Filming underway on 'Riddick'

"Riddick" will be actor Vin Diesel's third turn as the titular antihero.

Universal Pictures, One Race Films and Radar Pictures announced today that principal photography has begun on the action-driven, sci-fi thriller "Riddick." The shoot will take place in Montreal.

The latest chapter of the saga that began with 2000's hit sci-fi film "Pitch Black" and 2004's "The Chronicles of Riddick" reunites writer/director David Twohy ("A Perfect Getaway," "The Fugitive") and star Vin Diesel (the "Fast and Furious" franchise, "xXx)". Diesel reprises his role as the antihero Riddick, a dangerous, escaped convict wanted by every bounty hunter in the known galaxy.

The infamous Riddick has been left for dead on a sun-scorched planet that appears to be lifeless. Soon, however, he finds himself fighting for survival against alien predators more lethal than any human he's encountered. The only way off is for Riddick to activate an emergency beacon and alert mercenaries who rapidly descend to the planet in search of their bounty.

The first ship to arrive carries a new breed of merc, more lethal and violent, while the second is captained by a man whose pursuit of Riddick is more personal. With time running out and a storm on the horizon that no one could survive, his hunters won't leave the planet without Riddick's head as their trophy.

'Short Circuit' remake has a screenwriter

Dimension Films has a writer for its planned remake of the 1986 comedy "Short Circuit."

The original was released in 1986.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Lieberman will provide the scribe for the film.

Dimension Films optioned the property in 2009 and had director Steve Carr ("Paul Blart: Mall Cop") and screenwriter Dan Milano ("Robot Chicken," "Greg the Bunny") attached. It was announced in August, however, that director Tim Hill ("Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Hop") had been brought in to revive the project.

"Dimension has had great success with the 'Spy Kids' family series which grossed over $500 million worldwide," said Bob Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, which is the parent company of Dimension. "We are looking for 'Short Circuit' to be our next family franchise and are excited to be working with Matt Lieberman and Tim Hill, who has had great International success with 'Hop' and 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'."

In the original, a military robot is struck by lightning, making it sentient. Johnny Five runs away and befriends a woman (Ally Sheedy), who strives to keep him safe from the pursuing military. A sequel was made two years later.

Original producer David Foster is on board the sequel to produce along with Ryan E. Heppe and John Hyde.

'Evil Dead' lures Fernandez, Levy to play leads

Casting is picking up in earnest for the remake of the 1981 cult horror classic "Evil Dead," with Shiloh Fernandez ("Red Riding Hood") signed and Jane Levy ("Suburgatory") in talks to play the male and female leads respectively.

Jane Levy

Original director Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell (who played Ash in all three "Evil Dead" films) and original producer Rob Tapert are partnering to bring the remake to life.

Fede Alvarez (responsible for the short film "Panic Attack) will direct based on a script written by Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues. Diablo Cody ("Juno") also provided revisions.

Shiloh Fernandez

"Evil Dead" followed five college students who are traveling to an isolated cabin become possessed by evil spirits, leaving Ash alone to battle the dead.

"Evil Dead 2," released in 1987, was essentially a remake of the first film, while "Army of Darkness" in 1992 follows Ash to 1300 A.D., where he must battle an army of the dead and retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home.

Ghost House Pictures partners Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane are executive producing the remake.

'The Hunger Games' will feature two new President Snow scenes

Next month's adaptation of Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" will include two scenes featuring President Coriloanus Snow that were not in the best-selling novel.

Donald Sutherland

According to Entertainment Weekly, actor Donald Sutherland ("The Mechanic"), who is portraying Snow in the upcoming film, wrote to director Gary Ross seeking the role.

"It was a long thoughtful analysis of the way power is wielded and why, how it controls people and what the use of the Games were and how pernicious they were and the way that they were used as an instrument of political control," Ross told EW. "It was so eloquent and brilliant that it actually inspired me to write two extra scenes for him that I think are pivotal in the movie and that Suzanne really loves."

Ross said he came up with the new scenes while filming in Asheville, N.C.

"So I sat down in this chair and stared at the lake and came up with these two scenes," he said. "And I realized that not only were the scenes vital but they actually fit a piece that was missing. That was a gift I got from the actor."

Snow has a limited role in "The Hunger Games" novel but is featured much more prominently in the two sequels, "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay."

"The Hunger Games" will hit theaters March 23.

Full cast announced for 'Romeo and Juliet'

With filming now underway in Italy, the full cast of director Carlo Carlei's adaptation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" has been announced.

Hailee Steinfeld

Based on a script from Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes ("Gosford Park"), the film is set to star the already announced Hailee Steinfeld ("True Grit") as Juliet and Douglas Booth ("The Pillars of the Earth") as Romeo.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new cast members include Damian Lewis ("Homeland") as Lord Capulet, Natascha McElhone ("The Truman Show") as Lady Capulet, Stellan Skarsgard ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") as Prince of Verona, Lesley Manville ("Another Year') as The Nurse, Christian Cooke ("Where the Heart Is") as Mercutio, Tomas Arana ("Gladiator") as Lord Montague, Laura Morante ("Remember Me, My LOve") as Lady Montague and Leon Vitali as Apothecary.

They join Paul Giamatti ("The Ides of March") as Friar Laurence, Kodi Smit-McPhee ("Let Me In") as Benvolio and Ed Westwick ("Gossip Girl") as Tybalt.

The Reporter quoted Fellowes as saying the film will be "the romantic medieval love story as conceived by Shakespeare. We felt that really what we needed was just to make it slightly more accessible to today’s generation."

Platinum Studios to adapt 'The Weapon' into feature film

Platinum Studios, Inc., announced Tuesday that they are developing comic book series "The Weapon" into a feature film.

"The Weapon" was written by Fred Van Lente.

Scott Rosenberg, CEO of Platinum Studios and producer of "Cowboys & Aliens," will act as producer on the film.

"The Weapon" is about a martial arts enthusiast, Tommy Zhou, who has discovered a means to create solid objects from light--and invented a superhero persona to promote it, The Weapon. Not believing the legends his grandfather told him as a child, Zhou's inventions unsuspectingly make him the target of a millennia-old assassin cult that's convinced he's unlocked the ancient mystical techniques of the Order of Wu-Shi--"The Way of the Weapon."

"We believe 'The Weapon' will be an attractive project for both international film financiers and Hollywood producers," Rosenberg said. "This property is one of those with enormous franchise potential."

"The Weapon" is written by New York Times bestselling author Fred Van Lente. Mr. Van Lente is also the author of "Marvel Zombies," "Incredible Hercules" (with Greg Pak), "Odd Is On Our Side" (with Dean R. Koontz) and "Cowboys and Aliens," which was adapted into last summer's feature film.

Matthew Vaughn will return for 'X-Men: First Class' sequel

Most assumed it was only a matter of time, but now it is official. Director Matthew Vaughn will be back for the sequel of last summer's hit blockbuster, "X-Men: First Class."

The first film earned $353 million.

The prequel/reboot grossed $146 million domestically and another $207 million in foreign markets, but even more importantly became one of the best reviewed summer blockbusters of the year.

As first reported by Deadline, 20th Century Fox broke the story of Vaughn's return Monday at the same time they announced they had signed production president Emma Watts to a new contract.

Joining Vaughn will be returning producer Bryan Singer--who directed "X-Men" and "X2"--and scribe Simon Kinberg. The latter, unfortunately, was responsible for the script behind the lackluster "X-Men: Last Stand." On a brighter note, he was one of three people with screenplay credit for Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes."

"First Class" featured James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr, and both actors are expected to return as well.