Universal And Illumination Making Woody The Woodpecker Film

HeatVision reports that Universal Pictures is looking to make a feature length Woody The Woodpecker movie. Unlike the terrible slew of CGI live-action hybrid (Chipmunks, Smurfs, Yogi Bear) takes on classic cartoon characters it will be all animated. Illumination Entertainment will handle the production side of things who are best known for Despicable Me and The Lorax. The original run of the cartoon started in 1940 and become a sensation during WWII. I feel Universal should be respectful and hire a solid voice actor to play Woody since legend Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny, Looney Toons) was one of the first to do the voice. Billy West of Futurama (Professor, Zoidberg, Fry) comes to mind since he is the current Bugs Bunny and would be able to mimic Woody's classic laugh. Universal holds the rights to all the Walter Lantz characters so Chilly Willy and others could show up.

Universal In Talks To Make Mark Millar's War Heroes

HeatVision reports that Universal Pictures is in negotiations to develop Mark Millar's War Heroes into a film. Previously the project had been with Columbia Pictures but the rights lapsed. The studio is in talks with screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer who wrote Conan The Barbarian (2011) and recently handed in a script for Doctor Strange to Marvel Studios. The premises is an alternate America where soldiers are given pills to unlock various superpowers to fight the country's enemies.

This is yet another boost for comic writer/creator Mark Millar who is starting to become the next Stan Lee in the world of comic book films. War Heroes will be his 7th comic book turned into a film. Two movies have already been completed [Kick-Ass, Wanted] and six others in development [Wanted 2, Kick-Ass 2, Nemesis, Superior, The Secret Service, Supercrooks]. It will be interesting to see who they'll get to direct the film.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Justin Lin in contention considering Fast Five/Fast Six writer Chris Morgan is producing. Lin has been rumored/attached previously to Terminator 5, Highlander, Oldboy, The Wolverine and Die Hard 5. Robert Schwentke (RED) also seems like a possbility since he walked away from directing RED 2 and is currently helming another high concept comic book adaptation R.I.P.D. (his second comic book film) for the studio.

John Orloff To Write Bryan Singer's Battlestar Galactica

Deadline reports that Jeff Orloff is closing a deal to write the script for Bryan Singer's Battlestar Galactica based on the 70's movie and TV series. Singer recently noted that Battlestar would be his next film after he's done with Jack The Giant Killer. Orloff doesn't have a history with large films but wrote episodes for Band Of Brothers, Zack Snyder's Legend of The Guardians and Anonymous. It will be interesting which take they'll go with and I'm dying to see Singer jump into a full force science fiction action film. I'm also curious to see if they'll be taking inspiration from the recent reboot series.

Joel Edgerton Wanted For Bourne Legacy & Huntsman

Vulture is reporting that Australian actor Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom) is impressing Universal as he's being looked at for two of their films. First writer/director Tony Gilroy wants Joel for The Bourne Legacy yet the studio feels James McAvoy (X-Men First Class, Wanted) or Shia LaBeouf (Transformers 1-3) would be better known internationally. Universal is also considering Joel for the huntsman role in Snow White & The Huntsman as Viggo Mortensen and Hugh Jackman have passed on the project.

Edgerton is currently leading Universal's upcoming The Thing prequel and is an excellent actor that's been taking up solid Aussie roles in the last couple of years. Hopefully he ends up in Bourne Legacy as he seems a perfect person for the role and Huntsman sounds like it's on it's last legs. He's a future action star in the making and if Joel doesn't get Bourne he'll be offered another franchise soon.

Universal Could Pickup Joseph Kosinski’s Horizons With Tom Cruise Attached To Star

HeatVision reports that Universal is in final talks to pickup Joseph Kosinski's Horizons (Oblivion). The science fiction action film had originally been setup at Disney but would eventually be dropped. Kosinski is currently working on Tron 3 along with a remake of the Disney classic Blackhole. So it's unlikely that Joseph will direct the film. They also confirm that Tom Cruise is attached to star with a script written by William Monahan (Departed) and Karl Gadjusek.

McG & Breck Eisner Frontrunners To Direct Ouija

TheHollywoodReporter says that McG (This Means War) and Breck Eisner (The Crazies) are the frontrunners to direct Universal's Ouija. The supernatural adventure film written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Tron Legacy) is becoming a priory for the studio with a set release date of November 9th 2012. It's being compared to films like The Mummy, Indiana Jones and Pirates of The Caribbean.

Other directors who presented pitches included Sylvain White (The Losers), Pierre Morel (Taken), Scot Stewart (Legion) and John Moore (Max Payne). McG would be my choice out of the two since the Charlie Angels films were entertaining enough and even his disappointing Terminator Salvation was still fun to watch. His next film This Means War could very well be a great action comedy.