Paramount has teamed up director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) with screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) for Collider, which is easily the best title in the history of film.  The sci-fi film will be directed and co-written by Wright, who will also share producing credits along with J.J. Abrams and Nira Park of Bad Robot.  Any plot details are non-existent at the moment, but it could very well involve an intrepid group of web journalists who unite to save the world…or maybe the recent news surrounding the Large Hadron Collider at CERN; either way.  Hit the jump for more on Wright and Protosevich’s upcoming projects to see where Collider might land.

Steven Spielberg is making the press rounds for The Adventures of Tintin, and naturally he’s being asked the future of his franchises, specifically Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones.   In June, we reported that Spielberg was brainstorming ideas with screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) on how to reboot the Jurassic Park.  In a recent interview with Empire, Spielberg provided an update on the project:

“The screenplay is being written right now by Mark Protosevich. I’m hoping that will come out in the next couple of years. We have a good story. We have a better story for four than we had for three…”

Perhaps there will be less of a reliance on raptor whistles this time around.  Hit the jump for what Spielberg had to say about the shortcomings of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the status of Indiana Jones 5.

I was hoping at Comic-Con Legendary Pictures would clarify their plans for the Mass Effect movie they’re developing.  But the extent of their presentation was basically, “Hey, we’re still making a Mass Effect movie.  Thanks for stopping by.”  Now Legendary has put up Twitter questions that were supposed to be asked during the panel but were skipped due to time constraints.

The biggest piece of new info is that Mass Effect “will be a completely new story.”  Screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) previously said his script would be “following and honoring the story,” and Legendary’s comment doesn’t negate that statement.  BioWare hasn’t created a single story for Mass Effect as much as it’s created an entire world.  Yes, there’s an overarching storyline involving an ancient evil race out to destroy the galaxy, but BioWare has put far more effort into developing the various species, planets, characters, and so forth to the point that any writer could conceivably drop a new Commander Shepard story into the mix and still have it fit.  Hit the jump for more. [Update: Now Legendary has changed their tune.  Hit the jump for what they're saying now.]

Legendary Films held their first ever Comic-Con panel today kicked off their inaugural run with aplomb, bringing out plenty of A-list talent and displaying concept art for four different projects.

In addition to Pacific Rim, Legendary brought  Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Sergei Bodrov and Alicia Vikander for Seventh Son, Bradley Cooper and Alex Proyas for Paradise Lost, and Mark Protosevich and Casey Hudson for Mass Effect.  Read on for a summary of the presentation and details on the concept art.

It looks like the remake of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy has finally caught fire.  Yesterday, we reported that Spike Lee would direct the film and today we’ve learned some new details regarding the remake.  Twitch, who first broke the story about Lee’s involvment, reports that Mark Protosevich’s screenplay borrows not only from the original South Korean film but also from the manga that inspired it.  Furthermore, the screenplay is said to be similar to how The Departed adapted Infernal Affairs.  Protosevich’s script reportedly borrows some elements from the pre-existing works, jettisons others, and introduces new material.  The new material makes up about 20% of the remake’s screenplay.

Hit the jump for more details and Mandate’s top choice to play the revenge-driven protagonist.

Looks like everything is coming up Spike Lee.  On the heels of the news that he was underway on shooting the indie feature Red Hook Summer, Mandate has sent out a press release confirming that he’ll direct the remake of Chan-wook Park’s South Korean revenge thriller Oldboy.  Lee will direct from a screenplay by I Am Legend screenwriter Mark Protosevich.  For those unfamiliar with the original film, it’s about a man who is held captive for 15 years even though he doesn’t understand the reason for his capture or unexpected release.

While I’m baffled by what a remake could bring the table when the original film is so incredible, at least Mandate has gotten a real filmmaker like Lee on board and I’m at least interested to see his take on the material.  Hit the jump for the press release.

