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A Minecraft Movie is a fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Jared Hess from a screenplay co-written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta. Based on the popular video game Minecraft developed by Mojang Studios, the 2025 film follows a group of misfits who find themselves transported into the cubic world known as the Overworld and now they must set out on a perilous journey to find their way back home. A Minecraft Movie stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, and Sebastian Hansen. So, if you loved the wonderous adventure, entertaining story, and lovable characters in A Minecraft Movie, here are some similar movies you should check out next.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Prime Video) Credit – Universal Pictures

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an animated adventure comedy film co-directed...

Artists First veterans and partners E. Brian Dobbins and David Gardner have been named Co-Presidents of the management/production company. Peter Principato, who had served as President and CEO since Principate-Young rebranded itself as Artists First in 2018, will remain CEO.

“Brian and David have continually shown their dedication to this company, its culture, and leadership, and I am happy to have their wisdom in helping lead Artists First into the future,” Principato said. “We are committed to growing our organization intelligently and providing clients with the best overall experience and opportunities. On behalf of the partners, we are excited to appoint them as Co-Presidents.”

Dobbins has been with Artists First since its inception as Principato-Young 19 years ago. His impressive client list includes Anthony Anderson, Kenya Barris, Tracee Ellis Ross, Niecy Nash, Jon M Chu, Tracey Oliver, Romany Malco, Andre Braugher, Nat Faxon as well as Henry Simmons, whom he co-managers with Garnder.

Michelle MacLaren, the writer-director who has helmed multiple episodes of Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, has inked a deal to adapt The Nightingale for TriStar.

Variety has the scoop, confirming that MacLaren will transition Kristin Hannah’s acclaimed WWII novel onto the big screen. In doing so, the filmmaker will be working from a script penned by Ann Peacock, after John Sayles and MacLaren herself contributed to previous drafts. Elizabeth Cantillon, meanwhile, is attached to produce.

Set during the throes of World War II, The Nightingale chronicles the story of two sisters leaving in occupied France circa 1939. Hannah’s historical novel then becomes a tale of survival as the quiet French village of Carriveau becomes swept up in the devastation.

Here’s an extract of the book’s official synopsis:

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair

In a social media posting the other day, "Life of Pi" screenwriter David Magee revealed that he has finished his work on the script for the fourth film in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series:

"Completed the final draft of The Silver Chair today. I've had the immense pleasure to work on the project for over a year now. So fulfilling." [Source: NarniaWeb]

Napkin Notes

Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea's Pacific Standard production company is developing a film adaptation of Garth Callaghan's memoir "Napkin Notes" for New Line. The pair will produce the project.

Callaghan's book deals with how he began writing short inspirational notes on napkins to put in his daughter Emma’s lunchbox daily. It became more significant when he was given five separate cancer diagnoses. [Source: Variety]

The Nightingale

Ann Peacock ("The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe") has just...

Exclusive: Ann Peacock (Chronicle Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe) has just closed a deal to to adapt The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah for Elizabeth Cantillon (Concussion) to produce at TriStar, which had previously optioned the title. The Nightingale is an epic family drama about two sisters living in France during WWII and follows them as one becomes a prisoner in her own home and the other fights for the resistance. It was published in February of this…...

"It's great to back to CBS. It's been 20 years since Touched by An Angel…we made over 200 episodes, Roma Downey reminded TV critics this morning as she pitched her two-part miniseries The Dovekeepers to TV critics at Winter TV Press Tour 2015. Ann Peacock was tapped a year ago to adapt the Alice Hoffman bestseller for Downey and husband Mark Burnett – Hollywood’s It Couple when it comes to religious programming since scoring massive ratings for their The Bible 10-part…...

