Madagascar 3 Europes Most Wanted

EXCLUSIVE: Relativity and The Weinstein Company are in advanced negotiations to team in the acquisition of U.S. distribution rights for Jane Got A Gun, the Western that is being directed by Gavin O’Connor and star Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Ewan McGregor, Noah Emmerich and Rodrigo Santoro. The deal is for a wide release but they haven’t finalized a slot for the film. CAA is brokering the deal. I hear CBS Films and Focus Features were also in the mix. The film’s backers showed footage of the picture on Wednesday, and they were looking for a deal with little upfront money but a generous gross corridor back end. Relativity was negotiating with JGAG producers and it became clear that Weinstein wanted a piece of the movie. Harvey Weinstein has a close relationship with David Boies, the hot shot attorney who is partner in Jane backer Straight Up Films. His daughter, Regency Boies, is a producer on the movie for Straight Up Films. Relativity will handle distribution, I’m told, and TWC is taking the lead on marketing the film, and they decided this would be a good strategic fit. The film is produced by Scott Steindorff, Portman and her Handsomecharlie Films, Aleen Keshishian, Terry Dougas, Scott LaStaiti and Straight Up Films’ Regency Boies. It’s the latest bit ... Read More »

This is probably not how Warner Bros. wanted to head into the Memorial Day weekend. With the studio seemingly to finally get their long developing "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." movie going, with Guy Ritchie attached to direct and Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander coming in supporting roles, they've just lost their leading man. That's right, Tom Cruise has bailed on the movie, with Deadline revealing he's focusing on "Mission: Impossible 5" instead. It seems Paramount want 'Impossible' shooting by the end of the year, and Cruise tends to be super involved in every detail of that franchise, so scheduling in 'U.N.C.L.E.' turned out to be an... impossibility! So what's Warner Bros. to do? They will want the movie to shoot this fall but replacing an actor of Cruise's caliber isn't easy at all. An actor who can play to overseas markets the way he can, and command the budget this sort of international action pic needs, well...the list isn't very big. We'd wager his exit means the budget is...