Fraggle Movie Moves Forward

"The Weinstein Co. will turn the Jim Henson series 'Fraggle Rock' into a live-action musical feature.

Cory Edwards, who directed the animated 'Hoodwinked!' for TWC, will helm the picture and write the screenplay. The Jim Henson Co. will produce and TWC will distribute.

Just like the series, the film will be populated by a mix of human characters and Fraggle Rock puppets. TWC co-chair Harvey Weinstein, who has been steering his company more aggressively into the family film arena, made the marriage with Lisa Henson, who runs JHC with her co-CEO brother, Brian Henson."

If you want to read the rest of Michael Fleming's Variety article, click here.

Trek Now An '09 Release

VARIETY: 'Star Trek' pushed back to 2009
Paramount shuffles major releases
By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK
Posted: Wed., Feb. 13, 2008, 5:43pm PT

Paramount is pushing back the release of J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" from Dec. 25 to May 8, 2009, saying the pic's gross potential is greater as a summer tentpole.

Move was part of a major reshuffling to the studio's release calendar, as well as to DreamWorks' release sked. A second key change: DreamWorks' 2008 Ben Stiller summer comedy "Tropic Thunder" is moving from July 11 to Aug. 15.

That's likely to mean that another film will take "Tropic's" old spot on July 11, particularly since there is such a dearth of broad comedies in the May-July stretch.

Like Par, many of the majors are likely to revisit their release skeds in the wake of the writers' strike as they try to balance out their 2008 and 2009 calendars.

"Star Trek" has no competition in its new slot -- at least not so far, although it opens one week after 20th Century Fox bows "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and one week before Sony is slated to bow sequel "Angels and Demons."

Paramount also dated two titles. Martin Scorsese's Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer "Shutter Island" will be released Oct. 2, 2009.

An untitled comedy produced by Marlon and Shawn Wayans will be released on Feb. 9, 2009. Their brother Damon Wayans is directing from a script the three co-wrote with two other family members. Par is keeping the logline under wraps.

Here are the other release changes to Par's sked:

* Eddie Murphy family pic "Nowhereland" is moving from Sept. 26, 2008, to June 12, 2009.

* Renee Zellweger horror-thriller "Case 39" is moving from Aug. 22, 2008, to April 10, 2009.

* David Fincher's Brad Pitt starrer "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is moving from Nov. 26, 2008, to Dec. 19, 2008.

In addition to the new date for "Tropic Thunder," DreamWorks and Par announced that Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet "Revolutionary Road" will be distributed by Par Vantage, and not the studio proper.

TV Guide Movie OTD: The Greatest American Hero

PRODUCTIONCHARTS.COM: The Greatest American Hero
STATUS: July 2008
LOCATION: Arizona
PRODUCER: Stephen J. Cannell - Michael Dubelko
DIRECTOR: Stephen Herek
WRITER: Chris Matheson - Ryan Rowe

Based on the ABC-TV series which ran from 1980 to 1983. Story concerns a nebbishy teacher who becomes a reluctant superhero after extraterrestrials give him a special suit with powers he can barely understand or control when he loses its instruction manual. The film will reference the old series, but in the update there is more than one suit floating around the world.

Thanks to I Like Toys! for the link.

And So It Goes

VARIETY: Singleton hunts for 'A-Team' team
Fox in early talks with director on remake
By TATIANA SIEGEL - Posted: Sun., Dec. 16, 2007, 8:00pm PT

Director John Singleton is gearing up to direct a bigscreen version of 1980s TV series "The A-Team" and talking about the casting possibilities all over town.

Twentieth Century Fox is in early talks with the helmer to resuscitate the gang, but the studio said no deal is in place, and the project is not envisioned as a pre-SAG/DGA strike affair.

Ice Cube, who starred in Singleton's debut, "Boyz N the Hood," has been rumored as a potential B.A. Baracas (played by Mr. T in the NBC series), but Fox denied that possibility.

Latest incarnation, penned by Jayson Rothwell, revolves around a group of Iraq vets wanted by the U.S. military for a crime they didn't commit. Their adventures combine helping the innocent while running from the law. Story has been given a modern twist by involving oil tycoons and laser technology.

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Nothing says 'modern' to me like lasers and oil barons.

Toy OTD: Trendmasters Lost In Space Robot B9 (1997)

Remember when the Lost In Space movie came out? Trendmasters made a lot of spin-off toys, but they wisely added a parallel line inspired by the original TV series. The B9 robot was the best of it all, and it's still a kick-ass toy!

