone Ranger's faithful sidekick Tonto in the film, while Verbinski is set to direct. Justin Haythe (The Clearing) is penning the script and Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) will produce the film.

Recently we had a chance to catch up with Gore Verbinski, and Johnny Depp while they were out promoting their new film Rango, which opens in theaters on March 4th. We took the opportunity to ask both the director, and the actor about the highly anticipated new project. We began...

Revealed nearly two months ago that talks had begun, Deadline confirms that Gore Verbinski has officially signed on to direct the big screen version of "The Lone Ranger" with Johnny Depp attached to play Tonto. This project has been kicking around for a while, as it has put its various pieces into place. Last we heard, Disney hired Justin Haythe, who adapted "Revolutionary Road" for Sam Mendes and wrote the Fox come-and-gone thriller, "The Clearing" and the "Jekyll" project for Keanu Reeves, to write the screenplay. So maybe it'll be a darker take on the material with more domestic strife.…...

Predicted Weekend Box Office

1The Social Network$30 million2Let Me In$15 million3Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps$10.7 million4The Town$9.6 million5Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole$9.3 million6Easy a$6.7 million7Case 39$6.3 million8You Again$4.3 million9Devil$3.2 million10Resident Evil: Afterlife$2.9 million#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10

While most people were predicting that Zack Snyder's computer animated 3D family film Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole would be the number one movie last weekend, they were surprised to find that "greed is still good" as Oliver Stone's long awaited sequel to his classic '80s film Wall Street, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps rose to the top of the box office with $19 million. But with three new movies entering the box office race this weekend including Oscar bait like David Fincher's The Social Network and the highly anticipated horror films Let Me In and Case 39 staring Ren&#233e Zellweger,...

Predicted Weekend Box Office

1Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole$25.7 million2Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps$24.3 million3The Town$15.2 million4You Again$12.4 million5Easy a$11.9 million6Devil$5.8 million7Resident Evil: Afterlife$5.1 million8Alpha and Omega$4.3 million9Takers$3.6 million10The American$2.3 million#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10

As expected last week, director Ben Affleck's second effort The Town won over audience members and critics alike with excellent reviews and a $23.8 million opening weekend total. Also, doing well in its debut last week and gaining rave reviews is the new high school comedy Easy a starring Emma Stone. But with three very strong new contenders coming to the box office race this weekend, Zack Snyder's computer animated 3D family film Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Oliver Stone's long awaited sequel to his classic '80s movie Wall Street, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and the new romantic comedy You Again starring Kristen Bell,...

Weekend Box Office

1The Town$23.8 million2Easy a$18.2 million3Devil$12.5 million4Resident Evil: Afterlife$10.1 million5Alpha and Omega$9.2 million6Takers$3.0 million7The American$2.7 million8Inception$2.01 million9The Other Guys$2.0 million10Machete$1.7 million#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10

There was nothing shocking at the box office last weekend as the highly anticipated fourth chapter of the popular Resident Evil series, Resident Evil: Afterlife dominated the box office as expected with $27.7 million. But the film will have a tough time repeating that success this weekend with four new films entering the box office race including director Ben Affleck's second effort The Town and the much-talked-about new high school film Easy a starring Emma Stone.

Debuting at number one this week is the new film from actor turned director Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), which is already earning Oscar buzz called The Town. The bank robbery film that takes place in Boston stars a stellar cast of...

Predicted Weekend Box Office

1The Town$21.9 million2Easy a$19.5 million3Devil$15.2 million4Resident Evil: Afterlife$12.7 million5Takers$6.1 million6Alpha and Omega$5.9 million7The American$3.3 million8Machete$2.5 million9Going the Distance$2.4 million10The Other Guys$2.2 million#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10

There were no real surprises at the box office last weekend as the only major new release, the highly anticipated fourth chapter of the popular Resident Evil series, Resident Evil: Afterlife dominated with $27.7 million. It will have a hard time repeating that success this weekend, despite some of the best reviews in the franchise's history, with four new films including director Ben Affleck's second effort The Town and the much-talked-about high school film Easy a entering the competition.

Predicted to debut at number one is the new film from actor turned director Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), which is already earning Oscar buzz, called The Town. The bank robbery film that takes place in...

Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival has hooked up scores of eager young directors with theatrical distributors.

Now Redford has succeeded at the same independent game he helped establish with Sundance: He came to the Toronto International Film Festival with a drama made outside of Hollywood and went away with a deal to land it in theaters.

