Warner Bros. has tapped Jay Chandrasekhar to rewrite and direct Yogi Bear 2.  The original film in this new era of the series, which came out in 2010, was written by Jeffrey Ventimilia (Rio) and Joshua Sternin (The Tooth Fairy), with Eric Brevig (Men In Black) in the director’s chair.  Though not too well received by critics, the film made over $200 million worldwide.

Chandrasekhar, known for his work in the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, has also directed The Babymakers (starring Paul Schneider and Olivia Munn) as well as the Dukes of Hazzard film.  For TV work, Chandrasekhar has directed episodes of Up All Night, Royal Pains and Community.  For more on the project and whether Boo Boo can ever be as popular as Honey Boo Boo (probably not), hit the jump.

Last December, Yogi Bear opened to just $16.7 million, a disappointing total for a family film during the holiday season.  However, the CGI/live-action hybrid showed surprising legs, ending up with $100 million domestic and $200 million worldwide.  According to Variety, Warner Bros. is encouraged enough to move forward on development for the sequel.  The studio hired writing team Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia to script the project.  Sternin and Ventimilia are two of the three screenwriters credited on the screenplay of the first movie (sorry, Brad Copeland) — the duo recently wrote for the more critic-friendly Rio and are currently working on Peabody and Sherman for DreamWorks Animation.

Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake voiced Yogi and Boo-Boo, respectively.  Anna Faris, Tom Cavanaugh, Andrew Daly, and T.J. Miller starred in the live-action roles — the report does not specify if there are any plans to bring them back for Yogi Bear 2.

When it comes to kids’ movies, modern parents are to be pitied.  For every Pixar film that hits theaters, five terrible kids’ movies drop at the same time.  One can only imagine the dread and self-loathing that these poor, baffled souls must feel whenever they see a trailer for something like Alvin and The Chipmunks:  The Squeakuel or Marmaduke.  Anyone without kids has to wonder:  do these parents grow immune to the terrors of bad kids’ movies over time, or does a film like Yogi Bear– which just arrived on Blu-ray– make them yearn for the sweet, sweet release of death (or, barring that, their kids growing up)?  Maybe, if we watch the film ourselves, we’ll know what it’s like to be one of these parents, and maybe we’ll even discover that Yogi Bear isn’t as bad as we expected.  Maybe, but not probably.  Full review after the jump, folks…

Less than a month after making The Dark Knight available for rental via Facebook, Warner Bros. has added five more of their movies to the social networking site.  The studio has announced via press release that Facebook users can now rent Inception, Life as We Know It, Yogi Bear, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Make no mistake: other studios are watching this experiment closely and seeing how popular it becomes.  The real trick for Warner Bros. and for Facebook is working to get these movies out of browsers and onto other platforms like video game consoles, Roku, mobile devices, etc.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

Five, count ‘em, five releases went wide this weekend, including the much anticipated Tron Legacy from Disney.  The 3D spectacle ran circles around the competition – bringing in an estimated $43.6 million in first place, or 62% more than Yogi Bear managed in second.  Meanwhile, How Do You Know could not even live up to the very modest expectations of Sony Pictures, placing eighth for the weekend with just $7.6 million.

‘Tis the weekend before Christmas, and the estimates are in.  Disney’s Tron Legacy was way out in front with $18 million from its 3,451 locations.  The 3D re-launch of the studio’s legendary 1982 film is now projected to take in $45 million through Sunday.  Competing for Tron’s 3D screen space is Warner’s Yogi Bear, which opened to an estimated $4.7 million in 3,515 locations (though with fewer overall screens than Tron).  The Fighter saw its screen count rise from 4 to 2,503 on Friday. The Oscar contender punched its way into third place with an estimate of $3.9 million. Black Swan closed out the top five $2.7 million. The new Sony release How Do You Know didn’t feel the love, tying for sixth place with The Tourist at an estimated $2.5 million from its 2,483 locations.  Full details on this weekend’s box office – aka Avatar one year later – when you come back tomorrow.

If Yogi Bear actually ended with this fake “alternate ending”, I would declare it the best film of 2010.  It could have every lame slapstick joke in the book but as long as it ends with a reference to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, I’m happy.  Hit the jump to check out this brilliant alternate ending from animator Edmund Earle who put this together in his spare time over the last two months.

