Mr. Ford told BBC that he, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have agreed on a “germ of an idea” for the fifth installment of the series. [via MovieWeb]

Here’s what Ford had to say:

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Last night director Michael Bay appeared on Starz’s In The House. In the program he addressed a few things. The first was the decision regarding fast tracking Transformers 3 for a 2011 release and putting his small film Pain & Gain on hold:

“The true story is we went to Vegas to celebrate ['Revenge of the Fallen'] crossing the $400 million mark domestic. I said I’m excited to do my small little movie. They said, well we’re here to talk about that. I’ve become friends with these guys that run Paramount and they [told me,] ‘We’re going to get fired if we don’t have a 2011 franchise,’ so I’m like you can’t let these guys down. “The economy’s been so rough, it’s kind of important. When you say yes to movie like this you automatically give 3000 people jobs. 1000 for the toys. 2000 for the filmmaking. I’m going to put [the small film] on hold and do it right after ['Transformers 3'].”

This sounds sincere to me and hopefully puts an end to the constant bickering that Bay decided to do TF3 first for the money. We also reported yesterday that Bay announced that two of Transformers 3’s action scenes will be in Chicago and Moscow. He gave a bit more updates on the show in regards to the story:

“You can’t just rehash the old,” he explained. “We’re adding a lot of new elements. We’re adding new characters. We’re adding a lot of twists.”

He sounds very confident, but unlike the last time we heard this song and dance from Bay, he actually has the time to devote to these “twists” and “new characters.” The final (and perhaps most important) update from Bay was in regards to the constant debate over whether or not the film will be in 3D:

“It’s a process we’re testing with some ‘Transformers’ scenes,” he said. “How successful it is with my movie in terms of a lot of real stuff coming out of the frame, real dirt, real complicated little particles coming towards the lens, because hopefully that process will work. I’ve seen some tests that look great on other movies. I just want to see how it looks on my footage.”

Bay is probably the biggest name in Hollywood right now that has been 100% against using 3D in films. Bay has constantly referred to himself as an “old school film maker.” I will let you interpret that how you wish (I personally agree with that) but, I think a 3D environment is too jarring for the types of films Bay makes. The way Bay moves his camera, or rather the speed at which he moves the camera, is too fast for anyone watching in 3D to comprehend. Though I was not one of the people who had a problem with the action in Revenge of The Fallen, I can only imagine that 3D would only make things worse. We sit 3 months away from the start of production so hopefully we will have a final answer between now and then.

Should Transformers 3 be shot in 3D? Do you think Bay will pull of a story with a lot of twists this time around?

Heat Vision is reporting that House star Olivia Wilde will saddle up alongside Daniel Craig, who replaced Robert Downey Jr., in Cowboys & Aliens. She will play Ella, a character that “joins up with mysterious gunslinger in an unlikely uprising against an alien invasion.” Transformers and Star Trek writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci worked with Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof to form the script. Kurtzman and Orci, as well as Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are producing the film along with Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the writer of the original graphic novel. Read the full story

After Steven Spielberg abandoned his Harvey remake, many wondered what his next project will be. He is currently in post-production on The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, a motion capture 3D film. Another project he is considering is a George Gershwin biopic. Deadline Hollywood has reported that Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, Heroes) may play the iconic composer and pianist. Mike Fleming says “DreamWorks is even supplying accent and dialogue coaches for Quinto, and shooting could begin as soon as April.” It is reported that this is one of three projects Spielberg is considering. Expect an announcment soon.

What do you think Quinto as Gershwin? Would you rather see Spielberg do another project?

According to an article over at Market Saw, Warner Bros. is looking into the possibility of making a third installment in the Gremlins franchise.  It should come as no surprise that this announcement includes the fact that the studio is looking for it to be in 3D. No cast, director or production start date has been announced yet. All that is known is that it’s being written. Also, the original director, Joe Dante, stated that he will most likely not be involved. Quoted back in 2006 saying:

They won’t ask me. I think what’s holding it up is that they can’t conceive of what to do because the first movies were defined by the technology, it was what the puppets could do and do well and not do and that’s what the movies became. Now you could do anything with CGI so the field is so open that nobody could focus on what exactly it should be.”

First of all, one key player that NEEDS to be on this project in order for it to succeed is Steven Spielberg, who exec. produced the original films. I completely side with Dante as well on the CG argument. Normally, I would say go for it, but, part of the Mogwai’s charm (before they mutate that is) is that they look like stuffed animals. You would never be able to replicate that with CG. I would also much rather see a remake or reboot rather then a sequel. Restart the franchise with a new Billy and new Gizmo. That is probably the best option at this point.

Do you want to see another Gremlins…in 3D?

The much anticipated Martin Luther King Jr. biopic is to be scribed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood. [Variety] 

Dreamworks, which has tied Steven Spielberg to the project, is receiving unprecedented access to the King estate and is clearly not taking the honor lightly.

Harwood, who won an Oscar for The Pianist, is a native of South Africa and has written a number of screenplays about another civil rights leader Nelson Mandela. “I will do my utmost to be true to the truth,” Harwood said on the assignment, which might be the most important socially relevant film since Milk. Harwood has a number of screenplays to his name, including the critically-acclaimed The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Spielberg was linked to the project as a producer in May, after Dreamworks received access to the King estate and his intellectual property, the first film to do so. Since, they have been relatively slow to move. I think they are responsibly avoiding haste while piecing together such an important film. This is one movie that could be worth the wait.

Where will the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic rank among socially important films? Who should play the lead?

According to THR’s Heat Vision blog D.J. Caruso will be taking on the film adaptation of the upcoming science fiction novels I Am Number Four by James Frey and Joby Hughes for Dreamworks. This project was previously reported to have Michael Bay attached to it and was going to be filmed in between Transformers 2 and 3. According to THR the plot of the novels is as follows: Read the full story

A message was posted today on Michael Bay’s official website regarding Transformers 3. It reads as follows:

Our Stimulus Package

12/16/2009 07:06 AM

Nelson here…

We are looking for the best pre-viz animators to help build the team for Transformers 3. Maya expertise is a must.

Please email your resume in Word or PDF format along with the URL of your reel to the webmaster.

This is a first for me. I have seen many advertisements for casting for a movie like this, but never for crew members. Is Michael Bay scraping the bottom of the barrel for crew? Probably not, but this says something for the direction they might be heading in for Transformers 3. Low budget… probably not. Small time actors… definitely not. But looking to new sources for ideas for the next film… sounds like a good bet to me.

Would you want to be a part of the crew for Transformers 3?

After the much debated decision to remake the Jimmy Stewart film Harvey with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role, director Steven Spielberg is apparently now abandoning the project, so says Variety (via IGN). Sources seem to indicate that the main reason for the departure was due to creative differences between Spielberg and Downey Jr. over the direction the script should take, with the star apparently already having rewritten portions of the film. Because of this, Spielberg decided to call off the film, and is likely to pursue one of his other pending projects. Read the full story

After months of speculation as to what Michael Bay’s next project was going to be, he has announced via his official message board that his next project is in fact Transformers 3:

Well its official: We have a great Transformers 3 story. The release date is now July 1st 2011. Not 2012.

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