Script Development & Film Start News

UPDATED & EXPANDED April 20, 2010

Some new news since my last post has altered the genre stats slightly but the general gist remains. Most new development projects and production starts are either based on best selling books, comic books or are remakes/re-imaging of previous theatrical releases. There are nearly twice as many comedies as anything else and a heavy dose of science fiction fantasy. Spy thrillers are also seeing a resurgence.

Before any more grass grows under my feet, here's a quick list of what's hot in development and film production starts:

The Silent Flute - a reimaging of the 1978 Bruce Lee martial arts film Circle of Iron, which was in pre-production when he died. Paul Maslansky is directing the script being rewritten by his son Sasha. Hopes to capture the essence of Bruce Lee's vision for the film.

Untitled Mike Newell Project - Warner Brothers has this in development with Johnny Depp attached to star. It's based on the book The Terminal Spy by Alan Cowell. Adapted for the screen by David Scarpa. It traces the path of Polonium-210 from Russia's closed nuclear cities to the London Millenium Hotel where a lethal dose was slipped into former KGB operative/turned writer & journalist Alexander Litvinenko's tea.

W.E. - Madonna is set to direct this period romance between King Edward VIII and American socialite Wallis Simpson and for whom he abdicated the throne. Script is also by David Scarpa (who has also just signed with Fox/New Regency to pen the Daredevil remake). Producers: Colin Vaines, David Parfitt.

Doc Savage - Shane Black to direct for Columbia Pictures. No word on whether story will bear any similarity to the campy 1978 George pal version. Doc Savage is a pulp fiction icon and hero of a magazine serial from the 1930s-40s. The script is being written by Shane Black, Chuck Mondry and Anthony Bagarozzi. Neal Moritz is producing.

Undomestic Goddess - Universal Pictures comedy directed by Andy Fickman, based on the novel by chick-lit scribe Sophie Kinsella. A young female attorney dodges trouble in London by taking a housekeeper job in the country where she falls for the simple life and the estate's gardener until her city life catches up with her.

First Avenger: Captain America - Marvel Studios live action comic book adaptation starring Chris Evans as the captain. Joe Johnston to direct.

The Avengers - Joss Whedon has signed on to direct this much anticipated picture for Paramount. It's an elaborate live-action comic book adaptation about a team of superheros including The Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Nick Fury and Captain America.

Young Adult - Dramedy written by Oscar winning writer (Juno/2007) Diablo Cody about a 30-something writer who sets out to bag her now married ex-boyfriend.

Popeye - Sony Pictures & Hearst Entertainment are adapting the classic cartoon series in 3D based on a script written by Mike Jones.

True Grit - Coen Brothers remake of the 1969 John Wayne classic about a young girl out to avenge her father's murder with the help of an aging marshal. Adaptation of the novel by Charles Portis. Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon to star.

The Adventures of Tin Tin: the first of a series of three motion-capture animated films for Paramount, directed by Steven Spielberg based on the Georges Remi comic-strip adapted for the screen by Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish and Steven Moffat. Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Peter Jackson are producing.

Hugo Cabret - based on the 2008 Caldecott winning children's book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Martin Scorsese is directing. It's about a 12 yr old orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station.

Your Cheating Heart (aka Cheaters) - Ron Howard is directing this buddy comedy with a Hamlet-esque conflict at its core. Turmoil and trouble ensues when a man sees his best friend's wife with another man. To tell or not to tell, that is the question. Script by Allan Loeb. Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Garner and Winona Ryder star.

Abduction Taylor Lautner and Lily Collins star in the Lionsgate thriller based on a spec script by Shawn Christensen. John Singleton is directing this tale about a teen whose life changes radically when he finds himself on a missing person's list.

The Immortals - Tarsem Singh is directing this epic adventure (now shooting in Montreal) about the mythical Theseus' quest to liberate Greece from the threat of the Titans. Mickey Rourke stars as the villain King Hyperion. Singh plans to do the picture in the style of a renaissance painting with HD effects, similar to Baz Lurhmann's groundbreaking 1996 adaptation of Romeo & Juliet.

Godzilla - Warner Brothers reboot about a monstrous reptile who crashes a bustling metropolis. Script by David Callahan.

