Today's Film News: New Line Has No 'Pride'

By Katey Rich

A movie that teams up Colin Farrell and Edward Norton seems like a no-brainer for at least moderate success, but New Line recently balked on giving Pride & Glory its intended March 14 release date, pushing it to some point next year. Now the film's director Gavin O'Connor is demanding answers. He told Variety, "I don't think [New Line CEO] Bob Shaye believes in it, and he's decided he'll only release (sure bet) films. He never had the decency to call me." The article suggests that O'Connor may seek a different distributor, though given the movie's $30 million price tag, it might be a tough sell.

Now for some happier, and genuinely exciting news. The visually arresting but weakly plotted dance film Step Up 2 The Streets will get a sequel in what seems like the perfect medium: 3D. Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot, heads of Offspring Entertainment who are also siblings, as Variety tells us, are developing the third film with Disney, logically titled Step Up 3D. In all the thinking I've done both about what movies would work in 3D and how cool those dance movies look, it never occurred to me to link the two. Good thing Shankman, who also blessed the world with Hairspray last summer, is doing the thinking for me.

Paul Dano didn't take the stage at Sunday's Oscars, but smiled heartily from his seat, both because his co-star took home a prize and his career is blowin' up. The There Will Be Blood preacher will star and executive produce the indie feature Gigantic, set to star fellow bright young thing Zooey Deschanel. The movie features a number of warning flags: called an "offbeat romantic comedy" by The Hollywood Reporter, a first-time direct (Matt Aselton) is in charge, and it's set, oh-so-quirkily, in a mattress store. But Dano has proven to have pretty good taste up to this point, and it is possible to make a good offbeat romantic comedy. Just not easy. Then again, how easy is it to slap Daniel Day-Lewis in the face and get away with it?

And finally, that silly, constantly delayed Justice League of America project is going forward once again. Warner Bros. has hemmed in all its stars once more and has the writers, Kieran and Michele Mulroney, back to work. Variety  points out that the studio could really use another tentpole for 2009, given that The Watchmen, Terminator: Salvation and Where The Wild Things Are are pretty much all that's happening right now. But given Justice League's B-list cast (Adam Brody, the rapper Common) and constant script troubles, I still have my doubts about whether this can top Fantastic Four as the silliest movie to also be called a hit.