Spielberg Initially Wanted an Animated 'Harry Potter' Years Ago« FirstShowing.net

This isn't so much news as it is a fascinating story worth reading and discussing. Plus it gives me a chance to make mention of an absolutely fantastic new article onHero Complexthat looks back at the entireHarry Potterfranchise andhow it all came together. One segment they pulled to highlight that was very amusing to hear, is about how Warner Bros offeredSteven Spielbergthe chance to direct the first fewHarry Potterfilms, but he wanted to make themanimatedand condense the first couple books. How's that for a totally different concept, now that we've seen six full-length live-actionHarry Pottermovies. Read on for the story!

Here's the excerpt pulled from that greatHero ComplexHarry Potterarticletalking about Spielberg's notes:

"Warner Bros. secured the rights for four 'Harry Potter' novels for about $2 million. At that point, only the first book was on shelves in England and none had reached America.Warner Bros. tried to get a financial partner on the project, reaching out to studios including Steven Spielberg'sDreamWorks, which passed.

Once the books became a sensation, greenlighting the first 'Potter' film became a major priority at Warner Bros., whereAlan Hornhad recently taken over as president and Barry Meyer as chairman (replacing longtime studio chiefs Terry Semel and Bob Daly). DreamWorks circled back and proposed a partnership, but Horn wisely declined. There was one aspect of the DreamWorks talks that did intrigue him, however.

'I did think it would be worthwhile forSteven Spielbergto direct,' Horn said. 'We offered it to him. But one of the notions of Dreamworks' and Steven's was,"Let's combine a couple of the books, let's make it animated,"and that was because {visual effects and} Pixar had demonstrated that animated movies could be extremely successful. Because of the wizardry involved, they were very effects-laden. So I don't blame them. But I did not want to combine the movies, and I wanted it to be live action.'"

Spielberg then went on to directArtificial Intelligencein 2001 instead and Warner Bros hiredHome AloneandBicentennial MandirectorChris ColumbusforHarry Potter. I've also always thought of Alan Horn as one of the smartest execs in Hollywood today, and this just goes to show he's helped steer that studio in the right direction ever since he hit the top. Without him making smart decisions, we probably wouldn't be about to see thedark, epicversion ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsthat's out in a few weeks. It's just a fun story that doesn't really mean much today, and I don't think it even makes Spielberg look that bad anyway, but it is interesting to think about the different directions this amazing franchise could have gone.

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'Zombieland' Writers to Adapt Comic Book 'Cowboy Ninja Viking'« FirstShowing.net

The American cowboy, the ninja, and the Viking form a triumvirate of toughness seldom equaled.Deadlineis reporting that writersRhett Reese&Paul Wernick, most known forZombieland, have been set as the writers behind a new adaptation of the comic bookCowboy Ninja Viking. Disney, of all places, acquired the pitch for a feature with the writers on-board. The basis is a comic book by AJ Lieberman and artist Riley Rossmo, published last year by Image Comics. One might say this is could be a nice compliment toCowboys& Aliens, the Jon Favreau adaptation due outnext summer. However, they have completely different stories.

Cowboy Ninja Viking, seen above, is the creation of Dr. Sebastian Ghislain, a psychotherapist who recruits Multiple Personality Disorder patients to produce a unit of counter-intelligence agents calledTriplets. But what happens when those guys become out of control assassins? That's when the deadliest Triplet of them all -Cowboy Ninja Viking- is called in to take down his own brethren. This sounds so freakin' awesome, I've got to say. I just ordered acopy of the comic, because it just seems like a great concept anyway. I love all the covert art -check this out, too! The adaptation is still in the very early stages, as they're still looking for a director to get attached as well. Either way, we'll keep you updated on it as it develops.Check out the comic!

