James Cameron Will Direct The Informationist

Lightstorm Entertainment has acquired the film rights to The Informationist, based on the acclaimed 2011 novel from Taylor Stevens. James Cameron will direct the film for 20th Century Fox. Lightstorm's Jon Landau will produce alongside Cameron.

The story centers on Vanessa "Michael" Monroe, "an information specialist, whose work is in-demand by  corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. When a Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood. Betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget."

Said Cameron, "Taylor Stevens' Vanessa Michael Munroe is an intriguing and compelling heroine with an agile mind and a thirst for adventure. Equally fascinating for me is her emotional life and her unexpected love story. I'm looking forwarding to bringing Vanessa and her world to the big screen." Current plans are for Cameron to direct the once he's finished working on the second and third Avatar films.

Although Cameron has claimed in recent years that he's strictly in "the Avatar business" from here on out, it seems the filmmaker has opened up to the idea of taking on other features later down the line. In addition to The Informationist, Cameron has expressed an interest in directing Battle Angel as well.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

JLA Movie to Face Off Against Avengers 2?

Now that Warner Bros. has won a decisive court battle involving the rights to Superman, the studio can speed up development on its Justice League movie.

Warner Bros. Wins Big in Superman Copyright Battle

The Man of Steel is, of course, a key member of that superhero team, along with players in spandex like Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and others. According to The LA Times, the studio is expected to "accelerate" development on the JLA project, which will include finding a director and cast. The hope is to shoot next year for a summer, 2015, release. That would put the film squarely against The Avengers 2, don't cha know?

Watch the above video to see Dark Knight co-writer David Goyer discuss bringing Superman's origin story to Man of Steel.

Had Warners lost its legal battle against the family of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, the use of the character in Justice League or elsewhere would've been restricted after 2013. (And in fact, aspects of that court struggle continue to rage on, though it would seem yesterday's verdict was the start of the litigation saga's endgame.)

"That uncertainty made it difficult for Warner[s] to move ahead with Justice League, which the studio's motion pictures group president, Jeff Robinov, has long wanted to make as a pillar of its big-screen superhero strategy," says The Times. Additionally, the decision reached yesterday allows Warner Bros. to make sequels to Man of Steel (though it remains unclear if that version of Superman will be the one we see in Justice League or not).

So the plan now is to spin-off other heroes into their own movies after Justice League, in a sort of reverse-Marvel methodology. Hey, that works for me.

Talk to Movies Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.

Source : ign[dot]com

Mr. Ed Returns as CGI/Live-Action Hybrid

Waterman Entertainment is looking to adapt the classic television series Mr. Ed into a feature film. The company also recently bought the rights to The Brave Little Toaster, hoping to breathe new life into beloved children's properties.

"We are identifying properties that have had success with multiple generations of parents who feel comfortable and have excitement about reintroducing the characters and storylines to their own kids and grandkids," said executive producer Cooper Waterman. "While each property remains independent of each other, they will share the commonality of addressing social values, morality lessons, and characteristics that are clearly identifiable for kids with comedic elements for all age groups."

The original TV show centered on the exploits of a talking horse, Mr. Ed, and his klutzy but affable owner Wilbur Post. Current plans are to adapt the series into a live-action/CG hybrid movie.

Source : ign[dot]com

Manimal Gets a Movie

Sony Pictures Animation has just landed the movie rights to Manimal, based on the 1980s television series about a wealthy doctor with the power to transform into animals in order to fight crime.

The Hollywod Reporter says the film will be a live-action/CG hybrid, with the original series' producer Glen A. Larson -- known for his work on other '80s fare like Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider and Magnum P.I. -- attached to produce the film.

Manimal was widely panned by critics and slaughtered in the ratings when it aired opposite Dallas in 1983. The series only lasted eight episodes before it was cancelled. However, the show gained a cult following for its campiness in the years that followed.

The studio is currently in search of writers to pen the new project.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Fanboys Director to Develop Chewie Biopic

The director of Fanboys has come aboard to direct the Star Wars-themed biopic Chewie.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kyle Newman has secured the screen rights to the life of actor Peter Mayhew, who portrayed Chewbacca in the Star Wars films. Newman intends on further developing the hot spec script by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux, which was picked up by Inferno Entertainment.

Chewie chronicles Mayhew's early years as a struggling actor who worked as a hospital worker before finding fame playing Han Solo's Wookie sidekick and sees the making of George Lucas' sci-fi saga through his eyes.

Source : ign[dot]com

Report: Bethesda Obtains S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Rights

A new blog entry is claiming that Bethesda may have acquired the rights to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of games.

Ukranian blogger Sergey Galyonkin shared the assertion from a "trusted source", explaining that Bethesda now has the rights to the extended S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe, though developer GSC Game World has not sold the brand.

“

The reason we cannot continue with the development of Stalker 2 is we and our new investors were unable to come to an agreement with the IP rights owner.

It's the latest entry in the complex saga of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, the development status of which is still woefully up in the air. First the game was announced in 2010 for a planned 2012 release, before being cancelled amid rumours of GSC closing down. Then we heard the game still lived and that development was continuing... only for the game to be cancelled again in April this year.

At the time, a post on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's official Facebook explained, "The reason we cannot continue with the development of Stalker 2 is we and our new investors were unable to come to an agreement with the IP rights owner. The entire team that was working on Stalker is now working on a new project called Survarium."

So what does this mean for the future of the franchise? Well, Bethesda has issued a predictable "no comment", but fans are already speculating what the similarity in setting between the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Fallout franchises may lead to if the news is true.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Bourne Director Does Time and Again

Summit has picked up the rights to adapt the novel Time and Again to the big screen, with The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith helmer Doug Liman set to direct and produce.

Variety has the report on the project. Written by Jack Finney, who is perhaps best known for his book The Body Snatchers (which has been adapted by Hollywood umpteen times), Time and Again is a 1970 illustrated novel about a modern man who seemingly travels back to 1882, where he falls in love.

Robert Redford tried adapting the tale for Universal back in the '90s, and it was also considered as a possible TV mini-series by Universal Television at one point, but nothing ever came of it. Perhaps Liman will be the man to finally get the job done.

Talk to Movies Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN and on Facebook.

Source : ign[dot]com