Beverly Hills, CA – Five writers have been selected as winners of the 25th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Each writer will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on November 4.

This year’s winners are (listed alphabetically by author):

Destin Daniel Cretton, San Diego, Calif., “Short Term 12”
Marvin Krueger, North Hollywood, Calif., “And Handled with a Chain”
Andrew Lanham, Austin, Texas, “The Jumper of Maine”
Micah Ranum, Beverly Hills, Calif., “A Good Hunter”
Cinthea Stahl, North Hollywood, Calif., “Identifying Marks”

The winners were selected from 6,304 scripts submitted for this year’s competition. The competition is open to any individual who has not sold or optioned a screenplay or teleplay for more than $5,000, or received a fellowship or prize that includes a “first look” clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer’s work.

Final judging of the competition was conducted by the Nicholl Committee, chaired by producer Gale Anne Hurd and composed of writers Naomi Foner, Daniel Petrie, Jr., Tom Rickman and Dana Stevens; actor Eva Marie Saint; cinematographers John Bailey and Steven B. Poster; executive Bill Mechanic; producers Peter Samuelson and Robert W. Shapiro; and agent Ronald R. Mardigian.

Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.

Since the program’s inception in 1985, 113 fellowships have been awarded, and a number of fellows have achieved considerable success. Mike Rich, a 1998 fellow, wrote “Secretariat,” which opened this month. Susannah Grant, a 1992 fellow, earned an Oscar nomination in 2000 for her “Erin Brockovich” screenplay. Andrew W. Marlowe, a 1992 fellow, created and executive produces ABC’s “Castle,” for which Terri Miller, also a 1992 fellow, is a writer-producer. “City Island,” which was written and directed by 1991 fellow Raymond De Felitta, premiered theatrically in March of this year.

Several other Nicholl fellows have had success in the film industry; to read more about them, visit http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/fellows/notable.html. See the The Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Facebook page here.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

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Well on its way to 20,000 writers is the McG-directed remake/prequel to ’20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.’   Titled ‘Captain Nemo,’ the latest screenwriter to take a pass at the script is writer/director Randall Wallace.  

‘Captain Nemo’ will take us back to the beginning, showing us the origins of the nefarious Captain and how he came into possession of the submarine, the Nautilus.   In the original sequel to ’20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,’ written by Jules Verne, Nemo was said to be an Indian prince, but it is unclear how close to this book the new screenplay will follow.   Regardless, the film is sure to be filled with action and adventure.

Wallace, who has made a name for writing epic screenplays like ‘Braveheart’ and ‘Pearl Harbor,’ will be working on the screenplay previously worked through by Bill Marsili (‘Deja Vu’) and Justin Marks (‘Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li’).   Wallace has directed his own screenplays for ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ and ‘We Were Soldiers.’   His direction will next be seen in ‘Secretariat,’ about the famed racehorse who won the Triple Crown in 1973.

‘Captain Nemo’ is set for release some time in 2011.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Kurt Wimmer, seen above with two extremely cool cats and some dude in glasses*, has been set the task of re-adapting Philip K. Dick’s story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.”  In case that title doesn’t grab you, the story was originally adapted for the big screen in 1990 as ‘Total Recall’ directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The new version of the film is being developed by Neal H. Moritz for Columbia Pictures.

Wimmer is most famous for writing and directing the 2002, moderately budgeted sci-fier ‘Equilibrium.’  The film didn’t gain much steam at the box office, but has acquired quite a cult following since its release.  Wimmer also wrote and directed the 2006 film ‘Ultraviolet,’ which is probably why we’ll never see Wimmer in the director’s chair again.  Wimmer’s upcoming screenplays include the Angelina Jolie thriller, ‘Salt,’ and ‘Law Abiding Citizen,’ starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler.

The only piece of information about the new ‘Total Recall’ project coming from Columbia is that it is a “contemporized adaptation” of Dick’s original story.  Columbia acquired the rights to the film in February from Miramax.  I think I said it then, but I’m going to say it again.  I don’t care what they do to this film as long as it has this line of dialogue:

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

*The guy in the glasses is, actually, executive producer Lucas Foster.  Apologies to his family for not thinking he’s as cool as Christian Bale or the Taye.

No, we will not be seeing James McAvoy wearing a red shirt and no pants. Ă‚  No, we probably won’t be seeing Angelina Jolie in orange and black striped bouncing on a springy tail. Ă‚  We probably won’t be seeing Ms. Jolie, at all. Ă‚  The sequel to last summer’s high-intensity actioner, ‘Wanted,’ is being birthed, and Universal has tapped screenwriterĂ‚  Evan Spiliotopoulos to punch out a screenplay.