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Scarlett Johansson Joining Cameron Crowe's 'We Bought a Zoo'« FirstShowing.net

Though she's attached to that recentSpecies-likeerotic sci-fi filmUnder the Skin, the stunningScarlett Johanssonwas still in consideration for a lead female role in Baz Luhrmann's adaptation ofThe Great Gatsbyand Cameron Crowe'sforthcoming adaptationofWe Bought a Zoo. For now, she's at least snagged one of them asDeadlinereports Johansson is in final negotiations tojoin Matt Damonin the latter of those two adaptations. The story from amemoir from Benjamin Meefollow's the author's own family that bought a rundown mansion in the English countryside which included the 30-acre Dartmoor Wildlife Park, home to over 200 animals.

Johansson beat out other equally talented and beautiful actresses like Amy Adams and Rachel McAdams to take the role in Crowe's adaptation which he also scripted with Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada,Morning Glory). Apparently Johansson was also in the running to replace therecently departed Natalie Portmanin the adaptation ofPride and Prejudice and Zombies, but with this role now becoming official, her involvement seems rather unlikely. Honestly, aside from her mind-blowing attractiveness, Johansson's talent makes her more appealing than other glorified Hollywood beauties like Megan Fox, so I'll watch her in anything.Sound good?

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See Harry Potter 5& 6 Before Deathly Hallows Part I at Midnight« FirstShowing.net

We just recently found out about theencore presentationofBack to the Futureto celebrate the film's 25th anniversary courtesy ofAMC Theatres. Well, with the conclusion of theHarry Potterfranchise around the corner, the movie theater chain has planned another event to lead right into the midnight opening ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Ion Thursday, November 18th. AMC Theatres is holdingThe Harry Potter Adventure, which will allow you to watchOrder of the PhoenixandHalf-Blood Princein theaters right before the midnight premiere of Part I of the epic finale. More details below!

Starting at 6pm on November 18th, 140 AMC theaters across the nation will show the fifth ans sixth installments of theHarry Potterfranchise just before the first screening of the first portion of the two-part finale. Tickets will be $20 each and are currently on sale. The event page at the official AMC website has set up this link here to find your nearest theater. However, for those not near larger metropolitan areas, it's not as easy to find the nearest theater in this manner. My recommendation is to use Twitter and contact the@AMCHelpscustomer service account to help find the nearest participating theater or check out their contact information for customer serviceright here.Will you be part of the Harry Potter Adventure?

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'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' Director May Be Mike White« FirstShowing.net

After director David. O Russellexited the adaptationof Seth Grahame-Smith'sPride and Prejudice and Zombies, star and producerNatalie Portman's departurepretty much left the project dead in the water. Though a shortlist of directorshas been tossed aroundto pick up the pieces of the broken project, they've mostly been the same names always offered big name projects. However, a top contender may have emerged as24 Framesreports actor/writer/directorMike White(who wroteThe School of Rockand directedYear of the Dog) may be the frontrunner to helm the remix of the classic period drama that mixes romance with the undead.

Though White has shown his comedic chops by writing films likeOrange Countyand pulling double duty by writing and starring inThe School of Rock, his directing background leaves something to be desired. Previously he's only helmed the lukewarmly received indieYear of the Dogstarring Molly Shannon, and whilePride and Prejudice and Zombieswill surely have plenty of dry, dark humor, it will also have plenty of action and special effects, something of which White has no experience.

Combining comedy, period and horror elements into one film is no easy task, and one might want a more experienced hand behind the camera, but I guess Lionsgate and Darko Entertainment may have enough faith in White to come through. Though there are likely other names still on the list, one name that has apparently been ruled out isCloverfieldandLet Me IndirectorMatt Reeves. Stay tuned as this project continues to trudge through development.Would you like Mike White to directPride and Prejudice and Zombies?

