This is neat - Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, the original kid stars of Disney's 1970s "Witch Mountain" movies, are coming back for "Race to Witch Mountain," says The Hollywood Reporter.

In a nod to the original movies, Eisenmann plays a sheriff and Richards plays a waitress at a roadhouse called Ray's in a town called Stony Creek. They help a cabbie (Dwayne Johnson) and his two paranormal-powered passengers (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig).

via moviehole.net

The Amelia Earhart biopic Amelia is currently shooting in Toronto and Empire Movies and BadandUgly have the first photos of Hilary Swank as the legendary American pilot who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world. Richard Gere plays publisher and promoter George Putnam, who Earhart eventually married. Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake) is directing for Fox Searchlight.

via slashfilm.com

New movies often bring anxious fidgeting and the buzz of excitement. But a new movie by Charlie Kaufman, one that he not only wrote, but helmed, brings the anxious, hopeful mania of a kid about to see Mickey Mouse. At least, it does for me. I like Human Nature, but I love Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Now we're getting his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York, a film that seems like it should be set in Schenectady rather than the Big Apple, and have huge replicas of Proctors and Rotterdam Square Mall rather than Manhattan skyscrapers, but will probably be awesome anyway. Almost a year after we saw the first poster, Anne Thompson has posted what looks to be the first image of Catherine Keener and Philip Seymour Hoffman, which you can see cropped on the right.

via cinematical.com

South Korean dance group the Gambler will star in Paramount's dance movie "Hype Nation," having teamed up with U.S. music producer and rapper Teddy Riley.

In the $25 million picture being produced by Young Film, Riley plays a music director.

Helmed by Alex Calzatti ("I Am Cuba"), pic follows dance battles between the American R&B group B2K and Korean group the Gambler.

via variety.com

Comedy lovers have been treated with a first look into a First Look Studios' upcoming funny film "Miss Conception" as a teaser trailer of the movie starring Heather Graham comes out on the net. The one minute long teaser brings up much comedic situation happens to the leading character, Georgina Scott, as she hunts for sperm donors to get pregnant.

Opened with a scene in which a specialist explains to Georgina that she experiences early menopause, the teaser continues by showing her happily seeing a baby sleep soundfully in her mother's arms.

via aceshowbiz.com

Mel Gibson has committed to star in Edge of Darkness, marking his first starring role in a feature film since he headlined Signs and We Were Soldiers in 2002, says Variety.

Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, GoldenEye) will direct the feature adaptation of the six-hour 1985 BBC miniseries, which Campbell also helmed.

William Monahan wrote the script, and Graham King is producing through his GK Films. Michael Wearing, who produced the original, will also produce, and the BBC will be involved in a producing capacity.

via comingsoon.net

Steven Soderbergh is set to direct The Girlfriend Experience, a film about the world of prostitution from the vantage point of a $10,000-a-night call girl.

According to Variety, rather than going for star power, Soderbergh may set an adult film actress to play the lead role. Brian Koppelman and David Levien will write the script.

This project marks the director's first exploration of sexual relationships since his breakthrough film, sex, lies & videotape.

via movieweb.com

Madonna has hired her gardener to direct her upcoming documentary about HIV/AIDS orphans in Malawi entitled "I Am Because We Are."

Madge, who is married to a director, says she asked Nathan Rissman to help her with her project after she found his works impressive.

via movies.hollyscoop.com

Over the last year, we’ve made it a point to ask as many of the original actors from “Lord of the Rings” as possible to chime in with their opinion of the eventual “Hobbit” movie, and more specifically, to weigh in with whether or not they’d be game to re-enter the world of Middle Earth.

Sure, not all of their characters appear in “The Hobbit,” but with a second, transitional film that takes place in the years between the two novels, could we possibly see Aragorn, Frodo, Galadriel, and the rest back for another go round? To hear the actors themselves say it, the answer was a resounding yes.

via moviesblog.mtv.com

The Raider.net has received some details about the upcoming Indiana Jones events taking place at Disneyland. Coinciding with the opening day of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on May 22, guests of the Anaheim park will encounter two shows upon entering the streets of Adventureland. One revolves around a female archeologist and the other has Indy fighting off villains on the rooftops. There will be a lot of Indy re-theming going on throughout the park, home to the Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye.

via movieblog.ugo.com

Judd Apatow, get out of the way. Paramount Pictures has purchased a spec screenplay by Andy Richter Controls the Universe producer/scribe Jay Dyer for JJ Abrams to produce via Bad Robot. But this isn’t the typical JJ Abrams project. And by typical, I mean to say typical of the last few years which have been filled with sci-fi, spies and genre projects. In this post-Cloverfield world, many people forget that JJ Abrams began in the business with scripts for Taking Care of Business, Regarding Henry and Forever Young or Abrams first critically acclaimed television series Felicity.

via slashfilm.com

In a post a few weeks back celebrating Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore's plans to kickstart a new sci-fi trilogy, I lamented the lack of original science-fiction at the movies -- that is to say, films that aren't adaptations, remakes or sequels. Now, in addition to Moore's project (which remains shrouded in mystery), we can look forward to Arena from Summit Entertainment and first-time screenwriters Toby Wagstaff and Darren Howell.

via cinematical.com

Rachel Miner (“Bully”) and Frank Whaley (“Vacancy”) have joined the cast of Feverpitch Pictures’ “Thicker”.

The film, a dramedy starring Jason Lee and Christopher Lloyd, tells of a brother and sister who go to great lengths in an attempt to recover an inheritance that their recently deceased mother was buried with.

via moviehole.net

At GreenCine Daily, Dave Hudson brings word that the German Film Awards, also known as the Lolas, just awarded three of the top prizes to Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin's The Edge of Heaven. Akin has been recognized over the last decade for his explorations of the tensions between culture and religion, particularly as they pertain to German Turks. Edge of Heaven is no exception. A gorgeous survey of several interlocking tragedies, its deft structure puts Paul Haggis' Crash to shame.

via cinematical.com

Josh Safdie’s oddball, South by South West fest player “The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” about a happy-go-lucky clepto, will close Cannes’ 40th Directors’ Fortnight selection, announced Friday in Paris.
“Pleasure” is the sole U.S. film in this year’s lineup; there were five American movies last year.

French productions or co-productions reign supreme in the parallel section. There are five films by Gallic helmers; 12 of the 22 titles in the lineup drew French co-production coin, a testament to the country’s drive into producing overseas auteurs.

via variety.com