News

Fans of classic sitcoms who watched this past Sunday’s episode of The Leftovers likely said “don’t be ridiculous” when a character brings up a bizarre factoid about the mysterious disappearances central to the HBO show’s plot: The entire cast of Perfect Strangers is said to have been raptured. Bronson Pinchot? Raptured. Mark Linn-Baker? Raptured. Melanie Wilson and Rebeca Arthur, who played love interests of Pinchot’s Balki and Linn-Baker’s Larry, respectively? Raptured.Vulture has its own Perfect Strangers–related coincidence going on: We’d just assigned best-selling novelist Jeff VanderMeer to conduct an interview with Pinchot about the actor’s second career as a narrator of audiobooks when we saw the episode (check back later today for their discussion). VanderMeer followed up with Pinchot, who was gracious enough to weigh in on the very important matter via email: Jeff VanderMeer: Did HBO by any chance get...

Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now

• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below

Opening this weekTheatre

The Master and Margarita

Bulgakov's poetic maelstrom is transferred from page to stage by Simon McBurney and Complicite. The devil is abroad in a godless Ussr. Barbican, London EC2 (0845 120 7550), to 7 April.

Anne Boleyn

The Globe goes out on tour with Howard Brenton's delightful and intelligent look at English Protestantism and the woman who furthered its cause. New Alexandra, Birmingham (0844 871 3011), 20-24 March, then touring.

Filumena

Samantha Spiro stars as the canny Neapolitan woman who has been a mistress for 25 years but is determined to be a wife. Michael Attenborough directs this new version of Eduardo de Filippo's lively comedy. Almeida, London N1 (012 7359 4404), to 12 May.

Film

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan...

CineMovie contributor Melanie Wilson and independent film aficionado picks her favorite indie flicks of 2011.

Underrated Films of 2011

In 2011 I saw over 180 films in the theatre. So, needless to say, I love movies! But some of you may be thinking, how is that possible? There weren’t that many good films? Well, the answer is independent movies and foreign films. If you take the time to look outside of the mainstream there are many wonderful movies that deserve your attention. Below is a list of some of the best movies I saw in 2011. Some you may have heard of and others only received a limited release, but luckily for all most of these films will be available to rent and I urge you to seek them out. Happy renting!

Top Blockbuster Movies of 2011

Read more...

Danish company Dam Things have licensed its beloved Troll Doll line to Dreamworks Animation to make into an animated movie.

The annoying dolls were originally created in 1959 and have experienced many revivals over the years.

The film is expected to expand the troll dolls’ history as well as relaunch the toy line (of course).

The screen play for the troll dolls movie will be penned by Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio (Evergone).

Expect to see the movie in theaters in 2012.

Source: Hollywood Reporter...

DreamWorks Animation has licensed the movie rights to the troll doll from the Danish company Dam Things with the intention of turning the jewel-encrusted, afro-wearing toys into movie magic. Brother and sister duo Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio will write the screenplay.

The doll was originally created in 1959 by Danish fisherman Thomas Dam who carved the character for his daughter for the holidays. But a loophole in his copyright claim allowed numerous knock-offs in Europe and the United States to gain popularity. Dam later reclaimed ownership after a Congressional law restored his rights.

The announcement seems suspicious considering their cartoon rival, Pixar, recently released Toy Story 3 to overwhelmingly positive reviews and success which coincidentally (?) included Troll dolls.

This isn’t the first time DreamWorks Animation has produced seemingly similar material. 1998 saw the head-to-head battle of Pixar’s Bug’s Life versus DreamWorks’ Antz. Pixar’s Finding Nemo played...

Danish company Dam Things has licensed its Troll Doll brand to Dreamworks Animation to turn into an animated feature says The Hollywood Reporter.

The fuzzy-haired dolls were originally created in 1959 and have seen several revivals over the years. The film is expected to expand the troll dolls' mythology as well as relaunch the toy line.

Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio ("Evergone," "The Impossible Adventures of Phineas Roone") will pen the screenplay.

Like our Casting Couch, Production Notes sort of compiles the interesting developments and deals being made on the production end in Hollywood. This post will sort of report on the interesting books heading to film, directors we like that set-up projects and other stuff.

>> In this edition of Production Notes, Jason Reitman has set-up rights for the book Elliot Allagash by Simon Rich. Rich (a writer for NBC’s Saturday Night Live) is going to adapt his own book into a screenplay. Reitman will produce this project, but hasn’t decided whether he will direct it. Allagash revolves around private schools and the excesses of the rich, it centers on Seymour Herson, a boy who is regularly picked on at his private school. He gets taken under the wing of Elliot Allagash, a teen who is often drunk and enjoys villainy. Random House published Elliot Allagash this past month in May.

It looks like DreamWorks is fluro green with envy (like the doll’s hair, right? Ha…). While Pixar is making loads of money off “Toy Story 3″, DreamWorks Animations has announced that it may make its own toy story based around those popular little dolls with the brightly coloured hairdos, Troll Dolls. Variety reports that DreamWorks has bought the rights to the Troll Dolls franchise, and they’ve already hired screen-writing duo Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio to pen the script. It also looks like they’ve got quite a backstory to work with, too. The dolls have been around since the late 50s and, as Total Film has pointed out, they even had their own early morning cartoon show. Besides the fact that they have awesomely colored hairdos, I can’t shake the fact that they look, well, kinda creepy. It doesn’t help that, in almost every image I can find,...

