A rumor that was glossed up by some journalists to be the gospel truth around the web this morning (you will notice we didn’t report on it) has unsurprisingly been proven to be false.

Orlando Bloom has not been cast as the Prince of Persia in the Walt Disney Pictures movie which shall soon begin filming under the lens of Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) at Pinewood before moving off to Morocco.

You can probably also chalk off the rumor that Zac Efron was the studio’s second choice for the part.

Jerry Bruckheimer is producing the film which at this stage is set for a release next June where it is expected to fill the gap left behind by the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Not to be picky or anything Mr. Bruckheimer - but I would love if you actually would cast a Persian as the Prince of Persia please. Or at worst, someone who looked Persian. I don’t think that is too much to ask now is it? THANK YOU!

If this film is staying on course I would expect some real casting news to leak soon.

source - coming soon

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Columbia Pictures have kindly released a big batch of new photo’s for the next James Bond adventure - the “this title still sounds fucking weird” Quantum of Solace.

I’ve left out the boring photo’s and the one’s we showcased from USA Today last week in our PREVIEW ARTICLE (which you should read btw!) and just included the new ones for you.

With all the delays to some of the biggest movies of the next 12 months, it’s nice to know that this one is staying on course for it’s late October release (Nov. in the U.S.).

source - /film

The continuing saga of the new Hellraiser reboot is getting a little tedious.

Bloody Digusting carry the confirmed news that the French directing duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julian Maury are no longer attached to the remake of Hellraiser and The Weinsteins are once again left with the task of finding a new helmsman for their cheap money making scheme.

The film is currently set for a January 2009 release but unless a new director can be found quickly then it’s likely to be pushed back once again.

Last we heard on the project was in February when Saw III and IV writers Marcus Denston and Patrick Melton were the latest duo to give the script some attention.

Presumably they are still on board this remake.

Warner Bros. must really have been disappointed with the final cut of Michael Dougherty’s debut film Trick ‘r Treat which was played to the studio at an exclusive screening last night. Bloody Disgusting are today reporting that WB have decided NOT to release the movie - they deem it unmarketable.

The tongue-in-cheek slasher flick which looks to have been made along the same lines as The Tripper and Hatchet - was set to open last Halloween but was pushed back to the Spring when WB were worried about the potential of Saw IV taking away it’s audience. Or so they said at the time.

The real truth is now out and it’s obvious they weren’t confident on making any money on the movie.

Legendary Pictures will now begin shopping the film around distributors hoping to find a buyer who will give it a theatrical run.

In their favour is a cast of actors who may not be stars but they are recognisable faces to movie going audiences. Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, Brian Cox and Leslie Bibb topline the cast.

The film features four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband.

You can see the trailer below.

I thought the movie looked quite fun and I had been anticipating it quite a bit. Reminded me of the best horrors of the 80’s and it seemed a lot more self conscious than most slasher films this decade. Shame…

In what is claimed to be purely a tactical move, the much hyped second big film from the newly reformed United Artists - the WWII thriller Valkyire - will now open on February 13th next year, attempting to take advantage of the President’s Day Weekend. The film was previously slotted for an October 08 release.

Universal’s remake of The Wolf Man was originally set to open on that February weekend but has also been pushed back, probably because of that brief delay they had with finding a replacement director after Mark Romanek’s sudden departure. All being well that film should now open April 3rd 2009.

While I’m at it, news leaked a few days ago that the much anticipated adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife has moved from a June release - to a November opening. The only reason I can think of is due to the recent sale of New Line to Warner Bros. who might want to change it’s marketing campaign for the film.

Valkyrie will now play opposite the Isla Fischer chick flick Confessions of a Shopaholic and the new Friday the 13th redo.

“MGM is proud and excited to be presenting ‘Valkyrie,’ and because of that we want to give it the best launch possible,” said Clark Woods, President of Domestic Distribution of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, which is distributing the movie domestically. “When an opening became available for President’s Day Weekend, we seized the opportunity. Having seen a lot of the film and how great it is going to play once it’s finished, moving into a big holiday weekend is the right move.”

This isn’t the first time Valkyrie has been moved around. Originally it was set to open in June - then August - then October and now all the way forward to 2009.

