Paramount Pictures

THE GREY Director Joe Carnahan Set to Helm Remake of DEATH WISH [Updated with Comments from Carnahan]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 29th, 2012 at 10:56 am

As Joe Carnahan’s latest directorial effort, The Grey, is poised to be the number one film at the box this weekend, the director has now landed another high-profile project. Carnahan is being hired to write and direct a remake of the 1974 action pic Death Wish. The original served as the breakout film for star Charles Bronson, and kicked off a wave of action movies. The story was loosely based on a novel of the same name and centers on a liberal architect who sets out for vengeance after his wife and daughter are attacked. It’s basically a one-man revenge tale, and Carnahan seems an absolute perfect fit for the material. Hit the jump for more. [Update: Carnahan recently commented on his vision for the project. His thoughts are included after the jump]

Filming Officially Underway on J.J. Abrams’ STAR TREK Sequel

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 11:24 am

Ladies and Gentlemen, Star Trek 2 is on officially on the way. Paramount Pictures has announced that production has commenced on director J.J. Abrams’ follow-up to the fantastically awesome 2009 sci-fi pic Star Trek. We’ve got John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, and Anton Yelchin all reprising their roles from the first film, and in an inspired bit of casting, Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is onboard as the film’s villain. Joining Cumberbatch in the Star Trek newbie circle are Alice Eve and Peter Weller.

Development on the sequel hasn’t been without its fair share of drama (Benicio Del Toro dropped out of the villain role weeks before filming began), but it’s reassuring to know that production has finally begun. The script was written by Star Trek writers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Damon Lindelof, and composer Michael Giacchino will indeed return to score the pic (huzzah!). The currently untitled sequel will be post-converted to 3D and is set for release on May 17th, 2013. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Paramount, Universal, and Disney Will Promote Their Upcoming Movies during Super Bowl XLVI

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 11th, 2012 at 8:23 am

Whenever it comes time to prepare for the onslaught of Super Bowl advertising, I always think back to the old Daily Show line, “This year’s Super Bowl will feature over two hours of advertising interrupted by football.”  Being the most-watched TV event of the year warrants the ever-increasing price tag for 30-second spots, which this year reportedly cost $4 million.  In between funny Doritos commercials and misogynistic Bud Light commercials, three studios will be broadcasting ads for their major 2012 films.  According to THR, this year’s Super Bowl will have ads from Paramount, Universal, and Disney while 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Sony will be sitting out.  Also, Lionsgate isn’t showing off anything so don’t expect a spot for The Hunger Games.

Hit the jump for my predictions on what ads we can expect to see.  Click here to see all the movie ads that ran during last year’s Super Bowl.

James Cameron to Present CIRQUE DU SOLEIL Movie Written and Directed by Andrew Adamson

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 10th, 2012 at 9:20 am

Cirque du Soleil is a unique experience that everyone should see at least once.  Paramount and James Cameron are going to try and make that happen by taking Cirque du Soleil out of the massive tent and bringing it into comparatively tiny theaters.  The film, entitled Cirque du Soleil World Away, will be written and directed by Andrew Adamson (Shrek) and be released in 3D because 3D is immersive and if you’re not immersed then you clearly hate cinema.  Worlds Away will have an original story, and show off the acrobatics and absolutely bizarre tone Cirque has become known for.  Don’t tell your kids, “Oh!  It’s a circus!”  They will be disappointed.  Instead, tell them “We’re going to see a man try to stick his head up his own ass!  In 3D!”

Hit the jump for the full press release.  Cirque du Soleil World Away will be released later this year.

Paramount Moves HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS from March 2012 to January 2013

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 9th, 2012 at 5:26 pm

Well this is a doozy of a scheduling change. Paramount has pushed back the release of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters from this coming March to January 11th, 2013. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as the titular fairy tale characters, and as one can surmise the plot involves their hunt for women in pointy hats. Having seen no trailer and only one image of the film thus far, it’s not all that shocking that Paramount is pushing the release back. This scheduling shift comes on the heels of the studio’s The Devil Inside bringing in over $30 million on the first weekend of the month despite a terrible reputation from critics and the general public alike.

Renner stars in this May’s The Avengers and will get his shot at the lead with this fall’s The Bourne Legacy, so the studio may want to capitalize on his stardom by placing Hansel and Gretal after these two major releases. Harvey Weinstein recently admitted to doing the same with The Wettest County, which stars Tom Hardy. The release date was moved to after The Dark Knight Rises comes out in order to capitalize on Hardy’s recognition following his turn as Bane. Hansel and Gretel currently has no competition on the January 11th date, but the Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner The Last Stand, the 3D re-release of Monsters Inc., the Russell Crowe drama Broken City, and the star-studded magician heist flick Now You See Me all open the following weekend.