It's motorized, but doesn't have a corded remote control to mess up the design, or an unnecessary radio control. The arms can be locked in the retracted position, or can be popped out at the push of a button. The sound chip features the original voice actor speaking a few nifty phrases, and the toy can be switched from standard talking mode to room guard mode if desired. It even pivots about the waist and lights up when activated! Cool. Plus, it's dead-on-model, which hasn't happened in an affordable version of the character until this point.

There's three versions of the Trendmasters B9 that I'm aware of - a two-foot-tall RC version, a smaller talking version (pictured), and a smaller-still version (I'm not sure what features - if any - that it had). I think the version I bought is a great size-to-features compromise. I can't remember how much it cost, exactly - I think it was around twenty-five dollars.

These toys are long gone from stores, but there's one for sale on eBay for $55.00 + $23.45 (!) shipping - yikes. There's cheaper auctions online, but just make sure you're getting the version that you want - I'm sure that sometimes the smaller robots are getting foisted off on unsuspecting bidders as the larger model.

X-Files Halloween, Convention Costumes To Become Recognizable Again

VARIETY: Fox sets date for 'X-Files' sequel
Scully, Mulder return to theaters on July 25
By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK, TATIANA SIEGEL
Posted: Wed., Oct. 31, 2007, 3:33pm PT

The long-awaited second "X-Files" film is finally a go, with 20th Century Fox setting a July 25, 2008 release date.

Untitled project reunites "X-Files" creator Chris Carter with thesps David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who will reprise their signature roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

Carter begins lensing in December in Vancouver from a script he co-wrote with Frank Spotnitz, a veteran scribe of the long-running "X-Files" television series, which became a worldwide hit in its 1993-2002 run on the Fox network. Spotnitz also co-wrote with Carter the screenplay for 1998 feature "X-Files."

Studio is keeping the film's logline under wraps, but stressed the pic is a stand-alone story and supernatural thriller that takes the complicated relationship between Mulder and Scully in new directions.

As of now, there are only two other titles skedded for July 25, both comedies. Sony unspools Will Ferrell-John C. Reilly starrer "Step Brothers," directed by Adam McKay, while MGM has bows untitled Ice Cube family laffer.

Bringing the "X-Files." sequel to the bigscreen was waylaid when Chris Carter brought a 2005 lawsuit against Fox over how the "X-Files" syndication profits were divvied up. Suit was later settled.

Earlier this year, the issue seemed to have been resolved, with Duchovny and Anderson both indicating the that the film was finally forward.

Released in 1998, feature film "The X-Files" grossed $187 million worldwide, including a domestic haul of $83.9 million and an international cume of more than $103 million.

Universal Decides To Spend 100,000 Times More On Land Of The Lost Episode Than Kroffts Originally Did

VARIETY: Universal OK's 'Land of the Lost'
Will Ferrell comedy to cost $100 million
By DIANE GARRETT, MICHAEL FLEMING
Posted: Tue., Oct. 9, 2007, 8:00pm PT

Universal is pushing the button on "Land of the Lost" for a March start.

Decision to greenlight the Will Ferrell project surprised observers, who are aware that U had a rough ride with its $160 million comedy "Evan Almighty." Studio sources suggest the budget of "Land of the Lost," described as an event comedy, was recalibrated from $125 million to $100 million in order to earn its start date.

Brad Silberling will helm the bigscreen adaptation of Sid & Marty Krofft's children's skein of the same name. Jimmy Miller is producing along with the Kroffts; Julie Wixson-Darmody and Daniel Lupi exec produce.

Decision to move ahead effectively removes Ferrell from availability for other pre-strike projects on the cusp, such as "Himelfarb" for Warner Bros. The comedian has been attached to "Land of the Lost" for several years. Miller reps Ferrell and the Kroffts, who have long tried to get a bigscreen adaptation of their show made.

Adaptation by Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas revolves around a disgraced paleontologist, his assistant and a macho tour guide who find themselves in a strange world inhabited by dinosaurs, monkey people and reptilian Sleestaks.

Donna Langley spearheaded the effort to obtain rights from the Kroffts, who also produced and created smallscreen skeins such as "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Lidsville" and "Donny and Marie."

Who Is Number Six?

Doubtless you've heard that there's a feature-film adaptation being developed of the cult television show The Prisoner. Who knows how you can take something so idiosyncratic and transform it into a new story that doesn't cling too tightly to the past, or fixate too much on the present? But I do feel pretty certain about one thing. I really, really want Kevin McKidd to play Number Six.

