Paul Verhoeven’s Thriller ‘Surrogate’ is Still A Go.

Earlier this week we wrote about a new project that director Paul Verhoeven (seen above) is working on (an adaptation of the video game The Last Express), but we weren’t sure if that meant he was ditching his other project The Surrogate. Announced last year, The Surrogate is a thriller about a couple desperate to have a child who find themselves in an unbearable position when they find out the surrogate they hired to carry their baby is insane. Not the most interesting concept, but in the hands of Verhoeven, you never know. MTV ran new quotes from their recent chat with Verhoeven and word is The Surrogate is still in the works.

“That’s still in the works,” Verhoeven told MTV. “Halle Berry is attached to the project and we discussed it all. The question is where do we get the $30 million to do a project that includes a lot of things that have to do with abortion and… surrogate mothers.” Good question, but maybe it’s an early sign that no one wants to invest in this. We don’t want another Showgirls, now do we? While Berry is attached (as of June ‘09) to play the mother/wife, they still haven’t found someone for the husband or the surrogate yet. Verhoeven does also promise this will be “provocative and sexual,” which reminds me of Showgirls again. Speaking of which:

“There are nearly no movies anymore with sex clearly in it,” Verhoeven told MTV. “If you look at what’s there, it’s all PG-13. There is really no R anymore.” The plan is for The Surrogate to change all that.

He’s right – the way we treat sexuality and nudity in movies in the US is shameful. But that doesn’t mean he needs to overdo it to prove a point. Verhoeven’s always been an edgier filmmaker who sometimes takes that sexuality a bit too far (I heard more complaints about that “scene” in Black Book than I did compliments) and, well, I don’t think I need to mention Showgirls again, but I will anyway. Then again, I am usually a fan of Verhoeven’s crazier work, which it sounds like this could be, especially with an “insane” baby mama that Halle Berry has to fight. The Surrogate is in development at Fox through GG Filmz and Winter Road. It’s based on a book of the same name by Kathryn Mackel. We’ll keep you updated on its progress. Thoughts?

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The Hobbit Still Waiting for the Greenlight

I feel like every few weeks we write another story about The Hobbit being either delayed, or still on track for 2011, or something like that. It’s always either ready to go sometime this year or suddenly delayed, but apparently none of this is true, at all. Peter Jackson spoke recently with Moviefone in what has become the story of this weekend because he gives them the definitive update on The Hobbit and its current status. Basically, they still haven’t been given the greenlight because they’re still waiting for MGM and finishing budgeting. Who knows how long that will take, so although they’ve turned in a script, they’re still waiting.

Here’s where Jackson says that pretty much everything we’ve heard about delays is pretty much BS so far.

“Well, it’s not really been delayed, because we’ve never announced the date. I mean it’s sort of interesting because the studio [MGM] has never greenlit The Hobbit, so therefore The Hobbit has never been officially announced as a ‘go’ project, nor have we ever announced a date. But there’s so much interest that people — newspapers and magazines, of their own account, say, ah, it’s likely to film in May, it’s likely to film in June, it’s likely to film in September. People make this stuff up. And then if it’s not filming in June, you get a story saying, ‘The Hobbit’s been delayed.’ But it’s never actually been announced.”

So there’s not much he can tell us about the production, but what can he actually confirm? Well, the script is done. “We’ve just delivered the script. Literally last week, we delivered the second of the two screenplays — the first draft. So the studio’s got both scripts now, which is a milestone; and if anything was holding it up, it was us doing the screenplays, because we’d just been writing as fast as we can, but it took us this long to get them finished.” They’re currently trying to work on budgeting and if they agree to the budget, they’ll get a greenlight and announce shooting dates and so on. But here’s the good news: “I’d be pretty optimistic that we’ll be shooting before the end of the year. I would imagine October, November, we’d be shooting by.”

Of course, that’s not official, but if everything goes as planned, they’ll be shooting by the end of the year. The question is, if they’re supposed to shoot for more than a year, how will they finish the first movie by the end of 2011? Just doesn’t seem possible, but you never know, they could pull off that kind of schedule. Anyway, head over to Moviefone to read a few more of Jackson’s answers about casting, mainly that no actors have been “confirmed,” although we just know Sir Ian McKellen will be back as Gandalf. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on everything we hear about The Hobbit. I just hope there won’t be more fake rumors that pop up.

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WB’s Remake of Snabba Cash Zac Efron Plays Drug Smuggler.

You’re not the only one who doesn’t know what’s up with wacky that title. Heat Vision reports that remake rights to this Swedish thriller sparked a huge bidding war in Hollywood and it looks like the winner is Zac Efron (also attached to star) and Warner Bros (the home of Efron’s new production company) along with producers Charles Roven (The Dark Knight) and Richard Suckle (The International) of Atlas Ent. Snabba Cash is a new Swedish film based on a novel by Jens Lapidus that follows three interconnected storylines involving drugs and organized crime, and would have Efron as a financial wiz who becomes drug runner.