The eyes of cinemagoers may currently be on Pixar’s latest work of wonder, Toy Story 3, but that doesn’t stop other studios from looking to other toys for inspiration (perhaps the opening weekend success of the Pixar sequel encouraged this forward-thinking).

It’s being reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Dreamworks is in the process of developing an animated movie based on The Good Luck Trolls, those fugly little kids dolls first created in 1959.

Before you suggest this is some sort of strange summer April Fool’s joke, think again. Plans are further along than just “Hey, let’s make a movie out of this!” as a couple of screenwriters have already been found in the form of brother-sister duo Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio (Evergone, The Impossible Adventures of Phineas Roone). Dannie Festa, through her company…

Continue reading Animated ‘Trolls’ Movie On The Way...

· In some parallel universe, DreamWorks Animation would have outmaneuvered Pixar's staggering weekend by announcing an animated remake of the abjectly bad cult classic Troll 2. Instead, on the startlingly specific coattails of Toy Story 3, we're left with Good Luck Trolls, a riff on the frizzy-haired plastic talismans that seem to reproduce like rabbits in dollar-store bins around the country. An origin story is in order, seriously; here's hoping the Danish manufacturer Dam Things and writers Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio can work that in somehow. [THR]

Apes gets some fresh blood, Ruben Fleischer visits Mike White's Woods, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.

After making a cameo appearance in the opening sequence "Toy Story 3," the Troll dolls are preparing for a full-fledged comeback. Dreamworks Animation is set to feature the Good Luck Trolls in their own big-screen feature.

The studio that brought us "Shrek" and "Madagascar" will give the once-inescapable toys their own adventure, with a screenplay penned by Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio and Dannie Festa as executive producer.

"We have been planning to bring the Good Luck Troll toy line back into homes around the world and we are excited to see how the talented storytellers and artists at DreamWorks Animation will bring them to life," said Calle Ostergaard, CEO of Dam Things, home of the Good Luck Trolls.

"We are thrilled at the great creative possibilities we have in bringing the Trolls to family audiences around the world across a number of channels, including on the big screen,...

This just in: these dolls are as ugly as they are scary. The Good Luck Trolls, with their frizzy, pastel-colored hair, are coming to the big screen via DreamWorks Animation. The Glendale-based animation house, which has already turned an ogre into the successful "Shrek" franchise, announced Tuesday that it has pacted with Denmark's Dam Things, which controls the toy line, to develop an animated feature.The brother-sister writing team of Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio will pen the screenplay, and Dannie Festa of Festa Entertainment, who brought the package to DreamWorks, will executive produce.The troll doll was created in 1959 by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam, when he carved a doll based on Scandinavian trolls for his daughter Lajla. The toy line gained popularity in Europe and the U.S. during the early '60s, becoming a fad embraced by kids and the counter-culture. See? These Trolls were made by a woodcutter!

The classic Happy Troll Doll characters have recently appeared "Shrek Forever After" as the inspiration for Rumpelstiltskin's "angry wig" hairstyle and in "Toy Story 3" as terrified train passengers. This gave DreamWorks Animation the idea to license the characters from Danish company Dam Things in order to develop a feature film. The studio has already hired siblings Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio to write the screenplay, which will expand on the troll dolls' mythology. Originally created in 1959 by Danish woodcarver Thomas Dam as a gift for his daughter, the beady-eyed, fuzzy-haired dolls sparked an international craze in the early 1960s, with nostalgic revivals introducing the figures to subsequent generations as well.

Toy Story is almost over. But canny movie execs noted the $109m opening weekend of its latest instalment, and are looking to replicate that success. Which could explain why DreamWorks Animation have bought the rights to the Happy Troll Doll – y’know, those rainbow-haired trolls that we all collected as kids. Furthermore, the studio have hired sibling scribes Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio to come up with a movie adventure for the wee things. They’ve got a leg up, though – there’s already an entire Troll...

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Dam dolls, Gonks, Wishniks, Treasure Trolls, Norfins... these are just some of the names used to describe these... things. And now DreamWorks Animation, not content with letting Pixar have all the fun and money because of their successful toy film franchise, have now optioned the classic Happy Troll Doll character from Danish company Dam Things for the bigscreen. On scripting duties are unknown writers/siblings Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio (Evergone, The Impossible Adventures...

DreamWorks Animation to bring Trolls to the big screen According to Variety, DreamWorks Animation has licensed the classic Happy Troll Doll character from the Danish company Dam Things. Their plan is to make a bigscreen adaptation centered around this property.

Brother and Sister team Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio are going to write the script.

Initially created in 1959 by Danish woodcarver Thomas Dam as a present for his daughter, "the beady-eyed, fuzzy-haired dolls sparked an international craze in the early 1960s, with nostalgic revivals introducing the figures to subsequent generations as well." DreamWorks Animation made the deal with Dam's son Niels, who is now in charge of the Dam Things family business.

