Early Edition: J.J. Abrams Readies Another 'Trek'; Chan-wook Park Taps Jacki Weaver; More

By Harley W. Lond (Subscribe to Harley W. Lond's posts) Posted Jul 28th 2011 8:00AM Filed under: Movie News Email This With 'Super 8' now under his belt, J.J. Abrams is moving forward (not quite at warp speed, but forward) on 'Star Trek 2,' according to Deadline, but since the director is just now meeting with writers and prepping things, the studio has had to scuttle its hoped for June 29, 2012 release date. Instead, it's slotted the Jon M. Chu-directed sequel 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' -- starring Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, RZA and Joe Mazzello. -- into that date. That means that 'Trek 2' most likely will hit screens late 2012 or summer 2013. Meanwhile, Paramount has decided to move 'Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol' from its Dec. 16 release date to Wednesday, Dec. 21, away from Warner Bros.' 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows' and Fox's 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' sequel. But it will now open against the David Fincher-directed 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' (from Sony). That Friday, Dec. 23, will see the opening of Par's 'The Adventures of Tintin,' Summit Entertainment's 'The Darkest Hour,' Fox's 'We Bought a Zoo' and FilmDistrict's Angelina Jolie-directed 'In the Land of Blood and Honey.' Jacki Weaver, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role as a bad-ass mama in last year's 'Animal Kingdom,' has joined the cast of Chan-wook Park's ('Oldboy,' 'Thirst') 'Stoker,' a thriller for Fox Searchlight about an eccentric teenager mourning the death of her father who must deal with her enigmatic and estranged uncle who shows up for the funeral -- bringing some unexpected weirdness with him. 'Stoker' stars Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode. [Deadline] Sony Pictures Classics has picked up U.S. rights to Lawrence Kasdan's 'Darling Companion,' about a woman who rescues a stray dog only to have her self-involved husband lose it after a wedding at their vacation home. Distraught, she gets the wedding guests to help her search for the dog. The movie stars Diane Keaton as the woman, Kevin Kline as the husband, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Elizabeth Moss, Mark Duplass, Ayelet Zurer and Sam Shepherd. Sony is aiming for an early 2012 release. [Variety] Here's one to file under "Please, No." Mimi Leder has signed on to direct a remake of 'All Quiet on the Western Front,' the classic 1930 adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's WWI novel that won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. Leder, whose career has been in television -- aside from directing 'The Peacemaker' and 'Deep Impact' -- had not seen the film when she was sent the script by writers Ian Stokell and Lesley Paterson. That baffles us -- the film is de rigueur viewing for any director worth his/her salt. That's reason enough to hope that this project is stillborn. [Deadline]