Toy Story 3 Screenwriter May Write Star Wars: Episiode VII

Today brings word that Star Wars: Episode VII may have found its screenwriter.

Vulture claims that Oscar winner Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) "has written a 40- to 50-page treatment for the film and is likely to be at least one of the writers when the Disney/Lucasfilm project begins shooting in 2014." They say Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo are indeed in it.

Furthermore, Vulture hears "Arndt's 40-something page treatment will soon be crossing the desks of top directors, including Brad Bird, Steven Spielberg (Lucasfilm’s co-chair, Kathleen Kennedy's former producing partner), and J.J. Abrams. Whether they’d be interested is unknown (Star Wars is a lot of baggage for an established director), but Disney wants to make sure they’ve at least tried the biggest names."

Arndt also co-wrote the screenplay adaptation of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which is currently in production.

Source : ign[dot]com

Jamie Foxx Eyes Electro Role in Amazing Spider-Man 2

Oscar winner Jamie Foxx is reportedly in early talks to play the villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. And which villain is that?

According to Variety, Foxx would play Electro.As the trade reminds us, "In The Amazing Spider-Man's post-credit sequence, set inside Dr. Curt Connors' cell at an asylum, the Lizard is approached by a mysterious, shadowy figure (Michael Massee) who asks if Peter Parker knows the truth about his father. Lightning features prominently in the scene prompting auds to believe that Electro would be featured in the sequel."

Foxx hinted at the role with his tweet today: "Dressed up as Electro for Halloween last night. Costume fits well."

Electro, aka Max Dillon, was a criminal who gained the power to control electricity. He's one of Spidey's oldest foes, debuting back in 1964 in The Amazing Spider-Man #9. We ranked him 87th on our list of The Top 100 Comic Book Villains.The Ultimate version of Electro was retooled to be the result of bioengineering, which is in keeping with the Spidey movie reboot's emphasis on science.

Here's our bio of him:

Max Dillon's father left when he was eight years old. His mother became overprotective, which led to an inferiority complex. But we'll get to that later. He took a job as a lineman for an electric company to someday become an electrical engineer. One day, while he was repairing a power line and holding a wire, lightning struck and mutated his nervous system making him a living electrical capacitor. Thus Electro was born.

Electro's powers include shooting up to one million volts of electricity from his fingertips. When his body is charged, he is superhumanly strong and fast, can glide over power lines and can even ride lightning bolts. Doctor Octopus once got him to ionize metals for a science experiment. He can also absorb electrical equipment and manipulate those devices with his mind. But do not get him close to water. Well, unless you want to stop him.

He almost killed Spider-Man in their first meeting, just by being touched. He has been in basically every incarnation of the Doctor Octopus clubs-the Sinister Six, Sinister Seven and Green Goblin's Sinister Twelve. He's been part of the Chameleon's Exterminators and the Hood. As part of the Frightful Four, he used Spider-Man as bait to trap the Fantastic Four. He attacked Sue Storm and Reed Richards at their wedding of all places. He blew up cars with children in them, tried to take over New York's power supply and was even hired by J. Jonah Jameson to beat up Spider-Man on TV.

Source : ign[dot]com

Jamie Foxx Eyes Electro Role in Amazing Spider-Man 2

Oscar winner Jamie Foxx is reportedly in early talks to play the villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. And which villain is that?

According to Variety, Foxx would play Electro.As the trade reminds us, "In The Amazing Spider-Man's post-credit sequence, set inside Dr. Curt Connors' cell at an asylum, the Lizard is approached by a mysterious, shadowy figure (Michael Massee) who asks if Peter Parker knows the truth about his father. Lightning features prominently in the scene prompting auds to believe that Electro would be featured in the sequel."

Electro, aka Max Dillon, was a criminal who gained the power to control electricity. He's one of Spidey's oldest foes, debuting back in 1964 in The Amazing Spider-Man #9. We ranked him 87th on our list of The Top 100 Comic Book Villains.The Ultimate version of Electro was retooled to be the result of bioengineering, which is in keeping with the Spidey movie reboot's emphasis on science.

