Pixar recently announced that the film, Up, about a 70-year-old man who teams with a wilderness ranger to fight beasts and villains, is it’s big project for 2009. The movie will be directed by Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.). Pixar veteran Bob Peterson is writing the script and will co-direct. Following Ratatouille, Pixar will release Wall*E next summer (in competition with Madagascar: The Crate Escape), then Up on 12th June 2009, and Toy Story 3 in summer 2010 (So it competes with Dreamwork’s “Shrek 4″)…

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio will be teaming up again with Kate’s husband, Sam Mendes as the director. They play a couple in the ‘50s caught between their true desires and the pressure to conform. Shooting has begun, and the film will be released on the 19th December 2008. Oscar potential, anyone? I say yes, only is the buzz does not get to high.

 Midnight, a 1939 comedy focusing on a poor young woman who becomes a pawn when a wealthy man tires to get rid of the gigolo wooing his wife, all set in Paris, is set to be remade. Michael Arndt (Oscar winner for Little Miss Sunshine) is set to direct and it shall star and be produced by Reese Witherspoon and her Type-A production company. Sounds Awesome

The Women remake is reported to star Annette Benning, Meg Ryan, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Eva Mendes, Bette Midler, Candice Bergen, Kathy Griffin, Ana Gasteyer and Carrie Fisher but the final word on the cast has yet to be released. The adaptation will be done by Diane English, hopefully maintaining the original spirit of the script, with all the cattiness and the balance of the strong female cast. Due to be released in October 2008, look out for this one, it has an amazing ensemble cast not to be missed. Yay, I’m excited for this one!

Gael Garcia Bernal (Babel), Danny Glover, Alice Braga (City of God) and Sandra Oh are set to join Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo in Fernando Meirelles’ apocalyptic drama Blindness for Focus Features International. The story is based on a novel about an epidemic of blindness that sweeps through a contemporary city and pushes society to the brink of breakdown. Bernal will play the King of Ward 3, and Glover will narrate the story. Braga will portray the girl with the dark glasses. Shooting is scheduled to begin in July. Release date is set for 8 August 2008.

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are set to make a new trilogy about an old favourite. For once, the rest of the world gets a film about a cartoon character that America has been slightly starved of, Tin-Tin. The legendary director/producer duo will share responsibility of directing. Well I for one, am salivating. And I am not sure if it is out of nervousness or excitement….

Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic - Padre Nuestro
Grand Jury Prize: World Cinema Dramatic - Adama Meshuga’at (Sweet Mud)
Grand Jury Prize: World Cinema Documentary - Vores lykkes fjender (Enemies of Happiness)
Audience Award: Documentary - Hear and Now
Audience Award: Dramatic - Grace is Gone
World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary - In the Shadow of the Moon
World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic - Once
Documentary Directing Award - Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine for War/Dance
Dramatic Directing Award - Jeffrey Blitz for Rocket Science
Excellence in Cinematography Award: Documentary - Heloisa Passos for Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
Excellence in Cinematography Award: Dramatic - Benoit Debie for Joshua
Documentary Film Editing - Hibah Sherif Frisina, Charlton McMillan, and Michael Schweitzer for Nanking
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Dramatic - James C. Strouse for Grace Is Gone
Special Jury Prize: Dramatic Performance - Jess Weixler in Teeth and Tamara Podemski in Four Sheets to the Wind
Special Jury Prize: Dramatic - Chris Smith, director of The Pool
Special Jury Prize: Documentary - No End in Sight
Special Jury Prize: World Cinema Dramatic - L’ Héritage (The Legacy)
Special Jury Prize: World Cinema Documentary - Hot House
Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking - Everything Will Be OK
Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking - The Tube With a Hat
Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking - Death to the Tinman, The Fighting Cholitas, Men Understand Each Other Better (Mardha Hamdigar Ra Behtar Mifahmand), Motodrom, Spitfire 944, t.o.m.
Special Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking - Freeheld

60th Cannes Film Festival Winners:

Palme d’Or for Best Film: 4 luni, 3 saptamini si 2 zile / 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days by Cristian Mungiu (Romania)

Grand Prix: Mogari no mori / The Mourning Forest by Naomi Kawase (Japan)

Special Jury Prize (ex-aequo): Stelle Licht by Carlos Reygadas (Mexico / France / The Netherlands) and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud (France)

Best Director: Julian Schnabel for Le Scaphandre et le papillon / The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France)

Best Actor: Konstantin Lavronenko for Izgnanie / The Banishment (Russia)
Best Actress: Jeon do-yeong for Secret Sunshine (South Korea)

Best Screenplay: Fatih Akin for Auf der anderen Seite / The Edge of Heaven (Germany / Turkey)

Special 60th Anniversary Award: Gus Van Sant for Paranoid Park (United States / France)

“Vulcain de l’Artiste-Technicien” Prize: Janusz Kaminski for Le Scaphandre et le papillon / The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France)

Honorary Palme d’Or: Jane Fonda

Palme d’Or for Short Film: Ver llover / Watching It Rain by Elisa Miller (Mexico)

Honorable Mention: Run by Mark Albiston and Ah Ma / Grandma by Anthony Chen

Caméra d’Or for First Film: Meduzot / Jellyfish by Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen (Israel)

Honorable Mention: Control by Anton Corbijn (United Kingdom)

~ This is my first post ever, how random ~ 

Brad Pitt has been replaced by Eric Bana to star opposite Rachel McAdams in the Time Travellers Wife. It was decided that Eric would be a better pick for the role as he is a better actor. The film is an adaptation of a novel about love and time-travelling, and Brad knows all about Time, travelling and having a super hot wife, seems simple, but Eric has proven to be a bolder actor, choosing edgier roles in the past few years. Rising Stars are taking over Hollywood, watch this space. I don’t like him that much…