"Hero" Japanese Theatrical Poster

According to Variety, Chinese film director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) is in early negotiations with Warner Bros. to bring the Hunchback of Notre-Dame back to life in Quasimodo.

The film, which has been in development for some time (previously with Tim Burton and Josh Brolin attached to direct and star, respectively), will be another re-telling of Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel.

The story is about a gypsy girl who is framed for murder, and it’s up to Quasimodo, a deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, to save her. Who knows, perhaps Zhang Yimou will put a wuxia spin on it? We’ll keep you posted.

"Triad" Chinese Theatrical Poster

According to Deadline, Gulfstream Pictures has acquired the script to the action thriller The Feud, which is about two Hong Kong families (we assume they’re triads) caught up in a centuries old conflict. The Fued is written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes, who are currently enjoying the success for their sleeper hit, The Conjuring.

Gulfstream Pictures’ Bill Bindley says: “It’s a big thriller, set in Hong Kong. There is an Asian aspect to it and it is a big global movie by writers who are great with characters and at creating scenes that evoke suspense, as we saw in The Conjuring.”

No word on who will direct. As for the international star power? Chow Yun-fat? Jet Li? Fan Bingbing? Zhang Ziyi? We’ll just have to wait and see. Whatever the case, here’s hoping for a great Asian cast in a Hollywood production. We’ll keep you updated.

"The Mummy" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Here’s proof that movie franchises never truly die, they just lie dormant for half a decade until the next round of executives can greenlight a relaunch. What I mean to say is, Universal Pictures has tapped Prometheus co-screenwriter Jon Spaihts to pen a reboot of The Mummy series.

The Mummy has long been one of Universal’s ‘Classic Monsters’ but the character really took off in late 90’s thanks to the big-budget, campy adventure flicks starring Brendan Fraser and directed by Stephen Sommers (G.I. Joe).

To the Fraser fans out there, I wouldn’t hold your breath that the George of the Jungle actor will return for the reboot but, hey, stranger things have happened. At this point we don’t even know if Universal wants to do another Indiana Jones-ish take on the series or deliver something darker, more sinister like Prometheus. Stay tuned to Cityonfire.com.

Update: Beyond Hollywood reveals that screenwriting dynamic duo Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci (Transformers, Cowboys & Aliens) have been chosen by Universal to not only relaunch The Mummy franchise, but to reboot the Van Helsing character with Tom Cruise(!) in the lead as well.

AICN has the word that none other than Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, Total Recall ’12) has been tapped by Universal to direct the The Mummy reboot. Screenwriter Alex Kurtzman promises this new version will be “darker” and “scarier,” with a scientific grounding to its mystical story not unlike a Michael Crichton novel. A target release is set for 2014.

BREAKING NEWS: Comicbookmovie.com reports that due to scheduling conflicts, Len Wiseman is no longer directing The Mummy reboot. The search for a new director is currently underway.

"Ip Man: The Final Fight" American Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: In Ip Man: The Final Battle, Anthony Wong (Beast Cops) is taking over the role of Ip Man (after Donnie Yen, Dennis To and most recently, Tony Leung in The Grandmaster), playing him from age 40 to his passing in 1972. The film is being directed by Herman Yau. There’s no word if it’s an official continuation to Yau’s Legend Is Born: Ip Man or just another “unrelated” Ip Man tale.

The film also stars Anita Yuen Wing Yi (Thunderbolt), who will be playing Ip Man’s wife. According to the promo poster, Jordan Chan (Enter the Eagles) and Eric Tsang (Gen X Cops) also appear. The character of Bruce Lee will be featured, but his part is still currently being cast.

Updates: According to Chinese Films, Ip Man: The Final Battle is set in Hong Kong, [Anthony] Wong, who plays the middle-aged Ip Man, and his five pupils battle the local bully. We assume one of those five pupils is a young Bruce Lee.

Don’t miss the action-packed trailer, which features a fight between Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang(!). What do you think, does Anthony Wong have what it takes to be Ip Man? | Don’t miss the Second Trailer ahead of the film’s opening at the 37th Hong Kong International Film Festival.

In case you haven’t seen all the posters, here they are: Poster 1 | Poster 2 | Poster 3 | Poster 4 | Poster 5 | Here’s some good news if any of you are wondering about the film’s outcome. Ip Man: The Final Battle has took home the Udine Far East Film Festival (FEFF) Bronze Prize. Thanks to HK Top Ten for the heads up.

Distributor Well Go USA has acquired the North American rights to both Anthony Wong in Ip Man: The Final Battle and Donnie Yen in Iceman Cometh 3D. Look forward to a top tier Blu-ray/DVD/digital release for both films, with Ip Man hitting September 20th, 2013 and Iceman arriving in Spring of 2014.

BREAKING NEWS: The North American Well Go USA trailer and poster have been released.

"Come Drink With Me" Chinese Theatrical Poster

According to Variety, The Weinstein Company has a deal with Celestial Pictures to remake two Shaw Brothers martial arts classics: 1966’s Come Drink With Me and 1978’s Avenging Eagle. TWC has actually owned the remake rights since 2006, but it’s only now that they’re putting their plans into action.

John Fusco, writer of The Forbidden Kingdom and the upcoming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2, will pen the script for both movies. There are currently no directors or stars attached to either title, but we’ll keep you informed.