Paranormal Activity 4 Set for Release on October 19

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 4th, 2012 at 3:15 pm

Despite lacking an official script, director, or cast, Paranormal Activity 4 is set to open in theaters a mere nine months from now. We first learned that Paramount was planning to release a new entry in the ever-popular franchise this year a few days ago, and today the studio is quick to announce that an official release date has been set for October 19th (per THR). The quick turnaround shouldn’t be a problem for the studio though, as last October’s Paranormal Activity 3 was made for just $5 million and didn’t begin production until June. The series is quickly becoming the new Saw, and Paramount is surely very happy with the small budget/big box office model that’s been working so far.

On the 19th the pic will go up against the star-studded period crime thriller Gangster Squad (Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Ryan Gosling) and the similarly star-studded romantic comedy The Big Wedding (Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigel, and Robin Williams). The following weekend PA4 will face some horror competition from Halloween 3D, while The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D opens earlier that month.

Paramount Will Release PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 This Year

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 2nd, 2012 at 11:09 am

Paramount sent out a press release today about their plans for 2012, and to the surprise of no one, the studio plans to release Paranormal Activity 4 this year.  No details about the sequel have been revealed nor do we know who will direct, write, star, or how many afternoons it will take to shoot.  The franchise has been ridiculously successful for the studio, and the most recent film grossed $202 million worldwide off a reported $5 million budget.  The people have spoken and the people like night vision ghosts.  Here’s the quote from the press release:

In 2012, Paramount’s release slate highlights include “World War Z,” a zombie thriller starring Brad Pitt and directed by Marc Forster , “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” the next installment in the global franchise starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Channing Tatum , a new chapter in the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, and “The Dictator,” starring Sacha Baron Cohen and directed by Larry Charles , the team behind “Borat.”

No release date has been announced for Paranormal Activity 4, but since the last two movies were released in late October, we can safely expect to see the movie in the same time frame.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

Paramount Unveils New Logo for 100th Anniversary

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 14th, 2011 at 9:31 pm

I love studio logos.  After the lights go down and the crowd goes silent, the logo is the first official sign the movie experience is about to begin.  I have an especially strong connection with the Paramount logo.  Whenever those stars swoop in and encircle the picturesque mountain, I hear the opening theme of The Godfather.  I can’t find the video, but those iconic horns sound right as the first star settles in at the side of the mountain.  So I am excited that Paramount is celebrating their 100th anniversary by an updating the logo.  It is mostly the same, but somehow even more picturesque, if you can imagine that.

The logo will first be seen on the December 16 IMAX release of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.  Hit the jump to see the new logo in full, plus a look at how the logo has evolved over the years.

Stephen Daldry Wants to Adapt Michael Chabon’s THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY as 8-Part HBO Miniseries

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 11th, 2011 at 4:37 pm

A feature film adaptation of Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay has been in the works for nearly a decade now. The book was published in 2000 and centers on two Jewish cousins who collaborate during World War II to work on a new American novelty: the comic book. The novel spans multiple continents and and culminates in the dawn of the Golden Age of comic books. Soon after its publication, producer Scott Rudin began work on a feature film adaptation. After years of troubles adapting the expansive book into a succinct feature script, director Stephen Daldry (The Reader) signed on to take the helm. Numerous actors were rumored to be involved (Natalie Portman, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire), but the project found itself lodged in development hell.

Steve recently got the chance to speak with Daldry about his upcoming drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (also produced by Rudin), and the director revealed that he’d now like to adapt the novel into an 8-part miniseries for HBO. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Paramount Enters a Bidding War to Acquire Young Adult Novel DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 1st, 2011 at 12:24 pm

If you wrote a young adult fantasy novel in the past five to ten years, you could be in serious business with a movie studio.  They have a built-in audience and they usually open the door to a long and healthy franchise provided they don’t fail like most YA fantasy book adaptations.  According to Deadline, Paramount is confident that Laini Taylor‘s new novel Daughter of Smoke and Bone can deliver big.  The studio is reportedly negotiating a deal in the $700,000 range to pick up the rights, but two other studios want the property, which they believe than can be turned into a blockbuster tentpole.

So what’s the story that’s got the studios in a tizzy?  Hit the jump to find out.

Paramount Acquires IN THE WOODS and Sequel THE LIKENESS for GOSSIP GIRL’s Stephanie Savage

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: November 2nd, 2011 at 7:51 pm

Paramount Pictures has picked up the feature rights to two Tana French novels for adaptation. In the Woods, French’s 2008 debut novel, is part police procedural and part psychological thriller and charts the investigation into the murder of a 12-year-old girl in Dublin, Ireland. The sequel, The Likeness, features the same detective, Cassie Maddox, investigating the death of a young woman who is a dead ringer for Cassie herself, allowing the detective to assume the woman’s identity as a grad student at Trinity College.

