"Book of Eli" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Denzel Washington is in talks to star in Shovel Ready, an adaptation of Adam Sternbergh’s debut novel. Considering they’re making the movie prior to the novel’s January 14, 2014 release date (pre-order at amazon), producer Erwin Stoff (All You Need is Kill) definitely sees something special in the project.

According to Deadline, Shovel Ready takes place in a bombed-out, near future New York City where most of the population escapes reality by tapping into a digital fantasy world, a contract killer is hired to kill the daughter of a powerful, maniacal evangelist. Ultimately, the killer becomes the girl’s protector.

In the meantime, be sure to watch Washington pair up with Mark Wahlberg in 2 Guns, which opens on August 16, 2013. And look for him again in Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer in the future.

"V/H/S/2" Theatrical Poster

In a move that is sure to please our webmaster Mighty Peking Man, the producers behind the indie-horror sensation V/H/S have announced a sequel. The first installment featured a series of ‘found footage’-style horror tales from various indie directors and V/H/S 2 will continue in this vein. In fact, the only filmmaker returning so far is Adam Wingard of A Horrible Way to Die fame.

But fear not, an impressive line-up of talent has already been assembled for the sequel. None other than Gareth Evans (Merantau, The Raid) will co-direct a segment with Indonesian horror filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto. In fact, according to an interview with Tjahjanto, their film has already been completed.

Says Tjahjanto: “It’s called project Safe Haven, an idea of mine that I have been keeping as a feature film, but never could find the right person to work with, cause the story is so absurd and over the top.”

Also look for Eduardo Sanchez (co-director on The Blair Witch Project) and Jason Eisener (Hobo With a Shotgun) to have a part in V/H/S 2. In the meantime, the original movie is still available via Video On Demand, while Magnet Releasing offers the Blu-ray and DVD come December 4th, 2012.

Update: Twitch Film has the first look at S-VHS, the sequel to V/H/S. Be warned that this still from The Raid director Gareth Evans’ contribution is quite bloody and probably NSFW! Check out the first teaser trailer for the film, which looks to have a bigger budget than its predecessor. | Check out the new poster. | Watch the latest Red Band trailer!

BREAKING NEWS: Indiewire has an explicit clip from V/H/S/2, featuring directors Gareth Evans (The Raid) and Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre). In addition, here’s a teaser poster for the short – which involves Indonesian cult members and exploding bodies – courtesy of MTV.

"Blind Detective" Theatrical Poster

Shooting starts this October on Johnnie To’s Blind Detective. The film will circle around a blind man who is aided by a female detective in order to solve a bank robbery. Blind Detective reunites box office darlings Andy Lau (Dragon Family) and Sammi Cheng (Infernal Affairs), who previously starred together in films like Needing You… and Yesterday Once More.

The film has a budget of around $11 million and is slated to be released sometime in 2013. Media Asia Group is currently looking to sell international rights to the film.

Updates:

Andy Lau recently spoke about the difficulty of playing a blind character. “This is one of the most challenging roles of my career because the character is blind but the director isn’t allowing me to wear shades,” explained Lau. “The director says ‘cut’ when he thinks my eyes are moving. So we’ve only managed to complete one third of the movie after 3 months of shooting.”

Website Chinese Films has new pictures of Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng taken during filming – in their pajamas! | The teaser trailer is here and it’s everything you’d want to see from a Milkyway Image production – dark, violent, and incredibly stylish. Thanks to Twitch for the story. | A second teaser trailer is now available.

BREAKING NEWS: Reportedly, Blind Detective has met with much criticism at Cannes. Judge what you can for yourself with this new Hong Kong trailer.

"The Family" Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: Léon: The Professional’s Luc Besson will be directing Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones and Dianna Agron in The Family (aka Malavita). Due for release around 2013, Malavita is about a retired American gangster who relocates his family to Normandy and lives under the witness protection program.

Malavita is based on a 2005 novel called Badfellas by Tonino Benacquista. It’s co-written for the screen by Luc Besson and Michael Caleo (The Last Time).

Updates: The Film Experience has a pack of behind-the-scenes photos. | The Wrap reports that Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas) has been named an executive producer on the mob comedy Malavita, which opens October 18, 2013.

BREAKING NEWS: Introducing the first trailer for Luc Besson’s The Family.