FIRST LOOK: James Franco As Skylark In THE INTERVIEW

Seth Rogen has tweeted the first image of James Franco in character for The Interview. In the film a TV personality played by Franco along with his producer (played by Seth) go to North Korea to interview their leader. Apparently, the pair are mixed up in an assassination plot and comedy ensues.

Lizzy Caplan Joins Seth Rogen And James Franco In THE INTERVIEW, Plus Jamie Chung And Randall Park Linked For Roles

Variety reports Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield) will be reuniting with her Freaks And Geeks co-stars James Franco and Seth Rogen in the comedy The Interview. The film will be written and directed by comedic partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Following the success of This Is The End which was also an original passion project. Lizzy will play Agent Lacey in the comedy that follows a talk show host and producer pair who find themselves caught up in an assassination attempt against the political leader of North Korea. Sony has set the release for The Interview on October 10th, 2014.

BleedingCool reports that Randall Park (Veep) and Jamie Chung (Hangover 3, Sucker Punch, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For) have unofficially taken roles as well. Park will play Kim Jong-Un while Jamie will play a North Korean woman who falls for Seth's character.

Seth Rogen And Evan Goldberg To Direct North Korean Set Assassination Comedy THE INTERVIEW, James Franco Could Co-Star With Rogen

THR reports longtime friends and writing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will co-direct another comedy for Sony entitled The Interview. The original comedy is co-written by Goldberg and Dan Sterling (The Daily Show, Sarah Silverman Show) and could see James Franco reunite with Seth Rogen who will also star. Franco and Rogen previously starred together in Pineapple Express and Seth's directorial debut This Is The End. The story revolves around a handsome talk show host (potentially Franco) and his producer (Rogen) who find themselves in way over their heads when they get involved in a plot to assassinate the prime minister of North Korea.

Dorothy Won't Be In Disney's OZ Sequel, Could WB's Competing Oz Films Be A Reason?

Producer Joe Roth states to LATimes that the Oz sequel "would absolutely not" have Dorothy involved. It might be to keep the Wizard going as there is a 20 year gap between the Wizard's arrival and Dorothy's according to writer Mitchell Kapner (recently hired to write the next film). Keeping what seemed to work which was James Franco as the main character along with setting up more mythology. I still think that Mombi and The Gnome King could have their origins explored in future films.

However, something else could be a reason Dorothy won't be in the film. Warner Bros. owns the original Wizard of Oz including many of the creative choices of the film like the look of Dorothy and many other things (Emerald City, ruby slippers, flying monkeys, wicked witch). Before Oz came out WB had at least three film projects in development. Oz: The Return To Emerald City had a solid concept as it would focus on Dorothy's granddaughter returning to Oz to fight a new evil. That project had a script written by Josh Olson (History of Violence). If Warner Bros. moved forward they would need to separate themselves from the Disney films. Perhaps, brining back Dorothy as the lead for their competing film if the studio decides to make one. It's possible that Disney could end up taking cues and having Dorothy's absent mother incorporated into their franchise instead of having to rely on her.

Disney Already Working On Sequel To OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Variety reports that Disney isn't waiting for final box office numbers to move forward with a sequel to Oz, The Great And Powerful. Even with mixed reviews and somewhat lukewarm reception the film is tracking excessively high. So with that in mind the studio has brought back screenwriter Mitchell Kapner a few months back to begin a new script. Details haven't been revealed but it's safe to say that James Franco, Michelle Williams and others will be returning. It's likely Disney is moving quickly because they don't want to have to wait as long as they will for the Alice In Wonderland sequel. While nothing has been mentioned it could be possible that Dorothy might finally be back. I also wouldn't be shocked to see actress Joey King end up with the part.

I'd like to think they'd incorporate more Disney focused supporting characters such as Tick Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead from novels/Return to Oz for the next installment. Character designs which Disney flat out owns and wouldn't need to change. As Warner Bros. owns the original Wizard of Oz and many creative changes had to be made for Oz. Including the iconic ruby slippers being turned back to their original silver. I'd kid in me would love to see villains such as the Gnome King and Mombi make a return, having their origins explored a bit. It was awesome how scary those characters were in Return to Oz, nowadays wouldn't fly with the Disney brass.