Here's our bio of him:

Max Dillon's father left when he was eight years old. His mother became overprotective, which led to an inferiority complex. But we'll get to that later. He took a job as a lineman for an electric company to someday become an electrical engineer. One day, while he was repairing a power line and holding a wire, lightning struck and mutated his nervous system making him a living electrical capacitor. Thus Electro was born.

Electro's powers include shooting up to one million volts of electricity from his fingertips. When his body is charged, he is superhumanly strong and fast, can glide over power lines and can even ride lightning bolts. Doctor Octopus once got him to ionize metals for a science experiment. He can also absorb electrical equipment and manipulate those devices with his mind. But do not get him close to water. Well, unless you want to stop him.

He almost killed Spider-Man in their first meeting, just by being touched. He has been in basically every incarnation of the Doctor Octopus clubs-the Sinister Six, Sinister Seven and Green Goblin's Sinister Twelve. He's been part of the Chameleon's Exterminators and the Hood. As part of the Frightful Four, he used Spider-Man as bait to trap the Fantastic Four. He attacked Sue Storm and Reed Richards at their wedding of all places. He blew up cars with children in them, tried to take over New York's power supply and was even hired by J. Jonah Jameson to beat up Spider-Man on TV.

Source : ign[dot]com

Will Nicolas Cage Get Left Behind?

Oscar winner Nicolas Cage is currently in talks to star in the Left Behind reboot, based on the best-selling books and movie series about the biblical end of days.

The writer and producer of the original films, Paul Lalonde, and John Patus, who worked on the novel series' final entry Left Behind: World at War, have collaborated on a screenplay and are hoping to turn it into a feature film with an estimated $15 million budget, says The Hollywood Reporter. Legendary stunt man Vic Armstrong will direct.

The original films, which launched in 2001, starred Kirk Cameron as Buck Williams, a television journalist who is left behind alongside many others after the dawn of Armageddon.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Hanks and Zemeckis to Launch Major Matt Mason

Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis are now moving forward on the long-gestating space feature Major Matt Mason, which would have Hanks set to star with Zemeckis directing.

"I started tinkering with the story after Larry Crowne," said Hanks, who co-wrote the astronaut screenplay alongside Graham Yost (Speed).

Based on a toy from 1966 (prior to the moon landing), Major Matt Mason takes place on the moon and follows a team of people based at a space station. Said Yost of the film, "There's no bad guys. There are no aliens. Nothing like that. It's just, can you survive?"

The project will mark a reunion for Hanks and Zemeckis, who have teamed on a number of movies including Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and The Polar Express.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Catch Me If You Can Caught on Blu-ray

The Spielberg titles on Blu just keep coming! Paramount Home Media Distribution will bring the Oscar-nominated hit, Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, to Blu-ray December 4, 2012.

On a modest $52 million budget, the film, based on the extraordinary true story of Frank Abagale Jr, a young man who forged checks and posed as an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, grossed over $350 million worldwide.

Catch Me If You Can will come to Blu-ray with a digital remastered 1080p hi-def presentation, mixed in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Extras will be ported over from the original two-disc DVD set. Goodies include the following:

• Catch Me If You Can: Behind the Camera
• Catch Me If You Can: The Casting of the Film:

- Leonardo DiCaprio as “Frank Abagnale, Jr.”

- Tom Hanks as “Carl Hanratty”

- Frank’s Parents: Christopher Walken and Nathalie Baye

- The Strong Family: Martin Sheen and Amy Adams

- Jennifer Garner as “Cheryl Ann”

• Scoring: Catch Me If You Can
• Frank Abagnale: Between Reality and Fiction:

- Meet Frank Abagnale

- Frank Becomes a Pilot

- Frank’s Careers

- Frank Gets Caught and Turns His Life Around

• The FBI Perspective
• Catch Me If You Can: In Closing
• Photo Galleries:

- Cast

- Behind-the-Scenes

- Costume Design

Suggested retail for the Blu-ray is set at $22.98. You can pre-order the film on Amazon for $16.98.

