Ever since Die Hard changed the face of action cinema in 1988, studios have been trying to recreate that success on the big screen. Aside from the three Die Hard sequels (with a fourth on the way), there were movies that took the concept of a hero being trapped in one environment and ran it into the ground with films like like Passenger 57 (Die Hard on a plane), Speed (Die Hard on a bus), Speed 2: Cruise Control (Die Hard on a cruise ship), and The Rock (Die Hard on an island). That trend seemed to vanish in Hollywood for a while, but in the past few days, two separate studios have purchased scripts that could herald the start of a new cycle. Read on to find out about these projects.

First, The Hollywood Reporter has a story that Sony has purchased a script for a movie called White House Down from screenwriter James Vanderbilt. Nothing is really known about the plot, other than the aforementioned tonal connection to Die Hard and the Harrison Ford action flick Air Force One. Vanderbilt wrote The Amazing Spider-Man for Sony, so they’ve clearly formed a solid working relationship. His other credits include the Dwayne Johnson/Seann William Scott film The Rundown, David Fincher’s Zodiac, the upcoming Total Recall (the trailer for which just hit this weekend), and a rewrite of the upcoming RoboCop film for Jose Padilha.

And today, Deadline reported that Universal has bought a pitch from Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer for a film called Speeding Bullet, which is being described as “a throwback to the Die Hard-esque 90s buddy cop movie.” Friedman and Palmer are apparently working on a remake of the Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner film The Bodyguard for Warner Bros.

Again, we’re still in the early stages on both of these, so we’ll see how they shape up. Remember: Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood was once called Nottingham and was supposed to be told completely from the sheriff’s point of view, so projects can change drastically from their initial versions to when they finally hit the big screen. What do you think about the return of the Die Hard concept to action movies? Do you want to see more, or would you rather this “trend” stop at two?

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For the past few years, viral marketing has become increasingly popular with blockbusters and small-budget films alike, and it’s hard not to see why considering it gives an audience a fun and interactive way to get more out of the story, creating a unique experience.

For example, the film Cloverfield gave us both encrypted videos, fake news stories, and mysterious websites, allowing the viewer to piece together both the plot and origins of the monster that was otherwise not seen in the actual film, giving it a more realistic feeling.

We’ve even seen it used in The Dark Knight, as well as The Dark Knight Rises, using videos, websites, and fake news stories (see a pattern here?) rewarding those seeking more details early reveals of footage or even the first appearance of the villain.

Well keeping up with that trend is Sony, who has continued the viral marketing campaign for The Amazing Spider-Man, this time in the form as a newscast from the Daily Bugle.

You can check it out below:

So something new you should have caught on before even finishing the video is that instead of a newspaper, the Daily Bugle has now been updated into a TV Station and instead of J. Jonah Jameson as the heckler, we now have Captain Stacey. Sure we had a few hints to this, but the video confirms how different this new Spider-Man film is really going to be.

The video does a great job of setting up how important the public’s reaction to the image of Spider-Man is to the overall plot (a la The Dark Knight) and the new take on The Daily Bugle does a more effective job of this for a new generation rather than just a written news story and a few pictures would.

The video also gives a new website to explore for all that viral-y goodness, Webbedmenace.com. On it is a wanted poster of Spider-Man that harkens back to some of the original stories of the comic books from Steve Ditko and Stan Lee, which is definitely worth checking out all on its own.

If that wasn’t enough, you can also submit your own Spider-Man sighting in video or picture form. With the viral campaign going very strong, it’s good to see that The Amazing Spider-Man is continuing to explore new ideas while still staying faithful to the comics and not resorting to just another rehashing of a story already told.

The Amazing Spider-Man hits theaters on July 3rd, 2012.

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A few weeks ago, following the death of Apple Co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, Sony acquired the movie rights to an authorised biography by CNN chairman and Time Magazine managing editor Walter Isaacson who interviewed Jobs 40 times over the space of two years. Isaacson also interviewed family members, friends, colleagues and fans.

Mark Gordon (Saving Private Ryan) is producing, and in their search for a screenwriter Sony has gone for an obvious choice. Aaron Sorkin, writer of The Social Network and Moneyball.

