Negromancer News Bits and Bites for June 1 to June 7, 2014 UPDATED #2

News and Miscellaneous:

TMZ has a suite of photos from the Abu Dhabi set of Star Wars: Episode VII.  Huffington Post posted all of them in one article, including the following

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The Business Insider at Yahoo has a nice article on the children of Jack Kirby and their attempt to get the Supreme Court to here their copyright case against Marvel/Disney.

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Variety has news that Will Smith will star in a drama about the NFL's concussion problem.  Ridley Scott is one of the film's producer.  Peter Landesman will write and direct.

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Jared Leto as Doctor Strange a/k/a Stephen Strange in Marvel's Dr. Strange movie?  Sinister director Scott Derrickson to direct?  Go to Collider.  What happened to Johnny Depp as Strange?

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"12 Years a Slave" came out in America and that sucked up all the guilt about black people that was available. They were so exhausted feeling guilty about slavery that I don't think there was much left over to be nice about our film. So our film didn't do as well as we'd hoped, which was a bit heartbreaking.

Yes, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, William Nicholson, actually said that. [From Hitfix]

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How did James Cameron write three sequels to Avatar simultaneously?  Find out at this Slash Film article.

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Slash Film also has an exclusive article on Jurassic World.  It concerns plot leaks about the film, the latest installment of the Jurassic Park franchise.

Obits:

Ann B. Davis, the actress who played the housekeeper, Alice, on the television series, "The Brady Bunch," died on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at the age of 88.  In the 1950s, Davis won two supporting actress Emmys for her role on "The Bob Cumming Show."

Michael Bay vs Steve Lemlek "Transformers 4" Statement

Below is a statement from director Michael Bay, released yesterday (Monday, December 18, 2012) and refuting the earlier news about the "Transformers 4" script referenced by writer Steve Lemlek, being leaked online.

"Some Internet sites this morning reported that some document recovery guy has found a legitimate 120 page script of Transformers 4. I can absolutely 100 percent say this is completely false. The only two people in the world that have our unfinished script are Kruger and myself. Also we are only up to page 70 in our T4 script. Maybe this guy has a cartoon or something else – but definitely not our movie!"

Bay

http://michaelbay.com/

Got that? Ain't now Transformers 4 script on the Internet, declares Michael Bay.  Seriously, Steve Lemlek has the website www.unleashthefanboy.com where he posted a 120-page screenplay that he claims is the "Transformers 4" script.  Go here: http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/movies/exclusive-transformers-4-script-leaked-villain-is-unicron/37339 for more.

Shane Black to Direct "Iron Man 3"

The website, Total Film, is one of many reporting that Shane Black will direct "Iron Man 3, scheduled for May 2013.  Shane Black, who wrote Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout, also wrote and directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which starred Iron Man himself, Robert Downey, Jr.  Apparently, the third Iron Man film will be a sequel to this spring's Thor and next summer's, "The Avengers." I'll post more information as I find it.

Marvel Meets Shane Black About "Iron Man 3"

As you may already know, Jon Favreau will not return to direct the third installment Marvel Studio's Iron Man film franchise, after directing the first two movies, which were big hits.  As Marvel interviews prospective directors, a surprising name has come up according to Collider, legendary action movie screenwriter, Shane Black, the man who created Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout.  Black also wrote and directed the excellent Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (I just posted my review of it from a few years back.), which featured the star of the Iron Man movies, Robert Downey, Jr.

According to Collider, Marvel is meeting with a number of directors and the name of one of them is now known: Shane Black.  "Iron Man 3" is set to be released on May 3, 2013.

"The Dark Knight Rises" Adds Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Quite a bit of info and news has been trickling out about Christopher Nolan's third Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," which is due July 2012.  Deadline is reporting that Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who appeared in Nolan's Oscar-nominated Inception, is in talks to join the new Batman flick.  No word on what role Gordon-Levitt will play.
At the Santa Barbara Film Festival, Nolan revealed that DKR will start shooting in May of this year and that he and David Goyer had been working on the script for "a long time."

At /Film, in a short article Christopher Nolan's Director of Photographer Wally Pfister says that DKR's script is phenomenal.  He gave no details, but did talk about plans for photographing the film.

Halle Berry Declines Aretha Role

Recently, I posted about Aretha Franklin stating that Halle Berry would play her in a film about the Queen of Soul's life.  More recently at the Golden Globes, Berry politely declined.  Shadow and Act has the story and some opinion.

Halle Berry to Portray Aretha Franklin?

Apparently, Aretha Franklin made a recent appearance on "The Wendy Williams Show" and confirmed that Halle Berry will play Franklin in a long-promised biopic about the legendary Soul and gospel singer.  There may have even been a press release about this floating around since the middle of last year.  I'll keep you updated.
I love Halle, but doesn't this seem like a role better suited for Jennifer Hudson?  Things that make you go, Hmmm, huh?

Will Smith Developing TV Drama for Fox

Thanks to IMDb.com, I discovered a new website, Shadow and Act, which its participants describe as "A collective of writers, filmmakers, film critics and film enthusiasts, interested in discussing primarily film and filmmakers of the African Diaspora."

