It seems like Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro have been working on “The Hobbit” prequels for a while now, but according to Jackson, they have yet to complete the script, begin casting or try to get the project greenlit.
“You never go offering a role to an actor until you have a script that they can read, and you also need a schedule so you can tell what dates you need them to work,” he said.
Jackson added that the script is about three weeks away from being complete. “We have to deliver that to the studio,” he said. “They have to read it. They have to like it. They have to agree to a budget. They have to green-light the movie, because we haven’t really got a green-light. Everybody assumes that ‘The Hobbit’ is being made, but the reality is, unless we can write a script that the studio likes and present a budget that they like, there won’t be any ‘Hobbit’ film being made.”
Thanks to Bloody-Disgusting, we now have the trailer for “House of the Wolf Man,” which is a black and white film made in a 1940s style.
In 1944, “House of Frankenstein” was released, which was followed by “House of Dracula” in 1945. Apparently, “House of the Wolf Man” was supposed to happen soon after, but never did. So director Eben Mcgarr took it upon himself to make that third film, which stars Ron Chaney, the grandson of Lon Chaney Jr (the original Wolf Man).
“Dr. Bela Reinhardt (Chaney) has invited five people to his castle to see which of them will inherit his estate,” Mcgarr said of the plot. “He has arranged for a competition of sorts, the victor shall be determined through process of… elimination.”
He added that it is intended to “slip seamlessly in with the other two movies, and with no gore, language, or sex, it should be for all members of the family.”
Craig Hatkoff of Tribeca Film Festival presents a proclamation from New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to Abdulla Al Najjar, CEO of Qatar Museums Authority, and Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority Board of Trustees, that celebrates the announcement of the creation of Tribeca Film Festival Doha.
By Wendy Mitchell – ScreenDaily.com
Amanda Palmer has been appointed executive director of the new Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF).
Palmer had been head of entertainment for Al Jazeera English, creating such shows as film programme The Fabulous Picture Show. Palmer also serves on Qatar’s National Film Committee.
In the new post, she will work with Tribeca Enterprises Chief Creative Office Geoff Gilmore to shape Doha’sprogramme.
The local team includes Regional Programs Advisor Mohamed Maklouf and Community Outreach Programmer Scandar Copti. Maklouf is a British national of Libyan origin who has been a filmmaker and film journalist since 1983, working as a consultant on shorts and documentaries, founding the Arab Screen Independent Film Festival, and previously working a a programmer for Dubai.
Copti is a Palestinian filmmaker born in Jaffa who has made several short films and won a Camera d’Or special mention for 2009 Cannes selction Ajami.
The festival, previously called Tribeca Film Festival Doha, will run October 29-November 1. The Qatar Museums Authority is producing the event in collaboration with the Tribeca Film Festival. “Our vision is to create a festival that genuinely engages the Qatari people and supports regional filmmakers,” said Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of QMA. “This team is going to impact the way this region experiences film.”
“When Her Excellency and I started talking about this possibility it was always clear that the festival vision was to create an authentic film event that truly serves the community,” Palmer added. “Film is such an amazing equalizer and we felt Tribeca was unique in how it creates an event where filmmakers and film-goers can equally celebrate film.”
Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of TFF, said of Palmer: “Her relationships and her understanding of the region will bean enormous asset.”
Gilmore added that he wanted the festival to nurture new filmmakers in the area and create “a sustainable foundation for the growth of a film industry in Qatar.”
Tribeca has already welcomed a group of Qatari nationals to New York to see how April’s Tribeca Film Festival is organised.
Palmer and Gilmore will programme works from established filmmakers and emerging talents – aiming to appeal to the Qatari population, with a majority of people under age 30. Meanwhile, Copti and Maklouf wll work to uncover local and regional talent.
The inuaugural festival will screen about 30 films in addition to hosting special events.
DTFF’s official website will launch August 18 at dohatff.com.
Makeup Master Rick Baker getting "choked" by Benicio Del Toro
Carl DiOrio – HollywoodReporter.com
Universal’s embattled film execs Tuesday newly scheduled several films for release slots, but that potentially positive move came with a downbeat footnote: The studio also bounced “The Wolfman” out of the current fiscal year.
