Beyonce, Leonardo DiCaprio Lead Flurry Of Movie Remakes

Russell Brand, Willow Smith, Jonah Hill are just a few stars looking to revamp film and TV classics like 'Arthur', 'Annie' and '21 Jump Street.'
By Terri Schwartz


Beyoncé
Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

What do Willow Smith and Beyoncé have in common with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Kenny Wormald? They're all starring (or in talks to star) in the latest round of remakes of beloved films and TV shows coming down the pike.

On Thursday, news broke that Beyoncé would be starring in a Clint Eastwood-directed remake of the 1976 Barbra Streisand classic "A Star Is Born" (which was a remake of a 1954 movie that remade a 1937 film). In the meantime, Will Smith is reportedly petitioning Sony to remake "Annie" (the 1982 movie and 1977 musical) starring his 10-year-old daughter, Willow, best known for whipping her hair.

In October it was announced that Leonardo DiCaprio and best bud Tobey Maguire would be starring in Baz Luhrmann's 3-D retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby," with Carey Mulligan joining as Daisy Buchanan.

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have been working on bringing the '80s Johnny Depp-starring television series "21 Jump Street" to the big screen since 2008, and they might even get Depp to cameo in it in time for the film's March 16, 2012, release date.

And let's not forget the long hunt for a Ren McCormack (the character Kevin Bacon made famous in 1984), after Zac Efron and Chace Crawford dropped out of the planned "Footloose" remake that finally landed dancer Kenny Wormald the role of his life.

Then there's "Arthur," the Russell Brand-starring remake of the 1981 screwball comedy about a happily drunk millionaire who risks everything for love. The film has tapped everyone from Helen Mirren to Greta Gerwig and Nick Nolte.

Two recently announced remakes are "Lethal Weapon" and "The Wizard of Oz," which are still in early development and without stars attached. Warner Bros. announced their plans to reboot the Mel Gibson-starring franchise on Thursday and tapped writer Will Beall to pen the script with completely new characters. And director Robert Zemeckis announced back in November that he planned on remaking the 1939 Technicolor classic using the script from the original film, with Warner Bros. hoping Robert Downey Jr. will play Oz.

Just this past year, films from "Clash of the Titans" to "The Karate Kid" to "A Nightmare on Elm Street" were remade for the big screen and were well-received by audiences. "Alice in Wonderland" and "Clash of the Titans" went on to become two of the top 10 highest-grossing films of 2010, while "Piranha 3D" and "The A-Team" also went on to strong successes, proving that there definitely is a market for these kinds of remakes.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Beyonce Working With Kanye West Producer S1

'Power' producer tweets he's 'finishing up some monsters' after week in the studio with B.
By James Montgomery

Beyoncé's already taken inspiration from the likes of Michael Jackson and Lauryn Hill, hit the studio with a list of producers that includes Ne-Yo, Sean Garrett and Jim Jonsin, and now, she's hoping to capture the surge of Kanye West's "Power."

B — who's already hard at work on the follow-up to her massive I Am ... Sasha Fierce album — just wrapped a week in the studio with producer S1, the man who co-produced "Power" and has logged time with the likes of Ghostface Killah and Erykah Badu.

S1 broke the news via his Twitter account and also posted a photo of himself and B over on his official site. And from the sound of things, the sessions, which took place in New York City, were definitely eventful.

"A couple of meetings then back in the lab with Beyonce today," he wrote in one tweet. "Excited to see what we're gonna create today after last night's session.

"Not going to bed anytime soon. Beyonce got us in here working and I'm loving every bit of it," he wrote in another post. "Finishing up some monsters ... everything is sounding really great and big!"

There's still not much information about Beyoncé's new album, though in an interview with "Entertainment Tonight" last year, she said that, this time out, she's aiming to "make [her] own genre of music." In a follow-up interview with MTV News, she clarified that statement, explaining that she's "mixing every type of genre that I love" on the new album, and added, "I'm not in a box. It's not R&B. It's not typically pop. It's not rock. It's just everything I love all mixed together in my own little gumbo of music."

What do you think S1's work with Beyoncé will sound like? Tell us in the comments!

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Justin Bieber's 'Never Say Never' Is Third-Highest-Grossing Documentary Of All Time

Insiders say film could get nominated in documentary category at next year's Oscars.
By Gil Kaufman


Justin Bieber in "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

The kid is hot. First, Justin Bieber became the first person since, well, himself to land two albums in the top five on the Billboard 200, and now his 3-D movie, "Never Say Never," has vaulted into the #3 position on the list of top-grossing documentaries of all time.

According to Box Office Mojo, "Never" has grossed $64,162,036 to date, putting it on track to possibly overtake the #2 doc of all time, "March of the Penguins," which grossed more than $77 million. It's unlikely to knock off the top documentary of all time, Michael Moore's 2004 flick "Fahrenheit 9/11," which rolled up $119 million, but with the "Never" director's cut re-release last weekend (which brought in another $9 million), Bieber is positioned to conquer yet another medium.

In his run to the top, Bieber has leaped over such lauded and popular docs as "Super Size Me," Madonna's "Truth or Dare," Moore's "Bowling for Columbine," former Vice President Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and the nature flick "Earth." It also took the crown for the biggest opening weekend of any documentary, with a $29.5 million first weekend, squeezing past the $23 million open of "Fahrenheit."

Hollywood may end up catching Bieber Fever as well, with The Hollywood Reporter asking in a recent article whether "Never" could land the 17-year-old phenom a spot at the Oscars next year. A source told the trade magazine that "Never" had serious buzz at some post-Oscar parties thanks to its healthy grosses, which have impressed some Academy members.

"You'd be surprised at the caliber of people who came up to Justin at the Vanity Fair party at the Sunset Tower, most of whom had seen the movie and loved it," said an unnamed insider. "There was even talk of putting it up for an Oscar next year in the documentary category. People appreciate that it's not just a kids' movie." The article mentioned that Bieber was one of the brightest stars at the Fair party, chatting up Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger and working the room like a pro.

Check out everything we've got on "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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Watch: ?Good Morning America? Releases A 2nd Britney Spears Promo Video

Last month we got to see the first promo video for Britney Spears‘s upcoming live performance on Good Morning America which is scheduled to air on the morning of March 29, the date that Britney‘s new album Femme Fatale will be released in stores. Today we not only get to check out a second promo [...]

Source: http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/2011/03/watch-good-morning-america-releases-a-2nd-britney-spears-promo-video/

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Hiroko Yoda: The best of times in the worst of times

I?ll never forget the afternoon of March 11. It was a beautiful warm spring day when the largest earthquake ever to hit Japan began shaking my home like a doll's house.

At the time of writing, well more than 10,000 people are dead or missing, with 400,000 more living in shelters. More than 500 aftershocks have been confirmed in eastern Japan since the initial earthquake.

The ongoing problems with the nuclear reactors in Fukushima have caused power shortages and rolling blackouts throughout Tokyo, its suburbs and the northeast of Japan.

read more

Source: http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/life/tell-me-about-it/hiroko-yoda-best-times-worst-times-906386

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New 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2' Footage Is Here!

Remember that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" footage we told you about earlier this week? Well, it's here! ABC Family debuted new footage from the second half of "Deathly Hallows" last night as part of their weekend-long "Harry Potter" marathon, and boy-who-lived did it deliver! On first glance, it looks like the footage [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/03/18/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-part-2-new-footage/

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