In case you don’t recognize Spiliotopoulos’ name, or, if the Pooh euphemisms above are lost on you, then you probably should know that this is the same screenwriter who co-wrote ‘Pooh’s Heffalump Movie.’ Ă‚  Quite a leap from one project to the next, don’t you think?

TimurĂ‚  Bekmambetov is attached to direct the sequel, which is based onĂ‚  the comic series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. Ă‚  No word yet on whether McAvoy is returning, or if he’s stuck in a hole in his house. Ă‚  Okay. Ă‚  Winnie-the-Pooh jokes are over.

What do you think? Ă‚  Does ‘Wanted’ deserve a sequel? Ă‚  Is the co-writer of a film like ‘Pooh’s Heffalump Movie’ the right choice to adapt this? Ă‚  Are you still reeling that Ram-Man put ‘Wanted’ on his best of 2008 list? Ă‚  Let us know by commenting below!

TTFN.

Source: THR

“This is Medieval Times!”

Love that scene in ‘Cable Guy’. Ă‚  Anywho, New Regency Pictures has acquired theĂ‚  Alex Litvak and Michael Finch-penned screenplay for ‘Medieval’. Ă‚  The screenplay was sold in a bidding environment with New Regency coming out on top.

The film’sĂ‚  story line plays like ‘The Dirty Dozen’ in the age of castles, plagues and serfs, which the studio hopes to spin as a hyper-realistic action movie in the vein of ’300.’

Sources close to the deal say the original screenplay was sold forĂ‚  $800,000 against $1.6 million, a colossal payday not seen in some time in the spec market.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

When Brian Grazer gets ideas, screenplays get written. Ă‚  So is the case with ‘Lowriders’ which is to be written by Cheo Hodari Coker (‘Notorious’).

The project is based on an idea by Grazer, who is known for exploring concepts, personalities and settings, even devoting a specialist to handle these intellectual and artistic endeavors. He was intrigued by the low-riding culture, which sees mainly teens driving cars that can adjust or have adjusted their suspension system. The culture finds its home in California and the Southwest, primarily among the Latino and black cultures.

Imagine and Universal execs went on a manhunt for a scribe who could not only write authentically about the scene but also craft a solid story. Coker, who is coming off of the success of ‘Notorious,’ fit the bill.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

It would take a novel the size of War and Peace to cover all the behind-the-scenes drama behind getting a ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ remake done. Ă‚  The last we heard, the film was being directed by Breck Eisner (‘Sahara’) and was tentatively scheduled for release sometime in 2010.

Collider recently spoke with Gary Ross. Ă‚  On top of being the producer and screenwriter for the remake, he’s also the son of Arthur A. Ross, who wrote the screenplays for the original ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ and the 1956 follow-up, ‘The Creature Walks Among Us’. Ă‚  Gary had some interesting information regarding the film’s status.

“It’s not going to be campy. It’s not a reference to what the original was. It’s not reverential that way. Ă‚  We take it seriously. We found some scientific underpinnings for it which my dad actually found in the original. He based it on a lungfish he found around that time, a lot of that was his. We’re not approaching it in a campy, retro sort of way.”

When asked if the film had a director, Ross simply stated, “That hasn’t been decided yet.” Ă‚  Ross also went on to say that the film will be going for scares and that he hopes to have filming start sometime next year.

What do you think? Ă‚  Are you looking forward to a ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ remake? Ă‚  Who would you choose as the director? Ă‚  Let us know by commenting below.

Source: Collider

A sequel to last year’s ’30 Days of Night’ has been announced at the American Film Market. Ă‚  The co-writer on the first film and the creator of the graphic novel, Steve Niles, is currently working on the screenplay along with Ben Ketai.

The film will seemingly follow Stelle Oleson, played in the first film by Melissa George, as she seeks revenge on the group of vampires who destroyed her Alaskan town.

The original graphic novel had over a dozen sequels, so story ideas are not going to be an issue here.

Source: Shock Till You Drop

Jerry Bruckheimer is made of gold. Ă‚  I’m convinced of it. Ă‚  I think if he were to go on a tour of the National Reserve, alarms would blare if he tried to leave.

Well, Bruckheimer sat down with a panel of journalists on the set of ‘Prince of Persia’ to discuss some of this other, upcoming money-makers. Ă‚  He stated that ‘National Treasure 3′ and ‘Pirates 4′ are both in the script phase.

“We’ve sat with the writers and we’re working up the story and plotlines right now. Ă‚  They’re in the process of finishing ‘The Lone Ranger’ so they’re working on both of those simultaneously, same set of writers, Elliot and Rossio, who did all three ‘Pirates’ and worked on ‘National Treasure 2′,” Bruckheimer said.

