Movie Minesweeper - The Satsuma Skin Edition

- Blockbuster have opted for Blu-Ray exclusivity. Once upon a time this would have been the deciding blow in a format war, but these days, Blockbuster's punch is a little less solid. All the same, I'm sticking with my earlier comments. Blu-Ray is going to win, for what it ends up being worth.

- Some pictures of Christian Bale in his new Batsuit are doing the rounds. Apparently.

- There's suddenly lots of buzz about Fox backing a Halo film, but that's not the story I read. Nope. Fox have simply signed a deal to sell Halo merchandise. I suppose this might prove to be such a money spinner the film deal is back on again (at some point) but I wouldn't expect it anytime soon.

- Ann Peacock is scripting The White Giraffe for Gabor Csupo to direct. The source is a kid's book by Lauren St. John that, honestly, I know next to nothing about. Also attached is AnnaSophia Robb, which possibly takes her out of the running for a Lovely Bones role...?

- Owen Wilson and Nick Nolte have taken roles in Tropic Thunder.

- Once again, Harry Potter has been given the M certificate in Australia. This will keep a lot of littler ones out of the screenings. The last film was branded this way also, and part 3 was too - but that decision was overturned by appeal.

- Pierce Gardener (author of Dan in Real Life which is, reputedly, very good) has sold an untitled pitch to Columbia. The premise is recounted in The Hollywood Reporter: the comedy centers on a divorced mother who is lost at her new job until she realizes that her experience dealing with spoiled toddlers gives her exactly the tools she needs to deal with spoiled executives.

- The inclusion of Diablo on the In-Development list at the Legendary Pictures website has the internet lit up this morning - but how about their other projects in that list? The Spook's Apprentice, Waterproof and the Jimi Hendrix Project were all news to me.

- The Forbidden Kingdom with Jet Li and Jackie Chan is being scheduled for release during the Beijing Olympics.

- The Legend of Secret Pass is an upcoming cartoon with Michael Chiklis, Frankie Muniz, David Cross, Ron Perlman, Christy Carlson Romano, Graham Greene and Cheryl Hines amongst the cast.

- Brightcove have signed to be the web-video tech supplier for Fox. Which I like because their videos are generally direct-linkable and therefore downloadable.

- Meanwhile, France Televisions have inked a pact with Google's YouTubeEurope.

- Matt and Mike Chapman have turned down TV deals to keep Homestar Runner a web (and DVD) exclusive.

Laszlo & Vilmos: The Story of Two Refugees Who Changed the Look of American Cinema is an upcoming documentary about... well, guess who. Haskell Wexler, Owen Roizman, Dennis Hopper and Martin Scorsese are the more predictable interview subjects.

Rachel Weisz As Abigail Salmon In The Lovely Bones

There's going to be minor spoiler material throughout this post, but most of it is pretty well known to anybody who has even read the blurb on the back of the novel's cover.

Rachel Weisz has been cast as Abigail Salmon in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. By my reckoning, Abigail doesn't have a single line of dialogue until the 6th page of the script - though she's definitely got lots of screen time beforehand. Indeed, we get a good look at the entire Salmon family,though most of the early dialogue (and monologue) belongs to the children - particularly Susie Salmon, the young girl who is at the centre of the whole story.

Abigail is her mother. After Susie is murdered, the story largely becomes about the changes in the family wrought by such a tragedy. As you might expect, there's a new set of tensions between Abigail and Jack, the parents. For the sake of Ms. Weisz, this is a good thing - Abigail is always present but has relatively little to do until she begins her flirtations with Len Fenerman, the detective investigating Susie's disappearance - on page 51 of the script.

After this, it's a much more visible, vocal role. There's even a handful of very compelling moments that are all about Abigail.

It is never a bad part, however - there aren't any in the script, to be honest - but it could come a little down the billing list. Jack Salmon is a bigger part, and a more dramatic one in most respects; Grandma Lynn could well be a scene stealer; but our star, truly, is Susie Salmon. That's the casting that will provoke the biggest reaction.

I'm hoping Jackson and company get the right Susie. Of all of the obvious contenders, the names, I'd plump for Annasophia Robb. Does she look at all like Ms. Weisz? You tell me.

On the other hand, there's myriad reasons to go for an unknown and I suspect that they may. We'll soon know - production is approaching rapidly.

Reaping Images

Straight from Warner Bros. to you: mediocre-looking supernatural plague thriller, The Reaping. Click on the images to enlarge them.

Hilary Swank's star is on the wane, it appears. Who knows if this will do anything for her?