Harry Potter star Rupert Grint continues his journey to transition into more adult fare at the movies. He’s dabbled in some other projects in between trips to Hogwarts, but now that the series has come to a close, he can start really pushing himself as an actor. Variety reports that Grint has signed on to two smaller films, CBGB opposite Potter co-star Alan Rickman and The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman with Shia LaBeouf.

CBGB tells the story of the real-life club in New York City and traces the impact of the club on music and culture. Rickman plays the club owner, and Grint will play Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys, an influential punk rock group active in the late 1970s.

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman stars LaBeouf and is slowly becoming one of my most anticipated movies of next year. Here’s the synopsis:

Charlie Countryman (LaBeouf) was just a normal guy…until he fell in love with the one girl who will probably get him killed.  When Charlie meets the absolutely irresistible Gabi she’s already been claimed by Nigel, an insanely violent crime boss with a gang of thugs at his disposal.  Armed with little more than his wit and naïve charm, Charlie endures one bruising beat down after another to woo Gabi and keep her out of harm’s way.  Finally his exploits of blind valor create such a mess that he’s left with only one way out; to save the girl of his dreams, must Charlie Countryman die?

No word yet on what part Grint will play in that one, but I’m looking forward to seeing him mix it up with some solid actors in both of these films. Both movies are tentatively set for 2013 releases.

Read similar posts to Rupert Grint joins CBGB and Charlie Countryman on Filmonic

We last heard about Shadow of the Colossus, a movie based on the popular video game, way back in 2010 when word came out that it would be in 3D. I thought the project was dead, but it appears that the studio simply needed to find the right director. Deadline reports that Sony has signed Chronicle director Josh Trank to bring the video game to the big screen. More after the jump.

I’ve never played the game, but Deadline has a pretty good description of it:

The protagonist is a young man who thinks his lover has died. Desperate to bring her back, he heads into a forbidden land, and summons a demon who can wake the dead. The price for bringing back his girl: slay 16 colossi that dominate this mystical place. These are skyscraper-sized giants that rise from the ground, fly through the air and come from the water. As the young man works through his quest on horseback, he begins to wonder if he is on a noble pursuit to bring back his lover, or perhaps has made a deal with the devil and is being used.

(Let it be known: “colossi” is my new favorite word.)

Trank has been a fan of the franchise since it came out in 2005, and he apparently has been campaigning for the director’s chair on this movie because he loves the property so much. It’s good to hear he’s got passion, because this sounds like one hell of an ambitious movie and it needs somebody who really cares about the material instead of just turning into another Clash of the Titans .

Chronicle cost around $13 million and made $124 million worldwide, so it stands to reason that Sony would be interested in giving Trank a shot at a project with a bigger scope. Trank has been linked to a bunch of other projects, including The Red Star, Venom, and a Fantastic Four reboot.

Have you played Shadow of the Colossus? Let us know in the comments if you think Trank is the right fit for a movie version.

Read similar posts to Shadow of the Colossus movie gets Chronicle director Josh Trank on Filmonic

In a move that has shocked the movie blog community, Paramount has decided to bump G.I. Joe: Retaliation from June 29th, 2012, all the way back to March 29, 2013, to do a massive post-conversion process to 3D. More info below.

Deadline broke the news, and they have a quote from a Paramount executive that gives a reason for the delay:

We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally.

Wow. I’m not going to call this a stupid decision on Paramount’s part because they very well could end up making more money in a less-crowded blockbuster year like 2013, especially early in the year and with the added 3D ticket prices. But I will say that it’s one of the most blatant cash grabs I’ve seen in a long time. It’s not like the 3D boom is a recent fad – they had plenty of time to make this decision beforehand, and chose not to. Now, after half of the marketing has been done and the film barely a month away from release, they’re bumping it? As my friend Ethan at FirstShowing points out, there are toys already on the shelves! Kids are going to have to wait another year to see this? Bad form, Paramount.

What do you think about this decision? Smart? Stupid? Sound off in the comments.

Read similar posts to G.I. Joe: Retaliation pushed back to March 2013 for 3D conversion on Filmonic

John Kennedy Toole’s novel “A Confederacy of Dunces” became a cult classic upon its release in 1980, eleven years after the author’s suicide. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the next year, and a film version was put in the works shortly afterward. Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis was once set to go behind the camera with John Belushi starring, but the actor’s death brought the production to a halt. Years later, John Candy and Chris Farley were both in talks to play the lead role of Ignatius J. Reilly at various points, but they both tragically died early deaths as well.