When asked if the next ‘Pirates’ film would be in IMAX, Bruckheimer said, “Absolutely. I’d love to do it, so let’s just see if we can work it through the production schedule with everything else.”

He went on to say that ‘Pirates 4′ would be pushing for a 2012 release.

It was more or less made official last month at the Disney event in Hollywood that Johnny Depp would be playing Tonto in ‘The Lone Ranger’, but ever since, there have been rumors about George Clooney putting on the black mask. Ă‚  Bruckheimer commented on that, too.

“We haven’t decided who is going to play the Lone Ranger yet. Ă‚  Get a director first and then figure it out.”

Source: Coming Soon

It has been threatened for years and years, and MGM is hoping to gain the rights to the ‘Three Stooges’ from Warner Bros. so that they can make move forward with the updated film. The Farrelly Brothers wrote the most recent screenplay, and they are attached to direct it.

“The Three Stooges are a timeless staple of comedy,” said Mary Parent, chairman of MGM’s worldwide motion picture group. “And when we heard what the Farrellys had in mind, we knew it was time for Larry, Moe and Curly to return to the big screen.”

The screenplay the Farrelly’s have come up with, which sounds somewhat interesting, is made up of four 20-minute shorts. Ă‚  However, I’m sure there will be a running story throughout the entire picture.

MGM has targeted November 20, 2009, for a pre-Thanksgiving release.

Just for the record, this is a terrible idea. Ă‚  Just the thought of someone emulating Moe, Larry and Curly gives me d’chills. Ă‚  However, if anyone can make it work, I’d have to hand it to the Farrelly’s to give it its best go.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Update:

This news was made official just this week, but the first site to actually break the news was Market Saw, a blog devoted to 3D movies. Ă‚  Why would a site devoted to 3D movies be talking about a ‘Three Stooges’ movie, you might ask. Ă‚  Well, according to their source (and the news they announced way back in March), the ‘Three Stooge’s film will be shot in 3D.

To check out that article, and to see what other information Market Saw had on a ‘Three Stooges’ film, click here. Ă‚  Warning, some of the information they have in the article could be considered SPOILERS, but you have to highlight the text to read it.

Source: Market Saw

George Nolfi (‘Timeline’, ‘Ocean’s Twelve’, ‘The Sentinel’, and ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’) has been hired by Universal to punch out the screenplay.

Unlike the first three Bourne films, this one will not be based on a novel by Robert Ludlum.Ă‚   It won’t even be based on any of the newer Jason Bourne novels by Eric Van Lustbader.Ă‚   Instead, it will be an original story involving the assassin with a bad case of memory loss.Ă‚   This really isn’t an issue, since the movies departed from the novels’ storyline long ago.

Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon are already attached to return.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Ever get the feeling that Fozzy Bear wanted to shiv Kermit and run off with Miss Piggy?Ă‚   Ever get that hinkling that Waldorf and Statler were just seconds away from chucking a grenade down onto the stage?Ă‚   Neither did I.Ă‚   I was just asking you.

The Jim Henson Co. has picked up the spec script for ‘The Happytime Murders’.Ă‚   The script takes place in a world where humans and puppets co-exist.Ă‚   Cast members of a puppet-based variety show called ‘The Happytime Gang’ begin to get murdered one by one.Ă‚   A puppet private detective with a drinking problem gets called onto the case.

The script was written by Ted Berger from a story by Dee Austin Robertson and Berger.Ă‚   This will be the first time the Jim Henson Co. has delved into the more adult region of film since ‘The Dark Crystal’.Ă‚   However, this seems like it is going to be even darker than that.Ă‚   I’m thinking ‘Meet the Feebles’ with a Jim Henson production value.

Brian Henson, Lisa Henson and Jason Lust are producing.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Universal is taking yet another classic story and reimagining it with the latest technology Hollywood has to offer.Ă‚   They have bought the rights to ‘Moby Dick’, and the new film will be directed by ‘Wanted’ director Timur Bekmambetov.

The studio has hired Adam Cooper and Bill Collage (‘Accepted’) to write the screenplay, which is being called a “graphic novel-style version”.Ă‚   They are taking out the first-person narration by Ishmael, showing the destruction the whale causes before encountering the Pequod, and changing Captain Ahab’s character to a more heroic leader.

“Our vision isn’t your grandfather’s ‘Moby Dick,’ ” Cooper said. “This is an opportunity to take a timeless classic and capitalize on the advances in visual effects to tell what at its core is an action-adventure revenge story.”

