Carbonell in talks to return to "The Dark Knight"

Nestor Carbonell (left) as Mayor Garcia in "The Dark Knight"

"The Dark Knight Rises" may be filmed in a new town, but it looked like it will have the same mayor.

According to Variety, Nestor Carbonell is in talks to reprise his role as Gotham City's Mayor Anthony Garcia. The actor is perhaps best known for his role as the ageless Richard Alpert in ABC's "Lost."

"The Dark Knight Returns," which will film in Pittsburg, Pa., is set for a July 20, 2012, release.

'American Gods' heading to HBO?

Deadline is reporting that Neil Gaiman's novel “American Gods” could be heading to HBO as a series.

Gaiman said in an interview with Digital Spy last month a film adaptation was in the works. In the interview, Gaiman did not reveal the identity of the company, but said he would be meeting with them to "find out where they're going and if there's any way that I can help."

"There is one cinematographer and director on board who has many, many Oscars and is, I think, a genius," Gaiman said. "I love the fact that he fell in love with this about six or seven years and has not given up."

According to Deadline, that cinematographer is Robert Richardson (“Shutter Island,” “Inglourious Basterds”) and he brought the project to the attention Playton partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. They in turn approached HBO and are now in talks.

Richardson will reportedly write the pilot with Gaiman.

“American Gods” was published in 2001 to critical applause, winning the 2002 Hugo, Nebula, Locus, SFX Magacine and Bram Stoker Awards for Best Novel. The story follows Shadow, a man released from prison only to find his life turned upside down. He is hired by the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, becoming a piece in a larger conflict with the very soul of America on the line.

Publisher Harper Colllins describes the book as such: “As unsettling as it is exhilarating, 'American Gods' is a dark and kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an America at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. Magnificently told, this work of literary magic will haunt the reader far beyond the final page.”

I was skeptical following Gaiman's original announcement that “American Gods” could be converted into a movie and maintain its epic qualities, so I welcome the news HBO is considering the project. They're preparing for the debut of another fantasy epic in the form of “Game of Thrones,” which begins Sunday night at 9 p.m.

The early reviews have been extremely positive and if any place could pull off a faithful adaptation of “American Gods,” it is HBO.

Paramount picks up 'The Martian Chronicles'

Paramount Pictures has picked up the movie rights to Ray Bradbury's short-story collection, “The Martian Chronicles.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, John Davis will produce the adaptation. Universal optioned the rights in 1997, but they reverted earlier this year after the studio couldn't get the project launched.

The Los Angeles Times' 24 Frames blog first reported Davis' involvement back in June. The producer's most recent credits include “Gulliver's Travels,” “Predators” and “Marmaduke.” He began his producing career with the original “Predator” film in 1987.

No writer or director has been announced.

“The Martian Chronicles” was published in 1950, collecting stories Bradbury wrote in the late 1940s. It follows the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing a troubled Earth and confronting the native population.

The collection was previously adapted into a television mini-series produced by NBC and BBC, starring Rock Hudson in the lead.

Although it remains to be seen whether Paramount will have better luck than Universal, this news coming on the heels of the Dragonflight adaptation getting a screenwriter is a good sign that Hollywood is taking a serious look at classic science fiction and fantasy.

That has to be better than yet another remake, right?

'X-Men' scribe David Hayter to adapt Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonflight"

Steven Hoban’s Copperheart Entertainment has closed agreements with David Hayter and Benedict Carver’s Dark Hero Studios, Don Murphy and Susan Montford’s Angry Films and Entertainment One to adapt the classic science fiction/fantasy novel “Dragonflight” by Anne McCaffrey into a feature film.

The studio made the announcement in a press release on Tuesday.

In “Dragonflight”, the first in the epic “Dragonriders of Pern” series of novels, an elite group of warriors take to the skies on the backs of giant, fire-breathing, telepathic dragons to save the wondrously exotic planet of Pern from a terrifying airborne menace.

Hayter will pen the screenplay. Hoban and Carver will produce the film with Murphy, Montford and Hayter executive producing. Patrice Theroux negotiated for Entertainment One to handle distribution in Canada and is in discussion to acquire a number of other territories including the UK, Benelux and Australia. “Dragonflight” will be an international co-production, financed by several distribution partners around the world in much the way “The Lord of the Rings” was put together. Production is scheduled to begin early 2012. No director is currently attached.

The first book in the “Dragonriders of Pern” series appeared in 1968 and new editions continue to be published to this day. The series has sold millions of copies around the world, won numerous literary awards and spawned many spinoffs, including videogames, board games and graphic novels.

“These books have remained popular bestsellers for over forty years because of their breathtaking adventures, vivid cast of characters and spectacular creatures,” said Hoban.

“The world of Pern is a unique and highly cinematic combination of science fiction and fantasy.”
“This property has an incredible literary heritage and a rabid fan base,” said Hayter. “I’m really looking forward to delving into the majestic world that Anne has created and transporting it to the screen.”

“The fans and I have been waiting, not so patiently, for a long time to see Pern and her characters on the big screen,” said Anne McCaffrey. “I couldn’t be more thrilled that a writer with David’s tremendous creativity and track record of translating beloved source material into fantastic movies has decided to make this his next epic adventure.”

Hoban’s Copperheart has produced a diverse body of work including the Vincenzo Natali directed science-fiction thriller, “Splice.”

Tuesday's announcement is the first significant movement on the project since Copperheart first optioned the books back in 2006. Many predicted, myself included, that the success of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy would pave the way for additional big-budget fantasy films. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Perhaps now with the box-office record breaker “Avatar”--which also featured character riding dragon-type creatures--has finally opened the doors for this project and (hopefully) others.

