Welcome to the first Behind the Red Carpet. Although this is the first edition I've included articles from Monday the 10th, but check back here every weekday from now on to get your daily fix of daily gossip on all things film related. So sit back relax and enjoy.
Metal Gear could be solid for Christian Bale
Christian Bale is tipped to be playing Solid Snake in the "Metal Gear Solid" movie which aims to begin production pre-strike for a release sometime in 2009.
The $40,000 Man?
Terry Zwigoff ("Ghost World," "Bad Santa," "Art School Confidential") will direct the New Line Cinema comedy "The $40,000 Man" reports the trades."Man" centers on a legendary astronaut who finds himself horribly injured in a crash and is rebuilt by the government to be a bionic man, but on a measly budget of only $40,000.Johnathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley wrote the original script. Zwigoff and "Ghost World" co-writer Dan Clowes will do a re-write.
Paddington Bear Lives
Warner Bros. is teaming with "Harry Potter" producer David Heyman to adapt British kids classic "Paddington Bear" reports Variety. Hamish McColl ("Mr. Bean's Holiday") is writing the screenplay for a live-action movie based on Michael Bond's series of books for young children about a talking bear who's adopted by a London family when they find him lost at Paddington Station. Paddington has journeyed from Darkest Peru, wearing a duffle coat, hat and Wellington boots, carrying a suitcase containing an empty jar of marmalade and wearing a label around his neck that reads "Please look after this bear, thank you." His arrival in the household of the Brown family leads to comic mishaps and misadventures for the well-meaning but accident-prone young bear. The Warner film will not be adapted from any specific book but will draw inspiration from the whole series. It's likely to be live action with a CGI bear in the manner of "Stuart Little."
Ben Affleck's directorial debut not gone just waiting
"Gone Baby Gone," Ben Affleck's directorial debut, has delayed its UK release because of the Madeleine McCann case reports The BBC.'Gone' tells of a four-year old girl's kidnapping and the effect it has on two detectives trying to find her.
Kung Fu's coming
Max Makowski ("One Last Dance," "Taboo") has been hired to direct the big screen adaptation of "Kung Fu" for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures reports Coming Soon.Allen and Albert Hughes were previously attached to helm the film based on the 1970s classic TV series that starred David Carradine.Cory Goodman rewrote a script by Howard Friedlander and Ed Spielman, whilst a new casting call has gone out looking for the lead role.A March 8th start of production is being targeted in China.
Sex is coming to a City in May 2008
"New Line and HBO Films have set a May 30th 2008 release date for "Sex and the City: The Movie," head to head with the Judd Apatow-produced comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and Eddie Murphy comedy "Starship Dave"..." (full details)
The Simpsons sequel is along way away
Al Jean, executive producer and show runner on "The Simpsons," has admitted to The New York Post that a "Simpsons Movie" sequel is a long way off.Jean says "We would only do a sequel if we believed it was a movie that had to be made, just like we did with the first one. We wouldn't want to do it just because the first one was successful, or because we wanted to make money off of a movie. We'd only do it if we had a script that we thought was great [and] there's no script at this point.""The Simpsons Movie" has grossed more than $175 million in the U.S. and is on track to rake in $500 million internationally.
Jon Stewart does the Academy Awards
The New York Times reports that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is expected to announce that comedian Jon Stewart will host the 80th Annual Academy Awards."The Daily Show" comedian hosted the ceremony in 2006 to generally good reviews. Whilst his biting humor style was toned down somewhat for the show - it received more acclaim than Chris Rock's fiery routine in 2005 or Ellen DeGeneres' schmaltzy soft approach at this year's ceremony.
Transformers sequel is also along way away
Producer Don Murphy says that due to the impending strike, there's no progress on a second "Transformers" as it would take too long to organise.
The Birds remake is happening
"It's happening, but I haven't read the script yet, but we're in talks, and I hope it works out. They're still working on it and making sure it's just right" said Naomi Watts to STYD about the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds".
Throw Danny from a Train
Danny DeVito is still quite keen on doing a sequel to his 80's directing debut "Throw Momma From the Train."
Indy 4 gets a name
It's official, the fourth "Indiana Jones" film has finally scored itself a title - "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".Actor Shia LaBeouf announced the title during last night's broadcast of the MTV Video Music Awards from Las Vegas.The film will score a release on Thursday, May 22nd 2008 in the US and most territories worldwide.
There's plenty more from where this came but if you have a scoop or something you read or heard send it through and we'll post it.
