– Simon West, the director of “Con Air” and “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” is to produce a 3-D CGI prequel to George Romero’s classic “Night of the Living Dead,” entitled “Night Of The Living Dead: Origins.” Director Zebediah De Soto, who directed a hotly tipped sci-fi short named “War Dogs,” has developed an allegedly revolutionary effects system, nicknamed ‘The Beast,’ which, according to Heat Vision, “allows filmmakers the ability to direct CG performances the same way that would direct real life actors.” In Simon West’s case, this presumably means ‘extremely badly.’ And remember kids, the rights to “Night of the Living Dead” are in the public domain, so you too can produce your own shoddy prequel!
– Cinematical reports via TMZ, that this weekend’s release of Jennifer Aniston/Aaron Eckhart romantic comedy “Love Happens” may be blocked by a lawsuit filed by screenwriters Greg Crowder and Tony Freitas, who claim that the film’s producer Scott Bernstein stole several elements from their unproduced script “The Truth.” If the release goes ahead, they want a share of the profits from the film, which they hilariously estimate at over $100,000,000. SPOILER ALERT: Crowder and Freitas weren’t ripped off, the film will be released on Friday, and they will lose the lawsuit – it’s always cheaper for a studio to buy a script, and then rewrite it, than to secretly steal it. Particularly for a film as generic-looking as “Love Happens.”
– Awards Daily has a new poster, or more accurately, the tie-in book jacket, for Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones.” It looks very nice indeed, and may well prove to be the final one-sheet for the movie. Or possibly a PSA about not talking to strangers.
– JJ Abrams and Robert Orci talked to the LA Times on the set of “Fringe” about the “Star Trek” sequel, and, while it’s clearly early days, they talk about the intention for making a more socially relevant follow-up, in the tradition of the original series. Abrams says, “it needs to do what Roddenberry did so well, which is allegory. It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant. It also needs to tell it in a spectacular way that hides the machinery and in a primarily entertaining and hopefully moving story”, while Orci talks about the fans’ desire for this: “…One of the things we heard was, ‘Make sure the next one deals with modern-day issues.’ We’re trying to keep it as up-to-date and as reflective of what’s going on today as possible.” Our pitch here at The Playlist? Captain Kirk tries to reform galactic healthcare…
– In news from Toronto, Nicholas Winding Refn’s promising looking “Valhalla Rising” has been picked up for distribution by IFC. The Mads Mikkelsen-starring Viking action picture will be released sometime in 2010, most likely in a simultaneous theatrical/on-demand release, as is IFC’s wont these days. Controversial, but extraordinary-sounding Greek movie “Dogtooth,” which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, has also been picked up, by Kino International, who will release the film before the end of the year. Expect reviews of both very soon.
