Universal Gearing Up For "The Terminator"

According to reports, Universal, home of the most famous monsters in filmland, is looking to acquire motion picture rights to "The Terminator", for director Justin Lin ("The Fast And The Furious").

"The Terminator", released in 1984, was directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn. Lensed in Los Angeles, the film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures.

Schwarzenegger played the 'Terminator', a cyborg assassin sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 to kill 'Sarah Connor' (Hamilton). Biehn played 'Kyle Reese', a soldier from the future sent back in time to protect Sarah.

In 2008, "The Terminator" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant".

Original "Terminator" co-writer Wisher Jr. has a treatment for the next installment in the franchise, focusing on time travel.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Terminator"...

Gandolfini And Curtola Join "Cogan's Trade"

Former "Sopranos" actors James Gandolfini ('Tony Soprano') and Vincent Curatola ('Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni') will re-unite for "Cogan’s Trade", an adaptation of the crime novel by author George V. Higgins ("The Friends Of Eddie Coyle").

Starring Brad Pitt, the new film will follow mob character 'Jackie Cogan' (Pitt) trying to track down the thieves who ripped off a high-stakes card game. Gandolfini will play a burnt-out alcoholic killer, who is brought in to track the suspects down. Curatola will play a man recently released from jail who seeks revenge on those who sent him to prison.

Additional cast members include Ray Liotta ("Goodfellas") as hustler 'Mark "Markie" Trattman', Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell and Richard Jenkins.

"...'Cogan' is called in when a high-stake card game under the protection of the Mob is heisted. Expertly, with a ruthless businessman’s efficiency, a shrewd sense of other people’s weaknesses, and a style as cold as his stare, Cogan moves with reliable precision to restore the status quo as ill-conceived capers and double-dealing shenanigans erupt into high-voltage violence..."

"Cogan's Trade" will be directed by Andrew Dominick ("The Assassination Of Jesse James").

Click the images to enlarge...

Sherlock Holmes Plays "A Game Of Shadows"

Warner Bros. has confirmed that the sequel to director Guy Ritchie's 2009 feature "Sherlock Holmes" will be titled "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows".

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows", is based on the adventures of the detective 'Sherlock Holmes' created by author Arthur Conan Doyle, produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Screenplay is by Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney. Actors Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law reprise their roles as 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Dr. John Watson', as the duo join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, 'Professor Moriarty'.

..."'Sherlock Holmes' (Downey, Jr.) and his longtime trusted associate, 'Doctor Watson' (Law) take on their arch-nemesis, 'Professor Moriarty' (Jared Harris), with the help of Holmes' older brother 'Mycroft Holmes' (Stephen Fry)..."

Additional cast includes Noomi Rapace as 'Sim', Rachel McAdams as 'Irene Adler', Eddie Marsan as 'Inspector Lestrade' and Geraldine James as 'Mrs. Hudson'.

From Legendary Pictures, Silver Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and Playtone, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows" will be distributed by Warner Bros. in North America, December 16, 2011.

Click the images to enlarge...

Chris Evans Plugs Into "Captain America: Super Soldier"

Actor Chris Evans, starring in the upcoming Marvel Entertainment comic book adaptation "Captain America: The First Avenger", will lend his likenness and voice talents to the tie-in Sega video game, "Captain America: Super Soldier".

Players will become 'Captain America' as he battles the 'Red Skull' and his Third Reich army in a third- person action adventure set during World War II.

Wielding Captain America's shield, gamers will engage in 'free-flowing' combat and acrobatic platforming to infiltrate the castle of 'Hydra' and fight the the infamous 'Iron Cross' forces.

The game is scheduled for a summer 2011 release for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii and Nintendo DS.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Captain America: Super Soldier"...

Michelle Pfeiffer Stakes Out "Dark Shadows"

According to reports, actress Michelle Pfeiffer will reteam with her "Batman Returns" director Tim Burton for the Warners feature film reboot of 1960's horror soap opera TV series "Dark Shadows". Pfeiffer would play matriarch of the 'Collins' clan, 'Elizabeth Collins Stoddard'.

Previously cast are Johnny Depp as 'Barnabas Collins', Eva Green as the witch 'Angelique Bouchard Collins', Jackie Earle Haley as conman 'Willie Loomis' and Bella Heathcoate as 'Victoria Winters', governess of the Collins estate.

The production will start April 2011, with Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and Graham King’s GK Films producing.

Screenplay is by Seth Grahame-Smith ("Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"), who drafted a rewrite of a previous screenplay by John August.

"Dark Shadows", created by Dan Curtis ("The Night Stalker"), originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, June 1966 to April 1971. Story 'bible' for the show was written by Art Wallace.

The series became popular a year into its run, with the introduction of Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, playing the 200-year old Barnabas Collins who encounters other vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, man-made monsters, witches and warlocks.

Writer Malcolm Marmorstein, who created the character of Collins, also created series characters 'Sam Hall', 'Gordon Russell' and 'Violet Welles'.

The series often used classic horror stories including "Dracula", "Frankenstein", "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "The Turn of the Screw" and "Wuthering Heights", freely borrowing prose from authors Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James and H. P. Lovecraft.

Collins was originally the object of desire, circa 1795, for the witch Angelique. In the present day, Collins is released from his coffin by 'Willie Loomis'. Collins then kidnaps waitress 'Maggie Evans', believed to be the reincarnation of lost love 'Josette du Pres'.