If you don't know him, he did a terrific job as the character Lucious Vorenus on the short-lived HBO series Rome. There's a certain degree of physical resemblance, but I think what makes McKidd so appropriate is that his role on Rome shares a powerful sense of righteousness with McGoohan's creation. Lucious is taken to a place in the story where he feels that he has nothing to lose or live for, and I think that brought him within a stone's throw of the distrustful, acerbic Number Six.

McGoohan was so extreme with the character that your alliance with him was not so much based on sympathy as it was a sense of agreement, a desire to share or believe in his certainty of right and wrong. McKidd's performance gives me confidence that he could bring more sympathy and emotion to the role, to give Number Six's strident qualities some warmth.

Maybe the film'll never happen, and I'm sure Universal and the filmmakers have plenty of ideas on who will don the black blazer. Still, I had to get this off my chest, just in case someone who has a say in things is reading... you just never know.

Be seeing you.

About Fucking Time Dept.

VARIETY: WB sends 'Jonny Quest' to bigscreen
Mazeau to adapt Hanna-Barbera series
By MARC GRASER - Posted: Tue., Aug. 7, 2007, 7:30pm PT

Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter, who have the vidgame-based "Hitman" bowing in October from Fox, will produce the live-action adaptation of the popular 1960s animated TV series from Hanna-Barbera, with Dan Mazeau penning the script.

Series revolved around a young boy who travels the world with his scientist father, adopted brother from India, Bandit the bulldog, and a government agent assigned to protect them as they go on their adventures investigating scientific mysteries.

The show, which is owned by Warner Bros. Animation, aired during primetime on ABC in 1964, lasting only one season. It was updated in the late '80s and '90s as "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" on the Cartoon Network. Property's also been spun off as a comic book from DC.

Askarieh, a longtime fan of the series, is hoping to turn the property into a family-friendly adventure franchise -- something the studio is clearly looking for now that "Harry Potter" is winding down.

Mazeau recently sold his fantasy adventure spec "Land of Lost Things" to Paramount Pictures' Nickelodeon Films, with Arnold and Anne Kopelson producing.

Warner Bros. execs Dan Lin and Matt Reilly will oversee "Jonny Quest" at the studio, which is lensing another film version of an iconic '60s TV series, "Speed Racer."

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Oh, who am I kidding? Even though I've been waiting for this forever, there's no way such an anachronistic show could be updated without losing the horribly inappropriate flavor that I ashamedly love.

I think they should just expand the "Turu the Terrible" episode to feature length. It has everything - an ex-nazi in a wheelchair excavating a secret jungle diamond mine with his pet pterodactyl! Plus jet packs and bazookas! I mean, C'MON!!

The Nerd Can't Help It

Anita and I drove to Mountain View last night to check out the 7-11 there. Eleven of them all over the country have been re-dressed as Kwik-E-Marts (even stocked with boxes of Krusty-O's and cans of Buzz Cola!) to promote The Simpsons Movie.

Sadly, the eBay sharks beat me to it again - there weren't any of the custom Simpsons products to be had, so like good nerds, we gorged on Squishees and took lots of pictures! I'm sure there's plenty of shots like this to be had all over the internet, but I thought I'd share them anyhow. Enjoy!

Sex And The City: The Movie

VARIETY: 'Sex and the City' heads to theaters
New Line, HBO team on film version of series
By MICHAEL FLEMING

New Line Cinema is getting in bed with HBO on “Sex and the City.”

After much foreplay, the feature version of the long-running HBO series is gearing for a fall start, with New Line near a deal to finance and distribute.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon are all set to reprise their roles, with longtime exec producer Michael Patrick King directing a script he wrote.

King will produce with Parker, John Melfi and Darren Star, the latter of whom hatched the series, based on autobiographical columns written by Candace Bushnell.

Fans of the show have clamored for a film version of “Sex and the City” since the series ended.

The pic got close to happening about two years ago, but progress halted when Cattrall backed away. She wanted script control and a salary close to that of Parker, who was more highly paid than the others because she was co-executive producer of the series. Whatever tensions existed are gone now, sources said. Cattrall has a deal she’s happy with, one the sources said gives her input on her scenes, a fat salary and a future series deal with HBO.

There have long been rumors that supporting cast members like Chris Noth would take part, but New Line has not locked in any such deals.

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"Sex And the City Meet Frankenstein"... "Sex And The City Vs. Mothra"... "Sex And The City Go Bananas"... hey, this stuff writes itself!

Oh Dear Lord No

This is not what you want to see on your computer early in the morning. Shudder. My apologies.

Kevin Smith is gonna rag on Jason Lee about this forever.