Bekmambetov, who is also currently working towards a sequel to ‘Wanted’, will more than likely bring his visual effects flair to the project.

Wes Anderson is set to write his next screenplay. According to firstshowing.net, the screenwriter/director has been hired by Universal to write the remake to the French comedy, ‘My Best Friend’. Anderson is also interested in directing the film, but that deal has not been finalized.

The 2006 original followed an old antique dealer who, over dinner, discovers that none of his friends like him due to his coarse attitude. A bet is made between the dealer and his business partner that the dealer cannot produce a best friend. The dealer sets out to convince a cab driver to pose as his best friend.

Brian Grazer is producing. Anderson’s next project as writer/director is ‘The Fantastic Mr. Fox’, an animated film about angry farmers looking to get rid of a sly fox.

While talking with G4′s Attack of the Show about ‘Death Race’, director Paul W.S. Anderson was asked about the rumors surrounding his next project, ‘Castlevania’.Ă‚   Anderson is not directing the film, but he did write the screenplay and is acting as producer.

According to this early script review by CC2K, the film is more an ripoff of ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ than it is an adaptation of the popular Nintento game.Ă‚   The script review noted that the main characters of the film were Christopher and Simon Belmont and that there was no mention of the famous whip used in the video game.

When asked about this in the interview, Anderson responded sarcastically saying, “We took out the whip, we took out the castle, and we turned it into a romantic comedy.”

The man was kidding of course.Ă‚   He went on to say that there was so much whip action in the film, it could be mistaken for a bondage video.

Anderson also mentioned the main character of the film as Trevor Belmont, so the review by CC2K could have been on a much earlier draft of the script.

‘Castlevania’ comes out in 2009 and is directed by Sylvain White.

The popular children’s series of horror books by R.L. Stine, ‘Goosebumps’, is going to be turned into at least one feature film.Ă‚   The rights to the series of books were picked up by Sony Pictures who already has two screenwriters working on the script.

Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander are the writers working on the screenplay.Ă‚   The team has previously worked on ‘Ed Wood’, ‘Agent Cody Banks’, and ’1408′.

Neal Mortiz, who produced ‘Evan Almighty’ and ‘I Am Legend’, is producing the film, which is likely to be a horror themed anthology film geared more towards the PG-rated audience.Ă‚   Sony is looking to cast young actors in the lead roles and well-known adult actors in the supporting roles.

Lionsgate has evidently put ‘Conan’ on the fast-track hoping to turn it into a franchise by making it a $100 million, R-rated origin film.

Blackman and McCain are planning to go back further than the 1982 Schwarzenegger film for their source material.Ă‚   They are pulling the story from the original 1930s pulp stories written by Robert E. Howard.

Producer Fredrik Malmberg says, “Fans expect these types of movies to be more true to the source material.Ă‚   There’s no reason there couldn’t be a Conan movie every two years.”

As for the direction the character of Conan will take, Malmberg said this: “He has to be a badass, but we also have to like him.”

No director has been announced or even rumoured about as of yet.Ă‚   Blackman and McCain previously wrote the screenplays for the upcoming film’s ‘Outlander’ and ‘Underworld: Rise of the Lycans’.

‘Fanboys’ got a release date (September), goes back to the original script (They are stealing the movie for a friend that has cancer), and will screen for free at Comic Con!

Apparently after many, many test screenings everyone HATED the change, so they went back to the original script. This movie has been floating around for so damn long I don’t remember when I first heard about it. Finally its getting released though, and if you are at Comic Con on Thursday, head out and the first 300 get in free! We can all finally see Kristen Bell in the Princess Leia outfit..Score.

Cinematical gives us this:

“Kevin Spacey: “I could not be more excited that ‘Fanboys’ is being released this September and is the version of the film that the fans want. I am enormously grateful to Jedi Knight Harvey Weinstein for having allowed Trigger Street to restore “Fanboys†ť to its original story and am thrilled that it will first screen during Comic-Con.†ť”

Finally, the time has come for emerging news about the new installment of He-Man …

“At the beginning of time, the blacksmith Eternus forged the Sword Of Light, a blade so beautiful that its spark created all life as we know it. After the blacksmith saw what perfection he’d built, he tried in vain to duplicate his mold. Eventually he fell into madness. Angered by his failure, he forged one last blade before he died. The mirror opposite of its original. The Sword of Darkness.

Both blades, being born of magic gave amazing powers to anyone who held them. And so they were sought after.

Over thousands of years, the swords faced each other army times†¦

†¦ until one battle changed it all.”

somehow, Latino Review got their hands on the script(one of them), and now this is out.

Damn that is exciting, now if only Dolph came back and reprised his role as He-Man, it would then be complete.