Movie News for the Week of September 9, 2011

It was a fairly boring week in Hollywood, so I apologize for the brevity.

1. To many people's surprise, the chosen one to host The Academy Awards is none other than..... Eddie Murphy? There was much talk about Billy Crystal possibly returning to host the Oscars this year, but it was officially announced this week that Murphy will be the one to take the stage in 2012.

2. Singer Adele announced this week that she will be heading back to the studio in November to record a theme song for the new James Bond film. I personally am not a fan of Bond or Adele, so I'm good with their joining together.

3. A young writer has convinced Warner Bros to let him script a Beetlejuice sequel. There are very few details out yet, but they have said that this will not be a remake but, instead, will further the original storyline.

4. Director Ridley Scott has found writers for his once-failed Monopoly film. Board games turned films were quite the rage last year, but the hype soon turned to disgust, slowing down the production of many films like Monopoly.

5. Seth Rogen announced this week that he will not appear in the Knocked Up spin off. Much of the original cast will be appearing in the film, but Rogen himself did not want to confuse the audience with a surprise appearance.

Ben & Jerry's announced this week that they will have a new ice cream flavor out soon, inspired by one of SNL's most famous sketches of all time. Check it out:

Also, for you Harry Potter fans, here is a trailer for a new Daniel Radcliffe film called The Woman in Black. It looks rather freaky, if I might say so myself.

Movie News for the Week of September 2, 2011

1. A reboot of The Grudge is now being developed. There is a chance that this movie might go straight to DVD, like The Grudge 3. We will just have to wait and see.

2. There is now a writer for the new Sin City sequel, which means the movie will likely be getting underway soon. I personally hated Sin City, so this is very sad news in my opinion.

3. A potential title has been mentioned this week for the new James Bond film. The name Carte Blanche is being tossed around, which is the title of a Bond book, as was Casino Royale.

4. Bruce Boxleitner, who plays Tron in the Disney series, told reporters this week that a third installment of Tron is a "done deal." He also mentioned that the film would be coming out in 2013. Disney has a new Tron animated series in development, and Tron 3 will probably be dependent on the success of the animated series.

5. The Coen brothers recently announced that their next film will revolve around a struggling 60's folk musician. As a huge fan of the Coen brothers, this is very exciting news about a movie that could include a soundtrack similar to that of O Brother, Where Art Thou. The film will be called Inside Llewyn Davis.

6. Rumors have developed that Anne Hathaway might be joining Hugh Jackman as a part of the cast of Les Miserables. Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Miranda Cosgrove, and Geoffrey Rush are a few other stars that are being courted to play in the big screen version of the classic musical.

7. It is basically official that Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood will each make some sort of appearance in The Hobbit films. While it is not likely that their roles will be large, this is still very exciting news for Lord of the Rings fans.

This is the first trailer for The Hunger Games, which was revealed at the MTV Video Music Awards. It looks sort of dumb to me, but we will just have to wait and see.

Movie News for the Week of July 12, 2011

1. The Star Wars news continues to roll in. Now a LEGO Star Wars TV special is being developed by George Lucas. The series will complement the Clone Wars series as Lucas promises a "new and fun" take on the classic.

2. An Angry Birds feature film is becoming more of a reality each day. I don't understand how this will be interesting, but I thought many people might be excited about it.

3. Javier Bardem has signed on to play in the new, untitled James Bond film. Most believe he will play a villain, but this has not been confirmed. The movie has taken a while to get started, due to the financial woes at the production company, but everything seems to be coming together.

4. FOX has ordered more scripts for a Napoleon Dynamite animated series. The series, based on the film, will premiere in the fall.

5. It has been rumored that Adam West will make an appearance in The Dark Knight Rises. West was the star of the original Batman TV series and would be a great surprise in the film, however big the role.

6. Paramount Pictures will replace the well known Dream Works name with a new animated division. The title of the new division is Paramount Animation (very original). Paramount will be working on a more limited budget, which could spell disaster for the films being made by the new division of the well-known company. Dream Works has yet to find a new home, but will likely be picked up by a new company in the future, sooner or later.

7. Not much of a surprise but certainly a big piece of movie news began this week. Johnny Depp is very very close to signing on for a fifth Pirates film. As a huge fan of the series who had mixed emotions about the fourth film, this news depresses me. I don't want one of the best film series ever to be ruined by Disney's quest for cash, but they never ask me.