Composer Robert Cobert's music score for the series entered the Billboard top 20 national album chart in 1969. The spoken-word instrumental track "Quentin's Theme", earned a Grammy nomination, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1,225 episodes of "Dark Shadows" were produced during its TV run, with a feature film, starring Frid, released in 1970.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Dark Shadows"...

Irina Shayk Covers the 2011 "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue"

Sports Illustrated Magazine has revealed model Irina Shayk (Shaykhlislamova) as the cover model for the 2011 "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue":

"...Shayk graces the cover under the headline 'Paradise Found in Hawaii'. She is the first Russian cover model and joins an elite group of Swimsuit models to grace the cover, one that includes Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs, Heidi Klum, Elle MacPherson, Tyra Banks, Petra Nemcova, Marisa Miller and Brooklyn Decker. This year's cover was shot by Bjorn Iooss—son of long-time Sports Illustrated photographer Walter Iooss Jr.—who captured the iconic image with the first shot on his first-ever Sports Illustrated shoot..."

Also joining Shayk in this year's issue is 2010 Swimsuit cover model Brooklyn Decker, currently appearing in the feature "Just Go With It".

Other familiar faces in the 2011 Issue include models Cintia Dicker, Esti Ginzburg, Jessica Gomes, Julie Henderson, Damaris Lewis, Genevieve Morton, Hilary Rhoda, Chrissy Teigen, Anne V and Jessica White.

Newcomers include Alyssa Miller, Izabel Goulart, Kate Upton, Kenza Fourati and Shannan Click.

Shayk, originally from the the Russian village of Yemanzhelinsk, made her "SI Swimsuit" debut in 2007 and has appeared in every Swimsuit issue since.

Shayk's swim suit on the 2011 cover was designed by Sauvage by Elizabeth Southwood, and her bracelet was made by Los Angeles-based Ettika.

Click the images to enlarge...

"Arthur": No Work. All Play. - April 8, 2011

Sneak Peek the new poster supporting the upcoming Warners comedy feature "Arthur", starring actors Russell Brand as 'Arthur Bach', Greta Gerwig as 'Linda Marolla', Jennifer Garner as 'Susan Johnson',Helen Mirren as 'Hobson', Nick Nolte as 'Burt Johnson', Luis Guzmán as 'Bitterman' and Jennie Eisenhower as 'Alexisa'.

The remake of the 1981 feature of the same name (starring Dudley Moore) is directed by Jason Winer and written by Peter Baynham.

Produced by Chris Bender, Brand, Michael Tadross, Larry Brezner, Kevin McCormick and J.C. Spink, "Arthur" follows 'lovable drunken playboy' Arthur who stands to lose a wealthy inheritance when he falls for a woman his family doesn't like.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Arthur"...

Producers Target Cooney's "Valentine"

The independent 'femme fatale' comic book "Valentine", written and illustrated by Daniel Cooney, for Red Eye Press publishing, is being adapted into a $25 million budgeted feature by Chautauqua Cordova Entertainment (C2 Entertainment).

Title of the upcoming film is "Valentine: Brains, Beauty and Bullets" about a female criminal who has an "addictive attraction to risk and violence",with the screenplay by Huston Huddleston exploring the dark past of 'Dana Valentine' to find what shapes her violent personality and how her grim 'profession' affects her psychologically.

Click the images to enlarge...

"Green Lantern: Rise Of The Manhunters" - June 7, 2011

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment reports that the video game "Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters" for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS, will be released June 7, 2011 in conjunction with the "Green Lantern" movie.

"...In the game, players will utilize over a dozen constructs and take flight across the deepest parts of the Universe to restore intergalactic order by wielding the ultimate weapon: the 'Green Lantern' power ring".

Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, star of the "Green Lantern" movie, provides the voice of 'Hal Jordan'/'Green Lantern' in the game.

"'Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters' gives players the chance to experience the world of the 'Green Lantern' mythology in an interactive way, going beyond the events of the film and comic books," said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

"The game is the first to center around DC Comics' Green Lantern franchise and we're excited to give fans the opportunity to experience the power of the ring with engaging gameplay."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Green Lantern: Rise Of The Manhunters"...

"The Amazing Spider-Man" - July 3, 2012

Sneak Peek actor Andrew Garfield ("The Social Network") in Columbia Pictures upcoming reboot of "The Amazing Spider-Man".

The 3D film, currently in production will be released July 3, 2012, starring Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen and Sally Field.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves based on the Marvel Comic book character created by writer Stan Lee and co-writer/illustrator Steve Ditko.

Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are producing the Marvel Entertainment production for Columbia Pictures. Executive producers are Stan Lee, Kevin Feige and Michael Grillo.

Click the images to enlarge...

Phoebe Halliwell Is "Charmed"

Zenescope Entertainment's "Charmed" #6, available February 16 is written by Paul Ruditis, with illustrations by Dave Hoover and a cover by David Seidman:

"...Almost a decade ago 'Phoebe Halliwell' saw a future in which she was publicly burned at the stake for killing a mortal that murdered her friend. Now as the time approaches for her premonition to play itself out, what can she do, if anything, to stop it? Phoebe questions whether the events are destined to play out the way she saw them or if enough has changed to save both her friend's life as well as her own..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Charmed"...