Tom Cruise To Star, Produce MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: 4

More of this...

Tom Cruise is set to return to Mission Impossible: 4, and will team with J.J. Abrams (director of MI:3) to help produce the film, according to Deadline. Meanwhile, scribes Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec (frequent writers on Abrams’ Alias TV series) are hard at work on fleshing out the screenplay while Cruise and Abrams are searching for a director.

Thanks to Collider, we also have a planned release date as well, according to the recent press release: Memorial Day 2011.

...and less of that.

While I have enjoyed the last two MI films, the second was rather silly. I still think the first was the best, and can only hope they return to that kind of writing and tone. For all the hate Cruise gets, I still am a fan of his work so I will definitely keep yall updated on where the film goes.

Nolan Working On DARK KNIGHT Sequel, SUPERMAN

Christopher Nolan, more god than man in many fans’ eyes, is reportedly working on the planned rehash of Superman by WB, while his brother (Jonathan Nolan) and frequent collaborator (David S. Goyer) are carefully crafting ideas for the next Batman film, according to Deadline. Now, let’s get two things straight: Nolan hasn’t signed on to direct either of the films, and he hasn’t signed on for anything involving the possible sequel to The Dark Knight.

However, these are steps in the right direction, and Nolan’s involvement in the next Superman film can only benefit it, directing or not. The sources for Deadline state that Nolan isn’t likely to direct the next Supes flick, but his edgy, gritty little mitts are likely to show up all over the film in its production qualities. Remember that Nolan likes to base things more in reality and get away from the campier take that many comic-book adaptations take.

I can see a healthy balance of the past Superman flicks and the more gruff comics version in terms of tone for the next film. The movie will also have nothing to do with the Bryan Singer adaptation of a few years back, so stay tuned.

ZOMBIELAND Scribes Talk Sequel…In 3-D!

Time to nut up, or shut up

Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have been quite the hit lately, coming on board for the upcoming Deadpool film and the G.I. Joe sequel, but they haven’t forgotten their first love—Zombieland. Just released on DVD and Blu-ray last week, the hilarious zombie romp is powered by a spot-on performance by Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee, and has a great cast around him as well.

The sequel is already in the works, and with all of the principal cast, director, and writers on board, and this time the film will be in 3-D. They spoke with MTV recently to discuss their plans, including adding a love interest for Tallahassee, and you better get ready for some flying fluids. More after the jump.

Oscar Noms! (Nom nom nom)

I Can Haz Ozkar?

The Oscar nominations are out, and so let’s get right down to it. Disctrict 9 got nominated for Best Picture! What a momentous occasion for such a low-budget science fiction film. Unfortunately, Sharlto Copley didn’t get a nom for his role in the film, but we can’t have it all. If some of you are confused how Disctrict 9 got into the exclusive five picture list, well, that is a thing of the past. This year, the Academy Awards expanded their Best Picture nomination field to 10 films. Personally, it’s one year too late, when Wall-E, The Dark Knight, and The Wrestler failed to get any Oscar Best Pic love, but it should give some very good films some publicity this year.

Some might be pretty upset to see The Blind Side nominated for Best Pic, and I won’t argue the point much. It’s not that the film was bad. It just wasn’t one of the top 10 films I saw this year, and I saw alot. I still have yet to see An Education nor Precious, but I do plan on getting around to them soon. Meanwhile, let the predictions begin as to whether Quientin Tarantino’s hilarious and fun romp through alternate history, Inglourious Basterds, can pull off a huge upset. The three biggest juggernauts from the past awards are clearly Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and Up In The Air. With Avatar and Locker grabbing nine individual nominations each, the Academy clearly enjoyed the pics.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that Up is the only animated picture nominated for Best Pic (and the second animated film to claim that distinction, alongside Beauty and the Beast), I am predicting that Fantastic Mr. Fox will beat it out in the animated film category. Also, no, I have never heard of The Secret of Kells either.

Stay tuned for individual movie reviews later today about every film I have seen on the list.

For some links to some of the shorts you can see for free, and the full list of the nominees, join me after the break.

Bigelow Wins DGA, Highly Likely To Get Oscar As Well

Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) picked up her award from the Director’s Guild of America today, and this spells success come Oscars. Only six times in the past 61 selections has the winner of the DGA for Feature Film not won the Academy Award for Best Director as well. That is a 90% success rate. Additionally, contrary to what famous film critic Roger Ebert tweeted and The Playlist cited (don’t worry, I let both of them know), the DGA has failed to predict the winner of the Best Picture a mere 13 of 61 selections. That is better than 78%!