ABC is ready to tell best-selling author Ken Follett's Century Trilogy. The network is developing Fall of Giants, a sweeping 10-hour limited series based on the trilogy comprising New York Times best-sellers Fall of Giants, Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Ann Peacock (The Dovekeepers, Chronicles of Narnia) is on board to pen the script and exec produce the project from Sony Pictures Television. Should Giants perform well, the second and third books in the trilogy could be the basis for two more 10-hour event series or a continuing hourlong

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A decade on from Wolfgang Petersen's Troy (adapted from The Iliad), Hollywood is finally getting around to Homer's other great epic, The Odyssey. Warner Bros. have set Stalingrad director Fedor Bondarchuk to work on Odysseus, the story of the titular Greek warrior-king-hero's return home from the Trojan War.300's Gianni Nunnari is among the producers, indicating that, to some extent, this is the same Odysseus that was developing as long as five years ago. There have been plenty of changes between then and now, however. Back in 2009, the screenplay was by Ann Peacock (The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe) and the thrust was not The Odyssey itself, but what happened to Odysseus after he got home to Ithaca.But the latest script is by Jeremy Doner (The Killing), indicating a new focus, and raising the possibility that we may see Odysseus dealing with Cyclops, sirens, Scylla and shipwrecks after all.

Fourteen new hi-res stills have arrived Disney's upcoming fantasy epic Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Birdman" has scored an October 17th U.S. release date. Meanwhile the Natalie Portman-led western "Jane Got a Gun" has been pulled from its August 29th release date with no new one scheduled.

"Game of Thrones" show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have been set to write and direct a film adaptation of Stephen Hunter's novel "Dirty White Boys" at 20th Century Fox. The story revolves around three escaped convicts and the lawman trying to track them down... (full details)

Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Gregg Araki's Sundance premiere "White Bird In A Blizzard. The story follows an adolescent girl who must come to terms with her enigmatic mother's disappearance. Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Shiloh Fernandez, Gabourey Sidibe, Thomas Jane and Angela Bassett star.

24: Live Another Day

Jack Bauer is bleeding and Chloe O'Brian has gone all Lisbeth Salander in the first set photos from filming on the event series "24: Live Another Day" in London on Wednesday. Both characters were filmed shooting a scene involving an explosion. [Source: Too Fab]

The Dovekeepers

"The Chronicles of Narnia" scribe Ann Peacock has been set to adapt Alice Hoffman's historical novel "The Dovekeepers" for producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey ("The Bible") and CBS.

The story follows four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival at the siege of Masada, a mountaintop fortress where the Romans found the last pocket of resistance after they conquered Jerusalem in 70 Ce. [Source: Deadline]

David O. Russell

Filmmaker David O. Russell is attached to executive produce an untitled soap for ABC which has been given a 13-episode straight to series order.

The story is described as an upstairs/downstairs soap...

Just when you think you've finally decided which historical women-focused event series that may or may not end in mass suicide is your favorite, CBS announces that The Chronicles of Narnia screenwriter Ann Peacock will adapt Alice Hoffman's biblical drama The Dovekeepers into a four-part miniseries to air on 2015. So wipe off that whiteboard and get back to ponderin'!

Exclusive: Ann Peacock (The Chronicles Of Narnia, Nights In Rodanthe) has been tapped to adapt The Dovekeepers for Mark Burnett, Roma Downey and CBS. In December, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey — the new It Couple of TV Miniseries/Event Series — landed CBS‘ first announced project from its new limited series and event programming unit. Like Burnett and Downey’s The Bible, The Dovekeepers is an historical series with religious overtones. The Dovekeepers is a four-hour miniseries based in Alice Hoffman’s historical novel about the Siege of Masada, and it will air on CBS in 2015. The mini will focus on “four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival at the siege of Masada,” according to CBS. Masada is the mountaintop fortress near the Dead Sea where the Romans found the last pocket of resistance after they conquered Jerusalem in 70 Ce. “We felt [the book] was best served if the...

Update: Filming began today on Disney's live-action Cinderella at London's Pinewood Studios (best known for being the home of all the James Bond movies). Director Kenneth Branaugh (Thor) said in a statement, "It is impossible to think of Cinderella without thinking of Disney and the timeless images we've all grown up watching. And those classic moments are irresistible to a filmmaker. With Lily James we have found our perfect Cinderella. She combines knockout beauty with intelligence, wit, fun and physical grace. Her Prince is being played by Richard Madden, a young actor with incredible power and charisma. He is funny, smart and sexy and a great match for Cinderella."

Disney gives this description of the movie, which sticks pretty close to the 1697 fairy tale and the 1950 Disney animated movie (but don't be surprised if the ending is more female empowered rather than Ella being "rescued" by the prince who whisks...