The L.A Times says Sorkin is “considering the prospect”, but he is just “one of the writers being courted by producers”. Sorkin actually knew Steve Jobs, which could make him decide against writing the movie, or he could take it on in memory of the Apple co-founder.

The biography, which was published October 24, is described as “a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur, whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionised six industries – personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing and digital publishing”.

As well as co-founding Apple Steve Jobs also served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios and became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. Jobs actually asked Sorkin to write a Pixar movie but he declined, saying he couldn’t “make inanimate objects talk.” Perhaps he’ll find writing a movie about Jobs himself a little easier.

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Following the death of Apple Co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs earlier this week there has been a considerable amount of interest in the book Steve Jobs, an authorised biography by CNN chairman and Time Magazine managing editor Walter Isaacson who interviewed Jobs 40 times over the space of two years. Isaacson also interviewed family members, friends, colleagues and fans.

Since Jobs’ passing the book has risen from 437 to 1 on Amazon’s bestseller list on pre-orders alone, and also topped the list of iTunes’ bestsellers. Now Deadline reports that Sony Pictures “is making a deal to acquire feature rights” to the book.

Sony was behind David Fincher’s Oscar-nominated movie The Social Network which followed the founding of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg, so they’ve produced movies on a similar topic before. Mark Gordon (Saving Private Ryan) will produce if the deal closes.

The biography, which has been pushed forward from November 21 to October 24 by publisher Simon & Schuster, is described as “a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur, whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionised six industries – personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing and digital publishing”.

As well as co-founding Apple Steve Jobs also served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios and became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney.

A movie based on the life of Steve Jobs will need the same care and attention as The Social Network received. David Fincher directing would be an obvious choice, but i’m sure there are a number of other directors who could produce a high quality film. Hopefully they wait a while and give people time to mourn before hiring anyone. This isn’t a movie that needs to be rushed.

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Due to the billion dollar success of Alice in Wonderland last year studios are now throwing money at any re-imagining/reboot/remake of classic literature that comes their way. We have 3 Snow White movies in development, Sam Raimi’s Oz, The Great and Powerful, Tim Burton’s Maleficent, and now we can add another to that list. Peter Pan.

Last week Heat Vision reported that Channing Tatum and his production company came up with the idea for a dark re-imagining of Peter Pan, so they took it to Alice in Wonderland producer Joe Roth. He liked it, and together with The Hunger Games screenwriter Billy Ray they developed the idea and pitched it to studios.

Now according to Deadline “Sony Pictures is in negotiations to acquire Pan, which will be scripted as a starring vehicle for Channing Tatum.” While I admire Tatum’s skills for spotting a trend in the market and making an opportunity for himself, I doubt many would have him as their first choice to play Peter Pan (if that is who he intends to play. I doubt it’s Captain Hook).

Enforcement of Tatum as Peter Pan aside, a “dark re-imagining of Peter Pan” does sound quite cool, although we’ll have to see who they bring on-board to direct before making too many assumptions. According to Heat Vision the movie envisions “Pan and Captain Hook as brothers.”

Producer Joe Roth is responsible for all of these updated classics as he producing Oz: The Great and Powerful, Snow White and the Huntsman, and now Peter Pan, so if you have an idea for a dark and gritty Bambi reboot you want to get made he’s your guy to call.

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Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot is gearing up for production and meanwhile his star Andrew Garfield is on his way to becoming a household name. With solid performances in both Never Let Me Go and The Social Network, indifference toward the 27-year-old’s casting as Peter Parker is slowly turning toward interest.

Now, Deadline brings word of some actresses up for the role of Spidey’s love interest: Dianna Agron (“Glee”) and Georgina Haig (Wasted on the Young) join the already-listed Emma Stone (Easy A), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), and Dominique McElligott (Moon). There’s also a really interesting bit about a potential recasting of Venom. Find out the latest after the jump.

Before we move into Venom discussion, I should mention that the women listed above are not specified for any particular roles. That means any of them could be in contention for Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, or perhaps a completely original personality created for this film. My take? I’d love to see Emma Stone as MJ and Dianna Agron as Gwen Stacy. (Assuming they can’t bring the gorgeous Bryce Dallas Howard back to reprise her role.)