Warner Bros. has released 8 movie clips from their upcoming live-action/CGI feature Yogi Bear.  While the trailers haven’t exactly won me over, I also realize I’m not the target demo and kids will probably love this movie.  Hit the jump the clips of Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Boo Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake), Anna Faris as visiting nature documentary filmmaker Rachel Johnson, Tom Cavanagh as the diligent Ranger Smith, T.J. Miller as Smith’s over-enthusiastic deputy, Ranger Jones, Andrew Daly as the conniving Mayor Brown; and Nate Corddry following behind as Brown’s Chief of Staff.

Warner Bros. has released 44 high resolution images from their upcoming live-action/CGI feature Yogi Bear.  While the trailers haven’t exactly won me over, I also realize I’m not the target demo and kids will probably love this movie.  Hit the jump for images of Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Boo Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake), Anna Faris as visiting nature documentary filmmaker Rachel Johnson, Tom Cavanagh as the diligent Ranger Smith, T.J. Miller as Smith’s over-enthusiastic deputy, Ranger Jones, Andrew Daly as the conniving Mayor Brown; and Nate Corddry following behind as Brown’s Chief of Staff.

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Yogi Bear, and at the very least, the quality is equivalent to trailer #1.  Yogi is a 3D adaptation of the beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoon in which Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake voice Yogi and Boo Boo, respectively.  The live-action cast is comprised of Anna Faris, TJ Miller, Tom Cavanagh, and Andrew Daly.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

Warner Bros. has released their Fall/Holiday 2010 Preview and included are some new and previously released images from The Town, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, Yogi Bear, Due Date, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.  Hit the jump for high resolution versions along with updated cast lists and synopses:

Warner Bros. has released a new poster for the 3D live-action/CG hybrid remake of Yogi Bear, and it both made my day and ruined my night.  I don’t remember the last time a poster for a family film has fascinated me so, but I won’t be able to sleep tonight.  I think the exact nature of what’s going on in the poster is open to a slew of crazy interpretations, so I’ll leave it up to you to fill in your own blanks.  I hope Yogi’s wild-eyed gaze in the image above has convinced you to check out the full poster after the jump.

The teaser trailer for the live-action adaptation of Yogi Bear has gone online.  When we reported on the project last November, I was negative about it.  This teaser trailer makes me feel completely justified in that negativity.  There’s crummy animation, slapstick jokes, and nothing approaching the charm of the original cartoon.  Just because you quote the show, doesn’t mean you’re honoring it.  Of course, as I said then, I’m sure the soundbites will be about how everyone involved with the movie loved the show and want to bring it to a new generation.

Directed by Eric Brevig (Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D) and stars Anna Faris, Tom Cavanagh, and T.J. Miller as well as the voices of Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake as Yogi and Boo Boo, respectively. Hit the jump to check out the teaser trailer as well as the the poster that we put up yesterday.  Yogi Bear opens in 3D on December 17^th.

Warner Bros. has released the first poster for Yogi Bear, and it’s actually pretty cute.  We get a comprehensive look at the CG character design, but with the detail added to the devoured picnic in the background, this feels like more than just the placeholder required at this stage of promotion.  Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake voice the aforementioned animated bears amongst a live cast of Anna Faris, TJ Miller, Tom Cavanagh, and Andrew Daly.  Hit the jump to check out the poster.

In case you haven’t heard, Warner Bros. is launching a new Looney Toons animated series on Cartoon Network along with new 3D shorts that are slated for theaters.  According to the press release, Cartoon Network will air The Looney Tunes Show a half-hour animated television featuring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck living together in the suburbs.  Also in the neighborhood will be Yosemite Sam, Granny, Tweety and Sylvester.  I wouldn’t be surprised if other Looney Tunes characters pop up along the way.

They’re also doing 3D shorts out later this year are three 3-minute 3D CG short films starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.  Each film will screen before a major WB family film.  Coyote Falls will be attached to Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (July 30^th); Fur of Flying will be with Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (September 24^th); and Rabid Rider will show in front of Yogi Bear (December 17^th).

Hit the jump to read the press release and see images from the new series and the 3D shorts.