• McG talks ‘20,000 Leagues’

MEDIA: What locations have you scouted for your version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

McG: I was scouting all over the world. I was scouting in France, I was scouting in England, Canada, Australia, Japan, and ultimately…Well, you still have to go to Hawaii to do a little volcano work.

What is your vision for this story?

It’s a bit of a departure from the Fleischer movie, and much more in keeping with the spirit of the novel, as far as what Aronnax is up to, and the becoming of Nemo, and how the man became at war with war itself. So there’s a little bit more meat on the bone in regard to the genesis of the Nemo character than you’re given in the ’50s movie that Disney made. And also, it’s a little more contemporary, because in that movie, there were…You know, I love that movie, but there were two female characters, they were both prostitutes. And there were a couple of black people in the film, and they were all electrocuted. So nowadays, I think we need to progress a little bit beyond that.

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• Robin Hood is getting a futuristic makeover

“Robin Hood” will be getting a futuristic makeover courtesy of the producers of “The Dark Knight” and “300” as well as Warner Bros., where a new take on the classic tale has been set up.

Atlas Entertainment and Hollywood Gang will produce the untitled saga, while commercials director Nicolai Fuglsig, who pitched the project, has signed on to direct. Jason Hall, the CAA-repped scribe who penned the upcoming Ashton Kutcher dramedy ‘Spread,” will write the screenplay.

Few plot details have been revealed about the new Robin Hood, but it will be set in a dystopian London and center on a band of thieves whose activities restore hope to the city’s embattled population. Producers describe it as “a futuristic action adventure” that will be “both inspired by and pay homage to the legend of Robin Hood.”

• ‘Bourne Identity’ director helps rescue boaters in N.Y.

Director Doug Liman and producer Avram Ludwig told the Associated Press they were on their sailboat on the river in New York around 1 a.m. Wednesday when they saw a black cargo ship and a speedboat on a collision course. They said they watched in horror as the large craft crashed into the smaller boat and kept going.

Both Liman and Ludwig said they didn’t expect to find any survivors, but found four people screaming for help when they motored to the scene. Liman and Ludwig said they rescued three passengers from the water, while the owner of the vessel refused to leave his speedboat.

• Zach Galifianakis talks about his reservations for ‘Hangover 2′

“He is writing the script. But I haven’t seen the script. I’m not running to do The Hangover 2. I told Todd, the last thing I want is the Police Academy chain all of the sudden, where I’m only known from… You’ve got to be careful with something like that. The movie’s really good, why bother with a sequel? And I’m not saying that I’m not going to do it. I’m just posing these questions. These are things I ask Todd. Obviously, the reason is executives have Bentleys to pay for. I would love, love, love to work with those guys again. The script has to be good! But I’m working with Todd on a movie we’ll be shooting in about six weeks. So I’ll do that first, and then we’ll see how it goes.”

• Peter Burg talks about his epic adventure adaptation of ‘Dune’

I think I had a much more different experience, I think, with the book than David Lynch did, … To me, I think my interpretation will feel significantly different from that and the [Syfy] Channel miniseries that aired. I have a different experience than both of those filmmakers did.” Berg sees the story more as an epic adventure. “[The book] was much more muscular and adventurous, more violent and possibly even a little bit more fun,” Berg said. “I think those are all elements of my experience of the book that can be brought in without offending the die-hard fans of the Bene Gesserit and Kwisatz Haderach. There’s a more dynamic film to be made.”

• ‘Mission: Impossible IV hires two writers from ‘Alias’

Paramount Pictures and producers Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams have officially lit the fuse on “Mission: Impossible IV,” setting Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec to write the screenplay.

Applebaum and Nemec spent four seasons with Abrams as co-exec producers of “Alias,” and they will script “M:I 4″ based on a story Abrams wrote with them.

While the only other commitments so far are for Cruise and Abrams to produce the film together, sources said that Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, will certainly be involved in an onscreen capacity. Pic is aimed for a 2011 release.

• Fresh take on ‘Barbarella’ in development

Joe Gazzam has been tapped to write the screenplay centering on the character that was immortalized by Jane Fonda in the 1968 original.

Robert Luketic is attached to direct the sci-fi action-adventure, with original producer Dino De Laurentiis on board to produce the update along with his wife, Martha De Laurentiis.

Robert Rodriguez came on the project, which was then set up at Universal, in May 2007 with an eye to making it a vehicle for Rose McGowan. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade wrote the script, but the studio and director reportedly could not agree on where to shoot. After the parting of ways, a new direction for “Barbarella” was sought.

• ‘Machete’ cast revealed, includes Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal

…It began production this week on `Machete,’ the film that Robert Rodriguez is co-directing with protege Ethan Maniquis. Danny Trejo is playing the title character and Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson and Jeff Fahey play supporting roles.

• ‘V for Vendetta’ director’s next project is Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven’

The filmmaker, for the first time ever, reveals details about his next project — James is currently casting a period thriller titled The Raven, a fictionalized account of the final five “mysterious” days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. Apparently the famous writer joins the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are inspired by his stories.“It’s like the poem, The Raven, itself, crossed with Se7en. It should be pretty cool. The script is really good and everyone responds to it really well. I’m in the middle of casting.”

• ‘Orphan’ writer to give ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ a Gothic twist

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way banner is developing a Gothic reimagining of “Little Red Riding Hood” with screenwriter David Leslie Johnson.

The “Red Riding Hood” project’s been developed internally at Appian Way but isn’t being positioned as a possible acting vehicle for DiCaprio.

The best-known version of the story — in which a wolf disguises himself to fool a girl delivering food to her sick grandmother in the forest — was published in the 19th century by the Brothers Grimm. Earlier oral versions of the tale, which date back to the Middle Ages, are far darker and sometimes involve a werewolf rather than a wolf; the first published version, by Charles Perrault, concludes with Red Riding Hood eaten by the wolf, with no happy ending.

Based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed by Oscar® winner Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Jackson & Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens, “The Lovely Bones” centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. Oscar® nominee Mark Wahlberg and Oscar® winners Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon star along with Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Oscar® nominee Saoirse Ronan.

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In January of 2007, while visiting his homeland of Australia, Heath Ledger presented Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse with an idea to direct a video for their yet-to-be-released song ‘King Rat’. Heath’s vision, brave and unapologetic in its nature, would marry his love of bold and original music with his impassioned stance against the illegal commercial whale hunts taking place of the coast of Australia each year. Always one to operate from his heart and take a stand for what he cared deeply about, Heath’s intention was to raise awareness on modern whaling practices through a potent visual piece without having to say a word. It was his way to let the story, in its candid reversal, speak for itself.

The video was fully conceived down to the last detail but unfinished when Heath passed away in January of 2008. In the interest of fully realizing Heath’s final work as a visual artist, THE MASSES (a film and music company which Heath was a partner in) finished the video in his honor, with the support and advocacy of Isaac Brock.

Based on the book of the same title, Tucker decides to take an impromptu trip to celebrate his friend’s bachelor party. He drags his friend into a lie with his fiancée, gets him into trouble and then abandons him in order to pursue a hilarious carnal interest. Tucker is disinvited to the wedding, and in order to get back in, Tucker has to find a way to balance his narcissism with the demands of friendship.