David Cronenberg is in talks to rehatch ‘The Fly’ with Fox. Film blogs are abuzz! Or will be. Probably.
 
The director had previously said he would not be involved in a remake of the 1986 classic – though he did work on an opera version that was staged in Paris and Los Angeles (Placido Domingo conducted) – but Variety says he has had a change of heart and will be writing and possibly directing.

The magazine points out that this will be an opportunity to reimagine the film with special effects technology that was not available for the 1986 version, which was itself a remake of a 1958 film.

The movie starred Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, a scientist who morphs into a fly after an unfortunate teleportation accident. Geena Davis played his confused and traumatized girlfriend, Veronica Quaife. It was a smash success.

A sequel, ‘The Fly II,’ was released in 1989 and starred Eric Stoltz as the mutant son of Seth and Veronica. Cronenberg was not involved.

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Contact Music says Jamie Foxx struggled to learn the cello for ‘The Soloist,’ and only got really into it when he discovered cello playing ability impresses women.

‘The Soloist’ is the true story of Nathanial Ayers, a cello prodigy who suffered from schizophrenia and became homeless.

The ‘Ray’ Oscar winner was required to learn the cello to play the role of Ayers. But Foxx was less than enthusiastic about the instrument until he realized it was a chick magnet.

Director Joe Wright says, “He learnt how to play the cello and he practiced for six months. He was not fully committed for the first few weeks and then he discovered that girls quite like it when fellas play classical musical instruments and that upped his game.”

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Michael Moore wants to screen his latest documentary for Bernie Madoff in prison.

The New York Daily News reports that Moore said he wants to show ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ at the Butner (N.C.) Federal Correctional Complex where the Ponzi scheme ringleader is currently incarcerated.

“We’re just trying to see if we can set that up in the prison he’s in,” the director told the Daily News at the film’s Lincoln Center premiere. “If we can’t, we’ve discussed doing an outdoor screening in the field, so at least he can watch through the bars of the window.”

Moore says it’s important to him that the film, which centers on the global economic meltdown, be seen by Madoff.

“Bernie is representative of the scheme of capitalism itself. [Capitalism] is a pyramid where the richest 1% have as much financial wealth as the combined 95%. It’s a pyramid only a few people can be at the top of, and everyone else is made to believe that they can get to the top,” he explains. “It’s a bit of a ruse, and a ruse that’s not unsimilar to Mr. Madoff’s.”

A rep for the Federal Bureau of Prisons has said that no official request has been made for a Butner screening  as of yet.

Madoff was sentenced to 150 years for perpetrating what may be the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history.

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The question is already popping up online. Who should play Barbie in the coming movie? Ana Faris? Dakota Fanning? Heather Graham?

That’s right. Variety says Universal Pictures has made a deal with Mattel to make a live-action Barbie movie, the first since the doll’s launch in 1959.

“Barbie is the most famous doll in history, a unique cultural icon in the world of brands,” Universal Pictures chairman Marc Shmuger told Variety. “So many representations of Barbie frequent pop culture, but never before has she been brought to life in a motion picture. We’re grateful to Mattel for entrusting us with this extraordinary opportunity.”

Mattel has been famously protective of Barbie’s image over the years and has pursued several lawsuits over its use.

There have been 16 direct-to-video, animated titles but never a live-action feature. In the past several years, Barbie has expanded her brand and kept up with the times by moving into online ventures such as Twitter, Facebook and a YouTube channel.

Asked why there had never before been a live action feature, Mattel Senior Vice President Richard Dickson told Variety the brand wasn’t ready for a movie before. Dickson is one of the films executive producers, along with Rob Hudnut, who is vice president of Entertainment for Barbie. The brand managers will, of course, be very much involved in determining how the doll is portrayed. 

The next step, according to producer Laurence Mark (‘Julie & Julia’), is to start looking for writers and come up with a story. He said there is no shortage of plot possibilities, since Barbie has held more than 120 jobs over the years. These include art teacher, US Airforce jet pilot, UNICEF summit diplomat, lifeguard, astronaut, McDonald’s cashier and paleontologist.

No timetable has been set for production as of yet but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating about who will play the iconic doll, with ‘The House Bunny’ star Ana Faris coming out as seemingly the most popular choice.

Stephenie Meyer’s ‘The Host’ will be her next book to get  feature film adaptation.

‘The Host’ is the first adult novel by the ‘Twilight’ series author. In it, Earth has been invaded by an unseen enemy that overtakes human minds and bodies. One of the few remaining humans, Melanie Stryder, is invaded by a “soul” named Wanderer who is tasked with finding the remaining humans. But when Melanie refuses to give up her mind, she and Wanderer become unlikely allies and go off in search of the man Melanie loves.

Variety says Meyer had previously rejected offers for ‘The Host’ but producers Nick Wechsler and Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz persisted in courting the author with a significant offer and strong vision, as well as the invitation for Meyer to be a hands-on part of the project. Meyer was heavily involved in the screen adaptations of the ‘Twilight’ novels.

“We wanted Stephenie to be involved in the adaptation and have her endorse and be part of the creative decisions,” Nick Wechsler said. “Twilight” has “proven she knows more about what works than most.”

Andrew Niccol will write the script and direct. Niccol wrote and directed ‘Gattaca’ and wrote and co-produced ‘The Truman Show.’ These are reportedly two of Meyer’s favourite science fiction films.

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Diablo Cody plans to adapt ‘Sweet Valley High’ for the big screen.

The Hollywood Reporter says Universal is in negotiations to pick up the rights to the long-running book series, with Cody attached to adapt.

