Sony Pictures

Robbie Pickering to Direct Vampire/Zombie/Alien Film THE KITCHEN SINK

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 2:52 pm

Natural Selection director Robbie Pickering has been tapped to direct the creature mash-up The Kitchen Sink for Sony Pictures. Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill (that’s fun to write) was previously eyeing the project as his directorial debut, but he’s since moved on and now Deadline reports that Pickering will take the helm. The story centers on a high-school aged vampire, a zombie, and a human who team up to defend their town from invading aliens. It combines everything that’s so hot right now into one movie, so Sony is presumably hoping they’ve got a hit.

The script was written by Oren Uziel [Correction: Matt Tolmach is the producer] and landed one of the top spots on the 2010 Black List. While the logline could easily be turned into a lazy, teen-aimed comedy, the addition of Pickering gives me hope that we’re in for something more adventurous. It’ll be interesting to see what approach they take with the creatures, and I’m hoping they try to use as many practical effects as possible. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a creature feature that doesn’t rely on CGI for its monsters, and I’d love to see some seriously inventive makeup work. No word on how soon production will begin, but hopefully we hear more soon.

New Trailer for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Will Debut Tonight at Midnight

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 1:04 pm

A few lucky fans across the globe are currently enjoying a sneak peek at some footage from Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man, but us common folk won’t have to wait long to see more from Spidey. Sony announced today that a new trailer for Marc Webb’s reboot will go online tonight (or tomorrow, technically) at 3 AM EST/12 AM PST, so if you’ve got a hankerin’ for Peter Parker, plan on staying up late. The new trailer is two and a half minutes in length, and hopefully fans will get a good look at Rhys Ifans as villain Lizard.

Be sure to check back here on the site later today for our full write-up from the Spider-Man preview event, and we’ll also have the trailer up here once it’s online. Hit the jump to revisit the first trailer for the film, as well as the full press release regarding the new trailer debut. The Amazing Spider-Man opens in 3D on July 3rd.

Adam Sandler to Star in and Co-Write CANDY LAND for Sony

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 31st, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Serious news alert: Adam Sandler is starring in the Candy Land movie. Hot on the heels of yesterdays news that Relativity will release a Taylor Lautner-free Stretch Armstrong in April 2014 comes word that Sony Pictures is in final talks to develop the Candy Land movie. The film was previously set up at Universal along with multiple other Hasbro board game movies, but the studio apparently realized this was a terrible idea and has been dumping Hasbro properties left and right. The only property they’re keeping is Battleship, which hits theaters this summer. Hit the jump for more, including what famous SNL scribe is writing the screenplay alongside Sandler.

Sony Sneaking Previews of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN in Select Cities February 6; Official Synopsis Released

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 27th, 2012 at 6:02 pm

Warner Bros. did it with The Dark Knight Rises, and now Sony is going the sneak preview route with The Amazing Spider-Man. The studio is hosting special preview screenings of footage from Marc Webb‘s upcoming Spider-Man reboot in a few select cities around the world in a couple of weeks. Projections have apparently been going up in a few cities, hipping audiences to the website TheUntoldStoryBegins.com where tickets for the previews are being given out. Unfortunately, the list of participating cities is extremely limited (New York and Los Angeles are the only ones in the US). The footage will be previewed on February 6th, well-ahead of the film’s July 3rd release date. Hit the jump for more, including the official synopsis for the film.

Ryan Murphy and APOLLO 18 Scribe to Pen Untitled Sci-Fi/Horror Film for Sony

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 21st, 2012 at 2:51 pm

Ryan Murphy is having a very good year. His smash-hit Fox series Glee is currently enjoying its third season, his horror anthology series American Horror Story broke ratings records on FX, and just yesterday we reported an impressive cast featuring Mark Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, and Alec Baldwin will star in his next feature directorial effort The Normal Heart. Now, Variety reports that Murphy is set to pen an untitled sci-fi/horror project for Sony Pictures with Apollo 18 scribe Brian Miller.