The goal of the feature is to expand the troll dolls' mythology, while offering Dam a chance to bring out the toy line for another set of young collectors.

The characters also inspired the Trollz animated show.

DreamWorks Animation just had to get their hands on some kind of toy property because all the other studios have got one or more to turn into feature film franchises. I guess they were feeling a little left out, and a little behind the hot Hollywood trend. Now the only toy that's left for them is the Good Luck Trolls. You remember those don't you? The little plastic troll dolls with annoying frizzy pastel-colored hair. I hated those damn things.

Well, DreamWorks Animation is teaming up with Denmark's Dam Things, which controls the troll toy line, so that they can develop a full on feature animated film based on these troll dolls.

Why would they want to make a movie based on these Good Luck Trolls!? I think it's a terrible idea, one that will most likely blow up their faces. They were doing fine with the original content they were putting out!

Before you get too excited, let me first warn you that I'm not talking about the horror film Troll, or its infamous best worst movie sequel Troll 2. Also, when I say DreamWorks, I'm not talking about the Steven Spielberg-produced live action division... This weekend Toy Story 3 took in over $110 million at the domestic box office, a new Pixar record. Dreamworks Animation clearly took notice and acquired a toy property of their own. .... Actually, they acquired the big screen rights to a toy property that even appeared in Toy Story 3... Oh, those trolls... The Happy Troll Dolls produced by the Danish toys company Dam Things. Screenwriting siblings Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio (Evergone, The Impossible Adventures of Phineas Roone) have been hired to pen the screenplay. Variety says that the feature film "will expand on the troll dolls' mythology, while giving Dam a chance to relaunch...

DreamWorks Animation has a lot of upcoming projects in the works right now, a lot of interesting stuff, from The Croods to Tim Burton's Monsterpocalypse. The animation house must be hurting after seeing Toy Story 3 break all the records this weekend (while kicking Shrek Forever After to the ground this summer) because they've just announced that they will be developing a movie about another line of toys which just so happen to appear in Toy Story 3 as well. THR says that DreamWorks is now developing a movie about the crazy "Good Luck Trolls" little plastic toys (seen above). Well, I can already tell you this is going to suck. DreamWorks has partnered with Denmark's Dam Things, which makes the troll toys and controls the rights, to develop an animated feature. They've hired brother-sister writing team Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio (Evergone, The Impossible Adventures of Phineas...

Perhaps impressed by the $109 million opening weekend of Toy Story 3, DreamWorks Animation has acquired the screen rights for the Happy Troll Doll from Danish toy company Dam Things. Variety reports that the studio has hired screenwriting siblings Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio to pen the script, which will reportedly expand on a troll doll mythology that I was completely unaware of.

The hideous dolls have been part of the pop culture lexicon since the early sixties, subsequent to their 1959 creation by Danish woodcarver Thomas Dam. The parties involved expect to relaunch the toy line for a new generation upon the film’s release, then bathe in piles of money.

The Good Luck Trolls, with their frizzy, pastel-colored hair, are coming to the big screen via DreamWorks Animation.

The Glendale-based animation house, which has already turned an ogre into the successful "Shrek" franchise, announced Tuesday that it has pacted with Denmark's Dam Things, which controls the toy line, to develop an animated feature.

The brother-sister writing team of Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio will pen the screenplay, and Dannie Festa of Festa Entertainment, who brought the package to DreamWorks, will executive produce.

The troll doll was created in 1959 by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam, when he carved a doll based on Scandinavian trolls for his daughter Lajla. The toy line gained popularity in Europe and the U.S. during the early '60s, becoming a fad embraced by kids and the counter-culture.

Because Dam Things, the Scandinavian company that produced the toys, lost control of its copyright after failing to comply with U.

DreamWorks Animation Skg, Inc. announced today that it has reached an agreement with Dam Things from Denmark to debut the wildly popular Good Luck Troll on the big screen, introducing a new generation to one of the world's most beloved toy lines. Brother-sister writing team Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson Labracio will pen the screenplay and Dannie Festa of Festa Entertainment, who brought the package to DreamWorks Animation, will executive produce the feature film. The Troll doll phenomenon was born in 1959 when Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam, too poor to afford a Christmas present for his young daughter Lajla, carved a doll for her based on the legendary Scandinavian troll. This modern-day Geppetto couldn't have imagined that the Troll dolls would soon become one of...

Production has begun on Skyrunners, the first original TV movie for Disney Xd. A science fiction adventure starring Kelly Blatz (Aaron Stone) and newcomer Joey Pollari, Skyrunners will feature alien creature effects designed and created by Weta Workshop (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia). The story revolves around two teen brothers that commandeer a UFO that crashes near their town and uncover an evil alien plot to take over Earth. A production of Ranger Productions and Shaftesbury Services II, Inc., Skyrunners is directed by Ralph Hemecker (Numb3rs) and written by Richard C. Okie (Quantum Leap, Earth: Final Conflict) along with Adam Wilson & Melanie Wilson. Okie also serves as executive-producer of the movie.

http://enews.cynopsis.com/html.asp?XZY1580094UTF60...