The Hollywood Reporter’s Risky Business blog is reporting that the mega-selling mystery author Dan Brown has taken over writing duties on the film adaptation of The Lost Symbol.

Columbia Pictures is developing the film version of Brown’s most recent novel, which was published in 2009 and sold more than a million copies in its first day on shelves. In it, Brown’s regular protagonist, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, gets mixed up with the Freemasons in Washington, D.C.

The 2006 adaptation of The Da Vinci Code and the 2009 version of Angels & Demons grossed $1.24 billion at the worldwide box office for Sony. But this is the first time Brown has taken on screenwriting duties. Akiva Goldsman penned Da Vinci and co-wrote Demons with David Koepp.

Oscar-nominated Eastern Promises scribe Steven Knight first took a run at the Symbol screenplay. Although Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment is once again producing, Howard, who directed the first two Brown adaptations, has not committed to directing Symbol. Nor has star Tom Hanks officially come on board to reprise Langdon.

Regardless, given the sure-thing built-in audience, Sony is sure to have Symbol in theaters sooner rather than later. With Men in Black III and the Spider-Man reboot already set for summer 2012, here’s betting that Brown’s latest is on screens the following summer.

Source: THR/Risky Business

The one thing most people who see the trailer for the new PREDATORS film say is that it seems like a film made by the fans for the fans.  Columbia is hoping the same can be said for the new MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE film.  According to HeatVision, they have hired PREDATORS screenwriters Mike Finch and Alex Litvak to punch up the latest script based on the popular Mattel line.

The history of the new HE-MAN/MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE/GRAYSKULL film has been up and down for many years now.  Columbia picked up the rights to the property in the fall when Mattel, who has story approval, and Warner Brothers couldn’t come to an agreement on the film’s direction.  KUNG FU PANDA helmer John Stevenson was the last person attached to direct, but this looks like even that might be shaken up.

Evidently, Finch and Litvak pitched a film that rode the fence between satisfaction of the toy company and made the film company happy, as well.  Columbia seems to be scrapping everything that had previously been done on the film and plans to start over on a MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE film from scratch.

PREDATORS is set to hit theaters on July 9th.

First came news that David Goyer had left his post as show runner for FLASHFORWARD.  At that time, we, along with others, reported he had left to begin work on the screenplay for BATMAN 3 with Jonathan Nolan.  Then, news broke out that BATMAN BEGINS and DARK KNIGHT helmer Christopher Nolan was stepping in as mentor for Warner’s SUPERMAN 3.0 reboot.

Now, the fine people over at Latino Review have cracked the scoop that Goyer is, indeed, working with WB, but it’s not on the BATMAN 3 script.  Goyer is only providing the story for that film.  According to Latino Review‘s source, Goyer will be scripting the latest SUPERMAN adventure.

The source also provided some of the behind-the-scenes dealings in getting Goyer involved and what Goyer may have in store for us:

Thomas Tull, the head of Legendary, got tired of all the discussion and decided chingate, let’s do it.  So he went to Goyer and Goyer had an idea that actually takes the movies back to the John Byrne incarnation.  Modern.  Believable.  FUN!  So Tull got Goyer hired.

The film will not be called Superman and will be called THE MAN OF STEEL.

Brandon Routh will not star in the film.

Nic Cage will NOT star in the film (lol)

Bryan Singer is not expected to direct.

Goyer’s story involves Luthor and Brainiac.  It is NOT an origin and assumes audiences already know about Lois, Clark, Jimmy and Perry.  I know the Daily Planet is struggling due to the internet.  And I know it sets up a huge Kryptonian mythology.

This is just one more step in Warner Brothers taking the necessary steps to revitalize the SUPERMAN franchise.  Putting people like Nolan and Goyer in charge of the next film is sure to make one for the books and so much more important to the canon than what the lackluster SUPERMAN RETURNS had to offer.  At least it’s not another Lex Luthor, real estate scheme.  At least there haven’t been any talks, yet, anyway, about a giant, robot spider.

David Goyer is making time for his movies.  The screenwriter and showrunner for ABC’s FLASHFORWARD has announced, according to Nikki Finke’s  Deadline Hollywood, he is stepping away from the series to spend more time on features.  This comes with five episodes still out of the can and needing to be shot, but fans of the series might be a little less apprehensive about the news when they learn what Goyer is working on next.

According to the report, Goyer is currently working on the third BATMAN film along with Christopher Nolan’s brother, Jonathan.  This is a bit of a change in pace from the previous BATMAN films, as Goyer and Christopher Nolan collaborated on the story for those, with Jonathan Nolan only stepping in on THE DARK KNIGHT’s screenwriting job.

