Yup, some of these stories are a few days old now, we’re just playing a little bit of catch-up on stuff that we didn’t feel was a major priority.
A film based on two years in the life of Russian mystic — and apparent archetype for any Russian villain — Grigori Rasputin is being spearheaded by Alain Goldman’s Legende shingle, the people behind the likes of “La Vie En Rose” and Martin Scorsese’s “Casino.” The film will be helmed by “The Roundup” director Roselyn Bosch in a $25 million dollar production which is hoping to capture the complexity of Rasputin’s character; promiscuous, religious, a healer. A 2011 release is being proposed.
Hollywood Gang, the folks behind Zack Snyder’s popular Frank Miller adaptation “300,” are now set to bring the life of Julius Caesar to the big screen in an epic trilogy. The films will be based on Conn Iggulden’s series of novels on the subject entitled ‘Emperor,’ which follow the story of two brothers raised in Rome with William Broyles Jr. (“Jarhead,” “Flags Of Our Fathers,” “Cast Away”) tapped to scribe. Look what you’ve done, “Clash Of The Titans.”
Amanda Posey (producer of “An Education”) is teaming with associate Stephen Woolley for a film centering on the misadventures of a British film crew trying to make a patriotic movie to boost morale after the Blitz. “Their Finest Hour And A Half,” as it’s titled, is being backed by the BBC. Posey is also bringing “An Education” scribe Nick Hornby’s latest novel, “A Long Way Down,” to the bring screen.
The Warner Bros. classic Looney Tunes characters are returning to the big screen with three new shorts set to screen in 3D in front of films such as “Cats & Dogs,” “Legends Of The Guardians” and “Yogi Bear.” Each short will last 3 minutes and will center on Wile. E. Coyote on his continued efforts to capture the elusive Road Runner with “an arsenal of state-of-the-art ACME gadgets.” The aim of the shorts will be to lead up to a new half-hour “Looney Tunes Show” which will feature all the characters and screen on Cartoon Network.
Frank Cottrell Boyce (the writer behind Danny Boyle’s underrated kids film, “Millions”) has been tapped by Walden Entertainment to scribe an adaptation of his own children’s novel “Cosmic,” described as “Apollo 13” meets “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.” The story follows a boy who is frequently mistaken for an adult due to an early growth spurt, as he frauds his way onto an experimental spaceship on which he eventually becomes a hero after saving the crew on a journey gone awry.
British Petroleum have given the go ahead for forgotten actor Kevin Costner to test six water purifying devices he had scientists develop during the production of his famous box office flop, “Waterworld,” in hope of being able to clean the current oil spill in the Gulf which is leaking 210,0o0 gallons of oil a day. Who would have guessed something from that film could save the world’s oceans one day?
“Noble Soul,” a script by Joe Wallenstein about the story behind the Miranda Rights, better known as ‘what police officers recite before making an arrest,’ has been optioned by Philip von Alvensleben and James Veres. The legal drama is based on the court case leading to the Supreme Court’s landmark 1966 Miranda case, and will follow the attorney who successfully pleaded, John Flynn. Yawn.
