Naturally, Robert Rodriguez’s “Predator” relaunch has been the focus of speculation ever since it was announced this past spring. With the “Grindhouse” director keeping purely to a producing role, speculation has been rampant as to who would take the director’s chair. Neil Marshall (”Doomsday”) was attached earlier this month, and the possibility that the gore-happy director would tackle the franchise was one that caused rejoicing all over the Internet. But Marshall and Predator are not to be. Instead, Ain’t It Cool News has the news straight from Rodriguez that Nimrod Antal will be helming “Predators.”

Antal isn’t as widely known as Marshall, but he has the fine “Kontroll” and “Vacancy” under his belt, and “Armored” hitting theaters this December. He’s shown a talent for tight, terrifying films so far, and is widely buzzed to be The Next Big Name if only he could get a project with a nice, big budget.
“Predators” could be just the thing to make his career. Read more…

When a film like “Public Enemies” comes out, it seems awfully good to be a gangster. Sure, you spend your life dodging the authorities, but you spend it with the fastest cars, the most stylish clothes and the sexiest women.

Face it, ladies… we’re suckers for the bad boy – especially if he’s using some of those ill-gotten gains to buy expensive presents. If you’re looking for a few good gangsters to hang out after you’re done with Johnny Depp’s John Dillinger, look no further than these five. Read more…

News of Hollywood cherry-picking video game franchises for movie adaptations is nothing new, but here’s something that’s a bit more surprising. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the latest game to be slated for the big screen is the action-packed “Asteroids.”

Yes, you heard that right. Universal Studios is making “Asteroids” into a movie. Some of you have never played the classic 1979 Atari title, but the concept is very simple — fly your triangle “spaceship” while shooting at flying saucers and asteroids, and trying not to smash into them. It was a revolution back in the late-1970s, but is a far cry from sophistication in the era of next-gen consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Read more…

Movies never seem to get tired of mining the comedic territory of artificial insemination. Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman have the squirm-inducing “The Baster” coming up next year. Now we learn that sperm donation means “The Kids Are All Right” for at least one cast of characters.

Variety reports that Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowski (”Alice in Wonderland“) and Josh Hutcherson (”Journey to the Center of the Earth”) have joined director Lisa Cholodenko’s indie project — not a remake of the classic same-titled documentary about British classic rock outfit The Who — which begins shooting today. Read more…

Earlier this year, Bill Nighy was lamenting the fact that he, of all the actors in Britain, had yet to be cast in a “Harry Potter” installment. He put on a good show of bitterness that his friend and “Potter” director David Yates hadn’t called him up to appear in “Half Blood Prince.” “I’ve worked David Yates three times. He never writes. He never calls. He’s lousy,” Nighy joked.

Nighy’s persistence has finally paid off. Potter fansite The Leaky Cauldron has alerted the Internet to a little piece in British newspaper The Independent where Nighy announced that he will at last be joining the wizarding world. Read more…

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: You may have thought that “The Runaways” had completed their band’s lineup when they finally cast Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita Ford, but there was still one piece missing — the girl who didn’t become a Runaway: bass player Micki Steele.

Well, reportedly Floria Sigismondi’s biopic has found its bass player … but it won’t be the real life Steele. According to the Latino Review, Alia Shawkat (”Arrested Development”) has joined the band as fictional band member Robin.

Continue reading ‘The Runaways’ Film Adds Another Member: ‘Arrested Development’ Star Alia Shawkat

Amy Adams can do no wrong in my book, but if you were afraid all she was destined for was bubbly fare such as “Leap Year” or “The Ten Best Days of My Life” then you’ll be glad to know she’s taking a detour through the rough part of town. Adams is set to join Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in the true life tragedy of “The Fighter.”

“The Fighter” is the story of lightweight championship boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward (Wahlberg), and his trainer and brother, Dick Eklund (Bale). The film will portray their early days on the streets of Lowell, Massachusetts, Eklund’s bout with drugs and violence and Ward winning the world championship in London. If you’re wondering where a lovely girl fits into all this, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Adams will play Charlene, a “tough, gritty bartender and former college high-jumper from Massachusetts” who ends up involved with the tough-as-nails Mickey. She won’t be the only woman on set, as Melissa Leo (”Frozen River”) has also joined as the boys’ mother. Read more…

1. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” ($201.2 million)
2. “The Proposal” ($18.5 million)
3. “The Hangover” ($17.2 million)
4. “Up” ($13 million)
5. “My Sister’s Keeper” ($12 million)

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is now the proud holder of a five-day box office record of $201.2 million, but Optimus Prime still comes in behind Batman. Poor reviews aren’t keeping audiences away from the latest Michael Bay spectacle, which has continued to exceed expectations and break records every day that it’s in theaters. Read more…

1. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” ($36.7 million)
2. “The Proposal” ($6.1 million)
3. “The Hangover” ($5.3 million)
4. “My Sister’s Keeper” ($5.1 million)
5. “Up” ($3.9 million)

Some weekends, it’s easy to predict what’s going to come out on top! “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” topped our poll, and it destroyed the charts to take number one with $36.7 million. That would be enough to qualify it as a summer hit, but since it’s debut was actually on Wednesday, that’s just a drop of the bucket. Read more…

Every video game adaptation that’s put on the path to the big screen leaves you hoping that this will be the one to break the crappy gaming movie curse (”The Wizard” notwithstanding). While my hope remains pinned on Mike Newell’s upcoming “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” there may also be hope in the form of “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia is developing a live-action adaptation of “Fortune.” Kyle Ward is to pen the script; if the name sounds familiar, that’s because he was mentioned here just yesterday in association with the upcoming “Hitman 2.” No director has been set, but Avi Arad, Charles Roven, Ari Arad and Alex Gartner are producing. Read more…