The role of Venom/Eddie Brock is a key rival to Peter Parker in the Spider-Man mythology. Brock and Parker are constantly in competition – not only in their love lives, but also professionally as freelance photographers at the Daily Bugle. Topher Grace portrayed the character in Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, and in a casting decision that will make your head spin, Deadline presents “early unconfirmed talk” that Sony is considering Philip Seymour Hoffman as a replacement. This is a wildly off-base decision that I can’t possibly get behind. Hoffman is a great actor, for sure – but Venom? No way. The dynamic between the characters will be completely thrown off because of the age difference (Garfield is 27, Hoffman is 43).

Now it’s your turn: give me your dream casting scenario in the comment section. No holds barred: it doesn’t have to be just the people mentioned above – let’s open the floor to all suggestions. Who would you like to see?

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We heard that Sony may be aiming for a late 2010 start following the casting of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man last month, and now SHH has learned that the reboot will begin filming in December in Los Angeles.

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy also filmed parts of the movie in Los Angeles, with New York City as the main shooting location. No word yet on whether Marc Webb’s reboot will be filming in New York too, but I would imagine so given that Peter Parker lives there. There are budget and access issues to deal with in New York though, which is why Sony can’t shoot there exclusively.

With around 5 months left before cameras roll we should be hearing casting news on the villain, Mary-Jane Watson and Aunt May soon. It’ll be tough to find a replacement for J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, but if they make the character more serious as opposed to just being the comic relief it may aid the transition.

Who do you want to join the cast alongside Andrew Garfield?

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Deadline are reporting that Sony is edging closer to finding its new Peter Parker, having viewed the screen tests of most of the young actors they are seriously considering.

Jamie Bell, Logan Lerman, Anton Yelchin, Aaron Johnson, Andrew Garfield and Alden Ehrenreich are all said to be in contention. Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) may have ruled himself out as he is expected to attend London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art later this year.

Out of the names above i’d go for either Jame Bell or Anton Yelchin, but that’s mainly because i’m familiar with them. For all we know relative unknowns Andrew Garfield and Alden Ehrenreich could have knocked their screen tests out of the park.

Sony wants to lock in its Spider-Man soon so that supporting roles can be cast around him. Production will begin before the end of the year with a July 3, 2012 release date set. The script by Jamie Vanderbilt is still being worked on, and (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb is gearing up for a 3D shoot.

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Just over a week ago we heard that Jamie Bell, along with other actors such as Frank Dillane and Josh Hutchinson, was up for the role of Peter Parker in the upcoming Marc Webb-directed Spider-Man reboot. Well today Bleeding Cool are reporting that they have “received repeated reports that Sony have settled on their new Spider-Man”, and that Jamie Bell is the man.

The 24 year old British actor made a name for himself as Billy Elliot and went on to star in Peter Jackson’s King Kong, Defiance and Jumper. He also portrayed Tintin for Steven Spielberg, although the film won’t be released until December 2011.

Out of all the actors on the list Bell was the one I would have gone for (he’s the only I was familiar with), so if he gets the role I’d be happy. Some fans may not be keen about having a British Peter Parker, but we’ve got a British Batman and an Australian Wolverine so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

What would your thoughts be if Bell was confirmed as the new Spider-Man?

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We haven’t heard much on the Spider-Man reboot for a while, although Sony are still aiming to start shooting later this year and according to HeatVision they have hired Alvin Sargent to fine-tune the script.

Sargent, who turned 83 last month, did uncredited rewrite work on the first Spider-Man movie and shared credit on Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. He was also working on the Spider-Man 4 script before Sony cancelled it, so its safe to say Sargent knows his stuff when it comes to Peter Parker.

Zodiac writer James Vanderbilt penned the original draft, which he wrote at the same time Spidey 4 was in production (Sony needed a back-up plan as it was looking likely that 4 wasn’t going to happen).

Marc Webb will begin pre-production on the reboot shortly, so expect casting announcements and other news over the upcoming months.

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