1.       Things just keep coming up roses for Aziz Ansari, former Daily Show correspondent and current co-star of Parks and Recreation. Ansari and his writing partner Jason Woliner have just had three comedy pitches picked up. The duo pitched all three to Judd Apatow in a recent meeting expecting him to pick up one, instead he asked for all three. One is a road movie about two motivational speakers, the other is about a cosmonaut faced with a return to Earth and the third is a spin-off of Funny People for Ansari’s character.

 

2.       Steven Spielberg has just greenlit his first DreamWorks film since securing new financing, a sci-fi movie starring Hugh Jackman. It’s called, Real Steel and is based off of a Richard Matheson story centering around a father-son relationship in a near future where robots have replaced professional boxers, Jackman’s character is a washed-up boxer turned manager for a Rocky-like robot. (Matheson’s books and stories have been the source for many films.) Spielberg has long been developing the project, and he took it with him when DreamWorks split from Paramount last year. Dan Gilroy wrote the first draft of a script back in 2005 and the most recent script was done by John Gatins. It is presumed that this is the script currently in the final stages of development.

 

3.       There’s some slight controversy surrounding the script of, The Lincoln Lawyer. Tommy Lee Jones was set to direct the film and co-star with Matthew McConaughey, but it was just announced yesterday that Jones has left the production specifically because of disagreements about the script. The script by John Romano, is still being pushed forward by Lakeshore who hopes to attach another director quickly.

 

4.       Katherine Brooks has been tapped to direct her script, Freak, which she adapted from jockey Julie Kroene’s autobiography about life as a female horse jockey. Kroene was the first woman to win a Triple Crown race. Brooks has directed for The Osbournes reality show and also a feature film, Loving Annabelle.

 

5.       Fan favorite fantasy actors Hugo Weaving and Emma Watson have just signed on to star in the film, Oranges and Sunshine. The film will tell the true story of a British social worker who discovered the scandalous and secret migration of children from the U.K. to Australia. Rona Munroe wrote the screenplay and Jim Loach will make his directorial debut.
 

 

6.       Joe Dante’s 80’s cult horror classic, The Howling will be resurrected for a remake set to start shooting in February. Original producers Steve Lane and Bob Pringle will return for the film, which is currently still in “indie” status, as it is not attached to any studios currently. No word yet on whether or not there will be a return to the original script by John Sayles, likely not however, as the new film has already been titled, The Howling: Reborn. The first Howling spawned six sequels and producers are hoping to recreate the franchise. With vampires and werewolves being en vogue again, now just might be the perfect time.