McG Lands Directing Job for Universal's Action-Adventure'Ouija'« FirstShowing.net

It almost rhymes… McG andOuija!Deadlineannounces that after quite a line-up of potential directors for theirOuijamovie, Universal's top choice is none other thanMcG(Joseph McGinty Nichol), infamous for theCharlie's Angelsmovies and the rather dislikedTerminator Salvation. Various up-and-coming directors like Pierre Morel and Breck Eisner have beenlinkedpreviously, but McG was in the latest batch and won the job in the end. Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes is producing along with Hasbro. Production begins in summer for a 2012 release, and McG is"about to begin negotiations,"according to Deadline. Is he thebestchoice?

Though the plot is still being kept underwraps, it involves a family getting caught up in some supernatural adventure with flares ofThe MummyandIndiana Jones. So it's a bit more thanParanormal Activitymeets Hasbro supernatural board game. In betweenTerminatorand this project, McG did shoot another romantic comedy calledThis Means War, so he's stayed away from sci-fi and is finally venturing into adventure with this. I think it'll be fun and honestly, with McG and a project like this, I'm sure this is the best we would ever get anyway. Adam Horowitz& Edward Kitsis, the duo behindTron Legacy, wrote the screenplay forOuija. What do you guys think– is there any chance this will turn out fun and entertaining?Is McG a good pick?

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Trent Reznor Scoring David Fincher's'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'« FirstShowing.net

Looking back at 2010, one piece of last year that Iknowwill be talked about for years is Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score for David Fincher'sThe Social Network, that's not only topping a lot of best soundtrack lists (including the/Filmcast's Best of), but is just an amazing contemporary score than many folks listen to on a daily basis. So I'm not really surprised, but Iamvery excited to report thatTrent Reznoris scoring Fincher's next film,The Girl with the Dragon Tattooremake, that he's shooting. The Nine Inch Nails musician confirmed during a live chat with Jon Pareles onTimesTalktonight (caught byThe Film Stage).

Obviously not only did his work onThe Social Networkjust turn out phenomenal in the end, but he must've become friends with Fincher, as that would explain why he wants him back for more. Reznor has apparently been working on the film for about six weeks so far and said to"expect something different"thanThe Social Network, but they've obviously got a long ways to go, so plenty can change. I'm guessing that Reznor might also work with producer/composerAtticus Rossagain, but that hasn't been confirmed yet. Fincher is still hard at work onThe Girl with the Dragon Tattooas Sony has the film set for release thisDecember 21st. Reznor's style will fit well into a brilliant, dark"techno-thriller"like this, which makes him a perfect choice.

If you can't tell, I've been listening to the score while writing this and it really is incredible (it's worth every penny!). It's a great accompaniment to almost any kind of work you're doing, although it' particularly fitting because I'm working on a website right now too– how meta! Anyway, this is fantastic news to hear, as I've found myself enjoying most of the work that mainstream musicians have done on various soundtracks, and I'm happy to see Reznor continue working in film once again. I'm already looking forward to hearing/seeingThe Girl with the Dragon Tattooeven though we've still got another 12 months to go. Bring it on, Fincher!

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Paul Rudd& Leslie Mann Married Again for'Knocked Up'Spin-Off« FirstShowing.net

They've already played a married couple in the 2007 comedyKnocked Up, but nowPaul RuddandLeslie Mannwill be wed to each other again.Varietyreports the two actors are apparently reprising their roles fromJudd Apatow'spregnancy comedy for the director's nextuntitled projectwhich is already slated for release onJune 1, 2012. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Apatow seems to love having his wife (Mann) play house alongside great male comedic talent like Rudd and Adam Sandler (seeFunny People). Apatow will both write and direct the film, and we can probably expect plenty of Apatow's regulars to appea as well.

