Oscar Winning Writer Mark Boal Working On Sony's UNCHARTED Movie And Chris Pratt Passes On Lead

THR is reporting that Sony has tasked Oscar winning screenwriter Mark Boal (Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) to pen the newest script for Sony's Uncharted film. The film is based on the wildly successful and immersive games. Sony owns the rights outright and have made a name by developing cinematic games thanks to developer Naughty Dog. They also have Sam Raimi developing an adaptation of The Last of Us. Boal is apparently a fan of the games, which isn't hard to imagine since it's a massive best seller.

David O'Russell was once attached to write and direct the film, with Mark Wahlberg in the lead role. That whole deal broke-down and director Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) stepped-in. Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, Lego Movie, Guardians of The Galaxy) had been offered the lead role, but passed on it. Wahlberg teaming-up with Peter Berg (Lone Survivor) on The Six Billion Dollar Man, likely means Mark is out as well. Pratt's Marvel and Jurassic World contracts could be the reason he passed on the film. He might be committed to a Guardians trilogy, the two Avengers: Infinity War films and Jurassic World sequels. That doesn't leave much room for an Uncharted trilogy for Sony.

SOURCE: THR

TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION The Official Title Of Fourth Film, Plus Teaser Poster

Grimlock And The Dinobots Confirmed For TRANSFORMERS 4?

There had been talk for weeks that a group of new Autobots from the original cartoon would be making their debut in Transformers 4. Those being the Dinobots led by Grimlock, considered to be fan favorites. A new interview with Chinese media (via CBM) with producer confirms this but remains to be seen how the robots factor into the "story" and action sequences.

"I can not disclose the specifics, but you can be sure that the joining of the Dinobots will give the audience new excitement. In addition to Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, the appearance of these classic roles changed, today the world's coolest, most exciting cars will appear in the film, including China's vehicles, whether you are a car enthusiast, you will feast your eyes and be shocked by them."

Nicola Peltz Confirmed For Female Lead Of TRANSFORMERS 4, Will Play Mark Wahlberg's Daughter

Michael Bay has officially announced via Twitter that Nicola Peltz (Avatar: The Last Airbender) will play the female lead of Transformers 4. Nicola will be actor Jack Reynor's love interest and the daughter of Mark Wahlberg's character.

James McAvoy The Newest Actor Being Looked At For THE CROW?

While there have been actors previously linked the role of Eric Draven in The Crow remake which includes Bradley Cooper and Mark Wahlberg they never panned out. BloodyDisgusting reports that British actor James McAvoy (Wanted, X-Men Fist Class) could help resurrect the film which has been loosing multiple directors. James has a slew of badass roles coming down the pipe with Welcome To The Punch, Trance and Filth. Along with X-Men Days of Future Past which combines both X-Men franchises.

Jack Reynor Cast As Second Male Lead In TRANSFORMERS 4

Michael Bay has confirmed Variety's previous report that Jack Reynor (Delivery Man, What Richard Did) has landed the second male lead in Transformers 4. Oscar nominated Mark Wahlberg will play the lead with Reynor playing his daughter's boyfriend. The young actor comes from a quality acting background compared to previous actors from the franchise.

Fun Trailer For Action Comedy PAIN AND GAIN

New Poster For PAIN AND GAIN

Paramount Testing Young Actors For TRANSFORMERS 4

HeatVision repots that Paramount and director Michael Bay will be testing young actors for two major roles in Transformers 4. They are Mark Wahlberg's daughter and her race car driving boyfriend (*roll's eyes). It's expected the two chosen actors will sign for three films. While I don't really have an opinion for the daughter role beside that it's nice to see somewhat non-models being looked at. When it comes to the male role Irish actor Jack Reynor is my favorite. Reynor is gaining a lot of buzz for his indie film What Richard Did, so I'll be pulling for him to land this franchise.

Testing for the daughter and boyfriend role is set to occur this week. Isabelle Cornish, the sister of Australian actress Abbie Cornish (Limitless), and Nicola Peltz, who appeared in M. Night Shyamalan’s Paramount movie The Last Airbender and who has a part in A&E’s Bates Motel, are among those vying for the role. UPDATE: Gabriella Wilde (Three Musketeers) and Margaret Qualley (Andie MacDowell's daughter) as well.

There are five young men testing: Luke Grimes, who appeared in Brothers & Sisters and is in Taken 2; Landon Liboiron, who co-starred in Fox's Terra Nova series and will be seen in the upcoming Netflix series Hemlock Grove; Australian actor Brenton Thwaites who starred in Blue Lagoon: The Awakening; relative newcomer Jack Reynor; and Weeds actor Hunter Parrish.  