Celestial also says they’re in similar discussions with other A-list producers for remakes of other Shaw Brothers titles. As always, we’ll keep you in the loop.

"Saturn 3" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Shout! Factory and ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) announced today a distribution agreement to bring a vast library of acclaimed cinema classics to the home entertainment marketplace in the U.S and Canada.

Titles include Sophie’s Choice, On Golden Pond, The Eagle Has Landed , The Last Unicorn, The Tamarind Seed, Capricorn One, The Cassandra Crossing, Brief Encounter, Saturn 3, The Merchant of Venice, Voyage of the Damned, The Boys from Brazil, as well as numerous notable popular cult classic hits.

Cityonfire.com received the above info from a press release received from Shout! Factory.

"A Single Shot" Teaser Poster

A new trailer for David M. Rosenthal’s A Single Shot is now available. According to Deadline, A Single Shot is the story of a deadly game of cat and mouse, prompted by the tragic death of a young girl. Sam Rockwell plays hunter John Moon who makes a fatal mistake that leaves him with a suitcase full of blood money and hardened killers on his trail. As the hunter becomes the hunted, Moon is forced to defend his family and fight for his life.

Based on the novel of the same name by Matthew F. Jones (who also wrote the screenplay), A Single Shot also stars William H. Macy, Ted Levine, Kelly Reilly and Jeffrey Wright. Think of it as The Deer Hunter meets Fargo. Check out the trailer.

"Bloodsport" German Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: Rumors have been circling for awhile now about an in-development remake of 1988’s Bloodsport, the martial arts extravaganza that launched Jean-Claude Van Damme to superstardom. Producer Ed Pressman (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) was shopping around the project at Cannes last year, with Salt director Phillip Noyce and Taken screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen attached.

We haven’t heard much about the project since but, given the attention surrounding Van Damme due to his upcoming appearance in The Expendables 2, it wouldn’t be surprising if Pressman is eager to get this remake off the ground.

And now comes word from the man himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme, that he wants a co-starring role in the picture. Who would he play?

None other than the ‘Shindoshi, or mentor, to protagonist Frank Dux. It would be a nice way for Van Damme to come full circle after all these years and he already did an excellent job playing teacher to Cung Le in Dragon Eyes. However, Van Damme is claiming that the makers of the Bloodsport remake don’t want much to do with him, presumably because they want their new film to stand on its own.

As an aside, Jean-Claude Van Damme also explains just why we saw so many Bloodsport spin-offs and sequels throughout the 90’s. Says Van Damme: “When I did the first ‘Bloodsport,’ it was an independent company and [they] didn’t want bankruptcy, so they sold the title all over the place – 2,3,4,5,6 ‘Bloodsports.’” True enough: you’d be hard pressed to find martial arts series with more sequels than Bloodsport – or Kickboxer, for that matter.

Update: Van Damme is never short of ideas. During an interview, the actor just pitched a sequel – or reboot? – of his early 90’s flick Double Impact. You’ll remember it as the movie where Van Damme played twin brothers, one an aerobics instructor and the other a criminal in Hong Kong. In this update, the California-bred twin Chad would be a riff on Van Damme’s own persona a la JVCD. Now a movie producer who is decidedly short on cash, Chad ends up framing his twin brother Alex when he steals money from some Hong Kong loan sharks. Alex, an Expendables-like tough guy, tracks his brother back to L.A. where trouble ensues.

BREAKING NEWS: Looks like Phillip Noyce is out and the director of Ninja Assassin and V for Vendetta is in. Variety reports that James McTeigue will be directing the Bloodsport reboot. No word on the cast, but the reboot will explore the life of 21st century mercenaries as they collide with the underground world of Brazilian Vale Tudo fighting. Craig Rosenberg (The Uninvited) is re-writing the script based off a story by Robert Mark Kamen (Taken) and Phillip Noyce (Salt).

"Nightbreed" Japanese Theatrical Poster

I don’t know about you but I have a thing for the late 80’s, early 90’s film work of author Clive Barker. His 1990 effort Nightbreed is one of those movies that should have been a horror classic. It had Barker working at the peak of his creative powers; Danny Elfman, fresh off the success of his 1989 Batman soundtrack, handling score duties; and even starred David Cronenberg as a homicidal psychologist in a Scarecrow-like mask.

Yet when you watch the film itself, Nightbreed somehow feels like less than the sum of its parts. Not surprisingly, this is due to the fact that the studio nipped and tucked Clive Barker’s true creative vision.

Currently, studio Morgan Creek holds the rights to the lost Nightbreed footage, the missing reels that should make the story feel more cohesive.

For years, fans have been desperate to catch a glimpse of this elusive Director’s Cut. Now a movement, called Occupy Midian, has mobilized online in order to petition Morgan Creek for a Blu-ray/DVD release of Nightbreed in its complete form. Join the movement on Facebook and perhaps we fans can make a difference. Also, thanks to Todd Rigney of Beyond Hollywood for helping to publicize Occupy Midian.

Update: The Occupy Midian movement has been a resounding success. At this year’s Comic Con, distributor Scream Factory announced they will be releasing the ‘Cabal Cut’ of Nightbreed on Blu-ray. This uncut version of the movie runs for a staggering 165 minutes in comparison to the theatrical edition’s 108 minutes. Stay tuned for future details on the release date and more.