George Clooney In Talks For Brad Bird's 1952

Variety reports that George Clooney is talks to take the lead in Brad Bird's (Ghost Protocol) sci-fi epic 1952. The Disney franchise-in-the-making film written by Damon Lindelof (Lost, Star Trek Into Darkness, Prometheus, World War Z) and Jeff Jensen is said to be in the vein of Close Encounters of The Third Kind and involves contact with aliens. Clooney recently worked with Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) on the highly anticipated sci-fi thriller Gravity.

Jon Favreau Most Likely To Direct STAR WARS EPISODE VII?

HollywoodLife talked to directors J.J. Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness) and Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Cowboys And Aliens) on the possibilities of them directing the new Star Wars trilogy. Abrams stating he's too close to the material and seeming pulls himself out of the running. J.J. had been linked a couple times to the project but doesn't sound interested here. He joins a growing group of directors uninterested in the project which includes Steven Spielberg, Zack Synder and Quentin Tarantino (via ThePlaylist). On the other hand Favreau has more of an open mind to the gig.

"I think both J.J. and I come from a generation of people who formed our whole creative persona around what we experienced as kids from watching those films, and I have had the good fortune of working with George [Lucas] and around George, and whether it is doing a voice on Clone Wars, or being at the Skywalker Ranch mixing Iron Man – so I have been very happy and lucky to just experience the culture that Lucas has created, both in my own life growing up as a kid and professional – whether it was interviewing him at film festivals on stage, he is just a really wonderful, talented gifted guy who has changed the business so much, so I am just giddy, first and foremost as a fan, to see what happens with it. I think there is a lot of question marks of how they are going to do it, and who they are going to do it with, and what the story is going to be about; but to say that I am not excited about it is definitely an understatement. We’ll see." 

 He doesn't come out and say it but it's sounding like he has the strongest working relationship with LucasFilm. Iron Man opened the gates leading to the massive Marvel franchise now setup at Disney. Jon helped shepherd the Marvel Cinematic Universe (before Whedon took over) and could do the same within the Star Wars universe. He has connections working with ILM on Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Cowboys And Aliens. Jon has even voiced a character on the Clone Wars cartoon an his icon on Twitter for months has been R2D2. Recently, he was working with Disney on breaking a story for a live-action film based on Magic Kingdom. Originally, Favreau had been tapped to direct John Carter before it landed at Disney who hired Andrew Stanton. In a recent interview with Lucas and LucasFilm's Kathleen Kennedy they mention what they're looking for in a director. My belief after weighing all the options, Jon is currently the strongest candidate to direct the new trilogy.

Writer Michael Arndt Confirmed For STAR WARS EPISODE VII

Oscar winning screenwriter Michael Arndt has been confirmed via the official Star Wars website by LucasFilm and Disney to write the script for Episode VII. Arndt won his Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine but has also written Toy Story 3, Oblivion and Hunger Games: Catching Fire. There had been chatter that Michael has provided an outline/treatment for the entire new trilogy and would begin scripting in early 2013. It's unknown if Arndt will be hired for the other two films but it's very likely he will.

As pre-production of Star Wars: Episode VII begins, Lucasfilm has confirmed that award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for the new Star Wars film. As revealed in the ongoing video series posted here on StarWars.com, Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas have begun story conferences with Arndt. Arndt won an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay for writing Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for writing Toy Story 3 (2010).

THE WOLVERINE Starting Point For Fox's Marvel Universe

Fox's new creative consultant Mark Millar (for Marvel films) has talked to ComicBookResources about when his era of films will begin. Apparently, The Wolverine will be their Iron Man as the film will spark a slew of other films which will likely occupy the same world (ala The Avengers). Director James Mangold and Hugh Jackman have stated the film is darker and more serious in tone than previous X-Men films. It's not hard to imagine with Mangold comparing it to a Japanese noir movie. The Wolverine, X-Men Days of Future Past, Fantastic Four and Deadpool could all have links to each other. Millar also talks about working with director Bryan Singer on Days of Future Past.

