Author: Robert Greenberger

After visiting Camelot, director John Boorman (Excalibur)  has decided to take a trip to see the Wizard.  He has signed to direct a CGI-animated adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The film is budgeted at $25 million, according to Variety, and marks Boorman’s first animated project. The script will be a collaboration between Boorman, Rom Mita and Jim McClain. The project is already in development and they anticipate inviting audiences along for the ride during the summer of 2010.

Adaptations of the children’s book series have been around since the first motion pictures, best known for the 1939 musical starring Judy Garland. The adventures of Dorothy Gale and her companions have been continued in countless novels, comic books, movies, and television.  The most recent incarnation was Sci Fi’s celebrated Tinman miniseries last December.

A new comic book adaptation is coming in December from Marvel, written by Eric Shanower, who has previously adapted the material, and illustrated by Skottie Young.
 

Jack Black will tower over his co-stars in the remake of Gulliver’s Travels.  The 20th-Century Fox film, according to Variety, will be directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) with a screenplay from Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Joe Stillman (Shrek).

Lemuel Gulliver, a free-spirited travel writer who, on an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious, yet tiny, people.

Jonathan Swift’s 1726 satirical tale is formally known as Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several Ships and was modified by the author in 1735.

The classic has been adapted previously, most notably by the Fleischer Bros. Studios in 1939. The most recent version was a 1996 miniseries which starred Ted Danson. Ross Martin and Richard Harris have also played the character. He was played by Bernard Horsfall in the 1968 serial, “The Mind Robber” on Doctor Who.

Shooting will begin in March with the studio planning a 2010 release date.

E!’s Kristin dos Santos writes, “I’ve just been told by reliable insiders at NBC that Heroes most likely will replace Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander with at least one new writer-producer, and one of the names being tossed around is Bryan Fuller, the creative genius who served as a consulting producer for the first half of the first season.

“The upside? This would be nothing short of awesome, as Fuller’s Heroes episodes were some of the strongest ever. If anyone can save this show, he can.

“The downside? One would assume this could only happen if Fuller’s current obligation, Pushing Daisies (which he created), does not get picked up, which would be a heart-breaking TV tragedy. Though perhaps he could do both Heroes and Daisies and double the awesomeness in our living rooms? A girl can dream…”

Fuller is known for his inventive shows Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and now, Pushing Daisies. Having started writing for Star Trek: Deep Space 9, he has also publically discussed his desire to produce a new Trek the television series.

Meantime, Entertainent Weekly is reporting that Justin Baldoni (Everwood) will play Alex, a Southern California surfer dude who works at a comic book store for at least two episodes during the Fourth Act, "Fugitives".

War of the Gods has cast Henry Cavill (The Tudors) to headline the cast.  According to Variety, he will portray Theseus. Tarsem Singh (The Cell) is directing the film from a script by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides for Relativity Media.

Meantime, the competing Warner Bros. remake of Clash of the Titans, with a script from Lawrence Kasdan, is said to be negotiating with Terminator Salvation-star Sam Worthington for the part of Perseus.  The remake of the 1981 Ray Harryhausen film is to be directed by Louis Leterrier (Incredible Hulk).

Both movies are expected to begin production within the next four months and both announced intentions to follow the 300 model with principal photography relying heavily on the green screen process to allow sets to be digitally created.  As a result, both movies are said to be budgeted below $100 million.

All that Greek mythology you read in school will come in handy as you sit through not one, but two feature films using the Olympian Gods and Goddesses. On June 26, both films were annoucned in the trades with one porject suddenyl split asunder. Warner Bros. was initially interested in something god-like and at one point was tempted by Relativity’s War of the Gods. Instead, Warners proved fickle and instead partnered with Legendary Pictures for the Clash remake.  The script from Lawrence Kasdan has been done for a while. They finally gave the project a green light when Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier signed on.

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Harry Knowles at Ain’t it Cool News provided his site with additional information regarding the just-announced remake of Forbidden Planet.

The movie, to be written by J. Michael Straczynski and produced by Joel Silver will be more a sequel than remake.  The presumption is that Altair 4 did not blow up at the end of the Fred M. Wilcox/Cyril Hume classic.

The report goes on to say that the look will be that of an "enormous, giant, retro sci-fi movie"; likely retaining the original designs.  All concerned have confirmed that the beloved Robby the Robot will return with his design unaltered.

Meantime, Straczynski confirmed that he has just finished a rewrite to the Thor script for director Kenneth Branagh.

Stephen Stohn reveals on his Alexz  Johnson fansite that she will portray Saturn Girl on Smallville.  The eleventh episode this season, written by Geoff Johns, will introduce Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Cosmic Boy as visiting Clark Kent from their thirtieth century home. This is a direct adaptation of their legendary first appearance in 1958’s Adventure Comics #247.

Sohn wrote, “Yes, to answer questions that people keep asking me about: the rumors that Alexz is guest-starring in the long-awaited ‘Legion’ episode of Smallville are true… she is filming this episode as she awaits the final mix of what may be the final song for her album…"

The episode will most likely run in December but has not been officially announced nor has the casting for the other Legionnaires. Over at IGN, Johns this week said the flight rings will be in evidence but not their traditional comic book togs. It also happens to be one of the few episodes to feature Kristin Kreuk’s Lana Lang, taking place one show after the Chloe Sullivan /Jimmy Olsen wedding, airing November 20. Johns described one of her scenes as "powerful" and "heartfelt".

"I love who they have playing the Legion,” Johns said without naming name. “They look great. I’ll talk more about them when they’re announced. But they freaking rock. Legion rings, the villain’s weapon — holy shit, wait until you see him — ‘Grife!, they are the Legion."

And who is Alexz Johnson?  She’s a singer/songwriter who has been nominated for Canada’s Gemini acting awards, winning for the first time in October. She has been seen in Final Destination 3 and So Weird plus was the lead in Canada’s teen drama Instant Star.