1.) News broke a few days ago that plans for a sequel to Zombieland had officially been scrapped as the horror-comedy is now headed to the small screen. It turns out Amazon is actually developing the project as an original series of 30-minute episodes, with casting notices calling for the four major players from the film (Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock) to return with a few new characters. [io9, Broadcast Now]
2.) Dane DeHaan (Chronicle), who will play Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, was introduced as “The Green Goblin” by his Kill Your Darlings director John Krokidas at Sundance recently. This is, of course, a villainous revelation that had not been previously announced by Sony, the studio behind the Spider-Man franchise. So did the director spill the beans? Well, DeHaan obviously isn’t going to confirm or deny Krokidas’ statement, only confirming with HitFix that Osborn would be one corner of a love triangle in the sequel.
I’m sure you’ll recall Willem Dafoe played the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) in Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man trilogy, with young Harry Osborn (James Franco) taking over the mantle in Spider-Man 3. But is it more likely the franchise is already bringing back the Green Goblin as a principle villain or that Krokidas just isn’t up on his Spider-Man mythology?
3.) Toby Jones confirmed in an interview with HeyUGuys he would be returning to the role of Arnim Zola in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The film is set for an April 2014 release with Anthony and Joe Russo (You, Me and Dupree) at the helm.
4.) While plenty of films find distribution every year at Sundance, it’s pretty rare for any of them to turn into mainstream wide-release successes, but that’s exactly what Relativity Media is hoping to get with their purchase of Don Jon’s Addiction, the directorial debut of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who also wrote and stars in the film. The studio reportedly forked over $4 million for the film and intends to give it a wide release this summer with $25 million committed to the marketing effort. It seems like a risky move for a film about a porn-addicted ladies’ man in search of a more fulfilling romance, but Relativity is fully capable of turning out a sleeper hit (just look at Limitless and Act of Valor). The film co-stars Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore. [Deadline]
5.) Never one to be outdone when it comes to potential Oscar contenders, Harvey Weinstein outbid several other studios for another buzzy Sundance film, the real-life drama Fruitvale. The film takes place on the final day of 2008, following 22-year-old Oscar Grant before he was killed in a case that galvanized protests against police brutality in Oakland. The Weinstein Company reportedly purchased the film for between $2 and $3 million as it has earned comparisons to Precious and Beasts of the Southern Wild as this year’s festival film that could come out of nowhere to make a lot of noise come next awards season (and having the Weinsteins’ backing never hurts). The film stars Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle, “Friday Night Lights”) in what could turn into a breakout role, with Octavia Spencer, Chad Michael Murray and Kevin Durand in supporting roles for director Ryan Coogler. [Deadline]
