Fantastic Four Wallpaper, #10192

This is a project that stirred a lot of excitement when it was initially announced in 2010. Writer-director Andrew Dominik was coming off of The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford at the time and then went on to make Killing Them Softly. He is still aboard to direct Blonde, which Worldview Entertainment has now optioned. The fictional biopic of Marilyn Monroe is based on a 700-page imagined memoir written by Joyce Carol Oates. Fans of the book are legion. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 2001, and the prolific Oates has said she thinks it may be the book for which she will be most remembered. Dominik wrote the adaptation. The filmmakers are currently casting (Naomi Watts was originally attached to play Monroe). CAA arranged financing and is packaging. The agency reps Dominik and will handle domestic rights. Wild Bunch is selling internationally. “Andrew is an extremely talented writer and director and we are big fans of his work. Blonde is a fantastic project and we are looking forward to seeing it come to life,” said Worldview CEO Christopher Woodrow who’s here in Cannes with three films in official selection: Blood Ties, Jimmy P. and The Immigrant.

Anchor Bay Films has acquired U.S., Australia and New Zealand rights to the sci-fi action film Battle of the Damned from Bleiberg Entertainment’s Compound B. The Expendables’ Dolph Lundgren stars with David Field (The Rover), Matt Doran and newcomer Melanie Zanetti. Anchor Bay Entertainment’s president Bill Clark and acquisitions exec veep Kevin Kasha made the deal. “There truly is no other film like this on the market, it’s got zombies and robots and spectacle. The visual effects are fantastic and this is one of the best roles Dolph has ever had.” In the near future on the outskirts of civilization a remote test facility lays in ruin following a catastrophic security breach. All that remains is a handful of survivors, their small armory of weapons and a fleet of the infected. The breach led to a viral outbreak that left thousands dead or mutated. Now the infected walk the land, stalking the few that still live. Led by private military operative Max Gatling (Lundgren), they fight the infected and soon learn there are band of malfunctioning prototype robots also on the march and they are armed and incredibly dangerous. Christopher Hatton directed from his own script, and also produced with Ehud Bleiberg and Leon Tong. Nicholas Donnermeyer and Dolph Lundgren executive produced. Bleiberg and Giulia Prenna negotiated on behalf of Bleiberg Entertainment. Anchor Bay and Bleiberg are also teamed on the Steve Austin-starrer Kill ‘Em All, John! which shoots this summer ... Read More »