A couple months ago it was revealed that Paramount was working on a computer animated movie based on the popular classic trippy 80’s cartoon series The Smurfs (Truth is that the Smurfs are actually 50 years old, having first appeared in comic strips). Well it turns out that producer Jordan Kerner (Charlotte’s Web), who obtained the rights to the Smurfs property in 2002, has also gotten a hybrid live-action Smurfs feature film greenlit at Sony. For those of you wondering what live-action hybrid means, think Alvin and the Chipmunks. Its not clear if Paramount will still be going ahead with their 3D computer animated feature or not.

J. David Stem and [...]

As expected, DreamWorks Animation has released the teaser trailer for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and boy is is annoying. It starts with some crappy club music and the characters singing that “You Got To Move It, Movie It” song. As predicted, the penguins look like the only funny thing in the movie. I’m not even sure King Julien, voiced by the hilarious Sacha Baron Cohen, will make you laugh in this one. Hey look, the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace comes out the same weekend. Did I mention how excited I am to see WALL-E?
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The PG-13 Effect: Brett Ratner’s officially “blowing ‘em where the pampers is.” The Miami-born maverick tells MTV that his Beverly Hills Kindergarten Cop 4 will be out to impress kids who can’t get into PG-13 movies. Is there another franchise that has ever consisted of three R-rated films (two of which are really good) and then had a PG sequel?
“Ten-year-old kids, 12-year-old kids don’t really know the old Beverly Hills Cop. So it’s an opportunity to make it new for kids,” Ratner said. “The same way it felt for me watching Beverly Hills Cop when I was a kid, that’s what I want to do for kids today.”
The youth have [...]

 USA Today has nine new photos from DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which is probably eight too many for my tastes. Here’s the deal: the characters still look incredibly boxy despite the lush and realistic looking backgrounds. Joining the Penguins as the sole entertainment in this sequel is Scha Baron Cohen as King Julien (pictured below).

You can watch the previously released DVD teaser trailer at this link (note: the film use to be titled Madagascar: The Crate Escape). I’m pretty sure the first theatrical trailer will premiere in front of Kung Fu Panda on June 6th.

You can see more (but why would you want to?) on USAToday.com. Madagascar: Escape [...]

IESB speculates that director Peter Segal, currently attached to helm a Shazam feature for Warner Bros., might also be the man who brings the studio’s planned tentpole, Jonny Quest, to the world as well for Summer ‘09. Apparently the script by Dan Mazeau is quite strong and in better shooting condition than Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam. Moroever, the site spoke to Segal recently, who was enthusiastic about the latest screenplay, noted his involvement with getting a Quest flick off the ground in the past, and even discussed casting preferences (The Rock for special agent Roger “Race” Bannon). As you might recall, for over a year now [...]

On June 5th, reshoots are scheduled to begin in Los Angeles on Where the Wild Things Are, director Spike Jonze’s borderline infamous adaptation of the classic, visceral and delightfully weird children’s book by Maurice Sendak. Jonze’s mission? Stop the nation’s emo kids (and parents) from crying and having vewey scary nightmares.
According to Bloody Disgusting, the reshoots, as ordered by Warner Bros., will continue for the duration of June, and casting calls for stand-ins are apparently happening as well. We recently tried to send out a Slashfilm Scanner to read Spike Jonze’s mind at a hip cafe in order to figure out the severity of the reshoots, but alas, the [...]

Robert Rodriguez always has like five projects going at the same time. He’s been hard at work “developing” Barbarella (or trying to convince the studio to give him the money to make it with his future wife Rose McGowan in the lead) and just announced a TV show called Women In Chains (also starring Rose McGowan), which he’s pitching to various networks, but his next feature film to go into production will be… drumroll please…
Shorts is a family comedy adventure that follows an 11-year-old boy who is hit in the head with a rainbow-colored rock that grants wishes to anyone who holds it. Chaos erupts in this small suburb where [...]

