Courtesy of Variety, we have news that Elizabeth Banks will play the leading role of Tinkerbell in Disney’s Tink. Read the full story

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McG, the filmmaker behind such subtle dramas as Charlie Angels and Terminator Salvation, has bought his and his company Wonderland Sound and Vision‘s way into Mean Girls territory, acquiring the rights to 20-year-old scribe Kody Keplinger‘s The DUFF.

Wonderland will produce alongside Lane Shefter Bishop from Vast Entertainment. [Variety via /Film]

Here’s a synopsis of the teen novel, via Amazon:

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The popular, yet controversial play Spring Awakening is set to become a big-screen musical with The Playlist suggesting that it will be directed by McG (Charlie’s Angels, Terminator Salvation). Read the full story

McG (Terminator Salvation) will be bringing the Man of Steel back to the big screen, Deadline reports. A few years back McG was attached to direct along with a script by J.J. Abrams. David Goyer is currently working on a draft and Christopher Nolan is still creatively involved, but that won’t last long since he apparently has the upmost trust in McG and will let him be during production. Nolan believes after Terminator Salvation he has the chops to pull off a franchise starter, which he also did with the underrated and profitable Charlie’s Angles series. While the release date is still up in there, expect a 2012 or 2013 summer release. Here’s a few more tidbits: Read the full story

Earlier this month we reported McG‘s next project, a romantic comedy titled This Means War. Due to “creative concerns” and the fact that Todd Phillips‘ Hangover sequel is set to shoot in the fall, soon after McG’s July start date, it looks like Bradley Cooper has dropped out [EW].

This Means War is the tale of two best friends, inseparable since childhood, who fall in love with the same woman (Witherspoon). The two men’s bond disintegrates and their ensuing battle escalates to mammoth proportions, with New York City demolished in their wake.”

Good riddance. The project, which has been floating around Hollywood for over 10 years, seems like typical schlock. The synopsis sounds a bit too big for it’s own good and I would rather see Cooper take on more interesting projects.

Were you looking forward to Cooper in McG’s next film? Are you glad he moved on to the next Hangover?

According to Deadline Hollywood, Terminator 2: Judgment Day co-writer William Wisher has apparently written a 24 page script treatment for Terminator 5 and a 4 page outline for Terminator 6. The treatment is described by Deadline as:

Wisher’s 2-picture construct takes place in a post-apocalyptic battleground, and factors in an element of time travel that allows for Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese to interact beyond their single fateful meeting when he traveled back in time to protect her in the original film. Wisher has created a role for Arnold Schwarzenegger that is as surprising as his shift from villain in the first film, to John Connor’s bodyguard in the second. Schwarzenegger wouldn’t be needed until the final film, which wouldn’t shoot until after he ends his term as California Governor. And who wouldn’t want to see Linda Hamilton back in aerobic top fitness form as Sarah Connor?

There are several new villains, and plenty of firepower. For instance, a swarm of “Night Crawlers,” 4 1/2-foot tall border sentries that are set like mines to spring up out of the ground and ambush rebel fighters with 10 MM pistols built into their wrists, and fingers and feet that are razor sharp. Also fresh off the Skynet assembly line are new shape-shifting cyborgs that can morph together in Transformers-like mode, and are more lethal than anything we’ve seen in previous Terminator installments.

It is unknown if Wisher is going to actually be following through with these treatments and turning them into the actual shooting script but it sure is a nice thought. It is also unknown if Terminator Salvation director McG is returning. Keep checking back with The Film Stage for more on this developing story.

Do you like Wisher’s treatment?

Call it a shot at financial salvation? After three studio-supported box office near-misses (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, We Are Marshall, Terminator Salvation), director McG is setting up to discover his softer side.

The film’s called This Means War, starring Reese Witherspoon and Bradley Cooper to be produced by Fox. McG, Witherspoon and Cooper are all un-signed to the project, however.

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With official news that Rob Marshall is directing Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides with Johnny Depp just out in the open comes further news that Disney’s McG-steered Captain Nemo film is dead in the water, with no McG or start date or cast to speak of (not that there was ever a cast). The film was set to start filming in February. [Variety] Read the full story

According to The LA Times the rights to The Terminator franchise which are currently owned by the now bankrupt Halcyon Holding Group controlled by Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek are up for sale again. Since Terminator is Halycon’s biggest asset it is clear this is being done to cover their debt now that they are in chapter 11. The rights are on sale for $60 million which is over twice the amount that Anderson and Kubicek payed for the original rights in 2007. This will create a bidding war among studios since The Terminator is still a hot item. It is unclear at this point however how this will effect the timing of another sequel.

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Screenwriter Randall Walace has just been brought on to do rewrites for McG’s next film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The first draft of the script was penned by Justin Marks, the writer behind Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. Wallace’s pervious work includes Braveheart, Pearl Harbor, and he also directed We Were Soldiers. It was always speculated that McG would helm another Terminator sequel before 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but a sequel to Terminator Salvation seems unlikely to happen anytime soon.

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