Apparently the property sparked interest at the Berlin Film Festival. Later, filmmaker Daniel Espinosa and his film were showcased to bring in offers and luckily they poured in like “snabba cash,” which apparently just means easy money. This project is so in-demand (Universal, Summit, Paramount, Fox, the Weinstein Company, and Mandate were all bidding on it) that the deal has a “progress to production,” or “short fuse” clause, which means that if Warner Bros sits on it for too long, the rights will revert back to the producers. But with WB’s big move to make Efron their next big action star, I don’t think getting this project off the ground with him attached will be too hard. Sound good? Anybody seen the original Snabba Cash?

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Viral Teaser Trailer for Space Paranoids Online!

This looks awesome! If you read up about the Tron Legacy viral event at WonderCon a few weeks ago, you may have heard that Alan Bradley announced that the original Space Paranoids game would soon become an online playable game. If you thought that was just part of the stunt, guess again, as FlynnLives.com has just been updated with an awesome new teaser trailer (you can watch it below) for the actual online playable Space Paranoids game. Yes, once this is released online it’s going to consume endless hours of your life until this December when Tron Legacy finally lands in theaters. You’ve been warned… but check this out anyway!

Watch the official teaser trailer for Encom’s Space Paranoids Online:

If you remember back to Comic-Con last year, Flynn’s Arcade had about 10 or so arcade units running this exact game with an old school joystick. So they’ve had the game for a while, and now Encom has created an online version of it. You can bet there will be some new viral events that will come with this, as Bradley said in San Francisco that there’ll be “15 new levels in Space Paranoids designed by Kevin Flynn himself,” which means that Flynn is probably going to “contact” us through the game (part of the ARG concept). The only bad news is that they don’t list a release date. I’ve got to imagine it’ll be up and running soon, right?

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Impressive Official Poster for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

I’d been wondering when we’d see a poster for this movie, but I was definitely not expecting something like this! ComingSoon has debuted the first teaser poster for Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and it’s a gorgeous bit of artwork. It’s basically just got a sneering Nicolas Cage as Balthazar showing off his magical dragon ring that identifies Jay Baruchel as the “chosen one,” or whatever it is. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, watch it here. This kind of reminds me of Drew Struzan’s paintings but it’s actually just a dark and sleek photo with some nice color touch-up work. However, I really am very impressed by this. Check it out below!

A sorcerer (Nicolas Cage) leaves his workshop in the hands of his apprentice (Jay Baruchel), who gets into trouble when the broomstick he put a spell on to do chores for him somehow develops a mind of its own.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is directed by veteran filmmaker Jon Turteltaub, who also directed 3 Ninjas, Cool Runnings, The Kid, and both National Treasure films previously. The screenplay was co-written by Carlo Bernard (The Uninvited) and Matt Lopez (Bedtime Stories). This is based on the story that first appeared in Disney’s Fantasia. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice will arrive in theaters everywhere on July 16th this summer.

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Full 63rd Cannes Film Festival Official Selection Announced

The 63nd Cannes Film Festival official selection was just announced this morning. A total of 46 films this year are featured in four categories: Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition and Special Screenings (including those Midnight Screenings). The festival kicks off on May 12th next month and last for 11 days until May 23rd. I will be attending for my second year in a row. It was previously announced that Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood would be opening the festival. Highlights from this year’s selection include Mike Leigh’s Another Year and Jean-Luc Godard’s Socialisme among many others. Read on for a full list!

Lists below are alphabetized by title and include the director’s name and a quick and easy reference link.

OPENING NIGHT FILM:
Robin Hood – Dir: Ridley Scott

COMPETITION:
A Screaming Man – Dir: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Another Year – Dir: Mike Leigh
Biutiful – Dir: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Burnt by the Sun 2 – Dir: Nikita Mikhalkov
Certified Copy – Dir: Abbas Kiarostami
Fair Game – Dir: Doug Liman
Housemaid – Dir: Im Sang-soo
La Nostra Vita – Dir: Daniele Luchetti
Of Gods and Men – Dir: Xavier Beauvois
Outrage – Dir: Takeshi Kitano
Outside the Law – Dir: Rachid Bouchareb
Poetry – Dir: Lee Chang-dong
The Princess of Montpensier – Dir: Bertrand Tavernier
Tournée – Dir: Mathieu Amalric
Uncle Boonmee – Dir: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
You, My Joy – Dir: Sergei Loznitsa