As recently as 2005, Will Ferrell was attached to star in a film version of the story for director David Gordon Green, but that too fell apart. Now it appears Ferrell’s co-star in The Campaign, Zach Galifianakis, is the latest actor in talks to bring the iconic character to life.

Vulture reports that Galifianakis is attached to star for The Muppets director and “Flight of the Conchords” co-creator James Bobin. Cedar Rapids writer Phil Johnston is set to pen the script, so it looks like things could finally come together for this project. Sounds like a good group of talented individuals to me, so we’ll see if they can get things situated with the studio; mega-producer Scott Rudin is producing for Paramount Pictures.

I haven’t read this book, but I remember everyone getting really excited for the Ferrell movie version a few years back, and obviously nothing ever came of it. Have you read the book? Would this make a good film?

Read similar posts to A Confederacy of Dunces may move forward with Zach Galifianakis on Filmonic

I’m guessing Aerosmith won’t be too happy about this title, but The Hollywood Reporter says that Natalie Portman is all set to star in a western for director Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin) called Jane Got A Gun. Based on a Black List script (one of the best unproduced screenplays of the year), the story “centers on a woman whose outlaw husband returns home barely alive and riddled with bullet wounds. She is forced to reach out to an ex-lover and ask if he will help defend her farm when her husband’s gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job.” More below.

This sounds pretty fantastic to me, not only because I adore Natalie Portman and think she’s an excellent actress, but because it might signal a return of the modern western into popular consciousness again. Just yesterday I wrote about how Tom Cruise is attached to star in a remake of The Magnificent Seven, so with huge A-list talent like this showing interest in a genre that has struggled to connect with our tech-savvy, fast-paced modern audiences, I’m hoping this will open the door for a lot of other cool projects that wouldn’t have been considered before.

It’s also cool that Portman is trying to work with female directors, which are sadly a rare breed in today’s market. Portman was famously not pleased with Marvel when they eventually parted ways with potential Thor 2 director Patty Jenkins, so I’m really hoping Jane Got A Gun comes together quickly and is very successful for all involved. I also think the role of the ex-lover would be perfect for LOST and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol actor Josh Holloway, but that’s just fantasy casting on my part. Who else would you like to see alongside Portman in this western?

Read similar posts to Natalie Portman to star in western Jane Got A Gun on Filmonic

Steven Spielberg’s Hook is one of my favorite movies of all time. I watched it so many times when I was a kid, I can’t even look at it objectively anymore. (We talked about it on an episode of my podcast, which you can listen to here.) Spielberg put a new spin on the Peter Pan at a time when “reboot” was a word that was just associated with computers, and I unabashedly still love that movie.

Dante Basco, who played Rufio in the film, apparently feels the same way. In an interview with Crave Online, Basco revealed that he’s going to be producing a Hook prequel that tells the origin story of his famous Mohawk-wearing character. More below.

Here’s what he had to say:

Actually there’s a film in development, the Rufio film, where a hotshot group of kids from the East Coast graduated and they wrote this whole script, the prequel to Hook and it’s the Rufio story…I’m attached to produce so that’s actually in development right now which’ll be cool, a Rufio for a whole new generation.

He says he won’t be acting in the project, but he’ll be looking for another Filipino actor to take on his iconic Lost Boy role. Apparently the idea from the script came from a play that the writers put together:

Yes, the storyline is crazy actually. These guys have a whole storyline of how he gets the Mohawk. The whole story’s crazy. These guys came with the script, I’m like, “You guys wrote this?” Not only did they write this, they did the musical in their college. They were going to go off Broadway with it and then they lost their insurance and they came to Hollywood. If anyone saw their play it’s that, but the newer version is pretty intense. They added more action. I never saw the play but I think they added more backstory to Rufio, like how he became Rufio which I was impressed by. It’s in development.

Since I love Hook so much, I’m really fascinated with the concept of seeing a prequel set in that same Never Land world. The production design on Spielberg’s movie was tremendous, and hopefully this filmmaking team can secure a big enough budget to generate the same effect. I know a lot of people out there despise Hook and think it’s one of Spielberg’s worst movies, so where do you fall on it? Are you a fan, and do you think this prequel is a good idea?

Read similar posts to Dante Basco plans a Rufio prequel to Hook on Filmonic

In an announcement sure to rile up fans of the original, Variety is reporting that MGM is developing a remake of their classic western The Magnificent Seven and none other than Tom Cruise is attached to star. Could the success of the superhero team-up movie The Avengers have a little something to do with this decision? It’s fairly likely. More information after the jump.

