Eye on Film: Jan. 25 - Jan. 31

EYE ON FILM
Jan 25-Jan 31 2007

Exec/Studio Shuffle:

Universal Pictures – Lawrence Grey is finalizing an agreement to join as vp production; was most recently vp at Fox Atomic.

BermanBraun – production venture, currently in formative stage, formed by former Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman and former Yahoo! Media Group chief Lloyd Braun; company aims to focus primarily on TV and film production at the outset but will delve into original content for Internet and emerging media platforms.

20th Century Fox – Hutch Parker has been upped to vice chairman of 20th Century Fox Film Group and will now be overseeing both 20th Century Fox and Fox Animation; Vanessa Morrison has been upped to president of Fox Animation; Emma Watts and Alex Young to serve as co-prexies of production at 20th Century Fox; Debbie Liebling is moving from exec VP of production at 20th Century Fox to president of production at Fox Atomic.

DreamWorks Animation – Aardman, the British claymation giant, has officially terminated its five-picture deal with DreamWorks.

New Movies:

“Australia” – 20th Century Fox; dir. by Baz Luhrmann; David Wenham to appear opposite Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman; shooting begins in April in northern Australia.

“NowhereLand” – Paramount Pictures, Lorenzo di Bonaventura; scripted by Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson; no dir. attached yet; starring vehicle for Eddie Murphy; studio has greenlit the film for a summer start.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks” – Fox 2000 and Fox Animation; Bagdasarian Prods., Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman; Tim Hill in negotiations to direct.

“Lions for Lambs” – United Artists; dir. by Robert Redford; Derek Luke set to star joining cast that includes Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Redford and Michael Pena.

“Le Voyeur”

– Columbia Pictures; Overbrook Entertainment, Will Smith and James Lassiter; written by Massy Tadjedin.

“The Emperor’s Children” – Universal Pictures; Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer; novel by Claire Messud; Ron Howard is currently eyeing it as a potential directing vehicle.

“Semi-Pro” – New Line; Will Arnett is joining the cast re-teaming with Will Ferrell.

“Made of Honor” – Columbia Pictures; Paul Weiland to direct; stars Patrick Dempsey.

“Walk Hard” – Columbia Pictures; written by Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan; dir. by Kasdan; Jenna Fischer to star alongside John C. Reily.

“Big Brothers” – Universal Pictures, Mary Parent and Scott Stuber; Wide Awake, Luke Greenfield; dir. by Greenfield; Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott signed on to star.

“Cleaner” – Millennium Films; Anonymous Content; dir. by Renny Harlin; Eva Mendes and Christa Campbell joining cast toplined by Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris and Keke Palmer; filming has already begun in Louisiana.

“Doomsday” – Rogue Pictures, Alex Heineman; Crystal Sky Pictures, Steven Paul and Benedict Carver; Intrepid Pictures, Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans; written and dir. by Neil Marshall; Bob Hoskins joining cast which includes Alexander Siddig, Adrian Lester, Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Emma Cleasby, Chris Robson, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone, Leslie Simpsons and Craig Conway.

“The Killer Inside Me” – Cyclone Prods., Robert Weinbach; Muse Film Prods., Chris Hanley; dir. by Marc Rocco; written by Weinbach; filming to start in fall subject to casting.

“The School” – Universal Pictures, Brian Grazer; Imagine Entertainment; Oliver Hirschbiegel set to direct; Braulio Mantovani (“City of God”) to write script.

“Harold & Kumar 2” – New Line Cinema, Greg Shapiro and Nathan Kahane; Mandate Pictures, Kelli Konop and Nicole Brown; dir. by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, writers of the original “Harold & Kumar.”