Absolutely no details regarding the project are given beyond the fact that it’s a sci-fi/horror movie, and it’s not clear if Murphy will also direct.  Apollo 18 didn’t exactly break box office records, and critical reception was lackluster, so this isn’t exactly the most exciting news ever. Murphy has a knack for coming up with fantastic concepts, but his execution is incredibly hit-or-miss. That said, hopefully we’re in for at least a cool concept. Production on The Normal Heart is set to begin this summer, and Variety’s report notes that Murphy’s eyeing Viggo Mortensen for a role in the pic, which is based on the Tony Award-winning play of the same name.

First Official Synopses for SKYFALL (The New James Bond Film), HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, TOTAL RECALL, and More

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 16th, 2012 at 9:17 am

Sony has released official synopses for the new James Bond film Skyfall, the Kevin James “comedy” Here Comes the Boom, the Adam Sandler “comedy” I Hate You Dad (or “Donny’s Boy“, although I prefer “I Hate You Dad” so I’ll stick with that one for now), the other Adam Sandler “comedy” Hotel Transylvania, and the remake of Total Recall.  Reading the synopsis for Total Recall, I’m not exactly sure how much it will differ from the original other than keeping the action off of Mars.  As for Skyfall, the premise sounds terrific and hopefully director Sam Mendes and his talented cast can deliver.

Hit the jump to check out the synopses.

Sony Going Ahead with THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Sequels Despite Weak Box Office

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 8th, 2012 at 9:01 pm

David Fincher‘s adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opened to disappointing box office although it didn’t absolutely tank.  It’s an R-rated movie opening at the holiday season, but Sony expected a bigger success based on the ridiculous sales of Stieg Larsson‘s novel of the same name.  More worrisome for Sony is that the movie, despite being set out the US, isn’t connecting with international audiences, and according to Deadline, “GWDT pened only 3rd in the UK, and disappointing in Asia, and ‘not as good as hoped for’ in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.”

Sony has held off on giving the greenlight to the sequels, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, but they’ve had Dragon Tattoo screenwriter Steve Zaillian at work on both.  Now the studio has officially pulled the trigger on completing the “Millennium Trilogy”.  Hit the jump for more.

George Clooney To Write, Direct and Star in MONUMENTS MEN

by Ben Garman    Posted: January 8th, 2012 at 10:42 am

George Clooney has kicked off work on a new project, a big-budget affair set in Europe during World War II. Clooney will be writing, directing and starring in the movie, entitled Monuments Men, which will follow a group of art experts selected by the US Government to locate and retrieve artwork stolen by the Nazis. The film will be based on the Robert M. Edsel book “The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History”. Hit the jump for Clooney’s comments, as well as the full synopsis of the book.

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS Director Will Gluck to Helm Action-Comedy SECRETARIES DAY

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 14th, 2011 at 3:55 pm

Sony Pictures has acquired a spec script for an action-comedy called Secretaries Day, and Will Gluck is set to direct and produce. Deadline reports that Sony acquired the spec from Drew Pearce, a scribe who’s becoming more prolific by the day. The writer has been busy working on Iron Man 3 for director Shane Black and was recently tapped to pen Sherlock Holmes 3—which is all but guaranteed to go into production if tracking for A Game of Shadows holds up. The report has no plot details regarding Secretaries Day other than to say it’s an action-comedy, though I’m assuming it involves secretaries in some action-y way (fingers crosses for ninja secretaries). I was a huge fan of Gluck’s past two movies (Friends with Benefits and Easy A) so I’m interested to see what he does with the action-comedy genre.

Aside from Iron Man 3 and Sherlock Holmes 3, Pearce also did some work on Guillermo del Toro’s directorial project Pacific Rim (which is now finally filming), and wrote an adaptation of Marvel’s Runaways and DC’s The Mighty. The scribe first came to prominence with his ITV2 superhero sitcom No Heroics.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Moves up to December 20th

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 13th, 2011 at 10:44 am

Sony Pictures has moved up the release of David Fincher‘s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to December 20th at 7:00pm.  Clearly, the studio has heard the outcry of the legion of fans who demanded that the movie be released five hours earlier than its original release date.

Hit the jump for the press release.  The film stars Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright, and Christopher Plummer.

