According to Deadline, Paramount has bumped up the release date for M. Night Shymalan‘s The Last Airbender to Thursday, July 1st.  The move was prompted by the weekend release of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and the studio’s attempt at attracting a wider female audience.  While reports of early tracking are looking good with the male crowd, the studio wanted to get an earlier start on the holiday weekend with the female demographic. Read the full story

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It’s fixed anyway, right? Oh wait, Danny Boyle might direct the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics in London. Organizers are seeking a Londoner to run the spectacle, and Boyle is reportedly in the mix, The Times is reporting. Read the full story

Fox Searchlight, the studio that brought us the wonderful Slumdog Millionaire, is hoping to return to India once again for the upcoming film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. /Film tell us that the studio is hoping director John Madden will sign on to direct the film.

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The award for Best Adapted Screenplay is undoubtedly one of the most misunderstood categories at the Oscars. Nobody questions that there is skill involved in taking a novel, play, or short story and turning it into screenplay that both retains the essence of the original story and interprets it for a two-hour film. However, what makes this category difficult is the ambiguity surrounding the selection of a winning film. What do the film script and the film itself need in order to deserve the award for Best Adapted Screenplay? According to past results, the film would need the qualities of a Best Picture winner with fifty-nine of the eighty-one winning Best Picture films having been adaptations. This year four of the Best Adapted Screenplay nominees including District 9, An Education, Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire and Up in the Air have also been nominated for Best Picture. (In the Loop is the only absent nominee not in this category). Whether one these films wins in both categories or not, the Academy clearly has high expectations when it comes to choosing a winner for the Best Adapted Screenplay. Read the full story

Baz Luhrmann has revealed to the India Times that he is in discussions to collaborate with Slumdog Millionaire composer A.R. Rahman. Although noting that it was his “dream to make a movie in India”, Luhrmann’s possible collaboration with Rahman is still in the very early stages of development:

“We are planning to create some work together, but it’s too early to talk about it. I’d just say that we want to create the right piece, for the right story so that it can be told well.”

Luhrmann’s last trip to India resulted in the inspiration for the box office hit, Moulin Rouge’s Bollywood themed costuming and musical Hindi number “Chamma Chamma“. Undoubtedly Luhrmann hopes to achieve a similar, if not greater, success for his next film.

However this collaboration between Luhrmann and Rahman comes at an interesting time with relations between Indians and Australians currently fraught with tension. Should this untitled production become a reality, its development won’t be without controversy. That aside, a Bollywood blockbuster Luhrmann-style could be just the film to overshadow the love-hate responses of his last film, Australia.

What do you think about this project?

We talked about it a few weeks ago, but it was confirmed by Variety last night that Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle is taking on the story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who had to amputate his own arm with a dull knife after a 2003 hiking accident. Ryan Gosling was rumored but it looks like they are still in search of a leading man. Boyle is teaming up with Fox Searchlight once again to start shooting next year with a late 2010 release. The film, titled 127 Hours is being written by Simon Beaufoy, who was behind Slumdog. Check out a full synopsis below. Read the full story

Not sure what is coming out this month? Here is a run-down of my eleven most anticipated films:

11. The Great Buck Howard (March 20th) (limited)

Plot: A law school dropout (Colin Hanks), much to the chagrin of his father (Tom Hanks), becomes the new assistant to an illusionist in decline (Malkovich). Can the fledgling partnership lead to the comeback of a lifetime?

Trailer

Why You Should See It: Pretty impressive cast and a somewhat interesting premise, this is should be a decent indie comedy/drama.

Check out the rest here >>

Last Sunday Slumdog Millionaire swept the Academy Awards concluding the culmination of 2008 cinema. 2009 film is now upon us. It’s been a bit of a mix with the horrendous Paul Blart: Mall Cop kicking off the year, but so far, it’s left us with a couple gems (Taken and Coraline 3-D). It’s not too early to take a look at the films that we will be seeing in next year’s Academy Awards. If you are looking for a more mainstream/blockbuster films, check out my 50 Must-See Movies of 2009. If you want a list of higher caliber films, here are my predictions for the major 2010 Oscars categories:

Best Picture/Director

I’ve decided to lump these two categories together since it’s too early to separate them out. Here are 10 films that I can see being in the running with some other contenders after:

Martin Scorsese – Shutter Island (a.k.a. Ashecliffe

Plot: Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island. Leo DiCaprio leads an all-star cast, including Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams and Max von Sydow

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Variety reports Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto, along with Naomi Watts (The International)  join Anthony Hopkins and Josh Brolin in Woody Allen’s yet-to-be titled feature. The film is expected to shoot in London this summer.

It’s great to see the ‘Slumdog’ stars get work after their huge Oscar sweep. As previously reported, Dev Patel will join the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

Do you think it’s a good choice for Pinto to join a Woody Allen film? Patel in a Shyamalan film?

In case you shut off the TV after Slumdog Millionaire won best picture at the Academy Awards last night here is a montage of some major films coming out this year that aired during the credits of the show. It features new footage from G-Force, Up, Monsters vs. Aliens, Funny People, Imagine That, 500 Days of Summer, Julie & Julia, The Soloist, Amelia, The Taking of Pelham 123, Public Enemies, Sherlock Holmes and Terminator Salvation. Check it out below:

Public Enemies looks officially awesome. I can’t wait to see that film. Terminator: Salvation is also looking better and better with every new clip. Not sure why they decided to include so many not-so-good films, but the montage was enjoyable nonetheless.

Do you think 2009 cinema is looking good?