Judd Apatow Signs A Three-Picture Deal With Universal

Universal Pictures has kept its key funny guy in the studio fold, signing a three-picture directing deal with "Funny People" helmer Judd Apatow. While Apatow produces films for other studios, he has never directed a film outside of Universal. Studio opens his latest, "Funny People," today on 3,007 screens.

Apatow made his directing debut on 2005 comedy hit "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," which he followed with 2007’s "Knocked Up."

In the process, he has helped reestablish the R-rated comedy and created comic stars of Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Katherine Heigl, Jonah Hill and Leslie Mann. Rogen, Hill and Mann star in "Funny People," alongside Adam Sandler, Eric Bana and Jason Schwartzman.

Apatow has not yet committed to his next directing vehicle. He writes his films himself, and that process will begin after "Funny People" opens.

Universal chairman Marc Shmuger, who made the Apatow deal with co-chairman David Linde, said that the most rewarding part is the opportunity to continue collaborating with an artist who is still testing his range as a director.

"I feel like we’re growing with him and watching him mature as a filmmaker, and that is a thrilling thing to be part of," Shmuger said. "To know he’ll direct his next three pictures here is a vote of confidence to our entire organization. It has become a true collaboration and partnership."

Apatow said: "Everyone at Universal has been incredibly supportive of my directing career since day one. I am thrilled I am able to continue that relationship."

Thoughts:
Good for Universal because I personally find Judd Apatow to be a better director than a producer. I very much enjoyed The 40 Year Old Virgin and praised Knocked Up for its originality. I'm very much looking forward to his third film, Funny People.

Ridley Scott Directing The Alien Prequel!

Twentieth Century Fox is resuscitating its "Alien" franchise. The studio has hired Jon Spaihts to write a prequel that has Ridley Scott attached to return as director. Spaihts got the job after pitching the studio and Scott Free, which will produce the film.

The film is set up to be a prequel to the groundbreaking 1979 film that Scott directed. It will precede that film, in which the crew of a commercial towing ship returning to Earth is awakened and sent to respond to a distress signal from a nearby planetoid. The crew discovers too late that the signal generated by an empty ship was meant to warn them.

The deal gives Fox another chance to keep the "Alien" franchise alive. There were three sequels to Scott's original, but it is the first time the director has set his mind on directing one.

Thoughts:
Looks like the folks at Fox didn't want newcomer Carl Rinsch helming the Alien prequel and have persuaded Ridley Scott to come back to the Alien franchise, and direct the prequel himself. I'm still skeptical to even wonder what this film is going to be like. I'm not very happy with the amount of control Fox has had over its recent movies such as cutting scenes and toning down the blood to achieve that mainstream PG-13 rating. I just hope they don't end up screwing Scott's vision for this film just to make sure it doesn't flop at the box office.

Ron Howard Set To Direct The Parsifal Mosaic

Universal Pictures has attached Ron Howard to direct "The Parsifal Mosaic," an adaptation of the espionage thriller by "The Bourne Identity" author Robert Ludlum. David Self will adapt the Ludlum novel about a CIA operative who thinks he witnessed the execution of his lover after she was identified as a KGB double agent.

Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer will produce with Captivate Entertainment partners Jeffrey Weiner and Ben Smith. Imagine’s David Bernardi will be exec producer.

The studio, which is separatelydeveloping a fourth "Bourne" installment with director Paul Greengrass, and "The Sigma Protocol" (an adaptation of yet another Ludlum thriller), began negotiating the rights for "Parsifal Mosaic," for which it had first-look rights in a deal Universal made with Captivate, which controls screen rights to the late author's books.

Thoughts:
This is one of the better announcements I have heard this week. I usually love Ron Howard's work especially when hes collaborating with Universal Studio.

Trailer For Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox

Yahoo Movies! has debuted the first trailer for Wes Anderson's stop motion animated film The Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the children's book by Roald Dahl and featuring the voices of George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, Meryl Streep and Jason Schwartzman.

Mr and Mrs Fox live an idyllic home life with their son Ash and visiting young nephew Kristopherson. But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox's wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers -- Boggis, Bunce and Bean -- who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr Fox at any cost.

Thoughts:
Looks unique and very refreshing for an animated production. I have no doubt the film will be amazing when considering the amount of talent involved including director Wes Anderson.

