Matt ReevesIf, like me, you’re a fan of last year’s Swedish vampire sensation “Let the Right One In,” and you’ve been dreading the Hollywood remake, take comfort in knowing that there might not be reason to worry after all. “Cloverfield” director Matt Reeves has been set to script and helm the English-language redo.

While speaking to the LA Times recently, Reeves defended his vision and shared some interesting new information about his personal take on the young vampire love story, about a bullied 12-year-old who falls for the bloodsucking girl next door. "Twilight" this is not, but the comparisons are there to be made nonetheless. Read More...

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Pete TravisModernizing Shakespeare is so hot for ’09. A few weeks ago we learned that “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke is tackling an update of the Bard’s “Hamlet” starring Emile Hirsch. Now The Hollywood Reporter brings news of a “modern-day makeover” of “Macbeth” titled “Come Like Shadows.” Little has been revealed about the plot or contemporary alterations of this second adaptation, though like the “Hamlet” update it is being labeled a thriller.

Pete Travis, who has just been hired to direct “Shadows,” further describes it as being “a bold, sexy addition to my slate of films. It’s a powerful, tragic morality tale about personal and political corruption. An awesome, epic story for our troubled times, its irresistible tension holds the audience in a vice like grip, its raw emotion will break their hearts.” Read More...

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Michael SheenBritish actor Michael Sheen, who will be seen by millions this fall in “New Moon,” is reportedly in talks to join the James Bond franchise for yet another iconic role. According to an anonymous source, Sheen is up for the villainous part of Blofeld in the 23rd installment of the 007 series, which is currently being co-scripted by two-time Oscar-nominated writer Peter Morgan.

Morgan and Sheen have collaborated many times before, most memorably for “Frost/Nixon” and “The Queen,” in which he portrayed former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. It’s possible that this link between writer and actor has led to speculative rumors of Sheen’s interest and involvement in the Bond film, but we’re hoping that it’s true. Apparently Sheen has been a fan of the 007 series since his youth, so he is likely crossing his fingers, as well. Read More...

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Pete DocterWith Pixar’s “Up” claiming first place at the box office in its second weekend -- it’s just behind “Star Trek” in terms of the highest two-week tally for 2009 -- congratulations are in order for the film’s director, Pete Docter. Instead of kudos, Docter and his next project are making headlines today: a sequel to his first Pixar feature, “Monsters Inc.” Speculative rumors of a “Monsters Inc. 2” have been floating around for awhile, but we're now one step closer to official confirmation thanks to Disney expert Jim Hill.

In his coverage of Licensing International Expo 2009, Hill reports that licensing buyers were told of the sequel, though they were also apparently supposed to keep the news a secret. Of course now that the information has been leaked, along with Docter’s "Up" success, we can likely expect a formal announcement from Pixar very soon. Read More...

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'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'If you’re still boycotting IMAX because of the smaller-screen controversy, you may want to rethink your stance on the issue by the time “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” opens. Over the weekend, Michael Bay revealed in the forum section of his official website that the “Transformers” sequel has a “slightly” longer running time on IMAX screens. The extended cut, which includes four scenes shot on IMAX cameras, will feature “more robot fighting” than the regular theatrical version. And that’s not the only reason to pay extra for the larger-screen format.

“The way to see this movie is on IMAX,” Bay wrote on his personal site, shoot for the edit. “Never before has there been 4k rendered character animation shot on full IMAX 70 mm film. This is a first and the results are stunning. You will see Optimus Prime in a few shots where he is actually perfectly to scale on the IMAX 50 foot tall screens.” Read More...

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'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events' director Brad SilberlingAre you still patiently waiting for more Count Olaf? It’s been five years since the adaptation of "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" hit theaters, a reasonable enough amount of time to assume that a sequel probably isn't going to happen. Of course, that doesn’t stop author Daniel Handler (aka “Lemony Snicket”) and adaptation director Brad Silberling from occasionally giving hope to fans. Silberling, whose new film “Land of the Lost” opens next week, recently had the following to say to CineFOOLS on the subject:

“I actually think it's going to see the light of day. [Handler and I] stay in constant touch about it, because I would love nothing more than to do that and we've been hoping to, so I think there will be a chance it may take a wildly different form, but I think it will probably happen.” Read More...

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Bradley Cooper confirmed for 'A-Team'?You gotta love when actors unwittingly confirm rumors during press junkets. This time it’s Bradley Cooper, who may have accidentally revealed to the guys at IESB.net that he is indeed set to play the handsome con artist “Faceman” in 20th Century Fox’s film adaptation of “The A-Team.” When asked, rather insidiously, if the actor was excited for the role, Cooper responded, “That’s out already?”

Of course, the casting news is not officially out, but Cooper must have been thrown off by the fact that most journalists at the junket for “The Hangover” were trying to get him to admit to signing on to star in “The Green Lantern.” Or, after so many denials, he just wanted to be able to excitedly substantiate something. He even continued talking about the film, enthusiastically stating that Joe Carnahan is going to “make a great movie out of it.” Read More...

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Peter BergWhen Hasbro and Universal initially announced a partnership to adapt popular board games into movies, it seemed like a terrible idea. Now that these projects are actually coming to light, a few sound quite interesting, and even somewhat prestigious. Following Ridley Scott, who is booked to direct “Monopoly,” Peter Berg is said to be in talks to helm “Battleship,” an action movie based on the iconic grid-based wargame. Could this be the film Berg and Robert Pattinson were meeting last week to discuss?

Chances are - or maybe we're just being hopeful - that Berg and Pattinson were instead chatting about “Dune.” Still, Pattinson's legion of "Twilight"-loving fans would probably melt at the sight of him in a Navy uniform, serving aboard one of the game’s five ships. Read More...

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Marcus Wright in 'Terminator Salvation'When Warner Bros. announced long ago that “Terminator Salvation” would be the first in a new trilogy of “Terminator” sequels, we all assumed that the three planned installments would exist in a chronologically contained setting, during the post-apocalyptic war between humans and machines. However, in a recent interview with McG over at Film Journal International, the director hints that “Terminator 5” might not adhere to such a strict timeline.

“I strongly suspect the next movie is going to take place in a [pre-Judgment Day] 2011,” McG told the trade publication. “John Connor is going to travel back in time and he's going to have to galvanize the militaries of the world for an impending Skynet invasion.” Read More...

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Technically we should be done with parodies of the first “Twilight” movie. The sequel is coming out later this year, and comic video-makers should be concentrating on lampooning “New Moon,” regardless of the fact that we haven’t yet seen an official trailer with which to spoof. Something funny could at least be done with that Quileute beefcake spread we saw last week. Of course, I don’t mind if the parody videos keep coming in response to the first installment if they’re as humorous as “Twilight With Cheeseburgers,” a new fake trailer created by sketch comedy group The Midnight Show, of LA’s UCB Theatre.

The reason this late parody gets a pass is because it’s a smart satire inside of a seemingly stupid idea. Sure, it’s quite silly to remake “Twilight” with a cheeseburger substituted in place of Bella Swan. And the members of The Midnight Show certainly don’t seem to treat the concept very seriously. But really it’s the best way to relate Edward Cullen’s romantic dilemma to us mortal humans. He falls in love with a girl who should be his dinner, and she is craved as such by other vampires. To us, the equivalent would be falling in love with a cheeseburger. Right? Read More...

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