Argo received eight Oscar nominations and has grossed over $166.4 million at the box office worldwide and now Iran wants in on the action. But don’t expect the Islamic Republic to toe the line of how events transpired in the version directed and starring Ben Affleck . [ Related: Iran A Possible Oscar No-Show After Boycott Threat AND Ben Affleck Goes For Gracious Post-Oscar Passover ] Iranian director Ataollah Salmanian an Iranian news agency that he is making a counter-feature to Affleck’s film which is based on the true story of a C.I.A. plan to rescue six Americans from Tehran during the outset of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. Titled The General Staff , Salmanian told the news agency his film “should be an appropriate response to the ‘a-historic’ film Argo ,” according to BBC. Not surprisingly, Argo has ruffled feathers in the Iranian hierarchy and Salmanian is hoping to receive funding from the Middle Eastern country’s government. Iran has long had a contentious relationship with its filmmaking community even as its filmmakers won awards around the world. Last year Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language film. Despite praise for the win at the time, the country’s establishment banned its filmmakers from submitting to the Oscars race officially due to the controversy surrounding the anti-Islam video that hit YouTube last year, Innocence of Muslims . Others have faced persecution and silence including celebrated director Jafar Panahi who served house arrest and later prison. The director documented his house-arrest in This Is Not a Film , which was smuggled out of Iran in a Flash-Drive and hidden inside a cake. It later screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and other festivals. [ Source: The Guardian ] Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Even if we won’t be getting dino-men hybrids with guns, here’s the second-best possible news for Jurassic Park fans: Universal announced today that Jurassic Park 4 will be in theaters on June 13, 2014. In 3-D! Breaking News! Jurassic Park 4 is coming June 13, 2014! What do you hope to see in the new sequel? Follow @ JurassicPark3D ! #JP4 #JP3D — Universal Pictures (@UniversalPics) January 11, 2013 Per Deadline , Jurassic Park 4 will be shot in 3-D; Steven Spielberg is producing, although a director has yet to be named. The script is by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver , who wrote Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the forthcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes , and therefore know a thing or two about making human vs. nature conflict entertaining. The news has already spawned speculation over who might get the directing gig. (J.J. Abrams and Rupert Wyatt, Forbes wild-guesses ?) Chime in with your own director wish-list and stay tuned for more Jurassic musings… Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
According to Variety, Christopher Nolan tops the shortlist to helm Warner Bros.’ Twilight Zone reboot, but he’s not alone on the list of potential candidates; Michael Bay , Alfonso Cuaron, and Rupert Wyatt are also in the mix to direct the big-budget, single-story version based on Rod Serling’s original sci-fi television series. Nolan may have an in with producer Leonardo DiCaprio and the studio that released his last five films, not to mention the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises . But should he get the gig?
It’s like everyone is adapting a selection from your high school reading list for the big screen this week! First, David Schwimmer announced that he was commissioning a project based on Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and now Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt and star Andy Serkis are working on a performance-capture adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm .
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