Fukunaga to write, direct Stephen King's 'It'

Warner Bros. has a director and screenwriters in place for its feature-film adaptation of Stephen King's "It."

"It" was published in 1986.

According to The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision, Cary Fukunaga ("Jane Eyre") will direct and co-write the script with Chase Palmer, director of the shorts "Shock and Awe" and "Neo-Noir."

The plan is for the book to be adapted into two films, Heat Vision's report says.

King's novel, which was first published in 1986, was adapted into a television mini-series in 1990.

A synopsis from King's website describes the books as this: A promise made twenty-eight years ago calls seven adults to reunite in Derry, Maine, where as teenagers they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city's children. Unsure that their Losers Club had vanquished the creature all those years ago, the seven had vowed to return to Derry if IT should ever reappear. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that summer return as they prepare to do battle with the monster lurking in Derry's sewers once more.

Emma Watson in talks for 'Noah'

"Harry Potter" actress Emma Watson is in talks to join the cast of director Darren Aronofsky's film, "Noah," based on the biblical tale.

Emma Watson

Deadline is reporting Watson would play Ila, a woman who is involved with Noah's son Shem, portrayed by Douglas Booth ("The Pillars of the Earth" and the forthcoming "Romeo and Juliet").

Russell Crowe ("Gladiator") is set to be Noah and Logan Lerman ("Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lighning Thief") will be Noah's other son Ham.

This will be Aronofsky's followup to his Academy Award-nominated films "Black Swan" and "The Wrestler."

Watson, who finished her eight-movie run on the "Harry Potter" franchise last year, will next be seen in the coming-of-age film "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," which also stars Lerman.

'Ninja Turtles' to start filming later this year

Amidst controversy over the potential retooling of the characters' origin story, producer Michael Bay's "Ninja Turtles" will begin filming later this year.

Filming is expected to begin this fall.

The Province is reporting (found via Comingsoon.net) that production will start in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in either late summer or early fall.

Bay courted fan outrage earlier this year when he mentioned that the Turtles' origin story would be more alien in nature than in the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comics, cartoon series and movies. This was compounded when Paramount Studios announced the title for the upcoming movie was being shortened to "Ninja Turtles."

In March, Bay responded to the controversy on his website, posting:

"Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie. This script is being developed by two very smart writers, with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles. They care VERY MUCH about making this film for the fans. Everyone on this team cares about the fans. Just give them a chance. Jonathan the director, is a major fan of the whole franchise. HE’S NOT GOING TO LET YOU DOWN."

The new film will be directed by Jonathan Liebesman ("Wrath of the Titans") based on a screenplay from Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec ("Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol").

The movie is set for release on Dec. 25, 2013.

'Twilight Zone' gets new scribe

Warner Bros. is taking another pass at the script for its adaptation of the classic television series "The Twilight Zone."

Joby Harold is the third write to take a crack at the script.

Variety is reporting that Joby Harold ("Awale") is in negotiations with the studio for a new draft of the script, which began with Jason Rosenberg and was later rewritten by Anthong Peckham ("Sherlock Holmes").

According to Variety, the new film will differ from the 1983 film version, which told separate stories, by following a single story line based on elements from the original television series created by Rod Sterling.

Matt Reeves ("Cloverfield") is set to direct the film with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson Killoran and Michael Ireland producing.

The 1983 film is perhaps best known for the grisly on-set deaths of star Vic Morrow and children Renee Chen and My-ca Dinh Le when a helicopter crashed on top of them during filming.

Russo brothers in talks for 'Captain America 2'

Variety is reporting that Joe and Anthony Russo are in talks to director Marvel's "Captain America 2."

The sequel will be released April 4, 2013.

The pair directed the films "Welcome to Collinwood" and "You, Mr and Dupree" as well as a number of television projects including "Community," "Happy Endings" and "Arrested Development."

The Russo brothers would be taking over for Joe Johnston, director of 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger, which starred Chris Evans in the title role. The film grossed $176 million domestically and $368 million worldwide.

Evans reprised the role in this summers mega-hit "The Avengers."

"Captain America 2" is set for a April 4, 2014, release and would follow "Iron Man 3" (May 3, 2013) and "Thor 2" (Nov. 8, 2013) based on Disney's current schedule.

Little is known about the possible plot lines, although the film will presumably pick up with the character's adventures following the events of "The Avengers" with hero Steve Rogers learning to live in the present day.

Fourth 'Transformers' film will be director Bay's last

For director Michael Bay, the fourth "Transfomers" film will be his last time at the helm of the billion-dollar franchise.

The fourth film will feature a new cast.

In an interview with the L.A. Times' Hero Complex about the new Transformers ride at Universal Studios, Bay said the fourth film will include some redesigns for the robots and an entirely new cast.

He added that the film will set up the franchise "for the next guy."

Bay's involvement with the upcoming fourth film was revealed in February when Lorenzo Di Bonaventura let it slip to MTV News that they were looking at a summer 2014 release date.

Bay's latest update falls in line with what Di Bonaventura said about the film featuring a new cast, although the latter said Optimus Prime and Bumblebee would be making returns.

The three "Transformers" films have grossed a collective $2.6 billion worldwide.

GKIDS will release 'From Up on Poppy Hill' in North America in March 2013

GKIDS, a distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences, announced Wednesday that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Japan’s renowned Studio Ghibli for North American rights to the studio’s newest release, "From Up on Poppy Hill" ("Kokuriko-zaka kara").

The film will be released in March 2013.

GKIDS is handling theatrical, home video, television and VOD rights and will qualify the film for the Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature category. Theatrical release is planned for March 2013.

The deal follows on the September 2011 pact between GKIDS and Studio Ghibli for North American theatrical rights to 13 Studio Ghibli titles, including Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning "Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro," "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind," "Castle in The Sky," "Kiki’s Delivery Service" and "Princess Mononoke." Disney holds the home video distribution rights for those titles.

The pickup also comes on the heels of a spate of recently announced foreign acquisitions by GKIDS including "Zarafa" (Pathe, France), "The Rabbi’s Cat" (TF1, France), "A Letter to Momo" (Production I.G, Japan), "Le Tableau" (Rezo, France), "Wrinkles" (Six Sales, Spain) and "Tales of the Night" (Studio Canal, France).

"From Up on Poppy Hill" was the top-grossing Japanese film of 2011, earning over $56 million at the Japanese box office and winning the Japan Academy Prize for Animation in 2012. The film was directed by Goro Miyazaki from a screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki, marking the first feature collaboration between father and son. An English-language version is being produced by Studio Ghibli with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall executive producing.