Cory Edwards is hard at work writing the screenplay for The Weinstein Co’s upcoming Fraggle Rock movie, and has completed almost 50-pages of his first draft based on an extensive 17-page studio approved outline.
“[The outline] is the product of many meetings with the Henson and Weinstein folks, and has every little story beat we could think of,” writes Edwards on his blog. “The outline as been picked at, beat up, and shot at for any major problems. So now I have the freedom to lock myself in my laboratory and create, knowing that I am working from a road map that everyone has signed off on.”
And while Edwards is contractually [...]

Will the original squad be back, or will Sony recruit new talent? A week ago we reported on the rumor that Spider-Man 4 and Spider-Man 5 will be filmed back-to-back, Back to the Future styles. Today, a quote from Marvel’s Vice Chairman, Peter Cuneo, hit the Net via IESB regarding Sony’s stirring plans for a third sequel…
“As far as Spider-man 4, it’s really up to Sony, it’s up to them, most likely scenario is 2010 or 2011 but we can’t speak for them and I think, that we don’t know. They have given us their re-up payment for that film so you know they’re going to make it within a [...]

Kid’s movie posters that command you to do something are next levs. Still, there’s not a chance in hell that Space Monkeys will reign supreme over 1987’s Project X as the top monkeys-in-flight-afternoon-delight movie of our times. Even with voice talent including Cheryl Hines, Jane Lynch, Kenan Thompson (did he start taking funnay pills?), Andy Samberg, and Stanley Tucci. Not happenin’.
This is not as funny as it could be, but a trivial animal cruelty controversy is brewing over Space Chimps on IMDB, if you want to squeeze one out or feign outrage.
Discuss: David Letterman’s question in Cabin Boy…
via Cinematical

You special kids can stop meddlin’ with your mashed potatoes because the last major bit of casting on Oliver Stone’s W. is close to a done deal: ass tamale Richard Dreyfuss will play elusive veep Dick Cheney. Wow. There wasn’t any question that Stone was going for the president’s jugular with this biopic, but Dreyfuss adds a bubbly new layer of vitriolic spittle. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dubbya chews dip, in both color and Stone’s signature b&w psycho-vision, for the entire running time. Wait, does one chew dip? I guess one dips it.
Moreover, SAG has shined its light on W., giving the Lionsgate production a waiver that allows [...]

The latest fantasy novel adaption from Fox Walden is City of Ember. Based on the 2003 novel by Jeanne Duprau, Ember follows two kids, Lina and Doon, who live in the City of Ember, where the sky is always dark. As Ember’s power source begins to fail and the lamps start to flicker, they search for clues that will unlock ancient mysteries about the city and save the people of Ember. The film stars Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Toby Jones, Martin Landau, Mackenzie Crook, Mary Kay Place, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
I’ve been waiting for a really long time for a good children’s fantasy film like the stuff [...]

Jack Black and 40 Kung Fu Pandas kicked off the Cannes Film Festival yesterday, and here’s some photos:

Are Michael Bay and 3D the new PB&J? A promotional PDF released by Dolby for this year’s ShoWest lists Transformers 2 under 2009’s 3D features alongside well known 3D flicks like AVATAR and Tintin. Bay hasn’t updated his blog to confirm or deny the announcement. Given the fact that the man eats Epic brand cereal morning, noon and night, and has the sizable task of topping his prior $319 million grossing robot deathmatch, who else thinks it’s a no-brainer?
The sequel starts principle photography on June 2nd in Pennsylvania, but obviously the looming SAG strike, which Bay recently ripped, could temporarily forfeit the mass destruction. Not sure if the ladies were [...]

I dare you to watch the trailer for Surfwise and not find yourself intrigued. As of late, there have been quite a few surfing documentaries that are all mashed together in the head of pop culture, but this one, from director Doug Pray (memorable grunge doc Hype!) focuses on the intricacies of an eccentric familial bond. In true American daydream style, Doc Paskowitz ditched the medical profession in the 1950s to become a professional surfer and family man, eventually packing up his nine offspring into a 24-foot camper like road/life-schooled sardines, alongside his perma-preggo wife, and traveling from surf spot to surf spot for the duration of their childhoods.
Get the [...]