FILM CO. NEWS
WARNER BROS.
Guillermo del Toro was confirmed as the director of The Hobbit, New Line's two-part adaptation of the prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Del Toro will shoot the movie in New Zealand, working closely with executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. New Line will manage production, with Warner Bros. distributing domestically.
UNIVERSAL
The newest member of the Indiana Jones exploring team, Shia LaBeouf, will have a different kind of adventure in Universal's Dark Fields. In the adaptation of Alan Glynn's sci-fi novel, LaBeouf will plan a man who possesses the ultimate "smart pill." Neil Burger (The Illusionist) is directing the script by Leslie Dixon (Hairspray), who is also producing.
MGM
The Matarese Circle, a spy novel by Robert Ludlum (the Bourne series), will be adapted by MGM as a star vehicle for Denzel Washington. Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (3:10 to Yuma, the upcoming Wanted) will write the adaptation. Jeffrey Weiner, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Nick Wechsler will produce.