Says Goyer in the statement on his departure from FLASHFORWARD:

As my feature projects have started ramping up again, I felt I was being pulled in too many directions.  I’m proud of the show and excited about the relaunch. It’s in great hands.

No word yet on whose hands Goyer is referring to there, nor has there been any, official word from Warner Brothers on a BATMAN 3 start date.  With Goyer and the Nolans hard at work on the story, though, that can’t be too far off.

“A shocking story.”

That’s how THE QUEEN and FROST/NIXON screenwriter Peter Morgan described the eventual sequel, as of now titled BOND 23, the third time around for star Daniel Craig.   And that’s just about all the news MI6 got from Morgan who, evidently, then proceeded to scamper into some nearby bushes for fear of being seen by MGM.

Of course, work on the new Bond film is being help up until the sale of MGM and all of its properties is finalized.   Morgan worked on the screenplay from July until October, but any details are being kept heavily under wraps.

Still, it would have been nice to know just how “shocking” of a story we were in for.   Does Bond realize M is really is biological mother and he goes on a walkabout to find his absentee father?   Do we realize that the name James Bond and the 007 number are just tags for secret, cloned assassins, in which case every James Bond film actually occurs in the same world?   Does Daniel Craig get taken out in the first ten minutes only to be replaced by Halle Berry’s Jinx from DIE ANOTHER DAY?   What’s it all about, Peter?

Shoot us your fun, James Bond premises in the comments section below.   Let’s out-shock Peter Morgan on all fronts.

Some people claim that writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, at 39, has already hit that level of “Master Filmmaker”.   The next project for the man who brought us BOOGIE NIGHTS and THERE WILL BE BLOOD is going to live up to that name in a literal sense.   According to Variety, Anderson is working on his latest script titled MASTER.   Set up at Universal, the studio is planning on green lighting the film with an estimated budget of $35 million as soon as a finalized draft hits their desks.

The film, which is set to star Philip Seymour Hoffman, will center on a master of ceremonies who, in the early 1950s, creates his own religion, one that becomes quite popular throughout the country.   The story also surrounds the relationship between the “Master” and a young lieutenant in the religion who finds himself questioning his own beliefs.

According to Variety, the story is going to be more on the idea of believing in something greater rather than being a critical statement about religion or a faith-based system or even scrutinizing of recent, self-started religions like Scientology.

As soon as a deal is finalized, we will let you know, but this sounds like a project right up Anderson’s alley, who (pun intended) struck a motherload with the subject matter he found in THERE WILL BE BLOOD.   Some claim that to be his best film to date, and it’s not without merit.   The fact that he is returning to a period piece centering around the ideas of religion in America doesn’t seem like a coincidence.

David Fincher.  Andrew Kevin Walker.  Michael De Luca.  Even outside of SE7en, these three have accomplished so much in the film world.  In 1995, when these three came together, they created one of the most engaging and original thrillers, arguably, in the history of the art.  Now, 14 years later, they are coming back together.  Heat Vision is reporting that the team is stepping up to adapting Max Ehrlich’s novel THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD.

The story centers on a college professor who begins having visions and dreams about someone else’s life.  With his girlfriend accompanying him, he seeks out the source of these visions and comes across a woman and her daughter who may hold the key.  Not having seen the original 1975 film, which starred Michael Sarrazin and Margot Kidder, or read the novel, I cannot say where the story goes from there.  However, it is being billed as a supernatural thriller, so it seems this becomes much more suspenseful than the Past Lives Pavilion scenes in DEFENDING YOUR LIFE.

Of course, with the trio that hit us with SE7EN on tap to bring this one to life, expect nothing short of brilliance.  Just hearing Fincher is on board to direct something gets the expectation levels amped.  It is also great to hear that Andrew Kevin Walker is returning to the screenplay writing world.  I’m sure he never left completely, but his last feature film screenplay was for SLEEPY HOLLOW (he wrote THE WOLFMAN remake, but it hasn’t hit theaters yet).

THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD is set up at Columbia.  Alison Rosenzweig will serve as producer alongside De Luca.

In the “not as confusing as Ridley Scott’s timeline for the ALIEN PREQUEL” department (not much really is), screenwriter Kevin Williamson released more information about the upcoming SCREAM 4 via MTV and his Twitter page.  In fact, he gave up some information regarding the upcoming, new trilogy of SCREAM films.

Here is what he had to say:

The fourth one is an ensemble.  It’ll take place right now, 10 years later, and it’s going to take place in [Sidney Prescott's hometown of] Woodsboro. We’ll have our three main characters, and we’ll be introducing several more.  We’ll also be introducing a little group, a little ensemble of new castmembers. That’ll take us through the next three.