Universal said the “Wolfman” postponement — to Feb. 12 from a previous Nov. 6 release date — was due in part to visual effects work that’s likely to stretch deep into the fall. That would prevent several key scenes from being available for the pic’s marketing campaign, though a trailer from the Benicio Del Toro starrer is set to hit theaters Aug. 21.
“Wolfman” is now slotted for the four-day Presidents Day frame, which also features the Valentine’s Day holiday on Feb. 14. Four other wide releases are also scheduled for the lucrative session: Disney’s 3D rerelease of “Beauty and the Beast”; Summit Entertainment drama “Remember Me,” starring Robert Pattinson (“Twilight”); Warner Bros.’ romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day,” starring Jessica Biel and Bradley Cooper; and Fox’s adventure fantasy “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.”
The move from fall to winter positions “Wolfman” to kick-start Universal’s boxoffice season by giving the studio an early tentpole release. But the high-profile pic’s delay also denies Uni’s corporate parents GE and NBC Universal revenue from a potential hit in a boxoffice year that’s seen the studio mired in market share mediocrity, with its most recent theatrical release “Bruno” underperforming and June tentpole “Land of the Lost” failing utterly.
Uni placed “The Fourth Kind” — a modestly budgeted thriller recently acquired from Gold Circle Films — into the Nov. 6 slot vacated by “Wolfman.”
Uni gained another big first-quarter release by newly slotting for March 12 a CIA thriller tentatively titled “Green Zone,” which reteams “Bourne Ultimatum” director Paul Greengrass and topliner Matt Damon. And the studio tagged its sci-fi thriller “Repo Men” — formerly titled “The Reposession Mambo” — as an unslotted first-quarter release.
In other moves, Rogue Pictures’ comedy “MacGruber” is now set for release on April 16, and the Judd Apatow-produced laugher “Get Him to the Greek” is set for June 11. Uni marketing and distribution president Adam Fogelson said he was particularly pleased with slotting “Greek” on a date corresponding to the June launch pad for this summer’s R-rated comedy blockbuster “The Hangover.”
“We think we have a real winner of a movie,” Fogelson said.
Another early summer tentpole — Universal’s Robin Hood adventure starring Russell Crowe — remains slotted for May 14.
Twilight fans are used to the renegade vampire Victoria causing trouble for lovers Bella and Edward, but come the third installment of the film series, they may be taken aback by Bryce Dallas Howard baring her fangs in the role.
That’s right: The 28-year-old daughter of director Ron Howard will be replacing Rachelle Lefevre, 30, who took on the role for the first film and its upcoming sequel, New Moon.
“Rachelle brought Victoria to great screen life, and Bryce will bring a new dimension to the character,”says Erik Feig, president of worldwide production and acquisitions for Summit Entertainment. “The franchise is lucky to have such a talented actress as Bryce coming in to fill the role.”
According to Summit, Lefevre is leaving the series because of scheduling conflicts with a new film project. She’s slated to appear opposite Dustin Hoffman in the independent film Barney’s Version, which begins filming the same day as Eclipse – only on the opposite end of the continent, in Quebec.
The UK’s Guardian Online reported Monday, July 27, that former Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has signed a deal to launch a series of horror films. These films will be called, what else, “Black Sabbath”.
Iommi will team up with producer Mike Fleiss on the project. Fleiss is best known for his reality TV work on shows such as The Bachelor and Shocking Behavior Caught on Tape parts One and Two. However, Fleiss has served as producer on the horror films Hostel, Hostel: Part II and the 2006 remake The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
This announcement comes on the heals of a suit filed by Black Sabbath’s infamous front man Ozzy Osbourne against Iommi over rights to the band’s name. Osbourne is claiming the guitarist illegally took sole ownership of the band’s name when he registered a US trademark. The Guardian writes, “Osbourne is pursuing Iommi over his unilateral use of the Black Sabbath name, seeking rights and lost royalties. Iommi registered the US trademark in 2000, but Osbourne has argued that ‘morally and ethically the trademark should be owned by the four [band members] equally’”.
“The Hobbit” prequels for a while now, but according to Jackson, they have yet to complete the script, begin casting or try to get the project greenlit.
Thanks to Bloody-Disgusting, we now have the trailer for “House of the Wolf Man,” which is a black and white film made in a 1940s style.
