Third Narnia Film Gets a Release Date

Just over a month after the news that Fox had saved the Narnia franchise by coming on-board to co-finance it, we get the release date for the third film: December 10th, 2010

This will see the franchise return to its original winter release date: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was released on December 9th, 2005 but for some reason they decided to change that up for the second film, which came out on May 16th 2008 - and made only $141 million (which was only about half what the first one made).

Is that a sign that established franchises are better released where there is no other competition? After all the same thing happened with the Harry Potter franchise - they normally were released in November each year and when they tried to change that and release a couple in the summer at least one of them didn’t make as much money (the fifth flick Order of the Phoenix made the most of any of the sequels worldwide even being released in July, but that was due to the book rather than the release date).

I’ll bet you Walden Media were thanking their lucky stars Fox stepped in after Walt Disney pulled out - I’m sure with the back to winter release date they have plus that date being free of competition (for the time being anyway - although I’m pretty sure not many others would want to go head to head with a Narnia film) will go some way to getting the franchise back on some sort of track.

However only time will tell if Voyage of the Dawn Treader will do better than the last film - do you think it will?

'Spider-Man 4' Pencils in May 2011

We've been waiting for some more official Spider-Man news for awhile now, ever since we told you there was a chance they might shoot both Spider-Man 4and 5 at the same time. Good news is producer Laura Ziskin has chimed in, telling theater owners in California and Nevada that they expect Spider-Man 4 to hit theaters in May 2011. According to Ziskin (from an article in the <Los Angeles Times), the script still isn't finished, yet they hope a fourth installment will be ready in three years.

However, when (and if) Spidey returns in May 2011, he'll have to square off against another Marvel flick in The First Avenger: Captain America(May 6), as well as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II. All I'm sayin' is it should be an interesting month. Still no word on what (if any) involvement Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst will have in the making of future Spider-Man films. Three years is a long time to wait, so whaddya think: Is the long break a good thing for the franchise or will people forget and not care by the time Pete Parker swings back into theaters?

source : cinematical

'Ultimatum' Scribe Returns for 'Bourne 4'

There aren't many movie franchises that have managed to keep their fans happy as time goes on, with maybe the exception being those Bourne movies. I always thought one of the stand-out traits of the spy franchise was just how darn good all three films are. So it's no surprise that Universal wasted zero time in chucking the latest installment of the franchise into production. Variety now reports that Universal has hired George Nolfi, one of the co-writers of the third installment, to pen the latest addition to the super-spy flicks.

Confirmation of a fourth film appeared last spring, but both Greengrass and Damon were a little cagey on details -- plus the two had already started work on their Iraq drama, Green Zone. According to Variety, Universal is going full steam ahead with the project, and are considering it their "top priority" for the coming year. Nolfi only has a few credits under his belt, and sure, he did help write Ultimatum, but the bad news is that he was also behind the laughably awful Timeline and Ocean's 12, (arguably the weakest of the 'paper thin' trilogy).

Bourne 4 will be the first film that will not take its title from one of Robert Ludlum's novels, so I can only guess that Universal wasn't interested in using any of the newer titles or storylines. Bourne 4 is expected to arrive in theaters in 2010. What sort of adventure would you like to see Bourne take on this time around?

source : cinematical

PRINCE OF PERSIA : THE SANDS OF TIME trailer

Cast	:	Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Alfred Molina
Director	:	Mike Newell
Release Date	:	28 May 2010 (USA)
Genre	:	Family, Adventure

Based on the popular game, this is set in medieval Persia, Earth's mightiest and most mysterious kingdom, where a king and his son defeat the powerful Maharajah and kidnap his daughter, looting his palace of priceless treasure, including an extravagant hourglass, and a mysterious dagger. What the Prince does not realize, is that these two objects can turn their possessor into an immortal god, and give him control over time itself. Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a prince in sixth-century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. Tricked by a dying Vizier bent on harnessing this terrible magic for himself, the Prince releases the sands of time, destroying a kingdom and turning its populace into ferocious demons. Only the Prince, the Vizier, and Princess Farah, the kidnapped daughter of the Maharajah, remain unchanged. Now, it is up to the young Prince of Persia to call upon every resource and ounce of courage he possesses to save his kingdom and redeem his fatal mistake. Kingsley portrays Nizam, who plots to kill his brother King Shahrman and blame it on Prince Dastan so he can take the throne.