Williamson is concurrently writing the screenplay for SCREAM 5 and, from what we can gauge by his comments above, SCREAM 6 isn’t too far off.  With this many SCREAM sequels on the horizon, some (okay, probably, most) people might think it a bit ridiculous.

Williamson comments on that, too:

I guess I’ll just have to be very aware of the fact that we’re a ’4′ and that we’re beating a dead dog. I’m going to make that very apparent in the dialogue.

No release date has been set for the fourth SCREAM film.

Being one of only a handful of Japanese anime feature films I have seen (and one of even fewer that I even halfway liked), GHOST IN THE SHELL is a brilliant film.  Under the direction of Mamoru Oshii, it features stunning visuals and a complex narrative that, unlike a lot of anime, doesn’t lose you halfway through if you aren’t taking notes.  So, it pains me to hear that DreamWorks is moving forward with their proposed, live action remake.

Variety is reporting the studio has brought in Laeta Kalogridis to adapt the animated film into a live-action, 3-D feature.  It was announced back in April of 2008 that DreamWorks had picked up the rights to the property, and Jamie Moss had been brought in to pen the screenplay.  There is no word what happened with Moss’ involvement on the project or how far into the screenwriting of the film he got.

Kalogridis previously worked on the screenplays for ALEXANDER, Timur Bekmambetov’s NIGHT WATCH, PATHFINDER, and SHUTTER ISLAND.  A timetable for production or release of GHOST IN THE SHELL has not been announced.

I know what you’re thinking.  Who is Carl Ellsworth, what is C.O.D., and why do I care?  For one, Ellsworth is a gifted screenwriter who has penned some decent thrillers recently such as DISTURBIA, RED EYE, and THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT.  Now, none of these movies feature groundbreaking screenplays, and there could be an argument that two of those three are, essentially, remakes.  However, for all of its REAR WINDOW-ness, DISTURBIA is a tight thriller with some genuine suspense, the same can be said for RED EYE, and, come one, was THE LAST HOUSE remake really that awful?

Now, on to C.O.D.  Initially written by Lars Jacobson, it is a thriller that centers on a bike messenger.  He is forced, one fateful day, to deliver three bombs with the possibility of his family receiving one in return if he does not deliver.  While this, too, doesn’t sound like it is going to bring home any golden statues, it does have the potential of being a one-day thriller (a la CELLULAR or PHONE BOOTH) that gives us 90 minutes of sheer enjoyment.

Now, let’s bring these together.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has brought in Ellsworth to do a rewrite on the screenplay.  This type of film seems right up his alley, and, while there is no word how much of a rework he is going to do, this does add to the thriller’s potential.

Ellsworth also recently co-wrote the RED DAWN remake, and he is also working on Y: THE LAST MAN with DJ Caruso.

Okay, maybe not war-TORN, exactly, but the guy has cut his teeth on a couple of war movies, namely SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and THE PATRIOT (not the Steven Seagal one).  In a phoner interview with Sam Raimi, MTV got some information about the upcoming WARCRAFT film out of the director.  One of the revelations Raimi gave them was that Oscar nominated Robert Rodat was working on the screenplay, something the screenwriter’s agents confirmed.

Raimi also spoke on the story for the film.  It will be an original story based in the game’s universe, contrary to the early rumors that it would be based on the “Arthas: Rise of the Lich King” book.

Says Raimi about his and Rodat’s approach to the film:

We want to be really faithful to the game.  We would have our writer, Robert Rodat, really craft an original story within that world that feels like a ‘World of WarCraft’ adventure. Only obviously it’s very different ’cause it’s expanded and translated into the world of a motion picture.

WARCRAFT is set for release sometime in 2011.

Say what you will about the films he has come up with, you have to respect Eli Roth’s love for the craft.  As reported in The Hollywood Reporter, he is currently developing/working on three, different projects, all of them in more than just the “idea” phase.

First up is ‘Thanksgiving,’ which has been gestating ever since Roth directed the faux trailer for ‘Grindhouse.’  Roth is currently penning the screenplay for a full version of the film, a concept Robert Rodriguez has already turned to with ‘Machete.’  Roth plans to direct, produce, and possibly star in the film.

However, that’s not what is next up for Roth.  He said at the Morelia International Film Festival on Monday that he has finished work on a sci-fi screenplay titled ‘Endangered Species.’  This would mark his return to the director’s chair after a number of years acting and producing.

Also in development for Roth is ‘The Man With the Iron Fist,’ a martial arts film that is being developed with the RZA.