Update: The mean stepsisters of Cinderella are usually depicted as ugly, but the makeup people will just have to get to work this time. Sophie McShera ("Downton Abbey") and Holliday Grainger (Anna Karenina, pictured left) will play Drizella and Noemie. It's a reunion for Grainger and Helena Bonham Carter, they worked together in last year's Great Expectations. It's also going to be a lot of fun for McShera and Lily James, who plays Cinderella. In their show "Downton Abbey," James plays nobility and McShera plays a kitchen maid - it will be fun for them to switch roles!

June 21, 2013 - Disney is definitely going against type for its live-action Cinderella. Helena Bonham Carter, who is known for playing wacky and often evil characters, will play  Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. Bonham Carter played The Red Queen in Disney's live-action Alice in Wonderland and Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies.

On the other hand,...

Update: Prince Charming is already sitting on a throne, at least a "Game of Thrones." Richard Madden, who stars on the HBO series, will play the persistent prince determined to find the mysterious girl he falls for at the ball. 

April 30, 2013 - Emma Watson is not playing Cinderella in Disney's live action rags to riches movie. Instead, Lily James will be playing the role of the downtrodden Ella. She's currently on the BBC show "Downton Abbey" and also played Korrina in Wrath of the Titans.

March 1, 2013 -  Emma Watson is in early talks to play the ultimate rags-to-riches character Cinderella in Disney's live-action version. Disney is seeing if the shoe fits with the Harry Potter actress after things didn't work out with lesser known actresses Imogen Poots (Me and Orson Welles), Alicia Vikander (Anna Kanenina) and Gabriella Wilde (The Three Musketeers). Cate Blanchett (The Hobbit, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull...

Update: Emma Watson is not playing Cinderella in Disney's live action rags to riches movie. Instead, Lily James will be playing the role of the downtrodden Ella. She's currently on the BBC show "Downton Abbey" and also played Korrina in Wrath of the Titans.

March 1, 2013 -  Emma Watson is in early talks to play the ultimate rags-to-riches character Cinderella in Disney's live-action version. Disney is seeing if the shoe fits with the Harry Potter actress after things didn't work out with lesser known actresses Imogen Poots (Me and Orson Welles), Alicia Vikander (Anna Kanenina) and Gabriella Wilde (The Three Musketeers). Cate Blanchett (The Hobbit, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) will play the evil stepmother. 

Disney is not allowing its live-action Cindrella to turn into a pumpkin, although all the players have changed since it started working on the project. Kenneth Branagh (Thor) replaced Mark Romanek as director.

Have you heard the news about Disney which artists plan to re-imagine the magic and style of the classic Princesses, Cinderella? Oh, yep, and Cate Blanchett is reportedly in negotiations for the new adaptation.

First announced in 2010 and dubbed ‘Untitled Cinderella Story’ at this early stage, the live-action project is set to be directed by Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go) from a script by Chris Weitz (About a Boy).

Actually, Blanchett would be the first casting addition in the film as the evil stepmother. Aline Brosh McKenna, who adapted The Devil Wears Prada to the big screen, wrote the initial draft of the script. The studio picked up her pitch in 2010, but plot details were being kept guarded.

Amanda Seyfried was rumored to be of interest to play the girl with the glass slippers, but she has stayed quiet on the matter .

Universal Pictures is also hoping to reboot...

Now that Hollywood is done with Snow White, they'll be moving on to Cinderella. Vying for the role of "evil stepmother" in the Disney picture will be Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Blanchett is reportedly in negotiations for the new adaptation, which is currently known as the Untitled Cinderella Story. Blanchett would be the first casting addition in the picture directed by Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go). Produced by Simon Kinberg (X-Men), the Untitled Cinderella Story started as a pitch and initial script by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) back in 2010, followed by a more recent draft by Chris Weitz (About a Boy). Hit the jump for more.  The Wrap reported that Blanchett is in negotiations to join Romanek's Cinderella adaptation. After the billion-dollar-plus box office of Disney's Alice in Wonderland, the studio was quick to put their other fairy tale properties into development.

Midnight Run is a classic anti-buddy film as well, wherein two characters definitely have antipathy for each other. Starring Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin, much of the humor in the film comes from the difference between two stars. Development on a sequel to the 1988 action-comedy road movie began in early 2010 when word came [...]

Continue reading Universal Negotiating with Brett Ratner to Direct Midnight Run 2 on FilmoFilia.