Yet Another Colorful Poster For SPRING BREAKERS

New Crop Of French Posters For SPRING BREAKERS

Domestic Poster For SPRING BREAKERS

Exciting And Highly Visual French Trailer For SPRING BREAKERS

French Poster For SPRING BREAKERS

Red-Band Trailer For Seth Rogen's THIS IS THE END

FIRST LOOK: A Group Shot From THIS IS THE END

Full Trailer For Sam Raimi's OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

New Images From Sam Raimi's OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

FIRST LOOK: Set Images Of Seth Rogen's 'THE END OF THE WORLD'

Scott Z. Burns Hired To Rewrite 'PLANET OF THE APES 2'

HeatVision reports that 20th Century Fox has hired Scott Z. Burns to help rewrite the script for Planet of The Apes 2. The untitled sequel to Rise of The Planet of The Apes is gathering speed with a draft already written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa who wrote the first film. Burns is best known for Bourne Ultimatum, Contagion and the in-development film version of The Man From UNCLE.

Director Rupert Wyatt and actor Andy Serkis are currently locked for the sequel, no word on James Franco. I think James Franco monotoned performance was one the worst aspects of the film it's possible his character could be done away with or even recast. Normally with the Planet of The Apes sequels the humans leads are usually replaced new actors with each installment, hopefully this trend continues.

The next film will likely continue the viral sub-plot that should eventually wipe out a majority of the human population. Human survivors align themselves with Caesar and his new society. In the sequel to the original film that Rise was based on, a group from this new society goes into the now abandoned city sparking aggression with the militarized surviving humans set on wiping out the apes. These humans are armed to the teeth with guns, vehicles and tanks. It's doubtful this sequel will go that far into the lore.

Emma Watson, Jason Segel And David Krumholtz Join 'END OF THE WORLD', Michael Cera And Rhianna Also Might Be Cast

A slew of additions for Seth Rogen's directorial debut End of The World (formerly The Apocalypse) have been revealed today. HeatVision reports that Emma Watson (Harry Potter Series), Jason Segel and David Krumholtz (Addam's Family Values, Serenity, Walk Hard) will appear in the horror comedy playing themselves, not characters. ShowBlitz says that Rhianna (Battleship) and Michael Cera (Superbad, Scott Pilgrim) are also likely to join as well it's unknown if they'll be playing themselves or not. Rogen and Goldberg had teased that celebrities would be cameoing in the film that is set in Los Angeles after a apocalyptic event. It's unknown at this point which will play survivors and which ones will play corpses. I'm hoping that mutants ala Omega Man or zombies will be involved. The sheer amount of comedians is impressive as the cast includes Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Craig Robinson and James Franco.

Aziz Ansari Joins Horror Comedy 'THE APOCALYPSE'

It looks Seth Rogen's directorial debut is adding yet another highly talented comedic actor to it's cast. ThePlaylist has dug up an interview where Parks And Rec star Aziz Ansari (Funny People, 30 Minutes Or Less) confirmed he's joined Rogen's Apocalypse. It should also be noted that the project has trimmed the lengthy original title from Jay And Seth Vs. The Apocalypse which was a mouthful to say the least. The rest of the cast includes Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, James Franco and Danny McBride. I'm curious if we'll be seeing any funny ladies added to this sausage party comedy.

Andy Serkis Returning For Rise Of The Apes Sequel

Deadline reports that Andy Serkis is likely becoming the new Roddy McDowall of the Planet of The Apes franchise. He just landed a deal with 20th Century Fox for the sequel to Rise of The Planet of The Apes. Serkis will reprise his role of Caesar and possibility other apes in the film. Director Rupert Wyatt along with writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are also returning for the sequel. There is no word if either James Franco or Freida Pinto will be back for the next installment.

Since Rise was inspired by Conquest of The Planet of The Apes I expect the sequel could be inspired by next installment Battle For The Planet of The Apes. That film focused on the new ape community (after the rebellion) lead by Caesar with loyal humans helping teach and build the society. The characters would later enter the abandoned city only to find a vengeful group of surviving humans armed to the teeth. Now with the viral outbreak spreading around the human population it wouldn't be surprising to see desperate survivors being the villains in the sequel. I just hope they scale back on the length of the film's title.

Danny McBride & Craig Robinson Join Jay And Seth Vs. The Apocalypse

Two more Apatow alumni have joined Seth Rogen's directorial debut Jay & Seth Vs. The Apocalypse. Seth has revealed to MTV that Danny McBride (Your Highness, Pineapple Express, Eastbound And Down) and Craig Robinson (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Office, Pineapple Express) have joined the cast. Currently the cast includes Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill and James Franco. Rogen also sort of confirms that Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) has passed on the project.