Acquired Wednesday by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, Redford's Lincoln assassination saga The Conspirator arguably was the biggest film to enter the prestigious Toronto festival without a distributor already in place.

Redford had been to the Toronto festival before with a film he directed, 1992's A River Runs Through It. People had asked him about the possibility of premiering The Conspirator at Sundance in January, but he never considered it, recalling the mixed feelings he had when his own festival premiered a film in which he starred, The Clearing, in 2004.

"I was uneasy about...

Weekend Box Office

1Resident Evil: Afterlife$27.7 million2Takers$6.1 million3The American$5.8 million4Machete$4.2 million5Going the Distance$3.8 million6The Other Guys$3.6 million7The Last Exorcism$3.4 million8The Expendables$3.2 million9Inception$3.0 million10Eat, Pray, Love$2.9 million#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10

Labor Day weekend presented some surprising results at the box office last week as the George Clooney thriller The American did much better than expected and beat out both newcomers Machete starring Danny Trejo and the romantic comedy Going the Distance for the number one spot on the charts. Early last weekend it looked like the heist film Takers was going to steal the number two position, but by Monday morning the Robert Rodriguez movie had cut its way to second place while the Drew Barrymore comedy barely cracked the top five. Now with the highly anticipated fourth chapter of the popular Resident Evil series, Resident Evil: Afterlife opening this weekend it was almost inevitable...

In September 2008, we reported that plans were underway for a new Lone Ranger movie. While that news usually might not get much attention from the regular press, curiosities were peaked when it was learned that Johnny Depp would be playing one of the lead roles.

Interestingly, Depp won't be playing the man behind the mask though, he'll be playing Tonto, the Lone Ranger's faithful companion. Depp’s grandmother was a full blooded Cherokee and he embraced his heritage in his self-directed 1997 movie The Brave.

While there's been no further casting news, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced project is still alive. In fact novelist and screenwriter Justin Haythe has just been picked to write the feature. Haythe has previously written the screenplays for The Clearing and Revolutionary Road.

In 2008, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, the screenwriters behind the Pirates of the Caribbean...

The last we heard about the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer produced big-screen version of The Lone Ranger, we learned that Prince of Persia director Mike Newell may be the one to direct it, although Bruckheimer soon admitted that Newell’s busy with Persia (although that’s already completed so Newell may now be able to come aboard this Lone Ranger).

The only real solid piece of news we’ve had about this Lone Ranger project is that Johnny Depp is going to be starring as Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s sidekick (for lack of a better word). There’s been no official word on who will play the Ranger but names like George Clooney and even Nicolas Cage have been thrown around at different stages.

Now, in the first update since Depp’s casting as Tonto, comes the news that a screenwriter has been found to write The Lone Ranger in the form of Justin Haythe.

I don't even think this is news anyone cares about, so it's gonna be a short article. Basically a writer is looking to get hired to write The Lone Ranger.Trades more blah blah: Justin Haythe, who adapted "Revolutionary Road," is negotiating to take on the script for Disney's "The Lone Ranger." Jerry Bruckheimer is producing the project, which announced the casting of Johnny Depp as Tonto nearly a year and a half ago. Haythe's involvement is the first sign of life on the project since, which could indicate that the franchise potential of the material is a high priority for the new Disney regime. The assignment is a make-good of sorts because Haythe's previous gig at the studio, writing "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo," ended when the project was deep-sixed during the recent executive turnover. That film's producer, Sean Bailey, recently was brought in as production president at Disney.

Justin Haythe, who wrote the Robert Redford-starrer The Clearing, adapted Revolutionary Road, and also delivered an early draft of the new, in-limbo Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea movie, is negotiating to pen the script for Walt Disney Pictures' The Lone Ranger, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog.

Jerry Bruckheimer is producing the project, which will star Johnny Depp as Tonto. Pirates of the Caribbean scribes Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were previously attached to write the feature, which is supposed to be directed by Mike Newell.

According to Heat Vision, Haythe's last gig at the studio, writing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, was deep-sixed during the recent executive turnover.

The Lone Ranger character originated in the 1930s radio show and has seen many screen iterations, including a 1956 Warner Bros. film, a 1981 Universal feature and a 2003 telefilm on the WB starring Chad Michael Murray.