Related posts: Brett Ratner to direct ‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’ Brett Ratner Not To Direct Hercules Ann Peacock to Write Hunting Eichmann, Brett Ratner to Direct...

As expected, Tate Taylor's "The Help" won big at the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards. The film won Outstanding Picture of the Year with Viola Davis winning Outstanding Actress and Octavia Spencer taking home the Outstanding Supporting Actress award. Taylor lost to "Jumping the Broom's" Salim Akil for Best Director because apparently, it's a better picture than "The Help!"

Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards (To visit other award-giving bodies, check out our Awards Avenue coverage right here)

Motion Picture

Outstanding Motion Picture

.Jumping the Broom. (TriStar Pictures)

.Pariah. (Focus Features)

.The First Grader. (National Geographic

Entertainment)

*** .The Help. (DreamWorks Pictures/

Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)

.Tower Heist. (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

Eddie Murphy . .Tower Heist.

(Universal Pictures)

Laurence Fishburne . .Contagion.

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

*** Laz Alonso . .Jumping the Broom.

(TriStar Pictures)

Oliver Litondo . .The First...

The Help accumulated more accolades tonight with the NAACP Image Awards naming it Best Motion Picture, and Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer were chosen Best Actress and Supporting Actress. Ceremonies at the Shrine Auditorium were hosted by Sanaa Latham and Anthony Mackie. In addition, the Founding Members of the Black Stuntmen’s Association received the NAACP President’s Award. A list of winners in motion picture and TV categories follows: Motion Picture Outstanding Motion Picture “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/ Participant Media/ Touchstone Pictures) Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Laz Alonso – “Jumping the Broom” (TriStar Pictures) Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Viola Davis – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/ Participant Media/ Touchstone Pictures) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Mike Epps – “Jumping the Broom” (TriStar Pictures) Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Octavia Spencer – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/ Participant Media/ Touchstone Pictures) Outstanding Independent Motion Picture “Pariah” (Focus Features...

The Help stars Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis can add two more trophies on their shelves. The awards season darlings took home NAACP Image Awards for their work in the night's most nominated film, which also took home outstanding motion picture. Photos: 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards Red Carpet Arrivals Other film winners included Mike Epps and Laz Alonso for Jumping the Broom. The picture also won directing (Salim Akil), while writing went to Ann Peacock for NatGeo's The First Grader. In the TV categories, Law & Order: Svu and Tyler Perry's House of Payne took the dramatic and comedic

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Ann Peacock in talks to script The Ottoman Empire series Harem from Gina Gershon's idea Starz is develoiping the series which explores the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, together with BBC Worldwide Productions, which could be six hours long, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Harem has The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe scribe Ann Peacock in talks to pen the project, which comes from an original idea from actress Gina Gershon. Harem follows Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (also called Suleiman the Magnificent) was born November 6th, 1494 and died September 1566. He was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to 1566...

Ann Peacock in talks to script The Ottoman Empire series Harem from Gina Gershon's idea Starz is develoiping the series which explores the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, together with BBC Worldwide Productions, which could be six hours long, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Harem has The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe scribe Ann Peacock in talks to pen the project, which comes from an original idea from actress Gina Gershon. Harem follows Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (also called Suleiman the Magnificent) was born November 6th, 1494 and died September 1566. He was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to 1566...

Ann Peacock in talks to script The Ottoman Empire series Harem from Gina Gershon's idea Starz is develoiping the series which explores the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, together with BBC Worldwide Productions, which could be six hours long, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Harem has The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe scribe Ann Peacock in talks to pen the project, which comes from an original idea from actress Gina Gershon. Harem follows Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (also called Suleiman the Magnificent) was born November 6th, 1494 and died September 1566. He was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to 1566...

Brett Ratner is in the process of prepping up for his next feature film project Hunting Eichman. The film will be much different than his latest comedy heist film Tower Heist in that it's not a comedy at all. Hunting Eichman is a thriller based on the true account of Israeli agents who secretly entered pro-Nazi Argentina to capture Adolph Eichmann, known as the architect of the final solution. Screenwriter Ann Peacock (The Killing Room, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe) has been hired to write the script. 

