Warner Bros. has announced an indefinite shut down on Akira, the live-action remake of the acclaimed anime film. The production offices based out of Vancouver have been told to send the cast and crew back home, as production has been suspended for budgetary reasons.
Maleficent, Disney’s revisionist look at its own Sleeping Beauty, looks to a first-timer in Robert Stromberg to bring Maleficent to life, which if all goes according to plan will feature Angelina Jolie in the titular role.
Cameras for Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables have yet to roll, but the musical’s already one of this year’s most discussed projects. The biggest roles yet to be filled had been the younger female roles, Éponine Thénardier and Cosette.
If you haven’t gotten out to 2011’s big awards contenders, you’ll probably spend your time doing that this January, but if the only Oscar you care about is Oscar the Grouch, then we’ve got you covered with 2012’s first litter of movie babies.
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the creative duo behind last summer’s Horrible Bosses, have just been signed by New Line to write a sequel. The re-teaming is expected to draw stars Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day back for another go-around, and the studio is currently in talks to bring back directorSeth Gordon.
What the film will be about is a mystery; the original ran the premise of three employees attempting to murder each other’s nightmarish bosses to a pretty definitive and satisfying conclusion. Having re-watched the original recently, I’ll say that the trio of Bateman, Sudeikis and Day have the funniest comedic chemistry I’ve seen in a good while, and some of the best laughs came from them just goofing around or improvising.
Benedict Cumberbatch is the latest U.K. star quickly making a name for himself internationally. He’s got the BBC’s Sherlock and has already landed roles in recent Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson projects. Now he has a landed a role in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel.
Though we still have another month – and several major
announcements – to go before the Oscar nominations are announced, the year-end
film honors revealed thus far give us a good picture of what to expect from the
Academy this year, particularly in an unusually heated Best Actor race.