Universal Bringing The Lorax To The Big Screen

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment are joining forces to turn the Dr. Seuss book "The Lorax" into a 3-D CG animated feature.

"Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" will be co-directed by Chris Renaud and Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, with Paul & Daurio writing the script.

Though published in 1971, "The Lorax" has a timely "green" theme. It is narrated by a greedy entrepreneur who, despite warnings from the tree-loving Lorax, strips a forest of its stock of Truffula trees to manufacture clothing. The results are catastrophic as all the animals leave and nothing's left.

The picture is targeted for a March 2, 2012, release.

Illumination topper Chris Meledandri will produce and Audrey Geisel will be executive producer. Illumination's John Cohen and Janet Healy will also be involved in producing capacities.

Thoughts:
Never read the book so I don't know what to expect from this. I do however enjoy the Dr. Seuss books and have fairly enjoyed the movie adaptations that have already come out.

Sony Developing An inFAMOUS Movie

Sony Pictures has pre-emptively picked up a pitch from screenwriter Sheldon Turner to adapt the Sucker Punch Prods. video game "inFAMOUS" into a feature film. The deal is for seven figures.

The studio is working out a deal for rights to the game, which was published by sister company Sony Computer Entertainment.

Avi Arad and Ari Arad will produce. Sony executives Matt Tolmach and Jonathan Kadin are handling for the studio.

Launched in May, "inFAMOUS" centers on bike messenger Cole MacGrath, who survives an explosion that destroys entire blocks of Empire City only to find he has new electricity-derived super powers. The action game, designed for Sony's PlayStation 3 console, allows the player to use his powers for good or evil, as MacGrath's karma affects how the devastated city's people and infrastructure deal with him.

"What excited me most about the game was it was the first of which I've come across that had a big idea and a character arc," Turner said. "It is, I believe, the future of gaming. The game, while big and fun, is at its core a love ballad to the underachiever, which is what our hero, Cole McGrath, is."

Thoughts:
I'm not sure about this just yet. I haven't played this PS3 video game and its been getting some mixed reviews though most of them are positive. A couple of my friends did say the game had a pretty good story so it should be interesting to see how well that translates to the big screen.

REVIEW: Brüno

Brüno

Year: 2009
Director: Larry Charles
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Bañagale
Distributor: Universal Pictures
MPAA: Rated R

Sacha Baron Cohen is back! This movie has been in development pretty much right after Borat came out and became a huge hit. Borat is replaced by Brüno, an openly gay Austrian fashion show host.

Plot Outline:
The movie introduces us to Brüno, who loves fashion and has his own TV show in his hometown of Austria. After hitting a few rode roadblocks in his Austrian TV career, he gets fired and is pretty much blacklisted from every fashion organization in the country. With the help of this personal assistant, Lutz, the two decide to take their chances and go to the United States where Brüno would attempt to become a celebrity.

Plot:
Soon after arriving to the United States, the two immediately meet with a acting agent who gives him a script to try. After miserably failing, he decides to try making a show about celebrities where he interviews them about various issues. I felt the plot was missing the magic Borat had with its story. The movie wasn’t nearly as funny as Borat, but topping a movie like Borat would be an extremely hard task to do.

Cast:
Just like Borat, there really isn’t much of a cast here. Sacha Baron Cohen is once again the star of the movie, starring as Brüno. And also just like Borat, Cohen never breaks out of contract even in the most dangerous things he does. Gustaf Hammarsten plays as his assistant and he does a pretty job at it, but he was a character that I felt pretty useless and unnecessary – unlike Azamat from Borat.

Picture:
I found the picture quality to be pretty good for a low-budget movie like this. The movie is pretty colorful, with colors being very vivid and popping out thanks to all of Brüno’s clothing.

Sound:
This movie had some weird music added to it, but I thought it fit perfectly with the movie. The techno music gave it a perfect feel to Brüno’s personality.

Conclusion:
If you thought Borat had some nasty moments, that was nothing compared to Brüno. Sacha Baron Cohen once again goes to the limits to do whatever is necessary to get his audience to laugh and he gets a lot of kudos for that. The plot was somewhat disappointing and the jokes weren’t as great as his previous movie, but it was still pretty funny overall. But if you liked Borat, you should definitely go check it out, just don’t set your expectations too high.

Grade: C