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Studios Continue Forward Despite SAG Worries

By: Jarrod Sarafin
Date: Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Source: Variety

Last year, you'll likely remember the constant worries and coverage of the pending WGA strike and how Hollywood was planning for the worse by kicking production into gear on a number of projects so their line-ups would be filled up. Well, we cut to a year later and this time, executives around tinseltown are ramping up production on a number of projects, this time because of worries about a SAG stoppage.

As Variety reports, studios are ready to replicate that pre-strike rush by creating the same kind of boom market for production starting early next year. Companies are preparing to put 40 or more films into production between the spring and summer with hundreds of millions of dollars in production financing committed to fill slates for 2010 and 2011, signaling the end of the de facto thespian strike that has kept pic production at a low ebb for nearly a year.

With a handful of exceptions, the majors mostly stopped greenlighting films in October 2007, which led to a large number of productions that wrapped before June 30.

Which films are in production or set to begin production? Here's the current list.

COLUMBIA

* Ruben Fleischer-directed "Zombieland"

* Phillip Noyce-helmed "Edwin A. Salt" with Angelina Jolie

* Stephen Chow-directed "The Green Hornet" with Seth Rogen

DISNEY

* Tim Burton-directed "Alice in Wonderland";

* "Tron" sequel;

* Robert Zemeckis-produced motion-capture film "Mars Needs Moms";

* Jon Turteltaub-directed "The Sorcerer’s Apprentice" with Nicolas Cage;

* Walt Becker- helmed "Wild Hogs 2"

FOX

* James Cameron-directed "Avatar"

* Shawn Levy-helmed "Date Night," with Steve Carell and Tina Fey

* "A-Team"

* "Ramona"

* Chris Columbus-directed "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief"

* "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

* John Carney-directed "Town House"

* "Alvin and the Chipmunks 2"

* Tom Bezucha-directed "Orbit"

* Rick Famuyiwa-helmed "Family Wedding"

MGM

* Drew Goddard-directed "The Cabin in the Woods"

* Kevin Tancharoen-helmed "Fame"

* "The Matarese Circle," which David Cronenberg is negotiating to direct Washington

* Darren Aronofsky-helmed "RoboCop"

MARVEL
(Paramount distributing)

* Jon Favreau-directed "Iron Man 2" with Robert Downey Jr.

* Kenneth Branagh-helmed "Thor"

MIRAMAX

* John Madden-directed "The Debt" with Helen Mirren

* "Man on a Train"

* "Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark"

NEW LINE

* "Torrente"

* "Sex and the City 2"

* Wesley Strick-directed "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

* Len Wiseman-helmed "Gears of War"

PARAMOUNT

* Kenny Ortega-directed "Footloose" with Zac Efron;

* M. Night Shyamalan-helmed "The Last Airbender"

* "Morning Glory"

* "Beverly Hills Cop"

* "Us and Them"

UNIVERSAL

* Edgar Wright-directed "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," starring Michael Cera

* Untitled Nancy Meyers-helmed comedy with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin

* Peter Billingsley-directed "Couples Retreat" with Vince Vaughn;

* Gore Verbinski-helmed "BioShock"

* Nicholas Stoller-directed "Get Him to the Greek"

* Ridley Scott-helmed "Nottingham" with Russell Crowe

WARNER BROS.

* Clint Eastwood-directed "Human Factor" with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon

* Mark Neveldine/Brian Taylor- helmed "Jonah Hex"

* "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the David Yates-directed final, two-part installment in the franchise, which begins production in February;

* Alcon-financed "Book of Eli," the Hughes brothers-directed Denzel Washington starrer

* Louis Leterrier-helmed "Clash of the Titans"

* Zack Snyder-directed "Suckerpunch."


More Content By Jarrod Sarafin
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Box Office: Families Give Box Office Thanks to FOUR CHRISTMASES
(Sunday, November 30, 2008)
Del Toro Updates on HOBBIT Shoot
(Sunday, November 30, 2008)
PLANET OF THE APES Prequel Invades Fox
(Sunday, November 30, 2008)
Twilight's NEW MOON Sequel Begins in March
(Sunday, November 30, 2008)
Lundgren and Stallone Reunite for THE EXPENDABLES
(Wednesday, November 26, 2008)
NBC Announces January 2009 Schedule
(Wednesday, November 26, 2008)
Paramount Adds Onto First STAR TREK Trailer
(Wednesday, November 26, 2008)
Warner Bros. Unleashes New Flash Poster for TERMINATOR SALVATION
(Wednesday, November 26, 2008)
Early Plot Details Leaked for I AM LEGEND Prequel?
(Tuesday, November 25, 2008)
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Comments/Responses
1
ponyboy76 • Oct 08, 2008, 03:32am •
I feel like I have flashed back to the 80`s with, The A-Team, Clash of the Titans, Beverley Hills Cop, Footloose, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Robocop. I mean damn!

And is it actually official yet that Kenneth Branagh is directing Thor?

PREDATOR29 • Oct 08, 2008, 04:23am •
PONY I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE A-TEAM, CLASH OF THE TITANS, AND ROBOCOP. I JUST HOPE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH THEM.

BUT IT DOES SOUND LIKE A FLASHBACK, NEXT THING YOU KNOW WE'LL ALL BE SAYING "SHONUFF"

Darkknight2280 • Oct 08, 2008, 04:40am •
I'm excited for most of these projects and im glad they are being put into production toot sweet. Im especially excited for ROBOCOP!!! Just hope it doesnt get F'ed up by mister artsy director Darren A...

Oh and Predator dont forget "SIKE"

ponyboy76 • Oct 08, 2008, 05:10am •
"Totally"

AMiSHPiRATE • Oct 08, 2008, 06:14am •
Robocop? Bossanova!

celt6 • Oct 08, 2008, 07:08am •
Footloose? Really? Are we really at that point now? Next we'll be enduring "re-boot/re-makes" of ET, Karate Kid, and Flashdance (with some chick from High School Musical, I'm sure). As long as they don't touch my beloved Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo.

I'm, like, totally sketchin on A-team, cuz, like, I don't want it to suck. That would be "BOGUS."

Oh, and let's not all forget the awesome-sounding, yet undefined "copacetic."


Stormbringer184 • Oct 08, 2008, 08:15am •
I got really excited when I saw Len Wiseman's name attached to 'Gears of War' but then remembered it was 'God of War' I was in fear of because of Ratner being attached. Now I'm sad again.

But I am anxious to see what Wiseman does with 'Gears of War' because it after the first two Underworld movies, this seems more like his style. I didn't really get why he followed with Die Hard 4, I did like the movie, but it felt different. Especially in comparison with how Rambo and Rocky Balboa turned out going back to these famous movie characters, both those kicked ass and actually felt like a continuation of the series instead of just another action flick.

RoboCop is one I'm just anxiously waiting to see the outcome with Darren's style. We got the AvP series (with mixed reviews; I personally hated the 1st, loved the 2nd). So when do we get RoboCop vs Terminator? I still play that game....under a certain state of mind.

WTF with Footloose?!? I'm pretty sure there's enough dance moves out there to make a "stand on its own" dance movie. I mean c'mon! Soulja Boy anyone? (I just want to make it clear I don't actually want that)

WISEGUY562 • Oct 08, 2008, 09:42am •
Fuck the greedy, communist (except when it's time for them to get paid) actors, make everything CGI


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