Movie News (Page 8)

Variety reports that Fox Atomic is acquiring the novel "Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List." It will be developed as a vehicle for Hayden Panettiere, as she continued to expand her movie resume.

Panettiere is currently playing the title role in the Chris Columbus-directed comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper; and she is also planning to star in Daydream Nation.

Published last year by Knopf, "Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List" takes place in Manhattan, where Naomi and her gay best friend Ely protect their soulmate friendship by creating a list of people deemed off limits for smooching. Their friendship is imperiled when Ely kisses Naomi's boyfriend.

Jaime Pressly has landed a lead role in I Love You, Man, the DreamWorks comedy starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.

Written and being directed by John Hamburg (Along Came Polly), the movie centers on a man (Rudd) about to be married, whose fiancee (Rashida Jones) is calling all her friends to be in the wedding.

Realizing he has no friends, this guy starts to go on man-dates to find a best man; he finds one in Segel (who can next be seen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall).

Pressly will play the best friend of the fiancee.

A slew of comic stars have signed up to appear in Steven Soderbergh's dark comic thriller The Informant.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Soup host Joel McHale (who we adore), Scott Bakula and others are set to star opposite Matt Damon in the film.

Bakula and McHale, who is in final negotiations, will play FBI agents working with agri-business insider Mark Whitacre (Damon) to stop a price-fixing scam. The film is based on Kurt Eichenwald's 2000 best-seller "The Informant: A True Story."

Other new cast members known for their comedic turns are Mike O'Malley (Yes, Dear), Andrew Daly (Semi-Pro) and Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men).

The Informant is due out in 2009.

Looks like Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is hooking up with Paramount Pictures to bring Tom Clancy hero Jack Ryan back to the big screen.

According to Variety, Rami will develop and direct a series of new movies centering on the CIA analyst character that was played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck over the course of four films from 1990 to 2002.

Variety adds that the studio may opt to set the film in the present day, with a global threat triggering the action. This would seem to indicate that the movie won't be based on an existing Clancy novel. Now, let us know:

Who do you think should take over the role of Jack Ryan?

Sad movie news to start the day:

Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella has died, his agent Judy Daish announced this morning. He was 54 years old and no cause of death has been given.

Minghella directed the The English Patient, which won nine Academy Awards. He was also behind the camera for The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain.

The director is survived by his wife Carolyn Choa and 22-year-old son Max Minghella, who most recently filmed Hippie Hippie Shake.

Great news for Harry Potter fans:

According to Variety, The final installment of the Harry Potter movie franchise is being released in two parts, six months apart. Warner Bros. is set to release the first part of Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows in November 2010, with the second part of the finale opening in May 2011.

The film will be shot concurrently, though it's not yet clear at what point in the story - adapted from J.K. Rowling's 784-page book - the films will break.

The bookitself sold a record 11 million copies during the first 24 hours after its release last July. The sixth movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will open this November.

Bryan Singer is busy at work on the new script for the next Superman movie. It sounds as though the scribe will both write and direct the film.

"I'm just getting back with writers after the strike. We're just in the development phase. I'm starting to develop a sequel…with the intention of directing it," Singer said.

Regarding the negative reaction to the the focus on the drama instead of the action in Superman Returns, Singer said:

"The first one was a romantic film and a nostalgic film… And now that the characters are established, there's really an opportunity to up the threat levels."

Not only is a fifth edition of the Saw franchise in the works, but Lionsgate has already set a release date for this horror movie: October 24.

In other news related to the film, Mark Rolston (who appeared in The Shawshank Redemption and The Departed) has joined the cast of Saw V, which begins filming in Toronto on March 17.

Yes, we know this is a poster for Saw IV. But the one for Saw V isn't out yet, even though that movie is definitely in the works now.

Beyonce Knowles has signed up for a new movie called Obsessed.

The burgeoning actress will play the knockout wife of an asset manager. Heroes star Ali Larter will portray a temp office worker who begins stalking this managerial character.

Production on Obsessed begins this summer. Beyonce will also be starring as Etta James in Cadillac Records.

Keep this movie title in your mind: Pierre Pierre.

The comedy will unite Juno director Jason Reitman with Jim Carrey, a pairing we're certainly excited to see in action.

According to Variety, the "politically incorrect" story revolves around a self-indulgent French nihilist (Carrey) who transports a stolen painting from Paris to London.

Reitmen is currently on production duties for Juno-scribe Diablo Cody's latest project Jennifer's Body, starring mega-hottie Megan Fox. Carrey next stars in Yes Man.