Benjamin Walker

For quite a while now, Chris Hemsworth has been attached to the true-life whaling tale In The Heart Of The Sea. Now he’s got some company, as Deadline reports that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter star Benjamin Walker is in talks to join the movie, beating out the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and Henry Cavill, who were also in contention.

Charles Leavitt wrote the script, adapted from Nathanial Philbrick’s non-fiction book of the same name, which is based on the true events that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. The story revolves around a Nantucket whaling ship that was destroyed by a sperm whale in 1820. Only eight crew members were rescued alive, after being lost at sea for 90 days.

Ron Howard is set to direct, with Warner Bros backing the movie. The hope is to shoot the movie this September in order the fit into Hemsworth’s busy schedule.

Ron Howard seems keen to fill his development slate at the moment, as with his planned take of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower still looking for funding, he’s seeking other films to make. Just in the last week he’s signed up for the JJ Abrams produced All I’ve Got and a live-action version of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.

Now he’s got yet another one, as Vulture reports he’s circling In The Heart Of The Sea. The project has been in development for over a decade but got some fresh impetus last year when Chris Hemsworth attached himself to star. The movie is based on the true story of a sperm whale that destroyed the whaling ship The Essex in 1820.

Charles Leavitt’s script is based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s non-fiction book, with Warner Bros. backing the movie. Hemsworth is attached to play the first mate of the Nantucket based boat, who took charge as the situation got ever more dangerous.

If Howard does make the movie is will reunite him with Hemsworth after they made the upcoming F1 tale Rush together.

When Henry Selick made a deal to make stop-motion movies at Disney, he put an animated version of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book into development. That film didn’t work out, but the studio is now resurrecting it as a live-action movie, which THR say Ron Howard is in talks to direct.

The story is based on Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novel that puts a genre spin on Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. The plot is about a young boy named Nobody Owens, who is raised by the ghosts in a cemetery after his family is murdered. As a teenager, the boy becomes pursued by an entity known as ‘The Man Jack,’ which killed his parents. Published in 2008, the book made history by becoming the first  title to win both the Carnegie and Newberry medals.

Ron Howard will oversee the writing of a new screenplay. The filmmaker may also produce with his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer.

Ron Howard’s next movie, Rush, doesn’t arrive in cinemas until September, but he’s already planning his next film, as Vulture reports that he will direct All I’ve Got for J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Paramount Pictures.

The movie is an English-language remake of a 2003 Israeli TV movie of the same name. It’s about a young woman who is involved in a freak car accident that kills her husband. Although she moves on, gets re-married and has three children, when she dies 50 years after the accident, the afterlife presents an intriguing option. She can either have the memories of her life after the accident wiped clean, to become young again with her first love, or she can remain how she is to wait for her second husband.

Margalit Keren wrote the original Israeli version, but it’s not clear if she will be involved in the remake.

Earlier this month, fans of The Dark Tower were given a ray of hope when Warner Bros. expressed interest in picking up the ambitious project after Universal turned it down. The studio received a new draft of the screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, with Russell Crowe in contention to play Roland Deschain. Today, we have word that Warner Bros. decided to pass on the project.

To be honest it’s not that surprising, as director Ron Howard has incredibly ambitious and expensive plans for the adaptation, which would be a massive risk for anyone who wants to take it on, especially as the director wants any financier to sign on for the whole project, rather than just seeing how things go as they go along.

The plan is to produce a trilogy of movies, with two limited-run TV series between each movie. Director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer will still try to shop the project to other studios, although it isn’t known if Russell Crowe will still be available to star. The story centres on Roland Deschain, the last in a line of gunslingers who journeys to The Dark Tower, in a last-ditch effort to save humanity. (Source: Variety)

The first official images from Ron Howard’s Rush have debuted over at the movie’s website, showing off the fast cars and 70s style of this look at the rivalry between F1 drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Nikki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl).

Hunt was a dashing playboy with a wild social life, whose exploits off the track filled more column inches than what he did while racing. Lauda meanwhile was a quieter figure, but still an amazing and driven racer. Their rivalry became legend both on and off the Grand Prix circuit.

We’ll have to wait a while to see the film though, which also stars Olivia Wilde, Natalie Dormer and Alexandra Maria Lara, as it’s not due for release until September 2013.

Ron Howard has grand plans for The Dark Tower, initially setting up it up as a trilogy at Universal Pictures, with two limited-run TV series’ to air between the movies. However the studio was nervous and wouldn’t commit to the entire thing, and so they dropped it.

More recently Warner Bros has been sniffing around and now Deadline reports the studio is about to receive a new version of the script by Akiva Goldsman, and that Russell Crowe may be stepping in to play Roland Deschain, a role previously set for Javier Bardem. The studio will make their decision on whether or not to give a green light to the ambitious project within the next two weeks.

Crowe’s involvement isn’t definite yet, but the actor has been discussing it with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, and getting an A-list star may be a key component in getting this ambitious project off the ground. The film is about Deschain, the last in a long line of gunfighters, who journeys to The Dark Tower in a last-ditch effort to save humanity, based on Stephen King’s seven-part book series.