The buzz surrounding “Runner Runner” may not be all that great as it gears up for its premiere this weekend, but director Brad Furman has already moved on to “bigger” things. Furman, who previously directed “The Lincoln Lawyer,” has signed on to write and direct “Bigger.” The film will tell the story of bodybuilding icon Joe Weider, the man responsible for the creation of the Mr. Olympia competition and who mentored Arnold Schwarzenegger, a seven-time Mr. Olympia champion. “Bigger” also concerns brother Ben Weider, who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding with Joe in 1946. The project’s been set up at Bee Holder Productions and will be based on the Weider brothers’ biography, “Brothers of Iron,” which chronicles their rise. [Deadline]
While Furman begins to flex his muscles, director Kevin Reynolds (“Hatfields & McCoys,” “Waterworld”) is about to go all biblical on us. Reynolds hasn’t directed a feature film in seven years (“Tristan + Isolde”), but he has partnered up with LD Entertainment to direct “Resurrection,” which deals with the first 40 days after the death of Jesus Christ. Agnostic Roman, Centurion, must locate Christ’s missing body in order to subdue a looming uprising in Jerusalem. Centurion’s doubts of the supernatural begin to erode when he comes across the Apostles and other historical Biblical characters. And if that doesn’t excite you, the producers are making the film with an eye towards an Easter weekend 2015 release. Oh boy … [Deadline]
Christopher Landon has spent the last few years of his life writing “Paranormal Activity” sequels. The next one, “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones,” is set to be released in 2014 and he directed it himself this time around. Well now it finally looks as if Landon wants to move away from the franchise to try his hand at something new. It involves zombies … and Boy Scouts. That’s right, we’re talking about “Boy Scouts vs. Zombies”! We reported over a year ago that screenwriter Etan Cohen (“Tropic Thunder”) was involved with this project, which would have been his directorial debut, but he’s since moved on to direct a Will Ferrell-Vince Vaughn movie instead (wise choice, perhaps?). Thankfully, Christopher Landon has decided he’s the right man for “Boy Scouts vs. Zombies” and he’s officially on board to direct this film, which is based on the Black List-ed script by Carrie Evans and Emi Mochizuk and subsequently re-written by Lona Williams. Production is set to begin this spring. [Deadline]
After making “The Proposal” and “The Guilt Trip,” director Anne Fletcher has proven to have quite the penchant for generic movie titles. Now she’s stepping aboard to helm “Murder Mystery,” the long-gestating project which John Madden (“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) was once attached to. Penned by “The Amazing Spider-Man” writer James Vanderbilt, the film follows a married couple who go on a much-needed honeymoon in order to rekindle their marriage. Things start to take a turn for the worse when they find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery and one of their fellow cruise passengers is found dead. They have to travel through Europe to find the murderer while hoping their marriage can still be saved. Murder mysteries are always a welcome remedy to any marriage, as we all know. “Murder Mystery” was originally set to star Colin Firth, Charlize Theron, and Adam Sandler, but no word yet on whether or not they’re still sticking around. [Variety]
Finally, John Pogue, director of the upcoming film “The Quiet Ones,” has already signed on to direct his follow-up, “Ciudad.” The film’s based on the graphic novel of the same name which was written by Joe and Anthony Russo (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”), along with Ande Parks and Fernando Leon. The graphic novel has yet to hit stores. “Ciudad” follows “a weary mercenary who is hired by a Brazilian drug lord to extract his daughter from one of the world’s most dangerous and corrupt cities – Paraguay’s Ciudad del Este.” Production is set to begin in Colombia next spring, though don’t count on the previously attached Dwayne Johnson to be part of it. [The Wrap]
