The Playlist

Zac Efron & Akiva Goldsman Are 'Falling' Together

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 30, 2013 4:14 PM
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0 Comments

News

Did you know that Zac Efron has a production company? He does and it's called Ninjas Runnin' Wild Productions. Seriously. And that's runnin' not running, dawg. And over the past few years he's accumulated a small slate of projects that are moving through development incuding a remake of Daniel Espinosa's breakout film "Snabba Cash." And now, he's dipping his toes into the supernatural thriller sphere.

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WB Moves Forward With 'Lobo' With 'Journey 2' Director Brad Peyton

By Gabe Toro
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April 20, 2012 3:29 PM
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5 Comments

News

The cinematic Marvel-DC "arms race" is a bit of an illusion, since Marvel has leased their properties to many other studios, and DC's characters all exist underneath the Warner Bros. banner. Still, WB is smart enough to know that superheroes sell right now, and with the departure of "Harry Potter," the end of the Chris Nolan "Batman" films, and a final "Hangover" hitting next summer, they're clearly hard-up for franchises right now. Which is why DC and the WB are partnering to bring "The Flash" "Wonder Woman" "Lobo" to the big screen, with the help of the visionary auteur behind "Cats And Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore."

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Kristen Bell Is The Snow Queen In Disney's 'Frozen'; 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' Gets New Trailer & WB Buys Graphic Novel 'Bolivar' For Animated Movie

By Drew Taylor
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March 6, 2012 9:20 AM
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News

In a story on Kristen Bell joining the cast of Jennifer Getzinger's cinematic adaptation of Neil LaBute's play "Some Girls," The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively revealed that the actress-formerly-known-as-Veronica Mars will "provide the speaking and singing voice" as the lead in Disney's upcoming feature "Frozen," which means she will play the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale character the Snow Queen (first published way back in 1845). Additionally, the trade states that Warner Bros. and Weed Road (Akiva Goldsman's WB-based production shingle) have picked up the forthcoming graphic novel "Bolivar" for Irish animator Kealan O'Rourke to write and direct.

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Benjamin Walker, Tom Hiddleston, Lily Collins, Bella Heathcote & Jessica Brown Findlay Testing For Akiva Goldsman's 'Winter's Tale'

By Benjamin Wright
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February 29, 2012 10:25 AM
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3 Comments

News

While he may draw the critical scorn of fanboys everywhere with even the mention of his name, and rightfully so after penning the screenplays for the weak “Batman Forever” and disastrous “Batman & Robin,” screenwriter Akiva Goldsman still holds a lot of clout in Hollywood. That’s what one earns when they write behemoth blockbusters that span multiple genres, such as “I Am Legend” or “A Beautiful Mind,” as well as help usher in franchises with the likes of “The Da Vinci Code.” It was reported all the way back in February of 2011 that Goldsman would be lensing his directorial debut “Winter’s Tale," but at the beginning of this month it looked as if Goldsman called in some favors to his famous friends after the production hit some budgetary speed bumps, landing “I Am Legend” star Will Smith and “A Beautiful Mind” actor Russell Crowe in supporting roles. About $20 million was shaved off the budget and the project gained some much needed steam, so it pays to have friends in high places.

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So, That 'I Am Legend' Sequel Is Becoming Possibly More Real As Warner Bros. Officially Moves Forward

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 17, 2012 12:10 PM
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2 Comments

News

Warner Bros. has made a shocking, stunning announcement today that they would like to continue making lots of money by making a sequel to a hit movie. No. Fucking. Way.

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Akiva Goldsman Sets Up Western Drama About Doc Holliday AT HBO With Ron Howard Attached To Direct Pilot

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 22, 2011 1:17 PM
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4 Comments

News

Say what you will about Akiva Goldsman, but the guy responsible for stuff like "Batman Forever," "Batman & Robin," "Jonah Hex" and the "Paranormal Activity" sequels does manage to deliver something a cut above his usual dreck whenever he pairs up with Ron Howard. While we'll politely ignore the Dan Brown adaptations, the duo collaborated in fine form with "A Beautiful Mind" and "Cinderella Man," and were prepared to work together again on the expansive "The Dark Tower" before Universal walked away. And while Brain Grazer recently revealed that HBO will be taking on the television portion of the Stephen King adaptation, it looks like the other two-thirds of the trio have been busy talking to the network about something else.

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Akiva Goldsman Looking At Tom Hiddleston & Benjamin Walker To Lead Directorial Debut 'Winter's Tale'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 7, 2011 10:00 AM
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News

First up is "Winter's Tale," set to mark the big-screen directorial debut of Akiva Goldsman, the Oscar-winning writer of "A Beautiful Mind," and smack-deserving writer of "Batman & Robin" and "The Da Vinci Code." Announced back in February, the film sees Goldsman tackle Mark Helprin's much-praised 1983 novel of the same name, which follows an orphan on the run from a criminal gang, who breaks into a New York mansion, only to fall in love with a dying woman, with reincarnation, apocalypse, rainbow bridges and a flying white horse all cropping up as well. It's something of a passion project for the screenwriter, who's been attached since 2009, and he spent the weekend performing some chemistry reads with some young talent for the lead roles.

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'The Dark Tower' Dies, As Universal Pulls The Plug On Ambitious Multi-Platform Adaptation

By Gabe Toro
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July 18, 2011 12:24 PM
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9 Comments

"The Dark Tower" has crumbled to the ground.

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'Battlestar Galactica' Veteran Mark Verheiden To Co-Write & Exec Produce 'Dark Tower' TV Series

By Oliver Lyttelton
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April 13, 2011 1:48 AM
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1 Comment

Considering the lack of adventurous spirit shown across his entire directing career to date, it's still kind of staggering to think about the ambition of Ron Howard's next project. An adaptation of the seven books in Stephen King's dense, meta-textual, sometimes-just-plain-weird "The Dark Tower" series, planned to stretch across three films and two separate TV series, mostly using the same cast, it's truly something of a scope that's never really been attempted before. And somehow, despite our gut telling us that Howard would find it tricky to land an A-lister considering the scope of the project, he looks to have signed up the much-in-demand Oscar-winner Javier Bardem as the gunslinging hero of the series. Not too shabby so far, then.

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Akiva Goldsman Gets Greenlight For Directorial Debut 'Winter's Tale,' Will Lens In Spring 2012

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 2, 2011 2:18 AM
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1 Comment

Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman is probably still most infamous for penning "Batman Forever" and "Batman And Robin," two of the worst entries in the franchise. And while his talents seem to fail him with projects that involve any kind of fantastical bent, give Goldsman something straightforward to work with like "A Beautiful Mind" or "Cinderella Man" and he churns out a decent, if not particularly mind-blowing, script (he won an Oscar for the former). Well, he's been looking to make the leap from writer to director for a while now, and Warner Bros. has finally given him a shot.

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