Paramount Vantage has optioned the Sudhir Venkatesh book "Gang Leader for a Day" and set Craig Brewer to direct and "Sopranos" scribe Michael Caleo to write the script.
Stephanie Allain, who teamed with Brewer on "Hustle & Flow" and "Black Snake Moan," will produce. Brewer wrote and directed both of those films, with Paramount Classics distributing the first and Par Vantage the follow-up.

Venkatesh is a Columbia U. professor, and "Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets" recounted years he spent chronicling a crack-dealing gang in Chicago for a research project. He befriended the Black Kings and their leader and was invited to observe close up. Venkatesh found a close-knit group whose corporate culture was much like that of a successful legitimate business. Venkatesh was given the job of calling the shots of the criminal enterprise for a day.

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Jack Black’s steadily building up a hefty acting resume, mixing a few dramatic roles – such as a lead role in Margot at the Wedding - in with comedy parts. Although he’s definitely known more for his comedic work, audiences are getting used to seeing the actor in dramatic films...

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Margot at the Wedding is filled with the kind of characters you don’t want to admit you recognize. They snap at each other and say intentionally hurtful things. They’re passive-aggressive, waiting for someone to realize how hurt or angry they are...

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The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of two good friends serving in the Japanese forces, who watch helplessly throughout various battles as their comrades are killed.

Academy Award nominee Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Batman Begins”) stars as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the American-educated general who courageously led the Japanese resistance to the massive American onslaught of the island of Iwo Jima.

Genres:              Drama, Adaptation and War
Release Date:   December 20th, 2006 (limited)
MPAA Rating:  R for graphic war violence.
Distributors:      Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures International ....more click on heading

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Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty to boldly go once again (for the first time) in 'Star Trek XI'.

This movie is aiming to be a revival of the 'Star Trek' movie franchise, as well as a revisualization of the original characters first created in the original 1960s 'Star Trek' television series. It's worth noting that this concept of revisiting younger versions of Kirk, Spock and crew has come up before, most interestingly in a 2004 TV series pitch by producers J. Michael Straczynski ("Babylon 5").

 Premise: (12/15/06) The exact details of the storyline aren't known yet, except that it will involve the 23rd century space adventures of James Tiberius Kirk, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, starship engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott and the Vulcan scientist named Spock in the years before they were reunited as officers on the U.S.S. Enterprise....more click on heading

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A dedicated California teacher finds a way to unify her disadvantaged, racially divided students, and to improve their grasp of academics, partly by having them keep journals about their violent, troubled lives.

Release Date: January 12th, 2007 (wide) 

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violent content, some thematic material and language. 

Distributors: Paramount Pictures 

Production Co.: Double Feature Films, Jersey Films 

Studios: Paramount Pictures 

Filming Locations: Los Angeles, California USA  ...more click on heading

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A blues guitarist abandoned by his wife tries to redeem the soul of a girl addicted to sex in a rural town.
 
Genres: Drama
 
Release Date: February 23rd, 2007 (wide)
 
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content, language, some violence and drug use.
 
Distributors: Paramount Vantage

 

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Clint Eastwood were among the multiple Golden Globe nominees Thursday, while the multinational ensemble drama ''Babel'' led contenders with seven nominations, including best dramatic picture....more click on heading

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 Here's what Matt Stone had to say about the potential cast for this movie (and Giant Monsters Attack Japan!) in the initial press release this week, "Neither of these movies feel like vehicles for big stars, but this will be our opportunity to find out if there are any actors left who want to work with us."

Director: Trey Parker
Screenwriter(s): Jeff Roda
Producer(s): Matt Stone
Distributor: Paramount pictures
Production Company: Paramount pictures
Year of U.S. Release: 2008
U.S. Theatrical Release: TBA, 2008 (Estimated).....more click on heading

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There is very little physicality to this role, the entire chaos is about her eyes and her ability to allow you to feel her sufferings and emotions. I relied on her to grasp the gravity of the story.

 

Babel deserves an academy award nomination for one of the best pictures presented in the year at box office. "Babel" This hypnotic multilevel film is off to a great start at the box office, and with its classy multicultural cast and philosophical musings it has the cachet that always impresses Academy members.

 

Audiences, who prefer watching stuff blow up to following nuanced stories, major studios are finding it increasingly difficult to rack up Oscar nominations. The lion's share of them may wind up going to "Babel," "The Queen," "The Last King of Scotland," "Little Children," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Illusionist'' -- all smaller films that opened in limited release and have been marketed to sophisticated filmgoers....more click on heading

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Release Date: October 27, 2006

Two Morrocan boys set out to look after their family's herd of goats, but when one of them tests his stolen rifle, the bullet finds an unintended target. In an instant, the lives of four separate groups of strangers on three different continents collide. Caught up in the rising tide of an accident that escalates beyond anyone's control are a vacationing American couple (Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett), a rebellious deaf Japanese teenager and her father, and a Mexican nanny who, without permission, takes two American children across the border.

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