According to Deadline, "Eichmann had eluded capture for nearly two decades, until the Mossad picked up his trail and dispatched a team of agents to find him. Some of them were Holocaust survivors themselves, and the eight agents risked everything to bring Eichmann back to face trial in Israel, where he was hanged in 1962."

This sounds like it could end up being be a great film,...

Ann Peacock ("Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe") has been hired to write the thriller "Hunting Eichmann" which Brett Ratner is attached to direct for Mandalay Pictures reports Deadline.

The story is based on the true account of Israeli agents in the 1960's who secretly entered pro-Nazi Argentina to capture Adolph Eichmann, known as the architect of the final solution.

Eichmann had eluded capture for nearly two decades, until the Mossad picked up his trail and dispatched a team of eight agents to find him. Risking everything, they brought him back for trial to Israel.

Ratner and Anthony Bregman are producing.

Tower Heist comes out on Friday, and now there’s this development. Ladies and gentlemen, The Rat is back.

Yes, some of us were foolish enough to think Brett Ratner was gone after helming Rush Hour 3 in 2007 and then disappearing for a career of producing. But you can’t keep a competent-yet-still-bad filmmaker down; with Tower Heist likely to rake in some real coin and The 39 Clues in his future, he might be back on the directing scene for good.

Appropriately, Deadline reports that Ratner will be helming Hunting Eichmann for Mandalay Pictures. The news comes via their report that Narnia scribe Ann Peacock has signed on to write the film, which is “a thriller based on the true account of Israeli agents who secretly entered pro-Nazi Argentina to capture Adolph Eichmann, known as the architect of the final solution.” (Spoiler alert: they got the son of a bitch.

Best known for commercial actioners and comedies like the Rush Hours and the imminent Tower Heist, Brett Ratner looks to be getting serious for one of his future projects: a Nazi-hunting drama about Hunting Eichmann.Adolf Eichmann was a high-ranking SS officer during the Second World War, and one of the major figures behind the conception and facilitation of the Final Solution: he organised the logistics behind the mass deportation of Jews to the ghettos and concentration camps of Eastern Europe.After the war he fled to Argentina, where he worked as a foreman in a Mercedes-Benz factory. He was finally tracked down in 1960 by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, tried for crimes against humanity, and hanged in 1962, the only execution ever to result from a civil trial in Israel.As the title suggests, it's his post-war investigation and pursuit that concerns Hunting Eichmann, a thriller about the...

A sci-fi action project by director John Heffernan may not have a title yet, but it does have a writer. Variety reports that John Glenn, the writer behind Eagle Eye, has been tapped to re-write the script. The project, previously known as Abducted, was picked up by Paramount in June of this year and is set up through Mary Parent’s Disruption Entertainment. Parent and Cale Boyter are producing the pic, pitched as “Die Hard on an alien spaceship.” Brett Ratner’s next directorial project has itself a writer and a title. Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) has been tapped to write Hunting Eichmann, an international thriller based on true accounts. Deadline reports that the project follows Israeli agents in their journey to Argentina to capture Adolph Eichmann, one of the major Nazi organizers behind the Holocaust. Ratner and Anthony Bregman (Our Idiot Brother...

Time to get thrillered guys! We have an interesting project on the road, and great team on board for the whole thing as well! According to the latest reports, Ann Peacock, lady responsible for Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobeand title has signed on to write Hunting Eichmann, and Brett Ratner [...]

Continue reading Ann Peacock to Write Hunting Eichmann, Brett Ratner to Direct on FilmoFilia.

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Exclusive: Ann Peacock has signed on to write Hunting Eichmann, a thriller based on the true account of Israeli agents who secretly entered pro-Nazi Argentina to capture Adolph Eichmann, known as the architect of the final solution. Tower Heist’s Brett Ratner is attached to direct and A Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman is producing with Ratner for Cathy Schulman at Mandalay Pictures. Peacock, who scripted Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, and is currently scripting Cinderella for Universal. Eichmann had eluded capture for nearly two decades, until the Mossad picked up his trail and dispatched a team of agents to find him. Some of them were Holocaust survivors themselves, and the eight agents risked everything to bring Eichmann back to face trial in Israel, where he was hanged in 1962. She’s repped by CAA and Principato-Young Entertainment.