Says Roth about his new projects:

I haven’t been this excited since the first ‘Hostel.’  I had to divorce myself from the (‘Hostel’) project 100% to free up my brain for other things.

An ‘Arrested Development’ feature film adaptation has been in development for so long, it’s become newsworthy when any indication of progression on the project comes out.   Oh, look!   Mitchell Hurwitz typed up a scene!   OMG, James Vallely added a comma!

So, excuse any lack of enthusiasm that comes out when I read The Hollywood Reporter saying Hurwitz and Vallely, the creator and co-executive producer, respectively, have begun work on the screenplay.   While production is likely to begin in the Spring, don’t hold your breath, as most of the show’s main cast (ie Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Will Arnett, etc.) have seen their stock grow since the show’s debut in 2003.   Nonetheless, the two are working on the screenplay, and Ron Howard’s Imagine Pictures is set to produce alongside Fox Searchlight.

Hurwitz and Vallely have stated time and again that a feature film adaptation of the show would not happen unless all, main cast members were on board.   A few have held out for awhile, but it looks like everyone is back on board the film that will show the continuing adventures of the Bluth clan.

Hurwitz is set to direct the film.

Academy Award screenwriter Roger Avary was sentenced on Tuesday to one year in jail for a fatal traffic accident in Southern California that occurred 2008.   Avary plead guilty in August to the charges of gross vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving.   He also faces five years of probation.   Authorities claim Avary was driving in excess of 110 miles per hour when he slammed into a telephone pole killing one of the passengers in the vehicle Avary was driving.

Avary was gearing up to write ‘Silent Hill 2,’ the sequel to the 2006 film which he also wrote.   Avary collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Pulp Fiction,’ the latter of which Avary won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay along with Tarantino.   He also co-wrote the 2007, Robert Zemeckis adaptation of ‘Beowulf.’   Avary also directed the 1994 film, ‘Killing Zoe,’ and the 2002 adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel,   ‘The Rules of Attraction.’

There is no word yet on whether this will effect pre-production on ‘Silent Hill 2,’ or if producer Samuel Hadida will switch screenwriters to get production moving.

David Goyer is revving up to bring us ‘Ghost Rider 2.’  Yeah.  I went there.  As reported over at Variety, Goyer is in early talks to create the story and supervise over the screenwriting for a new ‘Ghost Rider’ film.  The plan is to bring Nicolas Cage back in the starring role.

While Goyer claims a deal is not finalized, Columbia Pictures is prepping the sequel based on a script Goyer wrote years ago.  For those of you who do not know, Goyer has previously worked on screenplays for ‘Batman Begins’ and the ‘Blade’ trilogy, the third of which he served as director.

As much of a disappointment as the Nicolas Cage-starring ‘Ghost Rider’ was, let’s all hope this new iteration is, in fact, a sequel and not a “reboot” as seen recently with the announcement that 20th Century Fox was planning a re-launching of ‘The Fantastic Four.’  Of course, studios have to continuously churn out new installments on these properties for fear that the rights will revert back to Marvel should a property languish for too long.  Unfortunately, the reboot is the in-thing to do, and studious would rather play Etch-a-Sketch and shake up a whole, new franchise than work off something they’ve already set forth.

Mere days after director Peter Berg dished out some juicy details about the direction the next ‘Hancock’ film might take, the film has taken on two screenwriters. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it seems production on ‘Hancock 2′ is fast-approaching, as Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara have signed on with Columbia Pictures to pen the script.

While plot details haven’t been revealed, Berg did divulge in a recent interview that the film could have the premise of another being in the world with the same powers as Hancock, played by Will Smith.   The end of the first film revealed there was one other with similar powers, but Berg commented that there could be a possible third out there somewhere.

‘Hancock’ took in a worldwide gross of $624 million.   While it took nearly 12 years to get that film from script to film, expect the sequel to be on a much faster track.   Fierro is coming off “The Shield,” while Mazzara worked on NBC’s “Life.”   While Smith has not officially signed on for a sequel, expect Columbia to dish out all kinds of money to get the star back on.

After the lackluster reception for ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine,’ it was going to take some pretty big players to come back on board the franchise to generate much buzz.   Well, one big player has signed on.   According to The Hollywood Reporter, screenwriter and sometimes director, Christopher McQuarrie, is officially on board to write the screenplay for ‘Wolverine 2.’

Hugh Jackman is already set to return for the sequel, which looks to relocate the indestructible Logan to Japan.   This would follow much the same storyline as a mini-series from the early ’80s written by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont.   The mini-series had Wolverine encountering a group of ninjas and had the superhero learning the strict code of the Samurai.