Sony Sets March 22, 2013 for Paul Greengrass’ CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Starring Tom Hanks

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 9th, 2011 at 7:57 am

Sony Pictures will release Paul Greengrass‘ Captain Phillips (previously titled Maersk Alabama) on March 22, 2013.  The movie stars Tom Hanks as real life ship captain Richard Phillips who allowed himself to be taken hostage by Somali pirates in exchange for the safety of his crew.  Phillips’ memoir—A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea—recounts his three days as their captive and his dramatic rescue.  Billy Ray wrote the screenplay, and Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti, and Kevin Spacey (the team behind The Social Network) will produce.  While it seemed like this could have been prime awards bait, the March release date makes Captain Phillips look like steady genre fare along the lines of Greengrass’ Green Zone, which was also based on real events.

Captain Phillips currently shares its March 22, 2013 release date with the DreamWorks Animation movie The Croods featuring the voices of Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, and Nicolas Cage.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of A Captain Duty’s.

Sony Pictures to Distribute EVIL DEAD Remake

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 30th, 2011 at 2:24 pm

The Evil Dead remake is coming closer to a reality, as Sony Pictures is now set to distribute the pic. The original film’s director Sam Raimi is spearheading the update as a producer alongside Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert. Uruguay-native Fede Alvarez wrote and will direct the project, and Diablo Cody recently came aboard to do some script revisions. As she clarified to Steve, her work was far from an overhaul as she focused mainly on dialogue and character. Furthermore, if fans were worried the pic would be a watered-down version of the original Cody assured Steve that the script is “unbelievably violent”. Hit the jump for more.

Roland Emmerich Delays Start on SINGULARITY to Work on Script. Seriously.

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 10th, 2011 at 2:04 pm

Roland Emmerich‘s Anonymous was a departure for the director because it featured story and characters rather than explosions and more explosions.  It was assumed the story-and-characters thing would be put to the wayside with Emmerich returning to blockbusters and taking on the $175 million sci-fi flick Singularity. However, THR is reporting that the director is stopping pre-production to work on the script he co-wrote with Harald Kloser. The movie “focuses on a young man whose body is made up of a swarm of nanobots, giving him all sorts of powers at the same time as it brings unwanted attention from an evil corporation.”  Emmerich and Sony Pictures are reportedly bringing in “futurist and AI specialist” (fun business card) Ray Kurzweil to consult on the script.

Singularity was set to begin casting this week as it geared up for a March 2012 start and a May 17, 2013 release date, but obviously this delay throws those dates into question.  I enjoy having a little fun at the expense of the guy who made enjoyable-yet-vapid blockbusters like Independence Day and 2012, but if wants to work harder on the script, then I’m all for it.

Sony Pictures to Adapt ASSASSIN’S CREED

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 20th, 2011 at 8:03 am

Sony Pictures is already hard at work trying to turn the popular video game series Uncharted into a movie (even though it kind of already is), and now they’ve cast their eye to another “Grab all the Walls” game.  Variety reports that the studio is in final negotiations with game developer Ubisoft for the screen rights to Assassin’s Creed.  The games center on an a secret order of assassins operating in past centuries (the first game is set in the 12th century, the next two games are in the 15th century), but are framed within a sci-fi context of being the memories of a hapless everyman* who’s at the center of a present-day secret war.  The game features lots of parkour and trying to covertly pull off assassinations before you blow it and have to run the target down in the most attention-grabbing fashion possible.

Ubisoft has set the terms of the deal to be a more active participant in the movie’s development rather than provide a one-off licensing agreement.  Ubisoft chief Yves Guillemot says he also wants movies of Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon.  Hit the jump to see a trailer for the first game and start your fan-casting in the comments section.

Mark Romanek the Frontrunner to Direct Adaptation of Dan Brown’s THE LOST SYMBOL

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 19th, 2011 at 2:00 pm

I don’t know if this news should make me excited or sad.  Deadline reports that talented director Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go) is the frontrunner to helm the adaptation of Dan Brown’s latest Robert Langdon novel The Lost Symbol.  Ron Howard directed the prior Langdon books The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.  Both movies took themselves far too seriously and also suffered from being based on awful books.  I haven’t picked up The Lost Symbol because I don’t really care what exposition machine and master of trivial history Robert Langdon has to spew for 528 pages.

Hit the jump for more on the film along with a synopsis.

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