Cody apparently spent her formative years reading the books, which centered on the lives of the teenaged Wakefield twins, Jessica and Elizabeth, who lived in the fictional town of Sweet Valley, California. Elizabeth was the studious and serious elder of the two, by four minutes, while Jessica was the flighty and flirtatious trouble magnet. 

The young adult book series was created by Francine Pascal in 1983. Pascal and a team of ghostwriters published 152 books, with more than 60 million copies in print, between the debut and 2003. A TV series based on the books ran for four seasons, from 1994-1997, and starred real-life twins Brittany and Cynthia Daniel.

Cody will also produce, along with Mason Novick, who produced Cody’s ‘Juno’ and Marc Platt.

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Mickey Rourke is set to play the fiendishly sadistic mob hit man, Richard Kuklinski.

Kuklinski is the subject of the bestselling book ‘The Ice Man,’ by Philo Carlo. The graphic and chilling story chronicles Kuklinski’s rise as a killer and years working for the mafia, also detailing his family life with his wife and children. He is said to have murdered more than 200 people. 

Carlo told the New York Post’s Page six Rourke is perfect for the role. “He’s really looking forward to being the Ice Man, and I think he’ll do a great job,” Carlo said. “He’s talking about it being his ‘Raging Bull.’”

Page Six says Hollywood producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura did have the movie rights to the 2006 book but his option expired in August, and Carlo wouldn’t extend the deal because Di Bonaventura – producer of ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ and the upcoming Angelina Jolie thriller ‘Salt’ – wanted Channing Tatum in the title role.

Tatum has appeared in ‘She’s the Man;’ the dance/romance movie ‘Step Up;’ ‘Fighting’ and ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.’

Carlo said at the time, “I think Mickey Rourke would really be good. He’s got that sense of danger . . . But it’s not Channing Tatum.” Carlo later met with Rourke and plans got underway.

Richard Kuklinski committed his first murder at age 13 and was killing vagrants just for the fun of it before turning pro. He was arrested in 1986 and died in jail 20 years later. The death was ruled one by natural causes but the timing is considered to be suspicious as the Ice Man had been scheduled to testify against former Gambino crime family underboss Sammy “The Bull” Gravano.

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The BBC and the UK Mirror are reporting that Julia Roberts is annoying villagers in rural India.

Roberts, 41, her husband Danny Moder and their three children are staying at the luxurious Pataudi Palace, about an hour’s drive from Delhi, during the filming of ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’

The actress has apparently impressed religious leaders by dressing in traditional clothing but worshippers are less impressed by the use of their Hari Mandir temple as a film set, which they say is preventing them from celebrating the Navrati religious festival, one of the most important of the year. Navrati is marked through nine days of worship of the Goddess Durga.

The star and her family are reportedly being protected by around 350 security staff, including police, more than 100 bouncers and nearly 40 gunmen during filming. Bulletproof cars are used to chauffer Roberts to and from the set and helicopters patrol the skies.

Local police say that they are under strict orders to stop devotees from entering the temple because of security considerations.

One worshipper said, “It’s the holiest time of the year and we are being stopped from visiting our own temple. It’s outrageous.”

The film, ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ is based on the memoir of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert in which Gilbert embarks on a journey of self discovery following a divorce.

Perhaps mildly ironically due to current events, during her time spent in India, Gilbert was looking to find herself through Hindu spirituality. That’s the “Pray” part of the story. She also spent time in Italy eating and in Bali, Indonesia, looking for balance and love.

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As Disney prepares to rerelease ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Toy Story 2′ in 3D, studios are looking into their own vaults for potential 3D rereleases. And the Hollywood Reporter says insiders at Lightstorm Entertainment suggest it will be less than a year before a three dimensional ‘Titanic’ is announced.

“We are certainly interested in exploring the opportunity to rerelease some of Lightstorm’s past films in 3D,” Lightstorm partner Jon Landau told THR. “I don’t think it’s too far into the future. We’re pretty far down the road.”

Lightstorm has reportedly done 3D tests on James Cameron’s two most successful movies, ‘Titanic’ and ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day.’

Studios are treading carefully, as the cost of conversion is significant. But more classics are expected to get an eventual rerelease including the ‘Star Wars’ movies. Some studios are expected to follow suit when the technology becomes available for home entertainment which may be only five years down the road.

“I know we’re all watching this to see if there’s something there,” Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco told THR. “The uniqueness of 3D definitely brings something different to the table. But right now it’s wait and see.”

Disney will release the 3D versions of the 1995 original ‘Toy Story’ and its 1999 sequel Oct. 2 on about 1,600 screens. ‘Toy Story 3,’ also in 3D, is scheduled for a June 18 release.

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The core cast has been set for “The Social Network,” a drama about the formation of Facebook.

Variety says Jesse Eisenberg will play founder Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake will play Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became Facebook’s founding president, and Andrew Garfield will play Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who fell out with Zuckerberg as the social network exploded in popularity. 

The Columbia release is directed by David Fincher and the script was penned by Aaron Sorkin. Kevin Spacey is executive producer.  The pic focuses on the evolution of Facebook, the social network created by Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, and how overnight success and wealth changes the lives of the classmates who created it.

Facebook began as a spin-off of Harvard’s version of the site Hot or Not on which users are invited to rank a subject’s level of attractiveness. The Harvard version was called Facesmash. Facebook is now reportedly the most used social networking site in the world with an estimated 300 million users and an implied value of $15 billion dollars, based on the price of portions sold.

Production on the film will begin next month in Boston.

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