George Zimmerman’s bail has been revoked after a judge said he misled the court about his finances. Trayvon Martin’s killer must turn himself in by Sunday. During Zimmerman’s bail hearing in April, after which he was freed on $150,000 bond, his family testified they had limited funds, prosecutors said on Friday. Zimmerman’s wife “said she had no money, but in fact she did,” said prosecutor Bernardo de la Rionda of the issue that led to Zimmerman’s bail revocation. “It was misleading … I don’t know what other words to use. It was a blatant lie.” He pointed to $135,000 in funds raised from the public that was not disclosed during the hearing. Defense lawyer Mark O’Mara said it was a misunderstanding. O’Mara said Zimmerman did not lie, but was simply unclear about how he could use the money, and that his office has been keeping close tabs on the funds. “We have kept an exact ledger of every penny that he spent,” said O’Mara. Prosecutors also Zimmerman did not disclose that was in possession of a second passport; he had replaced a passport he lost only to find the original later. Zimmerman was ordered to surrender himself in 48 hours. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the February 26 death of the unarmed teen. Claiming self defense, Zimmerman was not charged for over a month in the Trayvon Martin case , which has sparked national media attention and debate. Benjamin Crump, the Martin family attorney, said the slain teen’s parents will welcome the news and that Zimmerman’s credibility has become an issue. “We fully expect that the special prosecutor will make George Zimmerman’s credibility be front and center in this entire case,” he told reporters.
Experts weigh in on whether Kristen Stewart’s star power can overtake current box-office champs leading up to the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, June 3. By Ryan J. Downey Kristen Stewart as “Snow White” Photo: Universal Last weekend, “Men in Black 3” finally ended the box-office domination of “The Avengers,” which saw the superhero team-up movie smashing world records with the combined might of Thor’s hammer, Captain America’s shield, Iron Man’s snarky wit and the Hulk’s green fists. During this MTV Movie Awards weekend, “Snow White and the Huntsman” will do battle against them both, with “Thor” himself, Chris Hemsworth, in one of the title roles alongside Kristen Stewart, best-known for a little franchise called “Twilight.” Will Stewart’s vampire fanatic fanbase focus their attention on “Snow White”? Will Thor’s Asgardian thunder rain down more box-office coin in this role? Keep in mind this isn’t the first “Snow White”-centered movie to hit multiplexes this year. Julia Roberts flopped in “Mirror, Mirror” just two months ago. “Huntsman” is headed to theaters with similar reviews (50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes’ “Tomatometer” at press time). So how will it do? “It’s going to be close, but ‘Snow White’ should edge out ‘Men in Black 3,’ ” HitFix ‘s Gregory Ellwood told MTV News. MTV Next Movie Executive Editor Kevin Polowy concurred. “Its competition isn’t that daunting. ‘Men in Black’ did well last weekend but hardly gangbusters. ‘The Avengers,’ which is still hanging ridiculously tough a month after opening, might actually be more of a threat than last week’s big winner. But ‘Snow White’ has an alluring cast, the potential to draw all demographics, and most importantly for a summer blockbuster, a whole lotta action.” Jeff Bock, Exhibitor Relations Senior Box Office Analyst, gave the edge to “Huntsman” over “Mirror, Mirror,” which opened at #3 at the box office with just $18.1 million. He credited the newer film’s stronger chances to its tone, likening its style to box-office juggernaut “Alice in Wonderland.” “Universal’s ‘Snow White’ is the one everyone was waiting for; [this one is] done on a much grander scale, more akin to ‘Alice’ and very dark, like the Brothers Grimm fairy tale it spawned from.” ” ‘Snow White’ very clearly wants to be a ‘Lord of the Rings’-like swashbuckling epic, which should draw a bigger, more enticed audience,” agreed Polowy.” “The Avengers” is now the fourth-biggest movie ever, in terms of gross, domestically. The power of “Twilight,” of course, continues. But what will the success or failure of “Snow White” mean for the careers of its respective stars outside of their tried-and-true franchises? “This movie has been sold as Charlize Theron as the evil queen,” Ellwood pointed out. “You could argue that Universal hasn’t done enough to showcase Hemsworth in the movie, especially after the success of ‘The Avengers.’ ” Bock was quick to note talk of a possible “Huntsman”-centered sequel. “Hollywood is pretty smitten with Hemsworth. In the end though, as an ensemble piece, this has very little risk involved for him. If it were to tank, the blame would likely fall on Kristen Stewart, with critics jumping on the ‘she can’t carry a film other than ‘Twilight’ bandwagon. It is quite apparent when watching the movie that the real stars are Hemsworth and Theron, who both give powerhouse performances.” “[The movie’s success or failure] will be very important for Kristen Stewart,” Polowy said. “This is Stewart’s first high-profile starring role outside of ‘Twilight,’ and it’s loaded with variables. Can she open a summer blockbuster? Can she do action? Can she do accents? Can she refrain from biting her lip so much?” “Any opening over $30 million outside of ‘Twilight’ is good for Stewart,” offered Ellwood. “If ‘Snow White’ has legs, it’s a sign she’s can easily transition as a leading lady in tentpole films once her days as Bella are over.” Speaking of “biting” and “legs,” there is another film swimming toward the box office: “Piranha 3DD.” It’s 2010 predecessor, “Piranha 3-D,” was a surprise hit with critics (73 percent on the Tomatometer, which is like an Oscar for that type of horror flick). It didn’t collect huge amounts of cash, but it certainly did well enough for the Weinstein Company/ Dimension Films to warrant a follow-up, for which director John Gulager (“Feast”) took over for Alexandre Aja (“High Tension”). However, despite the critical love for the last one, “Piranha 3DD” sat at a lowly 20 percent on the Tomatometer at press time. “Critics loved the first Piranha because it exploited everything cheesy about campy horror films — and 3-D flicks — in tongue-in-cheek style. The sequel is merely exploitation of that success,” Bock said. “Based on the theater count of 75 theaters, you can see that this one will go belly up quick and flushed down the drain.” Flesh-eating fish and “Snow White” aside, the $600 million question, as Polowy put it, is whether anything will beat “The Avengers” in 2012. All three of the experts we contacted agreed that only one film stands a chance. Which film is that? Let’s just say it involves a cape, a cowl and maybe a broken back. “There’s only one candidate who could come close, and its name is ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ ” Polowy said of the forthcoming flick, for which an exclusive clip will premiere at Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards. “Assuming [filmmaker] Christopher Nolan recaptures the magic of his last Batman blockbuster, and Tom Hardy’s Bane proves a viable replacement for Heath Ledger’s Joker, it will be close.” “It will have to be as strong critically as ‘The Dark Knight,’ ” said Ellwood. “That may be the only way to pull in [people who visit the movies four to six times per year]. Besides the added benefit of higher 3-D ticket prices, ‘The Avengers’ became a de facto family film, something ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ clearly isn’t, which helped fuel its coffers. Warner Bros. will need strong repeat business and massive adoration for ‘Rises’ to overtake ‘The Avengers.’ It’s arguably Batman’s toughest challenge yet.” Bock agreed it’s a huge challenge for Bats, one that may prove more defeating than anything Bane could cook up. “Even considering ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is probably the most anticipated threequel since ‘Return of the Jedi,’ ‘The Avengers’ is playing like Earth’s mightiest sequel. And that’s exactly what it is.” “Sorry Batman, you’ve been busted by Hollywood’s box-office brigade,” he concluded. Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. Related Photos ‘Snow White And The Huntsman’ World Premiere
Most actors might think twice about playing dark and depressed versions of themselves on the big screen, parodying their most cringe-worthy moments of cheeseburger-craving internet fame for all to see in movies — like this week’s Piranha 3DD — more concerned with seeing big-bosomed babes being eaten by fish than with exploring the existential pains of celebrity. But then most actors don’t refer to themselves in the third-person with nicknames like “The Hoff” ™, a la David Hasselhoff , who spoke with Movieline last week about his Piranha 3DD cameo, that one time Leonardo DiCaprio went out for Baywatch , and how he’s learned to just “get on the Hoff train and ride.” Two decades after introducing the dashing L.A. County lifeguard Mitch Buchannon to audiences on the sun-soaked series Baywatch , Hasselhoff is back on the beach in Piranha 3DD playing “David Hasselhoff” — a bitter alternate version of himself who, while making an appearance at an adults-only water park, is finally called upon to live out his on-screen persona and actually, you know, save people. Questions? Movieline had so many. Like: Has the real David Hasselhoff ever rescued someone from the ocean? What did Bob Weinstein have to promise him to get Hasselhoff onboard for Piranha 3DD ? What did The Hoff think of Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury? And did Leonardo DiCaprio really once audition to play young Hobie on Baywatch ? You’ve played yourself before many times and are comfortable riffing on your public persona and poking fun at yourself, but how exactly did they get you to play this dark version of David Hasselhoff in the first place? Did they already have it written? They had it written and Bob Weinstein called me and said, ‘Come on, man — if you do this and it does really well I’ll put you in Scary Movie , and we own Knight Rider and maybe we can put you in the Knight Rider movie… you’ve got to do this for me.’ I read the script and saw the last Piranha . [Laughs] My dad and I watched it — my dad’s 87 — and we both looked at each other and said, ‘Well, the movie kind of sucks but the girls are really hot!’ And it was so funny because we both picked up on the same things. So I said, ‘Why not?’ My manager called me and said, ‘You cannot make this movie,’ and I said, ‘Come on man, why not?’ Besides, it turned out to be a much bigger part and a much more irreverent film than I could possibly imagine. And we really had a lot of fun on the set. I just thought it was funny — especially playing David Hasselhoff, but not David Hasselhoff like Mr. Up and Mr. Happy. A burned-out David Hasselhoff; I’ve had it with life. This is the worst possible thing that I could do. What am I doing in this park? And not making any of the rescues — I just thought it was the funniest thing ever. Do you feel like this cameo captures the darker side of what it’s like to be you? No — I mean, that’s how I was playing it. I think people who know me… you’ll see me on Chelsea Lately and she said, ‘What was the lowest point of your career?’ And I said, ‘Probably making this film!’ [Laughs] But you know, it really wasn’t. It was fun. It’s just such an over-the-top film, it appeals to my major love of bad taste. This pertains to your big moment in Piranha 3DD , where burned-out David Hasselhoff is called into action — can you actually save lives with your Baywatch training? Have you ever had to? Yeah, I have. I mean, I’ve had to be rescued myself. But I’ve made rescues in the water. In fact, I’ve made four or five rescues on land because I just happened to be — Oh my god! My dog — we got balls from Chelsea Lately and I guess they give you Chuy’s balls, and she’s chewing up these balls all over the place. Sorry, I’m picking up foam all over the place because I have an obsessive-compulsive dog who will not leave balls alone. But yeah, I’ve made rescues. I was actually doing a scene for People Magazine and this stupid kid was throwing the ball for his dog and his sister. I was on the set doing my three poses like Zoolander and I saw this guy throwing the ball, and he threw the ball into the water and the dog had a leash on it, and the leash was connected to a four-year-old girl. So the dog went out, and the girl went under, and the parents were laying on the beach, I think they were stoned or something. I went, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got to go do this.’ I went out and ruined all my People Magazine shoot but they loved it, because they filmed the whole thing. But then several times I’ve seen really bad accidents where I’m first on the scene, and because I’m trained and have done so many scenes I was able to clear the airway and save a life. It’s scary and icky, and I don’t want to do it anymore. [Laughs] What’s your philosophy on embracing those private moments of your life that have gone public, like the infamous cheeseburger video? You know what, when that happened it was such a devastating thing because it involved my daughters, but it also got me custody of my daughters. So in a way, it drew the lines in my life that said, okay, if this is the game that someone is going to play, this is very, very wrong. Six weeks after that tape came out, I had full custody of my daughters. Even the judge said ‘This is bullshit.’ I learned from that moment, and my daughter went through so much at school because it was a private moment, and she’s such a sweet girl. Now we laugh about it and we embrace life on a daily basis. We have each other, we all live together, they have a great band, and she just walked in and gave me a hug. Life goes on, and there’s a reason for everything. At the time you don’t see it, but in the end, it’s funny. It’s kind of worked for me. There seems to be that fine line between owning and protecting your private life and being owned by the things that come out in public. To me, it’s like no matter what happens in my life, I know the truth. It’s not what people say about you or think about you, it’s what you think about yourself. And once you realize that life is not fair, and you don’t abuse yourself over it, it’s like, ‘Okay, life’s not fair! Fuck it!’ You get screwed over all the time, and just when you think you’re not going to get screwed over, you get screwed over again! Then you just go, ‘Okay.’ So I just go with the flow. I just get on the Hoff train and ride. Your reality TV show was cancelled after a few episodes, but I totally watched those few episodes. I didn’t understand why they pulled the plug so soon. We didn’t understand why they pulled it and why they didn’t sell it back — E! Entertainment wanted to buy it, and it played over in Europe and everyone loved it. It was just great. We don’t know why. I think it was because our family was too real. We weren’t fake — we weren’t, like, putting on make-up every day, or hoarding things… [Laughs] We were too normal! I have a quick Baywatch question. Okay, I have SO MANY Baywatch questions, but… having re-watched Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding on a big screen fairly recently, what are the odds of having another Baywatch reunion movie? Can you just keep making those every few years? I have no idea what’s happening with Baywatch ! Right now I’m trying to concentrate on bringing Knight Rider back in a correct way because they screwed it up when they brought it back on NBC. But I’m not sure what’s going on with Knight Rider . I think if they bring it back, they’ll probably screw it up, or they’ll make a joke out of it, which is unfortunate, but you never know. I don’t know what’s going to happen with it. I’m looking at the Baywatch episodes right now in my office — I’ve got 200 of them. I’m looking at Knight Rider , going, ‘Wow, I’ve done some pretty wild stuff.’ Would I go back to it? Sure. I’d do anything. Jeremy Jackson once said that he had beaten out Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of Hobie, your onscreen son, on Baywatch . Was that true, do you remember? Yeah, it was true! You know what, it was the best thing to happen to Leonardo DiCaprio. [Laughs] I saw Leonardo DiCaprio and I said, ‘You know what, that was the best thing that ever happened to you! You would have never gotten Titanic and have been this big star. You’d be like Jeremy Jackson and David Hasselhoff, looking for work.’ Ha! Of course, your career dates back before Baywatch and Knight Rider . There’s Starcrash , and a little movie called Revenge of the Cheerleaders , which had a very memorable dance number which I’m not sure if you still remember… How could I not remember that? [Laughs] That was great! You also played Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., and The Avengers recently came out and became one of the biggest movies of all time. Have you seen it yet, and how do you think Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury measures up to yours? I didn’t see The Avengers yet. I love Sam Jackson, but you know… my Nick Fury was the organic Nick Fury that was written and discussed with Stan Lee before anyone got in there to change it. Nick Fury was written to be tongue-in-cheek, and he had a cigar in his mouth, he was a tough guy — he was cool. Stan Lee said, ‘You’re the ultimate Nick Fury.’ Avi Arad, when they bought it, said, ‘Don’t worry, you’re going to be the Nick Fury forever,’ and they lied. [Pause] But that happens to me all the time. That’s when you realize life isn’t fair. But I had a blast playing Nick Fury, and if it ever came back and Nick Fury has a brother — Dick Fury? — I’d be there. Piranha 3DD is in theaters Friday. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Anyone who’s ever seen or used a rabbit vibrator can attest to the device’s utter adorableness as a totem. Whoever designed this miraculous pink rubbery thing, with its Peter Cottontail-worthy quivering ears, probably thought, Why does a vibrator have to be ugly? Why not make it cute? Tanya Wexler may have had the same idea when she was making Hysteria , a romantic comedy and highly fictionalized history of the vibrator. The picture is, in places, too adorable for words, and when it’s not adorable, it suffers from an excess of neo-suffragette preachiness. But the picture is at least spirited, a jaunty trifle that’s low on eroticism but high on cartoony coquettishness. Like the little motorized whatsit that is its subject, it does have its charms. The picture is set in Victorian London, a time and place where the women’s ailment known as hysteria — caused, allegedly, by an overactive uterus — was treated by some rather, um, direct and interesting methods. (According to the movie, they involve two kinds of oil and a doctor’s fingers.) Hugh Dancy plays Mortimer Granville, a physician who, unlike his whiskery colleagues, keeps up with all the latest developments in modern medicine — he’s hip to the idea of germs while all the other docs are still hung up on leeches. Because of his radical beliefs in these invisible microscopic destroyers, no hospital will have him, and he feels lucky to land a job in the office of one Dr. Robert Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce), who specializes in de-overactivating the uteruses of his patients. “It’s the plague of our time!” he tells his young colleague. “Half the women in London are afflicted!” Only half? Anyway, many of the afflicted make their way to the good doctor’s office, including an opera singer who’s too sad to sing (Kim Criswell) and a minxlike sexagenarian (Georgie Glen), all clamoring for treatment. In fact, handsome young Dr. Granville attracts so many new patients that he begins suffering desperately from hand cramps. Luckily, his closest friend, a layabout aristocrat played by a marvelously louche Rupert Everett, has invented an electric feather duster that, with a few tweaks, actually serves as a handy hysteria treatment