UN CERTAIN REGARD:
Adrienn Pál – Dir: Ágnes Kocsis
Angelica – Dir: Manoel de Oliveira
Aurora – Dir: Cristi Puiu
Blue Valentine – Dir: Derek Cianfrance
Chatroom – Dir: Hideo Nakata
Chongqing Blues – Dir: Xiaoshuai Wang
The City Below – Dir: Christoph Hochhäusler
Hahaha – Dir: Hong Sang-soo
Heartbeats – Dir: Xavier Dolan
Life Above All – Dir: Oliver Schmitz
The Lips – Dir: Iván Fund & Santiago Loza
Octubre – Dir: Daniel Vega
R U There – Dir: David Verbeek
Rebecca H. (Return to the Dogs) – Dir: Lodge Kerrigan
Simon Werner Disappeared… – Dir: Fabrice Gobert
Socialisme – Dir: Jean-Luc Godard
Tuesday, After Christmas – Dir: Radu Muntean
Udaan – Dir: Vikramaditya Motwane

OUT OF COMPETITION:
Tamara Drewe – Dir: Stephen Frears
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – Dir: Oliver Stone
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger – Dir: Woody Allen

SPECIAL SCREENINGS:
Abel – Dir: Diego Luna
Chantrapas – Dir: Otar Iosseliani
Draquila: L’Italia Che Trema – Dir: Sabina Guzzanti
Inside Job – Dir: Charles Ferguson
Nostalgia For The Light – Dir: Patricio Guzmán
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow – Dir: Sophie Fiennes

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS:
Blackhole – Dir: Gilles Marchand
Kaboom – Dir: Gregg Araki

Cannes president Thierry Fremaux did say that the “official selection is not complete yet” and currently six films are missing, so expect to see a few more added to the line-up before the start of the fest in May.

This looks like a fascinating line-up this year, with a few films I’m excited to see, and a whole bunch that I’ve never heard of before. Last year had as strong of a selection, including Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, Un Prophete, The White Ribbon, Thirst, and the controversial Antichrist (and I was there when it all began). I’m really looking forward to heading out to France in May and I will be joined by first-timer Peter Sciretta from SlashFilm as well as Cannes veteran and my very good friend Eric Lavallee from IONCinema. We’ll do our best to bring you the finest coverage we can straight from Cannes 2010! Anything catch your eye?

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Second Featurette for Nimrod Antal’s Predators

Our very first introduction to Robert Rodriguez & Nimrod Antal’s Predators was through a sneak peek featurette, so it’s only fitting we follow up the trailer with yet another new featurette. The video comes from Germany (via YouTube) but isn’t dubbed, so it is watchable and in high def, too. It mainly contains some interview segments with Rodriguez and Antal as well as some new footage, including dialogue from Danny Trejo. I totally love the Japanese guy too, I can’t wait to see him fight with his samurai sword, that will be badass to watch. The more I see from this, the more excited I get, I think it looks like it could be awesome.

Watch the second featurette for Nimród Antal’s Predators:

Predators is being directed by Nimród Antal, of Kontroll, Vacancy, and Armored previously. The screenplay was co-written by newcomers Michael Finch and Alex Litvak and is based on early draft written years ago by producer Robert Rodriguez, who also worked with them on the script. This is a reboot of the Predator series created by Jim & John Thomas and directed by John McTiernan in 1987. We’re not sure what the actual plot is, but all we need to know is that it’s about a bunch of badass elite warriors who fight a bunch of predators out in the jungle. 20th Century Fox is bringing Predators to theaters worldwide on July 7th this summer.

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James Mangold My Direct Gyllenhaal’s Joe Namath Biopic

Back in 2007, it was announced that Jake Gyllenhaal would play football quarterback Joe Namath in a feature film about his life that was being put together. Jump to today and, well, no progress has been made. However, Pajiba says they’ve heard that James Mangold (of Kate & Leopold, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Knight & Day) may have just landed this directing gig, which makes them (and us) wonder if Universal may actually be trying to get this into production as Gyllenhaal’s next big film following Duncan Jones’ Source Code (which he is already shooting). It all makes sense, and I won’t be surprised if this actually happens.

The project was originally setup with David Hollander (“Heartland”, “The Cleaner”) attached to write the screenplay. Namath himself approved of the movie after a “strong pitch” from Hollander and a belief that the “athletic” Gyllenhaal was the right actor to play him. This is an approval that the studio doesn’t want to let go of, which is probably why they’re keeping Gyllenhaal out in front while moving forward. Universal does want to take another pass at David Hollander’s script before it moves into production, though, and knowing them this means it could probably get shelved just as quickly, especially if the budget is too high.

Joe Namath was one of the first football players to achieve a “rock star” status in the NFL. This biopic will tell the story of how the golden-armed kid from Beaver Falls, PA became “Broadway Joe,” the New York Jets quarterback who became a ’60s cultural figure. “Most of the stuff you saw in Forest Gump, Joe lived through all of it,” producer and friend Jimmy Walsh said about Namath and his life. Namath played for 11 years with the New York Jets, from 1965 to 1976, and was the first to pass more than 4,000 yards one season. You can read up on all of his stats on his biography at Pro Football Hall of Fame. We’ll let you know what happens.

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