Cooper interested in "The Crow" lead

When Relativity Media announced last week they had signed director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (“28 Weeks Later”) to “re-imagine” the 1994 cult hit, “The Crow,” I questioned who would want to step into a role originally portrayed by Brandon Lee, who was killed by an on-set accident during filming.

Well, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision, Bradley Cooper is in early talks to take over for Lee in the new version.

The report continues that Cooper recently met with Fresnadillo and the two “hit it off.”

Cooper would play Eric Draven, who’s resurrected as The Crow to avenge his wife’s murder so he can reunite with her in the hereafter, as first envisioned by graphic novelist James O’Barr.

“The original 'Crow' was groundbreaking cinema; its gothic visual and musical ideas influenced a generation and cinema itself,” said Producer Edward R. Pressman, who has worked on the entire franchise.

Last week I questioned the need for remaking a “groundbreaking” film, and those questions remain. Still, I have to admit Cooper is an interesting choice for Draven. The actor impressed me considerably for his work in “Limitless,” where he showed ability as both a polished, smooth-talking genius and as a withdrawal-suffering wreck.

The news of Cooper's interest comes only a week after Fresnadillo was named director, so things seems to be moving a pretty fast pace for the remake.

More news as it becomes available.

Three more join 'The Dark Knight Rises' cast

According to Variety, the cast of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" has grown by three.

Daniel Sunjata ("Rescue Me," "Grey's Anatomy") will reportedly play a special forces officer while Diego Klattenhoff ("Mercy," "Men in Trees") will be a rookie cop.

Meanwhile, Burn Gorman ("Layer Cake," "Torchwood") will play an unknown supporting role.

"The Dark Knight Rises," which will film in Pittsburgh, Pa., is set for a July 20, 2012, release.

Peter Jackson filming 'The Hobbit' in 48 frames per second

Director Peter Jackson next to a 3D video set up on the set of 'The Hobbit'

'The Hobbit' director Peter Jackson updated his Facebook page Monday with a lengthy discussion about his decision to film the adaptation in 48 frames per second rather than the tradition 24 frames.

Time for an update. Actually, we've been intending to kick off with a video, which is almost done, so look out for that in the next day or two. In the meantime, I thought I'd address the news that has been reported about us shooting THE HOBBIT at 48 frames per second, and explain to you what my thoughts are about this.

We are indeed shooting at the higher frame rate. The key thing to understand is that this process requires both shooting and projecting at 48 fps, rather than the usual 24 fps (films have been shot at 24 frames per second since the late 1920's). So the result looks like normal speed, but the image has hugely enhanced clarity and smoothness. Looking at 24 frames every second may seem ok--and we've all seen thousands of films like this over the last 90 years--but there is often quite a lot of blur in each frame, during fast movements, and if the camera is moving around quickly, the image can judder or "strobe."

Shooting and projecting at 48 fps does a lot to get rid of these issues. It looks much more lifelike, and it is much easier to watch, especially in 3-D. We've been watching HOBBIT tests and dailies at 48 fps now for several months, and we often sit through two hours worth of footage without getting any eye strain from the 3-D. It looks great, and we've actually become used to it now, to the point that other film experiences look a little primitive. I saw a new movie in the cinema on Sunday and I kept getting distracted by the juddery panning and blurring. We're getting spoilt!

Originally, 24 fps was chosen based on the technical requirements of the early sound era. I suspect it was the minimum speed required to get some audio fidelity out of the first optical sound tracks. They would have settled on the minimum speed because of the cost of the film stock. 35mm film is expensive, and the cost per foot (to buy the negative stock, develop it and print it), has been a fairly significant part of any film budget.

So we have lived with 24 fps for 9 decades--not because it's the best film speed (it's not by any stretch), but because it was the cheapest speed to achieve basic acceptable results back in 1927 or whenever it was adopted.

None of this thinking is new. Doug Trumbull developed and promoted a 60 frames per second process called ShowScan about 30 years ago and that looked great. Unfortunately it was never adopted past theme park use. I imagine the sheer expense of burning through expensive film stock at the higher speed (you are charged per foot of film, which is about 18 frames), and the projection difficulties in cinemas, made it tough to use for "normal" films, despite looking amazing. Actually, if anybody has been on the Star Tours ride at Disneyland, you've experienced the life like quality of 60 frames per second. Our new King Kong attraction at Universal Studios also uses 60 fps.

Now that the world's cinemas are moving towards digital projection, and many films are being shot with digital cameras, increasing the frame rate becomes much easier. Most of the new digital projectors are capable of projecting at 48 fps, with only the digital servers needing some firmware upgrades. We tested both 48 fps and 60 fps. The difference between those speeds is almost impossible to detect, but the increase in quality over 24 fps is significant.

Film purists will criticize the lack of blur and strobing artifacts, but all of our crew--many of whom are film purists--are now converts. You get used to this new look very quickly and it becomes a much more lifelike and comfortable viewing experience. It's similar to the moment when vinyl records were supplanted by digital CDs. There's no doubt in my mind that we're heading towards movies being shot and projected at higher frame rates.

Warner Bros. have been very supportive, and allowed us to start shooting THE HOBBIT at 48 fps, despite there never having been a wide release feature film filmed at this higher frame rate. We are hopeful that there will be enough theaters capable of projecting 48 fps by the time The Hobbit comes out where we can seriously explore that possibility with Warner Bros. However, while it's predicted that there may be over 10,000 screens capable of projecting THE HOBBIT at 48 fps by our release date in Dec, 2012, we don’t yet know what the reality will be. It is a situation we will all be monitoring carefully. I see it as a way of future-proofing THE HOBBIT. Take it from me--if we do release in 48 fps, those are the cinemas you should watch the movie in. It will look terrific!

Time to jump in the car and drive to Bag End for the day. Video coming soon!