This notion of the story being set in Japan came about from one of the alternate endings for ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine.’   This featured Wolverine sitting in a Japanese bar pondering his next course of action.

McQuarrie previously worked with ‘X-Men’ director Bryan Singer on the first film in the franchise.   He helped write the screenplay, yet took his name off the final film when it was realized the film was more attuned to the screenplay written by David Hayter. McQuarrie has also collaborated with Singer on ‘Public Access,’ ‘The Usual Suspects,’ for which McQuarrie won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, ‘X-Men,’ and 2008′s ‘Valkyrie.’   There is no official word on a director for ‘Wolverine 2,’ but, with McQuarrie officially on board, you know rumblings of Singer returning to the franchise cannot be far behind.

First off, let’s just get the news out of the way.   Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams, acting as producers, have set the task to Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec to write the screenplay for ‘Mission Impossible 4.’   Now, let’s go back over and look at the writers who have taken us through the adventures of Ethan Hunt.

First off, David Koepp and Robert Towne get screenwriting credits for the first ‘Mission Impossible’ movie.   Steve Zaillian and Koepp developed the script, but it is evident in watching it that the action scenes were put in place before a story was every written around it.   The same, and on a much grander scale, can be said for ‘Mission Impossible II,’ which gives the sole screenwriting credit to Towne.   Once Abrams took over the series for ‘Mission Impossible III,’ he began recruiting his old partners from “Alias” to develop a cohesive and suspenseful storyline.   It is the screenplay by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci that made ‘Mission Impossible III’ the best of the series.

Abrams is doing the same with ‘Mission Impossible 4,’ as Applebaum and Nemec co-wrote seven episodes of “Alias” and served as supervising producers for the bulk of the show.   They will be writing the script from a story idea Abrams had for the fourth entry in the franchise.

“I’ve been looking forward to working with Josh and Andre again for years,” Abrams tells Variety. “Their sense of balance between character and action is wonderful, which I know is hugely important to Tom as well. We’re off to an exciting start, so, as usual, fingers crossed.”

It isn’t clear as to whether Abrams will be directingt he film, as he did with ‘Mission Impossible III.’   While he and Cruise are serving as producers, sources close to the project claim Cruise’s Ethan Hunt will have an onscreen presence of some kind.   The film is aiming for a Summer release in 2011.

God love Joe Eszterhas.  The guy just can’t shake the fact that he’s written some of the sleaziest, most sexual screenplays to ever be produced in Hollywod.  Besides the obvious two (‘Basic Instinct’ and ‘Showgirls’) he’s also put pen to paper on ‘Jagged Edge,’ ‘Sliver,’ and ‘Jade.’  Not that the guy cares he has this reputation.  In fact, he doesn’t much care about what other people think in general.

So throw out your obvious jokes about Eszterhas going back to his Final Draft to write a screenplay about the Virgin of Guadalupe.  In what Eszterhas is calling a “labor of love,” he is penning a script about the 16th account of the Virgin Mary appearing on the cloak of a simple peasant.  The image has lived on as an icon for centures and is Mexico’s most popular religious image.

No word has come out about story details, whether the movie will be about the image appearing, its impact on the religious community in Latin America, or some other story pertaining to the Virgin image altogether.

Eszterhas recently returned to the world of film after nearly ten years of retirment.  He returned in 2006 with the Hungarian film, ‘Children of Glory.’

Source: Variety

Let’s see the possibilities here.   A UFO crash-lands on a mountain, and killer slugs turn a snowboarding crew into zombies.   It’s up to Gabe Walk to climb up the mountain and take out the zombies one-by-one.   Or, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman (got nards), and Gillman build their new fortified castle up on Gabe’s mountain, and it’s up to the Ranger Walker to stake, shoot, destroy, and wipe out the monsters once and for all.

Those are just some of the possibilities Fred Dekker could come up with for ‘Cliffhanger 2,’ as, evidently, the screenwriter/director is working on the project.

Our buddy, Alex, over at First Showing, was in attendance last night at a screening for ‘Monster Squad.’   Director Dekker and screenwriter Shane Black were there providing live commentary.   In the Q&A afterwards, the inevitable question of what the two were working on came up.   Dekker claimed that he is currently writing ‘Cliffhanger 2.’   Apparently, he didn’t sound like he was joking, and Alex seems to think this is a sincere announcement.

Word on the sequel project has been fairly quiet since it was announced in May that StudioCanal was planning a ‘Cliffhanger 2.’   Dekker hasn’t had a film he’s written released since 1993, ironically, the same year ‘Cliffhanger’ tore it up at the box office.

We’ll keep you updated as the story progresses.

Source: First Showing