Lest you were worried that there was going to be a serious lack of major films at this year’s Comic-Con, Legendary Pictures has just announced its first-ever panel. The studio will be bringing out the big guns, as the films set to be featured are as follows: Guillermo del Toro’s next directorial project Pacific Rim, Alex Proyas’ adaptation of Paradise Lost starring Bradley Cooper, Seventh Son starring Jeff Bridges, and the feature film adaptation of Mass Effect.

The studio is bringing along the major talent from each film, including Pacific Rim’s Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day and Idris Elba (as well as del Toro), Seventh Son’s Bridges and Ben Barnes, Both Proyas and Cooper from Paradise Lost, and Mass Effect game creator Casey Hudson and the screenwriter working on the film adaptation Mark Protosevich. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Much like its protagonist Oh Daesu, the remake of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy is very hard to kill (provided the opponent is a thug in a long corridor).  Last November, we reported that Mandate Pictures was still interested in the remake and loved the script by Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) turned in.  The studio was looking at Steven Spielberg, Matthew Vaughn, and Danny Boyle to take the director’s chair, but now a new name has gone on the list.  Twitch reports that Spike Lee is in talks to direct the film.  While I think an American remake of Oldboy is a bad idea, it could still be a hit and if it gives Lee the boost he needs to make more personal films, then so be it.

Back in 2009, Will Smith was reportedly interested in the lead role, but now that’s a laugh.  Quentin Tarantino wrote Smith a raw, challenging role for Django Unchained and Smith passed (Jamie Foxx will play the role instead).  It’s unlikely he would play the lead in a dark revenge thriller.  On the other hand, frequent Lee collaborator Denzel Washington would be a great choice.

In November 2009, we reported the joyous news that a Steven Spielberg/Will Smith remake of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy was dead.  Of course, Hollywood being Hollywood, nothing is ever truly “dead”.  According to Pajiba, screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) has turned in a draft of the script that Mandate Pictures loves.  The studio is now looking to get Spielberg back on board.  However, that seems like a long shot since the director has already settled on Robopocalypse as his follow up to the drama War Horse.  Mandate is also considering Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn.  If Vaughn passes, they’ll take it to Danny Boyle.  It’s weird to think of Boyle as anyone’s third choice, but I think he would be the most interesting of the three to helm a remake (or rather, a “re-adaptation” since Oldboy is based on a manga).

Of course, this is just a studio wish list and while an Oldboy remake may not be dead, it’s still a long a ways off from making it to the big screen.  If you haven’t seen Oldboy, fix that part of your life.  I’ve included a synopsis for the film after the jump.

Screenwriter Mark Protosevich entered the world of comic book adaptations with a screenplay credit for Marvel Studios’ Thor, and it feels homey enough that he’s thinking of settling down for awhile.  Variety reports Protosevich has signed on to bring the upcoming Ape Entertainment comic series Freakshow to the big screen.  The scribe is considering Freakshow as a vehicle for his directorial debut; he will produce with Jennifer Klein (Pearl Harbor) and Sheldon Turner, who recently earned an Oscar nomination for his work on the Up in the Air script.  Hit the jump to learn a bit more about the source material.

Legendary Pictures has optioned the film rights to EA and Bioware’s extremely successful video game series Mass Effect. According to the press release, the project will also fall under Legendary’s co-production and co-financing agreement with Warner Bros., who will distribute the film worldwide. The producers are in discussions with Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, Thor) to draft a screenplay based on the epic science fiction game series.  Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce the film with Avi and Ari Arad. BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will serve as executive producers, as will Mass Effect executive producer Casey Hudson.

If you’re a fan of the game, you should be very happy Legendary Pictures landed the rights as they’re a great movie company with a solid track record (The Dark Knight, 300, Clash of the Titans, The Hangover and Watchmen). More after the jump – including the E3 trailer from 2006 that explains the game.

While it’s not much in the way of news, Marvel Studios has announced principal photography on Kenneth Branagh’s Thor began today.  With a release date of May 6, 2011, it’s no surprise production has already begun….especially since Thor will have some serious special effects to finish before the release date.  After all, it’s a film featuring Gods.  Hit the jump to read the press release.  Expect plenty of updates on Thor as we get them.