23rd Bond movie on the way!

Daniel Craig

By DAVE MCNARY – Variety.com

The 23rd James Bond film will start shooting late next year, according to Daniel Craig.

The thesp made the disclosure Friday in New York in response to a fan’s question as he exited the stage door for “A Steady Rain,” a Broadway play in which he’s starring with Hugh Jackman.

MGM had no comment about Craig’s comment. He’s starred in “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace,” which took in nearly $1.2 billion in worldwide box office.

The most recent announcement on the Bondpic came in June when Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Prods. and MGM disclosed that Peter Morgan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were writing the script for the film, which does not have a director attached yet. Purvis and Wade most recently worked on “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale.”

Tancharoen to direct Universal sci-fi film ‘Arcana’

Kevin Tancharoen

By MARC GRASER – Variety.com

Kevin Tancharoen, who rebooted dance pic “Fame” for MGM, will helm sci-fi actioner “Arcana,” which Brett Ratner will produce at Universal Pictures.

The choreographer-turned-helmer will direct the project based on a script by John Ridley, who is penning WWII actioner “Red Tails,” about the Tuskegee Airmen, for George Lucas.

Tancharoen developed the original idea with actor Harry Shum Jr., a regular in Fox’s upcoming “Glee,” before selling it to Universal.

Details of “Arcana” are being kept under wraps, but it’s described as a live-action graphic novel influenced by “Blade Runner” that includes martial arts and uses production methods similar to Zack Snyder’s “300.”

Brett Ratner

Ridley is no stranger to comicbooks, having penned “The Authority” and “The American Way” for DC Comics.

Ratner and Jay Stern will produce through their Rat Entertainment shingle, with John Cheng overseeing the project.

The Lion bows “Fame,” Tancharoen’s first pic, on Sept. 25.

Poltergeist Remake gets release date

ShockTillYouDrop.com has learned that MGM’s planned remake of Tobe Hooper’s classic ’80s haunted house movie Poltergeist has received a release date of November 24, 2010, Thanksgiving weekend. With director Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) attached since last September, the production has been in development a long time with a script surfacing last year, but so far, no cast has been announced and no information about where or when they might start filming

Epix lands Samuel Goldwyn pics

Georg Szalai – HollywoodReporter.com

NEW YORK — Premium TV service Epix, the joint venture among Viacom, Lionsgate and MGM, has struck an exclusive output deal with Samuel Goldwyn Films.
It’s Epix’s first output arrangement beyond deals with its venture partners. Under the terms of the deal, up to 20 Goldwyn films slated for theatrical release in 2010 and 2011 will be available across all Epix platforms, including its linear channel, subscription-on-demand and epixhd.com, starting next year.
Part of Samuel Goldwyn’s 2010 slate is “The Yellow Handkerchief,” with other films to be announced shortly.
“Epix is developing a brand and an approach that is transforming the way films are viewed by consumers,” said Meyer Gottlieb, president and COO of Samuel Goldwyn Films. “We chose Epix because we want to be part of this new approach to deliver our films to consumers in the way they want to see them.”