If the film does follow the same characters fromKnocked Up, there's a chance Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl could reprise their roles in a supporting capacity. InKnocked Up, Mann played Heigl's sister who was having relationship problems of her own as she suspected her husband (Rudd) of cheating. Instead he was simply looking for some time away from the chaos of marriage and family. The two played off of each other very well, and since their kids were played by Apatow's real-life daughters Maude and Iris, we can probably expect to see them too. While I find Leslie Mann to be a decent actress, I would like to see Apatow go outside of his house to get some more female talent involved with his work.What do you think?

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Barbra Streisand to Produce, Direct& Star in Adaptation of'Gypsy'« FirstShowing.net

Though she's extremely well known for using her vocal and acting talents on screen, the iconicBarbara Streisandhasn't taken part in a big screen musical sinceYentlin 1983. Now it looks like she's ready to return to the genre in a big way asThe New York Postreports Streisand is negotiating to produce, direct and star in an adaptation of the classic1959 Braodway musicalGypsy. Of course, the role is a bit different than the musical roles that Streisand has taken previously as the story follows Mama Rose,"the ultimate show business mother,"as she raises her two daughters to perform on stage albeit with some psychotic fits of rage every now and then.

Loosely based on the1957 memoirof Rose Lee, the musical paints a fairly pretty picture of show business even if Mama Rose is a bit on the crazy side (in fact the real Rose Lee apparently killed an agent by pushing him out a window). And in case any of you musical aficionados don't think Streisand is too much"like butter"to pull of such a brutal role as Mama Rose, you'll be happy to know 92-year-old Broadway legendArthur Laurents, who wrote the book to the show, has given Streisand his full blessing. Laurentis said:

"Barbra and I have had long talks on this very subject. She had a mother who she always thought was Mama Rose. I don't want to get into the details, but the point is she knows.She's got it in her. She's going to be much more than people expect."

This isn't the first time the Broadway musical has seen a film adaptation since the1962 Marvyn LeRoy directed iterationstarring Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood and Karl Malden. Considering the only films Ms. Streisand have made in the past decade areMeet the Fockersand the recently releasedLittle Fockers, she has no place to go but up. And considering her high profile status, despite the fact that she hasn't worked in film much over the recent years, her name will definitely reel in quite an impressive musical cast.Anyone interested?

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Jodie Foster Signs Up for Neill Blomkamp's Sci-Fi Flick 'Elysium'« FirstShowing.net

The film hasn't even yet begun pursuit of a studio for distribution, but it sounds like there should be no hesitation when Neill Blomkamp's sci-fi filmElysiumgets shopped around Hollywood. In addition toDistrict 9starSharlto Copleyand A-List starMatt Damon,Deadlineis now reportingJodie Foster, who is experiencing a comeback of sorts, has committed to star in the secretive project. No details on the story have yet been revealed, but we know it's not a sequel to the Best Picture nomineeDistrict 9and the story is set in the far future on another planet. The film could be about basket weaving, and all this talent would still have me foaming at the mouth.

Though Foster has laid low since her turn in the 2008 children's fantasyNim's Island, she's set for quite a return to the spotlight as she is both directing and starring inThe Beaver. And the film will likely get a decent amount of attention since it's also the first film featuring Mel Gibson since his exposed controversial recorded outburstlast year. Of course, interest in the film should be based on the fact that thetrailermakes the flick look pretty damn good. After all, it was #1 on the Black Lista little while back, so that has to count for something. Stay tuned as more information becomes available onElysium.Do you like the cast so far?

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Stephen Dorff Confirms 'Blade' Prequel But Not Much Progress Yet« FirstShowing.net

Last summer, wereported on a rumorthat actorStephen Dorff, next seen in Sofia Coppola'sSomewhere, would star in a prequel spin-off to Marvel'sBladethat would be about Dorff's vampire villain Deacon Frost. It was set to be a new trilogy created by filmmaker Stephen Norrington, who directed the firstBlademovie but has been struggling to get anything into production recently, includingThe Crowreboot (whichhe's no longer attached to). Anyway, we've posted updateshereandthere, but finally have anewquote from Dorff himself. He does shed some light on the new prequel, but it doesn't sound like it's further along than before.

