NEWS UPDATE: World War Z Sequel, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jurassic Park 4, Poltergeist, Bad Teacher 2

Despite all the behind-the-scenes drama involving rewrites, reshoots and budget issues, "World War Z" turned out to be a box-office hit. The Brad Pitt starrer grossed $66M domestically and an additional $45 million from outside the US. It's no surprise that Paramount is now considering a sequel. The film was already designed as a multi-installment franchise, considering Pitt's character utters the line "This isn’t the end; not even close." in the film's final scenes. According to Movies.com, the way the film originally ended before the rewrites was even more sequel-oriented than the current ending and even included a larger part for Matthew Fox. As for what the sequel's story might be, Pitt himself said when asked about a follow-up movie: "There is enough material to mine from the book for a sequel. We could barely get a fraction of the book in this movie. So we’ll see." Stay tuned for more information as it arrives.

And speaking of zombies, Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to star in the zombie apocalypse movie "Maggie". He will play a father whose daughter has been infected and is slowly becoming one of the undead. At one point Chloe Grace Moretz was attached to star as the daughter, but she dropped out of the project. The film will be directed by Henry Hobson, who has mainly done title design work for "The Walking Dead" and "The Lone Ranger" among others, and the script is written by John Scott. Production begins this fall.

Some "Jurassic Park 4" plot details have surfaced. Although it's very early to be 100% sure this will be the movie's storyline, JoBlo reports that the sequel will involve a fully functional dinosaur theme park set on Isla Nublar:

"JURASSIC PARK 4, set in present day Isla Nublar, is now an actual theme park, as originally intended by John Hammond in the first film. It garners 10 million visitors per year and is completely safe – until it’s not. The park itself is described as very Sea World-esque and includes an area called the Isla Nublar Lagoon. That means underwater dino’s for the first time. No indication of what kind, but there’s concept art showing one of the aquatic dino’s, as part of a show, jumping out of the lagoon and eating a strung up great white shark like it was a fish for a dolphin at sea world."

"Jurassic Park 4" will be directed by Colin Trevorrow ("Safet Not Guaranteed") and the script is written by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver ("Rise of the Planet of the Apes"). The release date was supposed to be June 13, 2014, but Universal has announced that it would delay production until everyone was certain they could deliver the ultimate epic Jurassic Park experience. Variety also reported that Bryce Dallas Howard and David Oyelowo may be in talks for the lead roles.

"In coordination with filmmakers, Universal has decided to release Jurassic Park 4 at a later date giving the studio and filmmakers adequate time to bring audiences the best possible version of the fourth installment in Universal’s beloved franchise. We could not be more excited about the vision that Colin Trevorrow has created for this film, and we look forward to watching as he and the producers create another great chapter in this franchise’s storied history."

The "Poltergeist" remake is also moving forward. The film will shoot this fall and will be co-financed by MGM and Fox 2000. Gil Kenan ("Monster House") is set to direct from a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, David Lindsay-Abaire ("Oz: The Great and Powerful"). The remake is produced by Sam Raimi ("Evil Dead", "Spider-Man") and will probably be released in 2014. Here is the official plot synopsis:

"In a revisionist take on the classic horror film, a family struggling to make ends meet relocates to an outdated suburban home and is confronted by an angry spirit who kidnaps their youngest daughter and challenges them to band together to rescue her from the clutches of evil."

Cameron Diaz will return as materialistic foul-mouthed teacher Elizabeth Halsey in the sequel "Bad Teacher 2". Sony greenlit the new installment with Jake Kasdan returning to direct from a script by newcomer Justin Malen. The first film was a worldwide hit grossing $216M. Diaz has not officially signed for the sequel, but since the project is built around her, it's only a matter of time. Until then, there is also a "Bad Teacher" sitcom developed for CBS which will air next year with Ari Graynor playing the Diaz role.

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Monday, June 24, 2013

NEWS UPDATE: World War Z Sequel, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jurassic Park 4, Poltergeist, Bad Teacher 2

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