"I felt like 'Iron Man' was really the beginning of something for the Marvel Studios movies, and 'The Wolverine' will be a similar starting point to build a lot off of for the Fox movies," 

"When Matthew decided he wasn't going to do the sequel, they just switched places with Matthew producing and Bryan coming on to direct. That's got nothing to do with me, but I'm delighted that Bryan and I will get to work together over the next few years,"

Empire talked to Mark as well and he went into more detail about working with 20th Century Fox. Which for the most part sounds promising that they actually have someone who understands the characters in there making suggestions to the writers and directors.

"Fox are thinking, 'We're sitting on some really awesome things here. There is another side of the Marvel Universe. Let's try and get some cohesiveness going.' So they brought me in to oversee that really. To meet with the writers and directors to suggest new ways we could take this stuff and new properties that could spin out of it."

 "The X-Men feels like a universe by itself; there's so many characters and so many great potential spin-off characters. They asked me to come in and work out a plan, so unfortunately at this point I can't get too specific. I DO have a three to four year plan of where things could go, but you know, I'll be working with guys like Matthew and Josh Trank (the new director of 'Fantastic Four') and just figuring out how everything can work together and not contradict each other."

 "But I also don't want to make it too much of a mess either, with everyone showing up in everyone else's films. What my dream is, as a fan, is that when you go and see any Marvel movie that it feels as if they're all taking place in the one universe like in the comics." 

New Poster For OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

James McAvoy Could Join WIKILEAKS Film Starring Benedict Cumberbatch

Variety reports that James McAvoy (Atonement, X-Men First Class, Trance) is in talks for Dreamworks' untitled WikiLeaks film. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Hobbit, Star Trek Into Darkness) is playing Julian Assange in the movie while James could play Daniel Domscheit-Berg. They mention that Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, Robocop, Snabba Cash) had bene rumored for the role that McAvoy could take.

Assange launched whistleblowing website WikiLeaks in 2006 and began antagonizing world governments by leaking embarrassing diplomatic cables and other state secrets, prompting the U.S. to seek to prosecute the polarizing figure. 

Domscheit-Berg began working with WikiLeaks after meeting Assange at the Chaos Computer Club's annual conference in 2007, eventually becoming a spokesperson for the organization. Assange recruited Domscheit-Berg because he had been burned by some hacker friends when he was younger and the German tech guru seemed like someone he could trust. 

The charismatic Assange seduced Domscheit-Berg with his ideology, promising the two could cause real change in the world via WikiLeaks. Assange is expected to be portrayed as a noble crusader who eventually becomes drunk with power as he grows increasingly paranoid and obsessed with winning the "war of information." 

Though he rose to become Assange's right-hand man at WikiLeaks, Domscheit-Berg left due to his belief that Assange failed to display journalistic integrity. His split from WikiLeaks was widely credited by news outlets as being one of the incidents that led Assange to release more than a quarter-million U.S. diplomatic cables. In his book, Domscheit-Berg criticizes Assange's leadership style and handling of the Afghan War Diaries. In September 2010, Domscheit-Berg founded OpenLeaks with the intention of being more transparent than WikiLeaks, though the project has failed to have the same impact.

FIRST LOOK: Tom Cruise Wearing His Mech-Suit In ALL YOU NEED IS KILL

DREAM CAST: Dwayne Johnson And Gina Carano For TRANSFORMERS 4

Now that director Michael Bay is revving up re-casting for Transformers 4 starting with Mark Wahlberg. We should be expecting a "different" group of actors selected this time around. Mark is better known for his action roles but has landed himself in the awards arena recently with The Departed and The Fighter. Wahlberg is also a solid straight-man in comedies like Ted and The Other Guys. So he's got the acting chops, charm and humor to add something human to the film franchise which has been lacking from it's human characters throughout the trilogy.