Cruise has got a ton of projects on his plate right now, including All You Need is Kill, Oblivion, a Van Helsing reboot, Mission: Impossible 5, and possibly even A Star is Born, so this one is definitely a few years away if it even comes together at all. There’s no director attached yet, and the studio has just put the call out for writers, so it’s still up in the air whether or not this will ever see the light of day.

The original movie starred Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, and Horst Buchholz, and like I said, I’m guessing the “team” elements of The Avengers have studios seeing dollar signs. With a big name like Cruise leading the pack, could they possibly pull together other non-Avengers A-listers to make the western popular again?

Time will tell, but for now, there’s only one question that matters: is Cruise going to do one of his famous running scenes dressed in cowboy boots?

Read similar posts to Tom Cruise attached to star in remake of The Magnificent Seven on Filmonic

British author Ian Fleming was just as interesting as the character he created – maybe even more interesting, because Fleming was a real person and James Bond is a work of fiction. Looks like we’re about to find out just how close Fleming was to his creation, because Variety reports that Source Code director Duncan Jones is taking the helm of Fleming, a biopic devoted to the man who spent years as a spy himself before creating the world’s most famous fictional superspy. More information below.

Here’s what Jones told Variety:

“Fleming lived through one of the most perilous periods in world history, in a position that allowed him a unique vantage point of all the players, all the stakes,” said Jones. “He witnessed true heroism first-hand. And he saw the evil men could do. Then, when the war ended, he went off to write fiction. The essential question for me is: Where did Ian Fleming end and Bond begin?”

With Jones’ excellent eye behind the camera, and with Fleming’s action-packed lifestyle, I’m sure this will end up being far more entertaining than your average biopic. I’m a big Bond fan and have never really researched his creator until today, but I’m going to hold off and let Jones tell me his version of those stories when Fleming comes to theaters. It’s also interesting to note that Leonardo DiCaprio was once attached to star in a separate film of the same name and subject matter, but Jones is working on the casting now and hasn’t officially cast anyone in his version yet. Anyone else excited for this?

Read similar posts to Duncan Jones will direct biopic of Bond creator Ian Fleming on Filmonic

A new Highlander film has been in the works for a few years now, with one-time Bioshock director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo at the helm. Nothing has really happened with it, but it appears that the project just got a shot in the arm because Variety reports that talks have begun with Ryan Reynolds to take on the role of the immortal swordsman. More information after the jump.

The original 1986 film starred Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, and is one of those movies that is a cult classic arguably for being “so bad, it’s good.” Summit and Lionsgate are behind the reboot of the property, and seem keen on Reynolds based on his previous showmanship with a blade in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and his long-discussed Deadpool spinoff. Reynolds also used a sword in Blade: Trinity if I recall correctly, so he definitely knows what he’s doing at this point.

Nothing is signed yet, and Reynolds could eventually walk away from this project in favor of something else, but what do you think about the potential casting? Would you be interested in seeing a Highlander reboot with Reynolds holding the sword?

Read similar posts to Ryan Reynolds could be the next Highlander on Filmonic

A little over a month ago, we heard that Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake were co-starring in a gambling movie called Runner Runner directed by The Lincoln Lawyer helmer Brad Furman. It’s about a Princeton student (Timberlake) who is cheated out of his tuition by the billionaire owner of an online poker site (Affleck), and when the student flies to Costa Rica to get his money back, he gets sucked further into that world and becomes the billionaire’s protege. Variety reports that Anthony Mackie has also signed on, adding to the excellent cast and making me even more interested in how this film turns out.

Mackie will play an FBI agent who’s been hunting Affleck’s character for years and needs Timberlake’s help with the takedown. Project X star Oliver Cooper has also joined the cast, and will be playing an Ivy League computer geek who works for Affleck’s company.

I’m embarrassed to say it took me this long to realize why the film is actually called Runner Runner, and no – they’re not talking about sprinting: in poker terminology, the phrase “runner runner” is used to describe the last two cards that come down after the flop if they aid a player in miraculously receiving a good hand. I really enjoyed The Lincoln Lawyer, and since this script is written by the guys who wrote Rounders, I’m excited to see what Furman can do with the story and this A-list cast he’s putting together.

Read similar posts to Anthony Mackie joins Affleck and Timberlake in Runner Runner on Filmonic