Philip K. Dick Is Ready for His Closeup Now

Alcon Entertainment slated to produce upcoming sequel or prequel

(NEWSER) - "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe..." But would the infamous replicant leader in Blade Runner believe that director Ridley Scott is making a new version of the 1982 sci-fi classic? Sequel or prequel, nobody seems to know—and Harrison Ford's participation is a question mark (he reportedly hated Scott)—but The Blind Side producer Alcon Entertainment will begin development, Deadline.com reports. This on the heels of Scott's Prometheus, an upcoming 3D pic that loosely revisits the Alien franchise. More»

Even Hollywood can make movies for the non-'lily-livered:' Nile Gardiner

(NEWSER) - "Hollywood may well be a bastion of liberalism, but it does continue to occasionally produce major films that advance conservative principles," Nile Gardiner writes in the Telegraph . His best of the aughts:

1. Master and Commander, 2003: The Peter Weir flick starring Russell Crowe is "an epic tale of heroism and love for country in the face of incredible odds, and a glowing tribute to the grit and determination that forged the British Empire."
2. Black Hawk Down, 2001: Critics may have called it an "anti-war film," but Gardiner doesn't buy it. Instead, it's "an extraordinarily powerful and deeply patriotic tribute to the heroism and bravery of the US military."

Ridley Scott flick is highest grossing R-rated crime film ever

(NEWSER) - American Gangster put competitors on ice this weekend and became the top-grossing R-rated crime flick ever. Starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, Gangster scored the top debut of the fall, beating Seinfeld's Bee Movie by $46.3 million to $39.1 million. Seinfeld's first foray since Seinfeld buzzed a little less than DreamWorks Animation-Paramount had hoped, Variety reports. More»

Production firm in talks to buy rights to sci-fi classic's universe

(NEWSER) - Other Blade Runner movies could be here in time for 2019, the year when the 1982 sci-fi classic takes place. Production company Alcon Entertainment says it's in the final stages of talks to acquire the rights to make prequels and sequels based on the settings and characters of the original, according to the Hollywood Reporter . The deal won't include the right to remake Blade Runner itself, and there's no word on whether director Ridley Scott or star Harrison Ford will be involved. More»

Really? 'Hot Tub Time Machine' is the best we can do?

(NEWSER) - “2010 very possibly is the worst year in the history of motion pictures,” declares Joe Queenan in a hilarious Wall Street Journal piece bemoaning the downfall of American cinema. You know things are bad in Hollywood when:

• “Shia LaBeouf—who looks a bit like the young George W. Bush” is being passed off “as the second coming of Tom Cruise.”
• The top contenders for Next Big Action Star are Jake Gyllenhaal and Adrien Brody. “None of these are logical heirs to the throne abandoned by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone. They may not even be legitimate heirs to the throne vacated by Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.”