device. The thing catches on like wildfire, and everybody’s happy. Well, not quite. There’s plenty of trouble in Dr. Granville’s paradise, mostly in the love department: He thinks he’s attracted to Dr. Dalrymple’s brainy but meek daughter Emily (Felicity Jones), but his real match is her sister, headstrong Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who works with the poor and has some very progressive ideas about the equality of women, which she spouts freely at every turn. The script, by Stephen and Jonah Lisa Dyer, give Charlotte’s ideas free rein, and enough is enough already. Their grinding insistence only weighs the movie down, preventing it from getting on with the business of getting it on. But Wexler — director of two previous features, Ball in the House and Finding North — strives to keep things buoyant, and her efforts mostly pay off. Gyllenhaal’s presence helps — with that bright, expressive, acorn-shaped face, she carries on valiantly, despite the pedantic nature of the material. The movie’s offhand moments are the most fun, as when the two doctors, plus Everett, try the device on their first patient: They put a drape across her legs and don swimming goggles, peering expectantly into the abyss before — huzzah! — achieving victory. Hysteria is most delightful when it slips into its naughtiest groove and just purrs. Editor’s note: Portions of this review appeared earlier, in a different form, in Stephanie Zacharek’s Toronto Film Festival coverage . Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
I don’t know why I wasn’t invited to this year’s Costume Institute Gala , I like to dress up in an adult costume and pretend I’ve got a real job. Sometimes in the afternoon, after my nap of course, I like to put on a nice suit, loosen the tie like I’ve had a long day at the office and head out to the local happy hour to hit on unsuspecting business hotties. Good times. Anyhow, here’s Candice Swanepoel at the party last night showing off her perky chesticular goodness. Nicely done.
With the success of ‘Avengers’ and ‘Hunger Games,’ the Australian brothers claim the year’s top two opening weekends. By Amy Wilkinson Liam and Chris Hemsworth Photo: Getty Images The box-office odds are ever in the favor of Chris and Liam Hemsworth. With Marvel’s “The Avengers” claiming a record-breaking $200 million in its first three days and “The Hunger Games” bowing at just over $150 million, the Australian brothers have assembled the top two opening weekends of 2012. Talk about the thunder from Down Under! Six weeks after its debut, “The Hunger Games” continues to perform well, raking in a total gross of more than $380 million. And though it will undoubtedly fall in its second weekend, the box-office experts who spoke to MTV News were bullish about the continued heroics of “The Avengers.” “I project it will become the fastest film in history to smash the $1 billion global box-office mark, doing it in about 20 days or so,” Box Office Guru editor Gitesh Pandya said. ” ‘Avengers’ just might end up becoming the highest-grossing non-James Cameron film ever.” Interestingly enough, 2012 marks the first time in which the Hemsworth brothers have had competing films at the cineplex. Chris broke onto the scene with a small part as Captain Kirk’s father in 2009’s “Star Trek,” though his most high-profile role to date is arguably as the titular, hammer-heavy Norse god of 2011’s “Thor.” Brother Liam’s entry into American cinema came courtesy of Nicholas Sparks’ 2010 romance “The Last Song,” in which he played the beau of real-life girlfriend Miley Cyrus. And there will be plenty more Hemsworth to come in 2012. Next month, Chris will continue his weapon-wielding ways in “Snow White and the Huntsman,” co-starring Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart. In November, he’ll star alongside his brother’s “Hunger Games” cohort Josh Hutcherson in the action flick “Red Dawn.” Liam also has a pair of films readied for this year: “AWOL,” a war-time drama co-starring Teresa Palmer, and “The Expendables 2,” in which he’ll go toe-to-toe with action vets Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris (just to name a few). From all appearances, it’s the Hemsworths’ year , and we’re just living in it. For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Avengers’ Related Photos It’s Good To Be A Hemsworth ‘Avengers’ The Hunger Games
Kate Upton set the ‘net on fire yesterday (as she is wont to do) as she demonstrated the latest hip-hop dance craze (as she is also prone to doing ), the ” Cat Daddy “, for celebrity photographer/king pervert Terry Richardson while wearing a teeny red bikini. That’s just another day at the office for this astoundingly sexy 19-year-old DD wonder, but after reviewing the footage (oh so very) closely, our Skin Labs have been able to discern some new and quite SKINtimate information about Kate: according to our Blu-ray ninja, Ms. Upton does her downtown in the Brazilian manner. Put that in your spank bank and whack it! See Kate Upton’s “Cat Daddy” video after the jump!
