See what else is happening in film & TV industries around the world.
‘Prometheus’ sequel moving forward at Fox 20th Century Fox and director Ridley Scott are moving forward with a sequel to last year’s sci-fi feature ‘Prometheus’. According to Variety, screenwriter Jack Paglen (Transcendence) is in talks to pen the script after Damon Lindelof (Lost, Star Trek: Into Darkness) opted not to return for the sequel. Scott envisioned the spiritual sequel to ‘Alien’ as the beginning of a new franchise and he will produce again through his Scott Free banner though it’s unknown at this time if he will direct. Noomi Rapace and Irish actor Michael Fassbender are also expected to return. Even though the project is still yet to receive the green light, the fact that ‘Prometheus’ earned over $400 million at the box-office and a screenwriter is now attached to the project means that a sequel will more than likely be hitting our screens in the future. Paglen most recently penned ‘Transcendence’ on which Christopher Nolan’s longtime cinematographer Wally Pfister is making his directorial debut, with Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, and Irish actor Cillian Murphy starring. Scott is currently in post-production on ‘The Counselor’, which stars Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, and Javier Bardem.
James Franco seeks $500,000 in crowdfunding to adapt ‘Palo Alto Stories’ Following in the footsteps of Zach Braff and the producers behind the upcoming ‘Veronica Mars’ film, actor/director/writer James Franco is the latest Hollywood figure to turn to crowdfunding websites to seek funding for developing projects. Franco is seeking $500,000 from backers on Indiegogo with the aim of adapting his own book of short stories, ‘Palo Alto Stories’ into a trilogy of films: ‘Memoria’, ‘Killing Animals’ and ‘Yosemite’. Franco has recruited four up-and-coming filmmakers - Nina Ljeti, Vladimir Bourdeau, Bruce Thierry Cheung and Gabriel Demestree – to adapt the fictional stories that are based on Franco’s high school experiences in the wealthy Northern Californian town. Franco has also announced that all proceeds from the films will go to the non-profit Art of Elysium, which encourages working artists to voluntarily dedicate their time to children who are battling serious medical conditions. As with most crowdfunding campaigns, donors will receive a unique reward for their contributions: for $450, donors will receive a personal voicemail from Franco, $1,000 gets an associate producer credit, and according to the Hollywood Reporter, a $7,000 donation will get you an original painting from Franco himself. Franco’s ‘Palo Alto Stories’ Indiegogo campaign closes on July 17.
Watch the trailer for Disney’s upcoming animated feature, ‘Frozen’ The first trailer for Disney Feature Animation’s upcoming feature film, ‘Frozen’, has been released. Following on from the success of 2010’s ‘Tangled’ and last year’s well-received ‘Wreck-It Ralph’, Disney will be hoping the fairytale story of ‘Frozen’ will keep their run of success going. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, ‘Frozen’ follows fearless optimist Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell), who teams up with Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter. The trailer seems very much in the same vein as ‘Ice Age’s Scrat teaser trailers and doesn’t reveal much in the way of plot details. ‘Frozen’ is set to hit Irish screens on December 6th.