The new quote comes from a blog actually calledDark Lord Bunnykins(viaCinema Blend) which, believe it or not, supposedly got following quote directly from Dorff (most likely doing interviews forSomewhere). I thought the quote was informative and lengthy enough to include the entire text for your reading pleasure.

"Yeah, well, that was something we were talking about. Me and Steve Norrington had a cool treatment for that, and when vampires got all {trendy} again, we thought we should do the adult version, more of likea Scarface Deacon Frost movie. And it sounded cool, this treatment, but then there was {sic} so many legal things. Like, New Line owned Blade and Marvel's got… all this hype into The Avengers and this group movie which sounds like such amistake. And Blade was such a '90s thing…

"I didn't want to do a Blade movie, I just really wanted to take Deacon and do then do a whole other thing which wasmuch more today. So the idea me and Steve had, we might just end up fictionalizing it and just making anew characterwhich might even be better for us. And he's someone I really like and would love to work with again. So hopefully whenever we get a chance we'll get into that."

Honestly,"whenever we get a chance"doesn't sound very hopeful at all, and considering Norrington hasn't been able to recover his career since dive-bombing it withThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemenin 2003, I don't think his involvement is helping it get off the ground any sooner. Dorff's most interesting comments are about their decision to change the title and character, yet keep the same story but without Marvel, which is actuallynota bad idea to get this going, but potentially disastrous too. Additionally, he'sdefinitelynot as excited aboutThe Avengersas I am, but I don't think it's a"mistake"like he said. Is Marvel's focus on bigger characters and connecting their universe together hurting the little characters under the Marvel name which deserve a chance to shine as well? That's the question Droff is asking, but I truthfully don't know the answer.

We'll continue to keep an eye out for any more news on thisBladeprequel with Dorff and Norrington, but it sounds like we still have to wait at least a few more years.Is anyone actually excited for the prequel?

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Lydia Hearst-Shaw Sending Up Lindsay Lohan for a New Comedy« FirstShowing.net

If you've never heard ofLydia Hearst-Shaw, she's essentially a non-slutty, less publicized version of Paris Hilton. Great-granddaughter of publishing giantWilliam Randolph Hearst, the heiress has more fame to her name than being the offspring of a historical media man. Aside from working as a journalist (writing forPage SixofThe New York Post), she's more well-known as a model (appearing inVogue,GQand more) and most recently, acting roles in"Gossip Girl"and a couple low profile indie films likeThe Last International Playboy. NowThe New York Postreports the heiress is taking aim at troubled Hollywood starletLindsay Lohanfor her next role.

Apparently Hearst-Shaw will lead a screwball comedy calledDogs in Pocketbooksin which she'll play a comic character based on Lohan and her publicized trials and tribulations with fame. ScreenwriterCharles Casillorevealed,"Lydia will play a bratty movie goddess in and out of rehab, in trouble with the law, and hounded by greedy agents, predatory paparazzi, off-the-wall stalkers and crazed media."As for the model's limited acting experience, Casillo says,"She's one of thefew supermodels who can actually act. She's smart, well-read, charming and very beautiful. We looked at a lot of actresses for this role, and I was really knocked out."

However, for those interested in seeing Lohan's life skewered on the big screen, Casillo says,"{The movie} is in no way mean-spirited towards Lindsay. It's the kind of thing she has spoofed about herself in the past. It's more of a satire about the crazy people around her and the situations they generate. It satirizes the obsession with modern celebrity."I feel like he's saying that just to cover his own ass and not make it sound like Lohan is a victim in this scenario. Either way, while Lohan's troubles are complicated, she doesn't seem to be making any effort to change her ways and stay out of mischief, so let the lampooning run wild like Lohan herself!What do you think?

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