Even with a summer packed with potentially fantastic blockbusters, this Movie News Cheat Sheet primarily highlights those that are coming further down the line.
We’ve got our first look at Matthew Fox in the October 26th release, Alex Cross, as well as a slew of release updates, which includes an October 4, 2013 bow for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Well down the road we’ll get a female driven buddy cop comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as well as a Scott Z. Burns-penned Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel.
In other writer hiring news, Aaron Sorkin has officially boarded Sony’s Steve Jobs biopic and Jesse Wigutow will adapt Peter and the Starcatcher for Disney.
Need even more to look forward to? Check out the details on many more upcoming projects in your weekly Movie News Cheat Sheet.
1. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy Buddy Cop Movie: We’ve had quite a few buddy cop movies in the last few years, but it always features a pair of leading men. Well, not this time around! As reported by Variety, Paul Feig is set to direct Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in their very own police pic. Bullock will play “a high-strung FBI agent” while McCarthy will take on the role of “an unconventional Boston cop.” The Katie Dippold script has the ladies team up to take on a notorious Russian gangster. Production is due to begin this summer, right after McCarthy finishes up Identity Thief.
2. Images from Alex Cross Featuring Matthew Who?: What woman doesn’t like a fit guy? Well, toned is cool, but muscles aren’t particularly hot when someone goes overboard. The big screen adaptation of James Patterson’s I, Alex Cross features Matthew Fox as MMA fighter, Michael Sullivan, who doubles as an assassin and is responsible for the death of Alex Cross’ (Tyler Perry) wife. The Film Stage tracked down the very first stills from the film and it shows off Fox’s wild new look rendering him nearly unrecognizable. There’s also a few shots of Edward Burns as Cross’ partner and two of Cross himself. Alex Cross is due in theaters on October 26th.
3. Aaron Sorkin to Pen Sony’s Steve Jobs Biopic: While Ashton Kutcher is already suited up as Steve Jobs, Sony has only just recruited a writer to pen their biopic. However, while the Sony flick may be second in line, it’s already shaping up to far outshine Kutcher’s Jobs. Via Yahoo! News, Aaron Sorkin is officially attached to pen the project. Not only will Sorkin use Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography as source material, but he’ll also have the help of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. According to the Chicago Tribune, Wozniak was hired as a “tutor” and will offer assistance on the technical details of the computers and on Jobs himself.
4. Scott Z. Burns Takes Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2: Now that yet another summer movie season has kicked off, Rise of the Planet of the Apes feels a bit like old news, but Fox is still working on that sequel and has just recruited a writer who’ll certainly bring the project some attention. According to THR, Contagion scribe Scott Z. Burns will write Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2. Round two will continue where the first film left off, just after the super intelligent apes break free and a virus threatens to ravage human society, with the apes making a play to rule the world. Fox locked Andy Serkis after Rise of the Planet of the Apes made a killing at the box office, so he’s ready to go, and the studio also has the first film’s director, Rupert Wyatt, set to return.
5. Release Date Update: Whip out those calendars because we’ve got quite a few big productions first popping up on the release calendar and some that are making scheduling shifts, too. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For just locked an October 4, 2013 release date while Gravity has been lifted from its November 21, 2012 opening and schedule for an undetermined 2013 slot. Gangster Squad has assumed the September 9, 2012 position while Beautiful Creatures jumps up from February 15, 2013 to February 13, likely to take advantage of the holiday. Lastly, Millennium Entertainment has opted to release Rodrigo Cortés’ Red Lights on July 13, 2012 and Relativity is giving Paranoia a September 27, 2012 debut. (via Box Office Mojo)
6. Big Names Join The Angriest Man in Brooklyn: With a roster including Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo and James Earl Jones, Cargo Entertainment sales chief Mark Lindsay will likely have a good time showing off The Angriest Man in Brooklyn to Cannes buyers. Phil Alden Robinson penned the screenplay, which tells the story of “a stand in-doctor who mistakenly tells an obnoxious patient he has 90 minutes to live.” The news compels the patient to go all over the city, righting his wrongs while the medic desperately tries to track him down and fix his own mistake. According to Screen Daily, The Angriest Man In Brooklyn is due to shoot in Brooklyn this September.
7. Disney Moves Forward with Peter and the Starcatcher Movie: Just after Peter and the Starcatcher secured nine Tony Award nominations, Disney is getting to work on their feature film adaptation of the Dave Barry and Ridley Pierson book. According to Deadline, the studio just hired Jesse Wigutow to get the job done. The material provides the backstory for the iconic character Peter Pan and is also part of a series of books, making the property ripe for Hollywood.
8. Morgan Freeman May Join Michael Douglas and Robert De Niro in Last Vegas: With Michael Douglas and Robert De Niro on board, all eyes are already on Last Vegas, but now, the project is earning even more attention because Morgan Freeman is in talks to sign on, too. As reported by Deadline, Freeman is in negotiations to step in front of the lens for director Jon Turteltaub in the piece about a quartet of longtime friends, now in their golden years, that are interested in throwing the bachelor party of a lifetime for one of them who’s still single.
9. Trailers: The Possession, The Good Doctor, Hyde Park: Think you’ve had enough of demonic horror movies? Give this new trailer for The Possession a chance. It’s got some of the typical genre scares, but also rocks what could be a particularly creepy scenario. We’ve also got the new trailer for the Orlando Bloom-starrer The Good Doctor and while there is something to the plot, this trailer doesn’t present it in a sensible fashion and also seems to give away most of the twists and turns. Last up is our first look at Hyde Park. While the film’s got to be good with a cast including Bill Murray and Laura Linney, the whole political period piece with a comedic twist isn’t exactly my thing.
10: Box Office: The Avengers takes down yet another box office adversary. Losing a mere 46.6% of its weekend two profits, The Avengers accumulated another $55.1 million, squashing Battleship and its $25.3 million haul. Lucky for Battleship, it’s already taken $215.3 million worldwide, so its minimal domestic earnings won’t keep it from making somewhat of a profit. The Dictator is off to a so-so start, the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy posting a $5,790 per theater average for a $17.4 million weekend one total. Dark Shadows took a rough hit after a lackluster start, losing 57% of its opening profits for a mere $12.8 million second weekend. Even worse off is What to Expect When You’re Expecting, which was likely expecting a big opening weekend with its massive A-list cast, but only managed to earn $10.5 million on a low $3,476 per theater average. (via Box Office Mojo)