The Taking of Pelham 123

Starring Denzel Washington, John Travolta, and John Turturro

Directed by Tony Scott

Rated R

It happens from time to time that the two leads in a movie should switch places. Sometimes it's just an aesthetic change; the kidnapping movie The Clearing probably would have been more revealing if a desperate Robert Redford had abducted the wealthy and collected Willem Dafoe, just to play it against type.

In other cases, you've got two big name actors simply playing the wrong roles. Take, for example, the remake of the 70s heist movie The Taking of Pelham 123, which stars the estimable Denzel Washington and John Travolta.

Denzel is one of the greats, as natural and believable an actor as we've ever seen. He's got depth, power, charm, intelligence, and everything else you need. Because of that, Denzel can play a wide variety of roles. John Travolta is cast as the villain here,...

What do you get when you mix the big-screen reunion of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio with Richard Yates first novel? The answer is a powerful and moving narrative, Revolutionary Road, which is new to Blu-ray and DVD today. Sam Mendes (American Beauty director and Winslet's husband) directs this gripping adaptation of famed novel of the same name. Penning the screenplay is Justin Haythe, who wrote 2004's The Clearing. Set in the 1950s, Frank (DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Winslet) deal with the frustrations of underachievement in their boring and "safe" lives. When the two met, a life full of promise and dreams lay ahead of them and they were anxious to live it together.  Becoming quickly enamored with each other, they quickly tied the knot and moved to little house on Revolutionary Road in Connecticut. What they didn't know is that the dreams and aspirations they held on to so...

Keanu Reeves is in talks to star in Universal's reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The Hollywood Reporter says Justin Haythe, whose credits include "Revolutionary Road" and "The Clearing," is writing the script.

The project is currently titled "Jekyll," but plot details are strictly kept under wraps. Nicholas Winding Refn is apparently in talks to direct the film, which follows a doctor whose life takes a strange turn when he creates an evil version of himself. Reeves wast last seen in the disappointing "The Day the Earth Stood Still" remake. ...

You know FEARnettians, it's funny. I was never so sure Keanu Reeves had even one personality--let alone two--but according to HollywoodReporter.com, the normally robotic Reeves will headline Jekyll, a retelling of the haunting novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The 1886 novella, written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson has been the source material for countless adaptations including Canadian film Jekyll + Hyde and even Mary Reilly (Jekyll's household maid). Mostly, the plot has remained similar to the "scientist develops evil self and soon realizes he cannot control his dual persona" story arch, yet the plot for this Jekyll has not yet been announced. With Justin Haythe (The Clearing) writing,...

The Hollywood Reporter reports Keanu Reeves is set to star in a modern retelling of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" this time to be called simply Jekyll with Revolutionary Road scripter Justin Haythe aboard to draft the screenplay for Universal and Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher trilogy) in negotiations to direct. Robert Louis Stevenson's tale focuses on a doctor who scientifically develops an evil self is commonly used to depict split personality, but it appears this new take won't be traveling the dark and gothic path most often think of when the names Jekyll and Hyde are mentioned. Universal is keeping quiet on the story specifics, but THR does mention Guillermo del Toro is also working on an adaptation of Stevenson's work that will stick closer to the original tale and thus making the two projects vastly different. Del Toro...

Universal is developing a modern retelling of the classic novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," with Keanu Reeves attached to star and Justin Haythe, writer of "Revolutionary Road," penning the script.

Nicolas Winding Refn is in negotiations to direct the project, titled "Jekyll." It is being produced by Erwin Stoff and Red Wagon Entertainment's Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher.

Robert Louis Stevenson's tale about a doctor who scientifically develops an evil self has become so pervasive in popular culture that the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" conjures the idea of a split personality. The story has been translated to the screen and stage dozens of times, with several deviations including comedy, kids ("Jekyll and Heidi") and gender (1995's "Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde"). The story has seen modern iterations as recently as 2007, when the BBC aired a miniseries with the story set in the present...

We see a little more of the head-to-head combat between Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the brand new trailer for this summer's Public Enemies. I think that's really the selling point for the movie. It's great that they're both in it, but having them on opposite sides of the law is a great draw.

There was a movie a few years ago called The Clearing with Robert Redford and Willem Dafoe. Dafoe played a desperate man who kidnaps the well-to-do Redford for a considerable ransom. I thought that movie would have worked much better if the roles were reversed. I think what's great about Depp and Bale is that either guy could play John Dillinger and either guy could play FBI agent Melvin Purvis and I'd be just as intrigued.

It may not be one of the biggest hits of the summer, but it's in the running to be...