Also of note is that she is the first woman to ever win the award. If she wins either of the Best Picture or Best Director awards comes Oscar time, she will also make firsts there as well. Ebert actually had this to say about the win:

“Hard to recall a more popular DGA winner than Kathryn Bigelow. James Cameron was really happy, and not just pretending.”

Either way, it is a great victory for a film that I can’t help but root for, even with some unflattering opinions of it floating around. It sits at the top of my favorite films of the past year. For the record, Up In The Air, UP, and Fantastic Mr. Fox round out my top four, in that order.

Miramax To Slowly Die Away

The Wrap is reporting that Miramax has run its course and was finally buried today. While that is sad, it is good to know that they will still be operating in a much smaller fashion under Walt Disney Studios. Some of the Miramax notables include Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Chicago, Sling Blade, Good Will Hunting, The English Patient, Clerks, and many more. That is an outstanding stable of films, but it appears the gambles that didn’t pay off had sunk the company to the point of no return. However, many still think that the brand will live on in some fashion, but who knows when they will return to their former glory, if ever. Even the Weinsteins wanted to buy the name, but couldn’t afford the $1.5 billion pricetag that came with the company outright.

Breakin’ News: AVATAR Sinks TITANIC

AVATAR is flying high

That’s right boys and girls, we have a new king of the worldwide boxoffice gross, and it goes by the name of Avatar. Now, the funny thing is, James Cameron actually made both films. That means, combined, his gamut of movies have easily made over $3 billion in worldwide boxoffice gross. Didn’t like Avatar? Well, you clearly are in the minority, as Monday night (tonight) saw Avatar hurdle the $1,843,201,268 Titanic grossed in 1997, according the The Hollywood Reporter.

The biggest question going in was whether Cameron’s huge gamble would pay off—the film was rumored to have cost over $500 million dollars, and to have at least been around $350 million. He invited folks to drop more money than normal to experience a brand-new franchise (make no mistake, there will be more and it was always planned with that intention) and jump into a 2.5+ hour 3-D film with little to no familiarity with much of the cast. Guess what? It worked.  To read my full thoughts and what the “Avatar effect” is, hit the jump.

Breakin’ News: “The Hobbit” Likely Delayed Til 2012

Variety just posted an article about New Line and there is a juicy nugget about “The Hobbit”.

[WB Prexy Alan] Horn won’t predict when the first of the two Hobbit films will be out, but says the most probable scenario would be a release in the fourth quarter of 2012.

That is a full year after the planned December 2011 release for the first of the two-part series. This is still largely up in the air at this point, but ugh. I just hope they get made soon.

Breakin’ News: Ivan Reitman To Direct “Ghostbusters 3”

MTV confirmed that Ivan Reitman, best known for the two ’80’s Ghostbusters films, will be directing “Ghostbusters 3.” He also noted that he has received the finished script for the film and plans to shoot in 2011.

Writing the script this time around are Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who wrote “Year One” and have been mainstays on the U.S. version of “The Office.”

Ivan Reitman is the father of up-and-coming director Jason Reitman, who recently helmed “Up In The Air,” which Ivan produced. In interviews, Ivan had said that seeing his son direct had given him creative inspiration. Perhaps this is a fruit of that effect.

Breaking News: Sony Set To Reboot Spider-Man

Yesterday, I reported that John Malkovich was waiting on the script for “Spider-Man 4,” Sam Raimi’s latest in the Spider-Man franchise. That had effectively confirmed that Malkovich was not only involved in the upcoming super hero flick, but furthered the rumor that he would play the Vulture. However, today we learned that Sony was scrapping the fourth Spider-Man film, and instead rebooting the franchise—new director, new cast, new everything, except for the script writer.

It appears that while Sony was somehow unhappy with the direction/tone/something of the previous three films, they were happy with James Vanderbilt, who had been on the project since 2007. Vanderbilt is most well-known for his script on “Zodiac,” a wholly under-appreciated drama from 2007.

With the reboot, many have cried foul. After all, despite the flawed third film, the franchise was in great shape, with mountains of money flowing in and praise from critics and audiences all over the world (for the first two films, at least). While I love the writer, I feel Sony has made a mistake, but will remain optimistic about the future of the franchise.

The plan, at this point, is to return Peter Parker to his high school days and start anew. Who will be cast? Who will direct? How the hell will they replace J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson? Those will likely be the next hot rumors in Hollywood, and the film is slated for release in 2012.