Exclusive: David Gardner has been promoted to partner at Principato-Young Entertainment, joining Peter Principato, Paul Young, Brian Dobbins and Allen Fischer in partner posts. Gardner has worked there since 2003 and has a client list that includes Jonathan Liebesman, Judy Greer, Ann Peacock, Neil Marshall, Brian Burns, Eriq La Salle, Ken Marino, David Ellis, Gonzalo Lopez Gallego and Nelson McCormick. Gardner is an executive producer on Caesar, the Roman epic in development at Warner Bros.

Oh, public domain, how you make us sick of classic tales. Variety reports that Universal has signed Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) to rewrite the script for their Cinderella reimagining, which was previously written by Michael Dougherty (Superman Returns, Trick ‘r Treat); Bruno Aveillan is set to direct. This long-gestating project is not the only Cinderella remake in development, as Disney is working on one of their own, with Mark Romanek set to direct. Plot details for both movies aren’t readily available, but no matter how they try to reimagine it, I would assume the basic outline will be the same as the story you’ve likely heard countless times.

The dueling Cinderella movies is no shock as another fairy tale property, Snow White, has received the same treatment. Relativity Media has a so far untitled Snow White adaptation due out...

Classic fairy tales have captivated children for years on end and who can blame the Hollywood reboot machine for finding this genre of fiction rich in content and potential? This year, we’ve seen Little Red Hiding Hood re-interpreted as Red Riding Hood from Warner Bros Pictures and Snow White is being rebooted by Universal, Relativity, and Disney.

Variety reports that Universal Pictures is also hoping to reboot Cinderella and are in talks with scribe Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia, First Grader) to write this reimagining of the classic fairy tale. Bruno Aveillan will direct the project. Scott Stuber and Pam Abby will produce through Stuber Pictures.

Disney is also developing a Cinderella reboot with director Mark Romanek (Locke & Key, Never Let Me Go).

No details about how Universal or Disney are reimagining Cinderella have been released yet, but are you interested in seeing a Cinderella reboot? What if...

[1] Now that the story of Snow White has been picked clean by three [2] different [3] movie [4] projects, Hollywood's got its sights on another fairy tale: Cinderella. Last year, Disney bought [5] a pitch for a live-action retelling, to be directed by Mark Romanek from a script by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada). Now we're getting news about a competing project from Universal, one of the players in the great Snow White movie race of 2011. Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) has been tapped to write a screenplay based on the classic story, with Bruno Aveillan set to helm. Read more after the jump. Peacock is in final talks to rewrite the script, an earlier draft of which was penned by Michael Dougherty (Trick 'r Treat). The film will mark the feature film debut for Aveillan, whose previous work has been mostly in commercials.

With three revisionist Snow White movies in the works -- all of which reimagine a tougher princess who just doesn't wait on her prince to come -- her fellow fairytale princess Cinderella is the next subject of reimagination. Disney is working on a version with Mark Romanek (who just directed the Fox pilot Locke & Key starring Jesse McCartney). Now, Universal has hired Chronicles of Narnia scribe Ann Peacock to explore what she could do with a new take on the abused stepdaughter who finds her salvation in a prince. Of course, Cinderella has been revamped over and over again in the last decade with some of the movies/TV movies/DVDs including Ella Enchanted, Ever After, A Cinderella Story, Another Cinderella Story,and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.

In fact, A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song starring "Pretty Little Liars" Lucy Hale and Freddie Stroma ("Cormac McLaggen in...

Ann Peacock is in final negotiations to rewrite an untitled re-imagining of classic fairy tale "Cinderella" at Universal Pictures and Stuber Pictures says Variety

Michael Dougherty ("Superman Returns") penned the previous draft, while story details are being kept under wraps. Bruno Aveillan is set to direct while Scott Stuber and Pam Abby are producing.

Disney recently hired Mark Romanek to helm its own untitled take on the Cinderella story.

The clues are there. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland made over a billion dollars at the global box office, this year's Red Riding Hood brought a touch of Twilight to the tale, and there are two competing Snow White movies in production.

In addition, Bryan Singer is making a new version of Jack The Giant Killer for Warner Bros, with Nicholas Hoult (Beast in X-Men: First Class) in the title role; Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton will star in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters; and there are a number of Peter Pan films in the pipeline across Tinseltown.

Yes, you guessed it, there's a Hollywood fetish for fairy tales. That's because they are well-known and in the public domain, making them free to adapt without expensive copyright deals.