Private Benjamin - New Line remake of the 1980 comedy about a spoiled girl who's forced to join the Army. Sexy comedienne Anna Faris to star. No big surprise on the casting. Anna has virtually stepped in Goldy Hawn's hilarious shoes.

Overboard - remake of the shipboard comedy with veteran director Garry Marshall at the helm. This was also a Goldy Hawn vehicle in 1987. Jennifer Lopez to star.

Source Code - action thriller about a soldier forced to relive a series of events on a commuter train just moments before it's bombed and his efforts to piece together who is responsible. Writer/director Duncan Jones is attached. Jake Gyllenhaal and Vera Farmiga star.

Just Go With It (aka Pretend Wife) - Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman star in a Columbia Pictures comedy about a man who makes up a fake family to get rid of an unwanted girlfriend. Script by Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling. Directed by Dennis Dugan.

Untitled J. Edgar Hoover Project - Warner Brothers teams up with Imagine Entertainment and Malpaso to create a biopic about the controversial founder/director of the FBI. Clint Eastwood to direct the movie based on a script by Dustin Lance Black.

King Arthur - Another Warner Brothers project that re-images the legend of King Arthur. Guy Ritchie to direct. Script by Academy Award nominated writer John Hodge. A reimaging of John Boorman's 1981 masterpiece Excalibur is also in development.

Butter - Weinstein Company satire about the fierce competition that ensues in an Iowa butter-carving contest. Produced by Michael de Luca and Jennifer Garner. Directed by Jim Field Smith. Garner also stars with Ty Burrell, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman and Alicia Silverstone.

Arthur - WB comedy remake of the 1981 Dudley Moore starrer. Jason Winer is directing Russell Brand as the boozing playboy.

The Escort - DreamWorks is making this road comedy based on a script by Justin Adler in which a flight attendant is tasked to transport a spoiled child home when their plane is grounded.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunterr - Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov are teaming up to make this dark tale based on the Seth Graham Smith historical fiction novel.

Jackie - Darren Aronofsky is directing his wife/partner Rachel Weisz in this biopic based on a script by Noah Oppenheim. It focuses on Jackie Kennedy Onassis during the four days just after JFK's assassination.

Avon Man - Fox high concept comedy with Kevin Lima directing. Hugh Jackman stars as a laid-off used car salesman who hits the road as a door-to-door cosmetics rep.

Elephant White - Revenge drama starring Kevin Bacon & Djimon Hounsou. Currently filming in Bangkok with Prachya Pinkaew directing his English-language debut.. A businessman hires an assassin to avenge the murder of his daughter by white slave traders.

Speedy Gonzales - New Line animated comedy based on the Oscar winning Merrie Melodie short of the same name. Speedy is the fastest mouse in Mexico and features his famous nemesis Sylvester the Cat, who guards the Ajax cheese factory on the Mexican border. Original story by Warren Foster. It's being adapted for the screen by the Academy Award winning writing team Alec Sokolow & Joel Cohen. George Lopez is cast as the voice of the lead.

Kiss & Tell - Universal Pictures romantic comedy written by the up-and-coming comedy writing team Dax Shelby & Robert Stevens about a girl cursed with the ability to see the future of her relationships after the first kiss. Isla Fisher to star.

Hall Pass - New Line buddy comedy starring Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis as husbands whose wives say okay to extramarital affairs. The Farrelly Brothers direct.

The Dark Fields - Relativity Media thriller directed by Neil Burger is now shooting a script written by Leslie Dixon based on the 2001 novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn. It's about an ex-cocaine addict who "finds" a new drug (MDT-48) that boosts confidence and powers of intellect. The use of MDT-48 leads to wealth but there are near homicidal side-effects and he begins to suspect he may be a guinea pig of the shadowy drug manufacturer.

Knockout - Another Relativity Media thriller. This one's about an outed female spy who is is on the run. Stars MMA fighter Gina Carano, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum.

Ted - Universal Pictures and Scott Stuber Pictures team up in this comic fantasy about a man and his Teddy bear. Directed by Seth McFarlane. Script by Seth McFarlane, ALec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild.

Red - Bruce Willis stars in another spy thriller for Summit Entertainment. This time Willis plays and ex-black-ops CIA agent who reassembles his old team to save the woman he loves.