Be on the lookout for a review of Catch Me If You Can in December! And hopefully this announcement means Paramount is only a few months away from releasing Munich on Blu-ray. Fingers crossed.

"Do you realize how many great advancements of mankind have been tied to speed? This is a moment in history, right here, right now." Become a friend of R.L. Shaffer on Twitter, Facebook or MyIGN for quotes, rants, reviews, news and more!

Source : ign[dot]com

First Official Photo of Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln

We've seen some set photos of him before, but now the first official photo of Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis as President Abraham Lincoln has been released.

Entertainment Weekly debuted the image and also chatted with Lincoln director Steven Spielberg about the 16th U.S. President. “Lincoln had a very, very complicated – and at the same time, extremely clear — inner life,” said Spielberg. “He thought things out. He talked things out. He argued both sides of every issue. And he was very careful in making any decision. As a matter of fact, his opponents and his enemies criticized him often for being impossibly slow to a decision.”

The director added, "Our movie is really about a working leader who must make tough decisions and get things done in the face of overwhelming opposition.”

Lincoln opens in limited release November 9 before opening wide  November 16.

Source : ign[dot]com

Hoffman Talks Catching Fire Role

In a recent interview, Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman discussed his upcoming role as Plutarch Heavensbee in Francis Lawrence's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

"It's a great group of actors," Hoffman told EW.com. "It's a great environment. And the character was something I was attracted to. It was just an interesting role. [WARNING: Book Spoilers] He's somebody who's part of the revolution, but you don't know it. The idea that somebody would be risking themselves in such an extreme way to join something that's that dangerous because he thinks it's the future... That's interesting stuff, you know?" [End Spoilers]

Hoffman admittedly didn't read any of the books by Suzanne Collins before accepting the part, but he did watch the first movie. He's now reportedly halfway through the second book. "It's good," he says. "I've read the script, which is true to the book -- I kinda ruined it for myself. [Laughs] But I'm reading it anyway, because I really want to find out everything I need to know about this guy."

When asked if he was worried about joining one of Hollywood's most closely scrutinized franchises, the actor noted, "Things always pass over, you know? I don't know what it will be like. But, you know, I'm not playing Katniss. [Laughs] I'm not in high-profile movies in that way too often, so it usually passes. I'm 45. I think it will be all right."

Production begins later this year, with Catching Fire set to hit theaters November 22, 2013.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

J.J. Abrams' Earthquake Moves Forward

Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black (Milk) has just been hired to write Universal's new Earthquake movie, which will be produced by J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk under their Bad Robot banner.

Deadline reports that, while the studio also produced another film called Earthquake in 1974 starring Charlton Heston, the title and subject matter are where their similarities end. In other words, this should not be considered a remake. Meanwhile, New Line continues development on its own competing Earthquake picture, San Andreas 3D.

Black is currently working on a number of projects, including Under the Banner of Heaven at Warner Bros. and Barefoot Bandit for Fox. He's also adapting the Dark Horse graphic novel 3 Story, which he intends to direct.

Source : ign[dot]com

Denzel Washington's The Equalizer Films Next Year

Oscar winner Denzel Washington is now committed to play the title role in Sony's big screen version of the 1980s TV series The Equalizer, with the hunt on for a director to make the film's spring 2013 start date.

Richard Wenk (The Expendables 2) scripted. Escape Artists will produce. Filming is expected to begin filming April 8th, most likely in Boston.

Deadline claims Sony is mulling the following filmmakers for the director's seat: Pierre Morel (Taken), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) and Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption).

Washington will play the enigmatic Robert McCall, portrayed on the 1985-89 CBS television series by the late Edward Woodward. McCall's past was shrouded in mystery, but it was known that he'd once been a secret agent for an unnamed intelligence organization and had an estranged adult son. In an attempt to redeem himself for his dark past, he offered his services for free to those in need of help in the form of a newspaper classified ad that read: "Got A Problem? Odds Against You? Call The Equalizer." He also drove a sweet black Jaguar XJ6 Series III.

Source : ign[dot]com