The latest to emerge is Cinderella, with Variety reporting that Universal is hiring Ann Peacock to rejig a previous draft by Michael Dougherty.

Disney made headway on a new live-action Cinderella last month with the hire of director Mark Romanek.  But as we've seen with the dueling Snow White movies, the appeal of fairy tales---known properties in the public domain---is too great for just one studio.  Universal is throwing their hat into the ring, and according to Variety, the studio is turning to Ann Peacock for help.  Peacock is in final negotiations to rewrite an "untitled reimagining of the fairy tale" from an earlier draft by Michael Dougherty.  Specific plot details are under wraps, but barring any drastic changes, the premise should look familiar when Universal is ready to go public with the synopsis: a young girl is whisked away from her terrible home situation by her fairy godmother to a magical ball where she meets the aptly named Prince Charming. Peacock's credits are diverse, from Kit Kittredge: An American Girl to The Killing Room...

Not only is Universal Pictures making a Snow White film, but they are also currently in the process of developing a live-action Cinderella movie as well, and they are bringing in a new screenwriter named Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) to re-write the script, which was previously written by Trick 'r Treat screenwriter and director Michael Dougherty. The movie has actually been in the works for awhile, but now that fairy tales are hot, they want to get it going.

This isn't the only Cinderella movie being developed, Disney is also making their own live action version. I wonder how many more Cinderella movies will end up going into development. Everyone is jumping on the live action fairy tale movie bandwagon. How many live action Snow White movies are being made right now.... 17?

There is no information on what their take on the character will be,...

Sarah Jessica Parker has revealed that she will be attending this year's Melbourne Cup. The Sex and the City star, who will be spending a few days in Australia to promote her new movie I Don't Know How She Does It, said that she is looking forward to being a VIP guest in Crown's marquee at Oaks Day in Flemington on November 3. Parker confirmed on Hamish and Andy's Gap Year last night that she was looking forward to visiting Australia and asked the comedy duo to send her a list of "ten recommendations" for things to do during her visit. Crown's general manager of public relations Ann Peacock told the Herald Sun: "We are delighted to be welcoming Sarah Jessica Parker to Melbourne. Not only is she a highly respected award-winning actress and producer, she is also a wife, mother (more)...

Check out the links below — and check back often — for our preview, reviews, blogs and more from the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival.

Preview

Siff Kicks Off 37th Edition

Audience-centric 25-day Seattle International Film Festival screens festival-circuit favorites, premieres and local projects as well as fetes Ewan McGregor and Warren Miller

Features

Editors’ Choice: 12 Best Films Filmed in Seattle

With the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival in full swing, Moving Pictures counts down the dozen greatest movies shot in the Emerald City

Siff Fetes Ewan McGregor

The Seattle International Film Festival gives an audience its fill of the star of “Beginners” during an all-evening tribute to the beloved actor

Long “Weekend”

British writer-director Andrew Haigh writes for Moving Pictures about the making of “Weekend,” which starts with a one-night stand that becomes something else.

Finding My Way in the “Steam of Life”

Writers-directors Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen write for Moving Pictures...

Check out the links below — and check back often — for our preview, reviews, blogs and more from the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival.

Preview

Siff Kicks Off 37th Edition

Audience-centric 25-day Seattle International Film Festival screens festival-circuit favorites, premieres and local projects as well as fetes Ewan McGregor and Warren Miller

Features

Editors’ Choice: 12 Best Films Filmed in Seattle

With the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival in full swing, Moving Pictures counts down the dozen greatest movies shot in the Emerald City

Siff Fetes Ewan McGregor

The Seattle International Film Festival gives an audience its fill of the star of “Beginners” during an all-evening tribute to the beloved actor

Long “Weekend”

British writer-director Andrew Haigh writes for Moving Pictures about the making of “Weekend,” which starts with a one-night stand that becomes something else.

Finding My Way in the “Steam of Life”

Writers-directors Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen write for Moving Pictures...

The media is a double-edged sword in "The First Grader," a feel-good film that's surprisingly self-reflexive if one strays to think beyond the narrative director Justin Chadwick and writer Ann Peacock unfurl. Based on a true story, the film's main character Maruge (Oliver Musila Litondo) simply wants an education after spending many of his 84 years in captivity under British colonial rule and when the Kenyan government announces they'll offer free education to anyone who wants it, he naturally wants to start from scratch - in kindergarten, amongst the six and seven-year-olds who like him cannot read or write.