They made note of the following tidbit:  Will Smith and a Chinese director named Eva Jin are developing an hour-long, television crime drama for Fox.  It will be set in China and focused on a crime-fighting American female college student studying abroad in China.

I'll let you know when I learn more.

Dust Settles on Tyler Perry-Boondocks Psuedo-Feud

AOL Black Voices has an update on The Boondocks/Tyler Perry conflagaration here, and apparently some of the rumors are false.  Perry will not sue.  What follows is a recap from Black Voices:

The June 20 episode of his satirical series, titled 'Pause,' features a character named Winston Jerome, a religious playwright-director-actor who also cross-dresses as a no-nonsense grandmother named Ma Dukes in movies and chitlin' circuit plays. The imagery immediately brings thoughts of Perry's star character Madea Simmons to mind. Granddad is cast as Ma Dukes' love interest, and his grandsons, Huey and Riley, break into the a well-guarded compound to rescue their beloved guardian and save him from a homoerotic religious cult.

By the way, this third season is apparently the final season for The Boondocks.

Jamie Foxx Developing Mob TV Series

BET.com's blog, Stay Tuned..., cribbed a story from Deadline Hollywood that Jamie Foxx is developing a mob drama that he plans to pitch to the major cable networks.  You want details:

Jamie Foxx is getting entrepreneurial with a new drama TV project. I hear the Oscar winner over the past two weeks shot a trailer for a potential drama series entitled Tommy’s Little Girl. Selma Blair and Paul Sorvino star in the trailer for the project, which is based on an idea by Foxx. It revolves around several older mobster guys, played by Sorvino, Sopranos alum Tony Sirico and James Russo, and centers on Sorvino’s relationship with his daughter, played by Blair. Foxx is currently editing the trailer for the project, which is being financed by a private investor. When ready, it will be taken out to the top cable networks. Foxx has been focusing on TV producing lately.

Paul Sorvino!  I'm there already.

MiB3 Rumored

So Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Columbia Pictures has "Men in Black 3" in some stage of development.  Sacha Baron Cohen and Josh Brolin's names are attached, but everything depends on a commitment from one of my favorite actors, Will Smith.

Quentin Tarantino's Slavery Western or "Southern" (A Bits & Bites Extra)

FirstShowing.net found a New York Daily News interview of Quentin Tarantino, in which the director talks about what kind of film his next project would be:

Next up for Tarantino? "I'd like to do a Western. But rather than set it in Texas, have it in slavery times. With that subject that everybody is afraid to deal with. Let's shine that light on ourselves. You could do a ponderous history lesson of slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. Or, you could make a movie that would be exciting. Do it as an adventure. A spaghetti Western that takes place during that time. And I would call it 'A Southern.'"

FirstShowing has also learned that Tarantino's next project will NOT be Kill Bill Vol. 3.

The Hughes Brothers to Direct 2 Live Action "Akira" Films

A HitFix posting has picked up on a report that the Hughes Brothers (The Book of Eli) are adapting Katsuhiro Otomo's legendary manga, Akira, as two movies.  Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company is apparently involved in this project.

Christopher Nolan to Begin New Batman Movie and Nurse Superman Relaunch (A Bits & Bites Extra)

At Deadline Hollywood, Nikke Finke and Mike Fleming have some Christopher Nolan news.  The director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight apparently already has an idea for his next Batman flick.  He is reportedly working on a script with his brother Jonathan and David Goyer.  Meanwhile, Nolan apparently will assist in getting the next Superman movie off the ground.

Those Crazy Zac Efron Spider-Man Rumors (A Negromancer Bits and Bites Extra)

Those of you who follow such things know the mess that Sony Pictures' Spider-Man franchise has become.  Director Sam Raimi, who directed all three Spider-Man movies, reportedly could not agree with the studio on issues concerning "Spider-Man 4's" plot and villains or even finish a fourth film in time to meet the May 2011 release date.  Thus, Sony not only dumped Raimi, but also the franchise's stars - even Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire.  At that point, Sony apparently decided to relaunch the franchise featuring a younger Spider-Man.

Now, news/gossip/rumor site OK is reporting that Zac Efron of the Disney Channel's "High School Musical" will be Spider-Man... And Vanessa is also supposed to be along for the ride.

Director Says Jurassic Park IV Will Happen

According to the website, Comic Book Movie, director Joe Johnston told boxoffice.com:

"Well, there is going to be a Jurassic Park IV. And it's going to be unlike anything you've seen. It breaks away from the first three—it's essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It's going to be done in a completely different way. That's pretty much all I can tell you."

That would be great.  Ever since the fourth film didn't appear in 2005, I've been waiting... and waiting.  The reasons for the now 9-year wait since Jurassic Park III are many.  The main reason is apparently that boss Steven Spielberg found the scripts delivered for the fourth film lacking in one way or another - for instance, some scripts had too much science which slowed the story and some too much action and not enough science making the story shallow.

One of my favorite directors, John Sayles, who also works as a scriptwriter-for-hire and script doctor, reportedly wrote one of the scripts that was seriously being considered back around 2004-05.  I'd recently read somewhere that Sayles' script or parts of it may still be used.

Johnston's next film is the remake of The Wolfman, due in Feb. 2010.