Production On STAR TREK 3 Halted As Roberto Orci Exits And Edgar Wright Linked To Replace

This was a bad idea from the start. Deadline is reporting that first-time director Roberto Orci has exited the director's chair on Paramount's Star Trek 3. Details for the exit aren't being reported, but I've heard he bullied his way onto the job and creative differences have lead to the exit. Originally, directors like Attack The Block's Joe Cornish were in talks to direct. One of the new directors on the studio's shortlist is Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim, Shaun of The Dead, The World's End, Hot Fuzz), who recently exited Marvel's Ant-Man over creative difference.

I hear that that exit was due to Wright's unwillingness to include elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other Marvel films into his script. Edgar Wright wouldn't be a stranger to the Star Trek set as he directed a few shots in Into Darkness, during the fight between Khan and the Klingons. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that Cornish and Wright are frontrunners for the gig. You might remember that Edgar Wright had also been on Paramount's radar to direct Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Hugh Laurie In Talks To Play TOMORROWLAND Villain

THR reports that actor Hugh Laurie (House, Black Adder) is in talks to play the villain in Brad Bird's Tomorrowland which stars George Clooney. Nothing is really known about the science fiction film besides having a link to the Disney theme park and mysterious box labeled 1952. Laurie had been previously linked for the villain role in the Robocop reboot which eventually went to Michael Keaton.

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.

Jonathan Liebesman Could Direct New Ninja Turtles Film

Looks like Paramount is really hedging their bets when it comes to their genre films. We've already heard news that they're planning a reboot of sorts with the next Transformers film. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one project the studio seems to want to make sooner rather than later. It was previously reported that Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec were working on a script. Now, Variety reports that director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of The Titans) is in talks to helm the live-action reboot.


Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes is involved which is known for horror remakes such as Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street and Texas Chainsaw Masacre. One of the good things about Dunes is that their movies are highly artistic visually and somewhat faithful to the original source material. It's unknown how graphic the project will be considering how violent the comic book was compared to the Saturday morning cartoon series from the 80's. I would assume that Paramount wants a PG-13 rating.