The Likeness was acquired for adaptation by Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl). She will produce with Fake Empire partner Josh Schwartz. As reported by Deadline, the duo purchased the book rights through their discretionary fund at Paramount. Fake Empire has set up five projects thus far, with its first film Fun Size to be released late next year.  Hit the jump for synopses for both books.

Work-in-Progress Cut of Martin Scorsese’s HUGO to Premiere at New York Film Festival

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 10th, 2011 at 10:05 am

Late last week it was announce that the New York Film Festival would be showing a work-in-progress cut from a “master filmmaker” on Monday night.  It would most likely be an awards season heavy-weight, but and there were a variety of films to choose from including War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  NYFF has now announced that Martin Scorsese’s 3D family film Hugo will be screening tonight at 7pm in Avery Fisher Hall.  Scorsese has never screened at unfinished version of his film and NYFF hasn’t screened a work-in-progress cut since Beauty and the Beast, but it looks like the Paramount is feeling confident that the movie can generate some serious buzz after its screening tonight.  Deadline reports that the showing will be in 3D but there will still be a few unfinished green-screen effects.

Obviously, we’ll be interested to hear the reaction to the movie later tonight.  For those unfamiliar with the film, hit the jump for the trailer and synopsis.  Hugo opens November 23rd and stars Chloe Moretz, Asa Butterfield, Jude Law, Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

J.J. Abrams and Screenwriter Billy Ray Team Up for Mystery Adventure Project

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 3rd, 2011 at 12:02 pm

J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Billy Ray (State of Play) are teaming up for an untitled mystery adventure film set up at Paramount Pictures.  Deadline says Abrams and Ray pitched it together. That’s all we know and given Abrams’ fetishistic love of secrecy surrounding his projects and mysteries in general (he guest-edited the May 2009 issue of Wired and filled it with riddles), that’s probably all we’ll know up until a few months before the movie’s release where just about everything will be spoiled by advertising.  To his credit, Abrams was able to keep the monster in Super 8 under wraps even though the monster’s appearance bears almost no bearing on the story.

Ray continues to keep busy.  He’s working on the script for the 24 movie, the awful-sounding Channing Tatum Peter Pan prequel, the adaptation of Captain Richard Phillips’ memoir A Captain’s Duty starring Tom Hanks, and the remake of the Argentinean film The Secret in Their Eyes.

Paramount Moves Release Dates for Eddie Murphy’s A THOUSAND WORDS and Horror Thriller THE DEVIL INSIDE

by Jason Barr    Posted: September 16th, 2011 at 3:22 pm

Paramount has changed up the release dates on a couple of its upcoming films: the Eddie Murphy dramedy A Thousand Words and the Italian-set, horror/thriller The Devil Inside. Here are the details of the changes:

• A Thousand Words moves from January 13th to March 23rd, 2012. The change now pits the film against Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games
• The Devil Inside moves up from February 24th to January 6th, 2012. The film will now go head-to-head with the Sam Raimi-produced horror/thriller The Possession starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick

News of the release date changes come courtesy of THR whose report astutely points out that Paramount’s reasoning for moving A Thousand Words most likely stems from Murphy’s gig hosting the 2012 Oscars on February 27th and the near guaranteed publicity it will bring to the pic. A Thousand Words is directed by Brian Robbins (Norbit) and sees Murphy play a man who learns that he only has 1,000 more words to speak prior to his demise. As for The Devil Inside, the documentary-style film from writer/director William Brent Bell was made on a six-figure budget and follows a woman who becomes involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms.

Peter Tolan’s BAYWATCH Movie Is “Not Based on the Show in Any Way”

by Jason Barr    Posted: September 16th, 2011 at 12:18 pm

Every once in a while, a “story” comes along that is so ridiculous that I can’t resist writing about it. This is one of those “stories.” Regardless of your age, chances are you either remember watching or have heard about planet Earth’s infatuation with the 90s beach drama Baywatch. Starring David Hasselhoff’s hair and Pamela Anderson’s one-piece, the show followed the adventures of Los Angeles County lifeguards who just couldn’t help but seem attractive regardless of whatever near-death scenario they found themselves in.

So popular was Baywatch that its 1.1 billion internationally-based, weekly viewers made it the most watched television series of all time. Although the original iteration of the show ended back in 1999, plans to bring Baywatch to the big screen have been making the rounds in Hollywood since 2004. Now, it looks as if a script by Rescue Me‘s Peter Tolan may finally make the Baywatch movie dream a reality. The only catch? It has absolutely nothing to do with the show. More after the jump.

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