Granted I'm not a big fan of Bay's Transformers films but this next installment could change the entire tone of the films.  It's unknown how serious the studio will be going, likely a little more towards the recent reboot/sequel to G.I. Joe. A bit more grounded than previously but still including the humor and spectacle you'd expect from a summer blockbuster. I have two other recommendations that could greatly help this new era of the franchise. I feel like having an Expendables-type cast of action stars could help boost the quality of the film. That being said, I could see Dwayne Johnson and Gina Carano becoming excellent additions to the new cast.

Dwayne has broken out as an action star (again) after a rather terrible string of family friendly films. He's already jumped on board the Fast And Furious and G.I. Joe (another Hasbro film) franchises seemingly giving them new action cred. Production of his Hercules (also with Paramount) film with Brett Ratner directing is also ramping up in the new year. I assume with connections to both Bay and Wahlberg from working on Pain And Gain along with three projects for Paramount. He's a strong candidate to be the next name added to the lineup. Hiring someone that can be as charismatic as Johnson could be something the franchise could really use. We've seen three films already where character development and charisma is thrown out the window. It would be nice to see someone else with actual personality added to the mix.

Gina is the MMA fighter turned action heroine, thanks in part to her starring role in Steven Soderbergh's Haywire. The film was a huge success and has since seen Gina land roles in Fast And Furious 6 (alongside Dwayne) and the lead in a female version of The Expendables. Bay has been notoriously lazy with casting female actresses in the Transformers films, not to mention sexist. Girls tend to watch these genre films as well and having models playing damsels in distress is beyond cliche. It's time they developed a female character (lack of them as well) that wasn't just eye candy for Bay and teen boys.

Mark Wahlberg Confirmed For TRANSFORMERS 4

Director Michael Bay has confirmed that his Pain And Gain star Mark Wahlberg has signed on for Transformers 4. The fourth installment is said to be a reboot of sorts and the first step was to replace all the cast members of the first three films. Twitch originally reported on the casting news only for Bay to deny and now is confirming it. Jason Statham had also been linked but nothing seems to be as concrete as Mark joining and it's release date of June 27th 2014.

First Trailer For Global Zombie Epic WORLD WAR Z

Brad Bird, Steven Spielberg And J.J. Abrams Could Direct New STAR WARS Trilogy

Vulture reports that copies of this Star Wars Trilogy (Episodes VII, VIII and IX) treatment/outline from Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Oblivion, Catching Fire, Little Miss Sunshine) will be given to Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol) Steven Spielberg (Robopocalypse) and J.J. Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness) to read over. It's the first time we've heard the three directors linked to the trilogy by the trades. Previously, it had been rumored that writer/direct Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Stardust, Layer Cake, X-Men First Class) was a possible candidate to direct.

I'm not totally sold that Abrams or Spielberg would end up signing on but it's interesting to hear them at least looking at the project. Bird is currently the fan favorite and could be in a better position to jump onboard. Considering Steven is about to shoot Robopcolypse while J.J. is still in post-production on Star Trek Into Darkess with Star Trek 3 already in development. Disney/LucasFilm will have to be moving quickly to be able to meet that Summer 2015 release date if they don't have a complete script in place.

Michael Arndt Pens Treatment For STAR WARS EPISODE VII, VIII And IX?

Vulture and HeatVision are reporting that Oscar winning screenwriter Michael Arndt has written a 40-50-page treatment and is likely to pen a draft of the Star Wars Episode VII script. Arndt wrote scripts for Toy Story 3, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Oblivion and Little Miss Sunshine, the latter earned him his Oscar.

UPDATE: Deadline reports that Michael Arndt's treatment is an outline for the trilogy not just one installment. It's not hard to imagine since the films usually have a three part story.

Marvel Says Pepper Will Suit-Up In IRON MAN 3?

Omlete (via CBM) has word from Marvel that Pepper Potts will become Rescue in Iron Man 3.

Powerful Trailer For Steven Spielberg's LINCOLN

Trailer For Zombie Rom-Com WARM BODIES