Just a Few Days After ‘Pan’s Flop, Warners Might Now Be Looking At a Similar Fate For ‘Tarzan’
Still tallying its staggering loss (perhaps upwards of $150 million) on Pan, Warner is said to be facing an unusual challenge on its next mega-budgeted fantasy reboot. With Tarzan still needing considerable work before its July 1st release date, director David Yates has started shooting his next Warners project, J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. (THR)
John McClane Is Coming Back, Sort Of, In a Brand New ‘Die Hard’ Installment
Twentieth Century Fox is in negotiations with Len Wiseman to direct and produce the sixth installment in its durable 27-year-old franchise. Lorenzo di Bonaventura is also producing. Bruce Willis is expected to return for Die Hard 6 in a story that would focus on the origins of the younger John McClane character, set in New York City in 1979. The plan is for Willis to appear as a present-day version of McClane. The film is titled Die Hard: Year One. (VAR)
Finally, Some Good News For Cameron Crowe, Showtime Orders His ‘Roadies’ To Series
The music-infused project stars Luke Wilson as the band’s tour manager and Carla Gugino as their production manager. The cast also includes Imogen Poots, Rafe Spall, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Peter Cambor, Machine Gun Kelly and Ron White. Showtime has given the series a 10-episode first season, which will premiere in 2016. (TVL)
Jennifer Lawrence Leaves a Project, It Must Mean Something. Now, Richard Linklater Has Followed
The Oscar-nominated filmmaker has joined Lawrence in leaving The Rosie Project, which is based on Graeme Simsion’s novel about a socially awkward genetics professor whose scientific scheme to find the perfect mate is upended when he meets a beguiling woman with all the opposite qualities he’s looking for. Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter wrote the script. (EW)
It’s Official: ‘Kong Vs. Godzilla’ Is Coming Our Way In 2020
Announcement was made yesterday by Legendary CEO Thomas Tull, and Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman and CEO or Warner Bros. Kong: Skull Island hits theaters in 2017, with Godzilla 2 following in 2018. Then, Godzilla vs Kong, will hit theaters in 2020. While Legendary maintains its new home at Universal, the Godzilla films remain in partnership with Warner Bros., who will now also distribute Kong as a part of this franchise. (CS)
Fox Dives Into the Marvel Business, Will Develop the X-Men Spinoff, ‘Hellfire’ While FX Works On ‘Legion’
Former is based on the clandestine society of millionaires within the Marvel universe, who frequently wind up in conflict with the X-Men, the Hellfire club seeks to use their power to manipulate world events. Latter will follow the trials and tribulations of a possibly super-powered young man named David Haller, who, in Marvel’s comics tales, is the ultra-powerful son of Professor X, and be written by Fargo’s Noah Hawley. (VUL)
Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea Expand Their Slate, Pick Up Rights To Novel ‘The Dry’
Debut novel from Aussie author Jane Harper follows police investigator Aaron Falk, who specializes in white collar crime. He returns to his rural hometown as it suffers through the worst drought in a century to bury his childhood best-friend — the perpetrator of a murder-suicide. Long-held secrets regarding the reason Falk left town creep to the surface as he investigates his friend’s tragic crime. The book sold at auction to Flatiron Books in a three-book deal. (WF)
Sean Combs Adding TV Impresario To His Resume, Has a Show In Development At ABC
Network is developing The Hustle (working title), a single-camera comedy executive produced by Combs and directed by Jeremy Garelick. Inspired by the real-life events of Combs’ right-hand woman, his assistant Sarah Snedeker, The Hustle centers on a small-town girl who lands a job working as an assistant to a street-educated billionaire business mogul where she is instantly thrown into a foreign world of extravagance, debauchery and adventure. (DH)
Movies Al Fresco: Twenty-One Of the World’s Coolest Outdoor Cinemas
Save for a few quirky venues left to satiate the needs of nostalgic cinema goers, drive-in theaters are a relic of a past. What hasn’t faded, however, is the appeal of catching a flick outdoors. In fact, you could even say outdoor movies are going through a revival. Though many of these stunners are located at hotels and resorts — there’s even one in an RV park — a few are open to the public. (CNN)
Screenwriters: Behind the Lines With DR — It’s True, He Really Sucks At Success
Even with some career success, there’s always the question of there being more. Even the word itself — success — tends not to land. Either that or it glances off as if one were dipped in Teflon. Understanding the meaning of the word and even the context with which it’s often used doesn’t always help. Sometimes, you just can’t seem to relate. (SM)