It's a great story, one that attracts attention from around the world when word leaks from this small bush community that Maruge is learning how to draw sixes properly and helping his younger classmates who can't. But all those human interest pieces add up and instead of the lionized image of Maruge...

Reviewed by Jay Antani

(May 2011)

Directed by: Justin Chadwick

Written by: Ann Peacock

Starring: Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Vusi Kunene, Tony Kgoroge and Israel Makoe

The true-life drama “The First Grader” could have easily veered into being another patronizing, Western-made treatment of Africans in the “bravely suffering” mold but, thanks to Ann Peacock’s focused screenplay and Justin Chadwick’s sensitive direction, the movie achieves a poignant, humanist sincerity. The Kenyan government’s ambitious 2003 initiative guaranteeing free primary school education to all its citizens is this story’s catalyst.

The goal of the government initiative, of course, was to give the nation’s poorer children the head-start advantage of reading and writing skills. But when the illiterate 84-year-old Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge (Oliver Litondo) shows up for his free education, he throws everyone — from bureaucrats and administrators to one local schoolteacher — completely off guard.

Hailing from the fiercely resilient...

Reviewed by Jay Antani

(May 2011)

Directed by: Justin Chadwick

Written by: Ann Peacock

Starring: Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Vusi Kunene, Tony Kgoroge and Israel Makoe

The true-life drama “The First Grader” could have easily veered into being another patronizing, Western-made treatment of Africans in the “bravely suffering” mold but, thanks to Ann Peacock’s focused screenplay and Justin Chadwick’s sensitive direction, the movie achieves a poignant, humanist sincerity. The Kenyan government’s ambitious 2003 initiative guaranteeing free primary school education to all its citizens is this story’s catalyst.

The goal of the government initiative, of course, was to give the nation’s poorer children the head-start advantage of reading and writing skills. But when the illiterate 84-year-old Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge (Oliver Litondo) shows up for his free education, he throws everyone — from bureaucrats and administrators to one local schoolteacher — completely off guard.

Hailing from the fiercely resilient...

Inspiring and heart-warming are words that will easily be pegged to the description of The First Grader. The story of an 84 year old Kenyan man enrolling in primary school is, after all, the sort of feel-good thing you expect to hear after all the bad news has been dispensed with, the sort of story that puts a smile on your face and helps you forget about all that terribly depressing stuff until the next news bulletin.

With a solid performance from Oliver Litondo, a former TV news anchor, playing Kimani Maruge, the illiterate old man on a quest for education; an earnest performance from Naomie Harris as Teacher Jane, ardent champion of Maruge’s cause; and a school full of real Kenyan pupils playing themselves (special kudos to little Agnes Simaloi and Kamau Mbaya) there’s a lot to smile and cheer about in The First Grader.

The official blurb reads:

In a small,...

Ann Peacock is set to pen an adaptation of "Outlander", a novel in Diana Gabaldon's fantasy series, for Essential Pictures reports Variety.

'Outlander' is set around the end of WW2 when an Army nurse takes a second honeymoon in Scotland with her husband.

She soon finds herself transported back to a time when the clans ruled the Highlands and her husband's English ancestors are the enemy.

Neil Kaplan and Jim Kohlberg are producing.

Rachid Bouchareb’s drama Hors La Loi about the Algerian revolution caused controversy at this year's Cannes Film Festival, prompting a demonstration and armed police on the streets. Nevertheless, the Gulf state of Qatar's 2nd Doha Tribeca Film Festival will open with that film and close with The First Grader. (National Geographic picked up the U.S. rights after it won the runner-up audience prize at Toronto.) Here's the full list of films showing at Dtff from October 26-30: Opening Night Film Outside the Law (Hors la loi), directed by Rachid Bouchareb, screenplay Rachid Bouchareb, Olivier Lorelle. (France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Belgium) - Feature Narrative Three Algerian brothers who lost their family home in France's 1945 attack on the market town, Sétif, scatter across the globe. Each embarks on a different wild adventure -- one heads off to Indochina, another gets involved with the Pigalle boxing club underworld, the third...