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The $80 million film The Battle of Red Cliff is the most expensive Asian movie ever and it has been forced to stop production after a stuntman was killed and six people injured in an accident on set, Variety reported Tuesday. The movie by John Woo is adapted from China’s classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and tells the story of an epic battle waged in the year 280, in which thousands of ships decided the course of Chinese history. According to the report, the 23-year-old stuntman was killed when a fire broke out Monday on the set in northern Beijing after a boat rammed into the set of an ancient warship. The accident was the latest is a series of setbacks including lead actor Chow Yun-fat leaving the production.

MTV.com reports that Adam Beach has just finished production on the animated Turok movie and will now be going into production on the feature film which should lens in a couple years. “We’re about to set up meetings to develop a script and put it out there,” Beach is quoted. “I’ll have to beef up, and be a good guy, and save the world!” Turok has his origins in comic books but is perhaps more widely known today as the star of several popular video games. 1997’s Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is credited as being one of the earliest blockbuster first person shooters for the N64.

According to Variety, Leonardo DiCaprio will produce and star in the upcoming film about video game pioneer Nolan Bushnell, the man responsible for commercializing the medium with Atari in the 1970s. The movie will focus on the life of Bushnell in forming and turning Atari into the 2 billion dollar company it became at its height in 1982, before crashing two years later as video games went bankrupt in 1984. No production or release dates have been announced.

CNET reports that the Motion Picture Association of America is seeking a deal with the Federal Communications Commission which will get the latest Hollywood movies on TV much sooner after their original release. But the catch is in exchange for the faster release, the MPAA wants the FCC to change its rules to allow the industry to prevent these movies from being recorded on DVRs and viewed on some high-definition TVs. The MPAA filed its petition last week. The FCC is currently asking for comments on the proposal, and it could make a decision on the petition later this summer.

Mashable reports that Disney announced today an expansion of its media offerings on its free Xtreme Digital (XD) online network. ABC television network and Disney have introduced a staged rollout of full-length movie streams to Web viewers following their original network showing on the Wonderful World of Disney on Saturday nights. Disney XD is currently displaying Finding Nemo, with Monsters Inc., Haunted Mansion, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Princess Diaries 2, Freaky Friday, and Peter Pan to follow. While ABC networks only show movies on Saturday nights, visitors to the XD website will be given the opportunity to view weekly movies on demand the full week after they’re aired, Monday through Friday.

FirstSHowing.net reports that there is a Smurfs movie now officially in the works at Sony. J. David Stem and David Weiss, writers for the last two Shrek films, are in negotiations to write the screenplay. According to First Showing producer Jordan Kerner secured the rights in 2002 and has been developing it at Paramount, however Sony has separately decided to get it into production as a hybrid live-action feature. 

Variety reports that Millennium Films is going remake Alexandre Dumas’ tale of The Three Musketeers. The new picture will trace how swordsmen Athos, Porthos and Aramis first banded together. D’Artagnan, last member of the Musketeers, will be introduced later in the first movie or in a second installment. The Dumas novel is still in the public domain.

/Film reports that Louis Leterrier told  SOS Hollywood, the scene in the upcoming The Incredible Hulk movie in which the Captain America cameo was to occur was actually cut from finished film: “There’s a point when Bruce Banner gives up on his quest for the cure and decide to kill himself. So he travels far North and reaches the Arctic Circle. You might have seen bits of it in some of the promos. The result was a very dark and strong scene, which Marvel, me and everyone else’s considered to be too hard for young audiences to take, so we’ve cut it. Having that said, when Bruce arrives at his destination he meets up with Captain America! At some point this week, we will make it available on the internet – but I cannot tell you where or when – and the material will definitely be on the DVD.”

Sources:
Variety
MTV.com
Game Pro
CNETNews.com
Mashable
FirstShowing.net
MovieWeb
/Film

0 replies on “News Briefs”

I’m pissed about the Incredible Hulk scene being cut.

Even if I haven’t seen the finished product, all the negative press surrounding this movie makes me depressed.

Don’t be too upset about the scene being cut. It sounds like it may or may not have added anything to the film. Without seeing the film or the scene, I’m reserving judgement.

Lord knows I’ve sat through enough Deleted/Extended Scene portions of DVDs to fully realize that fully 95% of cut scenes are cut for a reason. A VERY, VERY good reason.

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