Wiz Khalifa has been arrested for marijuana possession, again. It’s the second such arrest in the last 10 days for the rapper. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina confirms that Wiz got popped for possession of marijuana after his concert in Winston-Salem last night. Officers discovered 11.39 grams of pot after searching the rapper and his tour bus. It’s unclear what prompted the search initially, but so it goes for Wiz. Khalifa was cited, released and ordered to appear in court at a later date. He was just arrested for marijuana at the Holiday Inn in Nashville on April 21. [Photo: Pacific Coast News]
Enough of this racist monkey business . Puerto Rican Politics Gets Ugly On Twitter After Photo Of Rafael Cox Alomar Is Posted With The Words R.I.P. Yuyo There’s a firestorm of controversy over a photo that was posted on Twitter Monday of Puerto Rican politician Rafael Cox Alomar, a black Puerto Rican who is running for the office of Puerto Rican resident commisioner in Washington, with the words R.I.P. Yuyo. Yuyo is the name of a famous chimp who died in a San Juan zoo last week. The image sparked repudiation by Twitter users, since it was disseminated from the account of the former speaker of Puerto Rico’s lower house, Zaida Hernández, of the governing PNP. Hernández distanced herself from the photo and said she had no idea how the photo came to be tweeted from her account, but she said that it must be the work of hackers. “I started on Twitter a week ago. I don’t know what the photo is about, and I haven’t seen it. I’m not capable of such a despicable act. I discuss my business right up front,” Hernández said. Cox Alomar, meanwhile, said that the matter was about “low politics” that the Puerto Rican people reject. He said that the the “politics of underhanded racism” has no place in the 21st century and that this is not the first racial attack against him since he launched his candidacy to represent Puerto Rico in the U.S. Congress. The elections for governor and resident commissioner will be held on Nov. 6. SMH… This monkey stuff is not funny. And it has no place in politics. We can understand folks being upset. Source More On Bossip! Secret Loooovers! Secret Relationships We Didn’t Know About Until Years Later Instagram Greatness! Wayne Gretzky’s Freaky A$$ Daughter Releases Vacation Pics That Make Rihanna Look Like A Nun! Let’s Be Honest: The Craziest Celebrity Lesbian Rumors Of All Time Not Sayin’ She’s A Gold Digger, But…NFL #2 Draft Pick RGIII’s Fiance Buys A New Bentley And He Hasn’t Even Signed A Contract!
Where have we heard this before: MGM is moving forward with its planned remake of of the 1982 horror classic Poltergeist , this time with Sam Raimi co-producing and his Oz: The Great and Powerful screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire contributing the latest script. Some wailing and gnashing has ensued around the Web, but let’s just calm down — we’re only a year and a half behind the scheduled release date of the previous remake they threatened. Sounds like a high priority! The beleaguered studio has long included Poltergeist among its list of post-bankruptcy remake prospects , with director Vadim Perelman ( House of Sand and Fog ) previously attached to direct a do-over written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White ( Knowing ). That version surfaced almost four years ago . Meanwhile, according to THR , the latest would have Raimi producing (but not directing) alongside Nathan Kahane, Roy Lee and Robert Tapert. And that’s… it . That is literally all the information anyone has about an unwanted remake taxiing down the MGM runway behind such sluggish studio jets as RoboCop and Carrie . So let me just say it again: Relax! Plugging Raimi’s name into a project these days virtually ensures at least a few years of development hell, and the infamously accursed Poltergeist production legend should take care of scuttling the rest. Go back to dreading Short Circuit , already. [ THR ]