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.

Mark Wahlberg In Early Talks For TRANSFORMERS 4

TwitchFilm is reporting that Oscar nominated actor Mark Wahlberg (Departed, The Fighter) is in early talks with Michael Bay for a lead role in Transformers 4. It's expected that the fourth film will purge all previous actors and re-cast the humans. There had even been rumors of a more futuristic science-fiction human world, that remains to be seen. Bay recently worked with Mark on the action thriller Pain And Gain so chances are good to wrangle the action star. Not to mention he was able to convincingly carry on conversations with talking teddy bear in Ted. So talking to giant robots should be a cake walk for Wahlberg. Jason Statham had been originally linked for a role but it has been denied by everyone involved.

Morten Tyldum To Direct Thriller 'THE DISCIPLE PROGAM' Starring Mark Wahlberg

HeatVision reports that Swedish director Morten Tyldum (Headhunters) has lined up his first Hollywood film titled The Disciple Program. Universal won a bidding war for the spec-script from newcomer Tyler Marceca and has Mark Wahlberg attached to star. Wahlberg had been trying to put together an American remake of Morten's Headhunters, so his involvement looks good. It centers on a man who begins an investigation into his wife’s mysterious death, only to find that the mystery goes much deeper than he imagined.

FIRST LOOK: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson And Anthony Mackie On The Set Of 'PAIN AND GAIN'

Red-Band Trailer For 'TED' Starring Mark Wahlberg And Seth MacFarlane

Denzel Washington Could Join Mark Wahlberg In 2 Guns

Deadline reports that Denzel Washington could be joining Mark Wahlberg in the action film based on the graphic novel 2 Guns. The Safe House actor is in talks to take a lead role opposite Wahlberg in the Universal Pictures film. A DEA agent and an undercover naval intelligence officer unwittingly investigate each other as they steal mob money which turns out to be property of the CIA. The film will be directed by Baltasar Kormakur who recently worked with Mark on Contraband and a script from Blake Masters (Brotherhood).

Crow Remake Gets New Writer And Director

It was reported this week that the rights to The Crow remake has been settled between the Weinstein Company/Miramax and Relativity Media (Immortals). Now with that issue behind them they can pursue a new director and cast. Previously names like Mark Wahlberg and Bradley Cooper were loosely attached to play Eric Draven. Deadline reports that Jesse Wigutow (The Osterman Weekend) has been hired to write the remake's script. It sounds like the studio is eager to get this made quickly as ShowBlitz reports F. Javier Gutierrez (Before The Fall) will be the new director.

The original Crow (1994) stands as one of my favorite comic book films. It set the tone for more dark and serious comic book films like Blade and The X-Men. The cult hit proved to studios that they could make non-campy comic book films and it would be successful. The notorious tragic death of star Brandon Lee after live rounds were used in a shootout scene became a wake up call to safety measures in the industry. Lee's death during the production makes this even more special to fans like myself. If not highly protective of it and negativity to any idea of trying to remake it. I'll wait until casting announcements and a trailer before I rush to judge the intentions of Relativity.

Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson Could Star In Michael Bay's Pain And Gain

Variety reports that Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson could star in Michael Bay's dark comedy action thriller Pain And Gain. The film is about the real-life extortion ring and a kidnapping plot that goes horribly awry in the Miami area, hatched by a couple of Floridian bodybuilders. It's been compared to Fargo and it's budget is aimed at around $20 million which is small for Bay.

Adam McKay Teases Cast For Farrell/Wahlberg Comedy Three Mississippi

EW talked to writer/director Adam McKay (Anchor Man, Step Brothers, Other Guys) about his next comedy project which stars Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg. The Thanksgiving themed comedy would see the two actors the heads of two competing families who have a tradition of playing a holiday game of football. Wahlberg's character's father played by Alec Baldwin becomes ill and tries to get his estranged son to gather up the rest of the oddball family to win the next game. As their family has a terrible record of losing against Farrell's brood. Jeremy Renner is being looked at for the role of an ex-con family member. While Rob Riggle could be playing a gay cousin who has experience playing college football. The filmed titled Three Mississippi seems interesting enough with a solid cast but McKay has yet to confirm if he'll be directing.

David O'Russell Ditches Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

ShowBlitz has news that David O'Russell (The Fighter, Three Kings) has exited Sony's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. David was set to write and direct the video game adaptation which he had Mark Wahlberg, Scarlett Johansson, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in mind for the leads. It's unknown if O'Russell's script will end up being used or if the film will still move forward. Currently O'Russell had mentioned many other films in the works that included Cocaine Cowboys and a sequel to The Fighter.