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Sci-Fi Shakespeare 'Henry5' in the Works with Caine, Winstone« FirstShowing.net

There are a lot of very interesting Shakespeare adaptations in the works (Ralph Fiennes'Coriolanus, Julie Taymor'sThe Tempest), but I'm sure none of them are like this.The Playlistcaught mention of atweetfromProd Weeklyabout a new project in the works calledHenry5- a"a sci-fi thriller"based on Shakespeare's playHenry V. Apparently the film even hasMichael Caine,Ray Winstone,Gerard DepardieuandDerek Jacobiattached, along with the always badassVinnie Jones. Apparently the project is being sold at theAFMthis week, so this may actually come together with that cast, which would be impressive to see.

Behind the script is Michael Anderson, Andrew Hislop and Steve Wilkinson, who have incorporated aspects of Shakespeare'sHenry VandHenry IV. It's being directed by commercials director Michael Anderson, who we don't know too much about. Snyopsis:"In an age of apocalypse, in a land without a leader, adissolute princefinds redemption when he crushes arebellionthat threatens to destroy his father's kingdom. But upon assuming the throne himself, he immediately engineers a war against a neighboring state to slake his lust for power. Despite his enemy possessing weaponry rendering their forces almost invincible, the newly crowned king seizes a glorious victory from the jaws of defeat by ruthlessness and cunning."Sounds okay.

I think this sounds fairly interesting, like it could potentially be quite fun. Or it could be terrible, only time will tell. At least it has an awesome cast - Caine, Winstone, Vinnie Jones - so it should have great dialogue. We'll keep you updated on this project and will let you know if we hear anything else new about its status.

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Leonardo DiCaprio Will Murder as 'The Devil in the White City'« FirstShowing.net

We've already reported that Clint Eastwood's forthcoming biopicHooverwill seeLeonardo DiCaprioas the titular FBI director of the same name, but following that project, the actor has lined up quite a role like nothing he's ever done before.Deadlinereports DiCaprio's Appian Way production banner has teamed with Double Features to snag the rights toThe Devil in the White City, anon-fiction book by Erik Larsonthat tells the story ofH.H. Holmes, one of the first documented American serial killers who is believed to have murdered anywhere from 27 to 200 people when the city of Chicago was enthralled with hosting the World's Fair of 1893.

In a scheme that would make Jigsaw blush, Holmes manipulated an old woman into selling her cancer-stricken husband's drug store only to"move to California"shortly thereafter. Then he purchased a lot across from the drugstore where he built his three-story, block-long"castle"as it came to be known in the neighborhood. It was opened as a hotel for theWorld's Columbian Expositionin 1893, with part of the structure used as commercial space. That may not sound too bad just yet, but stick with me because the story gets better.

The ground floor of the Castle contained Holmes's own relocated drugstore and various shops, while the upper two floors contained his personal office and a maze ofover one hundred windowless roomswith doorways opening to brick walls, oddly angled hallways,stairways to nowhere, doors openable only from the outside, and a host of otherstrange and labyrinthine constructions. Holmes repeatedly changed builders during the construction of the Castle so only he fully understood the design of the house, and thus, decreasing the chance of being reported to the police. Now you see where we're going?

After the completion of the hotel, Holmes selected mostly female victims from among his employees (many of whom were required as a condition of employment to take out life insurance policies for which Holmes would pay the premiums but also be the beneficiary), lovers and hotel guests, torturing and killing them. Some were locked in soundproof bedrooms fitted with gas lines that let himasphyxiatethem at any time. Some victims were locked in a huge soundproof bank vault near his office where they were left to suffocate.The victims' bodies were dropped by secret chute to the basement^,where some were meticulously dissected, stripped of flesh, crafted into skeleton models, and then sold to medical schools.

Apparently DiCaprio has long been fascinated with the story. Some years back, Tom Cruise had optioned the book in question as a starring vehicle for himself while DiCaprio set up a rival project with plans to use information in the public domain to tell the story of Holmes' murder spree. But recently the rights became available again, and DiCaprio lunged at the opportunity to snatch up the rights to the book. Appian Way and Double Features are in the process of finding a writer and will put together a package deal before taking the project to a studio. This sounds like one hell of a thriller and a truly different role for DiCaprio.Interested?

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