It’s pretty evident that Cruise is desperate to avoid another flop on his hands after his first U.A. movie Lions for Lambs really disappointed last year. This move should also put the film out of this year’s Oscar contention.

source - coming soon

There’s some great genre films being made right now and just like Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, we can see the potential in SPLICE, a Frankenstein meets The Fly gene splicing horror! Read our preview NOW!

Rejoice!

Crueler than the burning of Edward Woodward has come the news to the 90-odd crew primed and ready to work on the brand new reimagining of The Wicker Man that filming has been scrapped at the 11th hour.

The movie titled Cowboys for Christ, which was written and to be directed by the original Wicker Man helmer Robin Hardy and starring Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Graham McTavish, Paul Wesley and Susie Amy was to begin filming in Scotland this week but the Dumfries and Galloway council have confirmed that financing has fallen through.

It has really been a last minute decision, all of the 90 man crew had been put up in four star hotels in the area.

No word if they are going to give financing another go or if the film will now be scrapped indefinitely. Hopefully it will because despite the additions of some of the original crew, do we really need to see another re-tread of what is an absolutely perfect original film?

source - moviehole

A surprising turn of events at the box office this weekend saw the usually popular George Clooney (especially in the comedy genre) finish second at the box office for his latest film’s debut weekend, losing out to 21 which topped the charts for a second consecutive week!

Leatherheads, Clooney’s third film as an actor/director opened to an extremely mediocre $13.5 million - despite the big box office combination of himself and fellow A-list star Renee Zellweger. The film was made for a massive $58 million, so this is quite a huge flop for Universal.

A confusion over whether Leatherheads was a comedy or a drama - a battle of the sexes comedy or a nostalgic sports flick during it’s marketing campaign is easily to blame here and the lack of any real kind of momentum before it’s release. I actually forgot this film was coming out and regardless of the decent reviews - it’s a mis-step for all those involved.

So once again first is 21 which was a suprising number one hit last week and even more so now. Dropping a very cool 37% in takings (despite much competiton) the Kevin Spacey/Kate Bosworth/Jim Sturgess gambling thriller added another $15.1 million to it’s $46.5 million total. Domestically it has now shot past it’s $35 million budget and hasn’t gone worldwide yet - so it’s been a worthy venture for Sony/Columbia.

Another suprising flop was the light kids fantasy Nim’s Island - the widest released movie of the weekend which only managed a weak $13.3 million - which was well under it’s $37 million budget. It’s another disappointing figure for the previously always popular Jodie Foster and after P.S. I Love You - shows that Gerard Butler isn’t much of a draw in the fantasy/kids/rom-com genre of films.

Depressingly the film opened under the opening weekend of Zathura.

Finally, the ‘torture porn’ promoted horror The Ruins capped over a terrible weekend for new releases. A $7.8 million opening puts it firmly in between the two similar horrors The Descent and The Cave - and will quickly be forgotten about and joins the movie abyss that is low budget horror.

source - box office mojo

What is it about the Rachel Dawes role?

Is it cursed to turn stars into scenes of gross over-acting and reciting uncomfortable monologues?

I hope she ain’t as bad as this in the movie. I believe this is the first time outside of a few shocked looks in the teaser trailer that we have seen Maggie Gyllenhaal in motion for this summer’s blockbuster The Dark Knight.

To be fair she might have been brought into to do this without much preparation but I hope that she has NOT been instructed to act like Katie Holmes because if she has then that is a disaster waiting to happen.

Genius bit of marketing though (we aren’t publishing everything WB are doing because there is just too much, but we will post what we find most interesting such as this)…

source - /film

Judd Apatow’s real life wife and talented comedic actress Leslie Mann has joined the Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor black comedy I Love You Phillip Morris according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The comedy comes from the writers of Bad Santa who are making their directorial debut…

The story follows a married father (Carrey) who is sent to prison and falls in love with a cellmate named Phillip Morris. His love leads him to make several escape attempts.

Mann will play Carrey’s wife.

This one is next up for Carrey & McGregor as it begins production next month.

Has Carrey done black comedy before? Man on the Moon was a little more on the dramatic side so I’m not sure that counts. The Cable Guy - maybe be the closest.

Fascinating project this one. I did like the concept of Bad Santa and this one sounds as if it will be in the same tone. Hope Carrey’s toned down and McGregor isn’t just a side attraction.