Movie News Page 1053

Set to deliver a touching drama, Universal Pictures is about to develop "The Eighth Wonder" from Ross Venokur's pitch under its wings, Variety has reported.

The project follows a father as he reconnects with his son who sadly turns blind in order to show him the eight wonders of his life. Details about production schedule have not yet been revealed and neither have names of the helmer also cast members.

Keeps putting interest in provoking big laughs from moviegoers, Walt Disney Pictures is about to develop an untitled comedy project based on the pitch it has purchased from duo Andrea King and Andy Marx, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed.

Though it is confirmed that the movie will be a family comedy revolving around dueling neighbors, plot details are being kept under wraps with no words yet on cast and director. In the meantime, Jerry Bruckheimer is set to produce through his Jerry Bruckheimer Films.

Choosing a list of great big screen pictures, the European Film Academy has officially announced Saturday, November 4 the nominees for its 2006 European Film Awards set to take place in Warsaw, Poland on December 2.

Among those candidates, Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others" have both delightfully scored the most nominations, each landing six nominations, including those of Best European Film, Best European Actress, and Best European Director.

Building up the hype surrounding the anticipation of next year's Academy Awards, sixteen full-length animated pictures have been passed the qualification to compete for being five Best Animated Feature nominees, which will be announced by the officials on January 23, 2007.

Walt Disney Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, and 20th Century Fox each managed to make two entries for the competition: Disney with "Cars" and "The Wild", DreamWorks with "Flushed Away" and "Over the Hedge", while Fox with "Ice Age: The Meltdown" and "Everyone's Hero."

Taking similar acting stint as Amanda Bynes has assumed in "Sydney White and the Seven Dorks", blonde beauty Mischa Barton is set to star in "Malice in Sunderland", a contemporary take on the Lewis Carroll's popular tale of "Alice in Wonderland."

Scheduled to begin shooting in the U.K early next year, the picture centers on an American student who shockingly finds herself disoriented in Sunderland where she has to navigate a macabre underworld of characters after getting hit by a London taxi. "Blessed" helmer Simon Fellows is on board to direct with Jayson Rothwell penning the script.

The hype surrounding "Borat" has played its role effectively to the benefit of the flick for sure. Thanks to it, the mockumentary comedy could really strive high to score big at $26.4 million and so, proclaims itself the top holder of the weekend box office for November 3-5, 2006.

Opened in only 837 theaters, the flick averaged a whopping $31,511 per theater, outdistancing runner-up "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" which averaged $5,784 in 3,458 cinemas to make up a $19.5 million booty in its debut on the chart. Trailing close behind is DreamWorks' animated picture "Flushed Away" following its decent effort to gain $18.8 million in 3,707 outlets.

The search for right director to helm "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" still continues. After the names like Matthew Vaughn, James McTeigue, and M. Night Shyamalan popped out as candidates, here now comes Michael Hoffman on the list as SlashFilm has reported that the man is in talks to assume the position.

The quest to look for the one to lead this sixth installment of the hit franchise lately has become a hot topic around Harry Potter fans as well as moviegoers. Previous directors such as Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuaron have reportedly shown their interest to return with Terry Gilliam being rumored on IMDb to get on board though his name was quickly removed.

Spidey fans, do mark your calendar on November 9 for it's the date for a new trailer of "Spider-Man 3" to see the light at last. Superhero Hype! has learned that Sony Pictures is reportedly set to show the trailer on MTV exactly on the day during the airing of its "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel" at 10 p.m. ET.

For those who later turn out to miss the show, need not worry for the trailer will then be played in theaters attached to prints of the new James Bond flick, "Casino Royale", starting November 17. In addition there are rumors that a second new trailer of the picture will be featured in February 2007 in front of the screening of fellow superhero flick "Ghost Rider"

Rounding out a great ensemble of Latin cast, Rodrigo Santoro, Paz Vega, and Grammy Award-winning singer Shakira have all been confirmed to take part in a romantic epic feature entitled "Dare to Love Me."

Slated to start shooting next spring in Romania, the picture, set in 1930s Paris, tells about the life of Argentinean tango legend Carlos Gardel. Santoro is billed to play the crooner, while Vega and Shakira will both become his love interests in a romantic triangle. Alfonso Arau is on board to direct with Jeremy Leven writing the screenplay.

Again taking part in teen comedy genre, Amanda Bynes has landed a deal to topline an updated version of the "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" fairy tale titled "Sydney White", Production Weekly has reported.

Scheduled to enter production this January in Florida, pic revolves around a popular college student named Rachel whose status is challenged when White (Bynes) enters the campus and steals attention as well as her would-be boyfriend Blaine away from her. Joe Nussbaum is in charge to direct while Chad Creasey is set to pen the script.

Known as a film producer and the man behind "Project Greenlight", Chris Moore now is heading to another field. The man is about to make his feature directorial debut in "Killers", a horror-action flick set to be distributed by Lionsgate Films.

A collaborative production of Element Films, Lift Films and Benderspink, the project focuses on a group of close friends who are forced to engage in a game where they have to kill each other in order to survive by a mysterious killer. Agnes Bruckner, Taryn Manning, and Patrick Flueger are all starring with Kelly C. Palmer writing the script.

Jumping into pure drama genre, Andrew Niccol has been appointed by Room 9 to direct its new project of "Dali & I: The Surreal Story", a big screen feature about Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed.

An adaptation of Stan Lauryssens' autobiographical book "Dali and I", the picture will depict Dali's life through the eyes of Lauryssens and focus on the mentor-protege relationship between the two. Filming is expected to begin next spring with Niccol to also rewrite the script originally penned by John Salvati.

Set to work hand in hand, French actress Catherine Deneuve and "The Skeleton Key" star Gena Rowlands have both agreed to lend their voices in the English-language version of the French animated film feature "Persepolis."

Taking the same duty as she did in the original version, Deneuve is billed to voice the lead character's mother while Rowlands will voice her grandmother. Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi have been in charge to both write and direct with Xavier Rigault and Marc-Antoine Rob producing.

Securing one more great deal, Rogue Pictures has obtained distribution rights to action/horror flick "Castlevania" for North America and the U.K regions as well as for Spain and German-speaking territories with Crystal Sky handling sales for the rest of the world, Variety has learned.

Based on Konami's long-running game franchise of the same name, the project tells about the clash between Dracula and the vampire-hunting Belmont family which has spanned for centuries. It is revealed, however, that the film will mostly take place in 15th century Transylvania.

A shocking decision has been taken by Fox Atomic. The studio has confirmed that production on its "Revenge of the Nerds" is halted after Atlanta's Emory University, where most of the film takes place at, backed out of its agreement to permit the shooting on campus.

Reason behind Emory's action is still unclear yet, but it is believed that the refusal was triggered by the disapproval of the institution's officials on the raunchy nature of the flick. Fox itself actually has attempted to shoot the project at other colleges in Atlanta before finally came to a conclusion to shut it down.